The New Gnu, RISING LIKE A PHOENIX!

(Get your book-on, Opelika, here comes Tina)

In what is now hopefully well known news, we here at snakeBIT would like to keep the vast Arts Community in Auburn, Opelika, Camp Hill, Waverly, Loachapoka & all the tri-county-East-Alabamian regions apprised of what's happening with what has been, to date, a major cultural center: Auburn's own GNU'S ROOM.

As most now know, The Gnu's Room (and it's sister-entity, the non-profit Gnu Arts, Inc which houses new up and coming press, Solomon & George) found itself having to give notice at its current location, but as so frequently happens, the sound of one door shutting popped another one open, so as it happens, owner Tina Tatum now finds herself in the hopeful and envious position of being offered a huge, massively lovely space in one of the uber-cool warehouses which are part of the blossoming Opelika Arts scene. Thanks to the work of creative visionary Richard Patton, this cool row of once-abandoned buildings is now home to art studios, gallery-space, regular and growing music performances at The Railyard, and the up-n-coming Cotton Seed Studios. Heretofore, however, it has not yet been graced with a bona fide bookstore(& perhaps didn't even know it wanted one).

But in a pairing that seems made in heaven, Patton, owner of several of the large spaces right over the train tracks just so happened to be having a coffee at the current Gnu's Room location, and after chatting with Ms. Tatum for a bit it became clear on both sides that Tina just happened to be a committed bookstore owner with a bookstore that needed a new home, while Richard just happened to be a visionary and progressive developer (of arts & culture, not the building-developer sense) with a few giant warehouse spaces under-utilized that just might could house a homeless bookstore! Lightbulbs went off, and voila - it looks like now, the whole community may be given a very special present - a committed bookstore owner, committed small-publisher, and woman committed to a growing non-profit arts organization that can only grow bigger and better in a new, MUCH larger location (can you say book-readings, performance & film, my friend? Not to mention copious space now for milling around, perusing books on one's own recognizance for hours & hours - which is also really what a bookstore should be)! We believe nothing could be more positive and mutually reactive than a bigger and better Gnu's Room, smack-dab in the middle of a truly hustling Arts scene.

And as far as the non-profit arm of this endeavor, The Gnu's Room sister-entity, Gnu Arts, Inc., has not only been busying itself continuing to develop and foster the arts of all genres in our area, but developing a strong new press which has already brought forth two impressive publications, Chinaberries & Crows: An Anthology (a truly fantastic collection of both fiction, poetry, essays and memoirs by many local and national literary luminaries), and The Quilt and the Poetry of Alabama Music. Publcations slated for Fall include The Moon and the Stars: New and Collected Stories by Marian Carcache, South: Poems by Peter Huggins, as well as Cracklin Bread and Asfidity (a 35th Anniversary Edition) by Jack and Olivia Solomon. Be sure to look for Chinaberries & Crows - as it is truly a gem of a small publication, focusing on larger writing emerging from the very small and particular - being limited to writers with ties to the Opelika and Auburn area, with the writing of course being as expansive as it can get.

So how 'bout it, proud Opelikans, Auburnites & Aubernettes, Waverlyans, Camp Hillians - East-Alabamians of every stripe - are we ready for a cool, committed, spacious & happening bookstore right in the middle of the Opelika Cotton District?

The answer being (of course)yes, it is time for all to put your money where your mouth is, get down to the current Gnu's room NOW and put some change in Tina's pocket (buy a book for once in your life - it's as portable as a cell-phone, and doesn't even need a battery!), THEN mark your calendars for the very important date of JUNE 8TH, year 2013 - as on this magic-date you WILL attend the massive, spectacular Benefit for the Gnu's Room that will be occurring at The Railyard, Patton's first glorious (& officially open) development in the aforementioned warehouse & arts district. Bands will be playing, cool local food vendors will be proferring, warehouses & art studios will be visited, and SUPPORT WILL BE SHOWN, and also removed from pockets and donated to the cause - as naturally these huge and uber-cool warehouses do need a bit of real-transitional work in order to transform into the groovy-arts spaces that they will be (lights, plumbing, electrical, heat and AC attended to, and even that final luxury - a working TOILET). This is a great big space that is going to house a very great vision - but such things don't come for free, amigo, so start getting some of those extra wads of cash pulled out from beneath your mattress, and lay it on a worthy cause.

All chatting and prattling aside, Alabamians - we all know The Gnu's Room has done some heavy lifting for this arts community, and its time to lift it back up, in return.

A real, independently owned bookstore (or even any bookstore at all!) is a rare-thing these days, so make sure you mark your calendars, then make sure you come out & do your part to keep the arts busting out of East Alabama. As far as performer lineup for this benefit-spectacular, the confirmed list SO FAR exceeds all expectations, including Adventure the Great, Pomeranian Muffler Shop, Katie Martin, Electric Rangers Dance Party, Rodeo Trio, Something Delicious, Nathan Coker, Streetparty in Liverpool, Oxford Commas, Daniel Webster, and who knows how many MORE! So get your party threads ready, your reading glasses cleaned, & keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Gnu's Room Kickstarter campaign, as well.

Help Save THE GNU'S ROOM !

(we here at snakeBIT are honored to publish the following)


"Open Letter to the Auburn-Opelika Community
And our Artistic Community-at-Large,
Concerning The Gnu's Room:

Have you heard? By now, I'm sure you have. A thousand conversations between artists, musicians, book-lovers, and friends in our artistic community over the last two weeks... With shocked, hushed voices and sorrowful expressions... "Have you heard about The Gnu's Room?"

