Tag: Black Lodge

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

From Dumb County to ‘Dog Police,’ a Q&A with Piano Man Pictures’ Chad Allen Barton

CREDIT: Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

File this one under “audiobooks.” The Bluff City-based film collective Piano Man Pictures has released the recording (podcast? audiobook? radio show?) of Dumb County, the script too outrageous, too expensive, and (at least right now) too on the nose to film.

The group is known around the Memphis film scene, having been frequent contributors to

 the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the Time Warp Drive-In, and being co-creators, with long-running Memphis video rental store and venue Black Lodge, of the Cinematic Panic film festival. Most recently, PMP’s “We Got a Problem with Groundwater,” directed by Shelby Baldock, screened at Indie Memphis 2020 and is a Bowery Awards finalist.

Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

Chad Allen Barton

Dumb County is a delight — if the listener can stomach the absolutely awful cast of characters. The full cast of voice actors and occasional sound effects up the production value — I’ve listened to professionally produced audiobooks with less pizazz. It follows an out-of-town couple broken down at the edge of town, and the mechanic named Cornfed, the sheriff, the town preacher, and other county residents they meet. Dumb County was recorded in front of a live studio audience at Black Lodge, where Barton is a co-owner. The audiobook stars Stephen Teague, Michelle Allmon, Steven Burk, Greg Boller, Jason Gerhard, Ryan Scott, David Hammons, Markus Seaberry, and Jimmy Hoxie. Teague is the narrator.

I spoke with PMP’s Chad Allen Barton about the catharsis of character work, the music video “Dog Police” by the Memphis band of the same name, and of course Dumb County.

Memphis Flyer: So you guys did a table read, essentially?

Chad Allen Barton: We did basically a live table read with nine different actors. We had everybody mic’d up, and it was at Black Lodge one night in front of about 25 people.

And that’s the recording — that’s what we’re hearing?

Correct. We recorded it live.

Part of why this is the audio play version instead of the feature film is that it would be way too expensive to produce by yourselves?

Yeah, it’s a large cast, and there are also a lot of really expensive things like cars exploding and flipping downhill and gas stations exploding and all kinds of wild shit that we just don’t have the money to do.

Right.

And nobody in their right mind would give me any amount of money right now to do it because it’s extremely offensive toward certain people. Namely awful rednecks.

That might actually be pretty cathartic right now.

[Barton laughs]

Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

Charlie Metz

So “wild” is on brand for Piano Man Pictures, but why did you write something that would be so expensive? I mean, this is not like spray-painting gourds, which you did for your macaroni farm short. You always find a way to make things look good. I feel like that’s part of the ethos, but it’s balanced with practicality. So what happened?




This took like seven years to write, with Charlie Metz. Basically it’s just me and Charlie sitting around and drinking and just doing characters. We did the characters enough that we started constructing stories. So, we said, okay, let’s work on a script. We would go on these long tirades where we would slip into the characters and [keep drinking]. Then we would wake up the next morning and see what we had and edit sober. It was the right mindset for those characters.

That seems like a pressure release valve. Do you think that kind of exposure to hateful and willfully ignorant people is what made Dumb County happen?

Oh, definitely. Especially for Charlie, who is just so frustrated with the way things are. So to be able to slip into these characters who aren’t self aware, but to add something that makes it funny [is really relieving].

Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

The cast of Dumb County performing live at Black Lodge.


So, more generally, what’s going on with you at PMP?

Well Lights Camera Bullshit is on Amazon. We were editing Soft Boy the other day. We’re getting it to a pretty good place. We were going to move faster with it, but with all that’s going on, what’s the rush? I don’t really want to do an online release. Probably before the end of the year, we’ll have a decent cut of it with effects.

Have you got anything else in the works?

I’m working on a short with Rachel [M. Taylor] that has to do with education and the future of education. It’s kind of sci-fi. My mind always goes back to science-fiction in some form.

Anything else?

There’s that, and I’m still trying to finish the “Dog Police” documentary. We’re going to have to do something without a lot of photos to cut between, so we’re probably going to have to do something with animation and 3-D stuff. Some weird, crude reenactments of certain things.

Well, it’s “Dog Police.” You said “weird” and “crude,” and nobody’s going to say “This doesn’t fit! Have they even seen the music video?”

It does make total sense. All we have to do is go into the space [at the Medicine Factory] and throw on a smoke machine and strobe light, and that’s pretty much what the music video looks like.

Is there anything else you want people to mention?

I guess you can mention our Patreon page for anyone who wants to contribute and help get the movie made. And you can always mention Black Lodge.

Listen to Dumb County at the Piano Man Pictures website.

Courtesy Piano Man Pictures

Black Lodge

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We Recommend We Recommend

Black Lodge Hosts “Queer Horror” Outdoor Screening Event

CREDIT: Facebook/Black Lodge

This Friday, October 9th, Black Lodge will be screening two favorite queer camp horrors. One is ironically called Sleepaway Camp. It’s covered with the camp stamp. Teen movie — puh-leese. Made in the ’80s —so campy. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the rundown: A killer is at a teen sleepaway camp, and each night another person is found dead. What secrets lie there? The camp is called Arawak. They deserve it just for thinking they won’t get whacked at a camp with that name.

On their Facebook page, Black Lodge urges attendees not to google this sleeper film, “The less you know about this one, the better. The ending is iconic, and any research will pretty much spoil it.”

Facebook/Black Lodge

for you.”

The first movie of the night will be A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, another ’80s film about teenagers. In this film, the Freddy Krueger story continues when the Walsh family moves into a house on Elm Street. That house just happens to be the former residence of Nancy Thompson, the sole survivor from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Jesse Walsh finds himself up against Krueger. You always knew you were being set up for a sequel if someone survived. It’s a slasher film — I’m sure you know what happens. Nevertheless, you’ll want to follow Jesse and his girlfriend as they try to outsmart the dream slayer.

Black Lodge requests no children in attendance due to the adult nature of the films. Bring a friend for emotional support and a chair or blanket, as the screening is outdoors. Soft drinks will be sold, mask-wearing is mandatory, and donations are appreciated. Message the host on Facebook to reserve a space.

