Month: March 2021

Categories
Music Music Blog

Friends to Gather in Memory of Trumpet Player Nokie Taylor this Saturday

CREDIT: Shawn M. Carter

Beloved trumpet player William “Nokie” Taylor, who passed away in December, will be honored in a special event at Harbor Town tomorrow. Bennie Nelson West has posted that the event will serve to “remember & celebrate his life and the joy he brought to so many with his musical gifts, humor and good nature.”
Shawn M. Carter

Nokie Taylor receiving a Beale Street Note in 2012

In keeping with Taylor’s freewheeling spirit, the event will not be overly formal. “I’m planning it by the heart,” West tells the Memphis Flyer. “There’ll be some singing, some playing and some stories told. Nobody’s gonna preach. A lot of people will be performing, such as musicians who have played with him. Any FreeWorld musicians who want to come can play. It’ll be an open jam session.”

Though outdoors, the numbers will be limited out of safety concerns. “I attended an event down there for another deceased friend about a year ago,” says West, “and it was very pleasant. One of Nokie’s cousins will say something, and other people can tell their Nokie stories. Bring your love, bring your joy. Let’s celebrate and have fun.”

Read more about the life of Nokie Taylor, including thoughts from his son Ditto Taylor, here.

“Celebrating the Life of William ‘Nokie’ Taylor” will take place in the first parking lot/park across from Paulette’s Restaurant in Harbor Town, Saturday, March 6, 1-3 p.m.

Categories
News News Blog

New COVID-19 Virus Cases Up by 178

New virus case numbers rose by 178 over the last 24 hours. The new cases put the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March 2020 at 88,521.

Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — are 1,302. The number reached a record high of more than 8,000 in late December and only rose above 2,000 in October. The new active case count represents 1.5 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March 2020.

As of Friday, March 5th, in Shelby County, 164,472 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been given. As of Friday, 50,679 people had been given two doses for full vaccination, and 113,793 had been given a single dose.

The Shelby County Health Department reported that 3,410 tests have been given in the last 24 hours. So far, 1,032,550 tests have been given here since March 2020. This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.

The latest weekly positivity rate declined. The average number of positive cases for the week of February 21st was 4.9 percent. That’s down from the 7 percent of average cases recorded the week before. It’s all down from the record-high 17.5 percent in late December.

Six new deaths were reported over the last 24 hours. The total death toll now stands at 1,517.



The average age of those who have died in Shelby County is 73, according to the health department. The age of the youngest COVID-19 death was 13. The oldest person to die from the virus was 103.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Memphis 901 FC Signs Goalkeeper John Berner

CREDIT: By Noah Salzman - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61396917

Memphis 901 FC added yet another name to its burgeoning roster for the upcoming 2021 USL season.

The latest acquisition is goalkeeper John Berner, pending league and federation approval.

The ’keeper began his professional career when selected 35th in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids, where he made five appearances before joining USL affiliate Charlotte Independence on loan. Berner made 38 appearances for the club, and kept 12 clean sheets over the course of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

By Noah Salzman – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61396917

John Berner warms up during a 2017 appearance with the Colorado Rapids

“The club is thrilled to be adding a player of John’s experience and quality to the roster,” said sporting director Tim Howard. “He’s a proven shot-stopper with both MLS and USL experience, and we are looking forward to having him with us this season.”

Since playing for Charlotte, Berner has racked up USL experience with Phoenix Rising, Oklahoma City Energy FC, and most recently with Saint Louis FC last season.

Berner joins the squad alongside returnees Zach Carroll, Mark Segbers, and Dan Metzger.

