Playgrounds Magazine / December 2007 by Will Dockery

SPECIAL SHOW Sat, Dec 15

Crazy Anglos

Uncrowned SoHo 5751 Milgen Rd Columbus Columbus GA 31907 706-568-33156 • must be 21

FREE

Larry Rose Music and Area 5 51 1 Studios Low prices since 1993.

New Year’s Eve Party at SoHo

We buy, sell and trade guitars and other musical equipment.

10am-6pm, Mon-Sat 1801 Crawford Rd Phenix City, AL (across from O’Reilly Auto Parts)

334-297-2783 PARTY WITH FRIENDS. Playgrounds Magazine

JULY 2007

Playgrounds magazine

on the cover

DECEMBER 2007 • Volume 13 • Issue 12

“Christmas Eve”

pg monthly

by Karoleigh Allison

The State of Art Columbus Jazz Society places to go... PG Picks go ask Alice to the magic store ISIS directory Rock Calendar

detail from

feature stories

5 6 14 18 20 23 26 26 27

Ryan Hamner

local musician spotlight

Art from the Farm Columbus Botanical Garden

NSAI (Columbus Chapter) 6 November meeting

Chris Chaos

ROCK 103 DJ, program director

Happy Holidays

holiday happenings

Meet the Cottonmouths

player profiles

Keni Thomas

contributors

interview

Vickie Carson - Editor

Voodoo Fest

Karoleigh Allison Alice Barkwell Blair Burgess Liz Carson Will Dockery Sabra Lucas Curtis Lynch Frank Saunders Don Williams Robbie Wright

photos, review

Silverchair

interview with Daniel Johns

God Bless Our Troops

essay

Playgrounds Magazine P.O. Box 8154, Columbus, GA 31908 www.playgroundsmag.com playgroundsmag@knology.net

706-562-0074 Playgrounds Magazine is an independently published entertainment tabloid. Views expressed in Playgrounds Magazine do not necessarily represent those of anyone other than the person who expressed them. Playgrounds Enterprises, Columbus, Georgia, est. 1994. p.s. If you have something to say, we would love to hear it.

Playgrounds Magazine l

(watercolor) Karoleigh Allison grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University. Ten years later, she and her husband moved the family to his farm in Alabama. During that time, Karoleigh’s art work included charcoal portraits, pen and ink drawings and photography. “Christmas Eve” is one of her first attempts at watercolor. “It is a painting of my dad and me going out to cut a tree late in the afternoon on Christmas eve. My mother had bought one of those ‘new’ artificial trees and put it up. My dad dumped it back in its box and loaded me into Grandpa’s truck to get a ‘real’ tree.” Her inspiration, she says, comes from her “oddball” take on things---she sees things slightly off kilter and photographs images constantly. She has taken several classes in watercolor with Tom Jones and Pat Weaver and has had shows at the Joseph House Art Gallery, The Front Porch and the SACs Gallery in Montgomery. She shares the spotlight, this month, with Jean Goldstein at the Joseph House ---the two are the featured artists for the month of December. Favorite artists include John Sloan, George Bellows and the whole Ashcan School, as well as Odilon Redon, Pierre Bonnard, and Charlie Russell. Her favorite paintings are Childe Hassan’s “Boston Common at Twilight” and Rockwell Kent’s “Snowfields (Winter in the Berkshires.)” Karoleigh and her husband, Mike, live in Hurtsboro, Alabama with a nutty peke-a-poo and a very calm cat. Her hobbies are jewelry design, soap making, catering, writing and needlework. Paintings, photos and jewelry are available at the Front Porch. She is a member of the Phenix City Art Council, the Hurtsboro Council for the Arts, Columbus Artists Guild and the Joseph House Art Gallery. “Christmas Eve” illustrates December in the 2008 calendar produced by the Phenix City Art Council. Calendars are available at the Council Headquarters in Idle Hour Park off Summerville Rd., Phenix City.

september 2007 b

NSAI songwriters perform at God Bless Fort Benning

Local Musician Spotlight By Sabra Lucas Growing up I had big ideas. They included stardom with lights and a big stage, a sparkling dress, a handful of assistants at my every beck-and-call, and millions of screaming fans. A singer? A musician? Yes. That was it. That is what I wanted to be! I had made up my mind. Hard work? Singing and playing in local clubs and coffee shops to people who stared blankly at the wall behind me, then left without even dropping a tip in my tip bucket? No, that wasn’t my idea of stardom. Especially the part of being turned down, not just once, but over and over. I have since learned the meaning of musician/singer/ songwriter. Fame and fortune and a string of assistants following my every move are not what it means to be an artist in the music world. Yeah, one day that may come, to some of us; but the definition is hard work and persistence! And local musician/singer/songwriter, Ryan Hamner of Columbus, Georgia knows every nook and cranny of that definition. Ryan hasn’t only worked hard to get where he is, he is a four-time Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor and has yet to let anything beat him down. In spite of the enormous road blocks, he wrote and illustrated “You’ll Be All Right, Buddy,” an educational storybook for children with cancer, while recovering from a bone marrow transplant in 2000 and has kept his steady persistence in his career as a musician/singer/songwriter throughout the years. A record is a big accomplishment and sense of pride for any musician. It is a piece of art in every detail down to the smallest guitar lick and drum beat and back-up harmony that some of us may not even pick up the tenth time listening to our favorite song. In 2006 Ryan came out with his first album, titled “One Small Giant,” and right on a year later, his brand new self-titled project was released just this year! While his success has not been limited to albums alone, his records have been a big part in the hard work he has put in to get his name heard by thousands across the world. Thanks to technology and the internet, Hamner’s music can be obtained everywhere from iTunes and CDBaby, to GreatIndieMusic, AudioLunchbox, Verizon, iSound, Apple iTunes, Napster, and many other places online, as well as his website, www.ryanhamner.com. Don’t forget to look for him on MySpace, as well! To get signed or not to get signed. That’s the question, right? Wrong! It happens to be a difficult place to get when you’re a musician/singer/songwriter, no matter how good you are at any one of those three dimensions in this triangle of art. Without an agent, labels really don’t care who you are or how good you might be at what you do. Again, Ryan trudges along, pulling all the weight of booking, recording, travelling, promoting, phoning clubs and labels and being turned down repeatedly on his own two shoulders with little to no help. Yet, today, after over 12 years of not letting it go, Hamner has finally caught the interest of more than one major label. Along with his successes, Ryan’s songs have been aired on 18 college radio stations, and several internet stations, with his song Lay Me Down going straight to the top on listenerstation.com. Currently Lay Me Down is also being aired on WXRY 99.3 Rock Columbia, South Carolina, WQNR-FM 99.9 The Rock in Auburn, Alabama, WPEZFM AC, Macon, Georgia, and many more stations across the country. Ryan is receiving further support from various stations by having his banner featured on their websites. And just recently Ryan’s song, Country Club Superstar was selected to be used in a Savvy Girls video on Savvy. com, which receives 52 million page views a month! Next time you’re lounging around the house, remote in one hand and greasy chips in the other, keep an ear out for Ryan’s songs: The Memory, When I’m Breathing and Country Club Superstar, on some of your favorite new playgrounds magazine

TV programs. Why you ask? Because they have recently been added to Jetset Sound’s music catalog for film and TV placement. And Noteborn Music, also a film and TV placement group, has already selected two of his top songs, Lay Me Down and When I’m Breathing. Now you want to know where you can find this rock/ Americana artist that seems to beat all odds? Besides online, look for him live in Columbus, Georgia and Mobile, Alabama. His calendar is always up-to-date on www. myspace.com/ryanhamnermusic, where he frequents Fishbone in Daphne, Alabama and Felix’s in Mobile, Alabama, along with many other restaurants and clubs. So, next time you see your favorite big star on TV or in live concert with thousands of other huge fans like yourself in the audience, don’t forget the big stars in your local hometown! They might have a bigger story to tell than you can ever begin to imagine! For more information on where to buy Ryan Hamner’s CD’s and to purchase his children’s storybook, “You’ll Be All Right, Buddy,” go to www.ryanhamner.com or www. myspace.com/ryanhamnermusic.

Above: Tony Lane (Letters From Home, I Need You by Tim McGraw/Faith Hill duet and Wanna Feel Something by Trace Adkins) and Wynn Varble (Have You Forgotten, Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind by Kellie Pickler) entertained the crowds at this year’s God Bless Fort Benning celebration as part of the NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) showcase. Also, Frankie Lackey, Lyles, TN and David Steen, Villa Rica, GA sang two original songs: God Bless Fort Benning and I Stand Ready. Below, left to right: Kim Prescott (Coordinator NSAI Columbus), Wynn Varble, Nona Christie (Coordinator NSAI Columbus), Frankie Lackey, Tony Lane, Jeff Pearson (Pro-writer for our chapter and Youth Minister at First Presbyterian Church), David Steen

Doubleheader, Loft Style Football bowl season may be in full swing, but if you’ll allow me a baseball metaphor here, I’d appreciate it, because the Loft’s December 7th and 8th weekend music schedule is a genuine all-star lineup. Friday night features the Mosier Brothers. That’s Johnny and the Rev. Jeff. Mosier from Blueground Undergrass, and will most likely be a banjo/guitar duo show. Fiddler David Blackmon would be a welcome addition. Johnny sat in with Jeff at a workshop at Magfest this year, and was perhaps my favorite show of the festival. Saturday brings the blues guitar of Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers. Geoff’s prowess on both electric and acoustic needs to be experienced live. I’m hoping for his acoustic cover of “Whippin’ Post.” You should too. Jen Woodhouse opens Friday and the Geoff Achison show is a CD release party. A review of the new live disc appears elsewhere in this issue. Visit www.theloft.com for more info. Curtis Lynch

Rev Jeff Mosier at Magfest ‘07

Geoff Achison at The Loft earlier this year december 2007

THE STATE OF ART

Art from the Farm- Folk art at the by Karoleigh

The Joseph House Art Gallery will host a holiday reception on December 2 from 2 to 5 pm. At this time, Postcards from the Palette, a postcard book containing color reproductions of paintings done by some of the artists, will make its debut. Scenes are limited to historic landmarks and Columbus scenery. The book will retail at $20 and will be sold at the gallery, Columbus Museum, The Front Porch and the RiverCenter. At the same time Jean Goldstein and Karoleigh Allison will be introduced as the featured artists for the month of December. Their combined efforts, entitled, “Seasons,” will include watercolor, photography and acrylic works. Jean Goldstein has produced well over 500 paintings. She has lived in Alabama all her life, raised in Birmingham, and, for the last 40 years, lived in Hurtsboro. She is a graduate of Parsons Institute and the University of Alabama. She has won numerous awards including, recently, ﬁrst place in the Art Guild of Albany Members Show and honorable mention in the juried show of the Alabama Watercolor Society. Her favorite artists are Degas, Van Gogh, Da Vinci and Monet. Some of Jean’s paintings are on exhibit at the Front Porch as well as at the Joseph House Gallery. Her favorite hobby when not painting? Golf! The Phenix City Art Council will hold its annual Christmas dinner on December 6 at the headquarters in Idle Hour Park. Calendars will be available at the center and from members. The price is $15. At the close of this year, I wish our readers happiness and good health. I pray for peace. I pray for our boys to come home from that awful place. May I leave you with this thought, from Dr. Albert Schweitzer: “One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” God Bless Us All!

Columbus Botanical Garden

These pieces of folk art were on display from October 6 – November 25 at the Columbus Botanical Garden on Weems Rd. in Columbus. For more information on the gardens, visit http://www.columbusbotanicalgarden.com. photos by Curtis Lynch.

Helianthus adamshutterii – These sunﬂower windmills were created by students in Environmental Horticulture at Columbus Technical College.

Garden of Creepy Crawlies by Katherine Lodder and Bill Green

Poet/Artist Stephen Hawks Open House Annual Pottery and Art show and sale Saturday, Dec. 8 Lumpkin, Ga, on the corner of Pine St, and Cherry St. Call 850-4916436 or 229-838-6433 for more information.

Garden People by Atlanta artist Raymondo Vaughn

GATEWAY VETERINARY HOSPITAL formerly known as Tanglewood 6051 Gateway Road, Columbus, GA 31909

706-561-5522

Dean Jones, DVM Thorough and compassionate care for over 30 years. playgrounds magazine

Scarecrows at work and play – created by CBG volunteers.

december 2007

seaant our 9th

November 2007 NSAI Meeting– Speaker Keni Thomas was in town in November to perform at the annual God Bless Fort Benning event, and was gracious enough to agree to speak at the monthly Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) meeting. Keni has strong ties to Columbus and still lists Columbus as his hometown on his MySpace page, even though he now lives in Tennessee. Special thanks to Buddy Nelms of the Loft in helping to arrange for Keni to speak at the meeting. Buddy and Keni go back to when Keni was a soldier at Fort Benning. There were around 30 people at the meeting, including many ﬁrst timers. After some brief opening remarks, the ﬂoor was turned over to Keni. He did a couple of songs using both guitar and piano and told how he came to write those particular songs. During the discussion and answering questions from the group, Keni shared some of his life

philosophy. He said that life is in the journey… don’t let it pass you by. Don’t concentrate too much on success, or on trying to win the next award, but enjoy each day. On making a difference, Keni said that you can make a difference by setting an example for others, and that you can make the world a better place by stepping forward when you would rather be saying “not me”. Of particular interest to the songwriters present was the advice that you should not go into the music business to make money, but to do so only if you love it (we heard the same advice from Allen Levi). He also said to write (or record) everything you think of that might result in a song, because you might forget it if you don’t. For the ﬁnal bit of advice, Keni said that “hit songs are never written – they are rewritten.” Overall, it was an enjoyable and informative evening

Keni Thomas

for those in attendance. NSAI has been very fortunate to have such talented and well known songwriters share their time and knowledge with the local chapter. Remember, everyone is invited to the monthly NSAI meetings. You do not have to be a member of NSAI or a songwriter to attend. Additional information on meetings and contacts may be found at the MySpace page: http://www.myspace. com/nsaicolumbusga. Don L Williams

SOA Watch 2007

Concert and Jam Session featuring

The Lou Vallee Four Sunday Dec 9, 6-9pm The Liberty Theatre and Cultural Center 813 8th Ave, Columbus, GA 31901

Annual Scholarship Fundraiser Event Suzanne Swan, vocals; Lou Vallee, keyboards; Fred Ezekiel, sax; Ike Alexander, drums

photos by Liz Carson

The Columbus Jazz Society welcomes the Lou Vallee Four featuring Suzanne Swan, vocals for an evening of jazz, R&B, soul plus dancing and a full dinner. Tickets for this annual fund-raising event for the Columbus Jazz Society’s Scholarship Fund are $30 and include dinner. Corrine Johnson-Cox and friends of the Society will provide an awesome spread of food (ham, chicken, dressing, turnip greens, yams, etc ) for this event. Admission is $30 to provide for the fund and to cover food costs. Reserve a table for you and your friends - minimum 6 to hold a table for your group. Your name will be printed and reserved on this table - let us know if you want front, back, middle, or side. We will try our best to comply with your request. Many tables have already been reserved. We are requesting that all attendees bring two bottles of your favorite wine to place on a common table for all to partake - think of it as a mini wine-tasting event! Whites, reds, pinks - you choose. Coffee, iced tea, and bottled water will also be available for the dinner (included). If you are unable to attend and wish to still be a part of the fund raiser you may make a donation in your name or someone else’s name. All who make it to the event will be recognized in upcoming Jazz Society events. Deadline for reservations is 12 noon Thursday, December 6th - we can’t reserve a table for you. We CAN hold your individual dinner reservations up to 6pm on December 9th - then it’s ﬁrst come, ﬁrst served. Call to make or send your check for reservations to the following address: (be sure to include your full name and number in party). PLEASE SUPPORT THE JAZZ SOCIETY AND THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND! Contact Corrinne Cox at (706) 689-0303 or (706) 587-7769 www.columbusjazzsociety.com playgrounds magazine

december 2007

Playgrounds interview

CHRIS CHAOS

Chris Chaos stormed into Columbus this past April and promptly gave Columbus radio a much needed kick in the ass as program director and radio personality at ROCK 103. With his sense of humor and willingness to say almost anything that is on his mind and imply the rest, he makes a real connection with his audience. On top of all this, he knows about music and shares his knowledge as well as an occasional opinion. I met Chris at SoHo on a recent Thursday. We talked about where he’s been, where he’s going and stops he has made along the way. interview by Vickie Carson PG: You came to Columbus from Ft Myers in April. I assume you worked for a radio station. Chaos: Yeah! A rock station! It was Classic Rock 94.5. When I got there, they were the fourth rated rock station in the market, and it’s a pretty big market. After a couple of years, hanging out with folks, they were number one. PG: Was going to number one something you did? Chaos: I like to think I had a little to do with it. That’s what I’m good at. I go in and tweak something here or there. PG: Was that a Clear Channel station? Chaos: No. They (ROCK 103/Clear Channel) found me. There was a Clear Channel station in the market and they were like, “This guy’s killing us, you gotta ﬁnd some place for him.” My contract was up, so I was clear and open to look at other options and I got a call from Brian Waters here and he was like, “Dude, come to Columbus,” and I’m like, “Columbus, Ohio? Doesn’t it snow there?” and he’s like, “No, Georgia,” and I’m like, “Really? There’s a Columbus, Georgia?” So I did. The town’s beautiful and I loved it and here I am, God bless America. PG: How did Brian know about you? Chaos: He was looking for a rock DJ and I just happened to apply. He had heard from some people in Fort Myers, as well. PG: How long have you been in the radio business? Chaos: Since I was about ﬁfteen or sixteen,

a couple of years. PG: What was your first job in radio? Chaos: I was about eight years old and I used to mimic DJs on the air. At the time, you could buy a 45 for forty five cents or whatever. I’d listen to what the DJs were saying, I would write it down and then I’d go buy the 45. I’d get my allowance from doing whatever. I’d sell door to door. I’d sell candles or Christmas stuff or whatever so I could to go buy a record and I ended up having my own little top twenty show. I came up with my own call letters, 97 Ace, because ace was a cool word back then, 97 WACE. PG: And this was all make-believe? Chaos: It was make-believe in my room, that’s all. Eight years old, I didn’t know anything else. PG: Was there a certain radio personality that inspired you? Chaos: There were. The guys from Providence and Boston, we could hear all those guys and they were big names. They were huge, and I wanted to be just like them, so I got the records. I had my top twenty show every Sunday and when I got older I started talking to people about being on the radio and they were like, “you’re way too young.” I was twelve or thirteen, but I had the best record collection in the neighborhood. Then I started buying lights and stuff. My first gig was at the beach. They had a beach party every summer for the kids, and the DJ didn’t show up. They asked me if I wanted to do it since I had the best re-

