Month: August 2023

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Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 08/31/23

Oops!

The Price Is Right contestant Henry Choi went home with more than a trip to Hawaii on the episode that aired on June 16, the Los Angeles Times reported. Choi threw his arms up and pumped his fists as he was called onstage, then leaped into the air and pounded his chest. Afterward, he could be seen holding his right arm and stretching it out. Later in the show, host Drew Carey explained that Choi had dislocated his shoulder, and Choi’s wife, Alice, was allowed to spin the wheel for him during the Showcase Showdown. When he won, he meekly lifted his uninjured left arm, but Alice jumped up and waved her arms. “Don’t hurt yourself,” warned Carey. [Los Angeles Times, 6/20/2023]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

The infamous “Lake Tahoe Foot Fondler” couldn’t outrun authorities forever, the New York Post reported. On Aug. 1, Mark Anthony Gonzales, 26, was arrested in Atwater, California, and charged with burglary and battery after two early July incidents at the Club Wyndham South Shore hotel in Nevada. According to police, Gonzales “entered two … condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors. Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females” in two different units. Gonzales fled when his victims woke up and confronted him. He is also suspected of trespassing and stealing women’s shoes for sexual pleasure. He was being held for extradition back to Nevada. [NY Post, 8/2/2023]

Unclear on the Concept

Pinellas County (Florida) deputies are pleading with the public to stop calling them about manatees in canals and shorelines along the Gulf Coast, Fox13-TV reported on Aug. 1. People think the manatees are in distress because they’re swimming in herds and thrashing about, but officials stress that the sea cows are only mating. “IF YOU SEE THIS … DON’T CALL US,” the sheriff’s office warned via Facebook post. “We can assure you they are more than fine. Manatees actually mate in herds like these and often they are near the shore. … There’s no need to call, they are a-okay!” [Fox13, 8/1/2023]

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

In a stunning stroke of genius, the Alpha and Omega Funeral Home in Ahuachapan, El Salvador, started offering Barbie-themed coffins last year, the New York Post reported. With the movie’s summer success, undertaker Isaac Villegas said they’ve been swamped with orders and have sold out of the hot pink caskets. “We wanted to promote the pink coffin as it has become a trend,” Villegas said. “Of the 40 people who inquired about it, we have already closed a contract with at least 10 new clients.” Similarly, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, funeral home Funeraria Olivares is offering a “Barbie House” coffin, “so you can rest like a Barbie.” One manufacturer gushed about their product: “This coffin, with its striking bright pink color, represents the spark and energy of those unforgettable moments they lived.” One El Salvadoran commenter conceded, “Eternal rest doesn’t look so bad anymore.” [NY Post, 8/1/2023]

Nowhere To Go but Up

Early on July 28, Thornton, Colorado, police were called out about a stolen car, KKTV reported. As the officers gathered information, the suspect, 36-year-old Julian Fernandez, returned to the scene, but “quickly ran on foot from the area and out of sight,” police said. While they watched, the man jumped over a security fence and started climbing a 320-foot radio tower. He eventually reached the top, where he stayed for 12 hours as crisis negotiators tried to reason with him. In the end, firefighters climbed the tower and brought Fernandez down. [KKTV, 7/30/2023]

Unconventional Weaponry

A Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the scene of a gruesome assault on Aug. 1, Fox News reported. Police arriving at the scene found a man with a flagpole — American flag still attached — through his head. They said it had entered under his jaw and exited near his right temple. Witnesses reported that the suspect, Clinton Collins, allegedly charged the victim and ran the pole through his head, saying, “That’s what he gets. He deserved it.” Collins was taken into custody immediately. Emergency responders had to cut part of the flagpole away in order to fit the victim in the ambulance. He survived but may lose an eye, police said. [Fox News, 8/3/2023]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Music Music Features

The Baseball Project to Headline the Memphis PowerPop Festival

Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Mike Mills, Linda Pitmon, and Steve Wynn (Photo: Marty Perez)

When first learning that the Overton Park Shell will soon host a band wholly dedicated to songs about America’s favorite pastime, as The Baseball Project is, the casual listener might write them off as a novelty group. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Steve Wynn, who helped found the group 15 years ago, thinks that’s partly due to The Baseball Project competing with its own members’ past bands, some of which are ongoing concerns to this day.

