INsite Atlanta December 2021 Issue

DECEMBER 2021

C

INSITEATLANTA.COM

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VOL. 30, NO. 5 FREE

A Christmas Carol Light Attractions Holiday Events

Holiday Issue

CONTENTS • DECEMBER 2021 • VOLUME 30, NO. 5

30 R AT I N G CELEB

YEARS!

Atlanta’s

Entertainment Monthly

DEC 8–24

12/8 Jay Hunter Morris 7:30pm 12/9 Gold Shades 8:00pm A special concert 12/10 Haddon Kime 8:00pm Mike Kinnebrew series featuring some 12/11 Moms Unleash on Christmas 2:30pm of Atlanta’s most 12/11 Cody Bolden and the Roadhands 8:00pm exciting performers 12/12 Anita Aysola 2:30pm and musicians.

12/12 ozello 7:30pm 12/14 Moms Unleash on Christmas 7:30pm 12/15 Ina Williams 7:30pm 12/16 Comedy & Music Night, hosted by Mark Kendall 7:30pm 12/17 Comedy & Music Night, hosted by Mark Kendall 8:00pm 12/18 Haddon Kime 2:30pm Leah Belle Faser Liz and the Lions 12/18 The Manly Hero 8:00pm 12/19 ensemble vim 2:30pm 12/19 Linqua Franqa 7:30pm 12/21 Una Noche Latina: Dúos 7:30pm 12/22 Adam L. McKnight 7:30pm 12/23 Eric Thomas Project 7:30pm 12/24 Dynamo Deb Bowman & Big Love 2:30pm

INTERVIEWS 08 06 A Christmas Carol 08 Kelly Lang 10 Rick Allen 11 Orleans 12 Landslide at 40 13 Michelle Malone 10

FEATURES NOW–DEC 24

Returning to the Coca-Cola Stage with stunning new costumes and a dazzlingly reimagined set!

New staging!

04 Holiday Dining 05 Holiday Lights 07 NYE Guide 11

COLUMNS 03 Around Town 08 New Releases 09 Station Streaming

14 Album Reviews 13

insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Steve Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com PRESENTED BY

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

Tickets at alliancetheatre.org 404.733.4600 1 280 PE ACHTREE ST NE // ATL ANTA GA 3030 9

PG 2 • December 2021 • 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 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 and information (any and all) in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from publisher.

DECEMBER 2021

© Copyright 2021 Be Bop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

S! TING 30 YEAR CELEBRA

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 30, NO. 5 FREE

A Christmas Carol Light Attraction s Holiday Events

Holiday Issue

Around Town

Holiday Inspired Events taking place this Month

NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 24

NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 21

DECEMBER 7 - 12

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21

Alliance Theatre

Park Tavern in Piedmont Park

Fox Theatre

Fox Theatre

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

THE RINK AT PARK TAVERN

THE GRINCH

A Christmas Carol returns this month to the Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre. After 31 seasons, the Alliance will produce an elaborate new staging of its beloved holiday tradition. This exciting new adaption includes a completely reimagined set design by Tony Award winner Todd Rosenthal, stunning new costumes and lively puppetry. Audiences will be transported to the streets of London to revisit the timeless story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey to redemption, told with beautiful live music and an all-star cast.

Visit alliancetheatre.org/christmas for performance schedule and tickets.

e Rink Powered By Pepsi at Park Tavern is back! Atlantans and visitors alike can embrace the magic and nostalgia of the holiday season now through Presidents Day, February 21.

A beloved annual tradition, guests of all ages are invited to enjoy A Miracle on 10th Street. Skate amongst a scenic winter wonderland seven days a week. e covered rink is heated and boasts a state-ofthe-art sound system. Holiday cheer promises to be abound with an array of seasonal cocktails, delicious fare, cozy fire pits with and much more. Tickets start at $15. Purchase at parktavern.com.

Discover the magic of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale as it comes to life live on stage.

Featuring the hit songs “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas,” e Grinch finds out there’s more to Christmas than he bargained for in this h e a r t- w a r m i n g holiday classic. Dr. Seuss’ How e Grinch Stole Christmas! e Musical features magnificent sets designed by John Lee Beatty and costumes designed by Robert Morgan, inspired by Dr. Seuss’ original book. Tickets and show times available at foxtheatre.org/thegrinch.

DECEMBER 4 - 29

DECEMBER 8 - 24

Cobb Energy Centre

Alliance Theatre

CHRISTMAS WITH CALABRIA FOTI AND BOB MCCHESNEY

THE NUTCRACKER

Atlanta Ballet makes its long awaited return of The Nutcracker at its new home The Cobb Energy Centre. Described as “one of the most entertaining Nutcrackers out there”

by The Washington Post, this innovative production features larger-than-life sets and bold costumes enhanced by striking video projections, created by a world-class creative team that includes Tony Award-winning designers. Tickets at atlantaballet.com.

CLUB HERTZ LIVE

Alliance eatre’s Club Hertz Live is a unique concert series featuring musicians and performers from around Atlanta. e event spans three weeks and features 19 local musicians and performers. See a wide swath of local artists in a comfortable, intimate lounge setting. From hip-hop to opera, folk soloists to jazz bands, contemporary chamber music to stand-up comedy sketches. Tickets at alliancetheatre.org.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11 Rialto Center

Celebrate Christmas with Grammy-nominated vocalist/violinist Calabria Foti and composer/trombone virtuoso Bob McChesney. The husband-and-wife duo delight audiences with an exciting blend of swingin' jazz and beloved holiday classics. Calabria's sensual vocal stylings have been praised by legendary singer Johnny Mathis, who claims, "She is a treasure!", and Bob has been called "one of the world's most influential trombonists." Tickets at rialtocenter.gsu.edu.

HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA Come celebrate the iconic venue’s 15th annual Holiday Extravaganza. The free event formerly known as ‘Mighty Mo and More,’ will celebrate the beloved Mollër organ like never before with entertainment and activities that pay tribute to both “Mighty Mo” and the Fox Theatre’s rich history. A special screening of “The Polar Express” will follow. Presented

by Georgia Natural Gas and sponsored by Regions Bank. A limit of six passes per person. Tickets required at foxtheatre.org.

DECEMBER 23 & 24

CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE Fox Theatre

Cirque Dreams Holidaze lights up the stage in this aweinspiring and eyepopping family holiday spectacular. This annual tradition wraps a whimsical, Broadway-style musical infused with contemporary circus artistry into the ultimate holiday gift for the entire family.

The program showcases many of the best cirque artists in the world, thrilling the audience with aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers and strongmen. The New York Daily News calls this electrifying stage spectacular a “delicious confection of charm, sparkle and talent.” Tickets at foxtheatre.org.

insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 3

HOLIDAY DINING

Catering, Private Parties and Great Holiday Fare at Atlanta Restaurants Agave

242 Boulevard 404.588.0006 agaverestaurant.com

Recognized as one of the Top 100 restaurants in Atlanta and the Best Southwestern Cuisine, Agave is where to celebrate with friends and family over the holidays. Agave has two beautiful dining rooms as well as an enclosed heated patio. The rooms can accommodate parties from 6 guests to 50 and are available for private party bookings. Agave is celebrating their 21st holiday season.

The Flying Biscuit Cafe’

Candler Park 404.687.8888 Midtown 404.874.8887 flyingbiscuit.com Catering 404.849.2283

The Flying Biscuit’s Midtown and Candler Park (original) locations are ready for the holidays with new dinner and catering menus. Their one of a kind award winning biscuits is the perfect addition to any holiday function. Stop in for breakfast, lunch and dinner or call the catering hotline or visit their website to order for your holiday event.

Chin Chin

3887 Peachtree Rd. 404.816.2229 & Multiple Locations chinchinga.com

Atlanta’s favorite Chinese restaurant since 1998! Their menu includes standard favorites and many exotic dishes in Chinese cuisine at affordable prices. They

also offer an assortment of vegetarian dishes, ramen and sushi. Chin Chin is currently open for dine-in, carryout and delivery.

Call ahead and visit their website for full menu and online ordering.

Johnny’s Pizza & Subs

Multiple Metro Area Locations johnnyspizza.com

Johnny’s Pizza is the perfect place to bring the family over the holidays. Their menu is affordable and specializes in NY Style pizza, which is thin in the middle and thick around the edges.

Johnny’s offers plenty of specialty pizzas plus subs, salads, sandwiches and other popular Italian dishes including calzones, strombolis and lasagna. Go to their website to find the location nearest you.

