Week of 28 June 2010
Friday, July 2nd
Fireworks Man
The history of fireworks can be traced-back thousands of years to China. By some accounts it was a cook who discovered that a mixture of charcoal, sulphur and salt would cause an explosion. By other accounts fireworks was a natural offshoot of the discovery of gun powder. In any case, fireworks have become a part of celebrations world-wide. That’s certainly the case at Stone Mountain. And earlier this week I met the man in charge of the fireworks show, Chad Cooning.
Have Your Say: Feeling Independent
All week, we’ve been asking listeners, “When was a time when you felt truly independent?” Here are some of the responses we received.
Thanks to everyone who called in this week to Have Your Say.
Thursday, July 1st
Reel Atlanta
A look at the city’s cinematic offerings with arts journalist David Lee Simmons.
Starting July 2nd - Martinis & IMAX
Friday, July 9th - Mary & Max
Throughout July - Movies at the Market
Throughout July - Movies Under The Stars
Throughout July - Flicks on 5th
This Week’s Best Bets from Shane Harrison
Atlanta Journal Constitution “Best Bets” writer Shane Harrison talks about what’s going on around the city this week.
Saturday, July 3rd - The Avondale Estates 4th of July Celebration
July 3rd through 5th - 43rd Annual Fantastic Fourth Celebration
Through July 3rd - I Hear America Singing
Saturday, July 3rd - Kennesaw’s Summer Concert Series: Bruce In The USA
Wednesday, June 30th
Atlanta Sounds - Cigar Box Guitar
Homemade instruments have been a longtime staple for less well-off musicians throughout history. Starting sometime in the 1840s, the cigar box became a favorite raw material for folks who wanted to play banjo, fiddle or guitar but couldn’t afford one.
The cigar box guitar was especially popular among blues musicians like Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Bo Diddley, many of whom began playing music after building their own instruments.
In this Atlanta Sounds Long Play, we catch up with Mike Snowden in his home workshop, where he’s keeping the tradition of these unique—and aromatic—handmade instruments alive.
This Week in Independent Music
Paste magazine’s Kevin Keller stops by to tell us what’s happening in Atlanta’s independent music scene.
Saturday, July 3rd - Frontier Ruckus at Eddie’s Attic
Saturday, July 3rd - Phish at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Tuesday, July 6th - The Heartless Bastards at The Masquerade
Note: Frontier Ruckus will be playing Saturday, July 3rd instead of Friday, July 2nd as heard in the feature.
Tuesday, June 29th
StoryCorps Atlanta - Frank Ford & Claudia Ford
Frank Ford III had just graduated from UGA when his entire family was in a terrible car accident. Frank fell into a coma and was given a 50/50 chance of survival. He lived, but now, at age 43, he suffers from brain damage and memory loss. He can sometimes be fidgety and hard to understand. His mother and caretaker, Claudia Ford, talked to him about his life now.
Artists in their Own Words - John Ottley
This is the first in a new series, Artists in their Own Words, in which Georgia poets, musicians, and other artists share a short selection of their work.
This week we hear from poet John Ottley, reading a poem and then talking about it.
Monday, June 28th
Gay History in Atlanta
41 years ago, gay street youth started a riot at a bar in New York City that would forever change the struggle for gay rights in America. Today we remember that June 28th, 1969 event by the name of the bar, Stonewall, or the Stonewall Riots. To mark the anniversary, WABE’s Jim Burress has put together an audio album of gay life in Atlanta during the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. In talking with Jim about this album, John Lemley began by asking when Atlanta first began to have a visible gay population.
Local Book Events
Executive director of the Decatur Book Festival and curator of verb.org Daren Wang stops by to talk about local area books and book events.
Tuesday, June 29th - Steven Raichlen - Planet Barbecue: 275 Recipes, 53 Countries, 6 Continents of Great Flavor
Wednesday, June 30th - Joseph Dabney - The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking
Thursday, July 1st - Karin Slaughter - Broken