Queer Horror Night, Black Lodge, 405 N. Cleveland, Friday, October 9, 7-10 p.m., free.

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Long Live The New Flesh! Time Warp Drive-In Returns With a Salute to David Cronenberg

Videodrome

Among the many Memphis cultural institutions hit hard by the pandemic has been Black Lodge. Memphis’ independent video store reinvented itself as a mini-cinema and performance space for music and other countercultural performing arts by moving from its old home of 15 years in Cooper-Young to a big new space in the Crosstown neighborhood. Things were just getting rolling when the coronavirus hit early this year.

The Lodge has been back for a few months, renting films to members from its 30,000-strong collection of DVD and Blu-Ray titles. But like any place that depends on in-person gatherings right now, they are fighting for survival.

The Time Warp Drive-In, presented in partnership with Memphis’ favorite psychotronic filmmaker Mike McCarthy and Malco Theatres, kept the Black Lodge name alive while they were searching for a new home, and new business model. The monthly screenings of classic genre and cult films had been suspended since March’s shutdown. Tomorrow night, Saturday, September 19, it returns with a tribute to one of the most iconoclastic filmmakers of all time.

University of Memphis film professor Marina Levina likes to say that all horror is body horror, meaning that the terror of our own biological weirdness is at the heart of the genre. Nobody exemplifies that axiom better than David Cronenberg. The Canadian director’s movies have long questioned the line between our humanity and the artificial world we create. None of his films were more prescient than 1983’s Videodrome.

Cronenberg’s vision in Videodrome is strictly analog. He did not predict the internet and the rise of computers like his fellow Canadian William Gibson. But in the dream-like Videodrome, he did touch on the bizarre and dangerous side-effects of our information-saturated culture. James Woods stars as Max, the cynical operator of a low-power UHF TV station in Vancouver. When looking for more sensational programming to satisfy his prurient viewers, he stumbles across a secret show that depicts the graphic torture and murder of innocent victims. Rather than be repulsed and report the station to the authorities, he delves deeper into the mystery, and pays with his sanity and his humanity. Videodrome co-stars Debbie Harry, legendary frontwoman for OG punks Blondie, as Nicki, Max’s secret lover who may be either a victim or avatar of Videodrome. The film’s message, which has only become more clear in our current age, is that the power to control the collective hallucination is the power to control reality itself.

Long Live The New Flesh! Time Warp Drive-In Returns With a Salute to David Cronenberg

The evening’s second film is Scanners, the infamous 1981 horror hit which put Cronenberg on the map. The film stars British TV wildman Patrick McGoohan, of the cult sci fi series The Prisoner, as Dr. Paul Ruth, a conscience-free scientist working for ConSec, a shadowy corporate conglomerate investigating the existence of mutant psychics walking among us. These psychics can not only read minds, a skill which ConSec believes can be useful for corporate espionage, they have the ability to… well, just watch.

Long Live The New Flesh! Time Warp Drive-In Returns With a Salute to David Cronenberg (2)

That’s Michael Ironside, the heavy from Total Recall and Top Gun, in one of his first ever roles as the smug, head-banging telepath. The effect was achieved by filling a mask with gore and blasting it with a shotgun, a crew-endangering stunt that would get you instantly sued out of existence if you tried it today. They don’t make ’em like Scanners any more.

The third film of the triple features was Cronenberg’s second of 1983. The Dead Zone is a Dino De Laurentiis production based on a 1979 Stephen King novel. Christopher Walken stars in one of his iconic roles as the creatively named John Smith, a schoolteacher who awakens after a five-year coma to discover he has developed psychic powers and can see the future. When a chance meeting with politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen, deliciously sleazy) reveals that the would-be president will one day cause a nuclear war, Smith must decide whether or not to act on the information and try to change an apocalyptic future.

Long Live The New Flesh! Time Warp Drive-In Returns With a Salute to David Cronenberg (3)

Admission for the Time Warp Drive-In is $10 for the triple feature. Gates of the Malco Summer Drive-In open at 6:45, and the first film starts at 7:15. 

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

From Ava Gardner to Reese Witherspoon to King Kong, a Classic Week at The Movies

Eva Gardner in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

It’s a week of classics on the big screen in Memphis. First up, tonight, March 10th, a new regular film series begins at Black Lodge. Steve Ross, who recently retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of Memphis’ Communications and Film Department, was approached by his former film students Chad Allen Barton and Stephen Hildreth and Lodge owner Matt Martin to share some of his favorites with audiences.

“I immediately thought of Black Lodge as the perfect venue for a series of American films from the 1950’s—specifically, glossy melodramas by directors like Vincent Minnelli and Douglas Sirk,” says Ross. “These were enormously popular films that were too overwrought, too excessive, and too flamboyant to be taken seriously by critics at the time of their release. Black Lodge has never shied away from films that some might condemn as disreputable. And Written On The Wind is one of the most disreputable examples of high-gloss melodramas with sly undercurrents of satire running through them.”

The screening is free, and the show starts at 7 p.m. tonight. Check out the wild opening credit sequence of Written On The Wind to get a taste of delicious disreputability, 1956-style.

From Ava Gardner to Reese Witherspoon to King Kong, a Classic Week at The Movies (2)

Tomorrow, Wednesday March 11th, Indie Memphis’ weekly film series presents another melodrama from the 1950s. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman was Ava Gardner’s first bona fide star vehicle. It’s a weird supernatural thriller from director Albert Lewin that has Gardner cast as a femme fatale named for the demi-goddess of chaos and James Mason as the possible incarnation of the Flying Dutchman. Also, there are racecars. The 4K restoration of the film screens at Malco Ridgeway at 7 p.m.

From Ava Gardner to Reese Witherspoon to King Kong, a Classic Week at The Movies

On Thursday night at Crosstown Theater, the Arthouse series presents a doozy. Reese Witherspoon got an Oscar for playing June Carter Cash, but 10 years earlier she was a crazed Little Red Riding Hood taking preemptive revenge on big bad Kiefer Southerland in one of the weirder post-Pulp Fiction sordid crime pictures. Behold the sleazy glory of Freeway, playing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night.

