INsite Atlanta December 2020 Issue

DECEMBER 2020

C

9 YEARS! 2 G N I T ELEBRA

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 29, NO. 5 FREE

Vanessa Williams Chubby Checker

Holiday Issue

Plus Our Music Year in Review

TV

CONTENTS • DECEMBER 2020 • VOLUME 29, NO. 5

Station Streaming

CRIME DOESN’T PAY 29 R AT I N G CELEB

BY BENJAMIN CARR

YEARS!

I

T’S NEVER WISE TO RETURN TO THE scene of a crime when you’re a criminal.

But when you’re a viewer of the many new and unfolding mysteries that have hit the airwaves, it’s a lot of fun to puzzle out crimes every week. And when the suspects are particularly engaging, you end up with damn fine television.

Atlanta’s

Entertainment Monthly

INTERVIEWS 04 Vanessa Williams 08 Fannie Flagg 10 Chubby Checker 11 Janie Fricke

04

FEATURES

The Undoing

05 Holiday Lights 06 Holiday Dining 07 Gift Guide 08 Season Celebrations 12 Best Albums of 2020 14 Adult Gift Guide

08

THE UNDOING (HBO)

With the conclusion of this prestige HBO miniseries just airing, it is now possible to stream the entire six-episode mystery all at once to figure out “Who Killed Elena Alves?”

For those viewers who tuned in every week to see what would happen to therapist Grace or her doctor husband Jonathan, played

by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, The Undoing provided lots of good twists and a satisfying conclusion.

In episode one, Grace has a seemingly perfect life, which savvy viewers know can’t possibly be the case. By the end of the first hour, a mom at their son’s private school has been savagely beaten to death, and Jonathan is nowhere to be seen. Cracks begin to appear in his story, suggesting that he’s been having an affair with the dead woman, and the police suspect that he and his family are hiding clues to the mystery.

Based upon the Jean Hanff Korelitz novel You Should Have Known, The Undoing was written by David E. Kelley and directed by Susanne Bier. And in addition to Kidman and Grant, great performances from Donald Sutherland, Edgar Ramirez, Lily Rabe and child actor Noah Jupe help carry this series, which gets better as it goes along.

10

COLUMNS 02 Station Streaming 03 Atlanta on a Dime

11

09 Albums

insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Steve Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com Art Director / Web Design Nick Tipton nick@insiteatlanta.com Managing Editor Lee Valentine Smith lee@insiteatlanta.com Local Events Editor Marci Miller marci@insiteatlanta.com Music Editor John Moore john@insiteatlanta.com

Contributing Writers / Interns: Alex. S. Morrison, Dave Cohen, Benjamin Carr, Demarco Williams Advertising Sales Steve Miller (404) 308-5119 • ads@insiteatlanta.com MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 76483 Atlanta, GA 30358

Big Sky

WEBSITE • insiteatlanta.com Editorial content of INsite is the opinion of each writer and is not necessarily the opinion of INsite, its staff, or its advertisers. INsite does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor do the publisher or editors of INsite assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. No content, i.e., articles, graphics, designs and information (any and all) in this publication Vanessa may be reproduced in any manner without written Williams Chubby permission from publisher.

DECEMBER 2020

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 29, NO. 5 FREE

S! TING 29 YEAR CELEBRA

Checker

© Copyright 2020, Be Bop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Please see our Holiday Dining and Gift Guides on pages 6 & 7!

PG 2 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

Holiday Issue

Plus Our Music Year in Review

BIG SKY (ABC)

Original network promos for Big Sky suggested that the new series would have a bit of a Twin Peaks flavor. Some girls are missing in a weird, small community full of secrets.

But, unlike the wild Laura Palmer mystery that began in the 1990s, Big Sky is a lot more grounded in reality with more relatable characters, but still full of some shocks.

Also written by David E. Kelley, Big Sky was developed from a series of novels by C.J. Box

about a Montana detective agency Dewell & Hoyt, primarily using the book The Highway for its initial mystery.

Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt, played

by Kylie Bunbury and Ryan Phillippe, are having a lot of trouble when we first meet them. To the chagrin of Cody’s ex-cop wife Jenny, played by Katheryn Winnick, the two detectives have started sleeping together.

And the affair drives a wedge between the three of them very quickly.

Meanwhile, Cody and Jenny’s son expects his girlfriend to visit for the school break.

But when she and her sister don’t show up after some car trouble, the detectives do their best to track down what happened to the girls, even reaching out to a kindly highway patrolman named Rick, played by John Carroll Lynch. And everyone gets wrapped up in the mystery.

Unlike Twin Peaks, though, we find out what happens to the girls as it occurs.

We meet trucker Ronald, played by Brian Geraghty, who has been kidnapping women in his big rig. We see his twisted family, and we come to understand why he grew up to be a monster.

As it unfolds Big Sky proves to be a lot more than it seems. It’s worth checking out.

The Flight Attendant

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT (HBO Max)

Kaley Cuoco is known for comedy. In The Big Bang Theory, she was the silly party girl blonde Penny, and she was a lot of fun. Her new character Cassie Bowden is just as fun and a hundred times messier in this HBO Max show based upon the thriller by Chris Bohjalian.

Cassie is nearly always drunk and rarely spends a night alone, no matter where her job takes her in the world. In the pilot episode, she hooks up with a hot passenger named Alex (Michiel Huisman) for one night in Bangkok, yet she wakes up the next day with his bloody corpse. She was so wasted the night before, she can’t remember a thing.

And then she makes a billion boneheaded, hilarious mistakes. She cleans up the hotel room, takes a shower, tells the maid that Alex is fine and then she flees the scene of the crime and returns to her plane.

By the time her flight lands she’s already wanted for questioning by the FBI. She has started hallucinating full conversations with Alex in her head and Alex tells her that she may remember more about the murder than she’s willing to admit.

Throughout the episodes, Cuoco’s depiction of trauma is both believable and hilarious.

Her every move to figure out what happened only makes her look more suspicious.

Developed from the Bohjalian book by former Atlanta playwright Steve Yockey, whose bloody, funny work has regularly appeared at Actors Express, the series also stars Rosie Perez and Michelle Gomez.

Now through February 16, 2021

December 4, 11 and 18

Tickets start at $15; Park Tavern in Piedmont Park; parktavern.com

Downtown Decatur visitdecaturga.com/fabfriday

THE RINK AT PARK TAVERN

EVENTS HAPPENING FOR SMALL CHANGE IN ATLANTA

Know of a low cost event happening? Event@AtlantaOnADime.com

By Marci Miller

Sunday, December 6 at 1:30pm

CHRISTMAS PARADE

On air WSB-TV; choa.org/parade Each year the Children's Christmas Parade transforms Peachtree Street into Santa Claus Lane with floats, giant helium-filled balloons and marching bands to celebrate the season. Children's Christmas is a true Atlanta holiday tradition. Over the past 40 years the parade has grown to be the largest holiday parade in the Southeast and the official beginning of the holiday season in Atlanta.

While there won’t be spectators in bleachers lining Peachtree Street this year, you can still celebrate and support by looking back at favorite moments from past parades and honor our healthcare heroes. A Look Back At 40 Years of the Children’s Christmas Parade will air on WSB-TV on Sunday, December 6 at 1:30pm.

Sunday, December 6 at 6pm

SPARKLE HOLIDAY PARADE

City of Sandy Springs; spr.gs/sparkle e City of Sandy Springs will continue its annual tradition of a holiday Sparkle Village on the City Green and has reimagined

the 2020 Sparkle Parade as a drive-thru experience. is year parade spectators will be the ones moving along the parade route, as parade floats will be set up ornamentally around the City Green, Galambos Way, and Mount Vernon Highway. Attendees will drive through a winter wonderland complete with snow, music, elves, and even a visit from Santa Claus himself! is festive re-envisioning of the Sparkle Parade will provide an opportunity for the residents of Sandy Springs and surrounding areas to enjoy the event without having to worry about social distancing and crowds.

Now Through January 28, 2021

SKATE THE STATION

Cost $15 includes skate rental Atlantic Station; atlanticstation.com

e Rink at Park Tavern Powered by Pepsi Zero is back! Atlantans and visitors alike can embrace the magic and nostalgia of the holiday season now through Presidents Day, February 15, 2021. A beloved annual tradition, this year, guests of all ages are invited to enjoy a new theme at e Rink at Park Tavern Powered by Pepsi Zero, A Miracle on 10th Street. Setting the scene, a winter wonderland featuring an abundance of festive and kitschy decor, makes for unforgettable experiences and Instagrammable moments seven days a week. Holiday cheer promises to be abound with an array of seasonal cocktails served in playful glassware, delicious fare, special events, all day skate sessions, themed skate nights, cozy fire pits, and much more.

DECATUR FAB FRIDAYS Wear your mask and shop curbside storefronts, parking-lot pop-ups and an openair tent market on the plaza. Dine on the sidewalk and in the streets. Unwind in tucked-away beer gardens and back patios.

