Larry Crane - former lead guitarist for John Mellencamps band--poses with new shirts to kick off his guitar clinics across the state.

John Mellencamp’s long time lead guitartist, Larry Crane, is back home again and sharing his talents with fans in a series of guitar clinics. Crane, who has resided in Florida for the past few years, is back in Indiana and made his first guitar clinic appearance in Castleton at Sam Ash Music Center located at 8284 Center Run Drive. Close to 300 fans turned out to listen as Crane shared the ins and outs of Authority Song and Play guitar, two hits from Mellencamp’s 1983 album Uh-Huh.

His appearance at the music store was filmed for future commercial releases. Crane plans additional clinics focusing on popular hit songs such as Pink Houses, Paper and Fire, and Lonely Ol’ Night.

Crane played lead guitar for Mellencamp’s band from 1975 to 1991. The two natives of Seymour, Indiana also collaborated on the 1992 film Falling From Grace, which was their final project together.

Crane has also worked with Steve Earle, John Prine and John Fogerty.

The Hoosier artist released two of his own albums, Tropical Depression and Wire and Wood.

Crane’s Manager says fans will hear and see a lot more of Larry Crane in this New Year. We all look forward to this.

For more information, visit www.larrycrane.com.

Hoosier artist Pam Newell stands by her artwork now hanging in Fishers Town Hall art gallery.

The walls of Fishers Town Hall are now adorned with beautiful oil paintings and pastels as the public building, at One one Municipal drive will now include an art gallery setting to showcase the work of local artists.

Fans braved the first snow of the year to attend the public reception honoring the first artist to be showcased, Pam Newell.

The award-winning artist whose pastels and oil paintings capture many Indiana and regional scenes, was excited about the new opportunity

“This is just great,” says Pam. “This is like a giant refrigerator for me,” she adds with a laugh. “It’s just like when I was a kid and hung my art work all over the place,” she quickly adds with excitement showing.

Pam’s work will be showcased through February 10th. New exhibits will be unveiled on a regular basis, showcasing up to 60 works of visual art by each local artist or group.

The permanent art gallery is free and open to the public.

Art in Town Hall is a collaboration of the Fishers Arts Council and the town of Fishers. The artists must live, work or teach in Fishers.

The art gallery will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and on periodic Saturdays.

You can learn more about Pam Newell at www.pnewellart.com and for more information on the art gallery, visit www.fishersartscouncil.org.

Kid DJ "Johnny- Be-Good" on WZPL.

Do you have a child who really wants to be on the radio? Well, here’s their chance!

WZPL (99.5) radio offers a special program called “Hey mom, I’m on WZPL” where kids are invited to be a DJ for a day. I thought I would check it out when my 11 year old boy, Johnny, wanted to give it a try.

We arrived at WZPL (9245 Meridian street)in the afternoon and were greeted by “Hunter” who took us to a studio.

Johnny recorded several lines with Hunter, saying things such as “You’re listening to 99.5 WZPL” or “You can be a DJ too, just go to the website at WZPL.com.”

Johnny, who decided his on air name would be “Johnny-be-good,” recorded lines for about 30 minutes then Hunter told him to say something on his own.

“Johnny-be-good” gave a shout out to some of his school buddies and then delivered a messge to “Smiley”— the morning DJ at WZPL— saying that he would soon be taking his job! So, how did Johnny enjoy his DJ experience?

“It was a little scary when they first turn the microphone on,” says Johnny-be-good. “But, once you get going, it was really fun!”

The recordings air Saturday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m. on WZPL. IF you have a child that thinks they have what it takes to be a DJ, sign them up! Kids receive coupons from Moe’s Southwest grill. You can get more information at www.WZPL.com.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/3cE-ko3RcbE" width="300" height="250" wmode="transparent" /]“We had a great turn-out,” says Melson. “People were taking notes, and I kept hearing, ‘How did you know that about my pet?’”

The Pet Communicator is another Geist resident, 48-year-old Deborah Turner, who claims to have had a connection with animals since she was a small child. A few years ago, she decided to take her passion more seriously and study Animal Communications. Today, she works to help pets and their people better understand each other and live in harmony.

