By DAN ARMONAITIS
Having enjoyed only limited regional success with his former band, Sequoyah Prep School, Justin Osborne had somewhat burned out on music when, as a student at the College of Charleston in 2013, he got the opportunity to study for a few months in Cuba.
“It wasn’t a huge part of my life as far as time-wise, but as far as how much it influenced me and still sticks with me and how much the people I interacted with there are still a big part of my life, it was profound,” Osborne said. “So, I’m thankful that I decided to go back to school and that it led me to being in Cuba.
“I learned a lot, just as far as being a student was concerned, about politics and cultural aspects, but the friends I made and the inspiration they gave me to give music another shot was really the biggest takeaway because I had given up. … I found a new fire down there.”
Shortly thereafter, Osborne formed his current band, SUSTO, which has gone on to have enormous national success in indie rock circles and recently released its third album, “Ever Since I Lost My Mind,” on Rounder Records. The band’s name is drawn from a Spanish word that, in Latin American cultures, describes “an intense fear understood as a condition of the soul — an ongoing, spiritual panic attack.”
The Charleston-based SUSTO will headline a bill that also includes Columbia’s Open on Mondays and Greenville’s Brother Oliver on Saturday, Nov. 23 in the downstairs arena of the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. The concert is part of the fledgling Second Stage at SMA series.
“We’re from South Carolina, so it’s nice for us to be playing not too far from home,” Osborne said. “And also, I may be wrong, but I think it may be our first time ever playing in Spartanburg. So, we’re excited. We love coming to the Upstate. We’ve had great shows in Greenville and in Asheville (N.C.), so it’s about time we come do something in Spartanburg.”
Osborne is especially looking forward to playing a show that features an all-South Carolina lineup.
“Our state has a pretty vibrant music scene, so it’s always nice to showcase the talent that we have going on,” he said.
SUSTO burst into national consciousness with its 2017 sophomore album, “& I’m Fine Today,” and appears bound for even bigger success now that it’s signed to Rounder.
“In a lot of ways, it’s like the realization of a dream I had with Sequoyah Prep School,” Osborne said. “It’s been nice to finally kind of achieve those goals I had back then, and now I have even more goals that I’ve set for myself that I want to continue to build.
“I’m just thankful to have a career doing this. It definitely feels validating to be able to go to lots of different places and have people show up and want to hear my songs.”
SUSTO’s eclectic sound is best described as “indie rock” but also incorporates elements of electronic and Americana styles. The songs are often catchy and hook-laden but there’s also an experimental vibe.
The new album, “Ever Since I Lost My Mind,” was recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville and was produced by Ian Fitchuck, who just won a pair of Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, for his production of country star Kacey Musgraves’ latest effort, “Golden Hour.”
“Every song on the (SUSTO) record feels like we really captured the emotion that goes along with it,” Osborne said. “All of these songs are tied to certain memories, and there are certain emotions and feelings that go along with those memories. So, to me, the whole record kind of plays back like a nice little emotional scrapbook, I guess.”
Osborne said being affiliated with Rounder Records is a rewarding experience and that he loves the creative control he gets to enjoy with the label, which has a long and distinguished reputation in folk and roots music circles and has recently signed multiple genre-defying artists in the spirit of SUSTO.
“I love the most recent release from the band I’m with Her, which is kind of a super-group of lady bluegrassers who are all famous in their own right,” Osborne said. “And also, Ruston Kelly’s become a friend of mine and I love his album that came out on Rounder a bit before ours. And then bands they’ve just signed like The War and Treaty and Mipso that I really respect. And also Katie Pruitt’s another friend of mine.
“I have a lot of friends on the label and that’s really what makes it feel good to me because these are bands that are my peers, that I see out at festivals and on the road or when I’m in Nashville or whatever. It’s nice to be in good company, and it’s a reassuring thing to know that they’re dealing with people that I respect.”
As for the influence of the time he spent in Cuba, Osborne said it’s still deeply felt in the songs he writes.
“I was studying American poetry post-World War II, and I discoverd this poet Robert Lowell who was part of this confessionalist movement,” Osborne said. “So, I started really being exposed to confessionalism and kind of dabbling with that in my writing. And then when I went to Cuba, that was kind of reinforced.
“Everyone associates Cuba with all the differeent rhythmic musical influences that can be found there, but, for me, the biggest thing was this songwriting tradition called ‘trova’ that’s from the Eastern side of Cuba. It’s like a cognant with the word troubadour. I had to have a lot of the lyrics explained to me because even though I’m a better Spanish reader and speaker than I was then, I’m still by no means fluent.
“So, I was discovering how confessional but also sarcastic and fearless and full of passion these lyrics were, and it really inspired me to be more fearless. It just kind of solidified that notion of being confessional, and so from the beginning that’s something that I’ve tried to do — just give myself the mantra when I’m writing of ‘be brave when you’re writing these songs, don’t be afraid of what you’re really saying because you might be the voice for other people who want to say it but don’t have a platform to say it.'”