Month: October 2024

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Seeing Ghosts

Photo: Evgeniya Mokeeva | Dreamstime.com

The Memphis Flyer folks love Halloween — and all things spooky. Our very own Toby Sells has even written a book — Haint Blues: Strange Tales from the American South — for which he used his sharp reporter’s skills to get to the heart of some of the South’s best paranormal stories. With just a mention of ghosts, our managing editor Abigail’s eyes light up. So when we discussed what we wanted to do for this issue, all sorts of ghoulish ideas flew. Did we want to recount regional ghost tales (of which there are many)? Could we schedule a ghost tour (several operate in the area)? Was there a haunted house nearby where we could spend a night (and have our timbers shivered)? 

Although these conversations spanned over a few weeks before our favorite holiday, we weren’t quite able to get our butts in gear for a full-fledged ghost outing on the streets of Memphis or in a spooky B&B. The next best thing, of course, was a professionally guided hunt for ghosts in the famously haunted Earnestine & Hazel’s. Sadly I missed the excursion for a concert I’d already bought tickets to, but thankfully a few eager Flyer staffers were available for the experience. You can read all about it in this week’s cover story, “Ghost Fishing.” 

While this week we relish in the ghastly fun, some not-so-fun horrors may be impending. Of course, I’m referring to the election as we count the days until the country’s new leader is revealed. Next week as results slowly pour in, our staff will be up past our bedtimes Tuesday night awaiting that answer. And as our regular readers well know, the Flyer always hits newsstands on Wednesday mornings. That will not be the case for the coming edition. Our printer has given us an extension on our deadline so that we can wait until the absolute last minute to call it. Whether that will be a clear winner or “too close to call,” we’re hanging on as long as they’ll let us before hitting “send” on the cover image and cover story. With a late ship, the papers will be printed later — which means our delivery will also be later. In this case, copies of the November 7th issue won’t make their way to newsstands until Thursday morning, November 7th. So heads up: If you don’t see us in your regular pick-up spot on Wednesday, please check back Thursday for a hard copy (the individual features will be published on our website as usual early Wednesday morning). 

We’ll be on the edge of our seats with the rest of the nation (world?) next week, trying to keep the nail biting to a minimum as our fate unfolds. The ghosts of a previous term under Trump floating in the back of our minds are as haunting as anything we’ve seen — and those ghosts are very real. I urge you all to get out and cast your votes, so that this particular horror story might have a happier ending. 

