People with Barry Courter

On this episode, I talk about why the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is so meaningful to me, and how The What Podcast got started.

The Huntsville, Alabama, native shares stories about traveling the world calling match for people like McEnroe, Agassi, Lendle, Connors and Evert.

Festivals are a great way to see a lot of music, meet people and make a lot of memories. 

With a lifetime of experiences, but none as a comedian, Williams decided at 47 to become a touring stand-up comic.

I was a guest on Jeff's Nooga Radio show and we talked about concerts seen and concerts we missed, and the whole growth of the festival industry.

This was done for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. UTC, River City Sessions and Mitch were gracious enough to allow me to use part of the show, and I included just one of the stories Mitch has shared with me during our interviews over the last 18 months or so. 

The two Chattanooga natives discuss everything from baseball to Curtis Mayfield to James Brown advising them to stay away from songs with a strong social message. They also reveal the secret to the group's longevity.

And, as you might expect, there are no secrets or easy-to-follow formulas. It's all about hard work and lots of practice. 

These are a few of the stories I seem to repeat more than I realized until recently.

They own and operate two of the coolest buildings on the Southside, but they didn't always dream of owning a hostel, or a restaurant. In fact, it had never occurred to them until moving here to pursue their passions for rock climbing.

David has been a mentor for me and many others at WDEF-TV 12 since 1979. He has seen it all and he shares some stories about covering Byron De La Beckwith, the Fallen Five, the changes in TV news coverage and much more during our talk.

Chattanooga is seeing a renaissance in the arts and culture worlds, but not everyone is benefiting. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre is taking a new approach and Ric joins me to talk about that and the challenges faced by blacks in the local arts and culture universes. 

The Chattanooga native is a film composer whose works include two Austin Powers films, "Mortal Combat" and more. He has written a concerto for violin called "The Rose of Sonora" that he composed for Holly Mulcahy that will be premiered in April with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. 

Shane founded Jazzanooga as a one-day festival to showcase Chattanooga's role in the creation of jazz as America's original musical art form. Jazzanooga has quickly grown into much more, becoming a year-round organization dedicated to education, advancement, promotion, development and more. He discusses the organization's new name and direction, as well as the current state of arts and culture in the city as it relates to "the arts are for all."

Genesis is an artist/creative who joins me to talk about his poetry, his painting, his creative process, his philosophy on life and getting out of his own way.

Chattanooga Times Free Press sports editor Stephen Hargis discusses his new book and why the rivalry between South Pittsburg and Marion County high schools is so heated, and special.

Chattanooga Concertmaster and violinist Holly Mulcahy joins me to talk about the music program she created almost four years ago. She visits the Walker State Prison about twice a year to perform for the inmates there and then she asks them what they hear and feel while listening to the piece. The key is that there are "no wrong answers." 

Dr. Bruce Kaplan and Ann Law discuss why, and how, they have managed a theater dedicated to new works in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the last quarter century.