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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Bleu Levees

Today’s Music Video Monday is just cruisin’

Rapper Bleu Levees makes his MVM debut with “Michael”. Engineered by Memphis’ secret studio weapon Alan Hayes, Bleu Levees says the song is a bit of autobiography. “Michael is my real name and I wanted to make a song that channeled what I was feeling at the time, and also shoot a video of how I look at things from my different perspectives.”

Featuring vocals by Zephaniah Dixon, and beautifully shot by 35Miles, here’s “Michael”:

Music Video Monday: Bleu Levees

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

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News News Blog

Media Group Proposes to Buy Gannett Co.

Board members of Gannett Co., corporate owner of The Commercial Appeal, are reviewing an unsolicited acquisition proposal from MNG Enterprises, Inc., a large newspaper chain with a reputation for cutting staff.

Gannett bought The Commercial Appeal and other former Scripps newspapers in 2015, in a deal valued at $280 million. Since then, the Memphis newspaper cut its staff in several rounds of layoffs, saw the exodus of numerous editorial veterans to the new digital startup The Daily Memphian, and hired a number of new reporters.

News of the proposal surfaced first in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

Gannett issued a formal statement on the proposal Monday morning on the investor relations page of its corporate website.

“Gannett today confirmed that it has received an unsolicited proposal from MNG Enterprises Inc. to acquire Gannett for $12 per share in cash,” reads the statement. ”Gannett’s stock closed at $9.75 on Friday, Jan. 11th, 2019.

“Consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, the Gannett board of directors will carefully review the proposal received to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and Gannett shareholders. No action needs to be taken by Gannett shareholders at this point.”

In a post Monday morning, Columbia Journalism Review’s Jon Allsop wrote that the proposal troubles some media watchers.

Here’s a part of what Allsop wrote:

“The scoop might normally have passed under the radar as standard-issue jockeying — except MNG Enterprises is better known as Digital First Media, the prolific private-equity-backed publisher that has become an industry byword for cost-cutting and job-slashing.

“The largest shareholder of Digital First Media, which owns about 200 publications nationwide, is Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund that specializes in investing in troubled companies.

“The names Digital First and Alden made headlines last April after flagship paper The Denver Post ran an editorial excoriating them as ‘vultures’ alongside a striking all-staff photo, from 2013, with tens of since-laid-off employees blacked out
.

Justin Fox Burks

“A few weeks later, the editor of a neighboring Digital First title, Boulder’s Daily Camera, was fired over a similar rebuke; then, in early May, the Post’s editorial page editor himself resigned, accusing Digital First executives of further attempts at censorship (CJR published a critical editorial he said was spiked).

“As tensions rose, staffers from Digital First papers as far away as California traveled to protest outside Alden’s New York offices. Buyout campaigns were mooted, then fizzled.

“Given this raw context, yesterday’s Journal report elicited immediate concern among media reporters and local-news watchers, many of whom noted that Gannett titles nationwide are in a sad enough state without the prospect of further cuts.”

Gannett sold The Commercial Appeal building at 495 Union in April 2018 and planned to move its staff within a year. The company is now considering new locations.

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From My Seat Sports

Isaac Bruce: Hall of Famer

Isaac Bruce was born at the perfect time. The first University of Memphis football player to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season (in 1993), Bruce entered the NFL as the league was shifting from a rather balanced run-pass enterprise to one in which the passing game is almost everything. Trouble is, some other very good pass-catchers happened to be born around the same time.

On February 2nd in Atlanta (the day before the Super Bowl), the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce its newest class of inductees. Bruce is among the 15 modern-era finalists and hopes to become the first U of M alum to receive a bust at the sport’s cathedral of history in Canton, Ohio. While Bruce’s numbers — starting with 15,208 career receiving yards — were Hall-worthy the day he retired (after the 2009 season), Bruce missed out in his first four years of eligibility, the last two as a finalist. (A maximum of five modern-era candidates are enshrined each year.) I’m convinced this is Bruce’s year.
U of M Athletics

Isaac Bruce

The challenge for Bruce has been catching (pardon the pun) appropriate attention among receivers who put up similar numbers and during the same time Bruce was setting records for the St. Louis Rams and their “Greatest Show on Turf.” Upon his retirement, Bruce was second only to the incomparable Jerry Rice (22,895 yards) among receivers on the NFL’s career yardage chart. But as he waited the required five years to be placed on the Hall of Fame ballot, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss moved ahead of Bruce. Meanwhile, the 1,000-catch club grew from two in 2000 (Rice and Cris Carter) to its current 14 members (Bruce is 13th alltime with 1,024 receptions).