Mediterranean Grill

N. Decatur Plaza 404.320.0101; Midtown 404.917.1100; East Cobb 678.996.0045; Athens 706.543.5000 mediterraneangrill.com

Mediterranean Grill is a family / chef-owned and operated restaurant serving great lunch dishes like gyros, falafel and kabob sandwiches made to perfection. Their authentic regional menu includes party favorites including spanakopita, dolmas and amazing humus also offered on their catering menu. Mediterranean Grill's dining rooms are open and observing social distanced seating. As always, they offer convenient online ordering and free delivery to the area. Individual packaging offered for catering and large orders. Mediterranean Grill is offering $40 Gift Certificates for $27 and $25 Gift Certificates for $17.

Come in December 22nd for Half Off Dine-in as they celebrate their 20 Year Anniversary!

Fat Matt’s Rib Shack

1811 Piedmont Ave. 404.607.1622 fatmattsribshack.net

This holiday season bring the whole family and outof-town guests to Fat Matt’s! This iconic restaurant, located on Piedmont Rd. between Buckhead and Midtown is wildly popular as they usually have a line out the door. Open for dine-in with limited seating, take-out and delivery through UberEats and Doordash.

This holiday season also think of Fat Matt’s for gift cards, their famous bottled sauce and great t-shirts.

Landmark Diner

3652 Roswell Rd. 404.816.9090 landmarkdiner.com

Atlanta’s favorite diner offers an expansive menu 24 hours a day.

Landmark is known for their great breakfasts, sandwiches, seafood along with Italian and Greek dishes. This holiday season head to the Buckhead location for a chance to meet the stars.

In the back of Landmark Diner’s Buckhead restaurant is the Punchline Comedy Club. Visit them for dinner and see a show all under one roof!

Eats

600 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404.888.9149 eatsonponce.net

For nearly 30 years, people all over Atlanta have been heading down to Ponce to experience their great jerk chicken and pasta dishes. Eats is located across the street from Ponce City Market and the perfect place to stop for lunch while doing your holiday shopping. Open 6 days a week; closed Tuesday. Check website for updates and online ordering.

Your Neighborhood Pizzeria!

Extremely Fresh Cuisine Atlanta’s Best Margaritas & Tequila Bar

Open 7 nights a week at 4pm

Vaulted Dining Rooms & Enclosed Patio

Atlanta’s Favorite Pizza!

Multiple Atlanta Locations: JohnnysPizza.com

PG 4 • December 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAYS Walking Tours and Drive-thru Attractions ATL HOLIDAY LIGHTS

Atlantic Station Now thru January 2 Atlholidaylights.com Don't miss the beautiful display of hundreds of thousands of lights displayed over six acres of land. e drive and walking exhibit is being held for seven weeks at Atlantic Station through Sunday, January 2. Tickets on Value Nights are $25 advance, $30 at the gate on Peak Nights: $35 advance and $40 at the gate. ursday Walking Nights are $15 advance, $20 at the gate (Kids 15 and under are free). Hours:

magic portal. Enjoy from the safety and comfort of your vehicle during the 30 minute drive through.

STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS

Stone Mountain Park Now thru January 2 Stonemountainpark.com

door Christmas tree, while Georgia’s most famous mountainside is lit up by a holiday-themed laser show. ere are also sing-along train rides, storytelling with Mrs. Claus, meet & greets with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, live children's shows including e Littlest Christmas Tree, A Christmas Carol and more. Kids can visit the Snow Angel in her Snow Palace at Memorial Hall, and pose for pictures with Santa and/or Mrs. Claus. e Christmas parade (which features special appearances by the Snow Angel and the Clauses) as well as the snowfall and fireworks display closes out the nightly celebration.

Six Flags White Water Marietta Now thru January 2 Worldofillumination.com e musically themed Rockin’ Christmas showcases such elements as gigantic boom boxes, iPods and jukeboxes along with DJ Santa and his sidekick the Little Drummer Boy spinning tunes for disco dancers. Additionally, a 500-foot long RGB LED tunnel doubles as Santa’s

Atlanta’s most popular tourist attraction is also home to one of the city's most beloved holiday traditions. During the day you will want to visit Snow Mountain, in which the park’s great lawn is transformed into a snowy wonderland where kids of all ages can go sledding, build igloos and snowmen, have snowball fights and more. As the evening sun fades, Crossroads Village sparkles with over 2 million lights and a gigantic out-

FANTASY IN LIGHTS Callaway Gardens Now thru January 3 Callawaygardens.com

GARDEN LIGHTS, HOLIDAY NIGHTS

Atlanta Botanical Garden Now thru January 15 Atlantabotanicalgarden.org

Monday – ursday 5:30pm to 10pm; Friday & Saturday 5:30pm to 11pm; Sunday – 5:30pm to 10pm. Purchase tickets in advance online. Designated 30 minute time slots.

ROCKIN’ CHRISTMAS

ders, the world’s largest choreographed curtain of light and sound, returns with new music and motion. e beloved Ice Goddess is back with new colors in her flowing locks. e glowing Orchestral Orbs, which dance with color and light to the sounds of festive holiday tunes help make the exhibition a must-see holiday tradition. e exhibition runs nightly thru Jan. 15, including Christmas and New Year’s from 5 – 10 p.m.

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights returns for its 11th year with fan favorites and new twists, including a colorful Glowing Grove along the Flower Walk, oversized flowers leading to Ice Goddess and several lighted sculptures from the 2021 summer exhibition SUPERnatural: Glass Art by Jason Gamrath. Nature’s Won-

Treat your family to fun filled with holiday cheer with Christmas at Callaway, featuring Fantasy In Lights, one of National Geographic’s Top 10 Light Displays. Fantasy In Lights is a spectacular light and sound show, with 8 million lights, 15 displays, a Christmas village, and Santa Claus at Callaway Gardens.

Drive through the spectacular Tunnel of Lights. Woodland displays depict such holiday scenes as the March of the Toy Soldiers while two beach scenes with moving lights tell the stories of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Nativity. Stroll through a forest of perfectly decorated trees on Christmas Tree Lane.

HOURS Monday ‒ Wednesday 5:30pm ‒ 10:00pm Thursday Walking Night 5:30pm ‒ 10:00pm Friday & Saturday 5:30pm ‒ 11:00pm Sunday 5:30pm ‒ 10:00pm

insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 5

STAGE

A CAROL OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT

The Alliance’s New Production of A Christmas Carol is as Modern as Today’s News

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

F

No matter the year, A Christmas Carol has OR THE PAST THREE DECADES, always reflected the times.

Charles Dickens’ legendary A Christmas Right, and as you know, Dickens wrote it Carol has been a staple of the Alliance as a response to the financial inequities in Theater’s performance calendar. For almost Victorian society. So much of that has a direct half of that time, the script has been created application to the world today. I allowed those by noted Dickens authority David H. Bell. contemporary and relevant issues that already This year, as the show returns to the venue’s existed in the text to come out to the fore just Coca-Cola Stage, audiences will be treated to a a little more. In the original new, thoroughly modernized novel, there is something look at the familiar holiday where a lot of the characters favorite. are prototypical or Directed by Leora Morris, stereotypical. They represent the new production is ideas, just like the Ghost of making its debut after NOW – DEC. 24 Christmas Past, or the Ghost an intensive five years of Christmas Future. A lot Alliance Theatre of development from of my work has been trying alliancetheatre.org/ adaptor Bell. The show is to make them more fullreimagined with live music, christmas blooded and interact with new costumes, inventive the plot in meaningful ways, puppetry and a wonderfully to give them a little more character rather than reconceived set. The story, as always, revolves just being kind of vaguely otherworldly. It all around Ebenezer Scrooge, a dour old man, adds to the journey toward redemption by our bitterly immersed in his sad, stingy ways. lead character, Ebenezer Scrooge.

The miser is visited by a series of spirits the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Right, the themes are universal, so the show Future - offering a rare gift, the opportunity for isn’t antiquated at all. redemption.

Not at all! What’s so good about the show, The lavish, Broadway-scale event heralds the original story is so universal it can actually the notion that it’s never too late to change. reflect different aspects of the present, Under the direction of Leora Morris, Bell’s whatever the current time might be. It is a clever script comes alive with a message as story of forever, a story of all time. It’s part modern as today’s headlines. The 2021 version of our cultural heritage. Like the best of features Alliance veteran Andrew Benator in a Shakespeare, the story brilliantly reflects the new turn as Scrooge. Rounding out the cast is conditions of the present day.

