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Wooden Finger Releases New CD

The members of Wooden Finger all have different ideas of how certain songs are going to sound when they come together to make music. They begin playing, and the creative process evolves the songs into something better than any of them had imagined.

A Soulful Messiah

Legendary producer Quincy Jones took the classic Handel's "Messiah" and added some soul. Jackson school choirs and area dancers will add life when they perform the modern classic this holiday season.

Bulldog Bash Winner

Rocktwang is one way Jackson native Jason Turner describes his music. Southern rock, alt-country, Americana-whatever you call it, it's a genre that is versatile enough to appeal to many tastes. As evidence, The Jason Turner Band won the 2011 Bulldog Bash contest, C Spire Wireless announced in September.

‘Kiss Me, Bess'

Mississippi Symphony Orchestra presents its first pops concert of the season, "Another Opening, Another Show," featuring Cole Porter tunes from "Kiss Me Kate" and "Porgy and Bess." Vocalists Sherri Seiden and Daniel Narducci sing at the Nov. 19 concert in the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.).

‘The Black Codes'

I know, I know. It was just a few months ago that I wrote about Herbert Brown. So why am I doing it again? If you remember, Herbert Brown, 32, goes by many names and wears many hats. Previously, I focused on his life as a poet and the revival of the Jackson spoken-word/live poetry scene. This time around, the focus is on Brown's life as rapper James Crow.

Blowing the Roof Off

Baby Jan Smith and Chalmers Davis joined forces in the spring after meeting and working with each other in the choir loft at Wells United Methodist Church. The two hit it off, and have been performing all over Jackson since mid-summer.

Esperanza Extravaganza

On Dec. 17, Jacksonians home for the holidays will have a chance to hear what they have been missing on the Jackson music scene, and newcomers can get a taste of Mississippi sounds. The 9th Annual Esperanza Plantation Holiday Showcase includes a diverse lineup of artists from the label and will also feature many bands with ties to Mississippi and the Jackson area.

Glasgow: Classic(al) Rock

Sitting with a guitar in lap and notepad on the ground awaiting inspiration is a luxury foreign to Sam Craft. Instead, an idea will hit him while driving down the freeway or when he's in a complicated social setting. When he is finally able to rush home, Craft struggles to remember the elusive idea.

Finding a Musical Home

John Paul Keith is not what you'd expect in a Memphis musician. Originally from east Tennessee, the Memphis-based guitarist and singer's music brings together a bunch of roots music styles, including '50s rave-up and honky-tonk. It's a twangier sound more often associated with Nashville.

Blues Cowboy

Grady Champion approaches the microphone like a gun fighter ready to take you out. His belt, laden with harmonicas in various keys, one for each of the keys he sings in, sits at his waist.

Eating Streets

After a brief first listen, you may think you are hearing just another punk band. The Street Eaters, though, prove to be more than a three-chord angst fest. Comprised only of drummer-vocalist Megan March and bassist-vocalist John Mink, you have to stop and ask yourself, "Wait—there's only two of them? Don't I hear a guitar?"

The Full Circle

He was a tall, kind of goofy-bumbling-professor type who was nice to me, even though I was there to whisk his daughter away. We did not get much time to talk and get to know each other on this first meeting, as is to be expected given the circumstances. I learned a lot about Charles that day, however, when Catherine took me to the den saying, "You've got to check this out."

Microcosm of an Industry

The Be-Bop sign still hangs prominently in Maywood Mart, but the shelves inside are empty. Be-Bop Record Shop was once the largest record store chain in Mississippi, but the last Be-Bop location, in Maywood Mart, closed in April.

Sit Down and Do It

From the moment the modern composer pulled up in his little red truck wearing jeans and tennis shoes, to the final moments of conversation in Cups Espresso Café in Clinton, James Sclater exuded approachable, down-to-earth warmth.

Advice for aspiring Jackson musicians

My music isn't the kind people go to listen to at happy hour after a long day of work. I totally understand that at 5 p.m., people just want to have a good time and not listen to three hours of my songs about mean girls, sexual abuse and dysfunctional families. However, Jackson doesn't have a lot of opportunity for music that isn't as "safe" as the typical bar music. So you better learn some good covers. But learn them in a way that you would play them if you had written them yourself. And learn to play the blues. You'll always get a gig if you can play the blues.

Tales of a First-Grade Rocker

As my siblings and I were growing up, my daddy turned us on to The Statler Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers and for balance, the gospel group The Happy Goodman Family. I knew the words to "Elvira" long before learning "Jesus Loves Me," but we enjoyed all types of music.

BOY is Back in Town

"We left Mississippi as men," the invitation teases. "We return as BOY."

"We left Mississippi as men," the invitation teases. "We return as BOY."

Strength from the Old Ways

Music, motherhood, quilts and homemade pickles define Valley Gordon. Her worn guitar case proudly displays a sticker that reads "Old Time Music." Gordon, 34, has played guitar since she was 15.

The Search is Over

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 21, the normally "reserved and nonchalant" Jason "PyInfamous" Thompson was concerned and nervous. The Jackson MC had just put the last 10 days of his life into relentlessly pursuing a specific goal with only one desired outcome: winning the Coors Light "Search for the Coldest MC" contest.

A Rocker's Lament

I received a Facebook message the other day from a guy I'll call Rocker99. His letter was pretty critical, citing he never sees me at any shows in Jackson, or any of his band's shows, for that matter, as well as many other expressive forms of criticism.