Ahh, finally it's spring and there's music in the air. We highlight many wonderful music events in this issue. But here are a couple of inside scoops on two.

First, the big Youth Arts Coalition production of Footloose on April 6, is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Advance ticket sales have been terrific, the show's director and YAC director Dwight Curry informs me, so call 479-630-3726 to reserve seats.

The Footloose cast includes 60 teens from eight area junior and senior high schools – Northside, Southside, Greenwood, Fort Smith Christian, Trinity, Chaffin, Ramsey, Kimmons – and one home schooled student.

Southside senior and veteran drama student actress Sarah Silva has the lead female role of Arial. Northside junior Josiah Hawley, in his first-ever acting role, plays the main male character, Wren. Southside junior Matt Overturf, whose dad is a Fort Smith pastor, portrays the musical's preacher. A live orchestra will furnish the show's infectious musical score, which spawned several pop hits in the '80s. The music, dancing and acting will be top-notch, Dwight promises. And if you've seen any of his previous local productions, you know that's a bankable prediction.

Although the non-profit Youth Arts Council won't be a year old until June, it is financially stable – thanks to $10,000 in start-up funding from 10 local businesses plus other donations since – and continues to grow. Its purpose is to promote visual and performing arts through the talents of elementary to college-age students. It is not tied to any other group or organization and neither is the talented Mr. Curry.

In fact, as soon as Dwight wraps up Footloose, he and Ray Coleman, co-directors of the upcoming 2002 Gridiron production, will start casting that musical spoof. Gridiron will run June 14 and 15 in the ABC Performing Arts Theater in the Fort Smith Convention Center and you'll soon be hearing a lot more about that!

The other music news I'm jazzed about is that UA-Fort Smith music professor Don Bailey will soon be leading the college's popular Jazz Band again.

Charles Booker, the band's current director, made the announcement at the UAFS Jazz Band Concert last month, and was pleased to do so. Booker also is in charge of the UAFS Symphonic Band and may be feeling a bit relieved at having one less band to direct. He and Bailey, as friends and colleagues, will continue working together to recruit music students to both programs.

Bailey had to give up the jazz band a few years ago because of a debilitating bout with sensory peripheral neuropathy, which causes chronic fatigue and is aggravated by stress. But he remained a faculty member and continued teaching music at the college. His health has improved and now he's looking forward to directing the Jazz Band again.

In the late '80s, Bailey stepped into the hard-to-fill shoes of the (then Westark) Jazz Band's founder Henry Rinne. Bailey took the program to new levels by offering jazz improv clinics at local high schools, bringing in famous guest musicians – including the late, great Dizzy Gillispe, and incorporating everything from big band to pop to Dixieland, show tunes and fusion to lure larger audiences to the jazz concerts.

I once wrote in a favorable review of a Jazz Band concert that Bailey had thrown "everything but the kitchen sink" into the band's exciting performance. And regulars at the concerts learned to expect the unexpected from Bailey – from his impromptu comments between songs to his unruly hairdos and colorful stage garb. The concerts became so popular they eventually outgrew the campus' Breedlove Auditorium and moved downtown to the city's convention center.

During the band's first show at that venue, in front of a packed house and to my complete surprise, Bailey called me to the stage from the audience.

"I didn't want to disappoint Linda Seubold tonight, so here's the kitchen sink," Bailey said, as I walked red-faced toward the stage. He then presented me with a white porcelain kitchen sink, signed by all the band members – leaving me to figure out how to get it home and what to do with it once I got it there.

"I'm excited about taking the band back. I've missed it," Bailey told me following Booker's announcement. "I didn't at first, I needed the rest too much. I don't know if I'll do as much of the big staging as before, but I can't imagine doing a show without a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Sometimes I get criticism for my antics on stage, but it has always been my philosophy that I, and my students, should work hard to be the best musicians we can be, then go out and have fun with the music and the audience. That's the icing on the cake."

I'm all for that, Don, so go for it, and don't be afraid to throw in the kitchen sink now and then if you want to. I still drive a pickup.

Linda Seubold, editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, can be reached at lindaseubold@efortsmith.com. Read her archived columns and articles online.

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