Michael Donahue with Jerry Lee Lewis and Steve Cropper at an event on October 6th, 1995. Irma S. Waddell took the photo.
I can’t say I ever “interviewed” Jerry Lee Lewis, but I asked him questions and he answered over the years at several events.
The first question was at one of his birthday parties in the 1980s, probably at his Memphis home. I had never met him or said a word to him before that night. I walked up to him with notebook in hand and said, “Jerry Lee, I’m Michael Donahue with The Commercial Appeal.”
He responded, “That’s YOUR problem.”
That was that. The rest of the evening was sort of downhill.
That was Lewis’ cantankerous side. Which made me a little gun-shy going face-to-face with the Killer over the next few decades.
I photographed and videotaped him, most notably was when he was the guest of honor at his 75th birthday celebration. Kris Kourdouvelis and Sharon Gray hosted the lavish event at The Warehouse off South Main.
Everything was centered around Lewis, naturally. There was a choreographed dance number to “Great Balls of Fire,” and people gave warm speeches about him. All the while the Killer, wearing black-and-white loafers, kicked back in a comfortable chair with a cigar in his mouth. I don’t remember him ever taking the stage.
When he finally left to go to his dressing room, I followed him with my video camera. I didn’t know which Jerry Lee would speak that night, but I asked him something like, “How do you feel having all these great accolades said about you and all these festivities in you honor?”
He responded: “I feel like I want to go HOME.” That was one of the cantankerous responses.
Someone backstage that night said to me, “You’re not going to use that quote are you?”
“I sure am.” It was the kicker to my video about the event.
Other sort-of-close encounters with Lewis included maybe two or three visits to cover events at his home in Nesbit, Mississippi. I sat down and played his piano during one of those visits, just to say that I did. Someone snapped some photos.
I played Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano at an event at his home in Nesbit, Mississippi. Un-asked.An “I couldn’t resist” moment at Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano in Nesbit, Mississippi.
Guests were roaming about his place during another event. There were cardboard boxes full of Lewis’ shoes in his garage or maybe a storage area. The boxes were dated, so there were shoes from different time periods. There were two-toned shoes, like maybe red and black. Red was definitely a Jerry Lee Lewis clothing color of choice.
I also got to see Lewis perform on many occasions. One late night at the old Hot Air Balloon (or whatever night spot was in that space at the time) in Overton Square, Lewis suddenly showed up. And he played the hell out of the spinet piano. But the vibe — at least from the management — wasn’t so cheerful when he was through playing. It’s possible that he damaged the piano in some way, maybe slamming the top down a little too hard.
But he was amazing to watch. Even in his later years, when he was slowly led to the piano bench, Lewis exploded once he sat down in front of that keyboard. He was on fire. He played the piano like he was in his teens or 20s. Everyone expected him to jump on the bench and start rat-a-tat slamming the keyboard cover up and down during those one-man musical extravaganzas.
The last time I photographed Lewis was at the opening of the Hyatt Centric Beale Street Hotel on April 29th, 2021. The event included notables, including Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. But the big star that night was, as always, Jerry Lee Lewis. He was in a wheelchair and attended with his wife, Judith.
During his later years, Lewis was friendly but distant when we crossed paths. In one photo I took that night, Lewis is giving his trademark defiant look at the camera while surrounded by his fans, including Jerry Lawler and Kevin Kane.
Jerry Lee Lewis and his wife, Judith, at the opening party of the Hyatt Centric Beale Street Hotel. With fans, including Kevin Kane and Jerry Lawler. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
But one of my favorite Lewis stories was the time I saw him in the audience at the Orpheum. It was one of those “Should I or should I not speak to him?” moments. Lewis and fellow wild man piano player Jason D. Williams were leaving. They were about out of the auditorium door when I greeted them. Lewis turned and looked at me and said, “Hey, Killer.” He even smiled.
I was on cloud nine. Jerry Lee Lewis could do no wrong.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
Amid worries about teacher shortages, Tennessee is considering reducing requirements for some nontraditional candidates to earn their teacher licenses, despite concerns that the change could hurt teacher quality.
In the first of two votes on a controversial proposal, the State Board of Education approved Friday dropping EdTPA, a licensing test required currently of about 900 “job-embedded” candidates, who comprise about a third of the state’s teacher pipeline.
That pathway lets people with non-teaching bachelor’s degrees work as classroom teachers while simultaneously pursuing licensure by taking graduate-level coursework through partnerships between their school districts and approved teacher training programs.