Categories
Astrology Fun Stuff

Free Will Astrology: Week of 10/31/24

Dario Bronnimann | Unsplash

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Many people believe in the existence of ghosts. If you’re not yet one of them, you may be soon. The spirit world is more open than usual to your curiosity and explorations. Keep in mind, though, that the contacts you make might not be with ghosts in the usual sense of that term. They might be deceased ancestors coming to deliver clues and blessings. They could be angels, guardian spirits, or shapeshifting messengers. Don’t be afraid. Some may be weird, but they’re not dangerous. Learn what you can from them, but don’t assume they’re omniscient and infallible. Halloween costume suggestion: one of your ancestors.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When you attended kindergarten, did you ever share your delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich with friends who didn’t like the broccoli and carrots in their lunch boxes? If so, you may be well-primed to capitalize on the opportunities now in your vicinity. Your generous actions will be potent catalysts for good luck. Your eagerness to bestow blessings and share your resources will bring you rewards. Your skill at enhancing other people’s fortunes may attract unexpected favors. Halloween costume suggestion: philanthropist, charity worker, or an angel who gives away peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): For you, dear Gemini, the coming weeks could be the least superstitious time ever. There will be no such thing as bad luck, good luck, or weird luck. Fears rooted in old misunderstandings will be irrelevant. Irrational worries about unlikely outcomes will be disproven. You will discover reasons to shed paranoid thoughts and nervous fantasies. Speaking on behalf of your higher self, I authorize you to put your supple trust in logical thinking, objective research, and rational analysis. Halloween costume suggestion: a famous scientist you respect.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Which sign of the zodiac is sexiest? Smoldering Scorpios, who are so inherently seductive they don’t even have to try to be? Radiant Leos, whose charisma and commanding presence may feel irresistible? Electrifying Aries, who grab our attention with their power to excite and inspire us? In accordance with current astrological omens, I name you Cancerians as the sexiest sign for the next three weeks. Your emotional potency and nurturing intelligence will tempt us to dive into the depths with you and explore the lyrical mysteries of intimate linkage. Halloween costume suggestion: sex god, sex goddess, or the nonbinary Hindu deity Ardhanarishvara.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In ancient Egypt, onions were precious because they symbolized the many-layered nature of life. Just as some modern people swear oaths while placing a hand on a Bible, an Egyptian might have pledged a crucial vow while holding an onion. Would you consider adopting your own personal version of their practice in the coming weeks, Leo? It is the oath-taking season for you — a time when you will be wise to consider deep commitments and sacred resolutions. Halloween costume suggestion: a spiritual initiate or devotee.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Two of the world’s most famous paintings are the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Both were made by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), one of the world’s most famous painters. Yet the brilliant artist left us with only 24 paintings in total, many of which were unfinished. Why? Here are two of several reasons: He worked slowly and procrastinated constantly. In the coming months, Virgo, I feel you will have resemblances to the version of da Vinci who created The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. Some of your best, most enduring work will bloom. You will be at the peak of your unique powers. Halloween costume suggestion: Leonardo da Vinci or some great maestro.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “When you are faced with a choice between two paths, it’s always better to take the most difficult one.” What!? No! That’s not true! A shamanic psychotherapist gave me that bad advice when I was young, and I am glad I did not heed it. My life has been so much better because I learn from joy and pleasure as much as from hardship. Yes, sometimes it’s right to choose the most challenging option, but on many occasions, we are wise to opt for what brings fun adventures and free-flowing opportunities for creative expression. That’s what I wish for you right now. Halloween costume suggestion: a hedonist, a liberator, a bliss specialist.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio painter Pablo Picasso has been described as a “masterfully erratic pioneer.” He influenced every art movement of the 20th century. His painting Guernica is a renowned anti-war statement. Though he was a Communist, he amassed great wealth and owned five homes. Today, his collected work is valued at over $800 million. By the way, he was the most prolific artist who ever lived, producing almost 150,000 pieces. I nominate him to be your role model in the coming weeks. You are due for a Season of Successful Excess. Halloween costume suggestion: an eccentric, charismatic genius.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian Keith Richards, guitar player for the Rolling Stones since 1962, is a gritty, rugged man notorious for his rowdy carousing. Lots of observers predicted he would die at a young age because of his boisterous lifestyle, yet today he is 81 years old and still partying. But here’s his confession: “I never sleep alone. If there is no one to sleep next to, I’ll sleep next to a stuffed animal. It makes me feel secure and safe. It’s a little embarrassing to admit it. It’s important to me, though.” I bring this up, Sagittarius, because I feel that no matter how wild and free you are, you will be wise to ensure that you feel extra secure and supported for a while. Halloween costume suggestion: a stuffed animal or a lover of stuffed animals.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Halloween offers us a valuable psychological opportunity. We can pretend to perform our shadowy, wounded, and unripe qualities without suffering the consequences of literally acting them out. We can acknowledge them as part of our make-up, helping to ensure they won’t develop the explosive, unpredictable power that repressed qualities can acquire. We may even gently mock our immature qualities with sly humor, diminishing the possibility they will sabotage us. All that’s a preamble for my Halloween costume suggestion for you: a dictator or tyrant. If you have fun playing with your control-freak fantasies, you will be less likely to over-express them in real life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Paganism and astrology have key affinities. For instance, they both understand that our personal rhythms are connected with the Earth’s cycles. I bring this to your attention because we are in the season that pagans call Samhain, halfway between the equinox and solstice. For Aquarians, this festival marks a time when you are wise to honor and nurture your highest ambitions. You can generate fun and good fortune by focusing on lofty goals that express your finest talents and offer your most unique gifts. How might you boost your passion and capacity to make your mark on the world? Halloween costume suggestion: your dream career.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I like how you are opening, widening, and heightening! Keep up the good work, Pisces! I am cheering you on as you amplify, stretch, augment, and burgeon. Here’s a small alert, though: You may be expanding so fast and so far that it’s a challenge for less expansive people to keep up — even your allies. To allay their worries, be generous in sharing the fruits of your thriving spaciousness. Let them know you don’t require them to match your rate of growth. You could also show them this horoscope. Halloween costume suggestion: a broader, brighter, bolder version of yourself. 

