The Pulse 14.17 » April 27, 2017

APRIL 27, 2017

CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE

AFTER THE BOMBING A BOMB, A SYNAGOGUE AND A TALE OF RESILIENCY IN CHATTANOOGA

By Daniel Jackson

ARTS

MUSIC

DUSTIN BLEWETT

POETRY & MUSIC

WOOD WORK BILLIE HOLIDAY

SCREEN

LOST CITIES IN SEARCH OF...

2 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 17 APRIL 27, 2017

CONTENTS 4 12 14

20

CREEPING PAIN AT THE PUMP

After several years of low gas prices, the prices you’re paying at the pump have been steadily creeping up to hit a ten-month high this week.

SEARCHING FOR THE LOST CITY OF Z

When Joseph Conrad published “Heart of Darkness” in 1899, he effectively described the motivations and danger of British imperialism in the uncharted wild places of the modern world.

THE WOOD WORKING ART OF DUSTIN BLEWETT

Live Again Lumber, a new company in Red Bank, is producing some of the finest and most creative furniture in the region. The furniture’s unique aesthetic comes from a combination of upcycled materials and an innovative combination of manufacturing techniques.

EMBRACING BILLIE HOLIDAY IN POETRY AND SONG

Great art can inspire more art, and ideas, emotions and experiences can expand and transmute to different forms in a perpetual succession.

ALSO INSIDE

8

After The Bombing On a summer’s evening 40 years ago, an explosion ripped through the Beth Shalom Synagogue here in Chattanooga. The blast punched two holes in the hotel next door and cracked windows for a block aground the synagogue on Pisgah Avenue, a residential street off Brainerd Road.

FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

5

CONSIDER THIS

26

THE LIST

7

AIR BAG

26

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

16

ARTS CALENDAR

27

FOOD & DRINK

19

MIXOLOGY

28

OPINIONS & DIVERSIONS

22

MUSIC CALENDAR

29

JONESIN' CROSSWORD

25

MUSIC NEWS

30

GAME ON!

Daniel Jackson is an independent journalist working in the Chattanooga area. He studied Communications at Bryan College and covered national events at the Washington Times. Follow him on Twitter @jcksndnl

Brandon Watson has been on the gaming scene since first dropping coins in an arcade cabinet many moons ago.

When not leading space marines as a mousepad Mattis, he is making gourmet pancakes and promoting local artists.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 3

BEGINNINGS ∙ CITY LIFE

Creeping Pain At The Pump It's not your imagination, gas prices are indeed increasing

By Michael Thomas Pulse contributor

BREWER MEDIA GROUP Publisher & President Jim Brewer II FOUNDED 2003 BY ZACHARY COOPER & MICHAEL KULL

EDITORIAL

Managing Editor Gary Poole gary@chattanoogapulse.com Assistant Editor Brooke Brown Music Editor Marc T. Michael Film Editor John DeVore Contributors David Traver Adolphus • Adam Beckett Rob Brezsny • Daniel Jackson Matt Jones • Tony Mraz Ernie Paik • Rick Pimental-Habib Michael Thomas • Brandon Watson Editorial Interns Addie Whitlow • Alex Plaumann Cartoonists Max Cannon • Rob Rogers Jen Sorenson • Tom Tomorrow

ADVERTISING

Director of Sales Mike Baskin mikebaskin@brewermediagroup.com Account Executives Chee Chee Brown • Brittany Dreon Rick Leavell • Libby Phillips Danielle Swindell • Logan Vandergriff

CONTACT

Offices 1305 Carter St. Chattanooga, TN 37402 Phone 423.265.9494 Email info@chattanoogapulse.com Website chattanoogapulse.com THE FINE PRINT: The Pulse is published weekly by Brewer Media and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on music, the arts, entertainment, culture and local news. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publisher may take more than one copy per weekly issue.

The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

Contents Copyright © 2017 by Brewer Media. All rights reserved.

A

FTER SEVERAL YEARS OF LOW gas prices, the prices you’re paying at the pump have been steadily creeping up to hit a ten-month high this week.

According to Mark Jenkins with AAA, the current statewide average in Tennessee is 22 cents more per gallon than it was a year ago, the highest daily average since June of 2016.

But there is good news, at least in the immediate future.

“Falling oil and wholesale gas prices should signal lower prices at the pump this week,” said Jenkins. “However, oil prices have been fickle this year, so motorists should expect continued volatility in the next couple of months as oil prices fluctuate, demand rises, and refineries complete the switchover to more expensive summer blends.”

The most expensive metro markets in the state are Memphis ($2.19), Knoxville ($2.19), and Nashville ($2.18). However, Chattanooga is among the lowest, with a current average of $2.13 a gallon, second lowest in the state.

The volatility in the oil market has led to both the recent increases and hope for future decreases. Oil prices hit a three-week low in trading this past Friday, with a barrel of oil trading at just under $49 as gallon.

The decrease was attributed to news that while Russia plans to agree with cuts in oil production announced by OPEC last year, total U.S. petroleum deliveries in March reached their highest point for this time of the year since 2008.

Simply put, while much of the foreign oil producing countries are trying to scale back output, the U.S. is surging ahead, to make up for the drop and keep pace with increasing demand.

4 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

“Yes, we are paying, on average, 22 cents more per gallon than a year ago, but we are still paying far less than most of us ever have for gas.”

So, what does this mean for Chattanooga drivers? Not much, overall. Yes, we are paying, on average, 22 cents more per gallon than a year ago, but we are still paying a lot less than most of us ever have for gas.

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, when we adjust for inflation, we are paying far less.

For example, adjusted for inflation, a gallon of gas in 2008 would have cost us $3.54. In 1981, it would have been $3.51. And to

really bring it all into perspective, 100 years ago, a gallon of gas would have cost us $3.92 for our horseless carriages.

And when you take into account that our vehicles have much higher MPG ratings than ever before, we get a lot more bang for our buck, at least in how far we can drive on a tank of gas.

So while it may be a bit annoying to see the pump prices creeping up again, rest assured we are still living in a relative golden age of energy prices.

Let’s just hope it stays that way for the near future.

Consider This with Dr. Rick

EdiToon

by Rob Rogers

“Sometimes it takes only one clear voice in a sea of loud chatter to rise above the chaos and shift the planet back to center.”

— unknown

The Amazing Acro-Cats: Feline Entertainers When most people think of cats, they don’t think of them as being particularly trainable. Sure, you can teach them to use the litterbox and to go in and out of the house; some people are even getting adventurous by training cats to walk on a leash.

However, the Amazing Acro-Cats are a group of cats who give true meaning to the idea of trained cats, and they put on a show that is guaranteed to delight everyone.

The Amazing Acro-Cats are a Chicago-based group of 10 performing cats, trained by Samantha Martin, who has an extensive background in training an-

imals and is considered a leading feline behavioral expert.

The goals of Acro-Cats shows are to raise awareness about the benefits of cat training and the importance of adopting and rescuing cats from shelters.

An Acro-Cats show consists of the feline performers riding skateboards, walking the high wire, jumping through hoops, and even pushing a shopping cart, among other notable acts. In addition to the Acro-Cats, their shows also feature the all-feline Rock Cats, who have learned to play multiple instruments and are pioneering the field of musical animals.

Both the Acro-Cats and the Rock Cats are going to be performing all weekend long, starting on Friday, at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, and they’re guaranteed to put on a spectacular show. — Addie Whitlow

One intelligent voice among the ignorant, the closed-minded. One kind voice among the bullying, the meanness. One loving voice among the hate, the prejudice.

Even if your voice quivers and your knees knock. Even if you break out into a sweat and you think you may lose your lunch. Even if you’re about to faint. You. Have. A. Voice. And you owe it to yourself and to those you care about to find a way to use it.

Maybe meekly at first, but in time, it will strengthen. Repeat a daily affirmation for starters. Write in your blog. Paint your words on a sign.

Find a way.

Consider this: Your voice may be just the one our planet is waiting for.

Your voice may change everything.

Find a way.

— Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 5

6 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

COLUMN ∙ AIR BAG

Innovation Postponed What the Trump Administration means for the future of cars

David Traver Adolphus Pulse columnist

N

O MATTER HOW NIMBLE AND lean the automotive industry becomes, however many Silicon Valley practices it adopts or innovative business leaders are hired, it will always be slowed down by the basic fact that it actually makes things.

Big, complicated things with thousands of moving parts that have to combine with a software suite; meet sometimes conflicting international safety standards; align with marketing and consumer expectations; integrate into an existing supply, distribution and repair chain; and operate in almost any conceivable conditions for years.

So until an entire car can be printed ondemand—which unless we hit the technological singularity is realistically decades away—the manufacturing process is going to continue to look more or less like it did 50 years ago: slow.

Aside from certain broad trends, playing the future is a sucker’s game. We think we’re going to run out of oil, but a cheap method of extracting petroleum from landfills might be six months away. It looks like sea levels will be a meter higher in the next 80 years, unless North Korea starts a nuclear winter or a mysterious cloud of space dust comes between us and the sun.

So while automakers have to plan for the most likely scenarios, they also have to hedge their bets. Right now dealer lots are full of slow-selling hybrids, cars designed

when gas prices were heading towards $4.00 a gallon in 2013, instead of hovering around half that and sending full-size SUV and pickup sales through the roof. And that was with a consistent and predictable Obama energy policy in place. What on earth will the next four years bring?