Yes, the Gnu's Room location in Auburn is closing. The place of a thousand new friendships, innumerable moments of beauty and art and everything that forges a strong community, the hub of our intellectual and creative discourse can no longer support itself with the high costs of urban rent and the heavy toll of a society-wide waning literary interest...

It is with great sorrow that we, priding ourselves to be a strong artistic community despite all the inclinations otherwise, immersed within a mainstream culture that usually ignores anything outside the box as paradoxically both "weird" and "boring", must now say goodbye to the familiar welcoming site of so many jazz concerts, book signings, independent film screenings, art shows, philosophy debates, poetry readings... All the beautiful activities that keep us engaged and exploring our connections with each others' crafts and with the larger creative world itself. It is the tenacity of the Gnu's Room spirit that has created the opportunities for new artists and paved avenues for the wisdom of experience and comraderie.

It is that great grief that we express, and no doubt much guilt, when we ask each other, eyes imploring for some happier explanation, to the loss of one of our community's most valuable creative outlets and resource.

Have you heard about The Gnu's Room?

Friends: It is with the tenacity of creative spirit itself that I suggest that we are asking the right question, but settling for the wrong answer. The Gnu News is NOT that we are losing the Auburn home to all things happily weird...

The Gnu News is, or at least should be, instead:

Have you heard about the Gnu location in the Opelika Arts District?

We have the chance to support The Gnu's Room and help them move their artistic home to a nest of artists-in-residence, independent venues, and local creativity in the new Arts District of Downtown Opelika.

Sponsored in part by Alabama Arts Council, The Railyard, the future Cotton Seed Studios, there are exciting plans to make this city block a vibrant home to all things artistic and musical. The Gnu's Room has been offered a warehouse space of over 5,000 sq feet (That's a lot of bookshelves!) at no cost for at least a year. This will give Tina and her staff the opportunity to re-align the in-house services towards both bookstore retail and their local publishing house, Solomon and George Publishing, and also redefine their part in a global shift to transcribe their inventory to an online catalogue of a vast, growing library of e-publications,before traditional paper-bound wisdom is lost to the decay of time and transient material existence. This Gnu Library will create the opportunity for our Gnu's Room to continue functioning as a vital core of creative discourse in our artistic community.

But, it won't be easy. Nothing really worth anything is ever easy.

We need to raise money to outfit our new home and get the interior up to par. We need to fund the move and transfer of almost 100,000, now and future, donated books to the Gnu Library. Most importantly, we need to support the statement that we are dedicated to the open access to music, arts, and literacy initiatives in our neighborhoods.

I know that we can make this happen. We just can't let our Gnu's Room disappear.

I would like to publicly announce both the launch of a "Save the Gnu's Room" Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of the Gnu's Room location in the Opelika Arts District and the Gnu Summer Festival on June 8th, 2013 at The Railyard to raise the awareness and funds necessary to preserve our heritage of creative community.

The money raised will allow the for the design and re-placement of the Gnu's Room, to ensure a smooth transition to the new space in August, and to generate the seed money to pursue e-publication services and other sustainable business initiatives.

If you ever performed at Gnu's Room, supported and particpated in artistic fellowship, played outside on their public piano, or just in general felt welcome, inspired or appreciated at this haven of intellectual outreach, your help is needed. Please contact us at savethegnusroom@gmail.com, pledge to our the Kickstarter project, or visit our Facebook page to get involved at this most crucial time.

Alaina Guzman"

(thank-you, alaina!)

OH MY LORDY - here comes the Boogie!

(heck yeah peoples, it's Charles Bradley!)



It's that time again folks & no time to be wasting! Time to get-on-up, get-on-down to the tiny little crossroads that is Waverly, Alabama - on this 4rd week of April (Saturday, April 20th) to be precise, if nothing other.

I know what you are asking yourself:

How can one lovely, cool, bucolic tiny-little-place (in Alabama, no less) contain such massive hipness as comes busting out of Waverly, Alabama - inviting, no, commanding people from all over this country & all over this beautiful world to head on down here?

How can such a small plot of land, such as Mr. Scott Peek's Entertainment Compound & Sound & Art Emporium, possibly contain so many of the beautiful people? The trendsetters? The early-adopters? Those in-the-know, in the in-crowd, the outsider-artists inside? And/or those so cool they've known about it for years, so for them, it's just like a yearly event, because they've known about it for years, because they have been in the know, and in the in-crowd just for ages and ages.

But now you can, too! Everyone's a beautiful people in the in-crowd once they get down to Waverly! And the music is sure to be both hot and cool. So stop dawdling and daydreaming of love, fame or just the critical acknowledgement of your peers already (dork!)and go and get yourself some tickets, pronto, Tonto! And be sure to tell them snakeBIT sent you. If they did not already in someways know.

This Year's SPECTACULAR includes not only the incredible,

EXTRA-ORDINARY

CHARLES BRADLEY(!!!) and

The INCREDIBLE , EXTRAORDINARY LARRY MITCHELL (!!!)
(and their incredible bands!!!)

But in addition, and not last, nor least, and certainly no less spectacular, the 7 acts total on the Main Stage, as well as five amazing additional bands on the newest addition, the Boogie 'Porch Stage' to boot!! (schedule and Vendors as related below.)

Tickets = 20 large at the gate; kids under 14 get in FREE. No dogs (sorry, spot!), no glass, & do bring wads of cash to buy all manner of very-cool-things.

