Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304150152
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
THEY ALL STARTED WITH DYLAN
Jon Bon Jovi was 15 when he landed a part-time job at the 7-Eleven in Sayreville, N.J. As soon as he got his first paycheck, he went out and bought a copy of Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" album.Stevie Nicks started her first band, The Changing Times, while she still was in high school. The folk group was named for Dylan's 1964 release, "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
The first time Paul Simon met Dylan, he followed him around his littered house, picking up every scrap of paper he could find - anything with words on it - and stuffing them in his pockets. He said he was dying to find out how Dylan did it.
Bob Dylan - the rangy man with the rumpled hair, scuffed shoes and Huck Finn cap - still rates No. 1 one among his peers.
Some fickle fans, however, have come and gone.
Dylan's probably not surprised. After all, it was he who sang, "They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar."
In the early '60s, Dylan's guitar was a weapon against racism, war and apathy. His "Blowin' in the Wind" became an anthem for the civil rights movement.
"The idea came to me that you were betrayed by your silence," he once told some friends about the song. ". . . All of us in America who didn't speak out were betrayed by our silence."
Dylan spoke out with songs like "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," a 1962 release about the Cuban missile crisis, and "Masters of War," a 1963 swipe at government leaders.
He refused to appear on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1963 when CBS banned him from singing "Talkin' the John Birch Society Blues."
He marched on Washington with Martin Luther King that same year.
As the years rolled on, his claim to fame became his eccentricity.
He once told a reporter for The Saturday Evening Post, "I feel things that other people don't feel. It's terrible. They laugh. I felt like that my whole life. . . . I don't even know if I'm normal."
Recently, Dylan has returned to some of the old folk music and blues that influenced him when he began his career more than 30 years ago. His newest album, "Good as I Been to You," is a solo acoustic recording of his most traditional songs. He accompanies himself on guitar and harmonica.
He will perform cuts from the album tonight in Radford University's Dedmon Center. The Bob Dylan concert is set to begin at 8.
Tickets are $15 for the public or $10 for Radford University students and staff. For ticket information, call the Heth Hall information desk at 831-5420.
\ FROM BLUES TO BLUEGRASS: One of the biggest names in bluegrass and southern gospel music today is Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.
The band has recorded 15 albums for labels such as Sugar Hill and SSK Recording. It is best known for gospel recordings.
Lawson, a former member of the Country Gentlemen, is credited with the revival of harmony singing in bluegrass music.
WFNR in Christiansburg will bring Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver to Auburn High School tonight for one performance at 7:30. The opening act is The Blackburn Brothers.
The band will visit New River Valley Mall from 4:30 to 5:30 before the show to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans.
Advance discount tickets for the concert are available at the mall's customer service desk. You also may pick them up at the Handi Food Mart on Roanoke Street and the Texaco Food Mart on North Franklin Street in Christiansburg or at the Riner Food Center.
The advance tickets are $8. The cost is $10 at the door.
\ LOCAL GREATNESS: Jon Polifrone of Virginia Tech has received two Pulitzer Prize nominations for his work as a composer. He will be nominated for his third for his biggest work yet, "Requiem: For those we love."
Polifrone's requiem will be performed Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. The University Concert Choir, the Blacksburg Master Chorale, a 40-member orchestra from the region, soloists and the Montgomery County Boy Choir will participate.
Craig Fields will conduct and James Glazebrook will preside as concert master. Both are on the music faculty at Virginia Tech.
Soloists are mezzo soprano Emily Lodine of Chicago, baritone Jeffrey Ambrosini of New York and tenor Gary Fulsebakke of Roanoke.
Polifrone's composition is based on the text of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead and the poems of American poet Helen McGaughey. McGaughey was a confrere of Polifrone's at Indiana State University.
Admission to Saturday's concert is $10 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens. Call 231-5615 for tickets.
Blacksburg Presbyterian Church is at Church and Eakin streets.
\ DINNER - AND MORE - IN DUBLIN: "Singing All Day and Dinner on the Ground" is what organizers are calling the all-day fete at the New River Valley Fairgrounds on Saturday. The event, sponsored by New River Community College and the Appalkids of Pulaski County High School, features crafts, displays, children's activities, food, dancing and music.
Musical variety includes shape-note singing, bluegrass, country, folk, acoustic and gospel.
Breakfast (with ham biscuits) starts at 9 and runs until 10:30 a.m. Here's the best of the rest:
\ 9 a.m. Appalachian Tune & Verse Singers
\ 10 a.m. The Stars of Hope
\ 11 a.m. Jack Hinschelwood, Wayne Henderson & Friends
\ 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Pork barbecue dinner served
\ Noon The Highlanders
\ 1 p.m. Kindred Spirits
\ 2 p.m. Olen Gardner & The Appalachian Ramblers
\ 3 p.m. Jam session for all musicians
\ 4 p.m. Idlewilde
\ 5 p.m. The Unique Sounds of the Mountains with Barbara Sigmon and Larry Poole
\ 5-7 p.m. Brunswick stew supper served
\ 6 p.m. The Gold Hill Band
\ 7 p.m. Marshmallow roast\ 7-9 p.m. Ralph Blizzard and the New Southern Ramblers
Ralph Blizzard and the New Southern Ramblers will play two sets to finish the day. The group from Tennessee specializes in southern Appalachian long-bow fiddling.
Some fascinating displays you won't want to miss include instrument making, pottery, spinning, wreath making and gun making. Also, check out Hiwassee's quilting ladies, Graham Simmerman's archaeological display and Willard Gayheart's drawings.
Admission to the fairgrounds in Dublin is free, but you'll want to bring some money for the good eats.
\ STUFF TO DO THAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD: You'll find it Saturday in Radford and in Christiansburg.
The Area Nine Special Olympics Spring Games begin with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. in Radford High School's Bobcat Stadium. Around 200 mentally handicapped youths and adults are expected to participate in the athletic competitions.
Volunteers are needed to help with the games. All you have to do is show up between 8 and 8:30 Saturday morning to register. You can come anytime during the day to cheer. Closing ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m.
In Christiansburg, there's the annual Big Brothers and Big Sisters "Bowl for Kids' Sake." It's happening from 1 to 4 p.m. at Triangle Lanes on U.S. 460.
The bowlathon is a fund-raiser for the New River Valley chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The organization matches adult volunteers with children from primarily single-parent homes.
Lots of kids in the area are waiting for their big sisters and big brothers.
For more information on Saturday's event or to find out how you can help the organization, call Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the New River Valley at 381-0300. The office is at 16 E. Main St. in Christiansburg.