INsite October 2020 Issue

OCTOBER 2020

C

9 YEARS! 2 G N I T ELEBRA

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 29, NO. 3 FREE

FALL PATIO GUIDE BEST SUB SANDWICHES BILLY PILGRIM

halloween ssue

CAMP BLOOD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF THRILLS!

CONTENTS • OCTOBER 2020 • VOLUME 29, NO. 3 CELEB

R AT I N G

29 YEARS!

Atlanta’s

Entertainment Monthly

INTERVIEWS

08 08 Billy Pilgrim 10 Zac Brown Band 11 Mandy Barnett 12 Joey Molland 13 Jeannie Seely 14 GSU Sports 10

FEATURES 06 Fall Patios 07 Sub Sandwiches 09 Camp Blood 11

COLUMNS 03 Atlanta on a Dime 04 New Releases 04 Albums 05 Station Streaming

12

insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Steve Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com Art Director / Web Design Nick Tipton nick@insiteatlanta.com Managing Editor Lee Valentine Smith lee@insiteatlanta.com Local Events Editor Marci Miller marci@insiteatlanta.com Music Editor John Moore john@insiteatlanta.com

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Contributing Writers / Interns: Alex. S. Morrison, Dave Cohen, Benjamin Carr, Demarco Williams Advertising Sales Steve Miller (404) 308-5119 • ads@insiteatlanta.com MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 76483 Atlanta, GA 30358 WEBSITE • insiteatlanta.com 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 OCTOBER 2020 and information (any and all) in this publication FALL PATIO GUIDE may be reproduced in any manner without written BEST SUB SANDWICHES permission from publisher.

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Please see our Camp Blood Halloween interview on page 9!

PG 2 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

VOL. 29, NO. 3 FREE

S! TING 29 YEAR CELEBRA

halloween ssu e

CAMP BLOOD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF THRILLS!

Enjoy these socially distanced, outdoor concerts from your own personal tailgate zone in Lot A of Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performs the music of Led Zeppelin on October 18. Smith & Myers of ShineEVENTS HAPPENING FOR SMALL CHANGE IN ATLANTA down perform October 22. e Atlanta Know of a low cost event happening? Event@AtlantaOnADime.com Symphony Orchestra performs the

By Marci Miller music of David Bowie October 25. Enjoy book.com/camp.blood.haunt. the concert in your own individual tailThurs, Fri & Sat nights thru Oct. 31 Located in Carrollton about an hour SW gating zone about the size of a 2-car CAMP BLOOD HAUNT of Atlanta. Take I-20 to exit 24. Turn left garage. Four people maximum per vehi2277 Whooping Creek Rd. Carrolton on Hwy. 61 and travel approximately 13 cle/tailgate space. Designed to maximize CampBlood.com 770.854.CAMP (2267) miles to Carrollton. social distancing, these events will meet Camp Blood is celebrating 30 Years all local health and safety standards, as thrills and screams Hillbilly & Redneck Now through November 1 well as state regulations. Visit atlantastyle. is outdoor haunt follows deep ALICE’S WONDERLAND symphony.org for tickets. into the backwoods swamps before you REIMAGINED find yourself on the Legendary Camp Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown Saturday, October 24 Blood Trail.

Atlantabg.org 404.876.5859 RECORD STORE DAY e trail is over a half-mile of redneck CD Warehouse Duluth & Kennesaw terror where hungry haunted hillbillies Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined fea- Facebook CD Warehouse Atlanta & dead rednecks wander through the tures many of the enormous topiary-like night. ere are plenty of things to do sculptures from last year’s Imaginary while you wait your turn to enter the Worlds: Alice’s Wonderland but also haunt including a redneck fortune teller, joined by several new sculptures. In adsitting by the campfire and hanging out dition to the towering White Rabbit, with "Maw Maw". Watch a movie in the sprawling chess board and heart “trees,” "Redneck eatre", visit the gift shop, and Cheshire Cat perched nearby, look concession stand and paintball pro-shop for a 16-foot Red Queen and an all-new or play carnival games to help raise 14-foot Alice rotating in the Howell money to buy toys for the kids Christ- Fountain pool as she plummets down mas at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. the “rabbit hole.”

Box office opens at 8pm and the frights October 18, 22 & 25 begin at 9pm. Watch for updates, guest appearances and other info or purchase LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN tickets in advance online at Camp- Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Blood.com. Follow on Facebook at Face- AtlantaSymphony.org 404.733.4800

Visit CD Warehouse on Saturday, October 24 and celebrate Record Store Day. is national event recognizes the vinyl record and those great album covers.

Everything is different in 2020, even Record Store Day. RSD was conceived in 2007 as a way for independent record store owners and employees to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding individually owned record stores in the US and abroad. e carnival like atmosphere is somewhat subdued this year with social distancing and use of masks. Overnight camping is discouraged but the stores will have plenty of stock on hand when the doors open. e emphasis will be on finding the titles more than hanging out. To honor this event CD Warehouse will be buying and selling vinyl records throughout the month. Find out more at Facebook.com/CDwarehouse.

ALICE’S WONDERLAND REIMAGINED Now through Nov. 1 Atlanta Botanical Gardens Atlantabg.org

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Camille Thomas, cello Performing April 9, 2021 Photo by Edouard Brane

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29 YEARS! C E L E B R AT I N G

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HOME THEATER

NEW RELEASES

THE LATEST DVD, BLU RAY & VOD RELEASES

By John Moore

IRRESISTIBLE

(Universal) This political satire starring Steve Carrell and written and directed by Jon Stewart, released in an election year would appear to have all the markings of an obvious hit. But thanks to COVID slamming plans for wide theatrical opening and a story that is just a little too smug and condescending to be thoroughly enjoyable, Irresistible ends up being a decent movie that could have been so much more. Saved by solid performances from Carrell playing a Democratic operative looking to rejuvenate his reputation after Hillary’s loss in 2016; and more importantly by a brilliant Rose Byrne playing the hilariously cynical Republican operative sent to a tiny Wisconsin farming community to run rival mayoral campaigns. There is also a cleaver surprise ending that pays off for those that stick with the movie until the end.

WHERE DOES A BODY END?

(MVD Visual) The trippy oddness of Where Does A Body End is exactly what you’d expect from a documentary about art noise punks SWANS. Rather than the formulaic paint by numbers music doc consisting of little more than a line of talking heads proclaiming brilliance of the band interspersed with live footage,

MUSIC Where Does A Body End is a much more intimate unfolding - more like a visual diary of band founder Michael Gira’s than anything else. Yes, there are interviews with folks like Thurston Moore, Karen O and Kid Congo Powers and others speaking to the band’s impact, and also plenty of rare live clips, but the doc puts art before all else.

THE B-52S: LIVE AT US FESTIVAL

(Shout! Factory) The influential Steve Wozniak-bankrolled US Festivals in 1982 and 1983 managed to be both of its time and incredibly forwardthinking. A pre-cursor to everything from Lollapalooza to Coachella, the themed fest brought together the biggest names in New Wave/Punk, Metal and Country spread over three days. Among those tapped to play the first show – sandwiched between Oingo Boingo and Talking Heads was the quirky Athens, GA dance band The B-52s.

This extraordinary show features all five founding members playing an energetic 13-song set kicking off with “Party Out Of Bounds” and a stellar “Strobe Light” closing the show. Pity the Talking Heads that had to follow as set that also included “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around” and “Planet Claire” by a band that was just hitting its stride.

Album Reviews

REVIEWS BY JOHN B. MOORE

Naked Giants

The Shadow (New West Records)

With their 2018 debut LP, the Seattle trio Naked Giants managed to find the crossroads between garage rock, punk and the pop-laced New Wave funk of bands like Talking Heads and Jonathan Richman. Their latest, The Shadow, shows they clearly held onto that roadmap.

While Sluff was a decent first showing, The Shadow, is a more consistently solid album that finds the band expanding their sound a bit more while still managing to remain tethered to the vibe that made them stand out with their first effort. The album kicks off with “Walk of Doom,” a fun, if slightly uninspired garage rock number. A mild opening volley maybe, but what follows is far more impressive, like “High School (Don’t Like Them)” a trippy punk psych track; the dance funk of “Take A Chance”; and the slow tempo, stand out track “Turns Blue,” with its Jesus And Mary Chain-worthy guitar sludge.

Then midway into the record, they easily switch band into a garage rock band with the searing “(God Damn!) What I Am”. Thematically, the band touches on some dark moments, with hints of depression, personal struggles and trauma, but much of that is eased through with nods to lyrical optimism about getting to the other side and some solid pop hooks.