Get table-service at your favorite local restaurant or take your take-out to pop-up seating on East Court Square. Look for "fab" deals as Decatur retailers and restaurants partner up to support each other.

Get your holiday shopping done early and get a gift! When you spend $200 with City of Decatur retailers on FAB Fridays receive a $20 gift card to a local Decatur restaurant. (Restrictions apply.) Masks are mandatory for all patrons except while eating. Hand sanitizing stations will be provided. Tents and tables will be appropriately socially distanced.

THE RINK AT PARK TAVERN

Now through Feb. 16 Piedmont Park parktavern.com

Skate the Station returns to Atlantic Station, just in time for the holiday season!

Skate beneath the stars and skyscrapers at the largest outdoor ice rink in the Southeast.

Tickets available online, in advance only.

Timed ticketing and other safety protocols will be adhered to. Weather permitting. Stay up to date on Atlantic Station’s social media for any adjusted hours.

RECEIVE UPDATED EVENTS WEEKLY. SIGN UP BY EMAILING SUBSCRIPTIONS@ATLANTAONADIME.COM ENTER ON THE SUBJECT LINE: SIGN ME UP INSITE!

insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 3

MUSIC

FROM THE BIG APPLE TO PEACHTREE ST.

Vanessa Williams Celebrates Theater in a Livestream Event to Benefit The Fox with me forever - along with my musical director Rob Mathes. It’ll be more intimate, but we will do some pop stuff, too. As an extra treat, I think we’ll have a few surprises, a few holiday favorites and even a Q and A while we’re live. I don’t even know how we’ll do that yet, but it will be interactive. All the participating theaters are fantastic so it’ll be something new and something different for me and everyone involved.

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

HE MOST RECENT PERFORMANCE by the multi-faceted Vanessa Williams was a benefit for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at their posh 2018 Gala.

This month she returns - albeit virtually - for a performance to benefit a select number of theaters nationwide, including Atlanta’s Fabolous Fox. The oft-lauded singer-actor-author-activist is a veritable renaissance person of the arts The virtual shows keep viewers entertained, with a resume that includes Broadway, film, but what motivates you to continue to television, pop and jazz recordings. The arts perform when you could just wait out the advocate is a staunch supporter of human pandemic and then get back to business rights and equality. Earlier this year, she when the coast is clear? authored released Bubble It’s my livelihood in so Kisses, a new book and CD many ways. Not having the for children, completed while live shows has really been a on pandemic hiatus from a huge impact on our quality stage show in London’s West of life. So I think these virtual End. Saturday, December 5 opportunities are just so As she continues pre8:00 p.m. crucial to finding a little bit production work on a new of happiness - that silver Livestream Concert album, her current focus is on lining, right? I’ve been lucky foxtheatre.org planning the latest installment to grow up with parents who of the “Live From The West were music educators so the Side” concert series, a third arts has always been a part installment of the Women of Broadway theme of my life, my whole being. What is most shows. For the livestream broadcast from rewarding to me is to be able to move people.

New York’s Shubert Virtual Studios, Williams Of course, people have been moved in many is readying a unique evening of Broadway different ways during this pandemic. The ups showtunes, holiday favorites and a generous and downs, the lows and highs have been selection of her own popular hits. tremendous. But the common denominator The Fox Theater is one of 24 performing that brings us together is music. So this is arts centers taking part in the limited internet not only a distraction, it allows me to be able series. A portion of ticket sales will benefit to do what I love to do. It’s a very necessary the legendary Atlanta venue and aid the other part of our lives. I’m lucky to even have the participating auditoriums. To discuss the opportunity to be on stage in these times. So event, Williams invited press from around it’s an honor to be able to reach the audience the country for a cozy Zoom meeting. INsite in a theater but with the streaming shows, to was one of 39 national outlets represented on reach a much broader audience as well. the call.

VANESSA WILLIAMS

Since most theaters are dark and shows are postponed until at least next year, how are you handling the downtime? Do you miss the live experience?

I do. This will actually be the fourth time I’ve been able to perform during the pandemic. I did the Capitol Fourth in Washington in July, then I was back in D.C. to open the Kennedy Center with Renee Fleming and now this. I also did a PBS tribute show in honor of Ella Fitzgerald which will air later this month. So I’m actually one of the lucky ones to still be able to perform with live musicians during this time. Especially now, it’s wonderful to be able to sing for people. And everything was by strict protocol, very thorough. But no matter what, I’m happy to be able to bring my artistry to people, to maybe be a distraction from the mayhem that has been 2020. This is a great series to be a part of and I know [fellow Women Of Broadway series stars] Patti LuPone and Laura Benanti.

The Atlanta audience saw you last in symphonic mode with the ASO, but how does this show differ from your standard orchestral set?

I’ll still be doing my Broadway material, including some Stephen Sondheim, but I couldn’t squeeze in something from Kiss of the Spiderwoman because that’s really a huge orchestral score. It doesn’t really translate to the band we’ll have on stage with us. I won’t have my full band for this one, but I will have one background singer - Shelly Thomas, a Broadway gal herself and she’s been touring PG 4 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

The format will allow for a much more intimate experience.

Absolutely. I think it’ll allow people to not only get to know me a little bit better, but also my band that I’ve played with for over twentyfive years now. With this format, people can ask questions about the songs and how they came to be, what are my favorites and just know us all as real people instead of a band on a stage from a distance. I’m excited about it, really.

As we speak, Broadway is indefinitely shut down. As a veteran of the stage, what are your thoughts on the closure?

When all this started, I was in the West End in London, preparing a production of City Of Angels. Broadway had closed down the week before. We knew it was imminent that we’d have to close, too but we hung on for another week. People had cancelled their plans and schedules to be a part of it and it was a major undertaking. When we closed, it felt like the rug was pulled out from under us. When you plan a show a show, you plan for nine months or a year - so it was a big disappointment.

Did any new projects arise from the depressing ashes of the closings?

I’ve been fortunate to be one of the founders of Black Theater United. So many talented friends from all aspects of theater have formed this incredible bond. We basically galvanized on the heels of George Floyd. That was really the straw that broke the camel’s back. We knew we needed to do something.

So a group of us started Black Theater United

– which includes director Kenny Leon – and we are working toward diversity, not only on Broadway but also across theaters and across the country. Not only on stage and in programming but behind the stage and in staffing, too. I’m happy to say we are making headway. It’s been exciting because we’ve helped with census and voter registration and so much more. So out of our being idle and not being able to work, we’ve really been able to come together to make change. We’ve seen real change already and we’ve seen changes in hiring. We’ve hosted summits and we’ve talked about the fact that some people aren’t even aware that there’s been discriminatory acts and retaliatory actions. There’s a lot of levels and a lot of different issues but we are in the thick of it and we are here to stay. I think that’s been the best thing that has come out of this incredible time.

As you said, the nature of the livestream turns what would be a one-off affair for a few thousand people into a worldwide event. How does it feel to be on such an unlimited platform?

It’s wonderful. With a live show, every performance is different and every audience is different, so you get that immediate energy.

For this show, it’ll just be me and my band onstage. Six pieces or so because of the regulations. I know it’ll be a different type of energy because we will be playing to an empty house. But the fact that we’ll have the question-and-answer section incorporated into the evening, I think it will allow the audience to see it virtually and to be a more intimate part of the night than ever before.

It’ll be different, it’ll be unique and I’m really looking forward to it. When Laura did her show, we texted back and forth about it - and she loved it. It’ll be a more intimate evening than my usual shows but in many ways it’s a much broader experience for me, my band and most importantly the audience. It’s like, we all are touched when I sing “The Sweetest Days.” That was written for my children, and no matter what’s happening you can relate to being a part of a family and holding on those moments. So the ultimate message is unity and commonality and the best way to bring that message to everyone is with music.

HOLIDAY

HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAYS GARDEN LIGHTS, HOLIDAY NIGHTS Atlanta Botanical Garden Through January 16 Atlantabotanicalgarden.org

STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS

Stone Mountain Park Through January 3 StoneMountainPark.com

pictures with Santa and/or Mrs. Claus. The Christmas parade (which features special appearances by the Snow Angel and the Clauses) as well as the snowfall and fireworks display closes out the nightly celebration.

buy your tickets early to choose your desired time slot. This is a COVID-safe event where you aren’t permitted to get out of your car and tickets can be scanned through your

ATLANTA FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Life University, Marietta Through December 31 Life.edu Lights of LIFE is an annual holiday tradition that was started by Life University and dates back to 1989. The 65 foot tall rendition of Santa and his sleigh is the tallest display in the Southeast. It is a visual treat that the whole family will enjoy. Concessions are available seven days a week. Additional activities will be available during the weekends for a small fee including petting zoo, train rides, pony rides and photos with Santa. Tickets available at Life.edu

Atlantic Station Through January 18 Atlantafestivaloflights.com

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights returns in 2020 with new safety protocols and spectacular lighted sculptures from the blockbuster exhibition, Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined. Alice and the Red Queen join the White Rabbit and Phoenix in a glowing cast of larger-than-life sculptures twinkling with holiday cheer. Nature’s Wonders, the world’s largest choreographed curtain of light and sound, returns with new music and motion. The beloved Ice Goddess is back with new colors in her flowing locks.