“When we started out there was sometimes a feeling of, ‘Well, this must be some kind of joke band. It’s a silly thing. I’ll just take a pass on that and show up at the next Minus 5 or Dream Syndicate or Filthy Friends tour instead,’” he says. “But I think over time people realize we’re not just singing jokey songs or clowning around. We’re finding the emotional nuggets of truth in these baseball incidents. The songs are still about loss or surprising success or mortality or all these things that you think about anyway. We just use the history of baseball as a jumping-off point to get to the same place.”

Indeed, drawing on the lore of a game so peppered with renegade characters, triumphant underdogs, and tragic twists of history gives a songwriter considerable raw material, and the band’s scribes rise to the occasion. “I’m a lonely drifter, I go from town to town,” sings Wynn on “Journeyman,” written with bandmate Peter Buck for The Baseball Project’s new release, Grand Salami Time! (Omnivore Recordings). “You can call me Lefty, it’s my stock in trade. I’m a specialist, it’s how I get paid. Always keep my bags packed, never get to close to anyone. Long as there’s someone who needs me, down the road I’ll go …”

Listening along, this writer, who hasn’t followed sports since his teens, is suddenly invested in the life of the classic journeyman player, drifting from team to team. It doesn’t hurt that the players, the parts, and the delivery are a pitch-perfect blend of grit and imaginative production, with an overall sound ranging from folk rock to full-on power pop. On the album, part of that credit goes to producer Mitch Easter, but live it will all be on the quintet — who are not unlike some kind of fantasy baseball dream team. Wynn founded the seminal post-punk psych-rock outfit Dream Syndicate and is wed to drummer Linda Pitmon, also of the Filthy Friends. Buck and bassist Mike Mills were founding members of onetime mega-band R.E.M., and guitarist/keyboardist Scott McCaughey was in that group from 1994 onward, after years of fronting the Young Fresh Fellows.

This lineup also brings some stellar harmonies to the proceedings. As Wynn says, “To be in a band with four really good singers who can all harmonize is something I’m not used to — and it’s exciting. We do a lot of four-part harmonies in this band, on record and on stage, and sometimes we hear that blend and we’re like, ‘Check us out, we’re the Byrds!’”

A final revelation of The Baseball Project is how well baseball is suited to rock-and-roll. “Uncle Charlie,” for example, could apply to sports, music, or any realm where the punk meets The Godfather: “Every kid thinks they’re the smartest guy to walk on two hind legs/Every kid thinks they can take the codgers down by a few pegs. … Oh, you don’t look so pretty now! Uncle Charlie’s gonna get you.”

Yet, as Wynn notes, pro sports and rock have not traditionally been bedfellows. “Peter is our lone non-baseball fan, who pretty much plays in the band because he likes all of us and enjoys the music. He gets exasperated with all our baseball talk sometimes. And Peter has said, ‘You know, when I was young, there were either people who liked sports or people who liked cool rock-and-roll, and they were not the same thing at all. There were jocks on one side and rockers on the other.’

“But Linda, Mike, Scott, and I have always been huge baseball fans, so we know that’s not totally true. We’ve made it safe for indie rockers to love baseball! And there’s a bunch of us out there.”

The Baseball Project, with openers The Sonny Wilsons, headlines the Memphis PowerPop Festival at the Overton Park Shell, Saturday, September 2nd, 5:30 p.m.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Water Is Life — For the Privileged

Many take water for granted. (Photo: Ndoeljindoel | Dreamstime.com)

As the heat wave intensifies across the country, as workers exposed to the heat collapse on the job in increasing numbers — some of them die — Governor Greg Abbott of Texas recently signed a law nullifying local ordinances in the state that require 10-minute heat and water breaks for those who work in the sun.

Water is life! Yeah, so what, says Abbott and those who support this law. Critics call it the Death Star Law. Texas Representative Greg Casar, who recently staged a nine-hour thirst strike on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in protest of such laws — such indifference to the health and lives of so many American workers — said that Abbott, along with other GOP governors like Ron DeSantis, “are participating in the cruelty Olympics, trying to outdo each other.”