12-year-old Chloe Gia Bremer as Tiny Tim. Chicago-based Bell is a Professor of Music By using Scrooge as a metaphor, the sky’s Theatre and an accomplished director who the limit. has worked on Broadway, at The Kennedy Yes, absolutely. We could just start listing Center, The Royal Albert Hall, sites in Paris, all the names. In the era of the super-rich, Berlin, Barcelona and locally at The Alliance, as there’s a different meaning to what the is social Associate Artistic Director (1992-2001). obligation of having money - and that’s at the INsite spoke with Bell by phone from his heart of a lot of this theatrical discussion. It’s available to you. The paths that you have been Illinois office on the eve of A Christmas Carol’s exciting to realize that a piece written in 1843 locked off from can suddenly open right up. premiere performance. can be relevant, simply by stressing what it contained in the first place.

Now that the show is ready to go, is it ever Walk us through the five-year process of subject to change? Are you able to tweak it a creating a new look at an old favorite.

Today’s audiences are savvy, they’ve seen little during the run?

I’d had wonderful conversations about it with plenty of remakes of the story.

Yes, I think that’s an important part of Rosemary Newcott and Susan Booth at the It’s a familiar tale, to be sure. But if you the process. You always need to update Alliance. I was so grateful that they asked me honestly engage the journey, if you really it because times change and other things to come back to foster yet a new adoption of show the darkness, then become more and more the show. At the same time, I was disappointed the light becomes so relevant. But even more, that my old one was leaving. But I got very much more meaningful.

WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT you want to kind of tailor excited about exploring new and different The joy just leaps off it to the actors and allow aspects of the story. It was a good challenge THE SHOW, THE ORIGINAL the stage at the end. It’s production to be to see if there was another way we could STORY IS SO UNIVERSAL each so much more earned individually and uniquely frame the show to just give it a greater sense and fulfilling than many IT CAN ACTUALLY REFLECT special. It has been a of maturity, to have the piece grow up a bit, productions have been in DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE wonderful process. I was if you will. So during two and a half of those the past. We’ve gone on a there last week five years, while we waited for the theater to PRESENT, WHATEVER THE down journey and we’ve come for two days and I did reopen, we kept going back to the script and CURRENT TIME MIGHT BE. a significant number of to a heck of an ending. enriching it, finding other details to enlarge It’s a really wonderful IT IS A STORY OF FOREVER, rewrites, while the show upon. Leora Morris, who’s a brilliant director, thing to witness. For me, came on board and we ended up doing some A STORY OF ALL TIME. was already in previews. it’s a miracle to just see So this is definitely a world Zoom workshops for about 18 months before the audience, all sort of premiere and we have the show even started. breathing as one, sharing the power and treated it as such. There some things that I scope of this particular story. can’t wait to get in the room and take a look Has the pandemic era had any effect on your at again next year, depending on how that cast vision for the script?

You cannot beat the communal aspect of a may feel.

Constantly, because so much has happened live performance such as this one. during the pandemic, personally and socially, It’s just spiritual. It’s the thing that happens So the cast has direct input on with themes like social isolation, certainly the in a church during a particularly good service. each production?

Black Lives Matter issues, all of that suddenly You’re in the middle of a place where an entire Absolutely. The good thing about having a became more important. It allowed us to ask community of people live as one. We gather long rehearsal period, and the way Leora works, more questions. Where in the original Dickens for the purpose of this story and this particular we have a director who really encourages input did some of those ideas and themes live and Christmas Carol is an eternal redemption. from everyone. The entire community makes are they worth bringing to light for today’s No matter where you are on your journey, the show better. It’s not simply a question of, audiences? there’s still time to change. Then everything is

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

PG 6 • December 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

I wrote it therefore that’s what it should be.

Almost nothing in the theater really exists like that. I wrote it to be impactful. I wrote it to work. The more our actors and directors and designers are immersed in belief about what the story is and how we’re telling it, the better the show is going to be. Particularly when I’m surrounded by such an articulate and smart company of people; everybody involved at the Alliance is just top notch and smart. I’m knocked out by this cast.

A new version deserves a new Scrooge, right?

Tell us about Andrew Benator’s portrayal of the iconic character.

He’s extraordinary and unlike any of the others that I’ve worked with in Atlanta. He’s younger, which I always like, because in the redemption scene, there’s more of his life ahead of him. So that’s nice. He has time, once he has been changed, to really live a full and exciting life. Andrew is just a wonderful, wonderful artist. His transformation at the end, when I saw it for the first time, managed to be the most moving, the funniest and the most surprising of any I’d seen. It didn’t even look like anything I had ever seen before. I loved it. I can’t wait for everyone to take this journey along with us.

A Christmas Carol continues through Friday, December 24. Showtimes vary, so visit alliancetheatre.org/christmas for the complete schedule. Tickets are available at The Woodruff Arts Center Box Office in person or by calling 404-733-4600.

AtlantaSymphonyOrchestra New Year’s Eve Celebration Tavern at Piedmont Park New Year’s Eve Celebration Park Friday, December 31, 9pm - 2am

Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center @ City Springs; December 31 at 8:00pm CitySprings.com

Sat, Dec 11, 2021 // 8 PM

Christmas with

Calabria Foti & bob mCChesney Jazz Vocalist, Violinist & Composer and Trombone Virtuoso Masters of improvisation, interpretation and harmony

ParkTavern.com

Subscriptions and Tickets Rialto.GSU.edu // 404.413.9TIX (9849) Free Parking For the rialto SeaSon ShowS in the 100 Peachtree Parking garage on Fairlie Street

Rialto_INSITE_FotiMcChesney.indd 1

Ring in the 2022 New Year with the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at City Springs. The celebratory event will mark the Orchestra's return to the Byers Theatre after nearly two years. Inspired by the Viennese New Year tradition, the ASO will present a program featuring light classical favorites and popular works that are sure to delight. Join Associate Conductor Jerry Hou and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in this special New Year's Eve performance. Visit CitySprings.com for ticket and more information.

Dropping of the Edelweiss

The Festhalle in Helen, GA December 31 1074 Edelweiss Strasse 706.878.1908 HelenChamber.com

Say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022.

This NYE party is an all-inclusive event.

Your drinks and your food are covered all night and into the wee hours of the morning. Two floors of NYE fun. Live Music with the Vegabonds on the main stage and a DJ spinning music in the Piedmont Room all night long. Several bars pouring premium spirits, beer, wine & champagne. NYE provisions include fabulous NYE specialties, light bites and sushi. Countdown and Champagne Toast at Midnight. Midnight Breakfast Buffet. 21+ event. Tickets at parktavern.com.

New Year’s Eve Bash

The Battery Atlanta - December 31 Early begin at 6pm; Batteryatl.com

11/29/21 12:33 PM

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

Ice Skating All Month Long!

Monday – Friday 4pm to Midnight Saturday & Sunday 11:30am to Midnight

The 9th Annual Helen Chamber

Celebrate New Year’s Eve this year in the mountains of beautiful Helen, GA. The 9th annual Dropping of the Edelweiss rings in the New Year with heavy hors d'oeuvres, full cash bar, a live band, dancing, music and fun. At midnight countdown the Edelweiss drop followed by a champagne toast with supplied hats and noisemakers.

Doors open at 8 for this family friendly NYE event. $25 per person; kids under 6 free; ages 6-12 are $12. Tickets available at HelenChamber.com.

The Battery Atlanta’s free NYE event is back and presented by Xfinity. Mark Owens will be on hand to emcee this year's double celebration, beginning with Early Innings geared toward families followed by Late Innings for all ages. The Early Inning celebrations will begin at 6 p.m. and includes music from The Lucky Band and early inning countdown with inflatable balloon drop at 8pm. Late Innings begin at 9 p.m. with live music from fan favorite The 12 South Band. The evening will close with a midnight countdown featuring an unforgettable firework and confetti display over Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta. Visit batteryatl.com for more information.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Celebration!

DROPPING OF THE EDELWEISS Music, Food, Dancing!

Champagne Toast!

Hors D’Oeuvres! • Full Cash Bar!

LIVE BAND! Doors open at 8pm • $25 per person

Family Friendly! Kids under 6 are Free; Ages 6-12 are $12

For info, call the Helen Chamber at 706-878-1908

1074 Edelweiss Strasse • The Festhalle Oktoberfest helenchamber.com Festhalle Friends

insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 7

BOOKS

POSITIVELY GOING THERE

Kelly Lang’s Inspirational New book Details a Life-Affirming Journey

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

I

N ADDITION TO BEING A TALENTED SINGERsongwriter and recording artist, Kelly Lang is a 17-year breast cancer survivor. In her new autobiography, I’m Not Going Anywhere, she shares her journey of healing and her life story, including the touching love story of her marriage to country music star T.G. Sheppard.

The uplifting story offers life lessons and features Lang’s distinctly positive attitude during incredibly trying times.