From Ava Gardner to Reese Witherspoon to King Kong, a Classic Week at The Movies (3)

On Sunday, March 15th at 1 p.m., Turner Classic Movies is bringing King Kong to the Malco Paradiso. Is it just me, or did it always seem like a really bad idea to bring the big ape to Broadway? This is not a hindsight thing. Just seems like common sense. But what do I know about showbiz?

From Ava Gardner to Reese Witherspoon to King Kong, a Classic Week at The Movies (4)

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Party Like It’s 2020: Our NYE Guide

It’s been 20 years since 1999 — and 37 years since Prince released his end-of-the-world party album 1999 in 1982 — but we’re still going to party like it’s the end of the decade. That’s right, the “new” millennium is out of its difficult teen years and almost old enough to buy itself a drink or rent a car. Hopefully we’ve all gained some wisdom, but now’s not the time for quiet reflection. It’s time to par-tay! Here’s our guide to some of Memphis’ most happening events this New Year’s Eve.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

The 61st annual bowl game is perfect for those who want to celebrate without staying out too late. Navy vs. Kansas State. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Tuesday, December 31st, 2:45 p.m.

Beale Street’s New Year’s Eve Celebration

Say goodbye to 2019 amid Beale’s 188 years of history with a party with live music, dancing, fireworks, food, drinks, and a giant mirror ball. No purchase necessary to attend, but remember, Beale Street is 21+ after dark. Beale Street, Tuesday, December 31st, 5 p.m.

Lord T. & Eloise

Lord T. & Eloise’s New Year’s Eve Ball

A night of decadence, desire, and debauchery promises to descend upon revelers at the newly reopened Black Lodge, with performances by Model Zero, Glorious Abhor, Louise Page, and Memphis’ most aristocratic rappers, Lord T. & Eloise. There will also be aerial and dance performances from Poleuminati and a light show from Queen Bea Arthur. Dance, dance, dance among the DVDs! Black Lodge, Tuesday, December 31st, 9 p.m. $20.

The PRVLG

New Year’s Eve at Hattiloo Theatre

Kortland Whalum, Talibah Safiya, and The PRVLG will perform, and comedian P.A. Bomani will deliver the end-of-year chuckles. Admission includes a flute of champagne and party favors, and the FunkSoul Cafe will be open, as well. Hattiloo Theatre, Tuesday, December 31st, 9 p.m.

New Year’s Eve at Graceland

Party like a king — or at least where the king of rock-and-roll used to party. Experience the “wonder of New” Year’s with this dinner and dance party at Elvis’ old stomping grounds. Roby Haynes and Party Plant perform, and admission includes a buffet dinner and midnight champagne toast. The Guest House at Graceland, Tuesday, December 31st, 7 p.m. $125.

Peabody New Year’s Eve Party

Ring in the new year in style at the South’s grand hotel. With music by Almost Famous, Seeing Red, and DJ Epic and a VIP section that includes party favors, hors d’oeuvres, and unlimited champagne, this party will help revelers set a sophisticated tone for the new year. The Peabody, Tuesday, December 31st, 8 p.m. $40-$175.

Quintron & Miss Pussycat’s New Year’s Eve

A New Year’s tradition. Hash Redactor and Aquarian Blood perform.Admission includes a free champagne toast and the balloon drop at midnight.

Hi Tone, Tuesday, December 31st, 8 p.m. $20.

Dale Watson & his Lone Stars with Honky Tonk Horn Section

This honky tonkin’ hootenanny is the Hernando’s Hide-A-Way way of ringing in the new year and a new decade. With a champagne toast, black-eyed peas, and cornbread to get the year started off on the right cowboy boot. Hernando’s Hide-A-Way, Tuesday, December 31st, 9 p.m.

New Year’s Eve with Spaceface

The Young Avenue Deli has a brand-new sound system, and there’s no better way to test it out than with a rockin’, raucous band. Ring in 2020 with Memphis’ most theatrical psychedelic party band. Champagne toast at midnight.

Young Avenue Deli, Tuesday, December 31st, 9 p.m. $15.

New Year’s Eve with Star & Micey

Railgarten is Midtown’s backyard, so it’s only right that they should invite local legends Star & Micey to help sing in the new year. For those who “Can’t Wait” for 2020, don’t try to Get ‘Em Next Time — get to this party this year. Daykisser opens. Railgarten, Tuesday, December 31st, 9:30 p.m.

New Year’s Eve Lantern Hike

Celebrate the new year in nature. Ranger Gooch leads this lantern-lit, two-mile hike through the woods. S’mores and hot chocolate or hot apple cider await attendees at the end of the hike. Remember to dress for the weather, and please leave flame-lit lanterns at home. Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, Tuesday, December 31st, 11:30 p.m. $5.

Roaring ’20s New Year’s Eve Party

Giggle water at midnight, eh old chum? Admission includes an open wine and beer bar, a midnight champagne toast, and hors d’oeuvres. All proceeds go to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis. 616 Marshall, Tuesday, December 31st, 8 p.m. $75-$150.

Spectrum XL Goes to Minglewood

Ain’t no dance party like a Spectrum dance party. The storied club brings its end-of-the-year dance party to Minglewood. Bring your own sequins and glitter. Proceeds benefit Friends for Life. Minglewood Hall, Tuesday, December 31st, 9 p.m. $30-$125.

New Year’s Eve Bash at B.B. King’s

Maybe the best way to ensure you don’t get the blues in 2020 is to ring in the new year by dancing to the blues at B.B. King’s. Tickets include open wine and beer bar, midnight champagne toast, and hors d’oeuvres. B.B. King’s Blues Club, Tuesday, December 31st, 6 p.m. $25 (general admission), $100 (dinner package).

Back to the ’20s

Another early-night option, Crosstown Brewing’s New Year’s shindig includes music by Graham Winchester, dinner catered by Next Door American Eatery, and the debut of I Am Brut — a Brut IPA for those non-champagne drinkers out there. Crosstown Brewing Company, Tuesday, December 31st, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Beauty Shop New Year’s Eve

A four-course dinner with the swinging, sultry sounds of Gary Johns & His Mini Orchestra. Call 272-7111 for reservations. Beauty Shop, Tuesday, December 31st, 5 p.m.

