November 2011 edition of the Murfreesboro Pulse by The Murfreesboro Pulse

MURFREESBORO

Vol. 6, Issue 11 November 2011

FREE Take One! Middle Tennesseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Source for Art, Entertainment and Culture News

OUT & ABOUT East Tennessee zip line facility makes for fun and scenic day trip.

IRA DEAN

pg. 16

ART Lots of exhibits on display by MTSU students and faculty.

Playing monthly at Aura Lounge, solo debut nearly set for release

pg. 14

pg. 18

LOCAL MUSIC:

THIEF, GLOSSARY HARRISON B. CLASSIC WILLIAMS THE GOLDROOM ANCIENTS

pg. 20

ONLINE AT: BOROPULSE.COM

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CONTENTS

MAIL

LETTERS/OPINIONS

MAIL 4

COMMUNITY PULSE

Gagflex The 99 percent has a right to be angry at Wall Street.

Living a Blessed Life Give Thanks. Always.

Phil Valentine Feds should stay out of mortgages.

La Palabra Be thankful for drinking water.

THEATER 10 The Very Witching Time Stages host various spookery. 11

Roy Waldron Drama Team Elementary troupe to attend fest.

ART 12 Express Yourself Arts conference held for students. Sculpture of Jim Gibson 14 Pants by the Pound An unusual art installation. Graduating Seniors Show Art 15 MTSU Juried Exhibit Studio S Open House Many area galleries welcome public.

OUT & ABOUT ROAD TRIP!

16 Like a Flying Monkey Zip out to the Ocoee.

DEAR READERS:

ill the “Occupy” movement lose its voice before it has a chance to say anything real? The world is watching, but the message is undefined. It may be a good chance to say something, make a real statement, before the national media outlets lose interest. Okay, you’re here, you’re upset . . . now what? So far, at least as far as the Nashville group goes, they have primarily drawn attention to curfew regulations at a public park. However, this in itself truly is a problem in our society and very representative of larger issues at hand. The few in power let that power go to their heads and want to regulate and control everything. So people can’t set foot on public property between certain hours? Okay, how about the people of Tennessee decide that they don’t want to pay state sales tax between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.? It’s just inconvenient for the state’s fine late-night businesses to “babysit” all of those tax dollars during those hours. That should ﬂy. I do not encourage people to spend much of their time complaining because something is not fair, but neither do I encourage people to get a government

permit for every move they want to make. Live your life as if you are free. Understand you don’t need permission from the government to do anything. They can arrest 30 people, but when millions of Americans live that way, that’s how change will happen. The boy and I got the opportunity to meet Gnash last month; he’s just another fat cat hanging out at the bank . . . The Bracken’s are excited about another Predators season. But Jr. posed the question to Gnash: “Why couldn’t the Preds manage to keep Mr. Joel Ward on board? After all, he was the most productive offensive player for the Nashville squad in its playoff run last year, its first trip to the second round.” But Gnash was left speechless; his only reply was to bang a drum and give us a high five, makin’ noise without really saying anything. So, we’re pumped for hockey season; do you know how I got pumped up for Monday Night Football? Hank Jr.! His rowdy rendition became synonymous with football over the past 20-plus years. So his single comment that mentioned Obama and Hitler in the same sentence that really was not extremely offensive nor clear shocked people

SOUNDS

Pet of The Month

18 Back in the Saddle After successful run with rockin’ country band Trick Pony, bassist Ira Dean set for solo release. 19 SoundLand Nashville’s multi-venue music fest.

AXLE is a beautiful boy that

20 Reviews Thief, Classic Williams, Harrison B., Ancients, The GoldRoom, Glossary 23 CONCERT LISTINGS 24 JEFF the Brotherhood It’s getting weird fast for punk duo.

MOVIES 25 Reviews Paranormal Activity 3, 50/50 Living Room Cinema Magical Journeys

NEWS 26 Spotlight on Business Just Love Coffee Roasters 27 Apple Talk Some tidbits and a tribute to Jobs.

FOOD 30 Omni Hut: Tropical Tiki Polynesian restaurant inspired by WWII vet’s time in the Pacific.

SPORTS 31 Sports Talk with Z-Train Titans get a win over miserable Colts. Run Strong Murfreesboro Upcoming races

NOW AT

BOROPULSE.COM/GALLERY CREW

29 Read One Book Hunger Games this year’s selection.

 Greenway Art Fest The Gallinippers play  the Wilson County Fair And more!

PULSE

28 Movember ’Staches for men’s health issues.

regarding Jr.’s politics? What idiots never picked up on the fact that Hank Jr. had some views a little out of the mainstream? The great man who sings “If the South would’ve won we’d have it made…I’d put Hank Williams’ picture on the 100 dollar bill,” “Bocephus for President,” “If Heaven ain’t a lot like Dixie, I’d just as soon stay home; If they don’t have a Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee, just send me to hell or to New York City, it would be about the same to me,” “I still love to get drunk and hear county sounds” and “Nek nek nek neked women and beer,” and who’d “Love to spit some beechnut in that dude’s eyes and shoot him with my old 45” has truly let down the American people with his single recent slip in tact and judgment. So henceforth, at three minutes ‘til kickoff every Monday night, your Captain will don a cowboy hat and sunglasses, get a little rowdy and ask myself if I’m ready for some football. Peace, Bracken Mayo Editor in Chief

Publisher/Editor in Chief: Bracken Mayo Art Director: Sarah L. Mayo Copy Editor: Cindy Phiffer Advertising Reps: Don Clark, Ryan Noreikas Photographer: Jon Wesenberg

Contributing Writers: Spencer Blake, Patrick Clark, Bryce Harmon, Carter Hays, Laura Beth Jackson, Jason Johnson, Marcus Luche, Zach Maxfield, Lee Miller, Jessica Pace, Sarah Porterfield, Jay Spight, Rev. Felicia Searcy, Norbert Thiemann, Cameron Parrish, Phil Valentine, Kerry Vance, Kory Wells

was trained in the Nashville Prison system; he is gentle with people and other animals, a great companion. Altered: Yes Primary Breed: American Pit Bull Terrier Coat Length: Short Grooming Needs: Low Shedding Amount: Moderate General Color: Tan General Age: Young General Size Potential: Large Ear Type: Erect Personality and Behavior Activity Level: Highly Active Exercise Needs: Moderate Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor Only Requires a Yard: Yes Requires Home with Fence: Any Type Energy Level: Moderate Housetrained: Yes To carry The Pulse at your business, or submit letters, stories and photography: bracken@boropulse.com 116-E North Walnut St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130 (615) 796-6248

Reaction to New People: Friendly Likes to Vocalize: Some Obedience Training: Has Basic Training Personality & Behavior Qualities: Leash trained, Crate trained, Good in a Car, Obedient, Playful, Independent/Aloof, Affectionate, Eager to Please, Intelligent, Gentle Compatibility Information Good with Kids: Yes Good with Adults: All

Copyright © 2011, The Murfreesboro Pulse, 116-E N. Walnut St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Proudly owned, operated and published the first Thursday of each month by the Mayo family; printed by Franklin Web Printing Co. The Murfreesboro Pulse is a free publication funded by our advertisers. Views expressed in The Pulse do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. ISSN: 1940-378X

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

COMMUNITY

Soup Samples Benefit Habitat for Humanity Cookin’ to Build, held from 4 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at the Murfreesboro Civic Plaza, will offer an opportunity for those wanting to support Habitat for Humanity. Visitors can purchase a one-of-a-kind bowl, hand painted at The Pottery Place by community residents of all ages, for $15 and enjoy unlimited chili, soup and stew as well as drinks and desserts. Booths representing local organizations and Habitat supporters will cook their favorite dishes. Also, The Flea Market Hustlers will perform. All proceeds benefit Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity. For more information, call (615) 890-5877.

NOV.

Gazing to the Heavens First Friday Star Parties, presented by the MTSU department of physics and astronomy, continue this semester, with the next installment beginning at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 4. Dr. John Wallin will discuss his work contributing to Galaxy Zoo, a site that brings together scientists and amateur astronomers from all over and users masses of people to help classify “astronomical” amounts of astronomy data. The First Friday events at MTSU meet in room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Hall and after an opening lecture move to the MTSU Observatory outdoor telescope. For more information, call (615) 8982130. Keltons Holds Fall Family Fest Kelton’s Hardware and Pet 5 Store will hold its first ever Fall Family Fest at its location at 2870 Old Fort Pkwy. on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Everyone will receive one professional family photo from Kristin Leisman Photography, free hot dogs and Coke, free pet product samples, free face painting and balloons and access to the free dog wash. NutriSource and PureVita, both providers of natural and organic pet foods, will be on-site to provide free samples. The store will offer several sales for customers as well, buy one gallon of paint, get one for $1; 29 percent off everything you can fit into a five-gallon bucket and more. For more information, call (615) 8935125 or visit keltonsinc.com.

NOV.

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Confucius Say, Watch Chinese Film MTSU’s free Sunday-night Chinese Film Festival series continues through Nov. 13 courtesy of the College of Mass Communication and the Confucius Institute. Each movie will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. Following each movie, Liu Jue, a mass-comm master’s degree candidate, will lead a question-and-answer session. All movies in the series have English subtitles and are free and open to the public. A post-Cultural Revolution family in Beijing struggles over 30 years with their relationships in the changing Chinese society in Sunflower, the Nov. 6 film at MTSU. On Nov. 13, Still Life depicts two people’s desperate search for their respective spouses before a town is destroyed to build a Yangtze River dam. This is the festival’s 13th semester. For more information, call Spires at (615) 898-2217 or (615) 494-8696.

NOV. 6–13

Saturdays/Wednesdays Youngsters can Encounter Animals 9 The City of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department presents programs each week that allow local children to get up close to various animals. Saturdays, Nov. 12, 19 and 26, all ages can look at a different animals, beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Wilderness Station at Barfield Park. These sessions are free to attend. On Wednesdays, beginning at 9:30 a.m., toddlers age 1–4 learn to play and sing, and take home crafts with nature themes. Reservations are required for these and are $3. At 10:30 a.m. a program geared for older kids, ages 3–6, Growing Up Wild explores nature to foster an interest and appreciation of wildlife and the natural world. For more information, call (615) 2173017.

NOV.

Feast Fearlessly Are you already thinking NOV. 10 about the extra pounds you’ll put on during the holiday season? Linebaugh Public Library will host Tracy Wilson’s talk about “Fearless Feasting: Eat Mindfully & Joyfully during the Holidays” on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. Wilson, a licensed Thai massage therapist and health coach, will provide practi-

cal strategies (in this time of national focus on obesity and related health risks), to help stop emotional eating and yo-yo dieting. Enter the holiday season with the right attitude toward food and feasting. Wilson will be speaking in the upstairs Reading Room of the library. This event is free and open to the public. Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St., Murfreesboro. For more information, call (615) 893-4131 or visit linebaugh.org. Ride ‘Em! The Volunteer Ranch Horse Association will sponsor a competition in Murfreesboro including a variety of categories including roping, cutting, sorting, ranch riding and more. All owners of ranch-type horses are invited to participate in this friendly but competitive atmosphere. The competitions will be at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum, 304 W. Thompson Lane. For more information, contact sarah.d.smith@att.net or (615) 438-8611.

NOV. 12–13

Author Suma Clark Celebrates MTSU Centennial Middle Tennessee State 15 University officially began on Monday, September 11, 1911, with 18 faculty members and 125 students. Traditions of Excellence, by Suma M. Clark, describes the opening ceremony of the new normal school, the first in the state. The students “wanted to be something in this world.” The staff knew their mission— to establish standards or “norms” for teachers while appeasing politicians who opposed the effort. At the upstairs Reading Room at Linebaugh Public Library on Tuesday, November 15, at 7 p.m., Suma Clark will share some of the many stories and special moments presented in this commemorative work. She will have copies of her book for sale and signing. Clark’s talk will coincide with Linebaugh’s hosting of a display provided by MTSU for the entire month of November. The display will be housed in the Reading Room. Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St. in Murfreesboro.

NOV.

Selebrity Spelling Bee Ernest Burgess, Sam Tune, 15 Tony Dover, Barb Ford, Vincent Windrow, Leslie Akins, Gloria LaRoche, Steve Peterson, Kristin Demos, Senna Mosley, Mitchell Murphree, Toby Gilley and Gayle Ray will all spell publicly on Nov. 15 at Patterson Park Community Center as part of the 2011 All-Star Celebrity Bee to benefit Read To Succeed.

NOV.

