Old Shoe, a band that is making its first trip to Charleston, is set to perform at The Uptowner today.

Paul Priest, a guitarist for Old Shoe, said the band is made up of four original members.

The four members include Priest, Matt Robinson, Daniel Huber and Christopher Morrow. They come from the Chicago area and comprise a collection of music experience.

Robinson, the guitarist for Old Shoe, said the band started as his own solo project, The Matt Robinson Band. He started playing guitar in high school as a part of a band named Treetop Affair.

“My first show I played as a part of Old Shoe was a CD release party and it felt good, because it was different, because it wasn’t all centered around me,” Robinson said.

Robinson said the concept went from a solo project to a collective effort. He had been playing for a few years while the other band members have been in music for more than 30 years.

Robinson said the name Old Shoe came from his wife. Being an “old shoe” means being something familiar and unpretentious and is also a throwback to older music.

Christopher Morrow, a drummer for Old Shoe, said despite Old Shoe having not played in Charleston, Morrow is no stranger to the area.

Morrow said he had played in the Charleston area about two or three years ago with the band The New Fuse. He has been playing drums since he was in the fifth grade.

Priest said though it may be Old Shoe’s first time in Charleston, it is not their first time playing in the bar scene.

“We’ve played everything from large outdoor festivals to a bar’s second room to a bowling alley to showcase venues such as Martyrs or Double Door,” Priest said. “If there’s an audience, then we do our thing and it doesn’t matter the size of the room, town, stage. We’re there for the lovers of music.”

Robinson said The Uptowner is the ideal place to start for a new band.

Morrow said he has done freelance work as a drummer and does it to pay his bills and survive.

“The drummer is the guy that holds down the groove and rhythm sections,” Morrow said.

Morrow said he plays jazz, metal, country, along with a shoebox of other kinds of music, because Old Shoe’s music is a large spectrum of music.

“I want to play grooves that people can dance to,” Morrow said.

Priest said some of their musical influences include Neil Young, Phish, Grateful Dead, Van Morrison and Ozric Tentacles.

Morrow said playing in Charleston and Chicago has its similarities. The differences are what sets it apart from everything else he is done, but it’s similar because of the young receptive audience he played for.

“It’s harder to be taken seriously because of competition,” Morrow said. “It isn’t difficult to be taken seriously in Charleston.”

He also said Chicago is different because there is more happening compared to Charleston, entertainment wise and it is difficult to develop a reputation in Chicago rather than in college towns, also because bands compete more in the city.

A cover fee for the show will be $2 and will begin at 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Jose Gonzalez can be reached at 581-2812 or

[email protected]