Down On The Corner
• It's Hootenanny Time! Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church will hold their 11th Annual Hootenanny at the church on Friday, January 27, beginning at 7 p. m. John Gage will host the sing-along. Singers and players with unamplified instruments are invited, along with audience members.
• O'Malley's Corner has added a Twig and Leaf restaurant to what is surely getting to be one of the busiest blocks in downtown. The restaurant will open daily at 7 a. m. , except on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when it will be open on a 24-hour basis.
• George Harrison Can Relate. David La Duke sent a somewhat lengthy letter concerning a copyright infringement action which he took against Louisville indie label Slamdek and its owner K-Scott Richter. The short version is that Slamdek released a recording of La Duke's "Right From Wrong" by Hopscotch Army on Merry Christmas, a 1991 release, but failed to apply for a mechanical license. A settlement has been reached but the details are not available.
Richter's group, Sunspring, also printed a parody of a La Duke poster in 1991, then posted many copies along Bardstown Road.
La Duke was not amused.
• Michael Johnathon has recorded a duet with Odetta. The song will appear on a Poetman Records USA album entitled Assassins in the Kingdom. The album is scheduled for release in March.
• Michael Medley went on a tear in December, releasing a new album and holding a couple of concerts. He also picked up an Al Smith Arts Fellowship, worth $5,000. Other Louisville recipients of the award include pianist Steve Crews and Christopher White.
• Positively Main Street? There will be an album release party on January 5 at the Louisville Science Center for Celestial Journeys, a New Age album by Steve Fish and Bobby Brooks on the Fish N' Brooks label. The premiere will precede the IMAX film "Destiny in Space."
Connie Kay, drummer for the Modern Jazz Quartet, died in his sleep on November 30. He was 67.
Guy Howard Dorsey III, 39, passed away on November 26. Dorsey was founder and director of the Dorsey Singers, minister of music at Genesis United Methodist Church and a member of Keith Hunter & the Witness for Christ Choir.
Jodie Hall, founder of the Official Kentucky State Championship Old Time Fiddler's Contest, died on December 12 at the age of 65. Hall started the festival twenty years ago with Leo Mudd.