Shhh! There's a disco going on ...

There's no chance Nick Jenkins' CD release party on Aug. 26 will be shut down because of too much noise.

The Charleston drummer and visual artist is set to unveil "8 Bits + Pieces" at Hope and Union Coffee Co., a growing concern in the burgeoning Midtown neighborhood of peninsula Charleston.

The cops might as well go get a Jazzy Pizza at Dell'z on Cannon Street or a pastry at WildFlour on Spring Street.

You see, the party is a silent disco. That's right, silent disco. Attendees are being asked to bring headphones. It'll be the only way you can hear Nick's new music.

"It will be very, very quiet," Nick told me with his famous, tongue-in-cheek humor.

The retort conjures up images of his well-known, ear-to-ear smile.

The idea for the party, which is free but you have to bring your own headphones, organically evolved from Nick's relationship with John Vergel de Dios, co-owner of H&U with his wife, Harper Poe.

The renovated Charleston house at 199 St. Philip St. is an increasingly popular spot for creative people of, it seems, every ilk, including entrepreneurs. It features single origin coffees with each cup hand crafted.

Nick started hanging out there about six months ago, looking for a comfortable place to work and network with interesting, perhaps like-minded, people.

Nick said, "I asked Hope and Union to host it because I like hanging out there and I'm usually doing work there anyway. The staff is great and they provide a very relaxed atmosphere. I felt that it would be perfect for what I wanted to do, which is to have some people listen to some songs I wrote."

John describes his early interaction with Nick:

"I remember him coming in and ordering a coffee and closely observing our process. He then sat down for an hour or so to do some work.

"On his way out, he handed me an envelope with an illustration of the actual envelope on the table where he was sitting and enclosed was a CD labeled 'Mr. Jenkins.' I really appreciated that and knew that there was something about Nick."

There's plenty about Nick.

He illustrates children's books, creates posters for rock shows, does the occasional "zine," personal calendars, T-shirt designs, album art, stationary and commissions.

He plays in many working bands, too.

"I am somewhat capable of 'swinging' on the drums. I love playing drums. It's my professional instrument. I am somewhat comfortable playing songs on a guitar. ... My piano skills are elementary, but I know where all the notes are.

Sam Sfirri, a jazz pianist and a barista at H&U, later told John that Nick was an "esteemed musician and artist." Sam gives John piano lessons.

John, who has a strong background in art direction and design, went on, "He soon became a regular, and on occasion, he would leave illustrations for 'the mouse,' Jeska, one of our baristas, and I noticed that Nick had a very consistent and distinct illustration style that I really liked, sort of resembling Wes Anderson's.

"So I asked him if he was interested to be commissioned to do our first series of limited edition Hope and Union T-shirt graphics."

Nick, who will turn 27 on the day of the party,

produced about a dozen images for the project, including one of G-Unit, John's car, that's shown with this column.

The naming of the car reveals a bit about the personality of John and Harper as well as their friends and the shop.

"In hip-hop culture, the term 'G' can be construed as a title of endearment or status quo. But in our case, 'G' actually stands for grocery or granny. Our 'whip' is a 1984 Mercedes-Benz station wagon and is our most prized mode of transportation at H&U. The G-Unit is usually spotted on the Ravenel Bridge running slow but smooth on the way to Whole Foods for organic milk and fruit runs."

On one of his sojourns at H&U, Nick drew G-Unit, complete with a cup of coffee that John left on the top as he drove off.

The two renaissance men also play in a garage band together.

John, 34, and Harper, 32 and owner of Proud Mary, a crafts business, came to Charleston in 2008 from Brooklyn, N.Y. and opened H&U in November 2009.

John, who surfs, helped build out the jazzy shop, including making the wooden furniture.

A big part of the attraction for folks is the clean, airy interior design of the sky blue and white store. There's a warm, open vibe that's reinforced by the layout and openess of the place. Not much stress to be felt.

The ambience is soft. Nick has a soft, quiet approach to his art.

He said of the new CD, "I like composing/recording music. I like listening to music in headphones, too. The songs on this album were written with the idea that I probably wouldn't be playing them live any time in the near future, but I still wanted to share the music with other people. There also aren't very many venues in Charleston (sadly) that struck me as capable or welcoming to the idea of a silent disco. I am not a DJ."

I've heard some of the music on the CD. It's definitely avant garde, but not random. It would probably fit in the new music category. Unlike a lot of music in that genre, there's discernible rhythmic patterns, melodies and harmonies.

The party starts at 7:30 p.m.

Nick said, "The start time is pretty strict." It will be broken down like this:

The album is just under 30 minutes long. There will be three different "sessions." Hopefully, the album will be played three times in it's entirety. So, 7:30, 8 and 8:30, ending at 9.

"The music on the CD is mostly programmed music, electronic drum and keyboard loops and sequences.," he says. "Other than that, I sing, play melodica, glockenspiel, percussion and keyboard. There is one additional violin track on a tune called 'Lovenest' by my friend Erin McKinley. I used a program called Reason and one called GarageBand. Oh, and there is a laugh track by some friends of mine from Asphalt Orchestra called 'This Guy.'

"Limited hard copies of the album will be sold for $15 at the show, as well as code cards for digital download of the album for $8. The only admission is that you arrive on time, bring some headphones, and keep any noise to a minimum."

John likes his music a lot. "I'm currently working on a storyboard for a 15- to 30-second TV spot for Hope and Union with director Gene Nazarov from New York," he says. "We plan to use an instrumental version of Nick's 'This Guy' track."

Nick's personality comes through the music he composed. John sees him as reserved, calm, collected.

He believes Nick is a "multi-faceted musician and has a vast knowledge in all genres of music and it certainly shows in his musical explorations. I would describe the album as being primarily electronic-based."

He thinks it would appeal to people who have an appreciation of the traditional pop song format but also appreciate a more abstract approach.

"His sound and melodies incorporate elements of electronica, techno, jazz and folk music with live instrumentation."

There are enough elements to Nick's art that it would probably mean different things to different people.

By the way, Nick just completed a little tour of New York, where he played Lincoln Center with Asphalt Orchestra, a street marching band, and London.

He left a little something, an art work and a song, on his website for the bartenders at the Huxton, a place he describes as a very fancy bar in East London that has "very fine cups of coffee.

Check out all of Jenkins' stuff at paperjenkins.com.

His art is eclectic, just like the neighborhood.

And like the neighborhood, it's full of promise. I wouldn't be surprised if many more projects like this one sprout there. The grass-roots flavor of the area can only bring positive change.

John said, "I love the overall progressive and creative vibe in this neighborhood and there is so much support from the community and other local businesses. Everyone is really devoted to making it better. I feel like there is always something new popping here.

"Some of my favorite spots in Charleston are here: Hominy Grill, Sugar, Trattoria Luca, D'Allessandro's, Dell'z and two of Charleston's esteemed design firms, Stitch and Fuzzco are here. So it's just a matter of time till it catches on."

I hang out around the corner at Jazz Artists of Charleston's Jazz House, at the corner of St. Philip and Cannon streets. John's right.

In fact, I think it's already caught on.

Reach Jack McCray at jackjmccray@aol.com.