Cadillac Willy Brings the Jams to 30A

By J. Christopher Caravello

Cadillac Willy

When a band’s labelled a “jam band” — either self-proclaimed or by the listening public — sometimes there’s a misnomer that they aren’t to be taken toooo seriously as artists. That certainly can’t be applied to Cadillac Willy though, as the band not only draws huge party crowds at every venue, but they also land plenty of awards and accolades for their lively performances.

“We’re proud of the awards,” said singer Metz Barnes. “We can’t believe we won them, but we’re proud of them. As long as we can make people dance and have a good time, that’s what we’re about.”

As winners of the 2012 Beachcomber Music Award for “Best Jam Band” (as well as clinching several other categories), Cadillac Willy’s rocked the Emerald Coast for twelve boogie-filled years. Founded in 2000 by Louie Antoon and Clayton Bonjean, the band consists of local musicians and draws its influences from the Gulf Coast scene, and especially New Orleans (think “Galactic”). The band’s ever-evolving set list features a wide library of tunes, including covers ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Bob Dylan to Black Sabbath.

In addition to Barnes, Antoon (percussion), and Bonjean (lead guitar), the band’s somewhat fluid line-up also includes Patrick Wilson on pedal steel, John Mark Turner on bass, Shawn “Shack” Shackelford on drums andJohn David Sullivan on guitar.

Cadillac Willy can be found rocking many local hot spots such as Pandora’s, Red Bar, the Alys Beach amphitheater and both Funky Blues Shack locations (Destin and Baytowne). Upcoming shows are featured on Cadillac Willy’s official website, as well as on 30A.com’s daily events calendar.

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Forrest Williams’ Music Shines Down on 30A

Photo thanks to ReverbNation

When Forrest Williams moved to Florida after spending most of his life in Arkansas, he knew things would change. Journeying from the Natural State to the Gulf Coast inspired both changes in his life, as well as his musical ambitions. “We’ve been really motivated by the people down here and the beauty of this place. I had never really written any reggae or any beach type music until I got down here,” Williams states. A laid back atmosphere generated from the beach going crowd of all ages that make up Williams’ fan base has helped shape this style, which is on full display with his latest record, Gonna Take Love, released October 13 and recorded right here in Santa Rosa Beach. The record features 10 songs and includes two of his older fan-favorites, “Goodtime Sunshine” and “Funky Groove”.

Halloween Night at Pandora’s

Fans of Williams shouldn’t have to wait long to hear more new tunes from him, as he is already planning the follow up to Gonna Take Love. The self-taught musician proclaims his upcoming record will be more of a country style effort going back to his Arkansas roots. “As far as good, heartfelt music, I’ve got a good message in it and I’m excited to go in and do this album,” says Williams. The record, which is already written, should be out around next Spring.

Those wanting to see Forrest Williams Band preform live can go to Pandora’s in Grayton Beach on Wednesday nights or check his Facebook page for upcoming shows. His latest CD is available at his live gigs and at Central Square Records in Seaside.

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Forrest Williams Interview – 30A

 

THTV Interviews Grayson Capps in Seaside

The Best Road in FL!

On a cool Fall night in Seaside along scenic highway 30A, Southern Gothic legend Grayson Capps treated those in attendance to his blend of hauntingly beautiful melodies infused with a touch of bayou-esque blues. Playing on the back porch of the iconic Bud & Alleys right on the snow white sands of the gulf, Capps looked right at home on a stage set up to resemble a rustic country porch, complete with the scattered bottles of beer and living room lamp. It was as if a little stretch of his world had been plopped right onto 30A, fitting for a town that once was home to the set of The Truman Show (1998 starring Jim Carrey). After the intimate set, which was played alongside piano player Randall Bramblett and Capp’s accompanying guitarist Corky Hughes, we were fortunate enough to be granted an interview with the eclectic Mr. Capps.

Grayson Capps’ Official Homepage
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The Past, Present, and Future of Online Communities

This project was done for the Evolution and Trends of Digital Media course at the University of Washington, during the Winter Quarter of 2009. The course was taught by Kathy Gill and students were instructed to choose an industry, issue, or technology related to digital communication, and examine the past and present of these industries to help form an analysis of what the future holds for these industries.