Exclusive QR codes are strategically placed throughout the chapters, offering readers a closer look at her life and career through unique video clips. With an inspirational emphasis on her faith, the book is a thoroughly enjoyable trip through a life in and around the ups and downs of the music business.

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Lang literally grew up in the country music industry. Her father Velton Lang was the longtime road manager for iconic superstar Conway Twitty. As a songwriter, Lang has had an impressive run of hits recorded by a varied range of artists including Ricky Skaggs, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, B.J. Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Lee, among others.

Additionally, she has recorded duets with a variety of artists including Olivia Newton-John, Barry Gibb, Paul Shaffer and Lee Greenwood.

INsite spoke with the effusive performer by phone from her Hendersonville, Tennessee home.

Like many new projects, the new book was born during the pandemic.

Yes it was. After a while it gets kind of boring watching reruns all the time, so I just thought, ‘What a better a time to clean out our garage.’ But it was daunting. Between me and my husband T. G. Sheppard, we had never opened hundreds of boxes that we just moved from one house to the other.

He took them from a storage unit into our last house and then to this house. I was like, ‘I need my garage back.’ So he begrudgingly helped me. It became the greatest thing, because we got to look at all of his boxed-up awards that he’d never displayed and that I never knew anything about. We got to look at things in my career that I had forgotten about and I could share with him. All of a sudden, I ran across some scrap papers. I was throwing away everything. I mean, if it didn’t look important it was thrown away. But these papers just paused my day because it was all the notes that I’d written down as I had gone through breast cancer, 16 years earlier. I had forgotten a lot of it, probably on purpose. I started telling my friend that night about them because I didn’t know what I should do with them. She goes, ‘Kelly, I just had a dream last night that you wrote a book and it was really important and helped a lot of people.’ So that’s where it began. I started in the middle of the story amongst all the diagnosis, went forwards and backwards, and here we are.

Tell us about the song that inspired the title.

I was watching a friend of mine take care of her dying husband, he had hospice and all kinds of nurses around him, but he was really agitated. Every time she would say, ‘Honey I’m not leaving, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,’ you just saw him soften. It inspired me to write a song about that moment. I didn’t think any more about it until three or four months later when I personally needed to hear that myself. T.G. would tell me those same exact words when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, that he was right there, he wasn’t leaving. He and Crystal Gayle recorded that song. It ended up in a movie and truthfully I didn’t think much more about it. Songs come and go. Then 16 years later, Ascension Hospitals picked it up for their national commercial and so it begins. The song has really comforted people, specifically during the pandemic. It was helpful for people leaving their loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals. I’m just the holder of the pen, I did not have much to do with it, other than just being grateful that it came to me. project for me and I just kept thinking, ‘It’s not done yet. It’s not done yet.’ I have been so blessed by hundreds of emails and messages sent to me via Facebook about how this book is touching people. People say they’ve learned lessons in how to handle their life. Whether they were diagnosed with anything tragic or not, they’ve learned positive outlooks and new ways of dealing with things that they’re applying to their own lives. I feel like I’ve done a real justice with it.

The forward by Olivia Newton-John is especially encouraging.

I have been friends with her for quite some time. She has been very outward with her battle with breast cancer and she has helped me to find a way of dealing with it. If, God forbid, it ever comes back on me, I now have her as a mentor. When I was going through it, I had nobody, especially my age, to really talk me through things that I’d be feeling or going through.

She’s given me the courage and the option to be happy.

We must talk about the QR codes in the book because it’s a very unique way to enhance the story.

At first I thought, ‘I’m just sitting here with all these files on my computer. What am I going to do with these videos?’

I’m a real visual person and I put a lot of pictures in there but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to make it come alive and be interactive. For instance, when I mention being on Star Search when I was 18, I have clip, so I just decided to include it. You can just click on the code with your phone after the chapter is over and see a video of what you just read about.

It’s an incredible document. not only for people who might be fans of your work, or people who need some inspiration, but the music business in general. You learn a lot about how to do it right.

Well, I’ve done a lot of things wrong in order to make it look like I’ve done it right. I have been in this business since I was just a kid and I’ve been around the greats. You just learn by observing and by making some mistakes along the way, otherwise you’re just coasting.

But it all worked out.

Oh yeah. I’m in a very happy place right now. I’m recording a new project and it’s a passion project for me as well. I just recorded an album last year called Old Soul. I had so much fun doing it, I ran out of room so I’m starting volume two. I’m doing things like “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “You’re So Vain,” and just songs that I’ve always enjoyed. So it’s going to be a lot of fun. What a better time to release music that makes people are happy? We need it now more than ever.

That’s the power of music.

Yes! I love the saying, ‘Music is what feelings sound like.’

Obviously the book details a lot of worry and fear but it’s a very uplifting journey.

Oh man, it has been incredible. I was sitting and working really diligently and sometimes 12, 16 hours a day. I just did not get up from that table and I loved it. It was like a passion

Kelly Lang’s autobiography I’m Not Going Anywhere is available in special autographed editions via KellyLang.net and internationally from Amazon.com.

HOME THEATER

NEW RELEASES THE LATEST DVD, BLU RAY & VOD RELEASES

By John Moore

CANDYMAN

(Universal) Leave it to Jordan Peele to not only make the mediocre mid- ‘80s/early ‘90s slasher franchise relevant again, but to actually make a compelling politically statement with this movie. Peele coproduced and coPG 8 • December 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

wrote this latest offering in the franchise along with Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta, who directs. This one serves as a direct sequel to the 1992 installment and centers on a visual artist, discovering the legend of the hook-handed Candyman, who goes to Chicago’s CabriniGreen housing project looking for inspiration.

He creates an art piece around Candyman and inadvertently leads to him being summoned to kill again. This latest installment is smartly written and beautifully cast elevating the series above typical horror fare.

THE STAND (CBS DVD/Paramount)

There are few things Hollywood loves more than adapting Stephen King books to movies.

The 1978 post-apocalyptical fantasy novel The Stand is definitely one of their favorites, as it’s been adapted for a TV mini-series in 1994 and

again in 2020. CBS and Paramount have combined both series into one impressive collection. The initial version includes Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, and looking to survive after a weaponized virus accidentally gets out of a government lab and spreads across the county. The newer version casts James Marsden, Odessa Young and Whoopi Goldberg. Of the two, the 1994 series - despite being much shorter with only four episodes versus nine of the latter version – holds up quite well and manages to be far more entertaining. Regardless, having both series captured in one set makes for an impressive weekend of binging.

DON’T BREATHE 2 (Sony)

The folks behind Don’t Breathe 2 couldn’t leave well enough alone. The 2016 thriller

about a trio of burglars who decide to rob a blind Gulf War vet was met with surprise critical praise and obviously made more money than the studio was expecting, so they decided to go back to the well again, turning a refreshingly original horror concept into a mediocre retread. In this latest version a gang of bikers break into that same vet’s home to kidnap the 11-year-old girl living with him. While not terrible, the movie holds none of the tension and suspense of the far superior original.

TV

Station Streaming

SCI-FI HITS SMALL SCREEN

BY BENJAMIN CARR

Cowboy Bebop

S

OME OF THE MOST AUDACIOUS, amazing television to come out in recent years has been in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Since budgets for some streaming service productions allow for new shows to look like blockbuster movies, calling television “the small screen” no longer applies.

Effects are dazzling, and stories can be epic.

Three new genre shows on streaming services have the ambition of major motion pictures. But their executions vary.

COWBOY BEBOP (Netflix)

Good Lord, this live-action series based upon the 1998 anime show is a stunner. It’s a bloody Western set in space during the year 2171.

Earth is uninhabitable, and a group of bounty hunters led by Spike Spiegel (John Cho) and Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) travel the galaxy, hunting down criminals for a price. Along the way they meet Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda), a con artist with a gambling addiction and a mysterious past.

The style of the show is colorful and hyperkinetic. It feels like a Tarantino-directed Firefly on acid. The effects and the stunt work is top-notch. The score is upbeat and jazzy.

Oddly, the whole thing feels both vintage and futuristic, nodding both to its Western and space opera roots.

The adaptation’s script was written by Christopher Yost, who worked on Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel. It’s one of the liveliest and most interesting shows of the year.

And Cho has never been better than he is here. His Spike has swagger and wit. He’s a muscled, skilled fighter and a total badass.

Spike has faked his death, on the run from an organization of gangsters, yet Cho’s background in comedy and commitment to the physicality of the character suits him incredibly well for this role.

Watching this version, it’s easy to understand why the source material was an international sensation.

The Wheel of Time

THE WHEEL OF TIME (Amazon Prime)

Based upon Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy books, this new series capitalizes on the success of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, yet its first episodes don’t really achieve that level of quality, despite an ambitious production.

