From Rock to Country to Tutu: The Evolution of Hootie & the Blowfish

"Our story begins with four young men, how they discovered music, met each other and their eventual rise to fame..."

The opening line of the Hootie and the Blowfish Ballet extravaganza (opens today at 7:30pm in Columbia, SC at the Koger Center) truly sounds like one of those great "VH1 Behind-the-Music" documentaries where we'll hear the music band's ups and downs and hopefully some dirt and scandalous headlines along the way, paired with arrests, drug addiction and nasty band member fights...

However, it is not about Britney's life or a Destiny's Child reunion... the subject of the "ballet-comeback" is Hootie & the Blowfish, South Carolina's rock ambassador that enjoyed a widespread popularity in the second half of the 1990s.

After a decade of winning two grammys and with the recent success of their lead singer's, Darius Rucker's hit country album (currently topping the Billboard country music charts with his song "It Won't Be Like This For Long"), these guys kept it professional with no diva-like attitude. In short, they remained approachable, kind of like the guys next door.

The band was originally formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina by Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan. They have recorded seven studio albums to date, and has charted sixteen singles on various Billboard singles charts. Their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View, is one of the best selling albums of all time, going platinum sixteen times.

The latest project of Hootie and the Blowfish is a collaboration with Columbia City Ballet's legendary artistic directior, William Starrett, who created a full-length autobiographical ballet about them.

"This is a true success story," said William Starrett, who came up with the idea. "I wanted to celebrate a positive."

The band members are played by professional ballet dancers who portray them during their rise to fame. The band's cast includes: Mark Bryan (Mark Krieger) ; Dean Felber (Robert Michalski) ; Darius Rucker (Wayland Anderson) ; Jim Sonefeld (Tory Morton) ; and ex-member, Brantley Smith (John Karim).

During the ballet performance, the band plays live (accompanied with big projection screens), giving the audience a real live concert experience as well. This unlikely fusion might sound like a joke at first, but according to Robert Thompson, Syracuse University's pop culture guru, "... in a culture that actually can take a string of ABBA songs, which we used to laugh at, and can make a significant hit musical and movie ... all of a sudden, a ballet about the career of Hootie and the Blowfish is kind of traditional."

So maybe no one should judge the "ballet by its cover" and keep an open mind when it comes to new art genres. After all, throughout history artists have shaped the world with their innovative visions.

Performances are at the Koger Center on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.). Tickets range from $22 to $68 and are available online at capitoltickets.com or by phone at 251-2222. For more information, call 803-799-7605.

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