Toast to the ’20s

Tin Roof gets the new year going with music from Chris Ferrara, Bluff City Bandits, The Common Good, DJ Stringbean, and DJ ZewMob. Champagne toast at midnight. Tin Roof, Tuesday, December 31st, 6 p.m., $30.

New Year’s Party at Gold Club

Okay, so the family-friendly holidays are over. The little turkeys and reindeer have all been put to bed before midnight, and the adults will play. It’s time to get down and dirty and let the new year come in hot and heavy. Party with a balloon drop, dance and drink specials, and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. Gold Club Memphis, Tuesday, December 31st, all night long.

New Year’s Eve on the Terrace

Ring in the new year against the stunning backdrop of the Mississippi River and the colorful Mighty Lights bridge light show. What’s more Memphis than that? Call 260-3366 for reservations. Terrace at the River Inn, Tuesday, December 31st, 4 p.m.

Y2K New Year’s Dance Party

Remember the Y2K panic of 1999? The computers couldn’t understand a new millennium. A nine becoming a zero was going to cause worldwide nuclear meltdown. Anyway, let’s relive that end-of-year mass hysteria — with drinks and dancing! Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Y2K with end-of-the-world drink specials, DJs spinning tunes, and dancing throughout the night. Rec Room, Tuesday, December 31st, 8 p.m.

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge

This weekend, the second Cinematic Panic film festival unspools on the big screens at Black Lodge. “Like last year, the big idea is, half of the submissions are from Memphis; the rest from all across the country and from other countries,” says Matt Martin, proprietor of the recently revived video store and hangout spot. 

In total, filmmakers from 25 different countries submitted entries to the Panic, which includes dozens of short films and features in and out of competition. “Our only criteria is, whatever you make, it’s gotta be weird.” says Martin.

The festival competition begins on Thursday, December 5 with Flesh City, a gonzo horror fantasy from Berlin director Thorsten Fleisch. This is a film whose own trailer proclaims “It will make your eyes bleed”.

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge

Cinematic Panic also features weird and shocking classics, such as Thursday’s second film, the infamous J-horror nightmare Ichi The Killer. 

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge (2)

Friday night sees the return of a Memphis classic. The Importance of Being Russell was a big hit at the 2006 Indie Memphis Film Festival. Directed by Sean Plemmons, the film stars one of the Bluff City’s independent film pioneers John Pickle as the titular Russell, a self-proclaimed redneck who finds himself drawn into a plot of world domination via mind control, also known as “getting city-fied”.

Pickle says the film grew from a character he created for Pickle TV, which weirded up cable in Memphis for the better part of a decade. “I used to do multiple characters on the cable access show, and Russell was one that I came up with one night out of necessity,” says Pickle. “That particular character seems to resonate with with people more than 80 characters that I had done previously. So I just started writing more skits with Russell.”

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge (3)

While filming his horror feature, The Last Man on Earth, Pickle and his collaborators, which included Jimmy Ross, had the idea to give Russell his own film. “We all just kind of giggled at it, but the more we thought about it the more just kind of evolved. And so we started getting together like every Sunday night for almost a year, and hashing out the story of what it would it could be and what it should be. … It just evolved over time, because when we first started digging around with it the the Russell character wasn’t like he ended up being in the movie. He was he was a lot more offensive and brash and pretty much just a kind of person you wouldn’t really want to be around. I didn’t necessarily agree with that at the time, but I’m glad we got we went with it because the Russell character turned out to be very likable.”

The Importance of Being Russell is a marvel of DIY filmmaking that includes a special-effect-heavy finale visually inspired by Forbidden Planet courtesy of special effects artist Greg Stanford and makeup artist Maddie Singer.

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After Russell is the 1985 Lovecraftian classic, Re-Animator, which was a major influence on Pickle’s short film “Cannibal Records”.

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Saturday includes sci-fi shorts and the David Cronenberg adaptation of William Burrough’s Naked Lunch.

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge (7)

Then, Brad Ellis and Allen Gardner of Memphis’ Old School Pictures present their latest feature, Cold Feet. The horror comedy, which puts a bachelor party in a haunted house with a ghost who has motives of her own, sold out at Indie Memphis 2019 and won a screenplay award at the New Orleans Horror Film Festival.

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge (5)

Sunday features a full day of films, including the competition horror comedy The Curse of Valburga from Slovenia.

The Return of Russell: Cinematic Panic Brings Different Kind of Film Festival to Black Lodge (8)

Tickets are $20 for the weekend, and you can see the full schedule here. 

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Cover Feature News

Gift Memphis: Think Local this Season — Here Are Some Ideas

Do you really want to fight Black Friday crowds and support big-box retailers when we’ve got tons of cool, affordable, locally made and sold gifts available throughout the city? We didn’t think so. To help you tick some items off your shopping list, we’ve compiled a few hyper-local options for you — for an Alternative Black Friday, if you will — with favorite shops, items, makers, and more, to cover even the hardest-to-buy-for folks.

COOPER-YOUNG HAUL

Before you hit that “place your order” button, remember Amazon paid no federal taxes last year, its billionaire founder had the gall to cut health-care benefits for some employees this year, and — most importantly — Amazon is not Memphis AF (like, at all).

Cooper-Young is, in fact, Memphis AF. The neighborhood’s mix of restaurants and shops makes for a perfect, big-city shopping experience. Gleam in the season’s glow as you hustle your holiday gift bags across Cooper-Young’s new rainbow-pride crosswalk.

Plan your shopping spree for Saturday, November 30th. That’s Small Business Saturday, and some C-Y businesses have teamed up for a day of giveaways, drawings, and special deals and discounts. Ten lucky winners will go home with gift boxes worth more than $100 each. Need some C-Y gift ideas? We did some scouting for you. — Toby Sells

Fox + Cat Vintage: Forget fast fashion. This fashion boutique offers a lovingly curated closet of styles and tastes from a 1920s-era flapper girl hat ($150) to an ’80s-style jean jacket with a collection of amazing patches ($112).