In addition to Naked Giant, all three members also play in the backing band to Will Toledo’s Car Seat Headrest and much like that gig they manage to flaunt wildly eclectic and deeply diverse musical influences that seem counter to their ages (all three are in their early20s). Listening to The Shadow you imagine everything from The Buzzcocks and Sonics to The Flamin’ Groovies and The Pixies playing in the tour van.

Juni Ata

Saudade (Flying On Fire Records)

Raised in a deeply religious family that shunned secular music, Nashville (by way of California) musician Juni Ata was in his 20s before he heard his first Bob Dylan song.

The revelation is shocking when you realize just how lyrically literate Ata is on his debut, Saudade. You would almost need to go back to Dylan to find a consistently comparable songwriting peer.

Saudade’s sound, despite serving as an ideal soundtrack to the exhaustion of pain, fear and uncertainty that 2020 has offered up so far, also has a timeless quality thanks in part to his inventive use of horns and orchestral instruments throughout. Like hearing an Elliott Smith record for the first time it’s almost crushingly beautiful. His delivery, Ata’s vocals sounding remarkable like Van Morrison, the words and the layers of music are simply impressive, but you don’t realize how so until after several listens.

The album’s first song, “Philadelphia,” about loss and moving on sets up a powerful template for what follows and while all of the album is not about loss – songs like the more up tempo “Good Enough Ain’t Bad” are downright PG 4 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

optimistic - each track does share an emotional weightiness, good and bad, with that opener.

Spread across 11 tracks, the record is a slow burn to be certain, requiring repeated listens to really latch onto the real charm of these songs.

It may take a little time, but the investment is well worth it in the end. A remarkably powerful record from start to finish.

Various Artists

Willie Nile Uncovered (Paradiddle Records) It’s surprising that there has not been a Willie Nile tribute album up to now.

Recording since 1980, he is probably the strongest bridge between Springsteen and The Clash. Forty years later, he finally gets that record in Willie Nile Uncovered, a solid double album that vacillates from decent to great, given the cover.

The album, 26 tracks total, will see a portion of the proceeds benefit the hunger relief charity Rock Can Roll. Among the highlights here are an impressive cover of “All God’s Children” from Nils Lofgren; Graham Parker’s brilliant take on “One Guitar;” and the two strongest tracks, “Everybody Needs A Hammer,” by Annie Mark and “When the Last Light Goes Out On Broadway,” a devastatingly beautiful rendition from Lucy Kaplansky. Not every name here is well known – in fact aside from Parker, Lofgren and John Gorka, most come from the roots rock/folk world, a pretty disparate mix of veterans and up-and coming musicians.

Most tribute albums tend to find the artists playing it safe, turning in songs pretty true to original. And while not ever track on Willie Nile Uncovered quite lives up to the appeal as the original, there are more than enough bright spots here to impress.

All Them Witches

Nothing As The Ideal (New West Records)

It’s not often you find a band that takes as much inspiration from Dr. John as Black Sabbath, but Nashville’s All Them Witches is anything but route. At the crossroads of hard sludgy rock and psychedelic with hypnotic swirling guitars, the band’s latest, Nothing As The Ideal, goes even further off the musical ledge than their earlier efforts, finding the band at its most experimental. And the result, though it may take a few cycles to catch, is a wildly satisfying experience.

Though the album houses just eight tracks, there are definitely some songs more challenging than others, in particular, the creepy audio clips at the beginning of the unnerving “See You Next Fall”; but more often than not, that experimentation, tape loops and all, pays off. Elsewhere, a song like “The Children of Coyote Woman” is among the best the band has recorded in their brief but prolific career.

From the stunning instrumental of “Everest” to the slow burn of “Saturnine & Iron Jaw,” the band careens in and out of musical genres managing to be both raw and brutal one moment and serene the next. To punctuate the point, the band ends the record on the fierce “Lights Out” followed by the subtle, strikingly beautiful “Rats In Ruin” (also the best track on the record).

TV

Station Streaming

NEW SEASON HITS & MISSES

TheRatched Boys

Order Online from our Website

eatsonponce.net 600 Ponce De Leon Ave • 404-888-9149

BY BENJAMIN CARR

H

EADSTRONG, POWERFUL FEMALE characters can drive the best narratives, no matter the genre. Some of the newest shows and films to hit the small screen put such protagonists in the driver’s seat, and the results are very mixed. While many projects with the highest pedigree and talent have been spectacularly disappointing, other projects with lower ambitions have succeeded.

RATCHED (Netflix)

This series is a disaster. It is a beautifully staged, thoroughly confounding, tonally scattered piece of garbage. Avoid it. Avoid it as though it was someone unmasked coughing nonstop in a grocery store. Consider yourself warned.

This latest Ryan Murphy production, part of his deal with Netflix that also gave us The Politician and Hollywood, is a prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, supposedly aiming to tell the unknown history of Nurse Mildred Ratched.

The cold, conservative, drab and by-thebook nurse originated by Oscar winner Louise Fletcher, however is now a stylized, sexually repressed, lying con artist and murderer played

by Sarah Paulson. It makes zero sense, even from the beginning.

In the 1940s, Nurse Ratched shows up to interview for a job at a California asylum that is housing a serial killer, played by Finn Wittrock, who just hacked up a house full of priests. Ratched has secret motives that tie her to the killer, so she is intent on helping him survive.

This feels more like an extension of American Horror Story Asylum than anything to do with Ken Kesey’s novel. Ratched here is nothing like the nurse we know and the plot here meanders so wildly into horror, kink and gore that it’s almost silly.

The show is unnecessary and unfocused. And even great actresses like Paulson, Cynthia Nixon, Judy Davis and a monkey-toting Sharon Stone get lost in the mess of it.

ENOLA HOLMES (Netflix)

This movie about Sherlock Holmes’ spunky kid sister, herself a wise and capable sleuth, is a charming winner that the whole family may appreciate.

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown shines in an altogether different sort of role here, playing Enola as a capable, modern girl who won’t be held back or overshadowed by her brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) in Victorian London.

When her free-spirited mother (Helena Bonham Carter) disappears under mysterious circumstances, Enola tracks the clues ahead of her famous brother to try and determine what happened. Along the way, she discovers several secret plots that affect not only her family but the whole world.

Directed by Fleabag helmer Harry Bradbeer, with much of the same narrative tricks as that series, Enola Holmes is a blast from start to finish, a big-budget movie about the indomitable spirit of a girl seeking to find her own way.

FILTHY RICH (Fox)

A trashy nighttime soap usually shows up every couple of years, aiming to hook viewers for a fun, crazy ride. The last one to really impact the culture was Empire, which ended its run last season.

Now, Fox and creator Tate Taylor have given us the tale of a philandering televangelist who disappears after a plane crash, leaving his pious, calculating celebrity widow Margaret to deal with his three secret children from three separate affairs.

Playing Margaret, star Kim Cattrall is gloriously over-the-top and campy. Her first scene involves her sauntering away from a burning Louisiana mansion in her best formalwear and fur.

Of the three grown children, Margaret’s biggest antagonist is her porn titan stepdaughter Ginger, played by Melia Kreiling as a worthy adversary to Cattrall.

Filthy Rich is a great deal of fun so far. It’s equal parts witty and tacky.

$5 & $20 COSTUMES! 100’s of Costumes & Accessories

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Filthy Rich

428 Moreland Ave NE Atlanta (Next to Vortex) 404-523-0100 • Open 10am – 10pm(ish)

insiteatlanta.com • October 2020 • PG 5

Fall Patio Guide

Dine Safely Outdoors on these Popular Patios Park Tavern

The Flying Biscuit Cafe’

500 10th Street NE 404.249.0001 ParkTavern.com

The Patio at Park Tavern is conveniently located on the Atlanta Beltline on the corner of 10th and Monroe. The Park Tavern has one of the best views in the city overlooking Piedmont Park and the Midtown Skyline. This amazing backdrop provides for a great atmosphere and is dog-friendly. Park Tavern is currently offering an updated patio menu which can be found on their website. The patio menu is available for dine-in or takeout.

For dine-in patrons there is open seating on the patio. Park Tavern has socially distanced their tables according to CDC guidelines. The large climate controlled patio also includes private cabanas and fire pits. Park Tavern is continuing to offer 1/2 priced bottles of wine on Wednesdays and $1 drafts when it rains.