Categories
Film/TV TV Features

The MCU Assumes its Final Form with WandaVision

Correct me if I’m wrong — and I’m sure someone will — but I think WandaVision holds the Marvel record for most elapsed screen time until someone gets punched. In the course of 23 films and eight TV series, the problems of superheroes and their discontents are always ultimately solved by scrapping. (I haven’t seen everything, but I’m guessing there’s a lot of punching in Iron Fist.) That’s to be expected from stories about characters who, as Vision (Paul Bettany) points out, dress like Mexican wrestlers. But for years, the “blam!” and “pow!” that are allegedly the genre’s biggest selling point have been the least interesting part of Marvel movies. How many action sequences do you remember from The Avengers? But you remember when the triumphant heroes went for shawarma.

WandaVision, the Disney+ miniseries that reaches its climax on Friday, March 5th, is the most creative thing to happen to superheroes since Into the Spider-Verse. Its real genius is leaving out the punchy parts that I’ve been tuning out since Vision was born in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Elizabeth Olsen (left) and Paul Bettany use TV Land tropes to unpack trauma in WandaVision

The love story of magically powered former Hydra operative Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision, the $3 billion vibranium synthoid of Tony Stark’s AI butler J.A.R.V.I.S. and rogue superbot Ultron, was mostly there to provide some pathos when Vision sacrificed himself to save half the universe. But despite the fact that Vision died (twice, thanks to the magic of time travel), when WandaVision kicks off, he and Wanda are living in a quaint house in a quiet New Jersey suburb. Their living room looks just like The Dick Van Dyke Show, right down to the black and white. The superpower couple tries to keep up appearances as normal, 1950s-style humans, even as their words are interrupted by a laugh track of mysterious origin.

The “real people trapped in a TV show” setup is nothing new — remember Raul Julia’s breakthrough performance in 1984’s Overdrawn at the Memory Bank? (No? Just me?) WandaVision‘s first three episodes see our heroic domestics trying to figure out what, exactly, is going on as they cycle through a survey of sitcom history, from I Love Lucy to The Honeymooners to the thematically appropriate I Dream of Jeannie. Then, as the world fills with color and the clothes become a lot less buttoned down, Wanda is pregnant with twins and their house looks like The Brady Bunch. As the twins grow up supernaturally quickly, we transition to the 1980s. In the show’s most delicious meta moment, episode 5 takes on Full House, the show that made Elizabeth Olsen’s sisters, Mary Kate and Ashley, into child stars.

Meanwhile, there’s a parallel story developing in a more recognizable version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is one of billions of people who return from Thanos-induced oblivion to find a world transformed. She reports for duty at secret super-agency S.W.O.R.D. and is immediately thrust into the twin mysteries of the violent disappearances of Wanda and what was left of Vision, and a small town in New Jersey that has been cut off from the outside world by a dome of energy. By the time the narrative threads meet and the first punch is thrown in episode 6 “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” the real world and the meta world have become hopelessly intertwined — and we haven’t even gotten to the musical number yet.

Olsen and Bettany, an “unusual couple”

WandaVision is at its best when it plays like the legendary Adult Swim short “Too Many Cooks” with an unlimited budget. Showrunner Jac Schaeffer delights in subverting basic tropes of both classic TV and Marvel superhero movies. The most important scene in the entire show, when Vision confronts Wanda with the knowledge that she created the sitcom world with her magic, plays out with credits rolling over it.

But none of the narrative fireworks would matter without emotional grounding from the leads. Olsen and Bettany have perfect chemistry. You have no trouble believing a witch could love a robot so much that she would bend the fabric of reality itself to bring him back from death (or at least deactivation). There are plenty of good performances among the sprawling supporting cast, especially Kathryn Hahn as Agnes, the nosy neighbor with a secret.

After 2020, the year without superheroes, WandaVision‘s popularity points to the staying power of the MCU, and Disney’s continued market domination, as the film world tries to get back on its feet. In some ways, the show is Marvel in its final form. The MCU has looked more like serial TV than discrete films for a long time, and the show’s cheeky writing makes a running joke out of Marvel’s tendency to hijack unrelated genres and slap a superhero in them. Marvel the infinitely pliable is the perfect vessel for Disney the insatiable devourer.

