4
MUSIC HISTORY'S FUTURE?
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame is finally coming to
Athens—in boxes, to be stored in the UGA special collections
library basement until the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Authority
can figure out what to do next with the the stash of artifacts
and memorabilia. The Authority finally pulled the plug on the
Hall of Fame, which has been housed in Macon for the last 14
years. The Hall had been unable to make ends meet financially,
which some blamed on its location in Macon. Last year, the
Authority invited interested cities to submit plans for housing
the museum, but none of those interested, including Macon
and Athens, could show the Authority convincing proof that
they could sustain the Hall of Fame over the long run.
David Barbe, head of the music business program in UGA's
Terry College of Business and a member of the Authority, says
that group will meet later in the summer to begin figuring out
what to do next with the collection of Georgia music history.
At this point, just what will be in those boxes in the UGA
basement has not been completely determined. Lisa Love,
Music Hall.of Fame director, points out that some of the mate
rials are on loan and are being returned to the lenders Music
Hall officials are also contacting donors who gave materials to
the Hall to see if they want them back now that the Hall will
cease to exist for now. Love
says that some special collec
tions libraries have asked to
borrow some of the materi
als for their own exhibits,
such as the library at Georgia
Southern in Statesboro,
which is interested in displaying some of the artifacts associ
ated with blues singer Blind Willie McTell, a Thomson native
who later lived in Statesboro and put the town on the musical
map with "Statesboro Blues."
Barbe sees the closing and storage of the music museum
as a necessary transition, and is optimistic that it will come
back in a different form, perhaps set up at a central place from
which exhibits are shared with other locations in the state.
People in Macon are understandably upset over the loss of
the Music Hall of Fame, as any city would be. The group there,
NewTown Macon, that had tried to keep the museum in Macon,
now says it will concentrate its efforts on restoring the old
Capricorn Records studios, according to the Macon Telegraph.
The closing, at least for now, of the Georgia Music Hall of
Fame may also provide the opportunity to clarify a longstand
ing confusion between that museum and the process by which
musicians and others are inducted into the Georgia Music
Hall of Fame, which actually has no relation to the museum
by the same name. That induction process is overseen by the
Senate Music Industry Committee, a committee of the Georgia
State Senate, and by its offshoot, Friends of the Georgia Music
Festival, Inc. These two entities hold their self-congratulatory
awards ceremonies in Atlanta and have nothing to do with the
actual Georgia Music Hall in Macon. Perhaps in its new incarna
tion, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Authority can come up
with a new name for the museum that distances that facility
from the political posturings of the Senate committee.
Does the presence of this rich trove of Georgia music his
tory in Athens mean our city may get another crack at hosting
the museum? Nah. It's just a storage arrangement for now,
facilitated by the happenstance that UGA is completing its
new special collections library building. Still, the Authority
will be starting over from scratch. Athens and the University
of Georgia should both take a fresh look at the possibilities for
housing this collection in our music town. Somewhere on cam
pus? In the new downtown parking deck, if the Waffle House
doesn't work out? In the nowhereland beneath the Classic
Center's new expansion along Foundry Street? What a drawing
card for the Classic Center—located near downtown and cam
pus as a great addition to the Athens music scene.
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame had a good run in an inno
vative facility in Macon. The economy and other factors have
forced the re-thinking of the whole concept. The fact remains
that Georgia has a rich music history which is of widespread
interest. Here's hoping that as the Authority ponders the future
configuration of the museum, Athens leaders will be figuring
out ways to lend our considerable musical expertise and inter
est to the process.
The Authority finally
pulled the plug on
the Hall of Fame...
Pete McCommons edilor@flagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
IMEWS <§2 FEATUIMUS
City Dope
Athens News and Views
The Classic Center's architects presented their “final" design for the center's expansion to the M&C.
Solutions for Cycles 8
Engineering Students Address Campus Bike Infrastructure
Undergrads look for ways to make the university more bicycle-friendly.
Grub Notes 9
International Flavor
Kabana offers delicious Indian and Jamaican food under the same roof.
The Reader 11
Don’t Stop the Presses
Tabloid City is filled to the brim with great characters and a reverence for the heady days of print.
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring a painting by Stanley Bermudez
on display at Hendershot's Coffee Bar
Threats & Promises 12
Music News and Gossip
News from Witness the Apotheosis, The Fuzzlers, Reptar, Madeline and more...
Upstart Roundup 14
Introducing Athens’ Newest Talent
This week: Strange Torpedo, Shaved Christ. Sam Sniper and NEVER.
CITY DOPE
....4
CONSIDER THE SOURCE
12
CITY PAGES
....5
THE HOUNDS BELOW
13
CAPITOL IMPACT
....6
UPSTART ROUNDUP
14
SUPERIORCOURTJUDGES.PT. 1 ..
....7
THE CALENDAR!
15
CAMPUS BIKES
....8
BULLETIN BOARD
20
GOOGLE THAT SH!T
....9
ART AROUND TOWN
21
GRUB NOTES
....9
COMICS
22
MOVIE DOPE
...10
REALITY CHECK
23
THE READER
...11
CLASSIFIEDS
24
THREATS & PROMISES
...12
EVERYDAY PEOPLE
27
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