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.
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