Agave

242 Boulevard SE 404.588.0006 AgaveRestaurant.com

Agave blends eclectic southwestern cuisine, extensive tequila bar and wine list coupled with exceptional service to make this one of Atlanta's top restaurants.

currently open for Dine-In, Take-out and Delivery. Inside tables have been removed and spaced out while they offer a huge dog friendly deck to hang out on.

Mo’s is one of the longest running pizza joints in Atlanta, come in and see why they are among the best.

1655 McLendon Ave. 404.687.8888 1001 Piedmont Ave. 404.874.8887 Catering 404.849.2283 FlyingBiscuit.com

Agave is open for dine-in with responsible safety precautions implemented. The restaurant has two well vented, high ceiling dining rooms as well as covered patio.

Staff wears masks with their temperature taken daily. Tables are spaced out and sanitized after each seating. No contact menus and disposable service ware are used. This month Agave turns 20! Make a reservation for dinner and enjoy special entrees, appetizers and tequila.

Mo’s Pizza

3109 Briarcliff Rd. 404.320.1258 MosPizza.com

Located in the heart of historic Inman Park just walking distance from the Atlanta BeltLine, Fritti is nationally recognized for its award winning pizza.

Here you can get an authentic Neapolitan prepared according to traditional artisan methods in a state of the art wood-burning oven. This world class oven can maintain a temperature of 1,000 degrees and cooks pizza unlike anything you have ever experienced. Their patio is among the hottest places to be in Inman Park as the entire dining room opens up to the lively street scene.

Escorpion

800 Peachtree St. Midtown 678.666.5198 Escorpionatl.com

The Flying Biscuit serves great breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Their Candler Park location is the original Flying Biscuit cafe and boasts a large renovated patio. The Midtown location off Piedmont Park allows for dining inside and out. Their corner patio, which is surrounded by windows, come off when the weather cools offering great views of the bustling Midtown scene. The Midtown and Candler Park locations are open for dine-in, carryout, curbside pickup & delivery.

Fritti

309 N. Highland Ave. 404.880.9559 Frittiatl.com

Mo’s Pizza has been serving up great pizza for over 30 years. They are also known for their great sandwiches, subs, wings, nachos and salads. The extensive menu ensures that the whole family will find something they like. Mo’s Pizza is

Escorpion is a regionally inspired Mexican tequila bar and cantina. The restaurant captures the authentic tastes and ingredients indigenous to the country as Escorpion’s food and drink menus are rooted in Mexican flavors and culture.

Find familiar favorites like tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and fajitas but offered with a twist. Escorpion’s fruitful drink menu features award-winning and nationally recognized craft cocktails and flights of tequila and mescal to enjoy while basking on the dark oak-wood patio that overlooks Atlanta’s beloved Peachtree Street. Service staff wears masks as well as gloves. Now offering family-sized and pan portions for pick-up or delivery.

Our Taps Are Open!

Celebrate with us as . . .

AGAVE TURNS 20!

Come in for Dinner this month & enjoy Special Entrees, Apps & Tequila Visit agaverestaurant.com Safe Dine-In Experience

ted Best o V y tl n te is s Con argaritas M & n r te s e Southw in Atlanta!

1/2 priced bottles of wine on Wednesdays When It Rains We Pour $1 Drafts!

Text RAIN to 39044 for $1 Draft Alerts!

The Meadow on Piedmont Park • parktavern.com

Soak up the sun!

PATIO SEATING Great Subs, Sandwiches, Salads & Wings Since 1980

Dine-In • Pick-Up & Delivery to the area

Just off I-85 @ Clairmont (Corner of Briarcliff & Clairmont)

3109 Briarcliff Rd. • (404) 320-1258 • MosPizza.com PG 6 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

Taste of the Month - Subs!

Where to Find ATL’s Best Sub Sandwiches Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs

Marietta 80 Powers Ferry Rd. (at Hwy. 120) 770.321.1177 I Doraville 5697 Buford Hwy. (Just north of 285) 770.455.8570 Baldinos.us Voted best in Atlanta again this past year, Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs is recognized as the only true New Jersey sub sandwich in the South. Their in-store bakery assures the freshest rolls baked daily. Throughout October they are offering up a different specialty sub each day for just $3.99! Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs also serves homemade soups and fresh baked cookies and brownies. For catering they offer single subs, party subs, deli salads by the pound, cookies by the dozen, and iced-tea by the gallon. Pick up a Baldinos Giant Jersey Sub before the big game or order a Baldinos Family Sub online (pictured) and enjoy the game with friends. Their Party Subs can feed anywhere between 1 and 50 people.

Johnny’s NY Style Pizza

Over 50 Atlanta area locations: Order online @ JohnnysPizza.com Johnny’s Pizza has come to be synonymous with great pizza and subs in Atlanta. Hot Oven-Toasted Subs are served with: Provolone Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions and Johnny's Own Great Italian Oil & Vinegar Dressing. Try their Johnny’s Special which is an Italian sub made with ham, salami and capicola meats. They offer several hot Parmesan style subs toasted with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. These include: chicken, eggplant, Italian sausage and meatball. Johnny’s restaurants offer dine-in, take-out and delivery. Check with your local store to find out their latest hours and dining options. You may always call or order online for takeout, curbside pickup and contactless delivery. Go to JohnnysPizza.com to find the location nearest you and ask about their special catering menus being offered this fall.

SIZE 3 FEET 4 FEET 6 FEET 8 FEET 10 FEET 12 FEET

FEEDS 6-12 People 8-16 People 10-20 People 16-32 People 20-40 People 24-48 People

PRICE $31.50 $42.00 $61.50 $82.00 $98.00 $117.00

Atlanta's BEST SUBS 14 Years Running!

Mo’s Pizza

• Pizza

3109 Briarcliff Rd. off Clairmont 404.320.1258 MosPizza.com

• Harry’s Speciality Pizza

Mo’s Pizza has been serving up great pizza and subs for over 30 years. Here you will find a huge Italian Sub made with ham, pepperoni, genoa salami, mozzarella, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and Italian dressing. Their Italian Sausage comes from a special recipe and is sliced and grilled with onions, topped with Marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Their Philly Cheese Steak is real sirloin steak that is trimmed and sliced on premise and grilled with onions and topped with American cheese. Mo’s Pizza is currently open for Dine-In, Take-out and Delivery. Inside tables have been removed and spaced out while they offer a huge dog friendly deck to hang out on. Stop in Monday nights and get a Large Cheese Pizza for just $9.00. Mo’s is one of the longest running pizza joints in Atlanta, come in and see why they are among the best.

• Oven Baked Subs • Pizza By the Slice • Spaghetti • Calzones • Appetizers • Fresh Salads • Wings

Harry’s Pizza and Subs

2150 Powers Ferry Rd. 770.955.4413 harryspizzaandsubs.com Harry’s Pizza & Subs has been serving the North Atlanta community for over 30 years.

This family owned and run restaurant specializes in New York style pizza but they are also known for their oven baked subs, chicken wings, oversized salads, and Italian dinners.

Their oven baked subs come half 6” or foot long.

Popular subs are the Steak & Cheese, Chicken Parmesan, Meatball, Italian and Harry’s Combo.

There is also a Vegetarian and specialty Avocado sub on the menu. Harry’s offers daily specials on menu items and always has a special on draft beers. Come Wednesday nights and play a few rounds of BINGO or on a Thursday for some family fun weekly trivia. Harry’s Pizza & Subs is committed to the health of their customers and staff. The restaurant recently underwent a heavy deep cleaning by well-respected virus cleaning service EnviroMaster and received their hygienic certification. They are open from 11am (noon on Sunday) to 9pm daily for dine-in and take-out. Delivery is offered after 5:30 pm.

Check their Facebook page for updates. Bring the family and visit Harry’s Pizza and Subs this fall and owners Rich & Ilene will make you feel right at home.

6 WINGS, SLICE OF PIZZA, & A DRINK

$9.99!

2 Slices of Cheese Pizza, Drink: $5.99

(Additional toppings... $0.50 per topping per slice)

Any Small Pizza, Drink: $9.99

6 Wings, Small Salad, Drink: $9.99 (Greek, caesar, chef, spinach, or toss)

Large Salad with Chicken, Drink, and Chips or Cookie... $9.99

(Any specialty pizza or up to 4 toppings)

(Greek, caesar, chef, spinach, or toss)

1 Slice of Pizza, Small Salad, Drink: $7.99

TEAM TRIVIA! Thursdays @ 7:30pm

(Includes one topping) (Greek, caesar, chef, spinach, or toss)

2150 Powers Ferry Road • Atlanta • 30339 770-955-4413 • harryspizzaandsubs.com insiteatlanta.com • October 2020 • PG 7

MUSIC

WELCOME TO THE TIME MACHINE

Billy Pilgrim’s Andrew Hyra & Kristian Bush Rock the Politics of the Heart

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

L

IKE THE BAND’S NAMESAKE from Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, the founders of Billy Pilgrim are also time travelers. During the first week of September, the duo of Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush were busy with writing and recording sessions, photo shoots and live-stream performances. Not bad for a band that had been inactive for almost two full decades.

