Interviews
Granville Automatic
Granville Automatic shared the room at Eddie’s Attic with Brian Collins and Jessica Cayne this weekend and it was a wonderful nite of Original MUSIC. I am still HIGH from it!!
I think it is Kool that most of their MUSIC if from History…They brought the past to life with their Lyrics.And as they said, “will never run out of material.”
Amazingly talented Songstresses that are persevering History through Song!
Granville Automatic shared the room at Eddie’s Attic with Brian Collins and Jessica Cayne this weekend and it was a wonderful nite of Original MUSIC. I am still HIGH from it!!
I think it is Kool that most of their MUSIC is from History… And as they said, “will never run out of material.”
Amazingly talented Songstresses that are persevering History through Song!
Granville Automatic is Vanessa Olivarez and Elizabeth Elkins. The duo write songs pulled from a shared love of history, horses and war. Granville Automatic is named after a 19th-century typewriter: Vanessa is a collector. With sonic references like Lyle Lovett, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, Granville Automatic has created a quiet and lyrical sound devoted to telling stories from the past. After writing together first in the spring of 2009, the pair has more than 90 songs – almost all of which tell stories from history.
GA’S very first release was “Live from Sun Studio”, an eight-song set recorded live at Memphis’ historic Sun Studio, and released as an iTunes exclusive January 31, 2012.
Chosen as the 2012 Composers in Residence at Seaside, Fla.’s prestigious Escape to Create program, the pair spent the month of January in residence, where they wrote An Army Without Music: Civil War Stories from Hallowed Ground. Their multimedia presentation premiered to a capacity crowd at the Seaside Repertory Theater. Many of the new songs will become the duo’s third album, which will be recorded on the Civil War battlefields in 2013. The pair has partnered with the Civil War Trust to secure recording onsite, and to organize a concert tour of the battlefields after the album’s release.
For more information on this project, visit www.granvilleautomatic.com.
Vanessa Olivarez~
I have known MUSIC was going to be my future from the time I was 4 years old. I always loved singing for my family and entertaining everyone. I began getting more serious about it when I was about 9 or 10… Writing my own material, and telling my parents I was “ready for close-up”! I made my first album at 17.
I come from a coal mining family, Tell me about “Tacoma Coal Line”.
Tacoma Coal Line is about Elizabeth’s father’s childhood in the coal mining town of Tacoma. We were inspired by our visit there. It is one of the only songs we have actually written together all at once. We wrote it in the car on a long drive. Typically, we start songs separately and then come together to complete them. I might change a melody to one of hers… Or she might complete a verse to one of mine.
Share the stage with anyone dead or alive?
If I could share the stage with anyone, I would sing harmony with Emmylou Harris. She is an angel. A genius angel.
Describe Elizabeth.
Hard-headed, brilliant, a lone wolf, intelligent, organized, a true friend, a lioness, hot-headed, innovative, a leader, tall!
Elizabeth Elkins~
Morrissey. I got obsessed with the Viva Hate album, and still am. But honestly as a kid I had a serious John Denver phase.
Share the stage with anyone dead or alive?
I’d love to share the stage with – tough question as I’m torn between the songwriter part of me and the rocker in me. As a songwriter, I’d love to share the stage with somebody like Paul Simon or Billy Joel. From a performance standpoint, I’d love to be in front of a great rock band like Rage Against the Machine. And I would like to duet with Mike Ness of Social Distortion.
Tell us about your partnership with Civil War Trust.
The Civil War Trust is helping us secure the permissions to record and film at Civil War battle locations around the country for our next album, “An Army Without Music”. Sometimes we’ll be recording in a shopping mall, or on an interstate, but other times, like recently at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico, we were on National Park Service lands.
Describe Vanessa.
Vanessa is the complete opposite of me. And that’s why this songwriting partnership works so well.
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Three years ago one of my favorite local theaters took their final bow and closed up shop. Ever since I can I remember, I loved going to see performances at the Theatre on the Square in the beautiful Marietta Square. I can remember going to see some great Christmas shows with my parents and one of my favorites, the “1940’s Radio Hour”. Ahhh, the memories. But, it was all over in 2012.
Three years have come and gone and I spent two of those years in Boston and one in Florida, so imagine my delight to come back to Atlanta to find that the Theatre on the Square was revamped and ready to amaze again with great local talent.
We took a few minutes to get to know the lovely Roxanne Johnson of the Theatre and ask her a few questions.
Raul Thomas – Owner of Theatre on the Square
TBB: We are so excited that the beloved Theatre in the Square in Marietta is making it’s glorious comeback. Tell me about this revival, who is involved and what we can expect?
Roxanne: It was more than heart breaking to the community as a whole to see Theatre in the Square close up shop in 2012. Immediately seeing huge potential Raul Thomas; Executive Chef, Film Maker and avid supporter of all the arts, took over the theatre in September of this year. From the community he hand picked a team of top notch creative and business professionals. We all quickly went to bring this sacred space back to it’s former glory.
Wanting to court previous supporters of the theatre we offer through our resident company standards and favorites of the community. There will also be more contemporary entertainment offered as well as concerts and comedy and other events. The former green room has now been transformed into a small film and photography studio.
The studio is available to the community. As well as classes for children and adults. We are already working closely with Marietta Middle School and Kennesaw State University. The ultimate goal is creating a multi-cultural center bringing entertainment and education to the area through art and theatre.
Information regarding what is currently running and what is coming up for us, as well as purchasing tickets can be found on our website HERE.
After the 1st of the year we will be offering season tickets, flex tickets and reserved seating.
Steve-O (a.k.a. Stephen Glover) has become a household name over the last two decades. Famous for his cringe worthy stunts on MTV’s Jackass and WildBoyz, he is never shy and always up for a challenge! Steve-O is coming to Atlanta this week to perform at the Improv Atlanta 12/3 – 12/5 so get ready for holiday cheer, Steve- O style!
We asked Steve-O a few questions, you can read his answers below:
TBB:First of all, since you are coming to Atlanta this week, tell us what your favorite thing about Atlanta is. Also, do you plan to visit anywhere other than the Improv while in town? Ever heard of the Clermont Lounge? ;)
Steve-O: It was July 4th the last time I was in Atlanta, and I had a great time taping big fireworks to my skateboard and blowing them up while I rode around a skatepark. That was a really wild time. Next week I go to jail for the crane-climbing stunt I did earlier this year in Los Angeles, so this weekend I’ll be sure to enjoy my last days of freedom roaming around Atlanta. I’m sure the Clermont Lounge is awesome, but I think I’m going to skip that spot this weekend.
TBB: The Clermont just might be a little too much for you Steve-O!
A holiday mash-up for the entire family, The Hip Hop Nutcracker, a contemporary work set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless music, embarks on an international tour on the strength of last December’s sold-out performances of the world premiere at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA) in New York City. The Hip Hop Nutcracker will make a stop at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker is directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber, artistic director of the all-female hip-hop crew Decadancetheatre in Brooklyn. It is adapted to today’s New York by Mike Fitelson, executive director of UPCA – the work’s original producer – and includes hip-hop interludes remixed and reimagined by DJ Boo and violinist Filip Pogády.
For its stop at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 28, The Hip Hop Nutcracker features special guest MC Kurtis Blow, one of the founders and creators of recorded rap music.
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