INsite Atlanta May 2010 Issue

MAY 2010

www.insiteatlanta.com

VOL. 18, NO. 10 FREE

INTERVIEWS: MONICA, AL PACINO, CHRIS ROCK, STEVE NASH

HOT

r e m m u S NIGHTS SCREEN ON THE GREEN & ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL RETURN TO PIEDMONT PARK

Plus: Sweet Auburn SpringFest, East Atlanta Beer Fest, Decatur Concerts on the Square, Wednesday Windown at Centennial Park, Kirkwood Spring Fling, Concerts at Outdoor Venues & More!

CONTENTS • MAY 2010 • VOLUME 18.10 Atlanta’s

Entertainment Monthly

INTERVIEWS 06 HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 10 AL PACINO 11 CHEF BOBBY FLAY 12 CARLOS MENCIA 15 SARAH JESSICA PARKER 18 MONICA 21 CHRIS ROCK 23 K-OS 23 THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS 27 ATLANTA BEAT 28 GBH 28 THE BUSINESS 30 STEVE NASH

10

15

FEATURES 08 MARGARITAS 11 TAPAS 24 EDUCATION GUIDE 29 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

COLUMNS 04 AROUND TOWN 05 ON TAP 05 ON A DIME EVENTS 07 UNDER THE LIGHTS 13 MOVIE REVIEWS 14 VIDEO GAMES 14 VIDIOTS 16 CONCERT CALENDAR 19 ROAD WARRIORS 19 WE GOT NEXT 20 ALBUMS 31 FANATIC

18

23

www.insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Stephen Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com National Managing Editor Bret Love bret@insiteatlanta.com Art Director / Web Design Michael T. graphics@insiteatlanta.com Music / Sports Editor DeMarco Williams demarco@insiteatlanta.com Events Listing Editor Glenn LaFollette glenn@insiteatlanta.com Special Features Editor Marci Miller marci@insiteatlanta.com

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Contributing Writers / Interns: John Moore, Jon Latham, Ryan Loftis, Matt Goldberg, Rodney Hill, Alex S. Morrison, Sacha Dzuba, Alec Wooden, Roger Presswood, Dave Cohen, Russ Marshalek, Jennifer Sefa-Boakye, Jessica Cole, Jennifer Williams and Matt Connor CONTACT US 2250 North Druid Hills Rd. #234 Atlanta, GA 30329-3118 phone 404-315-8485 website insiteatlanta.com ADVERTISING INFORMATION �������������������������������������������� Editorial content of INsite is the opinion of each writer and is not necessarily the opinion of INsite, its staff, or its advertisers. INsite does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor do the publisher or editors of INsite assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. No content, i.e., articles, graphics, designs and information (any and all) in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from publisher.

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Check out our Education Guide on Page 24!

PG 3 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

Around Town MAY 02 MAY 3-7

The Fox Theatre will host Broadway Across America on May 2 for its Kids Night on Broadway celebration. This will be held in the Egyptian Ballroom from 5-6pm.

The Georgia State Film Festival will go May 3-7 at the CineFest Theatre on the GSU Campus. Screenings start at 5pm and are free and open to the public.

Chick-fil-A will present Leadercast on May 7 for an all-day leadership training event. Speakers like Tony Dungy and John Maxwell will be in attendance. Go to chick-fil-aleadercast.com.

MAY 07

Don’t miss 500 Songs For Kids at Smith’s Olde Bar through May 8.

It’s a collection (this year) of the 500 greatest era defining songs of all time performed by your favorite local bands.

Visit songsforkidsfoundation.org for more info and participating bands. The top song is “Smells like teen spirit” by Nirvana.

MAY 08

The High Museum of Art and Midtown Alliance will host a Classic Car Caravan on May 8 at 10am. Cars will cruise from the Fox Theatre to the High in honor of the Allure of the Automobile exhibit at the museum. Visit high.org for info.

MAY 08

The second annual Cheers for Children event will take place at the Mason Murer Fine Art Gallery on May 8. That 80s Band will perform, and participants can enjoy catered food, cocktails and a silent auction. Go to masonmurer.com for details.

MAY 08

Theatre/Film

Lenox Square Grill is the perfect place to take Mom to brunch on Mother’s Day. On May 9, they will be featuring a Mother’s Day brunch buffet from 10am-3pm with a build your own Bloody Mary bar. The buffet features a variety of their comfort foods such as an omelet station and Mac N Cheese station. Call 404-814-2377 and make your reservation soon.

MAY 09

The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra presents a special Mother’s Day show with members of the Magic Circle Mime Company. The two will perform “Peter and the Wolf”. Tickets are $15-$20.

First show is at 1:30pm.

MAY 09

Join The Tavern at Phipps Bartenders on the Patio for an Absolut Ladies Night Out. Head to the Tavern at Phipps on May 12 at 7pm for a night of cocktails, appetizers, and award winning bartenders. It is all you can drink, sponsored by Absolut Vodka and a variety unlimited appetizers from the Tavern menu for only $19.95 plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are limited so please call 404-814-9640 in advance.

MAY 12

The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s 14th Annual River Revival will take place at Park Tavern on May 13 with performacnces by Emerson Hart of Tonic, Gareth Asher and Michael Tolcher. Go to chattahoochee.org for more.

MAY 13

Kirwood holds its annual Spring Fling Festival & 5K Run on May 15.

The Tour of Homes will be on May 15-16. Visit kirkwoodfling.com for more information about this event.

MAY 15

Museums/Exhibits/Arts

Music/Comedy/Sports

The 12th Annual Sculpture in the South Show & Sale comes back on May 15 in Azalea Park just up the road in Summerville, S.C. If you’re interested in the trip, go to sculptureinthesouth. com for info.

The Atlanta Take Steps Walk for Crohn’s & Colitis will take place on May 16 at 4pm in Centennial Olympic Park. Visit ccfa.org for more details.

MAY 15

The 2010 Brookhaven Bolt 5K Run/Walk kicks off on May 16 at 8am. Proceeds benefit Ashford Park Elementary. Register 30 minutes prior to the race or go to active.com.

MAY 16

MAY 17-18

Don’t miss the Braves home series against the New York Mets on May 17-18 at 7:10pm. Division games are always the best. Go to braves.com.

Spend Memorial Day enjoying two American classics, baseball and the Beach Boys. The legendary band will perform a free post-game concert on May 21 after the afternoon game at 1:05pm between the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. Take advantage of the Braves’ Two-For-One Mondays offer where fans can purchase two Golden Moon Casino Pavilion tickets for the price of one every Monday.

MAY 21

Be a zoo keeper for a day at the Zoo Atlanta on May 22. You and your child can get a firsthand look at food preparation, cleaning and animal care. Learn more at zooatlanta.org

MAY 22

Dining at Chin Chin is pure pleasure

Other Stuff

The Center for Puppetry Arts will present “Stellaluna” from May 25June 6. The story is about a baby fruit bat who has suddenly fallen in with a nest of baby birds. Go to puppet.org for show details about this very special show.

MAY 25

National favorite the Hold Steady comes to Variety Playhouse on May 27 at 8:30pm. Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 the day of the show.

Go to variety-playhouse.com for details.

MAY 27

Get your tickets for July’s National Black Arts Festival by calling the Woodruff Arts Center at 404-7335000 or visiting nbaf.org. The events begin on July 14 with Body & Soul at the Rialto Center for the Arts and July 15 with a Brazil Fest Concert.

JUNE 01

JUNE 1-6

Modern Atlanta will present a week-long, citywide program called MA10 that will celebrate design in architecture, fashion, communication art and interior design from June 1-6.

The Alliance Hertz Stage will present “Reasons To Be Pretty” by Pinch n’ Ouch Theatre beginning on June 9. The show tackles the taboos and unspoken truths about contemporary American Life. It’s also a love story. Visit woodruffcentertickets.org for information. Tickets are $28.

JUNE 09

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PG 4 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

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LOCAL

LOCAL EVENTS

On Tap this Month EMAIL EVENTS TO ONTAP@INSITEATLANTA.COM

May 15: Various Private Gardens

THE ARTFUL GARDEN TOUR

The High hosts a unique exhibition this month. The Artful Garden Tour is a self-guided tour around Atlanta of six private gardens focusing on art and design. Highlights include a French garden with a fountain, a fenced herb and vegetable garden and even a private lake with a boathouse and pergola. There will be a spectacular array of art and artists in each of these beautiful scenes. The event lasts from 10am-5pm. Tickets are $20 through May 11 or $25 after.

May 19-20: Fox Theatre

DAVID COPPERFIELD

It seemed like there for a while, David Copperfield had literally disappeared. Gone were the public stunts like making the Statue of Liberty disappear of somehow landing super models. The David Blaine’s of the world rose to take his place. But there is only one David Copperfield. You can catch him and his magic act for two nights on the Fox Theatre. There will be three shows total. For specific times and ticket prices go to foxtheatre.org.

May 23: Atlantic Station

GEORGIA WALK NOW FOR AUTISM SPEAKS As the weather improves, so do the opportunities for charity in Atlanta. There is no end to the walks, runs and walk/runs this time of year. One not to miss is the The Georgia Walk Now For Autism Speaks. It is scheduled for May 23 at Atlantic Station. Registration begins at 8am for the event, but you can go online to walknowforautism.org/georgia for sign-ups and volunteer oppportunites. Help a good cause.

May 27: Piedmont Park

SCREEN ON THE GREEN

Atlanta is a special place in the summer, and it’s best to enjoy the outdoors. Yes, that even means if you’re watching a movie. Thus, Screen on the Green is for you.

The annual free event returns to Piedmont Park with “National Treasure” to kick of the slate of this year’s movies. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” will show on June 3 and “Dreamgirls” on June 10. Our favorite pick of the summer? “Jurassic Park” on June 24.

May 28-29: Piedmont Park

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL

It is time again for the country’s largest free jazz festival.

The Atlanta Jazz Fest returns (this time at Piedmont Park) with another lineup of jazz and blues singers sure to be worth a visit. The two-day event will feature singers like Marcus Miller, Kathleen Bertrand, Stanley Clarke and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Aveune. This is an event not to be missed. Visit atlantafestivals.com for more details.

May 28-30: Decatur Square

DECATUR ARTS FESTIVAL

Decatur is a town that lends itself to festivals. There’s the easy ride into the town square with MARTA, the flurry of shops and restaurants and even the people. The best of all those are on display in the Decatur Arts Festival on Memorial Day weekend. There will be several vendors, an artwalk and a performing stage with shows for the avid art enthusiast. For more information about the festival, go online to decaturartsalliance.org.

EVENTS HAPPENING FOR SMALL CHANGE IN ATLANTA

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

By Marci Miller

CONCERTS ON THE SQUARE

May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 7pm-9:30pm, Free Decatur Square, Downtown Decatur www.decaturdba.com

SWEET AUBURN SPRINGFEST 2010

Pack your picnic, bring your quilts and blankets and enjoy an evening of musical entertainment every Saturday night in May and September. Brought to you by the Decatur Business Association and sponsored by Wachovia Bank of Georgia.

Check website for full concert schedule.

FIESTA ATLANTA 2010

Sunday, May 2, 10am – 7:00pm, Free Centennial Olympic Park 265 Park Ave West N.W., Atlanta www.fiestaatlanta.com Atlanta’s premier and largest Hispanic outdoor festival. Fiesta Atlanta takes place every Cinco de Mayo weekend at Centennial Olympic Park and is the “main event” culminating the week-long celebration of Fiesta Atlanta week. Over 50,000 people are expected to attend this day-long celebration of Latino culture.

Featuring continuous live musical performances on two stages by national and local recording artists, sponsor displays.

TASTE OF UNDERGROUND ATLANTA May 6 and June 3, 11:30am-12:30pm, $3 donation or five canned goods Kenny’s Alley, Underground Atlanta 50 Upper Alabama Street, Atlanta www.undergound-atlanta.com

On the first Thursdays in May and June, visit Underground Atlanta during lunch time and enjoy eats from their restaurants, live entertainment, giveaways and special offers, all while being outdoors. The cost is a $3 donation or five canned goods which will be donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Taste of Underground Atlanta is a rain or shine event.

CONCERTS BY THE SPRINGS

May 9, 7pm-8:30pm, Free Heritage Green, Sandy Springs Entertainment Lawn 6110 Bluestone Road, Sandy Springs www.heritagesandysprings.org

Society

Now in its 14th year, this concert series is scheduled on Sunday evenings throughout the summer. This year kicks off on May 9, Mother’s Day, with Yacht Rock Revue, the popular 70s cover band.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to participate and enjoy the beautiful setting. Picnic baskets, coolers and blankets are welcomed. Pets and smoking are not allowed. Tables are available.

May 7 - 9, Noon-7pm, Free 145 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta www.sweetauburn.com

Now celebrating the 26th year of culture, heritage and the arts on Atlanta’s Historic Auburn Avenue, the Sweet Auburn SpringFest has become the largest African-American cultural festival in the Southeast. The festival features up to 10 Stages of continuous entertainment, food, cultural pavilions, kid’s zone and much more.

KIRKWOOD SPRING FLING & TOUR OF HOMES

Festival - Saturday, May 15, 10am-7pm, Free Tour of Homes - Saturday, May 15 & Sunday, May 16, Noon-6pm, $12 per person adv., $15 door Bessie Branham Park 2051 Delano Dr. & Norwood Ave. SE, Atlanta www.kirkwoodfling.com This annual event will feature a 5K run, open-air artist market, live music on the big stage, a tot trot and children’s area for the kids, and plenty of food and drink vendors. There will also be a Tour of Homes on May 15 & 16. The tour will focus on Kirkwood’s diverse collection of building styles.

EAST ATLANTA BEER FESTIVAL

May 22, 1pm-6pm, $30 advance, $40 at the gate East Atlanta Village, Brownwood Park www.eabfonline.com Sample over 130 craft beers from across the globe and visit shops and restaurants in East Atlanta Village.

Enjoy live local music on the festival’s main stage and enjoy a wide array of food.

All proceeds benefit community projects.

A 6oz. sampling glass will be provided at the entrance. Must be 21 to attend. Pets, backpacks/ bags, and children are not permitted.

ATLANTA ON A DIME! Receive updated events weekly. Sign up by e-mailing Subscriptions@AtlantaonaDime.com Enter on subject line: Sign Me Up INsite!

PG 5 � insiteatlanta.com � November 2009 PG 5 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

FILM

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE A Hilarious Chat With Rob Corddry, Clark Duke & Craig Robinson

BY MATT GOLDBERG

Y

OU’RE GOING TO SEE THE PHRASE “[laughter]” a lot during this interview because Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, and Craig Robinson are, unsurprisingly, hilarious. They’re all fantastic in Hot Tub Time Machine, and chances are that if you’re laughing at something in that movie, it’s because one of these guys delivered a joke.

I tried my best to get the tone of the interview right, but I’ll just put it this way: Corddry was cracking jokes left and right, Duke has a wit so fast it will make your head spin, and Robinson was delightfully deadpan.

Among the topics discussed was advertising on porn sites, previous versions of the script, what accent people from the future would talk with, and Craig’s band, Nasty Deliciously, performing in the film.

So how much did you guys ad-lib your lines, because Collette [Wolfe] mentioned good ones like shouting “Shia LaBeouf!” during the sex scene.

DUKE: You were just thinking about things that would get you hard, right?

CORDDRY: Yeah, whatever gets…

DUKE: “Werewolves!”

CORRDRY: Well, that scene was like I had to have an orgasm- we shot it for five or six hours- so you kind of dredge the depths, and apparently Shia LaBeouf was perhaps something I would have put in the movie…

One of the things that makes the film is work is the palpable chemistry between you guys. Can you talk about how that comes about on a small film where I’m assuming you don’t have a lot of rehearsal?

CORRDRY: I genuinely like these fellows. [To Duke] I like you, [to Craig Robinson] I like the other guy.

CRAIG ROBINSON [deadpan]: I have a name.

CORRDRY: I am so bad at names. It’s… Darryl?

ROBINSON: Craig.

CORDDRY: Right, right. Darryl is your character on…

ROBINSON: This happens every frickin’ time!

CORDDRY: Parks and Recreation. So sorry.

So Rob, how many times do we see your ass in the movie? I was counting four or five.

CORDDRY: That sounds about right. First of all, you’re welcome. It was something for the ladies. Get ladies in the seats.

Or for porn sites. It would’ve been great advertising!

DUKE: Gay porn sites.

CORRDRY: I was actually on a gay porn website.

It’s a website for guys who are into normal, hairy, not attractive men.

DUKE: Bears?

CORRDRY: Not quite bears. Just more than normal hair.

DUKE: I don’t know, I wouldn’t consider you a weirdly hairy guy. [Corrdry opens up his to expose his chest hair.] Yeah, that’s pretty hairy. I don’t want to look at it.

If you could change anything about your characters, what would it be and why?

DUKE: I would’ve made mine Native American.

CORRDRY: You know what bums me out? When you first see me, I’m drinking in my car in my garage and wearing a suit, which to me seems very not-Lou. The backstory, and it was actually referenced in one version, was that I was a derivatives trader– like a Boiler Room kind of asshole– who lost everything and that was one of the reasons I wanted to kill myself. That struck me as silly, so I’d probably go back and change that wardrobe.

PG 6 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

DUKE: I disagree. I think that’s probably the context clue you need to know what kind of miserable corporate lifestyle you’re living.

ROBINSON: I would’ve spent more time in the hot tub with Jessica Paré.

CORRDRY: Were you guys just chatting and she was topless?

ROBINSON: No, we were fucking the whole time.

[Laughter] No, no, no. But you know what happened during one of the takes? So, Jessica’s there and she’s wrapped up, the sound man is holding the boom mic and someone asked him something just as Jessica was taking her top off, and all I heard him say was, “Yes.” [Laughter] It was a delicate situation! You had to be respectful and professional, but his breath was literally taken away when I heard him.

If you guys were going back to the ‘80s and you could take one thing, what would you take with you?

ROBINSON: My Kindle.

DUKE: How would you put books on it in the ‘80s?

ROBINSON: I would take the books that I have now…

DUKE: Where would you find a USB port? [Laughter] I’d probably use it for profit. Maybe I’d take the Snuggie back.

CORRDRY: Oh my God, that’s a money-maker!

Craig, you give a couple of really amazing musical performances in this film. Can you talk about those and how long you prepared?

ROBINSON: Thank you. It was fun and my band is actually playing on the soundtrack. I was able to listen to them and prepare. It was just fun and, first off, I was a little nervous. Going up on stage and performing is one thing, but filming a performance is different because you’re milling about and then you’re peforming and then you’re milling about and then you’re performing. So as I warmed up, it got more and more fun and I think they captured some of the crazier moments. I loved it. I do comedy and music and I blend them together. My band is Nasty Delicious! Yeah, we love to get up and act the fools, so that was a good time.

Rob, [director] Steve Pink said you gave him a timetravel book.

CORDDRY: Yeah, I did. What the fuck was it? This American Life did a story on Ronald Mallett, who basically invented time travel. It’s actually possible.

The problem is that in his theory of time travel, you can only travel back to when you turned the machine on and it’s actually impossible to build a machine that big. His theory of time travel is sound, but it just can’t be physically done.

DUKE: Grant Morrison said that in The Invisibles, too. That was back in the ‘90s. It’s like as soon as we build it, people will come back from the future.

[In a 1940s American accent] “We’re here from the future!”

CORDDRY: Why would they talk like they were from the 40s? [Laughter] DUKE: Trends come and go! That would come back… “Great Scott! Come with me if you want to live!”

The critical response to Kick-Ass, is amazing. It officially premiered at SXSW. How’d that go?

DUKE: Awesome! That’s the home team right there. Everybody there already loves the movie, even though they haven’t seen it yet.

How do you think it will go over with the rest of the world?

DUKE: I’m not sure. I’m sure there will be some people protesting, but I don’t see how that movie’s not a huge success.

CORDDRY: I’m looking forward to seeing Kick-Ass, maybe more than Hot Tub. Seriously!

[Laughter] DUKE: I think it’s the best superhero movie, besides Dark Knight.

This film is decked out in the ‘80s. Was there anything that jumped out at you or any particular aspect that you were happy they included?

CORDDRY: I would see this sea of background extras dressed in ‘80s gear and at times I could almost smell Love’s Baby Soft. You remember that perfume?

It smelled like baby powder, basically. It defined my junior high experience. It gives me an erection just smelling baby powder. Yeah, I said it: Baby powder!

ROBINSON: Rob always has an erection.

CORDDRY: That’s true. I’ve got a full-on hard-on right now. It’s the only way I deliver an interview.

Clark, did you feel bad for your character? He gets beat up on a lot in the film.

