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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 26
Monday, May 26, 2008
Lauper mixes styles, pushes fun, politics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Perhaps only singer Cyndi Lauper could be equally inspired by “Into the Night Life” novelist Henry Miller, beat poetry and high-energy European club DJs. And somehow, the influences merge seamlessly on “Bring Ya to the Brink,” her latest album due out today. “It’s kinda crazy, huh?” Lauper laughs during a recent call to Buzz Central. “In my head it all works, though. When I go out at night, I want to dance with my friends. I want something great to listen to. This is the kind of record I’m always hoping to hear when I want to have a good time.” On June 17, the perky pop star is bringing the party back to Atlanta’s Chastain Park Amphitheatre via her “True Colors ‘08’ tour with pals The B-52s, Rosie O’Donnell and Tegan & Sara. “We had such fun last year that I wanted to do it again,” Lauper explains of the gay- and lesbian-friendly tour. At each stop on the tour, voter registration booths are set up to encourage attendees to take an active role in this year’s presidential election. “We’re not telling anybody who to vote for, just that it’s important to get yourself registered,” says Lauper. “I wasn’t registered but I am now. I can be a real knucklehead about stuff. I’m not great with all that paperwork, but this is just too important.” A pair of Lauper’s iconic red shoes (she kicked off a pair on the cover of her 1983 debut, “She’s So Unusual”) also turn up as cover art on “Brink.” Says the singer: “It’s about outsiders, being out of step. I wanted to use that red power tie color as well.” Like those favored by a certain conservative president occupying the White House when the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” vocalist became a fixture on MTV? “Oooh, I like that!” Lauper coos. “I hadn’t thought of that but that’s good, too!” For tickets to “True Colors ‘08”: www.ticketmaster.com.
June 21 AARP show ‘not for older folks,’ says singer Adams Gospel singer Yolanda Adams says she was impressed by how her grandmother and mom benefited from receiving retirement funds and health insurance from AARP. “Everything was so up to date,” she told The Associated Press. “With all these changes over the last 10 years with Medicare, they were given a fair shot to know what was going on in taking care of their matters.” Now, Adams wants to help the nonprofit organization that advocates for people 50 and over. Adams plans to join Queen Latifah, Patti Austin, Shirley Caesar, Chaka Khan and CeCe Winans to perform at AARP’s 50th anniversary show on June 21 at Philips Arena downtown. Actress-choreographer Debbie Allen will direct the show. “The great thing about this event is that it’s not for the older folks,” said Fayetteville vocalist Ann Nesby. “This is something to connect young people with senior citizens.” The Grammy-winning former Sounds of Blackness singer will perform with granddaughter Paris Bennett, a former “American Idol” contestant. Jamia Simone Nash, who performed at the Academy Awards this year, also will participate. “It’ll be great for Paris to see what they do for people my age from all across the board,” Nesby said. Performers of the event will receive honorary memberships — even youngsters like 11-year-old Nash and Bennett, who is 19. “Jamia and Paris have fans who will come in and see the AARP stamps,” Adams said. “They’ll understand that over 39 million people are served. Young people will get a chance to see how this group is taking care of older folks in their family.”
Celebrity docket Former Phish frontman Trey Anastasio has received a reduced sentence of three years’ probation for a drug conviction after he completed a counseling and treatment program. The singer had pleaded guilty to a felony charge for possessing painkillers without a prescription during a traffic stop in December 2006. He faced up to three years in state prison if he failed the drug program, which he began in April 2007. The 43-year-old’s guilty plea was reduced to a misdemeanor Wednesday because he’ll graduate from the drug program next month and has completed community service. In January, he spent two days in jail for missing a scheduled drug counseling session. HIGH FIVE Television The Top Five On Demand programs for the week of May 12-18, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta: 1. Lil Wayne: “Lollipop,” Music Video, Music Choice 2. V.I.C. “Get Silly,” Music Video, Music Choice 3. “Evan Almighty,” HBO 4. “Family Guy,” Episode Number: 9, Season 2, TBS 5. “South Park,” “Professor Chaos” episode, Comedy Central — Courtesy: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS Actor Christopher Lee is 86. Actress Lee Meriwether is 73. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 73. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 72. Singer Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees is 51. Comedian Adam Carolla is 44. Actor Todd Bridges (“Diff’rent Strokes”) is 43. Rapper Andre 3000 of OutKast is 33. Rapper Jadakiss is 33.
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Zoo Atlanta gorillas - from primates to painters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The paintings newly on display at Stella Neighborhood Trattoria at 563 Memorial Drive might seem bold, primitive, even a little animalistic — with good reason. They were created by Willie B. Jr. and Ivan, two of the apes in residence at nearby Zoo Atlanta.
