If you haven’t seen the works of local artist Johnny Taylor, you’ve been missing out. Not to worry — you can right the situation tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. when his newest collection, “27” opens at Jay Etkin Gallery. Taylor’s colorful works draw influence from pop art, graffiti, and music, though “27” includes what Taylor describes as his “softer side.” Drop by Etkin’s place for a look — a perfect first stop on the south Main Trolley tour, or a perfect last stop, should you (wisely) choose to give one of the 27 pieces a new home. DJ Buck Wilders will be on-hand spinning vinyl. Reception from 6 to 9.
Jay Etkin Gallery, 409 South Main, 543-0035.
Month: April 2007
Our weekly Flyer cartoonist pal Tom Tomorrow has come out with a beauty today.
And if you like this cartoon, you’ll enjoy his website, which is full of opinions, photos, commentary, etc.
Categories
Local Cartoonist Up for Eisner Award
And the Nominee Is …
Joel Priddy, cartoonist and instructor at the Memphis College of Art. And the winner is …
We won’t know until July 27th. That’s when the winners of this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the most prestigious in the business, are announced. But until then, see what prompted the Eisner judges to nominate Priddy in the “Best Single Issue” category: The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom (AdHouse).
Win or lose, good to see Priddy gaining more national recognition. Late last year, Harvey Pekar picked Priddy to be included in The Best American Comics 2006 (Houghton Mifflin).
Categories
Grinderman, Grinderman (Mute)
After the Bad Seeds’ sophisticated 2004 double opus Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, Nick Cave formed Grinderman as a means to regress. On their eponymous debut, the quartet favor an abrasive sound reminiscent of the Birthday Party, albeit without the unwieldy goth concerns, and create some truly weird sounds from a fairly traditional guitar-bass-drums line-up. “No Pussy Blues” and “Depth Charge Ethel” turn sexual frustration into a comical condition, while “Go Tell the Women” and “When My Love Comes Down” provide a perfect setting for Cave’s over-the-top imagery (example: “Your tongue is like a Kalashnikov”). Grinderman celebrates the vulgar and the puerile as rarified pursuits, or, as Cave sings on the opener, “I’ve got some words of wisdom: Get it on!” (“No Pussy Blues,” “(I Don’t Need You To) Set Me Free”)
Grade: A-
For many people, buying a first home is a rite of passage. It’s a foot firmly planted in independence and on the path to success, a true part of the American dream. But as many first-time buyers are coming to realize, it’s more than just the end-goal of a journey toward financial independence. Buying a home, particularly your first home, just makes good plain sense, now more than ever.
Potential first-time buyers may be intimidated by today’s changing housing market. Isn’t it just better to “play it safe” and keep renting in case home prices fall? If you buy now, will you be paying too much?
First, these are valid considerations. Even those who have bought and sold many homes ask similar questions. But the truth is that today’s economic environment makes it an excellent time to buy. Interest rates are low by historical standards, there are lots of choices, and sellers are offering incentives.
Perhaps, as a first-time buyer, you want to wait until prices drop lower. Actually, if you continue to wait, you may never be able to afford to get into the housing market. The truth is, even a small uptick in interest rates can wipe out any gains from falling prices.
Consider this example: If you decide to wait to purchase a home and the price were to drop $10,000 from where it is today, you could still end up losing money. How? If interest rates were to move up half a point during this period, the savings on the reduced home price would be more than offset by the higher monthly payment you would be making over the life of the loan.
Interest rates currently stand at about 6.5 percent and are extremely favorable for buyers. In fact, they are hovering near 30-year lows. But waiting to time the market is a dangerous — and losing — game. Even those who follow the market for a living can’t figure out when interest rates will bottom out. If they could, they would all be multimillionaires. Because interest rates are near historic lows, it is much more likely that they will head higher in the future as opposed to moving even lower.
Now consider the current rental market. During the past few years, many rental units have been converted to condos, resulting in fewer rentals on the market. Less supply, higher prices. Each year, your rent can easily go up 5 to 10 percent. Where is the economic security in that? When you buy a home, you’re also locking in price stability, knowing that you will pay the same monthly payment for the life of your 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Plus, renting doesn’t get you the investment or tax benefits of homeownership.
The best way to build household wealth is to own a home. Once you do, you are able to take advantage of generous tax deductions, and your equity begins to build. Your home will appreciate in value over the years, and eventually you can use those gains to sell your starter home and afford to move into a bigger house. Remember, it’s called a starter home for a reason. With so many homes on the market to choose from, your best strategy may be to scale back expectations for your dream home. After a few years, you will be able to leverage this investment and buy a larger house.