The proposal to drop EdTPA, which would take effect next September, is among numerous ways Tennessee is trying to increase its teacher pool after seeing a gradual decline in the number of aspiring educators graduating from the state’s 40-plus teacher training programs.
However, both state and national data suggest that current shortages are limited to certain districts, schools, grades, and subjects, not an across-the-board problem. Some higher education leaders question the rush to revamp rules with statewide application.
In their preliminary vote, board members voted unanimously to drop the EdTPA requirement for job-embedded candidates. But they emphasized that they want more feedback from teacher prep programs before their final vote set for February.
“There’s a fear of lowering the quality, lowering the bar. And there’s a fear of not having enough people to fill the classrooms. So we’re trying to manage these two fears that are real,” said Nate Morrow, a board member from Williamson County, prior to the vote.
EdTPA has been used since 2013 by numerous teacher training programs, including some of the largest ones at the University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University, and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. In 2019, it became a statewide requirement to gain licensure as the state set new goals for training new teachers.
The assessment measures teaching skills and was developed by researchers at the Stanford Center for Assessment Learning and Equity. It requires candidates to submit a portfolio of materials for review, including a series of lesson plans, video of themselves teaching, and written analysis of their instructional practices.
Teacher prep leaders disagree about whether to remove EdTPA as a job-embedded requirement for licensure. Critics call the portfolio stressful and needlessly time-consuming, while supporters say it’s a valuable way to measure teaching readiness.
“A year ago, we had to have the highest EdTPA scores in the country. So what changed during that time so that we don’t need EdTPA at all?” asked Bill Estes, dean of the college of education at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, during an interview with Chalkbeat.
Without more data and a deeper analysis, Estes said, it would be a “step backward” for Tennessee to have differing standards and requirements for its various pathways to licensure.
“There are (districts) and subject areas that need more teachers, but not across the board. This is a blanket policy that I think will weaken the quality of teachers we have in Tennessee,” he said.
Claude Pressnell, president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, said there’s no consensus within his group about whether to drop edTPA. The bigger concern, he said, is any change that treats teacher candidates differently by saying that one group has to pass it, and the other group doesn’t.
“Our members want to keep a level playing field related to requirements of all ed prep programs,” Pressnell told Chalkbeat.
During Friday’s meeting, Sara Morrison, the board’s executive director, said the proposal is a starting point to discuss ways to eliminate duplications and streamline requirements for the state’s various pathways toward teacher licensure. EdTPA merits consideration, she added.
“For job-embedded candidates, since they are being evaluated (by school leaders), they have an assigned mentor, they’re getting a lot of that same reflective practice and feedback that is part of EdTPA, it seemed duplicative to also do the EdTPA while they’re also classroom teachers of record,” Morrison said.
Darrell Cobbins, who represents Memphis on the board, said he has lots of questions about how to ensure teacher quality without driving candidates from entering the profession. But for now, he said, many school leaders seem most worried about the latter.
“There’s a recurring theme around teacher shortages, teacher retention, career advancement,” Cobbins said. “There seems to be a pleading from district leaders, from teachers themselves, that we employ some avenues of flexibility and creative thinking around how we support districts in addressing their challenges.”
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
We’ve got a suitably spooky selection for Samhain, a tale of witchcraft and devilry from Memphis chanteuse Kathy Zhou. You’ve seen her on keys at Zebra Lounge, and now she’s ready to reveal her own music.
“’Strange Child’ is an upbeat, spooky, theatrical retelling of a nightmare I had as a child,” Zhou says. “The nightmare takes place on a movie-set-like landscape and features a mystical witch, innocent animals, and my younger self.
“As the song progresses, chaos ensues when the witch gets a subtle eerily fiery attitude and decides to wreak havoc upon the poor creatures around her. The song is powered by my piano and vocal narration, and features a talented team of local artists — Alice Hasen on violin and flute, Victoria Dowdy on background vocals and electric guitar, and Dee Torrell on bass. It also features L.A.-based drummer Sarah Mori.”
The video filmed at Ardent Studios by director Nolan Dean. Take a look!
If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
Dillon Brooks dunks the ball as Jazz players look on.
NBAE via Getty Images
It makes no sense why the Grizzlies are playing Utah twice in a row on the road, but here we are. The Grizzlies are looking to avenge a narrow loss on Saturday night in the first of the two matchups. It remains to be seen whether tonight’s game will be trick or treat. There are a few things the Grizzlies can do, however, to improve their chances of getting a treat.
