Come Fly With Me: World Flying Disc Championships

LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!

More than 100 ace aerialists are slated to compete in the 2019 World Overall Flying Disc Championships, to be held in various Richmond, Virginia-area parks and fields in July.

‘‘A flying disc is what a ball wants to be when it grows up,” says Rob McLeod, a.k.a. Frisbee Rob (pictured). “You know what a basketball, football or soccer ball can do, but with a flying disc, there are so many more possibilities.”Hailing from Alberta B.C., McLeod is one of the hundred athletes from across the globe slated to participate in the world championships.

“The competition is best compared to a decathlon or heptathlon,” says event organizer and player Jack Cooksey. “There are seven different events with individual skill tests, and two of the events are partner events.”

Read my Richmond Magazine article on the World Championships by going here.

And for more on the World Flying Disc Federation, which sanctions the competitions, go here.

Link Wray: The First Man in Black

"Rumble," released in 1958 by Link Wray and his Raymen, was an instrumental once considered so dangerous and subversive that it was banned on American radio, a tune so influential that it’s been credited with birthing both heavy metal AND punk rock.

The man behind this seminal blast of noise—a black-haired, leather-clad guitarist of American Indian origin—spent his formative years in and around Hampton Roads and came up with his most famous song at a Virginia sock hop.

"His rebellious look was functional," says Dana Raidt, the author of a new biography, "Link Wray: The First Man in Black," set for release in August from Bazillion Points Books. "He wore dark sunglasses because the light bothered his eyes ... he had really bad vision. And he wore the leather jacket so he wouldn't catch cold."

My article on the new Link biography is now up at the Coastal Virginia Magazine website, one of the many articles I penned for the mag's special May-June music issue.

Get the rumble by clicking this spot. 

And for more on "Link Wray: The First Man in Black," go here.

The Attucks Theatre at 100

If buildings could talk, the 624-seat Attucks Theatre would sing.

Originally constructed in 1919, this ornate Norfolk destination -- known for many years as The Booker T -- has been called "The Apollo of the South," but that's not exactly right, as the Attucks was constructed first.

The venerable venue is currently celebrating its 100th birthday with a new WHRO TV documentary devoted to its history as a music venue, movie theater, playhouse and community gathering place.

(And how's this for dream concerts? Dizzy Gillespie appeared here for a two-night stint in November 1946, and Newport News' own Ella Fitzgerald opened for him).

My historical feature on this important African-American showplace is now up at the Coastal Virginia Magazine website, one of the many articles I penned for the mag's special May-June music issue.

Hear the echoes by going here. 

(Photo of the Attucks in 1927 courtesy of SevenVenues).