Down On The Corner
• We are sad to report that Linda Gower did not make it to her CD release. She passed away on Monday, January 15 at her home. She will be missed by all in the music scene. Memorial gifts should be sent to the Wendell Foster Center, P. O. Box 1668, Owensboro, KY 42302.
• Seventh Street Road patrons will be interested to know that there will be music in the Derby Park Traders Circle Flea Market, 2900 S. 7th St. Road. The owners have set up an outdoor area for a "Friday Nite Live" show every week. (At this time of the year, performers will really get some "exposure," not to mention frostbite.) There will be no criteria, cover charge, admittance fee and any band can perform. Interested? Contact Keith Age at 502-636-3532.
• We hear from The Velcro Pygmies' Cam Flener that the band has been invited to participate in the new Ed McMahon online Star Search, a vote-based contest You can take a look at their video at http://www.nextbigstar.com/contest.php?category=Rock+Music.
• Cornbread Mafia continues to make noise in the music business. They are set to hit the road in March, with a trip on to the Daytona Bike show, followed by an East Coast trip, with showcases at CBGB's and Arlene's in New Yawk City on March 27 and 28. Hee, hee, hee, New Yawk might not get exactly what their preconceptions say should be a Kentucky band with a name like that. Go get 'em, Adonis.
The act is also seeking folks with a little spare cash to invest in the group's future. If the recent collapse of the e-bubble made you leery of the stock market, a bet on a Louisville act might be lucrative down the line and a hell of a lot more fun. Come to think of it, it might be worth it just for the fun.
• Wayne Young recently cut a Jay Goldstein (Romeo Laureno) tune, "Living on Borrowed Time," which Wayne will title as "Borrowed Time." Give the man points for really supporting Louisville music - not every performer has the vision to find the best Louisville songs and cut them.
• Here's a little tidbit about Kentucky's favorite country music mom Naomi Judd, courtesy of publicist Kathy Allmand:
"At approximately 7:15 p.m. Wednesday night (01/24/01) (Brentwood, Ca) police officers responded to a disturbance call at Amerigo's Restaurant. According to the investigation [and} statements from those involved and witnesses, a male stripper had been hired to perform as an 18th birthday surprise for Emily Westermeier.
Ms. Naomi Judd was in the restaurant with her husband and had just finished dinner. She stated she was walking to the ladies' room, heard loud music that was different from the restaurant's and cheering. She observed what appeared to be a nude male straddling a young girl. The subject was sitting in the girl's lap facing her and simulating intercourse.
Ms. Judd stated that she was stunned and reacted by placing her hand on the dancer's shoulder to get his attention. She stated that she told him to stop, that he was in a public place and that there were families and children present.
The dancer, Christopher Pearce, had to look over his left shoulder to see Ms. Judd and since he was straddling the girl, he lost his balance and fell out of the girl's lap and onto the floor.
Mr. Pearce stated that Ms. Judd had grabbed him by the neck and pulled him to the floor. There was no evidence of any injuries noted and no charges were filed."
• There's an addition to the city's music stores - Biddle & James, 610 Baxter Ave., operated by James Hawkins. The store opened about December 1. Hawkins is a very friendly fellow, so if you go in there, be prepared to talk a while. Or you can call him at 589-2999.
• There are times when I wonder if I'm in the right business. Last month, media maven Leslie Stewart slipped me the news that WUOL's Fadel Freelander and Oberlin conservatory professor Gregory Fulkerson had gotten married on December 21 and then I omitted it from my next column! You might remember Fadel as the woman dressed up as Brunhilde (a purple dress with a breastplate, helmet and spear) from the March 2000 cover of LMN, which featured the new Public Radio Partnership building. Anyway, congratulations to the Fulkersons and thanks, Leslie.
• Down in Bardstown, Stephen Foster-The Musical is looking for singers, actors, dancers and technicians for its 43rd season. Besides the Stephen Foster musical, The company will has added the musical "Show Boat" to run in repertory with "Stephen Foster- The Musical in July and August. If your are interested in auditioning, the following Kentucky tryouts are scheduled:
March 2 - Van Meter Theatre at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, 4 p.m.
March 3 - Main Auditorium, Bardstown High School, Bardstown, 10 a.m.
March 3 - Briggs Theatre in the Fine Arts Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky, 10 a.m.
March 4 - South Recital Hall, School of Music, University of Louisville, 2 p.m.
For more information, call the theatre at 502-348-5971 or 1-800-626-1563 or log onto www.stephenfoster.com.
• Louisville-based Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation has announced the first half market finals for the KOOL MIXX program, a national competition for up-and-coming DJs. No Louisville-based acts have advanced in competition and Louisville is not one of the sites.
• .Attendees from last fall's IBMA "Trade Show" now have priority access to a special block of room for the 2001 World of Bluegrass, scheduled for October 1-7. This priority will last until April 30, 2001. To reserve a room, call the Galt House at 800-626-1814 and tell them you are seeking reservations for the IBMA Trade Show. Your name, if your were a previous attendee, will be on their list.
• Our banjo-wizard buddy Tim Lake has released a new CD, Kentucky Home, on Padraig Records. The 2-CD project includes songs recorded by Lake at his Trio at a private event on the J. Peterman farm in 1998 and include a number of classic bluegrass and mountain tunes, including "My Old Kentucky Home," "Red Haired Boy," "Leather Britches" and more, for a total of thirty-three tunes. This project is his ninth CD for Padraig. For information, call 859-268-1718 or e-mail him at: TimLakePAD@aol.com or log onto www.TimLake.com.
• If you're planning to be in Vancouver next month, be sure to stop up the 13th Annual Folk Alliance Conference, set for the 15th through the 18th. They do so many things, it's impossible to list them all in this column, so log onto www.folk.org or call 202-835-3655 for more information. Even if you're not a musician, you could go and folk off a little, just for fun.
• I just couldn't leave this one out: There is now a Heavy Metal trivia board game, called "Metal Mental Breakdown." I am not making this up. You wanna know mo', you log onto www.jpwmetalenterprises.com
Codas
• Kevin Lee Barnes, 43, died on January 18 in Jeffersonville. He was the founder, bass player and leader of Sassy, a Top-40 band that worked in the Louisville area for some fifteen years.
• Linda Stone Cushing Gower, 52, died on January 15., She was a musician, songwriter and host of the Air Devil's Open Stage. Please note additional information in the item above.
• William Frentz, 45, died on January 22 in Santa Cruz, Ca. He was a native of Louisville and a musician.
• Jesse McDaniel, 50, died on January 14 at his home in Louisville. He was a gospel musician for First Samuel Baptist Church; founder of the Together gospel group; a gospel producer and former musician for several churches.