DUKE: A little bit, but it’s funny that Corddry hates me because he’s my father. That wasn’t originally in the script, but it changed the plot of

I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING KICK-ASS, MAYBE MORE THAN HOT TUB. SERIOUSLY! [LAUGHTER] – ROB CORDDRY

the whole movie. He’s kind of the little brother character, and people pick on him. Hopefully you don’t feel too sorry for him.

CORDDRY: You don’t feel sorry for him because he holds his own.

DUKE: He’s also the only character who’s not really stupid.

There were so many changes to the script. Do you think the movie would be as funny as it is now had those changes not been made?

CORDDRY: The first version I read was completely retarded.

DUKE: It was diagnosed by a doctor.

CORDDRY: It originally had my character, Lou, renting a DeLorean and getting pissed when there’s no Flux Capacitor in it. Lou was that stupid! With this version, there’s just enough heart in it that the characters play at the top of their own intelligence, whereas before it was pretty crazy.

What movies do you guys have coming up?

CORDDRY: I’ve got a show called Children’s Hospital that’s going to be on Adult Swim in July. Guest starring Clark Duke, Henry Winkler, Megan Mulally, and a lot of other great people. So there’s that. What else you got? I’ll do it.

Whenever you make an appearance on The Daily Show, people just go out of their minds. How do those come about?

CORDDRY: I might do one next week because I’ll be in New York.

DUKE: Promoting the movie?

CORDDRY: Well, I won’t actually be on the show (as a guest) because they’re a little weird about that.

I might be on… there’s this guy I interviewed five or six years ago called Bo Dietl. He’s a security expert and he had just had 10 guns stolen from him, so I’m going back to interview him.

DUKE: Doesn’t he know that you’re an actor at this point?

CORDDRY: He’s an idiot. [Laughter] Most of the people who allow themselves to be there are.

ROBINSON: I’m starring in the New Adventures of Voltron. I play Voltron.

All five pieces?

ROBINSON: It was five, but the way they’re doing it is I break into five pieces.

DUKE: Emotionally.

ROBINSON: Yes, because Voltron was Anger, Fear, Humor, and the other two. I’m also in Shrek 4. I play a female ogre named Cookie. I’m also Cleveland’s father on The Cleveland Show, and The Office, and Father of Invention with Kevin Spacey.

DUKE: And I’m in Kick-Ass.

Under The Lights

ON SALE NOW!

New Theatrical Performances MARY POPPINS

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM May 5-9

www.broadwayacrossamerica.com

Box Office 404.264.0020 www.shakeatthelake.com

Now thru May 16 Fox Theatre Ticketmaster 800.982.2787

Photo by Joan Marcus

MARY POPPINS is a classic, colorful musical that encourages people to remain hopeful and find the magic in everyday life. It is the story of the Banks family who live in a big house in London where things are not going well for the family. The children, Jane and Michael, are out of control and are in need of a new nanny. When a mysterious young woman named Mary Poppins appears at their doorstep, the family finds that she's the answer to their prayers, but in the most peculiar way. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures.

The play combines the stories of P.L. Travers and the award winning film to create this perfectly magical musical.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT

Now Through May 23 The Balzer Theatre at Herren’s Box Office 678.528.1500 www.TheatricalOutfit.org

BLUES IN THE NIGHT is a Tony-nominated Broadway musical set in a seedy 1930’s Chicago hotel. It is a scorching compilation of fullout blues songs interwoven with stories of life and love through the unrivalled tunes Photo by Chris Bartelski and lyrics of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and many more. Following the lives of three colorfully characterized women and a saloon singer, the musical selections of Blues in the Night "celebrate a great period and style of American music and explore the influences and style of the jazz idiom as they grew from blues music" says creator Sheldon Epps. This production is directed by Patdro Harris; Musical Director JMichael.

Shake at the Lake Piedmont Park

There's chaos in the forest. The Fairy King and Queen are emersed in a battle of wits over a changeling boy.

Four young lovers run amok, chasing after one another. Throw in a group of Photo by Bill DeLoach local yokels rehearsing a play and the mischevious antics of the Fairy King's sidekick Puck, and you have the makings of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Each performance is presented under the stars at Piedmont Park's Lake Clara Meer. As in years past, each performance is free, but tickets are required.

Tickets are distributed beginning at 10:00 a.m. the morning of each performance at the Piedmont Park Visitor's Center as well as at the Georgia Shakespeare Box Office at the Conant Performing Arts Center on the campus of Oglethorpe University. All performances at 7:30 p.m.

AVENUE Q

May 18-23 Cobb Energy Centre Ticketmaster 800.982.2787

The Broadway Musical

Tony Award Winner! ®

BEST MUSICAL

May 18-23

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Tickets start at just $15! �������������������������������������������������������� Groups 15+:404.881.2000

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www.broadwayacrossamerica.com

photo courtesy of AVENUE Q National Tour 2009

AVENUE Q is the smash-hit Broadway musical about real life in New York City as told by a cast of people and puppets through a hilariously irreverent, Tony-winning book and score. Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a "purpose." Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that "the real world" isn't so bad, after all!

FRE PIEDME IN O PARK!NT

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BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

DIRECTED BY JOHN DILLON

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SHAKEATTHELAKE.COM THE KENDEDA FUND

THE CHARLES LORIDANS FOUNDATION

PG 7 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

Under The Lights

ON SALE NOW!

New Theatrical Performances MARY POPPINS

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM May 5-9

www.broadwayacrossamerica.com

Box Office 404.264.0020 www.shakeatthelake.com

Now thru May 16 Fox Theatre Ticketmaster 800.982.2787

Photo by Joan Marcus

MARY POPPINS is a classic, colorful musical that encourages people to remain hopeful and find the magic in everyday life. It is the story of the Banks family who live in a big house in London where things are not going well for the family. The children, Jane and Michael, are out of control and are in need of a new nanny. When a mysterious young woman named Mary Poppins appears at their doorstep, the family finds that she's the answer to their prayers, but in the most peculiar way. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures.

The play combines the stories of P.L. Travers and the award winning film to create this perfectly magical musical.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT

Now Through May 23 The Balzer Theatre at Herren’s Box Office 678.528.1500 www.TheatricalOutfit.org

BLUES IN THE NIGHT is a Tony-nominated Broadway musical set in a seedy 1930’s Chicago hotel. It is a scorching compilation of fullout blues songs interwoven with stories of life and love through the unrivalled tunes Photo by Chris Bartelski and lyrics of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and many more. Following the lives of three colorfully characterized women and a saloon singer, the musical selections of Blues in the Night "celebrate a great period and style of American music and explore the influences and style of the jazz idiom as they grew from blues music" says creator Sheldon Epps. This production is directed by Patdro Harris; Musical Director JMichael.

Shake at the Lake Piedmont Park

There's chaos in the forest. The Fairy King and Queen are emersed in a battle of wits over a changeling boy.

Four young lovers run amok, chasing after one another. Throw in a group of Photo by Bill DeLoach local yokels rehearsing a play and the mischevious antics of the Fairy King's sidekick Puck, and you have the makings of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Each performance is presented under the stars at Piedmont Park's Lake Clara Meer. As in years past, each performance is free, but tickets are required.

Tickets are distributed beginning at 10:00 a.m. the morning of each performance at the Piedmont Park Visitor's Center as well as at the Georgia Shakespeare Box Office at the Conant Performing Arts Center on the campus of Oglethorpe University. All performances at 7:30 p.m.

AVENUE Q

May 18-23 Cobb Energy Centre Ticketmaster 800.982.2787

The Broadway Musical

Tony Award Winner! ®

BEST MUSICAL

May 18-23

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Tickets start at just $15! �������������������������������������������������������� Groups 15+:404.881.2000

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www.broadwayacrossamerica.com

photo courtesy of AVENUE Q National Tour 2009

AVENUE Q is the smash-hit Broadway musical about real life in New York City as told by a cast of people and puppets through a hilariously irreverent, Tony-winning book and score. Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a "purpose." Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that "the real world" isn't so bad, after all!

FRE PIEDME IN O PARK!NT

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BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

DIRECTED BY JOHN DILLON

PRESENTED BY

404.264.0020

SHAKEATTHELAKE.COM THE KENDEDA FUND

THE CHARLES LORIDANS FOUNDATION

PG 7 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

Panchos

Pure Taqueria

300 N. Highland Ave. Inman Park 404.522.7873 www.puretaqueria.com

The ever popular Alpharetta establishment opened a new location late last year in Inman Park. Pure Taqueria instantly became a hit here with their strong drinks, solid menu and exciting atmosphere.

As expected, Pure offers a wide assortment of great margaritas. Margarita Texas is there signature and served with a “floater” of gran gala orange liquor. The Margarita Sedgwick is a Texas “double” with sauza floater. Michele Margarita is their Sedgwick with a Don Eduardo anejo floater. The Prickly Pear Margarita is made from Pure’s own Prickly Pear Margarita mix and served with silver tequila, triple sec, and lime. Pure Taqueria offers several other fruit based margaritas: peach, strawberry, agave, mango, and pomegranate. Two world collide in their Mexico City Manhattan which is made using Cielo enejo tequila, sweet vermouth, lime & cherry garnish.

Pure is celebrating Cinco de May early. Come out Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2 as there will be live music from 1 - 5pm and drink specials all day. Pure Taqueria has a large covered patio that is popular on hot summer nights.

AGAVE RESTAURANT

Mexican Restaurant & Cantina

2641 Buford Hwy. 404.325.2898 www.panchomexican.com Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant has become a landmark to many residents of Atlanta. Their long history of serving great Mexican dishes and “Monster” margaritas has touched many that live here. This time of year people head to Pancho’s to grab a table under the large oak tree on their back patio. More come to celebrate Cinco de Mayo as Pancho’s offers one of the largest celebrations in the city. Whatever the reason, you can be sure that their margaritas will be enjoyed.

An Eclectic Southwestern Eatery �������������������������

agave

Dinner Nightly at 5PM Cabbagetown / Grant Park 242 Boulevard SE 30312 ���������������������������������� Reservations Always Welcomed

Pancho’s margaritas are made using the finest ingredients and top shelf tequilas. Popular brand names offered include: Centanerio, Don Julio, Don Eduardo, 1800, Jose Cuervo, Patron, Herradura and Monte Alban. The margaritas can be made frozen or on the rocks. They are served in four basic styles: Regular, Flavored, Gold and Texas. They can be ordered by the glass, monster glass or by the pitcher.

Pancho’s does a brick lunch business and has a wide selction of dinner entrees with Combination Dinners for just $9.95. One of the house specialties is the Filet Mignon Medallions.

It is served using two filets wrapped in bacon then topped with a mushroom sauce. Yum!

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RAGING

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ENJOY ONE OF OUR 16 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP OR MARGARITAS ON OUR HUGE GARDEN PATIO �������������� ragingburrito.com ���404-377-3311

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Mon: $3 Margaritas Tues: $2 Tecate Wed: $3 Modelo Especial Thur: $4 1800 Margaritas Fri: LIVE Music 7-10pm Sun: $3 Sangria

“Serving Emory / Decatur Since 1984” Located N. Decatur Plaza | 404-634-1128 | FREE WiFi PG 9 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

FILM

YOU DON’T KNOW JACK The Legendary Al Pacino, On Playing “Dr. Death”

BY B. LOVE

I

T’S BEEN 13 YEARS SINCE I LAST sat down with Al Pacino, the legendary actor who first made a name for himself with his role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic, The Godfather.

Back then I was a long haired punk two years out of college, working for a fledgling entertainment newspaper, just beginning to dip my toes in the vast ocean of A-list celebrity interviews.

And Pacino? He may have been a diminutive 5’7”, but to an avid film fan like me the man was a giant– a master thespian who’d earned Oscars and Tonys, played two of the most iconic mob bosses of all time (Corleone and Scarface’s Tony Montana), and influenced every edgy actor who had come along in the 25 years since his breakthrough. Pacino, who was promoting his larger-than-life turn in The Devil’s Advocate, did not disappoint, delivering one of the most memorable press conferences of my career.

These days I’m practically a grizzled veteran in an industry increasingly dominated by young, hungry bloggers. And Pacino? Some would argue that his last truly great performance came in 2003, when he won an Best Actor Emmy for his role as Roy Cohn in HBO’s Angels In America. Now he’s returning to the

resurgent cable network, appearing opposite John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Brenda Vaccaro in You Don’t Know Jack, in which Pacino stars as Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

The 70-year-old New York native recently sat down with reporters to discuss his latest role, his thoughts on the man known as Dr. Death, and returning to TV for the first time in seven years.

Did you know a lot about Dr. Kevorkian before you played him?

I was familiar, like pretty much everybody was who was around what was going on. I had seen that 60 Minutes episode when Kevorkian was on television.

What was your opinion of him?

My opinion is that, after I got to know Jack in the story, I reserved my opinion about it. I don’t ever give my opinion. Opinions I have about anything are in my personal life.

Given the director and the pedigree of the project, does it feel any different at all knowing that it’s an HBO film, or at this point, is the line blurred?

It’s HBO, and HBO is television. With television, you have to do a lot, in a short

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MY OPINION IS THAT, AFTER I GOT TO KNOW JACK IN THE STORY, I RESERVED MY OPINION ABOUT IT. I DON’T EVER GIVE MY OPINION. OPINIONS I HAVE ABOUT ANYTHING ARE IN MY PERSONAL LIFE.

Surgi-Center License 044-287

period of time. That’s the only difference.

Otherwise, it’s the same.

the past. With Dog Day Afternoon, I didn’t feel like I wanted to know that guy for the role and my interpretation. If you have the opportunity to meet someone, as an actor, it’s just great fodder for you. It’s wonderful source stuff that we die for. But, I didn’t take advantage of it, and I don’t know why I didn’t.

Do you feel that this is the proper title for a movie about Dr. Death? Does it seem comedic sounding at all?

Well, I don’t think a lot of people can really say that they know Jack Kevorkian, especially when you get his read on things and get to know more about him. Of course, if you’re doing a movie about him, you’re apt to go further into it to find out. And, you really don’t know Jack. When you see the image that was portrayed of Jack Kevorkian during this time, you get a sense of someone quite different than the personality that I got to know. Not that I got to know him personally, mind you, but just the research and work I did, in order to get closer to who I could interpret. I think the title is apt because you don’t know this guy. And, hopefully, in the movie, you still don’t.

Dr. Kevorkian’s zealotry intensified over time, as he got closer to his court case and eventually having to go to prison.

How did you play that and what that was that like for you internally, as his mania grew?

The loss of two of the close people in his life — his closest sister Margo, played by Brenda Vaccaro, and then Janet Good, who Susan Sarandon plays — set off something in him that led to this desperation inside and a need to go further with what he wanted to do, and an abandon took over. Those are the kinds of things that were percolating in my head somewhere.

What was your source material for this performance? Did you meet up with Dr. Kevorkian?

I didn’t meet Jack. I hope I will, in the future.

Sometimes, for some reason, I don’t take advantage of that, and sometimes I do. With Jack, because I thought the script was so well written, it was complete in its portrait. It felt as though there was room, and I had so much research.

With the media the way it is, there’s so many things you can see and study. You can read his books and get close to him, in that fashion.

Also, Jack was about 10 years older because he had gotten out of prison. We don’t do him, at that age. We cover when he’s younger. I just felt this instinctively. Barry Levinson met him and got a great deal out of it, and there were times when I wish I would have, but in the end, I felt close to him, in another kind of way. There are characters you do it with and it works, and there’s some characters you just back away from doing. I don’t know why. For instance, with Frank Serpico, I studied and went with Serpico everywhere. I got to know him, to go back into

Is part of the appeal of doing a TV movie the fact that it doesn’t take as long as a feature film?

There are pros and cons in that, yeah. There’s something about going fast that catches you up, and sometimes it creates certain spontaneity. But, you’re going fast with highly tuned people who are there and are with it, and they’re not going so fast that they’re negligent. It’s just the nature of the beast. You have to do it because it’s all about how much money there is to do these things. But I’ve done it before. I did another HBO thing and felt the same way. It’s just that there were so many scenes in this. At one point, we did 16 scenes in two days, and that is a lot of stuff in two days. At the same time, it was exciting because that lent an energy to the thing because you’re in the hands of Barry Levinson. You’re in the hands of a consummate filmmaker, so you know he’s operating. And, they used a lot of cameras, which is also helpful. If I had it to do over again, I would say, “Yeah, sure.”

I would do it. You do get very tired sometimes, when you’re sitting around for hours in movies.

You get depleted. Here, that didn’t happen.

FOOD

FOOD

Taste ofIRON the MonthTapas THE CHEF

THE IRON CHEF

BY B. LOVE

BY B. LOVE

Eclipse di Luna How Bobby Flay Went From Underachiever 764 Miami Circle 404.846.0449 4505 Ashford Dunwoody 678.205.5862 To World Class Culinary Genius www.eclipsediluna.com

I

F YOU’RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH Bobby Flay, chances are you’ve either been hiding out in a cave somewhere or have just awoken from a decade-long coma.

As chefs go, the guy has become downright ubiquitous, appearing in a regular segment on the CBS Easrly Show; authoring over a half-dozen bestselling cookbooks; winning numerous awards from the Emmys and the James Beard Foundation; Upon opening in 1997, Eclipse di Luna set the opening nearly a dozen restaurants in New York, trend in Tapas style restaurants in Atlanta.

New andTapas the Bahamas; and hostto choose from, WithJersey, over Las twoVegas dozen ing seven different shows on the Food Network there is something to please any taste. The (not to mention regularly Iron Chef$3 mostlyonbetween Tapas is pricedappearing affordable, America andtojudging The Next Foodsampling.

Network encourage multiple and $5.50, They offer several that are cheese based.

Star).

Espanoles, tasting These Quesos He alsoinclude makes the regular appearances with athe Metcheeses with assorted accompaniof Spanish ropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show, where The celebrity Tortilla Espanola Spanish style ments. he and fellow chefs suchisasaPaula Deen omelet with potatoes, wild mushrooms & and MarioinBatali entertain and inform garlic cream.audiences And the onions a roasted while hopefully imbuing them with passion Cabra which Pimientos Rellenos con Queso detheir for We recently caught up with the increasgoat cheese tomato sauce in crispy is afood. herbed ingly busypeppers.

New YorkEclipse native tofeatures talk about love twohischicken piquillo Parilla, a chicken Tapas the as Pollo a laand of food,including his evolution a chef his goals for the breast grilled and marinated with red pepper future. salad and avocado. The Pollo al Ajillo is a in its ownabout broth.your On the braised What aregarlic your chicken earliest memories beef side, The Brocheta de Bistee is a red wine childhood connection with food? marinated skirt steak skewered with chimichurri. Also try the Bocadillos de Carne is a shredded beef sandwich with sweet & sour onions. There are several seafood dishes to choose from including the Gambas al Ajillo which is sautéed shrimp & garlic with calabes pepper. For mussels fans, try the Mejillones en Salsa Roja served in a spicy tomato broth with plum tomatoes.

Eclipse di Luna has won several awards including “Best Appetizers”, “Atlanta’s Top 100 Restaurants” and “Best Tapas”.

Mezza

2751 Lavista Rd. Decatur, GA 30033 404.633.8833 www.mezzabistro.com

Mezza...A Lebanese Bistro and Dar offers one of the most characteristic elements of Lebanese

cuisine. Much like tapas, Mezza is an array of small hot and cold appetizers. At Mezza you will find the most authentic homemade Lebanese tapas, great wines and enjoy belly dancing and hookahs in their newly expanded Dar (lounge) on weekends.

I remember a lot offrom deviled eggs campus, and Emory Located justmaking a few miles chocolate pudding, andaI couldn’t believe how, if neighborhood favorite.

Mezza has become theit largest tapas Thekept restaurant you stirringoffers the pot, just gotLebanese thicker and variety menu inThat thewas city.myThe has a large thicker. firstmenu introduction to how food some of My which arecooked vegan, of vegetarian changes texturedishes, when you cook. mom a large variety of meat, chicken in get addition to food ontothe table, but she wasn’t a gourmet and seafood offerings. There are 20 vegetarian chef or anything. lot of porkfavorites: chops withhumincludingI ate thea standard mezza applesauce and lamb chops with mint buteggthat mus, falafel, baba ghannouge, andjelly, fried was the extent of it.

Non-vegetarian dishes range from plant. cilantro fish, beef stuffed grape leaves, kebobs and read lemon shrimp.

I’ve about your notorious lack of direction garnered Overschool: the years Mezza in high How did your has parents respondgreat to reviews and awards.

In recent years Mezza has your decision to drop out?

Bestschool Mediterranean / Middle been It wasawarded obvious that was not gonna be my Eastern Restaurant in various publications. strong suit, so I think they understood.

