Tag: Crosstown Concourse

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Music Music Blog

Memphis Listening Lab: A Rare Music Collection Made Public

Sherman Willmott, Jim Cole and Matt Ross-Spang of the Memphis Listening Lab (Photo by Alex Greene)

Back in the ’50s and ’60s, John King was already a collector’s collector. Even as he went on to distinguish himself as a promoter, program director, and studio owner (having initially co-founded Ardent Studios with fellow teens John Fry and Fred Smith in 1959), he continued collecting all the while. But for years he pondered the question of where to safeguard that collection for posterity.

Teenagers John Fry (L) and John King (R) shared a fascination with radio, recording and records. (Photo courtesy Memphis Listening Lab).

Enter King’s kindred spirits and fellow music devotees, the folks at the Memphis Listening Lab. The newly minted nonprofit, launched on the strength of King’s donated collection, has taken up residence in a custom-built space on the second floor of Crosstown Concourse, and is set to open on June 15.

Listening room in the Memphis Music Lab. Art exhibits, such as the current display of photography by Pat Rainer, will rotate through the space. (Photo by Jamie Harmon)

“Open” is a good word for it, for the lab is reimagining King’s collection as a vast public archive, complete with listening stations, event rooms with state of the art speakers and turntables, and a podcast-friendly editing studio.

John King’s collection has become legendary in Memphis music circles. A recent talk with producer Terry Manning brought King’s collecting acumen to the fore. As Manning said, “In the very early Ardent days on National Street, and then later on Madison, we loved the Beatles. Not just the Beatles, but all of the British Invasion bands, the Animals and the Kinks, not so much the Stones, but especially the Beatles. The Hollies. I loved it, John Fry loved it, John King loved it.

“John King also loved radio, and he and John Fry went over to Arkansas and were working with a guy that owned a radio station there. John King started sending letters out to record companies in the name of this radio station, saying ‘please send the records to this P.O. Box in Memphis.’ So all the record companies, big and small, would send their records to the P.O. Box. We didn’t put ’em on the radio, we’d just sit and listen to ’em. We got free records!

“And we started ordering the English records from the John Lever Record Shop in Northampton, England. We would get it all before it was even released [in the U.S.].”

All of which underscores that King’s phenomenal collection — roughly 30,000 45s, 12,000 LPs, 20,000 CDs, and 1,000 music books — is not solely focused on Memphis. As board member Sherman Willmott notes, the collection includes “a lot of Beatles. Some really strangely rare Beatles stuff. Because they would mail order. They’d pick up the phone and mail order from shops in England, and have them shipped here, before there were record imports.”

But the collection is also strong on psychedelia. “Probably the most surprising thing he has, that you wouldn’t expect, is psych,” says Willmott. “I don’t know what got him into it. It’s as if Dr. Demento grew up in Memphis and was into soul and psych. It’s very eclectic.”

Individual turntables with headphones grace the largest room, also slated for educational events. (Photo by Jamie Harmon)

Librarian and archivist Jim Cole, adds, “There are a lot of late ’60s, early ’70s promo copies that were probably mailed to him, and some of those are so obscure, they probably never went past the promo stage.”

Nonetheless, the collection’s relevance to Memphis should not be understated, especially regarding one studio in particular. As Willmott points out, “The Ardent archives in this collection are pretty extensive. It’s like John was the curator of the Ardent’s history. Especially the early stuff. There’s enough stuff to do whatever you’d want to do with it. Books, documentaries, or just casual fandom.”

Cole pulls out some boxes of Ardent artifacts: “We’ve got all the early Ardent 45s and other oddball things.”

Early Ardent singles from the Memphis Listening Lab (Photo by Jamie Harmon)

And it goes far beyond Ardent, as Willmott points out. “John’s got so much Memphis stuff in this collection. I mean, he’s deep catalog Memphis, ’cause what he didn’t collect back in the day, he went back and found on eBay or at the store. He’s got all kinds of obscure Memphis 45s, plus all the [CD] box sets that came out. He’s got it covered on so many levels.”

Indeed, the shelves promise hours and days and years of researching and listening to music. Soon there will be ladders as in floor-to-ceiling libraries of yore, not to mention lecture series and listening events where attendees can hear the various media on Memphis’ own high-end audio standard bearer, Egglestonworks.

Egglestonworks Loudspeakers at the Memphis Listening Lab (Photo by Alex Greene)

Amid the towering shelves of musical gems and speakers, it’s easy to miss the small door off to the side. As Cole explains, “We’ve got an editing room here. The public can come in and use it for free. It can be used for podcasting. The computer has Pro Tools and Logic, and we have good microphones. And we’re going to work with WYXR, so people who are trying to get shows can come up here and do a demo show on the podcasting station. Or the WYXR programmers can even pre-record a show, if they’re going be out of town or something.”