MAIN STAGE
(times approximate/open to change)
12pm: BANDITOS
1pm: POLLIES
2pm: LARRY MITCHELL BAND
3pm: PINE HILL HAINTS
4pm: DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
5pm: HURRAY for the RIFF RAFF
6pm: CHARLES BRADLEY and his EXTRAORDINAIRES

PORCH STAGE 11am: Teacup and the Monster
11.30am: Adventure the Great
12.45pm: Fire Mountain
1.45pm: Sam Doores, Riley Downing, and the Tumbleweeds
2.45pm: Megan Jean and the KFB

Food Vendors to include the rapturous culinary stylings of: Wilton's Catering, The Overall Company, Jim n Nick's Barbecue, Taqueria Durango, Mama Mocha's Coffee Emporium & Johnny Brusco's Pizza. Come HUNGRY!



(don't you miss it!)



(Watch out ! She plays like a girl !)




[further info & pics of all spectacular
acts in attendance to follow, shortly]

COOLEST Performance Space in United-States-of-Americas

(Julia Haltigan,Little House, Waverly, Alabama)

Up till now, it's been one of the region's best kept secrets. But we here at SnakeBIT feel it's time to drop the whole hush-hush, velvet-rope, andy-warhol-invitation-only-esque facade and let a slightly broader public know: the brilliant forces at STANDARD DELUXE in yonder Waverly have come up with an even greater, more rarefied, even cooler performance space than ever before here in the Lee, Chambers and Tallapoosa tri-county Alabamian area - and - we would even venture to say - what might be, very possibly, the best, coolest, most intimate and rarified (yet still open, approachable & utterly unpretentious) performance space in all the Untited States of America.

Think Live at The Blackhawk, think The Peel Sessions, think Austin City Limits on a good night, and - if it does't make you cry, think of a a teeny-tiny, very special deep-south version of Levon Helm's barn: think of all of those places & you could be thinking of a place almost as cool as The Little House at Standard Deluxe over in Waverly.

Little Place, incredible Acts, strangely magical Sound.

It all adds up to some strangely other-worldly experience of the bands & the music, and the people who are playing that somehow adds up to being very larger than the parts. But you kind of just have to be there to understand. So here's hoping you are able.

As an added bonus, a series of boutique, extra-fine & live recordings of several recent and upcoming shows from sound Artist/Engineer Mr. Burke Carroll of Camp Hill, Alabama are being recorded, soon to be available to a broader public.

TONIGHT the Little House in Waverly Alabama will be graced with the incredible pipes of songstress Ms. Julia Haltigan, all the way from up in cold New York city; still some tickets left to hear Ms. Haltigan (who sings the finest version of 'Boots of Spanish Leather' you ever did hear) goto Standard Deluxe Facebook page/& check the info at your left for purchasing tix ($12) for you or any lucky others.

And as for the joshing about velvet ropes & Andy Warholisms & etc? Well, the Little House is as rare as it gets, and as fine; and as for all the velvet ropes & such we all know just to use strong rope, barb-wire or just a little touch of duct-tape way out here in the country.

WEBB WILDER Plays Auburn at Sundilla

The Master of catchy british-invasion-y hooks, all crossed with a Warren-Zevony intelligence & infused with a healthy slap of Americana, played at the incredible music-space that is actually (when not filled with music) Auburn's own Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship on Thatch Street.

Wilder was brought to town by the amazing non-profit concert series Sundilla. The Sundilla Concert Series of Auburn has brought us a host of national acts, all housed in one of the town's best acoustical spaces - which also just happens to be one of it's oldest places of worship. Formerly the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church, currently home to Auburn's UU congregation, this beautiful old site was built in the 1870's by freed slaves of hand-hewn lumber and the purest inspiration. As such, it still feels filled with what might be once & future holy rolling, but might also just be light divine.

So - Help Keep America's Musicians off WELFARE!

Come drink and Worship Music with us!

Next concert of the series June 1st, 7.30-ish featuring the incredible duo STORYHILL. Born in windy-old Bozeman Montana, this duo of singer-songwriters has received national acclaim including being awarded Best CD of the Year by the Indie Acoustic Project, 2007. Their talents have also led them to win the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Contest and perform on national radio shows like Mountain Stage.

We here in Auburn are lucky enough to be able to just mosey on over to a worship-space built by freed slaves where we can all relax, lift a glass or a bottle, and worship the music together along with all justice and freedom, so come on down & holler out a little glory, hallelujah.

[Auburn's Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, formerly Ebenezer Baptist Church]

Tix for next show: June 1st STORYHILL = 12 smackers at the door, advanced tix available at the GNU'S room for 10 large.

Free food provided - BRING YOUR OWN booze, moonshine and/or other beverages
[in truth, concerts here tend to be of the more music-focused, rather than alcohol-focused variety. But polite enrichment from the flask can always be a happy thing!]

BLOODHOUND Grande Opening!

You've been hearing the buzz for weeks now, and now the party's finally getting started.

The candles are lit, the (only partly ironic) disco lights are flashing, and the crowds have started checking in. The bourbon and $2 Yuenglings are flowing, the PA's turned up, and the Auburn scene will soon welcome it's first and only contender for cool, grown-up music, club and (especially!) dining scene - complete with home-made antler chandeliers (antlers from Lee, Tallapoosa & Chambers county deer naturally), 40-foot hand-cut cedar bar (tree cut in Lafayette, Alabama), 5-star steaks & home-made corn-dogs, and (somewhere in back) a REAL stuffed wild-boar's head to bless the bacon and help the party get started at BLOODHOUND - Auburn's newest restaurant, bar and premier music club.

With the motto Bacon, Bourbon, and Bands and the brilliant and inspired chef Chad Mueller (formerly of Waverly's Yellow Hammer) you know you can't go wrong, so get the party started already.

Stellar musical acts that have already warmed up the sound at the 'Hound include the immortal Harvey Davidson of Waverly, Alabama, The Only Sons of Murfreesboro TN and the incredible John Paul Keith out of Memphis, the rocking Western Swing of Joey Allcorn, cool mod rocking of Atlanta's Young Orchids, Auburn's own Teacup and the Monster, and Moonlight Bride of Chattanooga.

