Month: August 2018

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Music Music Blog

Flyer Exclusive: First Look at New Johnny Cash Statue

CREDIT: Dan Ball

Dan Ball

Artist Mike McCarthy contemplates sharing his Cash with the world.

Mark Lovell, who has partnered with Darrin Hillis in running the Delta Fair since it began in 2007, has a soft spot for Johnny Cash. This year, the fair will host a Johnny Cash Family Reunion. But that’s not the half of it: Lovell is also the current owner of the former Galloway United Methodist Church on Cooper and Walker. The fact that the building witnessed Cash’s first ever performance with band mates Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, in 1954, is not lost on him.

Indeed, since early 2017, preparations have been made for a larger-than-life statue of Cash to be erected on or near the church grounds. Local auteur Mike McCarthy, who is as adept with clay as he is with paper, pen, and celluloid, has recently completed the work, which occupied a place of honor in his living room as he worked on it for over a year.

Leigh Wiener

Johnny Cash

“While I am no longer involved in the daily goings-on of Legacy Memphis (the non-profit I co-founded),” says McCarthy, “I believe there is an effort to unveil the statue, perhaps as early as November, in front of the new apartment building between Stone Soup and Galloway United Methodist Church.”

Most of Midtown has been abuzz about the work since McCarthy was contracted to create the work last June. Here, at long last, the Memphis Flyer presents an exclusive preview of McCarthy’s work: the clay form from which a bronze statue has already been cast by the local Lugar Foundry. The work is based on a period-appropriate photo of Cash, from early in his career. Of course, the bronze version won’t sport those red buttons, which McCarthy lovingly lifted from one of his late mother’s dresses.

Categories
News News Blog

That Blimp? It’s a Carnival Cruise Promo

CREDIT: Carnival Cruise Lines

That Blimp? It’s a Carnival Cruise Promo

A blimp was drifting through the skies over Downtown Memphis Wednesday and while, yes, it’s a promotion for Carnival Cruise Lines, it’s also raising money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

The Carnival AirShip made its debut for the company here in Memphis Wednesday. It’ll travel all over the Southeast for a new promo. You can read all about that (if you’re interested) in a story at the Sea Trade Cruise News.

That story says posts to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #ChooseFun will trigger a “donation to St. Jude, Carnival’s longtime charitable partner.”

Many have already done just that this morning:

That Blimp? It’s a Carnival Cruise Promo (3)

That Blimp? It’s a Carnival Cruise Promo (4)

Here’s a terrible photo I took:

And here’s a kinda fun, kinda-hard-to-see time-lapse of the blimp moving around the riverfront:

That Blimp? It’s a Carnival Cruise Promo (2)

Categories
Music Music Blog

The Johnny Cash Family Reunion: Delta Fair Honors the Man in Black

CREDIT: Leigh Wiener

Leigh Wiener

Johnny Cash

Imagine, if you can, that you’ve never heard of Johnny Cash.

It’s nigh impossible, especially here in Memphis, where he lived for years while recording his first hits. As with Elvis, Nashville lays claim to him, too, but really, he’s everywhere. Yet now and then you may meet a stranger who’s just learning of the legend.

Brian Oxley was just such a stranger. His father, a Marine in World War II, was so moved by the atomic devastation he witnessed in Japan that he settled there permanently to raise a family and assist in the country’s reconstruction. He also did well for himself, getting in on a growing business called ServiceMaster. Cut to the 21st Century, when Oxley, having grown up in Asia all his life, found himself in a Chicago record shop. “Who’s that?” he asked the clerk, pointing to a photo on the wall.

“That’s President Jimmy Carter,” was the reply.

“No, the other guy.”

“What, you’ve never heard of Johnny Cash?” said the clerk. Presidents come and go, but Cash is forever. He promptly loaded Oxley up with a few choice CDs, and a new obsession was born.

