Month: March 2016

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News News Blog

Sheriff’s Deputy Rescues Dogs From House Fire

This dog was held in Deputy Tartt’s patrol car until homeowners arrived.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputy Darius Tartt can now add “volunteer firefighter” to his resume. The patrol deputy came upon a house fire Wednesday afternoon and managed to rescue two dogs from the home before firefighters arrived.

Tartt was patrolling when he noticed the residential fire in the 7200 block of Peppermill Lane. He called for help from the Shelby County Fire Department and then approached the home to see if anyone was inside. And that’s when he heard barking.

Tartt forced his way inside the home and began searching for the dogs and any people inside the home. No humans were there, but he located two large dogs cowering under a bed. Tartt grabbed one dog, and the other one made a run for the backyard.

The dog Tartt grabbed was placed in his patrol car until the homeowners arrived. Shelby County Fire was able to extinguish the flames, which apparently resulted from a lightening strike.

These dogs were rescued from a house fire by Sheriff’s Deputy Tartt.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Don’t Be Afraid of Hecklers: Another side of Memphis Comedy

Don’t be afraid of Josh McLane. Or do. Your call.

Consider this as an addendum to this week’s cover story about the Memphis Comedy Festival, and the indie comedy scene that birthed it. It’s hard to address everything in 3000 words, and I thought it might be fun to include a few sentences about Memphis audiences. I also wanted to share an annotated version of Mitchell Dunnam’s fantastic cover for this week’s Memphis Flyer. Mitchell plugged a lot of local comedians into a parody of the movie poster for National Lampoon’s Animal House, and this is the key to figuring out who they all are.  

Comedian Tommy Oler had barely started his set at RockHouse Live when the heckler started yelling at him. An older gentleman, later identified as one of Elvis’ former attorneys, yelled, “You suck!” He wasn’t a very good heckler. That and, “You still suck!” was pretty much all the material he had. Oler took it all in stride, suggesting that his comedy might improve while his critic wasn’t getting any younger. 

RockHouse Live is cave-like, and committed to darkness. The Wednesday night open mic, hosted by Amanda Walker can sometimes leave audiences wondering if they should laugh or call 9-1-1. “Even the bartenders heckle you,” MaryBeth Poppins says. “Like, if you tell a joke about daiting and you aren’t telling it bad enough, they’ll correct you. Or jump in with their stories. It can be obnoxious.” But, if you’re a comedian born, insults can also be inspiring.

Poppins is a very serious (and seriously funny) stand-up hobbyist literally created by the Memphis Comedy Festival. A comedian insulted her, as comedians will, and she thought, “I can be funnier than that guy.” Bada-bing, bada-boom. And open mic nights — an important part of the comedy ecosystem — are like a box of chocolates in the wild west. You never know what you’re going to get. And what you get can be rowdy. Open mics are places where you can see experienced comics like Rob Love or Harold King working out the kinks in their freshest material back-to-back with newbies, schmucks, and punchbowl turds. It’s like Blacksmith Comedy’s Benny Elbows says, “At open mics you really start to see how much craft goes into this. When you see somebody out there being funny it’s easy to assume they’ve always been funny. But most of the time that’s just not the case.” 

Even at open mics, where anything can go down (and often does), heckling’s not the worst thing that can happen. Neither is soul-crushing silence, which means people are listening, at least. Memphis audiences seem to enjoy one another’s company, and if they think you’re no good they’ll just talk to the person next to them. Loudly. Unless, that is, Josh McLane’s performing.

McLane’s a badass drummer who’s played in too many bands to mention. He’s a part time wrestling announcer who got his loudmouth start as a strip club DJ. He says he doesn’t really think of himself as a comedian, but it’s not hard to draw straight lines between McLane, Mouth-of-the-South wrestling luminary Jimmy Hart, and the angry, screamier side of Bill Hicks. So punchlines do find their way into his firey political rants. He’s also the host of Don’t Be Afraid of… Memphis’ longest continuously-running stand-up comedy showcase. If there’s a ground zero for Memphis comedy’s increasingly unified hype strategies, it’s probably Don’t Be Afraid…”.

Paying your dues: Aspiring comic MaryBeth Poppins takes door for the You Look Like a Comedy Show show.

Like many local comics McLane got his start doing open mic, and has been regular at the P&H since the days when he worked at the bar doing whatever needed to be done. He knows what it’s like to come off stage, change out of his comedy suit, and empty ashtrays for customers who were very recently threatening to kick his ass. “That’s humbling,” he says. But wrestling’s in McLane’s blood. He knows how to generate heat, and when audiences turn, he’s been known to make some risky choices.