Within the series, a cabal of women warriors called the Aes Sedai wield magic to protect their realm from an evil darkness that’s prophesied to come. Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) stars as Moiraine, a powerful sorceress who searches for a person known as the Dragon, a savior that has been promised to save the world.

At the end of the pilot, Moiraine has traveled to a village and met four young people, not knowing which of them is the Dragon. And

she invites all four of them to train with her in magic to prepare for what’s coming.

The four performers playing the central characters are new faces and their inexperience shows. Playing a shepherd named Rand, Josha Stradowski has the stunning looks of a fashion model, complete with grand cheekbones, yet he lacks charisma and depth. Instead he feels like he’s channeling Hayden Christiansen from the Star Wars prequels.

Barney Harris, playing a warm-hearted scoundrel named Mat Cauthon, has already been recast for the show’s second season.

Marcus Rutherford, playing Perrin, has yet to show much emotion even in a scene where the character accidentally murders his girlfriend. Madeleine Madden, playing a potential sorceress, manages to play nuance and emotion. It’s a low bar, but she’s the best of the group.

Pike is a terrific actress, and she seems to be having fun as Moiraine twirls her arms and throws fireballs at monsters. But the character needs to be more complicated in future episodes.

So far, The Wheel of Time doesn’t cut it.

HAWKEYE (Disney +)

Another show that just doesn’t cut it so far is this Marvel series featuring Jeremy Renner’s archer superhero Clint Barton, easily the most boring Avenger of the lot. The premise of this series does not reinvigorate the character either.

It’s Christmastime in New York and Hawkeye just wants a happy holiday with his wife and kids. Instead his past as a gangster named Ronin, a persona he took on after his entire family disintegrated during the Infinity War, has caught up with him. And he has to spend Christmas grumpy, mourning the death of Black Widow while perpetually fighting off gangs of enemies.

Joining him in the fight is Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld, an amateur archer who wants to be like her hero. Ever since her father’s death during the 2012 Loki attack on New York, Kate’s been training in all kinds of combat techniques. Accidentally, she stumbles upon a criminal conspiracy while trying to investigate her mom’s new boyfriend Jack (Tony Dalton), a sword-swinging villain with a smarmy charm.

Steinfeld is a terrific actress, but the character Kate has an annoying amount of spunk. She’s like Scrappy-Doo, for goodness sake. And her hijinks attract trouble wherever she goes, which just serves to make Clint Barton even more grumpy. The overall effect this has on the show is to make it sluggish and unpleasant.

If this is Renner’s last stand as the character, he deserves to go out with a bang, not this whimper.

Happy Holidays from our crew to yours!

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insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 9

MUSIC

BRINGIN’ ON THE ART SHOW

Def Leppard’s Rick Allen Exhibits “Wings Of Hope” at Atlanta’s Wentworth Gallery

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

R

ICK ALLEN FIRST ARRIVED IN America in 1980. He landed in Los Angeles from his native England for a long US tour in support of On Through The Night, Def Leppard’s debut album. His band spent a year opening shows for such unlikely tour mates as Pat Travers, Ted Nugent and Blackfoot while finally seeing the country they’d only experienced via music, TV, movies and books.

Some of those early moments of discovery became inspirations for the drummer’s art. His latest exhibit, “Wings Of Hope 2021” is a newly curated happening that features an impressive array of originals, specially-selected limited editions, pieces from his ongoing “Painted Drum” collection, mixed-media works, plus an update of his “Legends Series.” This year, Allen’s popular Legends include stunning new portraits of Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash.

The Atlanta presentation is the musician’s final stop on his latest Wentworth Gallery tour. The journey began in McLean, VA with additional visits to outlets in Bethesda, MD and Short Hills, NJ. The shows celebrate his newest creations with a nod to previous favorites. The event is open to the public and the Galleries follow the latest CDC safety recommendations for the protection and enjoyment of all.

The Wentworth Galleries will donate a percent of every acquisition to benefit the efforts of his Project Resiliency, a labor of love charity group, founded through partnership with the Raven Drum Foundation. For the past 12 years, Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe have worked closely with veterans from Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as first responders and trauma survivors - through groundbreaking wellness-support programs. The organization contributes to local and international communities through the arts, advocacy and the support of complementary and alternative medicines.

Before the multi-million selling band gears up for a slate of events planned for 2022, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer will visit Atlanta’s Wentworth location on Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12 for a festive art display, one-on-one meet-and-greets and signings.

PG 10 • December 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

INsite spoke with Allen by phone to discuss his art and inspirations.

People know you from your musical career, of course, but has visual art been an ongoing pursuit as well?

I’d always been into painting and drawing but I really picked it back up again when I started painting with my youngest daughter. She would paint without rules and just be completely in the moment with it. So it became very inspiring for me. I loved that she didn’t follow any sort of trend or try to copy any particular sort of style - and that kind of freedom was actually quite appealing. I loved it because that’s the same way I approach art and it’s always been the way I’ve played my music, so it all seems to fit.

an interesting photography collection as well.

For art tours, do you only present paintings - or do you also include some of those photos from your extensive travels?

Sometimes it’s all paint, like total original, one-of-a-kind pieces. Then other times I’ll do what they call ‘mixed media.’ Sometimes I start out with a print and then I’ll enhance the original print with all kinds of paint to make different mediums and create different textures with the piece. And it’s nice because that way, I can create different price points for the editions.

The website notes that every piece has a specific backstory.

That’s right. I draw from my history growing up in England and from my original perception Were you ever apprehensive about exhibiting of the States - from before I even arrived here. your work? It’s a big deal to share something The way I see it, my art is kind of a collection so personal. of all my life experiences combined. Growing Yeah. I was a little apprehensive at first, for up in England, then getting into the band and sure. But when I started showing it, people finally making my way to America, so it blends responded really well to it. And my English experience with my I must say that it’s given me the American experience. Then, when …ARTISTIC opportunity to connect with ENDEAVORS TEND I do a lot of the Legends pieces, I’ll people in a completely different listen to the music of the individual TO BE VERY MUCH person that I’m painting, so I way than when I’m on tour with the band. You know with Def INTERCHANGEABLE believe their own special story is Leppard, if we meet people, it’s THINGS. I’D ALWAYS right in there, too. normally in quite a brief, little moment. It’s usually just a quick ‘hi BEEN INTO ART AND You’ve frequently incorporated PHOTOGRAPHY BUT flags into your art as well. and bye’ kinda thing; maybe you can take a picture and that’s about THEN I DISCOVERED One of the first things I did when it. But these shows give me the I really got back into painting was MUSIC. THEN I CAME to put my opportunity to really talk to people own spin on the flag. But ‘ROUND FULL CIRCLE with a playful approach, I think it’s for longer, without all the noise and preparation of a rock show. It’s almost childlike. I wanted to sort of WITH IT ALL. a lot of fun for me because I truly enhance and expand the meaning enjoy getting their reactions and seeing what of patriotism and what it can really mean. No they seem to like about the art. (Laughs) let’s put matter what country you come from, to embrace it this way, it keeps me off the street corners! the flag is a very special thing.

That’s one of the many uses of art.

Right! It’s very healing, really. It’s a new way for me to engage myself with art and with the people who come to the shows. You know, artistic endeavors tend to be very much interchangeable things. I’d always been into art and photography but then I discovered music. Then I came ‘round full circle with it all. When I started traveling, touring different places all over the planet, I built

Def Leppard really played up the Union Jack on early album covers and merch, giving the music and image a distinct geographical base.

We did, yeah. It was just a fun way for people to see where we were from and that we’re different, I suppose. But you know, we borrowed it from The Stones and The Who and I’m sure they borrowed it from someone else, too. That whole thing has been a theme for bands for a long time

now so it just seemed natural at the time for us to use it, as well. It worked pretty well, didn’t it?

It has certainly served you well. But like music, flags represent so much to so many different people.

Oh yeah, there’s a real sense of oneness and of unity, for both things. I live in America, so now it’s probably easier for me to embrace the US flag. But not necessarily in the same way that everybody else might. America’s given me so many opportunities and I certainly don’t take my life in America for granted at all, ever. It’s very special to me and it’s given me a lot of freedom and definitely a lot of creative inspiration. I think the paintings reflect all of that because I pull from so many influences at the same time.

There’s music, of course, but I include all the places I’ve been, work that I’ve done on myself through dealing with PTSD, and even through working with the Wounded Warriors. It’s been a rich life for sure, so there are always plenty of new inspirations.

Rick Allen’s Wings Of Hope 2021 exhibit can be seen Saturday December 11 from 5 until 8 p.m. and Sunday, December 12 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Wentworth Gallery, Phipps Plaza. For more information, visit wentworthgallery.com. For more details on Allen’s Project Resiliency, see ravendrumfoundation.org.

