The Edisto River Band was originally conceived by Eddie Hutto and has been a fixture in and around the Orangeburg area music scene for many years. Over those years there have been many different local players passing through the band as it took one form or another but I’m going to write a brief note about the band that I had the privilege to play in because that’s what I know.

 

My brother, Hal Axson, was asked to join the band at one point to fill the Bass position and he managed to talk the band into a second guitarist alongside Eddie at which point he then talked me into playing out with a live band again because at that time in my life I was turning to writing and recording at home. I must admit I did not want to participate but once I began practicing with Eddie, Mac, Elizabeth, and Hal I discovered a new level of musicianship I had not experienced before nor have I really experienced since in a band situation. Coming from a mostly hard rock music background I was not prepared for the set list material, the execution and delivery of the material, or the great players I had thrown in with. I consider Eddie Hutto to be one of the best blues and slow-hand players this region has to offer in his vein of music and I was smart enough to pay a lot of attention to what he played and how he played it. Simply put I learned from him and he has my respect. My second joy about the band was playing with Elizabeth, she was incredible on the keyboard being classically trained and she made the difference between a “good” cover band and a “damn fine” cover band and for that I thank her!

 

The band occasionally still appears here and there in different shapes and forms but I will always remember how much I enjoyed playing with these particular musicians in that place at that point in time.