This research is aimed at determining the future of online communities. With the rise of social network sites (SNS) there has become a distinct difference between websites set up for users to connect with one another based on common interests, and social sites that allow for a more personal network. This first paper will discuss the past of both topical based communities (referred to as “forums” in this project) and social networking sites, and how the members of these communities connected before the rise of such sites. The second paper will examine the present state of these communities and how there seems to be a blending of public discussion websites and SNS’, as well as a bridging of both offline and online communities. The final paper will examine where online communities are headed based on the theories and trends discussed in the first two papers. This project is being conducted to determine the future of online communities, and will draw on sources relevant to forums and SNS’, in particular one such community that has incorporated both. This research will answer an important question: Will internet forums become obsolete or evolve? The future of internet forums quite possibly will involve incorporating many features of social media, which opens the discussion of whether or not forums will exist as being separate from social media. Either way, it is obvious that forums will remain a fixture of online communities in the future; it just needs to be determined in what form this will be in.

The Past of Online Communities
The Present and Future of Online Communities
Presentation
Annotated Bibliography

Chris Caravello currently is a graduate student at the University of Washington, and is on track to complete his degree in Winter ’09. He began his career as a designer during his time at Florida State University, where he recieved his bachelors degree in graphic design. While living in Tallahassee, he began doing freelance design for musicians who lived in the area. Upon graduating from FSU in 2005, he moved to Los Angeles and took a job as a media designer for the Alsa Corporation. In the Fall of 2007 he moved to Seattle to enter the Masters program. In May 2008 he and his cousin, along with Alex Batess and Johnathan Lucas founded the Tyronehood network, which has grown from an online community set up for fans of the New Orleans music scene to a global social network featuring an online television site and a forum for its members to discuss music, travel, and lifestyles.

Upon finishing his Masters degree, Chris plans on moving back to the Gulf Coast to work as a designer and be closer to his young daughter. He is currently working on a project for the New Orleans based House of Shock.

 

The Past, Present, and Future of Online Communities :: Slides

 

Gratification NOW!!!!

This reading discusses topics presented in the article “Effects of gratification-opportunities and gratifications-obtained on preferences of instant messaging and e-mail among college students” by Olivine Wai-Yu Lo and Louis Leung.

After reading the article on the reasons young people choose IM over email, I would have to say that I generally agree with what the study shows.  The younger generation prefers IM to email because they like the instant gratification one receives when chatting via IM.  You type something, whomever you are speaking to recieves it right away and responds almost instantly.  I look at this as being practical.  It is the tool that most accurately mimics human conversation.  Especially with features such as chat rooms to allow multiple people to engage in the conversation, as well as most mobile devices allowing IM service.  Its as if friends can have an after class discussion, without being on school grounds, or at the mall, or any other place that young people congregate at to talk amongst themselves.

Another reason that I prefer IM to email, is that there are less barriers in place between messages.  There are no spam filters, no long gaps in pieces of conversation, and if something is not 100% clear in a message, I do not have to write back and then wait for a response for something to be cleared up.  Therefore work situations can go a lot smoother.

The level of interactivity offered is the biggest driving force in preferring IM over email, and the article had this to say on this point:

e-mail lacks the majority of functions that IM can provide, especially those considered as ‘interactivity’ items such as webcam, voice chat, conference chat, on line games, and voice mail. This deficiency can determine the choice of IM and e-mail.

This reiterate the fact that IM mirrors real face to face conversation, something email cannot presently offer effectively.  The sociability of IM is what its users like over email-instant response as well as knowing when their friends are online and free to converse with.  In my opinion and experience, it is this sociability that makes IM so popular.

 

Discussion Leader Reflection

I thought my discussions all went well, I consider my presentation to be a success due to the feedback I received.  Throughout my presentation, my audience seemed in tune to each point I was trying to make, and were engaging every time I presented a question or theory, which was my main goal.  The biggest challenge was to interpret the work and make it so it was able to be understood by everyone else, no matter what their background was or how familiar they were with the topic.  The feedback I received reflected that this goal was accomplished.  I tried to avoid going more than 3 minutes of straight lecture without asking the audience a question, to keep them involved in the presentation.  All in all, this was a good experience and I really enjoy spending time discussing all of these topics with my classmates, and teaching them what I gathered from my reading also helped me have a better understanding of the material.