Brevard Live January 2016 - 1 2 - Brevard Live January 2016 Brevard Live January 2016 - 3 4 - Brevard Live January 2016 Brevard Live January 2016 - 5 6 - Brevard Live January 2016 Contents January 2016 FEATURES DAVE MASON Columns CARROT TOP COMES HOME Meet Dave Mason for an evening of If you ever have the chance to see Car- rock music history as he retraces the ear- Charles Van Riper rot Top’s show, either on the road or in liest days of his career with Traffic and 20 Political Satire Vegas - make sure you do. It’s a laugh a later the classic recordings that launched minute riot from beginning to end, and his solo career. Calendars he never pumps the breaks once. Page 17 25 Live Entertainment, Page 11 Concerts, Festivals ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION TRAVIS TRITT With 15 albums of outstanding song- Local Download He has received two Grammys and four writing and entertaining live perfor- 33 by Andy Harrington CMA Awards. Tritt has also charted mances, Atlanta Rhythm Section em- Local Music Scene more than 40 times on the Hot Coun- bodies all that the phrase “classic rock” try Songs charts, including five number implies - despite of being labeled as a Behind The Scene ones: “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” southern rock band. MIFF Scenes by “Can I Trust You with My Heart,” “Fool- 34 Page 18 Charles & Lissa ish Pride”, and “Best of Intentions.” Page 12 JOHN MASSUNG Flori-duh! The work of John Massung takes the 36 by Charles Knight ABBA MANIA viewer, quite literally, above and beyond Billed as the world’s number one tour- the standard perception of our local par- The Dope Doctor ing ABBA tribute concert, Abba Mania adise. His camera illuminates sweeping 40 Luis A. Delgado, CAP formed in 1999 and the show has been vistas of color, wildlife not visible to the selling out internationally ever since. land-bound eye. Florida Arts Page 17 Page 44 44 Artist Portraits Brevard Live January 2016 - 7 8 - Brevard Live January 2016 BREVARD LIVE The largest and most BREVARD LIVE MAGAZINE popular free entertainment magazine on the Space Coast and beyond for 25 years. PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Heike Clarke ASSISTANT EDITOR John Leach ACCOUNT MANAGER Charlene Hemmle MUSIC WRITERS John Leach Charles Knight Matthew Bretz Andy Harrington PHOTOGRAPHY Chuck Van Riper Tim Bretz Lissa Knight COLUMNISTS Chuck Van Riper This is Brevard! friend last month with a Memorial Service Charles & Lissa Knight at the Eau Gallie First Baptist Church on Andy Harrington Top photo: December 2015 was a warm December 20th. Roy Curtis Moore passed Luis A. Delgado month with record-breaking temperatures. away on Friday, December 11th. He has What looks like a mountain of snow is sim- been an important part of our local music Reproduction of any portion of ply seafoam on the Atlantic ocean. That’s scene for over 40 years. Bruce Marion re- Brevard Live Magazine is strictly our Florida winter. prohibited without the written members his fellow musician and friend permission of the publisher. on page 11. Photo below: Brevard’s music community ADVERTISEMENT/ SALES said good-bye to a popular musician and Photos by Chuck Van Riper Phone: (321) 956-9207 [email protected] COMMENTS & LETTERS Brevard Live Magazine P.O. Box 1452, Melbourne, Fl 32902 Copyright © 2016 Brevard Live All rights reserved We are not responsible for photos or scripts sent to Brevard Live Magazine. Published photos and articles become property of this publication. We are not responsible for wrongful advertised or canceled venues. Download a pdf file BREVARD FLORIDA LIVE at www.brevardlive.com Brevard Live January 2016 - 9 10 - Brevard Live January 2016 Brevard Lately After the show CT invited me backstage to the green room where he CARROT TOP was hosting a meet and greet with his Comes Home more committed fans. The true “Top- pers” were eager to pay the fifty dollar Concert Review fee for a few moments with their royal By Matthew Bretz jester, and unlike a lot of turn-and-burn greets with celebrities…Thompson ast month I interviewed the took time with each and every one of one and only Scott “Carrot them to chat, take pictures, and sign Top”L Thompson. It ended up just about anything they wanted. When being a fun conversation with a the fans filed out it was my turn to get a laid back guy from the beach. few minutes with the man at hand, and This month I got to check out I was happy to see that he is just as gra- his show at the King Center and cious in person as he was last month on see what all the hype is about. the horn. I