Why is the acoustic guitar ruling Myrtle Beach’s music scene?

The acoustic guitar has long slipped in and out of favor in the U.S. pop music scene ever since Martin Guitar, in the 1930s, first added steel strings, and increased the instrument’s body size for volume. Folkies, such as Bob Dylan, started on acoustic guitar, but went electric early on, while singer/songwriters from the 1970s made millions with the acoustic-driven James Taylor business model. In the 1980s the acoustic guitar all but disappeared from the FM radio landscape, with only a very few exceptions. Country music’s affinity for the wooden instrument has always been strong, but contemporary pop and rock music producers and players default usually to the electric guitar as their six-stringed instrument of choice; but not so much here on the Grand Strand, where the acoustic rules.

So what happened to loud, electric guitars in smoky bars? Almost every working solo and duo along the Strand is lead by the acoustic guitar. Many trios are acoustic-guitar based and even a handful of four and five-piece rock ‘n’ roll bands have at least one acoustic guitar permanently in the mix.

Could it be the influence of acoustic-based acts such as Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show and the like becoming popular?

Clubs known for their rock ‘n’ roll shows; Pirate’s Cove, the Dead Dog Saloon, the Hot Fish Club, Hard Rock Cafe and even the House of Blues regularly feature line-ups that include one or more fulltime acoustic guitarists.

Bourbon Street Bar & Grill, which celebrates its one year anniversary under new ownership Saturday is also marking its eighth week of Monday night Acoustic Jams. Originally spearheaded by acoustic soloist Jeff Thomas, the idea of an all-acoustic, open jam appeals to many. “I love what Pine Lakes Tavern is doing with its [Tuesday] open mike nights,” said Thomas, who still hosts the Bourbon Street Jam, “but we wanted to do something different without all the electric guitars and drums.”

While the Acoustic Jam is open to the public, the host tries to maintain “an element of quality control,” with plenty of time earmarked for the better players who also entertain the bar’s non-performing patrons. “We’ve had Chad Cox in quite a bit,” said Thomas, “he’s a really excellent player. Jeremy Dunham [of Bullfrog and Potatoheads] has been in, lots of guys. We hope it will grow even more in the off-season when everybody’s schedule quiets down some.”

Additionally, Greg Dalton, the pop/rock electric shredder and music director at the local Legends in Concert shows, has performed unplugged at the Bourbon Street jam, as has bar co-owner BJ Craven, who is best known for his electric guitar work with Ten Toes Up.

Catering to Acoustic Players

While all of the area music stores stock, sell and repair acoustic guitars, the newest kid on the block, Guitar Zan, is a guitar-only shop on 21st Ave N. in Myrtle Beach, and is owned by acoustic performer Thomas “T” Moody and his wife Jill Moody. These long-time locals had been running a successful eBay business since 2005, and outgrew their living room.

“We had to open up the shop,” said Jill Moody, “with all that we were doing it just made sense.” The couple’s store opened June 1 in the Hampton Professional Park at 710 21st Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach. The Moodys handle appraisals of rare, vintage guitars, or guitar collections, with the appraisals starting at $50. They repair, buy, sell, swap, and even rent guitars for a night or two, or permanently through a rent-to-own program. They’re in the planning stages of the inaugural Great Guitar Race in March 2015. “[The contest] will be for guitar players,” said Moody, “and be formatted like the “Amazing Race” television show. You’ll have to have a basic working knowledge of the guitar, and know your trivia to move on,” she said. “We’re giving away a rare, American-made guitar, which is top secret right now, but we’ll have the guitar in the shop sometime in October.”

While there are a handful of fulltime electric guitar-driven bands in town, they’re sorely outnumbered by the acoustic performers. Almost all of these so-called unplugged players, are technically still plugging in, but have chosen to create the mellower tones delivered by an instrument that dates back to medieval Spain.

That acoustic-oriented acts work better in the tourist-friendly menu venues, is obvious, but local live music lovers seem to enjoy the myriad acoustic shows along the Grand Strand as well. Is this end for electric guitar rock ‘n’ roll bands? Hardly, but for here and now, the acoustic rules.

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Why is the acoustic guitar ruling Myrtle Beach’s music scene?."