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Dupri opening nightclub
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta entertainment mogul Jermaine Dupri just keeps adding the hyphenates. The Grammy-winning record label president, rapper, producer, songwriter and restaurateur will as of next week also officially be a nightclub owner. On June 12, Dupri is set to give the media and his celebrity friends a preview of Studio 72, the 12,000-square-foot club he reportedly dropped $1 million rehabbing on Lawrenceville Highway. (3965 Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker, to be exact.) Then on June 16, a silver carpet grand opening is planned.
We also hear that Studio 72 is planned as “a modern day version of famed New York nightclub Studio 54,” featuring a 600-gallon aquarium filled with exotic fish and hues of brown, silver and champagne. There was no immediate word on Liza Minnelli and Grace Jones had yet been hired as professional party guests to complete the Studio 54 vibe …
BRUUUCE BACK BUYING, MAYBE MAKING MUSIC
We’re going to venture out on a fairly sturdy limb here and theorize that Bruce Springsteen is back in Atlanta and potentially recording a new album project.
The facts that support this?
Well specifically, Wax ‘N Facts, the iconic record emporium in Little Five Points reported a visit by the equally iconic rocker this week. His tour guide? None other than Swimming Pool Q’s rock legend Jeff Calder who doubles as a veteran knob twister at Southern Tracks recording studios where Springsteen and producer Brendan O’Brien holed up back in 2002 to record “The Rising,” Springsteen’s critically acclaimed musical response to September 11.
Calder brought Bruuuce in to buy some music for his kids, manager Sean Bourne told Buzz. Among the purchases: The Dropkick Murphys CD and a Jimi Hendrix DVD (days earlier, incidentally, R&B singer-songwriter India Arie was hanging out in the store, looking for the soundtrack to “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf”).
Later, Springsteen and Calder were spotted checking out tomes at the nearby A Cappella Books. While owner Frank Reiss confirmed Thursday that Springsteen “bought a nice stack of books,” Reiss was careful to maintain the privacy of his A-list customer. Reiss would say only that most of his purchases were about music and that he “ventured into our history section.” The only title Reiss would specifically namedrop was the well-reviewed Clash bio “Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer” by Chris Salewicz that first hit stores last month.
STORK REPORT
It’s a boy!
Former 99X Morning X personality Jimmy Baron and his Sunday Paper columnist wife Lisa are parents of a 7-pound, 13-ounce boy. And according to an e-mail the Barons circulated Thursday, the baby’s bris already has been scheduled for next week when his name will be officially unveiled.
NE-YO SETS UP SHOP
Recent Atlanta transplant Ne-Yo is staking claim to even more metro area territory. On Wednesday night, the R&B singer-songwriter cut the ribbon on his 6,000-square-foot downtown studio, Carrington House. (Named after the daughter of Ne-Yo’s manager). Among the wide assortment of guests were — take a deep breath here: Snellville’s “American Idol” runner-up Diana DeGarmo, sporting a new copper hairstyle; BET’s Melyssa Ford; V-103’s Frank Ski and Nina Brown; Hot-107.9’s Miss Shynekia, Beyoncé and LaToya Dixson; R&B singer Scar; party co-sponsor and Rolling Out publisher Munson Steed; and the Elegant Experience’s Ashley, who miraculously oversaw everything from the blackberry mojitos and skewered shrimp to the models walking around in silver body paint to the purchase and placement of the new furniture from Horizon Home.
On Thursday night, the multiplatinum artist was set to begin his “One Night With Ne-Yo” tour in Virginia. He’s due back home to judge a local talent search for a new R&B act, for his songwriting and production company, Compound Entertainment. (Auditions are being held June 2-4 at Sam Ash Music, 2999 Cobb Parkway. For more information go to www.v-103.com). On June 5, he’s scheduled to perform at Center Stage. “I’m really pleased with how Atlanta’s welcoming me,” Ne-Yo said at the studio opening. Then he smiled as he looked around: “Especially all of these beautiful Atlanta women.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Andy Griffith is 81. Actor Edward Woodward (“The Equalizer”) is 77. Singer Pat Boone is 73. Actor Morgan Freeman is 70. Actor Rene Auberjonois (“Boston Legal”) is 67. Guitarist Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones is 60. Actor Powers Boothe is 58. Country singer Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn is 54. Actress Teri Polo (“Meet The Parents”) is 38. Model Heidi Klum is 34. Singer Alanis Morissette is 33. TV host Damien Fahey (MTV’s “Total Request Live”) is 27.
Contributing: Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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