The Redemption of Ike: Area legend Ike Turner made the news last week when he was arrested on May 15th on a drug warrant. MemphisRap.com reported that the 75-year-old Turner spent a night in jail after a computer error — pulled up during ticketing for a speeding violation (he was clocked at 80 mph on a California highway) — listed a 1989 narcotics warrant, which was later found to be invalid.
“That was a mistake, but I’m doing fine. They were gonna take me in for a warrant from ’89, and they put me in jail without bail. If you go to the penitentiary, they should know you’ve fulfilled your obligations,” said Turner, who missed his ’91 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because he was serving time on drug charges.
By the time I caught up with the indomitable Turner, he’d already put the incident behind him.
“I paid a visit to Johnny Cochran‘s law firm this morning,” he said. “Now I’m back in the studio, making a record with the Black Keys. We’re at Brian’s place,” he explained, referring to Stadium House, the recording studio belonging to Gnarls Barkley‘s Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton.
Meanwhile, Secret Service frontman Justice Naczycz tried to take the law into his own hands on the afternoon of May 12th, when he heard his 30-year-old Mercedes roll down his Cooper-Young driveway.
“I was loading my car up for a session the band was doing at Rocket Science Audio,” says Naczycz, who returned inside for a bag of cords after starting the car. “It’s diesel and really slow to start, so it’s popped into my mind once or twice before that something like this could happen.”
When he returned to his car, Naczycz’s vigilante instincts took over, and he jumped into the passenger seat, pummeling the thief in the head until Naczycz was thrown out of the vehicle. “The car was recovered by 9 p.m. that night, but because of a mix-up at the impound lot, I didn’t find out ’til Monday. Of course, the trunk was empty — I lost two guitars, an Epiphone SG and a Flying V, and a Fender Hotrod Deluxe Amp.”
Sans his trademark Flying V, he’s prepared to hit the stage with the Secret Service when they play with Oxford, Mississippi, group The Black and Whites at the Hi-Tone Café this Saturday, June 2nd.
“I’ve done the rounds of the pawn shops and music stores, but nothing’s turned up,” Naczycz says. “I’ve got these two Guild guitars which aren’t in show shape, but hopefully I can get ’em there by the weekend. We’ve got the sessions at Rocket Science Audio rescheduled for the day after the show.”
Left of the Dial: Community radio station WEVL-FM 89.9 brought in $71,000 during a recent on-air pledge drive, and station manager Judy Dorsey says that tax-deductible memberships continue to pour in. Mark your calendars for the station’s annual two-part Blues on the Bluff celebrations, which kick off with The Bo-Keys, Kenny Brown, and Robert “Wolfman” Belfour on July 28th. For more information, go to WEVL.org.
Beginning Thursday, May 31st, WMFS-93X is sponsoring Traveling Twisted Thursdays at the Pink Palace Museum. The $8 weekly concert series, which runs through August 16th, includes admission to the museum’s current exhibit, Access All Areas: Your Backstage Pass to the Music Industry. Thursday night, Inner 61, Saving Abel, and Further Down are rocking the Pink Palace. On deck: panel discussions with music-industry vets from local institutions such as Ardent Studios, a co-sponsor of the exhibit. To learn more, go to MemphisMuseums.org.
Move Over, Three 6: Jackson, Mississippi, rapper David Banner, who leapt to the silver screen via Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan, joins Memphis group Three 6 Mafia as a hot commodity in Hollyhood.
Earlier this month, Banner launched a cartoon series, That Crook’d ‘Sipp, on the Cartoon Network‘s Adult Swim. He’ll appear opposite Nia Long and Chris Brown in This Christmas, slated for release in November, and he’s currently wrapping up filming on the Laurence Fishburne vehicle Days of Wrath. Now Banner’s auditioning for the role of Gamble, a Joker-affiliated villain in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight.
And earlier this month, former Three 6 affiliate Crunchy Black and Larry Nix Mastering‘s Kevin Nix finished mastering From Me to You, which is slated for release on Sony’s Hypnotize Minds imprint on June 12th.