Now that other projects are on hold due the uncertain times, the two musicians have resumed the project they originally formed in 1991. Successful live shows, popular indie releases and even two major-label albums later, they went separate ways in 2001. Hyra avoided the spotlight while Bush toured the world with Sugarland and produced a slew of other projects.

But their independently-released catalog of music is available again and their final album is getting a the deluxe treatment.

In The Time Machine, originally intended for a 2001 release, was only sold at one live show and then filed away as time marched on.

INsite spoke with Hydra and Bush by phone during sessions for bonus material for the Time Machine vinyl edition.

Billy Pilgrim is in the recording studio again. What year is this?

Kristian: I don’t even know at this point. It’s 2020, right? In the Time Machine there’s 20/20 vision so I guess it’s all strangely appropriate to be here. If you had to calculate when would be the best time to do this, what better time than now to revisit the band with the biggest heart, right? I know this is happening when I need it and I hope everyone is gonna have the same experience we’re having now.

How are you both dealing with the pandemic? I know Kristian has been busy with the Dark Water guys but now you’re both back into Billy Pilgrim mode.

Andrew: I’m a renovation carpenter

IT’S LIKE THE ORIGINAL ALBUM IS THE PAST AND NOW WE’RE STEPPING OUT OF THE TIME MACHINE AND LOOKING AROUND AT NOW.

now and in March I was in the middle of a really complicated project in Fairfield, Connecticut. That was sort of ground zero for Covid at the time. I finished that project and Kristian and I got back in touch just as Covid really started rolling. Then maybe a couple of months ago we started talking about In The Time Machine because he had some extra time. A lot has happened to in a really short period of time - as far as thinking about this record and getting it out there. In the middle of that, I’m moving to Charleston from Connecticut, partially to be closer to music. So the pandemic has been a time of change. This week, we’ve put it on the books to get as much done as we can. So we’re rolling.

How does it feel to be back at it, especially to reignite a project you began almost thirty years ago?

Andrew: We’re writing, we’re recording, we’re doing some livestream stuff, so it’s an exciting time. I’ve been out of it for quite a while but to work with an old friend like Kristian has been a really easy way to get back into making music again. Here we are recording again, playing again. Yeah, we’re in the Time Machine indeed!

In this era, people may have time to focus on an entire album again, rather than fast-forward through a playlist.

Andrew: That’s such a good point and today we’re actually recording new, bonus material to make Time Machine into a double vinyl album. Like you’re saying, people do have a little more time to sit down and actually enjoy listening to music again, rather than just catching it on a stream in a car.

Old-school folks like us tend to focus on an album rather than a download link anyway.

Kristian: Exactly and it goes well in these days when people are kinda learning how to cook again or making our own drinks.

There’s an entire life out there that we were just too busy to really have. Last time we were around, people were busy but we could still sneak an album out. There were mixtapes and all that but the internet really started to happen right around the time we stopped working together. At first we had no idea how all of it was going to go. So for us, it was just for the fun of it. Then instead of just putting out this one album out we decided to just put all of it out. You’re probably the first person we’ve told about this, but when In The Time Machine drops, we’re putting out our entire catalog.

How’d you wrestle your stuff back from Atlantic?

Andrew: It’s all of the material we released independently.

Kristian: With the Atlantic stuff, somebody did put it out there. We don’t even know who did it. When the internet happened, it was like somebody sort of grandfathered us in. It’s like, ‘Well who gets paid for this?’

Like the fictional character, the band Billy Pilgrim also defied eras. When you started out, grunge was thriving and commercial alternative radio was a remarkable force.

Now things are more segmented than ever.

Kristian: Yeah. Now here we are at PG 8 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

another sort of cultural crossroads. These days, people can’t even agree on the truth.

At least in the early ‘90s, we could agree that we wanted to sit in a room together and listen to music. That hasn’t changed, but just about everything else has.

All these changes must somehow color the music you’re writing now – as well as the songs from the old days.

Andrew: Yeah, Kristian was just out of college when we started and now we’ve had families and kids. That always changes your perspective. But he’s been in a very high-profile band while I’ve been writing songs for myself for the last however-many years. I’ll write political songs just to kinda relieve the pressure a bit but when it comes to speaking out on the larger stage, the politics we come from is the politics of the heart. That hasn’t changed for us. It still comes down to, what do you want to see in the world. Even the song we’re working on today fits right in that same space.

In any politically-loaded time, it’s the duty of folk musicians to speak out.

Kristian: There is a responsibility to not only speak out into the noise and confusion of it all but to help people see the same things at the same time. That’s harder than ever these days. Over the years, I’ve been totally confused as to what to tell my kids. But all we can do is keep asking the questions. We don’t always have a lot of answers but we’re still asking the questions.

Andrew: We have to keep asking the questions to continue the dialog. It’s the answers that really polarize you. The questions open ya up. We need a lot more questions, actually. I have dear friends and family that are on the polar opposite end of politics from me. But if you ask the questions, it’ll bring more people together.

Then we can at least think about it together.

We really need that right now.

Will the bonus material you’re recording

comprise an entire album of the expanded version of Time Machine?

Kristian: I spent a lot of my early years with music, based on playing an album or a cassette. I’ve found that my attention is about enough for one side. When CDs came along, it really confused me because there was no break. I’ve always felt the four of five songs from a side were somehow connected. So these songs will be oddly connected too. They seem to have no real gap or break, so it’ll be a full side of music to listen to until it’s time to turn it over.

Vinyl only gives you less than half an hour per side so the original album is spaced out over three sides. I’m enjoying it because I’ve never really had the opportunity to write with the vinyl in mind like this.

Andrew: It works to show where we are now, too. Kristian has been working with his brother Brandon and Benji Shanks who is an incredible guitar player so for the new material we’ve collaborated with them. So it’s a picture of where we are now, combined with how we were then. It’s like this is where we’ve been and hopefully where we’re going next. It’s just us, updated for now.

Kristian: That’s it. It’s like the original album is the past and now we’re stepping out of the time machine and looking around at now.

So this project ties up a lot of loose ends in a way.

Kristian: Yeah, but the way we’re looking at it, we’re creating new ones. The gumbo of music we make, along with he guys from Dark Water, is folk but it rocks and it’s also psychedelic - which came from a time that I didn’t live through. I just know how it makes me feel. There’s a whole lot of upside down going on in that kind of rock and roll.

So I think that makes it perfect for the way we’re feeling today.

In The Time Machine is available from billypilgrimmusic.bandcamp.com.

EVENTS

CREDIT: ANDY PETTY

the legend lives on

Camp Blood Celebrates 30 Years of Haunted Fun Does the story or themes change from Halloween to Halloween?

No, we really just add to it. Camp Blood is from the Jason movies and that’s where the mask and all that imagery come in. The Legend of Camp Blood is basically part of the story, because people talk about it somehow being part of the “original” Crystal Lake camp. But that’s where the fun comes in. There’s not really a lake here but if they want to believe Crystal Lake is near here, then we aren’t gonna stop ‘em. As part of the attraction, we’ve added carnival games, concessions and even a redneck movie theater. We repurpose stuff and add to it every year and always looking for new things for parts of the trail.

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

EN MINUTES FROM THE CAMPUS of West Georgia College in picturesque Carrolton, is a clever and literally offthe-beaten-path Halloween attraction. The quirky haunt blends elements of classic modern horror films and lore with rural rednecks and haunted hillbillies.

Conceived by Mark “Atch” Atcheson as a Halloween party destination, the half-acre attraction has grown a bit during every year since 1990. The storyline tells a murky tale of the patients of an asylum, the legend of Jason Voorhees from slasher-film fame and Friday The 13th shenanigans.

It’s devilishly spooky fun for a good cause with proceeds going to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to purchase toys for Christmas and the THS Homeless Shelter in Carrollton.

INsite phoned co-founder Michelle Atcheson for all the scary details.

Walk us through the attraction.

When you get here, you’re walking through an outside trail. You follow it down to the ticket window and then you walk in as you’re going through a casket to enter.