MUSIC

STILL HAVING FUN

Approaching Their 50th Anniversary, Orleans Celebrates the Holiday Season

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

E

VERY YEAR, BEGINNING IN EARLY October the music market is saturated with new and reissued holiday music.

Albums, singles, digital tracks jingle with the sounds of the season. This year, a wide swath of the usual suspects to improbable outliers, living and dead, have new product available on all the platforms. From Nat King Cole, Leslie Odom, Jr, Billy Gibbons, to Ed Sheeran and Elton John, the list is seemingly endless.

An unexpected highlight of the batch is New Star Shining from Orleans. Yes, the “Still The One” guys from the ‘70s. The album is part of the band’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebration and a vital part of a busy year for the legacy act. This summer, principal songwriter John Hall, issued Reclaiming My Time, also on Sunset Boulevard Records. It’s Hall’s sixth solo record, in addition to the 18 albums he’s recorded with Orleans. The title is a Congressional phrase (where Hall spent four years as a New York Representative) after being interrupted.

Orleans is best-known for their massive hits “Still the One,” “Dance With Me” and “Love Takes Time,” classic tracks that continue to gain hundreds of thousands of streams every week, and are licensed for everything from commercials to movies to political campaigns.

Their biggest hit is also in the title of John Hall’s engaging memoir, Still The One: A Rock’n’Roll Journey To Congress and Back.

The Yacht Rock movement has embraced Orleans as elder statesmen but the group, originally formed in Woodstock, New York, actually started out as a funky little bar band.

Despite the category and personnel shifts, the easy rolling musicians continue to produce excellent material, with a canon of work that far outshines its deceptive batch of hit singles.

New Star Shining is a prime example of their level of musicianship, offering a rich collection of new and vintage recordings.

Recently, INsite spoke with co-founder/ bassist/songwriter/producer Lance Hoppen by phone from his studio in Nashville about the band’s history, the new record and how it feels to sail the seas as Yacht Rock royalty.

It seems 2021 has been an unusually busy time for Orleans.

It has, but let’s go back a bit to March of 2020.

We had a lot on the plate and then suddenly nothing, so it was like, ‘Well ok, what do we do now?’ Like a lot of bands, we started to delve into home recording, audio-video and posting to YouTube in isolation. Then we had the idea of starting a weekly show on YouTube for the fan base, culled from the library that I’ve gathered over the years, but never had time to really examine. For 30 weeks, we posted 30-to60-plus minute shows on there to expose it all and just keep everybody engaged.

Is that when the holiday album started to gel?

Yeah, as we had these productions done, the thought was to continue and make a whole new album because next year’s our 50th, so why not have an anniversary album, right? But then the further thought was, ‘Why not make a Christmas album because that has an even quicker deadline.’ Come the turn of the year, we started the project. We all stepped up, made suggestions and gathered a dozen songs, doing it all by remote file sharing, back and forth.

Everyone was learning how to do it at their own homes, send it in, coordinate it all, and then make the record and I produced it. It’s all

original music for the most part and a diverse collection of styles and genres.

One good thing about Christmas is that it brings back memories and it brings families together. Looking at the credits, the finished product flows like a family reunion in many ways.

It really is, because some of it is historic stuff.

You have [former members] Bob Leinbach included, you have my brother Larry included, and both guys are on “New Star Shining,” the title cut. When I was scouring YouTube to develop further that library so we could post all those weeks, I stumbled across a video of “Winter Wonderland” that Larry had done years ago and I stashed it away. So the songs came from all over the place.

The title track has been around for a while and was originally on some kind of Japanese compilation if I’m not mistaken. What’s the story on that one?

The story on that is John and Johanna Hall, Johanna being his first wife and prolific songwriting partner, wrote that song with hopes that Alabama was going to cut it in the ‘80s. Alabama passed on It, but Ricky Skaggs and James Taylor did a duet of it, which is even classier in a way. We did our own version of it in ‘94, specifically for a Japanese compilation CD called Woodstock Holidays, and it only came out there. So it’s a collection of some old things, some new stuff, some doctored, some not. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the final result.

It sounds quite cohesive, even though some of the source material is from different eras of the band.

Yeah, isn’t that funny? Probably part of that is that Orleans has always been Orleans. This is how we think, this is how we hear things, this is how we arrange and orchestrate things.

Maybe we’re dinosaurs in that respect but our style is still our style, so the thread runs through it regardless of the decade in which it was recorded. I guess if ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? That’s why we’re heading into our 50th year next year with quite a few bookings already. But nobody, none of us, would have predicted that kind of longevity, considering all the stops and starts we’ve had over the years.

We must touch on the fact that Orleans often gets lumped, fairly or unfairly, into the whole Yacht Rock thing. How do you feel about that?

Yeah. Well, it’s not unfair. I mean, we probably belong there, for better or worse. It denotes a certain time period and a certain style. And then somebody, maybe it was Jimmy Fallon or some comic, I could be wrong, but someone put a funny catchphrase on it. So there you go. We are, again, being invited to participate in the Rock and Romance Cruise, which is in late February. We did that several years ago.

That is, as you would imagine, all ‘70s acts.

Little River Band, War, I think Ambrosia’s on it, 10CC is playing, Joey Molland from Badfinger, too. So it’s actually good company to be in. But the term is tongue in cheek, like you’re picturing a bunch of rich white guys on

boats. Maybe that’s what it is, not that we’re all rich.

Should be a smooth sailing voyage. But I remember the early days of Orleans, before the gigantic hits, your sound was much different than what a pedestrian listener people might imagine.

Yeah. We did some rock, some R&B, Stax/ Volt and swampy stuff like that. The band was kind of a funky rock bar/college circuit band in the very early days. That’s what the first album captures. The second one we made, ABC Records just hated. They didn’t even want to put it out but on that record, but both “Let There Be Music” and “Dance With Me” had their first lives. Then when we got signed to Asylum, those songs got rerecorded.

So “Let There Be Music” opened the door at radio but “Dance With Me” knocked it down.

And “Dance With Me” was atypical, as you were saying. It wasn’t what we had been, but since it went top five, you have to go with the flow. Those two songs, along with “Love Takes Time,” are the reason why we get to be 50 years old. It’s the reason why we get to work these days. So whatever you want to call it, however it happened, we’re just grateful it happened for us and yes, as the song says, we’re still havin’ fun with it.

The band is still making good music while many of your peers are content to recycle the past.

Thank you for saying so. But to the degree that we remain true to our own musical sensibilities, we’re recycling the past too.

But yeah, I think there are some things on this Christmas record that were different and challenging, and maybe took it a little bit further. We still strive to do that all the time.

Right and that must be a weird sort of vindication for you guys, the fact that even though people may not know your individual names or faces, those big songs will never go away.

They definitely have a life of their own.

They’re like kids that grow up and they’re gone out of the house. Part of the point of life is leaving the planet better than when you came into it. I think we’ve already kind of done that, in a very modest way. So if a few songs make people’s lives better, then that’s good.

New Star Shining is available from most music retailers and direct from the band at Orleansonline.com. insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 11

MUSIC

FROM THE LATE BRONZE AGE TO HIGH TECH Atlanta’s Landslide Records Celebrates 40 Genre-Defying Years

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

I

N 1981, FORMER RACK JOBBER AND movie distributer Michael Rothschild decided to form a record label. The first release on the upstart Landslide imprint was the latest project from his friend, musical visionary Bruce Hampton.

Outside Looking Out by Hampton’s outfit The Late Bronze didn’t exactly go platinum, but the record ignited a 40-year career for the fledgling label mogul.

In celebration of the company’s momentous milestone, Rothschild has issued the appropriately titled Landslide Records, 40th Anniversary. The double-CD package features 33 tracks from many of the notable recording artists who’ve appeared on the label over the past four decades.

Selections include songs from Widespread Panic, The Derek Trucks Band, The Brains, Tinsley Ellis, Sean Costello and Webb Wilder and the collection bristles with over two hours of genre-defying music.

Recently, INsite reminisced with Rothschild by phone from his home in Florida.

I think the last time we were together, you, me and Sean Costello were all sharing the same golf cart backstage at Music Midtown.

(Laughs) I actually do remember that. That would’ve been maybe 16, 17 years ago or something like that.

Yeah, time goes by fast. And now Landslide is looking at 40 years of business.

It’s hard to believe but it was kind of fun to look back on those years. I had been thinking about doing something like this for a while.

I thought about it at the 30 and 35th mark.

Finally, my daughter who sometimes helps me with the business said, ‘You’ve got to do the 40.”

