Our Town 2015 NOV-DEC (High Springs & Alachua)

ART CO-OP CLOSES DIY SNOW GLOBES ANCIENT DRUMS SISTER HAZEL

HIGH SPRINGS & ALACHUA EDITION

VOL. 13 ISSUE 05 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

MUSI YOU N C EED TO KN OW AB Just De OUT sserts, T h

e Thin S Little Ja kins, ke & Th e S oul Sear Thunde chers, rclap, Lo s Panas The Bill 352, Perry O r c hestra a Natalie nd Nicole G reen PG. 56

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HONORING ALL VETERANS

You fought for our freedom, we fight for you.

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CONTENTS

N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

G R E AT E R A L A C H U A C O U N T Y

| V O L . 1 3 | N O. 0 5

ON THE COVER >> FOR THIS ISSUE WE INVITE YOU TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC WITHIN AND MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN DRUM. OUR VERY OWN TOWER PUBLICATIONS ARTIST, NEIL MCKINNEY, DESIGNED ORIGINAL ART FOR EACH COVER. COLLECT ALL THREE EDITIONS WHILE PAINTING THE TOWN RED (AND GREEN)!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! C O V E R I L L U S T R AT I O N S E R I E S B Y N E I L M C K I N N E Y.

FEATURE STORIES 20

STILL ON DISPLAY The art must go on! From prints and acrylics to oils and ceramics, learn how local artists find new venues to display and sell their artwork after the recent closing of the High Springs Art Co-Op. When one door closes another one opens!

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HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING Do you believe in angels? Take a look at the photography technique known as “light painting,” while enjoying an angelic view of our Florida landscape in this whimsical photo essay.

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LET IT SNOW Calling all thrifty gift givers! s!

Learn how to make your very own DIY holiday snow globes for family and friends.

So affordable and adorable, these presents will leave your loved ones feeling all warm and fuzzy this holiday season.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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CONTENTS

N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

36 FUSION OF THE ARTS Learn how a local record label merges different forms of art to create one-of-a-kind spaces for their talent to perform.

COLUMNS 48 NAKED SALSA

by Crystal Henry

94 DIFFERENT NOTE 42

by Albert Isaac

ANCIENT RHYTHMS Understand the art of drum making from craftsman and drummer Ed Mendel.

134 EMBRACING LIFE

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148 HEALTHY EDGE

RECIPE WONDERS Who wants a piece of pie? Holiday Pie, that is.

Enjoy three family recipes that will leave your guests full of love this holiday season!

by Donna Bonnell

by Kendra Siler-Marsiglio

56 MUSIC YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT From up-and-comers to Gainesville Greats, we think these local musicians deserve some love.

Check em’ out!

REVIEWS 116 GATE CRASHING

by Brian “Krash” Kruger

118 THE SANTA JAM Love, peace, and toys! Learn how this charitable organization helps children in need.

122 ARTISANS GUILD GALLERY Happy Birthday to the Gallery! Celebrate the big 45 with the group as they take a look at their evolution.

126 NUTS ABOUT SISTER HAZEL In between touring and releasing a new album early next year, Sister Hazel creates events geared towards family and their dedicated fans.

120 READING CORNER

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

150 ADVENTURES IN APPETITE

by Ken Peng

INFORMATION 99 Charity Winners 100 Taste of the Town 106 Community Calendar

130 WAX ON, WAX OFF Learn how UF student Morgan Eddy has melted her way into the art scene.

The articles printed in Our Town do not necessarily

136 ENSEMBLE MUSIC From big jazz bands to award-winning a cappella groups, Gainesville has a rich history of local music groups.

reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Our Town Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Our Town Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. All rights reserved. © 2015 Tower Publications, Inc.

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Shop K l aus Fi n e Je w el r y

fine fi ne e je ew wel e ry y

t h is Hol i da y se a s on.

PUBLISHER Charlie Delatorre ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Hank McAfee EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Albert Isaac editor@towerpublications.com MANAGING EDITOR Ericka Winterrowd ericka@towerpublications.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gabrielle Calise, Steven Davis, Cyanne Dunn, Alexia Fernandez, Kristin Kozelsky, Brian “Krash” Kruger, Ramon Pena, Michael Stone, Brinn Strange, Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristin Kozelsky, Ray Carson, Kelley Bennett, Dawn McKinstry CREATIVE DIRECTION + DESIGN Hank McAfee, Neil McKinney ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jenni Bennett jenni@towerpublications.com Helen Mincey helen@towerpublications.com Nancy Short nancy@towerpublications.com INTERN Gabrielle Calise

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS If you would like us to publicize an event in the greater Gainesville area, send information by the 1st day of the month prior to the next issue. For example, submissions for the March/April issue are due by February 1. All submissions will be reviewed and every effort will be made to run qualified submissions if page space is available.

F E AT U R I N G

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We want to hear from you. Send your letters to the attention of the editor at 4400 NW 36th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32606 or editor@towerpublications.com.

Letters must be signed and include a phone number in the event we need to contact you. (Your phone number will not be published.)

352 . 375. 27 2 0 • 2 4 41 N W 4 3r d S T R EE T, S U I T E 2 A T HOR N EBR O OK V IL L AGE • G A I N ES V IL L E

OUR TOWN MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY TOWER PUBLICATIONS, INC. REPRODUCTION BY ANY MEANS OF THE WHOLE OR PART OF OUR TOWN WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER IS PROHIBITED. VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE EDITORIAL PAGES DO NOT IMPLY OUR ENDORSEMENT. WE WELCOME YOUR PRODUCT NEWS. INCLUDE PRICES, PHOTOS AND DIGITAL FILES WITH YOUR PRESS RELEASE. PLEASE FORWARD PRODUCT SAMPLES AND MEDIA KITS TO REVIEWS EDITOR, OUR TOWN MAGAZINE, 4400 NW 36TH AVENUE, GAINESVILLE, FL 32606. WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED PRODUCT SAMPLES.

A Publication of Tower Publications, Inc. 4400 NW 36th Ave., Gainesville, Florida 32606 phone: 352-372-5468 fax: 352-373-9178

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EDITOR ’ S LET TER N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

Music, Art, Fun! “…The arts are not a way to make a living.

They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake.

Sing in the shower.

Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

— KURT VONNEGUT I can identify with the words of Mr• Vonnegut. I’ve always been a creative person and music and art have always been a huge part of my life. I’m convinced that playing in band in junior and senior high school kept me out of trouble and were instrumental (see what I did there?) in my success. I’m convinced that my involvement in music also got me through college, as I continued playing trombone in various bands up until the day I graduated and put the horn away – for over 30 years.

Granted, I’ve never fully strayed from music and art; I played keyboard in rock bands and garage bands, and continued to write and record music. I’ve also continued with photography and writing. And now, once again I’m making some joyful noise (noise being the operative word) on the trombone.

It’s been amazing.

And while I realize I’m not a Mozart or a Paul McCartney or a Jimmy Pankow, I still get tremendous satisfaction from playing music and creating things that had never before existed.

So in this issue we take a look at art and music in our area, bringing you stories on artists and community bands and club bands and all manner of things creative. Granted, we barely scratched the surface trying to cover all our community has to offer, but I think you’ll enjoy it.

As always, thank you so much for reading. s

Albert Isaac, Editor-In-Chief

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Wood Buildings

THE DORI S I S BACK!

Metal Buildings

N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

Carports

“CAMPSIS RADICANS” BY DIANE HARM

needs! r u o y o t d e iz Custom

A Wildlife Art Exhibition

N

ow open in its new location at the old Backstage Lounge at 1315 S. Main Street, The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center Gallery is offering its exhibit, “Artist-Naturalists in Florida: Then and Now” on display until December 11.

This exhibit explores the rich history of wildlife art in Florida throughout the past 250 years including works by contemporary Florida artists. A series of workshops/lectures set to take place in Gainesville during the exhibition period are currently being planned.

North Central Florida is filled with natural beauty and is a popular eco-tourist destination.

The community is proud of its natural resources and is also home to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Butterfly Rainforest as well as the Harn Museum of Art. Art and nature are the strengths of our region.

The exhibit includes several facsimile prints of works by William Bartram, Mark Catesby and J.J. Audubon from the University of Florida library, along with works by 20 contemporary Florida artists.

The year 2015 is very special. It is the 250th anniversary of father-and-son botanist-duo John and William Bartram’s first visit to Georgia and Florida. In response to this anniversary, the group has organized an exhibit of wildlife art, paintings and photography for the Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center. The Doris, as it’s affectionately called, is a new art center that enjoys broad-based community support. The center reopened in the fall after renovating the old Backstage Lounge.

Artist-Naturalists in Florida: Then and Now 24910 West Newberry Rd., Newberry, FL

A WILDLIFE ART EXHIBITION AND RELATED PROGRAMS

Now through December 11, 2015 The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center, 1315 South Main Street, Gainesville For more information on the exhibit and related programs, visit: www.thedoris.org.

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CONTRIBUTOR S

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N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

GABRIELLE CALISE is a sophomore journalismËmajor at UF who is interning at Tower Publications.

In her spare time sheËenjoys collecting vinyl records, taking photographsËand watching movies. gcalise@ufl.edu

STEVEN DAVIS is a freelance writer in Gainesville. He started writing short stories as a child, and later through an affinity for music became a songwriter.

Having obtained a degree in journalism, he is working to build a portfolio of stories and hopes to tell a few good ones along the way. davisdoesdesign@gmail.com

CYNTHIA WONDERS WINTERROWD is an award-winning writer who was raised in Illinois and lives in Gainesville. She is proud to be a “Gator Mom” of three daughters, all UF graduates. Cynthia loves sharing family recipes that have been handed down in her mother’s handwritten cookbooks. recipewonders@gmail.com

KRISTIN KOZELSKY is a classically trained photographer. Since completing her art degree in 2001, she has built a wide body of work and honed in on an interactive approach to working with her clients. kristin@kozelskyphoto.com

CYANNE DUNN is a recent graduate of the Journalism and Communications College at the University of Florida. Though she was born in Miami, she has lived in Alachua since elementary school. She loves traveling and hopes one day to relocate overseas. cyanne.k.dunn@gmail.com

ALEXIA FERNANDEZ is a UF journalism junior with big dreams.

With a deep love of movies and writing, she hopes to one day write books, scripts and create a successful career for herself in entertainment. alexiafernandez5@gmail.com

BRIAN “KRASH” KRUGER is a writer, musician and a graduate of the UF College of Law. He has played in some 17 or so local bands, playing most every Gainesville venue friendly to original music (and some not so friendly). bkrashpad@yahoo.com

RAMON PENA is a Cuban-born journalism junior at UF. He enjoys the sound of the ocean and speaking a mixture of English, Spanish and French.

He hopes to write a successful novel, make millions and retire before 30. rpena@ufl.edu

BRINN STRANGE is a California native who loves her recent relocation to Gainesville. When not writing, she teaches Barre classes at Barre Forte, trains for triathlons, and takes her two mutts to the dog park. brinn.strange@gmail.com

MICHAEL STONE is a journalist, photographer and communications teacher based in Gainesville. His primary topics of focus include health care, conservation and wildlife, and business. He enjoys traveling, wildlife photography and trying all the great vegan dishes at area restaurants. michaelstone428@gmail.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS IN TIOGA TOWN CENTER

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Holiday Festival & Tree Lighting 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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Festival of Trees VIP Preview Party

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Festival of Trees Holiday Food Truck Rally 6 p.m. – 8 p. m.

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A Country Christmas 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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Festival of Trees Community Night 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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Pet Costume Contest & Adoption Festival 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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A Latin Christmas 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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For more information on holiday entertainment and events, visit tiogatowncenter.com or /tiogatowncenter NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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Community Night 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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MIXED MEDIA >> ART GALLERIES

FR AME BY FR AME

Still On Display Local Art Finds a Home in New Galleries After High Springs Art Co-Op Closes S T O R Y A N D P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C YA N N E D U N N

I

n August of 2015, the High Springs Art Co - Op closed its doors permanently.

Although the building had previously housed a gallery, the business became a co-op when the owner, Chuck Sapp, had problems finding enough staff, said Larry Behnke, one of the co-op’s founding artists.

“We didn’t have to pay rent, he didn’t have to staff it and it worked out for all of us,” Behnke said.

Housing an average of 15 local artists, the co-op lasted for five and a half years before the building was sold.

“I’ve been a commercial artist for half a century and that was the first time I had a place for my art that I do for fun that [had been] hanging in my house,” Behnke said. “It was really great to have that space downtown, so I have no regrets and I’m thankful for Chuck.”

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

But when a gallery closes down, what happens to the art?

Luckily, High Springs and the surrounding areas had formed an art community over the years that left artists with quite a few options.

NEWBERRY FIRE HOUSE ART GALLERY & STUDIO This historic building, built in 1913 and once a fire station, is the new home of some of Behnke’s art, as well as the work of a few other co-op artists. Newly re-opened in May 2015, the gallery is part of the Main Street Organization and holds its Newberry headquarters, as well as the Newberry Tourism Center. “[The gallery] is bringing people from other areas,” said Jean Marie Evans, the president of the Main Street Organization. “It’s bringing them into the downtown areas.”

Oil paintings by resident artist Diane Brody (top), pottery by Kate Shakeshaft Murray (above) and a sculpture by Paul Newman (left). Co-curators Peggy Loy and Linda Lehrman (below) are in charge of arranging the gallery. “We’re still learning,” Loy said.

The first exhibit debuted in April.

Gallery co-curator Linda Lehrman was going to be a featured artist at the High Springs Co-Op until it closed. Her work is also shown in the gallery.

The Fire House Gallery features work by local artists, as well as a gift shop and studio space that is available for lessons.

“If anyone is interested in lessons, they just need to call us and we’ll find an artist,” Lehrman said. The studio can also be rented out for $5 a day.

Lehrman and Peggy Loy, her co-curator and fellow artist, have worked out a system to fill space in the gallery while also enlisting the help of artists to work the business, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, most of whom are artists.

“For a long time, it was just Linda and me,” Loy said. Now, artists who volunteer at the gallery are guaranteed a post in the next exhibit. The more days an artist volunteers, the more wall space they receive.

“We try to keep a variety [of art], from abstract to realism,” Lehrman said. “It’s such a personal thing, art is.”

There is no set theme to the gallery or exhibits, Lehrman said, and she and Loy try to vary the art they pick for each exhibit.

The gallery also features resident artists who are assigned specific wall space and are there for every show.

New exhibits at the gallery begin every three months, with the next due to start in the middle of November with a meet and greet on December 2nd.

“We try to do varied medium, because we do prints, we do acrylics, oils, glass, ceramics,” Loy said. “We’re not just into one thing.”

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MIXED MEDIA >> ART GALLERIES

Owner Tina Corbett began to miss High Springs after leaving the art co-op. “I’d been looking at [renting a store] for a long time,” she said. “And when I left I missed being here. I just like the town, the tourists.”

LANZA GALLERY & ART SUPPLY Another founder of the High Springs Art Co-op, Tina Corbett, has moved into her own gallery.

Lanza Gallery & Art Supply had its grand opening July of 2015. “[Lanza is] my maiden name,” Corbett said, who was a member of the co-op for five years before leaving in January. “My dad was Italian and he had no sons, so there wasn’t anyone to carry on that name and that kind of bothered him. So I named my art store after that and I know that he’s smiling down on it.”

The gallery features Corbett’s work as well as the work of several other permanent artists.

“Right now we’re pretty full, and we’re pretty much by invitation,” she said. “I had a certain idea 22 |

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

in my mind what I wanted the place to look like, so I looked for people who kind of reflected that.”

Even the music played in the gallery was chosen to fit the type of business Tina was trying to build.

“I really wanted something kind of reflecting of the area,” she said. “It’s kind of a different area than most places in Florida. It kind of has a natural feel to it, and maybe that’s what brings the artists.”

The gallery also functions as a supply store, selling everything from markers to brushes.

“There was no specialty art store anywhere and one of the things I strive for, it is. Anything the artists are looking for I try to carry,” Corbett said.

Before opening the store, Corbett did a focus group to gain insight for what local artists wanted.

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MIXED MEDIA >> ART GALLERIES

Rum 138 has rooms featuring different artists and one room, nicknamed “The Cave” (left), which shows rotating exhibits. They even showcase the work of a suitcase artist Frank Curtis (bottom right).

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OUR TOWN MAGAZINE

She also used her own experiences as an artist to decide which supplies to stock.

There is also a small space at the front of the store that Corbett uses to work on her art.

The gallery offers a variety of lessons from different artists, with classes available for both chidren and adults.

The next exhibit will begin November 1st. The store will feature an art supply sale on November 21st 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. that night, Corbett will host a Black and White holiday party.

The theme of the next exhibit will be Inspired from Above, and is meant to reflect the spiritual tone of the holidays. The art will be based on however the artists interpret the theme, Corbett said.

Although she runs her own gallery, Corbett also features her work in another gallery, located on the way to Rum Island.

“The whole art community, we’ve all gotten pretty close,” Corbett said. “If you’re painting with them, you’re hanging with them.

“I like to support Merrillee and Rum 138 with the river work — she has a lot of important people come in there and it’s such a nice place to exhibit river work because of what she does with her non-profit.”

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

RUM 138 Rum 138 is a small building tucked out of the way on the outskirts of Fort White. Owned by Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and her husband Doug Jipson, the gallery has been open for about three years.

But Rum 138 isn’t just a gallery.

In one building, the couple also operates a hair salon, a video production company, kayak and canoe rentals, and the non-profit organization Our Santa Fe River. They even sell snacks, drinks and some snorkeling equipment, as well as art. One of the gallery rooms can function as a boardroom.

Doug said Rum 138 is too far removed to be able to function as only one business.

Oftentimes, customers will come in for one of the other businesses before getting pulled in by the artwork, said Merrillee, who is a licensed cosmetologist as well as an artist.

“They’ll come in with their kids and they’re just coming in to buy a candy bar or something, and then they’re actually walking around and looking at the art and the kids are interested,” she said. “And that’s one of the best parts of the day. It’s kind of a serendipity moment where they come in for a snack and get a feast for the eye.”

Guitar Newberry Firehouse Art Gallery & Studio 25435 W. Newberry Road, Newberry Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Upcoming Events and Exhibits: Meet-andgreet for the new exhibit will be December 2nd.

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Lanza Gallery & Art Supply 45 NW 1st Avenue, High Springs Hours: Tuesday -Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Upcoming Events and Exhibits: November 1st: New Exhibit. November 21st: Art supply sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Black and White party 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. December 9th, 16th, 30th: Composition workshop with Linda Tiffany.

Rum 138 2070 SW County Road 138, Fort White Hours: Wednesday-Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Upcoming Events and Exhibits: Through December 31st: Visual Ephemera: Graphic Design by Rick Kilby. January 1st: New exhibit begins featuring the work of Leslie Peebles, master printmaker. January 8th: Open house and meet the artist from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

The art featured at Rum 138, so-named for the county road it sits on, features local rivers, springs and waterways. Merrillee, who is the curator, tries to keep the art local. Even if an artist featured in the gallery doesn’t live in North Central Florida, they make frequent trips to paint the area. Rick Kilby, a graphic artist, will be showing his work at the gallery until December 31st. His exhibit is titled “Finding the Fountain of Youth.”

The water serves as a muse for the artists, she said, which in turn provides a unique opportunity for customers.

“We offer our clients the opportunity not only to see regional art, but offer the opportunity to purchase it and take it home and remind them of the place they just visited,” she said.

Since the building also houses the

headquarters of Our Santa Fe River, a local non-profit organization that fights for the protection of local aquifers, springs and rivers, the art is also a way to educate visitors, Doug said.

“Really, all this art is another way to get people to understand the peril of the springs and I don’t think there’s a better way to get that out,” he said. “You can’t protect them if you don’t know about them.”

Merrillee and Doug originally had no intentions of moving to the area. They had been traveling and decided to buy some land as an investment.

“Everywhere we would go, it was not as beautiful as it is here,” Doug said. “Finally we just said, ‘let’s plant our feet here’ because we couldn’t find another place we liked better.”

