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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 24 > Entry
Dallas Austin gives students a taste of biz; Hannah Montana tix a $1500 bargain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Friday, Cedar Grove High School will become one of the first schools in DeKalb County to partner full-time with Grammy-winning Atlanta music and film producer Dallas Austin as a host for his burgeoning public school music program.
Austin’s Don’t Stop the Music project kicks off its Cedar Grove partnership with a program at the school, joining an existing after-school program called Youth Vibe to give students a taste of the music industry.
The project is an outreach of the Dallas Austin Foundation. Cedar Grove principal JoAnn Williams-West said the foundation is footing the $37,000 bill to install a recording studio at the school, which also will be available to students during the school day.
The foundation already has installed recording studios in at least five Atlanta public schools, where students learn marketing, songwriting and music production.
“Music just goes throughout the curriculum,” Williams-West said of her expectation that the studio will get lots of use — never mind the star power behind it. Williams-West has been told not only to expect Austin at Friday’s kickoff, but special guest artists as well.
“Music is seemingly an interest to most students,” Williams-West said. “To have someone with the name of Dallas Austin … is just phenomenal for us.”
Austin has said his long-range goal is to take the program national, and Williams-West said foundation officials hinted they are almost ready to make that happen.
Overscene
Well, at least veteran Atlanta Falcons nose tackle Grady Jackson was well-fed before he was unceremoniously served his walking papers this week. On Monday night, Jackson, along with teammates John Abraham, Jamaal Anderson, Keith Brooking, Jonathan Babineaux, Rod Coleman and Alge Crumpler were among the Falcons who turned up for dinner at Lobster Bar in Buckhead. We’re told the outing — where the rookies foot the bill for the veterans — is an annual ritual for the players. We’re told that Jackson delighted his servers and earned some ribeye-related ribbing from co-workers when he ordered the center-cut lamb chops as an appetizer before wolfing down a 22-ounce bone-in steak entree. The bubbly beverage of choice at the table? Dom Perignon champagne.
Overheard
We hear that a certain Hollywood type with artistic leanings has been commissioned to provide the artwork for a prominent Atlanta radio station’s upcoming benefit CD. And while we’ve been sworn to secrecy until next week when we can officially share the details (and a cover image) exclusively with Buzz readers, we can tell you one thing about the artist. He or she adapts well to tight deadlines. Oh, and they may just have a family member with a not-so-secret, growing reputation as a dirty old man …
Moolah for Montana tix
Sure, the station’s sultry syndicated DJ Delilah flew in and B98.5 FM personalities, including Kelly & Alpha, and Kelly McCoy were in attendance, but the real star of the “Tickled Pink” breast cancer benefit last weekend at the Cobb Galleria Center didn’t even show. B98.5’s Will Gara tells Buzz that the bidding “got a little crazy” during the live auction for two tickets to the upcoming long sold-out Hanna Montana show here. Listener Jan Bunch successfully ponied up $1,500 for the pair. So exactly where did the station get the much-sought-after tickets for the auction?
Explained Gara: “All I was told was, ‘We have two tickets. Don’t ask questions!’ It was all very hush hush.”
Considering that scalpers are now asking $1,695 per pair, Bunch still got a deal. And it was tax deductible. The evening raised about $24,000 for the Susan G. Komen folks.
Celebrity birthdays
Country singer Jeanne Black is 70. Guitarist Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest is 60. Actress Nancy Cartwright (“The Simpsons”) is 50.Guitarist Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies is 37. Actor Mehcad Brooks (“Desperate Housewives”) is 27. Singer Ciara is 22.
ON MY iPOD and TiVo
Lance Bass, singer/author who signs his memoir “Out of Sync” at Outwrite Books in Midtown tonight at 8.
“My iPod is full of everything from Dixie Chicks to Damien Rice. I have it all. My new favorite songs are on the new Maroon 5 album. I am the TiVo whore. I TiVo it all, ‘Ugly Betty,’ ‘The Office’ and I do like reality. I love that new ‘Kid Nation’ show. It’s sad if you see my TiVo. I have to have two TiVos because I fill it all up.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If people leave here saying, ‘I had a blast in Scranton,’ then we’ve achieved our goal.” — Pennsylvania architect Michele Dempsey, who came up with the idea for this weekend’s convention inspired by “The Office.” The East Coast town is where the comedy’s fictitious paper company is located.
Contributing: Elizabeth Cobb, Kristina Torres and news services buzz@ajc.com.
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