These are deeply troubling times, and no doubt there are matters of greater peril for humanity than the right of construction and other workers to drink water on the job, but when I began reading about this and related issues, something began tearing at my insides. Water is life! I could barely imagine not having access to it. As The Texas Observer noted:

“Climate scientists have projected that Texas summers will get increasingly hot if climate change continues, exacerbating the public health risk. For every heat-related workplace death, dozens more workers fall ill. Since 2011, the state has seen at least 42 heat-related deaths on the job, and at least 4,030 incidents of heat-related illness, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

To think about this beyond the statistics, consider the death of Roendy Granillo, age 25, a Texas construction worker who began feeling ill at work. He was ignored, told to keep working, and eventually collapsed on the job. He died at the hospital, where his body temperature was 110 degrees.

Somehow this is all connected. The planet is heating up. We just got through the hottest July in recorded history, and the reaction of (primarily) Republican politicians has been to push back against humane legal intervention, meant to protect workers and others most vulnerable to the heat wave. What do we value? Do we value life or do we value profit? If the latter is true, we’re doomed. We will ignore, not address, the looming climate disaster and other deep dangers, such as nuclear war.

Ignoring these looming disasters is a crime against humanity — whatever that means. The United Nations’ Office of Genocide Protection addresses that very question, noting that many scholars trace the root of the concept to the late 18th century, in reference to slavery and the slave trade, as well as the atrocities of European colonialism in Africa and elsewhere.

Slavery! Somehow that seems to fit into the issue. The horror of slavery — the dehumanization of millions of people — is more than just numbers. It boils down to cruelty against individuals. Denying a worker a water break, especially as the days get mercilessly hotter, sounds like some leftover cruelty from the slave era: a crime against humanity, especially when you factor in the racism.

As The Guardian points out, six out of every 10 construction workers in Texas are Latino — and Abbott’s law will hurt Black and Latino communities the most, which are already disproportionately affected by the intensifying heat.

“In the midst of a record-setting heat wave, I could not think of a worse time for this governor or any elected official, who has any, any kind of compassion, to do this,” said civil rights organizer David Cruz, quoted by The Guardian. “This administration is incrementally trying to move us backwards into a dark time in this nation. When plantation owners and agrarian mentalities prevailed.”

Water is life! Yeah, so what?

Recently, writing about the Texas border wall, I noted this: “A state trooper said he was under orders not to give migrants any water.”

And then the New York Times, writing about life in Latino border communities, known as colonias, talked about the continual water shutoffs the residents are enduring, and then, when the water comes back on, they are warned to boil it before using it. “You could not trust the water when we needed it the most, if we had it at all,” one resident said, adding: “I’m afraid to take a shower or even splash water on my face. We were told not to let water get into our eyes.”

And as her father pointed out: “You drive around the block, and you see the car washes using all of this water, but there is no water for a mother and her two children? How is that possible? It’s like the colonias are part of a different country.”

As I write these words, I take a gulp of water. I take it for granted — and I’m not writing in the hot sun. I’m cool and comfortable and the water I drink is simply refreshing. I hardly think about it as a right, or the source of life and health. But it is.

Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Memphis Wine Society

Norbert Mede enjoys a glass of Antonini Super Tuscan from Italy at The Capital Grille. (Photo: Michael Donahue)

It’s just a happy coincidence Norbert Mede’s last name is similar to “mead,” the fermented honey-and-water drink favored by kings and noblemen back in the day.

Mead is pretty close to another drink, except that one is made from fermented grapes. And that’s a drink Mede, 57, knows a thing or two about.

Founder of the Memphis Wine Society, Mede says the organization “was formed, essentially, out of a perceived need by me to fill a gap in the wine culture in the greater Memphis area.”

Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, Mede has the right credentials. “I’ve been in the hotel and restaurant business all my life. Through that, around wine. Developing wine lists. Thirty years, basically, in resort and restaurant management. I was a chef for eight years in Washington state. And then I bought my own hotel, a small boutique restaurant, The Jamestown Hotel and Restaurant.”

In 2020, Mede took a job as vice president of hospitality for Wilson, Arkansas. “An Arkansas destination town is what they wanted to build.

“I made Memphis my home while I transitioned.” And he became a fan. “Actually, I love the fact that Memphis isn’t grown up. You go to Nashville, the population has lost its roots, in a sense.”

Memphis Wine Society was born after Mede decided wine was his passion, and he wanted to do something with it in Memphis. “I have a unique ability to fill in this region because I have the desire, one. And I have some experience.”