Indeed, as Darrin Hillis, one of the organizers behind the upcoming Delta Fair & Music Festival, puts it, “Brian, within a year, had purchased Mama Cash’s house in Hendersonville, because that’s where Johnny spent his last days.” Not long after, he also purchased the Cash family’s rural retreat near Dickson, Tennessee, and the little country grocery store down the road for good measure. Both are being developed as pilgrimage destinations for true Johnny Cash devotees. And they are legion.

Hillis tells the tale by way of explaining the unique performances he and mastermind Mark Lovell have booked for the fair, running from August 31st – September 9th at Agricenter International. They’ll feature dozens of performers, but local Cash fans are rejoicing at a special tribute planned for September 2nd: the Johnny Cash Family Reunion.

Hillis further explains, “I got involved because Fluke Holland, Johnny Cash’s drummer for his entire 37 years of touring, is a buddy of mine. So I called him about getting everybody together that’s still playing music.

“Next thing you know, we got this thing cooking. Thomas Gabriel is just amazing, he’s Johnny’s first grandson, and Mark Alan Cash, that’s another nephew. The Oxley family has brought them out.

“And then you’ve got Roy Cash who’s here in town. A lot of people don’t know about him. He’s a war hero. That dude went out to San Diego about a year ago and met with all the fighter pilots from Vietnam. They were trying to kill each other way back when, but they went to some Navy base out there and made amends. Roy will be there. And Dan Oxley [Brian’s brother] is a world class trumpet player. Hopefully he’ll play on ‘Ring of Fire’.”

They’ll play plenty of Johnny’s tunes, of course, but there will be non-musical delights as well.

“They’re gonna do all kinds of songs, even some new ones they’ve written. Then they’ll have an all-family singalong, where everyone will participate. And Cindy Cash might come and tell some stories. Also, Brian bought the ‘One Piece at a Time’ Cadillac. Back in the 70s, a guy built that car for Johnny [based on the hit song]. And he absolutely loved it. That’s the car he drove, apparently. So that’ll be there at the show.”

But what of you, dear reader? Have you heard the Man in Black? On the off chance that you haven’t, you’d best get to listening. One place to start would be the recent album from England’s Charly Records.Late last year, they remastered the Sun Records tracks that put Cash on the map, which still stand as some of his finest work. Even longtime fans will appreciate the care that has gone into this fine slab of vinyl, now clearer than ever, sporting both hits and lesser-known gems like “Straight A’s in Love” and “Luther Played the Boogie”. 

The latest, best collection of Johnny Cash on Sun.

And by all means, get out to the Delta Fair and Music Festival to hear the music of Johnny Cash by those who knew him best. The man himself may be gone, but his legacy will cast a shadow for a thousand years.

The Delta Fair and Music Festival, at the Agricenter (7777 Walnut Grove Rd.), will feature local, regional, and national acts every night from August 31st – September 9th. As with all good fairs, there will be livestock.

Categories
News News Blog

City Council Looks to Implement Transportation Utility Fee

The Memphis City Council is looking to implement a transportation utility fee to fund roadway and transit projects.

Councilman Edmund Ford Jr. said the fee would be used to fund roadway improvement projects, such repairing curb and gutters, as well as support the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA)’s new transit plan.

“I think it’s time for us to look at ways that we can garner enough funds that we don’t rely so much on property taxes,” Ford said. “I know we’re not in the phase of putting the ordinance together, but I think the discussion is important if we’re serious about funding MATA, as well as making sure public works has what it needs.”

The fee would be tacked on to Memphis Light, Gas and Water bills and would be similar to the stormwater fee, Wayne Gaskin, former city of Memphis engineer told the council. The residential and non-residential rates would be based on the amount of trips a property generates and could range from $4.75 to $15. Gaskin said the fee could generate more than $30 million in revenue each year.

This revenue will be used to offset the costs of road projects and create a dedicated source of funding for MATA, Ford said.

Last month, Robert Knecht, director of Public Works, told the council that the city doesn’t have dedicated funding for street improvement projects, such as fixing sidewalks. With more funding, other improvements such as switching to LED traffic signals could take place. To implement all of the roadway improvements currently needed citywide, Knecht said it would cost $60 to $80 million.