“My job is to appeal to a man between the ages of 25 and 54 and that’s me, I’m in there. It’s sex, drugs, rock and roll. It’s boats, it’s cars, it’s trucks...” PG:Lots of scantily clad women, I see on your website... “The website does have– not my website– the website does have a lot of chicks but it’s also got news and weather and other stuff too, contests, prizes.” playgrounds magazine

cord collection and the biggest stereo. I did my thing and they gave me twenty bucks. I was like, “Damn, I can buy a lot of records with twenty bucks.” So I got myself a little strobe light and ten or fifteeen records. Then there was a yacht club and they were going to pay me fifty bucks to play from seven to midnight. I’m like, “Right on! I’m fourteen years old!” I’m making money, I’m doing drum rolls for strippers, I’m MC-ing stuff. By the time I’m fifteen years old, my dad said, “When you’re sixteen years old you’ve got to get a license.” Back in the day you actually needed a license. We drove to Boston, I had to study, FCC, Elements 1, 2 and 9 in Engineering. The FCC started doing all that crap that you learned in school that’s going to be useless later. But I did it and I got my license and I got a gig at a radio station at University of Rhode Island, WRIU in Providence. I worked overnights, 11-2. I just kept showing up and showing up. I was like, “I want to be a DJ,” and they were like, “Dude, you’re so young, you’re only sixteen, this is a college run radio station, we underwrite, it’s not even sponsored, and you’re not even a student here.” I was like, “Yeah, but I really want to be a DJ. I’ll do whatever I have to do to be a DJ.” It turned into three shows a week. I went to a commercial AM station after that. I was a news reporter, covered town hall meetings. How boring is that? It taught me a lot though. I did whatever it took. I did afternoons, 36 after school, I would do my news every

We used to take ﬂyers and spend the week before we were going to play a club in a new town and we travelled an hour or two in the snow or whatever, from Providence to Boston to Hartford to Long Island, to New York City. We put ﬂyers up on garbage cans, telephone poles, at the club, and you talked to people. Bands have to take a more active role because there are a gazillion bands out there.

hour– at 4 and 5 and 6 o’clock– “I’m Chris and that’s the news, WKFD”– tiny little town, in a trailer, a chicken coop. Then one day the afternoon DJ didn’t show up and there was nobody there. There weren’t any computers and they needed somebody to play music. I was there. PG: So you were in the right place at the right time. Chaos: Welcome to radio. I went to FM right after that, a little jazz station in Newport, which was really cool because I had a friend Christa, who lived on the third floor. The radio station was at a place on Brick Alley in Newport, a fancy, hobnob kind of area, with regata races, Claus Von Beulow mansions, all that stuff. I totally didn’t fit in. On the first floor they had the Brick Alley Pub, the second floor they had the radio station and the third floor was my friend Christa. At midnight, when I came into work– at 11:30 I’d be at the Brick Alley Pub with two screwdrivers, going up the elevator to the radio station, to put on my long Ben Sidron live album, Good Travel Agent, which was as long as an album could be, and then I’d go up to see Christa and we’d shoot pool and drink and party and I’d go down in time to cue a record. That was a blast. It lasted for about six months before they figured out that I was having way too much fun. PG: Give me your personal down-low. Chaos: There will be none of that. PG: I think one of the elements you bring

continued on page

“I love satellite radio. I love Sirius– The Vault, Power, Chill, Coffee House is cool, Alt Nation is huge. I love it and I hope when XM and Sirius do merge, that it brings the price down for everyone else to enjoy. But you can’t beat local radio because you can’t beat the service elements of local news, weather, sports and the jocks being able to say, ‘Hey, guess what’s going on at SoHo tonight?’” december 2007

The Columbus Museum Presents

Painters of American Life: The Eight December 8, 2007 – February 17, 2008 Painters of American Life: The Eight celebrates the anniversary of the famous 1908 exhibition at Macbeth Galleries in New York by the radical group The Eight. The exhibition will include representative work by all members of the group: Arthur B. Davies, William Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan. Chronologically, the exhibition features works by these artists that date from circa 1908 as well as the decades before and after. The exhibition thus casts new light on this group within the larger context of American modernism. The exhibition is organized by Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee and includes two works from the Columbus Museum’s permanent collection. Columbus Museum is one of ﬁve venues throughout the Southeast to host the exhibition. One hundred years ago, eight American artists decided to break new ground and exhibit their work free from the constraints of the National Academy of Design. Artistically, the Eight were a diverse group of artists, pursuing different modes of modern art. Henri, Glackens, Luks, Shinn, and Sloan, all were urban realists who later were labeled as the “Ashcan School” because of their subject matter. In many ways, the group only cohered in asserting independence from an institution that they considered too conservative, namely the National Academy. Despite their ﬂeeting group-identity, the Eight created something that would be a model for future generations of artists: the idea of an artistic event and related media buzz. The Eight set a precedent for many independent group exhibitions that followed in the twentieth century, including the famous 1913 Armory Show. Through art and photographs, this retrospective exhibition attempts to capture some of the artistic energy that made the Eight so successful. This exhibition reacquaints audiences with the extraordinary creativity behind this momentous event in American art and provides a platform for reevaluation.

Happy Holidays • Happy Holidays • Happy Holidays “The Ludy Christmas Light Spectacular”

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra is pleased to present

5784 Ironstone Drive, Columbus, GA 31907 ludychristmas@yahoo.com Daily through January 1, 2008 M-Th 6-10pm, F-S 6pm-10:30pm

A Cowboy Christmas featuring

Each year the Ludy family presents “The Ludy Christmas Light Spectacular” display at their house located in Cottonwood Plantation subdivision. The display is provided for the enjoyment of the child at heart who really enjoys Christmas decorations and the joy of the Holiday spirit. People from all around the Bi-City area come to see this each year, with an average of 500 to 1000 visitors driving by or stopping to visit with Santa. You can tune your car radio to 90.1 FM and listen to the music broadcast on Ludy Christmas Radio. The Lights are computerized with the music. This year The Ludy’s are participating in the Make-AWish foundation and will be presenting this to the community. What better way to give something to a child during this time of giving? A child with a life threatening medical condition can be granted a wish to do something they would never have been able to do under normal conditions. The display began on Thanksgiving evening at 6 p.m., and will last through each evening until 10:00 pm during the week and 10:30 pm on weekends. For previous year’s photos and videos go to www.ludychristmas.com.

Riders in the Sky

Thursday, December 6, 2007 6:30PM – Santa arrives, 7:30PM – Concert begins Enjoy America’s Favorite Cowboys, Riders in the Sky – Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim, and Joey the Cowpolka King as they perform Christmas tunes and Western classics “The Cowboy Way!” Riders In The Sky are two-time Grammy-Award winners for their CDs from the movies “Toy Story 2” and “Monster’s Inc.,” and the music from the Oscar award-winning short “For the Birds.” This Holiday show is perfect for Buckaroos and Buckarettes of all ages, so round up the whole family to join in the fun as Riders In The Sky “deck the RiverCenter halls” with holiday humor and cowboy carols! Come early and watch Santa travel down Broadway to magically light up RiverCenter. Visit with Santa before the concert in the lobby and enjoy sugar cookies and apple cider during intermission. For more info- www.csoga.org, 706.323.5059. TICKETS: RiverCenter Box Ofﬁce, Mon-Fri, 10A to 6P, Sat, 10A to 3P or Tickets.com, 888-332-5200.

Taffetas Christmas Family Theatre, 2100 Hamilton Rd, Columbus Dec. 7 at 7:30; Dec. 8 at 3:00 & 7:30 p.m. Adults - $10, Seniors - $8, Students - $8 Schedule a private party for your business or church group. Call for Reservations - 706-536-8052. www.familytheatre.org

December 8- Christmas Parade The tri-community Christmas Parade starts in Phenix City on Broad Street and ends in downtown Columbus. This parade has been a family tradition for many families. Grab some hot chocolate and come see the colorfully decorated ﬂoats, antique cars, marching bands and lots of beautiful horses decked out for the holidays. Parade begins promptly at 10:00 a.m.

Dec. 14- Candle Lighting Ceremony at Moon Lake

JOHN SLOAN 1871-1951. Dorothy Hart, Green Dress 1913. Oil on canvas. Museum purchase made possible by The Endowment Fund in Honor of D. A. Turner and The Art Acquisition and Restoration Fund. 96.3 playgrounds magazine

Left to right: Chelsea Durden as Donna, Victoria Leggett as Cheryl, Brittany Whitehurst as Kaye, Lisa Anders as Peggy

Visit one of Phenix City’s’ historic landmarks, Moon Lake, just below Idle Hour Park off Airport Road .The lake is decorated in a variety of lighted displays and hand painted seasonal scenes. It is lit up each night through out the holidays. There will be a special candle lighting ceremony to light the candles that encircle Moon Lake. Area churches are invited to carol and hot chocolate will be given out as a special treat. Make this night one of your family traditions. Contact The Phenix City Parks and Recreation Department at 334-291-4719 for further details or if you or your church would like to volunteer to sing carols or serve hot chocolate. december 2007

Chaos continued from page 8 back is to radio is that you to have information about the bands and opinions about the bands. You have a clue. Chaos: Well thanks. I’ve been doing it my whole life, I fucking hope we do. I totally understand what you’re saying. What you see is what you get. PG: Some people who you talk to off air are totally different. I could recognize your voice and your laugh anywhere. Chaos: It’s real and that’s what is important. I think a lot of stations miss that realness and that’s all it is. People want to be able to frickin’ relate to you man. Don’t stop talking like a fucking DJ and a rock star–you’re not–you’re nobody... PG: Did you ever take voice training? Chaos: I didn’t, but in Providence, I worked at a rock station, a 50,000 watt, killer rock station for a guy named Dave Richards, who actually, went to Chicago, won program director of the year nationally... this guy knows his stuff. He’s in Seattle, he’s been there for ﬁfteen years. He taught me one thing. He was holding up a bumper sticker and he said, “What does this say?’. I said, “It says 1 0 3 7, the classic rock sta-

tion.” He says, “Then fuckin’ say it that way.” He taught me all I needed to know in that one air check. From then on it hit me in the head– (in a Saturday afternoon car dealership commercial voice) “Stop being everybody’s favorite DJ, it sounds like you’re about ready to puke.” He was a major influence. It’s funny, because I’ve been in a few places and these people have gone way beyond what I ever could. I’ve had partners who are now nationally syndicated morning show of the year and I’m still Chris Chaos. PG: Speaking of nationally syndicated shows, I read on a blog that when you were coming here there was the possibility of some sort of Clear Channel syndicated show. Is that still a possibility? Chaos: Yeah. I can’t really say anything. I wish I could. I guess the official response would be, “We’re still looking into the possibilities.” We have sponsors, we have stations, it’s just a matter of a place to broadcast from. PG: Do you ever get in trouble for any of the things you say on the air? Chaos: Uh huh. I’ve been fired by many stations, unfortunately. PG:How about in Columbus? Do people

Musicians’ Exchange Name: Brian Mallard and Renegade. Looking For: Dedicated drummer to start in January, to perform at Open Mic Nights and eventually gigs, with regular practice with bass player at least once a week. The music is solid, and I have plenty of originals. Sounds Like: Rock’n’Roll. Contact info: salvark@yahoo.com, www. myspace.com/brianmallard Rock/Metal band seeks experienced, dependable bass player. Some influences are Metallica, Pantera, Tool, Alice in Chains ‘etc.’ Please contact Mike @ (334) 5243893 or Joe @ (706) 332-9057. Solo artist here looking for passionate piano player and guitar player to collaborate an original country cd... I have done rock, hiphop, dance... everything minus country... I am ready to take it to my roots. In need of serious, passionate people only. Not looking for a cover band. This will be an original project. For more info, 706-442-2725, Scott NEED MUSICIANS AND BANDS! Musicians and full bands are invited to the new weekly Open Mic at Run Around Sue’s in Marietta GA each Wed at 7pm! Tama drum kit provided, full PA, guitar and bass rigs. Just bring your sticks, axes and your willingplaygrounds magazine

ness to play! All musicians, fans, friends and industry are welcome (18+) www.runaroundsues.com USED GEAR WANTED: We buy and sell all types of musical, PA and lighting equipment. Bass Strings $10.99. Guitar Strings $3 for 10. Please call Curt at 706568-6060. Drummer available- jazz, blues, rock, gospel, etc. Call Frank Oresteen- 706-566-6712. Drummer and guitarist seeking other interested band members (bass player, lead singer, rhythm guitarist). Serious inquiries only. Must have pro gear, chops, and attitude. Classic and comtemporary rock. Call Dan at (706) 221-4045 for information. Vocalist/guitarist looking for keyboard, drums, lead and rhythm guitarist, bassist. Sounds Like: Coldplay, Five for Fighting, Creed, Pearl Jam, Lifehouse. Contact e-mail Ivy at fandfrawley@juno.com

call up angry? Chaos: No, not at all. They’re really happy that there’s life in the station. I’m sure there’s always going to be people that you piss off. Listen, you think it, I say it. PG: Kind of like Howard Stern? Chaos: I’m not like Howard Stern because I’m not out to hurt anybody. With me, there’s more of a thought process, I work from the end result backward. There are going to be things that I say, or you hear in a song, or somebody flashes a boob in the Super Bowl, somebody drops an f-bomb at NASCAR, it’s going to happen, there’s going to be things, but I don’t let the minority judge or lead, I just sluff it off. PG: I never got the down low– married, divorced, children? Chaos: I’d say all of the above. PG: What about now? Chaos: I have a current wife number two. I have kids, throw a rock, you’ll hit one. Every one of my kids was born in a different state. PG: You said you were in bands earlier. What kind of bands were you in? Chaos: I worked with a lot of bands, managed a lot of bands, played in bands, played in everything from concert band to stage band to marching band to singing in a band to whatever. PG: Were you a band geek or were you in the drumline? Chaos: I was drums. I started out as a geek though. I started out playing clarinet and realized, “there’s no way I’m getting laid doing this.” PG: Not by a girl. Chaos: No, although the girl that I sat next to was really hot. Then I realized if you’re gonna play clarinet, you can play sax and sax is a little cooler. The bands that I knew already had guitar players and stuff, so I played sax. I learned to play alto and tenor sax. I had the whole woodwinds thing down and then I learned that drums is the way to go and I played drums. Then I found out that the only better position than drummer was singer, so I sang for a little while. They were just knock-around bands, nobody that did anything. I worked with a band that did quite well and then I started doing sound for bands that did well. PG: Did you do that at the same time you were being a DJ? Chaos: Yeah, because I was working at WRIU overnights when I got my first gig to do sound for the university. The station was on the fourth floor of the Memorial Union building and on the second floor, they had a theatre where they had concerts.

I was getting a drink at the cafeteria on the first floor and there was a guy fussing with a duffle bag and trying to get something out of the machine. I hit it for him and his soda came out. He’s like, “Thanks man, do you know where the radio station is?” I said, “Yeah I do, it’s right up there on the third floor.” He said, “Do you know the program director, Peter Parker?” I said, “Yeah, he’s up there. I’ll bring you right up there. Who are you?” He said, “My name is Bill.” I said, “Oh, you got a band, we’re gonna play your record?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “Do you mind if I tag along.” He said no. So I went up, and they’re playing it. It’s South Central Rain, and he’s Bill Berry from REM. It was 1984, and the song just came out after our station and some other stations started playing it. I was like, “How freakin’ cool is this?” I didn’t know at the time that REM was going to be so cool and so big. I ended up doing some sound for them, and it was cool. PG: What does a program director do these days? Do you choose which music gets played? Chaos: I have a lot to do with trying to protect the integrity of the brand. PG: Classic Rock? Chaos: Rock. It’s Rock. It’s in your face Rock. Whatever is good. PG: I love the new stuff you’re playing. I appreciate the old stuff but it is so nice that y’all are including a lot more new stuff. Chaos: When I came in it sounded fragmented, it didn’t sound right. I came from a bigger market, a very competitive market with four rock stations in one market, not one, where “who’s the competition? nobody.” So I know what’s right and what works, just based on what’s right and what works for the region. If you go a little farther south in Fort Myers or even in the southeast, Skynyrd is huge. Why do we have to play just the regular version of Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird? Let’s play the live version dammit, and guess what, they’ve got more than three records. Holy crap! PG: I’m sure people send you records all the time. If you hear something that blows you away, do you have the capability of putting it on the air. Chaos: I’d spike it, yeah. We did it today with Collective Soul. I thought it was a really good record and we tested it at one o’clock during a threesome. Erin played Heavy and Where the River Flows after that. The new one called The New Vibration, it’s got that cool hook. I said, “This

continued on page21

Carson wants to see new bands. Let him discover you... Record a video telling Carson why you should be interviewed on his website, and then post a link to your submission in a comment on carsondaly.tv. Show Carson why your band is the most exciting and why your fans believe in you. If Carson is impressed, he’ll change your life for the better... Guaranteed! Go get your band together, and start recording.

Do you need to buy or sell equipment? Do you need a drummer? A band? Practice space? Listings in Musician’s Exchange are complimentary. Please send info to playgroundsmag@knology.net

december 2007

Meet Your Columbus Cottonmouths part two

ROCK 103’s 18th Birthday Party Concert with Papa Roach, Hinder and 12 Stones at the Columbus Civic Center photos by Alice Barkwell

Name: Dan Leslie—1st professional season Age: 21 Nickname: Leslie Sweater #: 23 Position: Right wing Hometown: Portage la Prairie, Manitoba What do you miss? Friends and family

ROCK 103 set up a stage in the Civic Center parking lot for a free pre-concert concert

FAVORITES Magazine: FHM TV show: Family Guy Food: Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo Local restaurant: Olive Garden Hockey player: Joe Sakic, Jonny Pro hockey team: Colorado Avalanche Place to hang out in Columbus: Shanty Shack

12 Stones

What did you do on your summer vacation? Worked and traveled What do you do for fun—hobbies? Golf, workout What do you think about Columbus? Great fans, love the weather What would you be if you weren’t a hockey player? Pro golfer What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? Being around family and friends Name: Mark Prentice—2nd season with the Cottonmouths Age: 22 Nickname: Marko, Prenny Sweater #: 37 Position: Center, right wing Pregame rituals: pasta, nap, coffee Hometown: Bethany, Ontario What do you miss? Snow, family, sledding, fires back home

12 Stones’ Paul McCoy repeatedly sprayed the crowd with water.

Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance

Papa Roach guitarist Jerry Horton

FAVORITES: Magazine: Maxim TV show: Real world, Girls next door Musician or group: Green Day Food: Pizza, everything but onions Local Restaurant: Ruby Tuesday Hockey Player: Jonny (one and only) Pro hockey team: Toronto Maple Leafs Place to hang out in Columbus: Golds Gym, golf course, restaurants What is the last book you read? Cross, James Patterson, Blow What did you do on your summer vacation? Worked, went to Cuba, saw a few concerts, hung out at the lake What do you do for fun—hobbies? Work out, golf, work, clean my jeep What do you think of Columbus? Nice What would you be if you weren’t a hockey player? Pro golfer, join a bobsledding team Do you have a funny/embarrassing story? Fell off the bench in overtime What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? Getting to relax, enjoy the sun, and being around friends and family

Burt’s Place 2932 Warm Springs Rd

Papa Roach drummer Dave Buckner playgrounds magazine

706-653-0677

Good Food at Good Prices and Plenty of it!

