I’ve wanted to do a column on music for awhile now, but for a long time my doubts about the quality of the local music scene stopped me from pulling the trigger.

I always assumed that despite the many places to play here, all the stages were filled with karaoke DJs, dinner music-playing pianists and cookie cutter cover bands.

Maybe it’s just that I’m getting older — closing in on 30 and having spent more time changing diapers than going out to bars and coffeehouses recently. But I really hadn’t heard much original music in my four years here to warrant recognition.

I guess all I had to do open was my ears and listen.

When I started to ask around about what people were listening to, I was hoping to get a few local offerings to throw in with the tons of great national acts I’ve stumbled upon online. Surprisingly, almost everyone I talked to was able to recommend a band they had heard somewhere around town.

It turns out there is actually plenty of original music being made right here on the Grand Strand. You just have to know where to look.

So I did some searching, using that all-knowing lexicon of excessive information known as the Internet, and created last week’s piece featuring as many local artists as possible while still trying to represent various genres.

From this, I got a wave of response far beyond what I had expected, giving me an even larger selection of local acts to choose from this week.

So let me continue to pay homage to a local music scene that I greatly underestimated. Here’s another dose of great local tracks that can be found online:

Neff
‘4 Tha Hood’
www.neffnation.com
www.neffworking.com
myspace.com/neffmuzik

When it comes to “Social Neffworking” - the way he prefers to refer to promoting his music online — Myrtle Beach-based rapper Neff, seems to really get it.

The only numbers that rival the ways to find him online seem to be the number of titles this multi-talented man carries. His Twitter page (@Neffworking) describes Neff as a “Full-Time Graphic Designer, Artist, Blogger, Engineer, Liaison for The Niche Carolina Magazine and CEO of HotZone Studios.” With all that going on, it’s a wonder he still manages to put out music at all. But he does in the form of a constant stream of mixtapes and online-exclusive tracks, all of which he shares via his blog at Neffworking.com.

The Latino rapper brings a smooth flow and street sensibilities to his rhymes, and often infuses a Spanglish flavor into his songs. One such track, “Fuego” features a great Latin beat and noteworthy lyrics including the line “I love my Latin roots/ Wouldn’t trade it for the world/Just ask Mark Sanford who’s got the best girls.”

In addition, Neff does his best to help carry the torch for hip-hop in the Carolinas, being nominated for many regional “best artist” awards and never missing an opportunity to rep Myrtle Beach such as in his latest single “4 Tha Hood.”

On These Airwaves
‘Tin Can’
www.ontheseairwaves.com

This 6-piece collective of Myrtle Beach musicians talks of themselves as a “musical brew consisting of vintage spices” with a modern garnish. The description seems to fit their multi-layered style well, as most of their album “Sunset Provisions” features classic melodies and acoustic guitars playing side-by-side with splashes of electric guitar and vocal elements reminscent of more modern alternative bands such as Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam.

“Tin Can” is the perfect example of this with its vocal harmonies melding seamlessly with the laid back feel of the guitars and piano which provide the song’s backing track. In addition to a free download of “Tin Can,” the band’s site also features the song’s lyrics, samples of all 10 of “Sunset Provisions” tracks and a link to buy physical or digital copies of the album online.

SharkLegs
‘Sidewalk Dave’
myspace.com/thesharklegs

I know this may not sound like a compliment, but trust me, it is. If I were ever going to be a professional wrestling manager, I would want to be called Sidewalk Dave and use this hard rock band’s eponymous track as my entrance music.

This song details a “man about town” in a sort of toungue-in-cheek manner which makes it supremely entertaining while rocking hard enough to be worth listening to well after the lyrical novelty has worn off. It almost reminds me of a moden day “Blitzkreig Bop” by The Ramones infused with the hair metal bravado of a Motley Crue or Kings X.

The song itself can be downloaded as part of “Brian Lea McKenzie’s Music Factory Compilation.1” at nomorestarsrecords.com, but also check out the band’s page as songs such as the upbeat “Too Young to Die” and the theatrical “Radiate” are also worth a listen.

Duane Lee Proctor
‘If I Had My Way’
jamwave.com/duaneleeproctor

What do you get when you cross a coal miner’s daughter with a cotton farmer’s son? Apparently it’s 2008 International Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year Duane Lee Proctor.

Like any good country curmudgeon, Proctor has a long and varied past that, according to his website, includes singing with a successful rock group called Peacemachine — which scored several Billboard top forty hits in the 70s - and spending years as a cop and private detective before returning to his Americana roots.

The Nashville-based, Myrtle Beach-raised singer-songwriter brings an attitude to his music reminscent of country greats such as Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr. and George Jones, all of whom serve as inspiration for one of his more memorable tracks simply titled “Hank Haggard & Jones.” His signature track “If I Had My Way” (available as a free download with about 20 other songs) is a feel-good anthem which mixes his heartfelt lyrics with an instantly recognizeable classic country sound and a hook which is sure to get stuck in your head.

End of Story
‘Forever Onward’
myspace.com/endofstorymb

This band of Myrtle Beach metalheads consist mostly of high school students looking to make their mark on the local music scene. While they may be young, if musical intensity was measured in booksmarts, End of Story would surely be reading at a college level with their “Fate” EP.

“Forever Onward” - and for that matter, all of their songs available online — assaults the eardrums with an angst only a group of teens can provide and keeps up the hardcore attitude from the first note, pounding through with gut busting vocals and a suprising amount of variation and composition.

For those who’d like to experience the full blast of their sonic circus, check them out live at The Basement Jan. 23 with Call This Tragedy, Elyon and The Right Wing Conspiracy beginning at 8 p.m.