The truth is, buying your first home just makes good sense. Housing is always a smart investment, and it is by far the best way to use a small amount of money for a big return. Interest rates are historically low, and the selection of homes on the market is plentiful. Do your research and you’ll come to this conclusion: In today’s market, the real risk isn’t in buying a home, it’s sitting on the fence.
Keith Grant is president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association.
Categories
In Search of the Subteens
What makes a popular band just disappear?
“You want to hear about me sitting alone in a room doing coke and listening to the phone ring?” asks Mark Akin, the lanky guitarist and charismatic frontman for the Subteens, a hard-rocking trio (and sometimes quartet) that spent nearly a decade earning a reputation as Midtown’s best bar band before vanishing without a trace. “I was doing a considerable amount of drugs, and that became more important than everything else,” Akin confesses. “Obviously, I never expected that to happen. But nobody ever does.”
The Subteens story sounds a lot like a Subteens song. Although the band’s reunion on Saturday, April 28th, at Young Avenue Deli will likely draw a considerable crowd, when the band formed in 1995, nobody paid them much attention. During their first four years, the Subteens went through drummers like Spinal Tap and played in almost total obscurity to an audience the band describes as “girlfriends and bartenders.”
“The running gag was that we were too stupid to quit,” says bassist Jay Hines, who calls the Subteens “a band built for self-destruction.” But stupid is as stupid does, and the Subteens stupid fortunes began to change for the better when drummer and vocalist Christene Kings from the all-girl California duo the Chubbies joined the group in 1998.
“That’s when I first started noticing people showing up for shows,” Akin recalls. “And that’s also when we started putting boobs on the flyers we’d put on telephone poles.” The band wasn’t any better, he says, just better looking.
By the time Kings was replaced on drums with John “Bubba” Bonds (previously with Kenny Brown and the Verbs), the Subteens were drawing enthusiastic crowds. In 2000, the group released Burn Your Cardigan, a modish nine-song rocker that one critic accurately described as “harkening back to the days when the Clash could share a stage with the Jam.” Buried amid Akin’s originals, which vividly chronicle such tried-and-true subjects as beer, Midtown melodrama, and suburban malaise, was an unlikely cover of Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right.” Although the Subteens would crank out many more originals and cover more obvious material such as AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and the Ramones’ “Chinese Rocks,” “You May Be Right” became the band’s standby and a rallying cry for fans who thought Akin was just the lunatic they were looking for.
“I always thought it was fun to play a song that everybody would immediately dismiss as dorky,” Akin says of the song, which turned out to be less dorky than prophetic. As the Subteens’ popularity grew, so did Akin’s ego and habits.
“I got my head up my ass a whole lot more,” he says. “I was somewhere backstage dumping out piles of my favorite party favor. The guy I was doing it with was in the opening band, and he looked at me and said, ‘Man, what do you think you’re in — Aerosmith or something?’
“I wanted to live that [rock-star] life,” Akin says. And when people started showing up [to our shows], I took that as permission to start behaving like a jackass without the whole part of selling millions of records.”
As Akin sank deeper into his habits, Subteens sets became shorter and more unpredictable. The band might pull off a brilliant show or Akin might throw up on himself. “Either way, it was entertaining,” he says. And no show was over until Akin had stripped down to nothing but his guitar and a drunken grin.
“I think I may have started performing to strip buck-naked rather than to play the music,” Akin admits. “My idea of what a Subteens show was was debauchery, nudity, and alcohol. That’s fun, but you’ve got to put the music first.”
Things got worse.
“I pawned my girlfriend’s guitar — as all good stories start,” Akin recalls. “She had been bearing down on me to return it, but someone else had bought it. [The Subteens] were playing at Young Avenue Deli, and she lived around the corner. I remember calling her on the phone from backstage and telling her what happened. She understandably freaked. The place was filling up, and the opening band was playing. I left the Deli and walked to her house and found her standing on the porch smashing plates.”
Shortly after the release of the band’s second (and much better) album, So That’s What the Kids Are Calling It, Akin stopped showing up for shows. Instead, he sat alone in his room doing coke and listening to the phone ring.
Akin isn’t worried about returning to the stage mostly clothed and fully sober, although his last attempt at playing it straight left him feeling a little awkward.