There developed a logjam of eligible Hall of Fame-worthy receivers, one that’s only now finally starting to clear with the inductions of Tim Brown (2015), Marvin Harrison (2016), Moss (2018), and Owens (2018) since Bruce became eligible. Among this year’s finalists, the Fort Lauderdale native is the only wide receiver. (Tight end Tony Gonzalez is eligible for the first time and is a lock for one of the five slots.)

Bruce was a significant part of one of football’s most historic offenses, one that has already sent running back Marshall Faulk (2011), tackle Orlando Pace (2016), and quarterback Kurt Warner (2017) to the Hall of Fame. Even with Faulk and the great Torry Holt taking carries and catches away from Bruce, he led the 1999 Rams — winners of Super Bowl XXXIV — in receiving yardage (1,165 yards) and scored 12 touchdowns. Bruce’s 73-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter proved to be the trophy-clinching score against Tennessee in that Super Bowl. Warner was named MVP, but the honor could have easily gone to Bruce (six catches for 162 yards).

Along with Gonzalez, a pair of defensive backs — Champ Bailey and Ed Reed — are likely to be elected in their first year of eligibility. This would leave two slots open for Bruce and the other 11 modern-era finalists. Tony Boselli? Steve Atwater? Kevin Mawae? John Lynch? Edgerrin James? All good players, all worthy of the case that will be made for them in the selection room. But more worthy of induction than Isaac Bruce? Hell no.

Bruce is one of just six players to have his jersey (#83) retired by the University of Memphis. He visits the Bluff City regularly and, with the Rams having returned to Los Angeles, remains an icon in our sister city of St. Louis. In these parts, we’ve long known Isaac Bruce is a Hall of Famer. It will be nice when the Pro Football Hall of Fame officially recognizes such. Let’s hope it’s February 2nd.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 83, Tulane 79

The Tigers withstood a late run by Tulane in a near-empty Devlin Fieldhouse Sunday to secure their second straight win and sixth in seven games. (The New Orleans Saints were hosting an NFL playoff game at the same time.) Senior guard Jeremiah Martin scored a season-high 27 points and converted a critical layup with less than a minute to play to give Memphis a five-point lead (79-74). Martin’s free throws with 13 seconds left proved to be the final points of the game as the Tigers improved to 11-6 for the season and 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference.

Through Sunday’s games, Memphis is one of five AAC teams with only one loss, UCF being the lone undefeated team in league play.

The Tigers raced out to a 22-9 lead against the Green Wave (4-12, 0-4) and were up 15 (49-34) at halftime, thanks largely to Martin’s 8-of-10 shooting from the field. (With his 27 points, Martin passed Ronnie Robinson, Otis Jackson, and Vincent Askew on the Tigers’ career scoring chart and now ranks 31st.) They led 74-62 before Tulane surged, closing the Tiger lead to two (74-72) with just under three minutes to play.

Junior forward Isaiah Maurice missed a dunk attempt but was fouled and hit one of his two shots for a 75-72 Memphis lead. Kevin Zhang (25 points) missed a jumper and Maurice followed with a reverse layup in a crowded lane for a 77-72 Tiger advantage with 1:15 on the clock. Blake Paul (15 points off the bench) converted a layup for Tulane, but Martin answered with his clutch layup to all but secure the victory.

Kyvon Davenport scored 17 points for the Tigers and Raynere Thornton added 12. Tulane commanded the glass, pulling down 42 rebounds (15 on the offensive end) to the Tigers’ 33.