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 10/31/24

Police Report

Javaughn J. Owens, 23, was charged with first-degree attempted murder after he got into a dispute over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Sept. 15, the DeKalb County Daily Chronicle reported. A witness told DeKalb police that Owens and another man argued about the victim “not cleaning up after themselves,” whereupon Owens swung a butter knife and struck the other man. The victim was seen at a local hospital but had to be transported to Chicago for further treatment of a punctured intestine. He said he believed “100%” that Owens would kill him. Owens faces up to 60 years in prison. [Daily Chronicle, 9/17/2024]

Inexplicable

Beaches along the Atlantic Ocean in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia were closed to swimmers by authorities on Sept. 15 after mysterious medical waste started washing up, The New York Times reported. The trash included syringes and needles, used feminine hygiene products, and plastic cigar tips. “We currently have no idea where it came from and will not be speculating about a source,” said the National Park Service office at Assateague Island National Seashore. They were unsure how long beaches would remain closed. “We recommend wearing shoes on the beach and avoiding the ocean entirely,” warned Joe Theobald, director of Emergency Services in Ocean City, Maryland. [NY Times, 9/17/2024]

Saw That Coming

Norton Havoc, 32, can now “smell colors,” they said, after blowing their nose in the shower and dislodging a Lego block that had been stuck inside for “at least 26 years,” the New York Post reported. Havoc posted that they suffered from “multiple breathing issues” after the childhood incident; at the time, their mom tried to extricate the piece with tweezers, to no avail. “I can breathe out of this side of my nose now, and it’s fantastic,” Havoc said. [NY Post, 9/14/2024]

The Way the World Works

Vacaville, California, resident Ken Wilson is VERY careful about his consumption of electricity. “I was being very vigilant on this,” he told KMAX-TV. “Every day that I go to work, I turn the breakers off.” He also purchased a device that tells him how many watts of energy his appliances use. But recently he noticed that his bill was higher than normal. Wilson has lived in an apartment, unit 91 of his building, for 18 years. After Wilson called PG&E to come out and check his meter on Sept. 10, he discovered he’s been paying for unit 90’s electricity usage for years. PG&E admitted the mix-up and said it is “fully committed to rectifying the situation.” Wilson said he hopes the story can help others with similar problems. [KMAX, 9/16/2024]

Politics, Am I Right?

As candidates for mayor in Sao Paulo, Brazil, took to the stage for a televised debate on Sept. 15, Pablo Marcal referred to allegations of sexual misconduct against his rival, Jose Luiz Datena, the Associated Press reported. In response, Datena picked up a metal chair and approached Marcal’s podium, then slammed the chair into Marcal’s side. The moderator cut to commercials, and later the debate resumed without Marcal, who was rushed to a hospital with a fractured rib cage. Marcal portrayed the event as “attempted homicide,” while Datena admitted his mistake but said he didn’t regret it “at all.” [AP, 9/16/2024]

Explosive!

Magnet fisher and YouTuber Dani Dip pulled a provocative find out of the Saint Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 1, ABC57-TV reported. “We believe this is a 175mm Howitzer round from like a stationary cannon back in the day,” Dip said. “It took four people to pull this big 2-foot round over the wall to safety so it wouldn’t fall back in and potentially go off.” The South Bend Police Department said further testing would be necessary to make sure the charge is not live. “We’re just here to help and clean out the river and see what we can find,” Dip said. [ABC57, 9/3/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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

Categories
Book Features Books

Jasper Joyner’s Pansy

Think of a pansy, the flower, pink or yellow, blue or deep purple, marked with sharply defined pigmentation or a soft blending of hues on the petals that fold over each other in layers.  

That’s how Jasper Joyner pictures their identity as a nonbinary transmasc writer. It’s masculine and feminine, soft yet hardy, layered. It’s why Joyner titled their memoir, Pansy: A Black American Memoir, which was released on October 22nd.

Of course, pansy has another connotation, used to derogatorily describe gay men. But Joyner says, “I thought of that. I’ve been calling myself a pansy for 15 years. That’s not why I chose it [as a title], but I’m trying to reclaim that word.”

Joyner, now 34, set out to write a memoir some four years ago after reading Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde, who established a new genre called biomythography that combines history, biography, and myth into a narrative.

