OtherWise featured performers for Wednesday Night Poetry

Julie Alexander
Julie Alexander

OtherWise, a trio of Hot Springs musicians made up of Julie Alexander, Catherine Blakley and Jerry Matlock, will be this week's featured performers for Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee+Tea, 110 Central Ave.

The regular open mic session for all poets begins at 6:30 p.m. OtherWise will perform at 7 p.m., followed by another open mic session. Admission is free and open to all ages.

Alexander brings the eclectic sound of the bodhran, an ancient Irish wooden-framed goatskin drum, as well as other percussion to OtherWise. Born in Appleton, Wis., she has been a fixture in the WNP community for many years, and has been hand-drumming for eight years at the suggestion of her late husband journalist and TV newsman, Cal Wasson.

It was falling in love with Wasson that inspired Alexander to stay in Hot Springs, after escaping bitter cold Illinois winters working as a protection dog trainer. She's now a paid hand-percussionist. "I've had the chance to play various types of world music at the Clinton Center Round the World dinners several times. Drumming has given me wonderful chances to meet people and explore many genres of music," Alexander said in a news release. Alexander is twice widowed and has an animal family clan of two dogs, Gypsy and Layla, as well as two cats. She has written poetry intermittently for 20 years, and writes about her own life events and how her attitude shifts through growth and understanding.

Blakley is the second piece of the OtherWise trio, bringing background vocals and the recorder in accompaniment. Born in Paris, France, Blakley came to Hot Springs as a visitor in 1986 and 1987, and met her (then future) husband here. She moved in December of 1989 and has called it home ever since, raising three boys, and now enjoying a 4-year-old granddaughter and soon-to-come twin boys. She works part-time in medical billing for a local prosthetist, but her passion lies in her many musical involvements. Along with OtherWise, she is part of a group called the Eclectic Trio, the Saline Symphony Orchestra, and the Hot Springs Music Festival Chorus. Blakley has been musical since the age of 6, but just recently wrote her first song four years ago, which won the Hot Springs Arts and the Park songwriter contest in 2016.

Jerry Matlock
Jerry Matlock

Matlock rounds out the trio with lead vocals and guitar. A retired Lake Hamilton Junior High School teacher, Matlock moved to Hot Springs from his birthplace of Arkadelphia in 1987 to teach science. Currently, he teaches Tai Chi for Health with the Oaklawn Center on Aging, the Little Rock Racket Club, and the Little Rock Athletic Club. He is currently working on an illustrated book of poetry outlining his 40-plus years of involvement with the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, and has performed his original music all over Hot Springs.

This week marks 1,569 of consecutive Wednesdays. Email Kai Coggin at [email protected] for more information about Wednesday Night Poetry.

Entertainment on 02/19/2019

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