Month: December 2004

Categories
Music Music Features

Canon Fodder

Rolling Stone‘s latest assault on rock history, the current “special collector’s issue” counting down “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” (“all time” apparently means “post-war English-language pop music”), reminded me why I finally let my subscription run out earlier this year. I grew up on the magazine, with lists of this ilk feeding my childhood music fandom. But I’ve long ago grown disillusioned with the magazine’s attempt to devalue any music of my (or subsequent) generation that doesn’t fit the magazine’s specifically ’60s biases.

But like it or not, this corrupted cultural institution, like so many others (see the Oscars, Grammys, and the godforsaken American Film Institute), is granted a legitimacy that gives its attempts at canonization meaning. So rather than ignore it, let’s evaluate it. Memphis music fares pretty well in Rolling Stone. The rest of rock history? That’s another story.

Most damning disparity: 202 to 82. That’s the number of songs from the ’60s compared to the number of songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s combined.

Weirdest disparity: 2 to 2. That’s the number of Glen Campbell songs compared to the number of Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Lefty Frizzell, Tammy Wynette, Tom T. Hall, Charlie Rich, and Dolly Parton songs combined.

Number of Beatles songs (including solo singles): 26

Number of hip-hop songs: 13

Number of Memphis songs: 31. Toss out mega recording centers New York, London, and Los Angeles, and only Detroit (home of Motown, the Stooges, and Eminem) makes a similar impact on the list. There are 20 Memphis-music entries in the Top 200, and 12 in the Top 100, though the highest-finishing Memphis choice –Elvis’ “Hound Dog” at #19 — is a bit odd. Wouldn’t “That’s All Right” or “Don’t Be Cruel” be better?

Five songs that got the shaft (Memphis version):

“The Dark End of the Street” — James Carr: Just about the most elementally perfect song in American music. An unforgivable omission.

“Hold On, I’m Comin'” — Sam & Dave: The Stax duo is represented only by “Soul Man,” but this has long been considered their classic.

“How Many More Years” — Howlin’ Wolf: The Wolf gets two mentions but not for his most moving record.

“Knock on Wood” — Eddie Floyd: Second-tier soul singers pretty much got shut out here, but this is a first-tier soul standard.

“Rocket 88” — Jackie Brenston: To many minds, the very first rock-and-roll record.

Five songs that got the shaft (non-Memphis):

“It Takes Two” — Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock: The last time Rolling Stone did an all-time songs list, back in the late ’80s, then-upstart Spin thumbed its nose with a list of its own, topped by this then-current hip-hop hit. Twenty years later, Rolling Stone still hasn’t gotten the message.

“King of the Road” — Roger Miller: This sardonic country classic will go down as one of the quintessential American pop songs.

“Mind Playing Tricks on Me” — Geto Boys: A far more artful and enduring glimpse into the gangsta psyche than all the Dre/Snoop/’Pac selections on this list.

“No Diggity” — Blackstreet: The classic R&B groove of the post-disco era. That Rolling Stone found room for two Radiohead songs and not this is yet another sign that they hate rhythm.

“That’s the Joint” — The Funky 4 + 1: A radiant, optimistic blast of beats and rhymes that’s a far, far better standard-bearer for early rap than the perennial token pick “Rapper’s Delight.”

Dullest token pick: “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Ranking it at number nine, Rolling Stone wears this like a badge in an attempt to prove that their generational bias doesn’t entirely overwhelm their critical judgment. A “protest” “anthem” by a “martyred” rock star: Cobain’s big hit fits the magazine’s favorite paradigm all too well.

Most underrated ’60s classics: As if the generational bias weren’t bad enough, Rolling Stone tends to wildly undervalue even baby-boomer hits that don’t fit the white-guys-with-guitars mold. So, you get James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” maybe the most rhythmically important record in all of post-war pop, down at number 72. The Jackson Five’s ecstatic “I Want You Back” (#120) can’t break the Top 100. Martha & the Vandellas’ seminal Motown hit “Nowhere To Run” (#358) is buried. And the Crystals’ enchanted “Then He Kissed Me” (#493) barely makes the cut.

Most pleasant surprise (Memphis): “Thirteen” — Big Star (#396). An album cut by a band without a hit isn’t something you expect to see on a list like this, but it’s a really beautiful little song.

