Local band offering up taste of 'Good Vibrations'

It happened in an instant.

A sudden collision of clarity and will that required nothing more than an afternoon drive with mom and The Beach Boys' greatest hits collection, '20 Good Vibrations, The Greatest Hits (Volume 1).'

A young Jason Brewer sat idly in the passenger seat watching traffic stream by when his mom inserted the fateful disc into the CD player. By the end of the opening track, Brewer's life direction began steering away from oncoming traffic and toward the world of music. Like some cosmic force of destiny, Brewer's dream was realized in that very moment.

'That record made me not want to be just a guitar player. It made me want to be able to write and produce,' remembers Brewer. 'I was 17, and I decided right then to make music my career and focus on being a songwriter instead of being some super shredder on the guitar.'

The Explorers Club doesn't hide from the Beach Boys comparison. It's too obvious of an influence to deny. Instead, they take it as a compliment. Pointing out the fact that The Beach Boys were only part of the West Coast surf/pop-music phenomenon of the '60s, albeit one of the most popular acts of the day.

The members of The Explorers Club have sought to rekindle the genre's once-bright flame, so being compared to the champions in that category of music has only added kerosene to reignite the flame.

The Explorers Club didn't start in a terribly different manner than most other young rock bands. All friends, all musicians, most were in separate bands. But when Brewer became bored with the modern indie/rock scene, he began writing a handful of beach/pop tunes as a way of reconnecting with his former idols.

At the time, the members of The Explorers Club were in their late teens to the mid-20s, and the sounds of The Beach Boys and The Association weren't at the forefront of 'cool' for most aspiring indie/rock stars.

The odds of finding popularity were against him, but Brewer recorded a demo and played the new songs for five of his friends he thought might understand the sunshine pop appeal. Within moments of hearing the first track, Brewer had recruited six of seven The Explorers Club members, and booked the group's first show at Redux Studios in 2005.

With James Faust, Wally Reddington and David Ellis lending their guitar skills, bass and vocal talents to the mix, and Stefan Rogenmoser and Neil Thomas holding down the instrumental s

ide of the band on organ and drums, The Explorers Club was set to make the dingy bars around the Southeast brighten with the streams of sunny pop music; remnants of pop music's golden era.

'I just kind of played them some tapes I had made and said, 'Is this something you guys would want to play?' And they thought that it sounded like a lot of fun and really wanted to work it out and put a band together, because they were excited about these new tracks,' says Brewer. 'So, we just started working really hard to get things going.'

Working with only a batch of demos for the past three years, The Explorers Club has still managed to rack up a remarkable amount of accolades for the group.

The band has performed at Austin Texas' South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival, performed a surprise show with Beck, had a song featured on Fox's The O.C. , signed a deal with Dead Oceans Records, released its first 7-inch titled 'Do You Love Me?' in April and will released its debut full-length recording 'Freedom Wind' May 20.

The new records are almost in tribute form with their authenticity and flawless execution. The music twists and glides through with impeccable four-part harmonies and never-wavering musicianship. Perhaps, even more interesting is the band's purity in replicating the vintage, West Coast pop sound. Where many bands might slump out of character and cave to modern influences, The Explorers Club stay focused and never stray from the '60s surf sound that impacted Brewer so heavily all those years ago. From beaten, square photographs on the band's new album cover, to antique instruments and shaggy haircuts, everything about The Explorers Club seems like a time warp.

Despite having made itself fairly well-known in California, Chicago, New York City and other large cities around the country, The Explorers Club has struggled to connect with the Charleston audience on a larger level.

'I think we have a hard time here, because weren't not familiar. We don't look a certain way and sound a certain way, so it's taking longer for people to embrace it,' explains Brewer. 'But it does matter to us to build a fan base here. I mean, this is our home and we want that reception here.'

The Explorers Club will seek that Charleston connection Friday at The Village Tavern for the group's CD release show with Sub Pop recording artist Helio Sequence. The performance will be the band's first Charleston show in several months, as well as a warm-up to the group's national tour with Lightspeed Champion.