Uncertainty, if nothing else. The Trump White House will almost certainly be easing CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards, which should be good for carmakers, right? Unless that means that they’ll have an American market which wants affordable big cars with V-8s, while the rest of the world is happy to pay $15,000 more for 75mpg.

Then they’ll have a choice between selling cars that one side or the other doesn’t want; or trying to develop platforms that will work in very different situations. Either one is far from profitable.

Where will they make these cars? Clearly you don’t want to be increasing Mexican production, because even if you were allowed to in the first place you might be hit with penalties, tariffs, or both.

Many of your suppliers are entirely based overseas, so what happens when half of the components going into a car become 20 percent more expensive? Do you start making more of them yourself, or find a new American supplier?

Neither is a good choice, because in either scenario the skilled labor might not even exist, nor the

basic supply chain for the third-tier manufacturers, nor the rail transportation infrastructure to move raw materials. Hyundai and Kia are already putting over $3 billion in US manufacturing, soaking up an already limited pool of resources. Multiply that by Honda, Ford, Toyota and GM. Who is going to build these factories, and work in them?

A trade war over raw materials like steel, aluminum, and the rare earth elements in batteries and computers could, and maybe will, break at any time. In fact, on April 21, President Trump made definitive statements that steel tariffs were just around the corner. If you think increased domestic automotive manufacturing takes a long time to ramp up, you should see what reinventing American steel will require.

At best, though, any of that is a guess, a massive gamble that the Trump administration will develop a cohesive policy and follow through on it, neither of which are skills they’ve shown us yet. Who would want to take a chance on that, or assume we’ll have the same President in 2021? Fear is the enemy of invention, and inconsistency smothers innovation.

There’s no way a major company can commit to a future with even more variables than usual, because to choose the wrong path could be fatal. We will all end up paying that price for many years to come.

David Traver Adolphus is a freelance automotive researcher who recently quit his full time job writing about old cars to pursue his lifelong dream of writing about old AND new cars. Follow him on Twitter as @proscriptus.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 7

COVER STORY

After The Bombing A bomb, a synagogue and a tale of resiliency in Chattanooga

By Daniel Jackson Pulse contributor

O

N A SUMMER’S EVENING 40 YEARS ago, an explosion ripped through the Beth Shalom Synagogue here in Chattanooga. The blast punched two holes in the hotel next door and cracked windows for a block aground the synagogue on Pisgah Avenue, a residential street off Brainerd Road. The wood-frame building fell into a pile of ragged boards and the roof tumbled to the ground on a crazy angle.

The night of Friday, July 29, 1977 deepened as the police and fire fighters arrived and cordoned off the area. No one was in the building. No one was injured and no lives lost. But in the coming hours and days, the small congregation of Beth would learn that the explosion was no accident, no errant gas leak gone boom.

News reports would tell how police found an electrical cord plugged into a hallway socket in the hotel next door that ran to the crater under the synagogue. The explosion was a bomb and whoever was its creator wanted to maim and destroy.

Today, the new building the Beth Shalom congregation built on Pisgah Avenue stands empty, the lettering removed from the small, near-windowless building. But it remains a testament to the resiliency in the face of violence.

It’s a story worth retelling at a time when the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt said in November “the American Jewish community has not seen this level of anti-Semitism in mainstream political and public discourse since the 1930s.”

Before the bomb set in the crawl space under Beth Shalom went off, worshipers were inside. Eight Jewish men were there to pray ahead of the sabbath that began at sundown. And while they slipped skullcaps on their heads and offered up prayers in Hebrew, the eight men were two short

8 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

of a Minyan (a quorum to fully conduct prayers).

They left early.

The bomb devastated the place of worship. All the chairs, the table on which the congregation rested the Torah scrolls when they unrolled them to read, gone. It was made from dark oak in the style of the heavy stands found in many eastern European synagogues and the blast broke it apart.

The Torah scrolls were inside, the hand-copied scriptures, exact down to the word and stroke. The biggest question was their fate. Jews through history risked their lives to protect Torah scrolls.

The newspaper from that time published a photo of Chattanooga’s assistant police chief at the

time Ernie Campbell, cradling one of the three scrolls in his arm. A half step behind him Rabbi Meir Stimler waves. The scrolls were covered in dust yet otherwise untouched.

ADAPTING AND PLANNING A few days after the bombing, Stimler moved away. It was a congregation without a leader, without a building. Only each other and the Torah scrolls.

Phil Lutin, who attended the reformed synagogue in town contacted the president and founder of Beth Shalom, Morris Ellman. Lutin said, “I didn’t have $100 in my pocket. All I could think to give was my services.” Lutin recalled when he

COVER STORY

called Ellman, “The first words out of his mouth was ‘We’re going to rebuild.”

Other communities of faith offered help. Lutin recalled how small churches scraped together $100 dollars or so to give to the Jewish congregation. Together with the modest insurance payout, the congregation collected $150,000 in 1970’s money. Because most Christians gather on Sunday and Jews on Saturday, a few churches offered their places of worship.

Furthermore, Lutin said, the members of the Beth Shalom congregation knew the Torah. They moved its scrolls to the house next door. As Lutin said, it’s not necessary to have a Rabbi to have a synagogue. For the time being, the living room was its synagogue, the bedrooms its classrooms.

Beth Shalom was a small community, Lutin said. They didn’t have the wealth like other Jewish congregations in town.

They didn’t consider that they could simply go to worship at other synagogues.

“Jews just don’t do that,” Lutin said.

At least one member’s arm bore the tattoo that the Nazi’s scratched into his

“The bomb devastated the place of worship. All the chairs, the table on which the congregation rested the Torah scrolls when they took unrolled them to read, gone.” arm at a concentration camp. The feeling in the congregation was that they survived a systematic effort to wipe them from the face of the earth, Lutin said. They would recover from a bombing.

The leaders of the congregation went about the process of soliciting plans for a building. Initially, an architect designed an ornate synagogue that would have cost twice what Beth Shalom could pay. Lutin, who was an environmental engineer, helped manage the project. A young architect, Nino Piccolo, who was working for the Chattanooga-based architectural firm Selmon T. Franklin Associates at the time designed a

building for a lump sum.

It was modest and contained a central meeting area, a hall that wrapped around the central meeting place, a kitchen and office space. A construction company, which is no longer in business, C & I Specialty Co. built the structure for a fixed price. That way, the project fell under budget.

Once the plans were finalized, the congregation cleared the rubble and Lutin helped. He sifted through the rubble to collect as many pieces as he could of the Torah stand. The heavy oak frame had splintered in the blast. “It was a jigsaw puzzle.”

A timeline created by Beth Shalom in 2006 said the community broke

ground on the new synagogue April 1979.

A PACKED OUT BUILDING At the end of construction, in October 1979, Rabbi Yitzchok Adler joined the congregation from spending two years in Savannah. He was the last step in rebuilding the congregation, he said.

He was a young rabbi, having been ordained and taken his Savannah post around the same time of the bombing two years before.

“It was only 4,000 square feet, but you’d think it was the Taj Mahal,” Adler said. It was a building with few windows—and no crawl space.

The congregation celebrated Yom Kippur in the recently dedicated synagogue.

After that service, Lutin decided to regularly attend Beth Shalom. In September 1979, the congregation celebrated its first Bar Mitzvah, according to a timeline history of the synagogue filed in the Chattanooga Public Library’s historical archives.

The place of worship becomes near continued on page 10

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 9

COVER STORY

“I think they were guided by a personal sense of responsibility,” Adler said. “A commitment to what that synagogue represented in the community” and dear for a person of faith. “It becomes part of your world,” Adler said. “I don’t think it’s unique for a Jew.” An emotional tie develops, regularly attending a house of worship with a close-knit group of people. It’s something that’s lost when houses of worship become bigger, with their multi-million dollar operations and hundreds if not thousands of attendees, Adler said.

In birth, in death, a small congregation will celebrate and mourn together, Adler said. “When your entire congregation is less than 100 souls, one person missing, everyone notices,” he said.

Instead, Beth Shalom felt a commitment to rebuild. “I think they were guided by a personal sense of responsibility,” Adler said. “A commitment to what that synagogue represented in the community.”

Under the five years of Adler’s leadership, Beth Shalom developed an award-winning youth program through the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, which has since changed its name. Jewish youth from across the south traveled to synagogue—boarding in the motel the bomber used to blow up the old building.

“I was as much youth director as I was rabbi of that congregation,” Adler said. Because of its commitment to the investment it made in children, the congregation more than doubled in size, Adler said.

In 1984, the congregation learned who bombed their building. A white supremacist named Joseph Paul 10 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

Franklin confessed he bombed Beth Shalom, ending the question of who attempted to seed terror and fear in the community. He wanted to kill Jews, he said. He called Beth Shalom a “synagogue of Satan,” according to local news reports from the time.

Regarding Franklin, Lutin said, “He was a universal hater. He hated Jews, he hated blacks; he hated everyone.”

According to the FBI’s website, Franklin, a serial killer, murdered at least 15 people and left pornography magazine publisher Larry Flint wheelchair bound. Franklin wanted to inspire other white supremacists to violent action with his murders and attacks. When the law caught up to Franklin, several states handed him the death penalty and the State of Missouri put him to death Nov. 11, 2013.