Hinder’s Austin Winkler

december 2007

interview with

by Robbie Wright www.myspace.com/civilianrobbie This month I got the opportunity to interview Nashville country music star – and Columbus native – Keni Thomas! Keni made a stop back in Columbus towards the end of November where he was featured as a guest speaker at the Columbus chapter NSAI meeting and performed at the “God Bless Fort Benning Celebration”. Keni is an excellent artist and tours nationally with acts such as Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and Dwight Yoakam, among others. A former Army Ranger, Keni was involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, and his story was inspiration for the 1999 book and 2001 movie Black Hawk Down. He also made an appearance in the Reese Witherspoon movie, Sweet Home Alabama. Early next year Keni will be releasing his highly anticipated “Gunslinger” album, with a December release for our Troops in Iraq. We discussed his upcoming album, his Columbus beginnings, goals for his career and much more! Playgrounds: Tell me about your upcoming album! Keni Thomas: I’m extremely proud of this record. You know, when you sell a house to make an album, you better really believe in the songs that you’re recording. They better be great. I’m so excited about it, because I know it’s freaking great. And I don’t wanna drop the ball and miss an opportunity to get it out there to as many people as possible. This deﬁnitely has a mainstream appeal. The credit on this one goes to the writers. When you have three years of your own songs written, it’s a very tough challenge to narrow it down into one record, and the fact that I have three outside songs on this record says something about those writers, because those songs meant that much to me

playgrounds magazine

that I would forgo putting one of my own songs on the record. I was really just trying to make the best record for what I wanted to say, and I know we accomplished it. PG: When is it going to be released? Keni: It will be available online for our MySpace fans and troops December 1st. We’re headin’ overseas for the Iraq tour and we’re going to make it available for them, in the stores over there. It will be available to the public probably by the end of January, when we get the big official release. PG: Does the title, “Gunslinger” have a story? Keni: “Gunslinger” was the name of the helicopter that we were on in Mogadishu. You relate to your buddies that were around you that day, your squad, you know, we all know that Gunslinger was the call sign. And although this isn’t a Military record at all, it’s just a song that I knew one of those days I would end up writing. It’s not so much as a gunslinger in the Wild West sort of way, but more the gunslinger who’s come into town to try to do something good. And that’s what I do. I don’t carry an M-4 rifle anymore, I carry a Gibson, and that’s how I’m a gunslinger. PG: How did you start playing music? Keni: Oh, man that’s… You’re born to do it! [Laughs] You know, it finds you. Music finds you. It has a way of sticking with you, if it’s your passion. That’s why I’ll stay out here doing this forever. It’s a disease almost! PG: Well, how did you “find” the guitar? Keni: I picked up the guitar when I was in the army, because you can’t carry a piano! PG: So, piano was your first instrument? Keni: I taught myself on piano. I first started writing songs on piano then gradually started moving over to guitar – when I was in the military. I split it in half now – half I

write on piano, half I write on guitar. PG: Who or what are your influences? Keni: Oh gosh! I always tell everybody I have five main influences and it’s funny, because when people were hearing this record [Gunslinger], without me even telling ‘em, they kept saying, “man this kind of sounds like The Eagles a little bit. Sounds like Tom Petty,” and I’m, “oh, well those are my influences!” So, that’s kind of a cool thing. A bit of a Jackson Brown feel, too. But I think my main influences were Stevie Wonder, it was the first record I ever had. The Eagles. Tom Petty. Shawn Mullins, everybody knows Shawn was a big influence on me. My original… my choir director. Rebecca was her name. She was one of my big influences. She kind of taught me that music should entertain, but you can also entertain when you have something to say that’s purposeful. That’s what I try to do. At the end of the day I think you have to have something positive to say, and the opportunity to stand up on a stage should not be taken lightly. PG: How about the Army? Being there and all that you experienced… how has that influenced you? Keni: It gives me a unique perspective that I can go to as a writer. It’s funny, because people will say, “Oh Keni’s that military writer!” Well, it’s not like I sit down and that’s all I write! It’s like saying someone is a divorce writer, or they only write about drinking… it’s another place you can go to. Some people, when they experience heartache, you know, you can go to that place. It’s just another thing that I have been able to experience. And it would seem that country music is very conducive to telling those types of stories, which have somewhat of a patriotic feel to them, because they do have to do with the military. Mostly what it gave me, though, was a purpose, I think. Coming out of the military, I have an appreciation for the folks around me, because it’s the Grace of God and the one on your left

and the person on your right that’s the only reason you get where you are. So you have to surround yourself with good people and that’s what I’ve been trying to do, whether it’s a band or a producer or other writers, you surround yourself with the best folks you can. Keith Urban calls ‘em “born to be’s.” That’s what you want to surround yourself with. You want a road manager who was born to be a road manager, you want a bass player who was born to be a bass player, you want an accountant who was born to be an accountant and that’s what you try to do. Surround yourself with the best people possible, and that’s what I learned from the military. PG: You got a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. How has that inﬂuenced you? Are you glad that you didn’t pursue that career? Keni: I use what I learned in school, which was really how to write and how to be a communicator. So, I use it all the time. It was just one little piece of the puzzle, because I know in the end God makes sure you’re right where you’re supposed to be. And no, I don’t regret not doing that; I love what I do now. Just that degree was part of the puzzle, it was part of the piece that helped me have the knowledge of how to market the band, which was part of helping the business side of it, because it is the music business. PG: How did you go from playing open mic nights in Columbus to The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville? Keni: Well, I started going down to [The Loft] playing open mic nights, met some of the guys from the original Cornbread and started playing at The Loft and playing around the South and just kept working hard at it and kept going. There were only about two different acts that came through town and that was classic rock and country and one time we got to open up for one of the country acts and it just seemed to be a good ﬁt and we sold a lot of records. Soon-

december 2007

12 www.rivercenter.org

er or later Montgomery Gentry came into town and we opened up for them, and they were real kind and introduced me around to some of the folks up in Nashville, and then the Sweet Home Alabama movie happened and that kind of got us moving forward a little bit more, and I went to Nashville and met some more people and that’s how it all happened. Kept doing it ‘cause we loved it! PG: When was it time to leave Columbus? Keni: Opportunities were happening in Nashville that I was missing out on, because I wasn’t present. It’s a town where you deﬁnitely have to be present to win! If you’re gonna be serious about it, at some point you’re gonna have to make that move. A real good friend of mine ﬁnally up and moved to Nashville because he had a revelation. He had a guy who was talking to him about his son, “yeah my son’s in a band, he’s real serious about it. What’s your advice?” And my friend Kevin heard himself say, “you know if you’re serious about it, there’s really only three places you can be. It’s like you gotta go to New York, you gotta go to LA, you gotta go to Nashville.” And then he started realizing, “what am I doing in Atlanta? I’m not even taking my own advice!” And he up and moved to Nashville. It’s just one of those places, that when you’re in it, you can take advantage of the resource that it is. You don’t have to miss out on appointments, if there’s opportunities that open up, you can be there for them. And I just knew that I was missing out on my days off coming home to Columbus. I knew it was time to make the move to Nashville when I stopped coming home, when I just started staying up there on my three or four days off the road. PG: What incarnation is Cornbread in? Keni: Well, band members come and go. There’s no keeping a band together, my friend… even The Beatles broke up. You have to just keep moving forward. Every iteration, you try to improve and get your guys excited about the songs that you’re playing and you get out there and you make the audience happy and you just keep moving forward. You keep playing, that’s the important thing. Cornbread will change, it will keep changing. The point is to get out there and keep playing; it gives everybody a name that they can identify with. And I say, once a Cornbreader, always a Cornbreader! PG: What was your experience with the Sweet Home Alabama movie like? Keni: It was fun, real fun. They treated us really great and it was one of those opportunities you look back and go, “How did we get so lucky?” We’re just really happy to have been a part of it and it’s still a gift that keeps giving. People come back all the time, “Man I loved that movie, it was on TV last night and we saw you!” It’s a neat thing. It’s a good one to have on your resume. I was bummed because they cut out all the love scenes between me and Reese. Yeah, I thought maybe in the Director’s Cut they’d have it, but they didn’t. [Laughs]

playgrounds magazine

PG: Do you have any special stories about places that you have played that meant a lot to you? Keni: The USO tours mean a lot. People ask me what’s the biggest venue I’ve played and I’d say probably the Yankee Stadium or Giants Stadium, that’s always a pretty amazing time. And The Grand Ole Opry is very special, because for me the Opry is a reminder that, every time you step up on stage there, you’re a part of it all, and it’s a reminder of “look how far you’ve come” and “look at how blessed you are to do this job.” I love doin’ the Opry. But for me my favorite show is by far the USO. PG: Tell me about your upcoming USO tour. Keni: This is the third time I’ve gotten to go over on the USO tour. We head over for Christmas, and we’ll go to all three countries, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. It’s a privilege and it’s an honor to get to go do that show, and you’ll never ﬁnd an audience that’s more appreciative. Those folks are so thankful that you came. And you spend about a couple hours a night, after every show, shaking two thousand hands and everybody says, “Thank you so much for comin’” and you say, “No, thank you for your service.” It’s a big “thank you” fest! But it really is a lifetime experience. It’s the Sergeant Major of the Army’s Holiday USO tour, and I’m just grateful that he keeps askin’ me back. PG: How about the “God Bless Fort Benning” celebration? Keni: Always good to come home. We don’t get to come home enough. It’s always good to play back in Columbus; it is where we were born. So, I’m excited. I’m glad that we found a show that Buddy Nelms could make happen. It’s a good day, the “God Bless Fort Benning.” The community does support that pretty well. PG: It’s always good to have you back! What did you think of the changes to Downtown, Columbus? Keni: It looks great down there! I know it’s been a long haul and it’s a hard road to bear when all the stores are shut down and the roads are closed up, but it’s starting to look real good down there. And with the college moving down and with people moving in, it’ll be good for Columbus, it will be good for the Downtown and it will revitalize. Changing a city is a slow thing, nothing great happens fast. It takes hard work and time. But as a guy who has seen it grow, goes away and then comes back every now and then I can see the change is deﬁnitely for the positive. PG: What did you think of the Columbus music scene, while you were here? Keni: When I was there I always thought it was pretty fun. There’s a lot of bands and there weren’t a whole lot of venues, but there was support. And you could play in the South, if you really tried. You really had to bust your butt and do the booking yourself, but there were places to play. There was a shift there somewhere around the early 2000s, maybe after 9/11, but it

just sort of fell apart. The support from the city, when they started closing down the Backyard Boogies, it kind of dried up, it was real difficult. But if you look at the [NSAI] songwriters meeting last night and all the people that showed up, it’s alive and well. You can’t beat music down. PG: What is your advice for up and coming musicians in Columbus nowadays? Keni: It may sound like rhetoric, but I truly mean it… do it because you love it. If it’s something that you really want to pursue as a career or as a dream, stay the course. Stay motivated. In other words, choose to see the positive that’s around you, not the negative. It’s very, very easy and very quick to find the negative. You can get jaded very quickly. Sometimes it’s not as easy to find the positive. Look around and enjoy the progress, enjoy everything that you have in it. Don’t focus so much on what you don’t have. Stay focused on where you want to be and keep moving for it, but enjoy what’s around you. I look back and I remember the days playing at The Loft. They were just a ton of fun! It didn’t mean that I was walking around not happy because I wasn’t opening for Keith Urban yet. But I play on the Opry and I have a heck of a lot of fun, and I play big shows and I have just as much fun as I did. It’s in the moment. And I really do mean it, you just gotta stay the course and you gotta love what you do. Don’t get jaded, because it’s easy to become jaded, because it’s a business that doesn’t make sense! You’ll see people around you that you may think you are much better than, and it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t happen the same way for any two people. But I tell you what I do know – it can be done! If anything, Keni Thomas and Cornbread are just another living example of the American idea, that you can do anything you set your mind to. That if you got a dream and you dream it big and you pursue it, it can be done. That’s still the promise that is the United States of America. It can’t be done in other countries, the way that we get to do this kind of thing. So, stay the course. Stay motivated. PG: Tell me about the Hero Fund. Keni: Thanks for asking about that. It’s a way for us to funnel portions of the record sales and product sales and booking fees and all that to the Hero Fund and then to a bigger charity called the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. What they do is provide college educations to the children of our Special Ops personnel. PG: What’s your favorite song that you have written so far? Keni: Favorite’s not the right word, but I think the most lasting song that I have written right now is “Not Me.” It’s one of those songs that I will always play, because it says what I’m about. That is that most people go their entire lives hoping and wondering if they have made a difference, and I tell everybody it’s so easy to make a difference if all you do is just lead by example. Set an example for others to follow. Do that on a daily basis. And it’s tough. Most of the you’d rather say “not me, I don’t want that job, I don’t want the responsibility.” But if

you do set an example, the people around you take notice. I promise that they do. Then you’ve made a difference. PG: What’s most important to you for the future of your music career? Keni: I know I want to be happy. “Do what feeds your soul,” and for me that’s writing songs and getting up there and performing them. When you’re happy and it’s coming from inside, the world becomes a better place and people are made happier because of it. I want, ultimately, to just keep expanding my territory, expand my audience, so that I can reach more people and spread a little bit more positivity through the truth that is music. Just singing about stories that are life stories, whether they’re love, or fun, or sad or whatever they are, if you’re telling the truth you’re singing about life. And music is the speech of angels. God gave that gift. And I love that I get to do it. I want to keep doing it as long as I can. My goal is to play as many places as I can and touch as many people’s lives as I can with the little message that I have of positivity. For more information on Keni Thomas, visit www.kenithomas.com and don’t forget to check him out on MySpace at www. myspace.com/kenithomas To learn more about the Hero Fund, please visit www. herofund.com “Support Live Music” december 2007

PLACES TO GO ... art

Through DECEMBER 7 1950s Japan Photography, CSU Collection: “Places and Smiles” by Japanese photographer Toshie Saito features 17 black and white photographs from the 1950s midShowa Era of economic growth and prosperity in Japan. Concurrently, “Preview, Department of Art Collection” overviews acquisitions and gifts to the CSU Department of Art collection between 1990 and 2005. Illges Gallery, Downtown Columbus. Gallery hours in the Corn Center for Visual Arts are Wed-Fri, 10am-5 pm and Sat, 11am-4pm. 706-507-8300. For directions to the gallery, including a CSU RiverPark campus map, go to http://art.colstate.edu. Through mid JANUARY Photography by Joe Dallas: On display at Fountain City Coffee in the Landings (across from Applebee’s) COLUMBUS MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS Introductions: Diane Edison On view through March 9 Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Archives of the Associated Press and Chattahoochee Valley World War II Home Front On view through December 9 The World War II Watercolors of Norman S. Rothschild On view through February 3 Made in Columbus On view through January 13 Eames Chair November 18- June 22, 2008 Opening exhibition Painters of American Life: The Eight December 8, - February 17, 2008

club scene

EVERY MONDAY Karaoke: SoHo Game Night: The Tap EVERY TUESDAY Trivia: Fountain City Coffee (7pm) Virgo featuring Ben’s Tim: Rhinos Open Mic: SoHo Karaoke w/ Christie: The Tap EVERY WEDNESDAY Connor Christian and The MorningStar Revival: Ben’s Chop House Open Mic with Brent Lindley: The Loft David Montgomery (acoustic): Picasso Pizza Ryan Rulon: Rhinos Music Video Party: SoHo Jamie Free (acoustic): The Tap

Karaoke w/ Starlight Karaoke: The Vault EVERY THURSDAY The Rhythm Roosters: Broad Street Blues Open Mic: Fountain City Coffee Comedy: The Loft (8 & 10) Ryan Rulon: Picasso Pizza Open Mic hosted by Will Dockery: Rhinos Karaoke w/ Christie: The Tap Open Mic w/ Ultimate Garage Band: The Vault EVERY FRIDAY The Rhythm Roosters: Broad Street Blues (except 11/10 Mojo Saint) Brent Lindley: Picasso Pizza EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY Dance music w/ DJ Extreme: The Tap EVERY SATURDAY Ryan Rulon: Picasso Pizza EVERY SUNDAY Acoustic Music: Picasso Pizza SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 The Willie Taylor Trio: The Loft Chris Pierson Band + Basic Rock Outfit: SoHo WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 Open Mic with Brent Lindley: The Loft THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Oval Opus: SoHo FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 The Mosier Brothers plus Jen Woodhouse: The Loft Forced Entry: SoHo SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 Geoff Achison and The Souldiggers CD Release Party: The Loft Into Never + The Julia Dream: SoHo WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 Open Mic with Brent Lindley: The Loft THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13 Bullet Proof Marshmallow: SoHo FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14 Seven Sharp Nine: The Loft Whisky Bent: SoHo SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 The Diane Durrett Band: The Loft Crazy Anglos + Uncrowned: SoHo WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19 Open Mic with Brent Lindley: The Loft THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20 Marshall Ruffin: SoHo DECEMBER 21 The Neal Lucas Trio: The Loft Gasoline Heart + Fairweather Fan + The Story Changes: SoHo SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22 Grant Green Jr. featuring Ike Stubblefield and Jeff Sipes: The Loft E.X. Vortex: SoHo WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 Open Mic with Brent Lindley: The Loft THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27 Katt Redd Band: SoHo FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28 Shawn Mullins: The Loft Blood Veil + Black As Day: SoHo

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29 tbd: The Loft Groovestain + Halo Stereo: SoHo MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 The Old School Band plus Big Sexy: The Loft New Years Eve Show

concerts

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Columbus Symphony Orchestra A Cowboy Christmas featuring Riders in the Sky: Enjoy your favorite cowboys- Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim and Joey as they perform cowboy Christmas tunes– The Cowboy Way. MultiGrammy winners for their work on the soundtracks of popular movies such as Toy Story 2, Monsters IncScream Factory Favorites and For The Birds, they’ve also collaborated with Bugs Bunny creator Chuck Jones, Warner Bros. The Ballad of Duck Dodgers, and Disney’s Stanley. They continue to produce Riders Radio Theatre and appear regularly on Austin City Limits. Come early and watch Santa travel down Broadway to magically light up theRiverCenter. Visit with Santa in the lobby and enjoy sugar cookies and apple cider during intermission. RiverCenter’s Bill Heard Theatre, 7:30pm. Adults $27-$35, Seniors (over 60) $25-$30, Student/Military $21-$24, Children under 12 $5. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 CSU Philharmonic Orchestra Concert: George Del Gobbo,conductor. The program will feature RimskyKorsakov’s “Scheherazade” and CSU faculty cellist Andre Gaskins joining the orchestra for the ﬁrst performance of a new cello concerto by American composer Joseph Packales. RiverCenter’s Legacy Hall, 7:30pm. General admission is $5 and free for faculty, staff and students with CSU ID. For tickets, call the RiverCenter Box Ofﬁce at 706-256-3612. For more information, call 706-649-7287 or go to http://music.colstate.edu. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 CSU Trombone Choir Concert: Professor Brad Palmer, conductor. RiverCenter’s Legacy Hall, 7:30pm. Admission is free. For more information, call 706-649-7287 or go to http://music.colstate.edu. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 CSU Student Violin Recital, Kellen Gray: RiverCenter’s Legacy Hall, 7:30pm. Admission is free. For more information, call 706-6497287 or go to http://music.colstate. edu. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14 Sugarland + Little Big Town + Jake Owen: Columbus Civic Center, 8:30pm. $37. SATURDAY, JANUARY 5 Willie Nelson and Friends: If ever the words “living legend” were more than just public relations bluster, the

application would be to Willie Hugh Nelson. The iconic Texan is the creative genius behind historic recordings like “Crazy,” “Hello Walls,” “Red Headed Stranger” and “Stardust.” His career has spanned six decades. His catalog boasts more than 200 albums. He’s earned every conceivable award and honor to be bestowed a person in his profession. He has also amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. In many ways, however, the weighty distinction “living legend” does Nelson a disservice, for it discounts the extent to which he is a thriving, relevant and progressive musical force in the industry. He has released two new albums, recently embarked on an imaginative tour with a fellow musical icon, again headlined Farm Aid, has established himself as a top television ratings draw, has a recent No. 1 single and a Super Bowl performance under his belt. Tickets $45 - $65. Bill Heard Theater, 7:30pm-9:30pm

film The Screening Room film series at Peachtree 8 Cinemas (3131 Manchester Expressway), presented by the Film Society of The Columbus Museum and Carmike Cinemas, features a different, critically-acclaimed film each week. Check the box office for regular show times. Tickets are $6 ($5 matinee).