“Each animal has their own unique way of communicating,” says Turner. “Once you figure that out, your pet will tell you a lot!”

I invited Turner over to hear what my pets have to say. My cat brushed us all off as expected, but my little dog Ringo jumped up on her lap and didn’t leave. My 12-year-old daughter was fascinated and asked what Ringo had to say.

“He needs more water,” said Turner. “He is thirsty, and he really wants to go on more walks with all of you!”

Sounds pretty simple, but the dog now has a full water bowl every morning and has been walking with the kids every evening!

There are also some bizarre stories. Once, Turner claims a horse told her his favorite drink was Pepsi. The horse’s owner thought she was crazy until a few weeks later, when he noticed the horse had kicked over a can of Pepsi in the barn and was lapping it up! Then there was the time she told wild chickens on a beach in Hawaii to leave the tourists alone for a while.

“I offered them some nuts to go away for a couple of hours, and they did—they left,” explains Turner. The man next to her said perhaps she had been on the island too long.

Turner studied Beginning and Advanced Animal Communications and went on to become a Reiki Master, combining the two practices to help animals with physical, mental and emotional issues. The former Chicago resident lives with her husband, two “porkies” (Sandy and Tawnie), and a 13-year-old cat named Pepper.

She takes appointments at her home for $30 for the first half-hour and 75 cents-a-minute thereafter. If she travels 20 miles or more to a home or stable, it is a 45-minute minimum appointment, plus mileage.

Turner thoroughly enjoys what she does, and she has a sense of humor about her “talks with animals.” So if you’re having any animal issues at home and your pet is just not talking to you about it, you may want to give your fellow Geist resident Deborah Turner a try. It could mean a happier you and a much happier pet!
You can reach Deborah Turner at deborahlturner@insightbb.com.

Now you can find this popular Cajun-style restaurant at a closer-to-home location, 8352 E. 96th Street. The other locations are in Broad Ripple and on Massachusetts Avenue downtown. “Yats” refers to the phrase, “Where y’at?”, which is how folks in New Orleans say, “How are you?”

Yats is known for good Cajun food, and even though it was one of the hottest days of the year, we still had to check out the newest location, just to be sure!

The clean, small eatery sports a red and blue checkered floor and fiery yellow-orange walls. You head straight back to the counter to order right off a chalkboard listing four or five items. Each plate is $5 or $6 dollars for a combo.

We picked three dishes that our server, Chase Stout, said are some of the most popular. My pre-teen daughter (who usually goes for only for pepperoni pizza) order the red beans and rice with smoked sausage.
We also tried the popular chili cheese etouffee (a Louisiana-style stew of fish, veggies and sauce over white rice), and my other dining pal ordered the Caribbean jerk chicken etouffee.

As we were filling up our drink cups, the food arrived at our table. My daughter was excited about the speedy service, saying, “It is so nice not to have to sit and stare at your pop for an hour waiting for your food!”

The red beans and rice dish was topped with large pieces of sausage and covered in a red sauce. It was delicious and not too spicy… definitely my daughter’s favorite!

The chili cheese etouffee was a little cheesy and a little light on the crawfish but was spiced to perfection. The Caribbean chicken etouffee was the spiciest of the three dishes, with a generous amount of chicken as well as carrots, tomatoes and even a bit of coconut. All dishes come with a big chunk of warm, buttered bread—which was a hit with everyone!

The walls of Yats are dotted with photos of Louisiana, mirrors, mardi gras masks and framed reviews from Indianapolis Monthly, Dine magazine, Nuvo and NWA, the Northwest Airlines magazine which named Yats as the place to check out for Cajun cooking when in Indy.

Yats is owned by New Orleans-born-and-raised Joe Vuskovich. It is simply a spot for inexpensive, good Cajun food—there is no standard Midwest fare, such as hot dogs and mac and cheese.

The restaurant regulars seem to know the routine. They quickly clean their Styrofoam plates of etouffee and go back for more bread. A second helping is only 50 cents! That must be why the regulars keep going back… the same reason my daughter wanted to go back the next night!

Good job on your newest location, Yats!