One night McLane was performing on stage at the P&H and two women sitting front and center wouldn’t stop talking. So he flicked a switchblade: “I haven’t been to prison in a long time,” he said, brandishing his weapon at a safe distance. “And right now I’m really missing the taste of a dick.” The talkers were shocked into silence.

“But they came back every week for a long time and became big friends of Memphis comedy,” McLane says. Don’t be afraid indeed.

This month’s installment of “Don’t Be Afraid”  is produced at the Hi-Tone Cafe in conjunction with the Memphis Comedy Festival. 

And now for something completely different…

While working on this package I was smitten by Mitchell Dunnam‘s comedy posters for showcases like Tuesday Show Comedy and the Black Nerd Power Comedy Hour. They were pop culture parodies with the faces of local, and visiting comics plugged in. So I asked him if he’d create a parody of the Animal House movie poster for this week’s cover, and he really outdid himself. Here it is again with a guide to all the comics represented on the cover. 

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News News Blog

Retirement Granted for Memphis Officer Who Killed Darrius Stewart

Connor Schilling

Connor Schilling, the Memphis Police officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Darrius Stewart last summer during a traffic stop, has been granted a “line of duty retirement” by the city of Memphis pension board.

In November, a Shelby County Grand Jury declined to indict Schilling despite a recommendation by Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich to indict the officer for voluntary manslaughter and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Shortly after the July 17th shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) took up the case. They delivered their report to Weirich’s office last August, and the grand jury decision came down a few months later.

To take advantage of a line of duty retirement, a city employee must have two independent doctors verify the employee is disabled emotionally or physically. Schilling, who served on the force for nearly four years, will receive a pension of $1,138.19 twice each month. His retirement is effective April 1st.

“This retirement was granted by the pension board, because it is required under the city’s pension laws based on the recommendation of two doctors,” said the city’s chief legal officer Bruce McMullen. “Because Connor Schilling was under a doctor’s care, his administrative hearing with the Memphis Police Department was temporarily deferred. His retirement means the hearing cannot continue.”

Schilling was awaiting a Memphis Police Department (MPD) administrative hearing for violating handcuffing and radio procedures in the Stewart incident at the time of his retirement. At a press conference Thursday afternoon, MPD interim director Michael Rallings said the department was still reviewing the 800-page TBI file, in preparation for the hearing, when Schilling announced his retirement. Had the hearing occurred, Rallings said Schilling could have been facing punishment ranging from a written reprimand to termination. 

Stewart was shot on July 17th by Schilling after the car Stewart was a passenger in was pulled over for having a headlight out. Stewart was detained in the back of a squad car after the traffic stop while Schilling checked for warrants. When Schilling discovered Stewart had two outstanding warrants in Illinois and Iowa, he opened the squad car door to place handcuffs on Stewart. Schilling said Stewart then attacked him and struck him with the handcuffs. During the struggle, Schilling fired at Stewart. Stewart died from two gunshot wounds, according to the Shelby County Medical Examiner’s report.

Rallings said that he believed Stewart’s family was preparing for a civil lawsuit.

He said that, after the shooting, he personally went to Stewart’s mother’s home to offer her any help the MPD could give.

“We have been praying for that family since that incident happened,” Rallings said. “I have no idea what it’s like to be Darrius Stewart’s mother, but I know what it’s like to be hurt and experience death first-hand.”

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News News Blog

Zoo Won’t Use Full Greensward This Weekend

CREDIT: Brandon Dill

Brandon Dill

Memphis Zoo officials say this weekend they will not use the full Greensward footprint granted to them by the Memphis City Council for parking to ensure cars don’t interfere with other events planned for the Greensward.

Zoo spokeswoman Laura Doty said in an email Thursday that the zoo plans to park cars “on an as-needed basis only on the original footprint on the northwest corner of the Greensward.”

“We do not plan to use the extended footprint granted by the city council in an effort to compromise and work with [Overton Park Conservancy],” Doty said in a statement. “This will ensure that a rugby tournament and a reading flash mob for Literacy Memphis can go on as planned.”

Memphis Police Department officers will be on hand, according to the statement.

“There will be Memphis police officers on-site, as there are on many of our busy weekends, to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” Doty said. “We hope that everyone from across the Mid-South can enjoy both the Memphis Zoo and Overton Park.”