Memphis has now won six straight games against its longtime rivals from New Orleans. (The teams will play at FedExForum on February 20th.)

The Tigers now have five days off before hosting SMU (11-5, 3-1) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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We Recommend We Saw You

Jerry Schilling. And “Big Star” Recreated

Jon W. Sparks

After not seeing each other for a while, Jerry Schilling and I began catching up – fittingly – at the re-created Graceland staircase at The Guest House at Graceland.

It’s always great to see Jerry Schilling in town.

Schilling, a close friend and business associate of Elvis, was in Memphis to participate in events surrounding Elvis’s January 8th birthday.

“I have not been back on a birthday since I can’t remember,” says Schilling, who lives in Beverly Hills.

He was invited to be guest host, so he and his wife, Cindy, spent the weekend and into the week in Memphis.

The last time I talked to Schilling, he was in Memphis promoting “Elvis Presley: the Searcher,” the HBO documentary. He and Priscilla Presley were executive producers on the documentary, which Schilling describes as “everything I wanted and thought it would be and more.”

A high point for Schilling during his recent trip was once again seeing the first gift he ever gave Elvis.

Before his visit, Schilling got an email from Angie Marchese, vice-president of Graceland archives and exhibits. She wondered if he had any thoughts on objects they could show during the “Me and a Guy Named Elvis Show and Tell” event, which Schilling hosted January 6th at the Guest House Theater at The Guest House at Graceland.

Schilling remembered his gift. “It was the first gift I ever gave Elvis for Christmas.”

It was 1964. “I had known Elvis for 10 years, but I never felt as a young kid that I had the right to go give him a gift at the football field or at the Memphian.”

That Christmas, Elvis gave Schilling a bonus. “I only made $96 a week working for Elvis. He gave me a $1,000 bonus. I was thrilled. So, I left Graceland and I said, ‘I’m going to take this and buy Elvis my first gift.’ I went to the Whitehaven shopping center. There was a sporting goods store there.”

Schilling saw “a real unusual looking gun. Really different. A hand gun, but it looked like a customized German luger, if you will.”

He bought it. “It cost me $996. So, I think it was the whole check. And I bought this for Elvis and I didn’t know if he was going to like it or not. I’m 22 years old.”

The present was a success. “He loved this gun. Every night, he carried it to the Memphian theater.”

Schilling hadn’t seen that gun “in 40-something years.”

Until the artifact show.

Prior to his visit, Marchese sent him photos of Elvis’s guns, but none of them were the one Schilling gave the King. “He had so many guns.”

When Schilling got to Memphis, Marchese showed him more guns, which she put in a glass case. “I said, ‘Angie, I would love to say one of these is the gun, but it’s just not.’ And I said, ‘You’ve done a great job.’”

Marchese said, “Let me go out to my car and get my computer.”

She then showed him some gun photos on the computer. “I said, ‘Roll that back! That’s the gun!’ Marchese said she found it up in Elvis’s closet. And that’s one of the things I showed at my archives thing for the fans.”

Asked what he’s been up to these days, Schilling says he’s been busy working with The Beach Boys. “I’m into my third year of re-managing The Beach Boys. I managed them from 1968 to 1987.”

He originally wasn’t a big Beach Boys fan, but he got to know them when he was tour manager for Billy Joel, who opened for the group in 1975. Later, Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys asked Schilling to be their tour manager. He eventually became their manager.

It was Schilling’s idea for The Beach Boys to record an album along the lines of the “If I can Dream: Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” and “The Wonder of You: Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” albums.

“We did the Royal Philharmonic album this year for the Beach Boys with Don Reedman and Nick Patrick, the same two producers that did the Elvis Royal Philharmonic albums.”

”The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,” which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, came out last April. Schilling is the executive producer. “It’s the biggest selling album the Beach Boys have had in 28 years.”

I love to hear Schilling’s stories about The Beach Boys. He was a friend of the late Dennis Wilson, the drummer. “He drowned in Marina del Rey. He was looking for his furniture he threw off his boat when the IRS was coming to seize it. When he came up, he hit his head on the boat.”

