ROCK THE BLOCK

Time to Party Downtown at Rock the Block Remix!

Winston-Salem's annual musical streetfest happens on Saturday, September 22nd, from 11am till 7pm, spanning downtown from Corpening Plaza to Winston Square Park, to the green spot on 4th Street (I think it's got a name, just hasn't found a permanent place in my brain to reside), to 6th Street between Trade and Cherry Streets.

We get to rock 'n' roll to the sounds emanating from the Rock, Country and Blues stage being sponsored by Ziggy's.  This artist is very, very happy that we didn't get the beach music stage dumped on us.....Sorry, apologies to those of you who like "beach music."  If you don't know what that is, don't worry your rock-and-roll heart too much.

"Beach music" owes its heritage to the old 60's R & B music of the Tams, the Drifters, and the like.  It owes its name to the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina, where it got tons and tons of airplay.  And back in the day when everybody's summer vacation included at least one trip to Myrtle Beach, it became the sound track to everybody's vacation. 

Mind you, the stuff that falls into the oldies-but-goodies R & B category is pleasant, nostalgic stuff.  But then somebody went and wrote songs about beach music......"I LUV beach music..." and "Myrtle Beach Days" come to mind here.
The thing is, they've all got the same rhythm, same sound, same dance steps.  The band starts up and it's like a whole bunch of wind-up toys start dancing all the same steps, a dance they call the shag.

How this set of dance steps got called the shag, I'll probably never know.  All I know is that once upon a time back in my younger, more foolish days, I knew these 2 guys from England and I took them to a party that had beach music, and a couple girls started talking about shagging in the sand and there was all kinds of back and forth talk about shagging in the sand along with secret behind-the-back chuckles and winks and grins between our two Englishmen....So what was so funny about dancing the shag?  Finally I decided our guys had had enough fun at the girls' expense, so I  told them: in England, "shagging" is a slang term for having sex.

Cool Stuff at Piedmont Craftsmen!

It's How You Play the Game by Lynne Sward

facebook.com/piedmont.craftsmen.5
You only have two more weeks to see the current show, Games People Play. We thought for those of you that haven't been to see it (and why not?), here's a look at some of the "game pieces" being exhibited at Piedmont Craftsmen.

Piedmont Craftsmen just received this beautiful new lamp from Jay Speetjens

ROCK the BLOCK REMIX

The City of Winston-Salem is shaking things up!! Rock the Block,  the annual end-of-summer street party, was for years held up and down several blocks of 4th Street.

But this year, they're rotating the footprint 90 degrees and placing music stages at 4 different locations, from Corpening Plaza to Winston Square to Civic Plaza to 6th Street in the Arts District. This will allow the major streets through town to remain open and vehicular traffic to move around more freely.  PLUS it takes advantage of several made-for-music-and-crowds outdoor venues.

We are especially pleased that the Arts District will be able to take part in the festival for the first time, as the Rock, Country and Blues stage will be located at 6th Street, between Cherry and Trade Streets. 


http://visitwinstonsalem.com/special-events/view/rock

September Edition, E-news from DADA

Earlier in the year, yours truly took on the task of producing the monthly E-Newsletter for DADA .  This is how I spent my Labor Day "holiday," which, in my book, is just another Monday.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/September-Gallery-Hop-News-from-the-Downtown-Art-District.html?soid=1101296635754&aid=EUBtsvSw91Q

Suddenly It's September !!

Yesterday it was August. Today it's September. The calendar is a man-made concoction. So is language. Not to worry....it's not my style to spend too much time waxing philosophical. But think about it: say the word "August," and look into your mind's eye at the images and sensations conjured up. Summertime, hot, dog days, beach, vacation....One day later, you flip the calendar page to September, and instantly, your summertime fun morphs into back-to-work, back-to-school, put away the suitcases and pull out the briefcases and book bags. Do they still call them book bags? Or have they traded them in for Nook® bags? Out there in Sports-FantasyLand, September means FOOTBALL.

For some people on Trade Street, football is simply two four-letter-words spliced together. Fortunately, there are plenty of music and cultural events happening this month to keep those people happy.  Check it out:
Saturday, September 1st, 7-10pm:  Summer on Trade. The final summer music event of the season at the intersection of 6th & Trade. www.dwsp.org.
Summer On Trade August 25 2012 - Deborah Willard - Picasa Web Albums

Friday, September 7th, 7-10pm: First Friday Gallery Hop. This event, sponsored by the Downtown Art District Association (DADA), is actually a year-'round event, taking place the first Friday of every month. Rain or shine, Trade Street, 6th Street, and a portion of Liberty Street that fall within the Downtown Art District are closed off to vehicular traffic. People may wander freely to explore the new exhibitions and artists' receptions at many of the art galleries and studios; participate in kids' activities, drumming circles, yoga and tai chi demonstrations; enjoy cultural dance and  theatrical performances. www.dadaws.org
The Downtown Arts District - photos by Deborah Willard

 Saturday, September 8th, 10am - 5pm:
Bookmarks Book Festival. For the 3rd straight year, Trade Street welcomes this unique literary event, NC's only free and annual book festival.  Those of us in the 500-600 blocks of Trade Street look forward to this educational, literary event , as it tends to draw a whole different group of people into town, often people who haven't been to downtown WS for years because they've been completely unaware of the transformation that has taken place.  It is a common mis-conception that Trade Street is still a seedy, run-down, don't-go-there-even-in-the-daytime kind of place.   Those of us who have witnessed its renaissance talk ourselves blue in an effort to convince people that this street is a beautiful, lively, vibrant, and SAFE place to visit, day or night.

STELLAR NIGHT on Trade Streeet

Michael Bennett and the "B" String All Stars gave a stellar performance at what has become a much-anticipated annual appearance at the Downtown WS Partnership's Summer Music on Trade event. Lots of beautiful people rocked out, danced, walked their dogs, imbibed various beverages of choice, shopped, and inhaled the refreshing breeze of picture-perfect weather.

Regression

Ventured out Wednesday eve to hear the GBs perform at the District Bar & Grille, located between the 700 blocks of Trade and Liberty Streets.  60s oldie-goldie British rock 'n' roll at its finest.  With a 40th high school reunion coming up next month, waxing nostalgic is inevitable, I guess.

Hadn't been to the District before, but it was time to check it out.  The band was set up outdoors on an upstairs landing against a backdrop of the downtown Winston-Salem skyline by night. Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Stones, Kinks....

The GBs:  Chuck Dale Smith (center), Fred Benton (right), with Henry (?) on the left and a drummer back there somewhere.

Somebody just posted a photo of some of Fred Benton, Chuck Dale Smith & bandmates from "back in the day....."

Worth noting are the bright-white ice-cream-man suits that came from none other than Miller's Variety Store.  Well, Miller's happens to still be in business (80+ years and counting), and they have this HUMONGOUS basement full of vintage clothing and all kinds of other tacky stuff.  They could very well still have some of these suits, you know......

When Fred mentioned having burned his white duds along with his powder-blue tux, I just had to resurrect a photo of Prom Date JeffYoursElf, all decked out in a powder-blue suit from Miller's basement....

So, what in dad-gum-tarnation is JeffYoursElf? Gotta save that one for another post some day. I'll need to confirm that Jeff Broughton is safely out of town first because I'm not sure I'll be allowed to live much longer after telling the tale....