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PHOTO ESSAY >> ANGELS

HEAVEN ON EARTH

Hark the Herald Angels Sing P H O T O E S S AY B Y E R I C K A W I N T E R R O W D MO D EL : J E SSI C A N I L AC A L A K R EIT ZER

ABOUT THE ARTIST ERICKA WINTERROWD IS MANAGING EDITOR AND AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER. SHE RECEIVED HER MASTER’S DEGREE IN MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM FROM UF, WHERE SHE ALSO EARNED HER BFA IN THEATRE PERFORMANCE. FOR THIS PHOTO ESSAY SHE WAS INSPIRED BY THE IDEA OF WOODLAND ANGELS AND THE MAGIC THAT SURROUNDS OUR FLORIDA LANDSCAPE. BY USING A LIGHT PAINTING TECHNIQUE, WHICH INVOLVES A FLASHLIGHT AND LONG EXPOSURE, SHE WAS ABLE TO PRODUCE THE ETHEREAL-LIKE QUALITY SEEN THROUGHOUT THE IMAGES.

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PHOTO ESSAY >> ANGELS 30 |

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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PHOTO ESSAY >> ANGELS 32 |

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PHOTO ESSAY >> ANGELS 34 |

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MUSIC >> ELESTIAL SOUND

BLURRED LINES

f o n o i s Fu WRITTEN

E DUNN B Y C YA N N

A Local Record Label Combines Music And Visual Art Into One Unique Sound 36 |

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

s t r A e h t A

downtown Gainesville record label is blurring the lines between visual art and music.

Elestial Sound, founded in 2011 by Gabriel Ortiz, uses a mix of experimental art installations and stage design to create unique performance spaces for musicians signed onto the label.

The visual side of the label mostly comes into play during live events by infusing contemporary art into the traditional stage structure, said Evan Galbicka, a board member for the label and one of its visual artists. The art installations can involve sculptural elements, stage lighting and video projections, to name just a few.

“Each one is unique pretty much every time we have an Elestial Sound Showcase,” Galbicka said.

“That creates a very vibrant, dynamic performance space for the musicians to play their music and it NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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MUSIC >> ELESTIAL SOUND

ms at d artist, perfor an Elestial Soun e work for uc od pr ho w Ghost Fields, ille. Artists nv so ck Ja t is doing. in ar r k One Spar how well thei on d se ba ty equi the label earn

creates a more warm, welcoming atmosphere.”

Beyond the live events, the artists are also involved in illustrations, album art, booklets and t-shirt designs. Galbicka said the label has plans to expand its visual art into more products for sale, such as art prints.

Elestial Sound, which became a cooperative in 2013, uses that unique mix of visual and audio as its calling card.

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“We don’t necessarily like to throw a show without that [visual] element, or at least put our brand on it,” said Davis Hart, chair of the board of directors and Ortiz’s co-founder.

When the company first began, Ortiz took advice from a crew of people on which types of music to release, Hart said, and the label became a cooperative to give incentive to those people to become more involved. Now, the co-op has about 32 members.

While it may take longer for decisions to be made, Hart said becoming a cooperative has inspired the label artistically.

PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHANIE KAYE

“It takes us in all kinds of different directions that we wouldn’t have gone in as a partnership,” he said. “It’s really opened us up to a lot of things like being more involved in the visual arts and focusing more of our attention on the live show experience and not just releasing music.”

Having so many people with different musical tastes giving input has also changed the types of musicians the label signs. In the past, Hart would have classified their genre as leaning towards electronic. Now, the label has signed musicians that are “definitely not on the electronic sphere.”

“We try to sign unique bands, you know, that’s our goal,” Hart said. “Something we haven’t heard before.”

On the visual side, Galbicka said working collectively has pushed the artists to new levels.

“It’s a group of individuals that are working together for a common vision, a shared vision, a vision of growth for our individual arts practices, and also we share a vision to create something that is beyond any of our individual potentials,” he said. “Working collaboratively allows these kinds of bigger creations to manifest.”

While Elestial Sound originally signed Gainesville bands, Hart said it branched out pretty early on. Now they’ve gone international, with bands signed from as far away as Australia. AAA, one of their acts, hails from Canada. There are still a few Gainesville musicians signed to the label though, such as local duo Orchal and Vir. The amount of bands working with the label fluctuates, Hart said, as bands go in and out of being active. Over the next six months, however, the label has about six to eight releases scheduled.

Elestial Sound doesn’t currently have a recording studio so it typically contracts out to other studios the business of recording a musician, unless the artist comes to them with a recording already made. That won’t be the case for long, however.

“We’re designing art studios and a recording studio and an office for Elestial, essentially,” Hart said.

The company recently bought an old office building and is planning to remodel.

Hart said they hope to have it open by the end of 2016 or early 2017.

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MUSIC >> INSTRUMENT CRAFTSMAN

TRUE TONE

Ancient Rhythms Ed Mendel Builds Drums from 19th Century Pine and Cypress Logs Preserved in Florida Riverbeds S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY MICH A E L S TON E

W

hile in school for marketing at the University of Florida in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Ed Mendel fastened himself to the Gainesville music scene, catching shows at Dub’s rock ‘n’ roll bar and taking advance of the gratis kegs that came with the music festivals at Mudcrutch Farm.

“Well, I don’t know if I like [the band] Mudcrutch or not, but hey, free beer,” he joked.

The voice of Mudcrutch’s lead singer had Mendel skeptical if the band would ever be able to grow out of Gainesville, and he figured the band’s 1974 move to Los Angeles would fall short of any mainstream success.

“When Mudcrutch said they’re were going to L.A., we went, ‘Oh, come on, this guy doesn’t even 42 |

OUR TOWN MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

have a voice,’” Mendel remembered. “That was before we realized the incredible songwriter that he was becoming.”

Like with Bob Dylan, the songwriting turned out to be more than enough compensation for any vocal deficiencies, transforming Mudcrutch, today known as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, into a pride and joy of Gainesville.

This notch in Mendel’s musical appreciation

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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MUSIC >> INSTRUMENT CRAFTSMAN

Mendel uses stave construction which bonds the edges of trapezoidshaped blocks together to form a circle rather than traditional thin, circlular plywood layers glued together, which he feels gives a more rich, true sound since it’s not trapped behind so much glue.

timeline came after being in his middle school’s band and garage bands in high school; while he watched the Allman Joys, later the Allman Brothers, also playing in Gainesville; and well before he started his most recent endeavor, Ancient Rhythms Drum Shop.

Celebrating its one-year anniversary, the store on Northwest 10th Avenue in Gainesville is run by Mendel and manager Salmon Nason, and three independent contractors who give lessons out of a practice room.

Ancient Rhythms offers mainstream drum names — like Zildjian, Sabian and Pearl — and the more rare Bosphorus cymbals, made in Turkey by hand. But the real allure of the showroom is locally handcrafted products, including drums put together by Mendel himself.

About five years before opening Ancient Rhythms in 2014, Mendel started assembling drums under the name Ancient Tree Drums. He will construct whole kits, but because his handmade drums can be a bit pricey (the kits cost him thousands just to make), great focus goes into snare drums, which start at $850.

Mendel’s building method is called stave construction: taking 20 vertical pieces of wood in the shape of trapezoids and gluing 44 |

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

their edges together to form a full circle. This is opposed to the more factory method of taking circular plywood layers and attaching them together with full coats of glue, which Mendel calls “the enemy of good sound” because the glue keeps the sound within.

Also contributing to the uniqueness of drums from Ancient Tree is the quality of the wood — hard pine and cypress that sunk in rivers in 19th century Florida logging operations and is now being pulled from what Mendel said are secret spots in local riverbeds.

His drums have sold in the U.S. and some internationally, but Mendel would like to see growth.

“The trick is always to try to get celebrities to endorse your drums, and the big-name celebrities are chased after by the big-name drum companies,” the 65-year-old said. “So it just doesn’t happen” for smaller operations.

Mendel’s workaround is finding good up-and-coming drummers for endorsements, and some have turned their thumbs up, one of the more recognizable being Donnie Marple, who plays for country musician Lee Brice. Mendel’s drums have also had positive reviews in the magazines “Modern Drummer” and “Drum!”

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I’m thankful to everyone there for getting me back to doing what I love.“ At UF Health, we’re here for you, from the routine to the complex. We can handle any heart problem you have — big or small — whether it’s evaluating your chest pain or performing aortic aneurysm surgery.

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UF HEALTH HEART AND VASCULAR CARE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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MUSIC >> INSTRUMENT CRAFTSMAN

The shop offers other locally made items, like cajóns (wooden drum boxes) and shakers of recycled bottle caps from UF music professor Larry Crook. But, like all drums stores, the everyday bread and butter of the shop is replacement drumsticks and drumheads, Mendel said.

He said he was able to ease into the local music market after the same stores that served as inspiration for him opening — Sims Music and Sound, and Lipham Music — closed in 2009 and 2014, respectively.

In their decades of being open, both stores were markedly intertwined with the music coming from Gainesville.

Perhaps the most notable example is Petty working at Lipham in the ‘60s and having lessons there from Eagles guitarist Don Felder, another Gainesville native.

“Gainesville has such a tremendous, rich musical heritage,” Mendel said. “The music history is very rich, and it almost always goes through Lipham’s.”

Other small music stores are set up in the city, and what’s promoted as the largest music retailer in the world, Guitar Center, has one of its 260-plus locations in Butler Plaza. But Mendel said his edge over the competition, minute or massive, 46 |

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is an undistracted devotion to drums, both in sales and lessons.

“To me, it was Guitar Center; it wasn’t drum center,” Mendel said of a visit to the store. “They certainly do drum lessons, they certainly sell drums, but they didn’t seem to put an emphasis in their drum department. It is Guitar Center, after all.”

Bob Kelly, who has been drumming in Gainesville for almost four decades and plays in two local bands, the Remedy and Crooked Council, said he has been coming to Ancient Rhythms since it opened a year ago. The attraction for him: the customer service and the quality of the drums, which he said produce a noticeably better sound.

“I’m saving up to add to my lesser-quality personal inventory for this high-end stuff,” he said while stopping by the shop one recent afternoon, “because I’ve said it’s quality over quantity at this point in my life.”

Mendel, also a homebuilder by trade, said that despite the store, his long-held attachment to the instrument and the craftsmanship of his products, “I’d say I’m a very average drummer.”

But, he added, he can never get enough.

“Drums is kind of an addiction. It’s not quite as addicting as guitar, but if you love drums, you want to be around drums.”

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COLUMN

CRYSTAL HENRY’S

Naked Salsa SURROGATE SAGA: LETTING GO AND MOVING ON

CRYSTAL HENRY IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND COLUMNIST BORN AND RAISED IN WEST TEXAS. SHE RECEIVED HER B.S. IN JOURNALISM IN 2006 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. SHE IS IN LOVE WITH THE FLORIDA LANDSCAPE. ces03k@gmail.com

FOUR DAYS PASSED, AND IT WAS TIME FOR OUR FOLLOW UP ULTRASOUND TO CONFIRM THAT THE BABY HAD DIED.

J

ust last week I’d gone in with my Baby Mama and Baby Daddy to double check that their little bean was growing properly only to find its heart had stopped beating, and the little embryo had stayed the same size.

The appointment was a hard one, and the doctor confirmed every parent’s worst nightmare. Their baby had died. But just like with my own first pregnancy, there were no signs of miscarriage other than a gut-wrenching ultrasound with bad news.

Baby Mama and Baby Daddy held it together last week when it looked like the pregnancy was probably over. I think they still had a sliver of hope that everything was fine. Since I’ve been there before I understood holding on to hope. But this time they didn’t leave with a sliver of hope. They were absolutely devastated.

I let them have a moment in the hall outside the doctor’s office, then I walked out and threw my arms around Baby Mama.

I hugged her tight and told her the words she gave me last week.

“It’s not over.”

And it really wasn’t over. The miscarriage dragged on for nearly two grueling months. My uterus is a known hoarder. It didn’t give up on my own twin miscarriage, and it didn’t want to give up on this one either.

But on New Year’s Day as I sat in my doctor’s office waiting on yet another ultrasound, I felt like I made peace with the loss.

And just as I mentally thought, “It’s over,” I felt a gush, and I knew for sure it was.

That continued for nearly two weeks, but unfortunately even though I actually started bleeding this time, the baby never passed. So almost two months after we found out the baby had died, I scheduled and went in for a D&C. I was terrified as I lay in my hospital gown awaiting the procedure. My last D&C for the twins was horrific. I lost so much blood I almost died, and I had such a hard time coming out of anesthesia I remember thinking I might want to die.

But the anesthesiologist for this miscarriage took all this

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into account, and he put me under so lightly for the procedure that I just woke up feeling very well rested. It went as smoothly as a procedure like that can go, and for that I was thankful.

Then came more waiting. Baby Mama and Baby Daddy wanted to give my body time to heal, and I think truthfully they needed their heart to heal. The loss hit them a lot harder than they were prepared for, as it does for anyone who ever walks this road. You hear about people suffering miscarriages, and you think you can handle it. But when it happens it absolutely devastates you in a way you didn’t know was possible.

We were also waiting for Baby Mama and Baby Daddy to determine our next steps. They had to decide if they wanted to try again, and if so how. Baby Mama was approaching 41, and she’d already been through three egg retrievals. Out of those three retrievals only one fertilized egg made it to five days. The odds were stacked against them for sure.

I think Baby Daddy really wanted to try another retrieval, because as far as that man is concerned the sun rises and sets on his wife. He wanted “her” baby. But Baby Mama just wanted to be a mother. Any baby that came out of this was going to be hers regardless of genetics. And so they decided to move forward with finding an egg donor.

However, choosing someone to provide half of the genetic makeup of your child isn’t as easy as leafing through the latest J. Crew catalog. Baby Daddy was on the hunt for a carbon copy of Baby Mama. He wanted a tallish wicked smart sweetheart with blonde hair, ice blue eyes and a serious love of dogs. Baby Mama was flattered, but I think she was looking for whoever had the heartiest eggs.

And so the hunt was on, and I lay in waiting. Finally, on a sunny spring day in April I got the news that they’d found a donor and the eggs were being fertilized as we spoke. The donor was close enough to Baby Mama’s doppelganger to appease Baby Daddy, and the eggs were frozen and ready to go.

We got word back that after fertilization they once again had one lone survivor. But I had a good feeling about it.

So I ramped up my med protocol, and exactly one year after I met that sweet couple in a noisy Chili’s restaurant, we were scheduled to transfer their dream of a family into my womb once again.

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RECIPE SERIES >> HOLIDAY PIES

SAVE ME A SLICE!

Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd ’s

RECIPE WONDERS FOOD ST Y LING & PHOTOGR A PH Y BY ERICK A WINTER ROWD

TR A

H

D ITI O

PI N A L HOLIDAY

ere we are again… as unbelievable as it seems, the Holidays are upon us! If you are wondering what to create for a memorable Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert, why not try making a homemade pie? I know, I know. You are thinking it’s too hard, and takes too much effort. I am here to tell you, however, that just isn’t so. Once you give it a try, you will surprise yourself.

Besides, there is nothing quite like a homemade pie topping off your meal to earn a hostess huge compliments!

To give you a little history from my upbringing, my mother, Ronelva Wonders, was known for her pies. There was always a fresh pie or two out on the kitchen counter or in our refrigerator “just in case someone stopped by.” I grew up with the smell of fresh pies baking in the oven as the familiar aroma I came

ES

home to after school. My father and I didn’t realize that this was not typical in most homes. I hate to admit it, but we actually were very nonchalant regarding her pies, and often passed on dessert after dinner — unthinkable! It was kind of like having the Rembrandt of pie making living in our home, with us being blind to the beauty (and flavor) we were exposed to on a daily basis! Not discouraged by this, however, my mother made pies for the sheer joy of making them. Nothing deterred her. As a young woman she even started at daybreak making fresh pies for a nearby country restaurant. Perhaps that is where she became renown for her pie baking.

It is my pleasure to share with you two of my mother’s recipes, as well as a crust that is always light and flakey. I hope you will give them a try to experience the joy of pie baking and the joy of the holiday season, just as our family has for generations.

CYNTHIA WONDERS WINTERROWD IS AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER WHO WAS RAISED IN ILLINOIS AND LIVES IN GAINESVILLE. SHE IS PROUD TO BE A “GATOR MOM” OF THREE DAUGHTERS, ALL UF GRADUATES. CYNTHIA LOVES SHARING FAMILY RECIPES THAT HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN IN HER MOTHER’S HANDWRITTEN COOKBOOKS. recipewonders@gmail.com

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CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PIE Perfect for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, this makes a festive pie when embellished with crushed peppermint candy on top!

begin making the filling.

Pour four cups of milk into a heavy saucepan and “scald.”

This means bring the milk just to the point of boiling when a skim of film starts to form at the top of the liquid. Turn off heat.

INGREDIENTS:

5

APPLE PIE Fall is when apples ripen and are just asking to be put into a pie! You can find them in abundance at your farmer’s market or in the grocery store, of course. Apple pie is a perfect finish for your Thanksgiving meal. For this recipe you will want a nice crisp apple, such as Granny Smith or Red Delicious. If apples lack tartness, sprinkle them with one tablespoon lemon juice after slicing.

INGREDIENTS:

6

cups tart apples (about 7 apples, thinly sliced) 1 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 Tbsp. butter Dash nutmeg and salt

At this time you will use the pastry dough you prepared in advance. Take half of the amount and form into a ball. Lay the dough on a floured surface and roll out the dough to fit into the pie tin/plate. Before adding the fruit filling, add about one tablespoon of flour, sugar and the spices (combined) into the bottom of the pastry, distributing lightly with your fingers. This will help absorb the juices from the apples as they are baking. Next, cut up two tablespoons butter and distribute across the top of the apples.

You will then add the top crust that you roll out the same way, or you can make a lattice woven top crust. You will find directions on how to do this in the crust recipe at the end of this article.

METHOD:

Have your pastry dough ready to roll out. In our humid climate, I put the dough in the refrigerator while I prepare the filling. This makes it easier to handle when rolling it out.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Peel your apples and thinly slice them.

Put your sliced apples in the sugar mixture and combine thoroughly, which will coat the apple slices nicely.

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Once the top crust is in place and you have trimmed and fluted the edge, sprinkle top of the pie with sugar and cinnamon (combined). I usually fold strips of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust, to guard against over browning. Bake at 400 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Check to make sure apples are done with a toothpick, then serve while slightly warm. Delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

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egg yolks, beaten with a fork 1 scant cup white sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 2 1/2 Tbsp. (rounded) cocoa 5 Tbsp. (rounded) cornstarch 5 cups milk 2 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. vanilla Cool Whip for topping Crushed peppermint/ candy cane METHOD:

First prepare your pie shell.

Fit it into the pie plate, then trim and flute the edges.

Prick the bottom and sides well with a fork or the crust will lift up a “bubble” while baking. Place in a preheated hot oven (450 degrees) for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Oven temperatures vary, so keep a close eye on it while baking. Now that the piecrust is baked and cooling,

Have three different size bowls sitting on your counter.

Crack and separate five egg whites in the largest bowl, and the yolks in the smallest bowl.

In the medium bowl, put the white sugar, salt, cocoa and cornstarch. Mix well, then add one cup of cold milk. Mix well and add to the scalded milk waiting on the stove. Now turn on the heat and cook until it thickens. At this point, take some of this hot chocolate mixture and add it to the forkbeaten egg yolks. Quickly mix and return to the chocolate on the stove. Stir and cook for just a minute or two — and it’s done! Remove from the burner and add the butter and vanilla. Stir, and allow to cool slightly. Then pour into the baked pie shell. Allow pie to cool completely and then refrigerate overnight. On the day of your dinner party, top with cool whip and crushed peppermint candy!

FLAKEY PASTRY RECIPE SERIES >> HOLIDAY PIES

This is a very easy pastry dough to make from scratch.

Once you have worked with it, you will find that pie making is not as difficult as you thought. Remember to handle the dough as little as possible, and to not add too much flour when rolling out.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1 1/2 6

cups all-purpose flour tsp. salt cup shortening (Crisco) Tbsp. (approx.) icy cold water

METHOD:

First stir the flour and salt in the bowl. Measure the shortening and “cut” it into the flour mixture, until it resembles small pea-sized lumps.

When “cutting” the shortening into the mixture, you can use a pastry blender which is a tool made especially for this task.

