Head north toward Cedar St.

For what it's worth, my cell phone just gave me directions from Sanford Stadium to a brewpub in downtown Winston-Salem.

Now, I'm in Winston-Salem. And my phone was in Sanford Stadium Saturday. But I didn't ask it for directions then, and I certainly didn't just ask it for directions from the stadium.

4 hours and 37 minutes, "in traffic," by the way.

Shot by the party gun, 10 of 13 years

Being named the nation's No. 1 party school would be significantly better if Damon Evans had not just gotten a DUI.

From The AJC:

UGA climbed up from No. 4 to snatch the top spot on the annual list compiled by the Princeton Review. The university has the distinction -- or disgrace, depending on your perspective -- of being on the top 20 party list for 10 of the past 13 years.

Worth noting that No. 2 on the list, Ohio University, is located in Athens, Ohio.

Vic Chesnutt, dead on Christmas day

From The Flagpole:

Vic Chesnutt died in Athens Georgia this afternoon, Friday 25 December at 14:59.

From The New York Daily News in 2005:

"Every aspect of human nature needs to be written about," Chesnutt says. "Writers are like Geiger counters, or seismic meters. They show you the things you should pay attention to that go on underneath."

From The Village Voice in 2008:

Vic, tell me something you’ve never ever done before in your life.

Well, I’ve never gone back in time.

From the mouths of Gators

The folks at Every Day Should Be Saturday, University of Florida fan(s?) with possible redeeming qualities, make it official:

Athens is the premiere college town in the known universe, and there is no real refutation of this available that is not total gibberish.

This is why we don't understand the last two decades. We are not capable of separating the red-dressed nirvana that is the city of Athens from the expectation of a highly functioning football team.

Georgia Theatre memories: Kevn Kinney

After nearly 20 years of shows at The Georgia Theatre, you'd think Drivin' n' Cryin' front man Kevn Kinney would have some pretty cool stories to share about the venue.

You'd be wrong. So, so very wrong. I caught up with Mr. Kinney Friday night, after he played a bar here in Macon.

Q: How many times you figure you played at The Georgia Theatre?
A: Oh, I played at least 20. At least 20.

Q: Starting about when?
A: Well I started playing there acoustic, I think, the very first time I played there on Father's Day. Probably Father's Day. My daughter was probably 3. She's 22 now, so 19 years ago.

Q: Sunday is Father's Day.
A: Yeah.

Q: Favorite memory?
A: I think the first time was when she played out there with me. You know, she came out on stage with me, hung out, you know, was walking in and out of the stage. My favorite times there were with The Mule. Government Mule. Those were the best shows I ever saw there. I got to play with Chuck Leavell there with The Mule and it was awesome.

Q: Yeah?
A: Yeah.

Q: What songs you do?
A: I did Straight to Hell, Rockin' in the Free World. The usual.

Q: Any crazy stories that really should not see the light of day, but because of the occasion get to?
A: Not really, man. You know, it's just, like, my kind of hang out bar in Athens. You know, I used to live there for 10 years, so I just kind of go there.

Q: Thank you for your time.
A: I don't have much more. I miss it. And I was supposed to play there in September, so I've got to find some place else to play.

I went back inside the bar after Mr. Kinney headed home and some guy who's name I never got was playing a cover of Swingin'.

"Everybody comes in from the back, looks, and is like, 'Are they doing Swingin?' Yeah hell yeah we're doing Swingin'."

It was pretty entertaining.

Georgia Theatre memories: Chuck Leavell

Word on the street is that Sea Level played the first concert in The Georgia Theatre when it transitioned from an empty movie house to a music venue in January 1978.

A splinter group of sorts from The Allman Brothers Band, Sea Level was developed by Chuck Leavell, whom you may know as a long-time member of The Rolling Stones.

But, in Middle Georgia, we think of Mr. Leavell as Twiggs County's most famous Rock Star forester. He's also kind enough to return phone calls quickly.

I called Randall (Bramblett) just to jog my memory a little bit, and we do remember that we did open (The Georgia Theatre) up. Now, Davis Causey says it might have been in '76, and not '78, but I guess if The Banner (Herald) researched it they're probably right. But I can tell you that what I do remember of it is that we had just expanded our band... and it was one of the first shows that we did with a larger band. ...

But that's certainly not my only experience with The Theatre. One of the most memorable times I had was with Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit. I got a call from Johnny Sandlin, and I wish I could tell you the year... but Johnny said, "Look, Bruce is playing The Georgia Theatre and we're gonna do a live C.D. How would you feel about being a guest?"

At the time I knew very little about them except that they were very, very hip, and I had known Bruce for a long time. ... And I went in and it was the kind of band where they really didn't want to rehearse. They just kind of liked things to happen spontaneously. So there was hardly any rehearsal. I think there was really just basically a discussion of what key something might be in. And, then, it was sort of like just turn it loose and see what happens. And what happened was it was a great, great show.