Toby Sells

Fox + Cat Vintage

Young Avenue Deli: Barbecue is Memphis’ civic dish. If it had one, the Deli’s french fries might be the culinary standard for Midtown. I took two orders to a holiday potluck once. Folks laughed, but nary a fry was left. And let’s not even talk about those cheese sticks. Walls of craft beer, one-of-a-kind sandwiches, wings … get a gift card for anyone on your list.

Grivet Outdoors: This new outdoor shop has what Memphis needs to run, hike, climb, hunt, fish, or just about anything else. Don’t have an outdoorsy type on your list this year? How about someone who has to go outside in the wet Memphis winter? Try the waterproof duck boots from Sorel (men’s, $155; women’s, $120).

901 Comics: Thanks to a zillion Marvel movies, we know one thing: We’re all comic book nerds. 901 Comics has walls full of superheroes you know, like Batman and Iron Man, and some you might not know, like Bloodshot and Count Crowley. But the store has more than books. Think action figures, figurines, posters, games, shirts, masks, and more. Also, check out the R2-D2 toaster ($34) or the Death Star cheese board ($45) for the food geek in your life.

Toby Sells

901 Comics

Buff City Soap: Give your morning routine a local upgrade: Buff City Soap opened in Cooper-Young last year. All of the products are made in-house. So when they offer a bar of soap called Midtown Phunk, they know what they’re talking about. But it ain’t all bath bombs and body butters. Get that unruly scruff under control with Ferocious Beast beard oil ($15) or Shave and a Haircut beard balm ($15).

Toby Sells

Buff City Soap

Cooper-Young Gallery & Gift Shop: It’s an art gallery. It’s a gift shop. It’s a creative workspace. Sometimes the owners call it the “Cute Shop.” It all makes sense when you walk inside. Want to paint Ruth Bader Ginsberg by numbers? The kit will set you back $22. Pick up some stocking-stuffers like 38104-ever magnets ($3) or mugs ($15). There’s way more to discover in this perfectly eclectic, satisfyingly tidy little shop.

Burke’s Books: The Burke’s holiday window is a C-Y tradition. Neighbors make annual treks just to see what yuletide treat awaits them there. Inside the store is a book-lover’s treat year ’round — new releases, photo books, kids books, and more. Burke’s specializes in rare and collectible books, like a nice leather-bound copy of Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls ($18).

VINTAGE FINDS

For 35 years, Flashback has been the vintage place to go. Shoppers can find oodles of kitschy, cheesy delights — items of perfect pop culture, things so bad they’re good (ugly Christmas sweaters), designs you’d never have in your house until you realize you have to have them. But mostly you’ll find wondrous objects of beauty and rarity. Some are new, and many wear their age remarkably well: lovely backlit lithophane porcelains, frequently tasteful glassware and dishes, jewelry, singular shoes and clothing, including rude socks. There are Danish mobiles and bookmarks made from filmstrips (The Wizard of Oz is very popular). Elvii are everywhere.

Jon W. Sparks

Flashback

Proprietor Millett Vance has an eye for items that are just right, for yourself or as gifts for your wide range of friends and family. And she knows the price point you’re looking for. “Everyone looks for presents for people, and they end up buying something for themselves.”

Flashback is at 2304 Central, with the seated mannequin and pink flamingos al fresco. 272-2304. flashbackmemphis.com.

— Jon W. Sparks

SILVER BELLS

In her days at Memphis College of Art, Tootsie Bell wasn’t particularly thinking about becoming a silversmith. She needed a job, and a friend at a jewelry store hooked her up. She loves woodworking and sculpture as well, particularly when it’s at a bigger scale than the usual silver projects she does daily. That got her some commissions for public art, which you can see around town. But go into her shop — she’s been at it for 24 years — and look at the work on display. You’ll see a wonderful attention to detail. If you really want to take it to the next level, have her make some jewelry for you.

Tootsie Bell Silversmith

“My work, whether it’s large or small, has a theme to it,” Bell says. “I like there to be a meaning or a narrative behind it. When I work with customers, I like to get a background, a story of either the person that I’m making the piece for or something like that.”

And if you have a hankering to create some of your own baubles, she can help with that, too. She offers classes on how to craft a piece of jewelry. At present, she teaches four students at a time. “I help them come up with what they want to make and assist when I need to,” Bell says. “You make it and take it home.” When the new year gets underway, she’ll have more classes to accommodate bigger projects. She also offers gift cards, so you can let the giftee choose how they want to take the classes.

Tootsie Bell Silversmith is at 4726 Poplar. 763-4049. quenchstudiomemphis.com. — JWS

BLACK LODGE AND CHILL

After the temperature drops and the hyper-social holiday season winds down, your loved ones are going to want to spend some time quality time in their living room this winter.

If you’re looking for gifts to help you chill, the first place to go is Black Lodge. The independent video store that graced Cooper-Young for 14 years has recently reopened in a new space in Crosstown — and not a moment too soon. The Netflix-led streaming video revolution that put video stores out of business in the last decade is rapidly becoming fragmented and expensive. With the launch of Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV (to name a few), you have to subscribe to multiple services to get what you want. That’s where the Lodge comes in. Its selection of almost 30,000 titles dwarfs Netflix, and the knowledgeable staff will help you discover new movies and TV shows you may have overlooked. Gift recipients can use their Black Lodge gift cards to pay for the $10 per month membership or to snag something from the ever-expanding lineup of cool Lodge merch.

Justin Fox Burks

If reading is more your friend’s speed, Two Rivers Bookstore has a curated selection of science-fiction and fantasy books, such as Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, the acclaimed sequel to the author’s dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale. Two Rivers also carries local art and jewelry, and if your gift target is into tabletop role-playing games, you can get Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and dice bags made in-store.

For the “chill” part, the place to go is Wizard’s. The Midtown smoke shop now carries six brands and 13 flavors of CBD flower for your stress-relief needs. To really take the edge off healthily, a Pax 3 or Firefly flower vaporizer will get you there without the cough and smell. Or you can go whole-hog and invest in the newest of the pioneering Volcano vaporizer line.

