What's In A Name?

This happens all the time.  A beautiful bridesmaid walks up to one of the band members after an incredible night of music and dancing.  Somewhat out of breath she asks, "so, what's the name of your band?"  With over a decade of gigs under our belt, "Two 3 Ways" rolls off the tongue quite easily.  However, we forget  that most probably don't have the slightest clue what that means.  So with a puzzled look and corrugated brow, she awkwardly responds with an obligatory, "Oh.....cool".  Instinctively we go into story-mode to avoid any confusion (and to stop her from backing away slowly as if she's in Michael Jackson's Thriller video).  So, we felt our first blog post would be a great opportunity to tell the story behind our name.  
 
IN THE BEGINNING
A band with no name was born in the spring of 2002. Brandon (middle) was a the bartender at one of Charleston's favorite local beach bars, The Acme Cantina (now named Acme Lowcountry Kitchen) where Bryan (left) played routinely in his circuit of lowcountry dive bars and watering holes.  One night Brandon decided it was time for his talent to be heard, and stepped from behind the bar, and up to the microphone.  Not long after, Brandon made regular guest appearances during his shifts and quickly rose to fan-favorite.  The only thing missing was a rhythm section.  This is when Bryan took a chance on Ben Decker (right), who at that time was his student.  Yes, Ben was taking guitar lessons from Bryan and asked to join the band.  With a steady gig on Sunday's at the Acme Cantina, the only thing needed was an official band name

WE FOUGHT THE LAW, AND....
After several successful Sunday's at the Acme, one bartender encouraged the new trio to come up with a band name.  And to help spark some creativity, he offered them a shot of liquor by asking, "two three ways?".  Many of you may be asking, "what does that mean?"  Well, for those of you not familiar with the long standing tradition, South Carolina was the only state that required bars and restaurants serve liquor from mini-bottles (read more about "How Mini-Bottles Shaped Charleston's Cocktail Culture" here).  Shouting "two three ways!" at a bartender was common lingo, and meant you were a sober patron interested in equally distributed shots of alcohol for three of you (possibly including the bartender).  But unlike the rest of the country, free pour was not an option back then.  So, an alternative in the "Palmetto State" was to split two mini bottles between three people, or "two three ways".  
Immediately, "two three ways" or "Two 3 Ways" was unanimously voted as the official band name. The quickly growing fan base loved it. However, shortly after declaring the name, South Carolina decided to join the rest of the country and allowed free pour into the food and beverage industry; leaving the mini bottles to stewardesses and stocking-stuffers.....but the band lives on!  

So think of us next time you're planning a wedding, event, or on an airplane and request an alcoholic beverage.

For more details on how to book Two 3 Ways click here, or contact

Ian Harding
(864)-621-0210
[email protected]