I think it's an iconic music venue for the state of Georgia and the southeast in general. It has a wonderful history. A very rich history of music and lots of interplay between fans and musicians. There's been a lot of wonderful jam sessions that have occurred there. ... I certainly hope that every effort will be made to rebuild it. I think it's a tragic loss. I'm sure that if, at some point in time it were needed, there would be a lot of musicians that would be willing to come together and do something to help it be rebuilt. ...

Is it more than a stage? Well it provides so many great memories for us as musicians. There's certain places that, maybe there's a little magic that goes on. And I would say that's one of those places. I think it would be a very sad thing to think it would no longer be there.

Mr. Leavell's interests these days trend more toward forest preservation and Mother Nature Network. As for The Stones, he noted that August "will mark two years of no Stones activity, so that's a pretty long period to be off and I would think it wouldn't be too much longer before the band would want to be doing something, whether it's a new record or a tour.

"So, hopefully, there won't be much longer to wait for The Stone's fans," he said.

Mr. Leavell said he'll be doing some solo shows soon, and that he's working on a book called Smart, Strong and Sustainable, "which will deal with growth issues in our country."

Georgia Theatre: The last marquee

One of my sisters was at The Theatre last night. She took a picture of the marquee because her boyfriend's roommate is in the band.


Image: Lara Fain.

Indications are that the theater will be rebuilt. It appears the marquee, and perhaps even the outer walls, can be saved.

But if you're ever sitting on a porch in Athens playing trivia, and they ask who played the last show before the famous Georgia Theatre fire of 2009, the answer is Rockinwood.

The Georgia Theatre is on fire

1340 in Athens reports the Georgia Theatre is on fire this morning, with "as many as 4 ladder trucks" on the scene.

Nothing online at The Banner Herald or The Red and Black.

UPDATE: The Athens-Clarke County Fire Department confirms it: The Georgia Theatre is burning.

UPDATE: As the commenter notes, The AJC is up with a story. They have a contributed picture on the home page showing a ton of smoke.

UPDATE: Athens Bureau Chief Brian Huff has arranged for pictures. The phrase "total loss" is being used a lot, and I think you can see why.


Image: Daniel Ussery.

Lucid Idiocy Athens Correspondent Jean O'Keefe reports at 8:59:

They have the fire under control but they are still hosing it down. You can see smoke from Milledge and the downtown area is fairly smoky. Lots of people hanging out on street corners and parking lots. Building is still standing. I will send pics out later today.

It looks like WSB TV in Atlanta sent their chopper to shoot the fire. They have several pictures. The Banner-Herald has a story up now. Apparently the fire knocked out power downtown, including at the paper.

Final update on this post: The Banner Herald spoke to the owner. He plans to rebuild, and there's some speculation as to the cause.

Fox 5 got an excellent view of the now-gone roof from their chopper, as seen in this video embedded at Fresh Loaf.

That Richt, he's a jokester

I was in Athens yesterday for work, and the speech I was covering was close to the practice fields.

So I'm walking by and see Coach Richt in his hat and I've got my camera, so I go to snap a picture. And, jokingly, he points and yells "Hey, are you from East Lansing?"


No, sir. I'm from Macon.

I only watched a few minutes, but Massaquoi made a sweet catch. What else is new?

Vandy weekend thoughts

Dear Georgia Bulldogs: I don't think you can beat LSU or Florida. Please prove me wrong.

I think Vance Cuff's going to get his shot at starting cornerback next week. And don't think he'll be dropping any more balls that hit him in the chest.

Alright, alright. Alabama is legit.

Our safeties are not the stalking assassins I need them to be.

Florida's gonna kill that toss sweep.

Stafford's line: 13 of 23 for 194 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions.

Colt McCoy's: 29 of 32 for 337 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions.

Penn State's starting quarterback completed 18 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown. They won 46-17.

Due to my poor decision making skills, I spent a long time downtown after the game. Every time I went outside, I could hear the Bell ringing. It rang into the morning. The students these days have my respect.

Of course, I've heard enough bell ringing over the years that I can kind of conjure it up in my head.

UPDATE: C'mon! Really? C'mon!

City of Athens, circa 1909

One of my favorite little known University services comes from The Hargrett Library, which maintains an archive of old pictures and maps of Athens and the University of Georgia.

They will even make and mail you prints of old pictures and maps for a reasonable fee. Very cool.


Bonus points if you can identify where Sanford Stadium would be built some 18 years later.

Tailgating readiness

I don't know about you, but it's difficult to explain to people where we tailgate. You can download campus maps from the university.

I turned this one into a jpeg, but the pdf's are a lot more usable.















Being too dumb to place an "x" on this anywhere, it doesn't do me much good. But I still think it's cool looking.

The bell is home

Athens Lucid Idiocy Correspondent Brian Huff was good enough to take a camera to campus today and film the first rings of the refurbished Chapel Bell. Long may she ring and often.


That's just good for the soul.

And here's a bit of speech making before the ringing


I believe we have here a 100-year tower. And I'm looking forward to winning all our Bulldog games this year so we can ring this bell.

Married to my roots here

Six years Sunday since Mikey died. Time sure does fly.





My name is tree top,
and I'm higher than you'll ever be,
I am married
to my roots here,
Still I feel like I am free



Image: Athens Banner Herald.