Schilling went to the coroner’s office. “There was no family in town when that happened. I was having a rare dinner with my father – one of the few times he came up from Tennessee – and Col. (Tom) Parker.”

Dennis was “the balls of The Beach Boys. The Beach Boys have these beautiful harmonies and all and Dennis is back there just beating the hell out of the drums. He’s the sexy guy. He’s the James Dean of The Beach Boys. He did ‘Two Lane Blacktop,’ a movie. Look wise, image wise, I mean, he had star power. He was a wild guy, but he was a great guy.”

It’s no surprise to discover Schilling currently is involved in a Beach Boys documentary. He can’t talk about it, but, he says, “It’ll be on the lines of the Elvis documentary.”

……………

Chelsea Hodge

Mark Esterman, standing, came up with the idea of recreating the Big Star painting by Lamar Sorrento at Mortimer’s restaurant. With him are Chuck Olson, Aaron Boyles and Graden Duckworth.

‘Estrella Grande’ by Lamar Sorrento

If you’re a Big Star fan and if you read the story by Alex Greene in the current issue of Memphis Magazine, you’re familiar with “Estrella Grande” – the Lamar Sorrento painting of Big Star that hangs at Mortimer’s restaurant.

A special area on the south side of the restaurant is devoted to the legendary Memphis band. The late Chris Bell, the band’s guitarist, is the son of the late restaurateur Vernon Mortimer Bell. Chris’s sister, Sara Bell owns Mortimer’s.

Well, another depiction of Big Star now resides at the restaurant. It’s a photograph – a take-off on the Sorrento painting with Mortimer’s employees and one regular from the restaurant portraying the musicians.

It was bartender Mark Esterman’s idea.

When Larry Kuzniewski showed up December 29th to take the photo of the painting for Memphis Magazine, Esterman began thinking: “I just had the idea at that point when we were moving the painting around, we could probably recreate our own ‘painting.’ We could probably recreate it over by the fireplace and make our own little tribute to the Big Star picture.”

Esterman portrayed lead singer Alex Chilton, server Graden Duckworth was bass player Andy Hummel, and Chuck Olson, a regular, was drummer Jody Stephens. Server/cook Aaron Boyles, who is a musician in real life, was Chris Bell. “‘Cause he had the guitar.”.

Esterman provided costumes, including, he says, “a couple of shirts I bought for an old ‘70s costume.”

Bartender/manager Chelsea Hodge took the photo.

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News News Blog

Brewery, Airbnb Hotel, Art Lofts Up for DMC Review

Center City Development Corp.

A rendering of the inside of Grind City Brewing’s taproom.

A brewery, an Airbnb hotel, and artist loft walk into the Center City Development Corp. (CCDC)….alright, that’s pretty lame.

But next week developers of Grind City Brewing, Ambassador Hotel, and The Medicine Factory will get a review (and possible nod) from the CCDC, a committee of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC), for grants and loans that will help them fund their projects Downtown.

Here are the basics:

Center City Development Corp.

A rendering of the inside of Grind City Brewing’s taproom.


Grind City Brewing

What: brewery and taproom
Where: 83 Waterworks
Request: grant of $55,697.50
For what: demolition of front warehouse wall, paint, installation of roll-up openings.

Grind City developers announced last year they planned to open a brewery in an industrial part of northern Downtown on the east bank of the Wolf River Harbor.

“We are developing a state-of-the-art brewery and taproom that is unique to the city of Memphis,” the company wrote in its request to the CCDC.

The CCDC staff recommends the grant.

“Local breweries and taprooms have the power to be catalysts for economic development in emerging neighborhoods,” reads the staff report. “Taprooms can be draws for people and additional investment to vacant buildings and sites in the neighborhood.

”Local breweries and taprooms also function as informal community hubs and places for residents and visitors alike to gather.”

Center City Development Corp.

The proposed new exterior of the Ambassador Hotel.


