Month: June 2024

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Opinion The Last Word

Lessons From Grandmother Opal Lee

Grandmother Opal Lee (Photo: Courtesy Dione Sims)

There are lessons to learn from Grandmother Opal Lee. With her silver crown of curls, she is a Black Texas Rose endowed with vision and courage at the age of 97. From 2016 to 2021, Grandmother Opal traveled countless times from her Fort Worth home to Washington, D.C. Her mission was to encourage politicians to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Grandmother Opal also led annual walks across America’s highways, collecting almost two million signatures for her Juneteenth petition. She waged a tireless pursuit in her ubiquitous canvas sneakers.

Dreams do come true. President Biden signed a law making June 19th a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, as it is called, commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to the enslaved in Texas, two years and six months after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The 13th Amendment abolished Black servitude. However, Juneteenth is the touchstone that represents the end of slavery in the collective American mind. People around the globe call Opal Lee the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” On May 3rd of this year, President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as she is a symbol of dignity, goodwill, and liberation. The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

I went on a journey to write Opal Lee’s picture book biography for children during the summer of 2020 after the George Floyd murder. We had a lively conversation in December of that year. When our talk ended, I understood with clarity why Juneteenth is a celebration for every American. It is not a “Black holiday.” It is an American holiday. And to that point, here are five lessons that I learned from Opal Lee — the esteemed Grandmother of Juneteenth.

Grandmother Opal said, “Juneteenth is a time for reflection.” Just as for Black Texas families in 1866 at the first Juneteenth anniversary in Galveston, the day remains an occasion to remember our collective past and express gratitude for the tribulations survived. It is also a time to honor Black history-makers and freedom fighters, whose courage paved a road to this present day. When speaking of roots, Grandmother Opal said it was her maternal grandfather who gave her a love for history and the preservation of family ties. His name was Zack Broadous. Born in 1871, he was a Texarkana farmer, landowner, and preacher. Juneteenth is a time we can all reflect on our specific ancestors who believed in the liberation of the mind, body, and spirit.

Beyond ancestral meditations, Grandmother Opal acknowledged the loud rejoicing that surely rang across Texas in 1865 after Black generations had survived more than 200 years on the auction block. As the holiday inspires images of such overwhelming joy, Opal Lee taught me a second lesson. She said, “Juneteenth is a day of music and praise.” Since Glynn Johns Reed’s inaugural Memphis Juneteenth celebration in 1993, each year the Memphis Douglass Park is found teeming with African drumming, local bands, and gospel singers who make the Juneteenth holiday a jubilant Memphis affair. There is no Juneteenth celebration without music. And as I spoke with Opal Lee about Memphis music and our Juneteenth traditions, she quipped, “Twerking is for young people. I do the holy dance!”

During our talk, I asked about food traditions. Grandmother Opal replied, “Juneteenth is a jamboree of feasting and fellowship.” From the first Juneteenth celebration in Galveston until now, many Juneteenth hosts prepare vibrant red foods that Black Americans were denied during servitude. Juneteenth guests might feast on tangy ribs, strawberry pie, and Big Red Soda that is bottled in Waco, Texas. In this new age with various dietary options, Juneteenth tables are also decked in vegan and vegetarian victuals, fancy tarts, and craft mocktails.

When questioned about her ability to form coalitions toward making Juneteenth a national holiday, Grandmother Opal said a wise elder gave her an example in building friendships beyond her neighborhood. That mentor was the late Lenora Rolla, a historian who founded the Tarrant County Black Historical & Genealogical Society. As we spoke about the impact of mentorships, Opal Lee served me a fourth lesson. She said, “Juneteenth is a time for listening to the elders.” Wherever she travels, Grandmother Opal welcomes children. She speaks with them and reads to them in schools, at public libraries, and at Juneteenth celebrations. “If we want the world to survive, healthy and whole,” she said, “we must take time for children. Listen to them.”

I asked one last question. What do people misunderstand about the Juneteenth holiday? Opal Lee taught me a fifth lesson: “No matter who you are, Juneteenth is a unifier that represents freedom.”

These final words served as my guidepost. Immediately, I knew what I would write for children about Opal Lee and the Juneteenth holiday. Hear me with your heart: Juneteenth is bigger than Texas, singing, or dancing bands. Juneteenth is freedom rising, and freedom is for everyone. Juneteenth is for you and me!

Alice Faye Duncan is a Memphis teacher who writes for children. Her Juneteenth book, Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free, has sold 95,000 copies since 2022. Her new barnyard blues story, I Gotta Sing, is available now wherever books are sold. She can be reached at alicefayeduncan.com.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Hidden Gems at Classic Memphis Haunts

John Vergos with the Rendezvous ham-and-cheese sandwich (Photos: Michael Donahue)

If you’re like me, you usually order your favorites at your go-to restaurants.

