We Be Jammin'

Experience the relaxed vibe of Jamaica while listening to Bob Marley tonight (2/24) at the Phillips Center. Craig Martin's Classic Albums Live will perform Bob Marley's album Legend, which features his greatest hits, at 7:30pm. Some of the world's best musicians will play these reggae favorites like "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Jamming." Student tickets are $10.50.

Enjoy even more reggae fun at the Students for the Performing Arts' after-party in the West Fackler Foyer following the show, free for college students. Enjoy free Caribbean food from Reggae Shack Cafe and food from Mother's Pub and Grill and play our Bob Marley trivia game for gift certificates from restaurants like Tropical Smoothie, Liquid Ginger and Reggae Shack! The best part? INsite will be there with a photobooth where you can take pictures with a Bob Marley cutout or rastafarian wig. Check our Web site to find yours!

Behind the Scenes: February Fashion Shoot

Here are some great shots from the set of our February cover shoot.

—Photos by Sarah Hsu

Fashion Shoot Behind-the-Scenes

Our recent December "holiday party" fashion shoot at the Alachua County Fair was so much fun! The weather was beautiful, and the colorful setup gave us some great shots and matched the festive theme perfectly.

Photographer Sean Kelly catches the models as the pass by on the Carousel.

We got some great ideas for holidy beauty from MAC (hint: think "eyelashes"). Everyone had a blast; model Carla (below) even ate her candy apple after the shoot wrapped!

Lifestyle editor Stephanie Granada (center) and editor Maghan McDowell touch up Carla's lips after a spin on the Carousel (and some sticky cotton candy!). Next stop: House of Mirrors.

For the full story, including our favorite party frocks, shoes and accessories, check out the December issue of INsite, out soon!

—Photos by Sarah Hsu

Bear Creek Music and Art Festival

The Bear Creek Music and Art Festival was a three-day celebration of sight and sound at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. INsite was there to capture some of the most memorable moments. Check out our photo slideshow on our Web site!

—Photo by Sarah Hsu

Noche de Gala 2009: A Night to Benefit the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation

Noche de Gala 2009, the sold-out Oct. 3 fundraiser for the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation, raised more than $1 million for a future children's hospital in Gainesville. The 105 sponsors, 200 volunteers and 950 guests were treated to an evening of dazzling performances, fine foods and dancing.

After arriving to the red-carpet treatment, guests could roam through more than 30,000 square feet of tent space. Several of the lounge tents featured drinks and comfortable leather sofas to relax on, cappuccinos, hand-rolled cigars to purchase, or the silent auction to bid on.
The auction featured more than 100 items, including autographed footballs from the 1996 and 2006 Gator national championship teams, a guitar autographed by U2, artwork and jewelry, and an autographed Michael Jackson album.

The main entertainment started as dinner began. The theme, a Venetian masquerade ball, was apparent in all the decorations and performances. Ted Keegan, who played the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, was met with a standing ovation for his performance.

The entertainment paused as Horst and Luisa Ferrero gave a heartfelt speech about the reason for the gala: their son, Sebastian. Tears welled in both their eyes as Horst said, while holding Luisa’s hand, “I can still see my son running in the field at the barn, the day before the tragedy.” Their friend and host of the event site, Benjamin Leon Jr., then pledged $100,000 to the foundation.

After dessert, a band played dance music favorites. So many people were dancing that they spilled off of the dance floor and onto the grass. The band kept the guests upbeat with rousing music until the gala ended, at the stroke of midnight.

To make a donation to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation go to the organization's Web site.
—Story and photos by Timothy Carswell

To see more photos from the night's festivities, check out INsite's photo slideshow on our Web site!

Sister Hazel spends a weekend in Gainesville

Gainesville natives Sister Hazel played two shows this weekend. John Davisson was there to take some photos, enjoy the music and get the scoop on the band's charity event. To see a photo slideshow of the weekend's events, check out our Web site.

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE PHILLIPS CENTER

Sister Hazel performed at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on the UF campus Friday night (Sept. 18) to support their latest album, Release. Release has already become the band’s highest-charting album ever, entering the Billboard Top 200 at No. 37, and reaching No. 1 on the iTunes rock chart. No surprise then that the Gainesville show was sold out.

Their Gainesville shows always seem to sell out, as Hazelnuts come from all over to celebrate with the band’s friends and family. To me, they are still a local band, even though they have been releasing albums for years. The show in Gainesville was a great celebration of new material and of the material that launched their careers.

And they are still grooving with modern technology; it’s not enough to have a Web site, a Myspace and a Facebook; now they regularly tweet to more than 400,000 Hazeltwits via their Twitter.

