Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/300717
1 0 4 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 5.14 arts the bits One Question Behind the Scenes Choose a Character in… Photo by Mickie Winters What's the frst dance you learned? "My frst was a tap dance. I was two. My mom enrolled me in dance classes because I would always dance around the house when music was on. We lived way out in the country in southern Ohio, and I was an only child at the time. She thought the classes would help my 'socialization' with other children. Little did she know what she started…. "My frst dance recital was the following spring. The tap classes turned into a little song-and-dance number called 'No Can Do.' I still remember the refrain! I wore a little gold costume with a sparkly pillbox hat. Shuffe step and heel ball change were in the choreography somewhere — a good foundation for an American famenco dancer." — Diana Dinicola, 46, director of Flamenco Louisville (2031 Frankfort Ave.) This time last year, Louisvillian JK Mabry was just outside Nashville at Cash Cabin (pictured), working on his song "Whiskey and Perfume." And yes: That's Cash as in Johnny Cash. Mabry, 36, had made initial contact with the cabin when "Whiskey and Perfume" became a fnalist in a songwriting competition there, and soon he was recording with Cash's son, John Carter Cash. Before long WFPK was giving the roots-y tune some airplay in town, and Mabry (who sings and plays rhythm guitar) and his band started performing regular gigs at the Monkey Wrench. "I feel like I'm spoiled now," Mabry says, chuckling to himself. "But the whole experience of recording at Cash Cabin really reignited me. It really gave us more steam." Mabry, who grew up in the Highlands, got his frst acoustic guitar when he was 12. He went to high school in Nashville, then to the University of Kentucky, where he was in a "jazz spoken-word band." UK is also where, as a young poetry major, he experienced what he describes as his life's turning point: discovering "Death Letter Blues" by Son House. He eventually returned to Louisville, where he performed at an open-mic night at Bearno's Pizza on Bardstown Road and eventually started hosting the event. He works as a traveling salesman during the day, driving all over Kentucky and Indiana. "I have a lot of time to write when I'm in the car," he says, describing his sound as folk/Americana/"general malaise." Mabry admits that he has "encoded" a particular friend in several of his songs. He is unsure if this friend even knows it. Is it a female friend? He laughs and says, "I'm not going to say." JK Mabry and the Maybes will play the Monkey Wrench May 24 to celebrate Mabry's 37th birthday, and again on June 14 at the Mercury Ballroom. Soon, they'll release their frst studio album, Rivers, plus some live recordings. — Jasper Edwards www.derbydinner.com The Book of Mormon (May 27 to June 8 at the Kentucky Center) "Elder Cunningham. Sure he lied, made stuff up, but at the core he has the goodness and positive outlook that I think we all want in life. So the lying, out-of-touch- with-reality fat kid is the one I was drawn to. Draw your own parallels." — George Lindsey,55, morning show host, 102.3 The Max 80-112 BACK.indd 104 4/18/14 2:14 PM