Let’s talk about the beginning of it all.

Obviously, it started with The Late Bronze Age. Yes, well Bruce Hampton in particular. Bruce and I spent a good amount of time during the late ‘70s, early ‘80s kind of hanging out, going to ball games and listening to music. One thing led to another. He invited me to listen to some material that he had done with Billy McPherson, his partner in The Late Bronze Age. I thought it was interesting. I didn’t have any feeling that it was real commercial, but I knew Bruce had a background and a following.

We just kind of hit on the idea of releasing The Late Bronze Age album. At that point, I’m not sure the band even had a name. It was Bruce and Billy. He’d had a bunch of bands prior to The Late Bronze Age that were kind of similar, but with different musicians coming in and out. But when the band got together finally with Ricky Keller and Jerry Field, it was really exciting to me. I thought they were terrific.

Their first gig at 688 was kind of the turning point on pushing them forward with the label.

What was the release date for their Outside Looking Out album?

It was somewhere in the spring of 1981. I remember Bruce and I went up to New York to get the mastering done in late 1980. Reagan was elected while we were on that trip and Bruce was yelling out the window, screaming that everything was going to go crazy.

Who came up with the name Landslide?

It was me, but Bruce kept saying that music PG 12 • December 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

was going to be real atonal and bizarre and so forth. Not that it happened, but that’s what Bruce was saying and that kind of generated the idea of Landslide.

I remember seeing the albums in the stores.

I don’t know if sales were great, but I know there was definitely product in the racks.

Over the years, I finally sold all those LPs but it took a long time. The band didn’t really get out there very far. They played around Atlanta a lot or in Athens, but I remember one trip we took, we played in North Carolina and then up to New York and Boston. It probably cost more than what they took in, but it was an experience. I’d never been on a road trip with a band before.

What was it like from your point of view? You weren’t there as a musician, you were coming along as the ‘label guy.’

At that point, and this was probably true of a lot of indie labels back then, you’re acting sort of as a manager of the band. The younger bands often needed some help and direction.

I fell into it that way. I learned right along with everyone else.

Before forming the label, what were you doing?

I had been in the motion picture distribution business. I lived in New York before Atlanta and partnered on a movie with some people.

We formed a company and distributed movies around the country. Later, as 1980 came along, it all became too expensive for me. At the same time, I was friendly with Bruce and these other musicians and sort of merged what I made from the movie business into the record company.

And more releases followed.

Slowly. We weren’t in a position like to release something every month like a lot of labels were, but if we could put out two, three records a year - and we did more than that early on - that’s what really helped to keep it going. Since we had established distribution, we picked up some labels that needed some help and that’s what we were doing. That included Atlanta’s DB Records for about three years. We had a relationship with Danny Beard and were able to work with the different kinds of acts that he had, like Love Tractor and Pylon. It gave us more experience with all kinds of music and not just kind of the bluesoriented stuff that we’d started out with. Let’s see, we also distributed King Snake Records for guy a named Bob Greenley in Florida and we had a reggae label that we distributed for a short time. It all helped to keep the product flowing. Early on, if you didn’t keep the product flowing, you weren’t going to get paid.

What an exciting time for music. Everything seemed new and cutting edge at the time.

It was definitely a great scene and a big education for me. Bruce was accepted by so many different scenes, too. He always said that he was either 20 years ahead or 20 years behind the times. But really when the jam scene started up and Bruce became the godfather, so to speak, I was amazed and happy to see him get that kind of recognition.

As the label continued to roll, you brought in acts like Widespread Panic and Webb Wilder and expanded the roster in a big way.

I didn’t feel like we should be limited to any specific genre. Some of the bands you

mentioned, I learned about them from Tinsley Ellis. We’d already done some records with him. I remember him telling me that there’s this great new band coming from Athens.

They’re going to be playing at the Harvest Moon Saloon on a Monday night, out there on Piedmont. The place was packed. All these kids were wearing tie-dyed outfits, they were twirling, dancing and so forth. They submitted their album, Space Wrangler to us and I thought it was great. Webb Wilder was somebody that we’ve done several albums with and he remains a good friend. Tinsley had seen him at 688 and told me about him. It may have been Bruce that told me it would be a good idea to go see Sean play. But that’s how it was then, you relied on word of mouth about the acts.

You’ve seen a number of changes in the industry over the years. Tastes change, yet Landslide has always managed to survive.

Well, what I can do now from my home office used to take a staff to do. Now I don’t do it all by myself. I have people like Nancy Lewis-Pegel who assists me quite a bit from Atlanta. Flournoy Holmes, I’ve worked with for a long time, he pretty much handles all

our art. Publicist Mark Pucci and various freelancers from time to time in other parts of the country have all helped keep it going. The overhead that we used to have when we had an Atlanta office on 14th Street in the ‘80s was costly and made it difficult to survive. But now the overhead really is a matter of just paying people for their independent work.

Is that pretty much the biggest change you’ve seen? The fact that now everything is more condensed, everything is more readily accessible?

Right. It’s technology. People are recording albums in their bedrooms now. Surprisingly, they sound pretty good! I can’t say I’ve made a lot of money from Landslide. It helps pay a few bills but the fact that I never took much of a salary probably helped keep it going. I can still plan on releasing new stuff because the process of putting it out has become pretty smooth.

Or maybe I finally learned how to do it right.

Either way, I’m still excited about what’s coming next.

Landslide’s 40th Anniversary collection is available from most music retailers and via links at landsliderecords.com.

MUSIC

IT’S TODDIE TIME - AGAIN!

Michelle Malone Toasts 2021 with Good Tidings and Old Favorites

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

H

out and play anywhere. Once Gerry Hansen began mixing it, I thought we’d need a little bit of drums on a few tracks. It all felt right because, again, I grew up around this kind of music. My grandmother was a great singer. We used to watch musicals together, then she would sing around the house. I remember her doing “Count Your Blessings” from White Christmas. It’s maybe not technically a Christmas song - but it’s been sort of grand-mothered into me.

ER FIRST RECORD WAS released in 1988. Two years later, she was a major-label artist with a well-received album on Arista. By 1992, Michelle Malone was issuing music on her own terms, through her own company.

The first release from Malone’s SBS Records was A Swingin’ Christmas In The Attic, a tribute to her enduring affection for the holiday songbook. Nearly three decades later, Malone continues to release her own Obviously “Count Your Blessings” is dear special brand of holiday cheer. to you - but how did you select the other Recorded with her snazzy side-project songs for the project?

The Hot Toddies, Toddie These are the ones that seemed Time is an intoxicating I’M HERE TO to fit us best and I thought folks collection of cool yuletide MAKE PEOPLE would enjoy the most. They sort standards. Die-hard fans who we are as a band. have had access to the tunes FEEL GOOD. ofOrdefine where we were as a band, through her website since I REALIZED because the line-up does change 2018 - along with Toddie Time II, an additional eightTHAT SEVERAL sometimes. song bundle of joy.

YEARS AGO. IT Let’s talk about some of the The big bag of Christmas From versions by classics - recorded via ACTUALLY TOOK tracks.

Tommy Dorsey to Fred Astaire sessions with frequent A WHILE, BUT to Bruce Springsteen, “Santa collaborators Doug Kees Is Coming To Town” is a (guitar), Robby Handley ONCE I DID, MY Claus proven crowd-pleaser. (bass) and Chris Burroughs LIFE GOT SO Yeah and I’d say we do it fairly (drums) - roasts familiar old traditionally.

In the back of my MUCH EASIER. mind, I’m thinking chestnuts such as “Santa about all the Claus is Coming to Town” classic Christmas recordings by and “Zat You Santa Claus?” - bookended by people like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra wonderfully emotive interpretations of “I’ll and Dean Martin. That era of real singers Be Home for Christmas” and “Count Your and old standards.

Blessings.”

Off the road for the holiday season, “Zat You, Santa Claus?”

Malone, Kees and their current lineup of It’s just a fun song. That one really Toddies will gather this month for a series features Doug on guitar. There’s a lot of of local extravaganzas. INsite caught up reverb on it and that’s probably his old with the Atlanta-born performer by phone Gretsch hollow-body. It’s got a classic as she prepared for the upcoming slate of jazz tone, very warm and nostalgic. It’s a shows - as well as the traditional New Year’s great showcase for his playing, as is “Blue Eve performances at Eddie’s Attic.

Christmas.” We recorded live so it sounds like three humans performing. When you Your love of holiday music goes way back. listen to it, you can hear that human aspect Oh, it sure does! It’s always been shining through. To me, that’s how we important in my family - being from a connect on a subconscious level, through bunch of singers and musicians. It’s always the energy that we all share. Playing music sort of in my head. For this project, I was is not about computers and perfection, it’s in the studio recording [2018’s] Slings and about the human element.