Thirty years is a long time to commit to a haunted attraction.

It is and it’s been a lot of work but it’s a labor of love for us. It all started right here in 1990 as just a few friends getting together to party. Over the years it got bigger and pretty soon we realized we couldn’t have 300 people in his house! So Mark changed it up so it would be a trail that you could follow and then you could get to the house. Now it’s a little over a half-mile haunted trail with a storyline and some surprises along the way.

So the casket is the portal to the horror scenes?

Yeah, when you go through, you start to see the different scenes. It’s a little bit of everything from the classic modern horror lore. There’s Jason, Michael Meyers, the butcher, a dentist, different scenes of scary moments. It’s all outdoors, but it seems to be inside the house because it’s all covered and dark.

It sounds labor-intensive to set up. Is Camp Blood up all year around?

It’s always up and in the summer it’s paint-ball.

It’s just a good, family-owned place to have fun.

Even my mother is a fortune-teller here. We sell souvenirs and merchandise like t-shirts, decals, keychains, just a lot of little odds and ends.

The website says you occasionally have some special guests.

We’ve had a number of special guests over the year but this year, because of Covid, it’s a little different. We do have Savanna Jade Wehunt from The Walking Dead scheduled for an appearance on October 19. But be sure to check the website for the dates and times in advance on the guests.

You mentioned Covid and that’s a very real horror and a constant challenge for distancing and all the standard CDC protocol.

It’s a little different for outdoor attractions but to be cautious we only do groups of ten at any one time. Masks are welcome but we don’t require them. It’s optional.

How many people are in the Camp Blood cast of characters?

We hold auditions every year and we have a core cast who return pretty much every year. So we’ll have between fifty and sixty people every year.

We call them all part of the Camp Blood family.

Some of them help us all year around because everything is hand-made on site. We’re open Thursday through Saturday every week from the middle of September until Halloween night.

Does the show start at dusk?

Ticket sales usually begin at 8 and stop at midnight so sometimes we’re here pretty late.

We’ve actually been here until four in the morning a few times.

That’s late! Have you ever seen anything strange or spooky?

Well someone gave Atch the wood from an old house if he’d tear down the house to get it. It was a little strange. They’d keep hearing windows breaking but no one was breaking any windows.

He found a TV in there and it actually worked! He brought it back here and something kept turning the channel to the Food Channel. One day he saw a lady in town who asked if he’d seen Miss Mary.

She said the house was haunted by a lady who used to live there. One day the channel changed again when he was watching a football game. He said, ‘Come on now Miss Mary, cut it out.’ And we haven’t heard from her since!

Camp Blood is open for Halloween fun every Thursday through Saturday night through October 31. Ticket prices are $25 per person and includes entrance to Camp Blood trail and Cajun Carnage.

Kids under 8 are free. For more details, visit campblood.com.

Celebrating 30 Years of Terror!

Home of Haunted Hillbillies and Dead Rednecks!

Open every Thursday, Friday Saturday thru Oct. 31

Legendary Camp Blood Trail (Nearly a 1/2 mile of redneck terror) Redneck Theatre, Hillbilly Fortune Teller, Campfire, Carnival Games, Concession Stand & Gift Shop

2277 Whooping Creek Road • Carrollton • (770) 854-2267 • campblood.com Proud supporter of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

insiteatlanta.com • October 2020 • PG 9

MUSIC

EVERY FACE TELLS A STORY

Percussionist Daniel de los Reyes of the Zac Brown Band Communicates with Rhythm - & Safety

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

S

INCE 2012, HE’S BEEN KNOWN as the joyously effusive percussionist in the Zac Brown Band, but veteran musician Daniel de los Reyes is also a crafty inventor. His latest creation is a series of distinctive face shields that ingeniously combine safe social distancing with natural human expression.

Conceived from the necessity of playing live music during the pandemic, Reyes designed a new line of personal protective equipment with a message. Playing music at a safe distance with a sturdy mask, the artist noticed a lack of interaction from player to listener. From used drumheads, he designed shields to be used by first-responders, fellow musicians and for everyday use.

The globe-trotting Reyes, currently based near the Brown headquarters in Fayetteville has added the MiniShieldUSA company to ever-expending list of accomplishments, in the One Shot Shaker series, the Daniel de los Reyes Signature Pro Pad by DW as well as DayGlow Music, a music-centric development and training center. INsite recently spoke with the affable inventor - who has logged miles with Chicago, Whitney Houston, Don Henley and Earth, Wind & Fire - as he prepared to launch the new company. originally straight from my used drumheads How have you been dealing with the that I had here. pandemic? Some people have welcomed it as a time to finally have the luxury to create So you took your collection of used or to finish a project. drumheads and basically repurposed them?

Well, we can’t go out and play much and I That’s right. I actually used around 500 really miss it. As an artist, I really miss being heads that I had here and more that I couldn’t out there and performing for people. But I use for whatever reason and I began making actually find myself busier now than I was these face shields for first responders. before it all started. I’m actually enjoying being home and finally having time to do all the things I’ve needed to do. I think, for a lot Tell us about the process.

Like the best ideas, it was a natural evolution. of people, and I must say, myself included.

As I was sitting here and practicing It’s been a time to get things and playing music, I was thinking together. Whether it’s getting of ways that I could be of service.

AS AN ARTIST, in shape or cooking or anything I’m itching to be back doing I REALLY MISS really. It can be a moment to concerts but for now I’ve started a BEING OUT THERE really shine because when we do company to hopefully help people AND PERFORMING come out of this, we’ll all come maybe if I can, then we’ll get out of it so much better. For me, FOR PEOPLE. BUT and back to making music for everyone it’s been non-stop.

I ACTUALLY FIND even faster. I’ve trained all my life MYSELF BUSIER You always have a lot of projects NOW THAN I WAS to do music and I can’t wait to get back to it. I want the industry to to juggle.

BEFORE IT ALL get back up as soon as possible.

I do. And not just in music, I’m crossing my fingers that what STARTED. it’s for where I’m at as a human we’re working on and the products being. I’m always looking for we are about to introduce will help ways to be creative and ways to give back. For people and that will, in turn, help the industry. the past ten years, I’ve been running a music education charity called DayGlow Music.

Walk us through the evolution of My whole thing is finding a way to give MiniShieldsUSA. How did you start back, so I can use music as the incredible the process? entity that it is. To learn art is to grow as a Well first of all, I enjoy the process of just person so we work with a number of young making things. As much as I love to play adults. We use music as a way to share. For music, I also love to invent things. And if I example, you can’t play in a band or in a can make something from scratch, well that’s symphony or even as a duo unless you learn even more satisfying for me. For the music to really listen to other people. Simple things industry I have a few things I’ve created. I like that are crucial to not only music but made a shaker.

I developed the One Shot human evolution. So since I can’t coach and Shaker series that provides a downbeat reach people through the music education, shake without that back-shake. LP started I started working on a new project during making them and it really took off. Then I the pandemic. did a utility beater that basically attaches to pedals for playing cowbells, woodblocks or The protective gear? even tambourines. DW makes a pad that I Exactly. I started making protective gear, created to combine timbales, cowbells, and PG 10 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

congas in a portable practice rig. It’s like a travelling guitar in that it actually can fit into your backpack. I’d done sessions where the producer would throw some crazy rhythm pattern at me and I found ways to fix that.

I’m always thinking of new ways to do things a little bit out of the box. So this was the same thing. There was a need and then one day during the pandemic, I started thinking about the face shields. Anxiety was sitting in during the pandemic, when even going to the supermarket was a problem. Of course, our tours got cancelled. And as for protective gear, nobody had anything. I saw some of the protective gear that emergency responders were using, I thought, ‘That looks like the material in a drumhead.’ I ordered some shields and sure enough it was pretty much the same material. It was mylar! Then I got right on it. I exhausted my own supply of drumheads and I wanted to order more, but due to Covid, some were closed and there was every type of delay. I just started cold-calling the companies that were open and ordering different thicknesses of plastic. I created them as fast as possible and disinfected them and then we’d go hand them out.

Who were the first to get them?

The emergency care responders here in Fayette because they do so much to help people. I got a good response so I knew I should just keep going! I got them to workers who were in close proximity to each other such as cashiers and stockers and wait staff.

Then the nail salons opened and I got some to them. One thing led to another.

That ‘ah-ha’ moment led to a company.

