LIVE FROM JACKSONVILLE! with Amadeus
99.9 Gator Country morning show host Amadeus shares stories that did not make it on the air, and he takes a deeper dive into those that did make the cut. Fans of Your Hometown Morning Show will enjoy a more behind the scenes look at what goes into the making of a country radio morning show. Listen daily for this PG-13 version of the top stories making pop culture headlines, artist interviews, and much , much more.
LIVE FROM JACKSONVILLE! with Amadeus
JACKSONVILLE'S HOTTEST CONCERTS, THEATER BUZZ, AND ELVIS HISTORY!
Join me, Amadeus, as I team up with the dynamic Matt Basford to bring you the latest buzz on Jacksonville's concert scene. Get ready to discover an array of exciting shows, from country superstars like Rascal Flatts and Kane Brown to the iconic Shania Twain and pop-punk queen Avril Lavigne at Daily's Place. We'll share our passion for experiencing legendary performers like Alice Cooper and Willie Nelson live, and introduce you to Jacksonville's best-kept secret, the Thrasher Horn Center, with its fascinating events like the Taylor Swift laser show.
Theater lovers, this one's for you! We're spotlighting an eclectic lineup of performances, including Evil Woman's homage to ELO and the spectacular 30th anniversary of Riverdance, promising rich cultural experiences and exclusive VIP perks. Whether you're planning a romantic night with The Four Phantoms or a family outing to the modern twist on Peter Pan, we've got it all. And don't miss out on the "Dancing with the Stars" live show, where TV favorites and fresh choreography await to dazzle you.
Our tribute to musical revivals features passionate discussions about unforgettable tribute acts, from a mesmerizing Prince homage to MJ Live's electrifying celebration of Michael Jackson's legacy. We delve into the vibrant music scene in Jacksonville, with highlights on the Florida Theater's incredible acoustics and rising stars like Brett Young and Kacey Musgraves. To top it all off, enjoy a humorous tidbit about Elvis Presley's 1956 Jacksonville adventure, offering a nostalgic and entertaining glimpse into the past. Tune in, and let's celebrate the rich tapestry of music and theater that Jacksonville has to offer!
Welcome to Eden and Amadeus, the podcast. I'm Amadeus and you are Eden. You're not Eden. Wait a minute, this is our first podcast of the new year and sadly, eden is no longer with us. Oh my gosh, what happened? I didn't hear. She just quit her job. Oh, she actually years ago she worked at a television station and they offered her her old job back and she thought you know what? Now's the time, I'm 70, I may as well. I may as well get out of radio and do television full time wait till she hears this.
Speaker 1:I know she's going to kill me.
Speaker 1:We miss her so much I'm actually turning the eden and namadeus podcast into kind of a dream project that I've been thinking about for a long time. I got a lot of concerts here in jacksonville because we have some amazing venues and I've been wanting to let people know. Here's what happened. Oh, by the way, that's Matt Basford. Hey, how's it going? Matt is our jack of all trades here at the radio station and I wanted to have someone on my first podcast to help me kind of get the message out.
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 1:A lot of times on Facebook. I'll be like hey saw Patti LaBelle was in town. Like how do people not know what's going on in this town? They don't have access to the internet.
Speaker 1:Well, now there's a podcast that is going to periodically let you know exactly what's happening in town. I wanted to run some shows by you For those who no longer get the Jacksonville Journal. Yeah, exactly. Or is the Folio Weekly still out? Yeah, those Bird Cage Liners, okay, yeah, those Bird Cageliners, okay, yeah. So here's some great shows coming to town. Now, you're not as big a concert goer as I am, no, is anyone? Is anyone really? You know, I see a couple of people around town Like I'll be, like, oh hey, like I'll see them at different shows Because I like all genres. Yeah, like I'm all over the map. I don't know. You know, the older I get, I'm very selective. Yeah, you are.
Speaker 3:I think there's a couple on my list of some things that are coming in the next couple of months that you're gonna like. Yeah, I'm so selective, like I got tickets to the taylor swift laser show.