Ambassador Hotel

What: apartments, Airbnb hotel, “well-known hospitality company”
Where: 345 S. Main St.
Request: loan of up to $200,000; grant up to $60,000
For what: exterior improvements, general renovations

From the developer, Collierville’s GEM Investments:

“The top two floors will provide a mixture of long-term and short-term rentals, dependent on demand. The market currently is lacking in short term rental units operated on platforms such as Airbnb and Homeaway. The project will meet that demand by master leasing the top two floors to an international short-term rental manager.
“The bottom floor will be occupied by a well-known hospitality company, helping build the food scene of the South Main District.“

The CCDC staff likes it:

“This project is clearly aligned with the DMC’s primary goals of improving commercial property values, encouraging new investment, and fighting blight,” reads the staff report. “With major neighborhood investments underway or recently completed at Tennessee Brewery, Central Station, Artspace Lofts, Malco Theater, Arrive Hotel, Slider Inn, Oden Marketing, Wiseacre, Museum Lofts, Century House, and the Arcade building, this project will only add to the significant momentum seen in South Main.”

Center City Development Corp.

A current view outside The Medicine Factory.


The Medicine Factory

What: artist lofts
Where: 85 W. Virginia Ave.
Request: loan of up to $150,000
For what: general renovations

Phillip and Joseph Lewis bought the warehouse property last year. The space has been used as artists’ studios for the last decade and now has nine studios. The new owners want to improve the building and offer more artists lofts and create a an event space “while maintaining the industrial look of the building.”

Center City Development Corp.

A current view inside The Medicine Factory.

The CCDC staff recommends the loan:

“Maintaining a vibrant arts community is crucial for any thriving Downtown,” reads the report. “Often, as development and investment in an area increases, it can make become challenging for artists to find studio spaces in the midst of a hot real estate market.

“This renovation will help preserve The Medicine Factory as an active studio space for local artists, while increasing its capacity to serve additional artists.”

All of the projects will get CCDC review on Wednesday, Jan. 16th.

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News News Blog

March, Rally Planned to Highlight Women’s Electoral Momentum

Justin Fox Burks

Women’s March in Memphis

A Memphis activism organization is planning two events this month to continue the positive momentum in activism and highlight the number of elected women on a local and national scale.

Tricia Dewey, one of the organizers, said the events planned by Memphis Women’s March Collective are intended to help activists and communities stay mobilized on civil rights, LGBTQ rights, poverty issues, immigration, education, criminal justice reform, health care, all progressive women’s issues, and “the freedoms that make America great.”

Co-hosted by the Tennessee Young Democrats Women’s Caucus, the first event is a march slated for Saturday, January 19th. Beginning at Memphis City Hall and ending at the Judge D’Army Bailey Courthouse, the march will feature speakers, entertainment, and music.

Justin Fox Burks

Women’s March 2018

One week later, the group plans to hold their 2019 Legislative and Action Rally at Clayborn Temple for networking and connecting purposes. Speakers at the event will touch on local and statewide issues like health care, gun control, and immigration. They will also outline ways that activists can continue to make a difference in those areas.

The rally is inspired by the 2018 March to the Polls Rally, Sondra Tucker, a co-organizer of the event, said. She adds that the 2018 rally helped get six of its featured speakers elected positions in Shelby County and on the state level.

“The event is another opportunity for interested folks to plug into actions and to work together to get their voices heard,” Tucker said. “This year’s rally is not only a chance for people of all genders, races, and nationalities to come together, but also to realize that Memphis gained some momentum with a countywide sweep by Democrats and progressive candidates that included many women and women of color that was noticed nationally.

The women’s inaugural march took place Downtown in 2017, with more than 9,000 demonstrators in attendance, one of the organizers of this year’s events, Kayla Gore said.

Signs used in last year’s Women’s March

“We had people excited about a march this year,” Gore said. “We had people excited about continuing to do the work.

“There was energy, So we decided to organize both a march and a rally. There is plenty of work to do on women’s issues in Memphis and Shelby County.”

Tami Sawyer, Memphis activist and Shelby County Commissioner, said she’s excited about the momentum that’s been built from the 2017 march, which she believes brought awareness and change to the city.