Wizard’s

Then again, maybe your loved one’s “chill” is more euphemistic. In that case, a visit to Coco & Lola’s lingerie shop is in order. They are the exclusive Memphis home to the Kilo Brava line of teddies, bustiers, and exquisite two- and three-piece lace bra and panty sets.

You won’t regret it when you see your loved one slip into a silk kimono, pop in a Blu-Ray, hit the vape, and let the magic happen. — Chris McCoy

WORK IT

My sister said she had a surprise for me. My only instructions: wear athletic clothes and show up to the provided address at a certain time. I pulled up to a small building on Flicker Street. It was Recess 901, a local gym that bills itself as providing a “diverse, curated fitness experience.” Inside, I was met by Nick Davis, one of the instructors. My surprise was a one-on-one, 30-minute boxing class with him. With his guidance, I hooked and jabbed my way through the session. Beginning in December, Davis will lead small-group boxing classes through a program called Go Boxing & Fitness. The eight-person sessions, featuring boxing training and bodyweight exercises, are designed to enhance one’s mental and physical state.

Justin Fox Burks

Recess 901

Davis believes the small-group format is optimal for boxing and brings out “healthy, natural competition. Go Boxing & Fitness not only changes your body,” he says. “It changes your mind, your attitude, and your mood.”

There are plenty of gifts like this one around town for the fitness junkies, as well as the outdoor lovers, in your life. For the runners, Fleet Feet has gear and accessories at all price points. From hoodies for cold days to reflective vests for night running to the best running shoe, it’s all there. Or help your loved ones reach new heights at Highpoint Rock Climbing and Fitness. The gym offers gift cards, so you can give the gift of bouldering and belaying. Finally, do you know anyone in need of a kayak, tent, or bike? Outdoors Inc. has everything for the outdoor adventurers on your list. — Maya Smith

UNUSUAL MERCH

For many musicians, the travails of touring can leave you in the lurch, unless you’re crafty with unorthodox merch. Music fans need only stroll over to the merchandise table. The expeditionary noise band Nonconnah, for example, can always make up for a low door take by selling jars of homemade jam or pickles. If they shared a bill with Neighborhood Texture Jam (NTJ), who’ve been known to shower the audience with Slim Jims, you could have a full meal. Then wash it down when seeing Seance Fiction, from Florence, Alabama, who have offered packets of powdered beverage mix in a Dixie cup sporting the words, “Drink the Kool Aid! Join the Cult!”

For all your romantic needs, merch of a more intimate nature can be had. The Rhythm Hounds, Fuck (the band), and NTJ have all offered underwear emblazoned with the group’s logo or name, though in the latter case, it was adult diapers. But Fuck, long hailed as kings of wacky merch, took intimate fandom to a new level by getting inside your eyelids: a camera flash, masked with a stencil of the band name, could be set off in your face, thus burning the word into your retina for a good 10 minutes. Oh, joy!

Some unorthodox merch actually honors the music. When the Lost Sounds were just another struggling combo in need of a deal, Alicja Trout would hand-paint CD-Rs of their albums, each one unique (and highly collectable now). And for those who love the lyrics of Cory Branan, he’ll write them out by hand on acid/lignin-free archival paper. One fan framed the words to his “Sour Mash” alongside two Prohibition-era prescriptions for bourbon.

Alicja Trout handpainted CD

So when you’re out at a show, be sure to peruse the merch table, perchance to discover that perfect gift for the music fan who has everything. — Alex Greene

PETS, ART, & ‘CUE

Personally, I love shopping for friends and family, so when they tell me they have everything they need, I take it as a challenge. It’s fun to defy your giftee’s expectations and give someone something nice that they wouldn’t normally get for themselves, doubly so when you’re supporting a local business with your purchasing power. So let’s get started.

Sure, the pet supply store Hollywood Feed has grown big enough to take a St. Bernard-sized bite out of the national market, but the first Hollywood Feed opened on Hollywood and Chelsea in Memphis in the ’50s, and the company still keeps its headquarters here. That’s local enough for me. And because even the most selfless or Spartan family members will at least pamper their pets, the store is a great place to shop for people who are, well, hard to shop for.

Justin Fox Burks

Hollywood Feed

What’s more, the friendly folks at Hollywood Feed are knowledgeable and understanding. A month ago, when, after adopting a kitten, I wandered inside in a daze, my head buzzing with questions about litter (clumping? non-clumping?) and food (grain-free or not?), the staff patiently walked me through the ins and outs of what I needed to keep my newly rescued furry friend safe and satisfied. Compared to that, shopping for my family’s fur-babies is a varitible romp in the puppy park. I just scoop up some dog toys and handmade treats from the animal-safe bakery, and I can mark a few folks off my list.

When it comes to local, Art Center knows what’s up. The full-service art supply store opened in 1974 and has plenty of experience helping Memphians with their custom framing, paints, charcoals, decoupage, and more. And since the owners require their employees to have a strong background in art, says general manager Jimmy Sanders, the staff is qualified to help even the most hapless of customers. Their prices span the spectrum, too, so you can stuff a stocking without unstuffing your wallet, or spoil your little Michelangelo in training to your heart’s content. Next!

My brother-in-law lives in Middle Tennessee, and he loves to cook. So I’ve been buying him barbecue sauce and dry seasoning every Christmas for seven years because, while you can get decent barbecue fixings out east, you can’t get Memphis barbecue sauce anywhere else.

Though I mix up which sauce I buy from year to year, The Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison has been winning awards for 32 years, with a 50-year-old sauce recipe that dates back to Brady & Lil’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant, making it a shoo-in for my brother-in-law’s stocking.

Justin Fox Burks

The Bar-B-Q Shop

For bonus points, round out your holiday haul with something seasonably sessionable to sip from one of the local breweries, some coffee from one of the Bluff City’s local roasters, a little something to nibble from The Peanut Shoppe at 24 S. Main, and some candles from Maggie’s Pharm.

Boom! You’ve got yourself a very Memphis holiday basket.

— Jesse Davis

TREASURE HUNT

I’ve always been a big fan of flea markets and arts festivals — you just never know what types of one-of-a-kind treasures you’ll find. The hunt is where the excitement lies, and it’s even more exciting when you’re directly supporting local creators.