The editing room at the Memphis Listening Lab (Photo by Jamie Harmon)

While not all of the audio equipment is yet installed, it will be by July 10, when the lab will host its inaugural event, a tribute to John King. The man who made it all possible will be in attendance. Eventually other collections will be added, but for now, the staff and volunteers at the Memphis Listening Lab have their work cut out for them, as they begin to catalog King’s holdings.

As Cole reflects, “John started collecting in the ’50s, and never got rid of anything. And they started Ardent in ’59, when he was 15, he and John Fry and Fred Smith. And John King went on to work in radio. He wrote a radio programming guide for many years, and got tons of promos. So he got a little bit of everything, and he kept it all. Most people collect one thing. They collect blues or rockabilly. But John collected a little bit of everything. So it’s a great collection. From the most well-known to the most obscure stuff you’ve ever heard of.”

John King (Photo courtesy Memphis Listening Lab)
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Music Music Blog Music Features

Crosstown Resumes Live Music in the Atrium

Ever since its grand opening, one defining quality of the Crosstown Concourse has been its emphasis on live music. From ad hoc performances on the public grand piano in the West Atrium to full-blown music festivals spilling into all manner of open areas, there were always sounds bouncing around the wide open spaces of the old Sears Tower. There were, that is, until last year’s lockdown.

New light wells in the Concourse have increased its natural light. (Courtesy Crosstown Concourse)

Now, with vaccinations and other preventive measures becoming more common, the Crosstown Concourse is taking its first steps back to those pre-COVID days. For the past few weeks, musicians have occasionally been sponsored to play under the covered tables in the front plaza. And this week, they’ll be back in that huge reverb chamber known as the East Atrium.

Actually, the Concourse is taking a hybrid approach, with some performances still being scheduled outside in the plaza, and continuing online events as well, such as Crosstown Arts’ Virtual Resident Artist Talks. Here, then, are the first pop-up live and online events helping the Crosstown Concourse kick off April.

Alice Hasen, Andrew Geraci, & Jordan Occasionally
(Courtesy Crosstown Arts)

Alice Hasen
Thursday, April 1st, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. | Central Atrium
Born in Vermont and based in Memphis, Alice Hasen is a professional violinist, recording artist, and songwriter. She leads Alice Hasen & the Blaze and is part of the Blackwater Trio, an acoustic rock band. 

Andrew Geraci with Jeff Hulett and Chris Davenport
Friday, April 2nd, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. | Plaza
Memphis-based Andrew Geraci is a Mississippi Delta-bred electric and upright bass player who picks up a guitar every blue moon. He is currently working with Alice Hasen and the Blaze, Alicjapop, Crockett Hall, Great Lakes, Eleven Point (Oxford), James and the Ultrasounds, Los Psychosis, Pistol and the Queen, and San Salida. 

Jordan Occasionally and inoahcreation
Saturday, April 3, 11:30-1:30 p.m. | Central Atrium
Jordan Occasionally, or JD, is a neo soul and R&B artist, born and raised in the capital of soul music, Memphis, Tennessee. She was an Emerging Star with David Porter’s Consortium MMT in 2019 and has performed her original music on stages ranging from the Levitt Shell in Memphis and City Winery in Nashville, to Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Virtual Resident Artist Talks
Thursday, April 8th at 6 pm.
Presenting artists include Sepideh Dashti (6 p.m.), Joann Self Selvidge (6:30 pm), and Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo (7 p.m.). Click here to register.

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Cover Feature News

Give Memphis! Great Local Gift Ideas for the Holidays

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that we need to come together to support our community — the health, happiness, and longevity of our fellow Memphians count on it now more than ever. While we may not be able to gather with friends and family for gift exchanges like we have in the past, we can still lift their spirits with thoughtful presents that help our local restaurants, retail outlets, and entrepreneurs keep doing what they do. Think local this season!

A Box of Magic

Have a giftee in your life who seeks to better understand their own power, to look within and outside for growth and restoration? Give them a box of magic, or as Sami Harvey, owner of Foxglove Pharm, calls it: a Coven Box.

“I’ve always been amazed by Mother Nature’s ability to heal, and I love finding new ways to use her ingredients to solve my problems,” Harvey says. “I started Foxglove Pharm in 2017 because I wanted to share some of those solutions with my community.”

Each subscription box ($40/month) includes a rotating variety of handcrafted herbal “remeteas” (About Last Night: Hangover Tea, Out of the Blue: Third Eye Tea, and others), scented oils, Resting Witch Face skincare products, rituals, and more special items that “honor the moon, the current astrological phase, and a featured plant.”

Sami Harvey

Each month, she partners with another local maker or small business to spotlight their wares. For her Foxglove offerings, Harvey is “the only witch in the kitchen,” so the products are small-batch and made with “ethically sourced, organic, sustainable ingredients.”