Speaker 1:Yeah exactly very selective. And also, what was the uh, uh not loving? Oh, yeah, loving rockets, and um gosh, the one with perry farrell. But right before the fight, oh, jane's Addiction. Yeah, jane's Addiction. Yeah, we're both all over the map with our tastes. So the arena has a couple of great shows coming up in the next couple of months Rascal Flatts are doing their greatest hits tour, brantley Gilbert is doing an arena tour and Kane Brown will be here on April 25th. Okay, but can we talk about who?
Speaker 3:I'm really excited about.
Speaker 1:Well who. Shania Twain Okay, we're not there yet.
Speaker 3:No, I want to get there.
Speaker 1:We're going venue by venue, oh, but I can't wait though. Okay, guess who's coming to Daily's Place.
Speaker 3:Shania.
Speaker 1:Twain. Shania Twain will be at Daily's Place in July.
Speaker 3:But another one of my favorite ladies, Avril Lavigne, also at Daily's.
Speaker 1:Place Is Another one of my favorite ladies, avril Lavigne also at.
Speaker 2:Daily's Place. Is this your?
Speaker 1:podcast yes, get out. It's a shared podcast. Yeah, avril Lavigne's coming to Daily's Place. Shania Twain In February. Rod Stewart and this great show called Keep the Party Going, a tribute to Jimmy Buffett with his band, the Coral Reefer Band.
Speaker 3:They're going to be there. Have you seen them before?
Speaker 1:You know what I've never seen? I never got to see Jimmy Buffett in concert and it's very sad to me. I mean, there's a list of guys and you know artists that I want to see. Ever since Prince died I've been trying to knock them off, but that's just one that I haven't seen. Not knock them off.
Speaker 1:I mean check them off. But right after Prince died I saw Tony Bennett, engelbert Humperdinck, johnny Mathis, like some of the greats, and it was really, really cool. So yeah, dailiesplacecom for all those shows and, by the way, I'm just hitting the ones that are coming in the next few months. I know you are, because you know I'll be doing this show frequently enough that I'll talk about some other ones later. On St Augustine Amphitheater have you ever seen Alice Cooper? I, he is something to see live. He's going to be there February 11th, february 15th, macy Gray oh yeah, I mean, they're all over the map there. And on February 19th and 20th, willie Nelson and family. Let me tell you something If you've never seen Willie Nelson tick-tock, because he ain't getting no younger, he's great live. Have you seen him?
Speaker 3:No, I haven't, that's another one. I feel I'm embarrassed to say that I have not seen some of these. You should really see him on this tour.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying anything, I'm not trying to jinx it, but I'm just saying you should really see him soon, because there's this thing we called Circling the Drain. Oh no, you'll get in.
Speaker 2:I'm just saying.
Speaker 1:The Thrasher Horn Center is another amazing venue here in town that people don't know about. It's kind of in the Orange Park-Middleburg area. It's connected to a college. It's a beautiful venue, beautiful venue, and they bring in some amazing shows, mostly kind of older, which surprises me because it's a college. But that's where we're going to go see the Taylor Swift laser show. Actually, I don't think we are, because it's on Super Bowl night. Yeah, and we didn't know that. Yeah, I didn't want to bring that. Yeah, but for the people who want to see it, but they've got Howie Mandel coming. That's cool. Did you know that? I did not know that. Yeah, they got Larry the Cable Guy coming and Joe Nichols and this is a makeup show from then. The other one, right, and they were swirling all around Florida.
