By Tre Cobb
On February 23rd, West Virginia based music label Exclaim Records hosted their first event of 2023 at The Loud in Huntington; the showcase, known as “Limelight” is Exclaim’s monthly effort to promote local artists, vendors, and performers. This time around, alternative rock bands Contact Sports and Grown Bones opened for featured act Cumberland.
I had the pleasure of conversing with Nathan, Logan, and Luke of Contact Sports, who were gracious enough to provide HNN with an inside look at the history of their band, as well as their forthcoming projects:
INTERVIEW WITH CONTACT SPORTS
Trey: What do you guys do in Contact Sports?
Luke: I play guitar.
Nathan: I play guitar and sing.
T: Can you guys take me through a history of the band?
N: We were actually in a band before this band…however many years ago called College Hill, but that kind of fizzled out. Now it’s what it is today, Contact Sports.
(As the band’s bassist Logan joins the interview, hearing Nathan bring up College Hill, he throws his head back laughing)
Logan: Oh god.
N: (Smirking) We attempted to make a rock opera…it didn’t quite work out. Then, for a time, it was called Just Missed.
Logan: Yeah, we just changed the name— I don’t think we ever played a show as Just Missed.
N: Oh, we played a show as Reflector though. That’s what it was. We were trying to change the name because we were changing styles.
T: You guys have any crazy road stories you want to tell?
(Nathan and Logan glance at one another)
N: I played a show and got groped once.
(Logan laughs heartily, Luke chuckles)
N: (Smiling, pointing to Logan) He got groped too.
Logan: Yeah…we got groped as friends.
N: Groped as friends. That’s our album name, Groped as Friends.
T: Anything in the works for you guys?
N: An album coming up. So if you don’t see us around, eventually you’ll see us around, and you’ll have more stuff to listen to.
T: Where can people find you?
N: @contactsportswv on Instagram and Twitter, Bandcamp…pretty much everything (smiles).
Contact Sports is made up of Nathan, Logan, Luke, Blake, and Seav.
SURPRISE FOOD REVIEW
One cool thing about Limelight is one never knows whom they’ll run into, whether as a patron, performer, or vendor. As I wandered out onto the Loud patio, stomach growling, Leah Gore had sold the last of her brownies and was quickly running out of bread.
Delightfully snagging the last corner piece of herb topped sourdough focaccia, there was hardly any lag time between unboxing the bread and taking my first bite.
“This is insane,” I said to HNN’s Erika Lawson, who was also there on assignment.
The edges were chewy, the inside soft and airy, yet filling; additionally, the collective explosion of flavorful garlic, salt, and onion made for a combination more satisfactory than anything I’ve experienced on a bar patio.
The way I understand, Leah Gore sells food boxes from time to time. We will definitely review one of those boxes next time she makes them available; until then, you can follow her Instagram @nomleah for more information.
Oh, and the bread was a 12 out of 10.
It was that good.
Exclaim Records will bring Limelight to Huntington every month on to-be-announced Thursdays; March 4, 2023’s Limelight is titled “Looplight”, a collaboration with Huntington’s upcoming Loopyfest event on April 22, 2023. Looplight will preview experiences to be expected at Loopyfest, under the Limelight format of promoting local artists and vendors.
