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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > February > 10 > Entry
Local talent steps up the action at Grammys
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rolling Stone magazine’s Christlike cover guy Kanye West wasn’t the only hometown talent high-stepping through the aisles at the Grammys on Wednesday night.
Florida A&M’s Tallie Brinson III of Hampton and Shawn Turner of DeKalb County were among the 20 band members accompanying the Atlanta-born West during his performances of “Gold Digger” and “Touch the Sky” on the telecast.
Hours before their prime-time debut, Buzz spoke with the trombonist and snare drum player, who had just completed the last run-through for the music industry’s biggest night.
“That was one of the major highlights so far,” said Turner, a sophomore pharmacy major. “Just sitting in the audience and seeing all of the celebrities, Ciara, John Legend, Jay-Z with Linkin Park, doing their thing.” Of course, two nine-hour rehearsals with West and his duet partner Jamie Foxx were way up there, too.
“I knew Jamie Foxx would be cool because he just seems that way, even on TV,” recalled Brinson III, a senior music education major. “But um, I didn’t know what Kanye would be like. I kind of thought he was kind of cocky, kind of arrogant, which I don’t think is a negative because people think I’m cocky and arrogant. And he was that. But he is also very creative and was open to our ideas and what the Marching 100 could bring to his show.”
Sip a pomegranate margarita
With the opening of Rosa Mexicano this week, Atlantic Station has gained a gleaming, posh upscale Mexican restaurant. Co-founded by Josefina Howard in 1984 in New York, the chain boasts three NYC eateries and one Washington location and has extended south into Atlanta before debuting two locations in Florida this year.
At Wednesday night’s media dinner, Rosa Mexicano COO Howard Greenstone related the chain’s business philosophy, saying: “Dine here if you want, but come here to eat. We’re a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of place.”
Diners (or eaters) new to the concept may also want to roll out their wallets. The guacamole ($12), whipped up in a lava rock bowl, is prepared fresh tableside (without lime juice) and serves two to three guests.
The restaurant’s potent signature drink, a frozen pomegranate margarita ($10), is not on the menu as a nod to current cocktail fashion. Explained Greenstone: “Pomegranate juice drinks are very popular right now, but we’ve been serving our frozen pomegranate margaritas for 22 years. We started out doing our signature drink by hand, with employees in a basement kitchen, squeezing juice for our margaritas 40 hours a week. For us, pomegranate juice is nothing new.”
Mud routs Emotions singer
Singer Wanda Vaughn of the Emotions was forced to dash out of her Glendale, Calif., home after a torrent of mud crashed down a hill and poured into her kitchen and living room Wednesday.
The mudslide may have been caused by a leaking irrigation pipe found at a cemetery up the hill from her house, said city fire Capt. Steve Parrish.
“It’s like one of those ‘Jurassic Park’ things, you know, but it was just mud, and it kept getting higher,” said Vaughn, whose R&B group is best known for the 1970s songs “Best of My Love,” “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love” and “Don’t Ask My Neighbors.”
The singer’s daughter, Whitney Vaughn, was trapped in mud that piled 8 inches to 16 inches high, and she injured a knee while trying to make her way out of the muck, Parrish said.
“It was like quicksand, it was bad,” she told KNBC-TV.
Vaughn grabbed her awards before leaving her home, including her Grammy. Building inspectors deemed the home dangerous and evacuated Vaughn’s family and two neighboring homes, Parrish said.
‘Idol’ outdraws Grammys
Original “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson couldn’t even help CBS’ Grammy telecast, which was crushed during the 8 p.m. hour Wednesday against the juggernaut reality show. “Idol” drew 28 million viewers vs. 15.1 million during the Grammys’ first hour, which featured a leotard-wearing Madonna, a scraggly looking Chris Martin of Coldplay and a teary-eyed Clarkson, who ultimately won two Grammys. The Grammys picked up more viewers later that night and averaged about 17.6 million viewers, still one of the lowest-rated shows in its history despite the star power of Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey and U2.
A moment to ‘Shine’
Recent news cycles proved too busy for us to bring you words of wisdom gleaned from “View” co-host Star Jones Reynolds’ new self-help book, “Shine: A Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Journey to Finding Love.”
In advance of the daytime diva’s Atlanta signing on Thursday, we proudly renew our commitment to snag Star for a sit-down while she’s in town. In the meantime … “If you want to be your most gorgeous, go to the nearest good cosmetic counter in a large department store on a day when they’re doing free makeovers, and get your face done by someone who’s good at it. Makeup is your friend. … Makeup is fun, child.” — the author on face painting (Page 105).
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Robert Wagner is 76. Singer Roberta Flack is 67. Singer Jimmy Merchant of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers is 66. Country singer Lionel Cartwright is 46. Actress Laura Dern is 39. Country singer Dude Mowrey is 34.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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