Speaker 1:And finally, finally, 5 in Riverside is a brand new venue coming to town. It's where the old Sunray Cinema used to be and they're kicking it off with some great artists, including Zach Topp, who is so traditional country. I absolutely love him. The Bodine's oh, no way. That's the face I've been waiting for. No, him. The Bodines oh, no way. That's the face I've been waiting for. No way. The Bodines will be at 5 in Riverside on March 30th, cameron Marlowe on May 15th and Lily Rose, who was at the Clay County Fair last year and, like I think everyone was there to see Lily Rose. She is an amazing country artist that will be like at the top of the list one day. See her in a bar while you can, because she's not getting any younger. She's I mean, she's only 23, but yeah, she's not getting any younger. No, because the next time you see her it'll be in an arena and you'll be like I saw her at this bar. It was so cool, that's why so?
Speaker 1:I have a couple of guests coming in on my first podcast, um, and up next we're going to be talking with someone from the FSCJ Artist Series named Amanda Scott, and Amanda's going to tell us all about what's happening with the FSCJ Artist Series.
Speaker 2:Oh, we have so many great shows. We have everything from concerts, opera, dance, variety, family shows, the first one coming up in February is the Electric Light Orchestra Experience Evil Woman, the American ELO.
Speaker 1:Jeff Lynne, one of the greatest songwriters ever Absolutely hands down and those songs. For my age, I mean, xanadu was like one of the quintessential films you had to see when I was a kid Right, and he wrote all the music for that. Just amazing, amazing stuff.
Speaker 2:I mean it's incredible. I will listen to every single album from start to finish, the songs, how they progress in their timing, phrasing.
Speaker 1:And this production is through the roof.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:What's this show like?
Speaker 2:So it's a multimedia concert celebration of the music of ELO. It features a live band, a string section, stunning light show and video content.
Speaker 1:It's going to attack all your senses.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes. I mean, that's what ELO really does.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I love that.
Speaker 2:Evil Woman. The American ELO understands the complexities of ELO's music. They really do justice to the music. They're a group of 12 stellar musicians and their attention to detail when it comes to their technicality is really unmatched.
Speaker 1:You got me stoked for that one. I'm excited. I've never seen ELO or Jeff Lynne in concerts One of the few artists that I want to see that I haven't seen yet so I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this band. When they came together, they wanted to do the music justice, so they modeled their name after the Australian Pink Floyd show. I don't know if you're familiar with that no. But they're one of the really big tribute bands out there. You know, like I said, they really wanted to do ELO's music justice, so they modeled it off of them and also used the name Evil Woman being the show that catapulted ELO into commercial success and turned them into a household name.
Speaker 1:I'm a huge Duran Duran fan and they just recently put out an album of cover songs that they kind of made their own, and Evil Woman was one of the releases from that and they did an amazing job with it.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'll have to check that out, yeah it's really really good. So the next one we have on February 6th is Riverdance. It's celebrating its 30th anniversary oh my gosh, are you kidding me? 30 years, wow yes, and they're welcoming a new generation of dancers. It first captivated audiences with its Irish and international dance and Grammy award-winning music, and the precision and stamina of these dancers is simply fascinating.
Speaker 1:It tires me out just watching them. I mean it's exhausting, but it's such an amazing art.
Speaker 2:It is. I mean, it's mesmerizing, and the infectious energy that they give out to the crowd. It just keeps them coming back for more. So it's really no wonder that 30 years later they're still doing it.
Speaker 1:Do you try to Riverdance every time you watch it? Yes, me too.
Speaker 2:It's impossible not to I know, it's really for the whole family too, and for the mega fans out there. We have VIP packages, so you'll get to come to the theater early and see the cast warm up on stage oh cool and do a Q&A with them, and then they'll go home with a commemorative laminate.
Speaker 1:That sounds like a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:It really is so. February 6th at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, and then up next we have the Four Phantoms in Concert, which is a special Valentine's Day performance, on February 14th. It brings together a quartet of performers who all play the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
Speaker 1:Oh cool.
Speaker 2:It's going to be incredible.
Speaker 1:This is definitely a romantic date night.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I mean talk about the talent. The Four Phantoms collectively have performed the title role over 6,000 times.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Because they do eight nights a week on Broadway, absolutely, or eight?