Most pleasant surprise (non-Memphis): “I’m Waiting for the Man” — The Velvet Underground (#159). Ditto.

Most embarrassing juxtaposition (Memphis):

“Free Fallin'” — Tom Petty (#177)

“September Gurls” — Big Star (#178)

Most embarrassing juxtaposition (non-Memphis):

“Hotel California” — The Eagles (#49)

“The Tracks of My Tears” — Smokey & the Miracles (#50) n

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial

Two weeks ago, a curious but illuminating event occurred at the city’s Central Library. The occasion was a meeting, co-sponsored by the Public Issues Forum and the League of Women Voters, involving candidates seeking positions on the proposed city charter commission. The catch was that the election for which these candidates had qualified had already been postponed by a state court of appeals from this year until the next regularly scheduled city election. That’s not until 2007.

One of the anomalies to be worked out in the meantime is the question of whether the list of qualified candidates will be re-opened in the intervening three years. In any case, the reasons for petitioning the election remain valid. Though the original cause that galvanized Dr. John Lunt of Germantown to begin the process — a too generous provision of pensions for 12-year city employees — has already drawn corrective action by the City Council, other issues remain. Several of the hopefuls at the library decried, for example, what they saw as the manufactured urgency behind creation of the Pyramid and the FedExForum. Clearly, the larger issue here is one of keeping citizens from being locked out of decision-making.

As retired federal judge Harry Wellford, a panelist at the affair, observed, charter reforms are needful every few decades. We concur.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

EDITORIAL

Much as we admire the frequent extracurricular acts of medical heroism of our state’s senior senator, Bill Frist, we can’t help but be concerned about how the Senate Majority Leader is now helping shape a new — and more authoritarian — role for the Bush administration in our nation’s government.

Specifically, Frist has announced his intention to seek revocation of the Senate’s time-honored filibuster rule, which requires that 60 senators vote to suspend the rules and impose cloture on debate of a given issue. Though it has occasionally been used to retard progress, as in the early years of the civil rights issue, the filibuster has often served to prevent — or at least postpone — rash and potentially destructive actions by the majority. One instance, remembered only by historians and old-timers, was an effort during the Eisenhower administration to truncate the Tennessee Valley Authority’s role as a supplier of cheap and reliable power. A bipartisan filibuster managed to thwart that scheme, to the satisfaction of Tennesseans in both parties.

Even more ominously, Frist evidently plans to circumvent what remains of the Senate’s seniority system and impose something of a political litmus test on committee assignments. Rules changes he has pursued allow him to pick the first two vacancies on all committees, and, while that could lead to the elimination of some deadwood here and there, it also — and more likely — could result in a more slavish obedience to administration dictates on the part of a body which has been charged with the constitutional duty of being both deliberative and deliberate.

The Senate changes must be seen in tandem with the actions of the House of Representatives, where Speaker Dennis Hastert has announced that no matter will see floor action unless it is the will of a majority of GOP members, and where Republicans recently decided — significantly, by voice vote — to do away with a rule precluding party leadership positions for members who are indicted for felonies. That last rule change, ensuring the continuation in office of House Majority Leader Tom “The Hammer” Delay of Texas, was decried, as we observed last week, by a Republican member from Tennessee, Chattanooga’s Zach Wamp, who said it sent “all the wrong signals.”

So do the Senate changes resolved upon by Frist.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Fishy Feeling

Susy and I were rolling out of the mountains after an almost perfect day. We had taken a scenic drive along the river, picked fruit on a farm, walked to a waterfall, eaten lunch in a historic lodge, and ridden the chairlift to a panoramic viewpoint. We had stood above the clouds and looked out over mountains, forest, desert, and city. Then we had plopped ourselves back in the car for the ride back into town.

Just before the forest gave way to RV parks and mini-golf courses, we saw a sign that read “Rainbow Trout Fishing, next right.” Well, I thought, what better way to end a day in the mountains than by catching a nice rainbow for dinner? We could come into town and tell our friends, “That’s right — beautiful scenery, fresh fruit, sky-high adventure, and we caught some fish!”