Joyner describes this style as a “mosaic” of “snapshots” of the author’s life. “I was really inspired to read more memoirs like it because it really made me start asking questions about myself,” they say. 

It was almost like an obsession. They went on to read memoirs by Black queer writers, by Black Southern writers. They read Alice Walker and read “how she talked about how important it is for Black Southern writers to tell their stories.”

Joyner has always considered themself a writer, ever since childhood. They’ve written a young adult novel, Juniper Leaves, anda chapbook, A Flamboyance. They’re currently the managing editor for Focus Mid-South magazine.

Yet never did they intend to write a memoir. “After reading [so many though],” they say, “it was like it makes sense for me to add my story to this mosaic of stories because I didn’t see a lot of stories like mine with my similar experiences. … It’s worth it to go ahead and try to tell my story, not because it’s unique, but because it’s a human story that I think makes sense to share.”

“I feel like,” they add, “my particular experience with transness shows you that it’s much muddier than a lot of the ways transness is defined now because, in my belief, I never transitioned. I’ve always been this person, and I think everyone is constantly becoming more of themselves. … We can all see ourselves in that nuance.”

Told in nonlinear episodic snapshots in the biomythographic style of Audrea Lorde, Joyner’s memoir explores their Memphis upbringing in the ’90s, their time at Vanderbilt, finding themself in New York City, and more. 

There are moments of intense vulnerability. “There’s a chapter in there where I talk about suicidal ideation that I almost wasn’t going to include, but transmasc folks in LGBTQ communities have the highest rate of suicidal ideation. You never really hear about it.”

But there are moments where Joyner holds back or leans into poetic truths and mythmaking. “I didn’t want this to be a story about a trans person who’s struggling. I wanted it to be a human story that people can relate to,” they say. “I didn’t want to accidentally exploit myself by focusing too much on any one of my identities.”

After all, this book was and is about more than themself. Joyner says that at only 34, many in the LGBTQ community would consider them a trans elder. “It’s a devastating fact, but at the same time, there are so many young trans folks who look at me and see, like, oh, you still exist. You’re still surviving, you’re thriving, and for a lot of young trans people, they don’t want to wait to see what that could look like.”

Joyner sees this firsthand in mentoring 20-something-year-olds in creative spaces and through the Sam & Devorah Foundation for Trans Youth. 

That’s why Joyner didn’t wait until they were older to write their memoir, but it’s also why they took so much care with it. The book went though eight or so drafts with several readers’ feedback — an approach they hadn’t taken before with their published work. “I write work like Pansy for them and also my younger self,” Joyner says. 

Jasper Joyner’s Pansy can be purchased at DeMoir Books & Things and other independent bookstores as well as online. Pansy was named one of BookLife’s Best of 2024 by Publishers Weekly.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Monique Williams Opens New Biscuits & Jams Location Downtown

Monique Williams (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Dinner — as well as breakfast, lunch, and brunch — is now being served at the new Downtown location of Biscuits & Jams at 24 B.B. King Boulevard, adjacent to Hotel Indigo.

The restaurant, which provides food services for the hotel and the public, recently held its grand opening.

Williams, who also owns Biscuits & Jams at 5806 Stage Road in Bartlett, Tennessee, says the new location has “a little more city vibe” since it’s in a Downtown hotel. “A certain type of upscale-ness you would think of a restaurant that’s attached to a hotel,” she says.

The Juke Speakeasy at Biscuits & Jams, which features a bar, food, and live music for people 25 years and older, is downstairs, where the iconic Memphis Sounds night spot used to be located. “I had been there in the past when it was Memphis Sounds. Very nostalgic. I thought we could do our own little take on that space.”

The new Biscuits & Jams location doesn’t have the same feel as the Bartlett location, which is “like walking into grandma’s house. A lot more cozy.”

But both places have her grandmother’s vibe, Williams says.

Her grandmother, the late Laura Stepter, was the inspiration for Biscuits & Jams as well as The Juke, she says. “You get two sides of Laura in here.” 

“My grandmother worked for Memphis City Schools. She did all types of different cakes, pies, and breads. She cooked for so many people. She made biscuits every day. Homemade biscuits. This is like a love story to her.”

Server China Crump

Biscuits & Jams upstairs is bright and airy, with light coming through the windows and an open kitchen where diners can see cooks “moving and grooving.” 

