Author: Jesse Davis

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Music Music Blog

Beale Street Music Festival 2018: Friday

CREDIT: Courtesy Beale St. Music Festival

Courtesy Beale St. Music Festival

Beale Street Music Fest 2018 (BSMF) kicked off Friday, May 4th, which might explain why I saw 23 Star Wars shirts before I gave up and quit counting. Tie-dyed shirts had a respectable showing, with 14 appearances before I tired of taking my phone out and marking down a tally. Everyone has their own strategy for wringing maximum enjoyment out of Music Fest. I’ve attended with friends who like to meticulously plan their experience. They schedule pit stops for drinks and food and know, to the second, how long to stay at any stage before booking it to catch the end of another performance. I prefer the chaos method. Music Fest is mysterious, sometimes stealing your shoes with a puddle of oh-lord-I-hope-that-was-mud, sometimes offering up treasures unimaginable (like Cake covering Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”). I find it’s more fun to surrender to the mystery, and let Music Fest take the reins.

Courtesy Beale St. Music Festival

North Mississippi All Stars

I had a basic plan to make my way to the FedEx Stage for North Mississippi Allstars and then let fate (or whimsy) take over from there. Who can say whether its nature or nurture, but the Dickinson brothers, sons of the late songsmith and producer Jim Dickinson, have the musical Midas touch. I particularly enjoyed the Allstars’ 2017 album, Prayer for Peace, and was looking forward to seeing the blues-savvy brothers and their band on the banks of the Mississippi, but as tends to happen at Music Fest, I got distracted.

While shuffling past the River Stage, I caught a snatch of a Star and Micey tune and decided to stay for a song or two. It was their third time performing at BSMF, and the Memphis-based quartet looked at home on the River Stage, standing close together in matching white shirts and handing out the harmonies. Star and Micey never fail to evoke a very Southern style of community for me. I can’t help but think of vacation Bible school, campfire sing-a-longs, and neighborhood cookouts. The band’s live performance cranked up the grit and dirt in their guitar tone, but their vocals rang out with the pristine perfection I’ve come to expect from Memphis’ princes of pop. They have all the alt-country twang and earworm catchiness of Golden Smog without the Big Star’s Third-style warbling digressions. The band thanked the crowd before launching into their final song, fan favorite “I Can’t Wait.”

Courtesy Beale St. Music Festival

Margo Price

Next up was Margo Price. Her sophomore LP, All American Made, is a showstopper of an album, and I was eager to see how her live performance held up. I was not disappointed. Price cued the crowd to her performance by testing the speakers with a snippet of Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos.” It was a dirty trick, tipping the crowd off to her knowledge of the local music history, and it worked completely on me. Price strummed an acoustic guitar and sang the wry and candid lyrics that made her the darling of music critics almost overnight. She and her band ripped through a cover of Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde-era “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine),” and they did the brass-heavy original justice. The prominence of the bass and organ in the mix lent some credence to the rumor that Price is a devotee of Memphis soul. She laughed and dropped some not-so-family-friendly language, which endeared her to me all the more. Either she has this showmanship thing down to an exact science, or Price is exactly what she appears to be: an artist enjoying herself as she works, and totally comfortable on stage and in front of a festival crowd. Though Price has surely been in front of bigger crowds, I was nonetheless impressed with how naturally performing seemed to come to her.

Courtesy Beale St. Music Festival

Clutch

Rushing from the FedEx Stage to a beer tent and then on to the Bud Light Stage, I had just enough hustle to make sure I caught the end of Clutch’s performance. I admit I was less familiar with the Maryland-based rockers, but I’m a sucker for semi-hollowbody guitars and crunchy riffs. So, it turns out, I was in the right place. The sun sank, red lights glowed onstage, rain was still on the menu but not yet served up, and Clutch delivered one riff-based rock anthem after another. One of the best things about BSMF is surely the ease with which a festival-goer can bounce between shows, taking in up-and-comers, hometown heroes, and legends making the circuit again. Neil Fallon, the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, looked like her was having a blast as he stalked the stage, waving his hand and coaxing cheers from the crowd. I had no expectations for Clutch, but I enjoyed their performance all the more for it.

Speaking of expectations, it’s time, I think, to set the record straight on Cake. In 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Voodoo Fest, New Orleans’ Halloween-themed October music festival, was split between New Orleans and Memphis. Some of the acts took place in Crescent City, and the Bluff City handled the rest. The logistics of throwing a festival with next to no notice are enough to send the creeping-crawling cold chills down my spine. Still, with an admirable effort, the second night of the two-day festival moved to Memphis and went off with only some hitches. Cake performed that year, and their set was cut short by technical difficulties. I was there that night 13 years ago, and I’ve held on to an unsatisfied craving for Cake ever since. So when I rushed back to the River Stage last night, I must admit I had some butterflies in my stomach.

The butterflies were for nothing; Cake was incredible. John McCrea talk-sang the lyrics as only he can, and he wasn’t stingy with the vibraslap. McCrea’s distorted acoustic guitar, scratched sans guitar pick, struck just the right sonic nerve and assuaged any fears of technical difficulties I still harbored. Vince DiFiore’s trumpet melodies and Xan McCurdy’s guitar lines remain as hummable as they’ve always been. I didn’t imagine the band would reach all the way back to Fashion Nugget for “Stickshifts and Safetybelts,” or that we would be treated to a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” It was a great show, and judging by the chorus of audience members who sang along to “Sheep Go to Heaven,” I am far from alone in that belief.

Cake closed out with “Going the Distance,” giving me six minutes to hightail it through the light rain to the FedEx Stage for Alanis Morissette. The Canadian-American goddess of alt-rock released one of the best albums of the ’90s with Jagged Little Pill, played God in Dogma, and has worked to raise awareness for health and spirituality. She is a podcast host, a columnist, an activist, and I am entirely convinced that she could rule the world if she so desired. Morissette gender-swapped a lyric in “All I Really Want,” singing: “I’m fascinated by the spiritual woman. I’m humbled by her humble nature.” The singer and multi-instrumentalist bounced across the stage, belting out her distinctive vocals without missing a note. She never stood still, playing harmonica and guitar, and taking deep bows when she introduced her band. I was humbled by the energy and talent on display, and I left the FedEx Stage blissfully satisfied. Let there be no doubt: Alanis still has it.

As I shuffled toward the main gates to leave Friday night, my ears rang and my head buzzed. One could hardly have asked for better weather or a better lineup for the first night of Memphis’ three-day festival. I would be tempted to say it will be a hard day to top, but with David Byrne, Calexico, Valerie June, the Flaming Lips, and more still to come, I expect that BSMF still has some surprises ready. The only way to know for sure is to head downtown and see.

Categories
Music Record Reviews

Jack Alberson Makes the Grade on Trials

Jack Alberson, the Memphis songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released a series of tight singles and EPs over recent years, now offers up a full-length, Trials. The record release show on April 14 was at Move the Air Audio, and the cozy studio made the perfect home for a night of synthesizers, stacked loops, and guitar wizardry — just a few of the flavors on display on Trials.