holiday THROUGH DECEMBER 30 Fantasy In Lights: Open nightly, through December 30. Lights are turned on at 6 p.m. nightly. The Christmas Village opens at noon daily. Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia. www.callawaygardens.com SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 Holiday Music Concert: with Pipe Organ and Grand Piano. Rose Hill Baptist Church, 2100 Hamilton Road, Columbus, 6pm. 706-3228514 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 “The Love Of God At Christmas”: Choir concert. Rose Hill Baptist Church, 2100 Hamilton Road, Columbus, 6pm. 706-322-8514 MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 Cantus Christmas 2007: This concert, entitled Message of the Season—Music of the Masters, is the eighth installment of a local tradition. Regularly sold out, the concert relates the Christmas story through musical masterpieces and audience carols performed by a professional chorus and orchestra without inter-

ruption for applause. RiverCenter’s Legacy Hall, 7:30pm- 9:30pm. $32. www.rivercenter.org WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19 “A Candy Cane Christmas”: Childrens dinner-show with a visit from Santa. Rose Hill Baptist Church, 2100 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Dinner 5:15; Show 6:00. Adults $4/Children $2.(Reservations 706315-6202) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 Candles, Carols, & Communion: with dramatic monologues of Christmas characters. Rose Hill Baptist Church, 2100 Hamilton Road, Columbus, 6pm. 706-322-85146pm

literary

WEDNESDAY Teen Winter Reading Program December 22, 2007 – January 12, 2008 Teens are invited to participate in the 3rd annual Teen Winter Reading Program. Pick up your game card in the Teen Department at the Columbus Public Library or the service desk at any of our other branch libraries. Check out 10 books and you’re eligible for a drawing to win personal DVD player. Ages 12 – 18

nature

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 Pine Mountain Trail Association Workday: Meet at WJSP-TV Tower Parking Lot at 10am. Bring work gloves, water and your lunch. PMTA furnishes the tools. You do not have to be a member of the PMTA to join their monthly hikes or workdays, and you don’t need to sign up in advance. Just show up a few minutes before the stated start time. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 CSU’s Oxbow Meadows Second Sunday Holiday Decorations: The program will include take-home tree decorations made from pine cones, acorns, feathers and other natural sources. Oxbow Meadows, 3535 South Lumpkin Road, Columbus, 2pm. Admission is $2 per person and free for ages 3 and under. 706687-4090 for more information or go to http://oxbow.colstate.edu SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 Pine Mountain Trail Association Hike: Leader Jill Land. Meet at WJSP TV Tower Parking Lot at 10am. Hike Pine Mountain Trail back to Rocky Point parking lot. 5 moderate miles

poetry THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Open Mic Poetry Reading: Read aloud your own poems or poems by your favorite poet. Sponsored

PEOPLE TO SEE... by The Georgia Poetry Society. www.georgiapoetrysociety.org. The Columbus Public Library (auditoriumon Macon Road, 7pm. Free. Call for Info: Ron Self, at (706) 2214370.

sports FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Richmond Renegades: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Richmond Renegades: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Doubleheader: CSU women’s squad vs Fort Valley State at 2 p.m., followed by the CSU men vs West Florida at 4 p.m. Admission prices are $5 for adults; $3 for students/kids (including non-CSU students); and free for ages 5 and under and CSU students, faculty and staff with ID. For more information, call 706-568-2204 or go to www. csucougars.com. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Twin City Cyclones: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Jacksonville Barracudas: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 4pm. $11-$21. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Fayetteville Fire Antz: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Knoxville Ice Bears: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. FRIDAY, JANUARY 4 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Huntsville Havoc: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21. SATURDAY, JANUARY 5 Columbus Cottonmouths vs Fayetteville Fire Antz: Professional Ice Hockey. Columbus Civic Center, 7:30pm. $11-$21.

theatre

DECEMBER 7-8, 14-16, 20-22 Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: rated G. Springer Opera House Mainstage. 7:30pm Dec 78, 14-15, 20-22; 2:30pm Dec 16. www.springeroperhouse.org, 706327-3688 DECEMBER 6-8, 13-16, 19-22 A Tuna Christmas: rated PG. Springer Opera House, Foley Hall. &;30pm Dec 6-8, 13-15, 19-22; 2:30pm Dec 16, www.springeroperhouse.org, 706-327-3688

SUNDAY, DECMBER 9 Broadway in Columbus GypsyThe Great American Musical: Theatre giants Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins combined forces to trace the gﬂitzy showbiz rise of two daughters, fueled by an overbearing, ambitious stage mother, Rose, as her larger-thanlife dreams turned them into stars. Gypsy reafﬁrms America’s love of good old fashioned entertainment with songs like “Let Me Entertain You” and “Everthing’s Coming Up Roses.” RiverCenter DECEMBER 7-8 Family Theatre presents Taffeta’s Christmas: If you enjoy music of the 1950’s and Christmas music, then step back in time to the “Taffetas” theatrical concert of the year...1959. Family Theatre Main Stage at Rose Hill Baptist Church, 2100 Hamilton Road, Columbus. Dec. 7 at 7:30pm, Dec. 8 at 3:00 & 7:30pm. Tickets:$10 adults, $8 students. 706-536-8052, familytheatre.org JANUARY 15-16 Broadway in Columbus- Annie: The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway’s most memorable score, including It’s a Hard Knock Life, Easy Street, N.Y.C., and the ever-optimistic Tomorrow, Annie is a delghtful theatric experience for the entire family. RiverCenter. www. BroadwayInColumbusGA.com, 706-256-3632

etcetera

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Local History Series to Feature Tuskegee Airmen: CSU’s “Red Clay, White Water and Blues” series on local history continues with a program about The Tuskegee Airmen at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Columbus Museum. Speakers will be Christine Biggers, director of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Ala., and retired Col. Carroll Woods, a former Tuskegee airman and prisoner of war in Germany. Biggers also will lead a Saturday, Dec. 8 tour of the Tuskegee Airmen Commemorative Park in Tuskegee that departs the Columbus library at 9 a.m. and returns at 1 p.m. The programs are free. For more information, visit http://history.colstate.edu/program or call 706-327-5932. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 International Holiday Food Festival: The CSU Hispanic Association (CHISPA) will host its second annual Christmas Flavors from Around the World event from 6:308 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 in the International House at 6 Clearview Circle.

Guests can sample cuisine from Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Germany, El Salvador and other nations and register for door prizes including movie tickets and restaurant gift certiﬁcates. The event also will feature live entertainment. Admission is $4 at the door and $3 in advance by contacting Paola Machado, recruiter and CHISPA adviser at 706-507-8852 or e-mail chispa@colstate.edu. Proceeds support the Muscogee County School District’s English as a second language program. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. THURSDAY, JANUARY 3 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3. SUNDAY, JANUARY 6 Public Ice Skating: Columbus Civic Center, 1-2:30pm and 3:30-5pm. Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3.

classes BRITT DAVID CULTURAL ARTS STUDIO 706-653-4196 Out of County fee- additional 25% CLASSES for ADULTS Date Night: Pottery-Wheel Throwing: Saturdays, December 8 & 15, 5-7 pm. Tuition: $30.00 per couple CLASSES for CHILDREN Mosaic Picture Frame: Ages 7-14. Monday, December 3, 4-5:30 pm. Tuition: $4.50 Silly Wacky Ornaments: Ages 714. Mon, Dec. 10, 4-5:30 pm. Tuition: $4.50 Angels: Ages 7 - 14, Paint a clay angel and make your own wings. Tues, Dec 11, 4-6 pm. Tuition: $8 COLUMBUS MUSEUM www.columbusmuseum.com 706.748.2562, ext. 39. Classes and Camps for Kids CSU at ELIZABETH BRADLEY TURNER CENTER 706-568-2023

Indoor Soccer Camp 2008: Ages 7-9. Instructors- CSU Soccer Staff. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Dec 4Jan 10, 6:30 – 7:30pm. CSU Health & Safety Center. Tuition: $109 Indoor Soccer Camp 2008: Ages 10-13. Instructors- CSU Soccer Staff. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Dec 4- Jan 10, 7:30 – 8:30pm. CSU Health & Safety Center. Tuition: $109 CSU at RANKIN ARTS CENTER 706-568-2023 Creative Photography: A Day with a Professional Photographer: Instructor Richard Dennard. Saturday, Dec 1, 9am-4pm. Tuition: $95 CSU at THE RIVERCENTER 706-568-2023

EXPRESSIONS ARTS Expressions Arts at 2100 Hamilton Road - 706-315-6202 Classes $40 monthly unless noted

Important CSU Dates DEC. 15 – CSU Fall Graduation Ceremony: CSU will hold its fall 2007 graduation ceremony at 10 a.m. Dec. 15 in the Lumpkin Center. Seating for guests will begin at 8:30 a.m. and shuttles will be available to transport guests from main campus parking lots. The CSU Bookstore will have items available for purchase on the second ﬂoor lobby of the Lumpkin Center before the ceremony. For more information, call 706-568-2030.

DEC. 17 – New Student Orientation: CSU hill hold an orientation on Monday, Dec. 17 for all new students accepted to the university for spring 2008. Check-in is at 8 a.m. in the Davidson Student Center. The program will begin at 9 a.m. and cover campus resources and organizations and academic policies and procedures. Fees are $35 per student and $15 per guest. For more information, call 706-5682273 or go to http://orientation.colstate.edu.

send events to playgroundsmag@knology.net

Children’s Miracle Network at The Medical Center

Happy Holidays • Happy Holidays • Happy Holidays

Milk and Cookies with Santa Thursday, Dec. 6, 6:30pm. LaGrange Mall

Reindeer Run for KIDS Presented by TSYS and Neonatology Associates of Columbus, M.D., P.C.

Saturday, December 8 8 a.m., Registration; 9 a.m., One-Mile Fun Run Country’s on Broadway

Children are invited to come to the mall in their pajamas and have milk and cookies with Santa. Afterwards, parents can take their pajama clad children to the Santa photo set for pictures with Santa. Tickets are $3. “Tuesdays with Toto” will also be held each Tuesday in December prior to Christmas (December 4, 11, 18) from 11am-8pm. Customers can bring their pet to the mall to have pictures made with Santa.

$15 Pre-registration; $20 day of race

For more information, call Jennifer Joyner at 706-660-6548.

Star 94’ s Jingle Jam will bring together the BEST in Top 40 Muisc! This year you’ll jam with Elliott Yamin, Colbie Caillat, Jonas Brothers, and Avril Lavigne. This is the hottest ticket of the year and the ONE show everyone will be talking about! Band line-up: (set times are subject to change) Elliott Yamin 7-7:25pm, Colbie Caillat 7:45-8:15, Jonas Brothers 8:35-9:20p, Avril Lavigne 9:50-10:50

The Medical Center Auxiliary’s 27th annual Tree of Light ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, in front of The Medical Center’s main entrance. Celebrate the season with the tree lighting and music by the Bob Barr Community Band. Won’t you take me to FUNKYTOWN? New Year’s Eve at The Melting Point in Athens, GA, will be an experience straight out of the 70’s! Dress to impress and party with the best as the Melting Point is transformed into a FULL DISCO! Enjoy a bountiful hors d’oeuvres buffet, a complimentary picture, groove to the sounds of The Magictones and Funkle Ester, and count down to the New Year in style while enjoying a complimentary champagne toast! After midnight enjoy a scrumptious breakfast buffet then sleep it all off in an award-winning guest room at the Foundry Park Inn & Spa for $250 per couple. Without the room, The Funkytown Express is $150 (does not include taxes). For tickets or more information call 706-5497020 or visit www.foundryparkinn.com or www. meltingpointathens.com

Rumors • Thursdays • 8pm Henry Conley and I have landed a gig downtown . . . that’s right, I said downtown. We’re playing at Rumors (formerly Savannah’s) in the 1100 block, west side of Broadway on Thursdays. We will begin about 8:00 p.m and play three or four sets, depending on a number of potentially unforeseen conditions, not the least of which is how many of you show up and how long you stay, etc, etc, etc, ad inﬁnim. We really want to get some sort of alternative to the same ol’, same ol’ going on downtown, preferably hitting on 12 to 16 cylinders. We truly need your help to get this going . . . bring your ﬁnely tuned instruments and come up and pick a couple with us. Anyway, come out, pick drink and be merry. NO COVER!!! Thanks, Your currently electric folkhero, Rick Edwards, http://www.rickedwards.info

playgrounds magazine

The Bob Barr Community Band Directed By Dr. George Corradino Presents

The 19th Annual

Holiday Concert Sunday, December 9, 3pm Jordan High School Auditorium

An afternoon of musical excitement, style, and sound that only a concert band can provide. The Bob Barr Community Band was established in 1988 as a memorial tribute to Robert M. Barr, director of Columbus’ Jordan High School Band from 1946 to 1962. The Band strongly supports a quality music education program in our public schools and assists music students, music teachers, and school bands within our community. This Annual Holiday Concert is presented in the spirit of continuing support for the Jordan High School Band program. Admission tickets may be obtained at the door or from members of the Bob Barr Community Band for a $3.00 donation - all monies of which will go to the Jordan High School Band. Join the many members of our community for this wonderful seasonal event. We promise to send you away with the music of the holiday jingling in your ears. This event is made possible, in part, by the City of Columbus through a grant to the Columbus Cultural Alliance of the Greater Columbus, Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

The Arena at Gwinnett Center Sunday Dec 16th, 5:30pm. Tickets start at $10. Modest Mouse, Silversun Pick Ups, Silverchair, The Shins and More!

PHENIX CITY PARKS AND RECREATION

Holiday Season- 2007 December 8, 10am- Bi-City CHRISTMAS PARADE: Bigger and more exciting this year, with fun ﬂoats, marching bands, beautiful horses and Santa Claus. As our cities are growing and changing so is the parade. The route will be different this year, more details to come. Call Phenix City Parks and Recreation at 334-291-4719 for further details.

december 2007

By Alice Barkwell The first day of Voodoo Musicfest this year featured the return of Rage Against The Machine! Starting before Katrina on City Park’s Voodoo Island, the fest has survived, being cut back to only one day in New Orleans the year of Katrina and being free for all the rescue workers. It has been moved to another park and then to various areas in City Park, but it always rocks! I have been there every one of the nine years– but I may be getting too old to handle it! This year I only lasted one day! It rained a lot the Monday before– so much in fact that New Orleanians had been kept home from work and school to cope with the flooding. The grounds were so wet you definitely couldn’t sit on the ground and could hardly walk without falling in the mud or getting stuck. Everything seemed so far and the walks so hard– maybe I am just getting wimpy– I am really disappointed in myself! First I saw Galactic, who are right at home in New Orleans and sounded great, especially before they were joined by their rapper friends Boots Riley and Last Lyrics Born. I love them with just their great keyboardist and the fun horn guy (my favorite). We could stay in the pit for three songs but, dang, one song took nearly a half hour. Then I saw a guy I had never seen before, Dax Riggs. He is from Houma, Louisiana and had a very good band. His songs were a bit mopey and death-obsessed. I really loved his voice. I would like to see him again. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club continued the dark music in broad daylight, being way more visible and easy to photograph than they have ever been before. They are very cool looking guys and although their only big hit has been the repetitive Ain’t No Easy Way Out, they have a lot of good songs and are fun to watch. It was so good to finally get a good look at the drummer who hides in the darkness

under very long hair– the ﬁrst and only clearly lighted pictures of this band– shoe-gazers who love the darkness. The next act was Jason Isbell,who I have seen in DriveBy Truckers, but never in his solo band. He’s a competent guitarist, a so-so singer, and had a good backing band, most of whom I had seen a week or so before playing in other bands at Echo Project. Sounded very cool. My next band was a British outﬁt I have never seen but always wanted to, called Porcupine Tree. They were SO good! Absolutely blew us all away! Cute nerdy singer with a bad case of hair in the face, and interesting musicians everywhere. They really rock and sound very unique! My old favorites the Kings of Leon were killer– amazing as always. Their short, but very cool songs are so good and they are such crack musicians it’s always a joy to see them! Nathan Followill, the drummer was chewing bubble gum and blowing huge bubbles as they played, always fun to see! We went over to a smaller tent to check out an all girl lesbian band called Les Zeppelin, but it was so crowded we couldn’t get anywhere near them and there was no photo pit so we gave up. This band has a huge group of enthusiastic followers and need to be put on a larger stage next time. I’ve heard very good things about them. (Yes, they do cover Led Zeppelin songs.) We also tried to go see Toot and the Maytals, but were running a bit late and they were on a smaller stage with no photo pit. Toot’s daughter started things out, so I got a few shots of her but I had to leave so we wouldn’t miss M.I. A. I had always wanted to see M.I.A., a beautiful exotic-looking rapper from Sri-Lanka, who lives in London and is getting very popular. She didn’t disappoint– wearing a glitzy multicolored sparkling jumpsuit that was as

beautiful she was! With gorgeous eyes and a sweet nature, she charmed the crowd. There was pretty much nothing on stage with her but one other girl who stayed well-behind her mimicking her dance steps. She got down low to the crowd and occasionally went back to her turntable to scratch a bit. She has won Americans over completely! The BIG deal of the day was the reuniting of Rage Against the Machine, and loads of people and photographers made the trip to New Orleans just to see them. The feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air was electric! They haven’t changed much. Tom Morello looked exactly like he always has. Zach DeLarocha’s hair was a bit curlier and rounder than before. Tim Comerford and the drummer seemed very glad to be playing again, and Zach was all over the place. People were so excited they were crowd surﬁng and screaming their heads off. (There were signs everywhere forbidding it– very ineffective!) The huge crowd was so into it. Familiar songs like Bulls on Parade had the whole crowd singing and yelling in unison. It was too exciting to leave, so I watched a bit before beginning my long trek through the mud back to my car. The mud was worse at night because you couldn’t see when you were about to step in it. Treacherous trodding! I was so tired by the time I got out of there I decided to go home and skip the rest of the fest. Sorry we don’t have the rest of the weekend’s performances for you! The rest of the Voodoo setup was intriguing, a lot of New Orleans booths for all the efforts to help the rebuilding and shirts proclaiming Re-New Orleans and New Orleans Will Rise Again, with enthusiastic young people trying to sign people up to help. All the colleges in the area had booths and all the newspapers had booths proclaiming similar sentiments. The city did look a lot better than last year, and progress is certainly being made, but the worst part of going there is the drive into town on I-10 to see what is left of Six Flags and all the formerly nice neighborhoods along the road through New Orleans East, many of which have hundreds of deserted houses and entire neighborhoods still dark and completely depressing. Slowly, a few stores and hotels are coming back, but there is such a long way to go! Music lovers from our area should make a big effort to go to Jazzfest and Voodoo and other New Orleans events to support this fun city– the drive isn’t very long and the rewards are great!