Let’s get into it.
Scary hours in Utah
This Utah Jazz team is a shell of what it once was. Two of their centerpiece players, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, found new teams this summer. What remains is Kelly Olynyk, Lauri Markkanen, and some other dudes, plus Mike Conley who did not play in Saturday’s game.
Inexplicably, Utah is now 5-2 on the season.
Memphis was without its leader, Ja Morant, and ancillary player Jake LaRavia. Both were listed as being out with a non-covid-related illness. Morant seemed off when they played Sacramento, and he watched the first matchup with the Jazz from the team’s hotel. The loss moved Memphis to 4-2 on the season.
Fingers are crossed that Morant will play in the rematch Monday night. Currently, he and LaRavia are both listed as questionable.
So how do the Grizzlies solve a problem like this Jazz team without Ja Morant?
Perimeter defense is key. In their first meeting, Utah beat Memphis from the three-point line. The Grizzlies shot a better overall percentage from distance (44%) but the Jazz knocked down more total — 19 made threes versus 12 made by Memphis. If the Grizzlies can run the Jazz off the long line while managing to still score from beyond the arc, their chances against Utah improve tremendously.
Go to work in the paint.In Saturday’s game, Memphis scored 70 of their 123 points in the paint. The Grizzlies have been one of the best paint-scoring teams in the league for multiple seasons. When outside shots are not falling, drive to the basket.
YGTMYFT – You have GOT to make your free throws. This should need no further explanation.
BIG Memphis– The Grizzlies need big nights from whoever can deliver.
Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane each put up over 30 points in the teams’ first matchup. The Grizzlies need that version of Dillon Brooks again tonight. This season’s version of Desmond Bane, it appears, is one that nonchalantly drops multiple 30-point games in a row.
Trick or Treat time:
The Grizzlies face off against the Jazz for the second game in a row tonight. Tip-off is at 8 PM CDT.
The pinnacle of the Coach Penny Hardaway era at the University of Memphis — now four years and counting — was halftime of the Tigers’ NCAA tournament game against Gonzaga on March 19, 2022. Playing in the program’s first “March Madness” since 2014, Memphis led the country’s top-ranked team by 10 points, a spot in the Sweet 16 (for the first time since 2009) there for the taking. Alas, Tiger shooting went cold, the Zags rallied, and another season ended for the U of M and its considerable fan base.
Among the 10 players who played in that game for Memphis, seven have moved on. And here’s the twist to that reality: All seven could have returned for another season in blue and gray. Everyone knew star freshman Jalen Duren was “one and done” and he was chosen by Charlotte with the 13th pick in the NBA draft (then traded to Detroit). Josh Minott went to Minnesota in the second round and Lester Quinones also found his way to the pros (Golden State, as an undrafted free agent). But also gone, via transfer, are Landers Nolley, Tyler Harris, Earl Timberlake, and last year’s recruiting sensation, Emoni Bates. Those seven players would make a rotation all but certain to qualify for another Big Dance. Instead, Hardaway was left to build his fifth roster virtually from scratch.
Such is life with the transfer portal in modern college hoops. Hardaway pivoted quickly and lured the 2022 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year — point guard Kendric Davis — from SMU. Davis led the AAC with 19.4 points per game last season and will be playing for this third program in five years (he spent the 2018-19 season at TCU). Two other transfers — both guards — may well find themselves in Hardaway’s starting lineup for the season opener at Vanderbilt (November 7th): Keonte Kennedy (late of UTEP) and Elijah McCadden (Georgia Southern). Kennedy averaged 14.1 points and pulled down 6.1 rebounds per game last season for the Miners while McCadden’s numbers with the Eagles were 11.7 and 4.6, good enough for the Sun Belt’s Sixth Man honors.
“We’re an older group,” acknowledges McCadden (a fifth-year senior), “so we’re gelling. We know what we’re here to do. We want to win. We have one main goal, and not a lot of years to grow together. We’ll make the most of the short time we have.”
There will, in fact, be a few familiar faces in uniform for the Tigers. Guard Alex Lomax has spent a full decade — since middle school — playing for Hardaway and returns for a fifth college season. (Remember, players were granted a bonus year of eligibility when the pandemic restricted play in 2020-21.) Then there’s forward DeAndre Williams, back for a third season with the Tigers at the tender age of 26. Williams was second to Duren on last year’s team in both scoring (11.1 points per game) and rebounds (5.8). Expect both figures to grow this season for Williams, named (along with Davis) to the AAC’s preseason all-conference team.