This season, WinterArts brings a bit of that thrill with a showcase of functional and decorative work from nearly 50 of the region’s top artists, including several based right here in Memphis: Dorothy Northern (jeweler); Bryan Blankenship, Lisa Hudson, Becky Ziemer, and David James Johnson (ceramics); Felcitas Sloves, (fiber: weaving); Cheryl Hazelton (wood: marquetry); and others.

WinterArts

Treasure hunters will find handmade work crafted in glass, metal, wood, fiber, and clay. Think beautiful cuff bracelets, vases, wooden trinket boxes, ornaments, and more. Participating artists will have video at their booths, providing visitors virtual demonstrations of their creation process.

WinterArts

WinterArts is presented by ArtWorks Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to help artists grow and thrive. In its 11th year, WinterArts runs November 30th through December 24th at 888 White Station (between Poplar and Park, next to Bed Bath & Beyond). Browse the wares for unique gifts Mondays-Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. — Shara Clark

ELVIS SOCKS

In “Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me,” Elvis sings, “Fill my sock with candy.” Now, you can fill Elvis socks with — your feet. Lansky Bros. at The Peabody sells socks with Elvis’ likeness on them. Elvis playing guitar. Elvis in his “Jailhouse Rock” pose. You even can get black, pink, and white socks — the argyle type Elvis wore in some of his 1950s photos. He probably bought those socks at Lanksy back in the day.

Justin Fox Burks

Lansky Bros.

The black socks with the gold lightning bolt on them are their biggest sellers, says owner Hal Lansky. They’re inscribed with “TCB.”

“If you’re an Elvis fan, you’ll know what it means,” Lansky says. “Even if you’re not, you will.”

The socks, which are very comfortable, sell for $25 and $27.50. They’re fit for a king. Or the King. “Elvis is still the King,” Lansky says. “You know that.”

After the lucky gift recipient wears these Elvis socks, he’ll probably decide to hang up all his other socks and stick with these. He might want a complete selection of Elvis socks. Then he can have a blue Christmas, a green Christmas, an orange Christmas, a red Christmas — you name it. These socks come in various colors.

— Michael Donahue

Categories
We Recommend We Recommend

Za Fest: Memphis’ Largest Pizza Party Is this Weekend

CREDIT: Brenna Huff

Za Fest celebrates its fifth anniversary this Saturday, November 16th, taking over the new Black Lodge location.

“The festival started out as a small kind of DIY,” says Blair Davis, founder and organizer of Za Fest. “And it still is DIY essentially, and that was its core, just for the community purposes and having other people assist. But we kind of raised our little baby, and now it’s 5 years old, and the masses are hungry. They want pizza.”

Brenna Huff

Power to the pizza

Za Fest, dubbed Memphis’ largest pizza party, will offer an assorted menu of pizza from local eateries like Memphis Pizza Cafe, Garibaldi’s, and Midtown Crossing. Beyond presenting a broad ‘za menu, the festival boasts a diverse lineup that includes electronic music producer DJ Chandler Blingg, singer-songwriter Louise Page, hip-hop artist Coldway, and more.

“Ideally, these smaller communities of pocketed musicians can come together and see that there are cool things in the other pocket,” says Davis. “I think musicians and music, especially, are fairly universal. And the more that we can embrace that the better.”

This year, Za Fest has partnered with Merge Memphis, a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to feeding hungry, less fortunate people, by donating food boxes to families and stocking free food pantries throughout the city. Guests are encouraged to bring canned food items in exchange for raffle tickets or simply make a dollar donation.

“When you’re a starving artist, you may not know what it’s like to be a literal starving person,” says Davis.

Za Fest, Black Lodge, 405 N. Cleveland, Saturday, November 16th, 3 p.m.-2 a.m., $10/presale, $15/door.

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In

There is no Dana. There is only Zuul. Sigourney Weaver slays in Ghostbusters.

October is horror movie month, and nobody does it better than the Time Warp Drive-In. The Warp got its start as a special Halloween program, and it proved so popular it expanded into a monthly event. This year they pulled out all the stops with a loaded program of comedy and musical horror from the glory days of the 1980s.

Leading the program is, naturally, Ghostbusters. The 1984 film was originally conceived by Dan Ackroyd as a vehicle for him, John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy as interdimensional “paranormal exterminators.” Ackroyd says he was actually writing dialog for Belushi when he found out his friend had died in March 1982. After Murphy turned down the opportunity, and an extensive re-write with Harold Ramis—conducted while the pair were locked in a fallout shelter—that has become the stuff of Hollywood legend, the film became the highest-grossing comedy of all time. Bill Murray’s performance as a would-be shyster who unexpectedly discovers ghosts are real cemented his status as a superstar, but it was the incredibly catchy, New Wave theme song by Ray Parker, Jr. that drove the masses to the theaters in the summer of ’84. Roll that tape!

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In (3)

Next up is Little Shop of Horrors, which began life as a shlocky Roger Corman film from 1960, then revamped as an off-broadway musical in the early 80s. Muppet co-mastermind and Yoda himself, Frank Oz, directed Rick Moranis as a geeky flower shop worker who discovers a carnivorous plant from outer space, and makes an unlikely deal with it to woo his crush Audrey, played with squeaky precision by Broadway singer Ellen Greene.

The voice of the alien plant, dubbed Audrey II, is Four Tops frontman Levi Stubbs. Here he is absolutely killing it in the show-stopper “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space”:

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In (2)

Universal Studios hasn’t had much luck with its classic monster properties in the 21st century. Just look at 2014’s Dracula Untold—or better yet, don’t. Maybe they need to switch directions and remake The Monster Squad. The 1987 monsters vs. teenagers romp didn’t scare up much business back in the day, but it earned a huge following on home video, and it’s got a hell of a lot more life than Tom Cruise’s deeply awful Mummy remake.

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In (4)

Speaking of bad ideas, remember that adaptation of the board game Battleship? What a fiasco. Well, the 1985 adaptation of the board game Clue is the polar opposite of that. It’s got a stacked cast of Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Lloyd, and a timeless performance by Madeline Khan, who delivers one of the greatest ad-libs in the history of cinema:

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In (6)

You’re gonna want to stay up late for this one.