To upkeep sidewalks only, it would cost an additional $19 million a year.

The city is currently on an approximate 25-year street paving cycle, Knecht said. This means on average all 8,816 lane miles of street will get re-surfaced at least once every 25 years. Knecht proposes a 20-year cycle, which would cost another $8 million a year. A 10-year cycle hikes the cost up by another $50 million.

Ford plans to draft a resolution for the transportation fee and present it to the council in two weeks.

“I think it’s a true example of finding a way to be creative, while making sure that people are paying their fair share,” Ford said. “About 310,000 cars come through the city of Memphis every single day.”

Categories
News News Blog

AGs Want to Strip Transgender Anti-Discrimination Protection

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

Ellyahnna Hall

Tennessee’s chief law enforcement official wants to make it easier for employers to fire employees because of their gender identity.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March that transgender status was protected in federal anti-discrimination law. Title VII says only that an employee can’t be fired “because of sex.”

But the court counted gender identity among Title VII’s protections in a Michigan case, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. RG & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery

The funeral home fired funeral director Aimee Stephens, once she disclosed she was transitioning from a male to a female and wore female clothes, according to a story from the Detroit Free Press.

In a Tuesday news release, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery said the Harris case was about “a transgender employee who refused to adhere to the employer’s dress code.”

Slatery and AGs in 15 other states want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in and, ultimately, overturn the lower court’s decision. They say when Congress enacted Title VII, “sex” meant only “biological sex,” not gender identity. This interpretation was an “egregious error” by the lower court.

Justin Fox Burks

Lisa Michaels

“The Sixth Circuit’s decision in Harris essentially rewrote federal law,” Slatery said. “Unless and until Congress affirmatively acts to change Title VII, it is up to the states, not the federal judiciary, to determine which protections, or not, should flow to individuals based on gender identity.

“Because this case may also have implications for Tennessee’s schools, Tennessee has a strong interest in obtaining review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”   Bianca Phillips

A transgender flag flies over OUTMemphis.

Tennessee is joined in the push by Nebraska, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maine, and Mississippi.

“The states urge the (U.S. Supreme) Court to grant [a review] to correct the Sixth Circuit’s egregious error and restore the balance of power in our federal system allowing states to legislate and experiment in this policy arena,” reads the brief. 

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

This Week At The Cinema: Memphis Masterpieces

Memphis filmmakers take charge this week.

Tommy Foster and friends in his short film ‘This Must Be My Lucky Day’

Tonight, Indie Memphis presents the 15th anniversary screening of Morgan Jon Fox’s debut film, Blue Citrus Hearts. You can read all about the history of one of the most significant indie films ever made in Memphis here, in my film feature for this week’s Flyer.

In a late add to the program, Fox’s film with be proceeded by a rarely seen short masterpiece by Tommy Foster. “This Must Be My Lucky Day” was a rare detour into video art for the beloved Memphis artist, who passed away earlier this year.

Shot by Brandon Hutchinson, who co-founded the Digital Media Co-Op along with Fox, the deceptively simple film is a visually distinct and beautiful example of the experimentalist mindset that dominated the early years of Indie Memphis.

I found it on YouTube in its entirety. You can watch a little bit of it to get the flavor or consume the whole thing. Either way I promise you’ll want to watch it again on the big screen tonight at Studio on the Square, beginning at 7 PM. 

This Week At The Cinema: Memphis Masterpieces

On Wednesday, a sneak preview of the directing debut of Lawrence Matthews, aka Don Lifted. The Other Side of Broad is a documentary about the intersection between the charter school movement and racial discrimination and economic gentrification.

Matthews and his team, Nubia Yasin and Justin Thompson, captured the stories of Binghampton families who are being displaced in the aftermath of the 2016 transformation of Lester Middle School and East High School into charter and STEM schools. Matthews says that what was being sold as a way to improve inefficient public schools has instead turned out to be a way for real estate developers to exert pressure on residents of a community who have been deemed undesirable.

