Music Notes
Edited by Mark Jordan
Crossroads at a Crossroads
At one point, it seemed as if Crossroads, the annual music exposition that
spotlights the area's best talent for major-label executives, might not
even happen this year. But after a last-minute effort, headed by executive
director Eli Ball, Crossroads '97 came off without a visible hitch and may
even go down as a watershed year for the six-year-old event.
For Crossroads participants the weekend started Friday afternoon at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel with two panel discussions featuring executives with
Polygram, Geffen, and A&M Records, among others. Earlier in the day,
the panelists were treated to a tour of the city in a vintage Cadillac courtesy
American Dream Safari tours. And in the early evening, they gathered with
organizers and performers at a Sun Studio reception where rockabilly great
Billy Lee Riley entertained.
But the real focus of the weekend started with the showcases Friday night
on Beale. Despite earlier claims that they would keep the number of participating
bands down to 75, Crossroads organizers found it hard to turn acts away
and the lineup swelled to more than 100. It probably didn't matter, however,
since even at 75, it is doubtful anyone could have seen a majority of the
acts.
Among the most talked about shows of the weekend were Friday's country-rock
showcase -- featuring Fatback Jubilee, the Pawtuckets, the Riverbluff Clan,
Jolene, and Fakebook -- at 315 Beale and both night's rap showcases at Willie
Mitchell's club. Individual performers creating a buzz included the North
Mississippi All-Stars, Junior Kimbrough, Cornbread Mafia, and Susan Marshall-Powell.
According to Ball, label execs liked much of what they heard and some have
already called the Crossroads' offices looking for more information on their
favorite performers. Among the artists attracting label interest, Ball says,
are the Pawtuckets, the Riverbluff Clan, Saliva, Marshall-Powell, and Eric
Gales, whom Ball expects to sign with Sony Music soon.
But perhaps the most important outcome of this year's Crossroads may be
the future of the event itself. Though the Crossroads staff did pull it
off in convincing fashion this year, the fact remains they had to scramble
-- and coax a herculean effort from Ball -- to do it.
Too often, Crossroads seems thrown together. What it needs is an orderly
structure like Memphis in May, which despite complaints of bureaucracy,
roll along surely and orderly year after year.
Though final details have yet to be ironed out between the mayors and the
Chamber of Commerce, it is assured that the new Music Commission -- to be
funded by the chamber and probably housed in the same building as the Memphis
& Shelby County Film, Tape and Music Commission, where coincidentally,
Crossroads is located now -- will play some major part in organizing Crossroads,
and many seem to think the office should simply run it.
Whatever the outcome of that debate, it is certain that Crossroads needs
to have a year-round presence; in the coming weeks organizers for similar
events in Nashville, New York, and Austin will start gearing up for their
1998 editions, while lately Crossroads never seems to pick up any steam
until after the New Year. Whoever takes over Crossroads needs to have the
organizational ability to keep it going year-round, according to a strict
calendar. That same person has to also have the clout to attract the industry
honchos who are the event's raison d'etre.
Ball says that person won't be him. He is looking forward in future Crossroads
to being one of the industry-wooed rather than a wooer. But he is proud
that he was able to come aboard this year and re-steer Crossroads on the
right course. Restricting the event's size and location, lining up corporate
sponsors, and eliminating registration and application fees (thus negating
many bands' attitude, justified or not, that they're paying to play while
bar owners are just getting paid) seem important steps toward making Crossroads
an attractive and manageable event.
"I think Crossroads has now given this music office a good start,"
Ball says. "We're happy that we can give them this to build on."
Living In Harmony
The women of the Sweet Adelines belt it out barbershop-style.
by Susan Ellis
e need
to keep driving, driving, driving, and then -- surprise them!"
Nan Stahl is talking strategy, and if her plan works, she and her all-woman group will be conquering Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle.
On May 10th in Huntsville, Alabama, the 40 women of Memphis' Sweet Adelines will have their eyes on the prize -- a gold medal hung from a blue ribbon, naming them the foremost barbershop chorus in the region. To best the other 18 or so Sweet Adelines choruses competing, they not only have to be sweeter, but they also have to fill their performances with a combination of draw-them-in vocals and keep-them-there moves.
Choral director Nan Stahl leads the Sweet Adelines through a practice session.
The Memphis Sweet Adelines, led by Stahl, are just one of 750 chapters across the globe with a combined total of 30,000 singers. The Sweet Adelines, according to their mission statement, are out to advance the cause of barbershop music and educate others about the form. "We're not just some little old lady singing group," says Diane Mullins, public-relations chairman of the Memphis Adelines. Member Kay Daughtery agrees, "You have this picture in your head when somebody says, `barbershop music.' You see these four guys in straw hats singing `Sweet Adeline,' and we really don't sing much of that kind of music." Case in point, the women say, are the group's past performances of songs such as "Aquarius" from the musical Hair and "Twist and Shout."
The Memphis chapter was formed in 1957, and the women, who range in age from 14 to 84, often perform at civic events, senior centers, hospitals, and nursing homes. They say they're just ordinary "Sallys" -- homemakers, college professors, and secretaries -- who have a taste for applause. To become a member, each woman attends the weekly Monday-night meetings at McLemore Christian Church for six weeks. At the end of that period, she tries out in front of Stahl and a few others to be placed among the four voices of barbershop: tenor, the lead melody, baritone, and bass. And though some women have dropped out during the six weeks, none of those who stuck it out, says Stahl, has ever been turned away from the Adelines.
One of the things about the barbershop style that appeals to the Adelines is how it meshes. Whereas the lead note in choral-style music is the melody, barbershop, according to Mullins, is different because the lead note is sandwiched within all the chords. "You have to blend," Mullins says. "That's what barbershop is all about." Another thing the women like about barbershop is its Made in the USA stamp. "Barbershop is native American," says Mullins. "It was born in America and nurtured here in America."
Tonight, at practice, the women aren't thinking about history. They've got their minds on Huntsville, a mere three weeks away. They're trying out their competition costumes -- green satin dresses with pink and purple petticoats that appear when they show a little leg. They sing a line and then sing it again, working it until they get it right. "Try to put that `O' right on your tongue," commands Stahl. When they deliver, she says, "Good. Do it again 16 more times." One woman whispers notes to herself into a tape recorder.
The preparation is important. "We have judges who sit right at our feet, and they scrutinize you from head to toe. They scrutinize every thing you say, every move you make, and every sound -- everything," says Mullins.
For the competition, all of the Adelines will sing one ballad and one up-tune. The Memphis women have chosen "Back in the Old Routine" for the ballad and "Best of Times" for their up-tune. If they wow the judges, they'll get to sing "Applause" and "New Orleans" in the Show of Champions, the end-all decider of the regionals.
In past competitions, the Adelines have placed as high as third, bagged Most Improved once, and last year came away with a fourth place in showmanship. But their toughest challenge in the competition, say the Adelines, are the larger choruses -- such as 100-plus-member groups in Atlanta and Nashville. "When they have 80 people or 100 people in a chorus, it covers up a multitude of sins," says 24-year Adelines member Margaret Church.
One member has the solution. "We'll just have to be twice as good," she says. "We can do that."
"Yeah," says Church. "You can."