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Trident United Way Battle of the Bands is an annual event “serves to raise awareness about the work of Trident United Way and its nonprofit partners within the tri-county area that rely on volunteers and donors to make our community a better place for all of us to live.” Their third annual Battle of the Bands blowout is set for Thurs. Oct. 2 at the Music Farm (32 Ann Street).

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Have you ever seen an orthopedic surgeon wail on guitar or maybe a physicist go all out with a drum solo? Probably not. If this sounds intriguing to you then you are in for a treat at the Trident United Way’s "Battle of the Bands: Professionals Division" event. Bands comprised of practically every profession from lawyers to executive assistants will compete against each other and showcase some underground talent from the Lowcountry.

Some groups are already active in the scene, but others have formed, practiced, and came up with killer names just for the event. Each band, as a requirement to battle, has chosen a partner organization with which to complete a volunteer program or tour of their facility. Not only will there be entertainment, food, and drinks, but the Trident United Way will be raising awareness about their work and other non-profits that rely on volunteers and donors. Bring your business card and network with some of Charleston’s finest businessmen while watching a rocking live show. It’s the best of both worlds.

The complete lineup includes Rocky Mountain Oysters, The Average Savage, Skye Paige & The Original Recipe, Hoekstra, Gross Negligence, On the Hunt (last year's winner), Hundred Hands Down, Blue Moon Union, Headrush, TWS & Friends, The Bandicoots, Henry’s Attic, and Help! Admission is $10 and music starts at 6 p.m.

—Kelly Stroup / T. Ballard Lesemann

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Drummer Earl Palmer — an inventive and influential New Orleans veteran who relocated to Southern California in the mid 1950s — died in Los Angeles on Sept. 19 at the age of 84.

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A session man on recordings of such shuffly rock ’n’ roll classics as Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin,’” Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” Eddie Cochran’s “Somethin’ Else,” and Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” Palmer provided the swing, syncopation, and downbeats that inspired generations of drummers in the R&B, soul, rock, and jazz world. According to his biography, Backbeat: Earl Palmer’s Story, by Tony Scherman (published in 1999), he “considered himself a jazz drummer who struck lucky.

There's great photographic and video footage of Palmer on the web site www.DrummerWorld.com — the video clips show him executed a few signature rhythm patterns, including the beats to "I'm Walkin" and the rhumba-based beat for "The Tipitina."

Longtime Charleston act The Blue Dogs — a skillful rock/roots band with loyal fans who consistently vote them tops in City Paper’s “Best Local Band” category — celebrate their 20th year together this month. Known for their twangy original tunes, respectfully-rendered bluegrass traditionals, and heartfelt harmonies, guitarist/lead vocalist Bobby Houck and upright/electric bassist Hank Futch have been the core of the Dogs since the beginning. The band has stayed quite busy for the last two years, touring behind their recent studio album, Halos & Good Buys, and their new DVD, Live at the House of Blues (shot at the Myrtle Beach venue).

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Tonight’s presidential debate — the first of three scheduled events — may or may not feature the Republican and Democratic party nominees (we hear today than Sen. John McCain is likely to show up after all, who know?). But they will exclude all so-called third party candidates — from the Greens to the Libertarians.

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While he probably doesn’t have a Slurpee’s chance in hell in earning enough votes in the general election to put him on the board with more than a few percentage points, it seems one of his main goals this year is to take aim at the two-party system’s anti-democratic control on the election process — from ballot access to the televised debates. He has promoted his progressive agenda with the hopes of encouraging citizens to organize, vote, and take part in the democratic process. He has supported and applauded all “third party” candidates in their efforts.

On the McCain/Obama events of this week, Nader stated in a Thursday press release: “The fact that a candidate can call for changing the date of the debate only two days before it is scheduled indicates how easy it would be for the candidates to also call for the inclusion of the leading third party and independent candidates, which would bring fresh ideas to the table on how our country can most effectively tackle this heavy economic challenge, starting with curbing our imperialist foreign policy.”

Nader’s recent memoir Crashing the Party: Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender told his side of the controversial 2000 presidential campaign and took aim at the two-party system and its tightly-gripped control of presidential debates.

For years, the presidential debates were run independently by the League of Women Voters, who held a threshold of five percent in a number of polls. Participating in the general election debates, third party candidates John Anderson (in 1980) and Ross Perot (in 1992 and 1996) both increased their poll numbers after appearing with the two major party candidates. The current “criteria” virtually assures the exclusion of any third party candidate.

Formed in 1987, the Commission on Presidential Debates describes itself as a “nonprofit, nonpartisan, corporation.” The Commission’s 2008 “candidate selection criteria” determines who is invited to participate in the general election debates. In addition to being constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on “a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote of the electoral college, and have 15 percent support in national polls before the debates.”

“We believe in opening up the presidential debates,” Nader said at press conference in Columbia in July. “We believe in the sovereignty of the people over the sovereignty of the corporations. That means, corporations as a legal entity should not have the same rights as real human beings like you and me. The corporate as an entity don’t vote, it doesn’t have children, and it doesn’t die in Iraq.”

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Nader’s campaign official got on the general election ballot in S.C. in July. To qualify to appear on South Carolina’s ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 10,000 registered voters.

“Ballot access obstruction for third party candidates is a tragic scandal in the United States,” Nader said at the same press conference. “No other country in the Western world obstructs candidates, as well as voters, in so many ways than do the various state laws — from voting or being on the ballot giving voters a bigger choice of candidates — than does our country.”

“I’ve always subscribed to the proposition that you have to keep fighting,” he added. “If you keep losing … in the process of losing, you’re building for the future a greater public awareness of the need for political, economic reform in our country. We are attracting a lot of young people who are going to be the leaders of the future with political skills for putting an aggressive agenda for the choice of voters on ballot after ballot. My father taught me a long time ago that when you’re up against heavy odds — if you don’t resist the challenge, the situation gets worse. The alternative is surrender, and that’s not an unacceptable alternative. We’re putting our agenda in front of the American people. If they go for the least worst between the two parties, that’s their choice. They’ll grumble and rumble for the next four years. But if they want to send a message to the two parties — and they can certainly do that here in South Carolina — we would welcome their help and support.”

Nader will make an appearance tonight (Fri. Sept. 26 at 11 p.m. EST, with reruns on Sat. and Sun. nights) on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, alongside actor Tim Daly, commentator Lisa Schiffren, comedian Chris Rock, and reporter Ron Suskind.

Fans of early-era R&B and rock 'n' roll might wanna catch this elegant show: Wilson Williams & His Platters are scheduled to headline a special fund-raiser concert at the Charleston Music Hall (37 John Street, 843-853-2252) on Sat. Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.

The original Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and quickly found success in the mid-’50s with vocalist Tony Williams and young female vocalist Zola Taylor. In 1955, “Only You” became The Platters’ first gold hit record. They enjoyed a string of 16 gold records and attained international fame for their sweet ballads and harmonies.

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They’ll play such classics such as “The Great Pretender,” “Twilight Time,” and “My Prayer,” among others. A portion of the proceeds from this concert will benefit North Charleston High School and will be utilized to “fund the cost of field trips and other educational ventures that students would normally have to forgo.”