You order the ribs and the cheese plate at the Rendezvous. Maybe lasagna or spaghetti at Pete & Sam’s.

Well, guess what? There are a lot more items on the menus at those restaurants as well as others that have been around a while. People just don’t realize they’re there.

The ham-and-cheese sandwich at the Rendezvous is something that gets overlooked, says owner John Vergos. His dad, the late Charlie Vergos, began his restaurant in 1948 with that sandwich. “Gosh, he’d sell 200 or 300 a day,” John says. “That’s what really started the restaurant going. That’s how he supported his family.”

Fineberg Packing Co. used to smoke his dad’s hams because he didn’t have the pits in those days, John says. Charlie would cut the slices of ham off the bone. Now, John says, “We don’t cut it off the bone. We haven’t been able to find a good ham to do that with. We buy boneless hams.”

The original sandwich was “ham-and-cheese on rye with either regular mustard.”

They used French’s mustard, but now customers can get French’s as well as a sweet glazed mustard that blends Tiger Tail mustard with Rendezvous seasoning.

The ham sandwich began to be overshadowed when his dad introduced ribs “sometime in the ’50s” at the Rendezvous. “We still served a lot, even up until the ’70s. Then we added a lot more different products and we just took our eye off the ball.”

They stopped making the sandwich the way Charlie made it. “We got away from it for years. We started grilling it. Not making it the way he did.”

The ham wasn’t “nice and thick in the middle.” Instead of rye bread, they served it with white bread or Texas toast and mayonnaise. “We let it slide. We didn’t take it seriously.”

About a month ago, they went back to the original way of making the sandwich. John announced, “I’m determined to serve the original ham-and-cheese sandwich the way my dad built it. Stacked the same on rye with mustard.”

Shoulder sandwich at Rendezvous

Surprisingly, another “little appreciated item” at the Rendezvous is the shoulder sandwich, John says. “I’ll match it with anyone.”

The barbecue is smoked for 12 hours, he says. “It’s all pulled by hand and minimally chopped — no fat, gristle — clean. I hate when I eat a shoulder sandwich and bite into a thumb-size piece of fat. It’s jumbo size with beans and our slaw on the side.”

Meanwhile, an item that isn’t a big seller at Mortimer’s is their “Pecan Ball,” says owner Sara Bell. It was a huge hit at the legendary Knickerbocker Restaurant, which her father, the late Vernon Bell, owned.

It’s vanilla ice cream rolled in chopped pecans with chocolate sauce. The Mortimer’s version includes whipped cream and sometimes a cherry on top.

They sell a ton of their banana pudding, but Bell doesn’t know why they don’t sell a lot of the pecan balls. “Once they try it, it’s addictive,” she says.

Another item along that same line is their Knickerbocker Shrimp Salad, Bell says. “That was huge at the Knickerbocker. It’s just shrimp with a little mayonnaise, celery, and a dash of Worcestershire. It’s like a chicken salad, but it’s made with shrimp.”

Even Pete & Sam’s includes items hidden in plain sight on the menu. Many people are surprised to discover the restaurant, which also opened in 1948, sells fried chicken, says Sammy Bomarito, one of the owners. Or steaks. “In general, people don’t necessarily think of us as a steak place,” he says. “And we’ve got some of the best steaks in the city.”

Other longtime items aren’t top sellers. “The bacon-wrapped chicken livers are one of the things we’ve had on the menu forever.”

A lot of people don’t try that, Bomarito says. “But that’s a little hidden gem, if you will.”

Stuffed celery at Pete & Sam’s

Another is the “stuffed celery,” which has been on the menu for decades. It’s celery stuffed with a bleu cheese, Gorgonzola, and mayonnaise mixture and green olives. The four celery sticks come with black olives, peppers, and lettuce with paprika sprinkled around.

Dino’s Grill is famous for its spaghetti, ravioli, and other Italian fare. But their muffuletta is another story. “People are sort of surprised we have it,” says owner Mario Grisanti.

They’ve had it on the menu for “as long as I can remember,” he says.

“We get our bread from Gambino’s [Bakery] in New Orleans, so it’s traditional muffuletta bread. And we do ours a little bit differently. We just do salami and ham and cheese. Most people do salami and mortadella with cheese. Then the olive dressing we put on top is the same dressing we put on our Italian salad. It’s green olives, black olives, banana peppers, celery, onions, oil, vinegar, and Italian seasonings.”

It’s a “New Orleans-style muffuletta. We just have our own little take on it. The way we’ve been doing it forever and ever.”