The decor is in green, gold, and tan. “Those earthy tones.”

Williams also includes pictures of different musicians hanging on the wall. “We serve biscuits and jam and preserves and ‘jams’ music.”

“Downstairs is all inspired by my grandmother in her younger days. She was a ‘preacher’s kid.’”

Her grandmother’s father was a minister in Indianola, Mississippi, in Sunflower County, but that didn’t stop Stepter from following her own path, Williams says. “In her younger days, she made moonshine.”

Stepter made brandy from the peach skins she collected after making her peach preserves. Williams says her cousin, who is a Biscuits & Jams co-owner, remembers how her Uncle Hoover got “deathly ill” and “almost died from getting into the moonshine our grandmother made.”

“Moonshine light fixtures,” which resemble Mason jars people used as moonshine containers, hang from the ceiling. The doors look like barn doors, tin is used on the front of the long bar, and the tabletops and chairs are made of rustic, distressed wood. “We wanted you to make believe you stepped into a juke joint. It has that kind of look to it.”

Performers Steve Bethany and Gerald Richardson

The Juke Boom Boom Room is a small, private, eclectic room off the side with a TV and comfortable chairs where guests can just relax.

The Juke Speakeasy at Biscuits & Jams features “moonshine-infused beverages,” Williams says. “Our signature cocktail drinks are made from moonshine.”

For now, items on the upstairs menu at the Downtown Biscuits & Jams are identical to those on the Bartlett restaurant’s menu. They include “a lot of the signature items that people have grown to love from the Bartlett location. But we will be introducing some different dishes with a certain amount of flair to them. A lot more Cajun, Creole dishes.” 

In other words, “Some delicious updates to the menu and more, with very intricate culinary items that I think people will love.”

Signature items include shrimp and crawfish Benedict, shrimp and grits, gumbo, and hamburgers.

And, on the upcoming dinner menu, Williams says, “You’ll see some alligator.”

An Alligator Corn Dog will be one of them. “It’s actually alligator that I marinated and I cooked. We batter it and fry it.”

They’re served on a stick with “different mustards. Cajun mustard and all that. And regular table mustard.”

Another upcoming dinner item will be Seafood Monica, which is made with a buttery Chardonnay, rotini noodles, shallots, cream sauce, and “other goodness.”

Williams also is planning to add catfish and grits with crawfish gravy, which has been a popular special at the Bartlett location.

A new brunch item is Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, which are thin, light, and similar to crepes. They’re served with blueberry syrup.

In addition to ordering food from the upstairs menu, customers can order from The Juke menu at night. Items include cheese charcuterie trays, crab cakes, truffle fries, and crab and crawfish bisque.

Her Bourbon Beef Sliders come with onion jam, arugula, and bourbon barbecue sauce, Williams says.

The Juke menu items, which also can be ordered upstairs at Biscuits & Jams, include cheese charcuterie trays, crab cakes, truffle fries, and crab and crawfish bisque.

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: RiverArtsFest

Erika Pittman and Beth Wilson (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Danny Barlow recently attended his first RiverArtsFest, which was held October 19th and 20th on Riverside Drive.

“We kind of stumbled on it,” says Barlow, who attended with Kendra Hall. “We were Downtown doing a picnic and were looking for food.”

Vicki Phillips and
Vincent Price
Kendra Hall and
Danny Barlow
Shauntelle Rodgers and Carter Phelan
Jeff Baldwin and
Serena Davis
Sharon Ratton and
Celia Racicot
Stan Taylor and
Katelyn Butler

He was impressed with a man out of California who made watches. “I want to get connected with him. I want to get a couple of watches made.”

Around 165 artists markets were featured at this year’s event, which marked the 18th anniversary of RiverArtsFest, says founder and longtime board member Chuck Mitchell.

Kim Samuel and
Ann Hyung Jae
Dustin and Kaytlyn McNeal
Aaron Brame and Jeff Hulett
Josh and Lyndsey Hammond and
Harold Graeter
Kent and Annette Simon, Jack Simon,
and Savannah McCarter

He had great feedback from the artists. “All of them are thrilled with their experience here,” Mitchell says. “Hopefully, they sell a lot of artwork, but they’re always happy with how we treat them, load them in, and provide lunch for them in our hospitality tent.”