Speaker 2:shows a week. I should say Right, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and one of them, john Cudier, is no stranger to Jacksonville. He's performed in the National Tour and he also performed with the Jacksonville Symphony. And get this he was the first and only actor to have played the Phantom and Jean Valjean in Les.
Speaker 1:Mis. Oh wow, he's got quite a resume. Yes, and that's actually on Valentine's Night. That's right, okay.
Speaker 2:And audiences will be able to hear more about the other Phantoms as well as enjoy unforgettable music from the Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Sweeney, Todd and more.
Speaker 1:Oh fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then we'll return to the Broadway and Jacksonville series with a timeless show Peter Pan. Yay, I'm very very excited for this one. The production really inspires imagination and it reminds us to keep the child alive within us all. It's full of wonder and adventure. There's flying sword, fighting, exhilarating dance. Really name it, and they have it.
Speaker 1:This is one show that I've never seen on Broadway, and as a little boy there's two characters that kind of influenced me as an adult. Peter Pan was one, because I'm like a little boy that refuses to grow up, and then Pinocchio, because I've got no strings to hold me down. But I really want to see this on stage. I'm super excited it's coming.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:What's the run for Peter Pan?
Speaker 2:So it's a week long February 18th through the 23rd and it's really made for a new generation. It has been artfully adapted to better reflect a diverse society. Wendy and Tiger Lily have voices. Wendy wants to be a doctor and she's a strong female protagonist, and Tiger Lily is a leader and an equal to Peter Pan.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I can't wait to see that.
Speaker 2:Yes, and if you're bringing little ones to the show, I recommend getting tickets to opening night. It's our family night on Broadway. You'll be able to enjoy pre-show activities in the lobby and if you use the code FLY F-L-Y, you'll get 50% off tickets.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:Yes, when you buy in pairs.
Speaker 1:Opening night is always special, by the way.
Speaker 2:It is. Yes, there's a lot of magic, you know. You see those big trucks come in and the set gets loaded on stage, and just the excitement of the crowd.
Speaker 1:There's definitely an energy to it that I love. What's coming up after that, or can you tell us yet?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. In February we also have Dancing with the Stars. We have limited availability left for that show.
Speaker 1:Ah, it's selling pretty well. Yes, so there are going to be some performers from the TV show here.
Speaker 2:Yes, so Joey Gradazia and Steven Nedoroshek you know they'll have the pros there with them and do some of the dances that you saw on TV, as well as some new choreography.
Speaker 1:That show's just like a phenomenon. I mean it's crazy. I did local version of Dancing with the Stars for three years in a row. I came in fifth place and then third place and finally first and after I came in first, I did an amazing Paso Doble and I'm like, okay, I'm out, I got first place and I'm done, but I had a great time with it. I mean it's really a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's incredible. So we're right on the cusp of our 25, 26 Broadway and Jacksonville announce.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So if you're a Broadway fan, be sure that you're signed up to receive email communications at fscjartistseriesorg.
Speaker 1:So you can't reveal any of those right now.
Speaker 2:I can't, but I can tell you it's going to be screamingly funny and spectacular.
Speaker 1:Will you come back on the podcast when you're able to let us know and share the news?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I can't wait.
Speaker 1:Perfect. So give everybody the website one more time so they can get on the list to get all that information.
Speaker 2:It's fscjartistseriesorg.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, Amanda. We're joined right now by Numa Seselin.
Speaker 3:Perfect, perfect yeah.
Speaker 1:The president of the Florida Theater. Before we even get started, numa, I got to tell you it's my favorite theater in town. It should be. I've lived here since fourth grade and I've been going to concerts. I mean, I don't even remember a time I didn't go to concerts, probably when I was 14 or 15, I started, and so it's just been like my backyard here's one of the cool things about my job is that I get to talk to people like you who have had a lifelong relationship with the building.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and your predecessor really, really made me fall in love with it. He was so passionate about the theater, like you are, eric Hart, yes, he was, and it makes you want to go in and hang out and kind of be a part of the family. Really I do feel like it's. When I go there I feel like I'm part of the family.