The glowing Orchestral Orbs, which dance with color and light to the sounds of festive holiday tunes help make the exhibition a must-see holiday tradition. The exhibition runs nightly through Jan. 16, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, from 5 – 11 p.m.

Atlanta’s most popular tourist attraction is also home to one of the city’s most beloved holiday traditions. During the day you will want to visit Snow Mountain, in which the park’s great lawn is transformed into a snowy wonderland where kids of all ages can go sledding, build igloos and snowmen, have snowball fights and more. As the evening sun fades, Crossroads Village sparkles with over 2 million lights and a gigantic outdoor Christmas tree, while Georgia’s most famous mountainside is lit up by a holiday-themed laser show.

There are also sing-along train rides, storytelling with Mrs. Claus, meet & greets with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, live children’s shows including The Littlest Christmas Tree, A Christmas Carol and more. Kids can visit the Snow Angel in her Snow Palace at Memorial Hall, and pose for

LIGHTS OF LIFE

FANTASY IN LIGHTS The 1st annual Atlanta Festival of Lights is a great way to celebrate the season with friends and family while staying safe in the comfort of your car. Atlanta Beer Festivals, Atlanta Wine Festivals and Atlantic Station have partnered to bring this event to life for the holidays.

You don’t want to miss the beautiful display of hundreds of thousands of lights displayed over six acres of land. It will be held for seven weeks running through Monday, January 18th. The hours are from 6pm through 11pm nightly with the exception of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day when it will be closed.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and are designated for 30 min time slots so be sure to

Callaway Gardens Through January 4 Callawaygardens.com Treat your family to fun filled with holiday cheer with Christmas at Callaway, featuring Fantasy In Lights, one of National Geographic’s Top 10 Light Displays. Fantasy In Lights is a spectacular light and sound show, with 8 million lights, 15 displays, a Christmas village, and Santa Claus at Callaway Gardens. Woodland displays depict such holiday scenes as the March of the Toy Soldiers while two beach scenes with moving lights tell the stories of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Nativity. Visit Callawaygardens.com.

insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 5

HOLIDAY DINING

Catering, Private Parties and Great Holiday Fare at Atlanta Restaurants Agave

242 Boulevard 404.588.0006 agaverestaurant.com

Recognized as one of the Top 100 restaurants in Atlanta and the Best Southwestern Cuisine, Agave is where to celebrate with friends and family over the holidays. Agave has two beautiful dining rooms as well as an enclosed heated patio. The rooms can accommodate parties from 6 guests to 50 and are available for private party bookings. Agave is celebrating the season with an eGift Card Deal. Purchase an Agave eGift Card on their website from now until December 31st and get an extra 20% automatically added to the card for Free!

The Flying Biscuit Cafe’

Candler Park 404.687.8888 Midtown 404.874.8887 flyingbiscuit.com Catering 404.849.2283

The Flying Biscuit’s Midtown and Candler Park (original) locations are ready for the holidays with new dinner and catering menus. Their one of a kind award winning biscuits is the perfect addition to any holiday function. Stop in for breakfast, lunch and dinner or call the catering hotline or visit their website to order for your holiday event.

Chin Chin

3887 Peachtree Rd. 404.816.2229 & Multiple Locations chinchinga.com

Atlanta’s favorite Chinese restaurant since 1998! Their menu offers standard favorites and many exotic dishes in Chinese cuisine at affordable prices. They also offer an assortment of vegetarian dishes, ramen and sushi. Chin Chin Brookhaven is currently open for carryout and delivery. Call ahead and visit their website for full menu and online ordering.

Johnny’s Pizza & Subs

Multiple Metro Area Locations johnnyspizza.com

operated restaurant serving authentic regional dishes like gyros, falafel and kabob sandwiches made to perfection. Plus try their spanakopita, dolmas, amazing humus and fall off the bone lamb shank. Mediterranean Grill's dining rooms are back open and observing social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines. As always, they offer convenient online ordering and free delivery to the area. Individual packaging offered for catering and large orders.

Fat Matt’s Rib Shack

Johnny’s Pizza is the perfect place to bring the family over the holidays. Their menu is affordable and specializes in NY Style pizza, which is thin in the middle and thick around the edges.

Johnny’s offers plenty of specialty pizzas plus subs, salads, sandwiches and other popular Italian dishes including calzones, strombolis and lasagna. Go to their website to find the location nearest you.

Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs Marietta 770.321.1177 Doraville 770.455.8570 baldinos.us

Let Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs take the stress out of catering your holiday party. They have something for everyone from their assortment of famous subs to deli salads by the pound, cookies by the dozen and iced-tea by the gallon. Throw a great event that won’t break the bank.

“It’s always a party when you invite Baldinos.”

Mediterranean Grill

N. Decatur Plaza 404.320.0101; Midtown 404.917.1100; East Cobb 678.996.0045; Athens 706.543.5000 mediterraneangrill.com

Mediterranean Grill is a family / chef-owned and

1811 Piedmont Ave. 404.607.1622 fatmattsribshack.net

Atlanta’s favorite barbecue makes for great catering over the holidays. Fat Matt’s located on Piedmont Rd. between Buckhead and Midtown is wildly popular as they usually have a line out the door. Open for take-out and delivery through UberEats, Postmates and Doordash.

Call ahead for holiday catering at their hotline (678) 521-5607. This holiday season also think of Fat Matt’s for gift cards, their famous bottled sauce and great tshirts.

Landmark Diner

3652 Roswell Rd. 404.816.9090 landmarkdiner.com

Atlanta’s favorite diner offers an expansive menu 24 hours a day.

Landmark is known for their great breakfasts, sandwiches, seafood along with Italian and Greek dishes. This holiday season head to the Buckhead location for a chance to meet the stars. In the back of Landmark Diner’s Buckhead restaurant is the Punchline Comedy Club. Visit them for dinner and see a show all under one roof!

Your Neighborhood Pizzeria!

2020 Holiday eGift Card Deal

20% Added FREE! Touch Free - Hassel Free 20% Added to Every Purchase until Dec. 31

agaverestaurant.com ted Best o V y tl n te is s Con n& Southwester anta!

Atl Margaritas in

Atlanta’s Favorite Pizza!

Multiple Atlanta Locations: JohnnysPizza.com

PG 6 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

HOBNOB

Town Brookhaven 404.464.8971 Perimeter Place 470.395.7904 Alpharetta - Halcyon 470.448.4572 Atlantic Station -Jan 2021; hobnobatlanta.com

CELEBRATE THE SEASON The Alliance Theatre

HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern is a spirited scene for socializing, but the menu of classic, Southern-inspired comfort food, cozy environs and undeniably affable service are truly what account for the tavern’s popularity across Atlanta. Owner Sean Yeremyan opened HOBNOB’s first location in 2010 and has since expanded with three more locations and their fourth, Atlantic Station coming in January.

Eats

A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play; Georgia State Stadium Lots Through December 23 Alliancetheatre.org/christmas

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

600 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404.888.9149 eatsonponce.net

For over 25 years people all over Atlanta have been heading down to Ponce to experience their great jerk chicken and pasta dishes. They are currently take out only and aren’t doing pasta, but they have kept their favorite lasagna. Check website for updates and online ordering.

Holiday Gift Guide CD WAREHOUSE

Duluth 770.623.1552 Kennesaw 770.425.3472 Facebook: cdwarehouseatlanta CD Warehouse is a must stop for holiday gifts as they buy and sell CD, Movie and Vinyl. They offer a great selection of hard to find and new releases like Smashing Pumpkins Cyr. With over 10,000 CD’s you are should find what you are looking for. If not, they will order it for you.

ABBADABBA’S

Little 5 Points 404.588.9577 Buckhead 404.262.3356 East Cobb 770.565.3569 Coolshoes.com Celebrate your individual style this season with Abbadabba’s bold range of boots, shoes, bags and accessories. Come shop at Atlanta’s premier source for innovative comfort footwear.

PSYCHO SISTERS

428 Moreland Ave. • 404.523.0100 Facebook: psychosistersatlanta Nestled in Little 5 Points, Psycho Sisters is a great place to find a unique gift for that funky someone in your life. Their store offers a wide range of hard to find vintage clothes, accessories and fun Christmas sweaters! Let Psycho Sister’s vast selection of every era in fashion and the best personal sales team help you this holiday season.

AGAVE

242 Boulevard • 404.588.0006 agaverestaurant.com Agave is celebrating the season with an eGift Card Deal.

Purchase an Agave eGift Card on their website from now until December 31st and get an extra 20% automatically added to the card for Free!

