Tapestry

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From June 21, 2007...

• Bassoonist Jack Sharp retires from the ASO
• Jello Biafra: Challenging Authority
• Bob Clem: "In the Wake of Assassins"
• Community Calendar
• Birmingham's "Sworn Enemies" play bluegrass inspires honkey tonk

When it comes to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Jack Sharp has probably seen it all. Sharp, who plays bassoon, has been with the ASO for 37 years and is the last Birmingham native to hold a position with the orchestra. Sharp retired from the ASO at season's end. He spoke with WBHM's Michael Krall...

Interview with Jack Sharp

On the opposite end of the musical spectrum, Jello Biafra has been challenging authority for nearly half a century. As the lead singer of legendary punk band The Dead Kennedys, his lyrics were packed with gut-splitting jabs at the rise of the religious right and politicians of all stripes. But he wasn't satisfied with just singing about politics. In the 70's and 80's Biafra ran for Mayor of San Francisco and staged guerrilla performances outside both the Republican and Democratic conventions. At the latter, he and The Dead Kennedys took the stage in Klansman hoods, then removed them to reveal Ronald Reagan masks underneath. After The Dead Kennedys broke up in 1986, Biafra released his first spoken word album and he's been making music and political poetry ever since. He brings his show to Birmingham next weekend. WBHM's Hunter Bell got a preview.

Interview with Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra performs spoken word at the Bottle Tree June 29th. His new 3-disc set is called "In the Grip of Official Treason". He's also collaborated with the Melvins. From that CD, this is a tune called "Those Dumb Punk Kids Will Buy Anything".

Former Alabama Governor John Patterson is largely remembered as the man who "out-segregated" George Wallace to win the 1958 election. But what you might not recall is how Patterson came to public attention in the first place. That's the subject of documentary filmmaker Bob Clem's latest production - called "In the Wake of the Assassins". Clem spoke with Greg Bass about the project.

Interview with Bob Clem

Filmmaker Bob Clem's latest project is "In the Wake of the Assassins", about former Alabama Governor John Patterson. It airs Tuesday night at 8 on Alabama Public Television. Clem's earlier projects include a documentary on Gov. Big Jim Folsom and the dramatic feature Company K.

To hear the audio portion of the Community Calendar from Tapestry, click here.

Want to know more? Activeculture.info is a one-stop source for finding out what's going on in the Birmingham metro area.

The local band Sworn Enemies are anything but. Lead singer Adam Edwards, drummer Wes Frazer and guitarist Byron Sonnier haven't been a band for long but they've been friends for years and it's that camaraderie that fuels their bluegrass-inspired Americana honky-tonk. Edwards and Frazer gave us a preview of their first demo-CD. This tune is "The Woods are Falling Down"...(AUDIO MONTAGE)

Wes Frazer and Adam Edwards of the band Sworn Enemies, which plays Bottle Tree Saturday night.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott, Michael Krall and Hunter Bell. Islara Vazquez tracks community events. I'm Steve Chiotakis. Greg Bass returns next week.