If you don’t have one you can use two table knives (one in each hand) and slice through the mixture until you achieve the coarse crumbs. Remember not to handle the pastry mixture during the process. This will make it turn out “tough” instead of light and flakey.

Next you will sprinkle in about six tablespoons of icy cold water, mixing after each addition. You may add more water if necessary to achieve the right consistency in the dough. You want to achieve dough that is flexible and moist, but not sticky.

Weather and humidity does affect pastry, and the more you practice at it the better you will become at achieving the desired result. When it is the right consistency, you can NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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RECIPE SERIES >> HOLIDAY PIES

briefly use your hands to shape it into a ball and put it into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

After the filling is prepared and waiting, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Form this into a ball with your hands and put it onto a floured surface. Dust the top with flour and also coat your rolling pin with flour. Work the rolling pin from the center outwards until you have a circular form slightly larger than your pie tin. Fold half of the rolled out pastry back over the rolling pin and lift gently to the pie tin.

Fill the pastry with your pie filling, and bake according to the recipe’s directions.

Some pies require a top crust, which you can roll out as above and cover the entire top of the pie. Lift the rolled out dough over to the pie in the same manner. Cut the excess dough from the edge of pie tin. Moisten top and bottom of the dough where they come together, and press firmly. Then “flute” the edges to make a decorative ruffle by squeezing between your thumb and fingers. Cut slits or pretty patterns on the top crust before baking to allow steam to escape during the baking process.

If you desire a basket weave top crust, roll out the top crust as above, but cut vertical strips of uniform width through the circle of rolled out dough. Starting with the longest strips, begin with one strip going crosswise vertically and horizontally on the center of pie. Continue in this pattern moving outward in each direction, moving the previous strip under or over the next strip until you have achieved the basket weave. When you have reached the outer edge of the pie, cut off the excess dough along the edge. Moisten the top and bottom edges and press firmly together. This attaches them so that they stay together while baking. Then proceed to “flute” the edges with your fingers to make a ruffled edge.

Now this may all sound intimidating, but it really isn’t. I have just written down each step in detail so that you can achieve great results. Remember that pie making, like everything in life, gets easier the more you do it. Before you know it, you will be whipping up pies for the sheer joy of it, just like Ronelva!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

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LOCAL BANDS >> DIVERSE TALENT

Music to Kno w From a vant-ga rde, ex from L perime atin to ntal mu h e av y me spanni sic to co tal, loca n g a va untr y, l r m i e u t y of ge our atte sicians nres ha ntion. S ve rece ome of others ntly cau these a have be ght r t i e sts are n aroun a little new, w d for m more a h ile any yea ttentio rs . A l l d n (in ou eser ve r humb We’d li ke to ta le opin ke this ion). light on opport just a fe u n i t y to she w of ou no part d a little r favori icular o t e s . r Here th der... Th Orches ey are, i e Thin S tra, Jus n kins, Th t Desse Jake an r e Bill Pe ts, Nata d The S l r i ry e Nicole G oul Sea Panas 3 rchers, r e e 52. Rea n , Little Thunde d on an rclap an d enjoy d Los !

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You N ee

About

d

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AMERICANA >> THE THIN SKINS

FRIENDS FIRST

The Thin Skins S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY G A BRIE LLE C A LI S E

T

he Gainesville rock band may have only existed since this January, but the chemistry that comes with being old friends gives them the sound of a group that’s been together for far longer.

Singer and guitarist Mark Archer has known fiddle player Andrew Cook since 2001 and has been playing music with bassist Haze Brown for the past two decades.

At the beginning of 2015, the friends joined together with drummer Damian Caraballo to form The Thin Skins. In just a handful of weeks, the band came up with a few songs before debuting at Loosey’s in downtown Gainesville.

“The first gig we had, we only practiced three times before,” Archer said. “But we killed it.”

Since then, The Thin Skins have been playing shows in Gainesville about once a month. Even though each band member has experience on the road, the group has yet to go on tour.

“It’s harder when you’re grown up,” said drummer Damian Caraballo.

As much as each member enjoys playing live music, other priorities have to come first. Members of the group work day jobs ranging from making tempeh to doing IT for charter schools

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to working as a USDA entomology agent.

Family commitments are even more important than work.

The band recently put music on hold during the summer after Caraballo had a baby and Archer got married.

After the break, The Thin Skins bounced back to perform a free show at Loosey’s in September. The band plans to play a set on Halloween at First Magnitude Brewery during The Fest, Gainesville’s annual three-day punk rock festival.

Next, the band hopes to hit the studio to record new music.

The Thin Skins only have a handful of songs uploaded to their Bandcamp page right now, but that may change soon. Archer said he hopes to pump out enough tracks for a full-length album, hopefully within the next six months.

“The last few months have sparked creativity,” he said.

Archer is the one behind most of the songwriting. He relies on a voice recorder to capture the ideas that pop into his head at inopportune times.

“Seven times out of 10, it’s either in the car or waking up in the middle of the night,” he said. “I’ll just whisper it quiet enough so that my wife doesn’t hear it into my little voice recorder.”

Archer develops the lyrics and builds the songs around his recorded melodies before bringing his ideas to the band.

“With these guys, it’s just so easy,” he said.

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AMERICANA >> THE THIN SKINS

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AMERICANA >> THE THIN SKINS

Each member brings years of experience playing in different bands around town. But the ease that comes with being in The Thin Skins comes from the chemistry that these old friends have had for much longer.

“These guys are my best friends and they’re so much fun to play with,” Brown said.

The Thin Skins is a different project from anything that the members have been in before. The band’s goal is more realistic this time, and the members are focusing on having a good time doing what they enjoy.

“We’re just doing it because we love playing music together,” Caraballo said. “There’re no delusions of grandeur.”

The group has a lot of fun when they play for other people, and it shows in their energetic live performances. Their genre is hard to pin down – band members describe it as simply Gainesville rock ‘n’ roll, but folk and blues elements permeate their songs.

“We don’t sound like anything I’ve known,” Archer said.

Even on the Sunday night of their show at Loosey’s in September, the group was able to draw an enthusiastic crowd. The Thin Skins started by playing fast and heavy. Cook’s fiddle cut in, sweet and sharp, past feet-stomping rhythms and Archer’s raw vocals. Even when they debut a brand new song that’s only been practiced a handful of times, The Thin Skins pull it off like a group that’s been together for far longer.

“We’re just old friends, we know how to play music with each other,” Archer said. “We’re just in it because we like it.”

“Not like,” Brown corrected him. “We love it.”

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AVANT-GARDE >> BILL PERRY ORCHESTRA

CONCEPTUALIST

Bill Perry Orchestra S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY G A BRIE LLE C A LI S E

H

e once opened up for Marilyn Manson. His songs involve props and strange chants. And for the grand finale of each show, he dons a bright orange kimono and shrieks like Yoko Ono. Bill Perry has dabbled with the absurd in Gainesville for the past three decades.

His band, The Bill Perry Orchestra, is a collective that consists of over two-dozen local musicians.

“I can call up different people when I have a show,” Perry said. “If somebody can’t make it, there’s always somebody else that can play the show.”

The size of the The Bill Perry Orchestra has fluctuated over the past 31 years as members move to and from Gainesville. The group is composed of musicians from a wide range of backgrounds. There’s Perry, who makes

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his living as an artist; Chuck Martin, a University of Florida chemistry professor; and even Our Town’s very own music columnist, Brian Kruger.

“I play in several other bands, but this one is a trip,” said lap steel guitar player Lisa Johnson.

Johnson, one of Perry’s long-time musician friends, has been performing alongside him for over three decades. She became an official member of his band a few years ago.

“Some people buy sports cars when they retire,” Johnson said. “I joined the Bill Perry Orchestra.”

The experimental project started in the mid-‘80s when Matt Houston, a friend of Perry, asked if he could use his name for the title of his band.

“I said, ‘If it’s going to have my name, I want to be in it,” Perry said.

His friend has long left the group, but Perry plays on.

As the leader of the Orchestra, Perry comes up with many of the lyrics and ideas for songs. His influences include The Monkees, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart.

“I’m not a musician, per se,” Perry said. “I’m the conceptualist.”

His live performance incorporates a mix of classic rock ‘n’ roll songs and wacky avant-garde pieces — costumes and props included.

“We’re kind of a cross between a rock band and performance art,” Perry said.

The group performs anywhere from 12 to 20 times a year. While Perry works hard to put on an engaging concert, he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

“I enjoy getting onstage and seeing people laugh and enjoy my shows,” he said.

He realizes that some will like his work and some won’t, and he’s OK with that.

Over the course of his music career, Perry

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AVANT-GARDE >> BILL PERRY ORCHESTRA

has played for groups as small as eight people and as large as 450.

At its show on September 19, The Bill Perry Orchestra performed for a crowd of about 20 people in the parking lot outside of the Loop de Loop consignment shop in Gainesville. To kick off the show, Perry held a toy guitar emblazoned with Mickey Mouse to the microphone.

“Time to rock the house,” the toy said in a squeaky mouse voice, laughing.

From there, things just got stranger.

Perry’s songs are brief and fun, and each one crafts a whimsical story. In “The Library,” Perry reads out loud from a book onstage as his fellow musicians 64 |

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play their instruments. The music starts quiet, building louder and louder until Perry throws his book down and exclaims, “Shhh! This is the library!”

In other songs, Perry uses silly voices to convey their nonsensical narratives. In “Coffee,” Perry howls “I’m joooooooonesing for a cup of coffee. I’ve got the shakes!” In “The Shape of Your Nose,” Perry repeats, “I love the shape of your nose,” over and over again.

Despite the unusual concepts, the songs are listenable, even enjoyable. The crowd smiles and claps along during the music. And sprinkled in-between his experimental storytelling ballads, Perry

even inserts original blues and rock songs.

But for his grand finale, Perry pulls off one of the most bizarre performances of his whole set list: a song called Yoko Ono Shopping for Oranges.

Swaddled in a vibrant orange kimono with a baseball glove on each hand, Perry screeches out his best impression of Yoko Ono distressed in a supermarket.

“Apples, cherries, no, no, no,” he said.

“Oranges, oranges, oranges!”

It’s a spectacle for sure, but something that everyone should witness firsthand at least once in their life.

After all, there’s only one Bill Perry Orchestra.

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STORYTELLING A CAPPELLA >> JUST DESSERTS

WENCH IN YOUR PLAN

Just Desserts W RIT TE N BY R A MON PE N A

I

n the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire of 2011, Crissy Hensley was a volunteer, dressed in full medieval attire. On a rainy day, under a large tent where many performers were huddled to stay dry, she said somewhat sarcastically to Toni Finley, maybe better known as Cupcake, “You should start a singing wench group.”

Finley responded, also somewhat sarcastically, “OK. You want to be in it?”

After a night out with the wenches and a fated karaoke audition for Hensley, she was happily accepted into the group of wenches, and took the role of Cherri Tart, the youngest and most innocent with a tendency to end her sentences in question marks.

Just Desserts isn’t just sweet. It’s lively, comedic and full of double entendres. As wenches — a term to which they take no offense — their songs are, Finley said, funny and kind of sexy, but with no explicit language; mostly metaphors.

Gayle Shlafer (AKA Tira McSu), and Shay Smith (AKA Ginger Snap) knew each other since 1996 when they were part of the Gainesville Thieves Guilde. In what was to be a fateful audition for Brigadoon at the Gainesville Community Playhouse in 1997, Shlafer, Smith and Finley all auditioned. Shlafer won out over

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Finley for the role of Fiona MacLaren.

They don’t consider themselves a band, but rather a comedy act that sings. Crowd interaction is a must in every performance.

Very often during the songs, they will stop to make jokes at each other’s or the crowd’s expense.

Finley said that a lot of what they do is off-the-cuff, but mostly it’s hard to tell what is improvised or not.

As ‘tavern wenches,’ the group closely resembles its on-stage persona in real life. They jest among themselves and are each easily found as the life of the party. And just as it would seem on stage, the group is extremely close-knit.

Still, the group keeps strong ties to the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire, where the origins of their characters and Just Desserts lie.

“It really is a big family and you only see each other once a year, so it’s really meaningful,” Hensley said.

They admit that they owe some of their success to the Gainesville performing and music scene, as well. Although there is still competition, performers and artists are more willing to help each other out.

“It’s not a competition,” Finley said, “it’s ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’”

A phrase they have adopted and still widely use is, “Because Gainesville.”

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STORYTELLING A CAPPELLA >> JUST DESSERTS

In February 2014, the wenches released their first album: “Just Desserts Live: Come Get Yours!”

Although it contained only cover songs, the album had a warm reception. The wenches are planning to soon release a second album. This time, they will have plenty of original songs for it.

The original music is mostly due to, as Just Desserts concedes, the creative mind of Finley, who acts as their main songwriter. She said she’ll get a great

cutout of a man asking for donations that they bring to every show, with a “sack” wrapped around his waist to place the money. He is known as “bawdy Mike.”

The wenches still maintain the same goals as when they started: to have fun and to keep performing together. For them, it’s not about making money, but about their love of performing, Finley said.

Still, they make the strongest impression when

For important choices in the group’s history, they maintain one rule: “A bedful of wenches can make a decision. One or two is just a tease.” line in her head, usually accompanied by a tune, and will start thinking about how to make it into a song.

Their most popular original is “Guarding Me Booty,” a tale of pirates and the wenches who receive them, making sure to only give the booty to the right captain.

Today, they’re saving up to purchase body mics, as they prefer not to be tied down. They maintain a 68 |

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there is at least a “bedful” of wenches, or at least three. For important choices in the group’s history, they maintain one rule: “A bedful of wenches can make a decision. One or two is just a tease,” Finley said.

To stay updated, visit Just Desserts wenches Facebook page and follow them or click on “Get Wench News.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: ALLEN FINLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

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COUNTRY >> NATALIE NICOLE GREEN

BACK YARD SWAGGER

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PHOTOGRAPHY: ALBERT ISAAC

W R IT TE N BY A LB E R T I SA AC

S

inger-songwriter Natalie Nicole Green strolled into the local cafe looking the consummate professional; fashionably dressed, flawless hair and makeup, sporting six-inch heels. She looked every bit the star — a movie actress or celebrity or musician that would grace the covers of popular magazines.

But then the conversation begins and it becomes obvious that she’s down-toearth, the girl-next-door, both feet firmly planted on the ground, even as she drops names of people she recently hung out with in Nashville: Miranda Lambert (country music artist), Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne from ABC’s TV show “Nashville”), John Rich (of Big & Rich) and others.

But she shied away from talking too much about her close encounters of the celebrity kind.

Green lives in Gainesville but these days spends much of her time in Nashville, Tennessee, traveling to the Music City every few weeks to record her two new albums. Now in the works and due for release in December is her second Christmas album of classic favorites, while her other musical endeavor consists entirely of original music.

Last year’s Christmas album was a surprise success.

“The Christmas album started as a Christmas gift for my parents last year,” she said. “Just for them. And we bought 200 or 300 extra albums.”

She said they bought extras in case their group of extended family and friends – known as “Framily” — might be interested in buying copies.

“And it ended up on radio all over the world,” Green said. “It was crazy!”

How did that happen?

“I have no clue,” she said.

Recorded with her band, Little Bit More, the group posted the album online and also made a music video at Medusa Studios. The video was recorded live with additional video takes.

“It’s just weird having cameras around.

My eyes were closed most of the time just because we were recording and I wanted to make sure all the notes were right,” she said. “We taped it live. Once. One way through. Then we played it back and sang and played with it and made more video.”

Their first Christmas album sold out and they had to order more CDs. “All over the world people were ordering them. And if you pre-order you get special little things,” Green said. “We’re working on the second volume, coming up. I’m super excited about it. I’m just a traditional Christmas girl.”

Born in Fort Lauderdale, she moved to Germany when her parents — employees of Eastern Airlines — lost their jobs in 1989.

“I was a strike baby,” she said. “March 7th, I was born. Strike on March 4th. They pretty much were bankrupt. Dad lost his retirement. And they had a new baby.

Didn’t know what to do.”

She said her father got a call to teach pilots how to fly in Germany.

“So that’s what we went and did,” she said. “We lived there for 13 years, on and off. Had a home in Atlanta and a house in Germany. We’d go back and forth.”

In “6th or 7th grade” she landed a gig singing the National Anthem at an Atlanta Braves Game.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I was

definitely nervous. And then the echo gets you. Why didn’t they tell us? No one mentioned the echo. I had to concentrate and pretend the echo isn’t there.”

Now she uses in-ear monitors.

After the September 11 attacks, Green said the teachers were fired and her father was again out of work. “[My parents] started over a couple of times,” she said. “They are my heroes.

It shows me that hard work really can pay off.”

The family moved to Gainesville where her uncle offered them a business opportunity in medical services.

“I moved here in the middle of the 8th grade and have been here ever since and absolutely love it,” she said. “And we’re die-hard Gator fans.”

In Gainesville, Green has continued to grow as an artist, but it was well before this time that she already had an irresistible urge to perform, bursting into song at any given opportunity.

“I would sing non-stop,” she said. “I don’t know who has a rule ‘don’t sing at the dinner table,’ but there was NO singing at the table. Even at restaurants, if there was a fern of some sort I would go sing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ I would put my hair in there [as if it were hay] and pretend I was Judy Garland. My poor parents.”

In Gainesville she attended Buchholz High School where she began singing in the chorus.

“I did this fall recital,” she said. “And the drama teacher, Ted Lewis, was there and he came straight over after I sang and said, ‘I need to have you in my program. Musicals will be your thing. We need to do it.’”

She switched to drama and continued learning and improving, garnering the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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COUNTRY >> NATALIE NICOLE GREEN

Natalie Nicole Green

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lead in two musicals (“Fame” and “Forbidden Planet”) and winning an award for Best Actress. To this day she keeps in touch with her teachers.

As a teenager she went to Nashville to check out the music scene. “[It’s great] when you meet the right people — there are so many sharks up in Nashville,” she said. “When I was 16, we got to see a lot of them and that’s when my mom said, ‘No, you’re not going up there at 16 or 18. You’re not ready for that.’”

So instead she decided to first make a name for herself in Florida. Then, after already creating a buzz, she could continue to spread out and head to Nashville and see if they were interested.

She even considered going to college in Nashville. In the end, however, she earned her degree in business from Santa Fe College, which she said has helped her in managing her music career. At 21, fresh out of college, she joined the band “Little Bit More” after one of the band members came into her mother’s business looking for a job.

“It was crazy,” Green said. “He came in there and said he was a drummer and had a band. I was about to graduate and my mom said ‘you need to meet my daughter,’ and so I came and sang for him. I’m so used to my mom and songwriters just saying, ‘Just start singing.’”

After the impromptu audition, Green went to audition for the rest of the band.

“He pretty much made the rest of the band listen to me,” she said with a laugh. “I remember meeting them and they weren’t too happy about it. And then when they heard me sing I remember seeing in their faces, ‘we can make this work.’”

Soon Natalie Nicole Green and Little Bit More were playing steady from North Carolina to Miami.

“We were booked solid every single weekend, Thursday through Sunday, maybe two to three shows a day,” she said. “You name it. We took a cruise for two weeks down to the Bahamas. Played on a cruise ship for two weeks.”

Over the years Little Bit More has seen a change in band members and it’s too early to say what the next incarnation will be. Green admits it’s a bittersweet situation.

“I learned so much from them,” she said,

Christmas Album Release

“and I am so grateful to them for helping me out and really starting something.”

For the past several months she has been keeping busy in the recording studio — and is very much missing playing live.

“We’re not preforming as much, unfortunately, which I hate. If I could play every day, I would,” she said. “We were so busy that I didn’t have a chance to write too much. It was vocal rest and then shows and vocal rest and more shows.”

But her time in Nashville appears to be time well spent. She’s recording music, writing songs, making connections and finding herself in the company of some remarkable people.

As a star-struck 16-year old she recalled visiting the front gate of the home of country music artist John Rich from the duo Big & Rich. Fast-forward a few years and she found herself at a party in his home with country artists Raelynn PHOTOGRAPHY: KELLEY BENNETT

and Miranda Lambert.

“So, when I was 16 we went up there and we saw his gate, and we thought, ‘how cool,’” she said. “And now it’s happened.

It’s crazy! I’m so blessed and thankful.”

