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CONTENTS • NOVEMBER 2021 • VOLUME 30, NO. 4

30 R AT I N G CELEB

YEARS!

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INTERVIEWS DEC 8–24 A special concert series featuring some of Atlanta’s most exciting performers and musicians in a relaxed lounge atmosphere.

12/8 12/9 12/10

Jay Hunter Morris 7:30pm Gold Shades 7:30pm Leah Belle Faser 8:00pm Mike Kennebrew Haddon Kime 12/11 Moms Unleash on Christmas 2:30pm 12/11 Cody Bolden and the Road Hands 8:00pm 12/12 Anita Aysola 2:30pm 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 Leah Belle Faser 2:30pm Liz and the Lions Haddon Kime 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

New staging!

06 Harry Nilsson

08

08 Red Clay Comedy Festival 10 Livingston Taylor 11 NRBQ

09

12 Chris Jagger 13 Dion

FEATURES 04 30th Anniversary 10

COLUMNS 03 Around Town 05 New Releases 09 Station Streaming

14 Album Reviews 13

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

NOV 12–DEC 24 Returning to the Coca-Cola Stage with stunning new costumes and a dazzlingly reimagined set!

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 ON SALE NOW 404.733.4600 // alliancetheatre.org 1 280 PE ACHTREE ST NE // ATL ANTA GA 3030 9

PG 2 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Music Editor John Moore john@insiteatlanta.com

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Around Town

Holiday Inspired Events taking place this Month

NOVEMBER 4 - 6

NOVEMBER 11 - JANUARY 2

NOVEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 24

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26

East Atlanta Village

Atlantic Station

Alliance Theatre

Cobb Energy Centre

RED CLAY COMEDY FESTIVAL

ATL HOLIDAY LIGHTS

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Red Clay Comedy Festival returns for its 6th year! Featuring amazing comedians like Akaash Sings froM the Flagrant 2 Podcast with Andrew Schultz, Clayton English from the 85 South Show, James Adomain and 40 of the best comics in the county. Plus specialty shows like "Boast Rattle'', a competitive complement contest and "Abracadamn!", an insane comedy and magic show by Matt Richards who is the host of HQ Trivia. All shows happen within a 2 block walk all over East Atlanta Village so you can buy a pass and see every show all weekend. Info and tickets at redclaycomedy.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 held for seven weeks at Atlantic Station through Sunday, January 2. Opening walking night on Nov. 11 tickets are just $5 advance.

Opening Driving night on Nov. 12 are $20 advance. 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). Get tickets at atlholidaylights.com.

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.

NOVEMBER 9 - 14

NOVEMBER 12 - JANUARY 2

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26

Fox Theatre

Six Flags White Water in Marietta

CD Warehouse Store Locations

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Tony winning director Bartlett Sher brings a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece.

A wonderful cast and a lavish orchestra tell this heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the timeless traditions that define faith and family. Featuring the Broadway classics “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life”.

ROCKIN’ CHRISTMAS

e musically themed Rockin’ Christmas showcases such elements as giboom gantic 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 magic portal. Enjoy from the safety and comfort of your vehicle during the 30 minute drive through.

Tickets at worldofillumination.com.

RECORD STORE DAY

Visit CD Warehouse on Black Friday, November 26 for Record Store Day and throughout the month as CD Warehouse will be buying and selling vinyl records. Stores are located in Duluth on Pleasant Hill Rd. and Kennesaw on Barrett Pkwy. is semi-annual event recognizes the vinyl record and those great album covers. e event celebrates record stores in the US and abroad. Find out more at Facebook.com/CDwarehouse.

DAVE KOZ

Chart-topping, Grammy-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz returns to the Cobb Energy Centre this holiday season with the 24th annual Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2021. This year Dave is touring with South African guitarist/singer Jonathan Butler, trumpeter Rick Braun, saxophonist Richard Elliot and introducing vocalist Rebecca Jade. Koz and Friends will perform fresh renditions of timeless Christmas classics – as well as a Chanukah medley – and hits from their respective catalogues. Tickets available at CobbEnergyCentre.com.

NOVEMBER 26 - 28

HOME ALONE IN CONCERT Atlanta Symphony Hall

This beloved holiday comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams' charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Macaulay Culkin stars as an 8-year-old boy who's accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heartwarming, Home Alone is a holiday tradition. Tickets at AtlantaSymphony.org.

insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 3

Atlanta’s favorite Chinese restaurant since 1998! Their menu offers 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 Brookhaven is currently open for dine-in, carryout and delivery. Call ahead and visit their website for full menu and online ordering.

30 th

ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

DINING

Landmark Diner

3652 Roswell Rd. 404.816.9090 landmarkdiner.com

Please support our Advertisers! Links online at INsiteAtlanta.com

Agave Restaurant

242 Boulevard SE 404.588.0006 agaverestaurant.com Agave’s unique blend of eclectic southwestern cuisine, extensive tequila bar and wine list coupled with exceptional service makes this one of Atlanta’s top restaurants. Agave offers over 100 tequilas and 12 specialty margaritas on the menu. Their margaritas are made with blue agave tequilas and fresh squeezed lime juice. The restaurant has two well vented, high ceiling dining rooms as well as covered patio. Make holiday dinner reservations now.

The Flying Biscuit

Candler Park 404.687.8888 Midtown 404.874.8887 flyingbiscuit.com The Flying Biscuit serves great breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a week starting at 7 am. They are

known for their mouthwatering biscuits and affordable menu items. Their signature dish is The Flying Biscuit Breakfast served with two large farm-fresh eggs, freerange chicken and sage breakfast sausage. The Flying Biscuit offers an organic-friendly menu and bakery. You can’t go wrong with a famous Flying Biscuit Breakfast.

Johnny’s Pizza

Multiple Area Locations johnnyspizza.com Johnny's Pizza has been synonymous with great pizza in Atlanta since 1977. They specialize in NY style, which is thin in the middle and thick around the edges. You can also choose from their hot oven-toasted subs, salads, calzones, starters and Italian dinners. All Johnny’s restaurants offer dinein, take-out and delivery. With 25 locations around Atlanta there is bound to be one near you.

Chin Chin 3887 Peachtree Rd. 404.816.2229 and other area locations chinchinGA.com

A landmark of great meals 24 hours a day! They have terrific sandwiches, salads, 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.

Mediterranean Grill

N. Decatur Plaza 404.320.0101; Midtown 404.917.1100; East Cobb 678.996.0045; Athens 706.543.5000; mediterraneangrill.com A family / chef-owned and operated restaurant for over 20 years.

They serve authentic regional dishes like gyros, falafel and kabob sandwiches made to perfection.

Plus try their spanakopita, dolmas, amazing humus and fall off the bone lamb shank. Mediterranean Grill's dining rooms are back open and observing social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines. As always, they offer convenient online ordering and free delivery to the area. Cater your holiday event from Mediterranean Grill. Their variety of hand-held, tapas style menu items are a party hit.

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 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs Marietta 770.321.1177; Doraville 770.455.8570; baldinos.us

Baldinos is consistently voted as the Best Sub Sandwich in the Atlanta. Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs has been recognized as the only true New Jersey Style submarine in the South. They bake their bread fresh daily and every sub is made custom to order. When you eat a Baldinos sub you know the difference. Order one of their party subs which come in various sizes feeding up to 50 people. Pick up a Baldinos Giant Jersey Sub before the big game or order a Baldinos Family Sub online and enjoy the game with friends.

Eats 600 Ponce de Leon Ave.

404.888.9149 eatsonponce.net For over 25 years people all over Atlanta have been heading down to Ponce to experience their great jerk chicken and pasta dishes. Eats is located across from Ponce City Market and the perfect place to stop for lunch while doing your holiday shopping. Open 6 days a week; closed Tuesday.