So off the highway we went and right into a trout farm. I can’t say I honestly expected a twisting mountain stream with an old coot loaning out fly rods, but something a little more romantic than a trout farm would have been nice. There was a smattering of tin sheds, a trailer or two, and a bunch of small, round ponds.

We walked up to a teenager at a folding table and announced we’d like to catch some fish. He hardly lifted an eye as he gave us two rods, a little box of live crickets, and a white plastic bucket. “The ponds are sorted by how big the fish are,” he said. “Whatever you catch, you have to keep. You pay by the size. The lunker pond is over there.” He pointed, without looking, to the farthest pond.

He was hardly a wizened guru, but, hey, I told Susy, let’s go catch some fish! We decided a few foot-long fellas would feed us and my roommate nicely, so we headed for lucky pond #7. I took out a cricket, gaffed the poor bastard onto the hook, and handed the rod to Susy. I grabbed another cricket for my hook, and I was thinking that maybe someday it’d be nice to come back with a fly rod and go hook a two-foot lunker, when all of a sudden I heard a little shriek from Susy. I looked over, and the tip of her rod was bouncing around like a car antenna with a flag on it.

She settled down and reeled it in, and in a few seconds, there was a trout flopping around on the side of the pond. Susy made a whimpering sound as I tossed the squirming fish into the bucket. “Well,” I said, “that was easy.”

I went back to my rod and tossed the cricketed hook into the pond. I was about to tell Susy that I’ll show her how to catch a big fish when, bang, there was a fish on my hook. I didn’t even have the chance to play it! I reeled it in, and then there were two dying fish in our bucket. It had been less than three minutes.

Susy had a look of disbelief on her face. “Do they feed these fish?” she asked. I loaded up another cricket and cast it out there, and this time two fish practically jumped out of the water to hit it. Four minutes, three fish. “They must not feed ’em,” I said. “I think we could tie our car keys to shoestrings, and these fish would hit it.”

We looked at each other, then at our haul. Three fish is what we were thinking for dinner, and there they were. At the farm, you can’t catch just for pleasure. As the boy told us, you catch it, you keep it. “So,” I said, “I, uh, guess we’re done.”

We took our bucket over to the cleaning table, and the three fish — which just moments before were hanging with their buddies in pond #7 — were gutted and beheaded on a bloody slab by another uninterested teenager. We forked over about 17 bucks, and we were on our way. Another day of sport fishing.

As we got to the car, Susy stopped and said, “I’m not really 100 percent on this.” I had to agree. That wasn’t fishing; it was harvesting. It was the same challenge we’d had picking strawberries.

We drove on back to town and went to the grocery store for the rest of our ingredients. I had to shake my head when I saw fresh rainbow trout on ice, for about the same price we had just paid. At home, my roommate wanted to hear all about the day, and she lit up when we produced the fish. “You guys caught those?” she said, with wonder in her voice. “Well,” Susy said. “Yeah. We caught ’em.”

Without saying it, Susy and I decided to latch onto my roommate’s enthusiasm. We went up the river to the mountains, had a great time, and caught some trout for dinner. Now let’s cook the poor little bastards. n

Trout Amandine

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

6 large trout fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

Dried thyme to taste

Milk

All-purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Lemon wedges

Sauté almonds in butter in a large heavy skillet until golden brown; do not let butter burn. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Sprinkle fillets with salt, pepper, and thyme; dip in milk and dredge in flour. Fry fillets in hot oil (360 degrees F.) in skillet over medium heat until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter; sprinkle with almonds and parsley and drizzle with any remaining browned butter. Serve with lemon wedges. Yield: 6 servings.

Categories
Cover Feature News

The Two Faces of David Gest

“There’s another David Gest, and I’d really like to meet him. The one you read about is fascinating, wild, weird, and wonderful, and I don’t really think of myself in any of those ways. I never intended to be a personality. I went for years [behind the scenes] as a producer. Then [I produced] Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary] special. That’s when I fell in love and everything changed. Things changed after my wedding and after my life with Liza.”

— David Gest, at The Peabody, November 29, 2004

He’s on a diet and he’s had cosmetic surgery. He’s good friends with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson (who has had cosmetic surgery, is probably not on a diet, but has other troubles with which to contend). He’s married to Liza Minnelli (whose diets, surgeries, and other troubles are well-known), but they are separated and suing one another. He says she got raging drunk and beat him to the point of disability. She says he swindled her knock-kneed.