The Other Side Of Broad will screen at the newly renovated Caritas Village on Wednesday, August 29th at 7 p.m., proceeded by a photography exhibit and reception beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the Indie Memphis website.

The Other Side Of Broad

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Marriage Proposal, Memorials Steal the Show: Ostranders, 2018

Dawwwwww! (From the 2016 Ostranders).

Laughter, tears, goosebumps, the uncontrollable urge to dance, and the undeniable need to stretch: This year’s Ostrander Awards packed in an entire theater season’s worth of feels, including big surprises and the occasional jot of dismay. This year’s event boasted more (and better) musical numbers, with a bigger band and better production than Ostranders past.

What began in 1984 as a simple act of handing out play prizes, is now a proper mini-festival where theater makers and theater lovers can spend a few more hours with favorite shows from the past season, and sample the best work being created by top artists working in Memphis area playhouses. This year’s audience was treated to heartfelt, heart-stopping, rafter-shattering samples from Falsettos, Dream Girls, The Wild Party, Fun Home, Violet, Shrek, Once, and The Drowsy Chaperone.

A memorial for local performing artists who’ve died in the past year turned the crowd into a sobbing mess. 

Marriage Proposal, Memorials Steal the Show: Ostranders, 2018

This year’s host-free version of the Ostrander Awards took several tentative steps forwards in terms of packing in fun content and letting Memphis’ theatrical talent really show off for itself. People who do shows don’t always get to see shows, and it’s hard to overstate the revival-like affirmation of being in room filled with actors, singers, hoofers, writers, and musicians all together for the first time hearing Breyannah Tillman cut loose with “And I Am Telling You,” or falling into a stunned hush when the cast of Once hammers out a ragged Irish ballad. But between the singing and all the dancing, and the surprises, this was still a show desperately in need of an editor. 

Dreamgirls at the Ostranders

C‘mon, folks! Excluding a modest acceptance address by lifetime achievement honoree Tony Isbell, every speech and award citation would have improved with distillation. Actors may love a meaty monologue, it’s true, but when it comes to telling this night’s story well, in a reasonable amount of time, a deft sentence or two composed for speakers rather than readers, is more effective than detailed paragraphs rattled off imprecisely at a breakneck pace.

I’ll attempt an example.

The 2018 Ostrander for “Oh No You Didn’t” goes to Chase Ring. Ring upstaged everybody (including lifetime achievement honoree Tony Isbell!), when he took a knee and proposed to co-presenter, Ellen Inghram. Congratulations and raised eyebrows are both in order.

Scene stealer! Yeah, it’s a terrible, blurry photo, but it’s the best shot I got of Chase Ring proposing to co-presenter Ellen Inghram on the Orpheum stage at the 2018 Ostrander Awards.

I‘m kidding about the raised eyebrows part. And the part about giving Chase the business for being a spotlight-hogging scene thief. Mostly. But congratulations really are in order. It was lovely, and an awesome moment to share with a community that’s experienced a good deal of crisis and loss in the past 12 months. Also, any citation longer than the one above my super blurry photo of Chase and Ellen showing us what perfect storybook romance looks like, is probably too much.

Members of the cast of Once offer a lesson in ensemble performance.

I‘ll have one last report about this year’s Ostrander awards in the October issue of Memphis magazine. Until then — and until next year for Intermission Impossible’s annual Ostrander coverage — I’ll leave you with this picture of Justin Asher loving life. In Shrek ears. 

Shrek & Donkey.

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

Meatballs at Monroe Ave. Fest. And a look back at pumpkin pie.

CREDIT: Karen Pulfer Focht

Karen Pulfer Focht

Michael Donahue’s one and hopefully only competitive power eating contest, in Oct. 2013. He won first prize – $250.

Michael Donahue

Brett Healey, a bonafide power eater, wins first place – again – in the meatball eating contest at Madison Ave. Fest.

I can write with authority about competitive eating contests because I won a pumpkin pie eating contest five years ago. All I had to do was eat the entire pie. But I did it and I won $250. After that, I officially retired from competitive eating contests.