Speaker 3:Well that's and I'm glad you do, because that's what we're. What we're going for. We want people to come to the Florida Theater and have a relationship with the building and to come back for more shows. Most people go out to see their favorite performer and you know there's nothing wrong with that. If you like Chris Bode, for example, and you want to come and see Chris, great, we have him. But we also hope that that will get you in the door and then you'll be encouraged to come and see something else.
Speaker 1:Exactly and about half our attendance every year are repeat customers- let's go back to the beginning with people that maybe are new to Jacksonville. Can you give them a brief history of the theater itself? Here's the quick history.
Speaker 3:Florida Theater was built in 1927. When it opened in 1927, it was the sixth theater on Forsyth Street. Wow, within four blocks there were already five theaters and this was number six. This is the only one that survived. I think a lot about what Forsyth Street would look like if just one or two of those other buildings had survived, but still we're incredibly lucky that in the late 70s a group of concerned citizens got together and decided they were going to save the building and turn it into a performing arts venue for cultural uses, because the theory was that would bring people downtown and spur economic development.
Speaker 3:And here we are, x amount of years later. Here we are, x years later. The building is owned by the city of Jacksonville and it is managed by the Florida Theater Performing Arts Center Incorporated, which is the nonprofit corporation that I work for. We have managed the building since 1987. And we are the only building downtown that's locally managed, the only entertainment venue that's locally managed and the only entertainment venue that's managed by a nonprofit and you know I'm biased because that's who I work for.
Speaker 1:But also it's easy to fall in love with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we like to say we are by of and for Jacksonville. We all live here. When we have a good year, the money stays in our building, in our organization. It gets plowed back into the building and back into more great programming that benefits Jacksonville.
Speaker 1:You guys made a huge accomplishment last year. I want to point that out the most attended theater in North Florida and South Georgia of any other theater in this area.
Speaker 3:How nuts is that?
Speaker 1:I mean one of the smallest venues by occupancy, I think, or at least in the mid-range, yet you outsold every other venue. Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 3:Yes, daly's Place and the St Augustine Amphitheater and ViStar Arena and the Moran Theater. It's now called the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center. The largest of them has 13,000 seats.
Speaker 1:The smallest of them still has 1,000 more seats than we do and you still outsold everybody, we outsold everybody and that's a true testament to how much people love the venue and love going and supporting the venue.
Speaker 3:And you know, I also want to thank the theater's staff, because the people who book the shows and get those shows on stage every day and sell those shows. You know we achieved that number by having a lot of shows. Yeah, last year was our busiest year since 2007. It was the fourth most attended year ever in our history and a lot of people worked really hard to make that happen.
Speaker 1:All right, let's talk about shows. I want to give you some hell for a second, because a show came a few weeks ago Marshall Karloff and the Purple Experience and I wasn't there. Do you have any idea what you missed? I?
Speaker 3:heard it was a great show. Yeah, I heard it was a great show. Yeah, I heard it was a really great show. People enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:I'm a huge Prince fan. I saw Prince seven times and when I saw a Prince tribute show was coming, I'm like I don't know. It's hard, you know. And let me tell you something If you didn't know Prince was gone and you were in that audience, you would swear you were seeing Prince live.
Speaker 3:I mean, he was amazing there are tribute shows is what we call them a big chunk of our calendar. Now the guy who books our shows, kevin Stone he's our vice president of programming tries really hard to make sure that the shows that make it to our stage are good quality and well done. So you're not going to see a schlocky prince impersonator. It took me a minute to find the word. You're not going to see a schlocky prince impersonator on our stage. Well, marshall blew me away. I mean blew me away. So the best of the folks you know, brit Floyd, get the Lead Out One Night of Queen.
Speaker 1:The.
