Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

A different kind of Fourclosure

A couple of Realtors in Pawleys Island don't leave the real estate business far behind when they join friends in the evenings.

About five years ago, the colleagues teamed with two others and started a band. Its name changed each week until a member of another band suggested the Fourclosures. The name stuck.

There "was not all the hoopla about foreclosed properties back then," said Don Thomas, who plays guitar and sings in the band, and is the broker-in-charge at Vintage Estates Realty.

"We created the band and had the name a long time ago and it was just for fun and it just seemed to fit in with us being Realtors and all."

Thomas works with Robbie Buice, who is the drummer, at Vintage Estates. The other band members, Bruce Braynard, who plays bass, and David Lacombe, who sings and plays the harmonica, flute and saxaphone, are not Realtors.

All four have been playing music for years, and the band rarely rehearses, but plays classic rock, beach music and blues music that they all know.

"What's better to do for a job than play music and eat and drink for free?" Lacombe asked. For Baynard, playing with the band at the various regular or private gigs is relaxing, he said.

The band members acknowledge that the name has some humor in it.

"Now if someone sees us playing, they think they can get a good deal on a building," joked Buice.

Once a venue where they were playing misspelled the band's name on the sign out front and worried customers came in asking if the place was going out of business. They were more careful with the spelling after that, he said.

Thomas said they did briefly consider changing the name because they are sensitive to all those going through the foreclosure process, but decided to stick with it.