“In 2018, we showed we could win elections and also impact elections in areas that are not traditionally progressive,” Sawyer said. “This year’s rally is another way to keep our momentum going. We have shown that the future is female.

“I am very proud of every woman in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, and the United States who stepped up and ran for office. Many of us won our races and are ready to bring change to the status quo.”

The Facebook pages for the events indicate that more than 2,500 people are interested in attending either. More info, as well as ways to volunteer can be found here.

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News News Blog

MLGW Enacts Hardship Policy for Furloughed Government Employees

Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) will help keep the lights on for government employees affected by the partial shutdown of the federal government.

The shutdown is now in its 21st day, tying for the longest lapse in federal funding in history, according to CNBC. Around 800,000 federal employees are furloughed and on Friday they’ll miss their first paychecks.

Any of those employees in Memphis can keep their utilities running as MLGW enacted its hardship policy Friday.

“Under this policy, furloughed employees experiencing temporary, financial hardship are able to make payment arrangements, which can prevent an interruption in utility services,” reads a statement from MLGW.

Anyone interested in the program should gather their furlough documents and call (901) 544-6549 or visit an MLGW community office.

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation “Cinematic Mixtape” Coming to Crosstown Arts Theater

In October, 1988, a message arrived from another sonic universe. Daydream Nation was a double album that sounded like a communique from beyond, but was actually from New York underground rockers Sonic Youth.

Formed in 1981 by Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, who emerged from the remnants of the post-punk No Wave scene, and Lee Ranaldo, a member of Glen Branca’s experimental guitar orchestra, Sonic Youth sounded like nothing else in popular (or even not so popular) music.

Daydream Nation
, their fifth album, captured them in the midst of a creative breakthrough. The wailing curtains of noise that filled EVOL and Sister parted to reveal jagged shards of punk, as well as the occasional hippie-jam touch. The organic push and pull of “Teen Age Riot” landed like a spring rain in a year when the pop charts were dominated by Poison and Milli Vanilli, and “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” “Trilogy,” which closes the album, is the connective tissue between “Stairway to Heaven” and “Paranoid Android.”

Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelly says, “These days, everybody’s got an opinion, and everybody’s putting it online. When we said we were doing something with Daydream, we got people saying ‘I liked Dirty better.’

“But yes, Daydream has a really interesting resonance with its audience. The stereotypes with musicians is that these albums are like children, and we love each one of them. That’s true to some degree. I have a fondness for Daydream Nation, but I have a fondness for EVOL, which was the first record I did with the group.”

In 2007, two years after Daydream Nation was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of historically significant cultural works, the band was asked to perform the album for the Don’t Look Back concert series.

“I think we did it 20 times that year,” says Shelly. “Most of them were at festivals, like Primavera and Pitchfork. But the concert Lance [Bangs] filmed was at one of the few indoor theater shows we did. It’s a little bit more intimate.”

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album, the band scoured their archives for rare footage.

“We’d been playing around in this archive, and we had all this stuff that hadn’t come out on DVD, or on YouTube,” Shelly says. “We thought it would be fun to show this stuff in theaters, so people could come together communally. The program has been kind of evolving as we go along, to contain pieces of film that we like from different eras. It is a bit of a cinematic mixtape.”

Shelly and the Sonic Youth video roadshow will be stopping at Crosstown Arts new theater this Friday, Jan. 11th.

“It’s excerpts from several films that we’re going to be showing at Crosstown Arts,” Shelly says.

Bangs’ documentary of the 2007 show in Glasgow, Scotland will anchor the program.

“We’re going to show some vintage Sonic Youth video from when Daydream was actually released,” Shelley says. “Then, we’re showing a portion of a documentary called ‘Blood in the Music’ that was filmed around the time of Daydream Nation, that shows the band during that time.”

Shelly stayed in Memphis in 1995 during the recording of Washing Machine, which was tracked at Easley McCain Studios. While here, he and the band got acquainted with Respect Yourself and Best of Enemies author and filmmaker Robert Gordon, who will moderate the discussion.