Mede doesn’t claim to be “the biggest wine expert,” but he feels he can combine his dining, business, and hospitality experience to “bring wine education to a new level” here.

Memphis doesn’t have “a strong wine culture,” Mede says. “There are people who love wine. I meet them every day.” But he wants to “elevate the experience.”

Memphis Wine Society will be membership-based, and members will “have access to our wine concierge service.” This will help people with their “wine journey” in various ways, including recommending wines to serve with their events.

The organization will hold “monthly social events, pop-ups,” where it will “tie in some wine knowledge or education with the venue.”

On September 7th, Mede will host a Memphis Wine Society event, First Press, at the Jay Etkin Gallery. “First Press equates to the first press of the grapes. And we’re getting into the harvest season around the world.”

Mede also aims for Memphis Wine Society to host wine dinners, featuring out-of-town and local chefs. And he wants members of the wine industry to conduct local tastings. “To bring in their product and expertise.”

As for future plans, Mede says, “Eventually, the Memphis Wine Society wants its own building and location to create a more interactive social club.”

He’d like to see an “urban winery” one day, where “we import grapes from various areas and create our own winery in Memphis.” In addition to being a tourist attraction, it would provide education about making wine. “Which brings it to another future goal,” he says, “and that’s to create a Memphis Wine Academy.”

The academy would “provide wine education resources and business education, around the wine business. But also the history of winemaking chemistry.” People would be able to “have success making their own micro batches of wine.”

Memphis is now home, Mede says. “I’m at a point in my life where I’m getting tired of moving. I was looking for my swan song. The thing I want to leave as my legacy. I don’t have any children. [So] leave a project behind that I could look back on my career and say, ‘This is the culmination, the fruit of all my efforts.’

“I decided this is my forever home. I think it’s got tremendous potential. Memphis has a lot of great stuff going on.”

And, he says, “I get to be a part of it.”

Visit memphiswinesociety.com for more information.

Categories
News News Feature

Selecting the Right Tax Structure for Your Business

Photo: Kelly Sikkema | Unsplash

Launching a new business is no simple feat. It’s a process that requires you to make many decisions, with one of the more important determinations being which tax structure you want it to fall under. Each structure has its own set of tax and non-tax pros and cons that must be considered along with your own goals and personal situation. Here’s a breakdown of several types to help you make an informed decision.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

LLCs have become increasingly common, particularly for startup companies. In general, it can be easier and less expensive to set up an LLC than to set up a corporation. An LLC can be taxed as a sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation, or C corporation. Making the choice to form your business as an LLC still leaves the decision of which tax structure to pair it with.

Sole Proprietor

Sole proprietorships are the easiest and least expensive structure to set up, and there are few formalities to maintain. There’s no separate income tax filing required, as the business activity is included within the owner’s personal income tax return. All profits from a trade or business activity will be subject to self-employment tax. The largest drawback for a sole proprietor is the lack of liability protection.

Partnership

You may consider using a partnership structure if your business has two or more owners. This has similar pros and cons to a sole proprietorship. Partnerships can be flexible to fit your operating needs, but they can add a layer of complexity to tax return preparation. Partnerships have an income tax return filing requirement; however, the profits or losses pass through to the owners and are included on their personal income tax returns. There are two types of partnerships to consider.

General partnerships are typically formed using a written agreement between owners. They don’t require filling out paperwork within the state in which the owners reside and offer no liability protection. In general partnerships, owners file taxes under their respective names.

Limited partnerships are made up of one general partner and other limited partners. The general partner has unlimited liability, is more involved in the daily operations of the business, and is accountable for paying self-employment taxes on the partnership’s profits. Limited partners are what they sound like — limited in their liability and in their involvement within the business.

S Corporation

S corporations provide a solid structure for many small businesses. S corporations have an income tax return filing requirement; however, the profits or losses pass through to the owners and are included on their personal tax returns. The self-employment tax in an S corporation is limited to owner compensation paid through payroll (rather than being applied to all profits of the business). S Corporations are limited to a maximum of 100 shareholders. Partnerships, other corporations, certain kinds of trusts, and nonresident aliens don’t qualify as eligible shareholders.

C Corporation

C corporations are commonly known as regular corporations. This is the only structure that pays its own tax but is subject to double taxation. This means a C corporation must pay income tax at a flat rate of 21 percent on its profits and that shareholders are also taxed on their distributed dividends. Although the taxation may seem high, many times it can be minimized when corporations put their profits back into their business to fuel future growth.