Joy to the World: A Holiday Brass Spectacular; Virtual Concert available on December 17 at 8pm; aso.org/holidays

Enjoy a festive evening of treasured holiday favorites performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Brass Ensemble.

Associate Conductor Jerry Hou leads members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a program of traditional holiday anthems and fun-filled carols for all ages.

Warm Wishes: A Holiday Celebration Virtual Concert available on December 21 at 8pm; aso.org/holidays

Enjoy the magic of the most wonderful time of the year with classical holiday favorites and beloved carols featuring vocalists Talise Trevigne and Russell Thomas. Both performances will be presented virtually online and is free for current subscribers and virtual members. If you are not a subscriber or member, you may purchase these concerts as a pay-perview option for $20 each. You will have access to the concert for 24 hours after the premiere date.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, the Alliance will produce a new adaptation of the beloved Christmas Carol story that can be enjoyed safely from a car. The Summerhill Lots at Georgia State University’s Center Parc Credit Union Stadium will transform into a drive-in theater, with a stage for live actors and big screens providing an interactive, concertstyle experience. Tickets for A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play are available now and space is limited. Learn more and purchase tickets at alliancetheatre.org/christmas. The rest of the fall/winter 2020 schedule will be available exclusively on the theater’s new platform Alliance Theatre Anywhere.

Miracle at the Fox Theatre

Marquee Club thru December 31 foxtheatre.org

World of Coca-Cola

Holiday Celebration thru January 1 worldofcocacola.com

The most wonderful time of the year has begun at World of Coca-Cola. Now through Jan. 1, the attraction is showcasing its holiday best and welcoming guests into a true winter wonderland. The twinkling lights, largerthan-life decorations and seasonal beverages are all back as part of World of Coca-Cola’s annual celebration. Walk through a 28-foot-tall ornament of lights as holiday-themed CocaCola bottles create the illusion that guests have arrived at the North Pole itself. Savor Scents of the Season and explore the history of the Coca-Cola Santa exhibit. Finish in the beverage lounge along with drinks from around the world.

This month the Fox Theatre is reopening its doors to ring in the holidays. Miracle, a kitschy Christmas-themed pop-up bar, will be activating a safe, one-of-a-kind holiday experience for six weeks in the Fox's Marquee Club presented by Lexus. Holiday surprises abound throughout Miracle to elevate the experience. Such treats include live entertainment, Drag nights with some of Atlanta’s favorite (and fully masked!) performers, and appearances from naughty and nice characters perfect for photo opps, from a safe distance, of course. Patrons can reserve their own socially-distanced table and 90-minute experience. Miracle's famous, holiday-themed cocktail and food menu will also be available for purchase along with fun, Christmas-themed merchandise.

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C E L E B R AT I N G

29 YEARS!

Check out our new website at insiteatlanta.com insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 7

BOOKS

DEEP SOUTH OPERATIVE

Fannie Flagg Celebrates the South – From a Distance

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

P

Congratulations on the new television project with Norman Lear. You’re credited as Executive Producer, right?

Well, I guess so. But I think that’s just a high-falutin’ title for somebody that doesn’t really do much of anything. It’s been in the works for a long time. Maybe three years or so now. Miss Reba is ready but we’ve had so many delays, what with Covid and everything. But it’s definitely coming and it’ll be on NBC.

op culture fans of the ‘60s and ‘70s know Fannie Flagg as an actor and comic - with a ton of TV appearances on variety and game shows as well as a few choice film roles (“Five Easy Pieces,” “Rabbit Test” and “Grease”) on her impressive New York and Californiacentric resume.

Fast forward to the late ‘80s to when she first introduced readers to Idgie, Evelyn, Ninny and the other quirky inhabitants I know you’ve had a long history with CBS of the fictional and decidedly Southern as well - with The New Dick Van Dyke Show locale of Whistle Stop, Alabama. Her bestand Match Game, too. As someone who selling book was Fried Green Tomatoes has worked in the television industry for at the Whistle Stop Café - a concept so so many years, what is the biggest change successful it generated a movie featuring you’ve seen so far?

Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy and Mary I think the biggest change I’ve seen is that Stuart Masterson and a the humor has really gotten cookbook.

I LOVED LIVING IN meaner. What used to be humor As an author, Flagg found NEW YORK AND I is now just really mean insults. her greatest triumphs with an LOVE LIVING HERE The shows have gotten much impressive catalog of books darker, too. I don’t see a lot including The All-Girl Filling IN CALIFORNIA. BUT of really “funny” sitcoms, for Station’s Last Reunion, A THE ONLY THING example. I don’t know if you Redbird Christmas, Welcome I MISS WHEN I’M remember, but when I first went to the World, Baby Girl and to New York, my first job was Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven. NOT THERE, IS THE the Candid Camera show. It Three decades later, she’s PEOPLE OF THE on was a lot of fun back then and revisiting the genial Whistle SOUTH. THERE IS people were so cute and sweet Stop in a wonderfully offA SWEETNESS and they loved to be on TV. But kilter sequel, The Wonder ABOUT SOUTHERN now, I don’t believe you could Boy of Whistle Stop. that show because people PEOPLE THAT I do The new book comes on the are very uptight and suspicious heels of the announcement MISS VERY MUCH. about everything. You put a that her Fried Green camera on people now and they Tomatoes story will be an just get paranoid. What gets to me is that upcoming NBC television series from Americans used to have such a great sense legendary producer Norman Lear, starring of humor about themselves. Now we seem country superstar Reba McEntire. to be going so political about everything.

INsite recently enjoyed a thoroughly I’m really sorry about that. We seem to be enjoyable visit with the charming leaning more toward showing the worst in Birmingham native via phone from her human nature than the best. That makes home in Santa Barbara. me sad. When I was growing up, we’d show the foibles of people but it seems like we There are many endearing Georgia would rather just hurt each other and show references in the new book. Did you have to how bad we are. But for me, that’s not my do any research for this one or were these experience with people. I still find people to destinations already in your head? be very sweet underneath it all. There’s still Oh, they were already in my head, a lot of good in the world. I see good things sweetheart. My grandparents were from going on every day, but it often doesn’t Dalton and I spent a lot of time in Georgia get reported. as I was growing up. We’d go to Calloway Gardens and all over the place. We shouldn’t Another reason Candid Camera doesn’t even print what year it was, but let’s just say really work anymore, is because everyone it was in the ‘60s, I had a television show has a camera. There’s no way to be even in Birmingham. But I wanted to go on to remotely candid. the big time. I wanted to go to Atlanta! So I That’s exactly right, very true. You can’t drove over there and had an audition with even rob a bank anymore without somebody WSB-TV, but I didn’t get the job. So I finally taking your picture! It pretty much changes ended up moving to New York. the whole day that I’d planned after I hang up with you.

So you got the second place award, right?

Was it a culture shock to move to New York Darn that technology. But before we get City from Birmingham? arrested, we should talk about the new It sure was. But the main thing was, the book. It must be a giant challenge to revisit minute I’d open my mouth, people would a story, characters and locations that are make remarks. They’d ask things like where dear to so many readers. was I from. I’d be honest and say I was from It is and I think that’s why it took me Alabama. Then they’d go, ‘Well how old so long to finally do it. For a long time I were you when you first started wearing thought, ‘Well, maybe I should just leave shoes?’ I thought, ‘Well how rude!’ You see, I it alone.’ But it’s like we were talking about was raised, like most good Southern kids, to before - I think people want something try and have some manners. But I do think to read that’s just comforting to them. that might have worked against me in New Something familiar, something that reminds York. Sometimes manners are perceived as a them of some of the good things in life. I weakness, I guess. I had to learn to stand up say that because it was actually something I for myself a little bit up there. was really wanting for myself. I was wanting to go home and go back to a time that felt PG 8 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

really comfortable, completely safe and loving. And then to bring that into the future and create a sort of a ‘going-forward’ story for everybody, that really is a challenge. I wanted to create a new community that, while it won’t ever be the same for any of us, it would still be a close-knit place, which is what I think everybody probably wants and needs right now.

It’s like, as you’ve said in previous interviews, comfort food for a crazy time.

It is and that’s what I wanted to do with this book, to take people away, off to somewhere else. It’s an escape, yes. You know, a while back, I started getting a lot of fan mail. I was like, ‘Well what is that all about?’ What it was, people had been seeing Match Game on reruns on cable. They were looking for something that was comforting to them. Something that wasn’t a big mental challenge, back when people weren’t all angry at each other and all that - it was just good fun television. I thought, ‘Well, I guess we do all need a little entertainment that makes us feel good.’ It was inspiring.

It’s so good to see the repeats of Match Game on Buzzr because I watched it religiously when it was new.

And you know, the thing about that was, it was a good time for us, too. I was good friends with all those people and it was fun. I

look back on it as a lovely time for all of us.

I especially enjoyed the Thursday and Friday shows. (laughs) After we’d had ‘lunch’ and four or five martinis!

Tell us about that experience. It looked so loose and unscripted.