It did. From that moment of going, ‘That looks just like what my drum heads are made of,’ to now, it’s been almost like a movement, I tell you. We have investors and lawyers and it’s grown so fast. It’ll help the industry but really it’s for everybody. It’s like what I always try to do, move forward and

succeed without compromising anything as you go along. I saw a lot of musicians who basically had to work. They didn’t have unemployment or anything. They had to keep playing. But they need to be safe, too.

That’s why we are sending some proceeds from this to Musicares because they help out a lot of artists who may not be as fortunate as others. I ended up talking to a friend of mine who basically had to work to survive.

I went to an event at a distillery when the CDC guidelines were changing all the time.

It helped me realize some things. The music was playing and people were wearing masks and distancing but I noticed people weren’t really paying attention.

Because they couldn’t connect with the players?

That’s right. I’ve always been so happy and expressive when I play, you can see it on my face. But you can’t see that through a regular mask. It’s like you are playing behind a wall. That’s a real ‘ah-ha’ moment, too. I knew we’d have to stay protected. But to be protected and to be seen? That’s what I knew the clear shields could do. So the shields offer protection but they also, and this is the most important thing as far as I’m concerned, you can still have the human expression. We communicate with our music, but we can convey how we feel with our faces. I’d hate to see what it would do to our communication if we just had to look at people’s eyes all the time. They’re expressive, but you need the whole face to tell the story. With these shields, we can really communicate!

For more information on the shields, visit mini-shieldusa.com.

Reyes joins Lady A guitarist Slim Gambill and friends for a rare live show billed as “LSD - an evening of improvisation, collaboration and inspiration” on Friday, October 16 at the Velvet Room.

MUSIC

QUEEN OF CROSSVILLE

On Her Latest Album, Mandy Barnett Sings the Best of the Nashville Songbook album is 13 songs and that makes it a little difficult as to what to include.

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

L

ATE LAST MONTH, DYNAMIC vocalist-actress and Crossville, Tennessee native Mandy Barnett was honored in her hometown by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. On her birthday, the program unveiled a special “Tennessee Music Pathways” marker in the city’s downtown square. Family and local officials were on hand to celebrate the occasion. The event offered a bit of small-town nostalgia tinged with the reality of today. With social distancing in mind, she blew out the candles on her birthday cake with a handheld fan, followed by an appropriately safe performance from the nearby Palace Theatre.

The commemoration highlights a busy year for the talented performer who began her singing career before she entered elementary school.

From her well-received early performances, she rose in popularity to major-label contracts, regular guest appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and the starring role in “Always…Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium.

Recently she’s toured the world with a series of lush Nashville Songbook celebrations. The latest edition to her catalog of vibrant recordings is her first edition of familiar Music City classics. The diverse album includes timeless takes on “The End of the World” and a definitive version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night.”

INsite caught up with Barnett by phone from a noisy Nashville restaurant after a recent recording session.

How are you handling the pandemic?

Obviously you’re getting out a bit.

I’m starting to get used to it. I’m finally getting out a little but I pick and choose what I do and I’m still very careful. I have a bag with me that has Pine Sol, alcohol, paper towels and hand sanitizer. I swear this sanitizer smells just like moonshine! I’m not sure where it came from, but it smells a lot like liquor to me. I actually think you could drink it, I’m not joking. But I’m handling it like everyone, just trying to make the best of the bad situation.

Have you used the downtime to work on new projects?

I cleaned the house manically for the first few months, then I started to get a little slack with it. And now I’m promoting an album during a pandemic. That was never the plan of course, but you do what you have to do, now more than ever. Lately I’ve been doing a few ukulele videos. You know how people are doing these videos from home? Well I’m used to singing with a whole band. But out of boredom, I started getting a little better on the uke, so I decided to record some of them and put them on my Facebook site. People really responded to them.

I tried to do uplifting songs and I think it’s kinda made people feel a little better. I hope so, anyway. Especially in the beginning, it was such a scary time and nobody quite knew what was going on. As usual, music was a good way to feel a little better about things. It was funny, it made me realize how much people are starved for entertainment and music. So it seemed like a good time to release this record. Now I’m actually glad we did.

It’s good to see there’s a vinyl edition of it.

Me too. I love to listen to vinyl and I’m glad to see it’s making a big comeback and all - but I also get into all the modern technology. I have a Bluetooth speaker and I’ll sit in my kitchen and listen to things on Bluetooth just like I used to

You did a good job of including a lot of material to highlight the best of the Nashville Songbook.

But it wasn’t easy to decide, that’s for sure. We went from 1947 through the ‘70s, so there’s so many possibilities to include. In the live show, we had an overture and that included a lot of things we didn’t have time for in the set. But I believe the good thing about this concept is, it can always grow. When you look at the best of Nashville, that can be a whole series of shows or albums, just because there’s so many good things to pick from. So I’m sure we’ll do more. For the live show, I can change out the songs and for the album, there’s always a volume two or three.

The Great American Songbook is just so big, we’ll have to keep going with it to include all the songs I love to do.

sit in front of my humongous stereo with five different stacks of things and the big speakers and all. I do it the same way.

Do you enjoy the intimacy of doing those Facebook shows? Some people seem to embrace the chance to be “real” and at home while some people seem a bit wary to reveal too much of their private life.

I do enjoy it. I’m at home but I’m not sitting in the bed or anything. I just do them from the kitchen. In a lot of ways that’s also revealing because I’m sitting in the chair I sit in when I do a lot of my work. But it’s where I’m comfortable and it definitely looks homey. I have some good lighting to make it as show-biz as I possibly can.

But I don’t do it a lot. I don’t think I do it to the point where I’m making people sick of seeing me. It’s just enough to let people know I’m still

here and I’m singing to them. If it gives them some hope or makes us all feel a little better then that’s what I wanted. I hope it does because it helps me, too.

The Songbook album and concept has been around long before the pandemic.

Oh yes. I started working on the live show around 2015. I did three nights of Songbook shows with the Nashville Symphony to start it all off. So that’s really how it started, with the live symphonic show. I did several nights with different symphonies including in Belfast. I’ve done the show in a number of performing arts centers, but an album was always part of the plan.

The album format doesn’t include the whole live set, does it?

No, the live show is around 90 minutes. The

Of the current batch, which is your favorite track? I know it’s hard to pick just one.

Yeah, it’s really hard to narrow it down to just one, but I think my favorite would have to be “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You).”

I think it represents one of those moments in time that you can’t really recreate even if you had to try. I mean the recording. It was just very raw and very real, extremely authentic. It was a one-take performance and because of that, it’s truly honest.

These songs are familiar to music lovers and artists as well. Since you’ve been performing them for a few years now, do they ever trigger the initial feeling you had when you first heard them?

They do sometimes. When you do them live, the audience can bring different things at different times. I’ve sung “Crazy,” for example, hundreds of times. But there are still times where it feels like I’m singing it for the first time.

It can be a combination of what I’m feeling at the moment, how the band is playing and often how the audience reacts to it. A great audience can really bring a song to life. Even if it’s a song you’ve played hundreds of times. It can change from show to show or even song to song. It’s all about how it comes together in that particular moment.

That’s the beauty of a live performance.

It is and that’s why I really enjoy singing for a really receptive audience. These days, I really miss it!

You’re obviously known for incredible interpretations of great songs, but is there ever a time when you go, ‘You know what, I think I’ll just write my own album?’

My own originals? Well, the thing about my songwriting is I enjoy dabbling in it. I’m certainly capable of writing a good song. But I don’t believe I could write an album full of great songs. It’s a craft, like any other type of art. But for me, I’ve just never really bought into the idea that every singer needs to write their own songs or their own albums. That’s probably the best way to end up with an album full of mediocre material with one really good single on it. I think I’ll just leave that job to the masters.

The Nashville Songbook is available from most music retailers or via mandybarnett.com. At press time, Barnett has only one live performance scheduled for 2020. A hometown holiday show is slated for on Thursday, December 3 at the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, TN. insiteatlanta.com • October 2020 • PG 11

MUSIC

MY AIM IS TRUE

Badfinger’s Joey Molland’s Album is a Welcome Dose of Positively Beatlesque Pop

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

Todd…! I must say, Todd Rundgren brought so much HIS MONTH, BADFINGER CO-FOUNDER JOEY energy every night. I never saw a day that he wasn’t just Molland is slated to release a new solo album. Be bursting. As it is now, we may come back out next spring True To Yourself (Omnivore Recordings) is an and fall, so please look for us. Then if this record does energetic, ten-track set of clever pop tunes and his first good, it’ll bring a lot of things into the picture. I’m really batch of new material since 2013. excited to see where it all goes.