WandaVision streams on Disney+.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

La Baguette French Bread and Pastry Shop is Sold

CREDIT: Photo courtesy La Baguette

Photo courtesy La Baguette



La Baguette French Bread and Pastry Shop has a new owner.

Tashie Restaurant Group purchased the iconic Memphis bakery at 3088 Poplar in Chickasaw Oaks Plaza, says Judd Tashie, group co-owner with his cousin, David Tashie.

“We’ve been buying bread and products from La Baguette for Pete & Sam’s and Ciao Bella for years,” Judd says. “Gene Amagliani (La Baguette general manager) told David he was tired and would like to spend more time with his family. So, my cousin said, ‘Well, look. If you’re interested in selling we’d love to talk to you about it.’”

Owning the bakery/restaurant would be “a great opportunity,” Judd says he told Amagliani. “We’ve got plans to make expansions in the future.”

They closed the deal March 5th.

“It’s a really good fit and they are happy. They know that we want to carry on the same legacy. We don’t want to go in there and start mixing things up. Refresh and do a little bit of refiguration, but they’ve got a great reputation. We want to keep doing what they’re doing.

“It’s worked out great. We’ve been in there learning the operation, which is the most impressive thing about the bakery. So, our plan is to go in there, make some cosmetic changes, leave the menu like it is — possibly expand it.”

They also plan to “open a second location in the fall in East Memphis. We’ve already secured a place.”

And maybe more La Baguette locations down the road?  “It’s a distinct possibility. We’re focused on No. 2 and can definitely see additional units going forward.”

La Baguette on Poplar is the original location and it dates to 1976. In a story in Memphis magazine, Amagliani says, “Several European people actually started it. They brought in a French bread baker and a French pastry chef because there was nothing like that in Memphis. I guess they longed for the European style of pastries and crusty bread and what have you. They brought in those folks and they were here for several years and actually trained some of the people that are here now.”

And, he says, “It’s my understanding that when the place opened we had French bread, croissants, and the full selection of both cold pastries and breakfast pastries.”

They began serving lunch at the old Erin Drive location sometime in the late 1970s, he says.



“I’m very excited about the future of La Baguette,” Amagliani says. “These are great business people. I was impressed with their other businesses and the longevity of their employees. And we have a very similar situation at La Baguette. We have folks who have been there 20-, 30-plus years. That made the whole transaction much easier.”

Tashie Restaurant Group has been busy. They’re planning to move Ciao Bella Italian Grill from its present location at 565 Erin Drive to the the old Craft Republic (formerly Fox & Hound) at 5101 Sanderlin Avenue Suite 100 in the Sanderlin Centre. “It’s a much better facility. A much better shopping center. Better parking. Better patio.”

And, Judd says, “Of course, we had to get my old man’s — Paul Tashie of Ciao Bella notoriety — consent and support, which was resounding.”

Tashie Restaurant Group recently bought the old Bryant’s Breakfast at 3965 Summer Avenue.

But owning La Baguette Bakery is a dream come true for Judd. “I’ve always loved bakeries. I’m a morning person. I always wanted one. And I told my cousin, David, years ago, ‘I would really love to have something like that if we can make it work.’ And he called me and said, ‘I’ve got a gift for you. Something you’ve wanted for a long time.’

“We went up there two nights ago at midnight when the night crew goes in and makes the baguettes. I got to tell you, to be in there with those guys with them doing their thing and the amount of pride they take in it, it was heart-warming. It really was.”

So, what is Judd’s favorite La Baguette bakery item? “I’m super jacked up about the almond croissant. Without a doubt, I think it’s the most impressive thing they do.”

Categories
News News Blog

Lag in Corporate, Foundation Funding Hurting Arts Groups

Local arts organizations are looking at a 25 percent decrease in 2021 income compared to pre-pandemic figures.

