News Archives News ArchivesFor those who didn't know, Party Out Of Bounds2 was held last weekend (Saturday, Oct. 12) at Boneshakers in Athens, GA. This was the benefit "FunRaiser" organized by B-HIVE editor Chris Sexton, Atlanta DJ Guy Mazzaglia and myself (the editor of the now defunct fanzine the B's Connection) for the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia. For those who were wondering how things turned out, I've written a short summary of Party2 highlights. A longer, more detailed article and photos will most likely turn up in the new issue of Chris' B-HIVE. Those who do not subscribe to that fanzine can e-mail me for the text of the article (Track10@aol.com).For Party2 the goal was simple: make it bigger, better, wilder and more memorable than last year. I'm pretty sure we got it right.
The buzz surrounding Party2 was huge. Six weeks prior to the Party, Guy and I went on a personal crusade and flooded the Athens/Atlanta media with press releases, invitations, flyers, promos and anything having to do with the Party. All our efforts led to a flurry of calls and inquiries from reporters wanting to cover the Party. For "completely ordinary people just throwing a little party," as Guy would say, we were tickled to death that we managed to attract the attention of the media.
We still had a trick up our sleeve too. Kate and Keith were planning on attending the FunRaiser, something we couldn't publicize, but something that, nevertheless, one of the articles managed to let slip out.
Boneshakers opens at 9:30pm, but by 9pm people were already starting to line up outside. Even though we didn't expect the club to begin filling up until around 11:30pm or so, by 10pm there was a sizeable crowd. The owner of Boneshakers, Greg Martin, had arranged to meet Kate and Keith when they showed up at the club around 10pm. Keith, however, pulled the first surprise of the evening by walking up to me inside while everyone was waiting for him outside. Keith laughed when I mentioned this and said he and his friends just walked right in.
About a half-hour later, Kate arrived and donated two "artifacts" for us to auction. Kate brought friends with her, and being Kate she had already attracted a throng of people who wanted to meet her. While Kate was mobbed, Keith sat and watched from a table not far away, all the while chatting with friends and unnoticed by the fans. I teased him for being able to escape the attention, and then blew his cover and introduced him to of the friends we made at the first Party.
Kate and Keith moved inside where it was warmer to face an even bigger crowd of well-wishers and fans. When the crush got too much for me to handle, I slipped out and back on the dancefloor. Somehow I was able to get Chris and Rob to coax Kate onto the stage where the group of "Party" organizers were dancing. This lead to the ultimate surreal moment of the night: Kate dancing with a pack of B's fans to Vanilla Ice's retro classic "Ice Ice Baby."
Kate and Keith spent most of the evening socializing with old friends when they weren't talking to fans, and were in good spirits. For those interested in what they wore, although Kate played it low-key (no big 'do and little makeup), she showed up B's-style in a gold-sequined short dress. Keith, on the other hand, was incognito in jeans, a violet shirt and a dark blazer. He was, however, sporting a new, handsome close-cropped hair cut (and he told me I looked different?).
For the record, here's what was said about the current status of the B-52's: while Fred continues to work on his solo projects, Keith, Kate AND CINDY (!!) have on their own been writing new material. It's undecided at this point if this will evolve into something that's eventually recorded by the B-52's when Fred comes back, or if it will see light of day as a side project release by Kate, Keith and Cindy (hence Kate's comment at the Georgia Hall of Fame about them having to name themselves "the B-51's"). Very vague stuff. It's not clear if Fred's planning to do another solo album or what, but at the very least, this is the very latest right from them directly.
The final numbers aren't in for this year, but the folks at the door at Boneshakers thought there could easily have been twice as many people as last year. The club was trashed by the end of the evening, but no one seemed to mind, in fact the only thing people wanted was to know if we'd be back next year. All told, everyone had a great time, the AIDS Coalition got some desperately needed funds and the B-52's appearance was definitely the highlight of the evening. With a little help from our friend, Athens, and the B-52's, this year's Party managed to live up to its name.
Same time next year? Need you ask?
Source: Liesl Dano <track10@aol.com>
Q: Cindy Wilson took a hiatus after her brother died and didn't sing on the last B-52's album. When will she return? And when will the B-52's release a new disc?
A: Many B-52's fans complained that their last album, "Good Stuff," released in 1993, sounded flat without the harmonies Cindy Wilson, 38, provided with Kate Pierson, 47. But Wilson rejoined Pierson, Fred Schneider, 43, and Keith Strickland, 41, in 1993 after taking two years off to spend time with her family in Georgia. (Her brother, Ricky, a member of the B-52's when they began in 1979, died from AIDS in 1985 at age 32.) Wilson sings on the new album that the B-52's plan to release next year. Meanwhile, Fred Schneider has a solo album due out in March on which he sings and plays percussion and guitar.
Source: "Personality Parade" column from "Parade Sunday Magazine", October 22, 1995.