Adler left in 1984 to relocate to lead congregations in cities that had better educational opportunities for his child. Over the decades, the congregation dwindled.

ENTER CHABAD At one point, the founder of Beth Shalom, Ellman, retired from his position as president of Vulcan Materials Company, Chattanooga division, and relocated to Atlanta. Lutin would visit him and one day, when they were having lunch, Morris told Lutin he failed. He wanted to build an orthodox synagogue that would last into perpetuity.

Morris told Lutin that he wanted people to replace the members of the congregation that were aging out.

COVER STORY Lutin was one of those replacements, but Morris didn’t find enough, he said.

“I told Morris I wasn’t going to fail on my watch,” Lutin said. “And I didn’t.”

About six years ago, Beth Shalom once again had no rabbi and the money the synagogue had on hand wasn’t enough to keep it operational for more than a year.

Lutin said he became somewhat dictatorial.

He called a meeting of the synagogue’s board, about a dozen people. There was an opportunity to give the operation of the synagogue over to Chabad, one of the largest Jewish organizations in the world which grew out of the Hassidic movement and grew an international reach after the Holocaust.

At the meeting held inside the new synagogue, Lutin told the board “We don’t have a chance.” Without Chabad, an orthodox Jewish presence in Chattanooga would soon cease to exist. “We can vote if you want, but we really don’t have a choice.”

Every person but one voted to hand the operation of the synagogue over to Chabad.

When Chabad took over the operation, it moved the Chabad Jewish Center of Chattanooga to Vine street, a historical district in the neighborhood of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Shaul Perlsetin is the rabbi in charge of the decedent of the Beth Shalom Synagogue.

When he first started, it was hard for the orthodox community to make the quorum for prayer.

But it has slowly grown. On typical Friday evening prayer, about 15 men attend the service.

Since leaving Beth Shalom, Adler went first to a synagogue in Jacksonville, Florida, and then to a synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Adler has lead the Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut for 22 years.

Over the past few weeks, waves of bomb threats have been called into Jewish centers across the nation, causing evacuations and searches for explosives. West Hartford, a town with a thriving Jewish population, received three anonymous calls phoning in a bomb threat, two at a community center and one at a Jewish high school. An 18-year-old man in Israel was arrested and the Justice Department charged him April 21 with making threatening calls to Jewish centers in Florida and cyber-

stalking.

Spending time with Beth Shalom taught Adler that those calls are not idle threats.

JEWISH LIFE IN CHATTANOOGA These days, the former synagogue on Pisgah Avenue is a shell. Chabad only uses the mikveh (used for ritual cleansing) on location, and it is working on building another at its current location.

Orthodox Judaism exists in Chattanooga, though observing its tenants is difficult. Perlsetin gets his kosher meat frozen and shipped to him. His children take online classes. There’s not enough people to support a bakery or store.

One thing’s for certain: The survival of the Torah scrolls was a miracle, Perlsetin said.

Living in Chattanooga, Lutin said, “It makes you more aware of the requirements of orthodox Judaism.”

Lutin observes the sabbath as best he can, for example. Traditionally, orthodox Jews will not drive on the Sabbath. But distances in this city makes that requirement difficult to meet.

He doesn’t weep about the congregation not worshiping at the Pisgah Avenue. “Everything has a time to it,” Lutin said.

Its purpose was a building block for something bigger and better, something for others to perpetuate.

The Pisgah Avenue synagogue was a $150,000 building. The synagogue moved into a multi-million-dollar building, a former Masonic lodge and it is in the process of being upgraded.

A few weeks ago, Chabad held a Seder, a meal to symbolize the Jewish people’s flight from Egypt. 150 people attended, like old times. It was almost standing room only. They had to bring out more chairs.

In the foyer, hangs three frames and inside are the covers that protected the handwritten Torah scrolls from that bombing 40 years before.

The three covers that protected the Torah scrolls that night 40 years before hang framed in the synagogue’s foyer. As for the scrolls, the rest in the Aron Kodesh, or the holy ark, until they are taken out to be read from, as it has been done for decades.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 11

FILM & TELEVISION

Searching For The Lost City Of Z A fabled explorer heads into the heart of darkness

The Inspiration Of The American Wrestler Film festival favorite American Wrestler: The Wizard comes to movie theaters nationwide for cinematic debut on Wednesday, May 3 only.

Based on true events, the heartwarming coming of age story is set in a world of competitive high school wrestling, starring William Fichtner, Jon Voight and introducing newcomer George Kosturos.

This special presentation will include exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with the filmmaker and cast, speaking to the real-life story and inspiration behind the film, along with never-before-released footage.

In this inspiring tale, 17-year-old Ali Jahani is a newcomer to a small California town, where he stands out as different in an unwelcoming community. Living with his embittered uncle, the boy faces a mountain of adversity everywhere he turns.

Rejected by everyone but determined to fit in, he joins the school’s floundering wrestling team. With a chance to change how others see him, Ali must step up and learn to be a hero.

Locally, you can see the film at the East Ridge 18 theaters or at the Northgate 14 theaters, with two showings: 4 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Purchases tickets online at fathomevents.com/events/american-wrestler Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin Wednesday, 4 p.m & 7:30 p.m.

East Ridge 18 Northgate 14 5080 South Terrace 10 Northgate Mall Dr. (423) 855-9652 (423) 870-9908 fathomevents.com/events/american-wrestler 12 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

By John DeVore Pulse Film Editor

W

HEN JOSEPH CONRAD PUBLISHED “Heart of Darkness” in 1899, he effectively described the motivations and danger of British imperialism in the uncharted wild places of the modern world.

It’s one of the world’s most studied novellas, an inspiration for further books, plays, films, and other works of art. It challenges assumptions about the nature of humanity, about the very ideas of civilization itself.

There can be no discussion of a work that focuses on a river voyage through a jungle with-

out mentioning Conrad. Apocalypse Now is, of course, the most famous adaptation, but any depiction of a boat in a jungle invariably leads to thoughts of Kurtz and the horror he expresses.

The Lost City of Z is not an adaptation of “Heart of Darkness”. But it is a biopic of the type of man that can be found in the tale. The film tells the story of an explorer that pines for the depths of Amazonia, a man that spent his life searching for evidence of an ancient civilization, one far older that his own, that can provide a link between worlds.

Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) was by all accounts an accomplished British military officer, cartographer, and self proclaimed archeologist.

FILM & TELEVISION

“Fawcett led several expeditions into the jungles—he brought back reports of pottery and signs of a civilization as well as descriptions of wild, unknown animals like the anaconda.”

The film notes that much of his drive to succeed was based on a desire to prove himself to British society, as his father was regarded by most as a drunk and gambler.

In any case, The Lost City of Z recounts Fawcett’s life as an explorer, first as a surveyor for the Royal Geographical Society and later as a famed adventurer known worldwide. Fawcett, along with his trusted men, spent years in the uncharted greens of Bolivia and Brazil, encountering cannibal tribes, suffering from blood borne diseases and hunger, searching with abandon for a city he believed to be hidden in the jungle.

Many of his exploits inspired other explorers, leading the discovery of a variety of archeological sites like Maccu Pichu. Fawcett led several expeditions into the jungles—he brought back reports of pottery and signs of a civilization as well as descriptions of wild, unknown animals like the anaconda.

Many of his reports were dismissed as nonsense by those back in Britain. In particular, those in charge argued that savages found in these areas of the world were not capable of building anything beyond simple grass huts.

Fawcett himself was convinced of the brilliance and utility of the native tribes, particularly their ability to cultivate the jungle. His expeditions, however, proved mostly fruitless in terms of finding lost cities. Circumstance and the

advent of World War I prevented Fawcett from realizing his dream.

The film does an admirable job of depicting the character of Fawcett and the complexities of imperial exploration, particularly the attitudes held by the British towards the native people of South America.

However, this is a film divided.

Much like the experiences of the protagonist, the audience’s wonder at the beauty and mystery of the jungle is too frequently interrupted by the realities of European politics.

It is certainly possible that the filmmakers do this deliberately, in order to elicit sympathy for Fawcett, and demonstrate the futility in his quest, but there is a certain frustration to being pulled back to dreary old England for a war when such a discovery is at stake. It makes the film uneven in places, and as it happens multiple times, eventually it feels like the film is going nowhere.

At nearly two and a half hours, the journey feels overlong and unsatisfying. To be sure, the film is pretty and the performances are strong. Hunnam, in particular, is well suited for the part.

But still, there is a pointlessness to the experience. The real Fawcett disappeared in the jungle with his son on his last expedition, thought to be lost to the natives he so adamantly defended.

The film attempts to insert hope into the narrative, but given what we’ve learned about the characters in the previous two hours, it seems unlikely that the film’s proposed conclusion is the correct one.

The Lost City of Z wants to make the point that the journey is what makes life worthwhile. Perhaps that’s true—but that doesn’t make a film worth seeing.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 13

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Wood Working Art Of Dustin Blewett Taking used urban timber and turning it into art

Symphony In Motion Project Motion, the student dance company of the Center for Creative Arts, will be performing in “Symphony in Motion” this Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. in the Center for Creative Arts auditorium.