Fat Matt’s

1811 Piedmont Ave. 404.607.1622 fatmattsribshack.com For over 30 years, award winning Fat Matt’s Rib Shack has been one of Atlanta’s favorite hot spots. Their ribs are smoked to perfection and literally falling off the

bone. Great barbecue chicken and sides as well.

Spaced out seating and outdoor patio. Beers on draft and wide bottle selection. Call ahead for holiday catering at their hotline (678) 521-5607.

Pig-N-Chik pignchik.net

Sandy Springs 404.255.6368 Brookhaven 770.451.1112 Emory Area 404.474.9444 Pig-N-Chik ribs are St. Louis cut and cooked showing a pink smoke ring. This makes them nice and tender with just the right smoky flavor. You will also find great barbecue pork, turkey, beef brisket, chicken wings, smoked salmon plus a variety of sides, and salads.

Call them to cater your holiday gathering.

Best BBQ 7 Years in a Row!

Atlanta’s Favorite Family Style BBQ We Deliver and We Cater!

Order Now for the Holidays!

pignchik.net Sandy Springs / Buckhead 4920 Roswell Rd • 404-255-6368 Chamblee / Brookhaven 5071 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. • 770-451-1112 Emory Area 1815 Briarcliff Rd. • 404-474-9444

Farm Burger

Dunwoody; Decatur; Buckhead; Midtown; Peachtree Corners; Grant Park; farmburger.com Farm Burger is about more than just a great burger.

It is a labor of love that satisfies its founders’ personal commitment to animal welfare, ecological agriculture and sustainability practices. All Farm Burger burgers are grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone-free, locally raised, ground fresh, made in-house and griddled to perfection. Farm Burger caters! Call them to handle your holiday party.

See Page 7

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

10 OFF

+ DEC % NOV CATERING ORDERS

FARMBURGER.COM/CATERING 404.808.5624

HOME THEATER

NEW RELEASES

THE LATEST DVD, BLU RAY & VOD RELEASES

By John Moore

ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN (Universal)

Coming just a couple of years after his tragic suicide, the documentary Roadrunner is admittedly tough to watch, but ultimately an impressive look into Bourdain’s life and role as a maverick chef, come global commentator.

The filmmakers don’t sugarcoat his sometimes-complicated personality, but show a complete picture of this compelling, ultimately endearing individual. Director Morgan Neville faced controversy over his use of AI to have it appear that Bourdain spoke words he had only written, but that lapse in judgment does little to take away from what is otherwise a difficult to watch but brilliant documentary on a much beloved personality.

OLD (Universal)

Writer director M. Night Shyamalan quickly went from Hollywood suspense darling to has been in no time, but in the past decade, thanks to smart writing and creative plots he was working his way back.

His latest thriller Old, while not exactly

Sixth Sense-level chills is a decent enough movie at least at first. Focusing on a family visiting a tropical island, along with a few others, they discover a secluded beach that after a few hours seems to age them rapidly: Certainly, an interesting premise. Adapted from the book Sandcastle, the movie is beautifully shot but the acting is a stilted and the plot grows, um, old after a while.

LAST CALL (MPI/IFC)

Last Call has a lot going against it from the start. The premise, local boy seemingly makes good, comes back home not to save the neighborhood but to change it. Going against the movie, aside from a stale premise, is the fact that Jeremy Piven (not exactly the most likeable actor out there) is cast as Mick, the guy we’re supposed to be rooting for, who comes back to his Blue-Collar Philly neighborhood, now as a real estate developer. He’s conflicted between saving his family’s bar and helping a casino come in and change the area. Piven unfortunately doesn’t have the charism to make you care enough either way.

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 15 Years Running! insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 5

MUSIC

BEYOND THE ‘FRIDGE

Cool New Harry Nilsson Collection Connects the Dots Between His Fans

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

B

ORN OF THE PANDEMIC, HARRY & Me: Memories of Harry Nilsson is a thoroughly enjoyable love letter to legendary singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.

For the uninitiated, Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who reached a creative and commercial peak in the early 1970s. His top 10 hits “Without You,” “Coconut” and “Everybody’s Talkin,’” are prime examples of his genre-defying canon of material. Nilsson’s style spanned rock, soul, Great American Songbook-style pop and world music, often produced with groundbreaking studio experimentation.

The reclusive artist was averse to live performances and excessive promotion, thus his recordings succeeded on their own merits, through endorsements from his fans and peers. Pop groups of the era, including The Monkees and Three Dog Night, scored massive hits with his songs and The Beatles often referred to him as their favorite American singer-songwriter.

On the 50th anniversary the enigmatic performer’s seventh album Nilsson Schmilsson, veteran authors David Roberts and Neil Watson recently spoke with INsite about the new book, Nilsson’s many fans and that lucky kitchen appliance on the cover.

An incredible spirit of community runs throughout the project.

David Roberts: Our expectations were that it would be a fun thing to work on, but it exceeded everything because the fan base of Harry Nilsson is just the most amazing bunch of people. We’ve had contributions from literally everyone - from a 93-year-old nun in California to a 16-year-old schoolgirl in England. They’re an amazing bunch. I’ve worked on a few music books before but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fan base as fascinating as the people who contributed to this one.

It’s not just a standard biography - anyone can do one of those. For this one, you’ve included the real voices of the fans. Of course, some of them are quite famous, including Harry’s old pal Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.

Neil Watson: That’s right. I think for me, the point at which I thought, ‘Oh, now this is really becoming exciting,’ was when I got my first contribution for the book, from Micky Dolenz. That’s what initially spurred me on about doing it, actually. His quote was the first celebrity that I had success with. From then on, many other cool and well-known people came on board, like Randy Newman and Marc Cohn.

Yet you placed everyone on equal status.

Watson: Exactly. If it was Nilsson’s teacher or someone who was a fan or a well-known musician who’d worked with him, they were all given the exact same status. I mean, we didn’t get Paul McCartney in the end, though I did try. But if we had gotten him, it would’ve said simply, ‘Paul McCartney, Musician.’ I think it really worked to have everybody on the same terms - with the one common denominator being their love of Harry Nilsson.

Roberts: Neil was already a fan but I really grew to love his music. I found out so much about the man as a comedian, poet and a loving father. He liked a bit of fun. But the friends that he drew to him - it wasn’t just a coincidence that some of his best friends were people like John Lennon and Ringo Starr.

Some of the stories are quite riotous. So all of that combined, contributed to a great story.

Harry & Me contains many laugh-out-loud comedic moments.

Roberts: I’m glad you picked up on that because that was our feeling. The publisher said to us, ‘How do we describe it to the designer?’ We said to him, ‘Think Monty Python.’ Because there are, as you see, lots of connections. Harry was friends with various members of the Pythons.

I think that is the sense that comes through. There are some hilarious stories.

Harry’s own experience of comedy was so formed

by Monty Python - but much earlier than that with Laurel and Hardy. There’s a lovely story, actually, where as a fan, young Harry, I don’t quite know how old he was, but I think he was in his teens, managed to get the telephone number of Stan Laurel and rang him up.

Watson: He’s just got this wild and wacky sense of humor which hopefully, we’ve portrayed. Even with the cover.

Yes, tell us about the significance of the refrigerator on the cover.