“We’re really happy that Robert Gordon will be with us there on Friday,” Shelly says.

The ‘cinematic mixtape” has been a hit since its debut in October. Shelly says the next stop is a European tour.

“We’ve been having to add shows because we’ve been selling out so quickly. We’ve been having a blast,” Shelly says. 

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

200 and Counting: Thoughts on Memphis’ Bicentennial

When I found out 2019 was Memphis’ bicentennial year, I expected a nonstop party. But here we are, almost halfway through January and I have not been invited to a single birthday function. Nor have I seen photos from a birthday function I wasn’t invited to. People don’t even know. You’d think it was just some regular year, not the dawn of the Third Century of the Bluff City.

The bicentennial has barely garnered a mention since the state legislature tried to punish us for removing those Confederate statues by taking our birthday party money away.

Susan Ellis

Calvin Farrar

You only turn 200 once. Plenty of haters — the yellow fever, for one — didn’t think we would make it this far. This is no time to be bashful. Sure, the “big day” is still four months away, and I know we’re not the type of city that likes to make everything about us. But if anyone’s saying “Ugh, we get it, it’s your birthday year” by then, do we really need that kind of negativity in our lives?

Maybe, like me on my 30th, Memphis doesn’t feel like it’s accomplished as much as it had hoped. In that case, I can empathize with the desire to keep things low-key. But listen, Memphis: 200 isn’t the end. We are going to take every lesson learned in the first 200 years and use them as the foundation for our Best Century Yet. We’re not going to dwell too much on the past and somehow make this another Elvis thing. I’m taking it upon myself to get the party started with some shoutouts to a few present-day Memphians I admire, because the people make the place. Also, the water. But mostly the people. I could probably list 200, but in the interest of word-counts I’ll start with three who, like the city itself, are unsung, underrated, and understated.

Gary Crain is the pastor at the New Testament Christian Church at the corner of Quince and Mount Moriah. I don’t attend his church, and I’ve never heard his sermons. But he has been a part of my mornings for as long as I can remember. No matter the weather, he’s standing out front, smiling and waving to commuters most weekdays. Sometimes cars pull over to stop and chat, and other drivers quietly go around them. It amazes me that an act as small as a wave can bring so much joy to a person’s day. Multiply that by thousands of drivers and passengers: It’s a movement. It makes me want to be more neighborly. I plan my commute around that wave.

You may not know his name, but if you’ve seen painted windows in Midtown and Downtown, or shopped at Cash Saver or the Superlo on Southern, you definitely know Calvin Farrar‘s work. For years he’s brightened the windows at Silky’s, Huey’s, the Bar-B-Q Shop, and dozens of other businesses with those colorful and imaginative murals. Griz dunks on Santa Claus, Pouncer devours Huey burgers, all in the most perfectly old-school, quintessentially Memphis style. Parking Can Be Fun is only fun because there is usually a Farrar painting nearby. Nobody does what he does. He is an institution, and watching him work is a treat.

Memphis basketball fans love local players who stay home. Maybe I’m overanalyzing, but I think the appreciation transcends your standard-issue hometown-hero worship. They represent the belief that you don’t have to choose between the city and your dreams. That is a lot to put on a kid, which explains why many still choose to leave and others stay and fail.

It’s early, but Alex Lomax is a teammate. I’ve watched him flex after assisting on a layup and chest-bump a teammate after drawing a foul — no victory is too small to celebrate. He doesn’t score a ton of points (yet?), but he leads in other ways. A 5’10” point guard, he had eight rebounds against Wichita State. And what he lacks in size, he makes up for in hustle. If that’s not Memphis as hell, I don’t know what is. He is easy to root for, just like his coach, and his coach’s coach before him.
Nearly 200 years in, is Memphis perfect? No way. Is it even close to perfect? Also no. Is it full of fantastically kind, brilliant, talented, and creative people? Yes, we do have that going for us. Let’s celebrate them all year and beyond.
Jen Clarke is an unapologetic Memphian and digital marketing strategist.