It really was! We’d show up early in the morning and they’d fix our make-up and hair. We didn’t have a script and we didn’t know what was coming. Nobody really worried about anything except having a good time and trying to win some money for the contestants. It was just good, mindless fun.

You sat right next to Richard Dawson most of the time. What was he like?

You know, he pretended to be such a curmudgeon all the time but underneath, he was just a big ol’ baby sweetheart.

On Match Game and throughout your catalog of work, you represent a genteel Southern attitude. Yet you had to move away from the South in order to make your name in the world. Do you think one needs to move away from the South to truly feel its impact - or to understand it as a muse?

Please see FANNIE on page 9

FANNIE continued from page 8

MUSIC

Album Reviews

REVIEWS BY JOHN B. MOORE

Bahamas

Blitzen Trapper

(Brushfire Records) On first impression it would seem from the cover of Bahamas (Afie Jurvanen) fifth record Sad Hunk is an obvious case of false advertising.

The goofy late ‘80s/ early ‘90s school pic vibe, and the Fast Times At Ridgemont font for the title belies the mellow, occasionally melancholy vibe of the songs.

But as anyone who’s listened to his music in the past, inside the placid acoustic strum and laconic delivery, Jurvanen has a knack for writing deceptively sharp, witty lyrics.

Sad Hunk is very much in vein of his earlier efforts. The comparisons to fellow laid back crooner Jack Johnson (whose label has put out Bahamas’ records going back to 2009’s fantastic debut, Pink Strat) are fair to a degree, but he is far from just being a Canadian version of Johnson, mixing in elements of funk, folk and even a little 1990s alt/college rock to his sound.

Themes are domesticity and growing older are all over this record, especially on tracks like “Up With the Joneses” and “Not Cool Anymore”. Much like 2018’s Earthtones, Sad Hunk shows a slight evolution in his style, mainly by adding in influences from various genres, but he still manages to anchor enough of the music to elements, like solidly sweet harmonies that fans have come to rely in.

Songs like the deeply satisfying “Half Your Love,” and “Up With the Joneses” - part dejected, part sanguine - are quintessential Bahamas songs and could fit easily on any of his previous albums.

(Yep Roc Records) Twenty years into it, Portland’s Blitzen Trapper have dipped their toes into everything from Country, Rock, Pop and Folk across 10 records. In 2020 they’ve settled into a solid, comfortably satisfying mix incorporating pretty much all of the above.

Holy Smokes Future Jokes, their first album for Yep Roc, finds the band exploring some trippy themes lyrically, but delivering it in a familiar musical wrapping. Songwriter/frontman Eric Earley drew a lot of inspiration for the songs here from the experimental novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which in turn draws inspiration from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Confused? Regardless the album, much like the surreal novel deals a lot with death, loss and what happens next. The fact that the band can tackle those subjects without the album coming across as weighty and foreboding is simply impressive.

The topics may be heavy, but Blitzen Trapper’s seemingly effortless knack for writing breezy indie pop songs make the themes go down easier. Tracks like “Masonic Temple Microdose #1” and the brisk, catchy title track are clearly standouts. Elsewhere, on the violin-backed lyrically surreal “Dead Billie Jean” or the more serious neo folk of “Bardo’s Light (Ouija, Ouija)” or the Tom Petty-esque closing track “Hazy Morning” the band show how they have managed to keep it creative two decades into it.

With Holy Smokes Future Jokes, Blitzen Trapper are way beyond needing to prove anything to fans and critics. At this point, they’re simply focused on writing good records and it rarely gets better than this one.

Sad Hunk

Geoff Palmer & Lucy Ellis Your Face Is Weird

(Rum Bar Records) As if John Prine weren’t beloved enough, we have him to thank for this stellar new EP from Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis.

As Palmer (of The Connection) tells it, he always wanted to cover Prine’s “In Spite Of Ourselves,” but the song clearly needed a duet partner. He met Lucy Ellis (of Lucy & The Rats) and recruited her for the song. When COVID put the brakes on going out, the two decided to record a few more tracks. The result is the irresistibly addictive Your Face Is Weird, eight tracks of solid fun power pop – including four originals and four covers.

The Prine-penned “In Spite Of Ourselves” is easily the record’s highpoint, because… well John Prine, but there is still plenty of charm to the rest of the tracks here thanks to the mix of Palmer and Ellis’s vocals. Zack Sprague also does a commendable job on drums and the occasional guitar. The duo covers Sam Cooke’s “Having A Party,” Kirsty MacColl’s “They Don’t Know About Us” and a fantastic version of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.”

The four originals are all decent songs but not nearly as fun as the covers. Chalk Your Face Is Weird as one of the few great things to come out of the COVID lockdowns.

Holy Smokes Future Jokes

I think that’s right. When you’re in the middle of something, often you don’t appreciate the good things around you. When you leave, you go, ‘Oh gosh I sure miss this or that.’ I think you have to, in order to get a more objective view of it.

For me, when I first started writing, I wrote about people that I could view as heroes and heroines. Other people might call them ordinary. But they aren’t ordinary to me. They are the heart of this country. They get up, they go to work, they pay their taxes and they don’t complain. They do good things and they don’t get any credit for it. I thought, ‘Well those are the people I want to write about.’

Why did those people resonate with you?

Well, number one, because those are the people I admire. Number two, that’s where I come from. Number three, as a practical business situation. There are millions of books out there about the dark side and everything else. I can’t compete with that. I don’t even want to compete with that. So I found a market I wanted to write for - and to. The South and the Midwest. It’s more of a mindset, really. It’s not the East Coast, it’s not the West Coast. It’s really just real, mid-American values.

So once you’ve left and appreciated the area from a distance, can you fully return - or do you lose something in transit?

It’s the funniest thing you asked me that.

I just was thinking about that. I’ve had to, because of business, live elsewhere. But to me, it’s almost like being from another country.

Kurt Baker After Party

(Wicked Cool Records) For years, Kurt Baker - first with his band The Leftovers, then with The Kurt Baker Combo and his solo efforts – has seamlessly glided in and out of the pop punk, garage rock and power pop genres.

With After Party he is firmly back in the power pop camp with what is quite possibly his best album yet.

From the very first chords off of the album opener “New Direction,” followed by the command “Come on,” Baker’s slips into a fanatically catchy three-minute singalong that would make Elvis Costello proud. What follows is a record brimming with sweet harmonies, razor sharp hooks and addictive melodies. Comparisons to The Beatles and The Beach Boys are as cliché as they are warranted (and they are definitely warranted here), but his inspirations go so much deeper, bringing to mind everyone from Jellyfish to Material Issue at various points of the record.

The album ends with “Outta Sight” – the opening muted guitar riff sounding like a nod to 38 Special - is a solid power pop love song, again crammed with harmonies and a chorus that sticks with you long after it’s ended. Baker cited the obscure 1980s Virginia New Wave band Silver Bullet Theory as the song’s influence which points to how deep his musical influence go.

DRESS LIKE EVERY DAY IS A HOLIDAY

There’s something about being from Alabama - or Georgia, for that matter - or the South in general. It still feels like home to me. No matter where I’ve been or how long I’ve been away. It’s still home. When I go back, I start eating all the food I love, my accent comes back. It’s just a comfortable feeling because that’s your home. I loved living in New York and I love living here in California. But the only thing I miss when I’m not there, is the people of the South.

There is a sweetness about Southern people that I miss very much. There’s a kindness, a gentleness and the manners. I miss that whole culture.

So in your case, you can go home again.

And I do! I have connections with the college and the theater people I grew up with. The people of the South have always been very loyal to me. Whenever I have a book out, I always start every book tour somewhere in the South. I think sometimes in New York they wonder why, but at this point it’s home and I also think at this point it’s good luck. It’s in my heart.

As we speak it’s in the NYT bestsellers list.

How does that feel?

Stunned! I thought everybody was all tied up in the election and stuff. But I really do think a lot of it is because of my Southern readers.

People need that escape.

I do, too!

The Wonder Boy Of Whistle Stop is currently available from all retail booksellers. Match Game airs frequently on buzzrtv.com.

Since 1991

Cool Clothes - Cool People - Little 5 Points 428 Moreland Ave NE Atlanta (Next to Vortex) 404-523-0100 • Open 10am – 10pm(ish) Psychosistersatlanta

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insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 9

MUSIC

LET’S TWIST AGAIN

Chubby Checker’s Dance Craze is the Perfect Way to Socially Distance

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

HIS FALL ABKCO RECORDS marked the 60th anniversary of “The Twist,” the performer of the landmark single, and his label Cameo Parkway with a series of lovingly reissued, historically commemorative releases.

The remastered Twist With Chubby Checker album is now available on vinyl for the first time since the 1960s. The rereleases are timed to celebrate the anniversary of “The Twist” hitting Number 1 for the first time on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, September 24, 1960.

Checker’s version of the song, originally written by former Alabama and Georgia resident Hank Ballard, was released as a single in the summer of 1960. By fall, the album of the same name was becoming one of the hottest things in pop culture.