Finally, Coletta’s Italian Restaurant, which opened in 1923 at its 1063 South Parkway East location, has an extensive menu. Ravioli and its barbecue pizza are famous at Coletta’s Italian Restaurant, which opened in 1923 at 1063 South Parkway East. But not everybody is aware of other items on the menu.

“We have hamburger steaks, which are real good,” says owner Jerry Coletta. “Well, it’s basically about a half pound of ground beef we cook.”

It comes with “fries and a little slaw. And that’s a good meal. Not many people get it.”

Also, he says, “A lot of people don’t know we sell hot wings and honey wings. And they’re real good.”

In other words, in addition to your knife and fork, bring along a magnifying glass and dig into your menus when you go out to eat.

Categories
News News Feature

Relax This Summer

Photo: Giulia Squillace | Unsplash

Summer is a time of afternoons by the pool, barbecues, and relaxation. It’s a chance to take a break from your usual routine and enjoy outdoor hobbies and time with loved ones. As important as it is to enjoy summer while you can, it’s equally important to stay financially focused and not lose sight of your financial goals. The following tips can help you remain financially on track throughout the summer months.

1. Automate your finances.

Need a break from constantly managing your finances? Give yourself some time to kick back and relax this summer by automating your accounts and investments. Here are a few ways to add automation to your financial routine so you can spend more time poolside.

• Set up automatic debits with your credit card company, loan servicer, utility companies, etc. This practice removes the stress of having to schedule payments each month. Just make it a point to regularly check in on your accounts and ensure the correct amounts have been debited.

• Set up bill pay with your bank. For any service providers that don’t offer automatic debits, consider setting up direct payments through your checking or savings account. It’s still easier than mailing a check each month.

• Automate your retirement plan contributions through payroll deferrals.

• Establish a direct transfer from your paycheck to your savings account.

2. Review your beneficiaries.

Checking this important task off your list can provide you with peace of mind this summer. Beneficiaries can quickly become outdated as your life evolves and your relationships change over time. That’s why it’s important to periodically review your beneficiaries on all accounts, investments, trusts, and other estate planning documents. Also, make sure the custodians you’ve designated to care for your children are still the people you wish to name and that your successor trustee remains relevant.

3. Rebalance your portfolio.

Use the change in seasons as a reminder to review your asset allocation and rebalance if necessary. Rebalancing to your original (or an updated) asset allocation helps lock in gains from top-performing sectors and ensure your portfolio remains in line with your investment objectives and risk tolerance. Contact your wealth manager for assistance.

4. Check in on your insurance.

Want to feel extra carefree this summer? Review your insurance policies to ensure you’re covered should something unexpected happen. Your wealth manager can help review your existing insurance policies and identify any gaps in coverage.

5. Plan for summer expenses.

Don’t let summertime expenses catch you off guard. Make a plan to cover the added costs of summer vacations, kids’ camps, childcare expenses for when the kids are out of school, etc. Having a plan in place allows you to comfortably spend a bit more without negatively impacting your other financial goals. If you have a dependent care FSA, this can be used to pay for summer day camps (in addition to daycare and preschool) in a pre-tax manner, assuming the expenses are allowing you to be gainfully employed or look for work.

6. Take steps to lower your taxes.

The midyear point is a great time to check in on your tax planning strategies. Your wealth manager can help you take advantage of tax-loss harvesting, asset location, charitable giving, and other strategies to help lower your annual tax liabilities.

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 Recommend We Recommend

Memphis’ First Philippine Fiesta

(Photo: Isawred | Unsplash)

“In the Philippines, each town has a festival or a fiesta, often in honor of patron saints,” says Harry Guinocor, president of the Filipino-American Association of Memphis (FILAMemphis). “That’s the one thing that is very distinct about the Philippine culture — it’s fun, it’s entertaining.” That’s partly why, Guinocor says, FILAMemphis is hosting their first-ever Philippine Fiesta in Memphis this Saturday.

“We want to let Memphis know about the Filipino culture — that we’re a great addition to an already diverse community in Memphis,” he says. “We took inspiration from the other minority groups, like the Vietnamese, the Chinese, and then, of course, you have the Italian Fest, the Greek Fest. We felt like, ‘Let’s do our part.’”

The free event will feature a parade of Fiesta Queens in costumes that represent specific festivals held in the Philippines. The day will also have performances of various Filipino cultural dances, such as the tinikling, a bamboo dance, and the bulaklakan, a flower dance. Kids can enjoy activities like face-painting, and adults can partake in an open mic session with karaoke, “a beloved Filipino pastime,” Guinocor says.