The album’s arrangements are lush, with layers of beats and drum loops, synthesizers, guitars, and drums. The guitars alternately crunch and drone, and the synths and drum loops provide a recurring aural motif that ties the whole production together. Each song assembles itself measure by measure, a fully realized little micro-verse that becomes clearer with each listen. The warmth of the arrangements — and Alberson’s sense of humor and straightforward delivery — lends an air of whimsy to the recordings. It keeps the songs from sinking into melancholy, even as Alberson sings, with an air of resignation, of “life in his leaky lifeboat.” His lyrics offer comfort and encouragement but no easy answers or sugarcoating, accepting that life’s trials give its triumphs definition and contrast.

Such paradoxes color much of Trials, which seemingly crafts a harmonious whole by combining tropes from various genres (think world music, French pop, post-rock, new wave, and the kind of ’60s balladry reminiscent of Van Morrison’s Them). Alberson’s honest lyrics are done justice by his strong vocals, and he is backed up to good effect by the talented Kathryn Brawley Suda and Cat Hall on tracks “And Rainy Days” and “Television Quicksand,” respectively. 

Jack Alberson

Alberson’s bell-like vocals recall Ben Folds crooning over a particularly rich arrangement by The Cure. Talking Heads and Pixies seem to make their (welcome) influence felt at times as well. It’s difficult to pin down any sound for too long, as the atmosphere shifts and morphs throughout each listen. As a result, Trials‘ most human quality is its ability to try on different moods. This is an album with a lot of personality. The end result is layered and catchy with a hint of darkness. And the lyrics are easy to pick out as Alberson throws out lines like “television quicksand swallows you whole.”

Must-listen tracks include album opener “Motivational,” “Let Me Be Right,” and “Television Quicksand.” The album was produced and recorded by Alberson and J.D. Reager, with additional recording by Josh Stevens and Eric Wilson at “various homes using a Tascam 24-track digital recorder.” The last words on the back cover of Trials are advice to be heeded: “No peak limiting — play it loud.”

Categories
News News Feature

Fun! Fun! Fun!

For all the things that sometimes divide us, Memphians have a knack for coming together. Anyone seeking proof need only refer to photos of the streets outside the National Civil Rights Museum last week, when crowds converged to commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I was downtown that morning, and I saw black and white people, and young people and men and women old enough to remember April 4, 1968. I saw people coming together. And coming together is one of the things we’re good at in Memphis, right up there with making genre-bending music and getting really, incredibly invested in basketball. Whether it’s in remembrance or in celebration, whether we’re standing up for our city or sitting down with a plate of crawfish and corn on the cob, here’s our comprehensive guide to the Mid-South’s fairs and festivals.

April

Lucero Family Block Party Hometown heroes Lucero bring the turned-up twang with their annual block party, a celebration of alt-country, roots rock, or whatever the heck you want to call it at Minglewood Hall. Turnpike Troubadours, Deer Tick, Louise Page, and Mighty Souls Brass Band will round out the all-star lineup. Minglewood Hall, 1928 Poplar, April 14th, 3 p.m. $25-150.

Overton Square Crawfish Festival Spring has officially sprung when traffic in Overton Square shuts down for the Crawfish Festival. This annual outdoor celebration proves that the humble mudbug can draw quite a crowd as Midtown turns out for the one-day festival. Overton Square, April 14th. Free.

Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival

Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival The 26th annual Rajun Cajun festival benefits Porter-Leath and is expected to draw up to 35,000 attendees. The free festival features live music, crawfish bobbing, crawfish eating, and crawfish racing. This year, 24 gumbo teams will compete in the annual Cash Saver Gumbo Cook-Off to vie for the skillet trophy and a cash prize. Wagner Place and Riverside Drive, between Union and Beale, April 15th, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free.

River Series at Harbor Town Amphitheater The River Series kicked off on April 1st with performances by Little Bandit and Coco Hames, adopted Memphian and former bandleader of the Ettes, but there are still more concerts to come. If a Sunday afternoon of music on the banks of the Mississippi isn’t enough to get your attention, the proceeds benefit the Maria Montessori School. And the lineup for the rest of the season is jam-packed with eclectic music pairings, including Wreckless Eric with Flyer music editor Alex Greene on April 15th, and Los Cantadores with local songwriter extraordinaire Mark Edgar Stuart on April 29th. Stuart has made many a grown man cry with his heartbreakingly honest “Remote Control” off his Blues for Lou LP; so don’t sleep on this one. Harbor Town Amphitheater. April 15th and 29th.

Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival The 32nd annual Africa in April cultural awareness festival honors Equatorial Guinea. This family-friendly festival is four days of food, music, and a diverse cultural marketplace in Robert Church Park downtown. Each day of the festival has a different theme showcasing different aspects of the featured country. Beale Street & Robert Church Park. April 19th-23rd. Admission $5-10.

Southern Hot Wing Festival If wings are your thing, then this wing-tastic festival is a can’t miss. Features a super-messy wing-eating contest, a corn hole contest, and live music on two stages. Tons of fun for everyone. Plus, guests can sample the wings with a donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. Tiger Lane, April 21st, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 

Bacon and Bourbon Fresh off the success of our first Whiskey Warmer, we’re hosting the third annual Bacon and Bourbon, one of the Flyer‘s signature events. It’s an evening of bourbon and pork tastings, with live music and all kinds of additional fun activities. What is best in life? It’s simple — whiskey and bacon. Memphis Farmers Market, April 21st, 6-9 p.m. Admission $38.

Kaleidoscope Food Festival The second annual Kaleidoscope Festival continues the tradition of bringing the tastes of diverse cultures to one place — Wiseacre Brewery. Children and dogs are welcome at this festival celebrating the diverse neighborhood of Binghampton — and all the cultures that make the neighborhood so unique. Wiseacre Brewery, 2783 Broad, April 21st, 1-7 p.m. Free.

Tambourine Bash A party at Old Dominick with music by Chinese Connection Dub Embassy and the ShotGunBillys, the Tambourine Bash benefits Music Export Memphis and will help fund their new Ambassador program. The goal is to train touring musicians in ways to help promote the Bluff City, essentially to become ambassadors for Memphis. Old Dominick Distillery, April 19th, 7-10 p.m. $25-50.

V&E Greenline Art Walk Set against a neighborhood park in the Voluntine and Evergreen area, this art walk finds attendees strolling between artist booths and massive shade trees. This family-friendly fund-raiser supports the V&E Greenline and park, with live music as well as food and art vendors. V&E Greenline, April 28th, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

Beale Street Wine Race It takes grit to make it in the service industry, especially in the heavy-bevy central of downtown Memphis. So when servers compete in the Wine Race, , only the swiftest and most fleet of feet will be crowned champion. Fans of the race gather downtown to cheer on their favorite bartenders and servers as they compete in the Olympics of drunken, downtown races. April 29th, 1 p.m. Free.

May

Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival BSMF always kicks off Memphis in May, the month-long, city-wide celebration of music, culture, and barbecue. Three days of music on the Mississippi River, BSMF is Memphis at its most turned up, ready to revel in rock-and-roll and show off the Bluff City to the thousands of people the festival draws from around the Mid-South. Some highlights from this year’s lineup include Jack White (who just released one of his most experimental — and coolest — records to date), Alanis Morissette, Erykah Badu (!), and the Flaming Lips. The hometown talent on display includes Tav Falco and the Panther Burns and Chinese Connection Dub Embassy. Tom Lee Park, May 4th-6th, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $125.