“As a unit, they have to do more than play basketball,” says Hardaway. “They have to hang together off the court. Understand each other on all levels. That carries over. They have to develop an identity early: Who do we want to be? And live up to that identity every single night. I want it to be about toughness. And defense.”
Even with the roster turnover, the offseason was good to Hardaway. The program is finally out from under a three-year cloud, an NCAA-mandated agency (IARP) all but absolving Hardaway from wrongdoing in the recruiting of James Wiseman. So no suspension and no exclusion from upcoming NCAA tournaments (should the Tigers qualify). Then in October, the U of M announced a six-year contract extension that should keep Hardaway on the Memphis bench at least until 2028. Plenty of time for this city’s most famous basketball son to win his first conference title (the Tigers were picked to finish second, behind Houston) and get his alma mater back to the Sweet 16 or, dare it be dreamed, the Final Four.
As we reflect on the storied career of the late Jerry Lee Lewis, whose death was announced today, we recall when the Memphis Flyer‘s John Branston enjoyed this remarkable audience with the Killer some nine years ago. The story offers a vivid portrait of the artist at home in Mississippi with his wife, Judith Coghlan Lewis.
Charles Lloyd (Photo courtesy Forest Farm Music + Art)
It’s not every day one gets to swap emails with a living, breathing creative dynamo like Memphis native Charles Lloyd. But it’s not every day that finds him poised for what looks to be a euphoric homecoming, where Lloyd will rejoin an erstwhile collaborator who was living in Memphis recently, the phenomenal guitarist Anthony Wilson. Local music fans are already abuzz with news of their appearance at the Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC) on November 4th.
Wilson, a Crosstown Arts Resident Composer in 2021, made a resounding impression on the Memphis jazz scene while visiting here, sitting in with many artists even as he appeared in shows of his own. And, as he explains in a recent Facebook post, an extended stay here resonated deeply with his family history:
Since 2018 I’ve been working on a project of music & photography inspired by my family history in the Mississippi Delta, as well as other histories and vibrations centered in that most essential American space. I’ve been missing being there since my last visit in May. I’ll be so happy to return to the Delta at the end of this month for a few days, just before a tour w/ Charles Lloyd, who was born and raised in Memphis—the northern entry point to the Delta—and also shares deep history in Mississippi. It feels symbolic that we’ll play our first show of our tour in Memphis, and that we can begin by communing with the energies and voices of the lands and the waters and the endless skies and the ancestors who speak to and through us.
To learn more about their collaboration, and Lloyd’s own roots here, I reached out to the saxophone and flute master via email, where we conducted an interview-by-correspondence. What follows is a glimpse into the creative process of one of jazz’s greatest living innovators.
Memphis Flyer:Blue Note has recently released your Trio of Trios album set. What are your feelings about the trio as an intentional approach to music? Many fellow jazz players feel that there’s something charmed about a trio in particular. And that form has a charmed history in jazz, from Jimmy Giufre’s albums, to Sonny Rollins’ Way Out West, and beyond. What are some great examples of trios that have inspired you?
Charles Lloyd: Maestro Rollins’ Way Out West is great, as is Giufre. When I was a young man in NYC I used to play opposite Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard. I have always loved his trios, but especially the one with my friend Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. The trio format gives a lot of space to the music.
How did the Ocean album specifically come about? Anthony Wilson was a resident artist here at Crosstown Arts not long ago, and the Memphis music world was quite inspired by him.
TheOcean Trio, which is the second trio in the Trio of Trios trilogy, was recorded in the one hundred and fifty-year-old Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California. I have performed there more than any other venue in the world — so it was very relaxed, kind of like my extended living room. The concert was live-streamed in September 2020, during the pandemic, so there is no audience. I asked Gerald Clayton to join me on piano — he has been touring and recording with me since 2013. And I invited Anthony Wilson on guitar, they both live in L.A. and were easily able to make the drive up. They both happen to be sons of famous musician fathers — Gerald is the son of bass legend John Clayton, while Anthony is the son of celebrated band leader, trumpeter, composer and arranger with strong Memphis roots, Gerald Wilson. When I moved from Memphis to Los Angeles to go to the University of Southern California (USC), I played lead alto in Gerald Wilson’s Big Band. So having Anthony playing with me now is like coming full circle. He is also a great composer and arranger.
Who will be playing in your trio at GPAC on November 4th?
At GPAC, Anthony and I will be joined by an amazing bass player, Harish Raghavan. Harish has a big rich sound and he has an ability to propel the music forward.