Tickets also include dinner, catered by Five Senses, at 6 p.m., with the spelling bee following at 7 p.m. Read To Succeed says “Literacy Matters!” and its many local programs include Reading in the Schools Day, Reading Rally, Express Yourself High School Arts Conference, One Book Community Read, UNPLUG & Read, Imagination Station, Families That Read, Succeed, Read To Bee, and the Read To Succeed Adult Literacy tutoring program. Visit readtosucceed.org for more information or to volunteer. For more information on the event, visit celebritybee.readtosucceed.org. Strings at Central Magnet School Central Magnet School 17 Strings presents Autumn Revelries at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17. The program includes music by American composers performed in honor of veterans in addition to winter-themed music as the days are becoming colder. Central Magnet is located at 701 E. Main St. Donations of $3 are welcomed to help purchase music, strings and bows for the students.

NOV.

Support Sorority’s Scholarships The Rutherford County 19 Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority presents the Crimson & Cream Ball, An Evening of Elegance, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19, at Doubletree Hotel, 1850 Old Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro. Everyone is invited to come out and have a ball with the Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta at this formal occasion benefiting its local scholarship fund. For more information, call (615) 2029639.

NOV.

Mark’s Merry Mission Marketplace Merry Mission Marketplace, 30 held from 6–8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov 30, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, will feature gifts including hand-crafted silver lamps, birdfeeders, quilts and jewelry made by local artists, custom-designed clothing and bags, premium pecans, bath and body products, Christmas ornaments, cookbooks, fair-trade coffee and more. Proceeds from the sale benefit non-profit organizations including Thistle Farms, The Franklin County Adult Activity Center, The Alzheimer’s Association, The Lions Club, 147 Million Orphans, and other agencies. International fair-trade retailer, Ten Thousand Villages, will have a large booth at the event. For more information, call (615) 895-1803.

NOV.

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

OPINIONS

Wall Street: A Good Place To Occupy

e have a right to be angry. The premise of the American Dream is that anyone can prosper and succeed. But the path to prosperity is fading with the shrinking middle class, and the people who have prospered the most have used their success to burn the bridges behind them. We have a right to be angry that we purchased

6 * NOVEMBER 2011 * BOROPULSE.COM

homes under the guise system that was created of stability while the big by our government, both banks were selling off Democrats and Repubadjustable rate mortgages licans. This has nothing column by JASON JOHNSON tuckwopat@yahoo.com like candy. We have a right to do with the left and to be angry that deregulathe right. While “greed tion has allowed banks to bloat to the point is good” is a classic Republican sentiment, that they become too big to fail. And we have Democrats are as much if not more respona right to be angry because it’s consistently sible for this mess. Bill Clinton is the one the middle class and poor that take the bigwho finally put pen to paper and crushed the gest hit when the bubbles burst. Glass-Steagall Act that had been in place Wall Street seems like an appropriate since the Great Depression to keep complace to vent some of that anger. And it isn’t mercial banks from underwriting securities. just anger directed towards rich people or According to economist Robert Reich, it was banks. This is a protest about the entire rigged the death of the Glass-Steagall Act that led to the housing bubble. While the teeth of the act had been removed when it was reinterpreted during the Reagan administration, it was the merger of Travelers Group insurance company and Citicorp that ultimately killed the act. The merger was illegal and Citicorp would have had to detach itself from Travelers if Congress didn’t change the law within two years. So they took their boatload of money to Washington and lobbied the Republican Congress and Bill Clinton to have the law overturned. After signing the bill to kill Glass-Steagall, Clinton gave one of the pens used in the signing to Citigroup chairman, Sandy Weill. Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin (previously of Goldman Sachs) was awarded a job as director of Citigroup. During his tenure, Rubin

GAGFLEX

“We have a right to be angry that deregulation has allowed banks to bloat to the point that they become too big to fail . . . it’s consistently the middle class and poor that take the biggest hit when the bubbles burst.” made about $128 million for helping to run Citigroup into the ground, but lucky for them they were too big to fail and our billions of our tax dollars were used to bail them out. Our government doesn’t get that these interwoven relationships with big business do not equate to good social and economic policies. Just because you run a billion dollar corporation doesn’t mean that you know what’s best regarding the economy. Politicians are not generally economic geniuses and they rely heavily on economic advisers, so they tend to get hypnotized by corporate CEOs and let their opinions dictate policy. And people are saying that the Wall Street protestors don’t have a point. The average person or business typically pays for the mistakes they’ve made, but the average person or business doesn’t have a lobbyist or a foot in the door with the president to help turn their idiocy into an interest-free goldmine at our expense. If this isn’t enough to make you angry, then just sit back and enjoy the exploitation.

Always Give Thanks

n Nov. 24, we as a nation will gather around tables heaped with great food and give thanks for all of our wonderful blessings. It is a time to reﬂect on the bountiful nature of life. It is a time when we feel especially connected to each other as we intentionally give thanks for our loved ones.

our attention on the things that make life worthwhile. Wallace Wattles, author of The Science of Getting Rich, says, “The grateful mind is constantly fixed on the best; therefore it tends to become the best; it takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best.” I have talked often in this column about how energy ﬂows where attention goes. When we intentionally cultivate gratitude, we actively seek the positive in every situation. We learn to expect the best and, therefore, trust life more. Consequently, we become more creative and open to new ideas and possibilities, and amazingly, life really does get sweeter. Saying thank you is a practice that many It does not mean that we won’t be faced of us were taught as young children. I with challenges. But when we have a can still hear my mother’s voice asking, consistent practice of gratitude, we learn “Did you send them a thank you note?” to see the good present in every situation. after receiving a gift. Giving thanks is a We learn to expect the best instead of powerful way to acknowledge the good bracing for the worse. We can choose to in our lives. It softens us and those with expect anything we want. It is just as easy whom we share our appreciation, and it is to expect that things will work as it is to a discipline that can change us at depth if imagine the worse. Gratitude helps train we choose to practice it. our minds to focus on positive outcomes When we give thanks, we focus on the making those more likely to occur than the good. It is hard to fixate on the negative horrible scenarios we and give thanks at the tend to obsess about. same time. Our spirits Nor does it mean become lighter and we that we hide our heads become happier people. in the sand pretending Studies show that everything is okay when when people practice column by REV. FELICIA SEARCY dealing with difficulty gratitude regularly, they and loss. We learn to become kinder. And recognize the facts and see them from a the wonderful thing is that we can choose higher perspective. I was recently on a gratitude in any moment regardless of the conference call with one of my teachers outer conditions. who has since died of cancer. She knew The masters taught gratitude as a spiritual practice. Jesus gave thanks before that her time here in this dimension was limited. Yet, there she was on that every miracle as a declaration of his faith in the bounty of “the Father.” Joan Mooney, call, encouraging each one of us by sharing her wisdom and light. She was writer for the DC Examiner in an online at peace with her impending death. She article published Nov. 24, 2009, quoted illuminated the power of gratitude as she Buddhist writer Joseph Goldstein from relished every moment in the midst of her his book One Darhma, “when we feel true gratitude, whether toward particular people illness and mortality. So, during the month of November as or toward life, metta (lovingkindness) will we celebrate with friends and family, let’s ﬂow from us naturally. When we connect choose gratitude. Spend time every day with another person through gratitude, the giving thanks for your blessings. At the barriers that separate begin to melt.” risk of sounding cliché, do things like write Gratitude builds faith because it focuses a gratitude list or find a way to remind yourself to give thanks at the top of every “When we give thanks, we hour. Together, let’s give thanks for each focus on the good. It is hard other, our world and life itself.

LIVING

aBlessed LIFE

to fixate on the negative and give thanks at the same time. Our spirits become lighter and we become happier people . . . we can choose gratitude in any moment regardless of the outer conditions.”

Rev. Felicia Searcy is the founding minister of Unity Church of Life. She is the author of Do Greater Things: Following in Jesus’ Footsteps published by Unity House. She is also a Life Mastery Consultant dedicated to assisting people with designing and living the life they love. For more information, visit revfelicia.com.

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BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

OPINIONS

Read more columns by Phil Valentine at:

Government Should Not Assist in Renegotiating Mortgage Payments

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Alright, stop it. This has you’re selling? Just because someone this mess in the first place. gone far enough. Somesays your home is worth less has no Don’t forget that it was the body explain to me why bearing on you unless you’re trying Community Reinvestment Act the government needs to to move. Just like it had no bearing that forced many of these lenders refinance your house just because on you when the paper value went to make risky loans. Don’t forget the value has dropped. I understand through the roof. No one should it was Fannie and Freddie who people who have lost their jobs or stop making payments and no one insisted on these high-risk loans have less income, but what is this should be given a governmentbeing bundled with regular loans nonsense about not being able to assisted payment drop just because before they would buy them. Don’t make your payments just because of the value of their house. forget it was Congressman Barney your house is worth less than when But that’s the mentality of the Frank and Senator Chris Dodd you bought it? world we live in. who pushed for all this governBut that’s “Oh, but the ment meddling that got us into this VIEWS OF A exactly what banks should mortgage meltdown only to “come CONSERVATIVE President do this to keep to the rescue” with the Dodd-Frank column by PHIL VALENTINE Obama unveiled more people in Act that is already having numerphilvalentine.com this week. He their houses,” you ous unintended consequences like has loosened say. Look, I’d love higher bank fees. the terms of the Home Affordable to see people stay in their houses. Dodd and Frank were much like Refinance Program (HARP), the Nothing pains me more than to see the rogue firemen who go around program that gives some slack a family turned out of their house, setting fires then flash up in their to borrowers who’ve made their but let the banks decide. fire truck to save the day. mortgage payments on time. He’s Don’t you think the banks want And President Obama is right going to allow more people to to keep as many people in their in there with them. He has no clue lower their payments just because houses as they can? Foreclosure about how all this works. What we the value of their houses has decreased since 2008. “No one should stop making Now think about this for a mopayments and no one should be given a ment. How many times have you government-assisted payment drop bought a car, financed it, then drivjust because of the value of their house. en it off the lot? Before you even get it in the driveway it’s worth less But that’s the mentality of the world we than when you bought it. Do you live in . . . let the system work. And the go whining to the government that system works best when the shots aren’t you can’t make your car payment being called from Washington.” because your car is worth less than you paid for it? Same thing for furniture or appliances or anything these days in all likelihood means need to do is let the system work. else you buy on time. the bank’s going to lose money on And the system works best when This is absolutely ridiculous but that house; in many cases, a lot of the shots aren’t being called from so many people accept it at face money. That’s the last thing they Washington. value. “Oh, yeah, that guy’s home want. But let them decide. The value dropped by 50 percent. I don’t banks are fully capable of deciding Phil Valentine is an author and nablame him for not making the paywho’s creditworthy and who’s not. tionally syndicated radio talk show ments.” Good grief, what possible They don’t need the federal governhost with Westwood One. For more sense does that make? ment mandating how they do their of his commentary and articles, What on earth do you care unless business. That’s how we got into visit philvalentine.com.