Of course, the fiesta wouldn’t be complete without food. Kukuruku Crispy Chicken, a Filipino restaurant in Lakeland, is just one of the food vendors that will be present. “We will showcase a variety of Filipino cuisines, including lumpia, Filipino eggrolls; pancit, a dish of rice noodles with meat and vegetables; and lechon, roasted suckling pig,” he says. “Of course, we’re going to have boba. And one distinct flavor of boba we’re going to have is the ube, which is like taro. It’s a Filipino delicacy that’s taken the West and East coasts by storm because it’s something that’s kind of unique, kind of new. There’s actually going to be a store that’s going to be selling an ube crinkle as well.”

Guinocor adds that the festival will also host non-Filipino vendors, including Latino vendors. “The Philippines,” he points out, “has been under Spanish influence for about 300 years, so there’s a lot of Spanish influence that you’ll see at the festival.”

In all, though, the day is about having fun. “There’s always that sense of community during fiesta time,” Guinocor says. “That’s when everyone in the town comes together. So we hope that we can also bring that here in Memphis, that we can bring everyone in Memphis together.”

Philippine Fiesta, Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove, Saturday, June 15, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., free.

Categories
Music Music Features

The Subteens Level Up

The Subteens (Photo: Chris Reyes)

The resurgence of vinyl records has not only brought a plethora of new material sporting colorful platters and beautiful cover art, it’s given a second life to albums that were originally released when CDs were king. The vagaries of time having winnowed the wheat from the chaff, albums from decades past that have only taken on more artistic value can now be elevated to a more perfect medium: vinyl.

None are more deserving than the Subteens’ 1999 CD-only debut, Burn Your Cardigan, freshly reissued on wax by Back to the Light Records last month. Recorded just after seminal punk/indie drummer John “Bubba” Bonds joined the group, it revealed what a perfect complement he was to the visions of co-founders Mark Akin (guitar and vocals) and Jay Hines (bass), and established the Subteens, with their mastery of adrenaline-charged pop-punk originals, as one of the best Memphis groups at the turn of the 21st century.

Yet, as Hines relates today, Bonds was nervous about the sessions. On the first day of recording, Hines says, “We had to go find him, and it was raining really hard. He was down at the South End or somewhere, and we had to go get him, get his drums, and then go by Buster’s to get him a fifth of Jack or something. Then we went back to the studio and got busy.”

Album Cover Artwork: Mike McCarthy

Not that any of them were plastered as they recorded. They took the album very seriously. “We were just trying to get him to relax a little bit,” says Hines. “He didn’t get sloppy or anything — he played to a click track on a lot of that. But that made him nervous. Also, he had just joined the group. We had had maybe one practice and maybe one show with him at that point. But he just nailed it. Most of those [songs] were done in one or two takes. So miraculous!”

Also seemingly miraculous at the time was the studio’s proximity to cheap eats. The sessions were booked at Robbie Pickens’ Nu-Star Studio, not a well-known recording destination even then. “It was over off Summer behind Sonic. You could literally walk out of the studio, climb over his back fence, and be at Sonic. So that was amazing,” Akin recalls today.

“Robbie was not a typical person that a Midtown fan would seek for help producing a record, you know?” notes Akin. “I can’t remember why we ended up with him. Maybe he was just cheap. But for whatever reason, the stars aligned. Robbie really understood the punk that we were coming from. But I think he also understood that we wanted a little bit of gloss on it, a little bit of pop sensibility. Robbie was able to have a foot in both of those worlds and bring it together. I just can’t overstate enough how helpful Robbie was.”

Surprisingly, for a band that seems to have had great guitar sounds dialed in from the start, the crunchy riffs of Burn Your Cardigan came down to Pickens’ production skills. “I could not get the guitar sound right,” says Akin. “And finally, Robbie was like, ‘Mark, leave. Go to Sonic! I’m going to get your guitar sound.’ Later, he calls me to come back in and listen to it, but he won’t let me see what he’s done. And it sounds fantastic. Then he said, ‘Okay, let me show you how I got it.’ He had put a really small amp, like a Pignose, in this tiny closet, and had somehow gotten this magical guitar tone out of it.”

The end result was indeed a perfect blend of noisy punk attitude and the band’s unmistakable pop instincts. “Even our favorite punk bands are really pop bands at heart, or at least my favorite punk bands,” says Akin. “The Sex Pistols, the Ramones … And Jay’s really into the Buzzcocks, Sham 69. I’m really an AC/DC [fan]. That’s all hooky pop, just with harder rock guitar tones and different tempos. And every single one of those songs are arranged with a purpose and they’re arranged in a sensible, linear way.”