When I was recording The Water Is Wide, one of the engineers told me how much Anthony Wilson loved my playing. “You should hear him sometime,” he said. I didn’t know Anthony at that time; we had never met. But the fact that he was Gerald’s son meant a lot to me. Eventually we met, and then later, I heard him play (he also has a great singing voice!). He has been touring with Diana Krall for the last 15 years or so and has an extremely busy schedule. Covid slowed things down and gave us the perfect opportunity to get together. We are continuing to forge a path together in the music. Anthony has been exploring his Memphis roots in recent years, so it feels appropriate that we will launch the start of this tour here in Memphis at GPAC.
You’re known for your innovation, and collaborations outside of the jazz world. As someone who evolves so relentlessly, how does it feel to be bringing your newest music to Memphis? You’ve explored so many styles since you left your hometown. Are there still echoes of your earliest playing in what you play today?
I’m in service. Music was always my inspiration and consolation — I hope I can bring that to someone and lift them up. Nancy Wilson called me a bluesman on a spiritual journey. The blues are in my DNA but I’m also an explorer looking for that perfect sound. The sound that will allow me to put my horn down and go back into the woods. But the Lord has this carrot he dangles in front of me… “Not yet Charles, not yet. Just a little bit further.”
The Charles Lloyd Trio will play GPAC on Friday, November 4, 8 p.m. Click here for tickets.
With Halloween rapidly approaching and the veil between this world and the next getting thinner, the Memphis Flyer couldn’t help but reach out to local paranormal investigator Tanya Vandesteeg to learn more about her ghostly occupation. By trade, Vandesteeg is an entertainer, having written productions and having performed in various musicals and at Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld. Now she, along with business partner Stephen Guenther, runs Historical Haunts Ghost Tours and conducts investigations with the Historical Haunts Team, which she co-founded.
Memphis Flyer: How did you get into the paranormal?
Tanya Vandesteeg: I was the creepy girl in school — I guess, I still am. I grew up in Texas and we moved a lot. To make friends with everybody in my new school, I would always just ask them things like, “Oh, what’s the local legend in your town?” I was always really curious about it, and I was always really wanting to debunk it, too.
But I was really into it. I would see portals in my room when I was a small child, like these really spinning weird things. My mind’s always in the supernatural. Things have always come to me and been attracted to me. I always knew there was something else there, so it never was even a question in my life.
So, in college, I found a group of us that wanted to go hunt these things a little more. And then in Orlando, I formed another group, and then I lived in Los Angeles where I did some stuff there. It wasn’t until here where I got into really an official paranormal group. And that’s how I met Stephen [Guenther], and then we decided to break off that group and make our own group, and the rest is history.
What makes someone more sensitive to the paranormal?
I don’t know what makes a person more special than others. Some can see the full body apparitions. Some don’t. Some don’t wanna see it and they see it anyway. I think it’s a gift. I think it can be genetic. I think it also depends on what blood type you are, what astrological sign you are. More closed-off signs don’t tend to attract spirits as much as other signs.
We always say love and gratefulness are the highest levels of vibrations. And so if you’re loving and caring and grateful and thankful, you’re going to vibrate on that level [of the spirits].
What does a paranormal investigation look like?
If someone says they have a haunting in their house, we offer our services for free. We send a questionnaire; we do interviews. We wanna make sure that we’re a good fit. Like, we don’t do exorcisms; we’re not demonologists. But once we say, “Okay, this is a good fit,” we get the team together and we’ll set up some of our equipment, like K-II meters, which read electromagnetic fields. And a lot of times people will sense things or feel things that are actually natural because if you have too many electromagnetic fields running through your house it can create feelings of paranoia, feeling like somebody’s staring at you from behind.
One of the last cases that we were on, they had all these mesh boxes for their Wi-Fi in this really small living room, and all of our devices were going off like crazy. I even felt heavy sitting in that room. We call it a fear cage because it’s natural electromagnetic fields that are surrounding you, but they’re creating a kind of a supernatural environment. We unplug everything and then we show them our meters. Everything’s clear.
So we try to debunk as much as we can before really investigating. We set up cameras, motion detectors, and our team will go through all of the footage. A lot of it is putting headphones on and listening to see if there are any voices we didn’t pick up while we were there — those are called EVPs, electronic voice phenomena. We compile all the footage and we come back with the client. We’re like, “Okay, this is what we found. This is what we didn’t find.”
What kind of hauntings have y’all come across?