Numerous events are planned for the Greensward this weekend – some directly related to the Greensward parking issue and some not.

• So far, dozens have shown interest on Facebook in a demonstration set for Saturday at 10 a.m.

The rally will begin at Veteran’s Plaza and attendees will march to the corner of McLean and Prentiss Place. The group plans to march between the two spots from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“This is not a call for civil disobedience,” says the Facebook invitation. “We will not block the streets or driveways.”

• Another event, called “Feed the Need and Save the Greensward” asks people to bring canned goods and non-perishable items to the Greensward Saturday starting at noon. The items will be donated to the Midsouth Food Bank.

“For every item donated, you may enter for a chance to win your very own Save the Greensward shirt,” says the invitation.

• The Dry Gulch Renegades, a rugby team that bills itself as the “exclusive sports team of the Greensward” will take the pitch at the Greensward at 2 p.m. for a match against The Gadsen [Alabama] Pioneers.

The invitation says the Renegades have been “supporting their community through volunteering for the Overton Park Conservancy and playing rugby in protest of the Memphis Zoo at our home field, the best piece of grass in this city, the Overton Park Greensward.”

“Come support your local dudes while they kick ass on the Greensward and help us occupy the park to keep these jerks off our lawn,” says the Facebook invitation.

• In an event that’s not directly linked to the Greensward parking issue, Literacy Mid-South will host its fourth annual Reading Flash Mob from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

“What a perfect excuse to gather your friends, family, book clubs, and pets and enjoy a beautiful afternoon in the park,” reads the invitation. “Don’t forget to stop by the Literacy Mid-South tent and learn more about this great organization.”

Categories
Music Music Blog

Wilco, R.E.M. Join Big Star’s Jody Stephens for Third Tribute

Commercial success came late for Big Star. That ’70s Show renewed recognition for the band by transforming 1972’s “In The Street” from their debut album #1 Record into Cheap Trick’s “That ’70s Song,” which served as the show’s anthem. Prior to that, Big Star largely remained a musician’s band.

#1 Record was heralded by critics as a dynamic debut that would push the band into the limelight — Rolling Stone called it “exceptionally good … one of the sleepers of 1972” — but attention never sparked. Big Star’s sophomore effort Radio City performed no better, and coupled with tumultuous relationships within the band, they fizzled away.

Enter Big Star’s Third album, Sister Lovers. R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone, Jessica Pratt, and Kronos Quartet, among others, will join Jody Stephens on April 27 to perform the record in it’s entirety at the Alex Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Conductor Carl Marsh, who orchestrated the album in 1974, will lead a full chamber orchestra. Stephens will also be joined by Big Star members Jon Auer and Ken Stingfellow for additional songs from Radio City and #1 Record. 

Though Big Star’s sound defined power-pop before the genre found footing, whatever pretension existed on their first two albums dissolved with Third/Sister Lovers. The cult album captured an emotionally volatile Alex Chilton. Jim Dickinson helmed production, and with the collaboration of Chilton and Stephens among a team of memphis music heavyweights, Sister Lovers serves as the most musically daring of the band’s career. Tracks like “Thank You, Friends” and Stephens’ penned “For You” are as accessible as anything from their first two albums, but tucked between slow-burners such as “Kangaroo” and “Holocaust” — which served as an entrance for Chilton’s experimental solo efforts that would later follow. 

Watch Jody Stephens perform “Blue Moon” from Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers below:

Wilco, R.E.M. Join Big Star’s Jody Stephens for Third Tribute

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Nuggets 109, Grizzlies 105: Next Day Notes

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Larry Kuzniewski

Last night the Grizzlies lost to the Nuggets, dropping a game that they almost had to win to be safe in their grip on the Western Conference’s 5th seed. Herewith, some thoughts:

Game Notes

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Up Next

The Grizzlies play the Toronto Raptors at the Forum on Friday, and then they have two more winnable (“winnable”) games: Sunday at Orlando, and Tuesday night at home against the Chicago Bulls. Whether these games are really winnable really seems like it’s going to come down to pure chance at this point; if the Grizzlies can catch their opponent flat-footed and grind one out, or if Zach Randolph can put up another triple double, or if Lance Stephenson can get back to the peak form he was in just a week and a half ago, the Grizzlies will be fine. If not, well, we’ve seen it enough times by now to know it might get ugly.

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Memphis Documentary The Keepers returning to Studio On The Square

Since its debut on opening night of last year’s Indie Memphis Film Festival, The Keepers has become a hit on the festival circuit. “We have been amazed at the response at film festivals,” says co-director Joann Self Selvidge. “Almost every screening has sold out, including a 9 AM show in Sedona!”