“Symphony in Motion” is a dance and musical performance that will feature original choreography from Amanda Clark, Jessica Laliberte Bowman, and Laurel Zahrobsky. These featured choreographers have put together original performances in modern, ballet, and jazz styles of dance.

The musical part of the performance features talented musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra and Center for Creative Arts Vocal Music Department.

Tickets for the show are available at the door and are just $5. This is a great show for the entire family that will emphasize the beauty of a few different mediums of art cohesively in a singular performance.

The Center for Creative Arts is all about “illuminating dreams of passion, acceptance, creativity, and excellence,” and the “Symphony in Motion” highlights all of that. By reinforcing learning and fostering creativity in our youth, Center for Creative Arts has a mission of developing the artistic abilities and academics of their students.

“Symphony in Motion” will be a fun experience for all in attendance and could potentially inspire the next generation of Chattanooga artists. — Alex Plaumann Symphony In Motion Thursday & Friday, 7 p.m.

Center for Creative Arts Auditorium 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929 www.centerforcreativearts.net 14 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

By Tont Mraz

Pulse contributor

L

IVE AGAIN LUMBER, A NEW COMPANY in Red Bank, is producing some of the finest and most creative furniture in the region. The furniture’s unique aesthetic comes from a combination of upcycled materials and an innovative combination of manufacturing techniques.

The company’s owner, Dustin Blewett, sources the urban timber using his residential Chattanooga tree removal service. Trees that are growing in our cities occasionally have to be removed, due to storm damage, power lines, new construction, etc.

These trees could supply 30 percent of the nation’s lumber demand, but most of them are ground to mulch in giant wood chippers. Noticing this fact, Dustin asked the question “Why strip our woodlands for materials, when there is lumber

literally in our back yard?”

Chattanooga hosts a veritable cornucopia of tree species. There are over 25 different species in the area that are eligible for urban forestry, several of which are considered to be exotics by the rest of the world. White Oak is one of the finest, and within the species are several hundred varieties that all produce different grain patterns.

This is why cataloging every tree before it goes to the sawmill is vital, so that discriminating clients can know exactly what variety of wood they are getting. The sawyer’s knowledge of the wood and how to cut it makes the ultimate difference in the end result, much in the same way that a butcher’s understanding of meat is what makes ground chuck different from filet mignon.

Live Again Lumber’s sawyer, John Jenson, is an expert at making the best cuts. If these cuts aren’t made at the proper angles, the wood’s value is

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“There are over 25 different species in the area that are eligible for urban forestry, several of which are considered to be exotics by the rest of the world.” diminished. He uses a technique called Quarter Sawing to square off a tree by making four cuts to remove the bark, and a series of successive cuts to make slabs, sideboards, and figure cuts of the middle.

In a figure cut, you can tell where limbs were, and where the grain has been shaped by natural factors, stretched by wind, or struck by lightning. These cuts are used to make most fine woodworking products, from musical instruments to bowls.

After it is cut, the wood is cured in a giant kiln that was made in partnership with Southern Tool Steel’s founder, Arnold Erwin. The massive device, made with a shipping container, allows years of drying to be accomplished in a short time.

Air drying takes a year for every inch of thickness,

plus another additional year—so for a two-inch thick slab of wood, it takes three years to air dry. With the kiln, hard woods can be dried in six weeks, and pine can be dried in seven days.

“If you’re going to work with wood, you have to dry it before hand, and then work to straighten it after it is dry,” Dustin tells us. “During the drying process, there is a period of water leaving the wood, and then sap. A living tree is composed of around 50 percent water.

You can get the water content down to around 12 percent by drying it with the ambient air in this region.

For fine woodworking like furniture, cabinetry, doors, etc.”

He uses a kiln to take it down to around two percent water content, which collapses the cell walls of the wood. Then, when the moisture content is brought back up to that of the atmosphere, the wood no longer expands or warps.

During the kiln drying process, the wood is fumed with ammonia to

enhance the grain patterns. The ammonia reacts with the tannins in the wood, darkening the denser parts of the medullary rays, and increasing the grain’s contrast. After the wood is dry, it is sanded and naturally finished with oil and shellac.

In some cases, an additional layer of interest is added by burning the wood with 15,000 volts of electrical current. Electrodes are attached to both ends of the wood, and the burning occurs between the poles. This process creates an organic, branching pattern that fittingly resembles the structure of a tree.

Once it is finished, the wood can be used in a variety of ways, from furniture to custom doors and construction. For their furniture, Live Again uses steel bases that are fabricated using upcycled industrial equipment, like a bulldozer sprocket, or pistons from a huge excavator.

The steel bases have a clean, polished look, and are extremely durable. They are also modular, easily broken down, and reassembled.

“Rather than looking at something as a structure-defined thing, and seeing what is there, I imagine a piece without restrictions.”

THU4.27 Hypnotist Herb McCandles

There's a new hypnotist in town, and he's a master of the comedic arts.

7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

FRI4.28 Raise The Roof

Annual fundraiser and dinner to benefit Habitat for Humanity for Greater Chattanooga. to see 5:30 p.m.

Convention Center 1 Carter Plz. (423) 756-0507 habichatt.org

SAT4.29 Chattanooga Market Opening Weekend

Come down to the Southside for plenty of food, cratfs, and entertainment.

11 a.m.

Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. (423) 648-2496 chattanoogamarket.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 15

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

Rabbit Hole

THURSDAY4.27 Partnership FCA 2nd Annual Networking Conference 8:30 a.m.

Christ United Methodist 8645 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 697-3829 partnershipfca.com Ooltewah Farmers Market 3 p.m.

Ooltewah Nursery 5829 Main St. (423) 238-9775 ooltewahnursery.com Signal Mountain Farmers Market 4 p.m.

Pruett’s Market 1210 Taft Hwy. (423) 902-8023 signalmountainfarmersmarket.com Spring! A Celebration on the River with the Tennessee Aquarium 6 p.m.

Walnut Street Bridge (423) 785-4067 tnaqua.org It’s Raining So What 6 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Bartender Brawl 6 p.m.

Miller Plaza 850 Market St. bartenderbrawl2017. eventbrite.com Art Wise: Presents E. Carmen Ramos

16 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

6 p.m.

The Hunter Museum of Art 10 Bluff View Ave. (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org Festival of New Plays: Old Ties 7 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8538 theatrecenter.com Rabbit Hole 7 p.m.

Ringgold Depot 155 Depot St. (706) 935-3061 cityofringgold.com Symphony in Motion 7 p.m.

Center for Creative Arts 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929 centerforcreativearts.net Hypnotist Herb McCandles

7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Brahms and Tchaikovsky 7:30 p.m.

Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists 4829 College Dr. (423) 396-2134 chattanoogasymphony.org

FRIDAY4.28 Chattanooga Market at Erlanger 10:30 a.m.

Erlanger Hospital Medical Mall 975 E. 3rd St. chattanoogamarket.com Cambridge Square Night Market

ENTERTAINMENT SPOTLIGHT Heralded as one of our country’s foremost comics, Paula Poundstone’s quickthinking, unscripted approach has made her a comedy legend.

Paula Poundstone Friday, 8 p.m.

Track 29 1400 Market St. (423) 521-2929 paulapoundstone.com

5 p.m.

Cambridge Square 9453 Bradmore Ln. (423) 531-7754 cambridgesqauretn.com Raise The Roof 5:30 p.m.

Convention Center 1 Carter Plz. (423) 756-0507 habichatt.org Rabbit Hole 7 p.m.

Ringgold Depot 155 Depot St. (706) 935-3061 cityofringgold.com The Amazing Acro-cats 7 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 Festival of New Plays: Old Ties 7 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8538 theatrecenter.com Symphony in Motion 7 p.m.

Center for Creative Arts 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929 centerforcreativearts.net Hypnotist Herb McCandles 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Paula Poundstone 8 p.m.

Track 29 1400 Market St.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

The Amazing Acro-cats (423) 521-2929 paulapoundstone.com

SATURDAY4.29 Clean and Green 8 a.m.

Miller Plaza 850 Market St. (423) 265-3700 Day Out With Thomas 9 a.m.

Tennessee Valley Railroad 4119 Cromwell Rd. (423) 894-8028 tvrail.com Jog-a-Nooga 9 a.m.

Blue Goose Hollow Trail 876 W. 9th Ave. (423) 267-5053 jlchatt.org St. Alban’s Hixson Market 9:30 a.m.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church 7514 Hixson Pike (423) 842-6303 Save The Frogs Weekend 10 a.m.

Chattanooga Zoo 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. (423) 697-1319 chattzoo.org Battle Below The Clouds Amateur BBQ Competition 10 a.m.

Ruby Falls 1720 South Scenic Hwy. (423) 800-0566 rubyfalls.com Repticon 10 a.m.

Camp Jordan Arena

323 Camp Jordan Pkwy.

(803) 814-5018 repticon.com Tabletop Game Fest 10 a.m.

Ridgedale Masonic Lodge 1500 Dobbs Ave. tabletopday.com Northside Farmers Market 10 a.m.

Northside Presbyterian Church 923 Mississippi Ave. (423) 266-7497 Chattanooga River Market 10 a.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza 1 Broad St. (423) 648-2496 chattanoogarivermarket.com Chattanooga Market Opening Weekend 11 a.m.

Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. (423) 648-2496 chattanoogamarket.com Brainerd Farmers Market 11 a.m.

Grace Episcopal Church 20 Belvoir Ave. (404) 245-3682 Rabbit Hole 2, 7 p.m.

Ringgold Depot 155 Depot St. (706) 935-3061 cityofringgold.com Jam Fest 2017: Arts and Jazz Day Party 2 p.m.

Jazzanooga Arts Space 431 E MLK Blvd.

(423) 413-8978 The Amazing Acro-cats

3 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 Believe Bash 6 p.m.

Wilson Air Center 932 Jubilee Dr. believebash.build Hypnotist Herb McCandles 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Festival of New Plays: Old Ties 8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8538 theatrecenter.com

SUNDAY4.30 Day Out With Thomas 9 a.m.

Tennessee Valley Railroad 4119 Cromwell Rd. (423) 894-8028 tvrail.com Repticon 10 a.m.

Camp Jordan Arena 323 Camp Jordan Pkwy.

(803) 814-5018 repticon.com Save The Frogs Weekend 10 a.m.

Chattanooga Zoo 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. (423) 697-1319 chattzoo.org Chattanooga Market

Opening Weekend 11 a.m.

Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. (423) 648-2496 chattanoogamarket.com The Amazing Acro-cats 1 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 Free Fiddle School 2 p.m.

Fiddlers Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 Festival of New Plays: Old Ties 2:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8538 theatrecenter.com Chattanooga Bach Choir Cantata Concert 4 p.m.

Christ Church Chattanooga 663 Douglas St. (423) 266-4263 chattanoogabachchoir.org Hypnotist Herb McCandles 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

MONDAY5.1 Red Bank Farmers Market 3 p.m.

Red Bank United Methodist 3800 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 838-9804 CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 17

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

Annie

TUESDAY5.2 Aces Community Summit 5:30 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium 399 McCallie Ave. (423) 752-0300 unitedwaycha.org Tuesday Night Chess Club 6 p.m.

Downtown Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 643-7700 chattilibrary.com Negotiation Contest 6 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Annie 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 tivolichattanooga.com

WEDNESDAY5.3 Middle East Dance 10:30 a.m.

Jewish Cultural Center 5461 North Terrace (423) 493-0270 jewishchattanooga.com Chattanooga Market at Erlanger East 10:30 a.m.

Erlanger East Hospital 1751 Gunbarrel Rd.

18 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

(423) 648-2496 chattanoogamarket.com Main Street Market 4 p.m.

325 E. Main St. mainstfarmersmarket.com The Chattery Presents "Breaking Into Acting" 6 p.m.

The Edney 1100 Market St. (423) 413-8978 thechattery.org Annie 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 tivolichattanooga.com "Steal You Away" Film Premiere Party 7 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Chattanooga Lookouts Vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos 7:15 p.m.

AT&T Field 201 Power Alley lookouts.com Improv Chattanooga 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse. com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

FOOD & DRINK ∙ MIXOLOGY

Frozen Drinks And Tiny Umbrellas A delicious mixology match made in a very chilled out paradise

By Addie Whitlow Pulse contributor

Y

ES, REAL MEN DRINK UMBRELLA drinks (or really confident men do, at least). I don’t know what it is about a frozen alcoholic drink with a tiny umbrella garnish that made people consider these types of drinks “lady drinks,” but I’m here to let you know that any drink, regardless of its appearance, is for anyone who wants to drink it.

And, in the spirit of summer being upon us in the approaching months, I’m going to embark on an adventure through three of the most popular frozen umbrella drinks: margaritas, piña coladas, and daiquiris.

For the best possible reading experience, imagine yourself on the beach, with your toes in the ocean, sipping on a frozen drink with a tiny umbrella.

We’ll start with margaritas because almost everyone loves a good margarita. The history of the margarita is quite complicated, and there isn’t one solid origin story, but I’ll skip to the relevant part: the creation of a margarita machine by Mariano Martinez in his Dallas restaurant in the 1970s.

The machine itself was essentially a hybrid soft-serve ice cream machine that was inspired by a 7-Eleven slurpee machine, but the result was something with a far better consistency than a blender could ever create. The classic frozen margarita recipe, from theslowroasteditalian.com, calls for tequila, Triple Sec, lime juice, simple syrup, and lime juice and coarse salt as a garnish.

Now, onward to Puerto Rico, where the piña colada was born. Again, this is a drink with a complicated history. As the story goes, the year was 1954 at The Caribe Hilton, a luxury hotel in San Juan. One bartender at the hotel’s Beachcombers Bar was

supposedly tasked with creating a drink reminiscent of all the island’s flavors.

Another bartender at Beachcombers Bar claimed a coconutcutters strike prevented him from pouring his normal rum-cream of coconut-crushed ice drink into a coconut, so he had to find an alternative method, which was pouring it into a hollow pineapple, and it was a hit. The classic piña colada recipe, via cookingforcurls.com, calls for light rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice, in addition to the pineapple wedge and cherry garnish.

Last but certainly not least, let’s talk about the daiquiri, which was created in Cuba and also has a diverse history. The creator of the daiquiri is generally known as Jennings Cox in the time after the Spanish-American war. He ran out of gin while hosting friends, so he switched to rum, which was widely available. He also added mineral water, lemons, sugar, and crushed ice and decided to call it a daiquiri because rum sour just didn’t sound good enough.

The drink didn’t really take off in the United States until the late 1940s and ‘50s, and the recipe held until the ‘90s, when fruity drinks became all the rage, and the drink has received more than a handful of moderations since then.

However, the classic recipe, from thespruce.com, is white rum, simple syrup, lime juice, and crushed ice.

My discussion wouldn’t be com-

“For the best possible reading experience, imagine yourself on the beach, with your toes in the ocean, sipping on a frozen drink with a tiny umbrella. ” plete if I didn’t offer some insight into tiny umbrellas, so here it goes.

There are two origin stories that both involve California tiki bars in the mid-20th century.

One bartender was supposedly attempting to bring paradise to his patrons via tiny umbrellas, and the other was trying to lure women into the bars with said umbrellas. I’ll let you decide on your favorite origin story.

So, if someone tries to give you a hard time because your frozen drink features a tiny umbrella, just mention one of the tiny umbrella origin stories above, and remind them that tiny umbrellas signify paradise and relaxation (or they’re supposed to attract women; whatever floats your boat).

It’s almost summertime, and what better way to beat the heat than with a tasty frozen drink?

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 19

MUSIC

Embracing Billie Holiday Laurie Perry Vaughan combines poetry and music

By Ernie Paik

Pulse contributor

Bringing Back The Big Band Sound & Style Big Band is a style of music that is a bit underappreciated and also wildly unheard of in the 21st century. However, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox is a group that is bringing big band music back, and they’re adding their own unique twist by playing covers of modern pop, rock, alternative, and even hip hop hits.

Formed in 2011 in the Queens, New York basement of arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee, Postmodern Jukebox got their start when Bradlee and his friends began shooting videos of themselves performing different styles of jazz music.

However, Postmodern Jukebox didn’t really take off until vocalist Robyn Adele Anderson’s cover of “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, which garnered over one million views in its first week on YouTube.

Since then, Postmodern Jukebox has featured 70 different performers and now has more than two million subscribers on their YouTube channel. They post a new swing, jazz, or big band cover of modern music every week.

They’ve sampled Lady Gaga, Blink 182, Britney Spears, and Gorillaz, to name a few. They even dress in styles reminiscent of the early 20th Century to further complete the look and sound of that era.

Postmodern Jukebox will be at Track 29 this Saturday, and with their distinctive style of musical performances, they’re guaranteed to put on a show you won’t get the chance to see anywhere else. — Addie Whitlow Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Saturday, 8 p.m.

Track 29 1400 Market St. (423) 521-2929 track29.co 20 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

G

REAT ART CAN INSPIRE more art, and ideas, emotions and experiences can expand and transmute to different forms in a perpetual succession. In the case of Chattanoogan Laurie Perry Vaughen’s poem “Billie Holiday on the Radio”—part of her poetry/jazz show with the same name—it was inspired by a sculpture which was inspired by music.

Vaughen penned the poem as a response to Whitfield Lovell’s installation “Deep River” which had a profound effect on her, after she viewed it at the Hunter Museum of American Art in 2013.

“My poems often begin with a compelling image,” said Vaughen, in advance of the April 30 performance of “Billie Holiday on the Radio” as part of JAM (Jazz Appreciation Month) Fest at Jazzanooga and National Poetry Month.

“Lovell’s exhibit included a wall of vintage Bakelite radios stacked as a sculpture beneath an exquisite portrait of an anonymous African-American soldier,” said Vaughen. “The radios were designed to be interactive, with visitors urged to physically ‘tune in’ to the radio, to physically turn the dial on their experience and hear Billie Holiday’s voice emerge.”

Vaughen is an award-winning poet whose work has been published in journals including Crab Orchard Review, Laurel Review, Kalliope and Cold Mountain Review, and she is the author of several chapbooks, including her new collection “Fine Tuning”.