Levitt Shell Concert Series This summer marks the 10th anniversary of the remodeled Levitt Shell’s free concert series. One of the most historic venues in town, the Shell has been host to a star-studded roll call of talented musicians (Elvis Presley and Mudboy in the Neutrons, for starters). In its 10 years of operation, the Levitt Shell has put on more than 500 free, family-friendly concerts in Overton Park. Performers this year will include Memphis’ own Harlan T. Bobo, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and North Mississippi All-Stars. This year’s series will include three ticketed “Stars at the Shell” concerts, and if prior “Stars” shows are anything to go by (Mavis Staples! Emmylou Harris!), these won’t be events to miss. Levitt Shell, May 31st through July 15th; and September 6th through October 21st. 7:30 p.m. in the summer, 7 p.m. in the fall. Free.

Memphis Greek Festival The Memphis Greek Festival is celebrating 60 years of Greek culture, food, and dancing. The congregation of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church invites Memphians on a getaway to the 60th annual festival. This year’s festivities feature a marketplace and the music of the Kostas Kastanis. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland, May 11-12th, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. $3 or three canned items.

Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest There’s no better time to pig out on pulled pork than the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, aka Barbecue Fest. And every summer, the third weekend of May means downtown Memphis is sailing on a sea of barbecue sauce (and, of course, beer. Lots of beer). But is it vinegar or tomato based? (The sauce, not the beer.) Pulled or chopped? While most days, a strongly held opinion on the proper presentation of pork can be grounds for fisticuffs, this weekend is about celebrating the humble hog in all its forms. Tom Lee Park, May 16th-19th, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $5 donation per vehicle.

901Fest The celebratory cap on the Memphis in May International Festival, 901Fest glorifies all things Memphis. This year’s lineup has yet to be released, but it’s sure to feature some Memphis favorites. With the Mississippi as a backdrop, 901Fest is the city’s wind-down party after the month-long festivities of Memphis in May. Tom Lee Park, May 26th, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

June

Memphis Italian Festival With trivia, live music, and a stomach-rumbling, drool-inducing selection of food vendors, this family-friendly festival celebrates Italian-American heritage in Marquette Park in East Memphis. The Holy Rosary Parish brings together food, music, and vendors for a weekend-long celebration. Marquette Park, 4946 Alrose, June 1st-3rd.

Don Perry

The Memphis Flyer Margarita Festival

The Memphis Flyer Margarita Festival What’s your flavor? Standard-issue lime or perhaps something a little more adventurous? Blended or on the rocks? There’s no need to get salty — the Flyer‘s fourth annual Margarita Festival offers Memphians the chance to cool down by sampling margaritas from some of Memphis’ hottest restaurants. Overton Park Greensward, June 2nd, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission $38.

FedEx St. Jude Classic Golf for a good cause, the St. Jude Classic is celebrating its 60th year. The professional tournament brings golfers to Memphis as a stop on the PGA tour. This year, returning champion Daniel Berger, who won in 2016 and 2017, competes to be the third person to have won the tournament three or more times. TPC Southwind, June 4th-10th.

Belvedere Chamber Music Festival Making classical music available in a rock-and-soul town, Luna Nova Music’s 12th annual Chamber Music Festival will feature works from the 20th century, including Debussy, Ibert, and Piazolla, as well as works by Luna Nova composers. Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, June 20th-23rd at 7:30 p.m. Free.

Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival Observed across the country on June 19th, Juneteenth is a commemoration of African-American Emancipation Day. The lineup has yet to be released, but last year’s celebration featured a performance by the Bo-Keys, so the bar is set high. Taking place on Father’s Day weekend, the festival features a job fair and a youth talent show as part of its mission to emphasize education and achievement. Robert R. Church Park, June 16th-18th. Free.

Memphis Literary Arts Festival The Center for Southern Literary Arts is throwing the inaugural Literary Arts Festival this June in the historic Edge district. The festival will feature a street fair, 30 presenters, group panels, discussions, and readings. The list of award-winning authors and local literary guests is set to drop just as this issue goes to press, so watch for more information as the date nears. June 16th. Free.

Anime Blues Con This three-day festival is a celebration of Japanese culture, anime and manga, cosplay, comics, and video games. In addition to the cosplay contest and a formal ball, this year’s convention features special guests Josh Grille (Attack on Titan), Vic Mignogna (Fullmetal Alchemist), and Jen Brown, the voice of Harley Quinn for DC Universe Online. Memphis Cook Convention Center, June 29th-July 1st. $35-$80.

July

The Memphis Flyer‘s Burger Week Break out your stretchy pants, because Burger Week is back for its third (!) year. It’s our annual celebration of some of the best burgers Bluff City has to offer. Participating restaurants will offer specialty burgers for a special price July 11th through July 18th. Please remember to tip, because great service and one-of-a-kind burger creations are worth it. Various locations.

WEVL Blues on the Bluff Longtime Best of Memphis winners WEVL haven’t released the lineup for this year’s Blues on the Bluff yet, but previous shindigs have included performances by all-stars such as Julien Baker, the Bo-Keys, and Ghost Town Blues Band. (Full disclosure: I host the My Morning Mixtape program for WEVL.) Live music, beer, and barbecue all served on the picturesque grounds of the Metal Museum, make Blues on the Bluff one of the summer’s signature parties. Even better, as a fund-raiser for the 42-year-old independent radio station, it’s a party for a good cause. 374 Metal Museum Drive, July 22nd, 6 p.m.

Memphis Zine Fest From the Dadaist manifestos of the early 20th century to the zine boom of the ’90s, creators have found ways to get their voices heard on their own terms. Memphis Zine Fest celebrates the creators who believe there’s room for physical media in the Information Age. Viva la print, baby! Details to be announced.

August

Elvis Week Each year, Elvis fans from all over the world hop on the “Mystery Train” to Memphis for this weeklong tribute to the King of Rock-and-Roll. Marking the 41st anniversary of Elvis’ death, this celebration honors the musical legacy, from Sun to RCA, of one of Memphis’ most successful pioneers and includes highlights from his extensive musical catalogue, his films, performances by tribute artists, and, of course, the Candlelit Vigil at Graceland. Various locations. August 11-19th.

Ostrander Awards It seems the theater scene in Memphis just keeps growing. From Playhouse to the Hattiloo to Theatre Memphis to the Orpheum for touring performances, theater lovers in Memphis are spoiled for choice and could be forgiven for sometimes forgetting that not all cities of Memphis’ size have so much programming to boast of. And the Ostrander Awards are all about taking a moment to appreciate the theater talent on hand in the Bluff City. The annual awards ceremony honors excellence in the Memphis theater community and celebrates the best work of the previous year’s season. The Orpheum Theatre, August 26th, 6 p.m.

Rock for Love The annual benefit concert for the Church Health Center, Rock for Love brings together some of the best bands and most singular solo acts for a good cause. Founded in 2007, this music series is a weekend of special concerts on different stages across the city. Dates and locations to be announced.

September

Delta Fair & Music Festival The Delta Fair & Music Festival is cause to celebrate. Because you just can’t stay home by yourself and eat a Pronto Pup and a funnel cake and hold onto your self-respect. This annual festival features Delta music, rides, games, livestock shows, and food vendors. Plus, did we already mention funnel cakes? Agricenter. September 1st-10th. $10.

