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'Raw' Returns For An Encore
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Published: August 21, 2008
Updated:
It started small, got big, got a little too big, lost its home and disappeared.
Now it's back for one night.
"In the Raw" was the "MTV Unplugged" of the Tampa area music scene, except it stayed much more true to the unplugged concept than did the television program.
Although acoustic performers were part of "In the Raw," its goal was to feature singer-songwriters who "don't traditionally perform acoustically," says Joran Oppelt, founder of "In the Raw."
The name refers to "the ability to perform naked," Oppelt says.
"It's a testament to the songwriter's ability," he says.
"If someone steps to you and says, 'Play me your song,' are you able to sit down and play a song?"
Dozens of performers got a chance to face that challenge over the series' lifespan. The show became popular with Tampa area audiences, drawing sizable Wednesday night crowds to St. Petersburg's State Theatre every other week.
As its popularity grew, so did Oppelt's workload.
In addition to a day job, Oppelt leads the band Auditorium and runs the Southeast Music Alliance, a collective of area musicians that encourages networking, promotion and a do-it-yourself ethos.
"It was a pain in the ass curating seven singer-songwriters every other Wednesday night for five months at a time," Oppelt says.
In the third year he ceded much of the responsibility to St. Petersburg singer-artist Natty Moss Bond.
For the fourth year, Oppelt and the State's new management couldn't come to financial terms, so "In the Raw" moved up Central Avenue to the now defunct Bank.
The move was made "just to keep the franchise alive," Oppelt says. "It was born at the State and should have stayed at the State."
By the end of the fourth season, Oppelt was ready to pull the plug.
"Attendance started to dwindle," Oppelt says. "It had run its course."
Saturday's one-night return of "In the Raw" will allow Oppelt to realize the concept the way he always wanted. For one thing, the performers will be on the stage for the first time. For the first season, audience and artists crowded into the State Theatre's balcony, moving to the venue's floor for seasons three and four.
"Part of the charm was having the performers on the floor," Oppelt says. "It was intimate, but if we'd had the budget they'd be on stage. This time we'll have tables and tablecloths and candles. We'll make it the experience it should always have been."
The series lives on in podcast form. Listeners can check out highlights of the years past on the Southeast Music Alliance's site, www.smaflorida.com, or on iTunes, by searching for SMAsh Radio.
CONCERT EVENT
In the Raw
WITH: Geri X, Ronny Elliott, Mikey Bostino, Shawn Kyle, Katherine Kelly and Hat Trick Heroes
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg; (727) 895-3045
COST: $8 at the door, $5 with voter ID
Reporter Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.
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