River (and City) of Song
Top: Stace England (right) with the Salt Kings/
Cairo Project in Brussels, Belgium, during a recent
tour, with filmmaker Sofie Benoot (left). Benoot came
to Cairo to film Blue Meridian, a documentary about
the Mississippi River, and interviewed England
for her project. Bottom: The Little Egypt Barbershop
Chorus on Eighth Street in Cairo amidst
Benoot (right) and several of her crew members.
The chorus performed "Goin' Down to Cairo"
from England's concept album
Greetings from Cairo, Illinois.

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Belgian filmmaker Sofie Benoot and crew stopped by Southern Illinois last week while making a documentary, Blue Meridian, about the Mississippi River from Cairo to New Orleans. This, of course, meant hooking up with local musician Stace England, whose CD, Greetings from Cairo, Illinois, documents the troubled river town's fascinating history.
England and his band, the Cairo Project (rechristened the Salt Kings when performing music from Salt Sex Slaves, England's concept album about the so-called Old Slave House in-- oh, irony-- Equality, Illinois) met Benoot when on a brief European tour.
Benoot interviewed England for Blue Meridian at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and also filmed the Little Egypt Barbershop Chorus singing "Goin' Down to Cairo" in full regalia in Cairo on Commercial Avenue, the same song the group performed on Greetings from Cairo...
Broadcast News
Carolyn Wonderland.
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The great Carolyn Wonderland, with her former band, the Imperial Monkeys, used to frequent Carbondale-- and in fact they were one of the best acts to ever play this city.
In the Where Are They Now File, the Texas-based Wonderland was just featured on Austin City Limits, on which she performed a fiery cover of Johnny Winter's scathing ode to recovery from drug addiction, "Still Alive and Well." Wonderland's amazing voice remains capable of buckling the strongest knees; in the Imperial Monkeys she primarily played rhythm guitar but she's now a ferocious lead player.
The slightly purple-haired beauty has released at least three solo CDs in the years since her last Carbondale visit, all available on her website at <http://CarolynWonderland.com>. Catch up with her there, link to clips of her Austin City Limits performance (or surf directly to <http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin>), and invite her back...
I Shall Be Released
Marty Moore (Vehicle, the Plus) ran his own record label, Wooden Man, while playing in local bands for several years. The former Carbondale musician is now in Austin, Texas, and the label again is active, having just issued Weighs a Ton by Philadelphia quintet Circles, a group with two drummers and a trombone player in addition to a guitarist and bassist.
Circles takes slightly atonal and free-form elements born of the Velvet Underground and consistent with Moore's indie-rock tastes, but adds to them an acid-drenched country-western flavor with a sprinkle of ska and jazz. The group even finds mainstream but loopy accessibility in "Get Down!" where the guitar and trombone play simultaneous leads (think the conclusion to "Freebird" but with, like, guitar and trombone instead of twin lead guitars).
Learn more at <http://www.WoodmanManRecords.com>...
Stage Left
To continue to raise money for the restoration of the Varsity Center for the Arts, the Stage Company's second annual Holiday Home Tours will take visitors through a group of Carbondale's historic houses for Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7. The Stage Company promises all-new homes this year, keeping the tour fresh for those who embarked upon it in 2007, as well as a silent auction for fifteen unique tabletop Christmas trees.
Tickets are $20 for Saturday, $50 for Sunday's tour and reception, or a combined ticket for both days for $65. For tickets, call (618) 516-4520 before November 24.
Meanwhile, the Stage Company continues to reawaken their new location with Daniel Sullivan's holiday farce Inspecting Carol. The show runs December 12, 13, 14 and December 19, 20 and 21, and tickets go on sale November 28. Charge tickets by phone at (618) 549-5466...
The cast of Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women.
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Bravo Studios will present Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, based on a popular book by Ronald Kidd, Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23, at the Park Avenue Productions Performing Arts Center in Herrin.
The romantic comedy introduces audiences to eleven-year-old Sammy Carducci, who falls for Becky while his friend Gus develops a crush on Becky's friend Alice. Both boys try to impress the girls using tips from Sammy's older brother, who knows even less about women than they do. The moral, learned after many comic mishaps, is that boys and girls want to be treated with respect and honesty.
The show will run four times, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring four different casts.
Tickets are available at the door for $5. For directions or more information, contact director Marisa Winegar at (618) 201-6933 or visit <http://www.BravoStudiosCarterville.com>...
Gallery Walk
Top to bottom: Artist John F. Boyd;
Boyd's work Behind the Rainbow.
