Guitarist Martino to headline 2011 Savannah Jazz Festival
Guitarist Pat Martino will headline the 2011 Savannah Jazz Festival, Sept. 24 in Forsyth Park. That’s the penultimate day of the always-free musical celebration, which will open on Sept. 18 and continue through the 25th, at various venues still to be announced. Based in Philadelphia, Martino has been recording – as a headlining artist and…
Don’t talk about it
It’s technically not even summer yet. But as I write this it’s 100 degrees. Savannah is experiencing its 25th consecutive day of high temps in the 90s or above. So far, an entire month’s worth of days in 2011 has hit 90 degrees or above. No end is in sight. If current trends hold, this…
PERC yourself up
Think of the coolest restaurants in Savannah, especially the ones that have opened in the past year or so. Odds are that the coffee they serve is provided by PERC Coffee, all roasted fresh in the Starland District in a humble but stylish storefront. You may even have seen PERC owner Philip Brown making his…
With friends like these…
Two men got into a dispute at the Longshoreman’s Hall on East Lathrop Avenue, but none of the witnesses saw anything happen. The guy who reported the incident said he’d gotten into a confrontation with another man, and the guy had pulled out a small pistol, “small enough to fit in the palm of your…
The poet’s journey
Asheville singer/songwriter Chelsea Lynn La Bate performs under the name Ten Cent Poetry. She’s an artist and that’s her prerogative, to call herself anything she wishes. Take a stroll, however, through the debut Ten Cent Poetry album Picking Through the Pawn Shop. Every lyric is deeply–hued poetry of the most introspective sort – and it…
Mark Your Calendar: Dex Romweber Duo
Dex Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager, and was thrilled at the fact that we were able to play together recently on tour. [He is] is one of the best kept secrets of the rock n roll underground. – Jack White Dex…
Newsbriefs
The special guest at last week’s Downtown Business Association luncheon was City Manager Rochelle Small–Toney. She explained what business owners could expect from the newly created Downtown Services Department, which will oversee maintenance, code enforcement and other aspects of public domain between the River and Victory Drive. The City Manager also took questions from the…
Heart and soul
There’s a good reason Connect readers have voted A Nickel Bag of Funk the city’s top rhythm ‘n’ blues/funk band four times in the annual Best of Savannah poll: Nobody does it better. Although numerous musicians have passed through the ranks in Nickel Bag’s six years of existence, all of them fine, intuitive players, the…
Cutting to the bone
While anemic budgets are more normal than newsworthy these days, Chatham County’s may be the first locally to have not only struck bone but lopped a whole arm off. Although the budget won’t be finalized until the end of the month, current solutions for a deficit of more than $2.5 million include significant decreases in…
Child’s Play
Before he was an award winning children’s book writer and illustrator, Mo Willems had what many people would consider a dream job. He was an animator and a writer who worked with Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. He won a half dozen Emmys and served a head writer for a #1 rated show…
‘I recognize that I’m a nerd’
Philip Brown of PERC recommends the pour-over method, which relies on a device such as a Melitta and a cone filter. The hot water is hand-poured slowly over freshly ground coffee. — “95 percent of coffee is water. Use water that you’d normally feel comfortable drinking by itself. If you’re used to drinking tap water,…
Tweaking Blowin’ Smoke
While I’m waiting for restauranteur Brian Huskey’s Blue Turtle Bistro to get its sea legs, I decided to visit his Blowin’ Smoke BBQ this week. I’ve had on again, off again success at Blowin’ Smoke — and this visit proved that out again — but only with the ribs. I took several dining companions with…
Living in Zin
As you troll the aisles looking for wine to accompany your summer barbecue, why not consider the ultimate all–American wine: Zinfandel. This unpretentious juice flies below scrutiny, mostly because it has no French connection. The grape’s origins are something of a mystery, but it seems to have surfaced on America’s East Coast in the 1800s,…
Persist for airport freedom
A “Woman Screams for Help After TSA Molestation,” and the “Texas Pat Down Ban May Be Back.” Those are just two of the headlines breaking around the nation recently, as summer travel picks up — and so do concerns over excessive airport security. How much indignity are you willing to endure if told it’s for…
American Gun, Sol Driven Train
AMERICAN GUN At 11 p.m. Saturday, June 18 The Jinx, 127 W. Congress St. There aren’t too many bands around any more who create exhilarating, punchy, three-and-a-half minute songs with crunchy guitar chords and catchy melodies. Too often, there’s excess baggage. American Gun (straight outta Columbia) comes right from that school – the tunes bring…
Discredited doomsayers
For centuries people have been proclaiming that the End of the World is right around the corner. Are there any psychological studies of how these people cope when the date passes and the world doesn’t end? -Gabriel I could fill the rest of this column with a list of end-of-the-world prophecies that didn’t pan out,…
Exhibits & openings this week
Additionally and Furthermore – A collection of paintings by Erin De Rosa influenced by Egon Schiele and Andrew Wyeth, among others. Reception: June 24, 7-9pm. Gallery Espresso, 234 Bull St. Cain-Powers-Sandoz – Betsy Cain, Blanche Powers, and Katherine Sandoz are featured artists at the inaugural exhibit for the gallery, which explores three different responses to…