Watson: We were thinking about what type of cover to do. I thought, my goodness me, right

PG 6 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

across where I live, in the next house, is the pavement on the street. There was an a very, very fantastic artist called Alison old couple walking by just at the moment Stockmarr. I’ve known her for a while. She when I said a few expletives as the door had does these fantastic pieces of art where she broken off. This poor couple, they were sort cuts out little, tiny things and puts them of feeling sorry for me, picking up all these pieces off the street and carrying them ‘round onto books or record sleeves. They’re just to the garage studio. We set it back up but we fantastic. When I went and asked if she’d weren’t able to fix the door back on. So in the be interested in doing the cover, she said picture, actually photographed yes, straight away. But she

by Alison’s husband - you can’t didn’t know anything about him at all. So David and I had OUR EXPECTATIONS see it, thank goodness - but a meeting with her and almost WERE THAT IT I’m actually crouched down straightaway, she got it. She WOULD BE A FUN behind the door with my underneath it, holding got who Harry Nilsson was, THING TO WORK ON, fingers it in place. That became the what he stood for and what BUT IT EXCEEDED photograph that was used for he was all about. We were the cover. Then Allison cut out talking about the fact that it EVERYTHING of little tiny pictures of is going to be coming out, BECAUSE THE FAN loads things that related to Harry more or less, in time with the BASE OF HARRY or the songs. So you have 50th anniversary of Harry’s most commercially successful NILSSON IS JUST Laurel and Hardy and the lime album Nilsson Schmilsson, THE MOST AMAZING in the coconut. The rug is an to his Pussycats album. which came out on the first of BUNCH OF PEOPLE. homage All these tiny little clues that November 1971.

Allison picked up on, from what Roberts: [The record cover we had told her about Harry. I’m delighted is] a black and white picture of Nilsson in a with it. For me, it is a real piece of art. bathrobe standing in front of his fridge. Well, we call it fridge. I think you call it refrigerator.

So what became of the ‘fridge? Obviously Watson: Alison said, ‘How about if we get you preserved it in some sort of shrine to a ‘fridge and use that as a sort of centerpiece Harry, right? for the front cover?’ The next problem was, Watson: Well, we didn’t have the proper how do we get one that looks similar to the space for it, so I’m afraid I had to take it to one that Harry used on the album? But we the rubbish dump. It’s gone to ‘fridge heaven. did find one for sale in a town about 50 miles from where I live. I think the guy wanted 30 But now it’s immortal. or 40 pounds for it. On the day I was due to Watson: Yeah it lived to tell another tale, go pick it up, he’d obviously checked it out to didn’t it? If we hadn’t bought it, I suppose the make sure it worked. He phoned me up, just guy who used to own it would’ve just plugged as I was leaving to get it. ‘I’m really sorry. I’ve just checked it out and it doesn’t work.’ I said, it in one day, realized it didn’t work and taken it to the dump as well. But we got some ‘It doesn’t matter. I still want it!’ So he was mileage out of it, that’s for sure. probably thinking it’s his lucky day because he’s selling a ‘fridge that doesn’t even work, Harry & Me: Memories of Harry Nilsson right? I turned up at his house, picked it up - by the fans and musicians that loved him and put it in the back of my car. I took it to the most is available for pre-order from most Alison’s house where she’s got a garage that she’d turned into a makeshift studio. As I took major retailers and via This Day In Music Books, thisdayinmusicbooks.com. Note: the it out of my car, I must’ve taken it out the wrong way and it fell. The door fell backwards first 1,000 copies include Harry On Harry, a limited-edition CD featuring rare Harry and it broke off. So I ended up with this Nilsson interview recordings from the ‘60s, ‘fridge with a door that had fallen off. All the ‘70s and ‘80s. pieces that were inside had fallen out onto

RETAIL Starship

22 Metro Area Locations 404.766.6993 shopstarship.com

An Atlanta favorite for those into the erotic.

Thousands of videos, dvd’s, adult toys, condoms, candles and novelties to meet whatever your desire. Their 22 locations make Starship a convenient one stop shop. Also available online at shopstarship.com. Free shipping on orders over $50.

Southern Nights

2205 Cheshire Bridge Rd. 404.728.0701 snvonline.com With over 10,000 DVD’s for sale or rent, Southern Nights has Atlanta’s widest selection and at great prices. View films on-site in their 62 channel hi-def video arcade. They sell a variety of products and have all the newest toys that make great holiday gifts. They are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

This That and the Other

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They have it all: cigars, pipes, vapes, E-cigs, juices, scales, tobacco, incense and more!

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Abbadabba’s

Little 5 Points, Buckhead East Cobb, Kennesaw coolshoes.com Celebrate your individual style this holiday season with Abbadabba's bold range of shoes, boots, bags and accessories. Shop in-store at one of their four locations and online at coolshoes.com.

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Psycho Sisters

Sam Ash Music has been serving musicians since 1924. Their legendary service, selection and guaranteed low prices is unmatched in the industry. Jaw-dropping inventory of the latest instruments, gear, and accessories will have you hooked. Get a jump on the holiday season while shopping in-store or online at SamAsh.com.

Rag-O-Rama

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428 Moreland Ave 404.523.0100 Facebook: psychosistersatlanta Psycho Sisters is famous for reinventing vintage, accessories, costumes & festival wear and has been doing it for over three decades. Their store offers the best selection of every era in fashion and the best personal sales team to help you dress up for any occasion. Nestled in Little 5 Points, Psycho Sisters is never ever boring.

CD Warehouse

Pleasant Hill Rd. Duluth 770.623-1552 Barrett Pkwy. Kennesaw 770.425.3472 cdwarehouseatl.com

Sam Flax

CD Warehouse has 10,000 used CD’S for buy, sell or trade plus all the new releases.

If you can’t find it they will special order it for you. They will pay cash for your CD, movie and vinyl collections. This is the best place in Atlanta to find vintage albums. Come in on Black Friday November 26 for Record Store Day.

Sam Ash Music samash.com 2999 Cobb Parkway 770.818.0042

Recycle your wardrobe at Rag-ORama! You can sell your gently used clothing, shoes and accessories for store credit or cash on the spot! Both Rag-O-Rama stores are filled with men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories. They carry an ever changing inventory, so whenever you stop by, they always have something new!

They are also now hiring!

1495 Northside Drive; Suites B & C 404.352.7200 samflaxatlanta.com Sam Flax Art & Design has been serving the creative community of Atlanta for over 50 years. From professional artists to beginners and everyone in-between, they are your source for fine art and graphic products, studio furniture, stationery and decorative papers, unique gifts, custom framing and fine art printing. Their knowledgeable and creative staff represent over 150 years of experience with art materials. Shop Sam Flax this holiday season in-store and online.

DULUTH

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KENNESAW

50 Barrett Parkway at Bells Ferry Road next to Barnes & Noble (770) 425-3472

CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK! CD WAREHOUSE ATLANTA insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 7

COMEDY

‘IT’S LIKE ONE BIG PARTY’

Red Clay Comedy is an East Atlanta Village of International Hilarity James Adomian

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

HE RED CLAY COMEDY FESTIVAL is back for another round of funny. For the 2021 edition, hilarious stand-up performances, exclusive specialty shows, unannounced pop-ins, riotous after-parties and tantalizing cuisine experiences will celebrate the gathering as the mustsee experience of the Atlanta comedy year.

As usual, the shows are strategically arranged throughout the historic East Atlanta Village. The venues are all conveniently located within walking (or hey, at least staggering) distance of each other, so laughter-seekers can eat, drink and savor an impressive slate of comedians, jesters, world class clowns and a slew of unique acts.

A limited number of VIP and Showcase passes offer entry to the events, including admission for the fest’s infamous afterparties, where comics and fans mix and mingle. Producers Gilbert Lawand, Mike Albanese and Jen O’Neill Smith have assembled a stellar cache of artists - led by headliners Akaash Singh, Clayton English and James Adomian.

Recently, three Los Angeles-based comedians, all headed for this week’s Red Clay Festival, spoke with INsite.

Internationally known comic/impressionist/former Atlantan James Adomian, recently seen on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, Canadian-born TikTok star Steph Tolev and podcaster/writer/ Boast Rattle producer Kyle Ayers chatted about surviving the pandemic and conquering the circuit.