With a little help from a number of the singer-songwriterguitarist’s friends, including Micky Dolenz (The There are several of your White Album tourmates as Monkees), Wings album Steve Holley, Chicago singerguests on the album. bassist Jason Scheff and Julian Lennon, the record was You know how it is on a tour, you get to know folks produced and honed by Mark Hudson (Aerosmith, Ringo as you travel along. Then when it came time to do the Starr, Hudson Brothers). Lennon also shot the front and record, they volunteered! back cover photos for the album package.

There’s a cheerful, Anglophile jangle has the same spirit as an early Ringo solo WHEN I SEE PEOPLE Itrecord to the collection, which is to be expected where you can tell there was a party SMILE AS I’M as Molland is the last surviving original going on in the studio.

PLAYIN,’ THAT JUST Mark, as a producer, allows the musicians member of Badfinger. His considerable Beatle pedigree (with guest spots on DRIVES ME ON. ALL to put themselves into it. I think that’s why both John Lennon’s Imagine and George YOU CAN DO IS YOUR it sounds like such a good time. We didn’t Harrison’s All Things Must Pass) forever the parts all written out or anything BEST - AND THAT’S have amplifies his offerings among the Fab4 so everyone put their own heart into every THE WAY I’VE Faithful. Related, he was part of last song. Every song is different, but there’s still ALWAYS DONE IT. an ongoing thread to it. We all laughed a lot. year’s “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today - A Tribute to The Beatles’ White Album” When you’re makin’ up things as ya go, there tour with featured spots from pals Dolenz, Scheff, and are screw-ups. So we had a few laughs and we ended up polar-opposite singer-guitarists Todd Rundgren and diggin’ it all when we listened to the tracks back in the Christopher Cross. studio. It was like a party. There wasn’t a lot of boozin’ or INsite phoned the jovial Liverpudlian at his Minneapolis anythin’ but it felt like it. home studio to discuss the new record.

With forty songs to work with, you could do three more Great to talk with you again. The last time we spoke you albums before the pandemic passes. were on a big package tour and that evening became the We could! Mark picked the ones that he kinda thought final Peter and Gordon performance. were the most viable and I believe he chose ‘em well. If this Oh at that fairgrounds kind of place there? Yeah! How’s one’s a bit of a success, we’ve got loads of material so we it going down there? can go back in and do some more. It was a great experience, makin’ this record. The way things are now I was astounded When the pandemic is over, we’ve got to get you back I even got the chance, you know what I mean? down this way.

I’d love to, it has been a while. I really want to be out The industry has changed so much since you made and playin’ again, it’s drivin’ me crazy!

Return To Memphis in 2013.

Everything has changed. The ways of recordin,’ the How are you handling the down time? style of music, the sound. Even what they’re singin’ I’ve just been makin’ myself busy around the house, about and how ya hear it. It’s a different world, man! But around the cars, with my girlfriend’s life and stuff. Just when you’ve got 300 billion people with studios in their gettin’ along best as I can, really. I binge-watch the TV basement, everybody wants to be a musician. like everyone. Thank God, I’m still doin’ ok; I’m well. I A lot of music is comin’ out and a lot of it is great. haven’t had any attacks or anything. I’m not bouncin’ off the walls. Yet. It’s a good time for a record like this one. It’s a very positive listening experience.

Are you able to work on new music with all this That’s good t’ hear. But I’m a pretty positive person, craziness going on?

Sometimes I’ll work on some ideas, but lately I tend to put them aside, really. I’m getting a bit miserable because I can’t get out and work, you know? But I do play the guitar a lot because I want me fingers to keep workin’ for when all this is finally over. In a way, I feel like I’ve been workin’ on music a lot because the record took a couple of years. It took us a while because [producer] Mark [Hudson] wanted to do it the old-fashioned way - with real instruments, real studios and real engineers. Just like the way I used to do it! I sent him around forty songs and we really went through them, song by song. Mark added his magic to ‘em and I’m happy to say that the reaction we’ve been getting has been really good. I’m doin’ interviews with Japan, Australia, all over the world. And when you do that, then the music goes all over the world.

T

You were on the road last year with the White Album tour, but you didn’t make it to Atlanta. It looked like a blast for all concerned.

Yeah, we did the east coast and I’m surprised we didn’t get down there. We were gonna go back out in May and then again this fall but it all got cancelled. But it was good fun. We had good audiences and you know, not a lot of people have played that album live - all the way through like that. The songs aren’t quite as big as from Abbey Road or the Beatles’ early stuff, but it was good. The performers on the show, maybe myself excluded, were extraordinary. Micky Dolenz was incredible. Christopher Cross was singin’ like a bird and playing guitar. But PG 12 • October 2020 • insiteatlanta.com

really. Mark brings a lot of that out, too. But the songs are positive and the lead vocals, the harmonies and even the backing vocals all of that stuff is so upfront. You don’t hear a lot of that now, that I’m aware of anyway. I think people are likin’ that and the energy of the record is tremendous. It’s straight-ahead pop music and I really like it.

Every one of the guests bring their own style to it, yet it still sounds like your older stuff.

We all pretty much grew up in that same era. But they do bring their own personality to it. They brought themselves to the project. Jason came along and just blinded us with his harmonies. Then it’s like, well if Micky Dolenz says he’ll do it, you know he’ll bring the sort of energy you’d expect. Plus, he’s just a regular bloke. A family guy that was also in The Monkees and did all these other things. You should be talkin’ to him. He’s much more interestin’ than me!

He’s one of my very favorite people to interview. Julian Lennon is also on the album. Did you know him as a kid?

I actually met him when the Valotte album was out. Of course I played with his dad on the Imagine album.

Of course you did! You have a built-in core of fans who know your entire body of work and this record is a solid addition to it.

I’ve been lucky to have worked with some very popular people, yeah. And the Badfinger fans always give me a chance. The fans are lovely and they still come to my shows. I’m lucky that I have a good audience every time I play. So I do my damnedest to bring all those songs to life and put a bit of rock’n’roll in their evening. I’m a beat guy, you know.

You were ‘there’ and you haven’t diverted from the traditional pop formula of the ‘60s and early ‘70s.

You’re still true to yourself.

I developed my style, I suppose, when I was a young man. I haven’t really changed it all that much to fit in or whatever. I’ve tried to make use of modern technology or sounds sometimes, but for me, the approach and the feel of the music is always the same. When I see people smile as I’m playin,’ that just drives me on. All you can do is your best - and that’s the way I’ve always done it.

Be True To Yourself will be available from most music retailers on October 16 or direct from the label at omnivorerecordings.com.

MUSIC

THE SEELY STYLE

Legendary Opry Star Jeannie Seely Blends Soul, Pop, Jazz, Country & Humor At this point in your career you could just kick back at the cottage and enjoy life. But here you are, promoting a new album in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

It’s been interesting but a lot of the ways we promote now is through technology. It’s not like back when we did “Don’t Touch Me.” Here’s a funny story about that since you go so far back. Ed Hamilton was the national promotions man for Monument Records when that song came out. He had me on the road on some pretty grueling promo tours. Back then, you had to be at a late-night club somewhere in Texas or at a dancehall or whatever. Then you had to get up early to be on the morning drivetime shows to promote everything. I remember being so tired on that tour. One time, Ed was trying to wake me up, hammering on the motel room door. ‘Are you up, Seely?’ I said, ‘Uh, yeah.” Finally, he said, ‘Do you want a number one record - or do you want to sleep ‘til noon?’

I said, ‘Could I have fifteen more minutes of sleep and just get a top five?’

Did that satisfy him?

No, he said, ‘You’d better get out of that bed or I’m gonna have the maid open the door and get you out!’

BY BRET LOVE

I

N THE FALL OF 1966, JEANNIE SEELY released her first album a few months after her debut single “Don’t Touch Me” had rocketed up the charts. Fifty-four years later, The Seely Style is still an appropriate way to describe the legendary singer songwriter.

The versatile artist, nicknamed “Miss Country Soul,” recently celebrated her 80th birthday and 53rd year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry with the release of a new album (the aptly titled An American Classic) and a weekly radio show on SiriusXM Channel 59.

INsite spoke with the stylish performer by phone from her home in Tennessee.

Congratulations on your recent birthday.

How are you feeling these days?

Well, I’m looking forward to Christmas with the grandchildren but I’m very homesick for the Opry. I won’t lie about that. After fifty-plus years it’s been my second home and I miss it.

It’s been a way of life for me as long as I can remember. But on the good side, I actually do like being home. I have a cottage here on the bank of the Cumberland River. I bought it as a retirement place back in 1990. Now I just sit here and watch the boats go by and think how lucky I am.