But, on the other hand, take Brett Healey. He won his consecutive Grandma’s Meatball Eating Contest at the Monroe Ave. Festival, which was held Aug. 19th on Monroe between Front and Main. The festival also includes the Breakaway 5K. The entire event is presented by Bardog Tavern.

Healey doesn’t just win meatball eating contests; I’ve documented him devouring pizzas and hamburgers. He’s so amazing he’s earned the nickname “The Brranimal.” No one gave me a nickname.

This year, Healey consumed 40 meatballs in 9 minutes and 38 seconds. He beat his record from last year: 13 minutes and 14 seconds.

“Going in I had a pretty good idea I was going to win,” Healey says.

And, he adds, “I’ve become a better eater over the last six months.”

His 26th restaurant strategy was eating a six-pound empanada. “I ate it all. I did that in mid-July. Like 17 minutes, 50 seconds.”

To keep in shape for his food workouts, Healey consumes “huge amounts of fruits, vegetables, water. Working out a lot. You just keep working at it and you get a little bit better every week.”

This year’s meatball contest was “pretty incredible and scary at the same time. Last year, I felt pretty full afterward. I was a little out of breath. I had to strut around town and take it easy.”

This year, he was full, but, he said, “If push came to shove and I had to do 50 meatballs, that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Michael Donahue

Bardog owner Aldo Dean and his wife, Caroline Dean.

Michael Donahue

Ramon Vazquez during his shift at the Dunk Tank at Monroe Ave. Festival

……….

MIchael Donahue

Robert Fairchild at Fort Douglass: Art Salon 3000

MIchael Donahue

Elizabeth Rast

MIchael Donahue

Davey Mann at Fort Douglass: Art Salon 3000

Michael Donahue

Chris Dicskon with ‘Distorted.’

Michael Donahue

Dylan Gattuso and Coltrane Duckworth at Fort Douglass: Art Salon 3000

It’s a few miles or so from Brooks Museum of Art and Dixon Gallery and Gardens, but Fort Douglass also is getting in the art exhibit game.

Fort Douglass is the home of Robert Fairchild, Coltrane Duckworth, Dylan Gattuso,  Matthew Obar, and Rori Tyrell. Fort Douglass: Art Salon 3000 was held Aug. 18th.

It was Fairchild’s idea to begin holding art exhibits, which are coupled with live music. “I was in a painting class with my professor Jed Jackson and he was giving us a lecture about starting an art scene here in Memphis instead of moving to New York,” Fairchild says. “I think it was two years ago. He gave us this inspirational speech in class and I said, ‘I can do this.’ I ended up contacting everybody I knew from University of Memphis, Rhodes, MCA (Memphis College of Art) and then we started the first one.”

The idea was to “let people know what’s going on with the young artists of Memphis.”

Music has always been an important part of the art salons, Fairchild says. “We used it as a way to promote my buddies’ bands.”

Performing at the event were Wine Witch, Sky King, and Dylan Gattuso and his band. Franklin Wallace was the deejay.

The event is a “huge group effort.”

Fairchild, a studio art major with a focus in painting at the University of Memphis, included some of his paintings in the show. “I really focus on figure painting and documenting my generation and my experiences in life and sharing it with other people.”

As for his painting style, Fairchild prefers realism over abstract painting. “Putting a contemporary twist with these bizarre millennial scenarios is really an enjoyable thing for me to do.”

………….

MIchael Donahue

Guests gathered for a pre-party at Night at the Theatre

A total of $16,000 was raised at the annual Night at the Theatre for the Memphis Child Advocacy Center, said the center’s communications and grants manager Beryl Wight.

The theater was Playhouse on the Square, where guests saw a performance of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

The pre-performance party included live music by The Memphis Flyer’s own Alex Greene on piano, heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, and an entertainment-themed silent auction.

The event was sponsored by the Jerry and Nina Patton Family Foundation. Proceeds benefit the children at the Memphis Child Advocacy Center.

…………..

Michael Donahue

Great Wine Performances

“Thinking Cap” should have been part of the dress code for The Great Wine Performances, which was held Aug. 14th at Playhouse on the Square. Wine stations featured actors whose costume and makeup were hints to upcoming performances at the theater. Each mystery portrayal was paired with wine.