How did you handle the pandemic?

James Adomian: Well, I think handled it gracefully and with great aplomb by basically hunkering down and then emerging.

Then when I emerged last summer, I got the coronavirus. It was unpleasant, for sure. I had been vaccinated so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, which gives me pause because it was still pretty bad. I’m fine now, though. Other than that, like everybody else, I learned to cook a little bit more, entertain myself and just sort of be content doing nothing sometimes.

Steph Tolev: I chose to try to take some positivity from it and I went back to my roots, I guess. So I did a lot of sketch comedy, videos and went heavily into TikTok. I stayed with my parents in Canada for a bit so I had to do something to distract myself. I did something like a video a day for a while there, just to avoid them as much as possible. But sometimes I would actually get them to film some of my videos. The last one I got my dad to film was a stupid little video of me as a character named Marcy. As my dad was filming, he’s like, ‘Do people find this funny?’ Then overnight, it went viral. ‘Yeah dad, I guess it turns out they actually do find it funny.’ My family didn’t really laugh at any of the stuff I was posting, especially when I’d do impressions of them. They’re like, ‘Whoa, thank God you have us, otherwise you’d have no material.’ And then I’m like, ‘Well, thank God you’re both psychopaths.’ So anyway, that was my pandemic.

Kyle Ayers: It was definitely a weird time for me. We were all getting to a point where we were trying to convince ourselves that the Zoom shows were fun. I tried all sorts of things to sort of scratch the comedy itch. Then I actually had PG 8 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Steph Tolev

Kyle Ayers

a nerve disorder in my head and had brain surgery. Having someone carve into my skull and then recover from it - you know, that sort of thing. I think most comics basically spent the pandemic just trying to figure out how to survive in many ways. But it works because comedy is a sort of little respite within the chaos of it all, so we don’t get too dreadfully overwhelmed by the news. It was certainly an interesting uphill battle.

RED CLAY COMEDY FESTIVAL

Thursday, November 4 – Saturday, November 6 East Atlanta Village • redclaycomedy.com You’ve all played the major festivals. How do events like Red Clay compare to shows in clubs or theaters?

James: A comedy festival is a great way to see a lot of good comedians over the course of three or four days. At a club, you’re going to have people who maybe just feel like going out somewhere. It almost doesn’t matter who is performing. At a theater, it’ll be your fans coming to see you on a tour. I feel like there’s generally a younger audience, comprised of people who really follow comedy. It’s definitely the people who’ve already been to a lot of shows and heard a lot of podcasts. They’re more excited to be there than at a club. And the shows tend to happen at really cool music venues. It’s a great way to see some things you know and love and to find new things you didn’t know you loved until you saw them.

IT’S A GREAT WAY TO SEE SOME THINGS YOU KNOW AND LOVE AND TO FIND NEW THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU LOVED - UNTIL YOU SAW THEM.’ – James Adomian Steph: Especially for comics, festivals are just more fun.

It’s like a comedy camp for a few days. You get to perform with people you don’t see very often. The shows are always professional and it’s like everyone just knows why they’re there. You know all the acts will be good. All the venues seem a lot more fun and it’s just a better experience for everyone.

For comics, I’d say it’s like one big party.

Kyle: There’s this cool, communal energy that only happens at festivals. I really enjoy the fact that everyone’s at each other’s shows and you can see a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally see at a club. Most shows that are happening don’t have weird ticket prices with crazy drink minimums. There are people coming from all over as well as people from the local scene. So you can really pick up what’s going on in the city. It gives me a few days in one place for a change, too.

There’s nothing better than a night where everyone is there for the show and not to be the show. Festivals draw much savvier audiences. That’s honestly been the biggest perk of the various

vaccination or test requirements to enter comedy shows. It seems to weed out the ‘Well hell, I guess we’ll just go down to this thing and yell at a comedian’ crowd. The Venn diagram between people upset about vaccination statuses and people who want to heckle comedians to be a part of the show, well that’s pretty much the entire circle. Maybe they should just stay home and yell at the comic on whatever special they’re boycotting at the moment.

Speaking of specials, are there too many at this point?

Likewise, are there too many podcasts?

James: I don’t really watch specials so it’s hard to know.

There are a lot of them, that’s for sure. Personally, I prefer live shows because there’s just something about the timing and the energy in the room that cannot be faked or edited.

Everybody’s on the same page for about an hour and a half.

Steph: Comedy has become so oversaturated recently that I don’t even know what people should be watching. I think that’s why TikTok is doing so well, is because it’s so quick.

You just need to focus for like, 30 seconds. I don’t even know what special I would want to watch right now if I had to pick one to see; there’s just too many to choose from. There are way, way, way too many podcasts, too. Of course, having said that, I have one, of course! I do have a steady amount of listeners, but it’s not going up and it’s not going down, so I don’t really know what the point is right now. But yet…

Kyle: There was that window where Louis CK was putting out a new special every year and then killing all his old material. That became a famous model for some comics.

But the problem with that is not everybody can churn out quality stuff at that rate. I’m a little more precious about my material, maybe because I’m not as quick at writing new stuff as everybody, I don’t know. I really have a tough time watching comedy that’s not live because I’m more interested in what’s going on in the moment. I keep thinking, ‘What’s this room like?’ or ‘How is the crowd?’ I get fascinated with the logistics of the live experience. There’s absolutely no equal to it, for good reason. Like, let’s say you’re doing a show on Zoom. Maybe you do a pretty good joke and then someone sends you a gif. It just doesn’t feel the same as working in front of real people. I didn’t get into comedy to get a thumbs-up emoji from someone whose house I can see into.

Steph: I was doing my own Zoom show for a bit. But people, even by the end of it, were still keeping their cameras off or on mute. It got to the point, where I was like, ‘Ok, I’m just screaming at my laptop now.’ My dog was confused, I was confused. That was the issue. I would close my laptop and go, ‘Huh, well that was that. Now what?‘ Then I would just feel weird.

James: I did a very minimal amount of some of those online shows, mostly just for close friends, doing stuff on Instagram and Zoom. But I really missed the power of the audience.

No one’s gonna want to go back and remember any of the past year or two, anyway. But I do think people are having a lot of fun right now. I think it’s a good time, right now. So that’s what really matters. The shows are really great and the audiences are happy to be back out again.

TV

Station Streaming

HORROR PAST HALLOWEEN

BY BENJAMIN CARR

Chucky

T

HE HORRORS DON’T HAVE TO end at Halloween, thanks to some new series that have arrived on TV screens and streaming services. Drawing their inspiration from older horror movies and hit novels for young adults, these shows intend to draw out the scares and gore for weeks and weeks, instead of a few hours in a dark theater.

CHUCKY (USA/Syfy)

The most unlikely of shows to hit the small screen, at least since the 1980s TV spinoff of A Nightmare on Elm Street called Freddy’s Nightmares, Chucky is surprisingly good stuff.

This series was created by Don Mancini, who first introduced the psychotic killerturned-voodoo-possessed doll in the 1988 horror comedy Child’s Play, and Oscar nominee Brad Dourif returns to voice the role. (This series has nothing to do with the lesser remake of Child’s Play that took place a couple years back, instead continuing the stories of the zanier sequels that Mancini has produced.)

The new show takes place in Hackensack, N.J., the hometown of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, where the Chucky doll somehow turns up in pristine condition at a yard sale.

The doll attracts the attention of an artistic, gay middle schooler named Jake (Zackary Arthur), who makes weird sculptures out of dismembered dolls, yet Chucky, infused with voodoo magic and a murderer’s soul, won’t be a part of any art installation.

