Back Down South

Cannes by Day

france 152Photographed in Cannes, France

Hi, Mark!

Outfit details:

  • Ray-Bans.
  • Ledbury Euan Micro Dot oxford (c/o). This is our favorite shirt from Ledbury’s Fall Collection and proved to be extremely versatile for our trip to Spain and France. In the daytime, he dressed it down with jeans and Nikes. In the evenings, it was perfect with chinos and loafers. It would have paired perfectly with the $90,000 Rolex we saw in the shop down the street from this but apparently you “can’t have it all,” or something like that.

Drink This – Wanderlust Coffee

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I am a HUGE coffee lover but I never stop looking for my perfect cup. From coffee machines to coffee brews, there are so many ways to get your coffee fix. If you can brew without a machine, I want to know about it. There has been a wave of interest in different types of coffee brew and brewing techniques that can affect your coffee enjoying experience. There are so many Coffee Brewing Methods for the Home and when followed, each method can produce a vastly different brew. Even when I fall in love with one drink, I’m always wondering if an even better coffee is out there somewhere. I’m always on sites like Greatcoffeebrewers.com, seeing if I can upgrade my coffee maker to produce a higher quality cuppa joe for myself in the morning. This is why I was so thrilled when I was approached by a new cold brew coffee company!

The Drink:
Wanderlust Coffee – cold brew coffee brewed, bottled and kegged in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Story:
Alden Eavenson sold the first bottles in mid-summer of 2014. “I had been wanting to get involved in the growth of the coffee scene in Atlanta for a couple years, and after going through a few different ideas, I saw an opportunity and decided to start bottling and kegging cold brew. I’m a big coffee lover, so I really enjoy working on trying to make a quality product and sharing the excitement with our customers.”

Wanderlust locally sources coffee from Octane, where you can get it on tap. “We reached out to a few of the roasters in town,” Alden says. “There is an increasing amount of high-quality coffee available in town — but after talking to Dustin and the Octane team, we knew it was the best fit for what we were looking to do.”

Thanks to Alden for gifting us one to try and greatly enjoy!
Atlanta folks, here’s where you can buy bottles.
All other folks, there will soon be online merchants where you can snag some.
Follow Wanderlust on Twitter for updates.

Music Monday – Great Peacock

Great Peacock 01Photographed in Atlanta, GA

I’m still in a bit of shock from Great Peacock‘s show at The Earl…and it was months ago. I can’t recommend enough that you see them live. The Nashville-based band are “red-blooded country boys who aren’t afraid of the big city.” In their Love List Presents performance, you get a taste of their softer folk side. In the stream below, you’ll get another favorite from their album Making Ghosts – a taste of their electric talent – precisely what blew me away at their live show. Beer in hand, right foot stomping, head and torso semi-banging with the riffs. I was lost in it, looking back at Jess every few minutes to mouth “Wow.”

Stream: “Arms”
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You’ve maybe noticed that I’ve slowed down the Music Monday posts. For more music talk, make sure you’re following backdownsouth on Twitter where I’ve been posting a Song of the Day almost everyday. Also, Spotify!

Larry, Part IV

000028480014Photographed in Nashville, TN by Jamie Clayton

Raised in:
FL, KY, TN, TX. “I’ve always felt like Nashville was home.”

Lives in:
Nashville, Tennessee

Biggest music guilty pleasure right now:
Carly Rae Jepsen’s latest record. It’s a brilliant, catchy pop album and a great follow-up to the ubiquitous “Call Me, Maybe.”

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Other new records your currently obsessed with:
David Ramirez and Noah Gundersen, debut from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.

Now would ya look at that:
Our buddy Larry Kloess of Cause a Scene Music making his fourth appearance here.

See also:
Part I, Part II and Part III.
For more entertainment, see Jamie’s post: Larry on the Weekend.

Sarah and Sally

Hovis 010Photographed in Sandy Springs, GA
Raised in:
Sarah: Atlanta, Georgia

Sally: Stone Mountain, Georgia

Highlight of your summer:
River rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and weekends at Lake Burton.