And as she finishes her new albums she said she’d rather not be sitting in the studio; she can’t wait to get back onto the stage.

“We’ve done the behind-the-scenes work, and it’s packaged and ready to go so next year we’re hitting the road running,” she said. “That’s my favorite part.

Record companies are really happy to hear that I’m ready to go out every single day of the week, of the month, of the year and perform.”

So Green is keeping her eyes on the prize, but she tries her level best to continue to appreciate those who have helped her on her journey.

“Gainesville is where it all started,”

COUNTRY >> NATALIE NICOLE GREEN

PHOTO BY KELLEY BENNETT

November 24th

she said. “Granted, my parents are still here and my brother. I’m such a family person and a friend person, and even when we’re not preforming we still have meetings with what we call ‘Framily,’ because that’s what they’ve become.

Friends and family. We celebrate birthdays with them. They come to the shows to support you. It means the world to me. It means more to me than just entertainer and fan. I don’t want that separation.”

And what of the sharks in Nashville?

“When you meet the right people they’re really humble and easy-going and want to help you out because they have nothing to prove anymore,” she said.

“That’s what I’ve noticed. It’s been really amazing meeting the right people.

For more information, follow Natalie at natalienicolegreen.com.

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RHYTHM & BLUES >> “LITTLE JAKE” MITCHELL

FEELIN’ GOOD

Little Jake and the Soul Searchers W RIT TE N BY A LEXI A FER N A N DEZ

S

eated in the middle of the Charles Blade music studio in Gainesville, Florida, Jake Mitchell is a demure, quiet man dressed smartly in a green suit, a white shirt and a green striped tie, with two books under his arm.

The picture he presents brightens when he speaks.

“B.B. King accepted me as his godson,” he said. “He said, ‘I want you to keep on doing what you’re doing because there’s a future for you.’ He said, ‘I want to help you.’ And he did that.”

That thing Mitchell was doing was singing. Something he’d fallen in love with when he was 5 years old.

Born Arnold Jake Mitchell and raised by a single mother in Tampa, Florida, Mitchell learned music under the tutelage of many of the country’s legendary icons. Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and Jackie Wilson are performers he admires to this day and with whom he performed during his long career.

By the time he was 12 years old, Mitchell had released his first record with Chess Records in 1957 on the same master

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tape as Chuck Berry.

“It was exciting,” he said. “It was very exciting. Because as a young kid, at 12 years old, here was all this stuff coming before me. I said, ‘This might be the time to get my family out of poverty.’”

He started playing the Chitlin’ Circuit, a string of nightclubs and theaters that featured African-American performers and audiences. There, he met The Impressions, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Roy Hamilton and Marvin Gaye.

In 1960, Mitchell, then 15 years old and going by the name of “Little Jake,” was invited to perform at the University of Florida’s football homecoming Gator Growl along with his band Little Jake and the Blenders, as the first African-American performers to grace the stage there.

It was not without tension.

“I said the only way I would perform was if they let all my peoples come through those gates,” he said.

What happened next became his crowning achievement.

Not only did he convince Florida Blue Key (Gator Growl’s PHOTOGRAPHY: RAY CARSON

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RHYTHM & BLUES >> “LITTLE JAKE” MITCHELL

organizing committee) and UF President J. Wayne Reitz to agree to allow African-Americans inside the stadium, he also managed to get an additional 10,000 bleachers added to the end zone. He estimated over 60,000 people attended the show. But the best part was seeing the mix of black and white.

“They came from everywhere,” he said. “It made me feel so good. And everybody got along good; everybody started singing together. From that moment on, that was it.”

In that same year, Little Jake and the Blenders parted ways.

Mitchell graduated from Lincoln High School in Gainesville and continued his career by recording his music.

Performances with Stevie Wonder and Jackie Wilson brought him closer to the people whose music he admired.

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such as “Not a Chance in a Million,” started his own music company, Golden Hit Productions, and started a family.

During the ‘70s, business slowed and he took a job as an executive chef at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

He worked there for 15 years and through it all he still thought about his music.

The passing of his aunt in Florida brought him back to the state. It also marked the end of his tenure as a professional cook.

Nowadays, he cooks, but only for fun and family.

“I missed [music],” he said. “You know, when you love something you have to do it.”

With his return to Florida, he founded Little Jake and the Soul Searchers, a band that traveled with him in June to England for a series of music festival performances. His friend PHOTOGRAPHY: RAY CARSON

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and band member, Charlie Blade, also had a hand in bringing him out of retirement.

“The crowd was huge over there,” Mitchell said. “It was my first time in England but they’ve been asking for me for a while now.”

In England, Mitchell has been included in the Northern Soul Top 500 list in the U.K. His addition onto the list settles the rich history of music that he has experienced.

A performance at the Apollo Theater usually cements a musician’s status as a professional and popular artist, but Mitchell has performed there five times in his life, to sold-out crowds, each time with a legendary artist such as Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Little Willie John and B.B. King.

Out of all the people he has performed with, Mitchell said it’s Aretha Franklin he listens to when he wants to reminisce.

“The music has gone down,” he said.

“They took away live bands. The DJs destroyed that when they came in. The radio started hiring disc jockeys and the live band was out of work. Now, [people are] beginning to realize that they don’t want the disc jockey, they want a real show.”

Mitchell’s perspective on modern day music is directly from the eyes of someone who has seen a lot of turmoil in his lifetime.

“I love all music,” he said. “But the music of today, it’s nothing like the beginning of music — that’s real music. Kids today accept music in a different way. As times goes I pray they can eventually accept real music, music of love. Not music of hate.”

Looking back on all the history he’s seen firsthand, from the Civil Rights Movement to desegregating Gator Growl, to a black man being elected president twice, Mitchell said his belief in a higher being has been reinforced.

“It makes me feel wonderful,” he said. “It’s shown me that all we have to do is believe, look beyond, and have faith.

Gainesville has come a long way. The country, though, has a ways to go.”

Mitchell is set to release a new album in December, with a song written that he says connects to everything he’s seen and experienced. It’s called “Free At Last.”

“It’s all come back full circle,” he said.

“I’m at the age now where I’ve got to slow down. But I’m still doing what I love.”

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HEAVY METAL >> THUNDERCLAP

FRUIT OF THE DOOM

Thunderclap S T O R Y A N D P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K R I S T I N KO Z E L S K Y

O

r i g i n a l ly fo u n d e d six years ago by Todd Rockhill and Danny Welsh, Thunderclap has been performing in its current form since April. Rockhill plays guitar and writes music, Welsh is on drums, and Ale Gasso is the lyricist and second guitar.

And then there’s the sound.

“The volume is just as much a part of it. It is almost like another band member,” Rockhill said. “I love music, but I wanted this band to be something that was more than just hearing music. I wanted you to…feel it too.”

Listening to the band play, you do feel it. The amps push air over your skin, the bass thumps deep in your chest and resonates in your bones, you find yourself overtaken by the rhythm and you have no choice but to become a part of the music and physically experience it.

Thunderclap defines their genre as “Heavy Metal Rock ‘n’ Roll Southern Sludge Doom

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Boogie-Woogie Bad Time Jams.” Their music is heavy and much of it originates from the gloomy experiences.

“Darkness is more prevalent in all of our lives than most people admit,” Rockhill said, “but we like to have fun too.”

Part of the reason the band wants its audience to physically feel the music through the volume is because it is rooted in those deep emotions that you feel in your core.

After Welsh and Rockhill started the band, they went through several permutations with other members, eventually deciding that a band of two was the best option for them. Until Rockhill decided to try one of long-time friend Gasso’s poems with his music. It fit perfectly.

The band performed the song at a friend’s wedding, where Gasso heard it for the first time.

She was happy to have her poems out in the world through music, and then became the band’s lyricist.

Rockhill later learned that the poem he chose to use for that first song had been written

Find Thunderclap on Spotify, Bandcamp, Facebook, and Instagram, or pick up their self-released vinyl album “The Moon Leads” under their own record label Heavily Seasoned. The band performs locally and throughout Florida.

Gasso’s poetry has been published in three books: “Poems to Drink to,” “Poems from Dark Places,” and “Long Night Out.”

several years prior about a crazy night out in which all three band members were involved.

Foreshadowing, anyone?

Of the three members, Gasso is the only one with classical training. Her father was a DJ and had a big record collection.

“My mom took me to my first concert, which was Thriller,” Gasso said. “It was awesome. I was so little that I remember the monsters scared me.”

Her family was very encouraging, and she started with a guitar at age six and even had a Smurf drum set. She also played clarinet throughout high school.

Welsh’s mother was into rock.

“She loves Ted Nugent,” he recalled.

His father was a DJ who worked at skating rinks in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. His parents had a huge music collection and all kinds of music were allowed in the house. Growing up in Memphis, he discovered the Memphis Drum Shop when he was about 10 years old.

“I found this place one day and hung out there, and there was nothing but drums,” Welsh said. “That pretty much started it. I just taught myself and decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

Rockhill’s home growing up was also filled with a variety of music.

“I found my mom’s records,” he said. “The rest is history.”

Like Welsh, Rockhill is self-taught. The family always had a piano in the house, which is where he began to experiment with music. In junior high, Rockhill met a friend that really helped push him further into music.

“I just fiddled around until it sounded right,” Rockhill said.

“I don’t know if it ever sounded right, but something’s working.”

Together, this group of friends seems to have found its niche.

“I really like what we’ve got going,” Rockhill said. “I’m really excited about this band. It’s not for everybody — if you get it, awesome. We’re having fun. It’s my favorite band that I’ve ever been in.”

“Absolutely,” Welsh agreed.

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LATIN PARTY MUSIC >> LOS PANAS 352

FULL FLAVOR

Los Panas 352 S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY R A MON PE N A

W

hat do two Columbians, one Chilean, one Mexican, one Venezuelan, one Texan and one Floridian living in Gainesville have in common?

A passion for making vivacious party music and making people dance, a love for performing, and membership in what is likely Gainesville’s premier Latin party music band: Los Panas 352.

Claiming Chilean Cumbia powerhouse Chico Trujillo as their main influence, as well as singers like Manu Chao and Bob Marley, the band is all about having a great time and making others happy, but doesn’t forget to put in the work needed to become great.

The members have years — some several decades — of experience under their belt, and with that comes a deeper understanding and appreciation for their genre. Yet, they remain down-to-earth.

They recognize themselves formally as a Latin party band, and rather than sing songs about the world and its truths, they just want to make people dance.

“Having a good time playing music that makes people dance, that’s the whole deal,” said Arturo Escamilla, 50, the 82 |

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percussionist, who came to Gainesville from Mexico in 1993.

Described by Columbian-origin bassist Eduardo Arenas Reyes, 37, as “cumbia-roots rock,” the band maintains a personality much like each of its individual members: high energy, up-tempo, and always “just going for it.”

Panas is a term of Latin origin, possibly originating from Venezuela or Columbia, the band said. Their name is simple, Arenas Reyes said: “The Buddies.” As the band has grown since forming last year, they are more like brothers.

“I think [with] the group we have now, it’s so easy. It’s easy to blend ideas of people, to get together and make it sound cool,” said lead singer and guitarist Gonzales, 23.

Gonzalez is the youngest, but is considered by none to be the weak link in the band. Every band has one unofficial “leader,” Arenas Reyes said, and Gonzalez is Los Panas’. He grew up a rocker in Chile, buying copies of sheet music from bands like Green Day and Rage Against the Machine for 10 cents, and learning their songs.

Every member has a rich history of performing and practice.

Venezuelan timbales player Ross Henderson, 45, has been performing for years. Columbian drummer Camilo Garzon, 28, studied music in his native country before moving to Gainesville in January. He left his studies because he didn’t see music as a theory, but as a part of his life.

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PHOTO BY CRISTOBAL GONZALEZ

LATIN PARTY MUSIC >> LOS PANAS 352

Initially recruited as the bassist, his skill in the drums was unsurpassed Arenas Reyes said. Plus finding a good, reliable drummer is the hardest part of making a band.

“The only person in the band whose abilities I ever question are mine,” Arenas Reyes said.

Band members Arenas Reyes and trumpet player Blake Briand, 37, are co-owners of the downtown Gainesville bar The Jam, which puts emphasis on its stage and performance. Arenas Reyes was instrumental in recruiting Briand, who in turn brought on Texas native Steve Anderson, 29, to the band as the trombone player.

On September 21, Los Panas recorded its first original single: “El Studioso,” or “The Scholar.” Next, Gonzalez said, they’re working on their second original song, and eventually will 84 |

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release the band’s first album.

Gonzalez, the main songwriter, said the songwriting process starts with someone’s inspiration. Los Panas 352 believes in the connection made with the listener through the vocals.

Sometimes a song starts with a cool phrase or melody and they build it around that.

But always, they believe, the best songs tell a story. “El Studioso” is the story of a studious man, just like their next single, “Volar,” will be a story.

Still, the band focuses its energy on the crowd, and they always getting them dancing, Arenas Reyes said.

“They love it, and if they speak Spanish, they love it even more,” he said.

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onesville Business Group (JBG) is made up of business professionals in the greater Gainesville area who work together to make connections that will grow their businesses, so they may invest in their communities. JBG members are local business owners, sales people, and vendors who want to expand their businesses and make more money, yes, but this isn’t an ordinary group of networking business people. They recognize the importance of investing in community so that the community will thrive. They accomplish this through donations and service projects with local non-profit organizations.

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The founding members agreed they wanted to invest in Jonesville and the surrounding communities by growing the local businesses but by also donating time and money to local non-profit organizations. So they decided that the membership dues collected would be donated quarterly to a charity of choice.

Subsequently, in November 2014, the group donated $1000 to Habitat for Humanity, in January 2015 they voted to support Wounded Warrior Project on a monthly basis, and in March they donated $1000 to Stop Children’s Cancer. Their

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CRAFTS >> HOLIDAY SNOW GLOBES

WINTER WONDERLAND

Let It Snow Do-It-Yourself Holiday Snow Globes S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY ERICK A WINTER ROW D

I

t’s the holiday season, and as the saying goes, “Tis far better to give than to receive.” Sometimes, however, that “giving” part can end up breaking the bank, creating post-holiday blues, which is never a good way to start off the new year. Here is a solution: DIY Holiday Snow Globes! What’s a better way of spreading some Christmas cheer than giving family and friends a gift made from the heart? This is a great craft project to do with the kids, who will surely be transfixed with the final product. So give the gift of enchantment this year as the shimmering magic of snowfall abounds in this classic toy, so affordable and adorable. Perfect for the child within us all.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Distilled Water Glitter Glass jars Fake Snow Glycerin Sandpaper

Mini Trees Figurines Epoxy Glue (Instant Mix)

OPTIONAL ITEMS: paint, food coloring, photographs, scissors, laminator 88 |

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CRAFTS >> HOLIDAY SNOW GLOBES 90 |

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You may wish to paint the jar lid with a seasonal color. If so, use oil-based enamel paint and set aside so it can dry. Next, sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough.

Then, with clear-drying epoxy, adhere your holiday figurine to the inside of the lid. Let the epoxy dry.

A more personal touch to this gift would be to use a photograph of your loved one along with the snow globe figurine. An easy way to do this is to print out a copy of the photo you want to use, cut it out, and run it through a laminator. Most copy stores have lamination services that don’t cost too much.

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CRAFTS >> HOLIDAY SNOW GLOBES

Make sure when you cut around your lamination; you leave a tiny border so it stays sealed. This thoughtful touch will definitely tug at your gift receiver’s heartstrings.

Now it’s time to fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water. Depending on the jar size and the amount of snow flurries desired, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of different kinds of glitter or fake snow shavings. Make sure to choose options that most resemble snowflakes. For example, I used small silver glitter and fake snow — 1 teaspoon of each for the smaller jars. Quickly add in a couple drops of glycerin. This will help slow down the glitter as it falls, creating a majestic look to your mini Winter Wonderland.

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Another fun option is to add a couple drops of blue food coloring. I did this for my penguin snow globe, which really gave the scene a touch of the North Pole. BRRRR! Lastly, close the lid tightly; making sure it is properly sealed.

And now for the fun part! Shake your snow globe like a Polaroid picture. Get it? As the snow swirls around your fantastical figurines — imagine a world where magic really does exist, and then realize you already live in one.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

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COLUMN

ALBERT ISAAC’S

Different Note BAND DAYS

ALBERT ISAAC IS AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER AND EDITOR AND THE AUTHOR OF SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS AND PERSONAL COLUMNS. HE LIVES IN HIGH SPRINGS WITH HIS FAMILY AND A BUNCH OF CRITTERS. editor@towerpublications.com

HOLY COWBELLS, BATMAN! HOW DID I MANAGE TO GET INTO TWO BANDS?

I

know I’ve been writing about music now for the last several issues and some of you may even be tired of me tooting my horn but how can I NOT write about music for our “Art and Music” edition?

Well, I can’t. Especially in light of the fact I’m now playing in two bands.

This is an amazing feat for someone whose primary instrument has sat in its case for more years than some of the people I work with have been alive.

But I have reason to be hopeful that I will soon become a most fantastic musician. After all, I’ve recently met several people who have picked up their horns after decades of not playing and they are sounding quite good. So there’s hope for yours truly. All I have to do is practice. And practice. Maybe take some private lessons. Maybe join some more bands.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice. (Or buy a ticket.)

Of course, it’s not easy finding time to practice, as I’ve mentioned before. There’s the whole work thing. There’s family life. There’s always something. There’s a lawn to be mowed and gutters to be cleaned and a motorcycle to ride and a television to watch and Hours to be Happy. After all, I’m not retired yet.

During the last several months I’ve been amazed at the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy. I had been talking with anyone who will listen (I tend to do that a lot) about wanting to get back into playing music. After all, it was a huge part of my

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life for, well, for most of my life.

So I started talking about it. Then I started writing about it.

Then a fellow musician read my article (thanks David!) and sent me a letter encouraging me to join the Gainesville Community Band. I’m so glad he did (not so sure my fellow band members feel the same way). I now have two concerts under my belt, with the most recent being a wonderful performance at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall. And luckily, I made my most crucial mistake during rehearsal before the concert, rather than on the very first note of the very first tune we performed that afternoon. That would have gone over like a turd in a punchbowl.

Ah, the pressure of live performance!

I’ve got a ways to go before I play to my satisfaction, and probably years to go before I play to my band director’s satisfaction (thanks Gary!), but I plan to continue.

And recently I joined a second band — the Santa Fe Brass. This came about from another serendipitous encounter made possible by my writings. While attending a jazz concert, a gentleman (thanks Paul!) approached having recognized me from the magazine. He said he’s been reading my stories and wanted to know where I went to high school.

As it turns out, we both went to Coral Gables High School in Miami, although he was there some years before me. That was cool enough, but the more we talked the more the connections became apparent. As it turns out, the two of us — as well as his wife — all played together at Miami-Dade Community College.

Say what?

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while I was driving home soon thereafter a ďŹ&#x201A;ash of recollection struck me like a bolt from the blue, illuminating a very clear vision of the two of them in band with me.

His wife sat beside me playing the tuba while he stood behind playing his trumpet. There they were, in my memory, albeit some 38 years younger than they are today.

Well, his wife (thanks Anne!) and conductor asked if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to play in a small brass ensemble known as the Santa Fe Brass, and â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ba-boom! â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in. As I type these words

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Just as my fellow musicians have encouraged me to play again, I would ask the same of everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; get back to the things that make you happy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too late. Find your bliss.

Do your art. Toot your horn. Have a blast. we are preparing for our first concert of the season, to be held at the Art Festival in Thornebrook.

A fellow writer (and musician) once told me that musicians just seem to find one another. Seems to be true. And Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m glad we did, as music is again part of my life.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve still got a ways to go but my chops are getting better with each practice (the dogs have gotten used to the noise) and my brain is once again challenged with reading sheet music (then again, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not hard to challenge my brain).

Just as my fellow musicians have encouraged me to play again, I would ask the same of everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; get back to the things that make you happy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too late. Find your bliss.

Do your art. Toot your horn. Have a blast.