After I Mezza also ranks as the top Lebanese dropped out, my dad was like, “You’re not gonna Restaurant in Zagat's Survey and Atlanta just hang out with your friends: Get a job.” A few Magazine Top 100. days later he needed somebody to replace the busboy at Joe Allen Restaurant [in which he was co-owner] for two weeks, so I did that. When he 550 Amsterdam Ave.me404.875.4494 came back, the chef asked if I wanted to work www.loca-luna.com in the kitchen. I said sure, not because I was looking forward to it, but just because I had nothing better to do that day.

Loca Luna

Was there any rebelliousness on your part about working at your dad’s business?

PLEASE SEE FLAY ON PAGE 27

How Bobby Flay Went From Underachiever To World Class Culinary Genius

I

F YOU’RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH Bobby Flay, chances are you’ve either been hiding out in a cave somewhere or have just awoken from a decade-long coma.

As chefs go, the guy has become downright ubiquitous, appearing in a regular segment on the CBS Easrly Show; authoring over a half-dozen bestselling cookbooks; winning numerous awards from the Emmys and the James Beard Foundation; opening nearly a dozen restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Las Vegas and the Bahamas; and hosting seven different shows on the Food Network (not to mention appearing regularly on Iron Chef America and judging The Next Food Network Star).

He also makes regular appearances with the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show, where he and fellow celebrity chefs such as Paula Deen and Mario Batali entertain and inform audiences while hopefully imbuing them with their passion for food. We recently caught up with the increasingly busy New York native to talk about his love of food, his evolution as a chef and his goals for the future.

What are your earliest memories about your childhood connection with food?

I remember making a lot of deviled eggs and chocolate pudding, and I couldn’t believe how, if you kept stirring the pot, it just got thicker and thicker. That was my first introduction to how food changes texture when you cook. My mom cooked to get food on the table, but she wasn’t a gourmet chef or anything. I ate a lot of pork chops with applesauce and lamb chops with mint jelly, but that was the extent of it.

I’ve read about your notorious lack of direction in high school: How did your parents respond to your decision to drop out?

It was obvious that school was not gonna be my strong suit, so I think they understood. After I dropped out, my dad was like, “You’re not gonna just hang out with your friends: Get a job.” A few days later he needed somebody to replace the busboy at Joe Allen Restaurant [in which he was co-owner] for two weeks, so I did that. When he came back, the chef asked me if I wanted to work in the kitchen. I said sure, not because I was looking forward to it, but just because I had nothing better to do that day.

Was there any rebelliousness on your part about working at your dad’s business?

PLEASE SEE FLAY ON PAGE 27

Samba. Salsa. Merengue. They have it all at Loca Luna, where you'll find live Latin music nightly and great food. Sample savory dishes from Spain, South America and the Caribbean.

Their wide range of tapas are priced mainly between $5 - $7. Here you will find delicious selections like: Falda de Bistec, carne asada steak skewers; Ceviche De Camarones, Ecuadorian shrimp; Albondigas, lamb meatballs; Vodka Rigatoni, rigatoni with vodka crema sauce and Asparagus Gallegos; grilled jumbo asparagus, garlic and lemon alioli.

The happening bar is open till 2:30am on weekends with a wide selection of exotic cocktails, top shelf liquor and many wines to complement a good meal or a night of dancing.

Make sure to try their world famous Mojito while you’re here, it has been voted best in Atlanta. Loca Luna has also been voted best late night venue, patio, appetizers and girls night out, among others, by both local and national publications. They feature live Latin music every night on their large dance floor and the hottest DJ’s spin late night on Fridays and Saturdays. There is plenty of free parking and free valet available.

Atlanta’s Best Tapas Restaurant

OPEN FOR LUNCH! 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Rd. 678.205.5862 764 Miami Circle 404.846.0449 www.eclipsediluna.com

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PG 11 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

COMEDY

RACIAL PROFILING

INsite’s up-close-and-personal meeting with controversial comedian Carlos Mencia

BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

W

HEN YOU HAVE THE TEA Party, Arizona immigration laws, Henry Louis Gates and comedian Carlos Mencia in the spotlight, it’s easy to see why race still starts friction. But at least with the latter, his finger pointing at different nationalities is meant to spark riotous laughter and not, well, riots.

A stand-up comedian of Honduran ancestry, Mencia has never minced words on stage, television shows (Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia), or the big screen (the recent Our Family Wedding). Hell, many are still pissed with the 42-year-old for saying the most important lesson learned from Hurricane Katrina was that “black people can’t swim.” Umm, not funny, Carlos.

But, as we recently found out during a discussion about his career, his humble start and his father killing a goat in front of him, he tells it like he sees it in private, too.

On his relationship with directors…

I surrendered myself to the process. I left my ego at the door. When I did The Heartbreak Kid, that was comic relief. All of my scenes were intended to get a laugh. That was easy to do… Movies are a director’s medium. They’re not our medium. We do the best we can, but in the end, they’re the ones that say, “Don’t do it like that. Do it like this.

This is what I want to say.”

On playing more subdued characters in his acting career…

It’s cool, man. It’s a challenge. At 23 years [in the business], you get pretty good at it. You get pretty good at figuring out the mechanics of structure what you want to do.

Whenever a topic comes up, I know exactly what to do with it. This was just a challenge of a different way and it was fun and interactive. It’s just a great experience. With movies, they’re so big. And everything that comes with them, the accolades and the big screen and all of that [is nice]. But the work itself is not always fun.

On Hispanic traditions…

I remember I was a kid and my dad brought a goat home. We thought it was a pet, bro. We named it Charlie and we played with that thing. On Saturday, my dad gets up on a day like today and says, “Hey, come here.” He pulls out a 22 [gun] and shoots it in the forehead. My uncle stabs it in the throat to bleed it out. And we’re like, “What the fuck you do to Charlie?!” We ate him later. I was crying and eating at the same time. I’ll never forget it. I was literally crying and saying, “Can I have some more salsa?” That’s how we grew up. If you’ve never been to this country, you have an opportunity that a lot of Americans that have been here don’t have and that is to kind of re-boot your “computer” and eliminate programs you don’t like.

I get to go, “You know what? I don’t like that tradition. I’m not going to do it.” But some kinda sneak in.

On being an immigrant…

I remember my parents saying, “We came to this country so you could educate yourself, so you could be somebody.” And they never changed the channel from fucking Univision and wondered why I couldn’t spell.

[They’d ask] “Why do you say seened it?” [I’d PG 12 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

respond] “Maybe if you turned on the TV to something different than “Maria” everyday [I could learn].” People leave other countries because they don’t afford them what they want in life. But they come here and, all of a sudden, they want to keep all of that stuff that they left in the first place because [the new stuff ] isn’t what they wanted. It’s always a struggle to maintain your identity, but retain enough to keep your parents and grandparents proud. That’s a part of all human nature. We all want to be better, but we still have that DNA imprint of who your people are.

On his early years…

What happened was I took this aptitude test. I was taking advanced classes when I was going to grade school. I got skipped, like, three grades. I was going to literally go from being in the sixth grade to the 10th grade. My parents were, like, ‘Nah, that’s not going to happen.’ So, they sent me to Honduras for three years to kinda learn how to milk cows, burn forests, plant corn and all that type of stuff. I did that for three years and, when I came back, I just fell back in to 10th grade. I hate my parents for that and I love them for it. It was the greatest time of my life, but there were some things I needed.

Like spell check is my unbelievable friend!

I know what the words mean, [but] I don’t know how to spell’em. Not all of them. But those words that you learn between seventh and ninth grade skipped me because I didn’t go through those processes of going through those classes. Little things like that. I get picked on on the internet a lot for not using spell check. Whatever.

FILM FILM

TRUMP Movie Reviews CARD THE BACK-UP PLAN (PG-13) ★✩✩✩✩ Release Date: April 23

Jennifer Lopez’s comeback attempt at romantic comedy is neither romantic nor comedic. It’s not “so bad it’s good,” it’s just bad; probably one of the worst movies of the year. Don’t see it. Don’t even watch it when it’s on Lifetime at midnight two years from now and your only other viewing option is an infomercial about penis enlargement.

The film stars Lopez as Zoe, a pet store owner who gets artificially inseminated because she hasn’t found true love yet and her eggs are about to expire. Then, upon getting a taxi outside the clinic, she meets organic cheese vendor Stan (played with BY LOVE by Alex O’Loughlin). O’Loughlin, zeroB.charisma as an actor, has OF starred in two failed shows on S ONE AMERICA’S MOST CBS andsuccessful is now in and this high film profile produced

by CBS. businessCBS seems set on force-feeding him to audiences men, Donald Trump was well known untilbefore he becomes famous.

At thisMark point,Burnett the best long Survivor producer thing that be said aboutApprentice. him is that he tapped himcan to star in The Butlooks good with his shirt that off. So pregnant, there’s no denying theZoe’s reality show Stan’s interested in dating her and their relationship turned Trump from a cartoonish curiosity progresses in a completely unrealistic into a bona fide phenomenon, with his manner. signaAftercatchphrase– two dates more chaotic than anything that ture “You’re Fired!”– inextricaever happened on I Love Lucy, she’s asking him bly entering the pop culture lexicon. toAlthough be fatherThe figure to her embryo. chump Apprentice initiallyThe flounsays yes, then no, then yes, then no, then yes. The dered a bit in the ratings, Burnett and Trump filmmakers try any and every attempt at dumb stumbled upon a winning formula by recruithumor and fail miserably every time. There’s a dog ing second- and third-tier actors, athletes, on wheels that gets silly reaction shots, a sickening models and musicians for a celebrity edition live-birth scene involving a kiddie pool and feces, ofand theeven show.

Now in its third incarnation, a conga line that falls down. It’s all just The Celebrity Apprentice disparate awful.

I once loved Lopez intosses Out Of Sight. After stars such as rocker Bret Michaels, this movie, I just wished SHE were outwrestler of sight.

Goldberg, baseball legend Darryl Strawberry, –Benjamin Carr former governor Ron Blagojevich and Sharon Osbourne together for a variety of teamDEATHexercises AT A and FUNERAL building challenges(R) designed to test their business mettle. ★★✩✩✩ Release Date: April 16 “The Donald,” as the crazy-coiffed real It’s an magnate interestingifdynamic: Someone dies, yetheld we’re estate often known, recently supposed to laugh.

Of course, the premise court with reporters to discuss the show’s has worked in comedy before –Kingdom Come still current season. knocks’em dead during BET reruns- but it never really shows much life here. And that’s the truly Can you tell us a little bit about the selecsad part, seeing as how comedic legends Chris tion process?

Rock and Martin Lawrence play brothers who’ve It’s very interesting, because so many come together to bury their father. Where you’d celebrities want to on the show after the expect Lawrence andbeRock to bounce impromptu success Westick to funnies ofoffthe oneprevious another, two the seasons. two mostly wanted some athletes, some actors, some tend the script.

(That’s odd, because most funerals models and some wrestlers, so I would say Neil to run off the program a bit.) But director probably six or seven people per spot we LaBute (Lakeview Terrace) is determined to make were turning down.with The more hardest is that the day memorable sillything subplots than we really have some good people that want his camera knows what to do with. A bumbling tocousin go on (Tracy very badly.

But Ihas guess we’llskin Morgan) thismaybe irritating save for theboyfriend next show, because it looks rash.them Another’s (James Marsden) has like that’s going to happen. an unusual reaction to what he thinks is valium.

A grumpy uncle (Danny Glover) has some serious How is issues. this season goingguy to be different than bowel And a petite (Peter Dinklage) has past seasons? a pretty big family secret he waits ‘til the homegoing when have a like success we’ve toWell, unveil.

If ityou all sounds a lot,like heaven knows had, you don’t like to do too many changes. it is. So many little stories, so little development, What wenodolaughs. have Had is a Marsden’s different tone.

The drugcast little to ridiculous, has been sideshow very interesting: They’ve been earlier, very induced been buried a few scenes tough there’s alsoheartbeat. a lot of Deathand mayvery havenasty, shownbut a feint comedic fun respect to what Butand as ithumor stands, with we regretfully must say happens, that we’ve which I don’ttime think we had in the last one. had a better at actual funerals.

With Joan [Rivers] and with Piers [Morgan], –DeMarco Williams it was really nasty people really hating each other. These people hate each other, but it’s also funny.

I think that the biggest EXIT THROUGH THEmight GIFTbeSHOP (R) differentiation in terms of the three casts. ★★★★★ Release Date: April 16 Calling documentary lovers!

Heck, Can youallusually tell right off the bateven whononis documentary fansand should going to do well whowatch isn’t?these 87 minutes ofThat’s absolutely storytelling. draw of alwaysexcellent the most interestingThe quesan elusive to mention art of form makes tion to me (not because I’d likeillegal) to think myself the gift shopBut more thanI’llsimply asEXIT beingthrough okay with people. often say, a unique unfolding, an underground “This one is goingbut to the be astory star,of” and then he world told by the people and inspired by one bona turns out to be a dud. You never really know. fidefeel wannabe (who may or may not have been used You like you’ve known these celebrities

intentionally for comic relief). Thierry Guetta, a presumably insane man obsessed with filming, sets out to make a movie about street artists.

He documents their lives, driven by the ultimate quest to find the infamous Banksy. For six years, he accumulates an entire roomful of unwatched tapes and an increasing trail of doubtful artists, his film remaining locked in his intentions. The journey is severely entertaining, tapping into a mysterious culture illustrated by vibrant color, creative pop art, iconic design, celebrities, art shows and, of course, painted elephants. Luckily, Guetta did find Banksy, who redirected the project towards a brilliant and hilariously candid story. I can’t say that I have ever before been intrigued by through reading them so many graffiti, but I also about can’t help butfor admit that I love years, but a lot of times somebody you it, evidence enough of my correctedthat ignorance don’t thinkrecommend of so highlythis turns out to bepiece a star. to highly incredible of You just don’t know what will happen with entertainment. pressure and the heat of battle. –Jenni Wiliams

The Donald Waxes Rhapsodic On The Celebrity Apprentice, “You’re Fired!” & Fixing NBC

A

What does a celebrity have to do to really FORMOSA BETRAYED set themselves apart and show(R) that they’re in it to win it?Release Date: Feb. 26 ★★★✩✩ I can tell you from Seasons andlies 2 and There’s a kernel of a great idea1that buried from the regular Apprentice, people really somewhere beneath the flaws of this tepid want to win.

Every once in a while you’ll political thriller.

Unfortunately, first-time have a quitter, it doesn’t happen often. to director Adambut Kane never quite manages Ibuild thinkup theenough reason dynamic they do itheat is the level to makeofthe intensity theypop. feel for theirare, charity.

Unlike damn thing There however, some the regularback-stories Apprentice,involved, where somebody intriguing both on- and works for me for a pretty good salary forTiao a off-screen.

Writer/producer/co-star Will year, with this one the money goes to char(a Fulbright scholar who went into international ity.

Last year raised millions politics beforeweembarking upon ofa dollars. career in Everybody has aindependently charity that they love; some entertainment) raised millions are foundations they’ve set up themselves of dollars from private investors to get the years advance of the show.

So I think they movieinmade, and the work was clearly a labor of really fight more intense because it’s afollows charlove. Inspired by actual events, the story ity for. (James Van Der Beek) FBIthey’re agent fighting Jake Kelly’s investigation of the murder of a TaiwaneseWhat are your favorite to watch American professor on challenges U.S. soil. When the the celebrities killers flee to tackle? the Asian island of Taiwan– Well, was we do have aknown lot of different challengwhich formerly as Formosa– Kelly es, whether go backembroiled to the selling of the follows, onlywe to become in a muddled lemonade or doing something mystery that ultimately involveselse thevery U.S. basic State without having deal with Proctor & GamDepartment, thetoChinese Mafia, the Taiwanese ble or Kodak,Chiang etc. Sometimes [sponsor-based government, Kai-shek and martial law. challenges] sortwho of interesting, butdescent, they’re It’s clear thatare Tiao, is of Taiwanese is passionate the United States expensive forabout us to criticizing do. The ratings suggest government’s failure topart recognize Taiwan that the fans’ favorite of the show by as a sovereign nation, independent of mainland far is the boardroom, and the boardroom China.

Sadly, it takes nearly hourbecause of unveiling has gotten longer over the an years of the increasingly convoluted he that.

The challenges still have plot plentybefore of time (in the of a political and we’rerole focused on both activist) aspects,reveals but we his history lesson, provesthe infinitely more have been tryingwhich to lengthen boardroom interesting than anything in the previous 60 because of strong viewer requests. minutes. It’s easy to imagine a talented auteur such aslike Paula prosecuting Greengrass turning this You’re attorney in tale the into a taut, politically charged But as it tois, boardroom.

Do you meterthriller. your approach the stilted pacing, pedestrian dialogue and different personalities? occasionally acting make people the film Yes, I think amateurish you deal with different something of a chore. differently. I deal with Goldberg differently than I deal with Governor Blagojevich.–B. I Love dealt with Dennis Rodman and Joan Rivers differently than some of the other contesTHE LOSERS (PG-13) tants. You have to have that ability. ★★★✩✩ Release Date: April 23 Fromdodirector White (best known How you feel Sylvain going back in the boardfor Stomp comes a high energy, room after aThe littleYard) hiatus? weapons-inspired, starring I just get a great bad kickguy outpursuit of it. I film really like Dean want Morgan as U.S. Special Forces itJeffrey a lot. They to renew it for another Colonel Clay seasons, and a crew teen movie all-stars two or three andofwe’re thinking (Columbus and Chris about that. IShort like having a littleEvans bit ofincluded) a break as his team.

Accented a badass version between shows, where itbygoes on once a year.of Zoë Saldana as their elusive ticket to revenge andyou freedom, thisbad movie has firing a pretty attractive Do ever feel about someone, package.

Unfortunately, its contents leave or is it just part of the job? much to be desired.

Awkward lines and forced I always feel bad… No, not always. SomehumorI don’t take the making times likelead, people.

The the hardfirst oneshour are of the film get comfortable when youextremely really likehard and to respect somebody in.

By the it finds a rhythm, and theyend, make a mistake.

Like,butasthe an warm-up ex-

KICK-ASS

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nick Cage, Chloe Moretz. Director: Matthew V aughn. Release Date: April 16. Rating: R ★★★★✩ The latest comic book movie to hit the big screen has the same effect as a steel-toed boot to the face. With plenty of bloodshed, non-stop adrenaline-fueled action, and an 11-year-old who carries the strength of 1,000 raging bulls, that black boot print left between your eyes and across your mouth still couldn’t stifle that lingering smile. And more than likely, you’ll have a little purple headed hero named Hit Girl to thank for your euphoria.

Immaculately portrayed by the Atlanta-born actress Chloe Moretz, Hit Girl is a foulmouthed, take no prisoners bad ass who helps her superhero father (Nicholas Cage) fight crime in a familiar world where the concept of altruism has vanished and been replaced by fear. Cage soars as a subtly hilarious yet obliviously immoral father who trains his young daughter to fight like a man—and take a bullet like, well, maybe 50 Cent. If you’re looking for a wholesome tale about a straight-laced citizen-turned crime fighter, you may want to check out the most recent Spiderman movie.

When paralleled, Peter Parker is the equivalent to Mighty Mouse, while Hit Girl is more on par with Kill Bill’s Beatrix Kiddo. Kick Ass is graphic. Blood sprays across the screen about as much as the bad, flashy spandex costumes. We get kicks in the face; Shot guns through the IT TURNED OUT TOBrass BEknuckles A GOOD PHRASE, BUT WAS heads; A cheek; Swords through the chest; up the chin; Severed limbs;ITBursting THE VERY FIRST SHOW I WAS A LITTLE FLUKE. DURING Burning bodies; Must I go on? But the reason the film works so well is that director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) is aware of the country’s cultural identity. We AND love gore, we are ONE OF current THE CONTESTANTS I USED EXASPERATED WITH way tooTHE connected by the“YOU’RE internet and FIRED!” we’re afraid ofWHEN our own[PRODUCER] shadow. Which is why the film’s MARK LINE, leading man (AaronAND Johnson) becomes obsessed the notion of fighting crime as aHAVE masked BURNETT I AGREED TO DOwith THE SHOW WE DIDN’T super hero,THAT. and giving the world at least one person who cares about more than their own WE THOUGHT WE’D SAY, “GET THE HELL OUT skin.

Johnson does well as a comic-obsessed high school dweeb turned do-gooder, but Moretz and OF HERE” OR SOMETHING. Cage are the heart of the story, expertly executing their roles as victims of an American Dream gone sourScott andHamilton, using comical and revengefact as that bonding Kick Ass works fromviolence the last season. ample, you tools. raisedOverall, such self-sufficient because apologizes for nothing, and it shouldn’t have to— because movies I had toit’sletrelevant.

Scott go.The I’mfilm a great fan of Scott: children? are Fantasies aremedals fun. And gooda ass kickingWell, makes great entertainment.