For the next six months, diners can purchase $2 raffle tickets for a shot at owning one of the primate painters’ works. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
We’re told that Willie B. Jr., the only male offspring of the late, lamented Willie B., “enjoys wide brush strokes, resulting in very whimsical and expressive pieces.” Ivan, who came to Zoo Atlanta in 1994, paints with a brush and his tongue, likes bright colors and “signs” each work with a fingerprint. Info: www.gorillafund.org, www.stellaatlanta.com.
Uptown girls … uh, women
Bloomingdale’s Lenox Square and Uptown Scoop.com saluted 26 local women for rocking their respective fields during “Women to Watch of Atlanta,” inspired by “Where’s Your WOW?” co-authored by Atlanta’s Robyn Spizman. Honorees at the May 8 event were Anne Barge Clegg of Anne Barge Bridal Gown Collection; Joyce Bone of MillionaireMom.com; Judi V. Bruce of Deloitte Tax; Kathleen Ciaramello of Coca-Cola; Debbie Gehricke of UPS; Karen Benjack Glatzer of GH Consulting Group; Spanx CEO Laurie Ann Goldman; 11 Alive’s Karyn Greer; Gail Grimmett of Delta Air Lines; Rhonda Harper of RTM&J; Ellen Hartman of Fitzgerald+CO PR; Cheri L. Husney of KPMG; Dr. Kimberly Jackson of the Kare Group; PR consultant Danita V. Knight; Britt Menzies of StinkyKids; Vikki Millender-Morrow of Girls Inc. of Atlanta; Star 94’s Shannon Murphy; Susan O’Farrell of Home Depot; HGTV’s Gail O’Neil; Atlanta Peach publisher Elizabeth Schulte Roth; Star 94’s Cindy Simmons (above); Beth Sneed of GE Capital Solutions; Deborah Storey of AT&T; Loretta Walker of Turner Broadcasting; Jacqueline M. Welch of Rock-Tenn Co. and Elizabeth K. Wilson of Ridgeworth Investments.
Miss Rap Supreme to you, hopefully
Ms. Cherry also would like to be named “Miss Rap Supreme,” courtesy of the VH1 reality show of the same name.
The 24-year-old Atlanta rapper will be seen Monday night vying for a spot in the Top Four. So far, she’s largely stayed out of the drama between some of the other women after clashing early on with the one contestant with a known name, Khia (“My Neck, My Back”). Ms. Cherry mocked Khia for blowing her chance the first time and kept chanting “one-hit wonder” until Khia got good and angry.
“She wasn’t all that, and she thought she was,” Ms. Cherry said. (Khia was disqualified in the second episode for recycling old rhymes.)
Cherry — who frequently wears white Atlanta Braves caps on the show and gleefully did the Soulja Boy dance with Atlanta’s Soulja Boy in last Monday’s episode — said she did the show because female rappers need all the exposure they can get in a male-dominated business.
So far, the judges have appreciated the personal nature of her rhymes but didn’t like how she wouldn’t always follow the assigned themes.
Though she spent most of the time in Los Angeles at the “Fembassy” suite where the show was filmed, she enjoyed the trip to rapper Too Short’s home. “We went to the Hollywood Hills,” she said. “They don’t have hills like that here.”
The show is a sequel to last year’s “The [White] Rapper Show,” won by Atlanta’s Shamrock. (Ms. Cherry has no clue who that is, which says a lot about Shamrock’s career trajectory.)
So far, she has no complaints about how the show is portraying her but is annoyed by the editing.
“A lot of times, they chop the verses up,” she said. “That kind of takes away from it. This is a rap show. Why would you show more of the drama and less of the rapping?”
Answer: Drama draws viewers.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor James Arness is 85. Sportscaster Brent Musburger is 69. Singer-drummer Levon Helm of the Band is 68. Steel guitar player Gates Nichols of Confederate Railroad is 64. Drummer Garry Peterson of the Guess Who is 63. Singer Stevie Nicks is 60. Actor Philip Michael Thomas (“Miami Vice”) is 59. Actress Pam Grier is 59. Country singer Hank Williams Jr. is 59. Actress Margaret Colin is 51. Country keyboardist Dave Robbins of BlackHawk is 49. Actress Genie Francis (“General Hospital”) is 46. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 46. Singer Lenny Kravitz is 44. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is 42. Drummer Phillip Rhodes of the Gin Blossoms is 40. Actor Joseph Fiennes (“Shakespeare in Love”) is 38. Singer Joey Kibble of Take 6 is 37. “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone is 37. Bassist Nathan Cochran of MercyMe is 30.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I shouldn’t say we’re doing the Eliot Spitzer story. I should say we’re doing a story about a politician who gets into trouble because of sexual questions … involving prostitution.” — Sam Waterston, on the season finale of NBC’s “Law & Order,” known for its ripped-from-the-headlines plots
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