The ultimate statement of this approach may be Side One’s closer, Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right,” thrashed out with complete sincerity as if it were the latest track by the Clash. There’s a defiance to the track that helps one understand the band’s historical context. The late ’90s were trending away from the punk/pop axis, toward more introspective, watery styles like “shoegaze.” Shoegaze bands, it must be said, often ditched the rock-and-roll threads of jeans and a T-shirt in favor of … sweaters.

“The title of the album was totally Mark,” says Hines. “This was back when he was working at the Memphis Pizza Café, and I came in and he had this funny look on his face. He said, ‘What would you think about …’ — and he sort of hesitated, I guess because he thought I would laugh at it — ‘Burn Your Cardigan?’ And once I realized where he was coming from, I thought it was perfect.”

No shoegazing was going on with these guys. As Akin remembers, “When we first came out, we weren’t super well received. I feel like people didn’t quite know what to make of us at first because we wrote songs with beginnings, middles, and ends. We tried to have a chorus that got in your head and we tried to make the songs short. We would just go to play 10 songs and get the hell offstage. But then when that record came out, I think it really represented what we were all about. ‘This is what we are!’ And we started getting more people at the shows, and that never stopped. It’s always fun to have people come and watch you play.”

The Subteens cap off the Record Fair at Soul & Spirits Brewery on Saturday, June 15th, and will celebrate the reissue of Burn Your Cardigan with the River City Tanlines at Bar DKDC on Saturday, July 6th.

Categories
Book Features Books

The Ron Hall Chronicles

Ron Hall with his 1977 ticket stub. Elvis died before he could use it.(Photo: Shangri-La Projects)

There are record collectors, and then there are record collectors. Holding strong against the tides of time, which have rendered recorded music as weightless as a cloud, streaming past us like raindrops and just as ungraspable, Memphis is yet home to many mini-librarians. We curate our own collections of vinyl, tapes, and CDs, still attached to those miniature works of art and the ritual of listening that they require. Yet, among this haven of gatherers — raging, raging against the dying of the vinyl — there once walked among us the ur-collector, and the ultimate documentarian of the history behind his stacks of wax. 

His name was Ron Hall. There was no one more committed to the history and lore of local music than he, and no bigger fan of Memphis wrestling.

When Hall passed away in March at the age of 73, after suffering a major stroke two months earlier, the city lost not only a gifted private archivist but a gifted author. Shangri-La Projects, who published his entire oeuvre, posted this on social media as a response to his death:

“Ron was a savant in shining a light on what it meant to grow up in the middle of the post-war pop culture explosion in one of the most influential pop culture, music, and professional wrestling cities in the world. Ron’s three books, two CD compilations, documentary film, and Memphis music calendar solidified him into being one of the craziest chroniclers/fellow fanatic travelers of all that is wacky in Memphis’ creative cauldron of the ’50s/’60s/’70s/’80s.”

Here, then, is a recap of Hall’s important body of work.

Playing for a Piece of the Door: A History of Garage and Frat Bands in Memphis, 1960-1975

This was the book that started it all, and it remains a constant reference source for this writer and many others in Memphis. Tellingly, the introduction begins with Hall’s memories of actually performing with a band, when “the 13th Muse took the stage at a home for unwed mothers in the Oakhaven area of Memphis, Tennessee,” in late 1969. Though they only played the one show, Hall recounts, “I was doing what hundreds of other kids in Memphis wished they could do.”

That everyman spirit informs this look into the stories of over 500 local bands that cropped up in the title’s 15 year span. Some went on to stardom, others were only locally celebrated, and some weren’t even that. Yet all are cataloged with an inclusive, democratic zeal by Hall, who not only collected the sometimes obscure 45s that made these bands immortal but saw many of them performing in their prime. This lends crucial historical context to the groups. Take The Embers, for instance, “one of the top bands in the Jackson/Humboldt, Tennessee, area in the mid-to-late ’60s.” 

Starting in 1964, many (most?) of these groups were inspired by The Beatles. This is, after all, an undeniably partial collection of groups, centered on the largely white ensembles that sprung up in The Beatles’ wake. But Hall reaches back before the Fab Four’s heyday as well, as with his entry on The Monarchs, who, starting in 1959, were “one of the few surf bands in the area.” Hall fills out his archival research with interviews with some of the players, making this book a kind of oral history as well. “The Beatles killed us,” recalls Charles McAllister of the Monarchs.

And, as the book takes us into the ’70s, we see the post-Beatles groups flourish as well, with power pop and California rock-tinged groups like Big Star, Target, and Cargoe hitting their stride. In all, it’s one of the most important chronicles of how sounds morphed through a decade and a half of the city’s golden years at the top of the music industry.