The film won awards at both Indie Memphis and the Nashville Film Festival. Co-director Sara Kaye Larson, says she’s been pleased with the level of audience engagement she has seen. “The film sparks some great conversations—everything from people identifying with the keepers’ dedication to working a job they are passionate about, to discussions about modern zoos, conservation and our relationship with animals. People really connect with it.”

Memphis Zoo keeper Carolyn

The Keepers is a cinéma vérité look at the lives of the people at the Memphis Zoo who are charged with caring for the animals. Selvidge says the film was the result of a unique alignment of opportunities. “We are independent filmmakers. We are not affiliated with the zoo. We began working on this film nearly five years ago, and because many of the zoo administrators are former zookeepers themselves, they understood our pitch. We were incredibly lucky to get this type of unprecedented access behind the scenes at a modern zoo. But we raised funds independently to make this film, and it’s one of the reasons we were able to make the film that we did.” 

Selvidge says she does not want the work entangled with the ongoing controversy surrounding the Memphis Zoo’s use of the Overton Park Greensward for parking. “Personally, we are both big supporters of the Overton Park Conservancy,” she says. “I live a 5-minute walk from the park, and I’m a lifelong Memphian, and urban parks and greenspace are very important issues to me. It’s been incredibly disconcerting that our film about zookeepers has become a target for the anger that people have against the zoo administration. We began working on this film years before parking on the greensward became an issue, so of course it’s not mentioned in the film.” 

The film will be screening for the next week at Studio On The Square, starting Thursday, March 31 at 7 PM with a special event hosted by Indie Memphis, featuring a Q & A with the directors. 

“A big reason why we made the film was to explore the complexity of our relationship as humans to exotic animals in captivity, and the zookeepers—who are lowest on the totem pole, who have no control over the decisions their bosses make—are the ones who work closest with these animals,” says Larson. “This is a fascinating job, with typical job frustrations, and a unique subculture. Zookeepers are amazing people who do amazing work. We feel fortunate that they let us into their lives. I’ll be happy if our film encourages awareness and understanding.”

You can read more about the making of the film in the Flyer’s Indie Memphis 2015 Cover Story. 

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News The Fly-By

Fly on the Wall 1414

You Are Here

Last week, the Brooks Museum of Art announced that it would celebrate its 100th birthday by giving the city of Memphis a special gift. The gift will take the form of artist Kurt Perschke’s “RedBall Project,” a temporary site-specific work in which an enormous inflatable red ball is installed in various artist-chosen places all around the city.

The big red ball will make life in Memphis more fun in a number of ways, especially if it fulfills its ultimate destiny and attracts the Big Red Dog.

Verbatim

“There’s going to come a time when there’s going to be one or two Elvises left out here, and it’s going to be all there is to it.” — Mark Rumpler, who officiates Elvis-themed weddings in Las Vegas, is quoted in a new CBS report about Elvis Presley’s rapidly diminishing influence on Vegas culture. Rumpler told CBS that the number of Elvis-themed weddings his organization performs dropped from 40 percent to 15 percent in only one year.

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We Recommend We Recommend

Midtown Opera Festival at Playhouse on the Square

In the early 1980s, visionary Royal Shakespeare Company director Peter Brook teamed with composer Marius Constant and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere to create The Tragedy of Carmen, a highly concentrated, 80-minute variation on Bizet’s popular three-hour epic. French soprano (and proud Memphian) Marie-Stéphane Bernard had an opportunity to assist at one of the show’s early productions and describes the work as a huge sensation. “It was incredible,” she says. “So powerful, so new, and so modern.”

The Tragedy of Carmen is the first of two intimate, and strikingly different, chamber operas being presented by Opera Memphis at this year’s Midtown Opera Festival. The second is a bawdy 1911 farce by Maurice Ravel titled L’heure espagnole, which means “Spanish Time” and tells the story of a clockmaker’s wife who attempts to hide three lovers from her husband. “It’s a little jewel,” says Bernard, who stars as the wife. “It’s very funny, very feminine, and very avant garde.”

Marie-Stéphane Bernard

In addition to appearing in L’heure espagnole, Bernard will also perform a concert titled April in Paris, which uses the music of Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, and Charles Trenet to take audiences on a tour of France in the 1950s. “The idea came from my presence here in Memphis and from being French,” she says, describing the street singers she enjoyed so much as a little girl. “We threw pennies from the windows, and they were happy,” she recalls.