Jamie Harmon

Delta Fair & Music Festival

Memphis Music and Heritage Festival The nonprofit Center for Southern Folklore presents performances by artists of all stripes — musicians, dancers, poets — celebrating the unique cultural heritage of the Mid-South. There are blues, folk, and jazz performances, and that hardly scratches the surface, as two blocks downtown along South Main are transformed into a celebration of the culture and the rhythms of the South. September 1st-2nd.

Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration Held at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and generating somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 million for the Memphis economy, the Southern Heritage Classic is the annual game between Jackson State and Tennessee State. Each year, upwards of 45,000 fans descend on Memphis for the game, a tailgate party, and a weekend of music, fun, and football. September 6th-8th.

Germantown Festival Not only is the Germantown Festival one of the longest continuously run festivals in the Memphis area, it may be the only festival in the area to offer an auto show, live entertainment, and most importantly, the running of the weenies dog race. The 47th annual Germantown Festival provides a free, family-friendly weekend. 7745 Poplar Pike, Germantown, Saturday, September 8th, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, September 9th, noon-6 p.m. Free.

Bryan Rollins

Cooper-Young Festival

Cooper-Young Festival Held in Memphis’ largest historic district and featuring live music, art vendors, handcrafted goods, and food and beer vendors on every corner, Cooper-Young Fest is Midtown’s yearly family reunion. The festivities kick off with the Friday Four-Miler the night before the official shindig, and the main event on Saturday offers food, artwork, and live music until sunset. This year’s lineup hasn’t been announced, but highlights from past festivals include performances from Cory Banan and James & the Ultrasounds. Cooper-Young neighborhood. September 15th, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Mid-South Fair This annual festival is over 160 years old and is one of the only festivals listed in these pages that features both a horticulture show and carnival rides. And we haven’t even mentioned the historic talent contest (whose previous contestants included a young Elvis Presley) or the stunt dog show or the concerts. And I’m pretty sure they have funnel cakes here, too. Southaven. September 20th-30th.

Gonerfest 15 One night last autumn, I ran into a gaggle of leather-clad Japanese musicians outside the Cash Saver. Huddled in the parking lot of the Madison Avenue store, they pulled out a Gonerfest program and invited me to their upcoming show. After some juggling of vegetables and growlers of Memphis beer, we exchanged CDs and handshakes and went on our way. Every year, in addition to bringing garage and punk-rock bands to Memphis from all over the world, Goner Records’ Gonerfest makes those kinds of weirdly magical meetings possible. And for that, we should all thank our friendly, neighborhood record store. Multiple locations. September 27th-30th.

Mid-South Pride Festival If you have never been to the Pride Festival, I recommend you remedy that this September. The festival takes over downtown with live music, talent shows, vendors, and the most colorful and diverse parade I’ve ever seen winding its way around the FedExForum. Mid-South Pride is the largest gathering of the LGBTQ community in the Mid-South, and the event celebrates inclusion and diversity and features musical performances, vendors, and a parade. September 28th-30th.

Unreal Film Festival Fans of the strange and macabre, the far out and fantastical, rejoice! Founded in 2011 by Cellardoor Cinema, the Unreal Film Fest focuses on horror, sci-fi, and fantasy feature-length and short films. September 22nd-24th.

Outflix Film Festival Every year, the Outflix Film Festival presents a film program diverse in themes and genres. One of the many excellent examples of Memphis’ growing film community, Outflix is a program of OUTMemphis, an organization that empowers, connects, educates, and advocates for the LGBTQ community of the Mid-South. Details to be announced.

October

MEMPHO Music Festival Memphis’ newest music festival returns this year to Shelby Farms Park. MEMPHO Fest features a mix of local and touring talent for a booty-shaking, eardrum-busting good time. Last year’s festival featured performances by Cage the Elephant and Jason Isbell alongside local stalwarts Dead Soldiers and Star & Micey. October 6th-7th.

Pink Palace Crafts Fair The best donuts I’ve ever tasted, I bought at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair. They were sweet and warm, crunchy on the outside with a soft center, and I ate more than I should have. And to get to those melt-in-your-mouth confections, attendees at the Crafts Fair walk past stalls packed with handcrafted wares, a stage with live music, a kids’ area with a train (!) and petting zoo, and past live demonstrations and information booths. As a celebration of artisan food and craft vendors, and as an educational opportunity, the Crafts Fair is the quintessential fall festival. And did I mention those heavenly donuts? Audubon Park. October 12th-14th, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. $9 for adults, $7 for seniors/military, and $3 for children.

Cooper-Young Beerfest In its ninth year, the Cooper-Young Beerfest is an open-air neighborhood party and a celebration of the best of regional beer. Every brewery featured in the festival is within a day’s drive of the Bluff City. How’s that for drinking local? All proceeds from the event go to benefit the Cooper-Young Community Association. 795 Cooper. October 20th. $45.

Deep Blues Festival This festival, located in nearby Clarksdale, Mississippi, is a weekend devoted to the tradition of the blues. This year’s lineup includes Big George Brock, Jimbo Mathus, Psychotic Reaction (talk about a great band name), and Alvin Youngblood Hart. The Shack Up Inn and the New Roxy in Clarksdale, Mississippi. October 11th-14th.

Mid-South Renaissance Fair Travel back in time to a Renaissance-era festival to browse the merchant rows, join musicians in merry song, and revel in games of skill or chance. You can even get knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, learn courtly dances, appreciate Renaissance art, and cheer on your favorite jouster. Join us for a giant turkey leg and a hearty “Hip Hip! Huzzah!” in the Shire of Shelby. 4351 Babe Howard Blvd, Millington. October 13th-14th and 20th-21st.

RiverArtsFest Autumn in Memphis offers a golden window for strolling along South Main, locally brewed ale in hand. Summers are sticky and insect-infested, and winters, even the mildest ones, tend to linger on the dreary and gray side of the spectrum. But autumn offers a bug-free couple of months with a pleasantly crisp chill that is the perfect excuse for a light sweater and an early-afternoon toddy. What I’m getting at is that RiverArtsFest could hardly be more perfectly timed, and you can expect to see me there, sipping a local beer and browsing the art on hand. South Main Arts District. October 26th-28th.

Art on Tap One of Memphis’ oldest beer festivals, the Dixon Gallery and Garden’s Art on Tap celebrates 23 years this September. Beer lovers and art aficionados gather on the gorgeous grounds of the art museum to sample beer from around the globe. Date to be announced.

Tequila Festival The only festival with an unofficial theme song by the Champs. Sing along, you know all the words: “Tequila!” Made from the blue agave plant, which grows primarily in the highlands of the Mexican state Jalisco, tequila is the fiery drink of outlaws and troublemakers, and this festival is all about celebrating it. Overton Square. Friday, October 12th, 6-9 p.m.

November

Indie Memphis Film Festival Last year, Indie Memphis celebrated its 20th year — and brought The Office‘s Rainn Wilson to town, along with dozens of independent shorts and documentaries (such as Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me and The Invaders). Every year the festival brings films to Memphis that Bluff City film buffs would have no other opportunity to see on the big screen. Multiple locations. November 1st-5th.