There is the whole thing of attachments. Typically, if something’s tied to the land or tied to the house, it won’t go with you. That’s one of the initial questions that we have when people have an investigation. Like, how old’s your house? How long have you experienced this? Have you experienced this before you lived here or experienced it after you moved here? Then we can figure out if something’s tied to you or something’s tied to the house. Typically, it’s the house, land, or an object in the house. Very rarely are you gonna have something that’s just following you around in life. If you believe in your spirit guides, like ancestors, loved ones, that’s a little different.
What kind of tools do you use?
Believe it or not, we use these little cat toys with motion detectors in them, so sometimes we’ll line them down a hall to see if something will set them off. We’ll also set up these laser grids, and if a spirit comes through it, it’ll manipulate it.
There’s the Spirit Box, which is a device that scans through AM and FM channels really fast to create white noise. We ask a question like, what’s your name? And something answers back that we might hear with our ears or if we don’t, we’ll see if something was caught on the audio recorder.
We have dowsing rods, which are really fun. They’re some of my favorite investigative tools; they’re just rods and you can ask questions and the spirits can manipulate them. “If so-and-so is here, can you cross the rods?” We also use K-II meters and ask questions to see if the spirit will light a certain color for an answer.
We always joke that we’re always looking for the tap-dancing ghost — somebody who looks full body, standing in front of us, going, “Here we are.” It just doesn’t happen that way. I always say the moment I see the tap dancing ghost, I’ll retire. That being said, we have seen full body apparitions. We’ve seen what would look like shadow figures.
There are also spirits that try to look like us, like imitation spirits, but they can never get the smile right. You can research that; it’s through all of history. One day, I left my best friend’s house, and then I drove down the street and saw my best friend standing next to a tree. And then she would smile and it would be really creepy, but it wasn’t her. But things don’t scare me. I get startled, but I don’t get scared.
Are there malevolent forces?
You will find what you’re looking for, and that’s what we always tell people if they wanna be an independent ghost hunter. Any joker with a flashlight and a cell phone could be a ghost hunter now. And that’s the problem — people are breaking in places, going in places they shouldn’t, doing things they shouldn’t. And I’m all about being a paranormal investigator, but do it right and do it safely. Not only physically, but spiritually. Whatever your religious beliefs are, you have to keep yourself protected because there are what we call the cockroaches of the spirit world. They’re lower vibrating, lower frequency, I wouldn’t say demonic or evil, but they’re just not good. And they will attach to you if you are not protected enough.
Like, on Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans, where he goes into these houses and he is like, “Come at me and slap me and hit me” — that’s why he gets slapped and hit all the time ’cause you will find what you’re looking for. That’s his schtick, but we don’t recommend going and doing that. We don’t allow that on any of our tours or investigations. No provoking. We don’t call out spirits to fight us or scratch us or any weird things like that. Why would you go to somebody’s house in their location and make fun of them? We believe that they’re just differently living.
But if you’re going to look for evil, you will find it.
Historical Haunts tour guides Damon and Amber (Photo: Abigail Morici)
Have you ever had an experience with something malevolent?
One investigation was really heavy. A little 2-year-old was getting scratched. I was on a couch and I put my knees on my chest because all of a sudden I just started feeling not okay. We all started coiling up. We had to call our friend from New York, who can go into the spirit world and see what’s going on. She said there was something there that was not … not nice. And she had to get rid of it.
Turns out one of the young kids in the house was trying to sell this soul to the devil. We were like, “Stop it.” Then we had a lecture.
Once our friend got rid of it, we could feel the whole environment change. We had a beautiful investigation after that. We contacted the father who had passed, and he came through on our Spirit Box and said things that we didn’t know about and told them he loved them. That’s the most rewarding thing about investigations — when families can find comfort.
Do you have any spirits that you — for lack of a better word — stay in touch with?
Two doors down from the Broom Closet [where Historical Haunts arranges tours], there was a patrolman that was brutally murdered — Edward Broadfoot — in 1918. His spirit haunts the building. There’s still a blood stain on the floor. It’s all down in the basement. But he comes through all the time. We were just on our tour the other night, and we talked with him with dowsing rods. He’s a good friend of ours. We helped get him his memorial at Forest Hill as well.
But, yeah, we always call out the spirits around here. At Court Square, there’s a little boy that died in the fountain. Claude Pugh is his name. It was in all the papers at the time. [Read more about Claude here.] Claude knows us really well.