Hefantasy. won Olympic gold anda he’s great a lot of credit on the chilI’mforgetting champion. But he understood that he made dren. Everybody’s been asking about Ivanka –Jessica Cole a mistake on the show and I really had no choice. I felt very badly about that, because much toohim longto to be appreciate it by thatbut point.

Iwas considered a great person, I The story this unit’s initiative to hold have to dois what’s right.

It’s never fun,fire butuntil it’s a groupwhen of innocent can be or saved from easier I don’t children like somebody when the destruction of abad.

Bolivian neighborhood. they’re really, really They’re orders are to open fire, and when they don’t, line, unfortunately, bigger plans aarepopalready That “You’re fired, ” became culin place leaving them for about the murder ture phenomenon.

Canframed you talk the of 25 children origin of it? and presumed dead back in the states.

When lifetoseems over, phrase, the teambut doubleIt turned out be a good it crossed and trapped indefinitely, they was a fluke.

During in theBolivia very first show I was upon a ride home a suspicious Bolivian astumble little exasperated with –one of the con(Saldana)and promising revenge against testants I usedfreedom the line,and “You’re fired!” the man who framed them (a man who’s actually When [producer] Mark Burnett and I agreed trying to start a nuclear warhave in thethat. meantime). to do the show we didn’t We It’s certainly predictable from here on out. thought we’d say, “Get the hell out ofThere here”are or plenty of bombs going off, blood getting spewed something. And all of a sudden America went and lies being told, all typical means to an end crazy over the show. It happens to be a great somewhere amidst the smoke. Can’t say that I had catchphrase. TV Guide or one of the major any expectations going in, so it’s candid to declare entertainment magazines did a poll and, after that this movie fell short on all fronts, battlefield “Here’s Johnny!” and one other great, it was and big screen. #3 on the Top 100 phrases in television his–Jenni Williams tory! So that was a pretty big honor. It’s been an amazing thing and an amazing phrase that just seems to work. It really caught on, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (R) it’s been an amazing thing to watch. ★★★✩✩ Release Date: April 30 What doinspiration you think ofisWes yourCraven biggest With the onaccomhis back, plishment, your business success or the

and the answer is yes, she’ll be back on the show. But they’re very good kids. They went director Samuel Bayer and takesthey thewere reigns of yet to very good schools, great another Krueger nightmare, the students.Freddie I couldn’t wait to get themwith on the phenomenal Jackie Haleywould assuming the show. I had no ideaEarle the show be into role of theand classic itsninth tenthhorrific season,madman. which isYou’ve prettygot to know the by now, follows a group amazing instory the world of which television. of young teens that are seemingly unrelated until theybeen eachlots startoftonews see the same scaryNBC man There’s surrounding with blades for fingers, hunting them down lately, and your show does well for them. when asleep. is back that Whatthey you fall think NBC What’s needs tocreepier do to get the mid-dream murders become a reality when in the ratings game? theWell, teensI actually dieGaspin in real (Chairman life, too. With the know Jeff of NBC only way to stay alive being to stay awake, the Universal Television Entertainment) and, as dwindling starts a race you know,group he’s new to the role.against I thinktime he’s to unlock thedomystery behind job theatnightmare and going to a spectacular NBC. They end the haunting.

In this franchise reboot, need more shows like The Apprentice. Not predictable cheesy lines create necessarily scares from aand reality standpoint, but the foundation for a stereotypical horror film. they need shows that capture the imaginaYou can of course expect to jump in fright or tion. hide your eyes, but nothing really comes as a Frankly, certain shows that are on should surprise and I certainly didn’t lose any sleep. be changed because, while they get some The film does begin with a fabulous opening pretty good reviews, theyofdon’t get people scene, revisiting some Craven’s classic watching.

It’s nice to get both.

We’ve had Krueger moments (with new and improved Emmy effects) nominations and a lot of good ac- into special while delving a little deeper colades passed our way, and that’s always what makes Freddy Freddy, giving long-time nice.anBut ultimately you to have to haveend. people fans even bigger tease a hopeful watch. NBC is going to really do–Jenni well. Williams I know their leadership and I think they’re winners, so I think they’ll turn it around.

PG 13 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

VIDIOTS UPCOMING DVD RELEASES AND REVIEWS

BY B. LOVE & JOHN B. MOORE THE BUDDHA – No matter what your religious beliefs may be, you have to appreciate the artistry behind this exceptional PBS documentary, which traces the evolutionary journey of Siddhartha, the north Indian mystic who eventually become the Buddha. Directed by multiple Emmy-winner David Grubin, with narration by Richard Gere and interviews that include the Dalai Lama, this is among the most enlightening and inspiring DVDs I’ve seen.

DEFENDOR – Woody Harrelson’s third perfect performance of 2009 (after Zombieland and The Messenger) wasn’t a blockbuster, but it was one of the most kickass superhero films I’ve seen. His Arthur Poppington may be crazy, developmentally challenged or both, but his passion for justice and quirky homemade gadgets make the average joe a fierce foe for the city’s crime lords. Extras include commentary, making-of docs, deleted scenes and more.

MAD MEN: SEASON 3- Three seasons in, Mad Men is still the coolest show on television. From the spot-on characters to the impeccable writing, this A&E drama about NYC ad men in the late ‘60s shows no signs of letting up. While the last two seasons focused on Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) extra-marital affairs, this year his wife starts looking outside for a little excitement as well. The final episode is the definition of a seasonending cliffhanger.

MAN VS. WILD: SEASON 4 – Let’s face it, Bear Grylls is one crazy-ass mofo. The former British special forces soldier seems to relish throwing himself into harm’s

way. Whether hurtling at breakneck speed down a lava-strewn volcano, eating disgusting bugs or giving himself an enema to stay hydrated, it makes for compelling TV, but after three DVDs it begins to seem a bit formulaic. Luckily, an episode featuring Will Ferrell provides great comic relief.

SUBURBIA – Directed in 1984 by Penelope Spheeris, this was one of the first movies to give an honest, sympathetic portrayal of punk-rock subculture. The cult classic, rereleased by Shout! Factory as part of a salute to the ever-prolific Roger Corman, follows a group of misunderstood punks that take refuge from their suburban upbringings in an abandoned house.

Extras include a great commentary

by Spheeris, a producer and a handful of actors.

SUMMER HOURS – This fantastic French film follows three siblings (played by Charles Berling, Juliette Binoche and Jeremie Renier) who must decide what to do with the country estate and other items they’ve inherited from their late mother. Simple and unsentimental, director Olivier Assayas renders the family drama beautifully. The Criterion Collection DVD includes an interview with Assayas, making-of docs and a booklet featuring a critical essay.

OTHER MAY DVD RELEASES May 4������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� May 11������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������ in Wonderland May 18� �� �������������� ��������� �� ��������� �� ���������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������� May 25��������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������

OCEANS (N/R) ★★★★✩ Release Date: April 22 Long before The Cove or March Of The Penguins, Disney’s “True-Life Adventures” series presented stunning visions of the wonder and fragility of nature that encouraged audiences to embrace and preserve the world’s natural beauty. Produced between 1948 and 1960, that award-winning series was clearly the inspiration behind Disneynature, the independent Mouse House production arm responsible for last year’s excellent eco-themed documentary, Earth. The imprint’s second film, which was co-directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (Winged Migration), takes a similar approach, balancing jaw-dropping visuals with sober musings on the underwater world’s future. “Wow!” is the operative word here, perfect for responding to everything from otherworldly pods of glowing jellyfish and beach-bound orcas gobbling seals for supper to massive schools of leaping dolphins and epic stone crab battles that look like lost scenes from The Lord Of The Rings. Keeping it’s core kiddie audience in mind, the film is careful not to get too heavy-handed with its lecturing on the importance of saving our oceans from the threats of pollution, over-fishing and global warming. But at times you may find yourself wishing Pierce Brosnan’s narration had a bit more consciousness-raising substance to match Perrin and Cluzaud’s remarkable visual style.

But still, there are enough moments of wideeyed wonder here to dazzle audiences of all ages, making up for a lack of storytelling with some of the most exquisite undersea images ever filmed.

It may not win any Oscars, but Oceans would almost certainly make Jacques Costeau proud.

–B. Love

THE RUNAWAYS (R) ★★★★✩ Release Date: April 9 To say The Runaways, the first all-girl rock group in the ‘70s, forever changed the music industry

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY UPCOMING VIDEO GAME RELEASES AND REVIEWS

BY B. LOVE

T

HE BIG NEWS IN VIDEO GAMES lately has been the release of the Nintendo DSi XL, the fourth iteration of the world’s most popular handheld gaming device. The system retains all of the features DSi users have come to expect– touch screen controls, a built-in wireless Web browser, SD memory card expansion, compatibility with all DS game cards, a game download system and more– but also includes a bevy of new features that should convince portable gaming fans that, in this case, bigger IS better.

The upgrades start with 4.2-inch diagonal viewing angle screens, which are 93% larger than those of the DS Lite, which makes a significant difference when using the two onboard digital cameras (which come with 10 different “lenses”). There’s a full-sized stylus included that sort of looks like a ballpoint pen, which fits much better into adult fingers.

The system also comes with three pre-loaded DSiWare titles– Brain Age Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters and Photo Clock, which allows users to create a slideshow of images taken with the internal cameras.

The unit’s expanded size ultimately sacrifices a bit in the portability department, but it’s a fair trade for the dazzling visuals the larger screens deliver. Always one step ahead of the competition, it seems as if Nintendo’s latest system is targeting the parents whose kids have long made the DS the most popular handheld on the market. If that was indeed their goal, consider the DSi XL mission accomplished.

DEAD TO RIGHTS: RETRIBUTION (Namco)

PG 14 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

would be an overstatement. To say that they contributed nothing would be an even bigger understatement. But in the new biopic by Italian music video director Floria Sigismondi, we find that the point was how the deceptive underbelly of the industry’s politics exploited the girls who made up the band. Sigismondi introduces the audience to a teenage Cherrie Currie (Dakota Fanning), who wasn’t looking to be rock star, while a youthful Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) wants nothing but. Stewart has found a niche as the go-to gal for emotionally unstable youths (see: Bella in Twilight, Em in Adventureland) and, in a way, Jett is in the same realm. But what makes Stewart’s performance so enlightening this time around is that she’s portraying a real person. The audience is introduced to a character that looks like Kristen Stewart, but feels like the reincarnation of a young Joan Jett.

She’s a tough, unapologetic, one-track-minded female who proves that if you want it, you have to take it. On the other side of the track comes Fanning’s take on lead singing sex kitten Cherrie Currie. It’s hard to not feel sorry for the girl: With a drunk father and a relatively unavailable mother, her only close bond comes from her older sister— a relationship which is strained once the band finds success. The Runaways plays like a 2-hour long music video (appropriate, considering Sigismondi’s background), with an evolving playlist ranging from Nick Gilder’s “Roxy Roller” to The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Along the way, Stewart and Fanning lend their own voices to The Runaways track list, and the music is what keeps you interested during the dull moments. Sigismondi’s vision could be a bit shorter¬– you find yourself begging for a reprieve from the constant bad luck and mistreatment the band was subjected to– but that’s sort of the point. The Runaways gives audiences a real perspective on the dark inner workings of the entertainment biz. It’s not always glitz and glamour— it’s more of a series of hard knocks ending with a bleeding ch-chch-ch-cherry bomb.

–Jessica Cole

Nintendo’s DSi XL

Systems: PS3, X360 This brutal 3rd person action shooter aims to reboot the DTR franchise, following vice cop Jack Slate and his massive wolf-dog Shadow as they battle crime and corruption on the hardknock streets of Grant City. You can choose to play as man or beast, but either way you’ll need to kick serious butt using hand-to-hand (or, in Shadow’s case, fang-to-hand) combat and a variety of badass weapons, brawling and mauling your way out of the center of a noirinfluenced conspiracy storyline.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: SOUTH AFRICA

(EA Sports) Systems: PSP, PS3, X360, Wii I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always been crazy for soccer, but EA’s latest World Cup title provides plenty of reasons for even casual fans to love the sport. Featuring all 199 national teams and all 10 officially licensed South African stadiums, the game lavishly recreates the world’s largest sporting event down to the tiniest detail, with a vastly improved engine that increases responsiveness and allows for different home and away strategies, situational tactics and even realistic altitude effects on players.

PRISON BREAK: THE CONSPIRACY

(Deep Silver) Systems: PC, PS3, X360 This is a strangely timed release, coming out a year after the Fox TV show’s final episode (and several years after its prime), but it’s sure to appeal to fans of the intense conspiracy thriller thanks to a storyline conceived by the show’s writers and voices by the original actors.

Gamers play as Company agent Tom Braxton, sent undercover to Fox River to observe Michael Scofield. The music and visuals are impressive, but the repetitive mission-based

play and substandard fight engine make the game a bit of a bore.

SAMURAI SHODOWN SEN

(Xseed) System: X360 The 11th title in the Samurai Shodown series– the first developed for a Next-Gen console– is another sword-based fighting game set during the feudal Japan’s Edo period. The storyline, which involves Western influences threatening the future of the traditional culture, isn’t nearly as cool as the 3D visuals and brutal finishing moves, with 13 classic fighters from the franchise’s past as well as 11 new warriors (each with their own distinctive style). Connect via Xbox LIVE to give friends an online smackdown.

TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL CONVICTION

(UBI Soft) System: PC, X360 The 5th installment in the continuing story of black ops agent Sam Fisher picks up a few years after where Splinter Cell: Double Agent left off. Fisher, now a renegade, has dug into the details of his daughter’s death to find he’s been betrayed by his former agency, so he’s got to evade them while battling a deadly

terrorist plot. It’s hardly an original idea (see: Bourne, 24), but the high-tech weaponry and new features such as the Last Known Position system and Mark & Execute function add some exciting gameplay elements.

WARIOWARE D.I.Y. (Nintendo) System: DS Nintendo’s enduring WarioWare franchise offers over 90 dizzyingly fast mini-games from the portly baddie. But the big news is the DIY option, which allows players to design artwork, animation, instructions and soundtracks for their own games, which can be uploaded and shared via a Broadband Internet connection for endless, maddening, fleet-fingered fun.

OTHER MAY VIDEO GAME RELEASES

Picross 3D (DS, 5/3), Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition (X360, 5/5), Lost Planet 2 (PS3/X3605/11), 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3, 5/11), Skate 3 (PS3/X360- 5/14), Split/Second (PS3/X3605/18), Jam With The Band (DS- 5/21), Red Dead Redemption (PS3/X360- 5/21), Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 5/23), Blur (PC/PS3/X3605/28), Clash Of The Titans (PS3/X360- 5/28), Project Runway (Wii, 5/28), UFC Undisputed 2010 (PSP/PS3/X360- 5/28), Rocket Knight (PC/PS3/X360- 5/31)

FILM

COUGAR REUNION

I THINK IT’S INCUMBENT UPON ME TO TRY TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES AND WORK MY ASS OFF WHEN I’M WORKING WITH GOOD PEOPLE.

Sarah Jessica Parker On Sex & The City 2

BY ALEX S. MORRISON

M

OST PEOPLE TEND TO forget, but Sarah Jessica Parker had a pretty promising acting career long before she stepped into Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo Blahniks. She had already starred on Broadway in Annie before landing a lead role in the sitcom Square Pegs at the age of 17. Then she went on to appear in ‘80s classics such as Footloose and starred opposite Steve Martin (L.A. Story), Nicolas Cage (Honeymoon In Vegas) and Johnny Depp (Ed Wood), all before her 30th birthday.

But there’s no denying the fact that it’s Sex & The City for which Parker will forever be known, and the 45-year-old Ohio native seems okay with that.

After all, it was she who went through all kinds of hell to get the first Sex & the City movie made, and who took up the producer mantle once again for this month’s eagerly anticipated sequel. Although the storyline has been kept under lock and key, we can tell you that Penélope Cruz, Liza Minnelli and Miley Cyrus all make appearances, and that the cast won the Best Ensemble Award at ShoWest back in March.

Here, Sarah Jessica Parker weighs in on her career evolution, before, during and after Sex & the City.

You’ve been acting professionally since you were a kid. Is it weird to look back and see things you did in the early stage of your career?

I wish I did! But I never do. I think my earlier work is some of my best work. The thing about that that’s amazing to me is that I started working when I was eight. That was 1973, and most people I meet today weren’t even born yet. It’s so strange to be the elder statesman. I was always the youngest person on the set. I was always the one hanging around, watching and learning. I’m still learning, but it’s weird for me to reference something and realize, “You weren’t born then?” But I don’t ever see myself ever on television.

I’ve read you left home at 17. Is that true?

Yeah, all my siblings were. My mother was really conflicted. But, as hard as it was to let us go, she knew it was good for us. That’s the age when most kids go off to college, and those of us who didn’t go

to college went off to pursue our work. I really like the way she encouraged our independence. I think it’s probably the best thing for a child. We always brought our laundry home, and she still made food for us and brought it into the city. But she wanted us to be independent, thinking people, and I think it served us well.

Was leaving Sex & the City kind of like leaving the nest for you?

(Laughs) Oh, that was much harder than leaving the nest!

How was it making the transition into the less secure world of movies?

It was terrifying, but I thought it was necessary. It’s such a strange thing to be so content and to know that therefore you should leave. I guess that it is like leaving home because there’s every opportunity for failure, especially in relation to that particular show and the kind of success the show had. But I’m not afraid of failure. I certainly don’t court it, but I just think it’s what has to happen sometimes. Triumphs are very sweet when you’ve experienced disappointment. I just feel like you have to understand that it’s going to happen, especially in a profession like this where you’re constantly scrutinized, and especially if you care at all about critics… never mind public sentiment.

You have to expect it and just ride the wave. I think that’s the nature of being an adult and really caring about your work.

What do you think is the legacy of Sex & the City?

I think it’s wonderful! I’m not burdened by the legacy of Carrie Bradshaw. I’m happy to have to work hard as an actor to remind people that I was a working actor before the show, and I’m thrilled to be part of something that people connect to… women especially. I think it’s incumbent upon me to try to make good choices and work my ass off when I’m working with good people. But I have to let everyone have their own opinion afterwards. That’s the experience of being human and subjectivity.

Do you intentionally pursue roles that will allow you to get away from being associated with Carrie?

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I pursue my career in the same fashion I always have. What is interesting to me? How does this fit into what I’m doing now and what I’m going to do in the future? What are they ingredients? Who am I working with? Who’s directing it? Why do they want to make this? What’s potentially interesting about this story? When it’s glaringly obvious that it is some sort of redux of something that I was a part of, it’s not interesting at all. It takes no energy to decide not to do what is comfortable and often more lucrative. What’s interesting is trying to make good choices and work with really good people. Does it always work out? No. But you just do the best with the options you have.

What was your reaction when you got the script for the first Sex & the City movie?

I couldn’t believe what [writer/director Michael Patrick King] had done! I really felt he wrote the role of a lifetime for me. Separately from the show, I felt like that script alone was really incredible. I was very excited to try to get it done. It took two years of my life to put that movie back together again, and the only work theme in my brain during that time was Michael’s script. Everything else was an enormous question mark. Could we get it done? But the script? I was thrilled!

The sequel is hitting theaters six years after the show’s run ended. How do you feel the character of Carrie has evolved in that time?

She’s experiencing a life in New York City that

she never thought she would have. She is pursuing a grown-up relationship on her terms that she is feeling really good about. I think her and Big are now a modern couple, and seem very content with one another. They really like each other despite their problems. She’s had enormous success in publishing, and her work is very fulfilling. She is just a grown-up woman now.

As you enter your mid-40s, is it more challenging to find roles you want to play?

I’m reading a variety of scripts. There doesn’t seem to be this great deficit of roles. They’re not all $40 million movies, but there are amazing pieces with great women’s roles. And if they’re talking to me, I’m certain there are a lot of other women that are my age that are being considered as well. I can’t explain why, but it hardly seems to be a fallow period for women’s roles.

You’ve got so much going on these days, from acting and producing Sex & The City 2 to your own fashion label. Did you ever imagine as a child actor that your career would become so big?

No, because the industry changed so much.

I wouldn’t have known to dream of a clothing line or, oh, one day I’ll have a fragrance. No. My dream was to be a working actress in the theatre.

My dream was to live on 45th Ave between 8th and 9th… and I’m not kidding! (Laugh) Both my husband and myself, as you can imagine, feel very privileged.