Regarding the rituals included in a box (or separately on the website), Harvey says, “These aren’t like supernatural spells that will destroy all your enemies and turn Michelle Obama into your BFF. But they’re ways to meditate and channel your energy into manifesting a better reality for yourself. The real magic ingredient is you and your intention.”

Visit foxglovepharm.com to order a Coven Box and shop products. — Shara Clark

Feed an Artist

The old cliché about “starving artists” has seldom been more true. Buying art is often the last thing folks are thinking about during tough times like these, but our Memphis painters and sculptors and photographers — and their galleries — have bills to pay, just like the rest of us. That’s why this might be a great year to put a new painting on your wall, or gift someone a work of art so they’ll be reminded of you every day.

Courtesy Jay Etkin Gallery

Untitled by John Ryan

There are many fine galleries in Memphis. Here are just a few: L Ross, David Lusk, Jay Etkin, Crosstown Arts, Orange Mound Gallery, Art Village, Cooper-Young Gallery, and B. Collective. Artists featured include Matthew Hasty, Jeanne Seagle, John Ryan, Mary Long, Roy Tamboli, Eunika Rogers, Cat Pena, Yancy Villa-Calvo, Hamlett Dobbins, Anne Siems, Tim Craddock, and many, many more. In addition, many galleries are featuring special holiday shows.

End what has been a nightmarish year on an upbeat note: Buy a piece of art. It’s good for your heart. — Bruce VanWyngarden

Let Them Eat Cake

I’d be happy to receive a Memphis Bourbon Caramel Cake from Sugar Avenue Bakery, either in or out of my stocking. This is the Sugar Avenue collaboration with Old Dominick Distillery.

Just listening to Sugar Avenue owner Ed Crenshaw describe the six-inch cake makes me crave a slice or three: “The cake is four layers. Each layer is literally soaked in a bourbon caramel sauce. And then our caramel icing, which we make from scratch.”

Courtesy Ben Fant

Sugar Avenue cake

Sugar Avenue worked with Old Dominick’s master distiller/senior vice president Alex Castle to come up with the perfect blend of cake and bourbon. Old Dominick’s Huling Station Straight Bourbon Whiskey was chosen for the cake, which has “a great hint of bourbon flavor,” Crenshaw says. “We add bourbon to the icing and ice the cake with it.”

To help you get even more into the holiday spirit, Sugar Avenue Bakery recently began adding two-ounce jars of extra caramel sauce with every bourbon-flavored cake.

Memphis Bourbon Caramel Cakes are $55 each, and they’re available at sugaravenue.com. — Michael Donahue

Accessorize in Style

When Memphians need to give the gift of stylish living, they turn to Cheryl Pesce, the jewelry and lifestyle store in Crosstown Concourse. The store takes its name from its owner, Cheryl Pesce, a jewelry maker, entrepreneur, and all-around style guru.

This month, Pesce opened a second store in the Laurelwood Shopping Center, giving Bluff City-area shoppers double the chances to find — and give — stylish accoutrements. “I’m banking on Memphis,” Pesce explains. And Memphis seems ready to support Pesce. “We had a grand open house, social distancing into the parking lot, and it went well.”

Courtesy Cheryl Pesce

Handmade jewelry from Cheryl Pesce

The store opening story is just the tip of the breaking-news iceberg, though. Pesce tells me excitedly that she’s been in touch with fashion designer Patrick Henry, aka Richfresh, about his newly designed Henry Mask. “I spoke with him today and — drumroll — we will now be carrying his masks in my Laurelwood store.”

But wait! That’s still not all. The ink is still fresh on a deal for Pesce to carry Germantown-produced Leovard skincare products. “I will be his only brick-and-mortar store in the country,” Pesce says. “So there are a lot of cool things happening, most of them local.”

In the smaller store in Crosstown, Pesce sells hand-sewn baby items, masks, Christmas ornaments, and anything with the Crosstown logo — she’s the official source for Crosstown-brand goods. Laurelwood is larger and a little more deluxe. “One of the focuses for that store is local and regional artisans,” Pesce says. She carries Mo’s Bows, Paul Edelstein paintings, and, of course, hand-crafted jewelry. “That’s really my wheelhouse.

“My studio is at Laurelwood,” Pesce says, “so not only is it made in Memphis, made by me, but it’s all under one roof now. The store, the studio. You can literally come pick out your own pearls — ‘I want this pearl on that earring’ — and then I craft it for you right there.”

Cheryl Pesce is located at 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 125, and at 374 Grove Park Road South, Suite 104. Find out more at (901) 308-6017 or at cherylpesce.com. — Jesse Davis

Good Reads

There’s something that comes from holding the edges of a book and being taken to a distant land or wondrous world. Whether it’s due to happenstance or the crazy and confusing world in which we find ourselves now, I have been reading more and more as the months drag on. To fuel my ever-growing hunger for words and phrases completed on the page, Novel has been my go-to place.