The Haunted Memphis Bus Tour stops at Court Square’s fountain where Claude Pugh’s spirit resides. Attendees have the chance to communicate with him, using the group’s investigative tools. (Photo [captured poorly by] Abigail Morici)
We’ve made more friends with spirits out there. There’s a sailor or a soldier — we can’t figure out, but we know that when there are more younger girls on the tour, he comes out more often. There’s sometimes a male spirit there that is kind of intimidating and he’ll chase off all the other spirits and make our equipment go crazy.
Sometimes I walk down the street and I’m like, “Is everybody I’m looking at, are they real?” It’s like, what if we are seeing ghosts and we just don’t know?
Historical Haunts’ tours include the Haunted Memphis Bus Tour, Haunted Pub Crawl, Memphis True Crime Tour, Walking Ghost Hunt, Memphis Brew Bus, and Ghost Hunt at Earnestine and Hazel’s. You can schedule a tour here.
If you are experiencing paranormal or unexplained activity, you can reach Historical Haunts’ investigative team here.
Hook-up culture has been praised in recent years, as many say it seeks to empower those who choose to be intimate without the perils of commitment. Dating apps have made it easier for those seeking these types of relationships; however, this idea has also caused for Black queer men to steer clear of these apps.
Joshua Knight, a 29-year-old Black gay man, said that sex is important, but it isn’t everything. He said that he feels that it’s a common thing that people want, but Knight craves a more meaningful and intimate connection.
Dating apps may seem appealing, as they seek to make the process of finding prospects quicker and more accessible. However, these apps can also can provide a number of challenges that make dating in marginalized communities more difficult to navigate.
Most of these apps rely heavily on photos to appeal to prospective partners. According to Knight, this can be detrimental, as many are criticized and put at a disadvantage for the way they present themselves. In Knight’s opinion, this inclination towards more masculine-presenting people is halting progress in the Black queer community.
“It seems like we will never progress because almost every gay guy has this vision of their partner being masculine, when in reality we all are gay,” said Knight. “They paint this image that there isn’t supposed to be femine gays and that’s what’s dividing us. It’s annoying.”
This theme is not just germane to Knight, as many have reported this idea as something they’ve encountered on dating apps.
Keveon Beavers, a 21-year-old Black gay man, said that he has “entertained dating apps,” but for the most part he doesn’t necessarily like them. He said that looks play a major role in the success of these apps, and that they serve as more of an ego booster, as opposed to an outlet to find true love.
“It’s just straight up misogynistic,” Beavers said. “You know, people have internalized homophobia.”
According to Beavers, he doesn’t always present “masculine.” Beavers said that in some of his features he takes after his mother, but he said this can also boil down to the way that he poses and “existing for his own comfort.”
Beavers said he is more inclined to meeting people organically. However, he said that being located in the South makes it harder to find openly queer people.
He said that he has found success in some spaces to do that. Beavers recently lived in Starkville, Mississippi, and in DeSoto County, where he said there seemed to be a more accepting and open dialogue.
However, he also said that just because there are two openly queer people in the same proximity does not guarantee that they are a perfect match for each other.
“Just because we’re gay doesn’t mean that we’re a pair for each other,” Beavers said.
Knight also said that for Black queer men specifically, it seems as if there are a number of “internal wars” that make it hard for them to date one another.
When it comes to navigating the dating scene as a Black queer man, Beavers said he doesn’t navigate it actually. He said that instead of bringing a chair to a table that he’s not welcomed at, he chooses to create his own table where he can bring others along with him, so that he does not have to worry about “maneuvering through different types of situations.”
“I shouldn’t have to always second guess myself in a space where I feel like I should be safe,” said Beavers.
It can be difficult being a minority in a space that seems to profit heavily off of the culture of a marginalized community such as Black queer people. According to Beavers, those in the majority seem to leech off of lingo, fashion, and culture of their community, yet no one seems to want to share in the struggles and realities that they face.
“It’s one thing to be a Black person in America, but it’s another thing to be a Black queer person in America,” Beavers said. “That’s a whole nother subset, a whole nother different battle that we have to endure.”
It may seem as if those in marginalized communities would have support from others in their group, however Beavers said that this is not always the case. According to Beavers, down-low (DL) men would not be as “rampant” in the Black queer community if society was ready to have a conversation about not only Black men’s contributions to this culture, but Black women’s as well.
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, defines “DL” as an “abbreviation for down low, which refers to men who secretly have sex with men.” This term was originally coined by Black men in the 1990’s.