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CONCERT C LENDER

SATURDAY MAY 1 529 Perfect Attendance ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Saturday Night Fever APACHE CAFÉ Next Fresh Thing BLIND WILLIES Nick Moss & The Fliptops CENTER STAGE The Church EARL Megafaun EDDIES ATTIC Cheryl Wheeler FAT MATT’S Rick Carter Project FIVE SPOT Lingo & The Hypsys HIGHLAND INN Bruce Joyner LOFT Dave Barnes MASQUERADE Cage NORTHSIDE TAVERN Mudcat PEACHTREE TAVERN Hysteria SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids STAR BAR Weapons of Audio VARIETY Kaki King WILD BILL’S Easton Corbin SUNDAY MAY 2 APACHE CAFÉ Spoken Word Open Mic BLIND WILLIES Led Zeppelin Tribute EARL Spanky & Love Handles EDDIES ATTIC King Richard’s Sunday Best FAT MATT’S Tony Bryant SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids MONDAY MAY 3 529 The Nice Guise CENTER STAGE Him EARL Ninja Gun FAT MATT’S Uncle Sugar FIVE SPOT Atlanta Funk Society SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids VINYL As Tall As Lions TUESDAY MAY 4 529 Vitamin B-3 A Go-Go APACHE CAFÉ MPC Orchestra EARL Imaad Wasif EDDIES ATTIC Larkin Poe FAT MATT’S Crosstown Allstars FIVE SPOT James McMurty SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids TABERNACLE Bullet For My Valentine VINYL Jason Castro WEDNESDAY MAY 5 ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Who’s Bad EARL Jacuzzi Boys EDDIES ATTIC Drew Holcomb FAT MATT’S Frankies Blues Mission FIVE SPOT James McMurty MASQUERADE Bleeding Through PEACHTREE TAVERN Generation Now SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids STAR BAR Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue VERIZON Project Cinco Party w/ Three Days Grace THURSDAY MAY 6 529 Radio Nowhere ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx APACHE CAFÉ XO Band EARL The Goldest EDDIES ATTIC Kevn Kinney FAT MATT’S Chickenshack FIVE SPOT Love, Light in Flight HIGHLAND INN Samadha LOFT The Album Leaf & Sea Wolf PEACHTREE TAVERN Sons of Bill SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids STAR BAR Los Buenos VINYL Swank Motel FRIDAY MAY 7 529 The Booze ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Flashdance Fridays APACHE CAFÉ Tamika Fest EARL Captured! By Robots EDDIES ATTIC Brilliant Inventions FAT MATT’S Fat Back Deluxe FIVE SPOT Chronicles of Landsquid HIGHLAND INN Soulphonics & Ruby Velle MASQUERADE Original Sin PEACHTREE TAVERN Connor Christian SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids STAR BAR Grinder Nova TABERNACLE Comedians of Chelsea Lately VARIETY Perpetual Groove VERIZON Van Morrison VINYL Dangerous New Machine SATURDAY MAY 8 529 Balkans ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Slippery When Wet APACHE CAFÉ Every Scar & Dimple EARL Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers EDDIES ATTIC Robin & Linda Williams FAT MATT’S Burning Time FIVE SPOT Adam Aijala HIGHLAND INN Nick Ogawa, Darling Trees LOFT Honor Society MASQUERADE The Noise Pollution Tour PEACHTREE TAVERN The Design MABLE HOUSE Norman Brown & Friends

PG 16 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

SMITH’S 500 Songs For Kids VERIZON Zac Brown Band VINYL Hightide Blues WILD BILL’S Electric Boogaloo

SUNDAY MAY 9 APACHE CAFÉ Spoken Word Open Mic CENTER STAGE Seasons EARL Robin Dean Salmon EDDIES ATTIC Susan Werner FAT MATT’S Tony Bryant FIVE SPOT Hands Across the Water MASQUERADE Saliva VERIZON Zac Brown Band MONDAY MAY 10 529 Nato Coles FAT MATT’S Uncle Sugar FIVE SPOT Atlanta Funk Society MASQUERADE Asking Alexandria SMITH’S Chris Jackson VARIETY Minus The Bear TUESDAY MAY 11 529 Vegan Coke APACHE CAFÉ Hip Hop Jam Session CENTER STAGE Corinne Bailey Rae EARL Growing EDDIES ATTIC Pierce Pettis FAT MATT’S Crosstown Allstars FIVE SPOT Kevin Scott HIGHLAND INN DJ Yoon MASQUERADE The Business SMITH’S Ryan Bingham WEDNESDAY MAY 12 529 All Night Drug Prowlings Wolves ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx Disco EARL Stardeath & White Dwarfs EDDIES ATTIC Michael Tolcher & Sydney Eliose Ward FAT MATT’S Frankies Blues Mission FIVE SPOT LAST MASQUERADE The Spill Canvas PEACHTREE TAVERN Aaron Thompson SMITH’S The Distric Attorneys STAR BAR Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue VARIETY David Brombery, Jorma Kaukonen THURSDAY MAY 13 529 Sodajerk ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx APACHE CAFÉ Time 2 Shine CENTER STAGE Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings EARL Caribou EDDIES ATTIC Christabel & The Jons FAT MATT’S Chickenshack FIVE SPOT Calliope Cabaret LOFT Ok Go MASQUERADE Cro-mags PEACHTREE TAVERN Fallback SMITH’S Ray Wylie STAR BAR The Humms VARIETY Josh Ritter FRIDAY MAY 14 529 Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Flashdance Fridays EARL Eluvium EDDIES ATTIC Alice Peacock FAT MATT’S Little Joey’s Big Band FIVE SPOT Rising Appalachia HIGHLAND INN Noot D’Noot MASQUERADE Shongle PEACHTREE TAVERN Cole Swindell SMITH’S The Verve Pipe STAR BAR Deadbolt VARIETY Little Feat VINYL Battle of the Bands WILD BILL’S The Wailers SATURDAY MAY 15 529 Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 AARON’S AMP Tim McGraw & Lady Antebellum ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Saturday Night Fever APACHE CAFÉ The ATL All Stars CENTER STAGE Aqua Teen Hunger Force EARL Hawks EDDIES ATTIC Banks & Shane FAT MATT’S Rough Draft FIVE SPOT Under the Porch HIGHLAND INN Stonerider, White Rhino THE FRED Gloria Gaynor & Village People MABLE HOUSE Army Ground Forces Band MASQUERADE Glossary PEACHTREE TAVERN Almost Famous SMITH’S The Dirty Guv’nahs STAR BAR A Fight to the Death TABERNACLE Enrique Bunbury VARIETY Shebly Lynne VINYL Satellite District SUNDAY MAY 16 APACHE CAFÉ Spoken Word Open Mic EDDIES ATTIC Amber Fults FAT MATT’S Tony Bryant FIVE SPOT Captain Stab Tuggo

MASQUERADE Glitch Mob SMITH’S The Heavy Pets TABERNACLE Angels & Airwaves

MONDAY MAY 17 CENTER STAGE Jakob Dylan EARL Everybody was in the French Resistance EDDIES ATTIC Songwriter’s Open Mic FAT MATT’S Uncle Sugar FIVE SPOT Atlanta Funk Society MASQUERADE Agnostic Front SMITH’S Chris Jackson TUESDAY MAY 18 529 Gold-Bears EARL Laura Marling EDDIES ATTIC Tyler Reeve Band FAT MATT’S Crosstown Allstars FIVE SPOT Kevin Scott SMITH’S Elvis Show Screening WENDESDAY MAY 19 529 The Abominable Iron Sloth ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx Disco EDDIES ATTIC Cotton Jones FAT MATT’S Frankies Blues Mission FIVE SPOT The Infamous Stringdusters FOX David Copperfield MASQUERADE Josh Tillman PEACHTREE TAVERN Sunset Love Affair STAR BAR Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue VINYL Civil Twilight THURSDAY MAY 20 529 Carnivores ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx APACHE CAFÉ Dope Poetz EARL Doug Stanhope EDDIES ATTIC Jonatha Brooke FAT MATT’S Chickenshack FIVE SPOT Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band FOX David Copperfield MASQUERADE Cute Is What We Aim For SMITH’S Travelling Without Moving VINYL Heavy Mojo FRIDAY MAY 21 529 GIvers ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Flashdance Fridays CENTER STAGE Maysa EARL Doug Stanhope EDDIES ATTIC Cindy Lou Harrington FAT MATT’S Nathan Morgan FIVE SPOT Alex B of Puma Trio HIGHLAND INN Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun MASQUERADE FUZE PEACHTREE TAVERN Velcro Pygmies SMITH’S Bang Tango STAR BAR Fishhawk VARIETY Josh Rouse VINYL Wrong Way SATURDAY MAY 22 529 JEFF the Brotherhood ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Saturday Night Fever APACHE CAFÉ Angela Johnson CENTER STAGE Zane Lamprey EARL Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra EDDIES ATTIC Sam Quinn FAT MATT’S Beverly “Guitar” Watkins FIVE SPOT School of Rock FOX Prairie Home Companion HIGHLAND INN Falcon Lords MASQUERADE The Deep Dark Woods Zac PEACHTREE TAVERN Shayanne SMITH’S Smokey’s Farmland Band STAR BAR All The Saints WILD BILL’S Back N Black SUNDAY MAY 23 APACHE CAFÉ Spoken Word Open Mic EARL Catch 23 EDDIES ATTIC Micah Dalton FAT MATT’S Tony Bryant FIVE SPOT School of Rock SMITH’S Benjy Davis Project MONDAY MAY 24 529 King Congregation EARL Chicken & Pigs EDDIES ATTIC Songwriter’s Open Mic FAT MATT’S Uncle Sugar FIVE SPOT Atlanta Funk Society HIGHLAND INN No Eye Contact SMITH’S Chris Jackson TUESDAY MAY 25 529 Destroyed In Seconds APACHE CAFÉ Hip Hop Jam Session EARL Tealights EDDIES ATTIC MIGGS FAT MATT’S Crosstown Allstars FIVE SPOT Kevin Scott HIGHLAND INN DJ Taradactyl SMITH’S 4 for $5 Night VARIETY ALO

WEDNESDAY MAY 26 529 DT of Clan Destined ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx Disco EDDIES ATTIC Elizabeth Cook FAT MATT’S Frankies Blues Mission FIVE SPOT Roll Yer Own HIGHLAND INN Bernadette Seacrest MASQUERADE Brokencyde & Jeffree SMITH’S Doll Daze VARIETY Butch Walker THURSDAY MAY 27 529 Dave Daniels ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Traxx APACHE CAFÉ Bang Out Live EARL Truth & Salvage Co. EDDIES ATTIC Darrell Scott FAT MATT’S Chickenshack FIVE SPOTJeff Sipe HIGHLAND INN Customers, Crusaders of Love SMITH’S Charlie Mars VARIETY The Hold Steady VINYL The Crash Kings FRIDAY MAY 28 529 The Letters Organize ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Flashdance Fridays EARL Gil Mantera’s Party Dream EDDIES ATTIC Richard Bicknell FAT MATT’S Big C & The Ringers FIVE SPOT Harmonic’s Spring-Tronic HIGHLAND INN Laserbeam Kitty MASQUERADE Converge SMITH’S Trembling Earth STAR BAR Bubbapalooza VINYL Erath WILD BILL’S The Band Perry SATURDAY MAY 29 529 Damnesia ANDREWS UPSTAIRS Saturday Night Fever EARL Innocent When You Dream EDDIES ATTIC Jackopiece FAT MATT’S Mike Delaney FIVE SPOT School of Rock FOX Neil Young HIGHLAND INN Return of DJ Lil’ Ray MASQUERADE The Pyschedelic Furs PIEDMONT PARK Atlanta Jazz Festival SMITH’S Nanyana Summer STAR BAR Bubbapalooza VINYL James Shealy WILD BILL’S Chris Cagle SUNDAY MAY 30 APACHE CAFÉ Spoken Word Open Mic EARL April Smith EDDIES ATTIC The Rescues FAT MATT’S Tony Bryant FIVE SPOT School of Rock PIEDMONT PARK Atlanta Jazz Festival SMITH’S Matt King MONDAY MAY 31 529 Darling Trees APACHE CAFÉ Characters w/ Chanson Presley FIVE SPOT Atlanta Funk Society PIEDMONT PARK Atlanta Jazz Festival SMITH’S Chris Jackson

Brown Band VERIZON MAY 8-9

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ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN 2 VIP Badges to the 2010 atlanta jazz festival & a 2-night stay at the loews atlanta hotel! all you have to do is visit at least 15 venues listed with the 31 days of jazz, have your calendar card stamped, and turn in your card on May 21 at friday jazz at the high museum.

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Participants will be able to obtain a 31 days of jazz brochure at any of our 31 days of jazz partner locations below or online at www.atlantafestivals.com.

2010 Concert Series

May 15

33rd Annual

2010 MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

GLORIA GAYNOR & VILLAGE PEOPLE

MAY 29-30, 2010 PIEDMONT PARK

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The 2010 Atlanta Jazz Festival is a program of the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

June 26

AMERICA W/GUEST CHRISTOPHER CROSS Upcoming Shows July 10 – BOZ SCAGGS July 24 – THE B-52’S August 7 – JOSE FELICIANO Presented By: BMW of South Atlanta Visit the Box Office M-F, 9am – 5pm 770-631-0630 or purchase online at www.amphitheater.org PG 17 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

MUSIC

MONICA:Soul Survivor

BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

W

HETHER IT BE A MUSIC AWARDS show red carpet, an album cover or a scene from her popular BET reality show, Still Standing, Monica always comes off glowing. She discusses her hood chic style. “I would say I’m laid-back but fashionable,” reveals the Grammy winner who’s sung professionally since ‘95. “I don’t totally agree with paying for fashion. That’s why I’d say I’m more laid-back than some because I know that a lot of girls look fabulous, but I know how painful it is. I’m not really into that.

I like comfort. I like being able to move around.

Especially when I’m performing, I want it to be about the performance, not what I got on or anything like that. I cater more to designers that make more comfortable clothes.”

In the following chat, Monica, 29, speaks about the things that make her glow, the trying private times –Monica witnessed her boyfriend’s suicide in 2000- that left her low and everything in between that helped her slept-on fifth CD, Still Standing, become such an inspiring listen for young ladies and young couples riding the emotional roller coaster.

Are you approaching the business side to music differently in this economy?

Absolutely. You have to. You do different things. Now, you have to do deals exclusively with different stores. Your CDs have to have something different and try to get people more enthused about buying CDs versus downloading it. If you work it and have great live shows, you’ll see things change over the course of you promoting it. I don’t get too hung up on it, but [the economy] has definitely changed the system.

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How did you earn such a dedicated following?

I think it’s because I didn’t mind being honest with the people and allowing them to see me at my best and at my worst. It feels like I’m one of them versus something that’s untouchable or something that was made to be perfect. They see me like a sister, like a friend. They can relate more. I think that brought us all closer.

And I’m guessing you did the show to expose even more of yourself to your fans.

Yeah, I definitely agree with you on that.

It gives people a chance to see what they normally would not. Reality TV gets kind of a bad rap, but the fact of the matter is that it can be whatever your reality is. My show wasn’t structured like others because it was just about stuff affecting my life on

a daily basis. But I think it keeps people close to you.

Are you influenced by anyone, style-wise?

Not at all. I think your style looks best when it’s your personal style. I don’t wear it because it’s the hottest thing. I see colors that I may like, but because I try it doesn’t mean that it’s my thing. I’ve just found that it’s better if you just to be yourself.

If somebody were just meeting you, they’d only see this beautiful person, not knowing about the troubles you’ve seen. Who/what were the forces that kept you upbeat during the trying times?

My mother. Not just because she’s a Methodist minister, but she’s very inspirational.

She’s been through a whole lot, losing her siblings, losing her mother, losing her father when she was in high school. She’s experienced a lot of different things that have allowed her to live and learn and grow and understand that things might not always [work out]. But today is today and tomorrow is brand new. That was something she always taught me growing up. Her faith is something she instilled in me. She spoke a lot about Christ being a believer, even when you make mistakes. Know that he’s a God of a second chance and she taught me about how you grow and how you move forward from your own mistakes. I think that’s what really kept me going because the music industry is not going to do it. People have this misconception that if you’re rich, that [erases the problems]. That just makes it even harder because you have more people amongst you that aren’t genuinely concerned with your well-being. They just kinda take, take, take.

What are you most proud of with Still Standing?

I think I’m most proud of the fact that I did songs on this album that I love. I didn’t do not one song that I didn’t love, believe in or feel was a good representation of who I am now.

Sometimes you make those mistakes because you hear constantly that you have to keep up with the times. But I learned after the last album that the reality of it is that we’re all different by design. People may love me for one thing, the next artist for another thing and the next one for the next thing. You don’t have to keep up with any particular time.

What do you want people to feel after listening to Still Standing?

PLEASE SEE MONICA ON PAGE 22

I THINK YOUR STYLE LOOKS BEST WHEN IT’S YOUR PERSONAL STYLE. I DON’T WEAR IT BECAUSE IT’S THE HOTTEST THING...I’VE JUST FOUND THAT IT’S BETTER IF YOU JUST TO BE YOURSELF.

Road Warriors

This Month’s Hottest Shows

BY SACHA DZUBA

MAY 04 – BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

The Tabernacle Bullet for My Valentine plays classic thrash mixed with more current metalcore styles, mixing clean singing (including vocal harmonies) with screaming. Don’t let the mention of metalcore turn you off though, as these Welsh metalheads have a good sound going. They’ve just released a new album, Fever, and it’s got some great choruses and melody lines as well as fantastically catchy riffs. Check out the blistering “Your Betrayal,” which is full of great lead guitar and some chugging double-picking that’ll leave your neck sore from headbanging.

MAY 08 – ZZ TOP

Chastain Park Amphitheatre This blues/rock trio– they of the infamous beards and sunglasses– has been performing together since the early ‘70s! The boys are working with famed producer Rick Rubin and have an album coming out later this year, so you should hear some new cuts that might just blow your minds.

They’re known for owning a multitude of snazzy guitars, many of which they perform with on tour.

Keep your eye out for a pair of fan favorites, the spinning “white fuzzies.”

MAY 08 AND 09 - ZAC BROWN BAND Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Georgia boy Zac Brown is back in town for two nights at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Hot off his Grammy win for Best New Artist, you’re sure to hear his hits “Toes” and “Chicken Fried.”

But May 4th will also bring the release of his new album, The Jar! You’ll be hearing lots of new deep south country/rock hits that’ll smack you in the face like a yummy slice of thick-cut honey baked ham. Eat it up, yee haw!

MAY 10 – MINUS THE BEAR

Variety Playhouse The intimate setting of the Variety Playhouse should make a great venue for experimental math-rockers Minus the Bear’s fantastic mix of electronica, ambience, guitar, upbeat drums and crazy musical changes. They’ll have their new album, Omni, out on May 4th, so you should hear plenty of new material during the show. All the traits of a good indie band are present: They’re quirky, catchy, and still underground enough to make it seem cool that you actually know and listen to them.

MAY 11 – CORINNE BAILEY RAE

Center Stage Soft and sultry, Corinne Bailey Rae has a voice that evokes Ella Fitzgerald, but with a smoothness that makes her style more contemporary. Mellow acoustic R&B with a subtle jazz tinge, Rae recently won Grammys for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Album of the Year for her work

as a featured artist in Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters. The British-born Rae is a sublime live performer, making listerners feel that she is singing directly to them. Get your encore lighters ready for a superb evening of soul.

MAY 15 – NORAH JONES W/ SASHA DOBSON

Cobb Energy Centre The daughter of Indian music legend Ravi Shankar, charming and soulful singer/songwriter Norah Jones received eight Grammys for her debut album, Come Away with Me. Her follow-up had a slight country bent, but subsequent albums have firmly cemented her status as the top-selling jazz artist of the new millennium. Opening for Jones on this tour (as well as playing in her band), Sasha Dobson is a fantastic singer/songwriter in her own right. Check out her new EP, Burn, but more importantly go see these fantastic musicians live… the way good jazz should be heard.

MAY 17 – JAKOB DYLAN

Center Stage Theatre Jakob Dylan gained success and notoriety as the lead singer of The Wallflowers, but has never quite escaped the shadow of his father, singer/ songwriter Bob Dylan.

He’s now embarked on a solo career and his latest album, Women and Country, finds him teaming with alt-country crooners Neko Case and Kelly Hogan. Rootsy and elegant in its composition, the new album is a surprisingly good fit for Dylan’s subdued sound. Jakob is touring with his lovely companions as part of his backing band,

WE GOT NEXT ALOHA

MAY 28 – THE SWELL SEASON

Symphony Hall A fantastic folk duo from Ireland and the Czech Republic, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová weave irresistible melodies and stories through song. They became known as The Swell Season after the rising popularity of Once, an independent film chronicling the fictional romance of two musicians. The film unintentionally paralleled true life, as Hansard and Markéta did become romantically involved. Though they’re no longer together, they remain close friends and collaborators.

Their latest album, Strict Joy, tells the story of their relationship and falling out of love, touching your heart with genuine human emotion.