THANK GOD FOR WATER GRACIAS A DIOS POR EL AGUA IN ENGLISH:

dying from water related diseases each very Thanksgiving, we are reyear is an opportunity for a generation of minded of the Pilgrim’s voyage global thinkers and intelligent humanitaraboard the Mayflower and the ians to effect change. Some organizations fiesta they had with the Native have committed to ending this problem Americans. Of course we have to critiby bringing safe water to communities cize the Pilgrims and the later Puritans in developing countries. Causelife is the (mainly their hats) a little. Some people name of one such organization. According refer to them as illegal immigrants that to causelife.org, one $15 donation will procame over de mojado or wet, which may vide someone with clean water for life. You be a valid comparison when you concan’t buy a lifetime supply of anything for sider their ability to fit $15!! We often spend almost 100 people in a that on just a few cups room designed for only of coffee. Don’t want 30! Whether you love to give up your coffee? Una columna del idioma español por CAMERON PARRISH or hate them, one thing That’s okay! Because is for sure. The lives of every Thursday night early settlers were tough and full of hardat 410 W. Lytle St. from 6–10 p.m., the ship, so much so that about half of them Experience opens a donation-only coffee died during the initial months. Life was shop, and all proceeds go to water projects difficult and shortages in food and other around the world as well to support those supplies were commonplace. It was so in need locally. Check it out. That’s all I’ve bad they didn’t even begin holding public got for you this month. T.G.F.W. Thank witch trials right away as witch hunting God for Water. took a lower priority. EN ESPANOL: Despite four centuries having passed since those times, the challenges faced by hanksgiving es cuando se nos the Pilgrims happen to include a number recuerda de la travesía de los of the same problems still faced by milperegrinos a bordo del barco la lions of people in the 21st century. A lack Mayflower y la fiesta alegre que of clean drinking water comes to mind. habia con la gente indígena. Por supuesYou see, during the journey across the to, siempre tenemos críticos pesados de ocean and early phases of colonization, los peregrinos. vinieron “de mojado” que the only sources of clean water were beer tal vez es una comparación válida, si tenand wine, both containing bacteria-killing emos en cuenta su capacidad para meter polyphenols. Before you grab a Samuel a casi 100 de ellos dentro un espacio que Adams, you should know this wasn’t any habia diseñado para 30! award-winning brew. In fact to be authenSin duda la vida este grupo fue dura y tic, you’d get some IPA (India Pale Ale) llena de dificultades hasta que aproximaand pour it in the bathtub with dirty laundamente la mitad de los colonos originadry. Allow to sit for 72 hours and enjoy the les murieron durante los primeros meses 17th century flavor. La vida era difícil por muchas razones A water crisis still exists and approxiobvias, incluyendo la escasez de alimenmately one in eight people on earth are tos y otras cosas. A pesar de los cuatro without access to clean water. I’m sure siglos habian pasado, los desafíos que we can agree that 3.5 million individuals enfrentan los peregrinos incluyen los

La PALABRA

Many of the things taken for granted today, such as clean drinking water, were scarce among the Pilgrims, known for giving thanks for what they had. Still today, many around the world don’t have access to clean water and other basic necessities.

mismos problemas que todavía sigue enfrentado millones de personas en el siglo XXI especialmente en los paises subdesarollados. La falta de agua potable es lo mas obvio. Tengan en cuenta que durante el cruzaje y en los fases principios de la colonización las únicos fuentes de agua potable fueron cerveza y el vino que contienen los polifenoles que matan bacterias. Pero esperate. Antes de ponerte un sombrero de peregrino y agarrar a algunas Samuel Adams, debe saber que la cerveza no fue ganadora

de ningun premio. De hecho si quieres tomar el auténtico, busquete un IPA (India Pale Ale) y echala en la bañera con la ropa sucia y déjala ahí la cerveza durante 72 horas y luego disfrútate el riquísimo sabor del siglo 17. Lamentablemente todavía existe una crisis de agua. La verdad es que son aproximadamente 1 entre 8 personas hace falta el agua potable. El hecho de que 3.5 millonesde personas mueren de agua relacionadas con enfermedades cada año es una oportunidad para una generación humanitaria e inteligente de hacer cambios. Algunas organizaciones se han dedicado a combatir el problema y lleva el agua potable a los países pobres. Causelife es el nombre de uno de esas organizaciónes. Según a la información al sitio causelife. org, las donaciónes (cada $15) proveen alguien con acceso al agua por vida ¡Coño! ¡No se puede comprar ninguna cosa por vida con solo $15! Gastamos mas unas tazas de café ¿verdad que si? ¿Qué? ¿No quieres dejarse el café? Pues está bien mon frère. Todos los Jueves desde 6 pm hasta 10 pm en 410 West Lytle st La Experiencia Community Church abre las puertas de su café para todo al mundo y mandan las donaciónes a los proyectos de depuración de agua y también para satisfacer la necesidades de nuestros vecinos alrededores. Bueno ya se acabó por hoy. Que estén agradecidos por el agua!

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

THEATER The Very Witching Time Remarkable Pippin filled with ethereal dancing; Swan presents five-piece show. column by MARCUS LUCHE

he month of October kicked off the holiday season with panache. Each Halloween treat staged brought its own scare to its audience. Pippin Shines at MLT Seldom am I overwhelmed by any of the productions I attend. This month’s offering at MLT, however, stands apart in my mind. It was the most remarkable musical that I have seen since I began writing this column. Under the direction of E. Roy Lee and Arabelle Pollick, Pippin was a joyous, triumphant presentation. The stage was simply dressed; black curtains and a few pieces of set dressing were sufficient. The black-box effect granted the actors a blank canvas upon which to paint their performances. A work of historical fiction, Pippin tells the story of the son of Charlemagne; it wrestles with questions of virtue, strength and those values that deeply define a life well lived. Lee and Pollick accepted such a heavy burden skillfully, and their creative vision was simply invigorating. Music was provided by MLT’s always impressive Charlie Parker, and the flawless choreography was crafted by Pollick herself. Their work was stunning; the cast was pitch-perfect, and their dancing was haunting and ethereal. Leading the troupe of players who guided the production was Christopher Michael Maupins, a gifted performer who incarnated sexuality and libido. His attempted seduction of the titular Pippin, played by Shawn Cornelius, into the life

dictated for him was compelling, and the actors’ conflicts were beautifully real. With remarkable vigor and resolution, Gary Davis portrayed Charlemagne, whose quest for power eclipses the needs of his son. The conflict between Davis and Cornelius was brutal and moving. I look forward to a seeing a show that will rival the emotional effect of Pippin, but I may be waiting for some time. Center Stalked by Malevolent Immortal Bram Stoker started it all with his 1897 novel Dracula. Stoker unknowingly unleashed a torrent of interest in the occult, in particular, vampires. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I attended the recent performance of Dracula at the Center, even though it was helmed by the inimitable Bryan Sunday-Booth. The acting, for the most part, was fairly on target with plenty of depth and pathos. Murfreesboro familiars Todd Seage, as Professor Van Helsing, and Bill Stewart, as Dr. Thomas Seward, were a total joy as they studied their nemesis and planned his demise. Though Stewart’s mastery of the British dialect was inconsistent at best, Seage’s Dutch dialect was sublime; it was neither intrusively over-the-top nor underdeveloped. Aaron Hall stole the show, delivering the evening’s most clever lines. The title character Dracula was played with relish and gusto by John Mack Green. Though his Romanian dialect was a bit heavy at times, Green gave an admirable performance.

George Manus actually directed two seperate casts in Out Front on Main’s recent production of Bug. (Top right) Ansley Adcock stars as the little orphan herself in the Center for the Arts’ upcoming offering of Annie.

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The only quibble I have with the show is its run time and the hesitant execution of some special effects. My one suggestion would be to tighten up the set changes or eliminate them altogether and allow lighting to designate various locales. Oh, and more blood, please. Paranoia Proves Catching at Out Front Out Front staged the regional debut of Bug by Tracy Letts as its October offering. Helmed by George Manus, who undertook the task of creating the show with two distinct casts, Bug invited the audience to join its protagonists in their descent into madness and paranoia. Leading lady Molly Breen was fascinating as Agnes, a young divorcée who has taken up residence in a rural motel room. The sometimes claustrophobic stage provided by Out Front was brilliantly utilized to heighten the imposing sense of Agnes’s space. Goss, Agnes’s ex-husband, and R.C., her protective friend, provide some context for the play’s growing paranoia. Buddy Jones was truly refreshing as Goss; this role was a departure from his normal fare, and I was impressed with his versatility as an abusive, belligerent addict. The attention to detail—both of characters and of the environment—in Bug was most evident. Manus crafted a production perfect for this haunting time of year. A Medley of Chills At the Swan Performing Arts Center last month was the Consider This, Inc., production entitled Tales of the Macabre, a series of five short plays—three based on writings of Edgar Allen Poe, one based on a short story, and one adaptation of a radio drama. Unlike shows I have previously seen at the Swan, Tales of the Macabre was not presented in the round. Director Barry Hardy ingeniously reallocated the space. First in the lineup was The Raven, drawn from the Poe classic of the same name. The staging was simple. The audience watched the Man, played by Thomas Esson, experience the evening’s events as they were narrated by Matthew Forman with text drawn directly from the poem. Forman’s narration was at times chilling, and overall, this scene was very effective in setting the mood. The presentation may have benefitted from slightly more lighting (and a slightly larger raven; I almost missed him). The Lottery, adapted from the well-known short story by Shirley Jackson, was the largest disappointment of the evening. The actors performed admirably considering the script they were given, but the narrative was crafted in a different manner than the original story; it did not focus on Jackson’s original protagonist, but rather on the townspeople around her. The result was a mess that—without forehand knowl-

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Upcoming Performances Annie 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19; 2 p.m. Nov. 6, 13 and 20 The Center for the Arts 110 W. College St. 615-904-2787 MacBeth 7 p.m., Nov. 11, 12, 18 and 19; 2 p.m. Nov. 13 and 20 Murfreesboro Little Theater 702 Ewing Ave. (615) 893-9825 Comedy 8 p.m. Nov. 26–27 Out Front on Main 1511 E. Main St. (615) 713-1757 Shows all month, check outfrontonmain.com for full lineups Ashley Brooke Corby, Nov. 3–5 Bryce Damuth, Nov. 10–12 Battle of the Sexes, Guys vs. Girls, Nov. 17–19 edge of the plot—would baffle an audience. Returning to Poe, a reader’s theater style performance of The Tell-Tale Heart was refreshing in its simple staging. Solo performer Luke Patton, in period costume, took the stage and read the story with verve in his robust baritone. Sorry, Wrong Number, an adaptation of the classic radio drama, provided one of the more intriguing experiences of the production. As the story unfolded, the audience sat in near total darkness. Vanessa Maleare delivered a solid performance as the terrified woman home alone who overhears the plan for her own murder. Poe’s Masque of the Red Death brought the evening to a chilling close. The story was read as a luminescent cast danced the tale under black lights. Unfortunately, the choreography was muddled, and the result left the audience uncertain regarding which should have more focus, the glowing cast or narrator Tom Petty. Overall, Tales of the Macabre was a successful experiment. Hardy demonstrated viable formats for local theater extend beyond the expected.

Drama Team Dreams Big

story by KERRY VANCE

he talented students of Joanne Okain’s elementary drama team at Roy Waldron School in LaVergne have a dream many of them never could have imagined: the opportunity to meet and work with Disney stars, choreographers, writers and teachers. Okain helped start a drama club at the school and now she’s seeing a big change in students who participate. Each year, the drama team gets bigger and better, and Okain sees the kids building confidence and becoming more outgoing. Last fall, nearly 200 of Roy Waldron’s 700 students tried out for the drama team. Of those students, 35 creative, passionate and talented students became members. Now, these students have the opportunity to attend the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta Jan. 13–15. There children will perform, take classes and meet stars and executives from Disney. Stars who have been involved with this festival in the past included Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. The drama team is very excited to see who will be attending and coaching this year and to perform part of a play called Flat Stanley in front of judges. Okain said it is an important opportunity for these children to see older kids doing something they love (many of the participants in the festival are high school and

junior high age) and to see the potential that their talents can bring. There have already been several events to raise money for the team. Parents, teachers and children have tirelessly sold Sonic cards, Logan’s Peanuts, donuts and Little Cesear’s Pizza to bring in any money they can for this trip that will cost the 35 drama team members and chaperones $25,000. On Oct. 14, the Drama Team hosted a dinner theatre night at Roy Waldron School. The children served a pasta dinner to guests and entertained them with a play called The Price, the Cents, and the Nonsense. The 15-minute play was written by Okain and Rachel Herod. The kids memorized all their lines, performed choreography and sang a rousing rendition of “New York, New York.” It was

amazing to see young children with such poise and ability. The kids showed passion and courage when they performed. Money was also raised through a silent auction after the play. On Thursday, Nov. 3, many vendors will be selling merchandise and donating the profits to the drama team. This event will be held at Roy Waldron School from 6–8 p.m. The drama team will perform Flat Stanley, the play they will compete with at the Theater Festival, for the public on March 8 and 9 at LaVergne Middle School. Fifth grader and drama team member Andruw Gordon performed with his father, Anthony, in The Price, the Cents, and the Nonsense. He is looking forward to the trip to Atlanta and is hoping to pursue acting in the future. “I put my heart and soul into it,” Gordon said about acting in the drama team. “We’ve all put everything we’ve got into this. ” His passion for acting began when he was trying to decide what extracurricular activity to choose. He decided on acting and has had enthusiasm for it ever since. “Art is whatever you want it to be,” Gordon said about his interest

in acting. “You can be anyone you want be, even yourself.” Gordon is just one of the 35 excited students who is planning on the trip to the festival in January. If you’d like to help the team make it to the Junior Theater Festival, donations can be sent to Joanne OKain, 125 Floyd Mayfield Drive, LaVergne, TN 37086.

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

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ART Local High School Students Invited to ‘Express Yourself’ Annual conference introduces youth to lots of locals making their living in the arts.

story by SARAH PORTERFIELD

he four people onstage at Patterson Park Community Center have a few things in common. They’re all there for a panel discussion at the fifth annual Express Yourself Arts Conference, an event that brings local highschool kids together who want to pursue a career in the arts. What really ties these four—John Iaccheri, founder and operator of the Hobnob websites; J. Brooks Christol, a partner at Murfreesboro advertising firm Barker & Christol; Lauren Shouse, Artistic Associate at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre; and John Darmour, a costume technician whose works has been featured in films like Dark Knight and Contagion, to name a few—is that they’ve all turned a passion into a career. And sometimes they’ve had to think outside the box to turn that creative passion into a bona fide living. Patterson Park was filled with people who’ve done just that on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The Express Yourself Arts Conference—a collaboration of the Business Education Partnership, Read To Succeed, Destination Rutherford, Middle Tennessee Electric Customers Care and the Friends of Linebaugh Library— is all about getting teenagers to focus on the

arts and proving to these students that their talents don’t have to be accessories to their futures. The conference aims to encourage these students to explore, practice and hone their skills, from painting to graphic design, writing to music criticism, music to theater. “The people we had here talking about making films came just off a film set,” said Lee Rennick, executive director of the Business Education Partnership and conference chair. “These students are getting to learn from the people who are actually doing it.” In one room, students choreographed dances in a Glee workshop led by Rennick. Next door, MTSU professor, writer and poet Aaron Shapiro showed a group of aspiring writers how to use quickmuse.com, where well-known poets respond to a prompt that viewers can then watch in real-time (the students were able to witness the struggle behind a particular phrase, the ease with which the next flows, and discuss the purpose behind each and every word). Down the hall, the Pulse’s own publisher and editor Bracken Mayo led a workshop on music and art journalism, playing Sigur Ros for students before asking them to describe the notoriously inexplicable band. Later,

Jacqueline Springﬁeld and Terry Summers teach West African Dance; (below left) Eagleville High School student Tiffany Dunigan plays guitar; (below) Kelsey Wells plays the ﬁddle as accompaniment to mom Kory’s poetry

students donned “lapas,” traditional African skirts, and learned dance moves courtesy of Jacqueline Springfield and Terry Summers. Local poet Kory Wells read some of her work while daughter Kelsey played along with her fiddle and banjo in a workshop rightfully entitled “What’s that Music Doing in My Poem?” The duo has performed at the Southern Festival of Books and music festivals all over the state. At Patterson, Kory asked students to think about what makes them mad. What makes them angry. “That,” she told them, “is what makes good art.” “No matter what, you have to always feed that artist inside of you,” she continued. Workshop leaders also included Roy Lee, who taught improv; Alex Blackwelder, a pho-

tographer who turned her classroom into a “camera obscura,” blocking out all light save one small space of window; Jimmy Mansfield, who turned a group of students into a rock band in just over an hour; graphic designer Sheana Firth, whose students created mood boards for their favorite logos; Diana Rice of Nashville’s Documentary Channel; and MTSU Apparel Design Professor Lauren Rudd. It wasn’t your average school day. That much is for sure. During the panel, Tennessee Repertory Theatre’s Lauren Shouse told students that, above all else, you have to know in your soul that you can’t do anything else if your heart is in the arts. “Just persevere and create,” she said.

Art Professor Shows Work in West Virginia’s 6/60 Exhibit

im Gibson, retired professor emeritus of sculpture at MTSU’s Department of Art, will show his work as part of the 6/60 (six over sixty) exhibition at the Art Store in Charleston, W.V. The exhibit, featuring the work of five painters alongside Gibson’s sculptures, will run through Nov. 19. One of Gibson’s pieces in the exhibit, the welded steel sculpture “Ericka-Chendu,” also received this year’s Joseph A. Cain Memorial Purchase Award at the 45th Annual National Drawing & Small Sculpture Show at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Gibson’s work has been included in many exhibitions and collections across the Southeast, and he has been commissioned to create art for the U.S. Army, the U.S. Embassy in Malta, Vanderbilt University and WSMV-TV in Nashville, among others. He says his abstract style is affected by his interest in the human figure and mythology.

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4 1 Ericka-Chendu, 2009

Sculpture: Welded Brass & Steel on Aluminum Base 21 x 8 x 4 ½ inches $1600

2 Flight of the Dreamer, 2011 Sculpture: Welded Steel 70 ¼ x 13 x 9 inches

3 Juggler, 2010

Sculpture: Welded Steel 60 x 12 x 10 inches

4 Sculptor’s Table, 1989

Sculpture: Welded Steel, Brass & Aluminum 15 x 56 x 6 inches

Thu Nov. r1s. 7

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

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ART MTSU Art Students Exhibit Work

PANTS BY THE POUND

Moxie hosts unique art installation visitors felt with their feet. story and photos by BRACKEN MAYO

TSU art student, Brian Hutsebout, filled the exhibit space of Moxie Art Supply & Studio School with a “site specific installation piece” of an unusual medium for a one-evening event. The artist collected hundreds of pairs of pants, all of a dark-brownish hue, neatly rolled each one and orderly lined the entire ﬂoorspace with the pants. Additionally, visitors were asked upon entering the room to remove their shoes. Many of the clothing items were acquired from Goodwill, where on some occasions the shopper may actually purchase large amounts of clothing by the pound. “My goal is to contrast nature’s slow advances with the synthetic rapidity of contemporary human mass production,” Hutsebout said in a statement about the exhibit. While the installation was untraditional, it did elicit a wide variety of responses from the observers.

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“This looks like my room when I was a teenager,” one lady said. Another exhibit viewer/toucher commented that walking barefoot atop the rolled up pants actually felt quite good to the feet and served as a nice foot massage experience in the dim, quiet room. Another, whose German heritage greatly affected her reaction to the event, said the great amount of dark clothing reminder her of visiting a museum in Germany that showed a display of clothing from individuals killed in Nazi concentration camps. Whether or not each visitor realized the artist’s intention to “illuminate temporal processes that are easily forgotten, acknowledging the power inherent in nature,” a roomful of rolled-up pants did ignite some interesting conversations and emotions, and the experience of having physical interaction and contact with an art display is appreciated.

TSU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts shows feature the Department of Art’s candidates for graduation this semester or in the near future. The shows are divided into groups representing students in Studio Arts, such as book arts, clay, drawing, letter press, printmaking and sculpture and shows featuring  creature from graphic design. Whitney Keels’ The first show this semester is entitled mixed media installation “Bazaar” AVÉ ATQUE VALÉ and will be on display at MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery through Nov. 16. Participating artists are Mac Bydalek, Whitney Keels, Kelly McCormack and Danny Walters. The Todd Art Gallery’s regular hours are 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday. For more information or directions, call 898–5653.

 One of the intaglio prints by Mac Bydalek

Etched aluminum enclosures ﬁlled with noise-maker circuits by Danny Walters  “Breaking Down” by Kelly McCormack 

Murphy Center Hosts MTSU Juried Show

he MTSU Department of Art and Student Art Alliance (SAA) present the third annual joint exhibition to feature the juried work of MTSU students. The SAA is an organization with membership made up of art majors and interested students who organize events that promote the making and understanding of art’s role in our academic culture and our community at large. Participation is open to all Department of Art majors, SAA members and interested MTSU students. Terry Thacker, former chair, Department of Fine Arts, Watkins College of Art & Design will serve as the awards’ juror. Thacker is greatly involved in the arts as a painter, teacher and public speaker, whose interest in the South is as a vernacular idiom in art. “This show gives MTSU students the opportunity to engage in the process of submitting and showing their work in a public space, as well as competing with other artists for awards,” said SAA faculty advisor John Donovan. “This process is an essential component to the professional practice of

being an artist and is a valuable experience for our students.” The exhibit will be on display in room G040 of MTSU’s Murphy Center, located near the intersection of Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard, through Nov. 29. The public is welcome to view the art for free.

The Murphy Center will house art by Justin Barker (above left), Whitney Keels (above), Kallie Jackson (left) and other MTSU students this month for a juried exhibition.

Pottery Artists Welcome Public During Annual Studio Tour Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? — Romans 9:21 NIV

lay is transformed from a fragile piece of manipulated earth to a lasting piece of pottery through the ordeal of fire. Otherwise, it crumbles to dust. Pottery today must satisfy visual and decorative needs, as well as functional. The potter, therefore, engages in the challenge of artistry, craftsmanship and function. Carefully, a balance between these challenges combine to satisfy the artist and bring joy to the one taking it home. Those interested in this challenge are encouraged to attend Lewis & Eric Snyder’s annual open house at Studio S Pottery, which coincides with the 18th Annual Studio Tour of Rutherford County this year Nov. 18–20. Numerous demonstrations are planned and Smyrna jeweler Dolores Weaver will be on hand to showcase her fine jewelry. Studio Tour hours are Nov. 18 and 19 from 10 a.m.–5

p.m. and Nov. 20 from 12–5 p.m. Studio S Pottery, located in a rustic former dairy barn, features green space in the middle of town amazing visitors from near and far. One of the Snyders’ proudest accomplishments over the last 25 years is their ongoing opportunity to offer their passion to others through classes to the community in handbuilding and on the potter’s wheel. A visit to the “barn,” as it is often called, also quickly reveals a two-story gallery featuring distinctive hand-produced works of art in stoneware, porcelain, primitive-fire and raku. “Our work is frequently chosen for its personality and craftsmanship by individuals and businesses seeking art that is representative of Murfreesboro and Tennessee,” says Lewis. All work is lead-free, and the stoneware is designed and suited for everyday use. The studio is located at 1426 Avon Road. For more details about the Art Studio Tour of Rutherford County, visitartstudiotour.org. For more information about Lewis and Eric or Studio S Pottery, visit studiospottery.com. BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

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OUT & ABOUT Take the plunge and zip to a nearby tower; the harnesses are trustworthy.

SOAR THROUGH THE SKY

photos by SARAH MAYO

Zip out to East Tennessee for a fun and exhilarating day trip. story by BRYCE HARMON

ll right, turkeys, the remainder of the year is flying by with Thanksgiving back and carrying with it the fading likelihood of having one last beautiful fall day to join some good people for something ridiculously fun outdoors in the aging spirit of 2011. Right east of Chattanooga in the small Appalachian town of Benton is a scary, death-defying opportunity—more than 6,000 feet of strong, well-placed half-inch steel cable zip lines, and double-clipped pulleys suspended on the inclined cables ready to transport you from one spot to a distant other ridiculously fast. It is definitely worth the sunny morning and afternoon it takes to drive from Murfreesboro, play for a few hours and arrive back in town just in time for dinner. After 35 years and thousands of adrenalized whitewater rafting trips down the Ocoee River, Ocoee Outdoors owner and operator J.T. Lemons, and wife Meg, decided early last year to expand their ventures by raising a mile’s worth of zip lines through the wooded canopy nearby the river that hosted the 1996 summer Olympics’ whitewater rafting competitions. “It broadens the age of family that can come out,” owner Meg Lemons said. “The [youngest] age for whitewater rafting is 12. [Zip lining] starts at 5 years old,” so after the five months of construction and rigid faculty training ended 16 * NOVEMBER 2011 * BOROPULSE.COM

in August 2010, their attraction opened for business, appropriately named Ocoee Zipz, or “OZ” for short. And it carries that theme true throughout the journey as guests of all ages are led by OZ’s “Flying Monkey” guides through seven individual, unique zip lines differing in length and incline rated from “Dorothy” to the “Wicked Witch.” Pulling into a wind-dusted visitor’s center at the edge of a 40-acre field peppered with varying-height forest ranger towers wired to each other as well as to the woods themselves, the only legitimate complaint someone could have under such a cloudless open sight is if they forget their sunglasses. Reservations ensure there’s not much of a a wait time nor crowd on the giant wraparound porch before guides corral groups to get harnessed, helmeted, gloved and shuffled onto a small bus waiting to drive to the first tower while everyone aboard looks like the Village People’s construction worker. If you’re lucky, DJ, the sending guide, and Johnny, the catching guide, will accompany your group and explain exactly what their titles mean along with the common sense rules of zip lining like keeping your gloves on the line to slow you down after DJ sends you off and especially when Johnny catches you at the end of the line screaming “Brake!” Also, they cover the not-so-obvious rules, like adults stabling the

gently swaying but heavy wire before stepping in too close to avoid a pop in the mouth. Their thorough and precise instruction alleviates most nerves, but they don’t tell you about the tense first step off the first tower into an instant 30 miles an hour. They let you timidly walk to the edge to peek and then “help” you if you dilly-dally. It might be one of those funny-if-nothappening-to-you ordeals. Once prepped and comfortable, DJ and Johnny talk you into jumping off of the first tower, “The Cowardly Lion,” which stands only about 30 feet off the ground with barely an incline for a beginner’s adjustment to flight. The second line, though, “Dorothy,” doglegs into the canopy but rides a little shorter and steeper than the Lion. This is where the guides start teaching you tricks; honestly, they mess with you by pushing up and down on that steel wire causing slight careening, bouncing, flailing and probably screaming all the way down to

the swinging bridge connected to the third line, “Toto.,” a steep, short one through the woods again. Instead of bouncing, though, the catcher takes a break on this one to introduce you to the giant pillows you’ll ram into when you’re barreling in if he decides not to catch you on any of the other lines. It’s like executing the greatest top rope elbow drop in history, and it’s filmed too. They post photographers in the woods to document the adventure, and tossing people into the giant mats. It’s not such a bad Enchanted Forrest but you’ll have to walk out of it into a neighboring field if you’re still up for more. The “Tin Man” is an intimidatingly steeper, faster descent where guides start laying on the tricks thick. It’s terrifying enough stepping off the “Cowardly Lion” at first, but having to jump off of a tower twice as high and assuming an upside down position while spinning and flying back into the woods tops the Lion’s beginner’s terror any day. A tall person can high-five a tree on this one, but no one forces you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, and they might not even make fun of you, but when in Rome, zip as the Romans zip, eh?

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After everyone has collected themselves from hurtling senselessly back into the woods on “Tin Man,” the next zip line calls itself “Scarecrow.” It’s similar in incline and length as “Dorothy” and “Toto,” but the tricks continue on the same level as on the previous line. This is where DJ and Johnny teach the old front-flip-off-a-30foot-platform-above-the-river maneuver that they make look and sound easy, but they know not everyone front-flips a lot. It’s pure entertainment. Some cower. Others look goofy, but all safely soar, bouncing back to the ground for a refreshing hike up to the next monster of a tower drawing what looks like a vertical wire from its platform and known only as the “Wicked Witch of the West,” OZ’s fastest zip line capable of hurling a body through the air upwards of 50 miles an hour. Please remember what the thick leather pad on your dominant-hand glove is there for. It’s considerate to the catcher on this one and a smoking hand looks cool walking away from the “Witch” onto the little bus shuttling everyone off to the last and largest zip of them all: “Wizard.” This is also the last time you’ll have to climb 92 or 93 stairs. Once on top, there’s a great view of Ocoee Zipz, as well as tandem wires jutting off into the distance, twice as long as the longest

one before it. It’s your choice who to race down and to use whatever fancy tricks you’ve learned that day to throw in their face as you’re winning. It seems like the “Wizard” would be a great one to fly down naked or at night with a bunch of glow sticks stuck to you or sprinkled underneath the line as you soar over; however, you may have to work there to do that one and the harness on a naked body might prove a bad idea for the guys. After all is said and done, everyone is shipped back to base camp to wind down and de-harness while viewing the embarrassing photos of themselves on a couple of big screens beside the check-in desk. Any employee there will tell you this is the perfect time of year for zip lining as the foliage of the hardwoods turn and the weather cools to perfection, but it’s an ever closing window going into December and January, the only time of year they’ll admit defeat because of the weather. The Ocoee Zipz experience runs $79 a person, but the price drops as group rates and Ocoee Outdoors packages can apply if you and yours want to throw in some whitewater rafting while there. For more information pertaining to the Ocoee experience including other Ocoee adventure opportunities like the new bird sanctuary, butterfly garden or rafting, visit ocoeezipz. com or call 1 (877) 7-ZIPZIP.

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NOVEMBER 2011

* 17

SOUNDS

Ira performing Oct. 29 at Aura Lounge on the Square.

BACK IN THE SADDLE Former Trick Pony member Ira Dean to release solo record with Average Joe’s

story by BRYCE HARMON

photos by JON WESENBERG

t’s not the oddest thing in this town to catch a car salesman on the southwest corner of the Murfreesboro Square busting chops with a jack-of-all-trades musician; so Ira Dean, Nashville country singer/ songwriter, producer, and Grammy-nominated studio musician, found himself a car salesman this evening. While he has already achieved success with everything from some of Golden Tees’ score to penning hits for the likes of Garry Allen, Montgomery Gentry and Trace Adkins as well as playing head-lighted basses for Trick Pony, it’s time everyone hears he’s still kicking hard with proof of it scheduled for release in January. In the meantime, he’s finding time to head down for a Murfreesboro visit. Fatigued from a heavy work load but glowingly dedicated to his craft, Ira comes into town from Nashville at least once a month to perform a show at the Aura Lounge at the request of his golfing buddy and Aura owner Cary Kendall. On the particular cool fall evening of Oct. 29, he had just come down from a long day in the studio producing up-and-coming country starlet Brooke Burrows’ debut record and both were tired-excited to hop on stage for a night’s worth of intimate unplugged originals, showcasing what Mr. Dean has been up to since branching out on his own for a second wind post-Trick Pony. “In 2008, I signed with Sony and started doing my own stuff and did a few showcases and just couldn’t get an album out over there so I just staff wrote and kept writing songs and hoarding them up. Colt Ford heard some of the stuff I did […] and said ‘What’re you doing with this?’” Dean explained. This happened about the same time Montgomery Gentry was leaving Sony because its, 18 * NOVEMBER 2011 * BOROPULSE.COM

as well as Dean’s, contract were expiring at the time and Colt Ford, co-owner of Average Joe’s Entertainment, was serving up his label right in front them both. The stars aligned and Ira found himself working the country star beat around Nashville again, recently playing a charity event at Nashville’s Buds and Suds with label brethren Ford and Gentry, as well as shows at Wildhorse in Nashville when he gets a chance. And that’s on top of extracurriculars like producing Ms. Burrows’ album. The main focus, though, is an upcoming album release for the no-bull Nashville-country Beer or Gasoline, due out in January. It’s been in the works since 2005 as the title track, co-written with David Lee Murphy, was birthed that year, motivated by the sky-rocketing gas prices of the Bush era and standing alone as a radio air until Dean pulled it in as the focus of his first the first solo record. The following single, “Something About a Sunday,” just wrapped up its video shoot and is scheduled out in January closer to the album’s release. “It’s almost finished up now. We got everything knocked out and all the artwork, but we might go back in [because] there are a couple of songs I’ve written lately that I’d really would like to get in.” said Dean. “…A couple of things I wrote with David Lee Murphy and Jeffrey Steel. Hopefully, I can get back in and cut that and swindle my way in a couple more.” Everything is progressing nicely for Beer and Gasoline with promotional photo shoots being knocked out and planning for a release date. Coinciding events are underway. “I’m sure when [“Something About a Sunday”] comes out in January, they’ll […] showcase to let everyone know I’m still alive.” Dean said with a chuckle. “I ain’t dead yet by any means.” That was highly evident the 29th at Aura Lounge as Dean and Brooke Burrows jovially entertained the crowd. The number attending waxed and waned for over three hours with Dean and Burrows only breaking a couple of times to come down and have a word and a drink with the crowd. And at some points, the crowd went up to him for duets and such. Just the two of them, with Ira on guitar, were

on that stage beginning the evening around 9:30 with Burrows belting out Bonnie Raitt’s “Give Them Something to Talk About” being the only cover of the evening outside of her respects to Patsy Cline on “Walking After Midnight” towards the end of the night. The two shared the spotlight like caring adults throughout the almost 30-song set trading out opportunities to get their originals out as Brooke sang her own “Falling For You,” “Liar, and “Wake Up and Smell the Whiskey,” while Ira got a chance to get in singles “Beer and Gasoline, out there by song 3 and “Something About a Sunday” later on in the set. Both played as loudly as they were meant to be played until Ira cleared the stage, inspiring one of the breaks. And the sections of his catalogue hired out to Montgomery Gentry and Trace Adkins were recognized by Aura patrons too.

A couple of them were caught pulled up to the bar, singing along happily to themselves. The audience grew to a full but not an uncomfortably crowded capacity in Aura and really got into it once everyone had enough time to get a friendly buzz on as Ira’s banter lightened up the atmosphere even more. Aura became a nice little exclusive nook in Murfreesboro proper’s landscape that chilled autumn evening. All thanks to some good folks’ mission to spread their talents where it’s appreciated. The intimate evening was a great pre-cursor appearance to Beer and Gasoline. Ira Dean will perform at Aura Lounge again on Nov. 17. Check out iradean.com for more information on in- and out-of-town appearances and updates on Beer and Gasoline’s release. Brooke Burrow’s album will be finished with production and released early 2012 as well.

SoundLand: The Next Big Festival

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ept. 21–24 Nashville was taken over by the music scene and transformed into SoundLand, a multi-venue music festival spread throughout the city. The venues included Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom, the Neuhoff Factory in Germantown, War Memorial Auditorium, Third Man Records, 12th & Porter, MAI, The Basement, The Station Inn and an outdoor block party stage at 12th and Porter. SoundLand specializes in having the best up-and-coming Nashville musicians performing alongside national acts. Wristbands for SoundLand (priced at $65) included four days of music in the best venues Nashville has to offer. A VIP badge ($150) granted access to multiple parties strategically scheduled before/after some of the biggest shows of the weekend. From the pregame to the awesome performances to the after-party, the five-year-old Soundland is growing every year, giving everyone more hope for the future of our music scene. The first night of SoundLand took place in the War Memorial auditorium only and was opened by Jonny Corndawg, a dancing country star with a dark style and sense of humor that can appeal to all ears. Corndawg was accompanied by the extremely talented guitarist/singer known simply as DAWES, who did a solo set after Corndawg. After the Jonny Corn-Dawes show, the headliner for night one, M. Ward, took the stage. Ward’s beautiful songwriting

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is best known from “She and Him,” a band featuring actress Zooey Deschanel. Night two (Thursday) featured some big Nashville names like Cherub and How I Became the Bomb playing alongside national acts such as Foster the People and Ghostland Observatory; the music was loud, and excitement was in the air the first real night of SoundLand. Night three (Friday) really stepped up the game. Third Man Records (Jack White’s label headquarters) hosted PUJOL and Neil Hamburger. Hamburger’s awkward, disgusting, character stand-up comedy routine consisted of jokes about pop culture, loud outbursts of gross bodily sounds, spilling drinks and yelling at the crowd. His comb-over, glasses and stained tuxedo have been seen with Tenacious D, Tim and Eric and more. Other mentionable acts in Nashville on Friday night were Yelawolf, Natalie Prass, Chancellor Warhol and Wick-it. The final night of SoundLand 2011 took place mainly at the Neuhoff Factory Party stage. SoundLand was the first concert ever at this unique venue set in the middle of an old factory; it had the opportunity to host GREAT bands like The Black Belles, Those Darlins, Tristen and JEFF The Brotherhood. Redefining the meaning of “Music City,” the young festival hopefully has many years to come. There really are a lot of amazing things happening within driving distance of the ’Boro —aside from Bonnaroo, bars and house shows.

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* 19

ALBUM REVIEWS Classic Williams The Soul of Nigger Charlie MTSU has been a quiet beast in the room this year, molding a new generation of motivated and talented rapper/producers through their esteemed recording industry program while seldom leaking a teaser into the rest of the town. Earlier this year unsigned Nashville native Classic Williams released his second tape, The Soul of Nigger Charlie, mixed as an autobiographical account of one man’s struggles to overcome his oppressed life as a suburban only-child and into the fame and glory of a respected lyricist of his day and also as a soundtrack to a ’70s Blaxploitation film, cover art and all. Coming in strong with the soul cinema funk instrumental to set the mood, Honey Simmons introduces Charlie and buckles everyone up for take-off better than Jackie Brown herself. It sounds like Rza helped out with her cameos. Her warm voice then fades as Classic takes off into a string-section sample looping on a mid-tempo drum machine comparable to some early Kanye mixes. These first two songs, “Got That Soul” and “Day to Day (Legend),” establish Charlie as a famed man over the two similar beats before sharing his

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As our country seems like it’s collapsing under the weight of its own political and economic shortcomings, or because it’s autumn and the world is actually falling around us, Murfreesboro-born band, Glossary, released its seventh studio album, Long Live Us All, early in October. This band offers their comforting gift to ears gearing up for another winter. It’s doing this so positively that they’re bordering on a Christian rock band hinting the Lord’s message over foot-tapping garage rock and alt country. Released from Little Rock’s Last Chance Records, Long Live Us All, covers a range of influences throughout its 12 tracks from band mates Eric Giles, Bingham Barnes and Todd Beene’s Wilco/Billy Bragg sound to hints of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty in singer Joey Kneiser’s vocals. All is hopeful and warmly inspirational, too, beginning on the leading track “Trouble Won’t Always Last,” which resembles a bouncy, mid-tempo Tweedy arrangement held up by an upright piano and complimented by Kelly Kneiser on backing vocals. The following couple of tracks sing from the same hymn book but trade the upright piano for Nashon Benford and Jim Spake’s first appearance of Motown-inspired horns while J. Kneiser tries out his Costel-

lo in “A Shoulder to Cry On” and Petty on “The Flood.” Glossary’s first slow tempo song “Cheap Wooden Cross” comes around with a post-hardcore indie sound. The foot-tapping gives way to confusion between them singing romantic verse or church-recruitment lyrics for the campus Baptist House: “I found a cheap wooden cross/Ain’t nothing but a piece of wood/And I guess it’s up to me, honey/to find out if it means what it should.” The album rarely strays from its ambiguously divine lyricism and alternative country rock, but the perfect slowdance song “Under a Barking Moon” breaks from that notion with what sounds like a tribute to Randy Newman embracing the darker part of the street as K. Kneiser’s backing harmony sends chill bumps up an arm or two. Glossary is currently touring Arkansas and Texas, but have scheduled Nashville appearances with Lucero, Nov. 18 and 19 at Mercy Lounge. The album can be found at glossary.us. — BRYCE HARMON

CONCERT LISTINGS

SAT, 11/5 @ WALNUT HOUSE

Send your show listings to listings@boropulse.com

THURS, 11/3

3 BROTHERS Mac and La’Dell BLUESBORO Mom and Dad, Ascent of Everest BONHOEFFER’S Abbye Stroupe, The Breedings BUNGANUT PIG Levi Massie and the Handsome Devils MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Jazz Ensemble II

FRI, 11/4

BLUESBORO Strangers with Candy, Stones River Pilots THE BORO Nobody Jones, Tenn Pound Hammer BUNGANUT PIG Marshall Creek FANATICS Pimpalicious WALL STREET Sky Hi MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Andrew England, Senior horn recital

SAT, 11/5

BLUESBORO Judd Hall, Johnny Neel Trio THE BORO Static Revival BUNGANUT PIG Corbitt Brothers FANATICS Junkyard Funk Lanes, Trains and Automobiles Music City Jazz Equation WALL STREET Pony Chase, The Gold Room WALNUT HOUSE The Lund McVey Group, The Murfreesboro Youth Jazz Orchestra, MTSU Jazz Combo MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Erin McDaniel, Junior vocal recital; Victoria Stephens, Junior vocal recital; Madalynne Skelton, Senior vocal recital

SUN, 11/6

THE BORO Jason and The Punknecks MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Jessica Dunnavant (flute), Joseph Walker (piano) faculty recital; Jenny Young guest cellist w/ faculty pianist Karla Grove; Tara Kloostra graduate horn recital

View Concert Listings Online:

Jazz in Murfreesboro is kind of a big deal. For the fourth time, Matt Lund—an instructor in the MTSU Music Department—and The Lund McVey Group present a concert of jazz at Walnut House. Starting at 6 p.m. PULSE on Nov. 5, three local jazz groups, The Lund McVey PICK Group, The Murfreesboro Youth Jazz Orchestra and The MTSU Jazz Combo, will get jazzy. The talent here ranges from middle and high school students to university students, and The Lund McVey Group features Lund on guitar and Jason McVey on saxophone. Worth a measly $5 cover charge ($3 for students).

MON, 11/7

THE BORO Stevie Tombstone, Noah T and The Breakalegs MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Angela DeBoer faculty horn recital; H. Stephen Smith vocal studio

TUES, 11/8

BLUESBORO Blues Jam w/ CJ Vaughn LIQUID SMOKE Bellwether

WED, 11/9

3 BROTHERS Open Mic Night w/ Shane Douglas AURA LOUNGE Writers Night w/ Ryan Coleman MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Clarinet Choir; Lillian Pearson solo faculty recital of harpsichord, fortepiano, and piano

THURS, 11/10

3 BROTHERS Soviet Space Program, Nocturnal Static BLUESBORO AJ and The Jiggawatts BONHOEFFER’S Nuclear Bubble Wrap, Jeff Miller, Travis Singleton MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Jazz Artist Series - Saxophonist Jim Snidero

FRI, 11/11

3 BROTHERS The Dirty Truth, The Buddies, Thief BLUESBORO Iron Reign, Citizen Reject THE BORO JNGL BOOK, Fake Brad, Shyguy

SAT, 11/12

3 BROTHERS Bed Head BLUESBORO Wrong Way, The Running, The Tendeez THE BORO Those Cross Town Rivals LANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES Rock Me Blue WALL STREET Thief, Moonshine Matinee, Innocent Flannel, Redline Zero MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Brass Clinic

IF YOU GO:

LUND MCVEY GROUP

SUN, 11/13

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Carmina Burana

LANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES Steve Potter WALL STREET Deep Fried 5 MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Sarah Wofford, Junior vocal recital; Maura Flanagan, Senior vocal recital

TUES, 11/15

SUN, 11/20

3 BROTHERS Bed Head MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Carmina Burana

MON, 11/14

BLUESBORO Blues Jam w/ CJ Vaughn LIQUID SMOKE Bellwether MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Kyle Lewis, Senior guitar recital; MTSU Guitar Ensembles

WED, 11/16

3 BROTHERS Open Mic Night w/ Shane Douglas AURA LOUNGE Writers Night w/ Ryan Coleman MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Kait Payne, Senior tuba recital

THURS, 11/17

BONHOEFFER’S Awake! Awake!, Merry Ellen Kirk, Aaron Krause THE BORO Adam Dalton and the B-Sides MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Wind Ensemble

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Symphony Orchestra concert; Isaac Jones, Senior flute recital

MON, 11/21

FRI, 11/25

BLUESBORO Inglewood, Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd tribute)

SAT, 11/26

BLUESBORO Smells like Hootie, Nashtones THE BORO Doomfactor, Blood Culprit FANATICS Real Deal LANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES Laura Hampton THE REFINERY Greater>Than

MON, 11/28

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Jazz Ensemble I

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING ‘Twas the Brass Before Christmas

TUES, 11/22

TUES, 11/29

BLUESBORO Blues Jam w/ CJ Vaughn LIQUID SMOKE Bellwether MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Singers

WED, 11/23

3 BROTHERS Open Mic Night w/ Shane Douglas AURA LOUNGE Writers Night w/ Ryan Coleman

SAT, 11/19

3 BROTHERS Molly Jewel, Stephen Simmons THE BORO Skeetzo N Krisis FANATICS Zone Status

Aura Lounge 114 S. Maple St. 396-8328 Bluesboro 114 N. Church St. 904-7236 Bunganut Pig 1602 W. Northfield Blvd. 893-7860 Campus Pub 903 Gunnerson Ave. 867-9893 Coach’s Grill 127 SE Broad St. 962-7853 Coconut Bay Cafe 210 Stones River Mall Blvd. 494-0504 Dugger’s Food & Fun 1738 W. Northfield Blvd. 809-2605 Fanatic’s 1850 Old Fort Pkwy. 494-3995 Gilligan’s 527 W. Main St. 439-6090

BLUESBORO Blues Jam w/ CJ Vaughn LIQUID SMOKE Bellwether

WED, 11/30

AURA LOUNGE Writer’s Night w/ Ryan Coleman CENTER FOR THE ARTS Jack & Diane MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING MTSU Percussion Ensemble

Lanes, Trains and Automobiles 450 Butler Drive 890-3999 Liquid Smoke #2 Public Square 217-7822 Maple Street Grill 109 N. Maple S. 890-0122 MT Bottle 3940 Shelbyville Hwy. 962-9872 Murfreesboro/ Center for the Arts 110 W. College St. 904-ARTS Nobody’s Grill & BBQ 116 John R. Rice Blvd. 962-8019

FRI, 11/18

3 BROTHERS Luke Caccetta BLUESBORO Rubiks Groove THE BORO Bobby Joe Thorazine and Friends FANATICS Rachel Rodriguez MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING Concert Orchestra Concert

3 Brothers 223 W. Main St. 410-3096

Temptation Club 2404 Halls Hill Pike 217-0944 The Boro Bar & Grill 1211 Greenland Dr. 895-4800

PULS PICKE THIEF, MOONSHINE MATINEE, INNOCENT FLANNEL, REDLINE ZERO SAT. 11/12 @ WALL STREET

It’s going to be a full house at Wall Street tonight with just a great lineup all around. Moonshine Matinee’s Southern-fried rock is easy to get caught up in, and Innocent Flannel will provide some indie rockish melodies for the less southerly. More straight-up rock ‘n’ roll from Redline Zero and Thief, who put out their debut album at long last in the summer. It’s good, hard-rocking stuff and their live show is even better.

Wall Street 121 N. Maple St. 867-9090 Walnut House 116 N. Walnut St. 890-5093 Walking Horse Hotel 101 Spring St., Wartrace (931) 389-7050 Willie’s Wet Spot 1208 S. Lowry St., Smyrna 355-0010

BOROPULSE.COM

NOVEMBER 2011

* 23

EFF the Brotherhood has had one hell of a year between releasing a critically acclaimed record and playing everywhere from Russia to the Ryman. Now they’re coming back to the ‘Boro for a show and Q & A session about running their record label, Infinity Cat. Recently, the Murfreesboro Pulse caught up with guitarist/vocalist Jake Orrall to talk about JEFF’s hard-earned success and reflect on the years leading up to it. Jake Orrall doesn’t know how he got here. Or rather, the novelty of his and his brother’s success still seems to be pretty fresh to him. He’s the elder brother and guitarist/vocalist of stoner-punk outfit JEFF the Brotherhood, whose psych-grunge swirl has hovered over Nashville for a decade, but only just begun to cloud the brains of folks on a much larger scale. Not to mention their record label—the Nashville-based Infinity Cat, which is approaching its tenth birthday—isn’t doing too bad either. For two young twenty-somethings, that’s cause for excitement, especially because they were primarily playing basement shows in Nashville only a few years back. For young, musically inclined twenty-somethings in Murfreesboro in that same situation now, the night of Nov. 4 is cause for excitement, too. Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities (YEAH), with a little help from the Tennessee Arts Commission, organized a JEFF the Brotherhood show at Walnut House Nov. 4. Jake and younger brother/drummer Jamin will preface the performance with a question-andanswer session about doing what they do. Sponsored by Omega Delta Psi—the MTSU RIM fraternity—and the MTSU chapter of the Audio Engineering Society, the session is free and provides anyone the opportunity to find out how these two guys, who began with little idea what they were doing, successfully run a record label and still manage to tour nonstop. Up to this year, JEFF the Brotherhood’s story has been an even-keeled page-turner. From the time the brothers started playing together in 2001, it was a slow build through Nashville’s underground music scene. Since the spring release of We Are the Champions, however, the pace picked up. In September, JEFF opened for The Raconteurs at the Ryman Auditorium (which Jake refers to as the coolest venue in the country). Then in October, they performed “Diamond Way” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They’ve become endeared to the likes of Rolling Stone and SPIN, and have caught on with international audiences. Earlier in the year, the band went to Moscow to play for Vice magazine, an experience that Jake still describes with mild awe. “It was such a big thing to fly to Moscow, play a show and fly home. We had a month-

24 * NOVEMBER 2011 * BOROPULSE.COM

long tour of the west coast, and we were leaving the day after we got home, so we weren’t sure if we wanted to do it. But it was just such a weird idea, so we were just like, ‘Let’s do it, it will be really fun,’” Jake says. As it turned out, the Russian crowd really went for JEFF the Brotherhood. “It was this sold-out crazy party. We were headlining the show, and there were two Russian bands opening for us, and no one had ever heard of us, but people went crazy for us. It was great. It was a really surreal, bizarre experience—to have gotten there just through doing what we love to do, playing music. It was pretty special [laughs]. Like, weird.” Weird, maybe, but not that surprising. Doing time in Nashville ultimately paid off in the form of a fan base of colossal proportions. When We Are the Champions, technically the band’s seventh album though it’s only the second to be widely recognized, was released, JEFF celebrated in typical fashion with a basement show in Nashville that Jake says reached “a whole new level of chaos.” That record and show may have proved JEFF has outgrown the basement scene. Maybe. “It was kind of insane, but we’ll always keep doing basement shows. Maybe not forever in Nashville…well, I can’t really see us ever stopping doing basement shows in Nashville. We’ll always do at least one a year,” Jake laughs. As wee kids, Jake and Jamin were fed The Clash and The Rolling Stones by their dad, singer/songwriter and producer Robert Ellis Orrall. They moved to Nashville when Jake was five so Robert could write commercial country music. At 10 and 12 respectively, Jamin and Jake taught themselves to play. They took part in an early shape of the late Nashville punk rock group Be Your Own Pet, after which they began putting out a few scattered explorations in music as a duo. Those first recordings were about as DIY as it gets and were what spawned Infinity Cat, which is run by the brothers, their dad and their manager. “It started by making CD-Rs when I was in high school and Jamin was in middle school. All we knew was that we were going to punk shows and there were kids selling CD-Rs and 7-inches that they made themselves, and I guess we thought that there was no reason why we couldn’t do it [laughs]. We knew absolutely nothing about putting out records. We’ve spent the last 10 years learning by running the label, I guess,” Jake says. “If we wanted our stuff to come out, we had to do it ourselves.” The first record to really strike a sweet chord was their sixth, 2009’s Heavy Days, a stripped-down wreckage of drums and heavy riffage that smells a lot like early Weezer. The following We Are the Champions two years

PHOTO BY POONEH GHANA

SOUNDS

Middle Tennessee punk outfit/brothers JEFF the Brotherhood plays Walnut House, 116 N. Walnut St., on Nov. 4. with a Q & A session beginning at 7:30 p.m. and performance following. $10/$8 students.

GETTING WEIRD FAST Hardworking duo, JEFF the Brotherhood, starting to receive International recognition story by JESSICA PACE

later was like meat on the bare bones of Heavy Days; it demonstrated their ability to segue hard ’70s rock neatly with their old punk riffs. “The lyrics with Heavy Days were written over a long period of time, and we recorded them in three days in the studio,” Jake says. “With We Are the Champions, half of it got written a month or two before we recorded it, and it’s more of a studio album.” What doesn’t change is the manner in which the music takes shape. The process is little more than Jake and Jamin in a jam session, playing back the good stuff on their tape recorder and turning them into songs. And if there’s a message in the music, it’s not in the lyrics. “I don’t really think that’s what our sound is about,” Jake says. “It’s primarily about having fun playing music, having fun listening to music, singing loud music. Lyrics are secondary. They’re just something to fill the space.” Even if the lyrics are filler, they fit perfectly within the sound—unadorned fragments of verse about nothing in particular. Girlfriends. Hanging out. Regular stuff. After Heavy Days, JEFF reached a musical stalemate in Music City. As unofficial kings of basement slacker punk, they had nowhere else to progress within the city, so they started touring relentlessly. “There was a point where we kind of real-

ized that it wasn’t really progressing. We both did two-year stints in college, and we eventually both decided to quit and just do the band full-time. It was big,” Jale says. Touring is the best thing JEFF the Brotherhood can possibly do. For a band with only two instrumentalists, an overwhelming amount of power generates from their sparse drum and guitar setup, especially in a live performance. The sound is a powerhouse—layered with only Jamin’s incessant rhythm and Jake’s shredding. Between the constant touring and literally coming home to work (Infinity Cat operates out of Jake’s house) where he oversees the recording process and gets new artists on-board, there’s got to be some wear-and-tear. “When I get home from tour and I wake up, it’s like I’m at work. It’s hard to draw that line and know when to stop. I basically don’t have any free time, ever,” Jake says. “But I also really enjoy it. I’m really passionate about it, so…” Maybe the fact that Infinity Cat and JEFF the Brotherhood built slowly over 10 years accounts for Jake’s level-headedness. Their success story is one of manual labor, rather than catching on in a couple months, and banking and tanking as is the case with too many fad bands. Now JEFF is working on another record, which they plan to record in January. “It’s definitely different,” Jake says. “It’s just sort of the natural progression, I think.”

LIVING ROOM CINEMA

MOVIES REVIEWS

column by NORBERT THIEMANN

cinespire@gmail.com

Magical Journeys

PARNORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Starring: Chloe Csengery, Christopher Nicholas Smith

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

hough my title is nauseatingly whimsical, the films represented rise to heights above. Both share European travels and foreign sensibilities. Any presupposition of too much whimsy is ultimately tempered by the hindrances of life and the complications in relationships.

Rated R

The Paranormal Activity series has replaced Saw as the go-to horror gimmick flick of Halloween. For those of you who somehow managed to avoid the hoopla surrounding the 2007 original, Paranormal Activity took the Blair Witch formula out of the woods and into the home, creating an effectively creepy haunted house picture that satisfied both the Youtube generation and the budget-conscious studios. Now in its third installment, PA learned the lesson of the Book of Shadows and stuck to its low-budget formula of watching people sleep. Speaking of Youtube, this prequel makes the strange decision of going back to pre-Internet 1988 to explore the childhood haunting of Kristi and Katie from the previous films. Luckily, the technology gap between VHS and .avi doesn’t change the viewing experience. This time around, a spirit named Toby is stirring up fear and paranoia for Kristi and Katie’s mom and her wedding-videographer boyfriend (some-

one has to record everything). It’s like the first one, but with slightly more likable characters. As insignificant as the plot is, Paranormal Activity 3 does quite a lot with very little. The movie is basically a how-to manual for haunted houses. As everybody knows, ghosts love to make hanging light fixtures sway mysteriously, turn lights on and off, open doors . . . and close them . . . etc. Of course there are other techniques in effect here, including some seamless and subtle digital trickery and the clever use of an oscillating fan base as a camera mount. But for a film that’s half still-shots of people asleep in their beds, the tension is palpable, even if it’s only in anticipation for the inevitable jump

scare (of which there are many). It’s a testament to the effectiveness of the formula that this series has made it to No. 3, but every gimmick is subject to the law of diminishing returns (see Saw). By the third act, the level of haunting goes from a tense and unnerving 3 to a bludgeoning but boring 8 as Toby’s rage grows, but just when the film actually should go big, it fizzles instead. This is kind of what these films do. The sound and fury are fun if you like getting scared, but ultimately signify nothing. To do it right, wait till this one becomes available at home, turn out the lights and freak yourself out.

problems appear. Namely, it isn’t funny: A handful of raunchy lines, few of which sit well, govern the comedy in this picture. For the majority of the film, Levine grapples directly with some painfully realistic family/ social relationships. Gordon-Levitt resents his nagging, but helpful mother. He ditches his mouthy girlfriend for his cute therapist. He finally drives a car and screams like a banshee to the night sky. But the drabness is oppressive and the contrived storyline detract from that realism. Levine has enlisted two older actorsturned-indie revivalists to up the cast

value in this, Anjelica Huston (Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Life Aquatic) and PTA’s personal favorite Phillip Baker Hall. Clearly, the acting is top notch, but like many of these early-21st century “indiewood” films, they cover up their lack of substance or impact, spectacle or deft filmmaking with some slightly controversial subject matter. They are one-trick ponies. Pretty shots somehow now trump using a camera to tell a story in conjunction with the script. Point and shoot works great when you’re pointing at something somebody wants to watch.

— JAY SPIGHT

50/50 Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick Directed by Jonathan Levine

Rated R

Cancer has never been quite so fun! Just kidding. 50/50 is indie to a fault, and not like Jarmusch/John Waters’ low-budget indie. I’m referring to the bright red and yellow corruption of a classic tradition in American film. These cute, little, edgy character dramas, a la Little Miss Sunshine or any Wes Anderson movie, have taken charge of the indie scene by scrambling for studio money and established actors. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, 3rd Rock From the Sun) teams up with college kid comedy savior Seth Rogan to tackle terminal illness with novice director Jonathan Levine. This is Levine’s third film, but the first two managed to slip even farther under the radar than this one. In fact, 50/50 was ripped out of theaters not three weeks after its release date, already reduced to a single show a day long before then. Probably, few people want to be reminded of the horrors of cancer, especially in someone so young; but after viewing it, the real RATINGS:

A CLASSIC

OUTSTANDING

—SPENCER BLAKE

AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

The Illusionist (2010) is directed by Sylvain Chomet and is based on a screenplay by Jacques Tati. The animated film follows a traveling magician as he performs in France and the United Kingdom. While in Scotland, he has a chance meeting with a young woman who quickly befriends him. The subtly smart screenplay ultimately leaves doubt in life’s magic and reinforces its illusion. My pride in The Illusionist would certainly match that of the late Albert Camus, if he could only see it now.

Midnight In Paris (2011) is directed by Woody Allen. Owen Wilson stars as a man whose love of Paris throws him into the romantic world of his fantasies. Literary and period allusions ﬂow like a steady stream, while the protagonist struggles with a lesser reality. Woody Allen summons up the same creativity he found for movies like Purple Rose of Cairo. Midnight In Paris is very satisfying. AVOID AT ALL COSTS BOROPULSE.COM

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NEWS Just Love Coffee Will Set your Taste Buds Free Roastmasters prepare coffee beans from all over the world here in the ’Boro. story by SPENCER BLAKE

ince October 2009, owner Rob Webb and his longtime friend, roastmaster Jason Smith have been pumping out bags and bags of originally blended, hand-roasted coffee from the back of their shop in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. PULSE: How did you start all of this? ROB WEBB: I own Webb’s Refreshments (a

blends are proprietary. They’re not other people’s recipes,” says Smith, who manually roasts bags of coffee every day. In fact, when you order a cup at Just Love Coffee Roasters (tucked behind Reeves-Sain drug store on Memorial Boulevard), they brew it the second you order, and they charge you a fair price for some of the most legit coffee Murfreesboro has to offer.

Murfreesboro-based company that distributes coffee, stocks vending machines, sells filtered water systems, etc.). I grew up in the coffee business. A couple years ago I had the idea MP: Because in Murfreesto marry specialty coffee with helping people boro we only have the many in need. thousands of Starbucks. I pitched the idea to my dad of roasting And once upon a time there our own coffee five or six years ago and I was Espresso Joe’s where could never get the numbers to work. the kids hung out about My wife and I were going through our five or six years ago. But adoption process and that place no longer had this idea. I wanted to exists. Nor does the get the quality to surpass Red Rose. Murfreesboro Entrepreneurs Association what was going on in RW: I didn’t want to buy Nashville, but put it right from another roaster. I here . . . wanted my own product. I wanted to be in complete control of roasting. MP: Where there is no And since we do roast, coffee . . . FEATURED BUSINESS: we’ve got like 22, 23 cofRW: Where there is no Just Love Coffee Roasters fees now that we offer. coffee, and try to get peoOWNER: Rob Webb Plus, we brew by the ple who have an interest cup so customers can in coffee and think they come in and instead of understand it through getting two or three choices of coffee you get national brands to kind of open their eyes to 20 or so drinks to choose from. They come in how coffee is supposed to be consumed. from all over the world. Just Love Coffee Roasters ships all over the country, selling to family-run storefronts MP: Not to mention the wall of arcade Webb cultivates from his website. games. Explains Webb: “If you were gonna open up a storefront through us, you would go onRW: Yeah, I ended up with all of those in line, fill out an application and tell us why it time. Two months later we were drawing up is you need to sell the coffee. Then you create plans for this place. Arcade games, the music. your own URL.” Plus, we’re supporting adoptions. Basically, families raising money for their Just Love also boasts live music several adoptions, businesses looking to supplement nights a month, and more importantly, a their revenue and schools seeking an original wealth of Golden Age quarter-a-play arcade fundraiser are mailed a commission check games. Titles include “Q-Bert,” “Ms. Pacevery month, a cut from the total coffee sales. Man,” “Galaga,” “Robotron,” “Donkey Kong,” Just Love Coffee is not a small-time opera“Burger Time” and many more. tion, however, nor do their 23 blends have a The allure of the store is simple: “Handsmall-time flavor. roasted coffee. We’re not ordering it from “We’re roasting dark profiles, and all our another roaster out of the city; not even from

SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS

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Nashville. It’s roasted right here. You can see the stacks of burlap (bagged) coffee back there, and we educate people on the difference. You just can’t order coffee from a shop and have it be the same as getting it straight from the roaster.” Webb, an accomplished organist, MTSU alum and former hip hop DJ, has defied all odds to keep his business afloat. Despite the inconvenient location, Just Love Coffee Roasters offers a service that no other place in Murfreesboro can provide. It simultaneously houses businessmen and college kids, time-wasters and empire-builders, conservative Sunday scholars and misanthropic wastoids without compromising its pristine image within each crowd. The only thing missing is some additional warm bodies, like yours, maybe. For more information, visit justlovecoffee.com.