Another iconic singer, the Chattanooga-born blues singer Bessie Smith, is vividly described with “the beaded sweep of a black dress, the frayed fabric flowers at her waist” in another poem,

which Vaughen wrote after a visit to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

While other poems mention other notable figures, the show goes beyond personalities and delves into a wide range of topics concerning the American South.

Vaughen met saxophonist Jeff Crompton through his work with the Atlanta group 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra and shared her poetry with him.

“I started to ‘hear’ the possibilities right away,” said Crompton.

“Jeff responded to the poems with a composition and then another, and so we discussed doing a cohesive show,” said Vaughen.

“In my poems I am wrestling with many of the same peculiarly Southern themes and conflicts as Jeff explores in his music compositions,” said

MUSIC

“While other poems mention other notable figures, the show goes beyond personalities and delves into a wide range of topics concerning the American South.”

Vaughen. “We both are ethnographers of a kind, trying to document a very rapidly changing South.”

“We didn’t want the clichéd ‘jazz/poetry’ hipster collaboration,” said Crompton.

For the collaboration, Crompton enlisted his jazz trio Three Way Mirror, which features Bill Pritchard on tuba and Yaya Brown on congas; Crompton assembled this group in 2015 partially inspired by Arthur Blythe’s 1977 album Bush Baby, which used that same unusual instrumentation.

“I wanted each piece to reflect and amplify the mood of the corresponding poem,” said Crompton. “And to keep things musically interesting, I varied the style, texture and sometimes even the instrumentation from poem to poem.”

The April 30 performance of “Billie Holiday on the Radio” will be its Chattanooga debut, after wellreceived performances at the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Atlanta’s Eyedrum and the Georgia Center for the Book.

This show will feature a new poem, “Tuning into Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit,’” which Vaughen said explores Chattanooga’s “collective and typically disconnected relationship to the Ed Johnson story, the innocent man who was brutally lynched on the Walnut Street Bridge in 1906.”

While Vaughen’s poems are rooted in Southern themes, another thread ties them together: an exploration of the role of technology and its relation to desegregation.

“Billie and Bessie Smith mastered their art forms at a time when recording technologies were experimental and changing,” said Vaughen. “The technologies they used even had influence in our racially segregated

small-town South. Technologies from the gramophone to the microphone, the automobile to the radio, all helped ensure a variety of voices were heard.”

One piece of technology in particular—the radio—has special significance for Vaughen, since her father was a radio repairman after World War II, as well as a country blues and folk musician.

One of her most personal poems in the show, “Radio Repair,” serves as a snapshot of her father in his workshop.

“In my mind, I see him with his glasses perched on his nose soldering delicate wires, and always listening to music,” said Vaughen. “When I think of my late father, it’s that man in the ‘Radio Repair’ poem that I see.”

“The poem notes that you could turn a radio dial two ways, and in one direction find Billie Holiday, and in another a Bill Monroe,” said Vaughen.

“There are many entry points to our show, and many ways to relate to an icon like Billie Holiday,” said Vaughen. “Art, especially music and the distilled language of poetry, offers a way to connect, to make us look within and without, with a fresh point of view.”

THU4.27 CSO Masterworks Series La Mer

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, inspired by Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. 7:30 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. chattanoogasymphony.org

FRI4.28 Pains Chapel, Noisecult, The Breaknecks

The Music Box at Ziggy's continues to rock out North Chattanooga.

8 p.m.

Ziggy’s Bar & Grill 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net

SAT4.29 Roger Alan Wade

Our favorite singing storyteller (who never stops playing) heads downtown for a treat to fans both old and new.

9 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com

Where the BIG Hits live!

Chattanooga’s Greatest Hits CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 21

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

SIMO

THURSDAY4.27 James Crumble Trio 6 p.m.

St. John’s Meeting Place 1278 Market St. stjohnsrestaurant.com Rick Rushing 6 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Prime Country Band 6:30 p.m.

Motley’s 320 Emberson Dr. Ringgold, GA (706) 260-8404 Bluegrass & Country Jam 6:30 p.m.

Grace Church of the Nazarene 6310 Dayton Blvd. chattanoogagrace.com Bluegrass Thursdays 7:30 p.m.

Feed Co. Table & Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Jesse James & Tim Neal 7:30 p.m.

Mexi-Wing VII 5773 Brainerd Rd. mexi-wingchattanooga.com CSO Masterworks Series La Mer 7:30 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. chattanoogasymphony.org Keepin’ It Local 8 p.m.

The Social 1110 Market St.

22 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

publichousechattanooga.com Open Mic with Hap Henninger 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com SIMO 9 p.m.

The Revelry Room 41 Station St. revelryroom.co

FRIDAY4.28 Papa Sway 5 p.m.

Underdogs Bar & Grill 2503 Westside Dr. (423) 485-3873 Eddie Pontiac 6 p.m.

El Meson 2204 Hamilton Place Blvd.

elmesonrestaurant.com Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 The Von Wamps 6 p.m.

Cambridge Square Night Market 9453 Bradmore Ln. chattanoogamarket.com Tim Lewis 7 p.m.

El Meson 248 Northgate Park elmesonchattanooga.com Jasmine Caine 7 p.m.

Thunder Creek Harley Davidson 7720 Lee Hwy. thundercreekharley.com The Black Jacket Symphony: Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours 8 p.m.

PULSE MUSIC SPOTLIGHT An eclectic and highspirited mix of original compositions as well as favorite covers from folk, swing, and jazz to country, rock, and bluegrass that crosses generations.

The Von Wamps Sunday, 12:30 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. tivolichattanooga.com Pains Chapel, Noisecult, The Breaknecks 8 p.m.

Ziggy’s Bar & Grill 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net Instant Replay 8:30 p.m.

The Foundry 1201 Broad St. chattanooganhotel.com Backup Planet 9 p.m.

The Revelry Room 41 Station St. revelryroom.co Live Music 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Jake Leg Stompers 9 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Dayshawn 10 p.m.

Raw Bar & Grill 409 Market St. rawbarandgrillchatt.com The Band Raven 10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SATURDAY4.29 The Von Wamps, Mountain

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Backup Planet Creek House Fire 11 a.m.

Ruby Falls 1720 S. Scenic Hwy. rubyfalls.com Sweet Georgia Sound 12:30 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Brian Ashley Jones 12:30 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza 1 Broad St. chattanoogarivermarket.com Eddie Pontiac 6 p.m.

El Meson 2204 Hamilton Place Blvd. elmesonrestaurant.com Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 Tim Lewis 7 p.m.

El Meson 248 Northgate Park elmesonchattanooga.com JAM Fest 2017: ICON Tribute to Duke Ellington 7:30 p.m.

Jazzanooga Arts Space 431 E. MLK Blvd. jazzanooga.org The Countrymen Band 8 p.m.

Eagles Club 6130 Airways Blvd.

(423) 894-9940 Taylor & Company 8 p.m.

VFW Post 4848

2402 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 624-6687 Lark and Loon 8 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org Instant Replay 8:30 p.m.

The Foundry 1201 Broad St. chattanooganhotel.com Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox 9 p.m.

Track 29 1400 Market St. track29.co Tennessee’s Dead 9 p.m.

Revelry Room 41 Station St. revelryroom.co Roger Alan Wade 9 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Town Mountain 10 p.m.

Clyde’s On Main 122 W. Main St. clydesonmain.com Sweet Georgia Brown 10 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Dayshawn 10 p.m.

Raw Bar & Grill 409 Market St. rawbarandgrillchatt.com The Band Raven

10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SUNDAY4.30 Gleewood 11 a.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com The Von Wamps 12:30 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Brooks Hubbard 1 p.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Brian Ashley Jones 2:30 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Bluegrass Jam 4 p.m.

Fiddler’s Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 Chattanooga Bach Choir Cantata Concert 4 p.m.

Christ Church Chattanooga 663 Douglas St. christchurch.etdiocese.net JAM Fest 2017: Jazz Poetry Tribute to Billie Holiday 4:30 p.m.

Jazzanooga Arts Space 431 E. MLK Blvd.

jazzanooga.org Open Mic with Jeff Daniels 6 p.m.

Long Haul Saloon 2536 Cummings Hwy. (423) 822-9775 Nathan Mell 7 p.m.

The BackStage Bar 29 Station St. (423) 629-2233 Molly Maguires 7 p.m.

The Honest Pint 35 Patten Pkwy. thehonestpint.com An Evening with Dawes 8 p.m.

Revelry Room 41 Station St. revelryroom.co Cory Branan, Bryan Hensley, Webb Barringer 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423)266-1400

MONDAY5.1 Monday Nite Big Band 7 p.m.

The Coconut Room 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Very Open Mic with Shawnessey Cargile 8 p.m.

The Well 1800 Rossville Blvd. #8 wellonthesouthside.com Open Mic Night 6 p.m.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 23

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Chevelle Puckett’s Grocery 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Open Air with Jessica Nunn 7:30 p.m.

The Granfalloon 400 E. Main St. granfalloonchattanooga.com Kitchen Dwellers 8 p.m.

Revelry Room 41 Station St. revelryroom.co

TUESDAY5.2 Danimal 6 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Bill McCallie and In Cahoots 6:30 p.m.

Southern Belle 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chattanoogariverboat.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 8 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com

WEDNESDAY5.3 Noontunes with Lew Card Noon Miller Plaza 850 Market St.

24 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

noontunescha.com Toby Hewitt 6 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Show 6:30 p.m.