wasn’t disappointed…it was a If you ever have the chance to see hell of a show. Carrot Top’s show, either on the road or in Vegas - make sure you do. It’s a Remembering Before he was known as the mighty laugh a minute riot from beginning to Roy Curtis Moore Carrot Top, Thompson was a high end, and he never pumps the breaks school student at Cocoa High. After once. Thanks again to the King Center, (1953-2015) graduation he moved down to West Jim, and all of his crew for hosting an- Palm to get a marketing degree from other stellar show with style and class. By Bruce Marion Atlantic University. Sometime during Cheers CT, and thanks for the Crown! was lucky enough to play music college Thompson began his stand up and hang with Roy Curtis at Mel- career. And the rest, of course, is his- I Hi back in 1970-71. He also played tory. Since then he has gone on to per- Taking photos during the performance in the stage band. Back then Roy had form around the globe, in nearly ev- was prohibited (adding to the enjoyment the hair and the looks, plus all that ery entertainment media. He has been of the show). However, at the meet-and talent. I knew him then as Roy, later called the most well-known comedian greet Carrot Top was rather accommo- Curtis, RC, Roy Curtis, etc. on earth. Don’t ask me who called him dating and cordial with his friends - and An example of Roy’s stick-to- that…I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be me! itiveness was when I sold him my surprised to find out it’s true. silver series Ibanez sunburst lawsuit Before the show the audience strat, mid-70s. I know he still had was treated to home video blooper it recently and never would sell it reel, akin to America’s Funniest, on a back to me, even months ago when jumbo screen hanging above a stage we played a date together at Malabar rigged with lights, confetti cannons, Mo’s with Last Chance Band. and about ten large road cases (trunks) In addition to the envious great housing a selection of the props CT is hair, Roy played guitar, bass guitar, famous for. For the next two hours the and had great vocals. My favorite theater turned into a wild party full of band he was with in the old days was stand-up, celebrity stories, video gags, Sunday’s Children and later Twice and of course prop comedy. Because Moore with our soulmate Scott Thompson grew up in the area the Moore. They were the best duo I’ve King Center’s show was a homecom- ever seen in my life. ing of sorts for him, and as an added I always wondered how a guy treat there was quite a bit of his fam- could get into a monster band like ily and friends in the audience. To cel- Sunday’s Children. Talent was what ebrate CT brought a bottle of Crown brought Roy together with that en- and started passing shots out to the crowd. continued page 16 Brevard Live January 2016 - 11 February 25, 8pm, Melbourne Auditorium Travis Tritt ravis Tritt’s musical style is defined by main- stream country and Southern rock influences. HeT signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, re- leasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct Category 5 Records. Seven of his albums are certified platinum or higher; the highest-certified is 1991’sIt’s All About to Change, which is certified triple-platinum. He has received two Grammys and four CMA Awards. Tritt has also charted more than 40 times on the Hot Country Songs charts, including five number ones: “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” “Can I Trust You with My Heart,” “Foolish Pride”, and “Best of Intentions” along with 15 additional top ten singles. But the road to all the success and accolades wasn’t an easy one. James Travis Tritt, born in Marietta, Georgia, first took interest in music at church. He received his first guitar at age eight and taught himself how to play it. In fourth grade, he performed for his class, and later got invited to play for other classrooms in his school. At age fourteen, his parents bought him another guitar, and he learned more songs. Later on, Tritt joined his church band, which occasionally performed at other churches nearby. Tritt began writing music while he was attending Spray- berry High School; his first song composition, entitled “Spend a Little Time”, was written about a girlfriend whom he had broken up with. He also founded a blue- grass group with some of his friends, and won second place in a local tournament for playing “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” During his teenage years, Tritt worked at Hibernian FC’s stadium Easter Road, and later as a supermarket clerk.