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Coming Full Circle will return artist John F. Boyd to his roots. The exhibit takes place November 22 through December 22 at the C-Infinity Event Center in downtown Cobden, with an opening reception Saturday, November 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Boyd's first Cobden art exhibit was held at the American Legion Hall in November 1977. Now, thirty-one years later, the Cobden native returns to show his newest watercolors, mixed-media paintings, and prints. Boyd's recent work combines a broad, spectral perspective influenced by American Indian carvings in sandstone bluffs. But Coming Full Circle will exhibit a few favorite pieces from his youth as well.
Boyd also teaches art through video instructional programs he has produced, including The Rainbow Trail and the Drawing for Fun series.
The reception is open to the public, and the exhibit is open Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call C-Infinity at (618) 893-2916 for weekday hours...
The Little Egypt Arts Association will presenting the annual Holiday Extravaganza exhibit through December 31 at the Little Egypt Arts Centre on the Marion Tower Square in Marion. The exhibit will feature original work suitable for holiday gift giving created by association members. A public reception and gallery open house will celebrate the exhibit Friday, December 12 at 4 p.m...
Shopping in the Hills, a trail of art exhibits where patrons can purchase work for holiday gift-giving, will take place Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29 at various locations, including Art Lovers Trading Company, Blue Sky Vineyard, and Von Jakob Orchard and Vineyard. Items for sale include everything from jewelry and wearable art to home dé cor and crafts.
For a complete list of participating venues and the works each expects to carry, visit <http://www.HeartlandArts.net>...
Animals
The Humane Society of Southern Illinois will hold a pet-food fundraiser Saturday, November 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Carbondale Kroger. While shoppers are there, they can make financial contributions or pick up for the shelter needed items including bleach, dish soap, laundry detergent, trash bags, paper towels, cat and dog shampoo and toys, and postage stamps.
For more information, call the Humane Society at (618) 457-2362...
Give Peace a Chance
SIU professor Kemal Akkaya will deliver Gulen Movement: A Dynamic Movement of Peace and Dialogue in Turkey, a lecture that will take place Wednesday, December 3 at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship.
Fethullah Gü len is a prominent Turkish scholar, poet, retired preacher, and activist; some consider him the Mahatma Gandhi of Turkey or a contemporary Rumi (the man whose followers established the Sufi religion). Gü len's movement is non-sectarian and apolitical, organized around the sociocultural needs of society. The three main principles of this movement are practicing faith, emphasizing education, and promoting interfaith dialogue...
Orchestral Maneuvers
The Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Marjorie Lawrence Opera Theater will join the SIU Concert Choir and Choral Union Thursday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Shryock Auditorium for the annual opera gala.
Part of the Southern Illinois Symphony Series, this concert will feature the Habanera and Quintet from Carmen, Verdi's Triumphal March and Anvil Chorus, and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, plus music by Beethoven, Bernstein, Bizet, and Borodin. Music not sung in English will have subtitles projected above the stage, making the evening's bill more accessible to those unfamiliar with opera.
Tickets are $20, or $6 for students of any age, and are available at the door the night of the performance, or in advance at the Shryock Auditorium, the SIU Arena, and Student Center Ticket offices during normal business hours.
In addition, a free Klassics for Kids performance featuring excerpts from the evening concert takes place at 10 a.m. in Shryock. The all-ages program requires no reservations...
Bacchanal Tidings
During the next two weekends, Southern Illinois Wine Trail members will hold open houses replete with special holiday wines and live music. Visit <http://www.ShawneeWineTrail.com> for overviews and links to individual wineries and details about their open houses...
Tofurky Day
A vegetarian Thanksgiving potluck celebration will take place Thursday, November 20 at 6 p.m. at the Interfaith Center. University Christian Ministries, Southern Sustainability, InterVeg and other sponsors will provide a fall-harvest stirfry, fresh green salad, pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies, fair-trade coffee, and local apple cider. Guests may bring vegetarian or vegan dishes, including sides, breads, and desserts (although organizers discourage people from bringing soups). Volunteers may also help set up, bus tables, and clean up.
The potluck takes place during Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger Week, so guests may donate to the Good Samaritan Food Pantry at the potluck...
Every Day Is Halloween
The new edition of Springhouse, Southern Illinois's excellent history and literary journal, is out, and as always editor and publisher Gary DeNeal has unearthed unique arcana of Little Egypt.
Halloween is the theme of this issue, from Dixie Terry's trick-or-treat baking recipes to DeNeal's own wonderful article about the ghost stories he heard as a younger man. In addition, this Springhouse tells the story of Edward Coles's lifelong crusade against slavery, focusing on his single term as Illinois governor starting in 1822.
Buy Springhouse at just about any local bookstore, and see excerpts online at <http://www.SpringhouseMagazine.com>...
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