Tapestry

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October 9, 2008...

• The new director of the Cultural Alliance and his plan for arts funding
• Alabama native Sheryll Chashin and The Agitators Daughter
• Meet the violist of the American String Quartet
• Americana alt-folk from singer-songwriter Bob Corley

Each Monday, on NPR, you hear This I Believe. And know that you're about to hear someone's life philosophy. If Buddy Palmer were to record his "This I Believe" essay, it would - no doubt - be about the power of ART to build communities. Palmer is the new president of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, and he tells WBHM's Tanya Ott that this belief is rooted in the lessons he learned from his mentors - artists who came of age during the 1960s and 70s.

Buddy Palmer interview...

Here's a little known fact: in 1964, Alabama voters could not vote for President Lyndon Johnson because he was not on the ballot in Alabama. The Alabama Democratic Party controlled by segregationist Governor George Wallace saw to that. This angered civil rights activists including Dr. John Cashin, a Huntsville dentist who came from a family full of educated African Americans committed to improving life for Black southerners. Cashin used his money and energy to found the NDPA, the National Democratic Party of Alabama, so that Black people in Alabama would be heard at the ballot box. In her new book, The Agitators Daughter, Cashin's daughter Sheryll writes about the strain her father's activities put on the family. But she begins her story with a tale of her white slave-holding ancestors.

Sheryll Cashin interview...

Not every musician can say they've been to all 50 states and appeared in nearly every major concert hall throughout the world. But the American String Quartet has accomplished just that -- and garnered critical acclaim for their combination of individuality and ensemble playing. This weekend the American String Quartet plays at the Alys Stephens Center. Violist Daniel Avshalomov spoke with WBHM's Michael Krall about the group's early concerts...

Daniel Avshalomov interview...

Montgomery singer-songwriter Bob Corley is quite the Renaissance man: serving in the military, traveling the world, writing ad jingles and working in public television. Corley's debut CD Never Too Late draws from his observations, humor and sometimes outrage with encounters in daily life. This is the song Why Can't Some People Change The Toilet Paper Roll?. (AUDIO MONTAGE) If you're down in Livingston, Alabama next week you can see Corley live at the Sucarnochee Revue.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall with help this week from Coleman Lipsey. Next week on the program, the pressure of auditioning for a play. One Birmingham actor, just back from New York City, has a plan for making auditions less painful.