MAY 29 – NEIL YOUNG

Fabulous Fox Theatre Best known for his nasally vocals and distinctive blend of country and guitardriven rock, Neil Young has done more than his share of experimentation over he years. His guitar-playing style can often be ragged and even idiosyncratic, and his latest album, Fork in the Road, has got some great garage-rock cuts on it. Deeply personal in his lyrical approach and an avid socio-political activist, the classic rock legend has long been able to do whatever he wants. Sometimes you’ll get him, sometimes you won’t, but you can’t deny that he’s had a large hand in shaping the course of American music. Plus, Jimmy Fallon’s impression of him singing “Pants On The Ground” is one of the year’s best viral videos!

Artists on the verge of making it big

Latest Project: Home Acres (Polyvinyl Records) For Fans of: Built to Spill, Minus the Bear, matt pond PA, The Forms Why You Should Care: Because the four-piece managed to create a beautifully cohesive indie pop album almost exclusively via an internal band blog.

BY JOHN B. MOORE

A

and is sure to enchant listeners with his natural charisma and dusky tones.

LOHA REALLY IS A BAND without a home.

Actually, that’s not right. To be more accurate, it’s a band with four homes.

The indie-rock foursome is spread across the east coast and Midwest, but thanks to the advent of technology, they were able to collaborate on their latest record and still remain scattered across the country. Cale Parks, Matthew Gengler, Tony Cavaallario and T.J. Lipple have almost never lived in the same place at the same time. Currently band members are based in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Washington D.C.

Home Acres, the band’s seventh effort in just over 10 years, is a beautiful collection of independent-minded pop gems and arguably one of the group’s finest albums to date. Aloha co-founder and guitarist/singer Tony Cavallario spoke with us recently about creating the album.

Tell me a little bit about how “Home Acres” first came about.

I had been writing a lot of music starting around spring 2006 when “Some Echoes” came out. In our time off I would demo songs on our private band blog and the songs started piling up. My attic in Rochester during that time was a bounti-

ful place. I had a few acoustic songs that I wanted to split off from the rest so we did “Light Works”. Then the best of the rest became “Home Acres”.

So the band is still scattered in different cities. Does that make it hard for the band to write/put together songs?

We are in Boston, D.C. Brooklyn and Cleveland. We work quickly together because we’ve been doing it a really long time. I’d love for us to be in the same city, we could run wild, try every possibility. But for now we just have had to economize.

Do you think that geographical separation helps the band at all?

We all live in places that are very rich musically and inspiring but on totally different levels. So when we convene there is a lot to draw inspiration from. Four different states of mind; four laptops full of music.

Is there a theme to the songs on this “Aloha”?

I think the theme is losing everything and starting over again.

So working through the band blog, how long did it take to make this record from start to finish?

We did basic tracking on October 2007 and mastered the record in October of 2009. There were a couple times when we just had to walk away from things unfinished and then come back later. Only then did it click into place.

Do you think you’ll make the next record the same way?

It pretty easy for us to make music we like but I tend to obsess about arrangements, details and lyrics. I’ve never been able to speed up the process.

You guys have been at this for awhile now.

Have you felt the band has changed at all since you first came together?

We used to think ours was the strangest band around. Now there are some truly weird and disturbing bands that people talk about as if it was no big deal. This is a good thing.

What has surprised you the most about the music business?

It’s surprising how long in advance you have to book a tour or a release date. For a person who can’t handle thinking more than a month in advance, it’s very troubling. Like if you book a tour six months from now, who’s to say the band will exist or the venue will exist or that fossil fuels will exist when it comes around?

PG 19 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

MUSIC

MUSIC

Album Reviews

By B. Love, DeMarco Williams, John B. Moore, & Sacha Dzuba

LITTLE BROTHER – LEFTBACK (Hall of Justice) LB’s last call to lyrically enthrall DW: One thing you have to respect about the guys in Little Brother is they have no problem dusting themselves off after a fall and getting right back at it. The crew’s ’05 work, The Minstrel Show, knocked but did almost no business at the record shop. The NC natives with the casually conscious flow bit the bullet and took another shot with Getback in ’07. The same thing happened: Solid music, so-so sales. In recent interviews, group members Phonte and Big Pooh haven’t directly faulted poor chart movement for Little Brother’s unfortunate impending breakup, but one has to wonder if the blows finally took their toll.

If Leftback is indeed the group’s last time in the ring, the duo comes out hitting like Floyd Mayweather with a Louisville Slugger. “Curtain Call” is the lead single, an apropos number that reflects on the crew’s past few years together. On “Get Enough” and “24” the two trade brainy bars over some smooth Khrysis backdrops, only adding to the confusion as to why the crew never got the publicity or push their talents warranted. Maybe thematic prose (see: “After the Party”) is too ’95.

Maybe soulful tempos (see: “Tigallo for Dolo”) are just soooo ’05. Or maybe if the masses just grew the fuck up, we’d still have Little Brother around to balance the hip-hop scales a little longer.

FELA KUTI – REISSUES (Knitting Factory) The re-introduction of Africa’s greatest musical legend BL: If you’ve never heard Afrofunk innovator Fela Kuti, there’s never been a better time to discover the music legend, whose life story is currently one

of Broadway’s hottest hits.

The son of a feminist activist in Nigeria’s anticolonial movement and a Protestant minister who became president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, brother of two well-known medical doctors and cousin to the first African Nobel Prize winner, Fela came by his socio-political influences honestly. His outspoken passion for change (as well as the furiously funky rhythms laid down by his band, Nigeria ’70) made him Africa’s answer to Bob Marley, but he’s always been better known in Europe than he has here in the United States.

This set of six CDs contains nine classic albums from his early years– including Gentleman, Confusion, Afrodisiac and more– blending James Brown-influenced funk with jazz, salsa and African elements to create a sizzling sound with conscious lyrics that remain as relevant as ever today. The first in a planned set of remastered reissues, these excellent, infectious albums are a perfect primer in one of the greatest talents Africa has ever produced.

THE GORILLAZ – PLASTIC BEACH (Virgin) Strength through (stylistic) diversity JC: Welcome to Plastic Beach, a land where recycling is the dream and capitalism is a curse.

Techno beats run rampant, and Snoop Dogg drops in to incorporate his conversational PG 20 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

The Dean’s List

flow over some synthetic keys, letting listeners know, “The revolution will be televised.” And that’s just the beginning.

As fans have come to expect with any Gorillaz album, variety is a spice served through an explosion of disparate genres, but mostly centered in hip-hop. Damon Albarn, the creative genius behind the wildly animated crew who brought you hit songs like “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000,” once again brings with him an assortment of colorful musicians to help him paint vivid portraits of life on Plastic Beach. Mos Def guests on “Stylo,” one of the album’s most noteworthy tracks, with Bobby Womack adding soul to a song that’s half Knight Rider trance, half East Coast rap.

“Empire Ants” introduces a set of sultry strings that unexpectedly turns into an electro/synthpop beat thanks to some help from Swedish band Little Dragon.

The songs that work best channel what made the Gorillaz famous in the first place— futuristic club beats topped with a socially conscious flow. The track “Sweepstakes” misses the target, coming off as a bit annoying thanks to Mos Def shouting the song’s title in a headache-inducing wail over and over and over again. But for the most part Plastic Beach is a solid success because the album stays true to its theme of anti-industrialization and excess, leaving you sonically surprised from track to track. As my co-worker said, “If you hadn’t told me this was The Gorillaz, I would never have guessed.” And did I mention that Lou Reed makes an appearance?

Rest of the Class FISHBONE – LIVE IN BORDEAUX (Ter A Terre) Once-stellar ska/punk band hits more than a few sour notes live JM: The latest live CD/DVD by storied ska/funk/ metal/reggae band Fishbone is a bit scattered, at times sloppy, mostly chaotic and occasionally entertaining… a description which pretty much sums up the band as well. Together in some form since 1979, the band has seen more than its fair share of members come and go over the years. Their latest lineup is decent, but not necessarily the best.

On Live In Bordeaux (the band’s third live record in less than a decade, for those keeping score), the group plays the appropriate influential hits, including enduring classics such as “Party at Ground Zero,” “Bonin’ In the Bone Yard” and their funked-up cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Freddie’s Dead.”

But at this point it just seems like the band is simply going through the motions, especially when peers like the Red Hit Chili Peppers manage to come up with a successful new album every few years. GRADE: C+

TADDY PORTER – SELF-TITLED (Primary Wave) Great Southern rock that sounds like it could’ve come out 30 years ago JM: In the world of Taddy Porter, we’re all hauling ass down a Birmingham dirt road circa 1970-something, blaring FM radio with the windows rolled down.

On their self-titled debut, the Stillwater, Oklahoma foursome (none of whom are named Taddy, by the way) deliver badass, arena-ready Southern rock in the vein of Kings of Leon (before everyone decided to start hating the band) and Bad Company. Though their classic rock influences come across loud and clear, the record still manages to sound refreshingly original in a scene filled with copycats.

Songs like the destined-to-be-a-classic “Shake Me” and the boot-stomper “Gotta Get You Back” serve as a perfect reminder of just how homogenous so much contemporary rock ‘n’ roll has become over the past few years. Who knew it would take a group of ‘70s-minded Okies to remind us that rock music is supposed to be fun?

GRADE: AKAKI KING – JUNIOR (ROUNDER) Making the transition from masterful to mundane BL: The first female ever proclaimed a “Guitar God” by Rolling Stone, this former Atlantan has been building career momentum for years now. She earned a Golden Globe nod for her contribution to the musical score for Sean Penn’s film Into The Wild, served as guitar double for the lead character in August Rush, and performed on the Foo Fighters’ Grammy-winning album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.

It’s impossible to argue with King’s prowess on guitar, but the wisdom in her gradual transition from masterful instrumentalist to more conventional singer-songwriter is up for debate. Junior finds her increasingly focused on vocals and lyrics, both of which largely remain hit-and-miss. Though she sounds more assured when belting it out on “The Betrayer” and “Death Head,” her understated guitar playing on instrumentals such as “Sloan Shore” is more potent and powerful than her limited voice could ever hope to be. GRADE: BBETH THORNLEY – WASH U CLEAN (Stiff Hips Music) Difficult to classify indie singer-songwriters JM: Don’t look now, but Los Angeles (by way of Alabama) musician Beth Thornley may have turned in the first record of 2010 that is simply impossible to cram into an easily definable genre. And just in case you’re wondering, yes, that’s a good thing.

Thornley’s third album, Wash U Clean, is at times power-pop, at times singer-songwriter folk, and at times indie-rock… and occasionally it’s all of these at once. Rather than sounding sloppy, the effect is refreshingly brilliant.

From the quirky album-opening title track– a song that could easily have been written by Beck in the late ‘90s– to the Death Cab for Cutie vibe

of “It’s Me,” Thornley delivers an almost perfect album here. The only stumble on the record is the too-goofy-for-its-own-good track “You’re So Pony.” Otherwise, it’s a nearly flawless effort that will hopefully bring even better things to come.

GRADE: B+ NERVOUS CURTAINS – OUT OF SYNCH WITH TIME (Last Flame) Mediocre side-projects JM: The Paper Chase keyboardist Sean Kirkpatrick doesn’t stray too far from the sound of his main gig on this full-length recording with his side-project, Nervous Curtains.

The trio, which is also comprised of drummer Robert Anderson (formerly of Deathray Davies) and guitarist Ian Hamilton (Jack With One Eye), plays a similar mixture of avant-garde jazz and noise rock, but with slightly more accessible songs.

Out of Synch With Time, though clearly not for most mainstream musical tastes, does have its occasional winning moments. These include “All Yesterday’s Parties,” which comes across as a sort of gothic Jonathan Richman, and the Peter Murphy-influenced “Losing Touch With My Senses.” But unfortunately the bulk of the album is easily forgettable post-punk filler. Oh well… at least he still has his day job. GRADE: BSHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS – I LEARNED THE HARD WAY (DAPTONE) The sweet sound of soul BL: Before Amy Winehouse said no, no, no to “Rehab or Duffy begged for “Mercy,” there was Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.

The Brits have had more mainstream success in reviving the sweet sounds of ‘60s soul, but fortunately karma has a way of working things out. The group’s last album (2007’s 100 Days, 100 Nights) was their most successful to date, and in the last year Jones has been invited to perform with Phish and Michael Bublé. Now, Jones and her DapKings are releasing I Learned The Hard Way, their most stellar collection to date. Opening with the brassy horns of “The Games Get Old,” the album is an instant classic that could easily pass for some long-lost ‘60s soul gem from the Stax/Volt vaults.

“So many times I’ve played the game of love/but it always ends in vain/I’m back in the ring with my boxing gloves/so I’m gonna feel some pain,” Jones sings in the opening verse, her voice conveying every ounce of emotion her 54 years have enabled her to express.

The title track is another cunningly crafted composition, plucking at the heartstrings with good old-fashioned girl-done-wrong storytelling.

The group has a great sense of dynamics, throwing in an upbeat party track like “Better Things” when the proceedings get too gloomy or taking the energy down a notch with a funky slow-burner like “Money” to keep things interesting. People simply don’t make albums like this anymore: From the slow-build tension of “She Ain’t A Child No More” to the weepy closing lament of “Mama Don’t Like My Man,” there’s not a weak track in the bunch. Every move here is so exquisitely executed, every note so heartfelt, every lyric so soulful, it’s almost impossible to believe the album was made in 2010. The fact that it was should make true music lovers very thankful to have discovered I Learned The Hard Way. And it definitely deserves to make Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings into stars.

GRADE: A

COMEDY

EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS Even in an off-the-cuff interview, Chris Rock brings the funny

BY B. LOVE

T

HERE ARE ESSENTIALLY TWO types of stand-up comedians: Those who work really hard at being funny, and those who just naturally ARE funny. Chris Rock, who was once named the Funniest Man in America

by Entertainment Weekly and ranked #5 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, definitely belongs in the latter group.

Whether riffing onstage or sitting down for an interview, Rock will keep you in stitches with his off-the-cuff improv skills, fearlessly tackling subjects ranging from the female anatomy (“Ugly hair is not a deal-breaker for men. An ugly ass, now that’s a different story!”) to Michael Jackson’s afterlife and the state of Black cinema. And with his critically acclaimed documentary, Good Hair, recently released on DVD and his latest film, Death At A Funeral, in theaters this month, the Brooklynbred 44-year-old certainly has a lot to talk about…

You mined stories from your childhood to great effect on Everybody Hates Chris. What were you like as a kid?

It’s weird, people would laugh when I got really mad and serious. I always had a way with words. To this day, 40% of my standup act is things I’ve said in heated discussions or arguments that people laughed at. I’d think, “I’ll use that one day,” but I was dead serious when I said it!

Growing up in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, you were the first black kid in your school. What was that like?

It was horrible. But it gives you a total realistic view of the world that people from better places never have. You’ll never be let down, and people will never surprise you because the bar of expectations is set very low. So what, I’m going to sit here and talk about how I got treated like crap in school? (Laughs) It took me a few years, but I won!

Do you think you’d be as funny as you are today if you’d grown up in, say, Beverly Hills?

No, I’d suck! There’s nothing funny about growing up in Beverly Hills. But when you can’t afford to go to the movies or leave your neighborhood, making each other laugh is your only form of entertainment.

Good Hair dealt with the way people express themselves through their hair. Did you ever use your hair in that way when you were growing up?

Oh, I had everything! In New Jack City I had a jheri curl, I’ve had processed hair, used relaxers and whatever. Before the Obamas, the Jacksons were America’s black First Family. So whatever the Jacksons had in their hair, I would figure out a way to get it in my hair.

The way it’s described in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, relaxers sound like a torturous experience.

With my aunts and my mother, I’d smell these chemicals and hear screams and stuff, so I was familiar with it. But it’s like any drug: “I’m not going to get hooked! It’s not going to burn me!” I remember the first time, it was like when you’re a kid and you touch an electrical socket and get shocked. It was like my head was on FIRE! That’s what it’s like. And you want to keep it in there long enough to get the hair straighter. It’s like, “Just hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Ten more minutes and I’ll look white!”

I MET MICHAEL JACKSON AND HE GLARED AT ME FROM ACROSS THE ROOM. I SEE JANET ALL THE TIME AND SHE STILL CUTS ME THIS MAD LOOK. IF YOU TOLD ME AS A KID THAT THE JACKSONS WERE GOING TO KICK MY ASS, I’D HAVE THOUGHT YOU WERE CRAZY!

Did being a smartass ever get you into trouble as a kid?

Nah, I knew when to keep my mouth shut just from being smaller than everybody. The bphysical dictates the mental, you know? Martin Luther King Jr. was non-violent, and he was 5’4” tall. Malcolm X was talking about “By any means necessary,” but he was over six feet tall and could whip your butt.

Coincidence? I don’t think so!

You’re known for talking a lot of smack about other celebrities. Have you ever had any uncomfortable encounters with the people you mock in your act?

Yeah, I met Michael Jackson and he glared at me from across the room. I see Janet all the time and she still cuts me this mad look. If you told me as a kid that the Jacksons were going to kick my ass, I’d have thought you were crazy! But I’ve talked about Michael’s hair a bunch of times. I did a joke when he was on trial about how if he went to jail, he couldn’t maintain the perm, so it’s gonna grow out and the naps will come in. I wonder if they have hair care products in heaven or hell? I think he does shows in Heaven and then they make him go to Hell. But he had so many perms, he’s not going to burn in hell! “I’m used to this burn. You gotta put up the heat!” (Laughs) We’re going to miss Michael. There was lots of good humor there.

You grew up in New York, but the film business is centered in Hollywood. Did you ever think about moving out there?

Nah, I’ve been fortunate. Right before I got on Saturday Night Live, I was scheduled to move to L.A. But then I got SNL and I said, “I think I’ll stay.”

To me, L.A. is like the wild, wild West, where you go to town to get your supplies and go home. So I go to town to do a movie and then I go home. I try to live a normal life without photographers and stuff chasing me around, bugging my kids.

Did having kids change your approach to comedy at all?

Not really. Having kids has affected me like having kids affected Eminem, you know what I mean?

Some people have kids and they become like bornagain parents: “Everything’s got to be different!

I’ve got kids now! We’re not going to talk like that around here anymore!” All their behavior changes because they hate themselves and who they were. I didn’t really hate myself before I had kids, so I just had to make a few adjustments.

So many of the storylines on Everybody Hates Chris centered around the strict way your parents raised you. How is parenting different for you?

I think there’s more that parents have to do these days. When I was a kid there were 12 television channels, and maybe there was one you had to make sure the kids weren’t watching. Now there are 300 different channels and 250 of them are not appropriate for children. You’ve also got the Internet, so you have these images constantly coming at you. That’s different, but otherwise raising kids is the same as it was 100 years ago. There’s no such thing as “quality time” with your children: It’s just time. You can’t control the quality of the time you spend with your children, like, “We’re going to do some good stuff today!” Good stuff happens at any moment every time you’re with your kids.

There’s certainly been some good stuff happening in your career in recent years. Can you talk about some of the positive and negative aspects of your success?

It’s kinda like going to a baseball game and having big breasts: You get attention wherever you go.

The difference when you’re a guy is that generally people want money, whereas when you’re a girl they generally want to sleep with you. It depends on what you like. I’ve never been one to dwell on the negatives of fame. I like being famous, and I can’t imagine not being famous. I was not famous for most of my life… forget that! (Laughs) Your new film, Death At A Funeral, seems like an odd choice for you. What was the attraction there?

That’s exactly why I did it! It’s a remake of a British movie starring me and Martin Lawrence as fighting brothers. We hate each other. Our dad dies and we find out he’s gay at the funeral, where his lover tries to shake us down for money and jokes happen. It’s gonna be huge!

What do you think about the state of black cinema today?

They don’t make as many movies directed squarely towards a black audience as they used to.

When Spike Lee came out we had all these wannabe Spikes– John Singleton, Matty Rich, the Hughes brothers– and it appears that has dried up. There’s a line in the movie I’m Gonna Get You Sucka: Keenan Ivory Wayans is trying to get a posse together to hunt down Mr. Big and he says, “Where’s all the Revolutionaries?” Clarence Williams III looks him in the eye and goes, “They got government jobs.”

(Laughs) That’s kind of what happened to black films. Those people are getting a lot of work on mainstream films, so you have less [black-oriented] stuff out there. I like what Tyler Perry’s doing, how he’s established a distinctive brand. Tyler Perry has a certain movie he makes, and it’s great because it serves an underserved audience.

And you’ve got your own distinctive brand of comedy, one that many would argue is among the best of all-time.

Really? I’ll take it, but I don’t give it that much

thought. It’s not good for you, you know what I mean? Derek Jeter can’t be thinking about how he’s an iconic Yankee when he’s stepping up to bat. I’m happy more for my parents than for me: my family can really like enjoy stuff like that. Me, I have to work.

Do those kinds of accolades make you uncomfortable?

A little bit. But at the same time, I’ve been doing it a long time so it’s nice to have made some mark there.

Do you think that comedy is in better shape now than when you started?