clockwise from top left: Galactic, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Porcupine Club, Kings of Leon, Tom Morello and Zack DeLaRocha of Rage Against The Machine, M.I.A., Jason Isbell, Dax Riggs playgrounds magazine

december 2007

pg picks cd reviews

SEBASTIAN BACH Angel Down Caroline Records Angel Down is Sebastian Bach’s ﬁrst solo CD since 1999, and his band includes guitarists Metal Mike Chlasciak (Halford) and Johnny Chromatic, bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus) and drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Painmuseum). Bach and his band toured with Guns ‘N Roses last year, and got along extremely well with Axl Rose, who he had also toured with back in the day. Rose lends guest vocals to three tracks on the album. The songs on Angel Down are really diverse. They range from old school power ballads to mainstream modern rock to more intense thrash-inﬂuenced metal. Bach’s voice sounds as good as ever, and he can belt out the high notes, croon the ballads and use an edgier style on the aggressive songs. His band is excellent, especially the guitarists. It’s also great to hear Axl Rose singing again, who seems to have a great time with Bach, especially on the Aerosmith cover Back In The Saddle. I hate that the “Gilmore Girls” is gone from TV where he used to play in Laine’s band. If we can’t see him there, maybe he’ll tour on this new album! Hope so! Alice Barkwell

OPETH The RoundhouseTapes Peaceville Dark Classics Some bands can squeeze nine songs into twenty minutes or less but Sweden’s Opeth is not one of those bands. The band’s latest opus is the two-CD live set, The Roundhouse Tapes, which was recorded in November of 2006 at London’s Camden Roundhouse during their Ghost Reveries Tour. There are only nine songs on the playgrounds magazine

ninety minute set. A DVD version of the concert is scheduled to be released in early 2008. The package is lovely, a box within a box with beautiful artwork and photography. Even though there are only nine songs on The Roundhouse Tapes, Opeth covers a wide spectrum of their catalog. 2002’s Deliverance is their only studio album that is not represented. The CD includes Under The Weeping Moon from 1995’s Orchid, Night And The Silent Water from 1996’s Morningrise, When and Demon Of The Fall from 1998’s My Arms, Your Hearse, Face Of Melinda from 1999’s Still Life, Bleak and the title track from 2001’s Blackwater Park, Windowpane from 2003’s Damnation and Ghost Of Perdition from 2005’s Ghost Reveries. The musical performance by Opeth on this CD is excellent. The arrangements are very similar to the original recordings, and the sound quality is very good. Mikael Akerfeldt speaks quite a bit between songs, and you can hear some crowd noise. As Opeth fans wait for the band’s next studio album, The Roundhouse Tapes is a good representation of the band’s live show. Beautiful metal music at its ﬁnest. Alice Barkwell

one hand, you get the fun, zoot-suit swing of Well All Right! On the other, you get the bizarre disco funk of T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. and Talking Heads tech leanings of Giddy Up! Almqvist pulls off the swingin’ Cab Calloway bit, but the high-pitched delivery of T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. … well, not so much. The best results, like with classic AC/ DC, are when the band tackles what they do best, like the four-on-the-ﬂoor Return the Favour, the Stooge-y swagger of Square One Here I Come, and chunky riffs of You Dress Up for Armageddon. Booty shaking is ﬁne, but The Hives work best when they’re all up in your grill telling you why they’re your favorite band. Can’t wait to see them again! Alice Barkwell

singer, Ian Curtis. And, while possibly one of the most criticized tracks on Sawdust, it is one of my personal favorites. For me, the cons of this CD are a number of the remixed versions of previously released B-sides. The remixes, with new vocals, don’t have the same “feel” as the original versions and, in some cases, sound almost rushed. There are a few weak ﬁller songs on the CD, but that is okay, as this album was not intended to be a new release, but an offering to hold Killers’ fans over to the next studio release sometime next year. In conclusion, I do recommend Sawdust to Killers’ fans. It does contain some very good songs, and I personally enjoy the offering of otherwise very hard to ﬁnd Bsides. At the end of November, The Killers also released their for-download-only single, Don’t Shoot Me Santa, a comedic Christmas themed rocker, which tells the story of a murderer pleading for his life to be spared from a vigilante Santa Clause. All proceeds from the song go to AIDs related charities as part of Bono’s (Product) RED campaign. Robbie Wright

THE KILLERS Sawdust “When we were growing up in the ‘90s, we were fans of [B-sides collections like] Oasis’ The Masterplan, the [Smashing] Pumpkins’ Pisces Iscariot, Nirvana’s Incesticide. So we’re trying to do something like that.” – Killers’ bassist Mark Stoermer in an August interview with MTV.

THE HIVES Black and White Album A&M/Octone Records

It seems like ages ago that while sifting through various “The” bands I came upon The Hives, the pride of Fagersta, Sweden, on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” At the time, I thought the quintet was quite possibly the perfect amalgam of sharpdressed-man ﬂair and ass-annihilating garage rock, and with The Black and White Album, they haven’t changed my mind much. They did, however, break some new ground here, and I’m undecided as to how well it worked. When producers Pharell Williams and Jacknife Lee (U2, Editors, R.E.M.) are invited into the garage, things are bound to change. Certainly, Tick Tick Boom doesn’t stray very far from the acerbic jangle of their ﬁrst hit, Hate To Say I Told You So, and neither do the criss-crossing guitars of Try It Again. But, with the second track, you sense there is something new creeping in. There’s more low end (“The record actually has bass,” vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist said in a press release, “it has a bass register, which we never really wanted on our records before”) and a decided effort to make the proceedings danceable. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the results are mixed. On

Last month The Killers released Sawdust, a compilation CD made up of B-sides, rarities, and a couple of new recordings. While this CD probably will not hold a great deal of interest for moderate Killers’ fans, it is a gem for hardcore fans! The highlights of the CD include Tranquilize, which features ex-Velvet Underground man, Lou Reed. Another track of particular interest to Killers’ fans is Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf. On The Killers’ debut release, Hot Fuss, there were two songs that were part of a murder trilogy, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and Midnight Show, but the ﬁrst part of the trilogy was missing. Well, now it is complete with Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf, which explains the reasoning for the murder. Also included on the compilation is a nearly unplugged version of Sam’s Town, which originally appeared on the album of the same name. The Sawdust version of Sam’s Town was recorded ‘live’ at Abbey Road, along with another Sawdust highlight, Romeo and Juliet, The Killers’ cover of the Dire Straits song. There are two other covers on Sawdust, an excellent and very true to the original version of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition’s Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town and an enjoyable take on Joy Division’s Shadowplay. Shadowplay was originally recorded for the 2007 movie, Control, a biopic detailing the life of the late Joy Division lead

GEOFF ACHISON & THE SOULDIGGERS Souldiggin’ CD Sound Vault Records www.geoffachison.com In January of 2005, Aussie blues guitarist Geoff Achison and his band The Souldiggers rolled into Victoria and set up shop in the St. Andrews Hotel, a well-known blues club, releasing a DVD that year from those shows. Souldiggin’ CD is the newly released audio version of that show. When Geoff tours, he travels the planet from his native Australia to the UK and the US (he’s recently relocated to Atlanta and is an instructor at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch), leaving in his wake multiple awards (most recently voted Best Duo or Group in the 2007 Chain Awards in Australia) and a growing number of supporters. Although Achison often plays electric and acoustic onstage, on these nine tracks he plugs in and stays that way. As such, the disc crackles with energy, sparks from the solos nearly popping out of the speakers at times. The disc starts off with Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, a swinging blues tune wherein Geoff’s solos tease the song along until the organ swells and takes things to the end. Kerry Lou showcases Achison’s smoky vocals in a slow, steamy blues while Take What You Can Get has a december 2007

nice, New Orleans feel. Mel London’s Sugar Sweet (a tune covered by both Muddy Waters and Freddie King) and Achison’s own Reason To Live are both terriﬁc songs that set up the record’s centerpiece, the tenand-a-half minute jam Stepping Stones. Achison’s playing here is at once indicative of the past but very much in the present. The record concludes with the funky Hotel, an extended workout on Albert King’s If The Washing Don’t Get You, The Rinsing Will, and the frantic Overtime. Geoff and the Souldiggers stretch out on each song (the shortest track is six-and-a-half minutes), plenty of time for Achison to demonstrate why Jorma Kaukonen called him “one of the ﬁnest blues guitarists I know, with a completely individual style.” If you are a fan of electric blues tinged with R&B and soul, and appreciate a tight band feeding off each other in a live atmosphere, then Souldiggin’ is for you. Curtis Lynch

CD reviews are welcomed! playgroundsmag@knology.net

Walt Lafty “demos” side project

Hey everybody, I will be releasing an acoustic demo album with ﬁfteen songs/ ideas. It will be available on itunes and other online digital download websites in January. These are demos of songs I’ve written over the past few months. Instead of waiting, I’ve decided to release them. There is no crazy production. Just me, a microphone and an acoustic guitar. I’ve even left in the mistakes, laughs and sighs. Though it’s not perfect, it was a lot of fun to go through these demos and sing them and I hope you enjoy them. If you have ever wondered what songs sound like before they are recorded electric by a band and you are into something a little different and raw, then this demo record will be right up your alley. Sign up for the email list on www. waltlafty.com for ofﬁcial announcement and release dates as well as performances, contests, pics, videos and other crazy fun stuff. -Walt playgrounds magazine

Pick of the Litter – 2007 I’m sure there are some records that should be on this list that I never got a chance to check out (Lucinda Williams’ West, Bettye LaVette’s Scene of the Crime, Levon Helm’s Dirt Farmer and Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky come to mind), but these are the discs that spent the most time in my CD player during 2007: 1. Tommy Womack - There! I Said it! Womack lets it bleed all over this record, detailing his existential crisis (or nervous breakdown, depending on your terminology) and scrapes the thin covering of his life wide-ass open. “Alpha Male and the Canine Mystery Blood” is this year’s best song. 2. Delta Moon - Clear Blue Flame Possibly their ﬁnest record yet. It’s focused and packed full of dual slide guitar goodness. 3. Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch Ex-DBT guitarist breaks out with his own roots-rock record. “Dress Blues” is THE deﬁnitive song about the human consequences of war, but the rest is sheer Muscles Shoals soulful southern rock. 4. Glossary - The Better Angels of our Nature Who gives away one of the best rock records of the year? Glossary does. Download it here: http://glossary.us/ 5. Todd Snider - Peace, Love and Anarchy How many rarities and B-sides compilations make yearend best of lists? This one does because Todd Snider is a singer-songwriter who is hopefully just hitting his stride. 6. Infamous Stringdusters - Fork in the Road Shimmering bluegrass that’s at once meticulously constructed and loose enough for some white-hot picking in between the lines. 7. Dexateens - Hardwire Healing Smart pop and rock from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Cracker meets T.Rex and the Faces for bourbon drinks. 8. Tom Waits – Orphans Sprawling is an overused adjective when it comes to multi-disc sets, but it applies here. Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards are the individual titles of the three discs, the 54 songs are amazing and the sequencing is immaculate. You know what I said earlier about compilations? 9. Mavis Staples – We’ll Never Turn Back A powerful, moving statement of humanity and freedom courtesy of one of the great soul/R&B voices and producer Ry Cooder. Curtis Lynch

Oscar Winner Patricia Neal in B’ham When Patricia Neal costarred as Helen Keller’s mother in the original Broadway production of “The Miracle Worker” in 1959, she had no idea the role that Keller’s words would play in her life. Just six years later, at age 39, the Academy Award-winner suffered a near-fatal stroke and was told she would never speak or walk again. She found solace in the story of Keller, the Alabama native who was deaf and blind, managed to learn how to speak and wrote 15 books. Patricia says “I just think she’s an astonishing woman, I wish I was anything like her.” Defying medical wisdom (and a smattering of obits that prematurely ran in some newspapers, she says) Neal - with the help of her then-husband writer Roald Dahl - battled back, learning how to walk and talk again. Her career continued and Sunday November 11th, she premiered in “Words I Live By,” a largely one-woman piece using the words of Helen Keller at Alys Stephens Center. “It’s really amazing to me what she accomplished in her life,” says Neal, now 81. “I have great admiration for her.” Keller was one of the most admired women of all time, having overcome the seemingly impossible obstacles of being stricken blind and deaf by scarlet fever at 19 months. She became a symbol of triumph over adversity, working tirelessly as a writer and advocate to change the world for the better. “Words I Live By” was conceived and written by Joel Vig, a friend of Neal’s. He appeared with her in “Words I Live By” as a narrator. The performance was made up of Keller’s prose, speeches and correspondence, the performance also included stories, songs, poems and prayers. It was made possible with the assistance of Ivy Green and the American Foundation for the Blind. Vig and Neal performed “A Christmas Memory” in Birmingham two years ago and took a side trip to Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, where Keller grew up and “The Miracle Worker” is set. “We toured the place, and they took down the velvet ropes so Pat could feel the things that Helen Keller felt,” Vig recalls. “We started talking on the way back to Birmingham, and that’s where the idea came up to create an evening that would pay tribute to Helen Keller.” Seeing this show was a dream come true for me, a long-time fan of Patricia Neal the movie star and Oscar winner. She is in her 80’s now and often in a wheelchair, but that wonderful husky voice and her incredible way with drama are as impressive as ever. I felt very privileged to be in her presence! Alice Barkwell

december 2007

Go Ask Alice Happy Holidays to all you music lovers out there! My gift came early when I got to see Aretha Franklin live and in person! My ﬁve year old grandson Sam has started to play violin ! December is full of cool shows. My absolute favorite country band, Sugarland, is coming to Columbus Civic Center December 14th and bringing along Little Big Town and Jake Owen, neither of which I have ever seen. This will be tons of fun as Sugarland shows always are! At RiverCenter we have Vickie Lawrence as Mama (you’ve gotta remember that from the Carol Burnett years), Riders in the Sky (an old-fashioned, cowboy-music Christmas show), and one of my favorite musicals Gypsy and be advised that Willie Nelson is coming to RiverCenter January 5th and Jerry Seinfeld too! How cool is that? As far as New Years Eve goes, Widespread Panic will be at Philips Arena, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and The North Mississippi All-Stars will all be at the Roxy. The Trans Siberian Orchestra will be at BJCC in Birmingham and the popular Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta features Miranda Lambert (www. peachdrop.com). I’ll be at Masquerade for a New Years Eve Party with Boy Hits Car, Dear Enemy, City Sleeps, and Gravity Burn.

Rock Reviews My favorite spooky Halloween show was a real trip, at Masquerade, straight from Ozzfest, European costume rockers, Lordi, appearing with Type O Negative. Lordi is like nothing I have ever seen– amazing costumes and a stage full of tombstones and skulls lying around, but if you couldn’t see them, you’d think you were at a KISS show. Definitely influenced by KISS and Twisted Sister, this Finnish band has claws and hooves, and singer Mr. Lordi has eight-foot retractable wings and a blood spurting chainsaw (obviously also influenced by Georgia’s own Jackyl). Their horrible appearance and crazy activities were amusing, but their music sounded familiar and very American. A fun show! Type O Negative was wonderful as al-

story & photos by Alice Barkwell

Type-O Negative’s Peter Steele ways– lovely music and lighting bathing the very tall and beautiful Peter Steele. Masquerade was packed! My next show was Annie Lennox at the beautiful new venue, Cobb Energy Center. It is in the middle of the Cobb Galleria complex. It is easy to drive in and all parking is $5. A lovely theater inside, it is designed almost like our RiverCenter, with a layered ﬂoor and balconies in the back and boxes along the sides. Her seventeensong show was all about intimacy and passion, and her great voice of course, along with surprising dance moves too. Sporting very short blond hair and a glittery black pantsuit, she looked trim and glamorous– younger than her years. She began with an almost operatic No More I Love You’s and then some Eurythmics songs and some from her new CD Songs of Mass Destruction. I loved Walking on Broken Glass. The best part was when she accompanied herself on the piano and did a few solos including a beautiful Here Comes the Rain Again. Her band was a ﬁve-piece with two backup singers. Last song before the encores was Sweet Dreams Are Made of This. The whole tour was called the Sing Tour because of her song Sing from the new album which was accompanied by a video about AIDS in Africa and comments by Nelson Mandela. Wow– what a super show and amazing new venue! What a night!

Annie Lennox

Lordi playgrounds magazine

Everything had been loaded in already and was being loaded out again! Disappointed people were everywhere. Mo Nique was at the RiverCenter. Her opener was George Wilborn. I had never heard of him but he is on the radio evidently, so many people knew him. He was hilarious and extremely lewd, the perfect warm-up for Mo Nique who is also way too off-color to be quoted here! There were no holds barred with either of them, and the big crowd was loving every hot and nasty joke! After the show, Mo Nique signed autographs and posed with people for a quite a while. She is very warm and friendly and generated a big crowd of well-wishers and even people who wanted her to come sample their barbeque!

I went to the Fix for Smashing Pumpkins and as I arrived with thousands of other fans we found out the show was postponed because the drummer Jimmy Chamberlain had had some health problem and passed out. He was in a hospital.