Speaker 3:George Michael show. That was just here. Those people who come every year, yeah, you know we keep bringing them back because people want to see them. But I think one of the reasons that people want to see them is the performers go to some lengths to not pretend. Say, they're the Beatles Right, you know they're not costume and wig shows Right, you know they're not costume and wig shows Right, they're really well done productions with good tech and, you know, most importantly, performed by talented musicians who like the music as much as we do.
Speaker 1:And that's the thing about Marshall performing as Prince. You could tell that he was a Prince fan. Yeah, because he really went kind of deep into Prince's catalog, so he knows what the fans want. Yeah, and when he did, we were all going crazy.
Speaker 3:When a performer is as much of a fan as you are, that really comes across.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope you guys bring him back and bring the purple experience back, because I think it's probably. I went on Facebook and said this is not only the best Prince tribute band I've ever seen, but maybe the best tribute band of any artist that I've ever seen. I praise, I mean, it was really and I've seen a lot, I go to a lot of tribute shows and, yeah, you missed one. I was like where's Numa? He's missing it.
Speaker 3:We did 200 plus shows last year and I was at a lot of them.
Speaker 1:You can't be at all of them.
Speaker 3:I think you were actually out of town when Marshall was here.
Speaker 1:What date was it? I can't even remember the date, but I think you were out of town coming back the next day, so you got to pass. But next year you cannot miss that show. Let's talk about some of the things coming up, because you got some great shows on the way. Mj Live direct from Vegas. Yeah, this thing looks amazing.
Speaker 3:I haven't seen that one yet, but again, you know we've done our homework and we're expecting a great show. For those of in the audience who are not familiar, mj is Michael Jackson, so a Michael Jackson show which we haven't done before. So we're looking forward to hearing all that music on our stage.
Speaker 1:I've been watching some of the videos from, I guess, the Vegas show and now the touring show and it looks really amazing. Another artist that you know he's gone, you're never going to see him again, but these tribute shows bring back all the music, the feelings. I mean I was crying during the Prince tribute show. It's that realistic. The Bronx Wanderers I don't know much about these guys, but this show looks like a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:We have had them before. It's been a while. Vinnie Artolino was a record executive in New york and he started a show with his sons and, uh, the show has kind of morphed a little bit into a survey of uh, let's call it modern music. So the bronx wanderers. You think it might be doo-wop, um, but between dad and the sons they're covering several decades worth of music, and that's always a lot of.
Speaker 1:When you go to a show that's kind of a greatest hits of your life, it's really easy to just sit there and just let yourself get taken away by it. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is coming back to the Florida Theater.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you for mentioning an original artist who has written their own material, I know right, that's true, that's true, but a lot of people are excited about this one. Yeah, so it's been a long time since they were at the Florida Theater. I think it's been a while since they've been in our market. They are one of the original. Americana would be the catch all category now, right, but they're one of the original bands that kind of bridge the gap between folk and country and rock.
Speaker 1:They really don't have a home in radio. I've noticed that, you know, there's a couple of singles that would fit each genre or each format. But yeah, you're right, they just kind of bridge that gap.
Speaker 3:And their album Will the Circle Be Unbroken is a classic now. It is widely looked at as one of the very first examples of an album of an artist working with other artists and other genres, which is very commonplace now. Yeah, but not so much when that was released.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean today, everybody's doing collaborations.
Speaker 3:And you know the Florida Theater, the room itself is just made for this kind of music.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, 100% Voices and stringed instruments.
Speaker 3:Nothing sounds better in that room.
Speaker 1:You're right. Okay, I'm going to go back to another tribute band. Yeah, don't be mad, I am.
Speaker 3:He said so they were here last year. Yep First time. This is Matt V in the Killer Vs. Yes, super fun A lot of fun.
Speaker 1:It's a Neil Diamond celebration.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, and really well done. Again, doesn't pretend he's Neil Diamond, he just loves the music. And Matt, I can't remember Matt's relation to Bobby V. He's either a son or a cousin or something. I knew there was some connection. There's some connection to.