For Release, everybody contributed songs, and the diversity was reflected in the live show. It featured guitarist Ryan Newell’s songs “Release” and “Take a Bow,” Ken Block’s “Walls & Cannonballs,” and plenty of songs by Ken Block and Andrew Copeland. Copeland played a piano ballad and rocked a Gator guitar (the band was going to the Tennessee game the next day).
The band also covered Tom Petty’s “American Girl” while Tom’s former drummer Stan Lynch (who co-wrote two songs with Copeland) played drums. Stan stuck around to play guitar on the next song. Throw in a Molly Hatchet cover and it was a well-rounded Southern-rock show.

Aslyn opened the show playing solo, just her and a piano. Although she is now based in Atlanta, she grew up in Chiefland and her parents were at the show; it was family event for both bands.

There was also a packed after-party where the band mingled with friends, fans and Hazelnuts. Nobody gives back to the fans as much as Sister Hazel, who always seem to be smiling and will sign almost anything you ask for.

LYRICS FOR LIFE

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Saturday, Sept. 19 was the first annual Lyrics for Life Day. Sister Hazel played a benefit show at Common Grounds that night.

Frontman Ken Block founded Lyrics for Life in memory of his younger brother Jeffrey, who ultimately lost his four-year battle with cancer. The charity raises money through concerts and auctions for organizations that work to find a cure or aim to help patients and their families. Ken said he wants everyone to “set one day aside to help spread the word and make a difference in our fight against pediatric cancer."
The day began with a meet-and-greet at Beef O’Brady’s on 43rd Street, where the band took donations and sold merchandise, CDs and the last tickets for the Common Grounds show for Lyrics for Life.

Hazelnuts were there to get autographs and pictures with the band members. One guy had a guitar autographed (nothing unusual there) and one guy had a stuffed corn hat autographed (that’s probably unusual). One fan showed off his calf tattoo of Super Ken, while another showed me her tattoo on her foot of Sister Hazel; I think tattoos take fandom to a new level.
That night (after the football game), the band took the stage at Common Grounds for a hot, sweaty performance. Aslyn opened the show again and played a great set of her own songs and a couple of covers.

Sister Hazel’s set, though lacking some of the production values of the larger venue, was even more exhilarating, due to the close proximity to the fans and the nostalgia of returning to their old stomping grounds. In their Gainesville days, Sister Hazel played many shows at Common Grounds (then known as the Covered Dish) and Ken talked about how playing there in the past was like sitting at the “cool kids’ table."

After the show, you’ll never guess what happened. Yep, more meet-and-greet and autographs. If you wanted a Sister Hazel autograph this weekend and didn’t get, you weren’t trying.

—Story and photos by John Davisson

University House - "Promcoming" 2009

For most, prom is a once-in-a-lifetime experience in which inhibitions are shed, first times are had and cheeziness is exemplified to the max. But with all the possibilities for fun and down-the-road laughs, is it fair for formal dances to be left in the dust of our high school yearbooks?

Steve Goonen, a business student and special event planner at University House - 13th Street doesn't think so. Every winter break, he and his high school friends have an annual reunion in the form of a "Promcoming" event. "We just had so much fun in high school," he says.

Last night, he let Gainesville in on the fun, as University Houses hosted Promcoming 2009 in it's clubhouse.

The night was a success as girls dressed to the nines with empire-waist gowns, fake nails, too-orange spray tans, and corsages. The guys were a bit more modest in their choices of slacks, button downs and ties. Unfortunately, no coat tails, top hots or cummerbunds were spotted.

In true prom fashion a photo booth was set up, complete with a starry-Gator-night backdrop. INsite provided camera direction to ensure the pictures were as legit as possible. The train? The awkward crooked gaze? Oh yea, we went there.

The DJ alternated the music selection between current hip hop beats, for those with more recent prom experiences, and some old-school tracks for those of us from earlier graduating classes. Gotta love the Ace of Base!

The food selection was better than you would expect from a prom. Cookies, cakes, a dozen mixers. The addition of alcohol was a non-prom sanctioned extra we were more than willing to accept. Word on the street is that someone even spiked the punch. Sorry mom. But, thankfully, the party was shut down by the GPD before we started crashing the football field and booking hotel rooms -- apparently, some people had an early morning exam.

Steve hopes Promcoming will become an annual event that will continue even after he is gone. We welcome any event that lets us put rhinestones in our hair and pretend we're 17 again.

—Stephanie Granada
Photos: Sean Kelly

Wienermobile Hits Gainesville

Remember the Wienermobile, Oscar Meyer's custom-made fiberglass hot dog and bun on wheels? We caught the Wienermobile in Gainesville today at Winn Dixie and they invited us inside to see its custom mustard and ketchup-colored seats. The first Wienermobil was built in 1936, and this one has been on tour since 1986 for Oscar Meyer's 50th Anniversary.

Go to HotdoggerBlog.com to track where it's headed next, as it's in town for the Gator game. Oh, and don't forget to pick up your free Wienerwhistle.

—Text and Photos, Rodney Rogers