These are the things you already know about music producer David Gest, if you know anything about him at all. And since these stories have been blown out in the supermarket rags and on tabloid TV, there’s really no point in repeating any of it, now is there?

Gest lives in Memphis now, on the south side of downtown near the river. And he wants to make sure that every Memphian who is hungry, cold, old, infirm, lonely, or down on his luck has a nice dinner waiting for them at various Memphis restaurants on Christmas Day. He’s promised participating restaurants money up front and is willing to fund it out of his own pockets. But he’d prefer to pay for the whole shebang by way of a star-studded shindig at the Cannon Center: David Gest’s All-Star Holiday Extravaganza.

“So I’m only bringing 40 or 50 artists to town,” Gest says, countering criticisms that many of the celebrities he’s used to promote the event won’t be attending. “Who else is bringing four?”

And who else is offering a free Christmas dinner to anybody who shows up and says “I’m David’s Gest” at Corky’s, Gus’, Willie Moore’s, the High Point Café, Westy’s, Precious Cargo, Neely’s, or Ray’s? Whether you love to hate him or hate to love him, David Gest is in the house. He’s roaming downtown Memphis, performing random acts of kindness, offering up the moon and determined to deliver some stars.

Flyer: Where were you and what were you doing when it occurred to you that you would be moving to Memphis?

David Gest: I was living in Hawaii and suffering from a brain concussion, and somehow I just dreamed about living on the Mississippi River. I always had an affinity for Memphis. It was something that I felt like I needed at this time in my life — to be away from the paparazzi and not to be someone who’s always in the tabloids. I wanted to buy a home that was facing the river, and I did. In my life I’ve learned you’ve got to go with your gut. I wanted to live in the South. I felt that I could go to Memphis and make records and do things. I can always fly to L.A. or to New York. And I like living in a small town. It agrees with me.

But what was the specific allure of Memphis?

I was — I think — 17 and I was a journalist when I first came here. It was 1971, and I came to Memphis for a rock-and-roll writers’ convention. Everybody got to go to Stax and to Hi Studios. There was a big reception at the Holiday Inn Rivermont, which was the hotel back then. You’d see Rufus Thomas walking around in hot-pants promoting “The Funky Chicken.” You’d see all the great Memphis artists there. And all of this had a really strong effect on me, so I kept coming back. About two years later, I was offered the job of national public relations director for London Records. I was supposed to be 21, but I’d just turned 19. I lied about my age. I had a thick, thick Afro that went down to my butt and a moustache and a beard, so I looked older. You know when you’re a kid you always want to look older. Then you get old and you want to look much younger. When you get to my age — which is 51 — you start to go, Unh-unh.

That was when you started doing PR for Al Green.

Yes, I did public relations and career guidance for Al Green. [He] was the biggest thing at the time. I did the publicity campaign for [Ann Peebles’ hit] “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” You know, I was the one who had John Lennon come to the Troubadour [an L.A. club where Peebles was performing] on the night he wore the Kotex on his forehead. He was really drunk, and he was screaming, “Annie, baby, I love you! Annie, baby, I wanna, I wanna ” And then he asked the waitress, “Do you know who I am?” And she said, “You’re an asshole with a Kotex on your forehead.” They kicked him out of the Troubadour that night. But he loved “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” It was his favorite record.

How often were you in Memphis back then?

I’d be here every three to four months. I’d fly in and work with Quiet Elegance, or maybe Ace Cannon, and others. I gave a party in 1977. It was called “Moonlight on the Mississippi in Memphis.” It was a party on a riverboat for the Doobie Brothers. Jerry Lee Lewis was there and Rufus Thomas, Ann Peebles, Carla Thomas, the Memphis Horns. It seemed like everybody was on that boat, and it was a jam all night.

Is it true that you recently gave an elderly woman who was shopping at the MIFA thrift store $100 to buy a coat?

