Dead Dog Saloon to host first Hall of Fame induction for top musicians

This has been a winning year at the Dead Dog Saloon and they are saying “thank you” with a Dead Dog Saloon Rock n Roll Hall of Fame to honor the achievement and the musicians who've contributed to their success.

Touting an array of awards that includes nods for Best Bar, Best Daytime Drinking spot, Best place for Hushpuppies and the People's Choice winner for Best Chili at a recent local festival, it was winning Best Place for Live Music that sparked the idea, said owner Charlie Campbell.

“We wanted to come up with a way to honor the musicians who helped make this possible,” Campbell said.

Campbell is Dead Dog's mastermind behind the scenes – or “Oz behind the curtain” as Campbell calls himself.

After coming up with the idea, Campbell said he took it to Dead Dog's senior team: brother Mike Campbell, son John Campbell and “brilliant tech guy” Peter Haentjen.

Together they determined the details, then chose six nominees: Josh Brannon Band, Paul Grimshaw Band, Bil Krauss,The Mullets, The Necessary Band and Painted Man.

Voting commenced on November 16 and Dec. 6 is the final day to cast votes.

The nominees were announced on Facebook with a message “To honor [the] achievement, one that could only be accomplished through the extraordinary entertainers that have graced our stage over the last 13 years. we plan to honor these, amazing and loyal, gifted musicians who have made this possible.”

Two winners will be inducted on Jan. 18, and “we will continue to add names each year,” Campbell said.

Winners names will be displayed on a permanent wall plaque at the Dead Dog Saloon and will also be presented with “a beautiful plaque to take home,” Campbell said – along with the opportunity for each winner to choose a charity to receive a $1,000 donation from Dead Dog.

But even at the speed word travels on social media, not everyone knew they'd made the list immediately.

“I was out of town but this is really cool,” said Josh Brannon, whose band has been playing at Dead Dog Saloon for over five years.

“We play all over [South Carolina], travel a lot to festivals and have opened for national acts [at Dead Dog]: the Campbell family works so hard and they treat musicians really well. They love music and giving back to the community.”

If the band wins, Brannon said they will support The Wounded Warrior Project with the donation.

Mark Necessary of The Necessary Band and Bil Krauss both said they consider the nomination an honor.

Krauss said if he wins, Hugs for Horses, a therapeutic riding program for children and adults with disabilities will benefit. Necessary has decided he will have the donation split, with half going to the American Cancer Society in remembrance of Diane Stratton and South by SouthWest, an organization that supports bringing music back into schools.

And while everyone is hopeful, they are also optimistic: friendly banter on Facebook has determined The Mullets are a likely winner.

“If longevity has anything to do with it, we should be a lock,” said Bob O'Connor of The Mullets. “Of course it's an honor to be nominated, and it's cool that there will a charitable donation for the winner to choose.”

O'Connor said in an email he would have to talk with the others about “what our charity would be should we win.”

Their longevity with Dead Dog Saloon is something Campbell is quick to confirm. The band was the first to play at the Dead Dog Saloon when they first opened in 2002.

“They were there and took the stage at 7 p.m.,” Campbell said.

Over the years, the loyal musicians who've played there have become friends and are “like family,” Campbell said. “We want to honor them and show our appreciation.”

Dudley Deaddog will continue to post updates on Facebook and recently posted this message: “… over 400 votes tallied … Number 5 making a major move today, number 2, squeezing up on number one! This is fun nuts! It's your votes folks and you are making it exciting! 30 votes separate the top 5!”

“It will be a great night for everyone to come out,” owner Charlie Campbell said. “We're going to have a special jam session where each of the nominees will play a short set and then we'll announce the winners.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Dead Dog Saloon to host first Hall of Fame induction for top musicians."