Jack Isley, Jonah Green, Kim Eubank,
and Stefan Hochhuber
Latoyia, Joshua, and Jillian Casey
Chris Norwood, Teresa Spencer,
Winston Norwood
Jonathan White and Jessica Faro

And, he says, “We’re really trying to make it great for the artists to share a great experience in Memphis. And all love being in Memphis and being Downtown.”

Artists also head to Beale Street “and other areas after the festival closes each day.”

Categories
Music Music Features

Aquarian Blood Redux

(left to right) Jeremy Speakes, Michael Peery, Laurel Horrell, JB Horrell, and Keith Cooper: the latest Aquarian Blood (Photo: Sara Moseley)

Once you delve into their catalog, Aquarian Blood can be hard to pin down. Their 2017 debut LP on Goner was a rollicking, riff-heavy burst of punk guitar and synth noise centered on the hearty screams of co-founder Laurel Horrell. And while there were more minimalist flavors present, such as the moody “Won’t Forget to Die,” few were prepared for the sea change that came with their sophomore release. A Love That Leads to War was an abrupt, acoustic about-face that featured co-founder JB Horell’s delicate picking on a nylon string classical guitar, blended with low-key drum machines and hand percussion, spooky synths, and haunted, primitive melodies in a quieter vein. 

And yet the world the Horrells created was no fairy folk land of unicorns and tarot card poetry. These were dark missives from an underground life filled with trauma and desire, and the sheer sound of the home recordings captured what might happen if German sonic artists Can reinterpreted the Incredible String Band. It was intimate and compelling, and, with Covid striking only months after the album’s release, oddly prescient. During lockdown, I wore the album out. And, it turned out, there was more where that came from. In 2022, the band released Bending the Golden Hour, also on Goner, and earlier this year Black & Wyatt Records dropped Counting Backwards Again. Throw in the 2020 EP Decoys, and it’s clear that this acoustic chapter of the band’s career has been fruitful. Indeed, the three LPs and associated material hang together so well, I called on JB recently to lend some perspective to this impressive body of work, and what the future may hold.

Memphis Flyer: I’ve really been digging Counting Backwards Again since it came out in April. And it strikes me that you could call the last three full-lengths a trilogy. They hang together that well. 

JB Horrell: Yeah, I agree with that. All the music on those three records was created in the same period of time, between 2019 and 2022. And it’s interesting because there are songs on this third [acoustic] record that predate songs on the first record, and songs on the first record that post-date songs on the third record. There’s this specific body of music that’s broken up over three albums, and all of the songs encapsulate everything that was going on. And it feels good. Three is a good round number.

Is there a narrative through-line to the albums, or is it more oblique than that?

I didn’t choose the songs for the two before this third one. Zac [Ives, of Goner Records,] was a huge catalyst in the entire shift in the band’s approach and sound. Our drummer had broken his arm, so in the down time we were doing this kind of acoustic thing for fun. [We told Zac], “I guess it’s still Aquarian Blood, whatever.” And he was very encouraging. He said, “Well, you guys should try playing a show like that.” 

And then Zac more or less curated the first albums, correct?

Yeah. We gave him 23 tracks for the first record, and that ended up being 15 songs. Then there were 32 tracks we gave him for Bending the Golden Hour, and he picked 15 again. So for the Black & Wyatt record, we had 17 left, and I pared it down to the 12 that felt to us, in a very personal way, like the ones that completed that whole trip. That was a really brutal period for all of us, with Covid going on, everybody sort of disconnected, and a lot of personal stuff going on, like losing people close to us in terrible ways. So all that felt like it was of a time and of a process. It was cathartic, a process of grieving and sort of trying to figure out the way forward.

And the band was expanding through those years, as you embraced the wider sonic palette.

Yeah, it had gotten up to seven people. But coming into 2024, it kind of felt like we had cleaned out the closet to make room for new stuff. We knew that there was this imminent change about to take place, and we knew the band was going to downsize to five people, total. I wanted everybody involved in the new lineup to have a lot more of a hand in writing and arranging the songs.

So, since the release of Counting Backwards Again, there’s been another sea change in Aquarian Blood’s sound?