George Wilborn at RiverCenter

Queen Latifah her up. We jumped to our feet maybe five times during her 75-minute performance. That’s my only complaint with the show: It was too short. I could have used another hour. Added bonus: Her personality was as vibrant and funny and sassy as she comes across in movies and on Living Single. I always walk out wishing we were buddies. Fun show with a fun lady! I missed Gregg Allman at RiverCenter but I hear it was packed with rock fans who had a blast! Morissey at the Tabernacle seemed a bit underattended after his bursting at the seams show at Chastain this summer. The opener was Girl In A Coma, the metal allgirl band I raved about at Warped Tour-They kick ass and singer Nina Diaz is just beautiful! She is a guitar terror too. Their ballsy rock seemed a bad match for Morrissey, but what can you do? He always chooses off-the-wall female openers lately it seems. They are a recent find of Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records label. Morrissey’s ego is intact with a whole stage backdrop filled with huge images of his face. He crooned under a spotlight, while his backup band, all adorned in full denim suits matching his, built a sturdy musicontinued on page 24

Mo Nique at RiverCenter I went to Symphony Hall to see another big beautiful woman the very next day, Queen Latifah! She was dressed in jeans and a ﬂowing colorful top that draped low on her shoulders, seemed barefoot– no high heels any way! She ran all over the stage and did little stints with members of her big band. I’ve been smitten with Queen Latifah’s voice since I ﬁrst heard her, and Symphony Hall has the best acoustics in the city. Queen Latifah (and her fantastic band) took full advantage of the room. She sang several tunes from her new album, Trav’lin Light (which is well worth the download or CD purchase) and from The Dana Owens Album, blues, jazz, old-school soul, R&B. Her voice sent shivers down my spine and up my neck several times. Her set list included Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; I Know Where I’ve Been; Georgia Rose; I’m Gonna Live; Poetry Man; California Dreaming/Masquerade and Trav’lin’ Light. The crowd ate

Nina Diaz of Girl In A Coma

Morissey december 2007

Chaos cont from page 10 might work,” so I asked her to test it and it came back about sixty percent positive but there was still some push back, so I said, “Okay, maybe not, maybe I missed it.” PG: Does it totally go by people calling in and giving a response? Chaos: It did. That’s what I asked her to do and she did, she was like, “what do you guys think?” So it’s Columbus. Columbus, basically, runs the show, to me. PG: Do you take into consideration, that in this town, and maybe everywhere, people are going to speak more loudly about something that they don’t like? Chaos: That’s everywhere and I totally get that. I get that the negative make more noise. The squeaky wheel doesn’t get the grease, not in my world. That’s what I mean by protector of the brand is that you know if there’s a new band out called The Airborne and they sound like AC/DC, which there is, they’re going to be great. They’re like AC/DC mixed with Jet. You know it’s going to be good. You just know. You knew the Ozzy Osbourne I Don’t Want To Stop, as soon as you played it, it was going to be strong. I said, “This is going to be a big record,” and for twenty two weeks, it was a big record, but I goof up too. PG: Today you played a sappy old Heart song. Chaos: Dog and Butterﬂy. I love that song. I put that in there because it’s not the same old thing. They’ve got other good songs besides Barracuda and Straight On. White Lightnin and Wine is a cool song. Every once in a while, we’re going to throw a spice track in between a couple of big homeruns. Hopefully you’ll stay long enough, like when we test new music, that you’ll be there and be patient enough, so that you listen to the song and maybe give it a shot and give a new band a shot too. PG: Do you have to play stuff you hate, just because it’s in regular rotation? Chaos: I like all music. I’ve always been diverse from the get-go– blues, jazz, top forty, country, rock, alternative rock, classic rock– there’s not much that I don’t like. PG: Do you actually play requests? Chaos: We do, all the time. PG: Even if you weren’t planning on playing it already? Chaos: I play two or three a day, easy, especially in the Drive at Five and I know Erin does. And you know what? Sooner or later we’re going to play it anyway, it’s coming up. We know what you want to hear. We know two days before a big concert, you want to hear Hinder, Papa Roach and 12 Stones. Guess what. We’re going to play them all, we’re going to have them on, we’re going to talk to them. We’re going to play the shit out of their records. PG: Speaking of Hinder and Papa Roach, congratulations. I thought it was a great show. Chaos: Thanks. They kicked ass. They were very cool backstage. They came to our after-party, they were pumped. PG: I heard all three bands came to the after party. How did you do that? Chaos: I’ve been in the business for a while, so I know the beat. I totally live the lifestyle so when I’m talking to Jacoby and playgrounds magazine

I say, “It took two hours for you to get off the bus. We were supposed to do a three o’clock interview, it’s five-fifteen, okay, hi? Tough being a rock star, huh?” “Yeah man, you know how it is, you know chicks, blah, blah blah...” We all get it. Being on the road and working with bands and being on the other side, being in clubs, concerts, I’ve worked in promotions a little bit too. PG: Was your DJ name Chris Chaos from the beginning? Chaos: No, I got that in Fort Myers. I’ve been Sonny Fox at a top 40 station. I was George Dickel in Tampa because there was already a Johnny Walker, a Jack Daniels and a Jim Beam. PG: Was that a country station? Chaos: Yeah it was and I did nights. It was Q105 where Night Train Lane and Scott Shannon and Rick Dees and all those guys... It was an awesome station. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to pick up a little bit from all these places. PG: Does ROCK 103 have any contests going on? Chaos: We’re doing a thing called Rocking Stocking. The stocking is stuffed with cool stuff, CDs, T-shirts. Hooters gave us some cool stuff to stick in there too. And whoever else wants to join the party, we’ll make it worth their while. PG: How can local bands can work through the radio station to get promotion? Chaos: When bands come to us and say “Hey man, we’re going to be playing So and so.” I say “right on, we’ll come out and see you” like we do with State of Man or Swampdawamp or whoever. For the Hinder show, we set up a fifty-four foot trailer outside. I did a blog on my personality page, I went on the air and I had a Myspace bulletin– “local bands, if you want to play, outside before the show, e-mail us your stuff, let me hear something, give me an idea of what your setlist is, and you’ll play out front.” We had three bands– kicked ass. So there are going to be more opportunities for local bands, absolutely. We have a link on the bottom of our front page (www. rock103online.com) for local bands to upload their music. PG: Do you listen to whatever people submit? Chaos: I don’t listen to all of it, but a lot of people do. A lot of the people here listen and I look at what people are listening to. PG: So that makes their music available on the ROCK 103 website for other people to listen to? Chaos: Absolutely. Me and all the other programmers across the country as well. It’s a local and regional and national level. There have been bands who have broken through like that and then Clear Channel works with the bands. PG: Is there anything that makes you say “I want to listen to this band”? Chaos: You’ve got to catch us in the first 30 seconds. We get the intros, we get all that. We’re going to assume you know how to play, now show us what makes you different than everybody else. It’s not even all about big hooks, but the big hooks will sell records. For a good time: Tune in to ROCK 103, Monday thru Friday from 3pm to 7pm for a taste of Chaos.

december 2007

an interview with

Daniel Johns of by Alice Barkwell

Appearing at 99X Mistle Toe Jam, Dec 16, Gwinnett Center For many years I have loved and adored Silverchair and wanted to talk to Daniel Johns but I was always given the other band members to interview, never Daniel. I feel so lucky today! Silverchair will play at 99X’s Mistletoe Jam December 16. PG: I have been to every show you’ve ever done in Atlanta. Daniel: Wow, cool! Thanks. PG: And I saw you at Lollapalooza too. Daniel: That was really fun! We had a great time that day! PG: How old were you when you first played music and what inspired you? Daniel: I was probably ten or eleven years old. My mom and dad were really big music fans and we always had music playing around the house. I think what inspired me to play guitar was “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits. I just loved that song and I got like a $90 electric guitar for Christmas. After that I was kind of addicted to it. I had already been writing songs but I didn’t play an instrument so I couldn’t record them. After that, I had an instrument so I could write and record. I started recording demos right away. PG: Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? Daniel: It was a song called “Silly Man” and I wrote it when I was about seven. PG: What were you like in school? Daniel: Pretty bored. I wasn’t a delinquent but I didn’t really go that much. We were on tour a lot in high school– we could get away with that. PG: Were you in band or chorus? Daniel: When I was really young I played trumpet in the school band. Ben was the drummer in that school band. We were about 6 or 7. PG: That would be wild to see you play trumpet– can you still play? Daniel: I haven’t tried, but I bet I can’t! That was our manager’s idea for a while. When we needed horns he said “You should play it” and I politely backed out of that! PG: I fell in love with your band and your very earliest music, especially Pure Massacre. That song just tore me up. Do you think you guys will ever do a retrospective or rerecord any of your old songs or play them again? People love those old songs you know. Daniel: We’ve kind of moved on. We’re not embarrassed or anything, but we just don’t want to take up the set with songs that we’d rather not play. We prefer playing stuff that is challenging and inspiring. PG: Do you remember when you wrote Pure Massacre? What was it about? Daniel: It was about some conflict in Bosnia. I was watching a documentary on it. I was about 14. All the songs on Frogstomp were written between 12 and 14 years old. It’s not the kind of stuff we’re fond of. Nobody really refers to their work when they were 12 years old and thinks that it is playgrounds magazine

worth anything! PG: Well it really got a lot of fans for you and we’re still here– something about that album really got us! Your new song Straight Lines– I have heard people argue that you meant going straight and not doing drugs and others say you mean doing lines of cocaine. Can you straighten out the controversy? Daniel: When I was writing it, I knew that was going to be an obvious point of discussion. I kind of like to keep things vague. That’s the beauty of it. If I reveal the secret to one person then the secret is out. PG: So we’ll just keep your little secret. Daniel: Sorry not to be able to end your feud! PG: What’s with the black (sometimes red) headband you’ve been wearing lately . Daniel: I was actually pretty inspired by Rambo! PG: Really? Seriously? Daniel: Yeah I was wearing it for a period right after we had finished the record and we felt like we were going to war with it! We felt like we had a big fight on our hands. We wanted people to re-evaluate their perception of Silverchair in America completely, so I felt like painting on a black eye and wearing a headband symbolically! PG: And that green blazer looks like the blazer winners get at the Masters Golf Tournament here in Georgia. Why do you always wear that? Daniel: Yeah, I do like that jacket. Maybe it’s a golfing thing, I take it with me all the time now, I don’t know why, I just like it. Maybe I have just become dependent on it. PG: I just read that you guys were called “The Beatles of Australia”-a pretty high compliment! Daniel: Pretty amazing– The Beatles. I’m a genuine fan. I only started getting into them at 18 or 19. It was after our first two records. I started to really go through their music. I guess what inspired me in a lot of ways was their fearlessness and the fact that you can almost taste their enthusiasm. Of course everyone loved Sgt Peppers and Revolver, but then you listen to The White Album when everything was supposedly falling apart, and they were still pretty incredible! PG: A question from my Australian friends

who love you so. They said to please find out how you feel about the fans who follow you everywhere when you’re there. Do you think they are obsessive or wish they would quit? Or do you see it as love and dedication? Daniel: We like it. We have familiar faces that come to all of our shows. Our fans are pretty cool these days. Early on, they seemed a bit more disturbed– but that might reflect my mental state at the time more than what they did. Our fans are just very into the band, and I can’t see any negatives in people following us around. They don’t usually follow us into restaurants or bars or whatever. PG: They also want to know when you’re doing another Australian tour. Daniel: We’re doing the Big Day Out in Australia this year. They can see us there. PG: How’s Natalie? (Daniel is married to Natalie Imbruglia--singer and actress) Daniel: She’s good. She is in Adelaide at the moment doing a movie, a drama. PG: Are you planning to have children? Daniel: No, we have no plans to have kids yet. PG: Would the two of you ever do a duet or tour together? Daniel: I wrote some songs for her on her White Lilies album and I produced another one on her record. The record company wanted four or five new songs for a singles collection and we wrote a few songs together for that as well. But we would never do a record– a duet or something like that, I don’t think. PG: Do you sing together for your friends or family? Daniel: I think we have done it once when we were drunk! (laughing) PG: So many people think you’re gay in Australia– why is that? Daniel: I don’t know but I like it. I kind of amp it up! I don’t have a problem with people thinking I’m gay. PG: What is that loud noise? It sounds like a train. Daniel: That is my annoying life– backstage hearing drums constantly! I am backstage at the venue and I can’t leave! We’re in Phoenix. PG: You looked a little weird when you won the ARIAs. What were you on? You guys won everything! (The ARIAs are Australia’s Grammies) Daniel: (Laughter) No, I wasn’t on any-

thing– we were drinking, but we weren’t as hammered as we must have looked! We were just genuinely excited so we probably seemed like we were amped up on speed or something! PG: I loved The Dissociatives and wondered if you guys would do another record together? Daniel: Yeah Paul plays with us now live and we’ve been writing a little bit in the back of the tour bus. We definitely plan to make a few more albums. PG: Is it very different making that type of album from making a Silverchiar album? Daniel: When I write with Paul, it’s a lot more collaborative than with Silverchair. It’s a lot of fun. We do all the music together and then I take the vocals and write the melodies and all that stuff. Then we get together and mix and just have fun in the studio. With Silverchair it’s a lot more allconsuming. PG: What are the biggest differences between the US and Australia as you see it? Daniel: The serving sizes! It’s huge! Every time we get served a meal we feel daunted by its presence! PG: Does coming from summer to winter or winter to summer when you come here mess you up? I have never been to another hemisphere. Daniel: It’s pretty bizarre! We’ve been pretty lucky this year though, we’ve been accidentally following summer! PG: Having Christmas in the middle of summer just seems so totally weird to us! Daniel: We find it weird over here, like around Christmas seeing all this fake snow. In Australia everybody just sits around and eats and drinks and sits out in the sun at Christmas. PG: Have you written any songs for the next Silverchair album and can we count on there being another one? Daniel: I am always writing songs. I am writing some stuff for a film at the moment, and writing stuff by myself and writing stuff with Paul. I never really write with the intention of it being a Silverchair song. PG: Would you ever do a solo album? Daniel: Maybe, but not in the near future. I feel like with Silverchair I‘ve got all the benefits of being a solo artist - I get to write what I want and produce what I want- if you can have all that and you’re still in a band with your best friends then there’s no real incentive to do a solo record. PG: How has your friendship with Chris and Ben changed over the years? Daniel: We all get on better now than we ever have. We’ve definitely had our ups and downs, but after you’ve been doing it this long you stop to realize that the people around you are vital to your state of mind. We work on maintaining our relationships. PG: What the heck do you mean by “the new retro thing” and “the new retro look” that you keep talking about on your new album? Daniel: Retro means really old like from the 1920’s. The song’s about having insomnia. It’s about going back to a time when you could sleep. During the last time in my mind when I could sleep I was wearing a lot of retro clothing. I thought that was a nice parallel to my state of mind. My fashcontinued on page 27 december 2007

To The Magic Store by Will Dockery

“Riding in a Stuzbearcatsking, those were different times. All the poets studied rules of verse and the ladies they rolled their eyes.” -Lou Reed Some fancy footwork is required on this month’s column, since my ﬁrst one was spent reporting a blowout month at Rhino’s: The Spy for Hire CD release party which almost got a live stream broadcast until a beer was spilled on the hard drive, apparently frying it (my review of the CD will appear here next month), the triumphant return to Rhino’s of Winter Sounds from their nationwide tour, which won them heavy rotation on the MTV alternative/underground channel, bringing with them such great Athens and Atlanta acts as Sealions, Brooke Waggoner, the Lemus and Morning Signs, as well as reporting on the unique open mic of music and poetry I hosted there, since last week Brent suddenly sold Rhino’s to a new owner, who plans to change the format there. Long story only slightly longer, Suite 23 on Sidney Simon’s Blvd (next to Mediterranean Cafe) seems to be the place to meet up with the Rhino’s regulars, until Brent opens his new, bigger and better alternative/indie rock club somewhere in the north end. Caught a

Ryan Rulon show there and almost all the Rhino’s folks were there, including the amazing Shane Jolley. Here’s some Brian Fowler on the long awaited Flying Saucer Mechanic project, which I’m proud to be a part of, doing what seems to be my first science fiction poem: “...The T.O.T.M album is set to release in winter 2008 featuring Brian Vaughan and Brian Fowler. Vaughan has worked w/ Rock Legend Skip Spence on Land of the Sun released by Sundazed Records while Fowler has recorded four albums with founding Jefferson Airplane member Bob Harvey and co-written Hurting For People w/ Spence and Harvey. Fowler also is currently working w/ Hawkwind legend Harvey Bainbridge and Spaceseed on a new project (spaceseed.org for info). Special guest, Shadowville legend Will Dockery pops his space rock cherry in Frisco style. Fountain City tribal tongue voices by Venancio Cabaron and Cristy Fowler bring spirit. This album started on Brian’s visit to the Bay area and the wine country and has endured a fire, a flood, and a Egatoidal meltdown. This ambient-Spacerock piece will be available in winter 2008.” Also, literally years in the making, I’ve been hitting the Larry Rose Studio with Henry Conley and an all star cast of players (Riley Yielding, Jim White, John Phillips, Rick Edwatds, Doug Conley and John Overstreet to name a few), recording the many songs we’ve collaborated on through the years, the Shadowville Speedway Blues CD. Here’s a sample lyric-poem from that, which you can hear at places like Loft on Wednesdays and SoHo on Tuesdays:

God Bless the Troops

Six or six thousand, we will meet again. At blazing dusk, or quiet dawn. On that shore... again. This is the wait, the weight of the world. Comes down sweet and heavy... Twilight Girl. On that quiet morning, clear, crispy light. Seeing a movie from a distance, mourning in front of her ﬂight. This is the wait, the weight of the world. Comes down sweet and heavy, Twilight Girl. She offered me her cup, asked me to ﬁll it up, I said “Later, babe. Right now we have to talk untangle the chakra that crosses over.” Ghost horses, from the car ahead, looks like engine exhaust. Blink my eyes through bitter tears, a smile for what we lost. This is the wait, the weight of the world. Comes down sweet and heavy... Twilight Girl. words Will Dockery. music Henry Conley www.myspace.com/shadowvilleallstars

19th Annual Peach Drop New Year’s Eve Countdown

Underground Atlanta Monday, December 31, noon-4am Ring in the New Year at the 19th Annual Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta with country superstar Miranda Lambert and Atlanta’s own 800 lb. peach! Peach Drop is the largest New Year’s Eve Countdown celebration in the southeast and this year’s celebration is set to be the best one yet! Grammy nominee Miranda Lambert, exploded onto the country music scene after being a contestant on The Nashville Star series. Since the show, Lambert has debuted two number one albums with more than 1,000,000 CDs sold, and earned an Academy of Country Music Award for “Top New Female Vocalist.” She continues to produce hits such as “Kerosene,” “Me and Charlie Talking” and her current single “Famous In A Small Town.” The 65 second peach drop culminates in a spectacular ﬁreworks display and an explosion of vibrantly colored confetti raining down on the crowd. Kenny’s Alley will be alive with activity as everyone pours into the many restaurants, bars and nightclubs, all open until 4 am to welcome in the New Year. Festivities kick off at noon with family friendly activities throughout the day including, face painting, basketball throw, moon walk and balloon art on Upper Alabama Street. The party will continue well into the morning with live performances on multiple stages at the many bars and nightclubs in Kenny’s Alley. www.peachdrop.com

MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Bring Rock Band™ to Auburn by Frank Saunders

