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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 20
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Straight-ahead country’s got its woman
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Unlike many of her current chart-topping female peers, Gretchen Wilson isn’t a polite blonde who could easily “cross over” to Top 40 radio, à la Faith Hill or LeAnn Rimes.
And thank goodness for that. She brought her brunet sass and “Redneck Woman” ways to HiFi Buys Amphitheatre on Saturday night as part of the sold-out, two-day Country Fair, sponsored by Kicks 101.5 and Eagle 106.7 radio. (In fact, Wilson was the lone female on the main stage, which also featured Trace “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” Adkins.)
JENNI GIRTMAN / Staff
With her tight jeans, impish grin and guitar strap with the word “redneck” emblazoned on it, Wilson could be that sexy bartender who’d happily trade whiskey shots with the guys after closing time.
Her 13-song set sampled her biggest hits (“All Jacked Up,” Here for the Party”), mixing rousing bar anthems with a few heartfelt ballads, including a lovely acoustic version of “I Don’t Feel Like Lovin’ You Today.”
She threw in five cuts from her new, third CD, “One for the Boys.” None of the songs quite reached the zenith that is “Redneck Woman,” one of those “hell yeah!” instant classics that she’ll have to play forever. The closest was “You Don’t Have to Go Home.” Wilson split the crowd in two, half singing “You don’t have to go home” and the other yelping back, “But you can’t stay here!”
A REAL ISLAND HOP
Frank Ski of V-103 radio may be known as a DJ who rubs shoulders with hip-hop stars and hotshot politicians, but when he was 10 years old, he was a science geek who loved watching “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” and raised turtles and lizards.
“I was a Discovery Channel kid before there was a Discovery Channel,” he told Buzz.
So it’s only natural that he’s sending 10 kids, through his Frank Ski Kids Foundation, on a weeklong trip to the Galapagos Islands, an isolated array of islands in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.
As a child, Ski read a book about the place and fell in love. A couple of years ago, he finally got to visit the islands and the Charles Darwin Research Foundation, where scientists told him that they’ve never hosted a class of American students before. So Ski is making that happen.
To apply, students ages 13 to 15 must write a speech about the environment and energy conservation. The best 20 will give their speeches at the Georgia Aquarium on May 31, and 10 will get to go to the islands late next month with Ski and reps from the aquarium and Zoo Atlanta. For more info: www.frankskikids.org.
CNN, INK
RODNEY HO / Staff
Anchorman-reporter Anderson Cooper signed copies of his memoir, “Dispatches From the Edge,” at the Buckhead Barnes & Noble on Saturday afternoon.
FAREWELL TO A SCENE
Remember when the Buckhead Village party scene was all that in the late 1990s?
That’s long gone, thanks to a noxious combination of crime, traffic, politics and economics. Most of the clubs and bars such as Lulu’s Bait Shack and the Buckhead Saloon are closed, with many of the spaces awaiting demolition. Soon the area will be filled with condos, restaurants and high-end retail stores.
But before that happens, Coors Light is sponsoring a farewell pub crawl of the surviving bars from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Among those participating are Fado Irish Pub, Park Bench, the Jack Rabbit Lounge, CJ’s Landing and the Elbow Room. More details are at www.atlantabartours.com.
And on June 15-16, 790/The Zone radio will hold a “Bye Bye Buckhead Block Party,” which coincides with its 10th anniversary as a sports/men’s lifestyle station. Athletes who were big at the time will be stopping by, and ’90s rock band the Gin Blossoms is scheduled to perform.
RANDOM BITS
Reuters has reported that Donald Trump has quit the fading “The Apprentice” franchise before NBC had a chance to say, “You’re fired!” The real estate mogul issued a statement Friday saying he has informed NBC that he is “moving on from ‘The Apprentice’ to a major new TV venture,” though he declined to elaborate. There was no immediate comment from NBC, which didn’t place the show in its fall lineup but didn’t say it had been killed permanently …
Season five “American Idol” finalist Paris Bennett, who briefly lived in Fayetteville, released her first CD, “Princess P,” last week. Hardly anybody noticed. She sold just 6,300 copies, debuting at 133 on the Billboard Top 200, by far the worst performance among “Idol” contestants from her year so far. Six others debuted in the top 10 …
Georgian Billy Currington bumped fellow Georgians Sugarland off the top of the Billboard country chart this week with his second No. 1 single, “Good Directions.”
HIGH FIVE
99X For May 13-19
1. Sick Puppies, “All the Same”
2. Silversun Pickups, “Lazy Eye”
3. Muse, “Starlight”
4. Linkin Park, “What I’ve Done”
5. Plain White T’s, “Hey There Delilah”
— Mediabase 24/7
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Singer Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is 66. Actor Richard Hatch (“Battlestar Galactica”) is 62. Comedian Al Franken is 56. Actor Mr. T (left) is 55. Actor Judge Reinhold is 50.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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