It’s in much better shape. When I started there was no Comedy Central, and forget about being a black comic! It was superstar or bust: There was Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby; there was no room to be like the black Paul Reiser. You either had to be a superstar or you didn’t work. Now there’s all sorts of levels of comedians, which is great.

A lot of comics don’t tour as much once they get older, but your Kill The Messenger Tour was one of your biggest to date. Is standup comedy still rewarding for you?

I still get a thrill from it and get paid handsomely for it. I’m fortunate because the road is bigger now than it was back in the day. Guys like Richard Pryor couldn’t play the whole world. That was always the problem with comedians, because musicians could play the whole world and they could make all this money. Part of it was just awareness and recognition, and part of it was the jokes just didn’t translate. But in the age of the Internet, the world is so small that I can play anywhere they speak English.

Think you’ll ever stop touring?

I don’t see that happening. If you see me not touring, I’ve got a LOT of money! (Laughs) It’s nice to be funny without all the accoutrements of film– the cameramen, the actors, the directors. It’s an instant connection with the audience. It’s as close as I’ll ever come to being an athlete, because it’s a live event where anything could happen. I have to think constantly while I’m on stage. The show could actually go bad, you know what I mean? I could lose! It’s hard to lose that big with a movie.

PG 21 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

MONICA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

14–18

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PG 22 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

It’s emotional most of the way through, I will say that. I speak very candidly on things that have happened to me. It’s very R&B. It’s very much about love. It’s very much about loses. It’s very much about understanding that we determine who we become. I have a record from Jim Jonsin that’s called “Mirror.” It’s just about looking in the mirror and being happy with what you see. So, [the album is] a combination of a lot of different things, but I can say that it’s very real. Everything I felt I was very open about.

Define success for me, and have you attained it yet?

I think that over the last two years I have truly become successful. To me success doesn’t equate to money or fame. I look at success as being something that can only be real to you if you’re genuinely happy. I think of all the extremely wealthy people that are so miserable that I see on the regular basis. To me, that’s not really success. I feel successful because I wake up and I’m happy with my life. I’m happy with the fact that I have two children. I’m happy with the fact that I make music that I love.

You became famous early on. Any advice for people dealing with young stardom?

The reason my teenage years in the music business were so enjoyable was because my mother always told me that as long as this was something that I wanted to do, it was okay. I think that what scares me with people who bring me demos and things like that is that it seems some parents live vicariously through their children. They push them. They almost force them, even if they love music, into different areas and different things with the hope of success or becoming rich and famous. I think that would absolutely be the wrong thing to do. I think that the music business is only enjoyed when you can enjoy it. I think that I enjoyed my career most because it was what I really wanted to do. I didn’t mind having a tutor and never experiencing prom. I didn’t mind when people were having dances or enjoying different things that I was on tour, sometimes doing two shows a night. That was really what I wanted. I think the way a parent can best prepare their child is to be very open and honest about [the business] and ask them what it is they want.

MUSIC

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Canadian genre-blender k-os has been waiting for the music industry to catch up

BY MATT CONNER

H

IS STYLE FURROWED BROWS a decade ago. Now, it’s inciting crowds every night with high-profile opening spot with Drake. The Canadian hip-hop of k-os features an intriguing blend of indie rock elements and non-standard collaborations (i.e. Emily Haines

of Metric or his friends in Broken Social Scene), which wasn’t always so appreciated. Now, however, his day has come.

K-os insists he’s learned several lessons himself along the way, but that he’s glad the music industry has learned to relax about official boundaries of genres and categories. Instead, the sonic amalgam created on his latest release, Yes!, is finding an appreciative audience without a need to qualify the sound.

You’ve said before that you’re learning to just let go and enjoy the music. So what are you holding onto at this point?

That because of my weird religious upbringing and the ability for me to grow up as a black person in Canada without that identity being pressed upon me because Canada is so young, it allowed me to embrace a musical style that involves a lot of different music. I just have to keep doing that.

That’s all I’m here to do. Whether it goes #1 on Billboard or whether people never know me and I’m on my death bed, it doesn’t matter. Whether this or that person is getting attention and I’m not, that’s what all artists go through. It doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is whether or not I will continue to do what I’m doing and be who I am despite the mainstream saying it’s all over the place. As long as I continue to be true to myself and have fun with it, which is why I got into music, then I’ll be fine. As long as I’m having fun, I’m down. But the moment I stop having fun, I’ll pack it in and focus on giving someone else energy.

As long as hip-hop is fun to me, I’ll continue to feel like I’m 18-years-old and this whole ideology.

Especially now, I feel like I’m coming around to how I felt back then.

When you look back on those early albums, do you think you were ahead of the curve musically?

I was definitely ahead of the curve, not because I was some visionary in the studio thinking that I wanted to be ahead of the curve. I just did me.

That happened to just be ahead of the curve. I grew up in the suburbs. I grew up listening to Strawberry Switchblade and Echo and the Bunnymen. It just came naturally to me -- the electro music or whatever. I was just listening to that in school, so I saw no reason that it shouldn’t be in hip-hop. At the time it seemed strange to everyone -- the acoustic guitars and electric guitars existing in hip-hop, so it seemed that I was trying to protest and go against the grain. Black music has a very distinct sound and style in America. It has a distinct dress and twang, so for me to show up in itself, the appearance of k-os from the beginning was so different than the American music landscape. But I didn’t do it to spite anybody. I just did it because I was prideful and I didn’t want to change who I was to make music. I never got into music to conform, but to be creative and be myself. So the music was ahead of the curve, but the individual wasn’t trying to be.

I wanted to ask about your collaborations, because of all the people you could work with,

why tap Murray [Lightburn, The Dears] or Emily [Haines, Metric] on the shoulder?

It’s the same way that Drake will text and say he’s in the studio with Wayne or Young Jeezy. These people become your friends after a while. They’re even friends first before they take to the music.

They seem themselves in another guy and they hang out and do music and hit it off. Murray from The Dears is another guy whose parents are from South America, which is where Trinidad and my parents are from. He plays guitar and all kinds of instruments and he’s into The Smiths, so I look up to him as an older brother. He’s a very picky guy, but I think he finally came to the realization that he liked my stuff -- two or three songs per record.

He’s very picky. [Laughs] So when I was in the studio, I told him I would send him this track and he just laced it. Emily is also someone I’ve loved for a long time, not just as a musician, but she’s a genius lyricist. I love everything about her and she’s just an amazing woman.

You said you’re so different from Drake, so what do you take from a tour like this for your own music?

The thing that I love is his confidence. I think that’s hard for a Canadian kid when you’re American to look those kids in the face and think, ‘Not only am I one of you, but you’re one of me and let’s do this together.’ I’d never really looked at it that way before. It was always ‘us against them.’

It was the Canadians from the North and the Americans who don’t understand me. [Laughs] But I’ve seen Drake’s show twice now from beginning to end on this tour and it’s just amazing how he connects with the crowd. I bring him up because I’m proud of it and I’m proud of what we’ve created. It’s just going out there with an attitude of positivity. It’s easier for Drake than for me, because the crowd doesn’t really know me.

But I can look people in the eyes now and that’s the most amazing part.

FIREWORKS ARE INDEED INVOLVED The emotional rock structures of Glasgow’s There Will Be Fireworks deserve to be heard

BY MATT CONNER

T

HEY HAVE PERHAPS THE MOST APPROPRIATE name of any recent debut. Just the moniker There Will Be Fireworks exudes the sort of musical expectations and emotions without ever hearing the first note. No surprise then, when I first heard the Scottish band’s emotive energy within their infectious rock structures. Last year found the Glasgow quintet’s debut on several yearend lists and made fans hopeful for a new favorite band to follow.

We recently found Nicky McManus to discuss their debut and where they choose to go musically from here. It’s a hard decision, and McManus says the band’s right in the middle of the process.

Being on this side of the pond, it’s difficult to get a proper gauge on what traction or momentum you guys are getting over there in the UK. So how would you describe success from your end?

It’s difficult to judge for us too! I wouldn’t say we’ve had any “success” in a commercial sense. Success for us was writing and recording a whole album and managing to release it at all, considering that we were doing it on a shoestring and with no help from labels or PR people.

And it was our first time recording anything. The fact that we’ve sold a modest amount and have made enough money to fund future recording is a major thing for us. It means we can do another record or two without having to worry about being utterly skint. We have noticed momentum building slowly over the last few months though. A lot of industry people have been getting in contact with us recently, which I suppose is one was of gauging momentum. But yeah, for the most part, we’re in the dark too.

everyone together can be a bit troublesome with so many different schedules going on. A lot of the time I’d have songs knocking about for months before we got a chance to work on them as a band. And similarly, we’d have weeks or months in between recording sessions.

In a way, that was a good thing because it gave us time to think about the sound and to decide what we wanted to add or subtract from the songs. But it also became a bit obsessive after a while.

my head, and I’m sure it’s the same for Gibran. What will usually happen is that I’ll have an idea for a song — that could be quite a full idea, with a structure and lyrics, or just a few chords with the semblance of a melody — and then we’ll all get together and everyone else will have their way with the song. For the most part, everyone writes whatever they play. Sometimes it works instantly and sometimes it can be incredibly frustrating and get a bit tetchy. We’ve probably abandoned a good number of songs that were worth persisting with because of that.

When it starts to come together, it’s a really nice feeling.

You say that you had some of the songs knocked out, but then you had to wait. So did certain songs on the last album change in form much at all while you had to sit with them by yourself for quite a while?

Yeah, probably most of them changed. Maybe not so much the structure, since that usually falls into place when we’re all together. But the melodies and the lyrics were revised a fair bit. Foreign Thoughts, for instance, had about four different melodies and a few sets of half-formed lyrics before I settled on the one that you hear on the album.

Is there any early indications of some change in direction on the newer material?

Yeah, definitely. Part of the issue we’re having just now is that there are a few changes of direction going on, and we’re trying to decide where we want to go as a band. We are in a process of transition. I think we still sound like ourselves, but there are definitely a few new elements involved. We’ve basically been listening to a lot of diverse stuff and it’s inevitable that that will impact on our own sound. I would tentatively say that we have moved slightly away from the post-rock stuff. There’s still a lot of noise in some of the songs, but we’re not really following that sort of quiet/loud structure so much at the moment.

How much ownership does the band have on all of songs overall? Is it a common thread that most of the songs reside with you for the most part and then are fleshed out later by the rest of the band?

We share the songs. The majority of the songs on the album were started by me and then fleshed out, but Gibran [Farrah] started some as well. They hardly ever end up sounding the way they initially do in

You say what you’re headed away from, but where is it that you are headed toward?

That’s the thing. We aren’t entirely sure. There are a lot of disparate things going on — a lot of quiet stuff, some really heavy stuff, a few noise-poppy songs. We’re writing so much different stuff that we will probably have to pare ourselves down to a more consistent sound.

What made that such an obstacle? I know you mention no money, so is that the primary reason?

Yeah, the obstacles were primarily money and finding the time to actually write and record together. We don’t do this full time, so getting PG 23 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

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Our classes are fun, compact and project-oriented. You will create paperweights, tumblers and other beautiful pieces as you learn basic glassblowing techniques like gathering and reheating. We have classes on Saturday, Sunday for one and two day classes and Wednesday for five weeks 7-10pm. Janke Studios also has a Mobile Glassblowing Studio for demos, classes or educational purposes. Visit Janke studios and you'll never see glass the same way again. Conveniently, located at StudioPlex at 659 Auburn Avenue. For information on upcoming classes call 404-584-0305, email jankeglass@aol.com or go to www.jankestudios.com.

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The future for Brown College graduates is bright. National employment trends predict continued demand and opportunity for their specialized skill. Brown College has enjoyed a 38 year history and offers their graduates career service assistance resulting in over 95% placement rate. Brown College is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, approved by the National Court Reporter's Association, and affiliated by the National Verbatim Reporter's Association. Financial aid is available to those who qualify. 1900 Emery Street NW, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30318

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OPEN TO THE PUBLIC South University's College of Business can prepare you for bigger challenges and responsibilities and greater rewards. Maybe you'd like 800-543-3202 SKIN to branch into a CARE: new field. Maybe you'd just NAIL CARE: ����������������� � ������������������� ���������������� LIFE.edu like to re-tackle your old one. Outfitting your ��������������������������������� career plan with a master's degree can put you ������������������������������������ Life University was founded in 1974 as Life ���������������������� �������pos- ����������������� in the lead - faster than you ever thought College, a school of chiropractic with only 22 sible. And with the Accelerated MBA, you can �������������������������������������� WAXING: students in its first class. Today, with more do it in ��������������������������������������� as little as one year. The AMBA pro- ����������������������� ����������� than 14,000 alumni, Life University has gram features a concentrated, accelerated cur- ����������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� expanded to a complete and fully accredited riculum�������� designed������������������������������� for the working profession- SAFE TAN: university that offers two associate degrees, al. So you can keep your current job while you nine ����������� ��������������������������� ������������� undergraduate degrees, a masters degree prepare ������������������������������������ for a better one. Turn yourself into the and a doctorate of chiropractic. ���������������������������������� whole package. Perfect the skills you have, and With a diverse student population, Life add new ones you thought you'd never get.

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1. CLUTTERED & DISORGANIZED The typical interview will spend 10-15 seconds reviewing a resume. If your resume has an unprofessional style and format, that review time drops to about 2 seconds and your resume is instantly sent to the delete box. Make sure your information is well organized and structured so that it reflects you as a professional.

2. LACK OF FOCUS "A position where I can grow and make a strong contribution." That type of generic objective is universally hated by all employers. Instead write an objective that PG 26 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

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In every program, students enjoy the benefit of a highly supportive atmosphere where work is often in team and group settings with highly qualified, caring faculty and supportive peers. From the president to all campus employees, Life University is committed to creating a student-centered learning environment, featuring a student-faculty ratio of 15:1.

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SPORTS

SINCE YOU CAN’T BEAT’EM, JOIN’EM The Atlanta Beat Achieve their Goal of Bringing Premier Women’s Pro Soccer to the City

BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

W

ITH THE ECONOMY STILL IN flux and so many options out there for family entertainment bucks, some might think the idea of women’s pro soccer in Atlanta isn’t a good one. Those same folks probably think Serena Williams and Diana Taurasi have no right being in Sports Illustrated either. But like with WNBA, LPGA and other growing associations, two-year-old Women’s Professional Soccer is a league of extraordinary women who play the world’s most popular sport at an extremely high level.

The Atlanta Beat are an expansion team dealing with the usual challenges of a first-year club, female or male. Thanks to great young players like Tobin Heath and Ramona Bachmann and the new, 8,000-seat Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium though, the debut season promises more goals than gaffes. For INsite’s formal introduction to the WPS, we sit down with Bachmann, the 19-year-old Swiss sensation who scored the franchise’s first goal on April 18, to talk soccer, stress and how she kicks it in Atlanta.

Ramona, when did you know you were special in soccer?

I started playing when I was four, and my first experience was playing on a boys teams. Even from the beginning, I could already dribble away from them. I was already playing at their same level. Most of the time, when girls play alongside boys, you see a noticeable difference. But when I played, the boys would get angry because I could keep up with them.

I almost always knew that I had a special talent…

When I was 12-years-old, I was invited to football school in Switzerland. The best 12 players in the country were invited, and I was a year younger than all the other girls there. We had trained throughout the week and lived with host families. On weekends, we had the chance to go home and to play with the clubs from our hometowns. It was special to know that I was the youngest and that I was as good as and even better than most of the other players there. After the school, I went to play a half year with 15 year olds. I scored the most goals in the league, and again, I was the youngest player.

Atlanta offers a lot in the way of sports right in the heart of the city. Why should folks in Midtown/ East Atlanta make the drive to Kennesaw to check you all out?

We play really good soccer. We have a great team with many really good players. If you want to see football at the top level, come watch us. We have the talent and we all can play really nice soccer. We are really striving to be the best team in the World. It’s time. We are a new team, but we have all the players.

Soccer is exciting and it’s a great opportunity to experience something new, different and amazing.

You’ve essentially become the name and face of the organization and you’re not even 20 years old.

How are you able to handle that kind of responsibility?

It’s not always easy because you have a lot of pressure. I put myself under a lot of pressure. I shouldn’t, and I know that, but I do. For me, it’s really nice to be in this situation. I want to stay on the ground and I don’t want to get a big head or be ar-

rogant because I know how fast it can all be over. I always want to stay on the ground and do my thing.

My goal is to become the best player in the world. I need hard work and, of course, a lot of confidence to get there, but I trust in myself. I am not afraid to say how good I am, but I still say that I need to work hard on my own to be able to get there.

Coming from Umea in Sweden, one of the best women’s soccer programs in the world, to the Beat has to take some adjusting to when it comes to wins and losses. How have you prepared yourself for the struggles that are sure to come from a firstyear team?

I know that when you go to a new team, or a new league, everything is new. For me, it is no problem.

I kind of know that this stuff will come. I need to be focused on the game and try to help the team.

Since moving to Atlanta full time, what has been your impression of the city?

I have only been into the city one time, so I don’t know much about it except that I really like it. I like the weather here, I really do. The people are really open and nice. The city is really big and there is great shopping. We have a lot of good sports here like baseball and basketball. I really want to see the other professional teams play. I think that would be a lot of fun.

When you aren’t working out or practicing, what are a few things you like to do around town?

I like to sleep in the sun. How do you say that in English? I like to lay out, go out to eat, hang out with teammates here. Of course, I go to the city and go shopping. I like to go to concerts as well.

It’s been well documented how this country has

taken its sweet time to warm up to soccer. If you were WPS commissioner, what are a few things you would do to make the league (and the sport in general) more appealing to the masses?

I think right now the American league is the best female league in the world. If people are interested in seeing top level soccer, they need to see it here.

Most do not like it or embrace it because they have not seen it. Once they come out to see great soccer, they will come back again and again to be fans. It’s different between men’s and women’s games across the board, but I think our technical ability is on the same level as men. The only difference is that they are stronger and faster. The speed of the game is almost the same. People should stop trying to compare men and women’s sports and just look at the game itself.

FLAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 New York is just such a cosmopolitan, cutting-edge city in so many different areas, and obviously food is one of them. There are so many great chefs here, and having them all in one pool creates an atmosphere of competitiveness that just pushes everyone to be a little bit better. Because of that, there are so many great restaurants here.

You’re obviously one of the most successful restaurant owners in the country. What are the key ingredients to making it in that business?

I’d need like an hour and a half for that conversation! (Laughs) I don’t even know where to begin. If I had to dumb it down, I’d say you need a very concise concept: It helps if you can describe it in one or two words. You also need to have enough financing to get you through the tough times when you first open. Marketing has changed a lot in the era of social media: At my restaurants we don’t spend any money on advertising, but I’m on TV a lot, which helps get the word out. But those are just a few of the important elements.

Why haven’t you opened a place in Atlanta yet?

I would never open a restaurant in an important food town like Atlanta. [Craft owner] Tom Colicchio will hate me for saying this, but I really believe that you should support your local chefs because those are the guys who are gonna be there. I have restaurants in Vegas and Atlantic City, but they’re not major food cities: It’s more about tourists coming in from out of town. So I wouldn’t open a restaurant in Atlanta, or L.A., or San Francisco or Chicago for that reason. I live in New York, and I’ve got plenty of room here.

You were criticized by a lot of people after battling Chef Morimoto for being cocky, and it’s clear you have a passion for the craft. Yet I’ve also read that, unlike Gordon Ramsey, you don’t like yelling in the kitchen. How do you temper your pursuit of perfection without getting angry?

Not to say that I don’t get angry, but I don’t think yelling and screaming gets people motivated. All it does it put them in fear, and eventually they get angry. My philosophy is that I prefer to motivate and inspire people by showing them rather than telling them, and that’s the way I’ve always done it. I have 950 employees, so one thing I always need to have in the kitchen is a cool head. The only time I get angry is when somebody does something they know they shouldn’t be doing. If somebody doesn’t

know how to do something right, then it’s my job to fix it.

There’s been an increased focus on farm-to-table freshness and organic foods in recent years: How do you think this will change the way people approach food over the coming decade?

It’s been happening for a while now, but I think slowly but surely people are starting to buy locally grown foods and think about food in a more intimate way, which I think is important.

I’m not personally diligent about it, but I obviously have participated in that movement and think over time it will become more and more prominent.

You’re coming to Atlanta for the Metropolitan Cooking Show: What can people expect from that experience?

Well, I’ll be cooking up a couple of dishes. I like to make my

demonstrations very interactive, with people asking questions and participating. Otherwise I’m just up there cooking while people are watching, which I find to be very boring. I like to have conversations with the audience as I’m cooking, and it usually works out to be a really fun time.

You’ve accomplished so much at the age of 45. What are you goals as you move forward in your career?