……….

MIchael Donahue

Ernie and Ethele Hilliard at Courage Through Cancer kickoff party at The Brass Door.

Guests gathered for the Courage Through Cancer kickoff party, which was held Aug. 9th at The Brass Door. New and former honorees attended the event, which raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.


The organization is composed of people who share their experiences with others who are fighting cancer.


This year’s Courage Through Cancer event will be Nov. 9th at Minglewood Hall.

Singer Joyce Cobb will be the recipient of this year’s Courage Through Cancer Gerry Finney Musical Courage Award.

……………

Michael Donahue

Lynn and Ernie Mellor

About 225 people turned out for a viewing party to watch Hog Wild BBQ and A Moveable Feast Catering owner/pit master Ernie Mellor on Food Network’s Chopped: Grill Masters Aug. 14th at Ducks Unlimited headquarters.

“I got nudged out in the dessert round,’ Mellor says. “The dessert round is the final round.”

Asked to sum up what it was like to be on the show, Mellor says, “Crazy. It is a cool show. Not for the light hearted or if you can’t think on your feet. It’s fast and furious. Everything is under a time clock. But it was a great experience. It was cool, fun, nerve wracking. Gut wrenching almost.”

[slideshow-1]

Meatballs at Monroe Ave. Fest. And a look back at pumpkin pie.

Meatballs at Monroe Ave. Fest. And a look back at pumpkin pie. (2)

                                                  

Categories
News News Blog

WEVL Board Says Development Committee Moved Too Fast

The WEVL board of directors said in a statement that while they agree with some of the ideas put forth by the new Friends of WEVL group, the committee that spawned that new group moved too fast.

Friends of WEVL went public last week with a series of Facebook posts and a website, which now lists more than 150 “friends of WEVL” and outlines some of the changes they’d like to see at the volunteer radio station.

Those changes include adding more volunteer programmers, diversifying the list of programmers and board members, shooting for a 24-hour schedule, and either renovating the station’s South Main headquarters or finding a new home.

The founding members of the Friends of WEVL group came from a WEVL-board-approved committee called the Development Exploratory Committee. It was tasked with exploring “growth options,” according to Timothy Taylor, WEVL board chairman and host of the Swing Shift Shuffle show. But the board, ultimately, dissolved the committee.

WEVL/Facebook

Marcella & Her Lovers play this year’s Blues on the Bluff, WEVL’s largest annual fundraiser.

“We agree with many of the suggestions and are already actively pursuing several, including the development of an actionable strategic plan, improved station facilities, and increasing diverse voices and programming,” Taylor said in a statement. “After reviewing and approving initial recommendations, WEVL’s board felt it necessary to dissolve the Development Exploratory Committee.
[pullquote-1] “There was concern that possible efforts and projects discussed by the committee with third parties could be mistaken for efforts already approved by the board. This decision was made because the pace of activity was accelerating beyond what was responsibly manageable and outpacing thorough vetting and discussion.”

Taylor said dissolving the committee “doesn’t mean the board doesn’t share the goals or visions being discussed. The board simply decided it needed to take a direct role, rather than a supervisory one.

Look for a comprehensive version of this story in this week’s print issue of the Flyer. Check back here for more details on this story as it develops. 

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Lucero

CREDIT: Lucero

Lucero

Michael Shannon in Lucero’s music video for ‘Long Way Back Home.’

Music Video Monday is here to kick your ass.

I know your music video is good. Great, even. But does your music video have Michael Shannon in it? Does it have more plot and character than the last Transformers movie? Was it directed by Jeff Nichols, helmer of Mud, Midnight Special, and Loving?

I’m just gonna assume the answer to those questions is “no”, and conclude that your music video is not as good as Lucero’s “Long Way Back Home”. That’s OK. Keep reaching for the stars! Meanwhile, watch this video. Why not? Why does anyone do anything?

Music Video Monday: Lucero

If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com