Yoga doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Recently an AL.com colleague, Social Media Manager Elizabeth Lowder, asked me to Snapchat a few poses for the company’s account. I selected five simple postures with end-of-day relaxation in mind. Enjoy!
Bend, don’t break
Over the years, I’ve had a few occasions to be interviewed by reporters, and let me tell you: Being on the other side of the notebook will leave you compassionate for your interview subjects. It’s both strange and flattering when someone takes interest in a journalist’s work.
My most recent experience, though, wasn’t focused on my writing: It was all about yoga.
Jennifer Dome King interviewed me about yoga poses that will alleviate pain in various parts of the body, and it was a blast. We met in Birmingham’s Railroad Park for a combined photo shoot and interview, and I love the results! (The camel photo is my favorite. That pose feels blissful to me.) Read all about it at hellawella.com. Thanks, Jen, for reaching out.
Upcoming events
The coming week will be a whirlwind, and one for which I’m grateful. I’ll be selling copies of “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music” at a number of events around central and north Alabama, and I’m excited to have so many opportunities to do so.
Aug. 10, 10 p.m.-midnight: Join me and The Audiovore’s Lee Shook for a two-hour discussion of Muscle Shoals music. The show airs at 107.3 FM and can be streamed at bhammountainradio.com.
Aug. 12, 6 p.m.: Fultondale’s free Movies in the Park, featuring a screening of the documentary “Muscle Shoals” and a performance by the Kerry Gilbert Band. Thanks to Alabama Media Group’s Sara McCarty for this great event preview: “Fultondale’s free Movies in the Park series to feature special screening of of ‘Muscle Shoals’ music documentary”
Aug. 14, 6 p.m.: Muscle Shoals Chapter of Credit Unions (private event) I’m looking forward to speaking to this group, which I’m told includes a number of musicians.
Aug. 15, 6 p.m.: Birmingham Arts and Music Festival Muscle Shoals Tribute at Avondale Brewing Co. I’ll be selling books while listening to the music of Bad Brad and the Sipsey Slims with the Legends of Muscle Shoals, including David Hood, Kelvin Holley and Will McFarland
Aug. 16, 11 am.-2 p.m.: Coldwater Books in Tuscumbia. I hope to see friends from the Shoals area at this charming bookstore.
Aug. 19, 7 p.m.: I’m excited to sign copies at Church Street Coffee & Books–and this event will be fun for people who already have the book as well as those who don’t! Carrie Rollwagen will interview me about the book in between sets of live music (covering some of the area’s iconic songs, of course). The shop will also serve free whiskey sours. Thanks to Village Living for including the event in the paper’s August issue: “Signing for Muscle Shoals history book coming to Church Street this month.”
Five days till “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music” debuts
Thanks to Weld for Birmingham for including my Alabama Booksmith signing in this week’s calendar of events! It’ll be the debut of “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music,” and I’m excited for that day to finally arrive.
You can find copies of Weld, a great weekly newspaper, in 400 locations all around Birmingham. (PS Weld’s editor, Nick Patterson, recently published a book of his own. Look for “Birmingham Foot Soldiers” wherever books are sold.)
Thanks, also, to The Birmingham News’ City Scene for including my signing in last Friday’s paper. I’ll confess, seeing my name in print hasn’t gotten old, even after 10 years in this field and even after working at that very paper. The Birmingham News is published Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is widely distributed throughout the metro area.
I must be traveling on now ’cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see
We’re one week from the debut of “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music,” and I can hardly wait! I’m also excited to share the book’s most recent press coverage. Alec Harvey, the managing producer of entertainment, dining and travel at Alabama Media Group, asked me to share my favorite songs recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. It was a challenge, and I couldn’t stop at my original list of five (so you get a bonus song!). But here’s the fun thing: You can listen to these and other songs yourself via the Spotify playlist below. I’d like to know, what are your favorite examples of the Muscle Shoals sound?
Carla Jean Whitley knows a lot about Muscle Shoals.
For the past year or so, the managing editor of Birmingham magazine has been researching and writing her first book, “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music.”
The book, a history of the famed recording studio in northwest Alabama, details the many superstars who have recorded there, the songs they sang, and, of course, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of studio musicians better known as the Swampers. Read more “‘ Muscle Shoals Sound Studio’ author details her favorite songs recorded there” at al.com.
Today’s subject line comes from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” which was originally recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Learn more about the studio
My first bit of book-related press!
If you know me well, you know I’m reluctant to use exclamation marks in my writing. But some events justify their use, and this is one of them:
Today, I received the first bit of press coverage for my forthcoming book, “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.” The book, a history of a landmark studio in the northwest corner of Alabama, is set for publication on July 22. Many thanks to Jennifer Stewart Kornegay and LEAN Magazine for recommending my work to their readers! You can read the summer issue online at
readlean.org (I’m on page 31) or pick up a copy at many CVS and Publix locations throughout Alabama. Pre-order the book at churchstreetshop.com.