Deciding which aligns best with your business needs may seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. By evaluating your business goals and activity types, you can feel confident selecting one that’s beneficial to you and your tax strategy.

Partnering with a tax professional to assist in your planning is a terrific way to ensure your startup questions are answered — and the right decisions are made — so you can focus on making your small business dreams a reality. Keep in mind that your choice of tax structure shouldn’t be driven solely by tax considerations. There are many other factors to consider, and you’ll want to include legal advice in the decision.

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

Categories
We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: “Black American Portraits” Opens With a Bash

"Black American :Portraits' opened with a party at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Memphis filmmaker Kevin Brooks was impressed with “Black American Portraits,” the new exhibit at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The exhibit, which features 129 works of art and 90 artists, was curated by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

“As I walked through the gallery — as a black artist myself — I was profoundly moved by the intention of the curation,” Brooks says. “It was a poignant reminder that the Black experience is multifaceted and complex, encompassing a wide spectrum of emotions and experiences. I left there with a renewed sense of pride and purpose. It reminded me of the transformative power of art to shape perspectives, challenge narratives, and celebrate the beauty of the black experience.”

Brooks, who attended with Katheryn McCullough, were among the more than 750 people who attended the opening party, which was held August 17th.

Kevin Brooks and Katheryn McCullough at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Babbie Lovett at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Toni Crutchfield and Dianne Fletcher at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Logan Scheidt and Brooks executive director Zoe Kahr at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Brooks board president Carl Person at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Christine Moore, Carl E. Moore, Roy Tamboli, Eric O. Harris, Carol Bachman at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Valerie Person, Angela Wright, Leslie Johnson, Tamika Richmond at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

It was great to be holding a big party at Brooks again, says Patricia Daigle, Brooks curator of modern and contemporary art. “We have a few good years left in our Overton Park location,” she says. So, it’s nice to see people “really excited about the Brooks and what we’re doing here.”

As far as the reaction to the show, Daigle says, “Many people have just been happy and excited to see such incredible works here. A special part of the show is how many of those works by significant artists, both historical and contemporary, are on view.”

“Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
MIckell and Chonisa Lowery at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Aniseya Butler, Michael Butler Jr., and Marley Smith at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Emma Primous, June Griffin James, Elaine Parks at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Jason and Molly Wexler at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Matt Roumain, Alexis Miche, Linda McNeil, Major McNeil at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Daigle says she’d love to have all these artists included in the permanent Brooks collection, but, in the meantime, visitors are fortunate to get to see work by artists, including Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas, and Kerry James Marshall, on display at the Brooks.  

And, she says, visitors appreciate the fact they can see these works in Memphis.“The general feeling I’ve experienced is just the excitement and the joy the exhibit is really trying to lean into.”

No single piece of art is the most popular, Daigle says. Some people are drawn to “the largest work and the most sort of physically-demanding work. But other people really gravitate to a small drawing. Something quiet.”

Part of the appeal is the range of visions in the show, she says. “There’s something for everybody.”

Deejay Jared “J B.” Boyd played music during the evening. Boyd also curated, according to the Brooks website, “a soundtrack of Memphis music that exemplifies Black Love, Power, and Joy. The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack celebrates the vibrant legacy and future of Black musicians in the city of Memphis.”

Jared “Jay B.” Boyd at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

“Black American Portraits” will run through January 7th. “We’ll have it for a good long time. I think it gives people a chance to make it out and see it.”

The museum will be featuring a number of programs during the show. Among those will be “Super Saturday: Black American Portraits,” which will be held from 10 a.m. to noon September 2nd. Free admission and art making. The event will celebrate and discuss the “Black American Portraits” exhibit.

Efe Igor Coleman, Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art & Art of the African Diaspora at the Brooks Museum, will give a special gallery talk on the exhibit from 6 to 7 p.m. September 13th.

“Bia Butler in Conversation,” a talk with the contemporary textile artist, will begin with a reception at 5 p.m. and the talk at 6 p.m. on September 22nd. Daigle will moderate the conversation.

