COLUMBIA — It all started with a doodle.
“I used to get in trouble a lot in school for drawing all over my SATs, tests, and homework,” explained Fox Haynes. “One day I was just in class doodling a list of band names and Sweet Spine was the first one I thought of, kind of on a fluke.”
If Sweet Spine’s name was a fluke, then it might seem accurate to call the Greenville-based band’s sudden rise to viral popularity on TikTok nothing short of tremendous serendipity. And while the extent of the virality of their single, “Darkness,” released this past July, was unexpected, it certainly wasn’t without the group’s infectious enthusiasm and sincere passion for their craft.
After pondering the potential fear of not reaching a newer, broader audience outside of South Carolina, Haynes began posting on TikTok every day to promote their music; after putting out a TikTok featuring “Darkness,” Haynes woke up to heaps of notifications.
The band Sweet Spine. From left to right, singer and guitarist Fox Haynes, bassist Evelyn Atkins and drummer Brannan Crook.
While catching up with Sweet Spine before their headlining show at New Brookland Tavern on Sept. 8, it was clear that the band’s unique blend of grunge, shoegaze and punk has attracted attention that expands far past their home state of South Carolina. In other words, it’s no surprise that Sweet Spine has struck such a strong chord with a widespread audience. With nearly 30,000 TikTok followers and singles featured on multiple Spotify Editorial playlists, vocalist and lead guitarist Fox Haynes, 19, bassist Evelyn Atkins, 19, and drummer Brannan Crook, 22, have found themselves in a position that has the immense potential to take them further from their hometown of Greenville than ever before.
“For the longest time [on Spotify] Greenville was one of our top cities, at number one or two,” said Haynes. “Now it’s not even in the top 50. We have more listeners in Iraq than we do in Greenville, which is so random but super awesome.”
“It’s been cool how our music has sparked passion in people,” said Atkins, Sweet Spine's bassist. “I've gotten DMs on my personal (social media) accounts from people just saying how much they love our music and that they wanna see us play, but they're in Colorado or somewhere else.”
“It’s the people that support you from day one who keep supporting you from day one,” said drummer Brannan Crook, noting the importance of keeping local roots.
Sweet Spine performing at New Brookland Tavern on Sept. 8, 2023
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of Sweet Spine’s sound is the vast array of influences between each band member; they each bring another level to their sound. It’s a characteristic of their music that was detailed in an August 2023 TikTok caption, “Grunge? Metal? Shoegaze? Idk.”
With their 2022 debut album, "C-Section," taking on a hardcore sound that brings to mind the likes of Nirvana and Deftones, they anticipate a completely new direction with upcoming releases, noting the more polished production value of singles like, “Anathema,” “Dream Eater: and, of course, “Darkness,” which has shot them to new heights.
The three share a love for their band’s solidified sound, but each takes a different approach to further developing their music by bringing their own influences to their songwriting process.
In recent months, Haynes took songwriting inspiration from folk artists like The Tallest Man on Earth. Atkins, who drew from Les Claypool’s style of bass playing while working on "C-Section," turned to the technical basslines of Victor Wooten for the new tracks. And Crook took influence from the drum stylings of Travis Barker’s punk roots — while keeping touches of his past as an R&B drummer.
“I love these little nerdy, amazing kids,” Sweet Spine’s manager, Chidiebere Udogwu laughed when asked about what drew him to Sweet Spine. (Most of his clients exist within the hip-hop sphere.) “Because what they love, they're so passionate about music to the point where they know everything about it.”
The crowd at a Sweet Spine show at New Brookland Tavern on Sept. 8, 2023.
Aside from the band’s music, Udogwu is consistently impressed with the professionalism and drive that each member of Sweet Spine displays when it comes to the group's new direction, as well as the rising buildup of energy that started to surround them.
“We’re holding each other accountable,” Udogwu explained. “They’re on top of sh— just as much as I’m on top of sh—.”
The band Sweet Spine. From left to right, singer and guitarist Fox Haynes, manager Chidiebere Udogwu, bassist Evelyn Atkins and drummer Brannan Crook.
“If (New Brookland Tavern) moves somewhere within Columbia, I honestly think that'll be okay. But if it dissipates, then that's gonna be one less venue that (younger artists) can play at around here. Like the only other one is Art Bar, but that's 21-plus,” explained Atkins. “So it really is restricting on a lot of age groups because a lot of the bands aren't even 21. We’re not even 21, so we can’t even see a show at Art Bar unless we’re playing.”
So what’s next for Sweet Spine? A headlining tour? An album?
“Did you ask them that? Did they tell you? I don't… I don't know,” said Udogwu, hesitant to give away too much information. “I don't wanna spill the beans today, but some really great things are on the way.”