Just Love Coffee Roasters, on MTCS Drive just off Memorial Boulevard, roasts its own fair trade beans, and has plenty of old arcade games.

Apple Tidbits

his month I’m going to talk to you about a variety of Apple stuff, their products, their culture and their future.

AppleTV is due for an update and rumors say it’s coming soon. Expect it to include Bluetooth for the remote instead of the current IR system. It’s sure to have the iPad’s and iPhone 4S’s A5 dual core 1GHz processor, and more RAM. What I’m waiting to see in AppleTV, though, is the ability for it to run apps and games, basically turning your TV into a really large iPad. Now that would be cool.

perform as a company, Steve was the real deal and his importance to Apple the company cannot be overstated. How many other CEOs can you remember that saw such an iPhone 4S is out, and it’s the best selling outpouring of emotion, not to mention press iPhone yet. On the outside it looks almost coverage, upon their deaths? exactly like the iPhone 4, so all iPhone 4 On Oct. 5, the day Steve died, the Apple cases and accessories will continue to work home page was set to a large photo of a with it. Inside is the aforementioned A5 dual healthy Steve and the words “Steve Jobs core processor, though it’s throttled back to 1955-2011.” It remained on the home page run at 800MHz, most likely to keep batuntil Oct. 20, the day after Apple held a tery life comparable to the previous model memorial at the Cupertino campus for all iPhone 4. It has a beefed up camera, the Siri Apple employees and beamed to all Apple personal assistant, and iOS5. Siri is pretty stores, which closed for a few hours to join damn cool and I think Apple is going to in the celebration of Steve’s life. push themselves and others to really refine As I wrote last month in a Boro Mac voice commands and turn them into a viable Shop blog post, after Steve replacement for touch on stepped down as CEO: our mobile devices. In other “I don’t think we’ll words, the future of how we see how Jobs’s absence interact with out computwill affect Apple for at ers and handhelds is here, least 3-4 years because folks, and it’s about time! MACINTOSH a company the size of AND iPHONE iPHONE Apple already has their OS X Lion is now at verANSWERS AND TIPS next four or five products sion 10.7.2 but my quescolumn by in the pipeline. One tech tion remains—will Apple PATRICK CLARK patrick@boromac.com pundit has said that we ever give me the ability to might even see an Apple turn off a few of the things that takes more chances and tries differthat I don’t like in Lion? That would include ent things because there won’t be one Versions, the monochrome Finder icons, the man through whom all ideas must flow. placement of drives and external storage Whether that will be good or bad for Apple, at the bottom of the Finder sidebar, and a myriad of other small things. Yes, I know that of course, remains to be seen.” On a personal note, I’m sad that Steve is there are hacks out there that revert some of gone, but damn glad he was here. I always these things to their pre-Lion behavior but thought of him as the Willy Wonka of the I want it to be an option in OS X that I can tech world—a benign dictator who reigned move on to the future or stay grudgingly mired in the past. What can I say? I’m a suck- over his kingdom, churning out wonderful and exciting tools and toys for us, and pusher for nostalgia. Don’t get me wrong, though, ing us all to imagine something greater and progress is good. But changing things just showing us how to achieve it. Steve was one for the sake of change . . . well, that’s a very of the crazies. He changed things. And he Microsoft-like thing to do. put a dent in the world. Now that, my friends, is the way to leave Going Forward Without Jobs a mark. What does Apple’s future look like without Steve Jobs is the big question right now, and rightly so. It should be obvious to everyone Patrick Clark, owner of The Boro Mac Shop that Steve was not just the CEO of Apple; here in Murfreesboro, has repaired Macinin many respects, he WAS Apple. From his tosh computers and Apple devices since sense of style, his extraordinary ability to 1996, and Boro Mac Shop is Murfreesboro’s see the future and guide technology there, to best Macintosh and iPhone repair shop. Conhis unwavering sense of how Apple should tact him at (615) 796-6154 or boromac.com.

APPLE

{

TALK

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Smith & Artrip Attorneys At LAw Divorce/Family Law Bankruptcy Personal Injury/Disability Criminal 718-A S. Church St., Murfreesboro

(615) 410-3827

smithartriplaw.com BOROPULSE.COM

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NEWS

Movember in Murfreesboro:

Mustaches for a Cause Men encouraged to grow out ’staches through the month to raise awareness. story by KERRY VANCE

or 25 years, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been used as a tool to raise awareness, increase funds for research and inform the public on women’s health issues. Now, men are using November, known as Movember, to raise awareness concerning the health problems and risks unique to men. Much like the pink ribbons used by the ladies, those involved in Movember will be sprouting mustaches to show support for this campaign and spread knowledge and understanding about health issues that challenge men. Since it began in 2003, the Movember movement has spread the awareness of men’s health issues across the world and raised $174 million for research on prostate cancer and other health risks. The money raised for this campaign goes to charities such as LIVESTRONG, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Movember Foundation. The Movember campaign aims to address

and correct many of the misconceptions about men’s health and change attitudes and practices involving men’s well being. The mustache is an integral part of the mission of this charity. The idea is a male starts clean-shaven on Nov. 1 and then grow out a mustache throughout the month. When someone mentions the mustache, the Mo Bros (those who are involved in Movember) use this interest as an opening to inform that person on the importance of current knowledge and continuing research about men’s health. A local Mo Bro, John Taylor, is doing what he can to raise awareness for this charity and men’s health in our area. Taylor first stumbled upon Movember in 2009 while he was researching men’s health and charities on the Internet. “I randomly saw it, thought it was awesome and the rest is history,” Taylor said.

The mustache can be a useful social tool each November, as “mo bros” use the facial hair to stir awareness of men’s health issues and events to raise money for charities.

Taylor has very personal reasons to increase awareness and fund-raise for men’s health issues. Several family members have dealt with severe health scares and ailments. At only eight years old, Taylor’s brother fought brain cancer. His father also dealt with skin and bladder cancer. The past has motivated Taylor to get involved with Movember and bring it to our area. Taylor hopes this year will be a foundation year for Movember in Murfreesboro. He believes this year will be bigger than past years and could spark the interest of many more to get involved with this mission. He has worked hard to plan this year’s Movember in the Middle Tennessee area. He has even kept his mustache from last year, in hopes others will ask about it throughout the year. There are many events going on in Murfreesboro during November. Movember officially began Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 3 Brothers Deli & Brewhouse off the square with the “Five O’clock Shadow Happy Hour Kick Off Party.” Other events include a cigar and pipe tobacco class at Liquid Smoke on Nov. 8, a whiskey world tour at Maple St. Uncorked on Nov. 15, a ’stache bash at Gilligan’s on Nov. 19 and a beer class at 3 Brothers on Nov. 29. Check the “Movember Murfreesboro” Facebook page for a full calendar. A suggested donation of $10 gets you into these events. 28 * NOVEMBER 2011 * BOROPULSE.COM

There are other ways to get involved with this campaign. Anyone can grow a mustache and educate themselves and others about men’s health. The website us.movember. com has information on every partof this campaign. Donations can be made to a specific person, team or charity. You can also find sources of information, other ways to get involved and purchase merchandise such as T-shirts or mustache necklaces. The necklace is perfect for women who want to support or actively join the campaign, and part of the proceeds goes to Movember. Look into Movemeber and decide on a style for yourself. The stately handlebar mustache is a classic, or maybe you are more of a Fu Manchu type? Whatever you choose, be sure to promote Movember, help raise money for research and spread the word on men’s health.

READ ONE BOOK THIS MONTH:

The Hunger Games A futuristic thriller with human touch this year’s discussion selection.

n the fall of each year, the One Book of Rutherford County program challenges local residents to read a chosen book. This year’s selection is The Hunger Games, an adventure novel by Suzanne Collins. The point of One Book is to get people talking about reading. Read the book, tell your friends, and visit readtosucceed.org/onebook.htm to share your thoughts, good and bad. by LAURA BETH JACKSON Professor of English, MTSU

Choose a book, just one book, that is entertaining as well as thought-provoking, that can be read by adults as well as children, is in paperback, hardback, electronic and audio formats, is available at your local libraries, is under 400 pages and which speaks about current social and cultural issues. Just one book. This is not an easy task, even for the group of well-read representatives who served on this year’s One Book committee. When Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games came up for discussion, we had come across no other work like it, and frankly none of us could put it down. Sold as Young Adult literature, The Hunger Games is a gripping read for all ages as it examines humanity in crisis and the choices we must face in order to live with integrity as individuals, as families and as citizens. The Hunger Games presents a portrait of North America, now called Panem, in what is perhaps the not-too distant future. Panem is in the aftermath of a civil war in which the states have been annihilated, and all that remains are 13 districts. The government controls each district through providing rationed food and resources. Part of Panem’s control is exercised through the annual “Hunger Games,” a barbaric reality show in which two young people, called tributes, are chosen from each district to compete in a fight to the death. The games are filmed and shown to all Panem citizens. The book’s main character is Katniss, a 16-year-old living in Dis-

trict 12 who is the provider for her family—her mother, herself, and her younger sister, Prim. In the book, Prim is chosen for the games, and Katniss volunteers in her stead. Katniss’s partner tribute, Peeta, is a boy from her school, and now they are forced to fight one another and 22 other tributes while they navigate feelings for one another. In The Hunger Games, the reader will find some disturbing concepts—the imposed poverty, the gross disparity between the ruling classes and the citizens, the inhumanity of a gladiatorial sport being portrayed as “entertainment,” and the wrenching decisions that must be made in the name of survival. The book calls us to examine ourselves—what do we know of poverty in our community? What drives us? How do we exercise compassion and humanity when the odds are against us? We invite you to join the One Book conversation today: read The Hunger Games, and see how much “one book” can say.

to come out. Never mind that some writer friends buzzed about the book as much as the teenagers did. Then I remembered Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, another novel I resisted. I was certain I was not interested in reading about a terrorist invasion in an unnamed South American country, but enough friends raved about this book that I gave it a try. I was soon caught in a foreign and uncomfortable world that I didn’t want to leave. Bel Canto wove such a spell I didn’t want the book to end, and now consider it one of my all-time favorites. With such possibilities in mind, I cracked the cover of The Hunger Games. After only one page, I was curious: How could a child be concerned about a stray kitten being “another mouth to feed?” After ten pages I was incredulous: How is it that two teenagers view their siblings as their responsibility? After 12 pages I was outraged: What kind of government ensnares its children into putting their lives at stake in exchange for meager sustenance? In the inhumane world Collins portrays, this is a story about humanity. Which brings me back to Bel Canto, because it’s also about humanity (among other things), and because, like The Hunger Games, it diffuses a lot of drama and even violence with a sense of humor. I’m not suggesting that these books hold significant similarities in terms of writing style or character development or plot, but both authors lure the reader into a world so threatening that a positive outcome seems against all hope—yet we must turn the page and find out what happens. Although I enjoyed The Hunger Games very much, it won’t quite make my list of all-time favorites. Still, the One Book selection is a quick read that’s an absolute pageturner and discussion-generator standout for its appeal to both genders and all ages (12 and up).

by KORY WELLS Poet (korywells.com)

I’ll start with a confession: I didn’t particularly want to read The Hunger Games. As a book lover who operates on the “so many books, so little time” philosophy, I found the novel’s description—dystopian society, gladiator-style televised games, fighting to the death—held little appeal for me. Never mind that some of my young adult friends couldn’t wait for the next book in the trilogy BOROPULSE.COM

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FOOD

Definitely try the Omni Hut’s Bora Bora, pineapple wrapped in bacon.

Multi-course dinners like the Tahitian are served on a platter with a flame in the center.

story and photos by BRACKEN MAYO

TIKI TIME

For tropical impressions and Polynesian flavors, visit Smryna’s Omni Hut.

When Air Force Major James Walls retired from Smyrna’s Sewart Air Force Base in 1960, he needed another project to throw himself into. “He was only 42 then; he was too young to not do something,” says daughter, Polly Walls. After 20 years of traveling around in the military and being exposed to various cultures, the Major had developed a love for food, particularly the food of Hawaii, where he was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, incidentally. “He’s always been intrigued by cooking; in and out of the South Pacific throughout the war, he just had a love for the culture and the people,” Polly says. “He befriended a Chinese American in Oahu, whose family owned a restaurant there; that’s where the seed started.” And thus the Omni Hut, located on Highway 41 just up from the Lee Victory interchange, was born, bringing the flavors and atmosphere of the islands to Rutherford County. The restaurant celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and stands as the oldest Asian, Pacific or Chinese restaurant in the state of Tennessee. When you walk in the doors of the Omni