The data comes from ArtsMemphis on the arts groups it funds. It says that contributions from individuals increased in 2020 and that trend is continuing in 2021, but a decrease in corporate and foundation giving is reducing earned revenue for 2020-21 over 2019.

“Our arts organizations have made strategic shifts in operations and programs in order to continue harnessing an audience and providing artists a platform to create,” said Elizabeth Rouse, president and CEO of ArtsMemphis. “Hope and anticipation for a sense of recovery are brimming, but this recovery period requires major support. We’ll need community support to return to the economic powerhouse position the nonprofit arts sector was for the county prior to the pandemic.”

Arts organizations have reported an 80 percent reduction in the number of artists hired in 2020 versus 2019, resulting in 8,570 arts jobs lost. Layoffs or furloughs were reported by 53 percent of arts organizations, impacting 560 positions, or 44 percent of the arts sector workforce.

Hattiloo Theatre’s Ekundayo Bandele, speaking to a group of ArtsMemphis donors recently, said, “As we continue to modify our strategic plan, we’re putting our earned revenue in a separate column. We’re not counting on it, however, we are setting ourselves up for the long haul so we may remain a strong cultural resource for our community and one that is at the tip of the spear for the Black theater network.”

ArtsMemphis distributed $2.8 million in fiscal year 2020 to 137 individual artists and 71 organizations. It also hosted more than 30 convenings of the arts sector, and provided grantees with assistance in CARES funding opportunities. It will award its latest round of operating support grants this quarter.

Categories
News News Blog

New Virus Cases Rise By 129

COVID-19 Memphis
Infogram

New Virus Cases Rise By 129

New virus case numbers rose by 129 over the last 24 hours. The new cases put the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March 2020 at 88,551.

Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — are 1,281. The number reached a record high of more than 8,000 in late December and only rose above 2,000 in October. The new active case count represents 1.5 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March 2020.

As of Thursday in Shelby County, 159,064 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been given. As of Thursday, 47,919 people had been given two doses for full vaccination, and 111,145 had been given a single dose.

The Shelby County Health Department reported that 2,814 tests have been given in the last 24 hours. So far, 1,029,140 tests have been given here since March 2020. This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.

The latest weekly positivity rate rose for the first time in six weeks. The average number of positive cases for the week of February 14th was 7 percent. That’s up slightly from the 6.4 percent of average cases recorded the week before. It’s all down from the record-high 17.5 percent in late December.

Eleven new deaths were reported over the last 24 hours. The total death toll now stands at 1,511.

The average age of those who have died in Shelby County is 74, according to the health department. The age of the youngest COVID-19 death was 13. The oldest person to die from the virus was 103.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Zach Carroll Renews Contract with Memphis 901 FC

CREDIT: Photo courtesy Memphis 901 FC

Photo courtesy Memphis 901 FC

Zach Carroll is the third 901 FC player to officially return to AutoZone Park for the 2021 season.

The pieces are starting to come together for Memphis 901 FC’s 2021 roster.

Today, sporting director Tim Howard announced that center back Zach Carroll has signed a new contract with the organization for the upcoming USL season (pending league approval).

“Bringing Zach back was always a priority for us heading into the 2021 season,” Howard said in a press release. “He helped anchor the backline last year and will bring a wealth of experience and leadership back to the team. His return will be key as we continue building our roster for the season.”

Carroll played in 13 matches last season, with 11 of them coming as starts. In all, he played 1,012 minutes, made 19 tackles, won 67 percent of his aerial challenges, and led the team in clearances. He is also able to provide an attacking threat from set pieces.

He joins full back Mark Segbers and midfielder Dan Metzger as official returnees for the upcoming season. Memphis 901 FC will compete in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division.