Yes. I loved this lady’s face. She was 70 or 80. The sweetest little woman you’ve ever seen. She came up to me and she said, “I love you.” And I said, “Well, I love you.” She’d seen me on Larry King a few times, and she said, “I think it’s wonderful what you’re doing for the community.” And so I asked her what she was doing, and she said, “I’m buying a coat.” I said, “Let me buy you a coat.” I went in with her to shop, but she couldn’t find the right coat, so I said, “Here’s a hundred dollars. Go buy yourself something.” She was sweet. I have no idea what her name was.

When you moved to Memphis did you know that you would be producing a celebrity gala and trying to provide Christmas dinner for 100,000 disadvantaged people?

No. In fact, when I moved here, I’d decided that I really wasn’t well enough to start working again. Then one day I saw this man on the street and he said he had no food and he needed $7 for shelter. He said, “I’ve got no place to go not even for Christmas.” I asked, “What do you do on Christmas?” and he said, “I beg for food.”

I thought, I’m going to put on a show. I’ll call my friends and put together a concert so that on that one day a year people can eat for free. [Even with the benefit concert] it’s probably going to cost me money to feed all of these people. I’ll underwrite it. What’s important is seeing results.

Is Memphis now your home or is it just a pit-stop?

Home. I’m going to buy a hotel. I’m in the process of buying a property and building a very small, intimate luxury hotel with a ballroom on the top of it. It’s something I want to do with some of my friends. With all these artists coming in because of the FedExForum, there’s a need for something like that here.

Have Memphians encouraged your plans to feed 100,000 people on Christmas, or have they been cynical?

A little bit of both. Some people are jealous. Some people would like to see me not succeed. But I will succeed regardless of any obstacles. I will thrive. People can say what they want, but the doubters are going to see this happen in Memphis.

There was recently news that many of the artists scheduled to perform at the benefit concert wouldn’t actually attend. How many have confirmed?

Tons have confirmed. It’s going to be phenomenal. We’re going to have the full band from Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary special. And to give you some idea [of what’s in store], Kim Weston, who had a hit with “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)” in the ’60s is going to sing that song with the Doobie Brothers who also had a hit with it in the ’70s. They are going to be accompanied by a 200-member gospel choir. It’s really going to be phenomenal.” n

Categories
News The Fly-By

Plus-Sized Problems

In the span of four days, MATA Plus rider Betty Anderson filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the Federal Transportation Administration and submitted an injury claim to the Memphis Area Transit Autority (MATA) concerning two separate incidents. MATA has since gotten one bus driver temporarily off the road and started an investigation into Anderson’s claim.

On November 15th, Anderson, who uses a wheelchair for her rheumatoid arthritis, was picked up by a MATA Plus bus — vehicles specially equipped to handle wheelchairs — at her home on Jackson Avenue. It was the bus operator’s first day on the road without a supervisor, and Anderson says as she was being loaded onto the bus, she noticed that the wheelchair lift was broken. When the bus arrived at her workplace, Anderson says the weight of her wheelchair caused the lift to jerk, sending pain down her back. Anderson says she had a spinal fusion operation a few years ago.

“It hurt pretty bad for about an hour after I got to work. I probably would have been okay, though, if I hadn’t had to stay on the bus bouncing around in my chair for hours after work,” said Anderson. “It’s like riding a bucking mule.”

She says the same driver picked her up from work at 3:25 p.m. — 36 minutes late — but she didn’t arrive at her destination until 6 p.m. She had intended to stop on Main Street and take a trolley to Central Station for a Tennessee Department of Transportation meeting. But she missed her 4:45 p.m. appointment at the Main Street location, however, because the driver got lost trying to find the home of another rider.

Anderson says the driver used a cell phone 12 times trying to get directions from other drivers. Cell phone use by drivers is against MATA policy, and Anderson claims the driver never once looked at the map book on the bus.

“Bus drivers are not permitted to use cell phones,” said Alison Burton, public relations director for MATA. “All buses are equipped with a radio system, and there is no need for them to make contact with a cell phone.”

At 5:20 p.m., Anderson contacted MATA and reported the delays. A replacement driver was eventually sent to take over.

“The director of MATA [William Hudson] did confirm that Operator 913 was placed back into training,” said Alison Burton, public relations director for MATA. “From there, they will ensure that she has a better working knowledge of the streets in Memphis and will review all other policies, including cell phone use.”

