Being such a huge fan of Treadmill Trackstar I was not about to miss their farewell show at New Brookland Tavern this past November. I attended with my Son and as we patiently waited for them to take the stage we were pleasantly surprised and blown away by the opening band, TARWATER Bone Machine. I was even more surprised to discover that a very old friend of mine from 49 Reasons was drumming for them, Darrin Gray.

 

During the time period I had moved to California for several years I had missed a creative and important period in South Carolina music where a lot of gifted and talented artists and bands rose up and had an undeniable impact on the SC music scene. Tarwater Bone Machine was one of these bands and so the night became a double whammy for me because I got to see two fantastic performances and for that I’m grateful -

 

Bio (Provided by Patti Davis)

Tarwater/Bone Machine is a 4 piece band from Columbia, South Carolina that was active from the years 1992-1994. Their sound was influenced by many facets of the rock genre and decribed by some as post punk. The band themselves labeled their sound 'poverty rock'. One unique feature of the band is that they have 2 bass players.

Tarwater was originally called "Bone Machine", however they had to change their name after discovering that a band signed to a major record label already had that name. A year after they disbanded, a German band took the name "Tarwater". They now just refer to themselves as "Tarwater/Bone Machine".

The band released a 7" containing the songs "Savage", "Shelter", and "No Angels" on Closet Normal Records owned by Kipp Shives in 1992. The songs were recorded at Rocket Studios in Athens, Georgia and produced by David Barbe.

The song "Savage" appeared in the movie "Head Cheerleader, Dead Cheerleader" directed by Jeff Miller.

 

Tarwater signed with Raging Rose Records next, owned by Angelo Gianni and Steve Rose. They released a 6 song EP in 1994 titled "2 Weeks" containing the songs "Crush you like a bug", "Fruit", "Belly Up", "Feedback River", "Trashcan" and "Bitter Through". The EP was recorded at the Jam Room recording studio in Columbia, South Carolina and produced by Jay Matheson.

 

Tarwater/Bone Machine recently played a reunion show at Treadmill Trackstar's final show at the New Brookland Tavern. After being asked to play again, the band has decided that they will do another show this summer.

 

Tarwater Band members:

Patti Davis - Lead Vocals and Bass

Will Wiggins - Guitar and Vocals

Scott Sandidge - Bass

Darrin Gray - Drums