Yeah. We knew that we were ready to turn the page. We had a whole batch of brand-new songs. So we started completely from scratch last winter, with Keith Cooper on guitar, Michael Peery on keyboards, and Jeremy Speakes on drums. Then we took it on the road in June, and it was interesting to be touring, playing nothing that was ever released. I wasn’t sure what to expect about that. We had never played a show with that lineup before the tour! All of it seems counterintuitive, but the opportunity was there, so we jumped at it, and the tour couldn’t have gone any better.

Playing 17 shows in 18 days really locked it in. So, since we’ve been home, we’ve been hitting the studio quite a bit, and the recordings are just stacking up. Our intuition was right. We’ve got this group of people together, taking it somewhere else. The Lucky 7 Brass Band just put horns on some stuff last week. And Krista Wroten and Ethan Baker play violin on it. So the whole thing has become very collaborative. And it feels really good to get out of my head and out of my recording room at home and go out and collaborate again. 

Aquarian Blood will play with Vorhex Angel (with members of Jeff the Brotherhood) at B-Side on Friday, November 1st, at 9 p.m.

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Huey’s, Abandoned, and Oak Court

Posted to Facebook by Jada Renee

Memphis on the internet.

Huey’s

Jada Renee’s now-deleted post about Huey’s on a first date tipped off what was a whole week of debate about the restaurant and first dates in Memphis. See this story by Kailynn Johnson for all the details. 

Posted to Facebook by Huey’s

Huey’s owned it all with a great and subtle response, BTW. 

Abandoned

Posted to YouTube by Mayday.Aerial

Click yourself over to YouTube to watch some amazing drone footage of the abandoned Memphis International Raceway. The race track closed in 2022 amid rumors of a land purchase for a new warehouse. But Mayday.Aerial’s video from last week shows that little has been done on the site, aside from vandalism. 

Oak Court

Posted to Reddit by u/etherian1

Memphis Reddit user u/etherian1 alerted the community to “that one door at Oak Court that leads to a secret courtyard paradise” with a video that was just way more amazing than it needed to be.

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Sharing the Spotlight

Democrats Johnson, Huseth at High Point (Photos: Jackson Baker)

As was surely to be expected, the next-to-last weekend of the climactic 2024 election campaign was filled with feverish activity of various kinds — with early voting into its second week and candidates trying to get as many of their partisans as possible to the polls.

A case in point was a pair of events involving Gloria Johnson, the Knoxville Democrat who is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn. 

Johnson, the state representative who gained national attention last year as a member of the “Tennessee Three” proponents of gun-safety legislation, has raised some $7 million for her bid — almost all of it from in-state sources, she contended proudly.

While that is no match for the incumbent’s $17 million or so, it has been enough to buy Johnson a series of concise and well-produced TV spots pinpointing Blackburn’s alleged shortcomings. And it even gives her some of the kind of influence that politicians call coattails.

Opponents Nordstrom and White at Belly Acres

Johnson was in Shelby County on Saturday, sharing time with two other Democrats, District 83 state House candidate Noah Nordstrom (like Johnson a public schoolteacher) and District 97 House candidate Jesse Huseth. 

The first event was a joint rally with Nordstrom and state Democratic chair Hendrell Remus just outside the perimeter of the New Bethel Missionary Baptist early-voting station. Next, Johnson met up with Huseth at High Point Grocery for some joint canvassing efforts, after which Huseth, who opposes GOP incumbent John Gillespie, set out on some door-to-door calls on residents in that western part of his district.

The most unusual pre-election event on Saturday didn’t involve Johnson, nor was it, in the strictest sense, a partisan event at all. It was a meet-and-greet at the Belly Acres restaurant in East Memphis involving both Nordstrom and his GOP adversary, incumbent Republican state Representative Mark White.

Not a debate between the two, mind you. A joint meet-and-greet, at which both candidates circulated among the members of a sizeable crowd, spending conversational time with the attendees and with each other.

The event was the brainchild of one Philip D. Hicks, impresario of something called the Independent Foundation for Political Effectiveness. Hicks says he hopes the Nordstrom-White encounter, his organization’s maiden effort, can serve as a precedent for other such joint candidate efforts to come — presumably in future election seasons.

Inasmuch as political competition is, by its nature, an adversarial process, it’s somewhat difficult to imagine such events becoming commonplace, but, all things considered, this first one went amazingly well.

It wasn’t the same kind of thing at all, but there were elements of such collegiality between potential election opponents at an earlier event, a meeting of the Germantown Democratic Club at Coletta’s on Appling Road during the previous week.