Jake is regularly bullied at school by classmates, particularly by a rich, vicious mean girl named Lexy (played by scene stealer Alyvia Alyn Lind), and abused at home by his father (Devon Sawa). Chucky’s arrival naturally makes things worse as the doll savagely kills one character per episode. Yet Chucky’s connection to Jake, caring for the kid while grooming him to start his own murder spree, gives the show a very interesting and weird dynamic.

Mancini’s inclusion of a gay lead character, particularly a middle schooler coping with his feelings, seems revolutionary. The emotions at the heart of this ridiculous show are genuine, and the depiction of Jake’s perpetually dark existence is surprisingly deep. The show’s wild, violent, tacky and funny, and it also features connections to the original movies almost from the outset.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

(Amazon Prime) Turning another slasher movie into an eight-episode series, I Know What You Did Last Summer lacks the body count of Chucky, though it does manage some shocking gore.

But the mystery at the heart of this series is less compelling.

Unconnected to the movies and loosely based upon Lois Duncan’s novel, viewers are once again subjected to a group of teenagers making a boneheaded mistake after a party one night, running down a person while driving under the influence and distracted.

This time, valedictorian Lennon (Madison Iseman) accidentally runs and kills her twin sister Allison (also Iseman). Lennon and her friends cover up the accident, then try to get on with their lives, but someone begins sending them weird notes when Lennon returns the next summer.

Soon it becomes clear that a killer is stalking the kids as well as random people in their town and it all ties to their old secrets.

The problem with the Prime series though is the mystery. It’s delivered in a rather convoluted way, including flashbacks to cult activity that don’t seem directly connected or relevant. The parent characters, which were never part of the movie series, are fully involved in the story here, perhaps as a way to up the list of suspects and the body count.

But none of the characters or performers, apart from Iseman - so good in the new Jumanji movies, are particularly likable or compelling.

As the show continues, it’s starting to come apart, and this Summer might be its only season.

ONE OF US IS LYING (Peacock)

Another show of a group of unappealing, attractive teens on the run from a killer, this series on Peacock is based on the hit novel from Karen M. McManus. But One of Us Is Lying also borrows its plot points liberally from Gossip Girl and The Breakfast Club.

Four high schoolers from different social backgrounds find themselves in detention together. There’s a popular cheerleader (Annalisa Cochrane), a jock (Chibuikem Uche), a brainiac (Marianly Tejada) and a burnout (Cooper van Grootel). Also in detention with them is a gossip blogger named Simon Kelleher, played by Mark McKenna. Strange coincidences have all led them to get detention, yet the gossip blogger seems to have dirt on all of them that he threatens to expose. And then, after a sip from a peanut oil-laced water cup, Simon the blogger drops dead. And all the other kids are murder suspects.

As their secrets start to come out, for the blog keeps running, the kids form a Murder Club to try and figure out who wanted to frame them. They also, naturally, suspect one another and are unsure of who they should trust.

The full first season has been released and the conclusion to the mystery, along with many plot twists that happened were particularly unsatisfying. The show’s solid premise might work better as a novel. insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 9

MUSIC

LIV AND LET LIV-E

Singer-Songwriter Livingston Taylor on the True Essence of Live Performance an energetic fellow and quite the character.

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

I

N CELEBRATION OF HIS 54TH YEAR Like you, Phil was always surrounded by a of performing, Livingston Taylor is number of cool session players. What was it back on the road. Touring behind five like in the Capricorn world in those days? decades of insightful material, the singerThere were always lots of musicians around. songwriter recently released a retrospective We would record during the day and the box set appropriately titled LIVe - 50 Years of Allman Brothers would record at night in the Livingston Taylor Live. same studio. So they’d be wandering out around The collection contains 87 live recordings, 10 in the morning and I’d just be wandering in. culled from gigs in 1969 through 2016, and It was a busy place and I remember it was pretty packaged with the 2018 documentary film rudimentary, but you’re right, Phil Walden “Life Is Good” and a commemorative picture assembled some really wonderful players. Pete book. 2021 also marks the 50th anniversary Carr and Johnny Sandlin. Robert Popwell on of his second album, Liv, originally issued by bass. Oh my goodness, it was such a good time Capricorn Records of Macon. to be recording.

In addition to travelling the world singing songs and telling stories, Taylor has been a Everything was changing in the world. With professor at Berklee College of Music for the each new decade the culture shifts a little, but past 30 years, teaching thousands of students the early ‘70s in particular brought a massive the fine art of stage performance. His former culture shift. students include Gavin DeGraw, Clay Cook of Without a doubt. I wrote few songs of the The Zac Brown Band, Charlie times, but mainly mine were Puth, and Susan Tedeschi. mostly self-examining, selfAs a member of the explaining, self-justifying. talented Taylor family of rock As is the case when you are and folk-based musicians, young, you’re obsessed with including sister Kate and Sunday, Nov. 14 • 6PM yourself. Life was compelling brothers James, Alex and and explosive and I think the Eddie’s Attic Hugh, Livingston was born in songs reflected it. I’m not Boston and raised in Chapel eddiesattic.com sure if I’m a better songwriter Hill, North Carolina. The now, but my technique is erudite artist is best-known vastly better. I know how to for his Billboard charting hits “I Will Be In Love build a bridge. When I’m getting into trouble, I With You,” “First Time Love,” “Good Friends” know how to get out of it. So with that kind of and “I’ll Come Running.” freedom, I can go in lots of different directions.

INsite recently spoke with Taylor by phone from Massachusetts.

Now that you’ve expanded the horizons of technique, have current events seeped in at As the pandemic kept you busy with the all? Or do you still center things around your online Livingston Taylor Show, was the recent own introspection? downtime the longest you’ve been away from Well, sometimes a song can cover both the road? aspects. For instance, I just wrote a song Since the age of 16, I’d never been away longer called “It’s Still a Hell of a Ride.” I wrote it as a and I just felt terrible. I like being with people. reflection on coming out of the fallout shelter When you do things, you want to play them and looking around at the world again. for people. I like to interact and reconnect with people. And if you can’t do it, then why bother?

Do you think it will find its way onto a new album at some point?

The infrastructure of the live experience Oh yeah. I imagine that’ll happen in the next is quite evident on The Best of Liv(e) set, year. Making records is like giving birth to a including a track or two recorded at baby. You don’t until you can’t not. It’s funny, I Eddie’s Attic. won’t even think about it for a while and then That’s right. Eddie’s is one of those great places all of a sudden, it’s the only thing I can think that, for whatever reason, just works for me. It’s about. When it’s time to produce, it occupies all the perfect size, concentration of people, room my thoughts. density and general enthusiasm. Some places just have that magic.

Your early records still hold up to modern standards and you consistently pull tracks Atlanta has always been a great market for from the catalog for the live shows. “Good you. But the south in general has been a good Friends” has certainly served you well. place for you in many ways.

I sort of view that as a signature song, not Oh, I love the south. I was raised in North unlike Jimmy Buffet with “Margaritaville” or Carolina and my father was a Carolinian. my brother James with “Sweet Baby James” or My mother was a Yankee, causing much The Beatles with “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” consternation with my father’s family. ‘Ike is Those early songs really define who we are and marrying a Yankee!’ I am just very at home continue to stay with us throughout our lives. I there. Atlanta’s a great city and Georgia’s a great like the notion that song is the definition of who state, what can I tell you?

I am and how I’ve always seen myself.

LIVINGSTON TAYLOR

You made your first three albums for Maconbased Capricorn Records. How did you meet those folks?

I had become friends with a fellow named Jon Landau who of course, later went on to produce and manage Bruce Springsteen. But Jon was going to Macon, Georgia to do an article on Otis Redding. He also wanted to produce a record for me. So I went with him. Phil Walden at Capricorn signed us to a record deal. He was PG 10 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Did you ever envision yourself as a pilot in the early days?