The Memphis Flyer‘s Crafts and Drafts Art and beer; beer and art. Two great tastes that taste great together. Join the Flyer for our fourth annual Crafts and Drafts at Crosstown, where attendees can browse art selections and sample delicious local brews. November 10th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Categories
Music Music Blog

Louise Page: From Salty to Sweet at Shangri-La’s Fool Fest 2

CREDIT: Kaitlyn Flint

Kaitlyn Flint

Louise Page

Memphis-based songwriter and pianist Louise Page has been busy of late. She released her first EP, Salt Mosaic, last September, and, after a winter of steady gigging in support of the EP, she and her band will open the festivities this Saturday at Fool Fest 2, Shangri-La Records’ spring sale and mini-festival, which doubles this year as a 30th anniversary celebration for the store.

“I have deep family roots in Memphis. My mom is from here,” Page says. The singer/songwriter moved to the Bluff City from central Pennsylvania to study creative writing at Rhodes College, where her grandmother matriculated when the college was still called Southwestern. “I got a degree in creative writing, which I now use to write songs,” Page muses. “It’s not what I thought I’d use it for.” Page’s songwriting prowess is on full display on her first EP, which mixes folk-inflected numbers with indie-rock laments of heartbreak.

Salt Mosaic opens with “Little Coast,” a plaintive wish for a new beginning. Piano runs and Page’s haunting vocals come in first. “I want to cut and run away,” she sings, “I want to rewire my disobedient brain.” Then the rest of the band joins in, bringing the energy up to match the fervency of Page’s lyrics with horn squeals and guitar arpeggios. But Page’s lyrics — and her voice — are the star of the show, and they remain so for much of the EP. The band, which includes a horn section, a violin, guitar, upright bass, and drums, adds details at just the right moments, giving Page’s voice textures to work with.

As a song, “Little Coast” stands on its own, but it also works as a thematic starting point for Salt Mosaic, whose songs share themes of endings and beginnings, of stripping away layers to reveal the essential self. “The name Salt Mosaic comes from the fact that the songs I ended up picking to record are all pretty much about broken relationships, be they romantic or friendships,” Page says. “I used to have really bitter, salty feelings about those experiences and those people.” Page elaborates on the cathartic aspect of songwriting, saying part of the process is “taking those bitter, salty feelings and turning them into something beautiful.”

“Simple Sugar is sort of the aftermath of Salt Mosaic,” Page says of her planned sophomore release. “One of the lyrics for one of the newer songs is ‘When you’re used to salt, everything tastes sweet.’” As with Salt Mosaic, Page will track her new, sweeter batch of songs at Young Avenue Sound. Calvin Lauber will reprise his role as engineer for the Simple Sugar sessions. “The first EP was kind of experimental. I was figuring a lot out,” Page says, expounding on the two EPs’ complementary relationship. “In my head they go together; they’re kind of a pair.” But Page says that, while Salt Mosaic collected songs she wrote over a span of six years, from age 18 to just weeks before the recording sessions, the songs on the new EP are “all songs I’ve written since September.” She thinks that will lead to Simple Sugar sounding more streamlined than Salt Mosaic, which, true to it’s name, has a collage-like eccentricity, an eclectic mix of quirky but complementary colors.

“I’m just a classic band kid. That was my group in high school,” Page says. “I was in marching band, and concert band, and choir.” Music has always been a part of her life, Page says. She started playing piano as a child in central Pennsylvania. Her parents bought the piano for her older siblings, but Page, the youngest, was the one to embrace it. Page began taking formal piano lessons, and in the fourth grade, she joined the school band and took up oboe as well. Citing her classical training, she counts Claude Debussy among her influences, which also include contemporary artists St. Vincent and Fiona Apple, who share an experimental streak that appeals to Page. “They both take risks,” Page says, then adds, “I want my music to have a personality.”

The Fool Fest show kicks off a busy spring for Page and her crew. She’s playing Lucero’s annual Block Party at Minglewood Hall on April 14th before she and her band return to the studio to begin tracking Simple Sugar. This summer, they head out on a 10-day east coast tour, to New York and back.

Fool Fest 2 featuring Louise Page, Negro Terror, Model Zero, and Alicja-Pop at Shangri-La Records, Saturday, March 31st at 2 p.m.

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Music Music Features

Memphis Musicians Perform a Benefit for 901 Comics Anthology

Memphis bands Sweaters Together and Tape Deck will headline at a benefit concert this Friday at the Hi-Tone to fund the printing and release of the second edition of the 901 Comics Anthology. For Shannon Merritt, co-owner of 901 Comics in Cooper-Young, the anthology is a passion project — and a much-needed resource for the Memphis arts community. “It’s really hard for somebody to go out and do it all themselves,” Merritt says. “To write, draw, color, and then turn around and distribute it. So I started [the anthology] as an idea to get people together and do an anthology and distribute it for them.” Merritt produced the first 901 Comics Anthology last year, and after its success, he’s bringing the anthology back with more muscle behind it.

of 901 Comics

“I started a publishing company, Bad Dog Comics,” Merritt says. In the process of promoting and distributing the first anthology, Merritt visited six states and 25 comic book stores. The initial distribution infrastructure is in place, and Merritt says that after the benefit concert, the printing costs will be covered. With the important details taken care of, Merritt is free to plan other Bad Dog releases — Stoned Ninja in April and Kill All Super Heroes in June — and plot how best to connect Memphis College of Art’s final crop of graduates with local writers.

The first edition of the 901 Comics Anthology was also funded in part by a benefit concert. Merritt, who has his hands full juggling his store and his new publishing company, leaves the music booking up to Harry Koniditsiotis, who works at 901 Comics and owns and operates the 5 & Dime recording studio. “I picked Tape Deck because Jason Pulley is one of the best keyboard/piano players in town, and he’s one of my go-to session guys at the 5 & Dime. Sweaters Together — Aimee and Marie — were part of an improv jam session Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing had at the studio,” Koniditsiotis says. “I knew Aimee from her previous bands the Vignettes and Rickie & Aimee and always dig her music. I saw Sweaters Together at last year’s Rock for Love and liked what they were doing.”

Sweaters Together are, according to band member Chrissy Green, “four body-positive queers with multifaceted instrumental talents, delivering wholesome content.” The band is no stranger to benefit shows and unconventional venues, having played roller derby bouts, art galleries, and Rock for Love 11, an annual benefit show supporting the Church Health Center. “We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus,” Green says, “But we’re coming back full force.”

Andrea Morales

Sweaters Together

Forceful is an apt description of Sweaters’ live performances, which harness a punk energy and an art-rock attention to detail that keep the shows as visually interesting as they are aurally satisfying. The band combines clean guitars and warbling keyboard riffs with layers (and layers) of vocal harmonies, calling to mind comparisons to Bake Sale, before that homegrown group morphed into Goner Records’ heavy hitters NOTS. On “Softly,” harmonies and quiet piano build to an eventual crescendo of crashing chords and pounding drums. Some tracks drip with angst, and some are, simply put, beautiful, hooky pop compositions. Sweaters’ unclassifiable quality keeps them in good company with the rest of the lineup for the anthology benefit.