The accompanying dance craze exploded from fad to cultural touchstone, inspiring a string of dance-oriented pop records and quickly changed the way people communicated on the dance floor.

Checker, born Ernest Evans in 1941, burned through the ‘60s with a slew of catchy classics, bringing attention to The Fly, The Pony and even The Hucklebuck, ultimately paving the way for disco and hip-hop performances. He hasn’t released a full album of new music since 1982, but Checker has remained a staple of the oldies circuit and his raucous live shows continue to be high-energy delights.

Though he’s known for rock and pop hits that often tend to be dismissed as novelty records, the gifted performer has an interesting catalog of hard-to-find but incredibly soulful sides. 1971’s Chequered! released only in parts of Europe, is a wild psychedelic romp with a trove of Checker-penned rockers. It’s almost impossible to find on vinyl but check it out on You Tube. It stands with the best of the early ‘70s R&B and remains one of this writer’s favorites from the era. Likewise, 1982’s The Change Has Come was a perfect bookend to combine his soul-rockpop roots with modern production techniques.

INsite recently caught up with Checker by phone to discuss the multi-pronged impact of The Twist as a cultural phenomenon.

I’m always curious to hear how people are coping during the pandemic. How are you holding up?

I haven’t had an experience like this since I was six years old because I’m always working. I was born in South Carolina on a farm. In those days, kids were like Amish people, you know? All they did was work. So us kids, we went to work! Then I came to Philadelphia and I still worked, up until the time I got into show business at 17 or 18 years old. I haven’t been dormant for this long in my life but it’ll pass on over. I’m enjoying it as much as I can. I’m always busy doing something, anyway. I’ve got so many things to be involved in. When I’m not singing, I’m busy and when I’m singing, I’m busy. So I’ve been enjoying the family and working on a few little music projects so everything is good.

Just before you called, I was thinking that The Twist just might be the perfect activity for these socially distanced times. You don’t have to touch your partner and if you don’t have a partner, you can still do the dance.

You know, you’ve brought up a very important point. When people do the Twist, they don’t touch. That’s what we did in the music industry. People have been dancing like that ever since we came out with it. The only thing they did, was to take my dances - not only the Twist, but The Pony, The Fly, The Shake and the old nasty one from 1949, The Hucklebuck - and they gave them all that same style. It’s kinda tricky because they just slowed down the beat. But the style is the same. And the boogie was born.

What they did with it was to make it like being at the gym, but you’re in your dress clothes, working out. It’s very strenuous. You sweat, your suit gets messed up, your makeup runs down your face. So they slowed down the beat and it became more fun that way. What you said about not touching, that’s exactly right. That’s the style we put on the dance floor. When I did it on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in 1960, it’s lasted from then until right now.

People are still doing that style that we first put out there. In two minutes and forty-two seconds, a style was established.

You put such a personal stamp on it.

PG 10 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

That’s just what we did. It’s the biggest force in the music industry because no matter who you are, if somebody’s dancing to your song, that’s the style it’s done in. Before Chubby Checker it just wasn’t there.

I guess God’s been good to me, I don’t know. I just love the idea that when we go out and do shows, I can still sing in the same key as the records. I know it’ll change sometime but until it does, I’ve gotta talk about it.

That’s a lot of weight to carry around. You have a lot of artistic responsibility to shoulder because of those moves.

It is. You know Lee, it’s so big that sometimes people don’t even associate it with me anymore.

That’s extremely rare.

It is. Here’s something funny. I’m pretty good friends with Loretta Lynn. A few years ago, I said, ‘Loretta, [frequent duet partner] Conway Twitty is gone. Why don’t you let me be Conway for a while? I’ll even dress like him. I think people would like to see that.’ She liked the idea and I went down to her ranch.

There I am, getting ready to sing Conway. But Loretta doesn’t sing in the same key anymore. When I tried to sing with her, I had to sing in such a low range, my vocal chords couldn’t get back together for almost a week!

Right. You launched it and it’s grown bigger than your name in many ways.

Bigger than me, exactly. But that song is what I have to prove that we did it. And it still stands. It’s the first Number One song of all time. It was counted from 1958 until 2018. It will be number one until 2068, unless they choose another song. It’s every fifty years, so I guess we have a while to go.

You’ll still be rockin’ it, even then.

I’ll be rockin’ it all right. We won’t be here but at least I’ve left my mark here.

She lives in Tennessee and of course you came from South Carolina. We know about your Philadelphia days on ‘Bandstand and all of that history, but tell us a little bit about your childhood in the South. You’re from Spring Gulley, correct? There are a lot of Southern connections to you and The Twist.

Yeah, I was born in South Carolina and The Twist was born in Georgia. The biggest dance in the world comes from Georgia! Hank Ballard lived in Georgia so there are a lot of Southern roots involved in the story. My dad was a sharecropper in South Carolina. He came out of the Army and he raised tobacco and cotton. He did very well, by the way. As a kid, I’d plow with the mules. I was so proud of my work. I’d go down those rows and that mule would be in front of me and those rows were just as straight as an arrow. I was just six or seven years old, but it was fun to see the cotton and tobacco plants come up.

What brought you to Philadelphia?

My mom and dad had an argument, and then she took the kids and moved to Philadelphia. Then he sold the farm and moved up to be with us. Then they stayed together until he died!

The records won’t disappear, that’s for sure.

It’s not just on record, it’s really everywhere. Even in the supermarket, you can buy twist products. Before Chubby, there were no twist products. It’s never stopped. It’s given us a lifestyle that continues to this day, as long as people enjoy the song.

You’ve said that your mom had a ‘direct line’ to God and she was a big factor in your success.

She did. I was in the 11th grade at South Philadelphia High School and I’d had a little hit record called “The Class.” Then I had two more songs that did nothing.

Nothing! So I talked to my mom about it. I said, ‘Mom, you’ve gotta talk to the Lord for me, please. I’m about to be in the twelfth grade and I’m a one-hit wonder.

Can you put in a good word for me?’ She prayed about it and she said she’d had a vision. She said the Lord told her that her son would have a song that would cover the whole world. It wouldn’t be his song, but it’d cover the whole world.

Congratulations of finally having a video for The Twist. It only took sixty years, but it turned out great.

(Laughs) I was lookin’ at Chubby in that video. ‘You’re lookin’ pretty good, Chub!’

Then came “The Twist.”

Yeah, [producer] Dave Appell at Cameo-Parkway said, ‘Chubby, I’ve got a song called The Twist.’ I said, ‘That’s a Hank Ballard song, I don’t want to do that.’ He said, ‘I know, but we want you to sing it, so come on up here and don’t give me no lip.’ I went into the studio and we recorded it. On the fourth take he said, ‘That Daddy’s sleeping and mama ain’t around part is a little flat.’ I said, ‘Dave, I’ve gotta go home and do my homework, my grades are not so good and I’ve gotta work hard on it. They’ll never know it’s flat or not.’ I walked outside and little did I know what had happened. Little did I know! But when I walked out, I kinda felt something. That song quickly changed my life. It changed the dance floor and it changed the world. And now here we are, sixty years later, still taking about it. No other entertainer has had five albums in the top twelve at the same time. That’s sixty songs - and nine double-sided hits. Elvis and The Beatles were there but I have the number one song. We have a lot of onion skins up on the wall and we just do the best with what we have. I’m thankful I’ve had “The Twist.” I turned 79 years old in October and I’m still alive and well. I can still go on stage and do the things I’ve always done. It’s a blessing. When the pandemic is over, I hope I’ll be standing strong. Then we’ll go back out there and make more some people happy. That’s really all I wanna do.

You must be doing something right. I remember sitting with you on that vintage bus of yours back in ’82. You haven’t aged a bit and now I’m old. How do you do it?

Twist With Chubby Checker and Chubby Checker: Dancin’ Party are now available from most music retailers and via abkco.com.

The last time we talked was 1982, when The Change Has Come was brand new. That’s still a very strong album and not at all a novelty.

Yeah, I liked that one. It just didn’t get the attention I thought it deserved. I had a single from that called “Running” and all of a sudden we were competing with people like Steve Miller. I sort of faded out and Steve kept going! But you know, what we put here is still gonna be here. After the fads, after the charts and all that. Somebody said one time, ‘Chubby, we want you to do a disco record.’ I said, ‘We did that already!’ Everything that disco brought here is all about Chubby Checker. Like I said, all they did was just slow down the beat. When you do that, you get all the dimensions of the Twist. Like the song “The Pony” gave us break dancing and it gave us hip-hop. That’s what a pony does.

He hips and he hops! The dance they do to hip-hop is the Pony.

MUSIC

MERRY FRICKE CHRISTMAS!

Country Hitmaker Janie Fricke Offers a Wonderfully Homemade Holiday Gift

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

W

HILE SOME OF US PERFECTED baking bread and binge-watching Netflix during the pandemic, two-time CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year Janie Fricke was busy creating a great new batch of homemade Christmas gifts. While homebound with her producerengineer-musician-husband Jeff Steele, the crafty duo cooked up a delightful assortment of holiday favorites for her first Christmas album, A Cowgirl Country Christmas.

