The Hippodrome State Theatre is launching what they call a “campy twist” on the Stephen King novel Carrie. The show, which opens tonight and runs through Nov. 4, is a comedic version of the classic King novel involving a young woman dealing with her peers and her fundamentalist mother.
When Mark Johnson isn’t working as the Levy County Director of Emergency Management he’s plucking his banjo. He has had a love of the instrument since he was a teenager. In recent months he has found himself in the spotlight as a guest on “The Late Show” with David Letterman. 2012 was a good year for Johnson as he also won $50,000 as recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, which is named after the famed actor and comedian. One of his latest CDs was also nominated as one of the top 5 instrumental albums of the year by IBMA. Donna Green-Townsend has this profile of Johnson who developed the blend of bluegrass and clawhammer banjo playing into a new sound–“clawgrass.”
In March of 2000, Mark Johnson and Donna Green-Townsend had the opportunity to sit backstage with Doc Watson and folk icon Norman Blake at the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak. It was one of those rare opportunities to swap stories and share some tunes. When the special hour began you can hear Peter Rowan and company in the distance performing on the main stage. Meanwhile backstage Green-Townsend began chatting with Johnson as he played Ashokan Farewell and demonstrated his style of picking called clawgrass, a combination of bluegrass and clawhammer styles.
Ashokan Farewell was used throughout the popular PBS Series, “The Civil War.” Before long folk icon Norman Blake jumped into the Civil War discussion and shared an acapella version of an old song, “Faded Coat of Blue.” When Doc heard Mark’s banjo, he asked if he could play it. In the three recorded segments below you’ll hear the spontaneous conversation and music from that afternoon that can only be described as “magical.”
Johnson and Doc Watson swapping banjo stories at the Suwannee Springfest
In Part 1 (running time 4:35) Green-Townsend talks backstage with Clawgrass player Mark Johnson:
In Part 2 (running time 5:16) Green-Townsend and Johnson begin an interesting music dialogue with folk icon Norman Blake and share an acapella version of “Faded Coat of Blue.”
In Part 3 (running time 32:24) Doc Watson hears Mark Johnson’s banjo and asks if he could hold it and then begins sharing his inside knowledge of some of his favorite banjo tunes, banjo styles and personal stories):
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Aired on WUFT August 24th, 2012
Tonight is opening night for the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre’s production “The Drawer Boy.” The serious, yet funny play about two farmers and a young actor who is attempting to write a play about the men is being directed by Mark Woollett. He talked with Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend:
“The Drawer Boy” opens tonight at 8:00 at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre on South Main Street in Gainesville.
Aired on WUFT on August 22nd, 2012
Classes officially got underway at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College today. At SFC more than 18 thousand students are enrolled. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with SFC President Jackson Sasser about his challenges for the 2012-2013 school year:
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Aired on WUFT July 27th, 2012
The public is invited to view some of the world’s smallest horses this weekend. It’s being called the “Last Chance” show because it’s the last in a string of three shows intended for miniature horse exhibitors to qualify for the World Championships of the American Miniature Horse Association scheduled for this fall in Fort Worth, Texas.
The free competition runs both Saturday and Sunday at the Ocala Equestrian Center.
Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with the show manager, Ruth Owen, about the event.
Aired on WUFT July 19th, 2012
Research on a disease outbreak in a private collection of pythons in Australia has led to the discovery of a deadly new snake virus. Assistant Professor in Zoological Medicine at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, Jim Wellehan has been working with colleagues in Australia and Germany on the discovery. Wellehan’s research will be published in the October journal, “Infection, Genetics and Evolution.” Wellehan says understanding the ecology and diversity of infectious diseases of wildlife is critical. He talked with Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend about his latest research on the snake virus and why it has an important tie to human health.
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Aired on WUFT on July 18th, 2012
Alachua County officials are monitoring the mosquito population after one of the county’s sentinel chickens was found to have eastern equine encephalitis. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green Townsend spoke with Environmental Health Director for the Alachua County Health Department, Anthony Dennis, who says the situation is not critical, but wants the public to be aware of the issue so they can prevent any future problems.
Aired on WUFT on July 13th, 2012
Saturday night from 8 p.m. to midnight the Civic Media Center and the Harvest of Hope Foundation will present the North Florida Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with Civic Media Center Founder and Board Member, Joe Courter and President of the Harvest of Hope Foundation, Phil Kellerman about the special night of music for a cause.
The special Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration gets underway tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the Repurpose Project on South Main Street in Gainesville.
Aired on WUFT on July 12th, 2012
Details are continuing to surface in the late night shooting spree at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado. During the midnight premier of “The Dark Knight Rises” a lone gunman entered the theatre, hurled a gas canister and then began shooting using an assault rifle, a shotgun and two pistols killing 12 and injuring 59 people. Police officers were able to take the shooting suspect, 24-year old James Holmes into custody. Holmes is a graduate student at the University of Colorado in Denver. The motive has not been identified.
President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be put at half staff in memory of the victims. In a morning press conference in Fort Myers, President Barack Obama said he was saddened by the “horrific and tragic shooting,” pledging that his administration was “committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded.”
Dade City, Florida resident Jan Glidewell has been spending the summer in Colorado. Glidewell is a retired newspaper columnist for the St. Pete, now Tampa Bay Times. Though he’s several miles away from Aurora he had considered going to the midnight premier of the new batman movie. Glidewell talked with Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend about the shooting and his thoughts about the role of journalists in covering such tragedies:
Aired on WUFT on July 11th, 2012
The health of Silver Springs and Silver River has been at the heart of recent debate over water permit requests in Marion County. The Silver River which flows into the Ocklawaha River has also been a part of a century old debate. More than a 100 years ago early Spanish explorers and Florida businessmen had big dreams to put in a cross-the-state barge canal from the Gulf Coast to the St. John’s River to allow for more commerce. The Nixon administration put a stop to the project because of budget and environmental concerns. Nevertheless, remnants of the original barge construction remain with the Inglis Lock and dam on the west coast and the Kirkpatrick Dam and Rodman Reservoir in Putnam and Marion Counties. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Donna Green-Townsend talked to Steven Noll, one of the two local historians who has captured the controversial history of the project in the book called: “Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the struggle for Florida’s future.”
(This program originally aired on WUFT-FM in late fall of 2010)