Burton says Anderson is a frequent rider who uses MATA Plus almost daily. She says Anderson is quick to report policy violations and other problems, and many operational changes have been made based on Anderson’s input.

The following day, Anderson sent her complaint to the Office of Civil Rights at the Federal Transportation Administration claiming poor service for disabled persons using MATA Plus. She said she reported the November 15th incident, as well as problems with MATA Plus service being more than 30 minutes late on several occasions and long telephone hold times for people requesting MATA Plus service.

Three days later, Anderson was using the MATA Plus service again when she said a belt used to tie her wheelchair down broke, sending her chair spinning into the aisle. She says her previous injury was worsened significantly as the wheelchair jerked around.

“By the time I got home, I was sick to my stomach the pain was so bad,” said Anderson. “I’ve had to miss work because of it.”

Anderson filed an injury claim, and Burton said MATA is currently investigating the complaint. If MATA is found at fault, it will reimburse any medical bills.

Burton said injury investigations can take a long time while investigators determine whether or not the incident was preventable. n

Categories
News The Fly-By

Reaching for a High Note

Alberto Gutierrez takes over as the new general manager of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (MSO) on January 3rd. Hiring the former San Antonio Symphony operations manager is the latest step in a series of changes that have been planned since last spring.

Other recent changes include the signing of a new contract for the group’s 79 musicians, perhaps the most important aspect of the symphony’s survival. The new contract, signed earlier this month, is a one-year deal guaranteeing a 4 percent salary increase for the 2004-2005 season. Under the new contract, the symphony’s 34 full-time musicians will make at least $21,318 annually, with principal section leaders paid about $3,500 more. The remaining 45 musicians, who are paid per performance, will receive up to $107 for concerts and rehearsals.

Negotiations for the musicians, handled by representatives of the Memphis Federation of Musicians Local 71, were “amicable,” said MSO executive director Ryan Fleur. “The core orchestra salary is low compared to peer cities like Charlotte, Nashville, and Indianapolis, where core members make about $31,000 to $35,000,” he said. “We would love to be able to bring musicians’ salaries in line with these cities, but the salaries are based on what we feel the organization can handle.”

In 2001, Nashville symphony musicians signed a six-year deal guaranteeing its 84 full-time orchestra members a base salary of $30,769 for 40 weeks of work, with additional 5 percent raises each year. Before the deal, full-time orchestra musicians in Nashville were paid about $26,000 for 39 weeks of work. The raises were made possible by endowment campaign efforts which raised more than $20 million.

“Our number-one priority was money,” said union secretary/treasurer and MSO violinist Laurie Pyatt. “Right now we feel that we’re working the schedule of a major orchestra, and we’re not getting paid anything like a full-time job. The schedule makes it difficult to work another job. We’ve got to find a way to fix the problem.”

In addition to salary increases, the musicians included insurance demands in their negotiating package. Currently, only core musicians are eligible for the medical insurance package partly funded by MSO. According to Pyatt, the musicians were unable to reach an agreement making the insurance eligible to all 79 orchestra members.

“Previous contracts have been for longer periods than just one year,” said Pyatt. “As players, if we think that we can do better with longer contracts we go for longer [periods], but right now we’re just waiting to see what will be the result of this planning process. Hopefully some things will change.

MSO’s overhaul also involves ways to increase overall symphony funding, said Fleur, who was hired 15 months ago to create and implement the plan’s three components: orchestra utilization, promotion to constituents, and definition of the orchestra’s future level of excellence. Some areas are expected to be implemented as early as next spring, with personal invitations and letters sent out to contributors and season ticket holders. MSO administrators also plan to involve audience members in focus groups and town hall sessions to discuss other changes.

“Memphis can afford a symphony. The question is, can we build a base of support that is willing to pursue what’s needed to make that happen,” said Fleur. “For example, the whole community perceives the zoo with a sense of pride after the acquisition of the pandas. We need to find our pandas.”

The symphony, which is funded by large donations, ticket sales, and individual gifts, has secured an anonymous $300,000 matching gift over a three-year period. The challenge now is raising an additional $100,000 each year in matching funds.

