Down On The Corner

By Paul Moffett

• MERFed Out. MERF held its annual event on November 27. The eager and enthusiastic LMN staff was working late that Sunday and again the following day, so we didn't get to go and didn't get any pictures this issue, either. Maybe next month.

• Fire Dept. fans get two more last chances to see the original group before they disband permanently. Check the ad in the corner.

• One-Third of the Three Tenors. Operatic tenor Jose Carreras will perform a program of music of his choice at the Palace Theatre on February 3, as announced by Ron Murphy of the Kentucky Opera board. The Opera, which is co-sponsoring the event with Sunshine Promotions, will hold a $300-a-ticket reception around the event. Better get your tickets early. '

• Pianist Michael Medley has signed a distribution contract with Atlanta-based Rising Star Records. Rising Star will distribute Medley's new CD We Three . . .Christmas Piano.

• The Mind Reels. Dan Gediman has announced the formation of a new band, The Mindreels. The goup includes Lisa Bolongia on cello and Carrie Da Jaco on bass and vocals.

• Locust Grove, home of George Rogers Clark, is holding a series of holiday events this year, including a dulcimer/storytelling activity, some children's storytelling and a discussion of chamber music. Call 896-2433 for info.

• Here Come Da Judge. Kentuckians Steven Curtis Chapman and Billy Ray Cyrus are judges for Billboard Magazine's sixth annual song.contest.

• I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus. Check out the Christmas memories of various famous Kentucky musicians in Mike Stout's Country Cowboy column.

• Yeah and I'm Shoeless Joe Jackson. During the time that Mike Stout was collecting the Christmas memories mentioned above, yer humble correspondent happened to answer the phone early one morning. A male voice on the other end announced, "Hello, this is Boots Randolph from Nashville, Tennessee. May I speak with Mike Stout, please?" I stifled my initial impulse to make a smart remark (we get a few, um, odd calls here now and again) and passed the call along to the proper person. The caller was Boots, of course.

• Better Late Than Never. The International Bluegrass Music Association inducted Hyden, Ky., natives Bobby and Sonny Osborne (The Osborne Brothers) into the Bluegass Hall of Honor back on September 22.

• The Louisville Times Chorus recently qualified for the International Barbershop Harmony Society's Intemational Chorus Competition in Miami, Fla., next July. The Times, with 19 members, is the smallest chorus ever to achieve this honor. They're looking for more members, so if you're interested call Bob Thrush (how apropos) at 502-358-5790 or 502-358-8764.

• Festival Boogie. Stuff comes from everywhere. The Great Plains Folk Festival is set for April 28-30, 1995, at Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hill, ll. Call 708-251-6618.

• Post-New World Order Boogie. The Swedish-American Dixieland Jazz Band, fronted by Quentin Sharpenstein and aided by Gary Falk, toured the Czech Republic during August. Falk wrote it up for the Jazz Society newsletter, so you can read all about it there. And you thought you had trouble keeping up with the names of the countries.

NiteBites

• CL's Lounge, formerly Yogi's, opened [the] first week in October. Manager Shannon Dahlgren says the club will have pool leagues, karaoke on Wednesdays and bands on the weekend.

Key Changes

• Thomas V. Haile Sr. passed away on October 25. Mr. Haile was a violin maker for the old Shackleton's Music Store. He was 85.

• Thomas Queen passed away on October 14. Mr. Queen was former director of music for Zion, Mount Lebanon, Hill Street and Oakland Baptist Churches and for the Louisville Defender's Black Expo and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. He was 66.

• Margaret Horan Slaff died November 8. She was a founder of the Louisville Ballet, a harpist and a member of the Louisville and American harp societies. She also taught ballet as Margaret Friedlander. She was 85.

• Wilbert Harrison, who made a hit out of "Kansas City," passed away on November 5 in a nursing home in North Carolina.