Speaker 1:Bobby V, so I missed them last year. I'm going to definitely try to catch them this year, even though I'm not. Don't get mad. I'm not a huge fan of Sweet Caroline I don't know why and I know everyone loves that one but when it comes on I'm like I'm out of here. I wouldn't do that at that show. But if we're in a bar or something, I'm like okay, I'm done. Okay, another couple of artists that write their own and perform a couple of country artists which is dear to my heart I'm in country radio. Brett Young have you seen him before?
Speaker 3:I have not. I know nothing about him, other than he's on our schedule and tickets are selling, I think that this may be a sleeper for you guys.
Speaker 1:I don't think a lot of people in country have embraced him like they should have yet, but this is going to be a really good show.
Speaker 3:That show's March 6th. We've done and by we I mean Kevin and his team have done a great job of ferreting out young country artists who are on their way up.
Speaker 3:It's not easy to catch someone on that life cycle because you know a long time ago, if you were a performer, you'd play clubs for years and then move into bigger clubs and maybe you got a record contract and you moved into theaters and you played theaters for years and then, if you were lucky enough, you played arenas and that was a very long life cycle. The life cycle now is like six months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Because you get on TikTok, you get 30 million followers and then you're playing like Tortuga Music Festival.
Speaker 3:So the brief window of time that we have to capture somebody before either their 60 seconds of fame are over or before they graduate to arenas is small.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is very small.
Speaker 3:And our team has done a great job of doing that. And there's been a bunch of artists over the last 10 years who have gone on to great things, so Casey Musgraves is one of them. Just the other day I said hey, was Sabrina Carpenter here a couple years ago? I didn't even realize that she had been on our schedule.
Speaker 1:And now she's one of the biggest things on the planet Up for a Grammy On the planet. Yeah, tracy Lawrence is coming, and this is a makeup show from when the hurricanes were here. I believe it was last October. Yeah, and I'm really looking forward to this one. Tracy Lawrence is so solid.
Speaker 3:Again, live music sounds great in that room, yeah, and country artists in particular do a great job of not over amplifying their music. And you don't have to there. Yeah, you don't have to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and he'll sound terrific. That's one of the shows that'll be amazing. It just made me think, just kind of stream of consciousness, that when Marshall was here playing as Prince with the Purple Experience, he acknowledged that I believe this was Elvis' first indoor arena. Right, oh, is that right?
Speaker 3:No, that's not Urban myth oh, that's an urban myth. What Urban myth? Oh, that's an urban myth. Urban myth what? Yeah? We hear this all the time and it makes me nuts.
Speaker 1:Okay, what's the true story?
Speaker 3:So here's the true story. Yeah, we hear all the time. Elvis' first theater show, elvis' first indoor show. None of that is true. Oh my gosh, I've lived a lie. So Elvis was in Jacksonville in 1955. He played at the Armory Came back a year later, in 1956. We were the end of a tour. It was a nine-city, 11-day 27 performance tour. Oh my gosh, just think about that. Three shows a day, wow, in nine different cities over 11 days. We were the last stop in Florida, so they started down south and worked their way north through St Pete and Tampa and Lake City and then Daytona, and then here we were, the last six shows. He did three shows a day for two days and I don't know how that you know his first theater show ever started, because obviously for the 11 days right before us, right?
Speaker 1:he was in theaters. I didn't know that and I've never questioned it. I've always assumed it was true.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it gets.
Speaker 1:I don't know how it started, but it gets repeated all the time well, I will never repeat it again, because now I know the truth, what is true is that jacksonville is the place where he was told not to swivel his hips.
Speaker 3:Oh, is that right? And if? If people have seen the Baz Luhrmann movie, it's fictionalized in the movie, which I was very disappointed at because it really happened here. He'd been at the armory a year earlier and when he came back, marion Gooding was the juvenile court justice in Jacksonville and he summoned young Mr Presley to his chambers and told him there would be no bodily movements. Wow, and he was going to be there with an arrest warrant in his pocket and if Elvis swiveled his hips he was going to have the police arrest him. And was he arrested here? So he was not arrested.