Novel is proof that when you are doing something you love, the results will follow. The bookstore, founded in 2017, is the go-to for other local book enthusiasts, too — and with good reason. Their staff will go to the moon and back to help you find the book that fits you just right, and if you’re looking for something specific, chances are they will be just as excited about it as you are.

Matthew J. Harris

of what gift to give this season.

Many of their aisles have felt like a second home to me the past few months. And with books in every genre, it is often easier to ask them what they don’t have, rather than what they do. Personally, I love their new-this-year home delivery option, which offers a safe way to give the gift of literature this holiday season. — Matthew J. Harris

Hit the Boards

This year has given us plenty of time to learn new skills. And what better way to get your mind pumping in both a constructive and competitive fashion than with a game of chess?

The Memphis Chess Club recently opened its new café/headquarters Downtown at 195 Madison Avenue, and the three levels of annual memberships make for a great gift, whether someone is looking to seriously pursue an interest in the game or just learn a few tips and tricks.

Samuel X. Cicci

A Memphis Chess Club membership isn’t as risky a move as the Queen’s Gambit.

The social membership ($50) allows members to play chess in the café area at any time, with tables, pieces, and clocks all provided. The full membership ($100), meanwhile, affords all of the social perks but provides unlimited and free access to all classes and tournaments, which are held at the club weekly. It also offers discounts on merchandise, and members are able to check out materials from the club’s chess library, which contains old magazines and strategy books.

For whole families looking to kickstart an interest in the game? The family membership ($150) contains all full membership benefits and includes two adults and all the children in a household.

And, hey, if chess isn’t your thing, the spacious café is a great space to just hang out or study while sipping on some brewed-in-house coffee or munching on one of chef Grier Cosby’s specialty pizzas.

Visit memphischessclub.com/join for more information. — Samuel X. Cicci

The Gift of Grub

Food is fun and helps define Memphis culture. Those who make that food and fun are in trouble.

Restaurants have maybe suffered more than any small business during this pandemic. Restrictions on them have come and gone and may come again soon. Memphis restaurateurs have shown amazing resilience in these ups and downs. They’ve shifted business models, adapted to the latest health directives, and adjusted staff levels (laying off workers and hiring them back) to match it all.

Memphis Restaurant Association/Facebook

Support local restaurants — so they can stick around.

However, we forever lost some Memphis favorites, like Lucky Cat and Grove Grill. The National Restaurant Association said nearly 100,000 restaurants across the country closed either permanently or for the long-term six months into the pandemic. Nearly 3 million employees have lost their jobs. Help restaurants out and have food fun, too. This holiday season, buy gift cards from our local restaurants.

At the pandemic’s beginning in March, we told you about a national push to buy “dining bonds” or “restaurant bonds.” Many Memphis restaurants jumped in — many selling gift cards at deep discounts. For restaurants, gift cards are quick infusions of cash, helpful in tough times.

So instead of that scarf you’re kind of on the fence about, spend the same amount on a restaurant they love. It’ll be unexpected and, yes, come with some delayed gratification — delicious delayed gratification. Present it not as a gift card but as that dish they love from that place they love.

Sing it with me: “Everybody knows, a burger and some mistletoe help to make the season bright. Memphis foodies, with their eyes all aglow, will find it hard to sleep tonight.”

Gift cards are available at almost every restaurant and for almost any amount. Check websites and socials for details. — Toby Sells

Music to Their Ears

Remember when giving music was a thing? Physical things like LPs, CDs, and cassettes could be wrapped. But now that everything’s ethereal, there’s still a way to give the gift that keeps on giving: Patreon. Musicians are embracing this platform more and more, and it’s working for them. A subscription to their accounts may just be the perfect gift for the superfan in your life who already has everything.

Mike Doughty (Soul Coughing, Ghost of Vroom) relies on his Patreon subscribers for both income and inspiration. As he told the Detroit Metro Times, “Doing a song a week is amazing, and that is really what, if I had my druthers, I’d do for the rest of my life.” Patrons can subscribe at different levels, each with premiums like CDs and T-shirts, but everyone paying at least $5 a month can access Doughty’s song-a-week and more.

Greg Cravens

Other Memphis-affiliated singer/songwriters like Eric Lewis, J.D. Reager, and (coming in December) Marcella and Her Lovers also have accounts. And last month, label and music retailer Goner Records began offering Patreon subscriptions that include access to the Goner archives and exclusive music and videos.

Patreon’s site notes that “there isn’t currently a way to gift patronage,” but if you get creative, you can search for an artist on patreon.com and buy a subscription in a friend’s or family member’s name — and they can thank you all through the year. — Alex Greene

Support Arts and Culture

“A plague on both your houses!” cried the dying Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and it seems the COVID-19 pandemic took that sentiment to heart, emptying out our theaters and concert halls and thinning out attendance at museums. But still they persisted. The organizations behind the arts we love are still at work online, virtually, distancing, and striving to keep the arts alive — especially in programs aimed at young people.

You can help the old-fashioned way by getting season subscriptions and memberships for whenever the lights come back on — and they could use that support right now. Or make a simple donation. Help keep Memphis culture alive by giving gifts on behalf of the following, but don’t be limited by this partial list — if you have other favorites, give them a cup o’ kindness as well.

Jon W. Sparks

Spring, Summer, Fall at the Brooks Museum by Wheeler Williams

Performing arts organizations:

• Playhouse on the Square (playhouseonthesquare.org)

• Theatre Memphis (theatrememphis.org)

• Opera Memphis (operamemphis.org)

• Ballet Memphis (balletmemphis.org)

• New Ballet Ensemble (newballet.org)

• Cazateatro (cazateatro.org)

• New Moon Theatre (newmoontheatre.org)

• Hattiloo Theatre (hattiloo.org)

• Tennessee Shakespeare Company (tnshakespeare.org)

• Memphis Black Arts Alliance (memphisblackarts.org)

• Emerald Theatre Company (etcmemphistheater.com)

Museums and galleries:

• Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (brooksmuseum.org)

• Dixon Gallery and Gardens (dixon.org)

• National Civil Rights Museum (civilrightsmuseum.org)

• Metal Museum (metalmuseum.org)

• Stax Museum of American Soul Music (staxmuseum.com)

• Pink Palace Museum (memphismuseums.org)

• Children’s Museum of Memphis (cmom.com)

• Fire Museum of Memphis (firemuseum.org) — Jon W. Sparks

Basket or Box It for a Gift That Rocks It

Need something sweet for your honey this holiday season? Thistle & Bee has the gift that gives twice. A relaxing gift box contains raw Memphis honey, a milk and honey soap bar, and a pure beeswax candle ($20). Every item is handcrafted and directly supports women survivors to thrive through a journey of healing and hope.

Social enterprise director at Thistle & Bee, Ali Pap Chesney, drops a stinger: “We partner with other businesses, too. Feast & Graze uses our honey.”

Feast & Graze/Facebook

Feast & Graze

The cheese and charcuterie company Feast & Grace is co-owned by Cristina McCarter, who happens to co-own City Tasting Box. Boxes are filled with goodies promoting local Black-owned businesses like Pop’s Kernel and The Waffle Iron. An exclusive limited-quantity holiday gift box, Sugar and Spice, just rolled out for the season in two sizes — regular ($74.99) and ultimate ($124.99).

Memphis Gift Basket is owned by Jesse James, who says he is rolling out a new logo this week. Along with the new logo are new products for baskets ($55-$100) that focus on diversity by including more women- and minority-owned businesses, in addition to local items with iconic names like The Rendezvous and Memphis magazine. Guess what else you might find in a Memphis Gift Basket? Thistle & Bee honey.

Now that we’ve come full circle, check out these gift box and basket businesses, as well as partnering companies, for errbody on your holiday list — including that corporate gift list.

Visit thistleandbee.org, citytastingbox.com (use code SHIP100 for free shipping on orders over $100), and memphisgiftbasket.com for more. — Julie Ray

Lights, Camera, Action

A lot of businesses have been hard-hit during the pandemic, and movie theaters have been near the top of the list. With social distancing-limited theater capacity and Hollywood studios delaying major releases into next year in the hopes a vaccine will rekindle attendance, theater chains like Memphis-based Malco have been in dire straits. The exception has been drive-in theaters, like the Malco Summer Drive-In, which have seen a renaissance in 2020.

If you want to support this local institution and give a treat to the movie-lover in your life, you can buy them a Malco gift card. Available in any denomination from $10 to $500, the gift cards can be used for movie tickets and concessions for any film now or in the future. You can also enroll in the Malco Marquee Rewards program, which allows frequent moviegoers to earn points toward free tickets and concessions.

Greg Cravens

Malco has taken extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of its patrons, including mandatory masks, improved air filters, and non-contact payment options. And if you’re not comfortable sharing a theater with strangers right now, there’s a great option: The Malco Select program allows you to rent an entire theater for a screening of any film on the marquee — and that includes screenings in the massive IMAX theaters at the Paradiso. Prices start at $100, which works out pretty well if you want to watch Wonder Woman 1984 with your pod this holiday season. And if the person you’re buying for is a gamer, Malco has a brand-new option. With Malco Select Gaming, you can bring your system to the theater and play Call of Duty or The Last of Us on the biggest possible screen. — Chris McCoy

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We Recommend We Recommend

Resin Ability

CREDIT: Courtesy of Mathew Joseph Zachariah

Mathew Joseph Zachariah was told as a child that he had an allergy to plastic. As an adult, Zachariah learned his mom was allergic to plastic. Wanting to spare her son the adverse allergic reaction she experienced, an overabundance of caution was exercised. Zachariah is not allergic to plastic.

“How ironic that now I own a plastics recycling company and create art with post-industrial plastics,” he says.

Zachariah is a scientist who one day took notice of the colors in his product. After 28 years in the recycling business, for the first time, he saw the processed orange safety cones, red auto tail lights, green city trash bins, and clear blue water cooler bottles in the form of shavings, pellets, and re-grinds as a tool and not a product. Maybe it was the result of moving from Flint, Michigan, to Memphis and living among creatives in Crosstown Concourse for the past two years.

Courtesy of Mathew Joseph Zachariah

Mathew J. Zachariah’s plastics become art.

However it happened, Zachariah has been creating mosaics with his product. He talks about his art in industrial terms — HTPE and nylon 66. Then, he suddenly stops.

“I’ve realized that art is emotional,” concedes Zachariah, who says he’s learned to speak differently about his art. “And not just for the observer. It’s therapeutic for me. My hand has been on every piece, placed with love on the canvas giving my product a second life.”

Meet Zachariah online or in person for an artist talk on Friday. Be sure to ask about the hidden images in his art.

Artist talk for Mathew Joseph Zachariah, Jay Etkin Gallery, 942 Cooper, and online from Jay Etkin Gallery Facebook Live, Friday, November 6, 5-7 p.m.

Categories
Music Music Blog

WYXR 91.7 FM Goes Live Today, Radio Flyer to Air Every Friday at Noon

CREDIT: WYXR

WYXR

New radio station WYXR’s initial staff includes (from left) Shelby McCall, Robby Grant, and Jared Boyd.

As Toby Sells reported in July, there’s a new kid on the block, and its name is WYXR. It’s the latest activity stirring in Crosstown Concourse, which has partnered with The Daily Memphian and the University of Memphis to make the station a reality. Today, paper covering the station’s broadcast room windows, which face out onto the Concourse atrium, will come down before the station begins broadcasting at 5 p.m.

Program director Jared Boyd spoke to the significance of the station’s location in July: “When you walk into Crosstown Concourse, it won’t be hidden. The nuts and bolts of the operation will be showcased behind glass right in the lobby of the Central Atrium. By design, this community-minded radio station will not just broadcast to its audience, but live and breathe alongside it.”

The frequency 91.7 FM was formerly used by U of M’s WUMR, the city’s premiere jazz station. Re-imagining the university station last fall led to the partnerships that helped create WYXR. And from the beginning, the new non-commercial station has kept community service at the heart of its mission. Also at the center of that vision is cultivating a sense of freedom.

As executive director Robby Grant said this summer, “By taking a free form approach, we want to begin finding personalities and DJs who have their own tastes and things they’ve grown up loving and sharing with people.” Since then, the station has indeed recruited a diverse stable of DJs, covering a multitude of genres and aesthetics.

For those who relied on WUMR’s jazz programming, never fear: the new station will feature plenty of jazz of all stripes, including DJ Jim Duckworth’s return to spinning rare pre-World War II jazz platters. Much indie rock, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, hip hop, avant garde, and even “unpopular pop” will be highlighted as well, with DJs running the gamut from Goner’s Zac Ives to Juan Shipp, former pastor at the Greater Abyssinia M. B. Church for over forty years and founder of the Memphis-based D-Vine Spirituals record label.

Every Friday at noon, tune in to Radio Flyer, an hour’s worth of news and music from The Memphis Flyer, hosted by associate editor Toby Sells and music editor Alex Greene. In the first half hour of every show, Sells will interview guests and other Flyer reporters about their beat for the week. The second half will be devoted to music, with Greene spinning cuts reflecting that week’s reporting and the Flyer‘s entire history of arts coverage, including exclusive excerpts from interviews.

In today’s Daily Memphian, Boyd summed up the experience of preparing for launch in the age of quarantine, and the payoff of manifesting community bonds today, now that it’s all going live. “Every exhausting step up a U-Haul ramp with a box of records; every trip to a large, whirring transmitter in a suburban shed; and every angry email from a jazz-lover devoted to the station’s old format,” he writes, “was manageable once I saw the eager eyes peering back at me over the cloth face-coverings of Memphians, many of whom I’ve admired in my own comings and goings, but never imagined I’d see in a room together, working toward a common goal.”

WYXR 91.7 FM goes live today at 5 p.m. with a special on-air party hosted by Robby Grant and Jared Boyd.
Special Inaugural Broadcast Schedule:
• 5-9 p.m. – Robby Grant & Jared “Jay B.” Boyd Kickoff Party
• 9 p.m. 11 p.m. – Time Passage w/ Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT
• 11p.m. 12a.m. – The Mado Experience / Mado
• 12 a.m.- until … – *SPECIAL GUEST DJ*

Categories
News News Blog

Crosstown Calls for Your Memories for Third Anniversary

CREDIT: Crosstown Concourse/Facebook


Crosstown Concourse opened to much fanfare in 2017 with tours and live music events dominating the day and night. The same was true for 2018 and 2019.

But this year, thanks to COVID-19, Crosstown is calling for a more muted celebration.

With the Concourse unable to safely host a celebration, they have asked for the community to share their favorite Crosstown photos on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with the hashtags #yourconcourse and #bettertogether for a chance to win a $50 Concourse gift card.

“Three years ago, when Concourse welcomed thousands of Memphians from all walks of life at the opening celebration, we were finally able to experience the vertical urban village dream of ‘better together’ in action,” said Todd Richardson, president of the Crosstown Redevelopment Cooperative. “If absence makes the heart grow fonder, Crosstown Concourse’s third anniversary this week has given us the opportunity to reminisce about our favorite memories and events over the last three years, and, as a result, cherish more than ever all the people and arts programming we miss so much.”

Memphians have until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 21st to make posts. Three winners will be randomly selected and announced on Concourse social media channels on Monday, August 24th.

Crosstown Concourse/Facebook

Crosstown Concourse’s opening day in 2017.

Categories
News News Blog

New WYXR Station to Air From Crosstown

CREDIT: WYXR

WYXR

New radio station WYXR’s initial staff includes (from left) Shelby McCall, Robby Grant, and Jared Boyd.

WYXR, a new, non-commercial radio station will hit the air (and digital devices) here this fall in a partnership between Crosstown Concourse, The Daily Memphian, and the University of Memphis.

The station’s radio home is at 91.7 FM and its call letters stand for “Your Crosstown Radio.” That’s where the station’s staff will produce and air its daily broadcasts. The station partners came together to reimagine the U of M’s WUMR station back in November.

The station will be led by executive director Robby Grant, who spent 15 years at advertising firm Archer Malmo after first starting his own online marketing company. Grant is also a staple on the Memphis music scene, touring widely and also as a member of Mellotron Variations.

“I’ve been wanting to help make a change with Memphis radio, specifically community radio, for a long time,” Grant said in a statement. “The fact that it has organically become real is exciting.
[pullquote-1] “We are going to amplify voices in Memphis and the Mid-South. By taking a freeform approach, we want to begin finding personalities and DJs who have their own tastes and things they’ve grown up loving and sharing with people.

“A freeform station allows those DJs to turn people onto music, whether it’s the music they’ve loved their whole lives or what they’ve heard this past week.”

Jared “Jay B.” Boyd will serve as WYXR’s program director. Boyd is a DJ, reporter with The Daily Memphian, and host of NPR-syndicated radio program “Beale Street Caravan.”

“Aside from the opportunity to be hands-on in cultivating new and emerging broadcast talent in the Mid-South, I’m most gratified by this radio partnership’s potential to truly reach people in the Mid-South area by virtue of being open and welcoming in nature,” Boyd said in a statement. “When you walk into Crosstown Concourse, it won’t be hidden. The nuts and bolts of the operation will be showcased behind glass right in the lobby of the Central Atrium. By design, this community-minded radio station will not just broadcast to its audience but live and breathe alongside it.”

WYXR

Former WUMR staffer Shelby McCall, who works now with Entercom Memphis, has signed on as WYXR’s operations coordinator. The University of Memphis is also searching for an instructor for student radio. This position will facilitate student involvement with the station and also program and plan a second university-focused internet stream, on which students will broadcast news, sports, and music.

The station’s programming will be made up of volunteer contributions from regular content producers and special guests to achieve a freeform format, providing room for a rotating cast of local personalities and an educational ground for university students.

WYXR

From left: Grant, Boyd, and McCall

The WYXR studio is now being built in the space once held by The OAM network, an independent podcast company. The new space will have a redesigned control room, production room, and live audio connections from Crosstown Theater, the Green Room at Crosstown Arts, and plans to simulcast event’s from the U of M’s new, $40 million Scheidt Family Music Center.

For more information or to volunteer, go to wyxr.org. Initial programming will be posted on the site in the coming weeks.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Crosstown’s No Meat Meet-Ups: for Vegans and Veg-Curious

Bianca Phillips has been organizing vegan events in Memphis since 2004. Phillips says that, for her, it started as a moral issue rather than one of diet.

“I consider myself an ethical vegan, so vegan for the animals,” she says. “[We] don’t want to contribute to factory farming.

“When I went vegan in 2004, I wanted to meet other vegans. I put flyers around town, old-school flyers. Like, ‘We’re going to have an animal rights meeting!’ and people came.” At the time, the focus of the group was to spread animal rights information and not to focus on the health benefits of veganism.

Bianca Phillips

No meat, no problem — Crosstown Arts hosts vegan potluck meet-ups.

“We’d organize mostly PETA protests, and PETA would send us materials and we’d go out to KFC or somewhere. … We did circus protests, vegan leafleting, dressed in full plant costumes that we made ourselves,” she says with a laugh.

“[At the time] it was called Memphis Area Animal Rights Activists, and shortly after we started, I met a guy named Vaughan Dewar, and he was interested in starting a vegan meet-up group to be more focused on the food aspects of veganism and not quite as much the protest side of things,” Phillips says.

“He joined our animal rights group, but on the side, he founded another group called Food Awareness, and he would put together these super-researched presentations and go to churches and other places to deliver these talks about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

“At some point, we merged our groups together and started doing less of the protest stuff and became more focused on vegan meet-ups. So we would get together once a month at different restaurants around town and eat vegan food together,” she says, citing popular spots for vegans and non-vegans alike, like Pho Binh, which is famous for its lemongrass tofu.

Roughly 16 years later, the vegan movement in Memphis is stronger than ever. “Just in the past two years, with the whole plant-based movement, it’s much more socially acceptable to be vegan or ‘plant-based,'” she says. “I used to feel like I knew, or knew of, all the vegans in Memphis, but not anymore.”

It does feel like there are significantly more options for vegans in Memphis now than there were in the past. With the rise of local establishments like Imagine Vegan Cafe and the Raw Girls food truck, the city is embracing veganism more than ever.

Last year, when the cafe at Crosstown Arts transitioned from a full-service lunch and dinner menu to a smaller menu of pastries and coffee, Chris Miner, co-founder of Crosstown Arts, wanted to make sure the space was kept active.

That’s when he approached Phillips about organizing a monthly vegan potluck in the cafe space. Miner was familiar with Phillips’ history of organizing vegan food and drink events and thought that would be a perfect fit for Crosstown Arts.

The No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potlucks launched last September, with about 30 attendees at the inaugural event. Since then, the attendance has gone up each month, with attendees bringing a rich variety of vegan dishes to each gathering. While it’s not required that those who attend bring a dish, it is, of course, encouraged so there’s enough food to go around.

Some of the dishes people have brought to past potlucks include tater tot casserole, Bhel Puri, vegan pizza, and desserts. It’s a great way for even non-vegans, who may be intimidated by the perceived confines of a vegan diet, to sample a number of different vegan food options at once.

For vegans who want to gather with like-minded people, or non-vegans who are curious about plant-based diets, the No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potlucks are an opportunity to meet, mingle, and sample different kinds of foods.

Crosstown Arts will host the next No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potluck on Sunday, February 16th.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Crosstown’s Elemento Neapolitan Pizza Closing

CREDIT: Elemento Neapolitan Pizza / Facebook

Elemento Neapolitan Pizza, the wood-fired pizza restaurant in Crosstown Concourse, announced today via Facebook that it will close its doors on Sunday, February 16th.

The news comes after an announcement on Facebook Monday of new hours of operation: “In order to better serve our customers, our new hours will be Wednesday-Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.”

Crosstown’s Elemento Neapolitan Pizza Closing

The restaurant opened in October 2018 and focused on authentic Neapolitan pizza, with careful attention to ingredients — specific tomatoes, cheese, and dough flour — and cooking times and temperatures.

In regard to future plans for the restaurant space, Crosstown Concourse released the following statement:

“We’re grateful to Elemento Pizza for being an important part of Crosstown Concourse’s remarkable beginning. We hate to see them go. However, we are fortunate to regularly receive interest for food and beverage operations that want to join the unique Concourse mix, and we’re already deep into conversations with a new and exciting restaurant concept. We do not want to share their news, but we do anticipate an opening later this spring. We can tell you this: The state-of-the-art wood-fired pizza ovens will still be in operation.”

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: A Test at Second Line and a Viral Mural

Hijinks & Hygiene

Chef Kelly English won Twitter (and marketing) Sunday with this:

English wrote, “Only one line! The holiday season just got a little less complicated for whichever young couple left this for us on our lawn last night. To celebrate them, I will give you $1 off of all your mimosas today at either restaurant if you mention the code #everyonehaswashedtheirhands.”

Viral Mural

A mural blew up on Reddit over the weekend. It was posted by u/bigtomisin with the title “Mural I painted in Memphis, Tennessee.” In one day, the post had more than 44,000 upvotes, 658 comments, and all the Reddit awards. The poster said it is “at Crosstown. They took it off the wall and hung it inside.”

Billy Bob at the zoo

On a Flyer story about a new bill that would allow the Memphis Zoo to sell alcohol, Jim Obranovich commented that it’d be fine but “only if it stays in the building or ‘beer tent’ where it’s purchased. … It’ll be a great day for the zoo when Billy Bob decides he wants to ride an elephant.”