“I’d been off drugs for maybe two or three months of a five-year coke bender [at the time of the band’s last show a few years ago]. Your head’s still pretty twisted. Usually I was half-drunk and half-naked and babbling all kinds of insane stuff to the crowd. But immediately I was more self-conscious.”
Whether or not this show is a one-time-only event for the band’s fans, who never got to say a proper goodbye, or the beginning of a new, more responsible chapter in Subteens history, depends largely on the show. “If we can get through this show without anybody getting arrested or divorced, we’ll talk about it,” Akin says.
“It’s probably a one-off,” Hines concludes, pointing out that he’s the only member of the band who is still married.
The Subteens Reunion Show
Young Avenue Deli
Saturday, April 28th
Door opens at 9 p.m.; admission $10
Alberto Gonzales and Mike Nifong have much in common.
If I had my way, Alberto Gonzales would have worn a Mike Nifong mask when he testified before the Senate. Nifong is the rogue prosecutor who indicted three members of the Duke University lacrosse team even though he should have known that they were not guilty. He did this not for cash or some other bribe but because of political pressure. He was up for reelection.
It is really no different with Gonzales. By allowing politics to pollute the Justice Department, by permitting U.S. attorneys to get the impression that politics ought to figure in their investigations, he compares to the odious Nifong. The mask will remind the Senate of what really is at stake.
The Durham County district attorney was not, it seemed from his record, a bad guy. But he was confronted with an opportunity. He could indict three privileged white jocks accused of raping an underprivileged black woman, or he could let the case slide, drop it for lack of evidence, and maybe lose the election. We all know what he did.
A different sort of political pressure was being brought by Gonzales and his Justice Department on U.S. attorneys throughout the country. He made sure they all knew their jobs were at stake. All U.S. attorneys are political appointees, confirmed by the Senate and, usually, deemed safe and comfy by the senators from their respective states. Up to this point, the process would make a political boss smile.
But once a U.S. attorney is chosen, the politicking is supposed to cease. This is important, because the office is extremely powerful. Look at what Nifong did to three kids, and he is just a local district attorney. A U.S. attorney usually has vastly more funds at his disposal — and he also has the FBI, the IRS, the Postal Service, the Secret Service, and, for all I know, the CIA and the Mossad. This is not an office to trifle with. It does not take a conviction to ruin a life; a mere investigation will suffice.
So Gonzales is being cute when he said in his prepared statement that he would not “interfere with or influence a particular prosecution for partisan political gain.” But would he, maybe at the instigation of local Republicans, suggest to the U.S. attorneys that they step on the gas a bit when it comes to voter fraud? This was a GOP obsession, and the failure to prosecute for this crime vexed small minds throughout the Republican Party.
What prosecutor could not have gotten that message — especially after eight of their number were purged for what appears to be political reasons? After all, David C. Iglesias of New Mexico was dumped after he received a phone call from one of his senators, Pete Domenici, who appeared to be insisting on the prompt indictment of a Democratic officeholder. Mind you, the Democrat might have been guilty or Domenici might have thought so — still, this was an outrageous interference on Domenici’s part, followed, ominously for other U.S. attorneys, by the dismissal of Iglesias by a compliant attorney general’s office.
Nifong, a weak and contemptible man, was merely trying to hold on to his office. He had the perfect suspects. Their indictment was cheered by a vocal black community, mindless members of the Duke academic community, men-haters across the country, and many Duke students. Whatever reasons Nifong had to suspect rape turned into a huge political opportunity. It must have been hard to back down. He stuck with his case. He neglected his other obligations — to the three young men, above all, but also to the perception that justice in this country is administered fairly.
It is the same with Gonzales. His most solemn obligation was to the sanctity of the country’s criminal justice system and to the belief that politics will not interfere. In that regard, he has failed dismally, overseeing a process for replacing U.S. attorneys that is rank with the rotten smell of petty politics. His victims are not three innocent young men but the trust we all used to have in the impartiality of the Justice Department. He should have worn that Nifong mask. I’m sure it would have fit just fine.
Richard Cohen writes for theWashington Post Writers Group.
Categories
Lofty Digs
Courtesy of the Lofts
The Lofts from the corner of Tennessee and G.E. Patterson
Asking when the Lofts was developed is tricky business. Sure, the building was converted to condominiums from apartments pretty recently — starting in March 2005, with the first closings coming in December of that year. But that answer neglects, oh, about 100 years of the building’s life and ignores much of the charm inherited by the Lofts.
