Southern Gothic takes the stage at Wild Wing

Southern Gothic takes the stage at Wild Wing

Staff Writer    Los Angeles, Calif., native Connor Christian, 28, and his band, Southern Gothic played Thursday, Oct. 16, to a large group of revelers and Bingo players who had finished their game at Wild Wing Café.   Southern Gothic performed both cover songs and a couple of original songs from their brand new CD "90 Proof Lullabies," which was released Oct. 7, 2008. "90 Proof Lullabies" is their fourth CD since 2003. The group performs around 250 shows per year up and down the coast, including Atlanta, Ga., where Christian has lived for 13 years.   Christin graduated from Georgia Southern University after traveling around the world to countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, France, Belgium, Singapore, Japan and Spain.

"I was pretty sure I knew it all," Christian states when asked why he left home at age 14 to travel and pursue his musical career. Music "seemed like a fit."   When asked about his childhood heroes, Christian admits, "I wanted to be Michael Jackson so bad," but his music is more directly influenced by bands like  "The Band," earlier Elton John and Pearl Jam.

Today, his heroes are "less musical…Barack Obama, John Edwards" states Christian.

Christian and Southern Gothic are "equal parts modern troubadour, back road poet and outlaw rocker," according to their biography, which can be found at www.ConnorChristian.com.   Other band members include Shawn Thacker on drums and vocals, Joe Abramson on bass and vocals, Dan Emmett on the fiddle and piano. Christian himself plays guitar, drums and vocals.