Fiddler’s Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 Chevelle 7:30 p.m.

Track 29 1400 Market St. track29.co Joel Clyde 8 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Priscilla & Little Rickee 8 p.m.

Las Margaritas 1101 Hixson Pike (423) 756-3332 Jazz in the Lounge 8 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Prime Cut Trio 9 p.m.

The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse. com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

MUSIC

Maypop Pre-Festival Rocks The Ocoee Dumpy’s works to bring music to life in the Ocoee River region

By Adam Beckett Pulse contributor

T

HE ENCHANTING OCOEE RIVER area was the home site of the 1996 Olympic Games for kayaking and canoeing, and continues to be a hotspot for regional tourism. During the spring and summer months, thousands of adventurers travel from near and far to explore the depths of the Cherokee National Forest, and kayak/raft the majestic Ocoee River.

Being such a short drive from Chattanooga, it also has a high appeal for locals to go for weekend getaways. With countless outdoor adventure companies hosting river trips, and miles of hiking and rock climbing destinations, people are spread out all over the area wondering what there is to do during the evening hours around the area.

Nesting just outside of the Cherokee National Forest, on direct route to the rafting put-in location for the Ocoee River stands Dumpy’s, which is the premier hotspot for live music and good times.

With the low key, yet legendary Chattanooga based emcee and music man Eroc Russell of Mdaht Recordings taking over as General Manager as part of the new management team, this season is sure to

be one for the books in terms of stellar entertainment.

With the ties that Eroc has with the music scene, his ability to book big named artists for events is unmatched by any venue.

Where Dumpy’s has been a longstanding party pad typically just for the adventurers and river rats over the years, it is now going to be a location where people venture to from Chattanooga, and other outside areas for entertainment purposes. Dumpy’s goal is to provide quality music each weekend throughout the season to become a powerhouse venue.

This season has already brought Riverfunk, the Scarlett Love Conspiracy, and Danimal Planet. Global artists from Italy and Canada are scheduled for later dates, while Rising Appalachia is a potential future booking this season.

The Maypop Music and Arts Festival, which is an event that is designed to provide disaster relief to victims of the storms that devastated parts of the Ocoee area last year, has announced Dumpy’s as its event location. Headlining artists Soul Mechanic, KG, Midnight Promise, Sparky the Band, and

Shock 2 the System are scheduled to rock the main stage. The event is to have bands, DJs, food, drinks, vendors, art exhibits, and camping. This will be a great way to take in a music festival experience, while helping to rebuild a community. The Maypop pre-fest is scheduled to take place this weekend, April 28-30th, with the main event taking place in the near future.

Dumpy’s is a huge venue that is located directly off a highway, it has

ample parking, an indoor area with an extended outside area that has fire pits, and a volleyball arena. It is the perfect place to go rock the night away after a day of adventures.

There are endless camping areas just minutes away from it, and they are in the process of developing a shuttle system in order to get everybody back to their camp sites safely.

Dumpy’s is the place to be this Spring and Summer for nightlife adventures and entertainment.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 25

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

The List When We Do Things ROB BREZSNY

Ever wondered when is the "peak time" to do or visit certain things or places?

Our friends at the Statistic Brain Research Institute did, and their results are...fascinating.

We are creatures of habit and, because of our semi-structured work week, we tend to do certain things at a specific time each day.

• 7 am — Gas Station • 8 am — Coffee • 9 am — Oil Change • 10 am — Car Wash • 11:30 am — Home Depot • Noon — Taco Bell • 1 pm — McDonalds • 1:30 pm — Best Buy • 2 pm — Target • 2:30 pm — Walmart • 7 pm — Movie Theaters • 8 pm — Applebee's • 10 pm — Diners • Midnight — Bars If you want to miss the crowd and avoid potential lines, check out this list of times to avoid doing certain activities or visiting certain businesses.

Source: statisticbrain.com/peakbusiness-hours-we-do-things/

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “One of the advantages of being disorderly,” said author A. A. Milne, “is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” I wouldn’t normally offer this idea as advice to a methodical dynamo like you. But my interpretation of the astrological omens compels me to override my personal theories about what you need. I must suggest that you consider experimenting with jaunty, rambunctious behavior in the coming days, even if it generates some disorder.

The potential reward? Exciting discoveries, of course.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to my reading of the astrological omens, it’s time for you to take a break from the magic you have been weaving since your birthday in 2016.

That’s why I’m suggesting that you go on a brief sabbatical. Allow your deep mind to fully integrate the lessons you’ve been learning and the transformations you have undergone over the past eleven months.

In a few weeks, you’ll be ready to resume where you left off. For now, though, you require breathing room.

Your spiritual batteries need time to recharge. The hard work you’ve done should be balanced by an extended regimen of relaxed playtime.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Apparently, a lot of kids in the UK don’t like to eat vegetables. In response, food researchers in that country marketed a variety of exotic variations designed to appeal to their palate.

The new dishes included chocolateflavored carrots, pizza-flavored corn, and cheese-and-onion-flavored cauliflower. I don’t recommend that you get quite so extreme in trying to broaden your own appeal, Cancerian. But see if you can at least reach out to your potential constituency with a new wrinkle or fresh twist. Be imaginative as you expand the range of what your colleagues and clientele have to choose from.

26 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In speaking about the arduous quest to become one’s authentic self, writer Thomas Merton used the example of poets who aspire to be original but end up being imitative. “Many poets never succeed in being themselves,” he said. “They never get around to being the particular poet they are intended to be by God. They never become the person or artist who is called for by all of the circumstances of their individual lives. They waste their years in vain efforts to be some other poet.

They wear out their minds and bodies in a hopeless endeavor to have somebody else’s experiences or write somebody else’s poems.” I happen to believe that this is a problem for nonpoets, as well. Many of us never succeed in becoming ourselves. Luckily for you, Leo, in the coming weeks and months you will have an unprecedented chance to become more of who you really are. To expedite the process, work on dissolving any attraction you might have to acting like someone other than yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): On numerous occasions, French acrobat Charles Blondin walked across a tightrope that spanned the gorge near Niagara Falls. His cable was three and a quarter inches in diameter, 1,100 feet long, and 160 feet above the Niagara River. Once he made the entire crossing by doing back flips and somersaults. Another time he carried a small stove on his back, stopped midway to cook an omelet, and ate the meal before finishing. Now would be an excellent time for you to carry out your personal equivalent of his feats, Virgo. What daring actions have you never tried before even though you’ve been sufficiently trained or educated to perform them well?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Ready for some subterranean journeys? They may not involve literal explorations of deep caverns and ancient tunnels and underground streams. You may not stumble upon lost treasure and forgotten artifacts and valuable ruins. But then again, you might. At the very least, you will encounter metaphorical versions of some of the above. What mysteries would you love to solve? What secrets would be fun to uncover? What shadows would you be excited to illuminate?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Why would you guzzle mind-clouding moonshine when you will eventually get a chance to sip a heart-reviving tonic? Why spoil your appetite by

Homework: What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever done? Testify! Go to Realastrology.com and click on “Email Rob.” loading up on non-nutritious hors d’oeuvres when a healthy feast will be available sooner than you imagine? I advise you to suppress your compulsion for immediate gratification. It may seem impossible for you to summon such heroic patience, but I know you can. And in the long run, you’ll be happy if you do.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “You’ll always be my favorite what-if.”

Many years ago, I heard that phrase whispered in my ear. It came from the mouth of a wonderful-but-impossible woman. We had just decided that it was not a good plan, as we had previously fantasized, to run away and get married at Angkor Wat in Cambodia and then spend the next decade being tour guides who led travelers on exotic getaways to the world’s sacred sites. “You’ll always be my favorite what-if” was a poignant but liberating moment. It allowed us to move on with our lives and pursue other dreams that were more realistic and productive. I invite you to consider triggering a liberation like that sometime soon.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’d love to see you increase the number of people, places, and experiences you love, as well as the wise intensity with which you love them. From an astrological perspective, now is an excellent time to upgrade your appreciation and adoration for the whole world and everything in it. To get you in the mood, I’ll call your attention to some unfamiliar forms of ardor you may want to pursue: eraunophilia, an attraction to thunder and lightning; cymophilia, a fascination with waves and waviness; chorophilia, a passion for dancing; asymmetrophilia, a zeal for asymmetrical things; sapiophilia, an erotic enchantment with intelligence.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You could go online and buy an antique Gothic throne or a psychedelic hippie couch to spruce up your living room. For your bathroom, you could get a Japanese “wonder toilet,” complete with a heated seat, automated bidet, and white noise generator.

Here’s another good idea: You could build a sacred crazy altar in your bedroom where you will conduct rituals of playful liberation. Or how about this? Acquire a kit that enables you to create spontaneous poetry on your refrigerator door using tiny magnets with evocative words written on them. Can you think of other ideas to revitalize your home environment?

It’s high time you did so.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Among America’s 50 states, Texas has the third-highest rate of teenage pregnancies. Uncoincidentally, sex education in Texas is steeped in ignorance.

Most of its high schools offer no teaching about contraception other than to advise students to avoid sex.