Every day and especially during Christmas I will be praying for the troops and their families. While I do not agree with this occupation of Iraq, I fully support the troops as they execute their orders. The person that is fully culpable for any evil that comes from our occupation of Iraq is George W. Bush. Our President knows what he is doing and he should know it is wrong. I will get back to thanking the troops but I must add that our Representatives and Senators are also responsible because they have allowed the occupation of Iraq to begin and they are allowing it to continue. Back to the troops. Our men and women in the services are making the ultimate sacriﬁce for us all and I am truly grateful. I honor you all for this sacriﬁce. To the families of these service people, I thank you as well. We can all help the troops by looking out for the troops when they return by taking care of them in any way we can. Buying a round of drinks and picking up their dinner tab is something I have seen happen. Coaching their kids and buying them a burger or pizza is something I am doing. Everyone can do something to help. The idiots that are going to funerals and dishonoring our fallen soldiers are not honorable people. Free speech is possibly the most valuable of our rights guranteed by the constitution but our citizens should really consider their actions and words especially when they are directed at the deceased and their mourning friends and families. We live in the greatest nation on earth and we should all be thankful to be living here. But we need to do some things to ensure that we remain the greatest nation on earth. First and foremost we need to, as a society, demand that our troops be brought home immediately. Then we must ensure that our troops are never ever used in this manner again. You can support the troops by demanding that they be brought home. I despise this war and the people that started it. I love our troops. It is Christmas and especially during this season we need to forgive so I will have to work on that. But during Christmas let us simply pray for or think admirably of our troops especially those that are deployed. Let us be kind to their families. Let us have respect for those that have opinions contrary to our own by allowing them to voice them or saying to them: “While I respect your right to your opinion and your right to express it, I disagree and I don’t want to talk about it.” You do not have to defend the country from the speech of others. The speech of others will never harm this country. When we are not allowed to speak freely then our country will be in need of protection and may God help the troops to make the right decision if that time ever comes. Merry Christmas or Happy holidays and may God continue to bless America. playgrounds magazine

Twilight Girl

The Rock Band™ tour rig is coming to Auburn to give consumers the chance to try the award winning game everyone is talking about. In addition, budding musicians can choose to participate in a “Rock Off” audition for an opportunity to appear on MTV’s TRL. The Rock Band outfitted tour rig will give local music fans the chance to play on a full concert style stage with all of the lights and monster sound systems they’re used to seeing at a classic arena rock concert. Whether consumers are instrument experts or just trying it for the first time, everyone gets a chance to rock. And it doesn’t stop there. Aspiring rockers will have the chance to compete in the nationwide casting call for MTV’s Rock Band “Rock Off events.” All performers brave enough to play on the Rock Band tour bus main-stage will be captured on video and viewed by MTV casting directors. Two bands will be chosen and flown to New York City to spend a day with a real rock band and receive true rock star training. The contest will culminate with the bands rocking on-air on MTV’s TRL, and one band ultimately chosen to open on a real stage for a yet-to-be-named mega band at the Rock Band launch concert. The public is invited to try out the game: Wednesday, December 5th, Campus Event, Auburn University, Quad Drive / Student Union Building Rock Band is a new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before, challenging users to master the lead/bass guitar, drums, and vocals as solo artists or cooperatively as part of their own band. Built on unprecedented deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and will include many master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band was the top winning game at this year’s E3 show, winning the overall “Best in Show 2007” award and garnering the most Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2007 with five nominations and three awards. EA will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australia. For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com. december 2007

I went to The Loft Atlanta to see The Burning Brides, an old favorite of mine. The opener was a California band with a Mexican front man who was very impressive on guitar. Not many people were there that early but everyone was very impressed! They were called Totomoshi– I’m just dying to know what that means! The bass player was a pretty girl and outstanding and the drummer rocked, but the singer/guitarist just blew everyone away. Totomoshi brings sludge metal, 70’s Sabbath-style metal, and doom metal, all in one simple package. Oakland, California, where they are from, incubates no-frills die hard metal bands like this and boy are they LOUD! The Burning Brides feature the most fun-to-watch guitarist ever, Dimitri Coats and his lady Melanie Campbell, tearing up the stage with more loud and impressive music from their new CD Hang Love complete with a glowing blue noose

Go Ask Alice cont from page 20 cal base. While singing and swooning his way through a set list that largely focused on newer material, the group did manage to sprinkle in several Smiths’ favorites like Big Mouth Strikes Again, Death of a Disco Dancer and How Soon Is Now. He even donned a fan-made shirt that read “Je Suis Morrissey”. It is always fun to see his fans’ reactions to his every move. He’s like the Pied Piper and you get the feeling they would follow him anywhere! The rock show of the year to most Columbus rock fans was Hinder and Papa Roach at The Columbus Civic Center. I had to pinch myself to believe it was really here when Papa Roach took the stage, having seen them so many other places, but not dreaming they’d be here! The gathering all afternoon in the parking lot was cool.Rock 103 had set up a stage, and Atlanta bands were playing. I missed some of them (Blacksmithz) but caught the last one. The crowds were excited and hopeful for a great show! Erin and Chaos, Rock 103 DJs, threw out lots of Rock 103 shirts made especially for the occasion and tied the show together with great enthusiasm. 12 Stones opened. This Mandeville, Louisiana band is probably most recognized for being fronted by Paul McCoy, a Grammywinning musician who won the award for his collaboration with Evanescence on the single Bring Me to Life. While 12 Stones is a Christian band, you wouldn’t really know it unless doing the proper research. They don’t make it too blatantly obvious in their lyrics or imagery, though their music is positive and uplifting, with clean, inspirational lyrics. Still, much of the music manages to remain hard rocking and somewhat aggressive in a nu-metal meets southern, bluesy rock sort of way.

ROCK 103 DJs Chaos & Erin

12 Stones’ Paul McCoy playgrounds magazine

Papa Roach- Jacoby

Hinder- Austin and Blower Their new CD, Anthem for the Underdog is a tribute to the hurricane survivors, and much of the album is said to be inspired by the effects of Katrina on their hometown. The pain comes through in 12 Stones’ emotional music and through McCoy’s clean singing. The third song, Broken Road, cowritten with former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry is a slow, emotional track with acoustics and a Nickelback-like feel. They sounded great and McCoy is a very in-your-face front man and was perfect to precede Jacoby and Papa Roach. Paul loves to spray water on everyone (not popular with the photographers trying to shield cameras). Papa Roach was next and their shows are always exhausting to be a part of! Jacoby demands as much from his fans as he does from himself, and that’s a lot! Their songs are known and sung along to, and he is all over, from stage front to all sides and then out in the crowd and back climbing on top of whatever he can ﬁnd. I love all the band, especially Dave Buckner, the big drummer who was married and divorced from Stephen Tyler’s model daughter Mia. (Dave dropped out of the tour again a few days after our show so we were lucky to see him, I guess! He has recently been in rehab because, as Jacoby put it, he was out of his f----ing mind!) The Hinder boys returned to Columbus, having made loads of fans their last trip to town. We all know what delight a Hinder show is with each band member going all out to entertain us and make us feel a part of the action! Austin is the perfect front-man, like a young Stephen Tyler, at once being sexy and dreamy and singing his heart out while stretching his vocal cords to unbelievable lengths! Which reminds me Hinder is about to do two shows in December opening for Aerosmith in Sacremento and Phoenix– how cool! Anyway, that night Columbus rocked!

Totomoshi

Helmet’s Paige Hamilton and pink heart. They had a new drummer. Dimitri played on Chris Cornell’s recent solo CD. He is always super-impressive! Helmet featured Paige Hamilton and a whole new group of band members, a lot of them, quite handsome and very good players too. I was surrounded by hard core Helmet fans who were just getting way too excited! Every time I see them there are new people playing with Hamilton, but he is the band– it really doesn’t matter. Smashing Pumpkins came back to The Fox for two nights to makeup for the cancelled shows due to Jimmy Chamberlain’s illness. They were all wearing funny white outﬁts, like rich people playing croquet on a lazy afternoon. The lighting was wonderful, so I got a really good look at the new members, guitarist Jeff Scroeder, and bassist, cute blond Ginger Reyes, and occasional keyboardist Lisa Harriton, who appeared every now and then. The night before, the ﬁrst 3 songs had been acoustic so the photographers only got shots of Billy, but thankfully my show was not so I got them all. They covered all of their albums over the evening and even did a cover of Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll! Lots of people brought young kids to this show and Billy asked them to bring all little kids down on the stage making all those who had left theirs at home regretful! He seemed thrilled that children were there. There seems a big change in Billy lately–a good change! He seems much more approachable and even smiles occasionally–seems to behaving fun! There are lights so you can see. (I recall Pumpkins shows where there was no lighting at all) The fans surely loved these shows!

Burning Brides’ Melanie Campbell

Burning Brides’ Dimitri Coats

Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan december 2007

The Police, who I had first seen last summer at Bonnaroo, played Philips Arena the next night. The opener was Fiction Plane, a band fronted by Sting’s son Joe Sumner. What a great band Fiction Plane doesn’t tout the connection with Sting because they’ve spent years playing music in their own right. They even performed recently on the Tonight Show, and not once was it mentioned that Joe Sumner is the son of Sting. If you heard the band you heard just how closely Joe’s voice resembles that of his dad’s. In addition, you’ll want to listen carefully to the lyrics of the songs they play– quite interesting stories told there! Actually Fiction Plane was dropped from their label MCA in 2005 and have been opening occasionally for Sting ever since and now for The Police. They are so good! Absolutely rocking and very cool to watch– Joe and his guitar especially! People often act like The Police is Sting and a couple of other guys. But with the strength of their songwriting and more importantly, the band’s musicianship, The Police were a perfect musical trinity, each member an indispensable and inseparable part of the whole, what a great band should ideally be. They have reworked or rearranged quite a few of their songs for this show. First of all, quite a few of the songs they played originally included keyboard tracks. The absence of a keyboard or anyone else other than just Andy, Sting, and Stu playing their respective instruments, made some of these tunes very difficult to play, as Andy would have to carry the guitar and keyboard notes. But he did a great job, even occasionally smiling. (He had looked pretty tense at Bonnaroo.) Stuart is really funny, constantly making faces at us photographers and cracking us up. After more than five months on tour, The Police arrived triumphantly to a packed Philips Arena Saturday night, the British trio’s first appearance in Atlanta since the Amnesty International concert in June 1986 at the long-gone Omni. So far, after 53 dates, The Police have grossed an astounding $171 million, by far the biggest of the year of any group. The group made another estimated $3 million in the till tonight (helped by the fact they sold tickets behind the stage, too.) With ticket prices ranging from $52 to $227, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland didn’t waste the audience’s time with new songs or superfluous patter.

Fiction Plane’s Joe Sumner playgrounds magazine

Rather, the three kept the concert tight and bright, racing through 19 mostly greatest hits over an hour and 45 minutes, from a hearty Synchronicity II to a poignant Invisible Sun. Harking back to their first Atlanta stop at the Agora Ballroom back in 1979, The Police truly kept it simple– no backup singers, no brass section, no keyboardist. But they produced a deep, rich sound that easily filled the upper reaches of the arena, thanks to the still-supple vocals and skilled bass play of Sting, the proficient guitar work of Summers, and the joyous, propulsive beat of Copeland. Sting sported an impish grin and in fact, the still lithe 56 year old wore a tight white cut-off T-shirt better than most 26 year olds. He was always aware of his audience, encouraging them to sing or clap along, keeping most fans on their feet the entire concert. Copeland banged away with the energy of a teenager. He had an especially good time with a set of percussion instruments behind his drum kit, including a gong and a xylophone, during a more jam-like take on Wrapped Around Your Finger from their final and biggest album Synchronicity. His joy was contagious! Everyone had a great time, a night Atlanta will be talking about for a long time. Hopefully it will not be another 21 years before they come back here again!

Black Tide

dent– ended up taking him with me. Sitting near us in the balcony was Atlanta resident Whitney Houston, laying low hoping nobody recognized her. She wasn’t outed until toward the end when Aretha called out to her and thanked her for coming. Aretha was introduced by Tyler Perry, Atlanta’s famous movie producer and actor of the Madea movies. The whole evening was to honor The Reverend Joseph Lowery, a civil rights pioneer, who was celebrating his 86th birthday. Aretha planned to rock the Fox and rock it she did! The evening was a benefit for Lowery’s Joseph E Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights, a think tank at ClarkAtlanta University. “I have seldom been without words,” Lowery said. “I thank you for your love. I don’t deserve it, but I will take it. You make an 86-year-old man feel 68.” Having Franklin at a benefit concert for Lowery seemed only fitting. Her father was the Rev. C.L Franklin, an established religious and civil rights leader who worked in the movement and with Lowery, Martin Luther King Jr., and the SCLC. “He was a great preacher,” Lowery told Franklin. “And I know how proud he is of you.” Franklin’s connections to Atlanta are also deep. She spoke of performing at the Royal Peacock, the legendary Auburn Avenue nightclub where James Brown, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke would come and perform. Franklin’s sister attended Clark Atlanta and her brother went to Morehouse. Aretha said, “My mother’s family is from Atlanta. You might as well say I am continued on page 27

Synester Gates- Avenged Sevenfold

Sting- The Police Avenged Sevenfold is a band I had never seen before, despite the skyrocketing popularity of the band and its handsome guitarist Synester Gates. Maybe it’s their good looks, MTV popularity, or the fact they spent so many summers playing to Warped Tour crowds, but somehow Avenged Sevenfold have built the most unmetal following in all of metal, despite having all the ingredients of the genre’s greats. M. Shadows is a spotlight-hogging frontman with big-time pipes. Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates are a free-wheeling guitar tandem whose lead (Gates) is a throwback guitar hero and the rhythm section, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer, The Rev, is a bulldozer. The band’s music certainly doesn’t cater to teenyboppers, although that was who comprised most of the crowd. Beast And The Harlot, with its fretboard-torching guitars, was one of Sevenfold’s fastest, most unrelenting songs of the night, a

Maiden-esque and the songs played from the band’s tamer new self-titled record, are still heavy, intricate stuff, material most fans of Pantera, Judas Priest, or Megadeth would dig. If the way the audience blankly stared at Black Tide (the night’s first band), as they galloped through a rip-roarin version of Metallica’s Hit The Lights was any indication, though, these weren’t Pantera, Priest, or Megadeth fans! The opening bands were pretty awful, except for Black Tide, a Florida band with a 14 year old singer and Megadeth-like chops that were amazing! They were first and were largely ignored, even when covering Metallica even better than the original! We picked all these bands because we love their music, Shadows said at one point. I wonder how they could love The Confession and Operator. Watching shirtless Operator frontman Johnny Strong grab his crotch and flip the bird for 30 minutes was a real bore and The Confession was even worse, and sadly The Confession generated three times the crowd excitement and participation as Black Tide, whose old-school thrashtastic set was unfairly ignored. Black Tide is something you really need to experience! Remember that name if you’re serious about your rock! My last show of the month was something I was invited to at the last minute and it thrilled me to death! Aretha Franklin at the Fox! I had to cancel a tutoring stu-

Tyler Perry

Aretha Franklin december 2007

the nerves. And for a restful night of sleep a pillow stuffed with lavender was sure to guarantee it happening. St. John’s Wort is not only good for mental disorders and nerve pain, but is also a sedative, a balm for wounds, burns and insect bites. It helps to moderate depression and alleviates sleep disorder. A tea made from the Hawthorn plant was good for the heart. Oatmeal was eaten every morning. Oatmeal has lots of soluble ﬁber and when used in conjunction with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and a ¼ cup of walnuts will bring down high cholesterol. Top it off with a cup of blueberries and you will quadruple the healthy effects of the oatmeal. Tobacco is excellent to put on a bee sting or insect bite as it draws out poison. Carry a pouch of it when going into the woods. Avon’s Skin So Soft bath oil will keep the bugs away when in those woods. Chiggers hate Skin So Soft. For skin problems try an herbal wash of calendula also called pot marigold. If you felt like you might have a touch of food poison Grandma always had a raw onion handy. When eaten it was supposed to draw out the poison. (Of course then you will want go to the hospital for a stomach pump to be sure all the poison is gone) Allergies could be diminished by the use of onions, garlic and chili pepper. Stinging Nettle boiled and drank helps to stop hay fever. After genital warts are removed soak in

an oat bath. For sinus problems go on a fruit fast for 2 or 3 days until the sinus problem dries up. Hot lemon drinks are good to ease sinuses as well as a mixture of garlic, onions and horseradish in cider vinegar. Mustard and oregano also are good to clear sinuses. Be sure to stop using all milk products. Grandma used red pepper to cure ulcers. She always said that red pepper burned the mouth and healed the stomach while black pepper was cold to the mouth but burned the stomach. Grandma made a tea of chamomile and peppermint with a dash of sage and marjoram to cure flatulence. Baking soda is good to stop heartburn but don’t mix it with vinegar. To lose weight Grandma had lots of celery on hand. It took more energy to eat celery than it had calories. Saturdays were bean days. Beans were served boiled and baked. Beans were low in fat and rich in protein, iron, foliate and fiber. Besides, they tasted good. Broken bones were bound with a long magnet running across the break to facilitate faster healing. Every cell in the human body is a small magnet so magnetic fields penetrate the body. In fact Astronauts in space for long periods of time require artificial magnetic fields in order to maintain health. For treating burns Grandma used alfalfa ground into a paste. For cuts that wouldn’t stop bleeding, a spiders’ web applied to the

cut did the job. Want to lose weight? Like shellfish? Chitosan is a natural product found in the exoskeleton of shellfish. It is not digestible but it does dissolve into a gel, which traps fat and renders it useless. Then the chitosan and the fat are excreted from the body. Aloe vera gel is an excellent healer. It is great to heal sunburn but it can also be drunk. When drank it clears up many stomach problems. Tomato sauce and watermelon, excellent sources of antioxidants, have been known to protect eyesight. Did you know that vinegar is healthy? A tablespoon of vinegar a day put into your salad will help you to lose weight. If you get poison ivy or poison oak take a bath in vinegar then dust yourself with cornstarch. The vinegar and cornstarch helps to ease the pain and itching of the blisters and they also help to dry them up. Did you also know that you could be sure your house is clean if you wipe down surfaces with vinegar and you can use it on your tile floors? Put a cup of vinegar in your washing machine rinse water to kill any germs that are still left in your clothes. Grandma knew long years ago that the more colorful the fruits and vegetables were that you ate the more healthful they were for you. Nothing in this article is meant to prescribe medicine. Most are given in a spirit of fun. If you have a health problem seek advice from your health care practitioner.

Pick up a free copy of Playgrounds BEAUTY SALONS Cut Ups Family Haircare Center 1290 at the following locations.