Tape Deck, who will open the festivities on Friday, sounds like a funk-infused circus straight out of a comic book, as though The Band’s Levon Helm and Richard Manuel started a super group with Rowlf and Dr. Teeth of the Electric Mayhem Band. Front man Jason Pulley’s keyboard playing lends a haunted calliope air, and his gravelly vocals conjure Oscar the Grouch as he sings of panda bears and Grizzlies coaches. Yet allusions to the funny papers are largely unconscious. “I really wish I knew more about comics,” Pulley muses.

Still, Tape Deck are no strangers to collaborative happenings, having released their Unconventional Solutions EP last December at the Madison Avenue recording space Move the Air. The event also featured the premiere of a short film by John Pickle and a potluck dinner, the table overflowing with food, booze, and hot chocolate. “It was very interdisciplinary,” Tape Deck’s Jason Pulley says of the party. “It wasn’t any one person’s idea. It was five people’s ideas that just came together and coalesced.”

In the pages of comic books, such team-ups and crossovers are common, usually coinciding with blockbuster movie releases. In the real world, musicians, writers, and artists are often too busy perfecting their work to actively seek out connections with other creators. But if art is fundamentally about connections, it too works best when its heroes share their superpowers.

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Book Features Books

Robert Gordon’s Memphis Rent Party

Dr. David Evans of the University of Memphis, using the kind of reverent tones one usually associates with a place of worship, was the first person in Memphis to tell me about the sweltering July day in 1975 when Memphis blues guitarist Furry Lewis, packed among a star-studded lineup, opened for the Rolling Stones and stole the show. Since then, a parade of Memphians have recounted the time they waited in the field of a hot, crowded stadium to see the Rolling Stones. But only writer and filmmaker Robert Gordon, in his new book, Memphis Rent Party: The Blues, Rock & Soul in Music’s Hometown (Bloomsbury Publishing), made the day so vivid I could imagine the sweat on my skin — and the chills that might have run down my spine when Lewis began to play.

Gordon describes Lewis’ set as a ground zero meeting-point with the blues and with all kinds of underground music, and a different side of life that acts as a breeding ground for artists. The young writer was aware of the blues, but not that he shared time and space with living legends. The event, which serves as Gordon’s entrance into a wider world, is the reader’s introduction to Memphis Rent Party. “Furry not only made me question my assumptions,” Gordon writes, “he made me aware of the privilege that produced them.”

Memphis Rent Party is a collection of interconnected profiles and interviews about the musicians who live and work in Memphis, and those who were drawn here to record, to live, or to lose themselves. The material, some of which was previously unpublished, has been collected from Gordon’s notes and interview transcripts, from Oxford American, from the liner notes of albums, from LA Weekly and The Memphis Flyer.

Though taken from various sources and covering a wide range of styles, the common thread linking the chapters of Memphis Rent Party is a distinctly Memphis orneriness. Everyone who steps into the spotlight in Gordon’s collection shares a compulsion to do things her own way, to dance to his own off-tempo beat, trends and audiences — and success — be damned. Whether it’s the plug being pulled on a raucous Mudboy and the Neutrons mid-show, Alex Chilton’s punk-like antics on stage with Panther Burns, or Junior Kimbrough’s droning, 15-minute version of “All Night Long,” the musicians highlighted in Memphis Rent Party go where few else dare, dancing on the edge with eyes closed, jiving to the pulse of a beat only they hear. “Jim [Dickinson] helped me understand the Memphis aesthetic as the inverse of a hit factory like Nashville. Oddballs and individuals thrive here, not homogeny,” Gordon writes. “That doesn’t mean Memphis doesn’t want hits. It means Memphis insists on dictating its own terms, delivered via take it or leave it.”

The subjects, though united by a shared rebelliousness, are nonetheless varied. Memphis Rent Party is no blues biography or soul exegesis. The subject is neither Stax nor Sun, but a range of artists as diverse and multifaceted as the Bluff City itself. The Tav Falco interview resonates with a “pleasing intensity,” but Cat Power’s interview is heartbreakingly intimate, so unguarded that Gordon recalls, “I worried at the time that I shouldn’t publish this and I contacted her longtime press agent.” The profile on soul singer James Carr smashes the reader to pieces. Producer and musician Jim Dickinson is a recurring character in these pages, appearing only to break off a line of sly wisdom before shuffling off the page.

Memphis Rent Party succeeds in describing the particulars by examining the circumstances that helped produce them. It is impossible to study Memphis music divorced from the economic and social conditions that allowed these sounds to thrive, so at times, this collection is a study of the South, of its mores and norms, its casual cruelties and discriminations. But, as Gordon writes of the blues (and surely the same can be said of all music), “[b]lues is the mind’s escape from the body’s obligation. Blues amplifies the relief whenever and wherever relief can be found. The scarcity of that respite makes it ecstatic.”

Reading, signing, and music celebrating the release of Robert Gordon’s collection Memphis Rent Party: The Blues, Rock & Soul in Music’s Hometown at Ernestine & Hazel’s, Saturday, March 10th at 8 p.m.

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Book Features Books

Tayari Jones Reading at the Orpheum

Last summer, Richard Alley wrote in the Flyer’s Book column about a welcome new nonprofit in Memphis dedicated to the promotion of marginalized Southern writers and readers. “In the same way that the visual arts, live music, indie films, and theater have their advocates, so should the writer and reader,” Alley wrote, heralding the arrival of the Center for Southern Literary Arts (CSLA), the brainchild of Molly Rose Quinn, Jamey Hatley, and Zandria Robinson. Now, less than a year later, after three sold-out events, the CSLA is bringing Tayari Jones, a writer of prodigious talents and seemingly infinite heart, to the Orpheum to discuss her new novel, An American Marriage, which was just named as Oprah’s Book Club 2018 selection.

Jones’ tight and heart-wrenching novel tells the story of Roy and Celestial, a hardworking couple of newlyweds living in Atlanta. They met in college, but the original meeting didn’t take, and their relationship began in earnest when they bump into each other in New York years later, Roy the only African-American man in a group colleagues in town on business, and Celestial the only black woman in her masters program. Both of them from the South, the pair trade eye rolls when one of Roy’s coworkers drops the word “yankee” for Northerners, a common bond kindles between the two, and their relationship grows.

The story of their meeting is told in flashback; when the reader meets Celestial and Roy, the young pair are a little over a year into their marriage. Though they are far from flawless, they’re all the more sympathetic for their grounding in reality. While Roy works to help his wife start her artisan doll business — she calls them poupées at Roy’s suggestion — he still comes home occasionally with phone numbers scribbled on the back of his business cards. He swears he doesn’t call them, but they are working to recover trust and, they hope, prepare for the next stage in their life together.

When Celestial and Roy stay at a hotel in Eloe, Louisiana, while visiting Roy’s parents for Thanksgiving, the trajectory of their lives is changed forever. Roy is accused of rape, and, though innocent of the crime, he is arrested and convicted. Celestial knows her husband is innocent, but she must find a way to live with the years stretching ahead of them, far longer than they have been together. Celestial struggles, and sometimes the examples of love she sees around her serve only to underscore her fears, offering no encouragement. She never doubts Roy’s innocence, but she was just beginning to lean into her role as a wife when she is forced to come to terms with an entirely new life, one that she never bargained for.