Speaker 3:Scotty Moore in Elvis's band says Elvis played the show straight, just stood there and sang. But at one point he wiggled his pinky back at the judge and said was this too much body movement? Oh my gosh. And Scotty also says that that was the night he started to sneer. So that famous Elvis lip curl, we can lay claim to it, starting here, because Elvis was that angry Right here in the Florida theater. What's fascinating about all of this is the judge came to the show and let his teenage children come as well. Oh, that's cool, which you know. So he was defending our morals but at the same time not getting in the way of his kids having fun, and the family said that forever after. Whenever Elvis was on TV, the judge had to tell the story.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm sure he probably told that story a million times. I kind of want to end it on that, but there is one more show I definitely want to mention, and that is Angela Johnson Reyes, who's coming back to the Florida Theater on April 5th. She is so dang funny and comedy shows are great there as well.
Speaker 3:She is super funny. Mad TV was her big TV claim to fame. She's been with us five or six times by now. Yeah, she's one of those perennials that we bring back on a regular basis because she's funny and people want to see her, and the Florida Theater is a great room for comedy.
Speaker 1:It really is, and she's one of people want to see her, and the Florida Theater is a great room for comedy. It really is, and she's one of the reasons that you guys reached that goal of selling more seats than any other venue in the area, because you guys bring so many amazing shows.
Speaker 3:So in a given year. About two thirds of our calendar are performers who have been with us before and about a third of them are new, and we work really hard at that every year to make sure that we're always finding new artists and giving them a platform and, hopefully, developing an audience for them so they'll come back.
Speaker 1:I have one request. Right before COVID hit, Kevin had booked Brittany Howard, formerly of Alabama Shakes, and I had begged him for months, like we got to see Brittany. We got to see Brittany and then COVID, she was booked, I believe for April.
Speaker 3:That was so disappointing, yeah, so can we get her back. We are, we're trying.
Speaker 1:OK, good, good, good.
Speaker 3:I know that she is performing again and I know that there's apparently an Alabama Shakes reunion oh fun On the way. But yeah, she's a terrific example of a performer who would you know. That would be just absolutely the perfect venue for her.
Speaker 1:I finally got to see her. I don't know if you know this. I'm a huge Duran Duran fan.
Speaker 3:I've seen them like 63 times Right there on your t-shirt.
Speaker 1:Oh, am I wearing a Duran shirt today, yeah. Almost every day. She was at a festival in Kentucky last year that Duran Duran was playing at, so I finally did get to see her live. But the beautiful Florida Theater.
Speaker 3:One of my first radio interviews upon getting my job here, like within the first couple weeks on another station, shall we say. Sure, simon Lebon from Duran Duran was on the same show as I was. Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1:Wow, I'm just since. I worked in a record store in the 80s and from the beginning I've been a massive. I saw them for the 63rd time this past Halloween at Madison Square Garden, my first time seeing them at the garden. Okay, you're a super fan, I'm a super fan. I just those guys. I mean that music just was like literally the soundtrack of my life. Numa, thank you so much for coming in. Let me give everyone the website. It's floridatheatercom, but theater with a T-R-E at the end the R-E is how you know we're fancy.
Speaker 3:I will say floridatheatercom. It's our website. The ticket money goes right to us. Yeah, you're not affiliated with. Ticketmaster or AXS it is really easy to just Google your favorite artist and get misdirected to a Ticket Scalper website, so make sure you type in floridatheatercom.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for coming in. Will you come back in a couple months and let us know what's new with the Florida Theater?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, this is a great thing you're doing and I'll be happy to come back. Awesome, thank you. Thank you, amadeus.
Speaker 1:And thank you for listening to the first episode of Live from Jacksonville. If you're a fan of live music, theater, comedy, like I am, join me for every episode and I'll try to keep you up to date on what's happening live from Jacksonville.