The Memphis Garage Yearbook, 1960-1975

When Playing for a Piece of the Door came out in 2001, it sparked a new surge of demand for all that was obscure and garagey in Memphis music, and soon after Shangri-La Projects released two CDs compiling the best tracks from Hall’s and others’ vinyl collections. Concerts were held on the Shangri-La Records porch, featuring onetime ’60s artists like Jim Dickinson, B.B. Cunningham, and the Castels. Ultimately, a second book was released which covered much the same ground, but through a different lens. Put together like a high school yearbook, and relying more heavily on rare photographs and show bills collected by Hall, it’s a stunning visual accomplishment. The book being organized chronologically (rather than alphabetically, as the first book is) sheds a different light on the evolution of the groups and the various players who shuttled between them. And the live performance photos underscore that this book, as well as its predecessor, doubles as a chronicle of the era’s key venues as well as its bands.

Sputnik, Masked Men, and Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling

Hall was not only fascinated with local music, as this 2009 volume made clear. If many, like me, first became aware of the connection between early pro wrestling in the city and rock-and-roll by reading Robert Gordon’s It Came from Memphis, Hall seems to have gotten it organically, from being a dedicated fan of the sport since his youth. Rare 45s by more sonically ambitious wrestlers like Jackie Fargo, Sputnik Monroe, and (of course) Jerry Lawler are featured in photographs and on the book’s accompanying CD. Moreover, Hall called on some key fellow collectors for the visuals here, namely Robert W. Dye Sr., a local amateur photographer; Jim Blake, owner of the record label that released Lawler’s musical ventures; and many others. The result is a galvanizing compendium of eye-gouging action shots, tough guy poses, screaming show bills, and detailed write-ups from Wrestling, King of Sports, a local wrestling rag from the era. Not long after this book appeared, Shangri-La Projects released the film Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’, which relied heavily on this book by Hall, who also served as the film’s executive producer. 

Memphis Rocks: A Concert History, 1955-1985

While retaining much of Hall’s fascination with all things Memphis, this book expands the scope of his research, documenting more than local bands. In a photo-heavy format closer to Hall’s wrestling book than Playing for a Piece of the Door, it collects concert photos, ticket stubs, show bills, and print media ads for practically any major concert in the city over a 30-year span. This includes both national and local groups, with a focus on the former: the big concerts that music fans flocked to, now cherished in the memories of those who attended. Yet smaller shows make the cut as well, and this, like Hall’s other works of music history, serves as an important chronicle of now-forgotten venues. Contrary to the subtitle, for example, the book actually begins in 1954, devoting a page to every local live performance by a certain Elvis Presley that year. Many of them were at Eagle’s Nest. Who knew? 

It’s also a de facto celebration of the Mid-South Coliseum, charting the many stellar shows there over three decades, from James Brown in 1965 to The Beatles the next year to Iron Maiden in 1985. Resonating with any fan savoring the experience of such shows are the “Concert Memories” compiled by Hall, where local musicians and others recall the power of seeing pivotal performances in their lives. As such, this, like all of Hall’s painstaking works, is a compendium of not only Memphis music and Memphis memories, but key moments in the history of American culture as a whole. 

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 06/13/24

A Hard Act to Swallow

Parashuram, 38, a convict in a Karnataka, India, prison, acted quickly to hide his smuggled-in cellphone when guards raided his cell in early April, The Indian Express reported. Instead of stashing the contraband in a pillowcase or toilet, the convicted murderer serving a life sentence swallowed the phone. When he started complaining of stomach pain, he was transferred to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, where doctors did an ultrasound. On April 25, he went under the knife to remove the phone, which was stuck at the entrance of the small intestine. The phone had been inside Parashuram for 20 days when it was removed; the prisoner recovered from the surgery and was returned to his cell. [Indian Express, 5/2/2024]

Surprise!

When David Loop of Sierra Pacific Furbabies, a feline rescue organization in California, found a box dumped in front of their office in April, the attached note explained that the “kitten” was found “in Mt. Rubidoux hiking path.” But when he opened the box, Loop said instantly, “I’m pretty sure this is a bobcat kitten.” Sure enough, Newsweek reported, when Loop contacted a local wildlife center, they thought the bobcat kitten was 3 to 5 weeks old. The furball has been transferred to a wildlife center where it will hang out with other bobcats and eventually be reintroduced to the wild. [Newsweek, 4/30/2024]