“I knew that things like this happen to people,” Celestial writes to Roy, “but by people, I didn’t mean us.” Both Celestial and Roy were faced with challenges in their lives before being forced to meet head-on the challenge of such gross injustice. Neither Celestial nor Roy did anything wrong, but still they are both being made to pay for a crime. “It’s not that they were naïve,” Jones says of the characters she created. “They both thought they had circumvented this kind of situation.” Roy grew up poor in a small Southern town, where some of the old men say the only options open to a young black man are six or 12. “‘That’s your fate as black man. Carried by six or judged by twelve,’” a fellow inmate who goes by the moniker Ghetto Yoda tells Roy.

“Class does not necessarily save you,” Jones says. “It improves your chances, but it doesn’t inoculate you.” Jones writes with compassion and understanding that makes these characters seem ready to step off the page and plead their case. As in life, no one is entirely innocent of wrongdoing, but neither are there antagonists. There is no “bad guy,” just a night that went the wrong way, setting off a chain of circumstances and injustices, but also setting up opportunities for understanding, forgiveness, and redemption. In An American Marriage, the hurts inflicted cut both ways, and Jones’ confronts stereotypes without being stereotypical. She paints a complete and compelling picture by allowing her characters the breathing room to come to terms with and finally admit their own mistakes — and their needs.

Though not entirely epistolary, the novel is told in part as a series of letters sent back and forth from the prison in Louisiana to a comfortable home in Atlanta. When I told Jones that the letters made up one of my favorite sections of the novel, the author confessed a love for writing that came as no surprise. “I am a letter-writer in real life,” she says before asking me to include a word of advice in this column. “People always ask me about my advice to people who want to write,” Jones says. “I believe that people with the most important stories don’t have time to write every day.” The author said that we are in need of everyone’s stories, now more than ever.
Tayari Jones reads from and signs her novel An American Marriage at the Orpheum Theatre, Tuesday, February 27th at 7 p.m. $15.

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Music Music Blog

Joe Restivo: Back to Trio Jazz in a Big Way

When I spoke with Joe Restivo about his jazz trio’s upcoming performances Friday, February 9th at Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC), the Memphis guitarist and composer had just wrapped up a phone call about booking another gig. And the night before we spoke, Restivo’s trio finished a two-night residency at Spindini in downtown Memphis. Let that be proof positive that Restivo has, as the saying goes, a lot of irons in the fire.

“We’re going to be playing some tunes by Thelonious Monk. We’re doing some Benny Golson, two pieces by Billy Strayhorn, who was Duke Ellington’s arranger and co-writer,” Restivo says of the upcoming show’s set list. “I’m doing some arrangements of mine of some standards, you know American Songbook stuff. We’re doing a version of [the Stylistics song] ‘People Make the World Go Round’ that I arranged. A few things of mine. I think it’s going to be an interesting mix.”

“When I booked this,” Restivo says of his two shows at GPAC on Friday, “I was like ‘Is anybody going to come to this?’” Those Spindini sets aside, Restivo has recently spent more time soldiering in the soul trenches and playing with a quartet, but the busy guitarist was excited to try out some more straightforward jazz numbers during the two one-hour sets on Friday. The performances will mark a return, of sorts, for Restivo. While admitting to his eclectic influences, Restivo still has a fondness for “straight-ahead,” traditional jazz. But of course, any artistic change brings with it a degree of stress. “The next night Branford Marsalis is there,” Restivo says and laughs. “No pressure!”

Restivo is a Memphis-raised, New York-trained guitarist and composer who cut his teeth on live performance with a brief punk phase at the Antenna Club as a teenager, before quickly transitioning to jazz. He has played in trios, quartets, and larger ensembles, and he’s open about his diverse tastes, citing soul influences along with the jazz. Indeed, many know him best for his work with the Bo-Keys, backing soul greats like Don Bryant and Percy Wiggins.

Restivo’s quartet has been playing a weekly set on Sundays at Lafayette’s Music Room in Overton Square, but this week’s GPAC show will showcase a different group of musicians. He’s playing with a stripped-down ensemble of guitar, bass, and drums, and grooving in a more traditional style. “I haven’t been doing enough straight-ahead jazz,” Restivo says. “Not as much as I want to be, so to me, this gig has got me kick-started to do more of a straight-ahead thing as opposed to a lot of the other work I do in town,” he adds. “I’ve been doing a lot of soul music.” Restivo graduated from the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at New School University in New York, but he readily confesses, “I have relatively eclectic tastes in music.

“I wanted to do something different. The City Champs is like an organ trio, and I’ve got a group called Detective Bureau, which is a sextet. It’s got horns and percussion,” Restivo says, ticking off a few of his many projects. “But I wanted to do something to get into the upright bass, drums, guitar trio. It’s just a certain kind of instrumentation that I’ve always loved. It’s really challenging, because you’re pretty much out there by yourself. You don’t have anything other than an upright bass harmonically to rely on. So there’s a lot of space, which is challenging but also really cool.”

As for the trio’s lineup, Restivo perks up when he mentions his fellow musicians. “I’m using Tim Goodwin and Tom Lonardo, who are Memphis stalwart players. I grew up watching them. These are musicians I looked up to coming up, so it’s an honor to include them on this,” Restivo says. “This GPAC thing has been sort of a catalyst to get back into that game.” Restivo says he feels as though he has grown as a musician since he composed some of his pieces included in the set list, and he sounds eager to flex his musical muscles while revisiting those songs with the challenging-but-cool trio instrumentation. And it all seems only to have whetted his appetite for traditional jazz. “Now, I’m like ‘Well, maybe I should make a record.’”

A short lull falls on the conversation as Restivo pulls up GPAC’s website to double-check the price of the event. The first show sold out, Restivo notes happily. After a pause, he adds, “Oh cool, the second show is sold out. Sweet.”

Joe Restivo, Friday, January 9th at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at Germantown Performing Arts Center. $25.

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Music Music Blog

Rochelle and the Sidewinders: Evolving at the International Blues Challenge

While the Great Freeze of 2018 trapped much of Memphis under a thin sheet of ice, Beale Street blazed with the best blues riffs as musicians from the world over came to town for a chance to win bragging rights as the best in the blues business. Each year for 34 years running, the Memphis-based Blues Foundation has brought the most talented musicians from its affiliate organizations to the Bluff City to compete in the International Blues Challenge (IBC). After the finalists showdown at the Orpheum Theatre wraps it up tonight, the VizzTone’s Blues Party on Beale will get started at the Rum Boogie Cafe and won’t end until late, as befits the celebratory cap-off shindig for the Blues Foundation’s signature event.

Returning blues band and 2018 semifinalists Rochelle & the Sidewinders, from Austin, shed a little light on the typical IBC contender’s story and experiences at the IBC.
The Sidewinders wound up in Memphis at the IBC for the first time in 2017, when the relatively new group, fresh off some contest wins in Texas, felt sure they would come away from the IBC with some great memories and an easily won trophy to take back to Texas. “I would say we were overly cocky, if I had to summarize,” says Sidewinders guitarist and founding member Tom Coplen. “And when we got there, we just weren’t prepared. We were a new band. We’d just formed in 2015, and we missed the cut-off that year. The Austin Blues Society is the sponsoring affiliate here in Austin, and they have a contest every year … the Heart of Texas Blues Challenge,” Coplen says. “The winner of that gets to go to the IBC. We won it last summer.”