That event included Memphis City Council Chair JB Smiley as its featured speaker, and Smiley, who is reliably reported to be thinking of a race for Shelby County mayor in 2026, spent a fair amount of time comparing notes on public matters (e.g., MLGW, the future of the erstwhile Sheraton Hotel) with attendee J.W. Gibson, a businessman who has basically already declared for that office.

Take heed, Mr/Hicks.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Walking? In Memphis?

Some walk for health, some out of necessity. (Photo: Vadim Zakharishchev | Dreamstime.com)

A walk can be many things. You can have a lovely stroll in the woods on a nice autumn day; you could be going to a friend’s house to play or gossip; or, you may even walk just for walking’s sake. But for many folks, me included, walking is their one and only form of transportation — especially without buses and trolleys available.

The trolleys of Memphis used to run from East Memphis, near the college, all the way down to the river. Along the river, it ran the span of North to South Memphis. Nowadays, if you want to get through any of those neighborhoods, you either have to walk the length of the city or become car-dependent. The last remaining trolley, the Main Street Line, has been shut down by the city, and with it, accessibility for anyone without a car Downtown.

Honestly, Memphis is beautiful when you walk its streets. I have seen families growing up and trees blooming over the years. Infrastructure rising and falling. Businesses coming and going, new youthful energy rushing into those spaces like birds to their nests. But I’ve also seen the sidewalks get torn up from mismanagement. I’ve seen streetlights go dim and then finally off for good. And I’ve seen the rusting rails of our once magnificent trolley lines.

I could rant and rave of course about how frustrating it feels to be so closed-off from my communities, land-locked to Midtown. But even when I want to walk in the other areas of Memphis, it’s much more difficult than I remember. Out east and beyond, every road is meant for cars and traffic. Over by White Station, the intersection might as well be nonexistent. Forget trying to see a movie at Paradiso. 

Downtown is almost no better. Constant construction means diverging pathways for any visitor to those streets, sometimes well out of the way of anywhere you want to go. And the only surprisingly easy pathway is along Tom Lee Park, by the bluffs. Credit where credit is due: The switchback installed by the city is one nice treat for any pedestrian. But god knows if you are disabled, that hill is still a nightmare.

Now, I feel like I should specify that when I say pedestrian I mean anyone who doesn’t drive or cannot drive. That includes my disabled neighbors. That includes my friends and family who shake behind the wheel of the car and realize that they’d be more a danger on the road than off it. That especially includes those who walk to combat climate change, to try our damndest to lower emission levels, even by a smidgen. For us, it feels like survival of the fittest on these streets.

My colleague Alyssa Wolf has a project she’s working on, researching the affordability of Memphis housing. One thing she’s included on her list is a “walk-score.” How close are you to the nearest stores; how rough is the terrain outside your home; how close are you to any other city infrastructure? Let’s just say, in her research, she has found more disappointment than relief.

What else can be said? I’m mad about how MATA got its funding cut. Mad about how the trolley lines sit there, unused. I used to live in Portland before moving back home. There was a lot I had trouble with in that city, but the trolleys and rails led everywhere. Trains connected the airport to Downtown to a suburb called Beaverton, their version of Germantown. I saw a future for Memphis’ public transportation.

Instead, the Memphis City Government has decided to, on November 3rd, eliminate five major routes. One of those routes is to and from the airport (Route 28). When I was a tutor, I took Route 50 to and from the sessions. Seeing that that route was not on the chopping block was a slight relief. But my heart goes out to the people who need the Southeast Circulator (16) and Winchester Route (69) to get from the Greyhound station to Downtown. Or those who live along the Perkins Route (37) who use it to get to and from their jobs like I once did. And then there’s the sister route to 50 along Central that I’m sure a lot of Cooper-Young residents and university students could rely on to get to and fro.

I am home, yet trapped in my town. So many of my fellow citizens are. It was agreeable with the bus routes (when buses would come) at the very least, but not ideal. I have only seen my city go backwards when it comes to how well it treats its citizens and especially its pedestrians, us unlucky few who simply want a good life. No matter what our reason to stroll, whether its to go to the store, get to work, or even to enjoy the day, we should be able to do it comfortably and safely. 

William Smythe is a local writer and poet. He writes for Focus Mid-South, an LGBT+ magazine.