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AUGUST and SEPTEMBER 2015 TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:

www.facebook.com/SunStateFCU and click on “Charity of the Month”

AUGUST WINNER - 2,143 VOTES

SEPTEMBER WINNER - 3,854 VOTES

Joey’s Wings

GiGi’s Playhouse

The August Charity of the Month $1,000 winner is Joey’s Wings. The organization’s mission is to support cutting edge research on kidney cancers that affect children and young adults. Joey’s Wings is named for Joey Xu, an energetic, art-loving Gainesville boy who was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer in 2013. One hundred percent of all donations to Joey’s Wings go towards research for less toxic cancer cures and therapies. The organization also provides advocacy and support for parents of child cancer patients.

Gigi’s Playhouse is an international organization with 24 locations that offers over 30 programs to those with Down Syndrome and their families. Gigi’s Playhouse seeks to foster a sense of confidence and empower participants to achieve their greatest potential, advancing literacy, math and motor skills, and more. Each therapeutic and educational program that it offers to the community is free. The Gainesville location opened on October 11, 2015.

Other winners: Jennifer Emery will receive $300 for nominating them. The $500 random charity winner is 10-Can. The $100 random voter winner is Traci Garrison.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS >> CHARITY OF THE MONTH

CH A RIT Y OF THE MONTH WINNER S

Other winners: Mika Vuto will receive $300 for nominating them. The $500 random charity winner is Power of 2, Inc. The $100 random voter winner is Chris Olanders.

Prizes provided by a partnership between Sunstate Federal Credit Union and Tower Publications, Inc.

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL

352-372-5468

FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Saboré 13005 SW 1st Road, Tioga, FL 32669 (Tioga Town Center) Tues - Fri 11am - Close • Sat - 10am-3pm Brunch, 5pm-Close Dinner Sunday - 10am-3pm Brunch • Open Mondays for special events only

352-332-2727 www.saborerestaurant.com Fusion — Saboré [sa-bohr-ay] is a modern world-fusion restaurant featuring a variety of dishes inspired by dynamic cuisine from places like Europe, Asia, and South America.

Their recipe is simple: authentic global flavors, quality ingredients, expert craftsmanship, and exceptional service. Saboré offers customers a unique dining experience, shareable plates, delicious dishes, signature cocktails, desserts and now brunch that will keep you coming back for more. So let us surprise your palate with our global flair and exotic ingredients. Experiencing world cuisine this fresh usually requires a passport.

Krab King 25405 W Newberry Rd. Newberry Fl 32669 Monday - Check • Thursday 11:00am – 8:00pm Friday - Saturday 11:00am – 10:00pm • Sunday Closed

352-682-2139 SEAFOOD — If you’re looking for the best Crab legs in town, then look no further. Newberry’s Backyard Krab King, in its new location, located in the heart of Newberry, is ready to satisfy your hunger. Home of the famous Garlic Butter, Krab King features the freshest and tastiest Snow Crab, Blue Crab, Garlic Oysters, Fish and Shrimp available.

This “Take-Out-Only” restaurant has meals starting at $8.50 and most meals or platters come with eggs, sausage, potatoes and corn as side dishes. Larger trays and platters are available and seasoned perfectly. Come by, meet Andrew and see why Paige Beck from TV20 called our crab “The best quality crab legs in North Central Florida.”

Adam’s Rib Co. 211 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, Florida 32609 1515 SW 13th Street Gainesville, Florida 32608 Monday-Saturday 7:00am – 9:00pm Closed Sunday

352-373-8882 NW 352-727-4005 SW AdamsRibCo.com BBQ — Celebrating our 10 year Anniversary. Looking for the best BBQ in Gainesville?

Then look no further than Adam’s Rib Co. Adam’s is North Florida’s Premier Barbecue restaurant, serving North Florida’s finest bbq spare ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, slow smoked chicken and turkey. Choose from over 20 sauces – from honey sweet to habanero hot – and everything in between. Don’t forget dessert, like our scrumptious banana pudding and famous peach cobbler. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Adam’s can cater any event locally. Give Adam a call for your next tailgate party 352-514-8692!

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The Great Outdoors 65 North Main Street, High Springs, Florida 32643 Open at 11:00am Tuesday through Sunday

386-454-1288 www.greatoutdoorsdining.com CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS AT THE AWARD WINNING GREAT OUTDOORS RESTAURANT IN HIGH SPRINGS! —Make your reservation early for our famous Thanksgiving Buffet on Nov, 26th. Searching for a festive location for your holiday party?

The Great Outdoors offers 3 venues. For a casual gathering reserve a spot outside under the Boathouse, and enjoy the live music on the Patio. Make it a night to remember and book your holiday party reservation in our dining room. Host an elegant & private event upstairs in our Opera House, the perfect spot for a company party. Looking for the perfect Holiday Gift? For every $100 spent on gift cards, receive a $20 gift card for you! Visit the Opera House at www.OperaHouseHS.com or visit www.GreatOutdoorsDining.com.

Dave’s New York Deli 12921 SW 1st Road • Tioga Town Center Open 7 Days

352-333-0291 www.DavesNYDeli.com Authentic NY deli — The Reviews are in and here’s what customers are saying about Dave’s NY Deli Tioga Town Center! “Best Reuben, Best Pastrami, Best Philly, and Best Wings” Dave’s continues to be the place to go for authentic NY Deli food and Philly Cheesesteaks. Owner Dave Anders says “Nothing beats quality ingredients combined with a friendly staff. Dave serves New York size Pastrami and Corned Beef sandwiches, Cheesecake from New York, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, NY Kettle Boiled Bagels, Nova Salmon, Knish, Cannolies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Wings, Cubans, Subs, Kids Menu and more.” Come out and enjoy Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at Dave’s NY Deli.

Now serving beer and wine.

Napolatanos 606 NW 75th Street Gainesville, FL Tuesday - Thursday & Sunday 4:00pm-10:00pm Friday 4:00pm-1:00am • Saturday 4:00pm-11:00pm

352-332-6671 www.napolatanos.com ITALIAN — Napolatanos is the longest original owner operated restaurant in Gainesville. Nappys, the name the locals have given Napolatanos has the most extensive menu.

Whether you choose pizza, calzones, salad, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, seafood, steak dinners or the best chicken wings in town, Nappy’s uses only the freshest ingredients.

Visit on Tuesday for half price appetizers. Burgers & Brew Night on Wednesday and live music inside. Thursday is Pub night with Better than England’s Fish & Chips $7. Outside dining with live music, on the patio, on Sunday evenings. GRAB & GO family dinners feeds 4-6 adults, starting at $25.95. Choose from Ziti, Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Marsala and more!

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FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Newberry’s Backyard BBQ 25405 West Newberry Road, Newberry Monday-Wednesday 11:00am – 9:00pm Thursday 11:00am – 9:00pm Friday and Saturday 11:00am – 11:00pm Sunday 10:30am – 3:00pm

352-472-7260 newberrybbq.com BBQ — The one and only Newberry’s Backyard BBQ is located in our historic building in beautiful downtown Newberry. Our pork, chicken, beef, and turkey is smoked to perfection daily. Our salads and sides are always fresh. If you are thirsty we have the best sweet tea in the South and a full bar as well. Make sure to bring your kids, we serve their meals on a frisbee that they take home. For your entertainment, we always have live music on Friday nights and Karaoke on Saturday evenings.

Let us cater your Holiday Event! Big or small we cater all gatherings.

Brown’s Country Buffet 14423 NW US Hwy 441, Alachua, FL 32616 Monday-Friday 7:00am - 8:00pm Saturday 7:00am - 2:00pm Sunday 8:00am - 3:00pm

386-462-3000 brownscountrybuffet.net Casual — Country-style cooking at its finest, just like Grandma’s house! A buffet style restaurant, Brown’s Country Buffet is open seven days a week! Foods like fried chicken, grilled pork chops, real mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage, banana pudding and coconut pie, just to name a few, are served in a laid-back, relaxing environment. We offer AYCE fried shrimp on Friday nights from 4-8 along with whole catfish & ribs. In addition to their buffet, Brown’s also offers a full menu to choose from. Serving lunch and dinner daily and a breakfast buffet Friday-Sunday until 10:30am, you’re sure to leave satisfied, no matter when you go. So, when you’re in the mood for some good home cooking, Grandma’s style, visit Brown’s Country Buffet.

Copper Monkey West 14209 W Newberry Road, Jonesville, FL 32669 Across from the Steeplechase Publix Sunday-Thursday 11:00am - 11:00pm Friday-Saturday 11:00am - 12:00am

352-363-6338 mycoppermonkey.com Restaurant & Pub — Now serving Breakfast on Saturdays & Sundays 8am - 10:45am. We are located in the heart of Jonesville, this All-American dining is convenient to all neighborhoods in Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs and beyond. Our family-friendly dining features great food at a great price. Whether you come in for the “best burger in town” or try any one of our freshly made salads, pastas or sandwiches, you will not leave disappointed. Our USDA choice steaks, served with 2 sides, offer a great alternative for the perfect celebratory meal. We also feature a full-service bar with signature drinks and many options for your viewing pleasure.

Great food, great price, we’ll see you soon.

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Marion Street Deli and Pub 281 N. Marion Ave. Lake City, Fl. Monday - Tuesday 11:00am – 10:00pm • Wednesday 11:00am – 11:00pm Thursday - Saturday 11:00am – Till • Sunday 11:00am - 4:00pm for brunch

386-487-6194 marionstreetdeliandpub.com Deli & Pub — Great menu items including: “Chairman’s Reserve” Hand Cut Steaks.

House Specialties including Authentic Louisiana Shrimp and Grits, Hand Made Fresh Pasta and Sauces. BBQ Beef Brisket, Hand Ground Burgers made fresh daily, Smoked Chicken Wings, Smoked Prime Rib, Homemade soups and great specials prepared daily from our team of chefs. Offering an Amazing Sunday Brunch with House Made Specials 11-4:00 Pm. Live Music Wednesday through Saturday!!! Largest Selection of Draft Beers!!! Located in historic downtown!

La Tasca Cuisine From Spain 40 NE Railroad Ave High Springs, Fl 32643 Tues-Sat 11am to 9pm • Sun 12pm-8pm Monday - closed

386-454-9329 latascafromspain.com Tapas — In Spain “La Tasca” is the name given to a place with a relaxing atmosphere that serves sample portions of tasty foods such as Montaditos or Tapas. Montaditos are typically served with flavorful toppings on baguette-style bread, either cold or hot. Tapas are tastes of Spanish cuisine designed to give you the opportunity to sample and experience a wide variety of delicious and sometimes sophisticated dishes. Tapas and Montaditos are often ordered and combined to make a full meal. One of the favorites at La Tasca is our Paella- house specialty of seafood-based Spanish rice with choice of pork, chicken and/or seafood. We invite you to join us and enjoy our fabulous meals, pleasant atmosphere and your favorite beverage. We serve beer, wine and the BEST Sangria around!!!

Paella

Mark’s Prime Steakhouse & Seafood 201 SE 2nd Avenue, Gainesville, FL (Historic Downtown) Monday: 5:00pm - 9:00pm • Tues-Sat: 5:00pm to 10:00pm Happy Hour: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

352-336-0077 marksprimesteakhouse.com Steak & Seafood — Mark’s Prime Steakhouse and Seafood has a goal to create a unique dining experience that will please the palate and soothe the soul. We serve the finest beef, the freshest seafood, and naturally fresh vegetables. Recipient of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence 2004-2011. Join us for Primetime Happy Hour featuring drink and appetizer specials Monday thru Saturday 5-7 pm. We are pleased to feature our full service, private dining facilities. It would be our pleasure to help plan your next reception, banquet, business meeting, or social gathering. Complimentary valet service.

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL

352-372-5468

FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.

Flying Biscuit Café 4150 NW 16th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32605 Located in the Fresh Market Center Monday-Friday 7:00am – 3:00pm • Saturday-Sunday 7:00am – 4:00pm

352-373-9500 www.flyingbiscuit.com Breakfast — The Flying Biscuit is out to reinvent breakfast in Gainesville! Maybe you’ve tried their soon-to-be-famous creamy, dreamy grits or their “moon dusted” breakfast potatoes, but did you know you can have them at anytime? With a unique open menu, all the items that appear are available throughout the day. With a variety of healthy and hearty dishes, The Flying Biscuit caters to a variety of tastes. With options ranging from the Smoked Salmon Scramble, the Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwich or the Tofu and Tater Salad, there’s something for everyone. Call us up to an hour before your expected arrival time to add your name to our call ahead seating list.

Tony & Al’s Deli 14960 Main Street, Alachua, Florida 32616 OPEN 7 DAYS Monday-Thursday 11:00am – 9:00pm Friday-Saturday 11:00am – 10:00pm Sunday 11:00am – 8:00pm

386-693-9090 Italian — Locally owned and operated, Tony & Al’s Deli provides the finest quality Italian entrees in a family friendly atmosphere. Whether it’s their delicious appetizers, pasta classics, specialty pizzas, salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers or prime rib, Tony & Al use only their freshest ingredients. One of their favorites is the shrimp Frangelica, sautéed with bacon, diced tomatoes in a creamy Alfredo Sauce. Their sauces, dressings and specialty desserts including cannolis and tiramisu are all handcrafted. They serve daily lunch and dinner specials. Tony and Al offer a full bar with happy hour from 4pm6pm including $1.50 drafts and $1.00 off all drinks.

Cilantro Tacos 25740 West Newberry Rd., Newberry, Florida 32669 OPEN SIX DAYS Monday - Saturday from 11:00am to 8:00pm

352-472-1300 Like us on Facebook!

Authentic Mexican — If you are looking for great tasting, authentic Mexican Food, look no further than Cilantro Tacos. We are a family-owned restaurant that prides ourselves on the quality, freshness, and vibrant flavors of our cuisine. Everything is prepared fresh and made to order. You’ll savor the mild, spicy, and mouthwatering salsas that are created from scratch. You’ll enjoy the wide selection of 9 tastefully marinated meats, such as chicken, ground beef, carnitas, barbacoa, steak, shrimp, fish, and lengua that go into our dishes. Our flavor is unique and our food might simply be the best Mexican food you will ever enjoy.

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COMMU NIT Y C A LENDA R

N OV EM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2015

“Home for the Holidays” The Ten Tenors

Wednesday, December 23

TIOGA MONDAY MARKET

LADY GAMERS

Mondays 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Fridays 1:00pm

JONESVILLE - Tioga Center, 13005 W. Newberry Rd. Market features a selection of vegetables, crafts, organic food, fruits and local specialties.

HIGH SPRINGS - New Century Woman’s Club, 40 NW 1st Ave. The Lady Gamers meet for fun, friendship and food. Everyone is invited. Meet old friends and make some new ones.

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

RANGER-LED WALK

Wednesdays 11:00am - 1:00pm

Saturdays 10:00am

GAINESVILLE - Wesley United Methodist Church, 826 NW 23rd Ave. Gainesville Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution meet on the second Wednesday of each month, October through May. gainesvilleDAR@gmail.com.

GAINESVILLE - Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park, 4732 Millhopper Rd. Guided walks leave from the visitor center every Saturday at 10 am sharp. Visitors who dare to join-in on the adventure have the opportunity to learn about the history and surrounding nature.

HARMONY SHOW CHORUS Thursdays 7:00pm – 9:30pm

AQUIFERIOUS EXHIBITION

GAINESVILLE - Grace Presbyterian Church, 3146 NW 13th St. For all who are interested in learning and singing Women’s A Cappella Barbershop Harmony Music. For information call Beckie at 352-318-1281.

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Now through January 6 Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - The Thomas Center, 302 NE 6th Ave. Curated by Margaret Ross Tolbert, AQUIFERious is an expansive,

multi-disciplinary exhibition to be presented in both the Main and Mezzanine Galleries and is based on her award-winning book of the same title featuring her large-scale paintings based on our region’s springs, as well the work of the world-renowned photographers, filmmakers and cartographers that have inspired her.

RAPHAËL SÉVÈRE, CLARINET Wednesday, November 4 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center - Squitieri Studio Theatre, 3201 Hull Rd. French clarinetist Raphaël Sévère is quickly gaining attention. After making his concerto debut at age 11 with the Beijing Opera Orchestra, Mr. Sévère’s budding career took off when he won five international competitions at age 12. By the time he turned 19, he had already received a degree with highest honors from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.

FLAGS OVER FLORIDA Friday, November 6 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - The Santa Fe Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St E-127. The Gainesville Orchestra celebrates Florida’s 500th anniversary with music from Spain, England, France, and more. For ticket information: 352-395-4181.

FRESH AIR PAINTOUT November 7 – 8 9:00am – 5:00pm

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. Watch the artists capturing the beauty of Dudley Farm. Proceeds from sales benefit the Dudley Farm Education Building fund. Fun for the whole family.

Admission is $5 per car up to 8 occupants.

352-472-1142 or visit www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org.

JAMES B. KING VETERAN’S DAY CONCERT Sunday, November 8 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - First Presbyterian Church, 106 SW 3rd St. Concert by the Gainesville Community Band, directed by Professor R. Gary Langford.

Venue offering requested. www.gnvband.org.

BIKERS ON PARADE Sunday, November 8 11:00am

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St. Charity ride that supports local veterans.

The ride starts at Santa Fe College and ends at Gainesville Raceway. Pre-register to avoid the lines on www.bikersonparade.org. To sponsor email Beau Crevasse at beau@crevassesimplecremation. com. To volunteer email Emilee MacDonald at hello@bikersonparade.org.

ALACHUA MAIN STREET FALL FESTIVAL Sunday, November 8 11:00am – 5:00pm

ALACHUA - Downtown Historic Main Street.

A relaxing afternoon of fun, friends and family. Music, food, and many free child-friendly activities.

DAVID DORFMAN DANCE Tuesday, November 10 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. David Dorfman Dance - “Prophets of Funk.” Since its founding in 1985, David Dorfman Dance has performed extensively throughout North and South America, Great Britain, Europe, Russia,

Artist Naturalists in Florida: Then and Now Through December 11

Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center, 1315 S. Main St. The Artist Naturalists in Florida: Then and Now is the opening program at its new location. It explores the rich history of wildlife art in Florida throughout the past 250 years including works by contemporary Florida artists. Organizers are planning a series of workshops/lectures that will take place in Gainesville during the exhibition period. www.thedoris.org.

Poland, and most recently, Central Asia as part of DanceMotion USA.

VETERAN’S DAY SPECIAL Wednesday, November 11 9:00am - 5:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Dr. Active or retired military get into the Gardens FREE on Veteran’s Day.

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL: THE SURVIVOR TOUR Wednesday, November 11 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. With a cast of breast cancer survivors and co-survivors, Menopause The Musical and the Susan G. Komen Foundation partner to offer inspiration, sisterhood and hope. Tickets: 352-392-2787, or performingarts.ufl.edu. The production will donate no less than $2 per ticket sold to Susan G. Komen® to further its mission to save lives and end breast cancer.

ART OF TIME ENSEMBLE Thursday, November 12 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Curtis Center. Steven Page (founder and former lead of the iconic band Barenaked Ladies) joins an ensemble of singers including Andy Maize (Skydiggers), Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) and Craig Northey (The Odds) in a re-imagining of the Beatles’ groundbreaking album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The singers, and Art of Time’s world-class orchestra, collaborate for an incredible night of music – with a couple of surprises to round out this historic performance.

One part tone poem, one part rock opera, Sgt. Pepper has defined an era for almost half a century - and yet sounds fresh today.

STARRY NIGHT Friday, November 13 6:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Rd. Gaze through

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Do Downtown Festival &A Art Show November 14 – 15 Nov 10:00am – 5:00pm 10:00 GAINESV GAINESVILLE - Downtown Gainesville, 200 E. University Ave. Presented by the Cit City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, the th festival celebrates its 34th anniversary. For two days, visitors can stroll tthrough historic downtown and marvel at works from more than 250 of the nation’s most talented artists, who display their original oils and acrylics, acrylic vibrant watercolors, captivating sculptures, dazzling jewelry, decorative ceramics and vivid photography.

high-performance telescopes at the stars and explore the world beyond at a portable planetarium show and 3-D presentations. Fun for the whole family. Info: call 352-273-2062.

event includes a talkback and receptions. Funds generated assist with events through the year.