Well, I obviously want to keep my restaurants as good as they can be. I started a new restaurant about a year ago called Bobby’s Burger Palace and we have five of those now, so I’d like to open more of those. It gives me a chance to reach a lot of people I haven’t been able to reach in the past with my high-end restaurants, and it’s proving to be a very fun concept that I’d like to expand in the future.

PG 27 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

MUSIC

PUNK PIONEERS

nice bloke. My mate has the “Know Your Rights” logo tattooed on his leg and Joe signed it for him.

The next day he got the signature tattooed over.

What I remember most about Joe was the sheer passion he had when performing and also a great sense of humor.

A Return to Relevance for the Legendary GBH

BY JOHN B. MOORE

I

T FUNNY TO THINK THAT, 30 YEARS ago, when the guys in legendary British punk band GBH were putting together their first demo, Pete Wentz was still in diapers and Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara was little more than a dirty thought in his parents’ minds. Three decades later, GBH is still loading up the van to spread the gospel of hardcore and still churning out fist-in-the air, politically-tinged punk anthems. Their latest record, Piss and Perfume, is actually one of their best albums… well ever.

Originally christened Charged GBH in 1978, before dropping the word “charged” in the early ‘80s, the band is among the founding fathers of street punk– a gritty, working class version of the genre cited as formative influences by everyone from Rancid to Metallica. Though the music is light years away from what passes for mainstream punk rock today, the band is still highly influential.

Recently signed to Hellcat Records after years of lobbying by Rancid co-founder (and long-time fan) Lars Frederiksen, GBH is more relevant than they have ever been, with a dedicated following in Europe, Japan and here in the U.S. Singer Colin Abrahall – a genuinely nice guy – spoke with us recently about the band’s longevity, their decadesin-the-making relationship with Frederiksen and the current state of punk rock.

Congratulations on the new record. As a fan since the mid 80’s, it is by far one of my favorites.

When you first started playing together, did you

have any idea you would still be playing punk rock together in 2010?

Well, thanks. A satisfied customer. When we first started we only thought about the next day, or the next show, so never dreamed it would last for 30 years. It sounds worse when you say it out loud. Everything we did was a little victory against the world; the first show we played, the first song we write, etc.

You took some time off between the last record and Perfume and Piss. What do you do during the time off?

We’ve never taken any time off! It’s not like it was in the good old days of write/record/tour/ write/record/tour with a non-caring record company breathing down your neck. We may be a bit older now so we do what we want, when we want… kind of.

This is your first record for Hell Cat and I know the guys in Rancid are fan of your band. How did you end up on the label?

Yeah we’ve known Lars since he was 11 years old and he used to come to our shows in San Francisco and I think Lars and Tim (Armstrong) actually met at one of our shows. Lars has been on about producing an album for us for ages, but we never seemed to have all the ducks in a row for it. We demoed a few of the new songs and I sent Lars a copy and he played it to Tim. Tim loved it and now we are label mates.

I’m assuming “San Jose Wind” is about Joe Strummer. What do you remember most about him?

I got the chance to meet him when he played in Birmingham a couple of months before his death, but chickened out at the last minute. People say you should never meet your hero – or sleep with your dream girl or drive your dream car… well two out of three ain’t bad. A friend did go and meet him and said he was utterly charming; just a

South London’s The Business Reclaim Their Working Class Punk Throne

BY JOHN B. MOORE

OU’D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND AN OI! band that has had as much influence on the genre as South London’s working class heroes, The Business.

The lineup has gone through some renovations over the 30-plus years the band has been around– they even took a few years off in the ‘80s– but their music has always been a rallying cry for street punks and hardcore kids on both sides of the Atlantic. Over the years, the group has managed to inspire a generation of punks ranging from Operation Ivy to The Dropkick Murphys with anthems such as “Smash the Discos” and “Drinking and Driving.”

After another brief hiatus, The Business is thankfully back again this year with an album of live cuts and new songs on the recently resurrected Sailor’s Grave Records.

Founder/frontman Micky Fitz was kind enough to answer a few questions recently via e-mail about the new album, the band’s legacy and telling your detractors to “fuck off.”

You started the band 30 years ago. Did you have any idea then that you would still be doing this three decades later?

I’m not sure that 30 years ago I even knew what the word ‘decade’ meant, let alone three of ‘em.

The Business took some time off in the late ‘80s. Did you think you would ever reform the band?

No not at all, but when I wasn’t working, on weekends or whatever, I would daydream about gigging, never thinking it was soon to become a reality. The years ‘87-‘92 are now a very distant memory, thank fuck.

Why did you guys call it quits for a while?

The same reason as other bands, I should imagine. Apathy had set into the scene and with the “Isn’t it time you grew up?” brigade all round me, matters just took their course.

PG 28 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

Did you think punk rock would still be around decades later?

Like I said earlier, we never used to think about the future much, but punk rock I a part of rock n’ roll and we all know that will never die!

Do you have plans to tour during 2010?

Oh yes indeed sir. We start our U.S. tour in May. We are also doing the first four Warped Tour shows in California on the Legends Stage. In October, we are going to Japan, Australia and New Zealand and in all the time in between we are playing in the U.K. and Europe. No rest for the wicked, eh?

What can you tell me about the new record?

Well, we’re very pleased with it. It sounds exactly as we imagined it would. When writing it we tended to do a bunch – 3 or 4 songs at a time. We never planned it like that; it’s just the way it happened. We recorded it in our hometown of Birmingham. The engineer we were using, Miguel, works two weeks in Birmingham then two weeks in Portugal, so when Miguel was away we just carried on playing shows. It was good as it gave us time to listen to what we had recorded so far.

BACK IN BUSINESS Y

So what are your thoughts on the current punk rock scene?

It’s good. It’s always been good. The trendy bands may come and go, but there has always been a hardcore of good honest bands who care about the music and the scene more than being number one or appearing on front covers.

Having been a part of punk music from the very beginning, are you surprised that the genre is still around?

I’m more than pleased. The brigade I mentioned earlier were told in no uncertain terms by myself, “Told you so, now fuck off!”

Are you encouraged by what you hear from some of the younger punk bands?

Not just encouraged, but equally proud of being a part of this evergreen music scene.

What can you tell me about the new record?

There’s brand new studio takes together with archive live recordings. The sleeve cover alone makes it worth having!

You guys also took a while between this album and your last. Was there a conscious decision to take some time off?

No, but finding Tosh in the mornings is hard enough, let alone getting him in a clean studio!

What’s the biggest misconception about being in a working/touring punk band?

When people say how great it must be to travel to all those beautiful countries. The reason we ask for postcards to be on our rider is so that we can see where the fuck we are and what it looks like.

How did you end up connecting with Sailor’s Grave?

Constant obscene phone calls from Andy King, the CEO. Any plans to tour the U.S. this year?

Mais oui! (I’m fluent in German). We start the East Coast/Southern leg of the tour on April 22nd through May 16th, with the West Coast leg starting around September 8th through to October.

Anything else you want to add?

I’d just like to say a big thanks to you and your readers. See ya at the shows, and remember this: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.” You’ll be gob smacked!

TRAVEL

A WALK ON THE ���� SIDE Outdoor Adventures On the Dominican Republic’s Northern Coast

BY B. LOVE PHOTOS BY B. LOVE & MARY GABBETT

T

HE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD know about the Dominican Republic is that it’s hotter than Hades. A mile-long beach walk in the midday Dominican sun will suck the life out of you quicker than the torture machine from The Princess Bride.

Thank god for Willis Haviland Carrier, who invented air conditioning.

The second thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that the drivers are insane. Have you ever stepped on an anthill and watched the chaos that ensued as the little buggers scurried over, around and through each other in their haste to escape? Multiply that mayhem by 100, place it on pothole-laden roads, add a gazillion motorcycle-driving madmen with a death wish, and you have my personal vision of traffic hell. Thank god for Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the taxicab.

The third thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that it’s HUGE– the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba)– with 10 million people spread across 18,704 square miles. Thank god for our contact at the DR Board Of Tourism, who steered us towards the relatively tiny town of Puerto Plata (pop. 277,000).

Founded in the early 1500s, Puerto Plata sits on the northern coast, bounded by the Atlantic on one side and the mountain known as Pico Isabel de Torres on the other. The city where privateer Sir John Hawkins brought 400 slaves he’d abducted from Sierra Leone, launching Britain’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Puerto Plata is now increasingly popular among tourists seeking eco-friendly adventures, offering a less crowded alternative to hotspots such as Santo Domingo and Punta Cana. It was there that we touched down for a 5-day getaway, beginning at the all-inclusive Lifestyle Holiday Vacation Club.

The fourth thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is that its people are as generous as they are gorgeous: A simple compliment to the woman at reception led to her giving us a beautiful shell bracelet, insisting it

was her gift to us. After that we were off to VIP Beach, which offered stunning ocean views, comfy cabanas, 30-minute massages and attentive table service. It was all very posh, and after a rough few weeks of work we were content to immerse ourselves in the decadent luxury, winding down the day with a foodie-friendly 4-star dinner at their gourmet VIP restaurant.

The fifth thing you should know about the Dominican Republic is the wondrous concoction known as Mamajuana. A potent blend of dark rum, red wine, honey, and a variety of roots, herbs and barks, this traditional afterdinner drinks pack one hell of a wallop and is reported to have powerful effects on one’s libido (locals winkingly call it “Dominican Viagra”). Needless to say, we brought home three bottles.

The next day we were off at 8AM for our first adventure, a tram-ride up to the top of Mount Isabel de Torres, where there is a massive Christ the Redeemer statue modeled after the famous one in Brazil. Hiking through the 7-acre botanical gardens there felt like a different world from Puerto Plata’s congested streets– one filled with brilliant tropical flowers, bright blue bees, rare woodpeckers and hawks. It also offered spectacular views of the region, from the coastline to the lush rolling hills and thick jungle that make up the country’s interior.

By the time we got down the mountain the oppressive heat was already sapping our strength, so we made our way to the remote Serenity Beach.

Situated far from the hubbub at the resort’s center, the beach’s pristine shoreline, hammocks, cozy cabanas and complete lack of noise was just what we needed, and we spent the afternoon drinking Bailey Coladas, snorkeling the shallow reef and snoozing in the shade.

The following morning we were up with the sunrise for the 30-minute drive to Sosua Beach, where we met the guides of Northern Coast Diving for a snorkeling trek. We began in the broad network of reefs known as Tropical Garden at a site called Three Rocks, whose linearshaped formations come to within 15 feet of the surface and attract a plethora of colorful Spotted Drums, Parrotfish, Angelfish, Pipefish and even an occasional Moray Eel. We gradually made our way back to Sosua Bay, where an impressive reef formation barely 100 yards from the shore proved to be even more of a Grand Central Station for the area’s aquatic wildlife. But after three hours on the water in the blazing midday sun, we were cooked both literally and figuratively, anxious to make our way to the next stop on our trip.

Located in Cabarete, Velero Beach Resort is the rare kind of hotel you simply do not want to leave. The rooms aren’t all that luxurious (the Four Seasons Hotel this most definitely is

not), but there’s something about the place that makes you feel instantly at home, with full kitchens, tastefully decorated living rooms and ocean view patios. The non-chlorinated infinity pool proved the perfect place to cool down after our long day in the sun, with gorgeous private cabanas affording terrific views of the kiteboarding and windsurfing for which Cabarete is known (not to mention some pretty amazing sunsets). There are two restaurants on the small property as well, including open-air beachside dining and a more intimate garden restaurant called Toma Da Luna, where we had the best seafood paella we’d ever tasted.

We’d entertained the idea of yet another outdoor adventure the next day– perhaps a zip line tour in Puero Plata, exploring the caves of nearby El Choco National Park, or learning to kiteboard in the brisk Cabarete breeze– but Velero’s simple pleasures proved too tempting to resist. Instead, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast complete with strong Dominican coffee, went for a walk on the beautiful beach, soaked up some rays and got a nice mamajuana buzz on. By lunchtime we felt rejuvenated, ready to explore the sleepy beach town’s quaint shops and savor a typical Dominican lunch at Sandro’s (seriously, try their amazing arroz con pollo).

We knew we’d need our energy for our last full day in the Dominican Republic, when we’d planned to conquer the 27 Waterfalls Tour offered by Iguana Mama. “Conquer” may seem like a strong word, but trust me when I tell you that these guys have earned their endorsement from National Geographic Adventure. The extreme tour takes you deep into the heart of the Dominican jungle and up a series of waterfalls that vary in difficulty from easy to “Are you frickin’ KIDDING me?!”

Using everything from footholds in the rocks and crudely constructed ladders to ropes that require you to go up as a torrent of water is coming down, guides help guests gradually ascend to the top of 27 different falls in the span of an hour, at which point most of our crew was already winded and breathless. Of course, the fun part is coming back down: Hiking, shoot-

ing down natural rock waterslides, and leaping over 20 feet from narrow ledges into shallow pools surrounded on all sides by rocky cliffs, the descent is the definition of an adrenaline rush… especially when everyone is urging you with chants of “Cannonball! Cannonball! Cannonball!!!” It was an exhausting and exhilarating 8-hour excursion, but it also provided a once-in-a-lifetime crescendo to our time in the Dominican Republic.

In the end, while the country’s northern coast doesn’t garner quite as much attention as Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, the towns of Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete possess a distinctive charm perfectly suited for people looking for left-of-center travel destinations. And for us outdoor lovers, who tend to come home feeling like we need a vacation in order to recover from our vacation, it offers a plethora of pulsepounding options sure to satisfy your appetite for adventure.

CONTACT INFO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BOARD OF TOURISM Phone: 1-888-358-9594 www.godominicanrepublic.com LIFESTYLE HOLIDAYS VACATION CLUB (Cofresí Beach) Phone: 809-970-7777 www.lifestyleholidaysvc.com NORTHERN COAST DIVING (Calle Pedro Clisante #8, Sosua) Phone: 809-571-1028 www.northerncoastdiving.com VELERO BEACH RESORT (Calle la Punta 1, Cabarete) Phone: 809-571-9727 www.velerobeach.com IGUANA MAMA (Hwy 5, Cabarete) Phone: 809-571-0908 www.iguanamama.com

PG 29 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

Erotic SUN OF A GUN Fantasies Who knew savvy Phoenix Suns veteran Steve Nash would save his best for now?

Found SPORTS

at Inserection!

BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

O

F THE FIVE SOCALLED NBA experts at SI.com, only one picked the Phoenix Suns to even make the Western Conference in the Finals. And even he had them ultimately losing to the LA Lakers. Why not one so-called guru selected the run-n-gun Phoenix Suns is beyond us. The team is super athletic.

They’re battle tested. They’re led by two-time league MVP Stephen John Nash. Folks, you might not bet aware of this, but the gust of efficiency you see running around in the No. 13 jersey is 36 years old. Still, every night Steve pushes up and down the court with guys who were watching Nickelodeon when he was drafted back in ’96.

Now a certain hall of famer who’s eighth on the NBA all-time assists lists, the old dog is up to his old tricks (19-points, 12.5-assists Playoffs average), proving critics wrong and guiding Phoenix towards a world title.

Steve, point blank, are you getting better each year?

I don’t know if I’m getting better, but I feel like I’m playing as well as I’ve ever played. I’m some ways, maybe I am getting better but in other ways I’m not. But hopefully, I can’t complain. I’m 36 and feel like I’m playing as well as I’ve ever played.

What’s become the most grueling aspect of NBA life?

In some ways, I’m handling the rigors of the season as well as I ever have. But the same things are always difficult—the travel and the constant amount of games. For me, the hardest thing is always to be a consistent player. That takes a lot of dedication, a lot of preparation and a lot of guts some nights. That can be the most tiring thing— setting a standard of consistency for yourself and to live up to it.

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membered as a great teammate, a guy who gave his all and a great competitor.

In Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and others, there are a lot of good young point guards in the League. Speak on the future at that position.

The point guard position is amazing, when you look at the new generation of players. It’s as strong as it’s ever been. It’s real exciting to see these young guys play every night and to go out and do all of the things they’re capable of doing.

And the depth of the group [is amazing].

In your definition, what makes a good point guard?

I think that they’re a winner, a leader and a great teammate. They’re extremely competitive. Their game can go a lot of different ways, but I think those are the attributes that are common in a great point guard.

When it’s all said and done, how do you most want to be remembered?

Being a great teammate. Being a competitor. Being someone that gave it everything he had. Those things for me are more important than all of the accolades. I want to be remembered as a guy my teammates loved playing with, a guy who fought every night, played hard and was a great competitor. Other than that, it’s not important.

Anything about your game you feel gets overlooked?

I’m not really concerned with that. I think so often in our business, people outside of our locker room don’t really have an educated view of what’s actually happening. They don’t really understand a lot about what’s going on with our team, you know? They don’t understand the schemes we play defensively, the offense we play offensively. They have an outsider’s perspective.

Even the media that follows us everyday, they can’t really analyze the game properly. I don’t really care much with how the media portrays this and that. Like I said before, I want to be re-

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SPORTS

FANATIC

A Monthly Sports Wrap-up

BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS “In your six years in the NFL, you have first thrilled and now disappointed a great many people. I urge you to take full advantage of this opportunity to get your life and career back on track.” –LEAGUE COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL, TO EMBATTLED PITTSBURGH STEELERS QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER If you’re even a halfway consistent sports fan, you know that ESPN’S BILL SIMMONS is a cool guy who happens to be a great writer.

Come to find out, he also happens to be arguably the greatest reason to have a Twitter account.

Here are some of his recent gems… “Here’s how you know Kosta Koufus sucks: he scores, they cut to Utah’s bench and 3 of his teammates are laughing in delight.”…

Kevin “[Utah’s] Andrei Kirilenko just Durant can’t find a hairdo. It’s been a tragic odyssey much like Jennifer Aniston trying to find a husband.”…

“Jermaine O’Neal (5 for 31 in the playoffs) is right on track to get a 3-year, $18.9 million offer from Boston this summer.”… “I’m stealing the NFL’s murky personal conduct policy.

Next time my son takes off a poop diaper & throws it, 4 day playground suspension.”

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here and once we got here, people were saying we were going to get swept and a lot of different things. We knew what we were capable of and how hard we play every day and how hard we practice every day. With those attributes, I think that we can go far as a team. It’s all on us. We control our own destiny at this point.”

–OKLAHOMA CITY’S KEVIN DURANT, THE NBA’S YOUNGEST SCORING

CHAMPION, after his Thunder evened their first-round series vs. the LA Lakers at 2-2 So, the NFL DRAFT’S about two weeks old now. You should have had plenty of time to digest your favorite team’s smart (Oakland) and head-scratching (Denver) picks. But let’s say your guys didn’t get who you thought they should. No worries. We’re only about 320 days from the 2011 edition. Here are the veeeery early top five picks: 1) Jack Locker, QB, Washington; 2) Von Miller, LB, Texas A&M; 3) Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas; 4) Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State; 5) A.J. Green, WR, Georgia.

“This is absolutely great. We signed Ryan Howard quite a few years ago and that means we’re keeping him. He’s one of our guys, he is a Phillie. It’s big for our team. That’s what you set out for. He’s very worthy of it. He is a great player and he is going to continue to be a great player for a while. Everything about it’s good.”

–PHIL A DE LPHI A M A N A G E R CHARLIE MANUEL after Howard, his prized first baseman, signed a fiveyear/$125 million extension And finally…

On April 26, the Florida Marlins’ Josh Johnson became just the fourth pitcher ever to record 12 strikeouts, get three hits and account for three RBI in a game… The Boston Celtics have not swept a seven-game series since 1986…

Detroit’s Austin Jackson recently became the first player to strikeout at least once in his first 18 games… Umm, yeah, if you haven’t noticed, former Atlanta Brave Andruw Jones is now a Chicago White Sox outfielder batting a respectable .296 and leading the team with six homers… ESPN had 54 Sports Emmys nominations but won just seven trophies, giving the network an un-highlight-worthy .129 batting average for the night.

Must-See TV the lights, check your pulse.

2. Roger French Open Finals (June 5-6, TBA, NBC) Federer is how you define a champion. Svetlana Kuznetsova is how you spell it in the female variety.

3.AnCoca Cola 600 (May 30, 5:45PM, FOX) action-packed NASCAR weekend in Charlotte crescendos with Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Co. fighting for the flag.

4. The LAWNBA Sparks at Phoenix (May 15, 2PM, ESPN 2) season tips for the defending champ Mercury in the form of a Diana Taurasi vs. Candace Parker showdown.

5. This NYoneYankees at NY Mets (May 23, 8:05PM, ESPN) basically sells itself, huh?

Top 5 Games This Month

1. IfNBA Playoffs (Various Days, TBA, ESPN/ABC/TNT) you’re not excited about how young stars like Durant and Derrick Rose are playing under

PG 31 • insiteatlanta.com • May 2010

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