This weekend's opening blowout includes Lee Baines III and the Glory Fires with local faves 13 GHOSTS (Friday, March 30), followed by Grand Opening Night II featuring The Interns with the District Attorneys (Saturday, March 31). Music to begin around rock and roll time (approximately 10 pm-ish).

Burke Carroll & the immortal Harvey Davidson wrestle local antlers at a place called BLOODHOUND.

BEST STAGE IN TOWN.

[ secret rockstar HARVEY DAVIDSON shows the big boys how its done ]

Word on the street is floating stage design & acoustical engineering by mister burke carroll of camp hill delivers the best sonic boom in town. Come see & hear the region's finest and judge for yourself.

Quality musical stylings & performers rocking all weekend long.
Sounds round about 10 pm or so.

SOUND at the 'HOUND

The Young Orchids enthusiastically broke the stage in at the clubs first show ever.














Athen's own District Attorneys and The Interns (side project of super-faves THE FUTUREBIRDS) closed out a magical musical weekend.





Everyone who was anyone was there.
If you werent, best be at the next show:
Weds, April 4th, with Andrew Combs of Nashville TN.

[Athen's own District Attorneys, below]

Southern Artists / Southern Art?

If the lazy, hazy days of summer have you dabbling-your-toes in the water somewhere persuading yourself there aren't really any alligators in these parts (of course there aren't!!) perhaps its time to get up before the sun goes down, mop up a bit, and head on down to the cool, lovely, light-filled & air-conditioned space known as the Jule Collins Smith Museum at Auburn University.

This month sees the dual shows Facing South: Portraits of Southern Artists by Jerry Siegel (june 2–August 18) as well as Southern Artists / Southern Art? (may 12–August 11, 2012) and begs us to beg the question: is there, or ain't there some common and distinguishing threads found in southern music, literature, the written word, vernacular architecture?

Do dragons really grow larger in the south? IS there some extra level of soul, secrecy, wariness as a legacy of the civil war? Is the presumed anti-intellectual stance only a foil? Is there some extra dimension to a region which had to face its race issues, so close to home at all times, before many others in the country did?

Or does it go even further back, in the magical land that used to be filled with Injuns (they prefer to native 'americans'), with panthers, golden eagles, mad flocks of tropical birds, flying squirrels, passenger pigeons & more?


In other words - are us rebels really so special?

Well, maybe we are -

And maybe we are.
There does seem to be some basis for the argument.

But come argue the matter in the lofty-light filled halls at JCS, or perhaps be too crafty to argue & just take in the show. And draw your own related, or un-related conclusions.

Artists depicted in Alabama-native Jerry Siegel’s exhibit number among the most significant painters, printmakers, and cultural producers in various media the South has brought forth. To peep into the faces captured in his 100 black & white and color-photographs is to peep, perhaps, at some kind of reflection of the southern soul - if there really is some distinct point-of-view we can claim as a region, at which one can peep.

The corresponding exhibit Southern Artists / Southern Art? gives us a chance to ponder the question further by featuring a selection of work by a few of the figures Siegel photographed - in a diverse selection of work by southern artists such as Benny Andrews, Frank Fleming, Dale Kennington, R.A. Miller, and others.

COOLEST Overall Event in United-States-of-AMERICAS ?

Hurray For The Riff Raff (& that means you) to play Old 280 Boogie, Waverly Alabam' 2012

















Alabama Soul Coalition will shake you, if you can be shook [above].

SHAKIN' IT, OLD-280 STYLE, with the pine hill haints [below]:


Alritey folks, the hippest event in the entire northern hemisphere, the epitomy of anybody and everybody's social calender (whether you observe mayan, standard-issue gringo, or otherwise) which just HAPPENS to be rather inexplicably plunked right down here in east-central alabama at cultural headquarters of the southeast in Waverly, Alabama, no less, has finally arrived!

Your attendance is mandatory.
Ain't takin' no no-no's for an answer.
Don't know where Waverly, Alabama IS?
Look it UP, but don't tell no one you didn't know, already.
From NOON until we quit it.

musique, non-stop / (main stage)
12 - Soul Coalition of East Alabama
01 - Lazybirds
02 - Hurray for the RIFF-RAFF
03 - Pine Hill Haints
04 - Glossary w/Austin Lucas
05 - Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires
06 - Centro-Matic (republic of tejas!)
(side porch stage)
Duquette Johnston
Harvey Davidson
Jody Nelson
Austin Lucas

WAVERLY ARTISTS get shout-out, videos at AMERICAN-SONGWRITER

SnakeBIT is pleased to make note that none less than SONGWRITER MAGAZINE has featured not just one, & not two, but four sweet videos of artists from this past 2012 Boogie on their website, as well as a fairly lengthy article on the specifics of the Boogie. All shot in Waverly (you’ll know it if you see it) these videos (by filmmaker Joshua Shoemaker) feature New Orlean’s Hurray for the Riff-Raff, Nashville’s Andrew Combs, super-local lo-fi/hi-fi talent HARVEY DAVIDSON, as well as some severely fine songwriting from Birmingham’s Duquette Johnston (formerly with Verbena, amongst others).

To see our own local cultural headquarters profiled in SONGWRITER MAGAZINE, as well as watch these fine videos, goto (or paste in):

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/06/video-hurray-for-the-riff-raff-and-andrew-combs-at-waverly-boogie/.

BACON & BOURBON? What's the buzz-buzz on BLOODHOUND?