HOLIDAY EXPO, CRAFT AND BAKE SALE

Friday, November 20 5:30pm – 8:00pm

November 14 – 15 10:00am – 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Thornebrook Village, 2441 NW 43 St. Gainesville Area Rowing’s 9th Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser. Choice of two red and two white wines and Swamp Head and Bud Light beers on tap. Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres provided. $15, includes tree glasses. Purchase tickets online www.gainesvillearearowing.com.

HIGH SPRINGS - New Century Woman’s Club, 40 NW 1st Ave. Many new and returning vendors will be offering beautiful and unique items to keep or give as gifts. The Bake Sale table will be filled with all the goodies: cakes, pies, cookies, brownies and much more. The Country Store will have the great crafts and gifts made by the Woman’s Club members and their friends.

KIDS DAY Saturday, November 14 10:00am – 2:00pm

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. The theme is Tom the Turkey. Come out for educational and interesting hands-on crafts. Fun for the whole family.

Admission is $5 per car up to 8 occupants. Call 352-472-1142 or visit www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org

CHOREOGRAPHIC SHOWCASE Saturday, November 14 4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Pofahl Studios, 1325 NW 2 St. DANB’s Next Generation presents The Showcase, featuring the work of Next Gen members who have created, auditioned and cast works to be performed. Styles include contemporary, classical ballet, hip-hop and tap. The

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WINE TASTING FUNDRAISER

TRASHFORMATIONS Friday, November 20 5:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Rd. Ever wonder how milk jugs morph into beautiful wading birds or how gears and gadgets become gigantic bugs? See how middle school, high school and college students transform “waste” into creative works of art! The Florida Museum will display winning entries through Dec. 1. Info: call Patrick Irby, 352-374-5213.

VOICES RISING Friday, November 20 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - First United Methodist Church, 419 NE 1st St. Come enjoy Frostiana, the poetry of Robert Frost set to music. Voices Rising is an intergenerational community chorus. This concert will benefit Family Promise shelter for homeless children and their families. www.familypromisegvl.org.

QUILT & BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Saturday, November 21 10:0am – 5:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Thornebrook Village, 2441 NW 43 St. Thornebrook Village, the Quilters of Alachua County Day Guild and the Tree City Quilters’ Guild have put together a day to enjoy the bright colors and designs of quilting with Bluegrass music playing in the background.

BLACK SATURDAY SUPER SALE AND PARTY Saturday, November 21 Times Vary

HIGH SPRINGS - The Lanza Gallery & Art Supplies, 45 NW 1st Ave. The Black Saturday Super Sale is from 10 am - 5 pm and the Annual Black & White Party is from 7 pm - 9 pm. 352474-9922. www.lanzagallery.com.

FLORIDA HISTORY PRESENTATION Saturday, November 21 6:00pm – 8:00pm

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. Storytelling around the campfire. Admission is $5 per vehicle up to 8 occupants. Call 352-472-1142. Visit wwww. friendsofdudleyfarm.org for more information.

THE SNOW QUEEN November 27 – December 20 Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - The Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Pl. A classic tale of friendship, love, and bravery, “The Snow Queen” is now retold in a new theatrical adaptation commissioned by

SUNSTATE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION PRESENTS

STORM ROBERTS

Restaurant Auc on EXTRAVAGANZA th Ironwood Golf Course Club House

T

he Storm Roberts Restaurant Auction Extravaganza promises to be a great holiday season kickoff! Piesanos is sponsoring free Hors’dourves, beer and wine, and there will be a cash bar available for mixed drinks. Entry fee will be $20.00 or 1 bottle (minimum $15 value) of spirits/wine per couple, which will be raffled during the event. Live and Silent auctions will allow guests to bid on “Party Packs” to many of their favorite local restaurants.

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CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING & SANTA VISIT Friday, December 4 6:00pm – 8:00pm

ALACHUA - Downtown Main Street Park. Bring the whole family to enjoy a Christmas Tree lighting and meet with Santa Claus. The event is free. 386-418-6100.

4-H 5K: LITTLE RUN ON THE PRAIRIE Saturday, December 5 7:30am

MICANOPY - Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park, 100 Savannah Blvd. The 3rd Annual 4-H 5K: Little Run on the Prairie is a 5K run around Payne’s Prairie. After the race, there will be a presentation about the Prairie by a Park Ranger and guests can make their own healthy smoothie using the blender bike. Race will begin at 9:30 am. Registration fee is $25.00 before November 27 and $30 after. To guarantee a t-shirt, register

by November 27. Awards, t-shirt, door prizes and park admission are all included in registration fee.

WINTER HOLIDAY CONCERT Sunday, December 6 3:00pm

Artwalk Gainesville Friday, December 4

7:00pm – 10:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Downtown. Artwalk Gainesville is a free, monthly self-guided tour that combines visual art, live performance, and events with many galleries, eateries and businesses participating. www.artwalkgainesville.com.

the Hippodrome. Kai and Gerda are childhood best friends, but when Kai falls under the spell of the wicked Snow Queen, Gerda sets out on magical adventure to rescue him from her evil enchantment. Discount preview takes place on November 25 and 26. thehipp.org.

FARM TOURS Saturday, November 28 10:00am – 11:00am

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. Take a walk with a ranger or volunteer docent around the farmstead. Learn about pioneer family life and the workings of a historic farm. Dudley Farm provides a public tour on the fourth Saturday of each month from October to May. Regular park entrance fee is $5.00 per vehicle.

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL November 28 – December 19 Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Pl. Popular Christmas carols and a twist of contemporary humor makes A Christmas CarolËcome alive with a delightfully fresh and fast-paced storytelling. The program is back by popular demand for the 38th year at the Hipp.

Visit thehipp.org to order tickets.

ALUMNI PARADE Saturday, November 28 12:00pm – 1:00pm

ALACHUA - Main Street. See alumni of the A. L. Mebane High School perform in this free parade.

Contact A. L. Mebane High School Alumni Association for more information at 386-462-2539.

GAINESVILLE - Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall (Bldg FA). Concert by the Gainesville Community Band, directed by Professor R. Gary Langford. $6 donation requested. www.gnvband.org.

FALL FARM & CANE FESTIVAL December 5 – December 6 9:00am

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W Newberry Rd. See an original Florida working farm from the post Civil War to the 1940s as they grind sugar cane using mule power and boil it into syrup. Old-time demonstrations include woodworking, blacksmithing, washday and butter churning. Event features a quilt drawing, children’s games and toys and old-time music.

HOMESTEAD HOLIDAYS Sunday, December 6 12:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Historic Haile Homestead, 8500 SW Archer Rd. Visit the 1856 plantation home decked out in an array of traditional greenery and Victorian finery with a railroad theme and docents in Victorian costume. Enjoy live holiday music, sip some hot cider and a selection of home-baked goodies and holiday ornaments.

Ride in the horse-drawn carriage.

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Stop Childrens Cancer Benefit Concert Sunday, December 13

4:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. Concert by the Alachua County Youth Orchestra. The orchestra has been providing concerts for the residents of Alachua and the surrounding Counties for over 40 years. www.acyo.org.

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON

KIDS DAY

Sunday, December 6 7:00pm

Saturday, December 12 10:00am – 2:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. Performance by Master Chorale and UF Choral Union. www. gcchorus.net.

NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Rd. Make festive ornaments and hands-on crafts. Learn what types of ornaments were used in the Victorian Era. Fun for the whole family. Admission is $5 per car up to 8 occupants. Call 352-472-1142 or visit www. friendsofdudleyfarm.org.

HOLIDAY CONCERT Tuesday, December 8 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - The Thomas Center, 302 NE 6 Ave. Concert will feature Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and some modern music associated with the holidays. It will include a solo singer, a small story-scene and audience participation.

A CHRISTMAS OPERA December 11 – 12 Times Vary

GAINESVILLE - Westminster Presbyterian Church.

1521 NW 34th St. Amahl and the Night Visitors, A Christmas Opera by the Gainesville Civic Chorus. www.gcchorus.net.

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Newberry Rd. Enjoy Christmas music performed by the children of Queen of Peace Academy while you shop.

JAZZ HOLIDAYS WITH OL’ BLUE EYES Saturday, December 12 7:30pm

Saturday, December 12 2:00pm – 3:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, 4225 NW 34th St. Celebrate the 100th birthday of Frank Sinatra as pianist Thomas Royal and baritone Tony Canty present an evening of Christmas favorites and oddities.

ALACHUA - Main Street. Bring the whole family to celebrate the holidays. Free. Contact the Alachua Chamber of Commerce for more information at 386-462-3333.

Sunday, December 13 7:30pm

CHRISTMAS PARADE

VIOLIN CONCERT Saturday, December 12 5:00pm – 7:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Dillard’s Court at Oaks Mall, 6419

WINTER CONCERT GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center. Concert by the Alachua County Youth Orchestra. The orchestra has been providing free concerts for the residents of Alachua and the surrounding Counties for over 40 years. (Free) www.acyo.org.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATING ING 50

YE YEARS WITH THE NUTCRACKER!

NUTCRACKER FRIDAY & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18TH & 19TH | 7:30 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19TH & 20TH | 2:00 PM

“It’s just not the Holidays without the fantasy and magic of Nutcracker! A delightful experience for over 50 years!”

Tickets available at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Call 352-392-2787

MOMMY & ME ONSTAGE WEDNESDAY, DEC 16TH | 5:00 PM

“Create a memory.” Join the Nutcracker cast on stage as they rehearse. Perfect for those young people who need to wiggle or those with varying abilities.

Limited seating.

Call 352-371-2986 to make reservations

NUTCRACKER ALUMNI REUNION FRIDAY & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18TH & 19TH 6:30 PM

All former Nutcracker performers are invited to a reception celebrating 50 years of Nutcracker.

No charge, but call 352-371986 to make reservations or arrange for block seating!

Dance Alive National Ballet at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts 352-392 2787 FOR INFORMATION OR TICKETS:

351-371 2986 or dancealive.org

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PRE-K STORY TIME

FIRE & ICE

Wednesday, December 16 11:00am

Thursday, December 31

GAINESVILLE - Harn Museum of Art, 3259 Hull Rd. Join a librarian from the Alachua County Library for preschool story time with songs, movement and a related gallery tour. This event is for children ages 2 to 5 and their adult caregivers. Register ASAP online at www.harn. ufl.edu/storytimeregistration.

GAINESVILLE - YMCA field, 9315 SW Archer Rd.

2:00pm

Come play in the snow slide on two ice slides or jump on one of the many bounce houses along with enjoying various games and activities. Custom fireworks display will be presented.

Advance tickets required. Visit www.newyearsforkids.org to purchase tickets.

GAINESVILLE BIG BAND Friday, December 18 8:00pm

GAINESVILLE - Market Street Pub, 112 SW 1 Ave. The Gainesville Big Band is a 17-piece jazz band that plays a wide range of big band styles such as traditional swing, dance, latin, and contemporary jazz.

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2nd Place. A riveting and emotionally charged exploration of the intersection of friendship and creative freedom, this comedic drama was

Saturday, December 19 5:00pm

Village, a distinguished professor of creative

NEWBERRY - Downtown Newberry. Parade will come out onto Newberry Rd and 253rd Street behind Walker’s Produce.

student, and over the course of six years, the

ALACHUA - Alachua Branch Library, 14913 NW 140 St. Join your friends and family to construct a holiday gingerbread house. The event takes place in Meeting Room A + B. Call 386-462-2592 for more information.

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd. Become entranced by the beauty of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her dazzling Court and cheer for the tiny toy soldiers and the handsome Nutcracker Prince. Prices range from $17 to $45.

Visit www.performingarts.ufl.edu or call the box office at 352-392-2787 to order tickets.

GAINESVILLE - The Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE

originally produced on Broadway and London’s

Saturday, December 20 2:00pm – 5:00pm

December 18 – 20 Times Vary

8:00pm

NEWBERRY CHRISTMAS PARADE

GINGERBREAD HOUSE WORKSHOP

The Nutcracker

COLLECTED STORIES Friday, January 8

HOLIDAY HARP MUSIC Saturday, December 20 1:30pm – 2:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th St. Relax to the sound of the harp as Barb Kerkhoff plays a mix of Hanukkah music and Christmas carols for the holidays.

THE TEN TENORS Wednesday, December 23 7:30pm

GAINESVILLE - Phillips Center - Squitieri Studio Theatre, 3201 Hull Rd. “Home for the Holidays” is a magical experience for the whole family that will dazzle, delight and captivate audiences. Join Australia’s rock stars of the opera as they amaze and enthrall with their unique selection of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites.

West End. In a walk-up apartment in Greenwich writing reluctantly agrees to mentor an ambitious two women are led to question, “Who owns the story of your life?”

TOUR DE FELASCO Saturday, January 9 8:30am

GAINESVILLE - San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, 1101 Millhopper Rd. The 14th Annual Tour de Felasco is a 50-mile mountain bike ecotour that gives the participants, for one day, access to some of the most scenic views of nature that North Central Florida has to offer. Spaces are limited so visit the webpage for details: www. sanfelasco.net.

COLLECTORS DAY Saturday, January 9 10:00am

GAINESVILLE - Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Rd. Celebrate the 37th Collectors Day at the Florida Museum. Enjoy viewing personal collections and learning the history and context of these treasures from Titanic and Beatles memorabilia to classic cars. Visit with the collectors and discover that collecting isn’t just for scientists. 352-273-2061.

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BAND B BA ND REVIEW

BRIAN “KRASH” KRUGER’S

Gate Crashing ON DECK FOR REVIEW: BLUE SLAMMERS

BRIAN KRUGER IS A WRITER, MUSICIAN AND A GRADUATE OF THE UF COLLEGE OF LAW. HE HAS PLAYED IN SOME 17 OR SO LOCAL BANDS, PLAYING MOST EVERY GAINESVILLE VENUE FRIENDLY TO ORIGINAL MUSIC (AND SOME NOT SO FRIENDLY). bkrashpad@yahoo.com

Blue Slammers

DATE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 VENUE: THE DINER, HIGH SPRINGS

G

reetings, live music aficionados! This installment finds us just outside downtown High Springs at the The Diner for an early Tuesday night show. One of the great things about our towns is that our community includes Alachua, High Springs, Newberry and Jonesville — all of which are within easy driving distance of one another. So the Gainesville music scene certainly is inclusive of all of Alachua County.

Besides, I have a doctor’s note. I had originally planned to go to a brunch in Gainesville for this column, but the evening prior, my wife and adult daughter were in a car accident, in which their car was T-boned. So, given that my own wacky health concerns currently preclude me driving, the original plan had to be scrapped.

My column, my rules, baby.

But I digress. Back to The Diner. As previously stated, this

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venue is just outside Downtown High Springs. As might be expected from the name, it is based on an old-style shiny aluminum-clad “railroad car” type diner. Only, then take that aesthetic, and imagine it redecorated by the designer for the ‘80s television show “Miami Vice.” So, in addition to the diner itself, think lots of neon palm trees in blue and purple. I almost expected Crockett and/or Tubbs to come through the door at any second, with a pet gator on a leash.

Given that The Diner was doing an event called “bike night” or some such, what I did see was quite a number of motorcycles, black t-shirts and leather jackets. The Diner is a restaurant first and foremost (as you might expect, specializing in burgers and hearty breakfast fare like pancakes, eggs, and sausage) rather than a music venue, so by hiring a band they pulled in what was probably a bigger crowd than usual for a Tuesday night at a time of year when it was still pretty warm out. The Diner has a large all-season tarp covering one end of the building for outdoor eating, and that is where the event was taking place, and where

with Joel in UMRC). Some smokin’ Fender the band was set up. bass lines were held down by new bassist The Blue Slammers were the band playEd Olatunde. ing. They’re a Gainesville quintet made The Slammers (the name is a reference to up of experienced musos. Lead singer and the POG game of the ‘90s), playing outside, occasional rhythm guitarist Joel Schrank were successfully making a point of trying is the former keyboardist and singer to keep the volume low, although for local Gainesville cover band not having been told, I would Uncle Morty ’s Rhythm not have noticed. That said, Cream, as well as having I almost it raised the intriguing done his originals in a expected Crockett question of how much band called Pedagogy and/or Tubbs to come better they might have (disclosure: I played through the door at sounded indoors at full bass and guitar in that volume. Because, no band), in which he any second, with a pet matter what sound men played keys and sang, gator on a leash. will say to the contrary, and he plays bass and lowering the volume below sings backing in my punk a certain point does in fact affect rock band (which shall remain tone. At any rate, the band specializes nameless). Joel also is the praise in ‘90s tunes, and the closing three songs of band director at a local church, where he met the first set, which we heard on our arrival, keyboardist/vocalist Elizabeth Chitwood were a good cross-section: Say It Ain’t So by (who is the music director at the same place) Weezer, Basketcase by Green Day, and Under and drummer Destinee Collins (who, like The Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. myself, used to play in that church’s praise Cool tunes, cool bikes, what’s not to like? band). Stratocaster duties were ably handled Now, go see some bands.

by Scott Butsch (who previously played bass

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CHILDREN’S CHARITY >> THE SANTA JAM

JINGLE ALL THE WAY

CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION HELPING CHILDREN

The Santa Jam WRITTEN BY BRIA N “KR ASH” KRUGER

You gotta love an organization whose unofficial motto could be “Love, peace and toys.”

Which is what could be said of the Santa Jam operation, an ongoing local charity drive now going into its fifth year.

For the last four years, local music promotions company Florida Rocks!, run by local musician Steve McMullen, has produced concerts across North Florida called Santa Jam, in which dozens of bands and local business sponsors come together to do toy fundraisers for sick and injured children at local hospitals, as well as displaced and needy families, during the holidays. The fundraisers have been an overwhelming success, and have collected and distributed thousands of toys in nine counties across Florida, including Alachua, Bradford, 118 |

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Columbia, Duval, Hamilton, Lafayette, Marion, Suwannee, and Union counties.

The seed was planted in 2002, when McMullen’s special needs child spent most of that year in Shands struggling to survive, due to a major heart defect and double pneumonia, leading up to open heart surgery. McMullen remembered the nurses giving the boy a few toys during his stay to make him feel more comfortable; something to hold onto to ease the situation. Before leaving Shands, McMullen asked where the toys came from, and was told that the hospital doesn’t provide them, but local organizations or individuals donate toys to be given to children who are admitted.

Fast-forward to 2011, when McMullen had the idea of doing a toy drive concert to benefit UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital. After contacting the hospital he found out that its toys room was running low and needed more to make it through the holidays.

PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN KRUGER

The Santa Jam Musician Showcase and Toy Drive was thuss born, and has been dedicated ever since ce to doing everything possible to help sick, injured and needy children n smile during the holidays. That first year the shindig was completed in n a single weekend with Friday ay and Saturday night shows ws at Backstage Lounge and a Sunday concert and bikers toy run at the Spindrifter Lounge in Alachua.

In the first four years, 225 musicians in 64 different bands, duos and solo acts have donated theirr time to the toy drive ive and 2,428 toys havee been distributed in nine counties i through various charity and religious organizations in Florida. What started as a simple act of kindness has turned into a community-based grassroots movement of love, peace and music that continues to o grow every year.

In addition to McMullen, who serves ass executive producer and a director, the Santaa Jam staff includes Associate Producer and Director Dixon Boatwright; Toy Run Producer and Director Evelyn Bruner; Director Chris Sweeney; Prize and Raffle Coordinators Kathryn Chaky, Monica Poucher, and Carmen Fountaine; and Toy Collection Director

Jim Mitzel.

As one might expect, the t idea is simple: Choose a show based on proximity, venue, C aand/or the bands playing, and a go have fun! The aadmission is one new toy ($10 ($ or higher value) or a donation at the door. If you o y chose to donate received are reviewed, ccash, then after the toys rec use the extra cash to tthe Santa Jam folks will us buy more toys that complim compliment those received at the door. During the t show, local and area sponsors also will have donated gifts that will be raffl raf ed off. At the time of this writing, only onl some of the venue’s bills have been set, but keep checking back online to see which bands are playing at w which shows.

The toy run for bikers is similar.

It’s been done every year including this year. Just show up, ride along with the pack and everyone presents their toys and donations on their return to the venue, re followed by enjoying foll the music and camaraderie mus in the venue. venu The bike run is happening on the final day, Sunday, December 13th.

For more information visit www.FLAROCKS.com or www.facebook.com/FloridaRocksSantaJam.