Shamessia Lee, Lydia Milton, Yvonne Jones at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Logan Scheidt, Cameron Mann, Lauren Kennedy, Justin Taylor at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Willie Taylor, Raven Martin, Ariel Cobbert, Aljammi Davis, Charlene Graves at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Anita Williams and Jerome Smith at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Caitlin Bertsch and Brad Vest at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ashley and Jeff Borgsmiller at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Billie Gholson, Sandra Burke, Karen English at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Paul Thomas, Margaret Craddock, Amy Greer, Charlie Nelson at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
We Saw Me and Atlanta Ellington at “Black American Portraits” (Credit: Michael Donahue)
We Saw You
Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “I Don’t Know” by Cheyenne Marrs

As you can read in Alex Greene’s Memphis Flyer story, the debut album by Cheyenne Marrs, Everybody Wants To Go Home, is the product of a lot of hardship.

“First of all, thanks so much for having us on your Music Video Monday series and shout out to Shara too. She’s the best!” says Marrs.

We here at Music Video Monday love flattery and agree that Memphis Flyer Editor Shara “The Shark” Clark is the best. Now, back to the record. “The song was written lyrically while making this record,” Marrs says. “The death of my son’s mother had happened and it was just one thing after the other, and being in recovery for about a year and a half at the time, I was being asked if I was okay a lot. The words ‘I don’t know’ had become possibly my most-used phrase; kind of a way of being on the fence about some things.”

Marrs directed the video at the home studio of Graham Winchester, who produced the album. “The video is just me wanting to make a zombie movie with my friends. It turned out to be a lot of fun and my band mate Danny Stanford edited it too. We got together for two hours and he got that from it. A lot of things tend to gain some kind of meaning as time passes, so I’m sure with some time I could pin a way the video ties in to the meaning.”

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

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Ostrander Awards Cap the 2022-2023 Theater Season

Ruby O'Gray at the Ostrander Awards. Photo by Jon W. Sparks.

The local stage community celebrated another season by honoring the best cast, crew members, and productions at the Ostrander Awards ceremonies Sunday, August 27th. 

The annual event brought play lovers to the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education at the Orpheum. The numbers favored Theatre Memphis and its Next Stage, which combined to win 21 categories. The top award-winning production was TM’s zany The Play That Goes Wrong, which took seven honors, including top play and ensemble, and awards for director Ann Marie Hall, supporting actress Amy Rush, supporting actor Bruce Huffman, choreographer Courtney Oliver, and scenic designer Jack Netzel-Yates. 

The most honored in the musical category was TM’s Mary Poppins with five awards: Russell Lehman for leading actor, Tracy Thomas for feature performer, and Buddy Hart and Rence Phillips for hair, wig, and makeup. Jack Netzel-Yates pulled in two awards for props and scenic design.

The previously announced winner of the 2023 Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award was Ruby O’Gray, who has acted, directed, and produced shows in local theater since 1977. She is the first Black woman to receive the honor. Among her achievements is the Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis, an event celebrating women’s contributions to the local stage.

Jared Johnson, who directed the musical The Scottsboro Boys at Playhouse on the Square won the plaque for best musical production. The critically acclaimed performance was based on the 1931 story of nine falsely accused Black teenagers, and the profound injustices that followed fueled the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the grim subject matter, the musical is staged as a vaudeville-style variety show. During the production, Johnson described it as “fun, makes you laugh, and is entertaining so it hides the ugly truth in plain sight.”

The Ostrander Award reflects the powerful approach taken to carry the message across. After Sunday night’s award, Johnson said, “It means so much for folks to understand what we were trying to do, which is really communicate about not just how much we should embrace our history, but also about how we should love on it and to just enjoy it even when it’s hard and painful. The beauty in our history is it makes us who we are, but more importantly, it makes us stronger. It makes us wiser so that we can move on. And guess what? If we have that one little conversation, we can mend a lot of the fences holding us back from being able to just love each other. This win, where we celebrate Black artistry and Black brilliance, makes me feel like we’re in a new world where we can recognize all the talents and it just makes me so happy.”

