Local entrepreneur and ChordBuddy inventor,Travis Perry, will appear on ABC’s “Shark Tank” this Friday (Feb 3) at 7pm. The critically acclaimed series gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true, and possibly make a business deal that will make them millionaires. Billionaire Mark Cuban (owner of HDNet and owner of the 2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks), the “Queen of QVC” Lori Grenier, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion and branding expert Daymond John and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary will be vying for the Chord Buddy.

Perry originally had the idea for ChordBuddy at age 18 when he taught guitar lessons and saw a two-month cycle with his students. His goal was to develop a system that allowed students to learn quickly and feel the rewards of playing a musical instrument. As life moved on for Perry following a successful career in the music industry, he started the development process when his 9-year-old daughter began to learn guitar.

Visit our Archives page to read our feature story on Travis Perry’s development of the Chord Buddy from the March/April 2011 issue.

So I’m minding my own business this morning working on lots of important magazine stuff (you know… Bejeweled, Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies) when I start getting lots of messages about Bud and Broadway’s Dothan Magazine song. Apparently, being on the cover of Dothan Magazine is the ONE goal these guys have not been able to attain in life (…talk about low expectations… c’mon guys, Angelina Jolie is still out there, you know) so since it’s a beautiful Friday morning we thought we’d help make their dream come true.

Since we work in advance on all our issues, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve got Bud and Broadway scheduled to appear on the cover of our November/December 2012 issue, just in time for the apocalypse of mankind. Click on the cover to the right to see a larger version of Bud and Broadway’s dream come true. Bud and Jerry sent me an mp3 of their song which you can hear in the SoundCloud player at the top of this page — Our hats are off to the guys over there for going over the top by creatively flattering us into getting on our (last?) cover.

If you have a life’s dream that Dothan Magazine might be able to help YOU fulfill, send your request to us here at editor@dothanmagazine.com. All requests must be accompanied by an original song or YouTube video which shamelessly flatters us. Requests of a more difficult nature (such as “world peace” or “a billlion dollars”) will take between 5 and 75,314 business days to fulfill and may or may not require one of Dothan Magazine’s staff members to reveal his/her secret superhero identity, which may land that person in jail or force him/her to leave the planet Earth. So make your requests count.

Alabama Power Southeast Division VP Richard Hutton and Music South's Donna Minix.

Despite the threat of severe weather, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) came to town last night for a performance at the Dothan Opera House as part of Music South’s concert series. Sponsored by Alabama Power, the concert featured popular selections from Handel, Elgar and Mozart (we were hoping to bring you some video of the performance but a stern warning was issued before the concert that all audio/video recording was strictly prohibited, so we slowly tucked our video camera back in the bag to avoid getting beaten up by the cello section after the show).

This morning the ASO is performing a free children’s concert for over 2,500 of Dothan’s school kids at the Dothan Civic Center. With arts budgets being slashed everywhere, many of our kids might not otherwise be able to hear an orchestral performance from a nationally-recognized orchestra such as the ASO. Our thanks go out to Music South for making it possible for Dothan’s kids to experience the beauty of orchestral music in person.

Music South’s Donna Minix announced at last night’s concert that the ASO will be performing this May at New York City’s prestigious Carnegie Hall. The ASO was one of the six orchestras chosen to play out of 65 which applied from around the country. Congratulations to the ASO and their conductor, Christopher Confessore. We didn’t get a chance to ask him the old joke last night (“How do you get to Carngeie Hall…?”) but odds are he’ll probably hear it a few times between now and May.

The Harlem Globetrotters at the Dothan Civic Center at 7pm. Tickets: $23-$27. Call the Civic Center box office for more ticket information at (334) 615-3175.

Southeast Alabama Medical Center’s Heart & Soul Gala at the Dothan Country Club. This event benefits heart and vascular services offered by Southeast Alabama Medical Center. For more info, call (334)673-4150 or visit www.samcfoundation.org.

The Honky Tonk Angels: a musical tale of three girls, a guitar and a dream. This performance for the Coffee County Arts Alliance takes place at Enterprise High School Performing Arts Center at 7pm. For tickets call (334) 406-2787.

“I Am Woman,” a one-woman show featuring Akia Shenise, at 7pm at the Dothan Opera House. General admission: $20, Students and children: $10.  Tickets on sale at the Dothan Civic Center box office or call (334) 714-4128. For more information about this show, please visit DothanMagazine.com for an exclusive online story about Akia Shenise’s career in theater, her talent and her years growing up here in Dothan.

JonJam Music Festival at the Wiregrass Rehab Center from 10am-4pm. Bring the whole family to enjoy Music, Art, Kids Activities and to sample some chili from the JonJam Chili Cook Off while helping to support the physically disabled!  Saltwater Grass, Spoonful James and Low Down South will be performing live—and there will be lots of chili from local “Cook Off’ teams, fun kids activities and the opportunity to bid on art from many well-known local artists. $20 for advance tickets  $25 at the gate.  For information on purchasing advance tickets or to enter your team in the Chili Cook-Off.  Visit  www.jonjam.com or call (334) 699-5002.

Blues Is Alright hosted by Sir Walt and featuring Willie Clayton, Latimore and Calvin Richardson at 8pm at the Dothan Civic Center. Tickets: $25-$30. Call the Civic Center box office for more ticket information at (334) 615-3175.