Santa Jam 5 Concert Dates and Venues:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5TH Whiskey River, Starke

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Lake City Highway 238, Chasin’ Dixie, Southbound Highway SATURDAY DECEMBER 5TH High Octane Saloon, Crystal River Big Engine, Volition, JoJo Jones, Evil Monkey

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH Dirty Bar, Gainesville SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12TH Hangar 7, Lake City SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13TH Spindrifter Lounge, Alachua NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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BOOK REVIEW

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER’S

Reading Corner FAB FOUR FRIENDS: THE BOYS WHO BECAME THE BEATLES written by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Adam Gustavson C.2015, HENRY HOLT, $17.99 , 32 PAGES

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER HAS BEEN READING SINCE SHE WAS 3 YEARS OLD AND SHE NEVER GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT A BOOK. SHE LIVES WITH HER TWO DOGS AND 11,000 BOOKS. HER BOOK REVIEWS ARE PUBLISHED IN MORE THAN 200 NEWSPAPERS AND 50 MAGAZINES THROUGHOUT THE U.S. AND CANADA. bookwormsez@yahoo.com

EVER SINCE YOU WERE BORN, YOU’VE LOVED MUSIC.

Y

our mother tells stories of you bopping in your crib, baby-dancing to songs on the radio.

You can’t remember a day without music and you want to be a singer or play in a band someday. And as you’ll see in “Fab Four Friends” by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Adam Gustavson, dreams can come true.

John Lennon loved his mother but, alas, he didn’t get to see her much: when he was five years old, his parents split and Mum left John with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George.

Missing her greatly, he threw his energies into a cheap guitar she’d bought for him. Aunt Mimi said he’d never make a living with it, but “John didn’t believe her.”

Music was important in Paul McCartney’s life too.

It “flowed through every room” in the house where he lived with his father, who taught Paul everything about chords and instruments. When Paul met John, they became friends because they both loved music so much — which included their guitars!

Another boy who enjoyed the guitar was George Harrison.

Though he was younger than John and Paul, George loved rock ‘n’ roll, too. He also had a good ear, and could play a song after hearing it only a few times on the radio. John, who was more than two years older than George, didn’t think much of the kid… until George took out his guitar and started strumming.

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The Quarrymen. Later, they called themselves The Beatles.

It was rough in those early years. John’s mum died in an accident, the boys “scrounged for work,” and money was tight.

The lads started arguing over silly things.

But then it got better. People started flocking to clubs where the boys played, and someone started a fan club. John, Paul, and George hired a manager, who began looking at record companies.

But something was missing.

Richard Starkey’s hands were always tapping, always moving. Richey loved the drums and he was known around Liverpool for being “tops.”

Having him as a Beatle made perfect sense…

To an adult, it might seem like Yesterday since the Beatles reigned on radio and record.

You just heard one of their songs in an elevator. But will your child understand what’s inside “Fab Four Friends”?

That’s a question I had, as I was reading this gorgeously illustrated, well-researched book. It’s been, after all, decades since John, Paul, George and Ringo released a song together. John Lennon, in fact, has been gone for more than a generation. Author Susanna Reich teases readers with little-known facts, but will kids care? Will they see the significance of Adam Gustavson’s artwork? Meant for little kids, will this books’ wordiness lose their interest?

I think so, which is why I highly recommend it for older kids and adult Beatles fans. Small children won’t be able to Come Together for “Fab Four Friends,” but older readers will want to Hold it in their Hands.

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COLLECTIVE >> ARTISANS’ GUILD

TIGHT KNIT

Artisans Guild Gallery As It Turns 45, This Eclectic Art Collective Celebrates its Evolution W RIT TE N BY BRIN N S TR A NG E

S

ince 1970, the Artisans’ Guild Gallery has been a hub for regional artists. As one of the oldest artist-run cooperative galleries in the nation, the Artisans’ Guild Gallery represents over 50 regional artists, including award-winners and international sellers.

The guild’s advertising co-chair, Eva Egensteiner, noted that many are full-time artists, while others are professionals — professors, researchers, lawyers, librarians, beauticians and dentists.

“These artists create work largely by hand,” Egensteiner said, “often with ancient methods, and always resulting in innovative and high quality, memorable pieces.”

The Gallery’s 45th Anniversary Celebration event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 29th from 12

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to 5 pm at the gallery off of SE 2nd Place.

“We decided to merge this celebration with our annual Holiday Open House where members display some of the most unique and diverse ornaments for the holidays,” Egensteiner said.

The event is free and open to the public, and plans are in development to include a variety of activities and displays, such as current member artist demonstrations, former member displays and student art exhibits. Local bands will provide music and a variety of food will be available. A wide range of art and craftwork will be for sale, both inside and outside the gallery.

“Shoppers can choose from a diverse range of work, such as paintings, jewelry, pottery, textiles, photography, woodwork, glass and mixed media,” she said.

“The Artisans’ Guild members are as diverse as the work they produce.”

– EVA EGENSTEINER

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COLLECTIVE >> ARTISANS’ GUILD

The celebration celeb will revolve around the th theme of “Past, P r e s e n t a n d Fu t u r e .”

For th the “Past” they will commemorate foundcomm members and foring m mer members of the Artisans’ Guild through Artis displaying their work displ with quotes and and w historical testimonies. histori “We may also have a visual timeline showing our tim previous gallery locations,” ga said.

Egensteiner sa For the “Present” “Presen they plan to have display by the guild’s fresh new work on disp p 50-plus members. Several artists will be demonstrating their creative process for visitors to observe and learn. The “Future” piece will focus on new and emerging artists, as well as the future of the cooperative gallery.

“Our goal is to invite art students from UF and SF, as well as Alachua County HS students to both display and sell their work,” Egensteiner said.

The celebration is also an opportunity for the gallery to promote the “Friend of the Artisans’ Guild Gallery” campaign

where people can become financial supporters. This funding will be used to help grow the gallery and possibly allow members to one day own their space.

“Our 45th Celebration is also an opportunity for the gallery to show gratitude to our many customers (both long time and new) for supporting our gallery and our artists through their purchases of fine arts and crafts for the past many years,” Egensteiner said.

According to their website, the Guild was founded by a local potter, Mariam Greenfield, and UF economics and sociology professor, Jim Brown, who invited other local artists to join them in their endeavor to create a Gainesville artisan’s cooperative. The Guild has moved six times since its inception in 1970, settling into the current location at Union Street Station in downtown Gainesville in August 2011. The Guild has housed artists of all types — from leather working, quilting, and candle dipping to people who paint and sculpt.

Over the past 45 years, much has changed and evolved, but, Egensteiner said, “the glue that has held the guild together and kept it flourishing has been the commitment of individuals to the gallery’s success.”

In order to join the guild, artists must be committed to originality and craftsmanship.

“They all have a passion for their art and craft, which drives them to dedicate much time and creative energy into producing work that our community members love to own and give as gifts,” Egensteiner said.

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GALLERIES

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Learn more about the galleries on the UF campus: spx www.legacy.arts.ufl.edu/galleries/default.aspx THORNEBROOK GALLERY www.thornebrookgallery.com Hours: Mon-Fri.10am-6pm; Sat. 12-4pm

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MUSIC >> SISTER HAZEL

ALL FOR YOU

Nuts about Sister Hazel After 21 Years, the Band is Still Going Strong

BY G A BRIELLE C A LI S E

W

hile the late-‘90s hit All for You has been the most successful Sister Hazel song to date, singer and guitarist Drew Copeland wants people to know that there’s so much more to his band then that.

From the group’s explosive live show that’s been built up over the past 21 years to its numerous fan outreach projects to its soon-to-be released ninth studio album, Sister Hazel has continued to evolve past its chart-toppers.

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Sister Hazel owes its name to Gainesville resident Sister Hazel Williams, who has dedicated her life to helping others. In the beginning she didn’t know they were using her name until she saw it on billboards. She contacted the band.

“She had us come to a church service with her,” said Drew Copeland in a 2007 interview. “She wanted to know that anybody using her name was representing her in the right light.” The boys in the band convinced her that they believe in promoting positive music and their songs reflect this attitude. “She gave us her blessing and said ‘as long as you guys are true to yourselves it’s alright with me,’” Copeland said.

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“We enjoy what we’re doing so we continue to try to make music that resonates with people. We’ll keep going until people get tired of what we put out.”

The alternative rock band got its start in Gainesville in the mid-‘90s. Copeland and Ken Block, however, are the only two members of Sister Hazel that still reside in town. The other members are scattered across the Nation, dwelling in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Nashville and Palm Springs.

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Despite the geographic barriers between them, Sister Hazel has been able to continue playing gigs and recording music.

Through the years, the band has toured relentlessly, bringing its energy-packed live performance to venues all over the country.

But instead of loading up the bus and traveling for months at PHOTOGRAPHY: ERICKA WINTERROWD

year at The Windjammer in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.

“We get a chance to hang out with people in a different atmosphere and hang out and have some fun,” Copeland said.

This year, the band debuted Camp Hazelnut, a family-oriented event out of Camp Crystal in Gainesville. Sister Hazel spent the first weekend in October camping alongside their fans and playing acoustic shows by the fire at night.

“The fact that we’re still connecting with people and people still like our music, that’s a blessing,” Copeland said. “We’re just having a good time with that.”

When they aren’t touring or reaching out to their supporters, Sister Hazel has been working on crafting a fresh batch of songs.

A brand new album is set to be released around February 2016, Copeland said.

“This is the next snapshot of where we are at this place and time,” Copeland said.

The record’s sound is influenced by collaborations with writers in Nashville, as well as events from the band members’ every-day lives.

After such a long time has passed since their last release, the band is excited to debut their newest project. A large part of the group’s satisfaction comes with being able to continue doing what it loves alongside longtime friends and fans.

“When you’re in a band with the same people for 20 years, you form a bond that’s unlike most people in your life,” Copeland said. “It’s like a family.”

MUSIC >> SISTER HAZEL

a time like they used to, Sister Hazel has adopted a different touring pattern.

“We just kind of go out a few weekends a month for about three or four days and we do that all year round,” Copeland said.

“We’re kind of always on tour.”

Sister Hazel recently returned to Gainesville to perform. In October, the group played its first show in town since it headlined the Phillips Center for the Performing Art’s 20th season celebration in 2012.

“We enjoy what we’re doing so we continue to try to make music that resonates with people,” Copeland said. “We’ll keep going until people get tired of what we put out.”

It’s unclear if Sister Hazel’s followers will ever grow tired of them. After two decades, their fan base, which has dubbed itself the Hazelnuts, is still going strong.

“We’ve really been able to maintain our relevance by reaching out to our fans,” Copeland said.

Sister Hazel has launched multiple fan-engagement projects over the years. Take the Rock Boat, for instance. Now in its 16th year, the annual cruise event features 30 bands that perform for fans onboard. This January, Sister Hazel will spend almost a week sailing from Miami to Costa Maya and Grand Cayman alongside some of their most passionate fans.

“We take over the entire ship and do different shows at different venues all over the boat,” Copeland said.

Another fan favorite event is the Hazelnut Hang, held each

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NICHE MEDIUM >> MORGAN EDDY

WORLD WIDE

MORGAN EDDY MIXES CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Wax On, Wax Off STORY A N D PHOTOGR A PH Y BY GA BR IELLE CA LISE

Thousands of Instagram followers, dozens of commissions, and multiple hot glue gun mishaps later, and Morgan Eddy is still going strong.

The 20-year-old University of Florida student has made a business out of selling melted wax art. What started as crafty presents for her family and friends became a business venture when Eddy posted her work on social media.

Eddy stumbled upon the art form about three years ago while looking for homemade gift ideas online. After uploading a photo of a piece onto her Instagram, @unipsycho32, people started contacting her, wanting wax masterpieces of their own.

“My peers were the ones who really pushed me to start selling,” Eddy said.

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her work’s commercial potential, her entrepreneurial spirit took over.

Eddy accepts commissions through her Instagram. Requests range from celebrity portraits to animals to floral patterns.

Each colorful wax piece is indistinguishable from the pack of Crayola crayons that it originated from.

While Eddy has her craft down to a system, working with the wax wasn’t always an effortless endeavor. To create a process that worked for her, Eddy tried a number of different methods.

Blowing hot air with a hairdryer is a popular crayon-melting approach on the Internet, but it was too messy for Eddy and

didn’t allow her the control that she wanted.

She tried shoving crayons inside a glue gun.

That turned out to be more dangerous than Eddy anticipated, causing multiple fires and even a glue gun explosion.

“Crayon is flammable,” she said. “You just have to watch it.”

Eddy started to keep water in her room while creating her wax pieces. She also developed a new method that’s a lot less dangerous.

It starts with soaking the crayons in hot water in order to easily peel off the paper wrappers. After priming her canvas with the outline of her selected design, Eddy touches the end of a crayon to the hot metal tip of her glue gun in order to melt the wax. It’s a much safer and controlled way to create her art.

“Doing it this way I’ve never had a problem,” Eddy said.

To make things even safer and prevent burns she holds each crayon with a paper towel and takes breaks when completing larger pieces to allow the gun time to cool down.

Eddy likes to experiment with different sizes, colors and materials to suit the varied tastes of her customers.

“I’m a really big fan of multimedia pieces,” she said.

Eddy has tried using burlap, denim and canvas as backgrounds. She dabs on glitter and acrylic paint for colorful accents, and attaches buttons and cloth flowers with glue.

To add a finishing touch, she also places some of her creations in inexpensive picture frames found at thrift stores.

In addition to thrifting for all of her frames, Eddy saves money by shopping during sales or using coupons at craft stores. Crayons can be costlier than one would expect, but they are still not nearly as expensive as oil paints or traditional fine art supplies. Still, Eddy asks for crayons as gifts during the holidays. She also partnered with Fun4GatorKids.com, recycling the organization’s old crayons for her artwork.

Since she can keep her production costs low and complete each piece of art quickly, Eddy is able to sell her artwork at affordable prices. Most wax pieces cost about $20. The most she’s ever charged for a wax piece was $150.

“I like to keep it very low,” Eddy said. “It’s

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more than just making money, because it’s not a gold mine.”

For her, the act of creating art is fun and relaxing. But most of her pieces are made for others to enjoy. In fact, Eddy said she would never dream of keeping most of the art that she creates.

“I’d rather someone else would enjoy it,” she said. “I try to hit the audience with what they like.”

Unless she creates a piece for a specific customer, Eddy posts pictures of her new art on Instagram. If a piece isn’t claimed in two days, she tucks it away in bubble wrap and ships it off to be sold in one of the two stores in North Carolina that carry her work.

Eddy had to approach multiple galleries and stores before finding businesses that were willing to sell her work.

“I’m a huge entrepreneur,” Eddy said. “I love to promote myself.”

At first, she faced rejection from shop owners. People laughed at her when she came to them with her business proposition and belittled her for using crayons as her medium of choice.

But after Eddy started branding her artwork as “colored wax,” she was able to convince galleries and shops to carry her pieces. In addition to the businesses in North Carolina, Eddy’s art is now hanging in Shady Oak Gallery in Micanopy and Island Arts in Cedar Key. 132 |

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Eddy wishes that she could create even more pieces to share and sell online. In the three years that she has honed her craft and business skills, she’s amassed quite a fan base: Eddy has over 2,600 followers on Instagram, including the official Crayola account.

However, Eddy still has other responsibilities that come before art. Eddy works as an instructor at the Haile Equestrian Center. (She has been training horses for the past eight years.) An avid unicycle rider since she was young, Eddy was also recently elected president of UF’s Objects in Motion club. And for months, she has been training with her boyfriend to take a unicycle trip across the width of the state of Florida.

With so much going on in her life, Eddy has very little free time. Even though Michaels craft store has asked her to teach melted wax demos, she has had to say no, at least for now. Eddy also turned down a full-time instructing position at a barn and the chance to train with a circus in Paris. She’s flirted with the idea of taking a semester break to pursue creative endeavors, but her first priority is her education; Eddy is determined to get her chemical engineering degree first.

For now, Eddy is content with the pace at which she is creating and selling her art. She continues to post her work online and send it to galleries.

“I definitely enjoy what I do,” Eddy said.

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COLUMN

DONNA BONNELL’S

Embracing Life THE WAITING GAME

DONNA BONNELL BECAME THE AUTHOR OF HER COLUMN, EMBRACING LIFE, MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. SHE SHARES HER PERSONAL CHALLENGES AND VICTORIES WITH THE GOAL OF INSPIRING HER READERS TO ANALYZE WHY THINGS HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. dbnewberry@aol.com

RALPH WALDO EMERSON ASKED, “HOW MUCH OF HUMAN LIFE IS LOST IN WAITING?”

E

merson lived from 1803 to 1882. Were things that different in the 19th century? Obviously, some reasons for waiting have changed over the centuries. Yet, the basic ways humans react and function remains constant, regardless of time and location. I discovered this quote while researching an entirely different subject for “Embracing Life.” Without a doubt, the statement was noteworthy, but I did not immediately know why. Therefore, I stored it away for future pondering.

While on a recent trip to England, the importance of Emerson’s quote materialized. First, though, I had to learn the British lingo. The difference between the American English and the English American usage (of our common language) was intriguing. Fascination with words is an inherit part of being a writer.

However, understanding the word queue sparked my interest in analyzing the whole process of the human waiting game.

A queue area is where a line of people waits. The line of people is the queue. Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. It sounds confusing, but over the course of the trip, we formed many queues and waited in many queue areas for tickets, tours and trinkets.

After waiting in the queue at Warwick Castle, we visited the dreaded dungeon, the exquisite dining hall and the eminent drawing rooms. Those prominent State Rooms displayed the family’s most prestigious possessions and were designed to entertain the noblest of guests. Each chamber is utilized for a specific purpose, some simply for waiting. The castle’s glamourous State Rooms were of such importance that lavish embellishments took place nearly every century.

One in particular, the Red Drawing Room, took center stage in my memory. It gets its name from the bright red lacquered paneling, where famous paintings adorn the walls. In the 17th century, this waiting room received an extensive refurbishment.

Our tour guide shared historical facts, legends and a few ghost stories. His tale about the Red Room triggered a connection with Emerson’s quote. Admission to the castle for new visitors was only limited to this particular waiting room. Guests better acquainted with the Earl gained greater accessibility to

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the castle. Invitation to other State Rooms meant becoming a member of high society. Until then, pretending to be proud of their pretentious presence in the Red Room was of paramount importance; it was all a part of that era’s waiting game.

Today’s world differs in the number of people on the planet and the creation of technology. More congestion creates longer queues and delays. In an attempt to manage time within our current challenges, we have become more creative in our quest to reduce waste. Unfortunately, wealth and social class still play a powerful role, just as it did in past centuries.

Having more disposable money equals less time wasted waiting in lines. For example, flying first class allows travelers early boarding. VIP admission to sporting events affords more comfortable seating and easier access to accommodations.

Backstage passes or influential sponsors gain special admission to concerts or theater performances, while patrons purchasing general admission tickets wait in long unbearable lines. Even at the most magical venue on Earth, Disney World, holders of Fast Passes proceed to the front of line.

Most of my life, I have considered waiting a compulsory component of life, sometimes almost an evil necessity. Delays in traffic and the dense population growth in Miami spurred our family to move to Newberry over 30 ago. However, complete avoidance of the waiting game is impossible.

According to a survey in the New York Times, Americans annually spend 37 billion hours waiting in line. Furthermore, most of us waste 13 hours annually waiting on hold for customer service.

Fortunately, technology has progressed so that educated users can utilize electronics to minimize wait times. In fact, in the United States we know a queue as a series of instructions stored in a computer to process later.

Today, my laptop is the ideal travel companion. It serves as my tool to fill down-time and reduce waste. In the 19th century, Emerson did not have this luxury. My guess, though, is he never went anywhere without his pen and pad. I know for certain he did not have to wait for good cell phone service.

The waiting game has not changed much over the decades.

The only differences are the puzzle pieces and the definitions of words.

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STRENGTH IN NUMBERS >> ENSEMBLE MUSIC

Ensemble Music

W RIT TE N BY A LEXI A FER N A N DEZ

From A Cappella to Big Jazz Bands

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G

ainesville has a rich history of local music groups. Whether it’s been home to a cappella, all-female groups, big jazz bands or smaller music groups, the music the city has produced and nurtured has added to the vibrancy of the local music scene.

