Famed actor shows musical chops at Douglass Theatre

The latest book by Michael Buffalo Smith, “Capricorn Rising,” was the star of the book signing meet and greet at the Big House Museum on April 19 where a panel of Capricorn Records alumni reminisced about the company’s powerful influence and its lasting effects on the music world during its meteoric rise in the 1970s. The noon event at the Big House was attended by some pretty special guests, among them guitarist Tommy Talton who played with the band Cowboy and with both Allman brothers, and recently released another album, “Somewhere South of Eden.”

Also on the guest list were Jim Hawkins, former director of the Capricorn recording studio, and the self-proclaimed most avid Allman Brothers Band fan on the planet, Billy Bob Thornton. Although best known for his award-winning film credits and, before that, his television success, Thornton was a rock ‘n’ roll roadie long before he became an actor and never got the music or the wanderlust out of his blood. He was on stage in Macon for the first time, with his band of 10 years, the Boxmasters, for a concert at the Douglass Theatre, the cradle of rhythm and blues legends since the early 20th century.

At 7:30 pm, Smith — author, raconteur and guitar player — was joined by Talton to warm up the crowd before Thornton’s appearance in the intimate space where Little Richard, Otis Redding and James Brown, among a long list of famous artists, polished their routines before a small audience before achieving top 10 status on The Billboard charts. The two are the yin and yang of R&B music, laced with a little homespun comedy from Smith, whose lyrics keep even him laughing sometimes.

When Thornton came to the stage, he was welcomed more as a good friend than as a big movie star — he has a lot of connections to Macon including his relationship with the musicians in the community, his devotion to Mama Louise of H&H fame and a longstanding friendship with the late Phil Walden and his brother Alan.

After a brief homage to his rock ‘n’ roll idols and a little background information on his life as a roadie, which instilled in him respect and a sense of loyalty to his own entourage, Thornton wowed the audience with selections he had written for his albums, adding some of the back story for the lyrics and the tales they tell. After the resounding success of this leg of the Boxmasters’ Tea Surfing 2017 tour, this will not be their last visit to Macon.

Fired Up for Another Year

Sunday is the last day of the Fired Works exhibition in the Round Building at Central City Park, so you still have time to see the array of new ideas and techniques used with making clay decorative objects and vessels, if you get to the park before 4 p.m. when the show closes until next year. One of the things that fuels the anticipation for another year is reading and hearing stories about the artists — some with whom we are familiar and others that are new on the scene.

At the preview reception April 21, Adrina Richard’s ceramic creations caught the attention of clay devotees who commented on her glazing process and work that conveyed a sense of antiquity. Richard is a first-generation American whose family emigrated due to the Armenian genocide. Despite her family’s tumultuous beginnings in this country, she recognizes the benefits of growing up with talented parents — a musician father and textile artist mother — and of drawing experience from two vastly different cultures, the influence of which is evidenced in her pottery.

The work of Ginger Solomon Birdsey, a native of Macon, generates buzz from year to year because of the intense personalities of her faces and the evolution of her other decorative work; it is difficult to resist adding another piece to one’s collection each year. Like a family reunion, many of the returning artists look forward to seeing their regular patrons and the feeling is mutual.

With KMO and his one man band playing some fine background R&B, guests dined on Chef Bolles’ KUDU inspired cuisine — tacos made with flame grilled beef and crisp cabbage slaw that had the cooks overwhelmed with their success. The menu was superb! The Creek FM staff served complimentary beer and wine for the evening — a first chance to purchase and to look over unique functional and decorative ceramics before the exhibition opened to the public. If you are there Sunday, be sure to explore the perimeter displays where artists, including Charity Elise, are creating more whimsy in their pottery with colorful and contemporary designs.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Famed actor shows musical chops at Douglass Theatre."