It actually took a moment of self-reflection for it to happen. The year was 1989 and it was my 39th birthday. I had been drinking a lot of alcohol. I looked in the mirror on my birthday and I said, ‘I’m going to stop drinking when I’m 40.’ That thought lasted about 10 seconds. Then I said to myself, ‘No, I’m not. That just means I’m not going to stop drinking.’ So I stopped that

instant. Then I went to the airport and started flying. Now I’ve flown for over 30 years. I’m up here in New England and I was flying today, actually. I’m an instrument pilot, so I was flying through the clouds and the rain today.

That would seem to be very daunting.

It not for the faint of heart and it’s not for the unskilled. You want to know what the heck you’re doing if you’re going up in the sky, in the clouds.

Have you had any close calls?

I’ve never injured myself in an airplane. But I’ve flown in some very adverse situations. I’ve iced up badly a couple of times. One time I lost an engine and I only had one engine. So that required gliding into an airport, landing and then writing a massive check to get a new motor. The real issue is not damaging myself or anybody with me. Wrecking an airplane isn’t a problem, you can get another one of those.

At this point, which is more challenging, stage performance or flying?

Absolutely nothing is more pleasant to me than being on stage, in the presence of my audience, to approach that microphone at the

beginning of a show. I love to fly too, don’t get me wrong, but performing is heaven.

You’ve taught performance for three decades now. Do your students need to have at least a bit of natural talent? Or can you make even the most untalented person ready for the stage?

I can make even the most untalented person ready for the stage. What you do is, above all else, you teach that it’s not about you. You go on stage not to be seen, but to see. You sing a song not to be heard, but to hear where people are in the presence of your creativity. If you can find those mutual places of comfort, it’s very pleasant. But the problem is that people ask their music or their creativity, to do too much. So you’ve got a nice little song. You go on stage and you might say to this nice little song, ‘I want you to make me popular, rich, beautiful, the center of attention.’ But the little song just goes, ‘I can’t do all of that, I’m just a little song.’ The problem is never with the creativity. The problem is with the expectation that accompanies it. You just need to show up on stage and speak your vision clearly. And if the audience doesn’t accept it, you forgive them and you forgive yourself.

MUSIC

KIND OF A DRAG-NET

After 50 Plus Years, NRBQ Never Plays it Safe

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

N

RBQ’S FIRST NEW ALBUM IN eight years is a welcome respite from the daily grind of today’s predictable pop.

The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet (originally a quintet with a capital Q) released their first album back in 1969. They continued to tour and record until their 35th anniversary in 2004.

Back from a much-needed hiatus, in 2011 the group decided to Keep This Love Goin’ as core personnel changed. But the band’s one constant element is effusive keyboardist Terry Adams.

Today, with guitarist Scott Ligon, bassist Casey McDonough, and drummer John Perrin in tow, Adams is helming a brand-new release from the amazingly resilient band. After a number of compilations, EPs and reissues, NRBQ finally returns this month with Dragnet - their first fulllength studio release since 2014.

In addition to their new version of the classic TV theme, the album contains 10 original tunes, all of which were either written or co-written by the current edition of the group. As they prepare for a triumphant return to the road for a series of shows in honor of the new collection, band founder Terry Adams spoke with INsite by phone from upstate New York.

How is the band dynamic for NRBQ, circa 2021? From the sound of the new record, you guys are firing on every cylinder, but when you change members, obviously it somehow alters the character of the band.

Yeah. Every time somebody leaves or decides

to go, it really saddens me. I try to hold on. But just like with anything else, when you let go of it and something else comes along, or is even more inspiring, it’s always a good thing.

At the same time though, it changes the feel of the group.

Yeah and it should. I’ve had people say, ‘Oh, it’s just not the same since this guy left.’ I always say, ‘Well, it’s not supposed to be the same. Why should it be?’ If it was, there’d be something wrong with it.

It seems change has always been a part of the band.

I guess it’s a work in progress. People stay as long as they can and put all they can into it while they’re here. But it’s still going and I still feel good about it.

Well, you should. This is a solid record. With a ton of bands, their second or third record is not as good as the first. But this is way into the catalog and you’re sounding just as good, if not better, than your first decade of work.

Thank you! What’s your favorite track so far?

Oh, so far it’s gotta be “L-O-N-E, Lone-ly” (laughs) Well then, you must be a weird person.

That’s either a very sad song or a really funny one, depending on your mood. That’s got everybody playing on it, too. It’s a live performance and everybody’s on something. John is playing two wood blocks to sound like a clock. Scott was playing an electronic celeste, Casey is on

marimba and I’m doing the vocal and piano. That was a live, in-the-studio performance.

Was that recorded during the pandemic? It’s reminiscent of the pandemic paranoia.

No, it was before that. Maybe I was psychic or something. ‘Hey, this is going to be coming up,’ I don’t know.

“Dragnet,” of course, is an unusual choice for a title track, but I would expect nothing less from NRBQ, or you in general.

Yeah. Well, it’s just a good song. I came up with that arrangement for it and we just knocked it out. Actually, I didn’t think we even had much, when we first did it. I’d kinda forgotten about it. We did it twice and then that was it. Then we called up the engineer and I said, ‘Can you send some of that stuff we’ve never even heard yet?’ He sent me a rough mix of it and we all thought, ‘Hey this is actually better than we thought it was.’ It wasn’t going to be a part of this album but it came out pretty good. It’s got a punch to it and now it’s the title track, so ya never know.

Do the times kind of creep into your stuff? I

mean, it seems like every NRBQ record sort of exists in its own world - without any sort of outside influences, pretty much. But do modern times ever seep into your compositions?

Well, actually I don’t think it does, it just sort of happens. Like “Lone-ly” sounded like it was from the pandemic, but it was from before it. I don’t remember exactly when I wrote the song called, “You Can’t Change People.” But now I’ve had some friends say, ‘Oh, it sounds just like today.’ It just worked out that way.

You’re right, you can’t change people because they don’t change.

Well, I mean, you can’t change people by confronting them. I guess that’s what it literally means. I don’t really know what it means but no one wins an argument that way. You just have to let it go and people will change in their own time, if they ever will. But lyrics come out and sometimes they seem pretty good. Mostly, I’m just a composer. I think more about music than I do the lyrics.

NRBQ’s new album Dragnet is available on November 12 from your favorite music outlets and direct from the label via omnivorerecordings.com.

insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 11

MUSIC

SEEN YOUR BROTHER, BABY?

No Filter? No problem! Chris Jagger Steps Out with a Brand New Book & Record

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

A

S THE ROLLING STONES crisscross the United States on the latest leg of their No Filter tour, playing hits and album tracks to thousands of adoring fans every few days, the brother of band’s lead singer is leading a much more low-key publicity campaign.

Chris Jagger has been recording sporadically since the early ‘70s, with an impressive, genre-defying catalog of diverse album projects. Thanks to pandemic delays, his latest longplayer, Mixing Up The Medicine, arrives at the same time as his book Talking To Myself, a semi-memoir, mega-memory play of musical adventures and international travels.

The album forges his own distinct musical path, following folk-based Cajun influences and wonderfully out of time diversions. A solid bookend to his ’73 debut, Jagger’s use of poet Thomas Beddoes’ poems for a few songs adds to the overall esoteric groove, mixing ska, pop, soul and hipster jazz, dispensing a therapeutic sonic treatment. The inclusion of the satisfying howl of “Hey Brother,” resonates as an homage to the brothers’ undeniable family ties.

INsite spoke with Jagger by phone from his home in Somerset, England.

The book contains a lot of information and memories. It’s a massive tome. How did you cull all those years into something that actually makes sense?

To tell you the truth, I haven’t really opened it since it was published, because I can’t really look at it. I did about 10 revisions of it, so it did my head in a bit.

But you only get one chance to write your life history.