In the coming weeks, Pisces, you can’t afford to be as deprived of the truth as those kids. Even more than usual, you need accurate information that’s tailored to your precise needs, not fake news or ideological delusions or self-serving propaganda. Make sure you gather insight and wisdom from the very best sources. That’s how you’ll avoid behavior that’s irrelevant to your life goals. That’s how you’ll attract experiences that serve your highest good.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I have misgivings when I witness bears riding bicycles or tigers dancing on their hind legs or Aries people wielding diplomatic phrases and making careful compromises at committee meetings. While I am impressed by the disciplined expression of primal power, I worry for the soul of the creature that is behaving with such civilized restraint. So here’s my advice for you in the coming weeks: Take advantage of opportunities to make deals and forge win-win situations. But also keep a part of your fiery heart untamed. Don’t let people think they’ve got you all figured out.

Rob Brezsny is an aspiring master of curiosity, perpetrator of sacred uproar, and founder of the Beauty and Truth Lab. He brings a literate, myth-savvy perspective to his work.

It’s all in the stars.

FOOD & DRINK

All Aboard!

Chattanooga's Ultimate Party on Wheels

L

OOKING TO BAR HOP DOWNtown but not crazy about the idea of walking from bar to bar on foot?

If so, look no further than Pints and Pedals.

Dubbed “Chattanooga’s ultimate party on wheels”, the lightweight aluminum 15-seater bike allows you and friends to pedal around town while making stops at up to five bars on Chattanooga’s Southside.

Now, you’re even allowed to bring your own beer on the bike, making the drinking experience that much better.

Pints and Pedals is great for birthday parties, graduation celebrations, bachelor and bachelorette parties, company outings, pub crawls, nights out with friends, and more.

Pints and Pedals offers a unique take on the bar crawl experience by providing stops at a variety of popular bars on the Southside, where current tours run; many of those bars give VIP treatment to passengers on the bike, too.

A Pints and Pedals tour lasts for two hours and is $25 per person. Pints and Pedals currently has four drivers who are in charge of leading tours and

making bar selections, among other responsibilities.

“My drivers, Ryan, Nick, Micah, and Rory, do an excellent job making sure everyone is having a good time,” explained the owner of Pints and Pedals.

“They’re in charge of the music and bar selection; they always have great recommendations. It’s their job to make sure everyone has a good experience.”

Pints and Pedals offers public tours, which charge per seat, and private tours, which cost $295 and allow groups to rent the entire bike to plan their own custom tour.

Current tours begin at the Flying Squirrel, but they’re potentially exploring a new bar to launch from. Pints and Pedals is also looking to install an electric motor, which would make the bike easier to pedal for smaller groups.

If you’re looking for a unique night out to drink and cruise the town, then look no further than Pints and Pedals, where you beer, and they steer.

Book now, either for yourself or as part of group, by calling (423) 3808359 or heading over to their website at pintsandpedalstn.com.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 27

OPINIONS & DIVERSIONS

28 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

JONESIN' CROSSWORD ∙ MATT JONES

“Mic Drop”—[silence!]

ACROSS 1 Alarm clock button 6 Last name of a trio of singing brothers 11 1040 preparer 14 “It is ___ told by an idiot”: Macbeth 15 Dizzying images 16 Set your sights 17 Bialik of “The Big Bang Theory” 18 Highly important cloak?

20 Goes on 22 Lightning McQueen’s pal 23 ___ kwon do 25 “To ___ is human ...”

26 Freezer bag brand 27 Draw 29 Novelist Turgenev 31 180° from WSW 32 Salad dressing with a light, woody taste?

35 Singles, in Spain 36 Shirt that’s seen better days 37 “My Way” lyricist Paul 41 Business course that draws heavily

on Julius Caesar?

46 “Ha! I kill me!” alien 49 Batman foe 50 Comedy style based on “yes, and” 51 Highest point 53 Show that bronies are fans of, for short 54 Bugs and Rabbits, e.g.

55 “That was ___-death experience” 56 Having sides of different lengths, as triangles go 59 Rip on one type of lettuce?

61 Samurai without a master 64 Chaney of “The Wolf Man” 65 “That ain’t gonna work” 66 “Einstein on the Beach,” for one 67 ___-Caps (theater candy) 68 Representative Devin in 2017 news 69 Fix a friend’s listing in a Facebook

photo, e.g.

DOWN 1 Hit with force 2 Flight stat 3 Greet someone 4 “Death of a Salesman” director Kazan 5 Paint in a kindergarten classroom 6 Ledger role, with “The” 7 Unwrap 8 Bill-killing votes 9 Biceps site 10 Durability 11 Stampede members 12 Load up with 13 Punish by fine 19 Crash for a few 21 Beforehand, for short 23 “Forbidden” fragrance brand name 24 “QI” regular Davies 26 Unpredictable move 28 “Back in the ___” (Beatles song) 29 Foolheaded 30 “Luka” singer

Suzanne 33 Neighbor of Azerbaijan 34 Skatepark fixture 38 Sensory system for some primitive invertebrates 39 Have down pat 40 Dirt bikes’ relatives, briefly 42 First American college to go co-ed 43 Farmer Yasgur of Woodstock 44 Country singer Vince 45 Akihito, e.g.

46 Makes use (of) 47 Thomas of “Reno 911!”

48 Largest inland city in California 52 Either T in “Aristotle” 53 Sail poles 56 Read a QR code, e.g.

57 Road work marker 58 “That ain’t gonna work” 60 Ft. Worth campus 62 Glass on NPR 63 Badger repeatedly

Copyright © 2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per3minute. Must be 18+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle No. 829 CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 29

COLUMN ∙ GAME ON!

The Love Of A Classic Arcade Introducing the next generation to a trip through gaming history

Brandon Watson Pulse columnist

M

Y 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER tends to offer illumination in some of the strangest places. I chalk this up to her unjaded and innocent mind being a wide open, sponging mechanism to everything under the sun.

It’s an absolute joy to let her take the lead and explore this brand new world for herself and in most cases these adventures wind-up as film scripts or short story fodder that fills up 90 percent of my filing cabinet.

This past month, I unleashed my critter upon the Chattanooga Film Festival for a day of cardboard mazes and food trucks. If you have not partaken in one of the greatest annual salutes to the filmmaking art form, then you are missing out on one of the best city events known to man! But I digress.

Vendors and supporters had their own tent at CFF and as my daughter tends to do, she went hog-wild meeting random people and geeking out on every blinking light and buzzing sound. That is when she found it, alone by a cardboard club house, a solitary gaming cabinet, a skull armed with tentacles bouncing inside a 16-bit side scrolling shooter. It called to her with an insidious siren’s song and as I watched her eyes glaze over in amazement, I too found myself in a dreamy trance.

Because in that instance I traveled back in time to my formative years as a dopeyeyed sprout ogling over a Galaga cabinet.

I cannot remember how old I was; I cannot tell you what year, either. But clear as day,

that looming colorful monstrosity of an angry intergalactic space crab ensnared me with its menacing metallic pincers and thus, a life-long gamer was born.

My daughter seized the joystick and wildly started the game up on an endless free play (thank goodness). She is a bit too short to be an effective gamer, but you can bet a slick nickel that dear-ole-dad became both stool and safety harness as she blasted demonic forces out of the sky with a jet plane armed with a shotgun and katana.

All the while, being half crouched holding up a 4-year-old, many questions came to me. Where did this cabinet come from, what storefront put this amazing distraction here, and why on earth have I not been there yet?

This is how I found myself on a Saturday night standing in the rain on the sidewalk off East Martin Luther King Boulevard staring into a dimly lit cavern of arcade goodness.

What I walked into was a trip down nostalgia road and for near three hours I bathed in the warm cabinet glow of hungry screens beckoning me to feed them my money.

So I ordered a can of Buffalo Sweat and ceremoniously split a roll of quarters three ways with two of my gaming squad-mates and together we button mashed ourselves into a frenzy of profanity and stories from childhood.

The Coin-Op has been on my radar for some time and many of

30 • THE PULSE • APRIL 27, 2017 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

“For near three hours I bathed in the warm cabinet glow of hungry screens beckoning me to feed them my money.” my local friends go there on the way to JJ’s Bohemia or to hang out with a beer and catch up on local goings on. It’s a bit cramped on space but for the most part on a Saturday night, the crowd was polite and easygoing. About what you would expect going anywhere in Chattanooga.

Bouts of Mario Cart and Super Smash Brothers dominated a projection screen. It’s a lot of fun watching players duke it out like we did in our living rooms so long ago. And oh the pinball, the beautiful pinball machines neatly lined up in all their blinking greatness of the by-gone years I remember fondly.

My friends and I cozied up with a Sega Dreamcast nestled in the corner of the bar and took turns thumping each other relentlessly

with some game called Power Stone. A humbling experience because for the most part Dreamcast never found its way into my hands and the bulky hell that is the controller is kind of a nightmare to manipulate.

All in all, The Coin-Op Arcade is a sweet little hangout reminiscent of the arcades I remember as a kid. It would be downright criminal to not drop in to give those quarters burning holes in your couch a new home.

If anything, round up a few buddies and get down with some pinball and arcade gaming the way God intended: with a few drinks and a plenty of good memories.

When not vaporizing zombies or leading space marines as a mousepad Mattis, Brandon Watson is making gourmet pancakes and promoting local artists.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 27, 2017 • THE PULSE • 31