The building was born in 1909, and its first identity was as the Orgill Bros. & Co. Hardware and Saddlery Warehouse, which served as a distribution center. There was a system of pull carts for transportation of items to different parts of the building and a circular slide system to send packages down from floor to floor. (There’s still an example of a slide on the first floor of the building.) Orgill Bros. made an addition to the building in 1917.
So when the building was ready for conversion to accommodate residents, the developer, Henry Turley Company, paid particular mind to its historic characteristics. Demolition was never considered. As Henry Turley says, “It’s the best loft I’ve ever seen. Why would you tear it down?”
Courtesy of the Lofts
The Skyline Club at the Lofts
According to Lofts sales associate Mike Parker, “Whatever we could keep in its natural state — the timbers, the concrete beams, concrete pillars, concrete ceilings — we left them as they were. Some of them even had graffiti on them.
“It’s a recycled building,” Parker adds. “It could’ve been torn down, and we could’ve put up some new condos, but we thought that would be a little plain. We wanted to get good use of the building, and the people here love the exposed brick and the exposed timbers. They don’t make them like this anymore. They don’t make beams that are three feet by three feet much anymore.”
The neighborhood’s no slouch either when it comes to character, both historically and naturally. The Lofts is located at 505 Tennessee Street, about as far west you can go in Memphis without getting wet. Turley says, “[A]lmost invariably, industrial lofts are in industrial districts, next to railroads. It so happened that our industrial spot was next to the Mississippi River. It is a singular location.”
Courtesy of the Lofts
The lap pool at the Lofts
The roof deck of the Lofts offers a panoramic view of the river and city that’ll make you wish you had eyes in the back of your head just so you can take it all in. Among other features on the top of the building — called the Skyline Club — are a lap pool (from which “you can basically hang over the side of the building and overlook South Bluffs,” Parker says), grills for cooking, a fireplace that burns a no-muss denatured ethanol, a kitchenette, a sauna, and a workout facility.
Courtesy of the Lofts
The view from the Lofts looking north
Parker says, “We talked Henry into taking the workout facility from the first floor back in a corner, in the least desirable unit, and converting one of the most desirable units, a roof garden unit, into the workout facility. … We had some really nice workout equipment, and, as Henry says, ‘Don’t hide your light under a bushel.'”
But just because preservation of the past has been key in the design of the Lofts, don’t get the idea that the place isn’t as high-tech and forward-focused as possible. Wireless Internet is provided, as is basic cable. “It’s complementary to the building and the type of people who like this loft style of living,” Parker says.
But one of the best features is sure to satisfy your checkbook and higher sensibilities both: the energy-efficient system installed in the Lofts. “We’re a common-source water heat pump system, so our utilities are very low,” Parker says. “You’re not paying to heat or cool the water with your utility bill. You’re paying to blow [the air] throughout your unit once you’ve sent the prescribed temperature to your unit via your thermostat. Water and sewer are paid out of condo fees, but you still have control of your thermostat 365 days a year.”
Mike Parker
That translates to utility bills that run about $20 to $40 a month for a studio, for example. One resident, who lives in a 2,010-square-foot unit, had a $28 bill one month.
The need for a car is diminished for many residents by the proximity of the Lofts to the trolley line. “You can literally sit on the steps, wait for the trolley to come by, wave it down, and it’ll stop at the front door, pick you up, and take you to a Redbirds game, whatever,” Parker says. “You’re saving gas and saving the environment by cutting down on how much you take your car out.”
So far, 57 units out of 122 have sold. Remaining units start at $139,000 and range in size from 860 to 2,300 square feet. Of the bigger units, Parker says, “Forget watching football. You can play football in them.”
The Lofts also has a unique lease-to-own program. According to Parker, “If you’re not quite ready to buy, you can rent within the building for three to six months, and at the end of that period, we’ll give you half of up to six months back toward closing costs, homeowner’s fees, or upgrades, when you purchase in the building. You don’t even have to purchase the same unit. You can purchase bigger or smaller.”
The Lofts is the complete package, Turley says: “We argue that it is the best and the greenest loft in America.”
For more information on the Lofts, contact Mike Parker or Ashley Bonds at 578-6915.
Nobody wants to get stuck with the dead weight that is a house that won’t sell. The vagaries of the market coupled with the pressures of getting on to your next living arrangement can be enough to send your blood pressure shooting. But Bill Effros thinks he has just the sword to cut through this real estate Gordian knot. He calls it the 5-Day Method, and it’s the subject of How To Sell Your Home in 5 Days.
