Harold Graeter
I had the pleasure of having my photo taken with Priscilla Presley the night she received the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Distinguished Citizen Award.
Priscilla Presley’s visit to Memphis drew a crowd of almost 500 June 24th at the Hilton Memphis. She was here to accept the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Distinguished Citizen Award.
The event, along with the 24th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl Golf Classic (held June 25th at Ridgeway Country Club), and Liberty Bowl’s partnership with the College Playoff Foundation, raised a record amount of about $250,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“I’m truly honored to be here,” Presley told the audience. “I’m a bit taken aback by all the honors. And it’s very hard for me to take that. But I’ll do whatever I can to help Memphis. I now feel officially a Memphian with this honor.”
Past recipients of the Distinguished Citizen Award include Danny Thomas, Frederick W. Smith, Kemmons Wilson, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Lou Holtz, Archie Manning, and Tim McCarver.
The 60th AutoZone Liberty Bowl will be at 2:45 p.m. Dec. 31 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and will feature teams from the SEC and Big 12.
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Michael Donahue
Maricus Windless
Wearing a pair of knickers with long red-and-white-striped socks, Maricus Windless waited for customers in his golf cart.
No, he’s not a caddy. He and Donte Jones operate “The Lifter” shuttle service. It provides quick rides to local destinations, including restaurants, bars, sporting events, and concerts, to people in the Downtown area.
“We’re trying to revolutionize the way people commute Downtown,” Windless says.
People can call him at 901-GOLIFTS and he’ll take them where they want to go. “Each ride is two to three minutes anywhere in the Downtown area, including Sun Studios.”
If people just have a 30-minute lunch break, they “have the option to go further” with his service, he says. They don’t have to eat close to where they work or pay to park. They also can do emails and text on their phones will they ride. “It’s saving them time.”
His service also takes out “a lot of the guesswork” for tourists, he says. “I’m the first person they see for recommendations.”
They began with a soft opening last year, but went full-time during the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, Windless says.
They now operate between 7 a.m. and 12 a.m. during the week and 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. on weekends.
And “The Lifter” is expanding. “We’ve already purchased two more carts.”
The knickers and red-and-white socks are part of his weekend outfit, which also includes a cap, a red and white polka dot bowtie and Chuck Taylors, Windless says. During the week he wears khakis and blue jeans, but everything else stays the same.
His headgear either will be a Memphis Redbirds or Memphis Grizzlies cap, Windless says. “I’m always going to be representing Memphis.”
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Michael Donahue
IMAKEMADBEATS and PreauXX at the release of Stuntarious Vol. III at Railgarten.
Unapologetic released “Stuntarious Vol. III” July 30th at Railgarten. It’s the third volume of a series of compilations dropped by Unapologetic every summer since 2016.
The EP features Cameron Bethany, IMAKEMADBEATS, AWFM, Kid Maestro, PreauXX, Aaron James, ISpeakWIthaFift, Idi Aah Que, MIIDAS, Blueprint, Mean Joe Scheme, R.U.D.Y., C Major, and Coldway.
“It went great,” says Unapologetic producer/founder IMAKEMADBEATS. “Some of the stuff we tried, we’d never tried before. It worked out very well.”
As for its meaning, “Stuntarious” is “a word we created,” he says.
Most of the material was recorded at Dirty Socks studio.
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Michael Donahue
Chip Googe performs with his band, 40 Watt Moon, at Lafayette’s Music Room.
My colleague, Memphis Flyer senior account executive Chip Googe, and his band 40 Watt Moon, have a show booked for August 10th at The Blue Monkey on Madison.
I’d recommend going. I saw his show June 12th at Lafayette’s Music Room.
“The best way to describe us is power pop,” Googe says.
The band performed music from its first album, August in Grace, which was released in 2006. The group currently is recording its next album at Young Avenue Sound and American Recording Studios. That album is slated to be released in a few months.
In addition to Googe, who plays lead guitar and is background vocalist, are guitarist/lead vocalist Kevin Pusey; bass player/songwriter Michael Duncan; and drummer Vince Hood.
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