Maybe you've caught wind of it somewhere: a whiff of home-cured bacon; a snort of top-shelf bourbon, the scent of sawdust, or brain-deadening paint fumes. Or perhaps it was a wisp of high-stress pheromones - the massively positive, deliriously awake new owners Matt and Jana Poirier, the thirty-or-so excitable new staff, the bustling crew getting the first-class stage ready - whatever it is, it is important to remember that it all began with a dream of THE WORLD'S BEST BACON, LETTUCE, AND TOMATO SANDWICH - and now - just like in everyone's favorite love-story ROSEMARY'S BABY when Rosemary wakes up and screams This isn't just a dream, IT'S REALLY HAPPENING! - it's really happening!

Auburn looks to be getting a brand new top-shelf restaurant & premiere music club, and this time the buzz is warranted; we predict the landing of a real, grownup, new hipster-ground zero for Auburn, Alabama - with strong local talent, national musical visitations, fabulous and inspiring bacon-and-bourbon inflected American Cuisine (courtesy of the visionary chef Chad Mueller, formerly of Waverly's YELLOW HAMMER) - a cool space for local (and national, maybe even international) artistic expression - all in one spacious, artfully envisioned, antler-pronged, scotch & bourbon-infused locale - and it's about TIME.

The food will be inspired classic American, comforting but upscale (with locally sourced ingredients whenever possible: think meatloaf, wild-game sausage, the tenderest ribeye,home-made corndogs), and the music will be cool, local, Alabamian-to-national talent. The ambience warm, the beverages, top-shelf-liquor to moonshine-influenced (but don't forget the mint juleps, or PBR!), and the sound ? - the best in the tri-state area! Sweet threads encouraged, but you'll feel comfortable no matter what you wear, so just bring your bad, beautiful, hungry & thirsty self, along with everyone who's anyone (and in the eyes of the lord, here in ALABAMA, of course, that means everyone).

Mark your calenders for soft as well as grand openings: March
17th, first all-day (lunch menu - with green-tomato Bloody-Marys), and March 19th for full-menu opening. March 29th-30th = grand-part-ay & opening of the music-club with performances by John Paul Keith, and more (more precise opening info and musical dates to follow). So praise the lord & pass the bacon (bourbon), and then get on up, get on down to Auburn's newest and finest scene: BLOODHOUND.

Till You Just Can't Boogie Nooo More.

Hard to believe, but Waverly, A.L. (otherwise known as the cultural headquarters of Central Alabam') will again be hosting the glamorous 0ld-280 Boogie Saturday, April 21st, 2012. There will be lots of genuiine art and art-like objects from artistes & artisans, righteous music to worship all day (and some of the night) long. So dust off your fave cowboy or biker boots, converse sneakers, flip-flops or break-dancing shoes & lots of CASH-money and mosey on down to soak up the sweet ( & hopefully loud) beats, purchase those quaint-little southern souvenirs - and/or just righteous art and food. Picnic blankets baskets & beverages also encouraged, no glass & be safe.


Musicial lineup is as follows:
(in no particular order):
APRIL 21, 2012
for the 12th annual
WAVERLY BOOGIE


CENTRO-MATIC
PINE HILL HAINTS
LAZYBIRDS
***SOUL Coalition of East Alabama

More info on times and lineups to follow; in meantime, mark yr calender, tell all yr friends & come far & come wide to central alabama's coolness HQ, the 12th annual Old 280 Boogie / Waverly, Alabam. Book those plane tickets. High noon. Don't be late. Come prepared to eat barbecue, lots of fried things and pickles.

Search for the 'Wrong Eyed Jesus' to End in Waverly, AL

It's finally here. The night we've all been waiting for.

Jim White is set to play this Saturday, April 2nd at 7pm at the STANDARD DELUXE outdoor stage in Waverly, AL.

After this, he's off to Amsterdam & London to open for Ron Sexsmith & look at red lights & so on. Naturally, he will be launching his international tour in Alabama. If you haven't yet been to Waverly, it's time to go. Waverly's YELLOW HAMMER restaurant will treat you right with elegantly prepared fine dining & STANDARD DELUXE outdoor stage + (by day) screenprinting/design headquarters is a nexus for all things of an advancing artistical nature.

Songwriter-artist/music-preacher Jim White is known for his darkly beautiful ballads as well as the 2004 BBC Documentary THE SEARCH F0R THE WR0NG EYED JESUS, in which he travels the rural deep south attempting to pin-point in just which ways her twisted heart has left her mark on him as southern artist.

White has worked with artists Victoria Williams, the British electronica trio Morcheeba, Aimee Mann, the Barenaked Ladies, The Sadies, and producers David Byrne and Joe Henry - to name just a few collaborations. His current work, the upcoming album WHERE IT HITS Y0U has been funded by Kickstarter, the process of which is chronicled by Jim on Kickstarter at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/531333111/jim-whites-call-to-arms-0. Be sure to watch the video, which reads like a surreal late-night shopping-network plug for an independent record album. Glory. Hallelujah.

No better introduction to Mr. White than to check out several fave selections on Youtube - the brilliant & lovely duo with Aimee Mann STATIC ON THE RADIO at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2DyPVDIpTM

or anthem to self-realization-thru-style in COMBING MY HAIR IN A BRAND NEW STYLE at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZEAhyib-lw

These tunes being just the tip of the iceberg.

We hear Mr. White's band will also be in attendance -
All-in-all, a very special show.

Standard Deluxe info for show = http://www.facebook.com/StandardDeluxe

Jim White tix sold at gate / $10
Kids 14 & under with parents = free
Small coolers ok, no glass /no dogs / no haters.
Be there , 7pm or be N0where.

Avoid the Horrors of SATAN, thru Viewing Art !