Categories
Music Music Blog

The Flow: Live-Streamed Music Events This Week, March 4-10

CREDIT: courtesy of Michael Graber

Though outdoor shows are blooming with spring, live-streams are also enjoying an uptick. Case in point: Devil Train is now back on track with their regular Thursday-night, online residency at B-Side Bar. The same venue is also hosting two other shows this weekend, including Friday’s record release party for the latest by Late Bloom, a Michael Graber project. Meanwhile, the usual suspects carry on the noble tradition of virtual residencies from all manner of locations throughout the city, refusing to jump the gun when it comes to audience and performer safety. Check them all out and be sure to tip generously.

courtesy of Michael Graber

Michael Graber with son Leo and Graber Gryass


REMINDER: The Memphis Flyer supports social distancing in these uncertain times. Please live-stream responsibly. We remind all players that even a small gathering could recklessly spread the coronavirus and endanger others. If you must gather as a band, please keep all players six feet apart, preferably outside, and remind viewers to do the same.

ALL TIMES CST

Thursday, March 4
8 p.m.
Devil Train – at B-Side
Facebook    YouTube     Twitch TV

Friday, March 5
6 p.m.
The Juke Joint Allstars – at Wild Bill’s
Facebook

6:30 p.m.
Alexis Taylor – at South Main Sounds
Facebook

8 p.m.
Late Bloom with Michael Graber – record release show at B-Side
YouTube    Twitch TV

Saturday, March 6
10 a.m.
Richard Wilson
Facebook

1 p.m.
The Delta Duo – at Tin Roof
Facebook

6 p.m.
The Juke Joint Allstars – at Wild Bill’s
Facebook

8 p.m.
Gringos – at B-Side
YouTube    Twitch TV

Sunday, March 7
1 p.m.
Savannah Brister – at Tin Roof
Facebook

3 p.m.
Dale Watson – Chicken $#!+ Bingo
Website

4 p.m.
Bill Shipper – For Kids (every Sunday)
Facebook

Monday, March 8
8 p.m.
John Paul Keith (every Monday)
YouTube

Tuesday, March 9
7 p.m.
Bill Shipper (every Tuesday)
Facebook

Wednesday, March 10
6 p.m.
Richard Wilson (every Wednesday)
Facebook

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Names Knox Shelton New Executive Director

Knox Shelton

Indie Memphis has tapped Knox Shelton as its next executive director.

The new leadership hire comes after the resignation of Ryan Watt, who led the arts organization through a period of unprecedented expansion, and the challenges of the COVID era.

Shelton comes to Indie Memphis after a stint as executive director of Literacy Mid-South. 

“I am honored and thrilled with the opportunity to lead Indie Memphis. The organization has made tremendous strides over the past several years and has an incredibly optimistic future. I look forward to combining years of working alongside the Memphis community with my passion for film as we continue to anchor Memphis as a thriving artistic environment for film and production,” he says.

Board president Brett Robbs, who led the five-month search for a new director, praised Shelton’s experience in the Memphis nonprofit community.

“Thanks to his inclusive vision and values, Knox will help us continue to support a range of filmmakers and present an ever greater variety of films that reflect our own community’s many different stories, interests, and experiences.”

The organization now called Indie Memphis was founded in 1998 as a film festival to present Memphis filmmakers’ works to the world. It has grown over the last 23 years to include year-round programming, and before the pandemic was scheduled open its own cinema in partnership with Malco’s Studio on the Square.

Shelton will face the considerable challenge of leading the festival in the chaotic, post-pandemic film industry. In 2019, the festival attracted its largest audience yet, selling more than 12,000 tickets and passes. The 2020 festival adopted a pandemic-safe, online, and in-person model which attracted audiences from as far away as Brazil and Israel.

Artistic director Miriam Bale says she expects the festival’s push towards including more diverse voices in independent and art cinema to continue with Shelton at the helm.

“We are thrilled to be working with someone who feels as passionately as we do about the importance of storytelling and education,” said Bale. “With Knox, we’re confident there will be no lag, but a seamless continuation of the work we have done and exponential growth towards where we would like to be.”