Giving End reunites to honor drummer

SYLVESTER — Saturday’s reunion concert featuring The Giving End will be a bittersweet gathering for band members Josh Pearson, Joey Tabb, Bryan Avalos and Matt Culpepper.

Together for the better part of the early 2000s, when, as band guitarist Pearson puts it, “there was a pretty good music scene in Albany and this area,” The Giving End drifted apart after one of their crowning moments: recording with Corey Lowery of Atlanta’s Sevendust.

“It got to the point where life got in the way,” singer Tabb said. “There was school for some of us, careers, families, and we were getting a little older. When you have kids involved, there’s no other choice: Music takes a back seat.”

Saturday night, The Giving End will perform in an acoustic reunion show at Southern Woods Plantation in Sylvester. And while the close-knit combo “picked right back up where we left off,” according to Tabb, it’s the thing that brought the musicians back together that haunts them.

Giving End drummer Jamie Walker contracted a virus three years ago that, ultimately, took his life. And, for the first time since they called it quits as a band, the surviving members met up at Walker’s funeral.

“Man, in a lot of ways, that was so tough,” guitarist Culpepper, who is a construction inspector with the state Department of Transportation, said. “And even after we talked about maybe getting back together to do a show, it was difficult knowing Jamie wouldn’t be there. But what we’ve kind of turned this into is a tribute to Jamie.

“I know one thing: If Jamie were still alive, he would have been the first one to sign on to getting back together to play. He loved being in this band.”

The Giving End will do the rocking songs that made them a regional favorite, and they’ve even added some interesting covers to their repertoire for Saturday’s show. But all four members agreed that their performance would be an “acoustic” show.

“We have some songs that we wrote some (drum) samples for that we’ll use, but we didn’t feel that we could play this reunion show with another drummer other than Jamie,” Pearson, who is the director of cardiovascular imaging for Dr. William Hancock of Tifton, said. “I think the people who followed us when we were a band will get that. We want this to be fun for them, but we want to pay tribute to Jamie, too.”

Saturday’s all-ages show starts at 7 p.m. at Southern Woods Plantation, located at 2321 Georgia Highway 33 in Worth County. Special guest Matt Barksdale, who played in the Sylvester-based band Speedcoach, will open for The Giving End.

Tickets, which are $15 in advance, $20 the day of the show, are available at the Sylvester-Worth County Chamber of Commerce, located at 112 N. Main St. in Sylvester. For this night only, rooms are available at Southern Woods Plantation for $90. Call (229) 776-0585 for reservations.

Avalos, who works at a Tifton warehouse, said the catalyst for the reunion show was a simple matter of getting everyone together at the same place at the same time.

“It really was pretty simple once we all met up and started talking,” the band’s bassist said. “We all love music, and we all missed playing. There was never any animosity; we basically were like brothers. The thing about this group is that, even though we’ve all moved on to other things that are significant in our lives, all of us have a deep love for music.”

Tabb even hinted that there could be future shows if Saturday’s reunion goes well.

“Honestly, beyond this show, I don’t really know,” the civil service employee at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany said. “I think we all really want to soak up this show and whatever it will be. But this idea of being part of a group making music together, it never leaves you.

“It’s kind of a 50-50 thing with what we hope to get from the show. We want it to be fun for everyone who comes out. But when this band gets together to make music, we take things seriously. We definitely are working hard to make sure the music is as good as it can be.”

Sponsors of Saturday’s show include Southern Woods Plantation, MillerCoors, the Sylvester-Worth Chamber, Sylvester Main Street, the city of Sylvester, Accel Cycling Studio, Ten Point Towing and Reya Pearson Photography.