The Midtown Opera Festival always includes relevant programming by partner organizations. This year New Ballet Ensemble performs a festival-inspired version of its annual Springloaded concert, and Rhodes College’s Dave Brubeck Festival stages a rare performance of the jazz maestro’s seldom-seen musical, The Real Ambassadors.

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Music Music Features

Strong Come On

CREDIT: Jamie Harmon

Three garage rock titans take over the Highland Strip this Saturday when the Oblivians, Jack O and the Sheiks, and the Leather Uppers play Newby’s in celebration of Eric Friedl’s 50th birthday. As the founder of Goner Records and member of bands like Bad Times, True Sons of Thunder, the Dutch Masters, and the New Memphis Legs, Freidl has been an integral part of the Memphis garage-rock scene for decades. We caught up with Friedl the week before his 50th birthday party to find out more about Saturday’s blowout. — Chris Shaw

Memphis Flyer: How did the show come about and what made you want to host it at Newby’s?

Eric Friedl: We wanted to do something around my birthday and get a bunch of people in town to basically just have a good time. We looked around, and, by the time we had everything in order to book it, everywhere we’d normally play was unavailable. Jack had already been booked at Newby’s for that date, so we just decided to piggyback on his show.

The other thing that was attractive about Newby’s is that we’ve never played a show there, so it’s kind of new territory for us. I have no idea how many people they can fit in there or how many people will be able to get in. There are people driving in from Austin for this show and other places, so it should be pretty interesting.

When the band was more active, did you guys ever play the Highland Strip?

Oblivians never did, but my other band True Sons of Thunder made it over there a couple times. We played the Rally Point, and I’m pretty sure we played the side room in Newby’s one time. The Rally Point may have been the worst venue I’ve ever played in or been in. That place was bizarre; it was unbelievable.

Is this the only local show currently booked for the Oblivians?

I think this is it as far as local shows go, at least for now. We are playing the In the Red birthday party in Los Angeles in July, and doing some European dates in July as well. Jack (Yarber) and Greg (Cartwright) have their own things going on, so we just fit the Oblivians in when it makes sense for everyone to do it. It’ll be a good mix because the Oblivians kind of know what we’re doing, but Jack’s band is incredible right now. They have been killing it lately.

Let’s talk about the Leather Uppers. They’ve been around about as long as the Oblivians right?

They started in the mid ’90s, and they released a bunch of 45s that were later compiled into an LP by this guy Ryan Richardson. He’s basically like an archivist or a librarian when it comes to collecting.

The Leather Uppers were just this really raw and funny three piece. They existed in their own world, and they were one of those bands who, when we first started doing Gonerfest, we knew we had to have them play. It was kind of like “We will probably never get to see them otherwise, so let’s just ask and see if they’ll come down.” They said yes, and they’re just a great, ridiculously fun band. Saturday’s show will be their only U.S. appearance.

What is the Leather Uppers relationship with Goner like?

After Ryan released the singles compilation on his label, we released their follow-up album. By the time our record came out, the band had kind of moved on, but Ryan still had all those copies of the record he released, so we bought them from him and repackaged it as a Goner release.

How’d they get on the bill?

I already had the Gories play my wedding, so I wasn’t going to ask them again. I started thinking about who I’d like to see, and I thought “I’ll ask the Leather Uppers,” and they said yes again. They are a two piece now, but they agreed to do it.

At this level, they aren’t doing it to make a bunch of money or anything like that. They are basically just interested in coming down and spending a weekend in Memphis in between playing crazy rock-and-roll. They are both living in Canada, so I think they are excited about coming down.

50 is a pretty major milestone in terms of being a touring musician. You’ve been playing with this band longer than some of your fans have been alive.

The Oblivians has been a great opportunity to make noise that turned into an opportunity to travel and meet new people. We’re playing Finland in July, and I’ve never been to Finland. That’s not a place I could just go by myself. As long as we are having fun and it makes sense to do the band, we’re going to do it.

We’re not out to change the world, but writing a new record a few years ago was a kick in the pants and kept us from playing the same songs that are almost 30 years old at this point. We never set out to do much with the band, and we’ve exceeded all our expectations, so there’s no reason not to keep it going. If it gets to the point where we feel like geezers up there, we will stop playing, or other people will tell us to stop playing.

The Oblivians, Leather Uppers, and Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks, Saturday, April 2nd at Newby’s. 8 p.m. $15 admission.