Ostrander Award winners:

DIVISION I

Props Design, Play: Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ D’Arcangelo Calvert; Clyde’s; Circuit Playhouse

Props Design, Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Scenic Design, Play: Jack Netzel-Yates; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Scenic Design, Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Lighting Design, Play: Nicole Northington; Sherlock’s Last Case; Theatre Memphis   

Lighting Design, Musical: Nicole Northington; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis   

Sound Design, Play (two winners): Joe Johnson; Sherlock’s Last Case; Theatre Memphis; and Josh Crawford; Pass Over; Circuit Playhouse

Sound Design, Musical: Joshua Crawford; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Hair, Wig, & Makeup: Buddy Hart & Rence Phillips; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Costume Design, Play: Amie Eoff; Macbeth; Next Stage

Costume Design, Musical: Amie Eoff; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Music Direction: Dustin Pappin; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Choreography/Fight Choreography, Play: Courtney Oliver; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Choreography, Musical: Christi Hall; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Featured Performer, Play: Caroline Simpson; Macbeth; Next Stage

Featured Performer, Musical: Tracy Thomas; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor, Play: Bruce Huffman; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actress, Play: Amy Rush; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor, Musical: Daniel Stuart Nelson; Jersey Boys; Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actress, Musical: Haley Wilson; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Leading Actor, Play: Cristian S. Nieves; Clyde’s; Circuit Playhouse

Leading Actress, Play: Natalie Jones; Macbeth; Next Stage

Leading Actor, Musical: Russell Lehman; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Leading Actress, Musical: Nichol Pritchard; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Ensemble, Play: The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Ensemble, Musical: The Scottsboro Boys; Playhouse on the Square

Direction, Play: Ann Marie Hall; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Direction, Musical: Dave Landis; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Original Script: Ann Perry Wallace; Live Rich Die Poor; Like Bamboo Productions

Production, Play: Ann Marie Hall; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis; Elizabeth Perkins, Stage Manager

Production, Musical: Jared Johnson; The Scottsboro Boys; Playhouse on the Square; Tessa Verner, Stage Manager

DIVISION II

Props Design: Emily Matusik; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Scenic Design: Justin Asher & Richard Logston; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Lighting Design: Melissa Andrews; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Sound Design: Kaitlin Starnes; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Costume Design: Newman Jones; Sense and Sensibility; University of Memphis

Music Direction: Tammy Holt; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Featured Performer: Rachel Adkins; Sense and Sensibility; University of Memphis

Supporting Actor, Play: Bryan Kenton; Triangle; Three Diamonds Productions

Supporting Actress, Play: Epiphany Aiken; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Supporting Actor, Musical: Will Draper; The Rocky Horror Show; University of Memphis

Supporting Actress, Musical: Nichol Pritchard; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Leading Actor, Play: Adam Remsen, Wakey Wakey; Quark Theatre

Leading Actress, Play: Kathryn Dressel; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Leading Actor, Musical: Nic Luter; Elf: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Leading Actress, Musical: Maggie Emmendorfer; Once Upon a Mattress; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Ensemble: Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Direction: Julia Hinson; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Production: Justin Asher; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre; Taylor Daniels, Stage Manager

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Pastor Looks at Role of Black Churches and Black Lives Matter

Photo credit: Daniel Tseng via Unsplash

The Rev. Andre E. Johnson has been seeking answers to complex issues involving Black churches and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

His research led him to write The Summer of 2020: George Floyd and the Resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement, in which he interviewed people involved in BLM, some of whom relied on religious narratives to describe their involvement.

Johnson previewed his book Thursday during SisterReach’s Social Justice Preacher Series held online. He is founding pastor of Gifts of Life Ministries and has authored several works and teaches at the University of Memphis and Memphis Theological Seminary.

His topic — “Rethinking Faith and Religion: The Spirituality of Black Lives Matter” — put the spotlight on Black churches and civil rights actions.

“This heightened after George Floyd’s murder,” said Johnson. “What we discovered was that for many participants the movement had not only inspired and energized people of faith and Christian traditions, but it also inspired many people and different religious traditions to re-examine their own faith journeys.

Black churches have historically been a pivotal part of social justice movements. Their involvement was exemplified during the Civil Rights Movement where they not only served as safe havens and places of hope for the fight, they also were homes of clergymen who doubled as activists.

While the church has historically played a role in the fight for equal rights for Black Americans, there have been questions regarding the involvement of the church in current movements, such as BLM. In a 2021 entry in the “Uplift Memphis, Uplift The Nation: The Blog For Community Engagement,” from the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, Johnson wrote that “unlike the Civil Rights movement that it is often compared to, people often do not associate BLM as a faith-inspired movement or one that has anything to do with spirituality.”

