‘Barefoot Child’ Takes Center Stage
by Miranda Steadman | Contributing Writer
Strumming her viola, Caryn Egan has won the hearts of local music lovers on Folly Beach. Her captivating voice and soothing sound has lulled her audience for the last eight years. But now it’s time for this siren to make her debut as a songwriter with her tune “Barefoot Child.”
To kick off the track, Egan sings, “I was a barefoot child running wild through the trees.” The song creates a sensation that feel like stepping onto Folly’s sandy beach and becoming like a kid again. Egan says she was inspired to write the tune while playing a gig with her band The Beautiful Mess at Tommy Condons downtown.
The band recently recorded “Barefoot Child” at Fairweather Studio on Sol Legare, which is owned and operated by Bert’s Market owner Omar Colon. Joined by sound engineer Will Evans of The Dead 27’s and Sexbruise?, The Beautiful Mess is stoked to share their new single.
“Will has a great ear for really listening to a song and producing it,” says Beautiful Mess frontman Mike Martin. “We all get domesticated along the way and this song makes ya feel young … Like you have life to burn.”
Martin first met Egan in his hometown of Muncie, Ind. when she was studying Music Education at Ball State and had been hanging out, volunteering, and promoting shows at the venue Martin ran, appropriately named Folly Moon (previously Doc’s Music Hall).
“It’s really exciting to finally put out one of Caryn’s songs,” says Seattle native James Reynen. “When she first wrote it, I had just joined the band.” Reynen recorded his bass and lead electric guitar playing on “Barefoot Child” in the studio with the band. “It’s a song for the girls. There’s a lot of ramblin’ man songs, but not women’s ramblin’ songs,” says. Reynen, who plays with Egan and Martin in The Beautiful Mess and in the band Wild Current with Jo Wheaton of Pinkerton & The Brinks. Local drummer John Picard joins Egan, Martin, and Reynen on the the track. Picard, who plauys in several bands around Folly, has been playing percussion with The Beautiful Mess for the past four years and drums with the well-loved local reggae band Well Charged. Longtime friend Ripley Owermohle also joined The Beautiful Mess on banjo while recording at Fairweather Studio, while Egan’s friend from Indiana, Derek Hurt, can be heard playing a 12-string guitar, electric guitar, and piano on the track.
Catch The Beautiful Mess as played at Planet Follywood for the past six years and continue to rock the beach bar every Wednesday. Egan and the The Beautiful Mess play Porchfest at 206 West Cooper Ave. stage, at 2 p.m. and then again later that night at Bounty Bar around 10 p.m.
