Fiddler and Instrument Maker, William “Gene” Ivey of Ider

William Eugene Ivey

Photo Courtesy of Mark Gooch

This program is a rebroadcast, originally aired in 2008. Fiddler William “Gene” Ivey of Ider died march 16th of 2014. He was a good friend to the State Arts Council, a master fiddler and instrument maker who was devoted to teaching his music to young people and keeping the old-time stringband music of Sand Mountain alive for future generations. In this program Folklorist Anne Kimzey talks to Mr. Ivey and his apprentice Joseph Coleman about playing music and making handcrafted fiddles at Ivey’s workshop in Ider.

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Jimmy Johnson, one of the original Muscle Shoals Swampers

Jimmy Johnson

This week, Jimmy Johnson, one of the original Swampers, talks with Deborah Boykin about his work in Muscle Shoals music. He recalls the early days of the recording industry in the Shoals, describes the Swampers’s approach to recording and talks about working with artists ranging from Percy Sledge to Aretha Franklin, to Paul Simon.

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Visual Arts Fellowship Recipient Jess Marie Walker

Visual Arts Fellowship Recipient Jess Marie Walker

This program is a repeat of a 2012 show with ASCA intern Summer Upchurch interviewing Individual Fellowship Recipient Jess Marie Walker about her life as an artist and an educator. Inspired by nature, music, and the art of public installation pieces, Jess Marie's background varies as much as her interests. Her work is highly collaborative and has been brought to fruition by HoWaYaDa, an artist collective, and by Pretty Much Collective. Her pieces range from a large-scale collaborative and interactive musical piece (where artists play kettles, rocks, and whatever is on-hand) to a smaller-scale collaborative piece celebrating the beauty of line-drawing and mountains. Her experiments with sound, form, and public exposure have been hosted in museums in Birmingham, Minneapolis, Long Island, Brooklyn, and Fairhope, among others. She currently lives in Montevallo with her youngest son.

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Darren Butler, director of Time Out for Theater

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This week Community Arts Program manager Deb Boykin interviews Darren Butler, director of Time Out for Theater. This program, developed by the Tennessee Valley Art Association, introduces elementary students in area schools to live theater through performances at the Ritz, an art deco movie house that has been converted to a performance venue.   In the second half of the program, TVAA director Mary Settle Cooney discusses the organization’s commitment to bringing theater to the Shoals area. This special radio series will air every Sunday at 2:00 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream