March 30, 200611th Annual Overton Square Crawfish FestivalSaturday, April 8th from Noon-6pm in the parking lot behind Bayou Bar & Grill. . Free Admission. Live music all day by local and regional bands. Planty of Crawfish, BBQ, and Cajun food. Plus 30+ arts and crafts vendors. Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer's Associaton. To reserve vendor space, call Ron Bobal at 901-281-6468 I heard Harlan's playing. Come say hello. March 29, 2006Saturday is 3-6 Mafia Day in MemphisThe City of Memphis, Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, Memphis Music Foundation, Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission and Memphis Grammy Chapter are just a few groups sponsoring the event, said Rey Flemings, president of the Memphis Music Foundation. The rap group will be given a key to the city during the event, Flemings said. "Three 6 Mafia has chosen to remain a part of the Memphis music community for the past 15 years," ReyFlemings said. "They thanked Memphis when they accepted their Oscar and now it is Memphis' turn to thank them." Three 6 Mafia Day will be held at the Memphis Rock 'N' Soul Museum from 5-7 p.m. Saturday. March 28, 2006What You Missed Saturday NightI know Windy has some better pics than this - why she holdin out?
Its so awesome that I dont have to worry about bringing my camera to every show anymore.... Memphis Rock & RompOriginally the brainchild of Debbie Lee, Rock-n-Romp is a backyard party consisting of local bands and musicians playing cool music (not necessarily "kids' music") for cool parents and their kids! Its all about exposing kids to live music (that doesnt suck) in a kid-friendly way. The shows are during the day, low-volume, and theres beer! RnR has been a popular Washington, DC-area Summer music series for four years running. Now, with Debbie's blessing, we're bringing Rock-n-Romp to Memphis. Who are we? Stacey Greenberg, Robby Grant, Dan Harper, Wendy Trenthem, Chip Chockley, Shiloh Barnat, and Mike & Kelli Smith. The Memphis Rock-n-Romp shows will be in different backyards throughout Midtown. Each adult is asked to make a $5 donation at the door and bring a blanket, chairs, and/or snacks for the kids. The first Rock-n-Romp is scheduled for Saturday, April 1st from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and is by invitation only. (This isn't because we are snobby, we just want to keep our first show small so we can work out the kinks. Also keep in mind, Rock-n-Romp is held in someone's backyard.) The line up is: We plan to have at least two more shows between now and October. If you are a parent who would be interested in attending the next Memphis Rock-n-Romp or if you are in a band and are interested in playing, please leave a comment and I will contact you with more information. March 27, 2006Square Foods Is Moving
Two days left to get great deals that will help them move! 40% off all groceries, supplements, body care, and produce! Located in front of Studio on the Square. March 26, 2006I Quit Smoking, But I'm Still HotI've been cigarette free for one week and I've never been sicker in my life. But I think it's gonna stick this time. My friend called me the other day and asked about planning a birthday party for me and I told him I didn't want one this year. I told him I was trying to make some changes and I really didn't want to focus on it. His reply was, "Oh, you're having one of those birthdays." And I guess I am. Whatever. I worked on a Fox Pilot over the weekend and came to the same realization that I have a million times before. I hate working on movies. Why? Because people that work in entertainment are so fucking self-important!!! They may never use the words, but they always have an air about them like, "Don't you know who I am?" And my reaction is pretty much always the same - "You're just a dude. Get over yourself." People who have worked with me before can feel free to chime in here, but I beleive that I have always treated everyone the same, from the Director to the PA's. Cause you know what? It's called entertainment for a reason and no matter what happens, other than an unfortunate set accident, you're not gonna die so there's no need to put that much weight in all this crap that's really truly worthless like the heiarchy of a stupid production. The good news is that even with all the stress I went through this weekend, I didn't smoke. That's my number one priority right now. Cause if you can change just one small thing... March 23, 2006March 22, 2006You Know How We DoFrom imdb.com: Members of Oscar-winning musical group Three 6 Mafia are 'pimping out' their Oscar around Los Angeles in order to gain access to the hottest nightclubs. The rappers, who won Best Original Song for "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from the movie Hustle & Flow, have made their Oscar statuette an official member of their entourage. The rap group rolled up to hot spot Lobby last Thursday and were told only four people would be allowed per table, because the club was already crowded. One of the group's members pulled the statue out of a paper bag and asked, "This little man count?" A source tells American publication Us Weekly, "Mr. Oscar sat on prime club real-estate, neatly placed on the centre of the group's table, surrounded by gazers observing that glowing complexion in awe." Banging Your Keyboard Does Not Recover PostI just erased a very long post about Friday night at SXSW. I don;t have the heart or stamina to rewrite it right now. Will you settle for this?
Tonight: Nick Hornby Speaks At U of MBritish writer Nick Hornby, author of international bestsellers Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy and A Long Way Down, will read from his work and answer questions March 22 at 7 p.m. in the Michael D. Rose Theatre. A book signing will follow. The event is free and open to the public. Of coming to Memphis, Hornby says, "It's hard to convey just how powerful a hold your city has on the imagination of an enormous number of English people." His first novel, High Fidelity (later a movie starring John Cusack), features a leading man whose love for Memphis music leads him to conclude that "Al Green Explores Your Mind is as serious as life gets." His second novel, About a Boy, was made into a film starring Hugh Grant. How to be Good, published in 2002, tells the story of a woman in midlife crisis. A Long Way Down, published in 2006, follows four people who must decide whether "to be or not to be" when they meet on the top of a building as each is preparing to jump off. Hornby also writes screenplays, short stories and a monthly book column for McSweeney's Believer. He has served as music critic for The New Yorker and published Songbook, a book of essays about popular music, in 2003. Inspired by Bono, he also is a serious philanthropist, donating the profits from Songbook and Speaking with the Angel, a short story collection he edited, to literacy and special education organizations. Dr. Barbara Ching, director of the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities, says Hornby is an ideal visitor to the University since he is a "man of letters whose interests music, sports, literature and how to enter adult life while maintaining a connection to these joys touch the lives of so many of our students."
As Long As We're Talking About MoviesThere's a lot going on this month:
Now in its 7th year, the MIFF is a competitive 4-day festival that features a diverse mix of local and global films bringing independent filmmakers, producers, directors, writers and other industry professionals to Memphis each year. Individual screenings are $7 per person based on first come, first served seating with Festival Passholders receiving priority seating at all festival events Opening Night tickets are $10 per person. Festival passes which allow priority seating to all film screenings and seminars are $35 in advance and can be purchased by calling 901-626-9685. The festival is presented by the Memphis Film Forum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of education, economic development, and cultural diversity through the cinema arts.
Here's a list of the films to be shown at The Li'l Film Festival sponsored by LiveFromMemphis.com. This is a splendid chance to see what some of the area's indie filmmakers can do. The guidelines: No film can be longer than five minutes and each must contain footage of the Baptist Hospital implosion. "Heatwave" Brian Churchill
"Divine Manipulation of the Threads" will premiere at Malco's Studio on the Square with a limited run from March 27-30 (two matinees and two evening shows each day). It's by Rusted Sun Productions (http://www.rustedsunfilms.com/), starring Bevan Bell and directed by Anthony Howald.
Memphis Movie PremiereThere's a four day premiere screening of Rusted Sun Films new feature: Divine Manipulation of the Threads at Malco Studio on the Square coming up. There's going to be 4 shows a day (two matinees, two evenings) for four consecutive days, March 27th - March 30th. The premiere comes on the tail of the Memphis International Film Festival, also featured at Studio on the Square... so they're hoping to touch base with the "Indie Film community" and the people that would be interested in seeing a well made local film. Oh, there is a trailer link here: March 21, 2006So, You Want To Be A Writer?I'll be sitting on a panel at the upcoming SPJ Conference at The University of Memphis - Here are the deets if you're interested. People are always asking me how to get a job in media and my answer is always network, network, network... To all Region 12'ers and assorted friends, here's a complete schedule of the upcoming regional conference. If you haven't registered yet, go to spj.org and click on the link to regional conferences, then click on the link to Region 12. There should be a downloadable registration form. Or click on the link below. Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 (TN-AR-MS-LA) 2006 Conference A Lifetime of Stories Note: This program is subject to change, but is complete as of March 17, 2006. FRI, March 31. 4:30 5:30 Opener: Why Journalism (Still) Matters Angus McEachran, former president and editor, The Commercial Appeal, Room 100, Meeman Journalism Building, U of M 6:00 7:30 Reception (Center for Southern Folklore, 119 S. Main) 9:00 10:00 Katrina, Story of a Lifetime: The Pros Tony Biffle, associate editor, Biloxi Sun Herald; Jarvis DeBerry, editorial writer, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune; Stephen Thornton, photographer, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 10:00 11:00 Katrina, Story of a Lifetime: The Students Ole Miss NABJ students who reported from the Gulf Coast and their adviser, D. Michael Cheers, assistant professor of journalism, University of Mississippi 11:00 12:00 FOI: Challenges to Access Frank Gibson, Tenn. Coalition on Open Government, Nashville; Jim Turpin, news director, WPTY-TV, Channel 24, Memphis; David Bailey, managing editor, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock; Jeanni Atkins, executive director, Mississippi FOI Center. Noon 2:00 p.m. Lunch Keynote Speaker: Chris Peck, editor, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 2:15 3:15 Caution: Merging Media A discussion of media convergence and how it will affect the jobs available for new journalism graduates: Jack Lail, managing editor-multimedia, Knoxville News-Sentinel; Gloria Horning, associate professor and director of the Electronic Media Journalism sequence at Louisiana State University, Shreveport; Rachel Hurley, entertainment and culture blogger, e-journalist and free-lance contributor to various print publications. The Tennessee Waltz & Other Dirty Dances (Investigative reporting): Marc Perrusquia, The Commercial Appeal; Brad Schrade, The Tennessean; Mike Matthews, WREG-TV, Channel 3, Memphis 5:30 6:15 Regional leadership meeting Conference registration info
Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis Doubletree Memphis Hampton Inn, Poplar French Quarter Suite Hotel Filter Blogger BrunchWhen I woke up Friday morning, I knew there was no way I was going to make it to the Blogger's Brunch put on by Filter Magazine by it's starting point at 10:30 AM. I was hoping to get there before noon when it ended. When I showed Mark from Music for Robots was Dj'ing and everyone was standing around in little groups asking who everyone else was. So I started doing what I'm known for and walking around and finding people that I knew and introducing them and meeting the people that I didn't. Dodge is also really good at this.
We kind of tag teamed. I already knew Frank from Chromewaves fromm our Amsterdam adventure, and Dodge and Chris from the day before, and I'm sure I am leaving someone out but I remember meeting, of course, Mark and then Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Central Village, and the other two female bloggers Jax from Rock Insider and Rachael form Underrated Blog. We got a picture fo the ladies...we all look hammered, but really we're just hung over...
Chris from GVB was awarded the Blogger of the Year Award, voted on by all of us - and we all took a big group picture - if anyone knows where that is, please send it my way!! After we ate and chatted, it seemed like eveyone disappeared. I grabbed a seat by the door to the bar and waited for the Filter party to start. While I was waiting Scott Stereogum came up to me and and asked if I wanted to be in his movie. I asked for what and he said Yaras and I corrected him and said , 'You mean Naras?" But It was actually for some car company. I found the video online that they peiced together and they didn'y use my bit, which really was a bit because we both stood there and talked about all the secret shows we were going to - like Pink Floyd with Roger Waters and the Dishwalla reunion show. Ah, indie humor. I thought I was funny. I am in it, but I'm just in the background smoking and I think I officially quit now. Anyway, after the first set by Illinois, Chris and Dodge and their gals showed back up to see the Grates. Brooklyn Vegan also reappeared to take much better pictures than me. Then we watched the Silversun Pickups, who were also really great...
Afterwards we headed to Lucky Lounge to see a band whose name I can't remember and to get some free sneakers. I pretty much laid my head on the couch in the lounge and zoned out for an hour or so. More later... March 20, 2006Thursday Night @ SXSWI got to Beerland for The Goner Showcase around 6PM just as they were kicking everyone out from the day party. I sat down at the bar and was promptly told that they were not serving beer again until 7:30. Wha? I hadn't slept in like 36 hours, drinking beer, ironically, was the only thing keeping me awake. I ran into Paul Buchignani, former Afghan Whigs drummer, who drums for Harlan and Minivan (and probably 8 other bands i can't remember right now) sitting at the bar. He graciously listened to me ramble for the next hour or so as i was half-delirious. Brandon Robertson also hung out for a while. He was tapped to fill in on bass with Harlan because Jeremy couldn't get away from the day job. Brandon told me that he found out his band had broken up last year after reading an article I wrote in The CA about it. That was funny. Brandon is always fun to talk to, I've had a couple of cool convos with him in the old Two way parking lot. Those were the days. Anyway, Paul and Brandon told me that they had just played some great dates in Florida with Lucero. Both seemed to be in pretty good spirits and the bartender finally took mercy on us and let us have some beer as Eric Friedl went about layering the bar with Goner tattoos. Goner Records had this thing for a while where if anyone sent in a picture of themselves with a real Goner tattoo they would get free Goner releases for life, I wonder if the falke ones are going to nix that idea... Anyway, Harlan walked up and made a comment about me traveling pretty far to see a bunch of bands I could see in Memphis. This would be a great time to clear up something that people comment about to me all the time. Yes, I am a huge fan. No, I do not want to fuck Harlan. I love his music, but he's Aragorn and I usually fall for Frodo. Besides, I think he';s got a thing for someone....and I don't mesh well with the silent type and I barely speak to him when it's not official cause I always feel like an idiot fan girl. Of course, now that I've said that, every dude I hang out with is going to be called Frodo. But whatever, I needed to get that off my chest. Pass it on. I am writing a story about the Goner Showcase for The Playbook this week, so I don't want to go into too much detail, cause why write the same story twice, right? But here's some pics to tide you over....
After seeing King Louie, Harlan & The Chimps, The Dutchmasters and The Final Solutions play, I was all Gonered out and got a text message from Justin. We met up on the street and he said he was on his way to see Jay Bennett. Then he mentioned that he knew someone who knew Lucero's tour manager and might be able to get into the Lucero show the next night. I was like, "You know someone who knows Gary Crump? I bet he's in a bar right now, let's call him!!!" After getting his voicemail, I drunk dialed the master - Roy Berry. He answered and invited us over to some bar to drink. At first I thought it was weird that they weren't at a show, but then I realized, they see shows all of the time and want to hit on girls!!! So, we walked in and saw Gary and he bought us some beers...that Gary Crump, he's a man among men, my favorite. After hanging out for a while, Justin still wanted to go to see Jay Bennett, but I was done. Gary was pretty over it too so we decided to share a cab. We had to walk forever to finally get one and some dude asked us if we were going over the river. My first reaction, of course, was, "What river?" Anyway, I guess Austin has a river and is also known as the River City. Anyway, Gary is super nice and tells the guy to hop in and we all go look for this 1000 person raver party while the cab driver and this dude from Canada tells us why they don't like Memphis. We find the party and the guy asks is we want to come in and I'm like, 'Is everything free? No? Then, nope." We let him out and then Gary and I went back to our respective hotels. I got back to the hotel around 2AM and realized that I had seen like 12 bands, was totally exhausted and it was still, technically, the first day. Beale Street Music FestivalDiscuss.... FRIDAY, MAY 5 Marty Casey & Love Hammers SATURDAY, MAY 6 SUNDAY, MAY 7 Caution: Namedropping AheadOK! I am back from SXSW 2006. I came home a day early after being totally overwhelmed. So, now I am going to try to sit here and recap what I remember, more for myself than anything else. It's funny cause someone was looking at the numbers in my phone the other day and they accused me of trying to look connected by having full names (like I thought if by chance someone was going through my phone list I would look cool if there was a famous name in there or something), the truth of the matter is, if I don't put the full name I forget who the hell it is. You can only have so many Jeff's until you're wondering which is which. The point is, I ususally don't namedrop, but they're about to be falling all over the place. So, if that gets on your nerves, get out the way. Oh, and before we get started I have to say that the best thing about the whole trip is I came to terms with the answer to a conundrum I have been dealing with a long time. Now I have to set a plan into action, but if things work out, I will let you know what it is. Anyway, It was kind of like realizing that I had been wearing the ruby red slippers all along. Now all I have to do is click my heels together three times.... Ok, first of all, through a mishap by The Commercial Appeal, I did not get the press pass that I assumed that I would have. It's probably my fault as much as anyone's because I did not stay on top of making sure everything got sent off on time. No biggie. Also, as I wrote in an earlier post, I finally paid and got the mirror replaced on my car (long story, I'm sure you've heard it) so I am not exactly rollin' in the dough. So, as the festival approached, I really didn't plan to go. But then after word was passed on about my dilemna, Caryn offered me a ride and a place to stay. So, as the emails and invites started to roll in about whether or not I would be coming, I realized that I would be an idiot not to go. So, I started making calls. If all I got to see all weekend was Memphis bands, well, that's still a pretty good time. I talked to Gary Crump about Lucero, Eric and Zac from Goner, and Alicja Trout from Contaminated they were all very generous and went out of their way to make sure I could get into their shows. I was invited to a bunch of day parties but didn't RSVP in time for many because I didn't think I was going, but Justin Drunkard, Chris GvB and Dodge let me tag along with them and their hot girlfriends (except for Justin, whose wife couldn't make it) to a bunch of day parties and my days were never boring. You wouldn't believe the swag they were dealing out! I got a free pair of sneakers!!! But back to the beginning, I spent all day Wednesday getting my shit together so that we could leave around 10 PM to make the drive down south. Drue was cool enough to babysit my bratty dog and even came by and picked him up. Things were going as planned until we stopped to get gas on the way out of town and i went to the ATM to extract cash for the trip. I paid all of my bills that day and left just enough money to go on the trip, that way there would be no way I could overspend my budget and fuck myself. Well, that was my thinking. Anywho, The ATM screen reminded me top take my cash and receipt, but alas the only thing it spit out was the receipt!!! That's right, no money!!! But it deducted it from my account!!!!! Talk about the suck!!! I won't bore you with the details of how that drama ended, but let's just say it wasn't how I wanted to start the trip. I tried to sleep the first part of the trip so that I could finish the drive for Caryn and be somewhat functional for the Stereogum party that started at noon. But, alas when you're crammed into the backseat with a cooler and a suitcase and the people in the front seat are talkers and smokers with the windows rolled down, it wasn't exactly easy. I took over somwhere around 4Am and then drove the rest of the way to Austin. i think we got to our hotle around 11, dropped off our stuff and hit the street. My first stop was the Stereogum party. It was pretty dead until around 3, but I got to meet Sunni Thompson from Project DU and Justin from Blogads who were both really cool to hang around and dance with. It turns out Sunni went to Rhodes and knows Justice Naczycz (Secret Service, Final Solutions) so I slipped her a copy of the new Secret Service CD and invited her to the Goner show later. I need my reunion.com commission, bitches!!!
Sunni and I went and introduced ourselves to Scott, but he wasn't studyin' us. We knew he was super busy and about to tear his hair out so we didn't hold it against him. I didn't pay much attention to the music until Thunderbirds Are Now!
Then, if memory serves me correctly, Dodge and Chris and their better halves showed up during Rogue Wave and so we all missed most of their set chatting and and running into musicians.