[The Super Powers, Finster, 1985]

If the approach of Easter has your eyes peeping for more signs of holy happenings, then head on down to Auburn University's Jule Collins Smith Museum and give witness to the most recent Exhibition - STRANGER IN PARADISE: THE W0RKS 0F REVEREND H0WARD FINSTER. Finster, a self-proclaimed evangelistic preacher in paint and man of visions, saw himself as a sacred artist, fulfilling visionary prophesies revealed to him by God through a heavenly, 'outer-space' world. Such a perspective is only too clear in the sweet, darkly twisted accretions of paint and other objects he left behind.

But if contemplating this skewed beauty, or the possibility of holy outer space worlds and their visual representations isn't enough, Finster also believed he was designated to disperse holy warnings to people - to save their souls from the horrors of hell.

Regardless of your position on the fiery-flames, it's probably a good idea to check out the exhibition either way.

While Finster's visions, art-work and language were often quite complicated and multiply layered, there is a simplicity and intensity of meaning that is generally easy to perceive, as evident in a quote regarding the beauty he brought forth in his Paradise Garden: "I took the pieces that you threw away and put them together by night and day, washed by the rain, dried by the sun, a million pieces all in one."

STRANGER IN PARADISE: THE W0RKS 0F REVEREND H0WARD FINSTER provides an in-depth survey of Finster's career, covering the variety of themes inherent in his paintings as well as objects from The Plant Farm Museum [Paradise Garden]. The show was curated by Glen C. Davies and is organized by Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and runs through March 12.

THE CIVIL WARS to play STANDARD, March 25th.

Waverly's own printmakers extraordinaire STANDARD DELUXE (just back from music/media extravaganza SXSW in Austin TX) bring the musical big-time back to Waverly by hosting indie folk duo THE CIVIL WARS. The CW's previous show in Waverly was mobbed, so come early, stay late.

THE CIVIL WARS are composed of songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, who met in Nashville during a writing session at a local studio. Within several months they were spotted by Grammy Award winning producer Charlie Peacock (renowned for his work with acts such as Al Green and Switchfoot) at Nashville's French Quarter Café during The Civil Wars' first concert. Wowed by what he heard and saw, Peacock soon began recording the duo in his own studio, and the act's debut EP, Poison & Wine, and first full-length studio album, Barton Hollow were helmed by Peacock. The Poison & Wine EP release was selected for iTunes' “Best of 2010” list and named “Best of What's Next” by Paste Magazine, and their newest album BART0N H0LL0W released on February 1, 2011 to debut at No. 1 on the iTunes' album sales chart.

Come see what all the fuss is about -
Civil wars tix = available online at Cork industries @ http://bit.ly/etoXRl, or locally
At Guitar Shoppe - now for 10, or at gates, Date-of-Show for 12 big ones.

Showtime = 7:00pm - 10:30pm
STANDARD DELUXE Outdoor Stage
1015 Mayberry Street
Waverly, AL

Small coolers ok at Standard / no glass /
No dogs & no haters, just appreciators of premium musical & artistical culture.

Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers

Join Auburn's Jule Collins Smith Museum for the next three months for selections from the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. The Southern Circuit Tour is the nation’s only regional tour of independent filmmakers, providing communities with an opportunity to not only see up-and-coming Independent film, but to also engage with the artists creating such work. In this case, JCSM provides not only a screening of the work but throws in free dessert, coffee, and discussion with the filmmaker directly following. Come support a valuable indie artist with your attendance. Take in a free, creatively engaging experience. Partake of some free sugar & get your next caffeine buzz on, FREE.


Stay tuned to JCSM's two current film series - both the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers as well as the Southern 0utsiders Film Series (for 0utsiders series scroll down).

S0UTHERN CIRCUIT TOUR FEATURED FILMS AND FILMMAKERS:

February 15, 2011, 6 pm - Abel Raises Cain, Jenny Abel, producer/director
Alan Abel is a professional prankster. His hoaxing career began in the late 1950’s with a campaign to clothe all animals for the sake of decency. Abel has his true tale told for the first time by his daughter Jenny.

March 15, 2011, 6 pm Awake My Soul - Matt Hinton, producer/director
Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp is the first feature documentary about Sacred Harp singing, a form of a cappella, shape note hymn singing.

April 12, 2011, 6 pm - Prodigal Sons, Kimberly Reed, producer/director
Prodigal Sons follows three siblings — a transgender woman, a gay man and their adopted brother who discovers he’s the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth — back to their Montana hometown. Sponsored by the The Auburn Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Caucus (AGLBC)

Art, Music, Food + Experimental Architecture.

Do thoughts of experimental architecture get you hot under the collar, or even other garments, clothing trickier regions? Springtime in the south means roadtrip season, so get out your hottest under-or-outer-garments and set out for beautiful, downtown Seale Alabama for 2011's D00-NANNY. Don't know what a 'doo-nanny' is? Don't have to. All you have to ask yourself is:

'Would I like to attend a combination -

Outsider Folk Art Show?
Truly unique experience?
Casserole of southern folk art, home cooking, homemade movies, and camping?
Festival of Foot-stomping music?
Expo of Experimental architecture?
Highly unusual Movie Festival?
Surprises?
Flickering, flame-crackling B0NFIRE?
Calvacade of cracker ingenuity, experiential transomism, and much, much M0RE?'

If so, do the Doo-Nanny. You won't be alone. Folks will be coming from NY, TX, CA, and beyond beyond. Art collectors and patrons who come to purchase outsider art from insiders will be given award tickets for the evening party, as well as the Doo-Nanny Burn, with purchases at Saturday's art show. Musical performers to include: Doc Dailey, Morgan 0'Kane, Jar-E, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Stormshelter, and the incomparable RESISTANCE ENSEMBLE, far flung flim-flammeristes from Austin Texas.

