Music Notes | Rock on, the British are coming

The British Invasion, musically speaking, is alive and well on the Grand Strand thanks to a local band whose members, for the most part, remember the days when pop hits from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, and The Kinks blasted from transistor radios around the world.

Slowly gaining ground in the fickle Grand Strand music market, where variety is the key to success, The English Channel is unashamed about dedicating its playlist to the British Invasion and music of the 1960s.

Gary Hamilton, 66, the founder of The English Channel, was first interviewed three years ago in a story for The Weekly Surge about the challenges for those trying to form bands through Craigslist.

“I don’t want to call it ‘nightmarish,’ but let’s say it was difficult,” said Hamilton, who retired from Ohio and a career in sales, relocated to the Myrtle Beach area and says this band is the fulfillment of the “last item on my bucket list; I want to rock again.”

After a lot of trial and error, the band formed about one year ago under its current lineup, and has dozens of gigs under its belt, many at the English-themed pub McCann’s Pub & Eatery (formerly the Bull & Bush).

The band has performed in venues in North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Murrells Inlet and Wilmington, N.C., but knows the challenges of breaking in to this market.

“We play in a lot of locals bars. That’s miraculous, and hopefully will do more of that,” said Hamilton, “but we’re really best suited for fairs, car shows, outdoor and specialty corporate events where you’d want a British Invasion or Beatles tribute act.”

But why British Invasion?

Serious rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts of all ages regularly cite the British influence on pop and rock music, which began in earnest in the 1960s, as being still evident today.

Among the obvious Beatles, Stones and The Who influences, slightly lesser names from the era are just as important: The Hollies, The Yardbirds (where Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck all got their start), along with The Animals, Badfinger, and Herman’s Hermits. These bands and a dozen more created the hits from which The English Channel mines its material.

Joining Hamilton (bass/vocals) is John Drew (lead guitar, lead/backup vocals), Ben Johnson (drums/vocals) and George Washnak (guitar/vocals).

“We try some songs that most four-piece bands don’t want to screw with,” said Hamilton, “like The Beatles’ ‘I am the Walrus,’ which we do pretty good.”

Further, the band does wander into the realm of slightly more modern British music from the likes of Robert Palmer, David Bowie, Queen and other post-invasion Brit bands who, like their forerunners, equally made their musical mark on the world.

The band’s song list is filled with iconic tunes that almost everyone will recognize, regardless of age, because of their inclusion in movie soundtracks, commercials, classic rock radio, and even the X-box and Playstation games, which introduced an entire young generation of gamers to The Beatles when the modules came out in 2009.

“The British Invasion is what got me started in a garage band, and kept me a fanatic my entire life,” said Hamilton. “We’re a novelty act, but we play great music, and we’re sticking with the product we’ve got.”

Hear samples, watch videos, buy MP3 downloads and check out The English Channel’s schedule and play list at www.englishchannelbandmyrtlebeach.com.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 1:09 AM with the headline "Music Notes | Rock on, the British are coming."