Most Chatty Criminal

Last September, Stephanie Langley, 55, of East Farleigh, Kent, England, stepped outside the Hare and Hound pub and stabbed her former brother-in-law, Matthew Bryant, to death. She was convicted on May 1, the BBC reported. Although Langley “claimed in court that she had never intended to hurt her victim,” she started that violent evening by telling pub-goers, “Get a drink while he’s still alive.” Then she told Bryant, “You’re dead tonight.” After she stabbed him three times, witnesses heard Langley say, “I hope he’s dead.” She told arresting officers she had killed him, was glad she had killed him, and was happy to go to jail for it. She’ll be sentenced at a future hearing, probably to life. [BBC, 5/1/2024]

News You Can Use

Attention Tornado Alley dwellers: On April 30, as violent storms were coursing around the Midwest, two “rare” versions were detected near Loveland, Oklahoma, Fox Weather reported. Meteorologist Stephen Morgan acknowledged that “some strange things” popped up that night. Turns out, more than 98 percent of tornadoes spin in a counterclockwise direction. But that night, two tornadoes — technically called anticyclones — were found to be spinning clockwise. Morgan said the anticyclonic tornado “rotated around what you could call a ‘normal’ tornado. What we saw … was very rare.” The anticyclones are typically smaller and weaker than cyclonic storms. There were no reports of injuries in the area. [Fox Weather, 5/2/2024]

It’s Come to This

Stanislav Netesov of Moscow, Russia, was attacked on April 27 at a bus stop on his way home from work, Oddity Central reported. The assailants took his phone and knocked out one of his teeth. The next day, Netesov went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report the attack, but instead of taking his report, they accused him of a crime: dyeing his hair yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Doing so is a punishable offense against the Russian army. Police took his fingerprints, handed him a summons to military enlistment, and told him they’d force him to “kiss his native soil in the trenches.” [Oddity Central, 5/2/2024]

Family Values

A 41-year-old mom in Newtown Township, Pennsylvania, was charged with DUI on May 6 after she ran into her 7-year-old son with her car in the parking lot of a Little League baseball field, WPVI-TV reported. After backing into the boy, the mom told police she didn’t realize he wasn’t inside the car. He suffered injuries to his ankle. Police said the mom had a “strong odor of alcohol” and “slurred speech.” She was taken into custody and later released. [WPVI, 5/7/2024]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Musk’s ManeFrame Moves MEMernet

Posted to X by Greater Memphis Chamber

Memphis on the internet.

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Elon meet Elvis. Elvis meet Elon. @elonmusk @xai

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Posted to X by Jeff Byrd

ManeFrame

The Memphis subreddit buzzed with the Elon news. Opinions were mixed.

User u/ThiccAssCrackHead said, “It means he will be using 1 million gallons of aquifer water per day while only employing 25-45 people that are brought in from out of state. Ask Atlanta how theirs is going.”

U/Delway said, “It’s a start. It will hopefully attract other tech companies with high paying jobs. … fiber optic network infrastructure will be sped up. High paying Jobs to retrofit the facility. Inspire our local youth.”

But one suggestion seems like something we can all agree on. Reddit user u/mylogicistoomuchforu said, “Elon Musk is building a supercomputer in Memphis. We got to call it the ManeFrame.”

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Bad boys will be bad boys in a Bad Boys movie. (Photo: Frank Masi | Columbia Pictures)

For the past few years it’s seemed as if Hollywood had been infected by a plague, and legacy media were the most susceptible. Movie screens and streaming libraries have been filled with reboots and continuations to stories that were either major successes in their heyday, or built cult followings which capitalists sought to seize. Every so often a new trailer or press junket would drop, teasing a new installment of some saga that would leave the audience wondering, “They still make that?” or “Did we ask for that?”

This phenomenon becomes even more of an enigma when certain franchises return after hitting the screens decades ago, since it can potentially alienate audiences who don’t fully understand the lore. However, Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is an exception, leaving the viewer either satiated as a longtime fan or eager to start from the beginning. 

The movie serves as the fourth installment of the series. Like the last film, the pandemic-era Bad Boys for Life, original director Michael Bay is replaced by Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, with a story by Chris Bremner, Aquaman scribe Will Beall, and George Gallo. Reprising roles they originated in 1995 are stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, along with supporting actors Paola Nüñez and Jacob Muntaz Scipio, with Eric Dane. New to the franchise are Better Call Saul standout Rhea Seehorn and Ioan Gruffudd.

The film opens with the titular pair Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) in another one of their iconic car chases. Both men appear dapper and on a time crunch as their latest mission —Mike’s wedding to his former physical therapist Christine (Melanie Liburd) — brings a new sense of urgency. But en route to the nuptials, Marcus asks to stop at the gas station for a ginger ale, much to Mike’s dismay. Marcus’ junk food addiction gets the best of him, and as he piles his order onto the counter, he finds himself at gunpoint in a gas station robbery.

