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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1999)
5* . n (Ebe ÇarUanù (fìbseruer r <it since the legend ary C harley Pride has country music made way for a black superstar. But popular new singer T rini Triggs is looking for room at the top as his talent, good looks, and charm win more fans every day. O f all the p o p u la r m usic form s in A m erica today, co u n try m usic often is called the m ost ethnically ho m o g en o u s - w ith v irtu ally all w hite p erfo rm ers and fans. T riggs was well aw are of the color b a rrie r w hen he took his cou n try m usic act on the ro a d in the early 1990s. H e tested the w aters by bo o k in g h im self in to the honky-tonks of sm all, rem ote tow ns th ro u g h o u t T exas. “T h ere w ere a few stares at first,” he says, “b u t as soon as I started to play, it d id n ’t m a tte r an y m o re.” Som e in th e co u n try m usic in dustry say the tim e is right for black perform ers to m ake a break th ro u g h . T h e Black C o u n try M usic A ssocia tion was form ed in 1997 and began organizing show cases in N ashville a n d p ro m o tin g b la c k a rtis ts to record pro d u cers. M ore and m ore black co u n try acts are o n th e scene, and b e in g se e n th r o u g h o u t th e Focus O n T rig g s new alb u m he p e r form s an e n te rta in in g m ix of two- step dance tunes and ballads in coun try classic style. H e even sings a d u et w ith his idol, C h arley Pride. P e rfo rm in g “O n e M ississippi, T w o M ississippi” w ith P rid e was one of th e h ig h lig h ts o f his life, T riggs says. But even th a t ex p eri ence was to p p ed w hen P rid e asked T rig g s to ap p ear w ith him on the G ran d O P O pry. “I t ’s som eth in g every co u n try singer d ream s of," T riggs says. “I was so p ro u d an d so tours. As p a r t o f th e R o o ts o f th e R hythm co n cert to u r, T riggs will enjoy even m o re exposure. C oors in itia te d th e to u r to show case the a rtistry an d c o n trib u tio n s o f black p erfo rm ers in a v ariety of fields - in clu d in g screen actress L isaR aye M cC oy, w ho has sta rre d in “T h e P layers C lu b ” and o th er film s and R achel S tu a rt, h ost of Black E n te r t a i n m e n t T e le v i s io n ’s P la n e t G roove m usic video p rogram . W ith th e a d d itio n of T rig g s, th e series now has its first co u n try m usic p e r fo rm ers as p a rt of th e R oots of the R h y th m T o u r. As a b re a k th ro u g h artist, T riggs is accu m u latin g n u m ero u s “firsts an d offered to becom e his m anager. H e rb e rt G rah am , ow ner of the n a tionally fam ous D enim & D iam onds co u n try m usic clubs, signed on as in his career. But th e re ’s no q u es tio n he will be h appy w ith “seco n d ” w hen it com es to achieving Black su p e rsta r statu s in co u n try m usic. W ith th e passage o f m ore th an 30 T rig g s’ co-m anager. N ashville reco rd r p - ro ----------------- - d u c e r M ike years since P ride s first. T he Snakes C raw l at N ig h t,” observers of coun try m usic say the tim e has com e for som eone to earn the designation. If Volunteers Needed for Blues festival O reg o n Food B ank invites vol u n te e rs to have fun, get funky and and able to lift 30 pounds. F ire S q u a d V o lu n te e rs : F ire help raise cash and food for h u n g er S quad v o lu n teers p erfo rm a variety o f fu n ctio n s, in clu d in g filling in at gates, h elp in g in th e food tra n sp o rt area and p ro v id in g su p p o rt to th e relief by m an n in g a gate o r m oving food at th e 12,h A nnual M iller G en u ine D raft W aterfro n t Blues F esti val, Ju ly 2-5 in T om M cC all W ate r fro n t Park. V olunteers are needed for the fol lowing activities: G ate V olunteers: G ate volunteers w ork in team s of 10-25 at one of four en tran ces to the festival. V olunteers ask for donations of food and m oney, box d o nated food, provide directions to festival attendees and serve as O F B ’s goodwill am bassadors. Food T ransport Volunteers: Food transport volunteers work in team s of 12-16 people transporting the m ore than 80,000 pounds of donated food from