Here’s the method: On Wednesday, “Run an ad offering your home for 50 percent of what you think it’s worth or ‘best offer.'” Mention amenities for your home, times for a home opening that weekend, and include the line “Home will be sold Sunday night to the highest bidder.” On Saturday and Sunday, show your home. On Sunday night, call everyone who left bids and determine who will pay the most. Take the highest amount, and on Monday, call the settlement agent. Including Monday, that’s actually six days, but who’s counting?
The bidding process is a little tricky. It’s called “round-robin” bidding, and all offers are left on bidding sheets that are open to view by others at the open house. After the home showing, the seller calls the bidders and asks those with low bids if they’re willing to top the high bid. Eliminations are made, and the next day, you close with that price (provided you’re happy with it).
One of the bonuses touted by the book is never having to set a price for the home — you let the buyer do it. Another is that there’s no risk. (You are encouraged to tell everyone who places a bid that it is non-binding.) It utilizes free-market concepts to determine the sale price.
Effros’ method is predicated on the idea that the process of selling a home should really be about finding the best buyer — not just any buyer. He says that many homes sell for prices lower than other people would be willing to pay. “You sold to the first bidder, not the high bidder, because you didn’t know the true value of your home. You could have sold it for more,” Effros chides.
Effros assumes that people will want to bid on a home. Many, I’m sure, would. But there’s going to be a lot of potential buyers who are turned off by the whole idea and never even look at the house.
One of the major weak points in the plan is that no mortgage lender will pay more than a house is appraised for. Having someone willing to pay the amount of your wildest dreams is one thing; getting them approved is another. Unless they’re paying cash, be realistic. Effros goes so far as to say, “The bid price isn’t wrong; the appraiser is wrong.” He suggests describing the five-day plan to the appraiser and/or bank to get them to increase the appraisal/alter their stance.
How To Sell Your Home in 5 Days also has a section dedicated to advice that is good for any home seller, whether or not they use the five-day method. Knowing what to fix is especially put under the microscope, summed up in the axiom “Fix nothing unless you’re certain you’ll get back two dollars for every dollar you spend.” (This excludes repairs required by law after a professional inspection.)
Some statements, such as “There are always more people who want to buy homes than there are homes. It’s just a question of price,” sound a little questionable. The author also claims, “When this book is exactly followed, the 5-Day Method works every time.” He adds the caveat: “Alter the method at your own peril.”
The Kings of Leon’s last album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, was an infuriating mess that was also, inexplicably, a hit with critics. While anybody with ears could hear the power behind this band, which consists of three brothers and a cousin, Aha Shake Heartbreak felt formless and tossed off. The Kings couldn’t even rouse themselves to find decent hooks for half the songs. The lyrics were especially nonsensical, even by the low standards of a rock record. Maybe reviewers were just in love with the band’s bio, which reveled in the fact that the brothers were primitive Southern boys, raised by an evangelical father who barnstormed the South to save souls. It wouldn’t be the first time ears were fooled by hype.
But something happened on my way to forgetting about Aha Shake Heartbreak: A few of the songs lingered, finding their way back to a mind that had relegated them gone. My opinion of the album held, but maybe there was more to it than I first suspected.
Now the Kings of Leon arrive with Because of the Times, and there is no waiting around for the impact because it is immediate. This is a great record. It’s old-fashioned in the sense that the guitar and Caleb Followill’s distinctive, drawl-heavy voice are the twin instruments that power an album that finds hooks under seat cushions and everywhere else it looks.
Because of the Times also does that rare thing in rock: It opens strong and then just gets better. The first song, the seven-minute “Knocked Up,” is a nervy tale of running away that floats on a recurring flute figure and an explosive burst of guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a U2 record. “Charmer” follows and has a menacing, bass-driven riff that recalls the Pixies. “On Call” is next, and it’s just a beautiful, soaring anthem with vocals that push the song higher and higher.
The lyrics are still sloppy on occasion even as the subject of the songs is made more clear and direct. Luckily, the Kings are singing about tried-and-true rock subjects: girls, fans, girls, and cars. They do so with a swagger and a confidence that seem to elude most bands. One hesitates to bring up comparisons with such heavyweights as the Rolling Stones, but that’s the level of pleasure Because of the Times is operating on.
Grade: A