Photo courtesy of myajc.com

The Victory Spot is located in Fayetteville, GA and is co-owned by Speech and his wife Yolanda Thomas. Yes this is the same Speech from the Grammy award-winning group Arrested Development! I was introduced to their performing arts center by a fellow member of the Georgia Greater Black Chamber of Commerce, to which they both belong.

The Victory Spot provides showcases, workshops and classes in music and dance. It's roots began in 2015 and has always had the mission to provide children and adults with an avenue to fully express themselves. There have been students from all over the world who have successfully attended The Victory Spot. You can also see Speech and Yolanda's daughter, Zoe Renee, as one of the lead roles in BET's "The Quad".

SHADD Pianos is based out of Washington, DC and was created by Warren M. Shadd. As a second generation piano technician and third generation musician, Warren founded SHADD Pianos in 2003. He set out to create the best piano in the world being that he is a perfectionist.

By some standards, Warren has definitely achieved his goal. Prices range from the $22,000 Upright all the way up to the $185,000 Concert Grand. If you want to try it out before making the commitment, SHADD also rents and ships its pianos for special events. 

The jsquared music performance center is owned by my wife Jaime Jamison. Jaime has been a musician for over 30 years and plays an instrument that not many Black musicians play - the French Horn. She is the principal Horn player with the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra. 

Jaime's passion is to introduce as many kids to the benefits of music as possible. She currently offers private lessons along with working with local high school and college bands. In addition to the French Horn, Jaime plays and/or teaches flute, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, and mellophone. If you have a young person in your life who you want to introduce to the power of music, reach out to jsquared music performance center!