Within seconds, the pair annihilate the assailant, and Mike makes it to the church on time. As the couple is pronounced husband and wife, we see the wedding party joined with a memorial photo of Captain Conrad Howard, who died in Bad Boys for Life while trying to take down a Miami drug cartel. 

At the reception are Rita Secada (Núñez), as well as Howard’s daughter Judy (Seehorn) and granddaughter Callie (Quinn Hemphill). But the celebration is cut short as Marcus’ diet of sweet garbage finally catches up with him, and he suffers a heart attack. As he’s rushed to the ER, Marcus hallucinates Howard’s ghost, who informs him that it’s not his time to go. Marcus awakens with a new lease on life.

That ghost seems to be busy. As Marcus is recovering, city officials are notified that Howard is seemingly committing fraud from beyond the grave. Mike and Marcus, forever indebted to Howard, take on the mission to clear their late captain’s name.

Their first stop is the prison where Mike’s son Armando (Scipio) is being held, as he’s been convicted of Howard’s murder. Armando believes he can identify the real perpetrator, but as word spreads through the prison, he finds himself the target of a deadly attack in the yard. With his safety at risk, he’s moved to Miami. But his transfer helicopter becomes a target for the cartels, and our heroes miss death by an inch in the ensuing crash. Mike, Marcus, and Armando continue their mission as fugitives.

With the help of Advanced Miami Metro Operations agents Dorn (Alexander Ludwig) and Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens), they not only uncover the mastermind of the hoax, but follow the trail of deception and forbidden alliances. 

While it may be a part of the series, and the conclusion of a story Adil and Bilall began in the last film, first-time viewers needn’t worry about being confused. Longtime fans will be reminded as to why this pair works so well together in the buddy-cop genre. Thousands of slap-happy think pieces and unsolicited marriage tidbits later, Smith is still refreshing, and we’re reminded of why the camera loves him. Lawrence’s comedic legacy precedes him, and his impeccable delivery doesn’t disappoint. Both actors manage to balance out the comedic and action elements without doing too much.

The film ends on an open note, with the plot wrapped up, but no major cliffhangers. If there’s going to be a reboot, why not give Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino a shot? Bad Girls, anyone? 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Now playing
Multiple locations

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Update: Who Heads the MPD?

Judge Carol Chumney, at the dais, was among the many members of the political community to pay homage to the late Dr. Joe Weinberg, civic activist supreme, at the Great Hall of Germantown Monday night. (Photo: Jackson Baker)

It may be only a semantic issue, but, then again, there could be legal ramifications from the matter of what title interim Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis goes by, should she be approved by the city council in its pending retry of her reappointment.

In January, Davis, originally an appointee of former Mayor Jim Strickland, was rejected by the council when then newly inaugurated Mayor Paul Young submitted her name for reappointment.

Young subsequently designated Davis as interim MPD head and indicated he would ask the council to reconsider. Reportedly he will resubmit her name when the city’s ongoing budget deliberations are concluded.

Meanwhile, Young has also announced that he intends to name a public safety director (or public safety advisor). The job’s exact nomenclature, like the timeline for that appointment and the outlines of the public safety official’s intended relationship to the MPD chief, remains somewhat uncertain.

The city charter mandates that the head of police services be referred to by the title “director,” and every supervisor of MPD operations — uniformed or otherwise — since E. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman during the mayoralty of Wyeth Chandler (1972-1982) has borne that title. Except for C.J. Davis, who allegedly indicated a preference for the title “chief’ when she was hired.

No one seems to remember what title was used in the Strickland-era council’s deliberations — nor, for that matter, in the deliberations of the current council earlier this year. But questions arise:

If and when Mayor Young’s appointment of the putative new public safety official comes to pass, will there be a power struggle with the police chief, as there was between Director Chapman and then-Chief Bill Crumby Jr. before Chapman won out?

Unless Davis is resubmitted as police director, does she even need to be approved by the council to continue serving as chief?

Legal briefs

• The ouster trial of Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has been scheduled to begin on August 26th in the court of Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson, who rejected a motion to dismiss the petition filed by special prosecutor Coty Wamp of Hamilton County. Meanwhile, a motion to suspend Halbert while the case is ongoing was set for June 25th.

• A resentencing hearing for former state Senator Katrina Robinson has been scheduled by Chief U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman for September 20th. Robinson had previously been convicted on two wire-fraud charges in connection with her nursing-school operation and sentenced to time served and a year’s probation.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals later restored an additional count she had been convicted of before it was thrown out. Robinson, a Democrat, was expelled from the Republican-dominated Senate after her original conviction on the wire-fraud charges. She is seeking a new trial on one remaining count.