Country chart climber adds new blood to Heart of Largo

By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 28, 2000

The Heart of Largo festival this year nabbed an up-and-coming Nashville name for its concert in the park: Andy Griggs. Griggs, whose hits, I'll Go Crazy, She's More (currently No. 8 on the Billboard country singles chart) and You Won't Ever Be Lonely, are making country charts sizzle, has come a long way in the five years since he was a struggling musician, making ends meet by working in a Nashville greenhouse.

Griggs may have that flashy new country look -- Entertainment Weekly called him a cross between Travis Tritt and Brad Pitt -- but Griggs cites his influences as bad-butt 1970s outlaw singers such as Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings and Johnny Paycheck.

Griggs' debut disc, You Won't Ever Be Lonely, is filled with bluegrass harmonies, barn-burning rockers and a duet with hero Jennings, who co-wrote Shine On Me with Griggs.

Griggs will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday in Largo Central Park. Opener Jeff Best takes the stage at 6:30 p.m. The concert is free, but reserved stagefront seating is available for $10 by calling (727) 587-6793.

Also, at the Heart of Largo festival, check out local musicians Lorna Bracewell and Cross-Eyed performing at the park at 6 tonight. Bracewell is a Largo 16-year-old singer who also plays a mean set of drums. The Barracudas, a British Invasion tribute group, will perform at 7:30 p.m. For more info on Heart of Largo see the Days Off column on Page 31 in Weekend.

MARSALIS AT MAHAFFEY: The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Bayfront Center's Mahaffey Theatre for the Performing Arts in St. Petersburg.

The production, titled "For Dancers Only," consists of fresh new compositions by trumpeter Marsalis and other LCJO members, written expressly for a small group of swing dancers also performing. Concert goers are also invited to dance in front of the stage.

The Orchestra will also play classics by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and others.

Tickets are $48.50, $43.50, $28.50, available through the Bayfront Center box office or by calling the office at (727) 892-5767. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster (727) 898-2100 or (813) 287-8844. For an interview with Marsalis, see Monday's Floridian section of the Times.

SULLIVAN AT THE STATE: Miami jazz musician Ira Sullivan will play the State Theatre, 687 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, at 3 p.m. Sunday .

Sullivan, a veteran trumpeter, saxophonist and composer, has played with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Art Blakely and other greats. The winner of five Grammy Awards, the 69-year-old Sullivan, also co-led a New York quintet with Red Rodney during the 1970s.

Tickets for the event, sponsored by the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association and the Tampa Jazz Club, are $12, $10 for members of any jazz club. (Kids 12 or younger get in for free if accompanied by an adult.)

MELVINS, BUT NO LEIF GARRETT: Legendary punkers the Melvins play the State at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Known for their sludgy sonic bludgeon, the Melvins still know how to give a good time. Check them out live and delight in guitarist King Buzzo's gargantuan hairdo.

The band is touring in support of the trilogy of discs it has released since last year. Those would be The Maggot, The Bootlicker and, most recently, The Crybaby, which features a cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit with guest vocals by former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett (I'm not making this up, I swear.) Garrett's band Godspeed has been opening Melvins shows on the West Coast. But the State says it just ain't so for this gig. Tickets are $10. Call (727) 895-3045.

DIAMOND TEETH MARY MEMORIAL: The Diamond Teeth Mary Memorial Jam will celebrate the life of the late Diamond Teeth Mary McClain, the beloved local blues singer who died earlier this month. The memorial takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Rd., Tampa, and features an all-star jam by local musicians such as Rock Bottom, Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues, Blind Willie James & Allen Moffatt and Sandy Atkins.

The Skipper's gang will serve Mary's favorites dishes: red beans and rice, chicken wings, corn bread and Key lime pie.

Donation is $5 with proceeds going to the Diamond Teeth Mary Memorial "Really Got the Blues" Fund, established by the Suncoast Blues Society. Call (813) 977-6474.

TEAM POP TRIVIA: The winner of last week's random drawing was Dana Groulx of Pinellas Park. Groulx knew that it was New York band the Ramones that starred in 1979's Rock "N' Roll High School.

HEY, I NEVER SAID I WAS A MATHEMATICIAN: By the way, all you old school punk rockers -- and there were many answering last week's question -- who were at home with abacuses and calculators and slide rules were indeed right: Rock "N' Roll High School came out 21 years ago, not 31. Some of you sweetly suggested my error was a typo. If only. Actually, I'm just stupid. But not the rest of Team Pop. Get this, winner Dana Groulx is the president of Tampa Bay Mensa.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION, WITH NO MATH: For all the money, all right, for the chance to have your name randomly drawn to win an ultra-fab Times T-shirt, answer this: This singer, who celebrates a birthday Sunday, wrote the hit Crazy made famous by country singer Patsy Cline. Who is he?

Fax entries to Team Pop Trivia (727) 892-2327, send e-mail to gina@sptimes.com or send your entry in an envelope as our ancestors used to: Team Pop Trivia, c/o Weekend, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33713. All mailed entries must be postmarked by Saturday (the day after we ask the question). Faxes and e-mail can come as late as Monday morning. Please include your full name and phone number.