“People don’t always think about the other things that a symphony brings to a city besides music,” said Fleur. “It brings an audience, talent, and, most importantly, skilled and experienced teachers in our schools and universities teaching music.” n

E-mail: jdavis@memphisflyer.com

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

On Further Review

If the news in Memphis could be reviewed the way the NFL and the Big Ten conference allow controversial plays on the football field to be reviewed, we might see the red flag come out on these calls:

• After further review, the Memphis City Council and Councilman Jack Sammons regret calling for a “Watergate-style” investigation by the council of the MLGW/TVA bond deal. Rarely have so many council members behaved as meekly as they did last week when they voted to let the feds do the investigation — suggesting that a federal investigation was their intent all along, even when the “Watergate” cry was front-page news in The Commercial Appeal back in January.

• After further review, fired MLGW executive Larry Thompson says he’s a little bit surprised that his e-mail reply to the council’s queries about the bond deal made such a splash. In the e-mail, Thompson said he heard from fellow MLGW executives that Rodney Herenton benefited from the deal, that the work of bond attorney Charles Carpenter had to be redone, and that attorney Richard Mays of Little Rock did not do any work.

Thompson told the Flyer this week that he also heard complimentary things about Mayor Willie Herenton’s son that he did not put in his e-mail.

“I’ve got a close friend who says he [Rodney] is a straight shooter and would not be involved with this,” said Thompson. “Nobody ever told me there were any Rodney tracks. He was suspected because First Tennessee was pushing so hard.”

FTN Financial, Rodney Herenton’s employer, told the council that he was not involved in the deal directly or indirectly and did not benefit from it. So did the mayor and Rodney Herenton.

Thompson again said that his information about Carpenter and Mays was hearsay. He said he has not been called to testify before a federal grand jury and has not had any contact with Councilwoman Carol Chumney since leaving MLGW two months ago. Chumney was the main proponent of a council investigation. Finally, Thompson said he has not asked his former colleagues if they have talked to a federal grand jury “and I don’t know if they would tell me if they had.”

• After further review, state senator Steve Cohen wishes someone besides Rebecca Paul was in charge of the Tennessee Education Lottery. Cohen thinks Paul, who stands to earn roughly $577,000 this year if the lottery meets sales projections, is overpaid and gets credit that ought to go to others.

The lottery board met in Nashville this week and approved a bonus for Paul of 65 percent of her $350,000 base salary if lottery sales goals are met. Attorneys and other top lottery executives also stand to get big bonuses. Cohen, the main legislative architect of the lottery, figures its success is due to market factors, vendors, and advertising.

“What is an attorney going to do to produce lottery sales? Nothing,” he said, noting that the $800,000 in bonus money that was approved could have funded an additional 267 college scholarships.

• After further review, next week’s vote on the members of the city charter commission was sidelined by appellate court judges. But the December 7th runoff election for the District 7 seat on the Memphis Board of Education is still on. And if Tomeka Hart doesn’t beat incumbent Hubon Sandridge for the second time, you can expect to see a red flag thrown.

Here’s why. Hart, an attorney and former teacher who graduated from Trezevant High School, got 47 percent of the vote to Sandridge’s 33 percent in the general election. Candidates for district seats, however, must get more than 50 percent or face a runoff. At-large candidates need only a plurality, which is how Wanda Halbert won with 31.6 percent.

On the merits (Sandridge was fired this year from his county job) and on the math, Hart should win, particularly since third-place finisher Terry Becton endorsed her. But school-board runoffs usually attract minuscule turnouts.

The ghost of the late federal judge Jerome Turner looms over the runoff. In 1991, Turner struck down the runoff provision but only in citywide elections in Memphis. Two months later, Willie Herenton won the mayoral election with 49.4 percent of the vote.

• After further review, FedEx is the wrong answer. Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings was toppled this week when he blew Final Jeopardy by answering FedEx to a question about seasonal employers. The correct answer was H&R Block.

• Finally, veteran WMC-TV education reporter Joyce Peterson resigned this week, telling colleagues in a note that it is time to move on and try something different.