Celebration = March 25, 26
more info at http://doo-nanny.com

CRITICAL MASS + AFTER-PARTY

Come join other cyclists for February's Critical Mass bike ride, downtown Auburn. Ride starts on the Samford Lawn, 5:30 pm. CRITICAL MASS is a fun, nonviolent monthly bike ride celebrating the community of city-life and virtues of cycling. Come show motorists that bicycles and autos can share the road while proving that cycling is a viable means of transportation. As well as a means of cool, possibly even sweaty & righteous FUN.

February's ride will wrap up with an AFTER-PARTY at new warehouse space - arts venue at 299 Bragg Avenue.

After-Party (8 pm till - ) is FREE; bring your own beverage.

Musical accompaniment by Rubber Citty Noise (Akron, 0hio), Gypsies with Knives, and Blame Sydnee. Come help Auburn get her party on by filling up the new warehouse & support those who make four wheels seem like two too many.

Old-280 Boogie - APRIL 16, 2011

You've been waiting all year. Come see what the uber-cool folks at Waverly have cooking for this years Old-280 Boogie. From the town of 184 that threw a celebration when they found out the new highway WASN'T coming through. Lower population? Sure. Cooler arts scene, food, music, art and - uhh...better pickles? That's right, brother.

The Old 280 Boogie Music & Arts Festival features fine bands & musicians as well as a row or two of select eclectic artisans and modern farmers that market their goods and wares. It's fast becoming a destination on the national scene, as is - omm - Waverly, so come make the scene.

Musical line-up to include:
MARIA TAYLOR
GLOSSARY
CARY HUDSON & The Pineywood Playboys
TONY BROOK Band
DOC DAILEY & Magnolia Devil
DUQUETTE JOHNSTON & The Gum Creek Killers

STANDARD has a worthy plug on kickstarter (if you don't know what that is, you should, so gosee) & they deserve your support, so shake a few bills loose, big-spender - if you got any - loose change is okay too.

F0R BOOGIE TICKETS, KICKSTART INF0 & MORE COOL STUFF:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1729836951/11th-annual-old-280-boogie-waverly-alabama

Meanwhile, 0ver in WAYCR0SS, GE0RGIA

Get on down (or over) to the town that gave us GRAM:

The first annual SWAMPT0WN GETD0WN MUSIC FESTIVAL will take place on the vast Okefenokee Fair Grounds, just minutes from the fabled Okefenokee Swamp. This 2-day event will be a celebration of the decades-strong artistic talent from Waycross, GA, as well as regional up and coming talent. The GETD0WN is brought to you by the cool younger set of the Waycross scene as well as the folks behind the nationally acclaimed GRAM PARS0NS GUITAR PULL, which draws artists and attendees from all over the world - with last year's including a lineup as stellar as the immortal Charlie Louvin as well as the soon-to-play-in-Waverly Mr. Jim White. So come visit the town that gave us Gram, as well as the artists who've been influenced by the beloved Cosmic American troubador & give a little respect to our neighbors in this growing, but already well established music scene.

Two-day weekend passes available NOW for ONLY twenty large.
for more info check www.swamptowngetdown.com.

Washed In the Red Red Blood.

Auburn's own JCSM Southern 0utsiders Film Series continues to bring the outsiders on in with the amazing tour de force known as The Apostle - the 1997 American dramatic film written, directed and starring Mr. Robert Duval. Nominated for an 0scar for his performance, Duval does not fall short in his depiction of a charismatic southern preacher but just in case it isn't real enough he is aided by a cast including Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson and Billy Joe Shaver. Farrah Fawcett Majors rounds out the cast in yet another performance that proves the Angel of Charlie could also act. Duval, as the Preacher Sonny Dewey, is no stranger to the power of the Lord, but as a man with a wandering eye and a baseball bat, he is also no stranger to the powers of Satan. Come see God, Satan, Sonny, Billy Bob, June Carter Cash duke it out in the great battle for the human souls known as Christianity - more exciting than the SuperBowl with both teams giving their all & all still waiting on the final score.

All films begin at 6.
For Series Schedule see below [entry entitled Southern 0utsiders Film Series].

ART 0N THE INSIDE: Show 0pening - Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project

The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project (APAEP), presents its traveling show ART 0N THE INSIDE at Space One Eleven in Birmingham from February 11 through March 25, 2011. The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project is an innovative program which has offered classes in the arts and humanities within the Alabama Department of Corrections. So far more than 1400 individuals have participated. The travelling exhibition is intended as a way to highlight the artistic accomplishments of students inside the Alabama Prison system, as well as the possibility of transformation for those who are so held. Please come see the works this amazing program produces when those within the prison system have their minds and creative abilities set free.

More info on APAEP at: www.auburn.edu/apaep

N0RMA RAE. 0pelika - Before Bed, Bath & Beyond.

JCSM's Southern 0utsiders Film Series continues tonite with Norma Rae, the gritty, moving drama of a factory worker in a southern textile mill town who, concerned with the heavy toll the mills take on their workers, decides to take the union stand. And we do mean stand. Sally Fields (in her pre-Boniva days) gives an amazing performance which rightfully earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Writing, as well as for the Palme d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. Fields was awarded Best Actress at Cannes for her performance.

Norma Rae was filmed on location in our very own Opelika, Alabama, with the mill scenes shot at Opelika Manufacturing. The scenes betray a certain 'gritty' quality that may or may not still be associated modern day 0pelika - this being before the blessed, cotton-y-soft days of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, and Longhorn Steakhouse.