Coplen says the prestige of the affirmation of the Austin Blues Society so early in their career — not to mention the rich blues tradition in Texas — contributed to the Sidewinders’ hubris their first time at the IBC. “And Austin kind of has a history. You go back to T. Bone Walker and Charlie Christian and these guys. The history of music, and specifically blues, is so entrenched here and so strong, literally you could be at a pizza place and the guy serving pizza used to play with Stevie Ray Vaughan in high school. There are just so many bands and so many musicians, that we just thought we were going to go there and win. That’s how ridiculous we were.”

Of course, this is Memphis, a Mecca of the blues, and we have our fair share of drink-slinging or package-delivering blues legends. And the IBC is an international competition that brings talent from 200 different cities to compete. Needless to say, Rochelle and the Sidewinders did not do quite as well as they expected. Coplen says the band didn’t make it past the first round. “My friend Jim [Trimmier], the sax player, said ‘the crowd’s gonna love us; the judges aren’t,’” Coplen says. But the band wasn’t discouraged. Coplen took in a lot of the talent in his time in Memphis, and he reasoned that maybe the judges would have appreciated a stricter take on blues traditions.

Rochelle Creone

Originally, The Sidewinders were a little “newer” sounding. They had a dance edge that complimented the vocal talents of their singer, Rochelle Creone. “I’ve had various incarnations of [the band], but it wasn’t until I found Rochelle that the band really worked. She’s just this amazing vocalist.” So, a little disappointed but not discouraged by their loss at the 2017 IBC, Coplen and his band of Austin blues players enjoyed Memphis, learned, and modified their expectations. And watched a lot of other blues bands do their wailing, shredding, and sliding.

Coplen wrote new songs, and the band kept chugging along through 2017, earning them their second win at the Heart of Texas Blues Challenge, which again opened the door to their second invitation to the IBC. “The music we’re playing, it’s straight, hard Chicago blues,” Coplen adds. “The old adage about doing the same thing twice is our [guide]. We’re not cocky, we just want to go and have fun.”

The work, the new songs, and the humbler attitude seem to have paid off. Rochelle and the Sidewinders made it to the semifinals at this year’s IBC. They played to a packed house at Club 152, and though they didn’t make it to the finals, Coplen says the band enjoyed themselves. “Our experience was fun, and we loved it. All the people were so nice; we just love Memphis,” Coplen says. “This year our perspective is we’re just so happy and honored to be able to go again. Just to be able to go twice in a row is amazing. We’re just happy to be able to go play.”

The 34th International Blues Challenge Finalist Competition is being held today, Saturday, January 20th, starting at noon at the Orpheum Theatre. The Bob Margolin Presents VizzTone’s Blues Party on Beale takes place tonight, once IBC competition ends, at the Rum Boogie Cafe. All proceeds benefit Generation Blues.

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Music Music Blog

Daniel Eriksen: Straight Outta Oslo with the Arctic Slide

CREDIT: Roald Jungaard

Roald Jungaard

Daniel Eriksen

This January 16th through 20th, blues performers hungry for glory (and for Memphis’ famed soul food, a topic that came up in every interview) will descend on Beale Street from all over the world. Each year for 34 years, the Memphis-based Blues Foundation has brought the most talented musicians from its affiliate organizations to the Bluff City to compete in the International Blues Challenge (IBC). Daniel Eriksen, representing the Oslo Bluesklubb in the solo/duo category, is one of those performers. He and I talked desert island albums, Sun Studio, and the arctic slide.

The Memphis Flyer: Memphis is a long way from home for you. Are you excited about traveling so far to compete in the IBC?
Daniel Eriksen: Yes, I love Memphis and have been here many times before. I even recorded at Sun Studio when Matt Ross-Spang worked there. I look forward to coming back. It’s a beautiful city with great food, fine people, atmosphere, and culture.

Tell us a little more about that Sun Studios record.
We had a day off while in Memphis in 2011, and found out that Sun Studio was not booked, so we booked the night. Since we only had about four or five hours, we planned on doing one or two songs that we could include on an upcoming album.
But when we listened back, the overall sound was so special that we knew it couldn’t be copied anywhere else, so we just went ahead and recorded all 10 songs live in studio. The magic in the walls kicked in. It turned out it was Bike Night on Beale Street, so on a few ballads you can hear Harleys roaring, so we had to cut it down to an EP!

How was working with Ross-Spang?
Matt was very nice, a great engineer and a good guy, he even drove us home after.
I remember the first time I played on Beale Street, and I have to admit it felt pretty cool.

Does playing in Memphis hold any special significance for you?
I have played a lot in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, but never in Memphis. It’s time, and I’m ready.

So it sounds like you don’t mind a lot of traveling to perform. Do you have any good stories from the road?
I travel a lot and have performed in countries like Russia, the U.S.A., and all over Europe. You get used to traveling, and it’s a big part of the job. I once spent an hour talking to Peter Green in a small hotel in a fjord in Norway, not knowing it was he — I didn’t recognize him and I suspect that is why he talked to me for so long. I didn’t ask the usual questions, I guess … Another cool memory was when Steve “Little Steven” van Zandt  tweeted about my concert and used the words “Fucking amazing!”

Blues is steeped in tradition. What sources do you find compelling when you play? What musicians have influenced you?
Being a slide guitarist, I usually listen to other “sliders.” I have, of course, listened to a lot of the old players such as Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Blind Willie Johnson. Among modern players, there are two artists that have had the biggest influence on my style, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet and work with both — either as an opening act or sitting in with them: John Mooney from Rochester/New Orleans and Roy Rogers from California.

Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself?
I grew up within the Arctic Circle way up north in Norway. That’s why I call my music “Arctic Slide.” I have performed as a professional artist for over 20 years now and have released five albums — one of which won the “Norwegian Grammy,” the Spelleman Award. And one was recorded in Memphis. On the personal side, I have two wonderful kids, a wife, and a cat, love Dutch licorice, and drive a black Chevrolet.

What kind of a set do you plan to play at IBC?
I will be bringing my drummer and we plan on doing a varied, well-balanced set of original songs, a few favorite covers, and some traditionals.
We are in Memphis to give it all, and get as far as we can in the competition. We also hope to show international promoters and booking people, that a fine swamp-delta-billy-blues duo could be a cool addition to their festivals and clubs. In addition we look forward to seeing a lot of friends, who are also in the competition this year.

Any other plans while you’re in the area?
Well, there’s the food, shopping for clothes and shoes at Winfield’s, the drum center … I guess we have to see how far we go in the competition, but if we have time, we might see some friends down in Clarksdale.

Do you have a desert island album? You know, if you were stuck alone on a deserted island, what would you bring to listen to?
John Mooney’s Dealing With the Devil has been a longtime favorite. It’s a live solo performance from Germany, and he just kills it!
I also have a radio broadcast of Roy Roger’s performance at the Notodden Blues Festival in 1996 that I would like to bring. Those recordings have been my encyclopedia of slide guitar licks for a long time.

Is there anything else you want Memphis to know?
I haven’t seen the schedules yet, but please come see us. We won’t hold back. We sure look forward to seeing y’all, and we’ll be giving away free copies of our Sun recordings, the Grey Goose EP.

The 34th National Blues Challenge takes place in multiple venues on Beale Street, January 16th through 20th. https://blues.org/international-blues-challenge/