A major country performer since the late ‘70s, Fricke is now free of the grueling, corporate grind. On the album released through her own independent JMF label, the soft-spoken artist adds her distinctive touch to familiar chestnuts such as “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells.” A warm new rendition of “The Christmas Song” is also featured - along with a new single, “The Followers” - an original track written by Fricke and Steele.

The reserved performer, a frequent collaborator with some of the giants of the industry, was ubiquitous throughout the ‘80s, with an impressive string of chart-topping hits and frequent guest spots on practically every television variety show. Last year, Real Gone Music licensed a collection of her greatest hits for the deluxe two-disc, 41-track set It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits, a two-hour stroll through the best of her impressive discography.

INsite recently caught up with the refreshingly modest, unfailing polite performer by phone from Texas.

I HOPE THIS RECORD BECOMES A BIG PART OF EVERYONE’S CHRISTMAS AND THAT EVERYONE LOVES THE SONGS AS MUCH AS I DO. IT WAS A JOY.

A wide swath of your biggest hit recording were reissued last year, right?

Last year there was a really big compilation released. I think it’s about 40 songs and it includes all of my hits and all of my duets that I did with Ray Charles, Larry Gatlin, Johnny Duncan, Merle Haggard and George Jones. Real Gone repackaged it and it’s a pretty complete look at my time with CBS. We can’t ignore the fact that you did an interesting bit of acting in the ‘80s.

(Laughs) Well I guess you could say that! I was in an episode of The Dukes Of Hazzard.

How did you land that gig? Were you thinking of breaking out as an actress as well?

I got that job because I did a concert with Merle Haggard in Los Angeles at the Universal Amphitheater. I had opened the show that night for Merle and the casting director happened to be in the audience. She came up to me after the show and said, ‘How would you like to play a part on Dukes of Hazzard?’ I looked at her like she was from outer space! Me?

Some people have been welcoming the new amount of free time, in order to complete projects that may have been on a backburner for a while.

That’s true and that’s exactly what we did with this new album.

I’ve heard that you actually recorded it during the early stages of the shut-down.

It sure was and some of our musicians couldn’t even get out and join us. So we had to figure out how to get around that little problem. But it all finally worked out okay. We came up with a Christmas album which is my first ever holiday record.

I see you have a couple of dates booked in Texas this month.

Are there any plans for in the Georgia market or the greater Atlanta area?

We had to move so many shows it’s been a hectic time in that way - but for Georgia we do have a show coming up next year in Hiawassee and possibly Newnan.

Tell us a little bit about the concept for the album. You were stranded and waiting out the pandemic so you just decided, ‘Hey, let’s do a Christmas album.’ Is that how it all unfolded?

That’s exactly right. I started thinking about working on a Christmas album and then I got my musicians involved in it and the idea just grew and grew. It was so much fun, too. I

So it’s really a homemade Christmas gift.

Oh yes, from our dining room table to your living room. It’s a completely independent release.

As someone who was on one of the biggest record companies on earth, it must be an incredible feeling to be able to call your own shots and release your own record completely on your own terms.

Well it really does feel great. As you know, I was on Columbia for a long time and they had ideas and I had things I wanted to do so this time, these are all of my own ideas, exactly the way I heard them and exactly the way I wanted it to be. It’s really refreshing and incredibly exhilarating to do a project this way.

How are you handling the pandemic?

It’s been a crazy time. Things are changing so much from day to day, it’s hard to know what to think anymore. Our shows have all been moved around. That’s been frustrating of course. But you just have to adjust to it all and make the best of things if you can.

I’m surprised it has taken this long for you to release a holiday project. Your catalog is pretty massive at this point.

You know, me too. It’s funny that I haven’t because this is the kind of music I grew up singing as a child. So it was really fun to get out the old family albums and reminisce and select all these songs to do for this album. We’ve also got a few shows booked - as of now. We’re calling the whole thing, the shows and the album, A Country Cowgirl Christmas.

He played a lot of the instruments on it and, like you said, it just began to grow and grow and grow. Now it’s a full-grown Christmas album. Once we got started, we had so much fun with it that we took months and months on it because it was such really a labor of love in so many ways. Then my husband Jeff mixed it and pretty soon we put it on Facebook and the Internet. Now we’re busy shipping out copies of it.

A star is born!

Well, I agreed to do it and she said, ‘Oh and we want you to play the part of a bank robber.’ Can you imagine? But I booked it and went on there and played the part of Ginny, the bank robber. It was fun.

remember sitting at the dining room table and I got out all of my old Christmas songbooks and I spread them out all over the table. I was just going through all these great Christmas songs as possibilities for an album.

It grew organically.

Yes! I had all these Christmas songbooks out. So I got my guitar and a little recorder and I just started playing them acoustically. It was just so much fun to revisit all these old songs because I realized how dear they were to me - and how many memories they brought back. As I played them, I found that each one held a very special feeling. But that’s Christmas.

The kitchen table demos kicked off the entire album project?

It did and then I took those demos and I gave them to our guitar player. He just ran with it! He took those ideas and he started making arrangements and working up all of his ideas.

Did you get the acting bug after that? Did you ask CBS for some guest shots on Simon & Simon or Dallas?

(Laughs) Oh no, it was fun to have done it but I really didn’t want to do any more of it. 4:30 in the morning for make-up and hair? No, I don’t think so. Amazing hours.

They start early in the morning and they go until late at night sometimes. It’s a lot of work but it’s a fun memory now.

Christmas songs also evoke good - and sometimes bittersweet - memories. Did any old visions pop into your head when you had all those songbooks out on the table?

They sure did. I remembered that my mother would play the piano and we’d all sing a lot. At home and at the farmhouse.

That was our entertainment at Christmas. So remembering all those songs I knew, it helped me decided which ones to put on the album. I hope this record becomes a big part of everyone’s Christmas and that everyone loves the songs as much as I do. It was a joy.

Country Cowgirl Christmas and It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits - as well as a number of limited edition vinyl pressings - are currently available directly from the artist at janiefricke.com. insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 11

MUSIC

BEST ALBUMS OF 2020

A Chaotic Year for Many, a Haven for Great Music for All

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

L

ET’S FACE IT, 2020 WAS A difficult year for the world. But, as often happens during tumultuous times, a plethora of great art emerged from the chaos. With literally something for every taste, this month INsite looks back on some stellar selections we featured during the unprecedented year.

The last man standing from poppotentates Badfinger has released another energetic, ten-track set of clever pop tunes which resonates as his first batch of new material since 2013. With a little help from a number of the singer-songwriterguitarist’s friends, including Micky Dolenz (The Monkees), Wings album Steve Holley, singer-bassist Jason Scheff (Chicago) and Julian Lennon, the record was produced and honed by Mark Hudson (Aerosmith, Ringo Starr, Hudson Brothers). Julian Lennon also shot the front and back cover photos for the album package. There’s a cheerful, Anglophile jangle to the collection, which is to be expected from a musician with Molland’s resume. His considerable Beatle pedigree (with guest spots on both John Lennon’s Imagine and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass) forever amplifies his offerings among the Fab4 Faithful.

BEST MODERN COUNTRY ALBUM

Whitney Rose We Still Go To Rodeos (MCG Records) She’s a vital part of the constantly expanding Austin music scene but Whitney Rose, a native of Canada’s Maritimes, has arrived at a decidedly creative crossroads of traditional country and modern Americana. Her latest album, We Still Go To Rodeos was produced

by Paul Kolderie, a crafty collaborator known for production credits on projects with Radiohead, The Pixies, Hole and Morphine. Their surprisingly harmonious blend has resulted in a new collection of tunes with precise instrumental backing from a stellar batch of musicians including the always-reliable guitarist and producer Gurf Morlix. Deftly combining elements of story-driven traditional country and radiofriendly ‘70s singer-songwriter pop, the twelve-song album was released on Rose’s own artist-management-run label MCG - right in the middle of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

BEST CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM

Jefferson Starship Mother Of The Sun (Secret Knock) The intricate history of Jefferson Starship reaches back into the catalog and personnel of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Jefferson Airplane and digs deep into the San Francisco-based folk movement of the early ‘60s. Fast forward to August 2020, four years after the death of founder-songwriter-guitarist-vocalist Paul Kantner, Jefferson Starship released Mother Of The Sun. Offering a plethora of nods to the band’s extensive past with new anthems of empowerment, cautionary tales, love songs and plenty of extended space excursion instrumental interludes. With lyrical contributions from iconic vocalist Grace Slick and appearances from former bassist Pete Sears, the record has a number of self-referential moments. Guitarist Jude Gold contributes an electric version of the Airplane’s 1967 classic “Embryonic Journey.”

