Tapestry

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WBHM Interviews

From March 15, 2007...

• The benefits of art therapy for prisoners
• The Dexateens spread Southern punk rock throughout Europe
• Community Calendar
• Introspective indie-rock from Birmingham band Broken Letters

The vast majority of people who are in prison will be released at some point and many aren't prepared for re-entry into society. Chances are they'll re-offend. But some lockup programs are trying to tackle prison recidivism through education and the arts. One particular program in Alabama has won national recognition for offering inmates the opportunity to learn while paying their debt to society. But it faces criticism from victims' advocates. WBHM's Steve Chiotakis reports.

Prison arts

"You can practically taste the cheap beer and feel the humidity of a hot Alabama summer night through the speakers." That's how the website PunkUnited.com describes the music of The Dexateens ...and it's high praise. The Alabama band is getting lots of kudos these days. This month's issue of Spin Magazine I-D's The Dexateens as a "band on the rise" and the group has just returned from touring in Europe, promoting their recent release "Hardwire Healing". Singer/guitarist Elliot McPherson and drummer Craig Pickering - a.k.a. Sweet Dog - talked with WBHM's Hunter Bell.

Interview with The Dexateens

Elliot McPherson and Craig "Sweet Dog" Pickering, from the band The Dexateens. Their new album is called Hardwire Healing. You can hear The Dexateens live, April 6th, at the Jupiter in Tuscaloosa.

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.

To say that fire has played a big part in the evolution of the band Broken Letters would be an understatement. Founders David Hickox and Brad Davis grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition - where hellfire and damnation are never far from mind. They formed Broken Letters at a Southern Baptist church in 1990 but their musical journey, they say, while fraught with demons and, yes, fire, has pulled them away from their childhood faith. In their mix of Southern gothic rock, gospel and psychobilly, they attempt to reconcile God with interplanetary travel, algebra and red mud. This song is "Thunder Ode". David Hickox stopped by our studios to talk about the song - also about Broken Letters journey through the flames. (AUDIO MONTAGE) The band plays BottleTree March 26th.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott, Michael Krall and Hunter Bell... with help this week from Steve Chiotakis, Rosemary Pennington, Francesca Rosko and Islara Vasquez. I'm Greg Bass - see you next week.

Support for Tapestry comes from the Jefferson County Commission through the Jefferson County Community Arts Funds administered by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham.