It\u2019s encouraging to me to know that one of Greenville\u2019s most popular bands is also, without question, its weirdest. I\u2019m talking of course about Wasted Wine.<\/p>\n
Wasted Wine is a rare band that\u2019s doing something entirely original with a loyal group of fans following it. Check out one of its shows at Fireforge Crafted Beer downtown sometime; the placed is packed to the back walls every time.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t imagine anyone other than mad scientists Robert Gowan (violin, vocals) and Adam Murphee (mandocello, vocals), the nucleus of the band, thinking to combine feverish gypsy fiddle music reels, exotic world music instrumentation, progressive songwriting and a theatrical goth aesthetic that\u2019s so exaggerated that it makes \u201cThe Monster Mash\u201d sound low-key by comparison.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a sound that\u2019s somehow a hell of a lot of fun and strangely mysterious, one that Gowan and Murphee have been working on since they met in 2006, when Gowan was a music teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were living with a mutual friend,\u201d Gowan told me in our interview. \u201cAnd Adam was very aloof and secretive and would hide in his bedroom and play music. I was hungry to play music in public at that point, so I knocked on his door one day and said, \u2018Hey, I play music, too,\u2019 and we were fast friends after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the band\u2019s new album, \u201cThe Open Door,\u201d perfectly represents the genre-blending sound Gowan and Murphee have worked on.<\/p>\n Working with original drummer Jaron Ferrer and new woodwind player Maddie Hendrix, Gowan and Murphee dive into their classic world-music madness on \u201cThe Open Door,\u201d especially on the whirling dervish \u201cCold Blooded.\u201d<\/p>\n But they also investigate the more beautiful aspects of their acoustic sound on \u201cJulia,\u201d (the album\u2019s first single) and create a three-song prog-rock suite marked by Starks\u2019 stunning lead flute performance.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also \u201cThe Crash,\u201d a musical soap opera about a car accident that throws in sirens, near-operatic wailing women and gruesome police radio reports along with the kitchen sink. And things wrap up with the frenzied \u201cSaturday Night,\u201d a rave-up about sin and salvation that\u2019s long been one of the band\u2019s most popular tunes.<\/p>\n Gowan said that \u201cThe Open Door\u201d is a combination of new playing and tracks the band has worked on for years and through different lineups; the result, he said, is a definitive representation of Wasted Wine.<\/p>\n \u201cThis record has been a long time coming,\u201d Gowan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect summation of what we\u2019re doing, but also where we\u2019ve been.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Wasted](\"http:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wasted-wine-Kira-Burksy-photo-320x240.jpg\")
Photo by Kira Burksy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n