What was the process like for recalling all of those moments? Sometimes it’s painful for people to look back on their own life.

I just skipped the painful bits. Obviously, there are some very personal things and all that. But the thing is, if it’s your own book, you can talk about what you want. It’s not a therapy session. I started writing it quite a long time ago. It’s rather like some very slow burning thing. The hard process is editing. In the end, what to leave out and trying to have a storyline isn’t easy. So it is a bit rambling, to some extent.

But true to the title, it is very much as if you are talking to yourself.

Yeah, I said to the editor and people, ‘Look, I’m writing this stuff. There’s no ghost writer. It’s not going to be perfect.

So if you try and make it so correct and perfect, it won’t work.’ What you can say, and what you can’t say, in these days of political correctness, is a bit of a pain in the ass, really.

Right, the whole PC movement affects everybody. But especially in the arts, musicians and comedians should be the ones who can truly express themselves without fear of repercussion.

It should be, because they have the truth.

There was that guy, the comedian who just died the other day. He was 90, that American comedian.

Oh you mean Mort Sahl?

Yeah, him. I read that he said something like, ‘Is there anyone in the audience, or any minority group in the audience that I haven’t offended yet?’ It’s kinda like with “Brown Sugar.”

Right, what do you think about the socalled controversy over that that song?

Well it’s not politically correct. But it never was when they did it. A bit on the edge, wasn’t it? But then what about all that rap stuff? Obviously, you don’t really want to offend people. I’d use some term and they’d say, ‘Oh no, you can’t say that now. It’s not allowed.” But then, every other year, the names change. So it’s become a bit of a banana skin, isn’t it? Every time, I was like, ‘Ok, this is the final revision.’

Then I’d reread it and I’d go, ‘Well this is crap, too.’ Then I had to do another revision.

That’s a lot of work.

You’ve got to stick up for how you see it. For instance, in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, I wrote a column that went out to a few magazines about what was happening in London, music and happenings. I included it in the book; it was one whole chapter at one point. I wish I’d kept it in because music threads in and out of the whole story, from beginning to end. It’s an interesting line of how music has come in and out of my life, over the years. Like I sometimes say, ‘I didn’t choose music.

Music chose me.’

It’s a big part of your family history, obviously.

Yeah, people say, ‘Well, why do you do music, when your brother’s this famous musician?’ And to that, I can say, ‘Well, I dropped it for a bit.’ But then, you keep

PG 12 • November 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

coming back to it and a lot of your mates are musicians. You hang around and play music, it’s just there. In the ‘90s. I hadn’t made a record for a long time. That’s when I made the album Atcha. It had a Cajun influence and it had a little bit of a swing thing to it. It wasn’t a straight ahead 4/4 guitar, bass, band type music, such as you might’ve expected or what was even popular at the time. But you tread your own path. Although I play music as my brother does, my music is quite different. It’s not guitarbased riffs and all that stuff.

Your catalog has never been hindered by any certain trend.

Right, you know I was playing last night. It was just a three-piece and I was in the middle. I had two fiddles on either side of me and we had accordion, too. I got hooked on that Cajun stuff in the ‘90s.

Where it comes from, to me, it doesn’t matter. What I’m saying is - and I think this is true in the book, as with the record - I’ve had trouble with my own roots, but I’ve also been influenced by all the people around me.

Travel and music are the two best ways to learn about life, the world and yourself.

Yeah, I express that a little bit in the book. I’ve been influenced by many people and many different places. I’m lucky enough to have known some intelligent and kind people who have helped me on my own trail. Because you can’t do it on your own. If you go off traveling, you don’t know what’s going to happen. Everybody is new.

You don’t know where you’re going to stay that night. You don’t quite know who you’re going to meet. It’s an adventure, isn’t it?

The new album, Mixing up the Medicine, is definitely a musical adventure. The video for “Anyone Seen My Heart?” turned out really nice.

It’s rather old fashioned. I didn’t have anyone to sing harmonies. So I wanted to get Mick to come and sing on something. I like the voices of brothers singing together.

In the video, it looks like you guys are sitting around writing a song. Do you actually have a way to do that with him? Do you even have time to work on material?

No, but it would be nice to do a whole album together. He’s too busy with his band, what are they called? Um, The Rolling Stones, I believe.

Oh yeah, them.

They take up too much of his time. I think he should mellow down a bit. My stuff is much more mellowed down than his jumping up and down and all that shit.

I’m happy with a couple of violin players.

But for me, I do think people are finally going, ‘Well hold on a minute. This guy’s done a few albums. Maybe we should give him a bit of time.’ Obviously, being the fact that Mick is my brother has not always been an easy straw to pull. But I say, you just get on with what you’ve got. That’s the hand you’re dealt and you go on with it. You’ve got to look on the positive side of it. My brother, what he’s done with the Stones, they’ve made some great albums, some good songs. So now you’ve got to match up to that, right? If you fall very far short of that, people are gonna say, ‘Oh well, he’s a bit of a joke.’ So it’s a real challenge. But a challenge is not always a bad thing. It makes you improve on those skills and try to develop your own abilities.

I think it’s a lesson for a lot of people.

Maybe your abilities aren’t that of, let’s say, internationally known musical geniuses, right? But if you work on something long enough, you’re going to get somewhere.

Talking To Myself and Mixing Up The Medicine (both from BMG) are currently available from all music retailers and direct from the artist at chrisjaggeronline.com.

MUSIC

DION’S DIVINE DISSATISFACTION At 82, the Legendary Musician is Still Stompin’ the Blues

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

A

track to a great artist and it’s overwhelming what they will come up with.

T THIS STAGE IN HIS CAREER, legendary Rock and Roll Hall Of Stomping Ground is filled with incredibly Fame inductee Dion DiMucci uninhibited performances and some doesn’t feel the need to impress anyone. wonderfully nuanced moments. The He has no corporate bigwigs breathing Rickie Lee Jones track [“I’ve Been down his neck and doesn’t even have to Watching”] is a good example. pick up his guitar. But driven by his own I had this love song that no one’s ever self-proclaimed divine dissatisfaction, written before. Usually when you hear a the 82-year-old New York rocker has just love song, you know the deal. She’s driving released what he considers to be his best me crazy or I love the way you’re breaking record yet. my heart, whatever the hell it is. But this For an artist who began recording love song comes from being together in the ‘50s and has consistently issued for years. We sent her the song and she quality material in every decade since really got it. She said something, I’ll share his breakthrough doo-wop and pop it with you. It’s very sad in a way. When hits, Stomping Ground may very well be she listened to the song she said, ‘I’ve his masterpiece. A superb follow-up to never experienced anything like this and last year’s critically and commercially I probably never will.’ Because she’s older successful Blues With Friends, the latest now. She won’t have a love affair that lasts collection features an impressive slate of for 50 years. You know what I’m saying? friends and 14 incendiary performances.

Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Billy F It’s a touching moment on the record. As is Gibbons, Rickie Lee Jones, Joe Bonamassa, “Angel in the Alleyways.”

Boz Scaggs, Mark Knopfler, Peter I love the way Patti Scialfa’s voice sounds Frampton, Sonny Landreth, Marcia Ball, with mine, she has a beautiful vibrato and Jimmy Vivino and G.E. I have none. I sent her Smith contribute to 13 of song as a really clean, Dion’s rock, soul, gospel I HAVE A FRIEND, HE the empty track. I sent just and blues-based originals.

GOES, ‘YOU REALLY my vocal and guitar. She Keb’ Mo’ joins in for an KNOW HOW TO REINVENT calls me back, ‘Dion, I love inspired reimagining of the song. But do you have YOURSELF.’ I SAID, ‘NO, this Jimi Hendrix classic “Red anything else on it, like a House.” For collectors, I DIDN’T INVENT MYSELF bass, a drum, anything?’ I Bonamassa’s Keeping IN THE FIRST PLACE, said, ‘No, I’m sending it to The Blues Alive label is you empty, so if you do any pressing the disc in several AND I’M NOT ABOUT TO you’ll know deluxe formats.