Justin showed up last, but just in time for me to snap him not looking at the camera while we were starfucking Aziz.
We finally all shut up and listened to Ted Leo
Of course, by 5 PM I was about 5 beers in, so this all my best recollection. We all left and went our separate ways for the evening with plans to meet up at the Bloggers Brunch put on by Filter the next morning and I headed to Beerland for The Goner Showcase. And that deserves it's very own post, so stay tuned.
March 15, 2006Things That SuckI hate it when I am going off on someone and totally telling them what's up with the world and life in general or I'm getting hit on really hard by some hot guy and then my phone rings at like 8AM and it wakes me up and it's my mom. That sucks. it also sucks when you buy the hot lead singer dude shots in hopes that he'll come to the afterparty and you get him hammered and he still leaves to drive to Austin. But what sucks the most is sitting at Beauty Shop, having a little chat and leaning over to make a cute face and totally setting your hair on fire from the candle on the bar and then having three dudes pounce and start beating on your head. Yeah, that's the worst. Ok, I'm leaving tonight for SXSW. I may blog, I may not. Who knows? if you need to reach me
March 14, 2006March 13, 2006Dear Mom, Please Send MoneyOk, all I have to say is anyone who lives in Memphis and thinks it's boring is L-A-M-E! I was invited to a lot of cool events this weekend and I'm very sorry that I had to bail on a few including the Coach and Four show, Kasey's B-Day, DJ Icey, and Ryan's secret house party. I decided to stay in Friday night and let my liver and my wallet take a break! I suck!!! There were lots of other shows I missed this weekend too, but I am seriously broke and trying to accumulate the cash for SXSW. I did make it to Kelly's b-day for some awesome Fried Chicken - Quote of the evening: "You don't like Fried Chicken? Are you fucking crazy?"
And to Sherman Wilmott's birthday at The Hi-tone where I ws part of a congo line that went out the door and down poplar avenue - does anyone have pictures?
Anyway, I think I am going to The Complex tonight to see some EMO band called Say Anything:
And then I plan to stop by and see these fools at Beauty Shop:
March 9, 2006Austin, I wish I were Coming!So, my plan was to head down to Austin next weekend to SXSW, but after being an adult and paying for a few much needed repairs to my car, unless I win the lottery, I doubt that I will be able to afford it. Which is a double suck, because although the Commercial Appeal can't pay for me to go, I was supposed to write several articles about the music conference - which equals money that I won't be making. This really blows!!! My Amsterdam trip totally wiped me out, and although I would ask for donations form my kind readers, unless you're trying to get a boob job, nobody ever really gives money to bloggers. Anywho, if you get to go I highly suggest you check this out.
March 8, 2006Dear Memphis Drivers
Of course, for some reason you have this idea in your head that, "Hey! If I want to break the law and put other people's lives in danger, what right do any of you hippies in your compact gas savin' cars have to drive in front of me at a reasonable rate of speed? If you were behind me instead of in front of me, you would easily be able to see that I have a Wolfchase emblem on my car, or an American flag sticker, or better yet, a sticker that simply says "W". Don't you know what that means? It means I own the effing road, so get the eff out of my way!" What I really love is people that drive around in Hummers with their seats laid back and their muisic blasting thinking that they look pimp, when they really just look like retards. Anyay, I know these are the kind of people that probably spent their youth cow tipping. I just wanted to take a moment to point out to those people that most everyone with an IQ over 120 thinks you're a douchebag. Carry on. March 6, 2006March 3, 2006Quote of the DaySometimes the most intelligent thing you can do is shut the hell up. -Rachel Hurley March 2, 2006 |
<< HOME |
.jpg)
I realize that because you drive an SUV, you think that you own the road. I can tell because when I'm in front of you, even if I'm going about 5 miles over the speed limit, I can see you in my rearview mirror riding my ass and mouthing words in anger while looking in your own rearview to see if you can pass me. This mostly happens in known speed trap spots, like when I'm coming off of Sam Cooper and there are 82 reduced speed signs. 