Arrows with Doug Kees on guitar, Chris Burroughs on drums and Robby Handley “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” on bass. When we finished up recording What a beautiful song, right? I just that day, Chris said he had to leave to do a wanted to do it justice and I believe we cocktail gig. Doug and I told him we’d go stayed pretty true to it even though we put see him play so we hopped in the car and our own little spin on it. It was probably drove down to midtown. He was playing written about soldiers wishing they could this little restaurant with a jazz trio. I’ve be home at Christmas instead of freezing always loved that style of music and it’s their asses off and being shot at in trenches very close to home for me. Then they asked somewhere. So it’s a little melancholy Doug if he wanted to sit in. While I was and emotional. watching them, I was thinking, ‘You know, maybe this is my little Christmas band.’

“Count Your Blessings” Doug is so versatile he can play any style As a message it’s never been more of music. I guess that’s why he’s in all my relevant. It’s a huge goal to do proper justice bands. It wasn’t even six months later when to an Irving Berlin song. Ours doesn’t we started recording. It’s basically the same stray too far from the original but I feel it’s band from the Slings and Arrows record if authentic to what I’m able to do with it. you can believe it. It’s much different stuff, That’s probably the most meaningful song but it’s still right there in all our ballparks. for me on the whole record.

The trio concept was evidently appealing.

That’s how I envisioned it at first, with just me on acoustic guitar, Doug on a jazz electric and Robby on upright bass. We didn’t even feel we needed drums on the actual recording. We wanted to keep it pared down and simple so we could just go

“Blue Christmas” That’s a hard one to do because I didn’t want to do an Elvis impression. It’s so associated with him and it’s got that kitsch appeal. Over the years it’s sort of turned into something you either love to hate or hate to love.

“Jingle Bells” Everybody knows it and that’s usually how the Toddies open our shows. It’s got such a Pavlov’s Dog thing going on with it. As soon as you hear it, you have to sing along -whether you want to or not! It just makes people feel good. That’s what my job is all about anyway, I’m here to make people feel good. I realized that several years ago - it actually took a while, but once I did, my life got so much easier. Because it wasn’t about me anymore. The Toddies are no different, it’s just about making people feel good, specifically at this time of year. But now having said that, completely selfishly, I do love it because I get to be home. We don’t take the Toddies on the road very far away.

Maybe Alabama but not too much further out of town. I like it because I get to be home and sing the songs I know and love.

As a prolific songwriter, were you tempted to include some originals?

Actually, I wasn’t. One of the things about the Hot Toddies is that it’s not just about us individually, it’s about playing other people’s songs. It gives me a break from playing my own songs for most of a month.

Until New Year’s Eve, at least. Your NYE shows are a popular annual event. Are you

planning one for this year?

It’s a tradition, so yeah. This year, we’ll start with a quiet little duo show for the first set - just Doug and me. We put out a record of fan favorites a while back, unplugged versions of some of the songs people request a lot at the shows. Then, the second set is a full band thing, to bring it all back home. I just feel like if I don’t do these end-of-the-year shows, I’ll be letting people down. I have a responsibility to the people who want to hear me play there. I know I’m not famous or anything, but I do have a good fanbase. They’re so loyal and they’re such good people. We’re a community.

They’ve got my back and I definitely have theirs. It really goes way beyond music. It just happens to be that music is the thing that brings us all together.

Michelle Malone’s Hot Toddies play Saturday, December 4 at the Red Clay Theater; Sunday, December 5 at Napoleons; Tuesday, December 16 at 37 Main in Avondale Estates and Friday, December 19 at the Velvet Note in Alpharetta. Malone’s annual New Year’s Eve shows happen Friday, December 31 at Eddie’s Attic at 8 and 10 p.m. Dave Franklin opens the late set. For music, art and more info, visit michellemalone.com. insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 13

20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Since 1996

MUSIC

Album Reviews

REVIEWS BY JOHN B. MOORE

Hushdrops

The Static (Pravda Records)

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Chicago indie supergroup trio, Hushdrops completed their third album just before drummer Joe Camarillo passed away. Camarillo had played in dozens of bands including the Waco Brothers and NRBQ. The likely final album, The Static, is a brilliant end to an impressive legacy. Across 14 tracks, the group – also comprised on John San Juan (Material Issue, The Webb Brothers) and Jim Shapiro (Veruca Salt) - churn out a hook-heavy, rock solid collection of tracks on par with the first two offerings.

The album opens with “Monday,” a wickedly catchy power pop track in vein of Material Issue or The Lemonheads that manages to be remarkably tight without sounding too polished.

Elsewhere, on the trippy “Eelevator,” the band seems to slip in and out of different decades in the span of one song sounding like a mix of the ‘70s and ‘90s. Appropriately the album careens in and out of genres, from power pop to garage rock to psych rock, often sounding enjoyably sloppy, like one of the best bar bands going. Every song on the album has the energy and excitement of a live album.

Static follow’s the band’s 2014 double album Tomorrow and is a brilliant addition to their legacy. Commenting on the passing of Camarillo, San Juan said “Better to celebrate than to mourn him, and he has given us an abundance of very special playing to celebrate.”

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It seems appropriate that Tulsa, OK indie rockers Wilderado have managed to tour with Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, both veterans of Fleetwood Mac. Musically there doesn’t seem to be much overlap between the two bands, with Wilderado playing through louder amp and faster drumming, but lyrically both bands manage to create wildly relatable songs.

On LP, their first full length after a handful of EPs, Rainer and his bandmates cover topic like depression, love, life and death, boredom, emotions we all have to face, but the band manages to make poetry out of shared sentiments. All while harnessing influences that sound like the aforementioned Fleetwood Mac, Mt. Joy and Kings Of Leon, among many others.

“While I was back in Tulsa, I ran into a friend and he told me he had an old church in my neighborhood that wasn’t being used and if I wanted to pay for the power we could write and rehearse in there,” said Wilderado’s Maxim Rainer. “One day in that church I wrote “Surefire.” It was December 16th, 2018.

Something about that song opened me back up and I ended up writing the majority of the lyrics on this record in that church. I found freedom in the fact that no one could hear me, and I could sing and say whatever I wanted, so

I wrote about everything.”

“Surefire,” that initial song that Rainer wrote in the church, made it onto the record, and though it’s a solid, mellower track, the band is at its best on some of the faster songs like the stellar album opener “Stranger” and the driving first single “Head Right,” an addictively catch song that dares you not to scream/sing along to it, chorus and verse.

ONETWOTHREE

Self-Titled (Kill Rock Stars)

On their selftitled LP, the Swiss-based postpunk trio ONETWOTHREE put out a bizarre, sometime brilliant, often uneven 11 tracks that is hard to ignore.

Comprised of three bassists from the 1970s and ‘80s Swiss punk scene - Klaudia Schifferle of Kleenex (later changed to LiLiPuT), Madlaina Peer of the Noknows. and Sara Schär, the singer for the bands TNT and Souldawn and bassist for The Kick – mesh quite well in this dance-worthy collection of songs that would fit perfectly in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s catch all New Wave/Post-Punk genre.

The record opens on “Perfect Illusions,” the strongest track in the set. Not surprisingly bass is pretty front and center on the 11 tracks here, and so is monotone singing that will either grate on your nerves or quickly become one of your favorite new records. There is not a lot of middle ground with this debut.

Even though the album is only 30 minutes long, because of the minimal instrumentation some of the songs tend to bleed into each other after a while.

Sticking to their DIY roots, the album was self-produced and written and performed almost entirely by the trio.

Urethane

Chasing Horizons (Cyber Tracks)

Urethane came together during the pandemic and managed to create one of the best melodic punk records of 2021.

Chasing Horizons is a throwback to The Descendents, Bad Religion and Dillinger Four, smart lyrics that go down easily thanks to a mix of aggressive guitars and drumming, catchy hooks and remarkably sweet melodies. The band is comprised of singer/guitarist Tim Fennelly (War Fever), guitarist Steve Caballero (The Faction, Odd Man Out, Soda), bassist Chad Ruiz (Skipjack), and drummer Dylan Wade (The Bombpops).

The songs vacillate between raucous singalongs and quieter moments, like the introspective “Cut The Rope.” The one constant being the infectious nature of these tracks. Even on a topic as dark and important as depression (“Gravity”), you can’t help but sing along loudly word for word. Urethane also bring in H2O’s Toby Morse to help on “Avalanches” and Pennywise’s Jim Lindberg on “Inheritance” (one of the album’s more blistering tracks).

insiteatlanta.com • December 2021 • PG 15

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