the festival gates to the food transport area, where the food is boxed and loaded onto trucks. Food trans port volunteers should be energetic Page 7 C u rb , asked T riggs to sing to office staff. T rig g s says, “W hen I was fin ish ed , he lo oked at everyone w ho was g ath ered around and said, “T his guy is g o in g to be a star. By the end of th e d ay , I h ad a reco rd d eal.” T rig g s recently w as featu red on N ashville’s New Faces show, which h elp ed lau n ch the careers of stars like R an d y T rav is and B rooks & D unn. H is songs are g ain in g p o p u larity on rad io statio n s, and h e’s o ften h e a rd talk in g to disk jockeys as he trav els on his cross-country was m y fam ily.” A Louisiana native from the small town of Natchitoches, T nggs learned his love of country music from his m other, who listened to nothing else. As a second grader, he was encour aged to sing in front of his class by his teacher. Triggs perform ed in every school play and talent show. In high school, he organized and played in bands that m ixed rock and country. A fter high school, T rig g s co n tin ued to p erfo rm at nights and week en d s w hile he was w orking various jo b s d u rin g th e day to pay th e bills. W hen T rig g s was in his late 20s, a w est T ex as b u sin essm an - J o h n E arl R oe - reco g n ized his p o ten tial U nited States. T riggs is on the star track. H e has released h is d e b u ta lb u m “T rin i T riggs." In a d d itio n he is one of the show case p e rfo im e rs on the C oors ots ot tne R icnytnm i. R oots of the hythm T i o o u r. June 16, 1999 to tal th is y ear T hroughout the festival, approxi mately 50 national, regional and local blues acts will perform non-stop on the three stages. For schedule of perform ers, call 973-REST or check the festi val web site at www.waterfront festival staff. M ost Friday shifts are already full. Shifts on S aturday, Sunday and bluesfest.com For more informa tion, or to register to volunteer, please call the M iller G enuine D ra ft W a te rfro n t Blues Festival volun teer H otline at 282- 0555, ext. 225. M onday are from 10:00 a.m .-noon (fire squad only), 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m ., and 6:00-10:30 p.m. T h e M iller G en u in e D raft W a terfro n t Blues Festival has been a P o rtla n d favorite for a dozen years, w inning raves from fans and review ers w ith blu es talen t, o pen-air seat ing, and adm ission by suggested do n atio n of ju s t $3-5 an d 2 cans of food for O reg o n F ood B ank. T h e festival h as raised m o re th a n $1 Good In The Hood The Good in the Hood Multicultural Music and Food Festival is a three-day event takingplace in North Portland on the campus of the Holy Redeemer School at N. Portland and Vancouver Blvds. O n June 25* , 26* and 27*. It is a production of the Neighborhood Outreach /Association, a nonprofit organization run totally by volunteers who seek to present the positive aspee ts of the N/NE Portland neighborhoods. Police Chief Charles Moose has been verv visible honorary chair since the event’s inception in 1992. T his Festival showcases the culturally rich re sources inherent in this area. It also educates and builds bridges with the grater m etropolitan area. G ood in the Hood strengthens cultural self-iden tity, presenting a stage for all groups to explore, present and teach their arts, dances, music & storytelling to other segments of the population. “H ood” also brings contem porary perform ers and m illion an d 500,000 p o u n d s of food for h u n g er relief to d ate, an d o rg a nizers hope to add an o th er $200,000 and 80,000 p o u n d s of food to th at T rin i T riggs reaches the goal, his success could pave the way for the en try of m ore and m ore black a rt ists in the co u n try m usic aren a Photo by Votorto It. Dovto Too slim and the Talldraggers bring 4 * of July “ ues ,ans to their feet at the 199 8 Miller Genuine Draft Waterfront artists to the neighborhoods to educate the resi dents of the larger possibilities available to them. Blues Festival. • ■***fJu*J*< / 4* i '' a - x - aí , r*? y '*ip-<.'»»» < - 4.» ">? 'Va • à n ' ' - A» 'v •»• ¿ ¿ ¿ ' i'¿si, ■«. S X ; • »«S sS fefeB í