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Real Jazz
After some three decades on the air, Ashley Capps is stepping down as the coordinator of WUOT’s weeknight jazz program, Improvisations. Capps produced the show—which airs from 6:30 to 8 p.m.—with John Habel, Paul Parris, Randy Fishman, and Cy Anders.
“I really loved doing it, and I know I’m going to miss it. It’s a lot of fun to play the music of a bunch of people you love,” says Capps, whose day job is running AC Entertainment. “But I’ve become really busy. There are a lot of things I want to do in my spare time. It just seemed necessary to free up a little bit of time and see what might happen.”
Capps couldn’t pinpoint the date he started the jazz show, but says he began working at WUOT in 1973, when he was a UT student, with a couple of late-night rock shows. A few years later, he started the jazz program. “I didn’t start to get into [jazz] until I started playing jazz on the radio,” he says. “In many ways, I had the luxury of learning on the air.”
Capps’ last show will be broadcast Tuesday, April 27. WUOT plans to continue Improvisations without him. “There’s been a tremendous amount of positive response to the jazz program,” Capps says. “It gets some of the strongest support during the fund drive, and I think they’re committed to maintaining the jazz programming.... Consistently, WUOT has been the only place you can hear real jazz.”
Earning Our Place on the Ska Map
In case you were rooting for the little Ska Festival 2004 that could but didn’t make it down to Market Square on Saturday to see it for yourself, here’s the scoop: The 16-band show was a success, with the crowd topping out at approximately 700 around 4 p.m. The event raised nearly $600 in cash and 2,411 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank, plus it enhanced the reputations of ska fans everywhere.
“From talking to a lot of the businesses, all were very pleased with the way everything went,” says the event’s planner Ben Altom, a UT student who is a member of local ska band Perfect Orange. “Most were amazed at how nice the crowd was. When you see piercings and colored mohawks, the stereotype is going to make you think the kid is a troublemaker, but it was the exact opposite. That is why ska kids are the best crowd to play for—everyone is there for the music and respects everyone else.”
Although the turnout was likely affected by the day’s constant threat of rain, most bands played to a healthy helping of eager fans. This year’s main act, the Suburban Legends, “definitely stole the show from the rest of us,” Altom declares.
After he takes a breather and time to schedule Perfect Orange’s May tour, he’ll start sussing out next year’s festival, which he wants to be twice as big.
“There are a number of big bands that are interested in the show,” Altom says. “Right now we just need the local support to come up with the funds needed for the show. Next year has the potential to gain a lot of national attention.”
That Other Concert
People who have been championing downtown for years were both thrilled to see so many people finally catching on to the secret. But they also scratched their heads as their favorite watering holes filled to capacity and wondered who took over their downtown.
This year’s kickoff to Sundown in the City was phenomenal, with at least 10,000 people cramming into the renovated square. Surely we owe the increased tourism to that $160 million convention center. Well, even if there wasn’t a convention in town last week, the downtown businesses sure benefited from the masses who turned out for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. “If there was any[thing] negative [about the show], it might have been that it was slightly too successful,” says Capps, whose AC Entertainment promoted it. “We expected a big crowd, but it was slightly bigger than we expected. People seemed to have a good time, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Capps expects a few of the other shows to be just as popular and says they’ll be tweaking the layout of the tents and booths to better accommodate the crowds.
Asked if there will be more porta-potties for future shows, Capps says, “I think we need a few more.”
Meet Reed
A case of mistaken identity enabled a handful of mostly-local college kids to have their film debut Meet Reed screened at Regal Cinemas Downtown West.
According to co-producer Michael Tapp, a 20-year-old video production major at Pellissippi State Community College, he and fellow film-makers Michael Margle, Joe McGranghan and Spencer Victory approached Regal executives (founded in Knoxville, the company has headquarters in Halls) and asked about the possibility of showing Meet Reed at Downtown West. The Regal folks thought Tapp and company were associated with a University of Tennessee student group who had previously screened their films at the theater.
Though they eventually realized their mistake, the Regal suits liked the movie well enough to grant Meet Reed showing in February, which was attended by more than 200. Additional screenings will be held Monday, April 19, at 8, 9 and 10 p.m.
The film is a 30-minute short about “the day-long journey of a confused twenty-something who steps into each realm of the business world.” The twist: the character’s Id, Superego and Ego are played by three separate actors. “Hopefully, people will find it to be humorous, but with a little depth at the same time,” Tapp says.
Admission will be $3.
—Joe Tarr, Paige M. Travis, Mike Gibson
April 15, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 16
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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