Categories
News The Fly-By

INTELLIGENCE FAILURES

This just in from our “If we haven’t snarked, it isn’t news” department. A week ago, The Commercial Appeal‘s executive editor Chris Peck answered in print a question the Pesky Fly has been asking for some time now: If the CA is so new and so improved, then why are there so many big, obvious mistakes? According to Peck, the daily paper’s new computer system has caused some problems that have been exacerbated by the comprehensive redesign and possibly by insufficient staff training. Layoffs at the CA suggest that the company is trying to work with lighter, more mobile troop deployments, while a recent employee walkout indicates that morale isn’t as high as it could be. There is some good news to come from this, though it has gone largely unreported in the liberal media: The CA isn’t invading Iraq any time in the next year.

Plante: How It Looks

Categories
News

A TWO-FOR-ONE: FRATELLO PLUS MUSSELMAN

Mike Fratello, who won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in 1985 after leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 50-32 record, was announced as the new head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies at a press conference at FedExForum Thursday morning.

Joining Fratello on the new Grizzlies staff are Eric Musselman, who compiled a 38-44 record in his one season as a head coach, last year with the Golden State Warriors, and Mitchell Anderson, who served on Sidney Lowe’s coaching staff with the Grizzlies prior to the hiring of Hubie Brown.

Fratello compiled a 572-465 record in two prior head-coaching stints, with the Hawks during the ‘80s and with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the Nineties. Since then he’s made his name as a television color analyst dubbed “The Czar of the Telestrator.”

In what was a relatively uneventful press conference, Fratello dispelled questions about his slow-down coaching style in Cleveland, pointing out that he played up-tempo basketball in Atlanta when he had the personnel to thrive with that style but converted to a slow-down strategy in Cleveland in order to compete with less talent. Fratello refused to discuss specific players today, but did suggest he’d stick with the Grizzlies up-tempo philosophy. “We have people who can run here. Why wouldn’t I want to do that here?,” Fratello asked, citing the Grizzlies “two point guards who can push the ball.”

Fratello was introduced by a teary-eyed Jerry West who struck a somber tone, saying, “We want to get back to where we feel good about ourselves. Do we feel good about ourselves now? No.”

Fratello reminisced about his previous head-coaching jobs and his relationships with Brown, whom he was an assistant under and whom he’s known since his days as a high-school player in New Jersey, and TV partner Marv Albert. But he didn’t give many details about his plans for the Grizzlies, demurring until he can run a practice with the team.

Musselman was considered a candidate for the head-coaching job and joins the staff as Fratello’s top assistant. Fratello spoke of his working relationship with Musselman in connection to the Grizzlies job in terms of a partnership, implying that Musselman will play a considerable role in shaping this team. Anderson returns from the Grizzlies’ scouting staff, where he’d been reassigned after Brown’s hiring. Fratello will retain Lionel Hollins, who has served as the Grizzlies interim head coach over the past week, and John Welch from Brown’s staff. Tony Barone will bounce back to the front office as Director of Player Personnel, the position he held before Brown was hired. Other assistants Hal Wissel and Brendan Brown will be reassigned to the scouting department, according to the Grizzlies media relations department.

For more on Fratello and the Griz, see Chris Herrington’s new Grizzlies blog. CLICK HERE.

PLUS: TIME FOR A CHANGE
by John Hollinger:
A Sports Illustrated pundit offers diagnosis and prognosis for the slumping Grizzlies.

from Sports Illustrated Online

It’s been a crazy week in Memphis, but don’t take my word for it. I’ll let somebody else describe the situation for you:

“Now, you’re Jerry West. You’ve just lost your head coach, who won the Coach of the Year award the season before and energized your team, OK. You’ve gone from winning 50 games in this league to 5-9 in the Western Conference, where you are surrounded by playoff-quality teams, eh-heh-heh, eh-heh-heh, eh-heh, OK.

“Plus, your best player, Pau Gasol, is battling ankle problems, and your small forward James Posey, who gave you great energy, is out with a foot injury. OK, now, in spite of this, you also must recognize that you still have a roster that is deep and young and has tremendous upside, and with that, you still have the opportunity to win a lot of games in this league and get into the playoffs.”

While Hubie Brown may not have said those exact words in his distinctive style, it would be an appropriate analysis of his former team.

For rest of article, CLICK HERE. (Or go to http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/john_hollinger/11/30/grizzlies/index.html)