Favorite S. Carter Designs piece right now:
Sarah: Real feathers capped in diamonds and horn/diamond bracelets.
Sally: Pyrite cascade necklace.

Now would ya look at that:
Meet the Mother/Daughter duo behind S. Carter Designs – Sarah Hovis Olsen (left) and Sally Olsen (right). Read the full ‘Inheriting Style’ piece that I shot for The Love List. Before you get in a tizzy over the white pants after Labor Day, don’t. I photographed this in the dead of summer.

On Sarah: Blue Life tie dye caftan, One Teaspoon shorts – all from Rebecca Boutique.

On Sally: Avenue Montaigne pants (from Rebecceca Boutique), Podolls top (from Alys Shoppe).

Hook & Gaff

Hook & Gaff was introduced to me by Jamie Clayton, who shot these photos. His brother, Gash Clayton, is a self-taught artist and designed one of the watch models. His 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are coming out soon. When Jamie sent these, it was mostly to brag on his brother, but I fell in love with the images and the watches and knew they’d make a great feature.

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Man in charge:
Michael Sims.

Raised in:
Spartanburg, South Carolina. I’ve lived all over the state, from the edge of the Blue Ridge to the coast in Charleston.

Lives in:
West Columbia, South Carolina.

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About Hook & Gaff:
This idea transpired because I couldn’t find what I was looking for in a timepiece. Hard to believe! The trend in the industry right now is to go bigger and bulkier, specifically the ones targeting fishermen and outdoorsmen, and that just isn’t my style. I was determined to make a watch that was functional, durable, and had an aesthetic quality that reminded people of a luxury watch. These are built for the boat, but nice enough for fine dining.

I spent several years researching, building a business plan, and contracting others to do design work for prototypes and logos before I had an epiphany to call my buddy Gash Clayton (also from Spartanburg). I knew he was a great artist and wanted his help sketching a logo. He’d spent several years doing graphic design work in Charleston, and to top it all off, he is somewhat of a watch enthusiast. He designed our logo the first night we spoke. We spent the next few days talking business and touching up the watch design for another prototype, and a partnership was formed.

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Design inspiration:
The design for our first watch had to meet our construction criteria. The case is constructed from ultra-lightweight titanium for durability and functionality. The glass is sapphire crystal, extremely scratch resistant, and this keeps our watch looking like new for years. It’s water resistant to 200m for our guys and gals who spend time in the water. We also have flipped the crown to the left side of the watch and we’ll continue to do this for the majority of our models. This is unique, but it became a necessity for me because the right side crown irritated the back of my left hand when I was fishing or playing golf. Our first Sportfisher also features a moon phase mechanism, letting you know when fish may or may not be feeding, especially pelagics. The dial design is a throwback to some vintage moon phase watches that were produced in the 1950’s, but we’ve modernized it a bit and have given it a very classy look.

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What sets y’all apart:
We are bucking the trend to go bigger and bulkier. Instead, we are targeting active outdoorsmen with this sales pitch: “Hey, we’ve got a watch that is lightweight, thin, but extremely durable. And the best part is, you can wade into the flats wearing it, fillet a flounder, rinse off and wear it to dinner that night.” Our watches are assembled right here in the U.S. Our first Sportfisher is an entirely Swiss made watch, but beginning with our second model that we’ll roll out soon, we partnered with a watchmaker who takes our Swiss movements and assembles the watches in North Carolina. We’re very excited about creating a watch business with production based here.

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Favorite spot you’ve fished:
Well now, I can’t reveal my favorite spot now can I? Every fisherman knows that’s a recipe for disaster! I have a few inshore spots in Charleston that I really love. I gravitate towards inshore fishing because I enjoy the hunt. Finding fish is just as fun for me as reeling them in. When it comes to offshore, I’ll have to take you down to Tuna Town – Venice, Louisiana. Venice is awesome. Fishing the Gulf is so much different than fishing the Atlantic. Everything is different, even the style of the boat and the equipment. Fishing the oil rigs versus trolling temperature changes, weed lines, or ledges. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed fishing in Venice the few times I’ve been, and I have to plug my boys at the Mexican Gulf Fishing Company. If you want to put tuna in the boat, they can do it. Love those guys!