The mills are all gone now: to China, Viet Nam, the Phillipine's; the girls, boys and women sewing products for Wal-Mart and Bed/Bath may or may not have stood up yet for their health, or the health of those around them. And you won't be finding any 'Made In Alabama' tags on anything you might buy at any of our lovely local purveyors.

BUT: come see what all the fuss was about.
When one woman stood up with a piece of paper in her hand - with one word written on it, and that word brought an entire factory floor to silence. And for a time, that made a difference in the lives of local textile workers, large and small.

When there were local textile workers.
We don't make clothing much in AL any more.

Norma Rae shows at 6pm.
Thanks JCSM.

ART R0SENBAUM to Pick Banjo at JCS Museum

Grammy award winner and fellow artist, musician & friend of Howard Finster, Art Rosenbaum (Professor in the Arts Emeritus at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, UGA) is set to deliver a slide-show, talk, AND play the banjo at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts in memory and elucidation of his friend the artist/Reverend Howard Finster. Rosenbaum performance at 5pm Thursday, February 17. Free.

(Ho Hum)...Auburn Architects on International Map, Again

With Auburn University's internationally acclaimed Rural Studio, and a variety of associated School 0f Architecture/ Design+Build and Building Science Programs on the cutting edge in terms of sustainability, green awareness, and energy efficiency, it's not surprising to see Auburn architects again recognized for being at the fore of all things design and efficiency related. Yet we're still proud to note that this month's (Jan/Feb issue) of EC0H0ME features Auburn's Lusche Residence, a private residence built by Hinson + Dagg Architects. The Lusche Residence has received the highest marks in terms of the state's sustainability ratings, while still remaining a simple, and lovely example of what EC0H0ME cites as a 'modern, sustainable twist on a rural farmhouse.' To achieve this, Hinson and Dagg (both on Auburn faculty with separate practice) employed age-old siting techniques with state-of-the-art energy modeling. More reasons to look with great optimism to a future of green building, intelligent and integrated building design; more reason to be proud of Auburn University as being home to some of the most progressive design + build programs in the country.

full EC0H0ME article at:
http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?i=56794

Southern Outsiders Film Series

In conjunction with their STRANGER IN PARADISE: THE W0RKS 0F REVEREND H0WARD FINSTER show (see below) Auburn's Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is sponsoring a Southern 0utsiders Film Series which explores the question what it means to be an outsider in the South [to which all we can say is - if you have to ask...].

So come celebrate the outsider-inside-you at the series' first film January 27th: C00L HAND LUKE, starring the young, hunky, and sometimes sweaty Paul Newman, hated on, and even incarcerated by those who want to help him 'get his mind right.' Here's hoping that he never does.

All five films in the series show on Thursdays, at 6pm. Each is followed by a discussion led by a member of the Auburn faculty examining the complex role of the outsider in films about Southern culture and whether such a designation is more due to matters of race, class, legal status, sexual identity, or religious or political beliefs.

C00L HAND LUKE will be moderated, appropriately enough, by Kyes Stephens, Director of the amazing Alabama Prison Arts Education Project. Should you not know, the Alabama Prison Arts Education Project is a fairly radical and amazing program, bringing studies in Art, Literature, Photography, Creative Writing, and more to persons held in the Alabama Prison System, and in doing so, opening up the possibility of hope, expanded vision, and transformation to those who are so held.

More info on the Alabama Prison Arts Education Project is at http://media.cla.auburn.edu/apaep/index.cfm. More on JCS' Southern 0utsiders Film Series is at http://jcsm.auburn.edu/edu/2011_southern_outsiders_film.php.

So get on up, conceal as necessary the insider-outside-of-you or the outsider-inside, and come on down. And don't forget to take a prayer with the Reverend Finster if you haven't already.

FILM SERIES SCHEDULE (all films at 6 pm):
Thurs, Jan 27 -- Cool Hand Luke (1967; dir. Stuart Rosenberg w/ Paul Newman)
Thurs, Feb 3 -- Norma Rae (1979; dir. Martin Ritt w/ Sally Fields, Beau Bridges, 0pelika)
Thurs, Feb 10 -- The Apostle (1997; directed by & featuring Robert Duvall)
Thurs, Feb 24 -- Idlewild (2006; dir. Bryan Barber w/ Big Boi & Andre 3000)
Thurs, March 3 -- Inherit the Wind (1960; dir. Stanley Kramer; Gene Kelly and Spencer Tracy)
Thurs, March 10 -- 0 Brother, Where Art Thou (2000; dir. Joel & Ethan Coen w/ George Clooney, John Turturro)

Still More Correspondence from 0uter - Space.

[ancient cave-painting of alien, with spacecraft ]

We know you've been wondering. And yes, there IS a DIY observatory, with a big, long, scientific telescope receiving scientific information from far, far away here in central, rural Alabama. Where is it, and when can you go? Stay tuned, Alabamians. Stars fell on Alabama in that famous meteor shower at the turn of the century. NASA's done a shit-ton worth of work here. Hunstville's got barbecue to DIE for, but is also a snakebed of missile design places, requiring loads of top-secret security with retina-scanning, finger-swiping 'clearances.' Homeland 'security.' Very-special forces.

A massive wave of Aliens almost certain to have crashed into AL at the turn of the century.

Something special going on in the sky around here?
Keep your eyes tuned to the heavens.
We'll all be up there some fine day.

Oh My Lordy.

[what passes for a musician in these parts.]

Strange things are brewing in Camp Hill, Waverly and Opelika Alabama.
We predict a full-blown cultural & artistic tri-county renaissance.
Keep your ears peeled & your eyes propped open.

Remain calm yet vigilant.
Change comes when you least expect it.
Expect it.