“A lot of DL men are not worried about Black men’s opinions,” said Beavers. “More than likely, it’s Black women’s opinions. That’s what hurts the most.”
Beaver said that as Black women are another marginalized community, it would seem as if they would know what it is like to be on the “opposite side of the stick.” However, they can sometimes perpetuate homophobia, which, he said, stings the worst.
“It is expected that Black men to you know, cis-Black men are going to be cis-Black men,” Beaver said. “They’re the white men of the Black community. They want to be close to power. But, with this in particular, I would have to give this stick to Black women, in not saying ‘enough is enough’ and sticking by traditions and all these different things because they are so used to the patriarchy.”
While there seem to be a number of obstacles that Black queer men face, this does not signify the end of commitment for them. In fact, Beavers still remains optimistic as he knows that there is someone out there for him.
“I’m a very acquired taste, and not everybody’s going to like me. Not everybody is going to want me,” Beaver said. “I just know that by existing, I am going to catch somebody’s eye, and not have to do anything that is out of the ordinary to catch somebody’s eye.”
A 21-year-old January 6th insurrectionist took a federal plea deal, got eight charges reduced to one, agreed to pay $700 for a Republican conference room door he helped to break and other fees, and faces years in federal prison.
Nicholas James Brockhoff, 21, of Covington, Kentucky, was arrested in Counce, Tennessee (near Pickwick Lake in West Tennessee), in May 2021. In January 2021, he joined thousands of other rioters to breach the U.S. Capitol in hopes of stopping Congress from certifying results in the 2020 presidential election.
Brockhoff pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one charge of assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon, a fire extinguisher. Before he signed a plea deal last week, he faced eight charges, including another charge of using a deadly weapon (the fire extinguisher), obstructing law enforcement, entering restricted grounds, disrupting government business, engaging in violence on the Capitol grounds, demonstrating, and more.
(Credit: Department of Justice)
A Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found that Brockhoff travelled over 500 miles and eight hours by car from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., to join the “mob that had gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol.” At around 2:32 p.m., he threw an object at law enforcement officials.
Later, he “assaulted” law enforcement officials “when he discharged the contents of fire extinguishers, which are deadly or dangerous weapons when used as Brockhoff did.” He sprayed police at least two times from two locations, according to the DOJ. In doing so, “he caused law enforcement to disperse, which interfered with their ability to conduct crowd control and prevented them from seeing, avoiding, or deflecting projectiles and weapons intended to injure them.”
(Credit: Department of Justice)
On his way inside the building, Brockhoff found a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) helmet on the ground. He put it on his head, reads the report, “and wore it as a trophy.” Through a broken window, Brockhoff entered the Senate Conference room.
(Credit: Department of Justice)
Once inside, Brockhoff and others left the room and went into hallway. They found a door labeled “ST6M,” a Republican conference room. He and others kicked the door, and at one point Brockhoff instructed another to kick the door “farther to the right.” They kicked a hole in the door, and Brockhoff reached his hand inside and opened the door from the inside. Once inside, he tore open a box, and “riffled through the papers in the office.”
Outside the building, Brockhoff, still wearing the police helmet, is confronted by MPD officers who ask him, “You’re going to come out with an MPD helmet?” To which, Brockhoff replies, “I found it on the ground.”
Later, officers asked Brockhoff his name, and he gives his first and last name. They ask if he’s injured, to which he replies, a “little bit.” They ask if he injured himself climbing through a window, to which Brockhoff replies, “glass, glass, glass, yeah.” The injuries on his hands can be seen in police footage from body-worn cameras.
(Credit: Department of Justice)
Much of the government’s identifying evidence on Brockhoff came from Capitol surveillance footage and police cameras. In nearly all of them, he is identified by his blue jacket with a green hood and his black backpack with a yellow tag.
(Credit: Department of Justice)
As part of his plea deal, Brockhoff will face only one count of use of a deadly weapon. For this, the DOJ will ask the court for a reduced sentence. He could face nearly four to five years in prison. However, he faces a statuary maximum of 20 years. But the court will decide how much prison time he will get.
His plea deal also includes paying $700 for the damage he helped to inflict on the Republican conference room door. He’ll also pay $2,000 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol to aid in the more than $2.7 million worth of damage caused to the building that day. He will also pay an unknown sum in restitution to the victims of violence on January 6th.
Brockhoff is slated to be sentenced in March.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the FBI’s Memphis Field Office, and Hardin County Sheriff’s Department helped investigate the case.