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Thanks to Michael Sims for the fantastic interview!
Go shop Hook & Gaff.

Music Monday – Dwayne Shivers

Micah Dalton, aka, Dwayne Shivers, has now made 3 appearances here (Part I, Part II). Dwayne Shivers is his new project and he answered a few questions for y’all to explain the sound and switch. Don’t skip the video at the bottom for The Love List Presents, filmed by The Reason.”Harlem Hill,” performed in the Green Room at The Earl, is my favorite from the EP. The take left us all jaw-dropped with no other words than “your voice!”

DwayneShivers03-2Tell everyone who Dwayne Shivers is:
Dwayne Shivers is an indie blues ensemble. I was tired of playing solo all the time and wanted to work more consistently with a band. Some of the songs from my solo records had the same tone / feel and felt like they’d be sung by a guy named Dwayne Shivers more than Micah Dalton. 

DwayneShivers02-2Why the switch:
It was fueled by wanting to try something new – to have a new musical start, dropping old associations, and to collaborate and write from a more pure place.

DwayneShivers04-2 What most inspires the sound:
All sorts of things inspire the sound – the guys that I invite into the recording / performing process have sensibilities that I admire and a musical vocabulary that I don’t have. So, in short, my friends. The sound is born first by a great song – then, the treatment should illuminate the lyric and melody. Since I’m first and foremost a songwriter, I need to be personally sincere with the lyric before sound crafting is entertained. That said, I started this project to do more that is musically ambitious and energetic in a live setting.
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Listen to Dwayne Shivers EP
iTunes | Spotify

Micah Dalton

MicahDalton 003Photographed in Atlanta, GA

Raised in:
Atlanta, Georgia

Lives in:
Atlanta, Georgia

Favorite burger in Atlanta:
Argosy is currently my favorite burger. For quantity, obviously Ann’s Snack Shack.

Best concert you’ve attended this year:
Best concert is whenever Marshall Ruffin or Cleveland P. Jones sings and I get to hear them, which I have a handful of times this year.

Now would ya look at that:
Musician Micah Dalton, whose music was featured here a few years ago. He has since changed his sound and name and I’ll be featuring that new project on our next Music Monday.

  • Atlanta Crackers hat, gifted from a friend. The Crackers were Atlanta’s home baseball team until the Braves moved from Milwaukee 1966.
  • Club Monaco shirt.

Poler Napsack

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Poler makes so much cool stuff. I often get lost on their site lusting over all the good #campvibes and wishing I was on an epic adventure decked from head to toe in their gear. So, when Huckberry put The Napsack on sale, I quickly added it to the Back Down South Shop. This this would’ve been (and will be) an essential additional to future Glamp Outs.

The Napsack has zippers at the shoulders, so you can stick your arms out, and a cinch at the bottom so that you can open it up and stick your legs out. Hike it up, cinch it, and wear it like a puffy coat around the campfire (or while standing on a log), and then crawl right back into your tent without ever having to leave the warmth of your bag. Plus…it has pockets, making it the coziest jacket ever.

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To quote Socality Barbie (my new favorite Instagram account on the planet): “I just ‘happened’ to bring all my coffee gear on this hike. Might as well make a cup on this mountain top like any normal person would do.” Thanks to The Poler Napsack, drinking said cup of coffee while leaning on a fallen tree was super easy.

LABOR DAY GIVEAWAY

Summer forever, but Fall is almost here. To celebrate crisper air, changing leaves and laughter around fires, we’ve teamed up with Huckberry to give one away!

Head over to this Instagram post and ‘like’ to enter! A winner will be chosen at random and announced (via Instagram) on September 12th.

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