While certainly not all-inclusive, here are some of the community groups that perform a wide variety of styles leading the way for a bright and lively music history.

GAINESVILLE COMMUNITY BAND The Gainesville Community Band has graced Gainesville with its presence since 1974 when it began with 11 members.

In 1978, the Gainesville City Commission designated it as the Official Community Band of Gainesville.

Since its inception, the GCB has had a roster of local musicians made up of teachers, professors, business professionals, students, doctors and retirees, among others.

Professor R. Gary Langford has been the conductor for the past two years.

“Music is a part of everyone’s life,” he said. “You hear it every day. Try going to the movies without the soundtrack playing. If PHOTOGRAPHY: DAWN MCKINSTRY

you’ve got the background you don’t just forget that. It’s another way of expressing yourself.”

Langford has a long musical history in Gainesville, including duties at UF that included Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, teaching in the areas of music history and music theory, and he also served as the assistant director of the School of Music.

Langford is also the conductor of the Alachua County Youth Symphony.

“You’re trying to get the exact same result in having [adults] play in tune,” he said. “I don’t have any less expectations for the kids that I do for the community band.”

Langford has been involved with the GCB for over 12 years, first playing as part of the trumpet section and as a soloist and later becoming the conductor.

The GCB’s season begins in September and concerts are typically planned out ahead, with seven performances a year. Four are held in Santa Fe College’s Fine Arts Hall, one in Trinity Memphis Church and another in the First Presbyterian Church.

They’ll cap off the season on July 3, 2016 with a performance at UF’s Flavet Field, called Fanfare and Fireworks.

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GAINESVILLE BIG BAND Jazz bands that play a wide arrangement of music may be hard to come by nowadays. However, Marco Thomas, a local music instructor at Williams Elementary School, created one of the few live big bands in Gainesville in 2007.

The Gainesville Big Band was originally intended as a recreational group, but Thomas quickly extended its lifespan to include performances throughout the year.

“When I first started the band, it was very surreal,” Thomas said. “I didn’t think I could do something like this. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

The Big Band plays mostly at festivals. With an 18-member music group, the players joined the band for the fun of performing difficult pieces of music.

“It’s being able to rise up to that challenge,” he said. “That’s what makes it so fulfilling.”

The band has performed at music festivals around the state, including the Lakeside Jazz Festival in Port Orange, Florida, where they were invited as special guests. An upcoming performance at the Market Street Pub and Cabaret will feature the Gainesville Big Band on December 18 at 8 p.m.

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months in advance, sometimes up to a year in advance.

Local performances usually take place at the Downtown Arts Festival or at Free Fridays Concert Series.

While their music career has been steady and vibrant, Marco said the band is comprised of some performers who only had experience in school music rooms. All of that is changing, he said.

“Gainesville is tough [for Big Bands]. I know quite a few guys that are doing well in small combos,” he said. “Big band is tough because of the amount of members and being able to pay those musicians. We’re always trying to make the band better, though.

Some of my best moments with them have been when we’ve played at The Village, playing songs from the ‘30s and ‘40s.”

ALACHUA COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA The Alachua County Youth Orchestra (ACYO) is comprised of 72 students ranging from the 6th grade to seniors in high school.

Established over 40 years ago, this orchestra is the only music group for youth in Alachua County. The orchestra provides free concerts throughout the county and other surrounding areas.

Students participate in four concerts a year: the Winter Concert, the Stop Children’s Cancer Concert, the Spring Concert and

the Meet the Orchestra/Fifth Grade Concert.

Membership in the orchestra is by audition each August.

Professor Gary Langford, conductor of more than 30 years, said competition is high but students generally come back for future auditions if they were not accepted the first time.

“They know what they’re up against,” he said. “Primarily, it’s the only experience you’re going to get in [this] genre. It’s a different challenge for the kids, too.”

The orchestra offers a string section that Langford said increases competition.

“There’s only one string program and that’s in Lincoln Middle School,” he said. “They’re cutting all kinds of programs, probably because of budget.”

Langford said private teachers in town are extremely important for the orchestra, as that is where students go to receive private lessons in violin, viola or cello.

Lack of string programs in school has not made it difficult for Langford to find string players. This year, 50 violin players auditioned. He only accepted 40.

The orchestra will be having their Holiday Traditions Concert on December 13 at the UF Phillips Center at 7:30 p.m. The performance is free.

GAINESVILLE HARMONY SHOW CHORUS Another a cappella group, the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus is comprised of female singers that have graced Gainesville with music since 1974. Singing barbershop-style music, the group uses Meetup, an online social networking website that allows users to create meeting dates in any location. Rehearsals are held every Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Grace Presbyterian Church in Gainesville. With 27 members, the show chorus is a member of Sweet Adelines International, an organization of female singers. The Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus holds an annual Thanksgiving show on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Performances are also held at nursing homes in the area for free and at naturalization ceremonies at the Alachua County Courthouse in Gainesville.

As an a cappella group, the singers only use a pitch pipe, as seen on the movie “Pitch Perfect,” to find the note on which they’ll sing. Jenny Windsor, a member since 1989, said she loves performing with her teammates and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

“We sing a barbershop harmony,” she said. “Which the men actually invented until women butted in and did it better.”

The ladies of the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus are NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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UPCOMING CONCERT SCHEDULE GAINESVILLE COMMUNITY BAND James B. King Veteran’s Day Concert 4:00 pm, Sunday, November 8 First Presbyterian Church Winter Holiday Concert 3:00 pm, Sunday, December 6 Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall Bill Prince & Friends Concert 3:00 pm, Sunday, February 14 Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall Spring Concert 3:00 pm, Sunday, April 10 Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall

ALACHUA COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA Concert for Schools (5th Grade) Time TBA, Monday, December 7 Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (By Invitation) Stop Children’s Cancer Benefit Concert 4:00 pm, Sunday, December 13 Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (tickets can be purchased from Stop! Children’s Cancer)

Mother’s Day 3:00 pm, Sunday, May 8 Trinity Methodist Church

Winter Concert 7:30 pm, Sunday, December 13 Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (free)

Fanfare and Fireworks 9:00 pm, Sunday, July 3 University of Florida’s Flavet Field

Spring Concert 7:30 pm, Sunday, April 24 University Auditorium (free)

GAINESVILLE BIG BAND 8:00 pm, Friday, December 18 Market Street Pub

GAINESVILLE HARMONY SHOW CHORUS Holiday Harmonies with The Barbergators 2:00 pm & 5:30 pm, Sunday, November 22 Oak Hall School Theater Tree Lighting Ceremony 6:00 pm, Saturday, December 5 The Thomas Center Naturalization Ceremonies 11:00 am, November 19 & December 17 Federal Courthouse, Downtown Gainesville.

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the top fifth singing group in the world in their singing level. In the fall of 2016, they’ll attend the Las Vegas International Adeline Competition.

Lydia Wagner, 27, comes from a musical family as her mother sang in an a cappella group. Now, she’s one of the youngest members and has been performing with the group for a year.

“It’s been amazing,” she said. “Everyone wants to be here and it’s cool because you just get to show off.”

NO SOUTHERN ACCENT The co-ed a cappella group is based at the University of Florida and is open to any student with musical talent. Entry is based on auditions, which has served the group well in recent years as their rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is show stopping.

Two UF students founded the musical team in 2001. The group’s name, No Southern Accent, was chosen to make it clear to the popular and prominent a cappella groups in the Northeast that they had the same respectability as their competitors.

No Southern Accent (NSA) has competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), a competition

modeled by the international hit movie “Pitch Perfect.” NSA also performs at several events on campus, in Gainesville and around the South.

The group has made impressive moves toward cementing their national presence. NSA released a studio album called Group Therapy, which is available on iTunes. Their second studio album will be released in November.

Claudia Stantzyk-Guzek, the president and music director for NSA, said the group performs about 12 times a year. When

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Musician and conductor Anne Marie McReynolds during a recent performance by the Santa Fe Brass at the 31st Annual Art festival in Thornebrook Village.

it comes to similarities between normal a cappella groups and the ones depicted in the popular “Pitch Perfect” movies, Stantzyk-Guzek said the similarities end at the friendships depicted.

“I think ‘Pitch Perfect’ shines a good light on the camaraderie, but singing a song right out is not possible,” she said.

“Usually, there are weeks of rehearsal for one song before a formal performance.”

Membership within NSA gets very competitive, as the group has won first place in the quarterfinals for the 2014 ICCA.

SANTA FE BRASS The Santa Fe Brass has been playing music since 1995, and Conductor Anne McReynolds has been playing with the band since 2006.

The band has about 10 members but McReynolds said they’re trying to recruit more musicians.

“Sometimes it varies how many people we have playing,” she said. “Ideally, it’d be nice to have 15 or so.”

No formal auditions are held for membership, though potential members are welcome to join the band at rehearsals. Practice times for the group are on Tuesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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at the First Christian Church in Gainesville.

The Santa Fe Brass tries to perform at least once a month, McReynolds said. The season runs from September to April.

“Last year we performed at the Downtown Arts Festival,” she said. “We’re not doing it this year but we generally play at retirement homes, fall concerts and winter concerts.”

McReynolds said performances for the band have dwindled throughout the years, as the band had shows three or four times during the holidays. The group is now trying to find new places to play.

The lack of performances has not taken away from the variety of their music, however. The band performs many styles from marches, show tunes, rock, classical and opera all around a minute and a half to three minutes in length.

McReynolds said the most memorable performance she has been a part of was a show in January at The Village, a retirement community in Gainesville.

“It’s been so much fun,” she said. “There’s a fine balance between playing, performing too much and having just rehearsals and not looking forward to a performance. I’ve had a great time both performing and conducting. It’s extremely enjoyable.”

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GAINESVILLE BRASS QUINTET Founded in 1985, the Gainesville Brass Quintet has always been comprised of solely five members. Joe Jamerson, one of the last founders involved in the quintet, moved to Gainesville in 1978 after studying music in Illinois. A trumpet player, he said music has been a part of his life since he was a young boy living in Joliet, Illinois.

“I had a private tutor from the fourth grade,” he said. “Joliet has a reputation for having an extremely fine band program. It’s normal to begin music lessons that early.”

Jamerson, a former music teacher who now works in insurance, walked away from his music career for about a year when he moved to Gainesville. A friend convinced him to come back to it by joining the Gainesville Community Band.

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“Looking back I was very miserable during that year,” Jamerson said. “My wife will tell you it was because I needed to play.

I absolutely missed it.”

After joining the band, he decided to create a smaller group comprised of a handful of people. It quickly took off and became the Gainesville Brass Quintet.

The quintet performs a wide range of musical shows. From formal music to college graduations at UF and Santa Fe Community College to weddings or Christmas parties at the UF president’s house, the group has years of experience.

On an average year, the quintet will perform about 40 programs, as they did in 2014.

The preparation for their performances depends heavily on the type of show they are working on. It takes eight weeks of rehearsal for them to prepare for a big engagement.

“We really want our audiences to have a memorable experience,” he said. “We rarely publish a program and typically, I’ll be the one to introduce the next piece. I work really hard to interact with the audience.”

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GAINESVILLE CIVIC CHORUS For 40 years, the Gainesville Civic Chorus (GCC) has sung its way into the hearts of local residents.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the choir is in the midst of planning a reunion with all previous members dating back to its origin in 1976.

is key to ensuring the chorus continues as a part of the Gainesville community.

“The big thing is having a good leader,” Suther said. “Dr. Kesling is a person that inspires you.”

Dr. Will Kesling is the director of choral activities at the University of Florida as well as the music director

“The big thing is having a good leader.

Dr. Kesling is a person that inspires you.”

“We’ve got records of over 800 people who’ve sung with the GCC,” said Don Suther, the president of the choir. “It’s going to be something special. We’re trying to find all the active members and that’s a process.”

Suther said the GCC is constantly trying to do good things, such as hosting a show for Habitat for Humanity in 2014. They have also performed at the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation where all of their concert proceeds were donated.

The chorus has also shared their revenue with the UF College of the Arts choral department.

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and conductor of the master choral and the GCC. The chorus has performances throughout the year. They also have a relationship with UF, with whom they host Sounds of the Season every year.

The music group also hosts a free concert for the community every year, with sellout crowds at the Phillips Center.

“This is one of the jewels of the crown of the community,” Suther said. “We’ve got high level leadership, world class conductors, people that not only help you create programs but that help you sing as well. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

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COLUMN

KENDRA SILER-MARSIGLIO’S

Healthy Edge BULLYING 411

KENDRA SILER-MARSIGLIO, PH.D, HCC IS A NEUROSCIENTIST, MEDICAL WRITER, COLUMNIST AND THE DIRECTOR OF RURAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP AT WELLFLORIDA COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS. kendra.sm@gmail.com

WITH TODAY’S SOCIAL MEDIA, KIDS’ AND TEENS’ SOCIAL AND SCHOOL EXPERIENCES CAN FOLLOW THEM AROUND INDEFINITELY: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE HEARSAY.

Regardless of its form, bullying can cause serious, lasting health issues. And, these issues aren’t just linked to the victim. Children who are bullied, who bully others, or are both (bullies-victims) are at a greater risk of developing depression, traumatic stress issues, eating disorders, and anxiety. A 2015 study at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London even found that those victimized by t’s a lot of pressure. When you layer bullying on top bullies are at a greater risk for obesity and heart disease as adults. of that, the results can be unbearable.

Because of the long-term damage caused by bullying, it’s not According to stopbullying.gov, bullying is defined as enough to just stop the bullying. Children who have been bullied unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged kids that need a safe place to express their feelings about the situation. Once involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is out of the damaging situation, kids need help with processing repeated or has the potential to be repeated. what happened and re-discovering their self worth and identity.

Bullying comes in many forms and can become very complex.

Even though we must be vigilant about calling out For instance, bullies use diverse tactics and resources bullying, we also have to be mindful that a kid being such as their ability to intimidate, their social rude or mean (although stinging!) is NOT bullynetworks and their knowledge about their vicChildren who ing. For instance, being “rude” is “inadvertently tims’ situations. And now, post-Internet bulhave been bullied saying or doing something that hurts someone lying reaches well beyond a show of physical need a safe place to else.” Being “mean” is purposefully saying or strength and repeated gossip. Not to say that doing something to hurt someone once (or bullying in the past wasn’t damaging! The express their feelings maybe twice). It’s not bullying. point here is that now bullies can create a about the All 50 states now have anti-bullying legis24/7 onslaught of public humiliation, available situation. lation. In Alachua County Public Schools, the anywhere in the world where Internet exists.

Code of Student Conduct has an anti-bullying and Particularly amongst girls, bullying is even more anti-sexual harassment policy (Policy 5517.01). complicated and can go undetected. Girls often use If a child is bullied at school, during school functions, or tactics like excluding someone from a group, or having others cyberbullied during any hours, then the policy asks that the laugh at, degrade or subtly shun the victim into isolation. child or his/her parent or guardian reports the bullying to any An excerpt on the girlshealth.gov website sums up what it school staffperson. The bully faces behavioral intervention, looks like when girls are the bullies: suspension, or expulsion depending on the situation.

In Alachua County, you can report bullying in three ways: “There are all types of bullying, and most of them can’t 1. Online: www.sbac.edu/pages/ACPS/Departments_ be solved by a stupid comeback or something. Yeah, boys Programs/DepartmentsLZ/Safe_and_Drug_Free_Schools/ usually bully more than girls, but most of the time they don’t Bullying_Resource_Center/Online_Form. do it by insulting you. Guys just punch people in the face 2. Phone at the “Bullying Help Line” 352-955-7200. or call them a name and get over it, but girls attack you 3. Email at reportbullyingnow@gm.sbac.edu. (If you choose from the inside. Girls might act sweet in front of adults, so to report by email, use the Subject Line “Report Bullying.”) when you try to tell someone, they don’t believe you. They If your children are on the receiving or giving end of bullying, might bully you by spreading rumors or excluding you please consider seeking help to make sure they have a healthy or any number of things. And they all hurt really badly.” edge as kids AND adults.

— Heather Rose, Ohio

I

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FOOD REVIEW

Adventures in Appetite

CONTRIBUTED

BY KEN PENG OF KEN EATS GAINESVILLE

KEN PENG HAS LIVED IN GAINESVILLE FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, BUT HAS BEEN EATING SINCE HE WAS BORN. IT IS HIS HOPE THAT ANYONE WHO READS THIS PAGE WILL DISCOVER A NEW SPOT TO VISIT THE NEXT TIME THEY’RE FEELING HUNGRY. keneatsgainesville.com

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

S

o the holidays are coming up, or as I like to call it, “eating season.” No shortage of good food is in our imminent future with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and even the New Year fast approaching. But for some of us, the pressure of cooking for relatives and big groups is just too much, or if you’re like me, just afraid of setting the house on fire.

Never fear, I got you covered. Luckily for us, there are a number of restaurants in the surrounding area that do some wonderful specials for both Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

Here’s a quick rundown of a few of my favorites.

rib, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, sausage, pork you name it. All served to you tableside by the waiters (“gauchos”) who bring them skewered on swords. Does it get any better than meat swords? Make sure to call ahead for reservations as it fills up quickly. If you’re not a meat eater or are afraid it may be too much, they have something called a “salad bar.” I have no idea what that is, but it sounds healthier.

The Great Outdoors Restaurant 65 N. Main Street, High Springs

The Great Outdoors has been an institution in downtown High Springs for years now. It’s been an area-favorite serving simple American cooking done well.

Chefs Joseph Taylor Dukes and Evan Tanner are two talented guys who keep the locals coming back.

Ipanema Burgers, steaks, seafood and Brazilian Steakhouse wings with a large outdoor seat2023 S. Pine Avenue, Ocala Ipanema ing area and bar. If you’re looking for some good food away from the busyness Ok, so it’s a little bit of a trek away in Gainesville, this is a good spot to check out. On from Gainesville, but it’s close enough for me Thanksgiving Day, they offer a buffet that consists of traditional to include it. Especially since uh…you know, UNLIMITED Thanksgiving fare. Turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, pies and MEATS. That’s right, my fellow Ron Swanson followers, if you’ve more are all available for you to gorge on until your heart’s never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, it’s the greatest thing in content. Get there early enough and you can finish in time all the land. Cuts of meat are cooked over an open flame and for a nap on the couch watching football. Even when it’s not generously seasoned with salt and pepper. Ipanema is usually holiday season, their weekly specials are fantastic. Tuesdays open on Thanksgiving Day starting from noon till 6:30 pm. are 50 percent off burgers, 49 cent wings on Wednesdays and About $42 a person gets you unlimited cuts of sirloin, prime 150 |

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half-priced wine on Thursdays. The restaurant is also usually open on Christmas Eve for both lunch and dinner with a special Christmasthemed menu.

Yummy House 7605 W. Newberry Road, Gainesville

The Great Outdoors

Yummy House

Ipanema

The Great Outdoors

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The old stereotype of Chinese restaurants on Christmas day holds true. Yummy House is opened regular business hours for Santa and will be serving dim sum and dinner. If you’re like me, there was one constant every Christmas with my family, and that was a big chow down of dim sum accompanied by a long wait for a table. Yummy House will be no different, with folks sure to be waiting for a seat at this small, converted fast food location. Dim Sum (small tapas-style dishes meant to be shared) is perfect with the family after a morning of opening up presents.

Try their delicious egg tarts, pineapple buns (no

Whatever your plans are for the holidays, have a great time, drink plenty of uh… adult beverages, enjoy some good food, and be safe! actual pineapple, it’s a custard), and their variety of dumplings and shu mai. Or if you’re ordering off the menu, try the Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles, Mandarin Pork Chops, or the Beef Stew Clay Pot. Skip the Americanized Chinese food and go for an adventure — it’s the holidays!

The formidable menu allows patrons to try something new every time they visit. Yummy House opens at 11 am.

I know I’ve shared a great deal of stories and laughter in the kitchen over the years.

Gainesville is lucky enough to have a plethora of great groceries where we can purchase some wonderful food items. Ward’s Supermarket, Earth Fare Market, Lucky’s, and Southwest Seafood are all good places to visit and stock up before company arrives. Whatever your plans are for the holidays, have a great time, drink plenty of uh… adult beverages, enjoy some good food, and be safe! Hope this list helps you in your quest for delicious yummies.

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