Anchored by multi-instrumentalist-vocalist David Freiberg (a vet of the Airplane, Starship and Quicksilver Messenger Service) with longtime members Donny Baldwin (drums) and Chris Smith (keys) the current line-up includes features incendiary vocals from lead singer Cathy Richardson, presenting a splendid ensemble valiantly carrying the band’s enduring rock and roll torch.

BEST POP ALBUM

Joey Molland Be True To Yourself (Omnivore Recordings) PG 12 • December 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

BEST CLASSIC COUNTRY

Jeannie Seely An American Classic (Curb Records) In the fall of 1966, Jeannie Seely released her first album a few months after her debut single “Don’t Touch Me” had rocketed up the charts. Fifty-four years later, The Seely Style is still an appropriate way to describe the legendary singer-songwriter. The versatile artist, nicknamed “Miss Country Soul,” recently celebrated her 80th birthday and 53rd year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry with the release of a new album (the aptly titled An American Classic) and a weekly radio show on SiriusXM Channel 59. An American Classic is a solid return to form for the witty singer-songwriter. Her peers might just throw out another greatest hits collection, but this one shows where she’s at circa 2020 and recalls her very best performances with an impressive roster of special guests along for the ride.

BEST SONGBOOK ALBUM (TIE)

Marshall Chapman Songs I Can’t Live Without (Tallgirl Records) South Carolina-born Chapman is known for keen observations and wry sense of humor on her own compositions, but she puts those aside on her latest

release. In her able hands, a batch of her favorite songs becomes the sepia-toned soundtrack to a well-lived life. She didn’t go the obscure route for the collection, offering finely-honed renditions to a number of favorites from the great North American songbook. Stylistically, it’s like a playlist on shuffle with songs representing memories from New York, Tennessee, Detroit, Oklahoma and Canada. In lesser company, the selection could be rendered tedious due to the over-familiarity of the material. That’s not the case with Songs I Can’t Live Without. Even album-opener “Tower Of Song” has never sounded more contemporary. Chapman shares Leonard Cohen’s love of quirky detail and her delivery brings the familiar story to life for a rendition that almost best’s the composer’s version. Likewise Bob Seger’s gritty road ode “Turn the Page” is a country mile ahead of the classic rock radio staple.

“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” is stripped of the Phil Spector sheen and plays with astounding vulnerability. Tunes

by Johnny Cash, Chet Baker, J.J. Cale, Bobby Charles and even Elvis Presley round out the wildly varied assortment of raw life stories. For the finale, Chapman takes it all back home with a rousing and surprisingly timely rendition of the old gospel chestnut. “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.”

Carla Olson Have Harmony Will Travel 2 (Sunset Boulevard Records) Even if you think you know everything about modern music history, it’s a safe bet that Carla Olson would know a lot more.

Not only does she know her roots, she knows the creators of those roots and has played with some of the most legendary masters of rock, pop and country. On the sequel to her previous memory bank of songs, Olson looks back at some of music that helped shape her ongoing love of new wave and jangle-pop. Each track features a different duet partner and the roster reads like a who’s who of pop music history.

Jefferson Starship

Peter Case, James Intveld, John York (Byrds) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield) are a few of the special guests. The disc opens strong with a yearning take on Radney Foster’s “You Can Come Cryin’ To Me,” with a wonderful cameo by Juice Newton.

Some of the world’s finest songwriters are well-represented, with great selections from P.F. Sloan, Buddy Holly, Del Shannon, Gene Clark and Little Steven. Shannon’s galloping “Keep Searching,” heard here with her old friend Peter Case is one of the many highlights.

stylistically diverse albums, Rivera has been content with letting her instrument speak. Beginning with her self-titled debut in 1977, her penchant for mesmerizing musical excursions has taken her around the world - for solo compositions and a myriad of collaborations with some of the hippest artists on the planet. On All Of Me, her 12th official release, she finally steps up to the microphone for an all-too-brief selection of raw, rustic and rocking tunes that reveal her voice to be a surprising blend of unique and familiar phrasing. It’s a bluesy churn of Joni Mitchell meets Kris Kristofferson that has been described by her peers as a heady blend of “Bob Dylan and a female Johnny Cash.” Released by indie Bright Sun Records just as the world began sheltering in place, the six-song collection is simply too good to be missed. It’s an enthralling trip through the human condition, multi-layered with insightful social and political commentary.

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM

Joe Bonamassa A New Day Now and Royal Tea (J&R Records) It’s not unusual for the prolific bluesman to reach number one. A New Day Now recently achieved his usual goal, scoring his 23rd number one chart smash. The latest accomplishment is especially notable because it’s a revisit to his first album, released twenty years ago. A New Day Yesterday was the national introduction to the child prodigy who’d already opened for B.B. King and a jammed with a host of other luminaries. The debut record ignited a career that two decades later, presents the oft-lauded musician looking back on his earliest work. Released via J&R Adventures, the album isn’t just a stale reissue, the entire record is completely re-sung by Bonamassa

album that plays as an emotional soundtrack to the passionate events depicted in the book.

BEST ROCK ALBUM

BEST REISSUE COLLECTION

BEST BLUES ALBUM

Scarlet Rivera All Of Me (Bright Sun) She’s best known as Bob Dylan’s righthand player during the iconic singersongwriter’s Rolling Thunder Revue in the mid’70s and was a featured instrumentalist on his influential Desire and Hard Rain albums. But internationally known violinist Scarlet Rivera has finally released an album where her own unique vocals tell the story. On the two Dylan records and her throughout her own canon of

and remastered by frequent collaborator, producer Kevin Shirley. Bonamassa continued to release new music from marathon sessions at Abbey Road Studios in England and Royal Tea was the result. A nod to his favorite heavy British Blues, the disc bristles with the early ‘70s urgency of deep tracks from Jeff Beck or John Mayall.

Bobby Bare Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus (Bear Family Records) Bare’s sturdy, eight-CD box set could be the most historically significant archival collection of the outlaw country genre.

While Waylon and Willie were dominating the style, Bare’s Lullabys, Legends and Lies was a sly alternative. Just as subversive, but perhaps a more cinematic, storyteller approach. Silverstein was an unconventional renaissance man who is best-known as a cartoonist, playwright, and children’s book author. As a songwriter, he penned the rowdy Johnny Cash hit “A Boy Named Sue” so his pairing with Bare was a perfect match.

The new box set includes nearly every collaboration of Bare’s down-home delivery and Silverstein’s insightful, often loopy lyrics. Hilarious, bawdy and bodacious country-rock for discerning adults.

Webb Wilder Night Without Love (Landslide Records) For his eleventh album, roots rock stalwart Webb Wilder continues to examine rock and roll’s favorite subjects under a big ol’ magnifying glass. Night Without Love, released by Atlanta-based Landslide Records, is a sprawling soundscape of love, loss, longing and levity that finds the goodnatured troubadour in fine form. The tracks are a mixture of co-writes with members of his own band (“Illusion Of You,” “Ache and Flake”), Muscle Shoals songwriting legend Dan Penn (“Sweetheart Deal”) and a choice selection of covers, including contributions from his old pal R.S. Field (“Night Without Love”) and an obscure nugget from British pub rockers The Inmates (“Tell Me What’s Wrong.”)

BEST FOLK ALBUM

Billy Pilgrim

BEST ROCK MEMOIR

Kathy Valentine All I Ever Wanted (University Of Texas Press) Next year, Beauty and the Beat, the GoGo’s debut album will be forty years old and the Hollywood-born band is currently enjoying a wave of new activity. In addition to Head Over Heels, the recent Broadway musical, a feature-length documentary by filmmaker Allison Ellwood premiered at Sundance in January and aired on Showtime. Bassist Kathy Valentine’s Textones version of the Go-Go’s summer anthem “Vacation” is the theme to the controversial new Starz series Hightown.

Sidelined by the pandemic, Valentine’s spring book tour for her new memoir All I Ever Wanted was presented virtually via the internet. Sheltering at home, she garnered rave reviews in a slew of major publications and appeared on a number of innovative podcasts to discuss the book. Rock and roll books are plentiful but Valentine’s project is also uniquely presented with a stand-alone

Billy Pilgrim Welcome To The Time Machine (Honest Harry Records) Like the band’s namesake from Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, the founders of Billy Pilgrim are also time travelers. During the first week of September, the duo of Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush were busy with writing and recording sessions, photo shoots and livestream performances. Not bad for a band that had been inactive for almost two full decades. While their other projects are on hold due the uncertain times, the two musicians have resumed the project they originally formed in 1991. Successful live shows, popular indie releases and even two major-label albums later, they went separate ways in 2001. Hyra avoided the spotlight while Bush toured the world with Sugarland and produced a slew of other projects. Their independently-released catalog of music is available again and their final album is finally getting the deluxe treatment. In The Time Machine, originally intended for a 2001 release, was only sold at one live show and then filed away as time marched on. Now a fully realized version is available, with a whole new side of music on the vinyl edition. insiteatlanta.com • December 2020 • PG 13

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