SHOCKTOBER! Ghostbusters Leads Packed Time Warp Drive-In (5)

The Time Warp Drive-In starts at 6:30 at the Malco Summer Drive-In with a performance by The Conspiracy Theory. Movies start at sundown. 

Categories
Music Music Blog

Maura Rogers and the Bellows at Black Lodge

Maura Rogers and the Bellows

Sometimes a rotten turn of luck can lead you to your spirit family. That’s more or less the story of Cleveland, Ohio-based folk rockers Maura Rogers and the Bellows.

The band — made up of Maura Rogers (vocals, guitar), Meredith Pangrace (accordion, vocals), Quinn Hyland (bass, vocals), Jeff Babinski (drums, vocals), and Al Moses (lead guitar) — got its start when front-person Maura Rogers needed a distraction from a life-threatening ailment. That distraction ended up helping to save her life. Some years have passed, and Maura Rogers and the Bellows released their third album, Always, in April of 2019. They’re stopping at Black Lodge Saturday, October 19th, with a concert to promote it. I spoke with Rogers over the phone about organ transplants, accordions, new babies, and the Stax Museum.

Memphis Flyer: I read that the band has something of a unique origin story. There’s an organ transplant that was involved?

Maura Rogers: Yeah, definitely. Meredith Pangrace — she plays accordion — joined the band in 2011. She joined in a time when I was actually really kind of sick. For me, the music was something that was a distraction from being ill. I was in kidney failure. (The music) something that I’d always wanted to do. … I knew I wanted an accordion because I love the sound of the instrument and the emotion of it. I put an ad on Craigslist, and Meredith was the only person who responded. She joined the band, and we became friends. We connected right from the beginning, and I felt a very intrinsic connection to her, both as a person and as a musician. Then the kidney failure got progressively worse. In 2012, I was in need of a transplant, and she had gotten tested and it turned out she was as close a match as my own sibling, which is actually really rare. … So August of 2012, she gave me a kidney, and she’s still in the band and will always be in the band. I mean, we are Maura Rogers and the Bellows, and the “Bellows” are the accordion.

Is there anything she could do that would make you want to kick her out?

[laughs] Well, I’m definitely certain there are some things, but she’s a good person. And everybody in the band — it’s really a great group of people. It’s the first time that I’ve felt so comfortable and confident in each one of the members and what they’re bringing to the table. We just work through things when they arise and really enjoy each other. It’s like family, and you can’t quite kick anybody out of your family. They might drive you crazy at times, but they’re still always going to be your family.

Had you done many musical collaborations before forming the band?

No, I had just been a singer/songwriter. I started writing songs in 2006 or 2007 and then released my first solo album as a singer/songwriter in 2010. Some local musicians reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in forming a band, and I thought, “You know, why not? Let’s give it a shot.” And it’s just more complex. There are different contributions that everyone makes to the songs that really bring them to life. As a singer/songwriter, I yearned for that but just couldn’t do it on my own.

Maura Rogers and the Bellows

And Always is the most recent album?

Yeah, and we worked with an amazing producer, Jim Wirt. Both as a producer and a musician, he’s just full of wonderful ideas. And he just has a very special way about him when he works.


I really enjoyed the music video for “92 Days” from the new album. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Noelle Richard directed it. My wife teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Noelle was a recent graduate. I was looking for something to give somebody that with an art background that could really bring a unique perspective to the video, and I met with Noelle and they just had a wonderful idea and full of just a lot of compassion and a lot of humanity and that was kind of the focus. I really thought that connected with, for me, what inspired the song originally. It came from a place of feeling trapped, and I thought that Noelle really kind of captured a sense of how I personally felt it was trapped, but Noelle was able to say, “This is song about overcoming something and really finding the beauty in a situation that is difficult.”

You mentioned that you just had twins. Are they your first children?

Yes, our first children! We have Benjamin and Mera, and they are just blowing me away. You think you know love, and then you meet these new little beings and you’re just really shaken at the core about how how deeply you can feel for something. It’s brand new, and it’s been amazing. It’s exhausting, for sure, but nothing compares for me.

With new kids at home, are you nervous about going on tour?

I am petrified of going on tour. That’s so funny so funny that you ask because when Jeff [Babinski] brought up the idea, it was back in the spring and I was just like I don’t know. And my wife was like, “Do it, do it! Go! It’s going to be so good for you.” Okay, yep. let’s do it. So, Jeff took over the planning, and after they came and just, you know, building this relationship with them, I thought, “Oh, my gosh, I will be gone for days!” But I also know that it’s important for me also as a parent that both these kids grow up and they see us doing things that we love and things fulfill us because I think, more than anything, kids need to see those examples so that they find the things that, in their own life, can really enrich their existence. I know a lot people who don’t have that, and it breaks my heart. Having the example, I think, improves the odds.

Maura Rogers and the Bellows

Is this performance at Black Lodge going to be your first time in Memphis?

Yes, it is. I’m really excited. It’s not everybody’s first time, but I would say that [it is] for the majority of the band.

Does Memphis hold any special significance for you as a music town?

Oh, for sure! I think that there are roots to the history of music — American music — in Memphis. It holds a lot of meaning, and I think that if we have some time, we have some things on our agenda to check out. Hopefully we make it to those things. A friend of the family if one of the directors of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, so we’re definitely thinking of checking that out.

Stax is one of my favorite museums. I’m a soul music junkie, though, so I acknowledge my bias. But anyway, why Black Lodge?

My drummer, Jeff Babinski, runs a film community in Cleveland. It’s called Emerge Cinema. They connected with Piano Man Pictures, who came up to Cleveland to play one of their films. So Jeff reached out to them when we were looking into booking. … I’m really curious because it’s a unique space from what I’ve been told. Have you been there?

Oh, yes. It just relocated, but Black Lodge is one of the last movie rental places in America. They’re just a center for weirdness in the community.


Oh, that’s awesome! I love it. That sounds perfect.

Maura Rogers and the Bellows at Black Lodge, Saturday, October 19th, 8-10 p.m. $5