COMPUTER REPAIR Alboe’s Computers and Supplies 6298 Veterans Pkwy 706-327-4900

The Residence Inn 2670 Adams Farm Dr 706-494-0050 Rivertown Inn 1325 Veterans Pkwy 3222522 Sheraton Inn 5351 Sidney Simons Blvd 327-6868 Staybridge Suites 1694 Whittlesy Rd 31904. 706-507-7777 Super 8 2935 Wm Springs Rd 322-6580 Wingate Inn 1711 Rollins Way 225-1100 Wyndham Hotel 800 Front Ave 324-1800

Ask ISIS Alternatives and Natural Healing Grandma used to say that to stop a child from wetting the bed you brewed up skunk cabbage and had the child drink a glass before bed. If a person was always tired Grandma said it was tired blood and dandelions were picked and either eaten in a salad, boiled as a vegetable or made into dandelion wine. Dandelions are rich in iron. Dandelion root was boiled to make a laxative or used in a mixture of 2 parts dandelion root, 2 parts yellow dock and 1 part tincture of aniseed to cure constipation. For an anti-inﬂammatory use chamomile. Chamomile and valerian are antispasmodic. When cold season arrived rose hips were picked off the rose bushes and green tea was drank throughout the day. Auntie was a big believer in grapefruit juice. Be in bed with a stuffed up head and she made sure that you drank 64 ounces of grapefruit juice in one day. Grandma used catnip tea to calm down and chamomile tea to go to sleep. Catnip has a calming effect and after a hectic day a hot cup of catnip tea was just what the naturalist ordered. Chamomile tea would help you to have a good night’s sleep. A sachet that contains chamomile, lavender, valerian, rosemary and mugwort calms

Double Churches Rd 327-5557 Great Clips 1648 Whittlesey Rd 706-322APARTMENTS Brittwood 2444 W Britt David Rd 327- 3628 Hairmasters 5555 Whittlesey Blvd 3241443 Garden Brook 3561 Hilton Ave 596-9111 5744 The Grand Reserve Luxury Apartment Head Start Hair Care 5555 Whittlesey Blvd, Suite 1720 324-5744 Homes 1700 Fountain Ct 653-8111 Greystone Farms 7401 Blackmon Rd 221 J. Albert’s Hair Studio Plaza North Shopping Center 6100 Veterans Pkwy 317-3887 9200 Styles By Cooper 6298 Hamilton Rd 322 Inverness 7175 Moon Rd 571-9200 7621 M 9:50-5, Tu & Th 9-7, W & F 9-6, The Lodge 464 N Oakley 689-4402 Sa 9-3 Main Street 6400 Main Street 322-8100 Milgen Village 5800 Milgen Rd 563-2550 Sherwood Arms 3909 Baker Plaza Dr BOOKS Barnes & Noble Booksellers 5555 Whit689-1759 The Village on Cherokee 3113 Cherokee tlesey Blvd. 706-653-7880 M-Th 9a-10p, F-Sa 9a-11p, Su 9-9 Ave 324-2112 Whisperwood 6029 Flat Rock Rd 563- Columbus Book Exchange 6440 W Hamilton Rd 324-2559 0001 Willow Creek Apartments 3700 Buena Judybug’s Books 1033 Broadway 3235588 Vista Rd 687-5672 Windsor Village 3700 Bridgewater Rd BUTCHER SHOPPES 561-5935 Burt’s Butcher Shoppe & Eatery 2932 Woodlands 6000 River Rd, Green Island Warm Springs Rd 653-0677 Tu-Sa 9a-7p Woodville 3940 Macon Rd 563-3320 (butcher shop hours) ART Bare Ware Pottery Studio 2515 Old Whittlesey Rd 571-0507 Britt David Studios 2700 W Britt David Rd 571-5877 M-F10-4:30, Tu & Th 7p-9p Rankin Arts Center 1004 Broadway 6414000 AUTOMOTIVE Bradley Park Car Wash 1655 Whittlesey Rd 653-8882 Fred’s Tire Center 1600 2nd Ave 3237353 M-F 8-6, Sa 8-1 Maaco Auto Painting, Bodywork & Collision Repair 148 Challenger Ct 571-9500

playgrounds magazine

CATERING Daffin’s Fine Meats and Deli Co. 2579986 Tu-Sa 10am-6:30pm COFFEE SHOPPES Columbus Coffee Co. 1660 Whittlesey Rd, Suite 100 321-1675 M-Th 6:30a-9p, Fr 6:30a-11p, Sa 7:30a-11p, Su 10a-5p Fountain City Coffee 1007 Broadway, Columbus, GA 31901 M–Th 6:30am–10:30pm, F 6:30am-2am, Sa 8am-2am, Sunday: 9am-8pm Starbucks Coffee Veterans Pkwy

CONVENIENCE SHOPS The Corner Store 5100 River Rd 6530804 M-Sa 8-8, Su noon-6 Money Back Amoco Williams Rd DONUTS Golden Donuts 625 Manchester Expwy 706-660-8783 FITNESS CENTERS North Columbus Athletic Club St. Francis Marketplace 324-3334 M-Th 5a-11p, F 5a-9p, Sa 7-7, Su 11-7 HAMS Honeybaked Hams 1701 Rollins Way 653-1703 10-6 HOTELS Baymont Inn & Suites 2919 Warm Springs Rd 323-4344 Comfort Inn 3460 Macon Rd 256-3093 Country Inns & Suites 1720 Fountain Ct 660-1880 Days Inn 3452 Macon Rd 561-4400 Days Inn S 3170 Victory Dr 689-6181 Econo Lodge 4483 Victory Dr 682-3803 Extended Stay America 1721 Rollins Way 653-9938 Hampton Inn 5585 Whitesville Rd 5765303 Hampton Inn N 7390 Bear Ln 256-2222 Holiday Inn Airport-North 2800 Manchester Expressway 324-0231 Holiday Inn Express at Northlake 7336 Bear Lane 706-507-7222 Howard Johnson 1011 Veterans Pkwy 322-6641 LaQuinta Inn 3201 Macon Rd 568-1740 Microtel 1728 Fountain Ct 31904, 706653-7004

MOTORCYCLES Chattahoochee Harley Davidson 7373 Fortson Rd 324-4294 MUSIC-CDs, TAPES Flipside 1033 Broadway 689-8717 M-W 10-7, Th-Sa10-9 www.flipsiderecordshop. com Riff’s 2723 Manchester Expwy 571-9807 M-Sa 11-6:30 MUSIC- INSTRUMENTS AJ Music 1313 13th St 571-0402 M-F 10-6, Sa 12-5 Baker Music 2 Midtown Loop 563-7924 M-F 10-6, Sa 10-5 Everything Musical 2400 W Britt David Rd 323-1809 M-F 10-7, Sa 10-6 Gorilla Guitars 1038 Broadway 706-5070462 M-Sa 10-6 NIGHTCLUBS & PUBS Belloo’sMartini and Cigar Bar 900 Front Ave 706-494-1584, M-Sa 5p-3a Big City Club 1113 Broadway 320-0630 FSa Doors open at 9, Cover at 10 The Loft 1032 Broadway 596-8141 W-Sa 7p-2a Muldoon’s 6499 Veterans Pkwy 327-9700 M-F 3p-2a, Sa 11a-2a SoHo Bar & Grill 5751 Milgen Rd 5683316 M-F 3p-3a, Sa noon-3a

december 2007

Go Ask Alice cont from page 25 from Atlanta.” For the hundreds of Atlantans who paid $50 to $100 for the tickets, Franklin was treated like visiting royalty. Accompanied by an amazing band, she walked on stage in a sky blue gown and white fur coat. She opened the show with a cover of Jackie Wilson’s Higher and Higher, followed by standards from her early years on Atlantic Records. The show then went into high gear with Franklin’s sexy Giving Him Something He Can Feel, which stirred the crowd. After doing Chain of Fools, she took a break while her band, The Aretha Franklin Orchestra, performed the jazz standard, Killer Joe, in honor of Lowery. For the second half of the show, Franklin returned to her gospel roots and closed the show with, Old Landmark, from her classic 1972 gospel album, Amazing Grace. When Lowery and his wife joined Franklin on stage, they presented her with a bouquet of ﬂowers, while she serenaded him with Happy Birthday. Lowery reminded the crowd that Franklin’s version of Respect, that a Georgia boy, Otis Redding wrote, is ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the ﬁfth greatest rock song of all time. “Now, we must learn to love and respect each other,” Lowery said. “Black folks. We are the ones God picked to be the conscience of the nation. We have to stop turning on each other and turn towards each other. You have to have respect for

The Tap 1024 Broadway 653-8277 M-Th 5p-2a, F-Sa 5p-3a The Vault 1026 Broadway 576-2242 M-Sa 6p-3a PARTY SUPPPLIES Cagney’s Party Shop 5751 Milgen Rd 568-1889 M-Sa 10a-11:45p Columbus Beverage Superstore Peachtree North 1435 Double Churches Rd324-6311 M-Th 10-10, F-Sa 10-12 Peachtree Package Store 2928 Warm Springs Rd 327-0311 M-Sa 8a-11:45p PHARMACIES Good Neighbor Pharmacy 5100 River Rd 317-2583 M-F 9a-6p, Sa 9a-2p RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT Strategic/Medley 615 Manchester Expwy 706-322-1819 RESTAURANTS 13th Street Bar-B-Q 5506 Veterans Pkwy 596-1833 M-W 10a-3p, Th-Sa 10a-7p Burt’s Butcher Shoppe & Eatery 2932 Warm Springs Rd 653-0677 Tu-Sa 7a-4p (restaurant hours) Caffe Amici 2301 Airport Thwy 653-6361 M-Sa 11:30a-2p & 4:30p-10p Cannon Brewpub 1041 Broadway 653BEER Captain Tom’s 4261 Macon Rd 568-6618 M-Th 11a-9p, F-Sa 11a-10p, Su 11a-8p Chicken Comer’s Barbecue 2609 Desmond Dr 706-221-5990 CiCi’s Pizza 1660 Whittlesey Rd Country’s Barbecue 3137 Mercury Dr 563-7604 Su-Th 11a-10p, F-Sa 11a-11p Country’s Barbecue North 6298 Veterans Pkwy 650-1415 Country’s Downtown 1329 Broadway 596-8910 11a-11p daily Deorio’s Cross Country Plaza 563-5887 M-

playgrounds magazine

DECEMBER ROCK CALENDAR 3 3 3 4 6 7 9 10 12

Reverend Joseph Lowery yourself. If we can change Atlanta, then we can change Georgia. And if we can change Georgia, we can change the world.” And with that, Franklin delivered R-E-S-PE-C-T. What a party! All my life I have heard raves about her voice, and now I realize what an amazing instrument it is! The Fox is a very big theater and the rafters were ringing with each note. The crowd of people were dancing and clapping and singing along with great joy! I have never heard a voice so powerful! I am just so glad I ﬁnally go to hear it for myself! Have a wonderful Christmas, and don’ t forget that music is the perfect gift!

F 11:30-3 & 4:30-9:30, Sa noon-10:30 El Carrizo 5935 Veterans Pkwy 653-2120 El Vaquero 2976 North Lake Parkway 3175900 317-0047 El Zapata 1112 18th Ave 596-8221 M-F 11a-2:30p & 5p-10p, Sa noon-10:30, Su noon-10 El Zapata # 2 6100 Veterans Pkwy, North Plaza Shopping Center 324-7282 Firehouse Subs 2501 Whittlesey Rd 706507-0225 Gus’s Drive-in 3498 Victory Dr 687-5770 11a-2a daily Gloria’s Cafe Southern Cuisine 5156 River Rd Suite F 706-327-2725 M-Sa 7a3p Hooters 2650 Adams Farm Dr 596-4668 Imbis 1032 Broadway 706-507-3250 M-W 10:30-3, Th-Sa 10:30-midnight Johnny’s Hot Dogs 4022 University Ave 568-6368 M-F 10-7, Sa 10-6 Longhorn Steak House 3201 Macon Rd 563-2221 Macon Road Barbecue 2703 Avalon Rd 653-0542 M-Sa 10a-8p Mellow Mushroom 6100 Veterans Pkwy 322-4602 Newman’s Grill 1011 Veterans Pkwy (in Howard Johnson’s) 322-6641 11a-2p & 5p10p daily Ok Sun Oriental Restaurant 2929 Victory Circle Tu-Sa 11a-6p Panera Bread The Shoppes at Bradley Park 6301 Whitesville Rd Peluso’s Italian Restaurant 5600 Milgen Rd 563-9934 M-Th 11a-10p, F-Sa 11a10:30p Peluso’s Italian Restaurant St Francis Shopping Center 324-5888 M-Th 11:30a10p, F-Sa 11:30a-11p Quiznos 1648 Whittlesy Rd 706-327-9231 Red Kaoling Chinese Restaurant 3709 Gentian Blvd, Suite 3 569-9898 M-F 10:30a10:30p Sa-Su noon-10:30p

Blind Melon Masquerade Fiction Plane Drunken Unicorn Vast Zydeco B’ham John Fogerty Cobb Energy Ctr Riders in the Sky River Center Jethro Tull Tabernacle Gypsy River Center Chimaira Masquerade Kenneth Babyface Edmonds Cobb Energy Ctr 13 Dirty Dozen Bass Band Smiths Olde Bar 13 Sister Hazel Roxy 14 Sugarland, Little Big Town, Jake Cols Civic Ctr 14 John Prine AL Theater 16 99X MistleToe Jam: Silverchair, The Shins, Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups Gwinnett 17 Cantus Christmas River Center 21 Paul Thorn Var Playhouse 23 Bow Wow, Chris Brown, Soulja Boy Phillips Arena 26 Colonel Bruce Hampton Smiths Olde Bar 28-29 Band of Horses Smiths Olde Bar 31 Widespread Panic Philips Arena 31 Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, North Mississippi All Stars Fox Theater 31 Trans Siberian Orchestra BJCC B’ham 31 Drivin N Cryin Roxy 31 Miranda Lambert Peach Drop

Ruth Ann’s 941 Veterans Pkwy 322-2154 M-Sa 6:30a-2:30p, Su 8a-2p The Saloon & Oyster Bar 6005 Macon Rd 568-8400 open daily Schlotzsky’s Deli 1522 Bradley Park Dr 653-7600 Su-Th 11a-9p, F-Sa 11a-10p Scruffy Murphy’s 1037 Broadway 3223460 10:30a-2a daily The Speakeasy 3123 Mercury Dr 5610411 M-Th 11a-10:30p, F-Sa 11a-11p The Sports Page 5736 Veterans Pkwy 641-9966 11a-12a daily Steak Out 3709 Gentian Blvd 706-5681007 Tavern on the Square 14 11th St 3242238 M-F 11a-9p Twelfth Street Deli 117 12th St 576-6939 M-F 7a-3p Willy T’s Chicken Fingers 7325 Fortson Rd 507-2210 M-Th 10:30-9 F & Sa 10:3010 Su 11-8 Willy’s Wings 4405 Armour Rd 322-4020 Tu-Th 11a-12a, F-Sa 11a-2a SHOPS Hot Topic Peachtree Mall Northside Pawn Shop 1648 Manchester Expwy 322-0561 Woody’s World 2723 Manchester Expwy Suite 13 596-1868 SHUTTLE to ATL Groome Transportation 2800 Harley Ct 706-324-3939 www.groometransportation. com TANNING Bermuda Tan 3507 Macon Rd 563-4044 M-Sa 10a-10p, Su noon-5 New Life Tanning Center 3709 Gentian Blvd #8 561-1153 M-F 9-8, Sa 9-2 New Life Tanning Center 1701 Rollins Way #400 596-1153 M-F 9-8, Sa 9-2 New Look Tanning Center 5120 Warm

Daniel Johns cont from page 22 ion was determined by my healthy sleeping patterns at that stage. PG: I really liked the long hair a lot! Daniel: Yeah– I can’t go back there now! Life is so much easier without it! PG: Was writing Young Modern a lot different from writing your other albums? It just seems very different. Daniel: Yeah, it was completely different actually. It is the ﬁrst record I have written in a healthier state. I had a lot of pressure about the record and a lot of weight on my shoulders. Trying to live up to expectations, creatively, after Diorama. Writing this album was more of an analysis of the world around me as opposed to the other record that was from the perspective of the world around analyzing myself. Looking outward a little more. PG: How’d you come up with the slide guitar on Low and why didn’t you play it yourself? Daniel: I had the melody that I thought was an important part of the song and I was hanging out with a friend in LA who is a really good guitar player and were in the studio just chilling out and I always do that if I have friends hanging around– I get them to do something. It feels more fun when you’ve got friends there and hanging out and I get to be bossy. PG: Well I will see you around Christmas at 99X’s Mistle Toe Jam Is there anything you want me to bring you for Christmas? Daniel: Your presence is present enough for me! See you! Springs Rd Suite 1 569-7075 M-F 8:30a11p, Sa 10-7, Su 1-6 TATTOOS & BODY PIERCING Falcon’s 1014 Broadway 653-2007 The Ink Spot Warm Springs Rd 323-5689 THEATRE The Springer Opera House ETCETERA Advance America Cash Advance Centers 2497 Airport Thruway 660-1998 Columbus Civic Center Columbus State University Col Convention & Visitors Bureau Columbus Technical Institute Georgia Welcome Center RiverCenter for the Performing Arts

PHENIX CITY (area code 334) Bama Lanes 701 Park Ave 297-4431 Colonial Inn Phenix City Bypass 2989361 Broad Street Blues Broad St and Dillingham 334-297-3200 Holiday Inn of Phenix City 1700 Hwy 280 Bypass S 298-9321 The Red Barn 1223 280 Bypass 298-9246 M-Sa 10am-2am, Su 1pm-10pm 13th Street Bar-B-Q 1310 7th Ave 2911833 M T Th F 9:30a-6p, W Sa 9:30a-3p MACON Georgia Music Hall of Fame 200 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd 1-888-GAROCKS www. gamusichall.com M-Sa 9-5, Su 1-5

If your business would like to distribute

PLAYGROUNDS call 562-0074. december 2007

Box Office M-F 10am-6pm (706) 653-4460 Ticketmaster (706) 494-8330 ticketmaster.com Event Hotline (706) 653-4472 columbusciviccenter.org

The Columbus Cottonmouths

Experience the excitement of professional hockey! hockey!

Friday, December 7, 7:30pm Cottonmouths vs Richmond Renegades Saturday, December 8, 7:30pm Cottonmouths vs Richmond Renegades Saturday, December 15, 7:30pm Cottonmouths vs Twin City Cyclones

also starring

Jake Owen & Little Big Town Friday, December 14 Tickets are $37

Sunday, December 16 4:00pm Cottonmouths vs Jacksonville Barracudas Saturday, December 22 7:30pm Cottonmouths vs Fayetteville Fire Antz Tuesday, December 25 6:30pm Cottonmouths vs Knoxville Ice Bears Ice Level $17 • Lower Level $15 • Upper Level $11, www.cottonmouths.com

Freestyle Motocross Saturday, January 18 & Sunday, January 19 7:30pm

Columbus Civic Center Public Ice Skating Where the temperature is 60° or more and you can ice skate! Admission - $7, Skate Rental - $3 Skating session times are 1:00 - 2:30 pm and 3:30 - 5:00pm Sunday, December 23rd Saturday, December 29th Wednesday, December 26th Wednesday, January 2nd Thursday, December 27th Thursday, January 3rd Friday, December 28th Sunday, January 6th

Tickets on sale now Advance tickets: Adults - $22.50, Kids - $7.50 Day of event: Adults - $24.50, Kids - $9.50 Groups of 15 or more $15.00/person

Tickets are $40 to $45

Monday Tickets $38