But you’re far from retired. A couple of months ago, An American Classic was released. It’s a really solid record. Your peers might just throw out another greatest hits collection, but you obviously put a lot of time and energy into the project.

It really came out of nowhere, too. I can’t believe how well it’s being received. Don Cusic, a wonderful historian and respected music professor at Belmont, called me a while back and asked if he could talk to me after a show one night at the Opry. I had no idea what he wanted. He said he wanted to do this project to show people where I’m at today and how I got here. I was just amazed. Naturally, I said yes! I learned so much from him. He came up with the idea of cutting Paul McCartney’s “Dance Tonight.” A Beatle’s song! I was like, ‘Wait - are you serious about this?’ It turned out to be a fun song and people might not expect me to

do that kind of thing. I’ve been getting a lot of comments about it.

I go so far back with your catalog, I remember that you did Lennon and McCartney’s “Yesterday” on your first album.

Oh wow! Yeah, I did. I had a lot of arguments from people here in Nashville about doing that. I’d moved here from California and The Beatles had made a remarkable impact on me early on. To me, I thought they were also basically doing country music but with a whole new twist. Like Harlan Howard always said, “It’s three chords and the truth.” That’s the Beatles’ music. I remember learning from all my friends who were great songwriters, people like Hank Cochran or Harlan Howard or Roger Miller or even Willie. They said if you can say so much of the story in one line, in the title, then you’ve probably got a good song. They really knew how to do that. Like “Yesterday,” you know what it’s about, just from the title.

Or even “Hard Day’s Night.” You don’t have to explain it. It gives you the feeling instantly. Or “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” You don’t have to ask for details, you get the drift. They were always a great inspiration to me. Thank you for remembering that I did that, all the way back in 1966.

Too bad some of your pals weren’t around, he might have been a little nicer. You’ve got friends in high places.

Yeah, I do. When we were making this new record, Don suggested we should invite some guests because I know so many people.

He said, ‘Your friends are the heavies in the business.’ I hadn’t even thought about it until he said so. But I am lucky to be able to call Rhonda Vincent or Bill Anderson or Willie Nelson or - oh, my goodness, I guess it just goes on and on. I wanted to include some of the people who have been the closest to me over the years. So we brought in Ray Stevens and Rhonda Vincent and I thought about Waylon Payne to bring in the next generation as well. He’s an incredibly talented young man. I knew his mom and dad, too. He’s had his struggles, like we all have. Willie was always there to give me a hand up when I

needed it and I’m glad that I’m able to do that whenever I can. If this album brings more attention to him, then that’s a good thing.

You’ve had a long history of mentoring and supporting young artists.

I was laughing about that a while back.

Somebody said to me the other day that they were surprised that I have so many young friends. Well, I’m 80 years old, if I’m gonna have any friends at all, I’d better make friends with some younger people!

Humor has always been a staple of your act.

I just like to make people laugh. I learned that from Roger Miller and from Little Jimmie Dickens. You can have a funny song and then a sad song and if you do it right, the audience will go along with you. You can be funny and then sing a really serious ballad. Roger could play “Do-Wacka-Do” and then turn around and do “Husbands and Wives.” That’s what’s missing today. You know, while we’re shut down, Circle TV are doing the shows at the Opry, but the humor isn’t there because there’s no audience.

They’re great shows though, but you can’t beat that live Opry experience.

The first week of the shutdown featured an empty Ryman and you were a part of that eerie broadcast.

I was. I sent an email to our president and said, ‘Please tell me you’ll do a broadcast even though we’re shut down. We can’t lose the history of never missing a show.’ So Bill Anderson, Connie Smith and I were on the first one in March. Mandy Barnett was also on the bill. Somebody said, ‘Well how can you all do a show with no audience?’ But we do have an audience. They’re all over the world. Millions of people are in that audience, they’re just not in the building. For me, it was just like doing a radio show. I do four hours every Sunday on Willie’s Roadhouse on XM so I just pictured the people who were listening. As far as I’m concerned, they were there!

Jeannie Seely’s new album and catalog favorites are available direct from the artist at JeannieSeely.Com.

With your history, all you have to do is look at the calendar. You probably did something monumental on that anniversary.

(Laughs) I kept reinventing myself, didn’t I? Like The Beatles, you never made the same album twice.

That’s true. I struggled a lot during my career of trying to be in the right place at the right time. So I kept trying different things and different styles of music. But I think that’s true of just about anything you do in life, you’ve got to keep reinventing yourself to keep it fresh so you won’t get old and bored.

You don’t have to worry about that.

Well who ever heard of getting a recording contact with Curb Records and having a single with Willie Nelson for their 80th birthday? Is that not wonderful? I still can’t believe it. insiteatlanta.com • October 2020 • PG 13

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COLLEGE SPORTS IN THE YEAR OF COVID-19

A Conversation with Charlie Cobb, Director of Athletics at Georgia State University

BY DAVE COHEN

O

N COLLEGE CAMPUSES ACROSS the country, following the onslaught of COVID-19, while the academic side focused on shifting quickly to online classrooms, college athletics had to shift gears as well and figure out how to respond to the challenges of being able to schedule and play games, if possible at all, in the midst of a world-wide pandemic.

INsite’s Dave Cohen talked with Charlie Cobb, director of athletics at Georgia State University.

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in late March no one had any idea how it would affect college athletics at that point. It had just shut down college basketball’s Final 4.

What have the last six months been like for you as athletics director?

It feels like an eternity doesn’t it and yet we’re still in the midst of this. I was talking recently with some kids on our women’s soccer team. I said back in the spring when this first started March, I thought we were going to be taking an extended spring break.

You know, maybe two weeks and then we’d be back to normal. We had just finished the basketball season, so we had a little bit of finality there. I had no idea that we were staring at canceling all the spring sports, academics and classes moving online.

Summer really was interrupted in terms of the norm of how we operate, how everybody operates. I came in with the thought that as we got to August and September we were going to be back to some semblance of normal and to realize that we were nowhere close to being back at normal and trying to make it work as best we can. It’s been challenging.

financial sacrifice for their son or daughter.

That’s one example during Covid.

College football is back to some extent with some of the conferences playing games.

Georgia State and the Sun Belt Conference have forged ahead with a plan and it seems to be working.

Shawn (Elliott) and his football staff and coaches have done a really good job getting our guys ready. I tip my hat to Bob Murphy and our athletic training staff. Throughout the summer they’ve given us reason to be It has been a tough situation for those competitive with our sports this fall. It’s student athletes who, in some cases, lost given us a chance and the kids have done their senior season of eligibility. what they’ve needed to do to take care of It’s hard to even fathom that within a themselves and their teammates. It’s going span of a couple of days March to look different and it certainly Madness and the basketball will be challenging but at the I’VE LEARNED conference tournaments were THAT THE KIDS ARE end of the day I cannot imagine, shut down and canceled and then with all the parameters we have to quickly transition to having to RESOURCEFUL AND in place from a safety standpoint THAT THEY ARE for people, that if I were an cancel all the spring sports and MUCH STRONGER athlete that I wasn’t allowed to not play out of an abundance of caution. I’ve learned that the kids THAN WE WANT TO compete. There’s a mental health are resourceful and that they are GIVE THEM CREDIT component to that as well. Just much stronger than we want to FOR BUT THERE a natural part of people who are give them credit for but there HAVE BEEN SOME competitive and play sports that have been some tough challenges TOUGH CHALLENGES they need to exert that energy for our student athletes. As we FOR OUR STUDENT and enthusiasm. To be able to get into the Fall, we’ve made provide that for our kids and our ATHLETES. some rules that this is essentially staff, selfishly, has been great. As a free eligibility season for kids I told them back in June that if to play in the Fall to kind of mimic what we were going to have a chance to play that happened in the Spring. If you’re a baseball it was going to be up to them. At around or softball player or a golfer, you have to 2,500 Covid tests our positive rate is around wait a whole calendar year to get that year 1.7 percent. We’re (Sun Belt) one of the back whereas in the Fall you start school conferences that is trying to play this fall and you are going to play, like football. It’s and I think if you take a snapshot of today really delaying “life” for a year if they want that it was the right decision based on how to come back and play. We had 40 or 41 kids we have been able to manage what’s going impacted and, I think, 26 decided to come on. There’s no certainty as to what’s going back. Not any of those kids are on a full to transpire into the winter and the spring. scholarship so now it’s on families to make a There’s no guarantees.

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