“Early in the movement, even some Black pastors lamented the fact that there was a strange silence from the Black church during the Black Lives Matter Movement,” said Johnson.

In his lecture, Johnson explained that his research showed that people used their religion to help them cope with the death of Floyd, and compelled them to get active. He said, however, that many felt they could not solely rely on their religious influences, and that they had to “draw on something else to draw them out to participate.”

He said, “While people of faith have been a part of Black Lives Matter since its inception, some told us that religion played no role in their involvement whatsoever.”

Johnson also quoted respondents who did not identify as religious, and preferred that religion not play a role at all in BLM. 

He noted, however, that the Black church had always had a prominent influence on society such as in the Civil Rights Movement, and that the faith that people learn in the church is “one of the primary reasons for their involvement with BLM.”

“For their involvement with BLM, many recognized and realized that it all started in the church that they are, right now, critiquing,” said Johnson. “It was the church that had lost its way, but some of the participants still found a way to join the movement and grounded it in their faith experiences.”

Johnson explained that it not only speaks to the legacy and history of the Black church, but the legacy of activism “birthed from the church that bore witness to the issues germane to African Americans, across a variety of places and spaces, at all times.”

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Special Session Day 4: House-Senate Impasse Continues as Senators Adjourn Until Monday

Members of the Tennessee Senate on Aug. 24, 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Neither the House nor the Senate would budge Thursday, forcing a “standoff” to continue until next week as lawmakers try to negotiate an end to Gov. Bill Lee’s special session.

Senators approved four bills requested by Lee, including a $30 million spending measure, then adjourned until Monday at 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, in the House, lawmakers went forward with nine of the 26 requested bills, including a $150 million budget package. They adjourned Thursday evening, with plans to return Monday and finish the rest of their agenda. 

Thursday marked day four of Lee’s special session and another in which Senate and House Republican leaders’ infighting ruled the day. 

In a move designed as a statement, the House refused to pass any Senate Joint Resolutions, except for one sponsored by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and two by Senate Minority Leader Ramuesh Akbari, D-Memphis.

The Senate remained defiant, and did not reopen committees to consider more legislation from the House.

Senate Trying to Wait Out the House

Senate Judiciary Chairman Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said his committee would not reopen to consider any other bills. Finance Chairman Bo Watson took a similar approach, saying his committee passed most of the bills sought by the governor and did not feel inclined to take up anything else, especially with the state suddenly facing a financial pinch. Revenues have come in shorter than expected for three straight months, leaving a $380 million hole in the budget.

As the standoff continues, Senate Minority Leader Akbari of Memphis called the special legislative a series of “missed opportunities.”

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally pointed out the Senate approved the governor’s bills and noted “there’s not a deal with the House.”

“I think it just depends on what they pass,” he said. “We’ve sent them four bills and they might amend those.”

Senators approved a gun-storage bill costing about $1.6 million annually for sales-tax breaks on gun safes and gun locks, in addition to a gun-lock giveaway program; a measure requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to make a yearly report on human trafficking, the first by Dec. 1; and a bill codifying the governor’s executive order to improve background checks for gun purchases. It requires court clerks to send notice of felony convictions to the TBI within three business days rather than 30 days.

Among the House bills approved Thursday was legislation sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, that would shield autopsy records of children killed in violent crimes from public records requests.

Several Covenant parents have advocated for the legislation, but there appeared to be confusion about how the bill would work. Parents suggested the bill would prevent the media from publishing the autopsies from this year’s shooting, but the records have already been obtained by several news organizations, with all declining to publish the images so far.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s measure to allow for blended sentences for juveniles that would send 16- and 17-year-olds to adult court for gun-related crimes, mainly firearm thefts, was not heard Thursday but is expected to be Monday. Senators appeared opposed to both pieces of legislation.

Underlying most of the conversations in the House was acceptance among protesters and Democrats that Lee’s call was so tight that it wouldn’t allow most gun control-related bills to be considered.

Akbari said she hoped for stronger legislation to curtail mass shootings but noted Thursday her prediction was correct that this would be a session of “missed opportunities and misdirection.”

“We had the opportunity to really do some good things around gun safety to keep guns off our streets that shouldn’t be there, and the call of the session was incredibly limited,” Akbari said.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.