REINVENT MYSELF NOW.’ harmonies, exactly what I’m saying, Reached by phone in where I’m breathing, Boca Raton, Dion spoke everything. We can be like the Everly with INsite about his “built-in” need to Brothers.’ So Lee, she sends back 64 tracks. create new music.

64 tracks! My whole career isn’t 64 tracks, you know? She didn’t phone it in, man.

The last time we talked was after the She layered, she stacked her voices and she Dave Edmunds Rock N Roll Revue at The brought Bruce in to play guitar and harp.

Roxy, a mere 31 years ago. So we’ve got a When Bruce called me, I said, ‘64 tracks? few things to catch up on.

Man, you guys really know how to make a Yeah? Oh my God, that’s incredible. guy feel loved!’

You know, I thought getting old would take longer. It’s like we blinked and The liner notes from Pete Townshend offer everything happened. some pretty high praise, too.

He’s a great writer. When he sent those, Your album at the time was Yo Frankie, I called him. ‘Pete, you wrote about me in and in retrospect it seems to be the mythical terms. I’m gonna have to walk foundation of Blues With Friends as well around the house in a toga or something!’ as Stomping Ground – inspired pairings He says, ‘You want me to rewrite them?’ of solid songs with cool players.

I said, ‘No!’ You’ve got to take what these It was kind of fun making that record, guys give you. Otherwise, you start working with Edmunds, Lou Reed, Bryan manipulating the whole thing. I couldn’t Adams. We hung out a lot while making even plan it if I tried. So to me, I think it. Keith Richards or Eric Clapton would Stomping Ground is the best album I’ve come by, you know. But I really got into ever recorded. When I listen to it in the something with the new stuff. I went in car, I’m like, ‘Wow, this sounds really cool.’ and recorded 14 songs a couple of years ago. Joe Bonamassa was the catalyst and The guests obviously have tremendous he played on a song called “Blues Coming respect for you.

On.” And Lee, I’d never heard anything like This is going to sound weird, but I’m glad it. Sometimes he sounds like Miles Davis, I’ve lived this long. Because I’ve never felt sometimes John Coltrane, sometimes he’s so embraced by the musical community, like Thelonious Monk. Man, I know how you know? It really feels very special to me. to write a song that rocks your heart but when it comes to the window dressing - or Most of your peers didn’t get that much whatever ya want to call it - on the solos, love. Either they died young or tastes that’s different. Back in the day, when I changed and they never came back after did “The Wanderer,” Buddy Lucas stepped the British Invasion. Not many survived up to the microphone and played that sax that era, but you had hits before and after solo. I didn’t have anything to do with it. It Beatlemania. was totally off the cuff. That’s what started Well a lot of people looked at the British happening with this stuff. You give a great Invasion like it was an actual invasion. I

looked at it like an infusion. They threw back to us what I was in love with in the first place, American roots music. They made me delve more into my own roots.

I maybe wasn’t as popular. But there’s a big difference between being productive and popular. Popular is one thing, but with The Stones, The Beatles, Eric Burton and the Animals, they just got me more focused. My concentration wasn’t too much on, ‘Oh look what they’re doing to me’ in a bad way. When I was first making records, popular music and artistic stuff were the same. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, they were all brilliantly artistic but commercial, too.

It’s refreshing to hear you this excited about a new project after so many albums in so many decades.

I have a friend, he goes, ‘You really know how to reinvent yourself.’ I said, ‘No, I didn’t invent myself in the first place, and I’m not about to reinvent myself now.’

I look at it more as I’m just maturing and evolving. That’s all. I was doing this with “Ruby Baby,” “Drip Drop” and “The Wanderer,” I was doing this back then. If you listen to “Born to Cry,” when I was 16, it’s just the same thing, but evolved. I think the difference is now I don’t have to impress anybody or live up to anybody’s expectations. So it’s kinda nice, I can do what comes from the heart and hope it finds its audience.

As someone who’s been on the journey with you for quite a while now, it does seem like the Warner Brothers period, the early ‘70s releases like Sit Down Old Friend, for example, is very different from the DaySpring gospel material from the ‘80s. It all plays out like separate chapters of a biography.

But the funny thing is, if you walked into my house and heard me playing any of those songs on guitar, they’d probably all just sound like Dion music. But then, when somebody like Patti gives you 64 tracks, it sounds like I’m on a different planet. But I’m not. It’s not that much different.

It’s great that you’ve continued to be creative. Some artists are woefully stuck in the ‘60s - or even the ‘90s at this point.

You could just hang out in Florida and do nothing but kick back and authorize reissues. But you’re not that kind of guy.

You’re absolutely right. A friend of mine used call it Divine Dissatisfaction. For me, it’s just built-in and it’s not a negative thing. If you say the word dissatisfaction, it sounds like you somehow feel entitled. No, it’s God-given. You just keep going because you have to do it. You keep wanting to do more so you keep studying and you keep growing. I won’t ever stop creating.

Stomping Ground is available from most music retailers and direct from the label at keepingthebluesalive.org, jbonamassa. com/collections/ktba-records, and via diondimucci.com. insiteatlanta.com • November 2021 • PG 13

20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

MUSIC

Album Reviews

REVIEWS BY JOHN B. MOORE

Violent Femmes

Why Do Birds Sing?

Since 1996

Over 10,000 DVD’s for Sale & Rent!

[Vinyl Reissue] (Craft Recordings) The Violent Femmes had a remarkable run of consistently solid albums starting with their breakthrough 1983 self-titled record up through 1991’s Why Do Birds Sing?, their remarkable fifth effort. In honor of the album’s 30th anniversary, Craft Recordings - like it did earlier this year with Add It Up, the band’s greatest hits package - is re-releasing this one on vinyl as well as on a double CD and digital format with previously unreleased outtakes and alternate takes of these songs.

While the only single off this album to chart is the still-great “American Music,” (even today, a staple at just about every Violent Femmes show), there are a lot of fun songs on this one that don’t get nearly enough credit, including an endearingly goofy take on Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” (recorded long before every third wave ska and pop punk band felt the need to cover 1980s hits). “Girl Trouble,” with its warbling acapella intro is prime Gordon Gano and “Hey Nonny Nonny” was inexplicably left off of Add It Up – a big oversight after hearing this song again decades later. Why Do Birds Sing? would be the band’s

final “great” album before they reformed again about 10 years ago and released the stellar, We Can Do Anything, in between were so mediocre records, occasionally hiding a few solid songs on them.

Hank!

Guilty Pleasures (Are The Best Ones)

(Self-Released) Hank Close – better known now as Hank!

– has already tackled the worlds of prog and folk rock courtesy of his last two bands, so punk-spiked Indie rock seems like a pretty natural evolution.

On his latest 11-track self-release LP, Guilty Pleasures (Are The Best Ones), Hank! deftly rolls out a collection of strongly accessible guitar-focused indie rockers with crooner vocals that bring to mind Josh Caterer of The Smoking Popes and Morrissey (before he became an insufferable right-wing bigot, of course).

From the ominously dark “Alchemy,” to the moody break-up song “Stupid Teens,” to “Why Go?” a surprisingly beautifully quirky pop song that could have easily fit onto any Smith’s record, the songs here seamlessly slip in and out of different styles and moods, but surprisingly makes for a cohesive album, one of his best to date.

“It wasn’t necessarily an easy thing for me to tackle the emotions I encountered while making this record,” he said. “I’ve listened to these songs repeatedly, and now I’m ready to put this album out into the world so that I can effectively go forward.”

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