The Pulse 12.29 » July 16, 2015

july 16, 2015

CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE

sound business

all about the music Local music label creators follow their passion to support the scene

music

arts

screen

kip bradley solo

photo style

& the dying girl

diamond

mccamish me & earl

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CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE

EDITORIAL

Managing Editor Gary Poole Contributing Editor Janis Hashe

Contents

July 16, 2015 Volume 12, Issue 29

Music Editor Marc T. Michael Film Editor John DeVore Contributors Rich Bailey • Rob Brezsny Steven W. Disbrow • Matt Jones • Zach Nicholson Ernie Paik • Rick Pimental-Habib Terry Stulce • Alex Teach Editorial Interns Ashley Coker • Shaun Webster

Features

Cartoonists Max Cannon • Rob Rogers Jen Sorenson • Tom Tomorrow

4 BEGINNINGS: Dylann Roof is just the latest example of hate with a bullet.

Cover Photo Nick Benjaminsz

6 JUST A THEORY: Prof. Disbrow takes down deniers with just the facts, ma’am.

Founded 2003 by Zachary Cooper & Michael Kull

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Director of Sales Mike Baskin Account Executives Chee Chee Brown • Randy Johnston Angela Lanham • Rick Leavell Kyle Richard • Stacey Tyler

CONTACT

Offices 1305 Carter St. Chattanooga, TN 37402 Phone 423.265.9494 Website chattanoogapulse.com Email info@chattanoogapulse.com BREWER MEDIA GROUP Publisher & President Jim Brewer II 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 © 2015 by Brewer Media. All rights reserved.

Do Label Me

Ah, the glamorous life of a record label mogul. Maybe David Geffen comes to mind, standing in front of his vast collection of unfathomably valuable modern art, or maybe it’s a photo of the billionaire adventurer Richard Branson, kitesurfing with a smiling, naked model clinging to his back.

14

The Light Interacting

All Alone With His Muses

16 ARTS CALENDAR 20 TECH TALK: A newcomer and a deeprooted German join the startup party.

24 MUSIC CALENDAR

In our Smart Phone Age, when anybody and everybody can easily snap pictures, it takes something more than a camera to be a photographer. Michael McCamish’s pictures have a substance grounded on the gritty sidewalks of San Francisco, but over the years the spirit of his work has changed.

22

12 SCREEN: “Me & Earl & the Dying Girl” gets the coming-of-age story right.

26 REVIEWS: I Can Japan bobs and smiles, The Groove Orient grooves and shimmies.

27 DIVERSIONS 28 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Kip Bradley is the frontman for Sharkweek, one of the first bands I ever wrote about for The Pulse and still one of the top ten bands in the area in my estimation. This Friday, July 17, Kip is releasing his solo album Husky Diamond at the Camp House.

29 JONESIN’ CROSSWORD 30 on the beat: Officer Alex explains why no one else gets upset when you are a dumb-ass.

Brand New Home Same Great Music brewer media everywhere. every day.

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 3

news • views • rants • raves

BEGINNINGS

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Op-Ed: The Truth on Race and Guns Dylann Roof is just the latest example of hate with a (literal) bullet

“

The second evil unmasked is America’s love of guns.

Gun worship is rampant.”

The American face of evil was in clear focus at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday night, June 17. The scenario was all too familiar.

A hate-filled young white man gets possession of a deadly weapon and massacres a group of innocents. Dylann Roof took a 45-automatic to a Bible study group and murdered nine African Americans.

Many Americans would prefer not to be aware of the reality of this evil. They don’t want to acknowledge that Americans are slaughtered on a regular basis because of the color of their skin.

Yet several American sicknesses are revealed in this horror. Foremost is the evil

of racism. African Americans have been oppressed for centuries in this country. This oppression makes a mockery of the preamble to our Constitution: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” To be honest, we would have to add the phrase, “except if you are aren’t white.”

Politicians have used racial hatred to curry votes and to hold on to power, especially in the South.

Their lapdogs in the media have winked at their thinly disguised TERRY STULCE hate speech.

The second evil unmasked is America’s love of guns. Gun worship is rampant. The NRA runs our federal and state governments and strongly resists any sane limits on gun ownership. With no limits, hateful young men like Dylann Roof can easily get a gun and murder anyone. After these horrible massacres, the NRA standard response is that gun massacres could be prevented…by having more guns. It’s like a doctor prescribing colon cancer to cure your lung cancer.

The simple reality is that having a gun in your home makes it 42 times more likely that you or a family member will die rather than an intruder.

Thirdly, there is something wrong with America’s white families. Much is made of the problems of African American families, but what kind of families produce young monsters like Dylann Roof, Jared Loughner (Gabby Gifford gunman), James Holmes (“Batman” gunman), Adam Lanza (New

Views

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Town), and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Columbine)?

Before white people critique African American families, they need to discover why white families are producing these young killers.

Lastly, this massacre reveals the extent to which the Republican Party has aided and abetted racism in the South.

Before passage of civil rights laws, Democrats were the ones who pandered to racists. Now, that evil is firmly embedded in the Republican Party. White supremacy is alive and malicious—and we know that these people support and contribute big money to Republicans. The man behind the racist website that inspired Dylann Roof to murder contributed $65,000 to a variety of Republicans.

It’s time for Republicans to stop the racist “dog whistles” and stop pretending that hate speech is merely “politically incorrect.” The term “states’ rights” has long been code for the oppression of black people. Defenders of slavery, “Jim Crow” laws and segregation used the term to rationalize and perpetuate racism. Is pandering to racists worth the moral degradation?

EdiToon

by Rob Rogers

Ladies, Start Your Vocal Chords Admit it. We’ve all watched “American Idol” and laughed at the bizarre acts that fall painfully flat, and cried at those who surprise us with their ability to keep their nerve, hold back the waterworks and sing gracefully despite a parentless past.

Well, now it’s Chattanooga’s turn to unearth a musical diamond in the rough, and the Rising Star Contest

is designed to do just that.

All women aged between 1425 are invited to Robert Kirk Walker Community Theatre on Friday, July 17, for a live audition at noon.

For those who can’t make it or don’t like long lines, a digital audition can also be emailed straight to the committee (sccrs2010@ yahoo.com). Contestants under the age of 18, however, must

IN THIS ISSUE

Ernie Paik Album reviewer and music writer Ernie Paik has written about music and film for various publications for over 20 years and has contributed regularly to The Pulse since 2005. He has contributed to the books “The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs: A Field Guide”

attach a signed parental consent form.

Too scared to perform alone? Don’t worry. Girl bands are also permitted.

Only three individuals or bands will be chosen and given the opportunity to perform live at the ACA Festival in August. The winner will be decided by a traditional talent show audience vote (there are no big red buzzers, unfortunately) and will receive a generous scholarship.

So grab a microphone and a couple of friends, and make sure you don’t miss the chance to be Chattanooga’s next rising star.

— Shaun Webster

Since 1982

John DeVore and “Lunacy: The Best of the Cornell Lunatic”, and he is the current president of the Chattanooga-based nonprofit arts education organization The Shaking Ray Levi Society (one of our favorites). As a recording artist, he has created original music for film, radio, television and theater, and his video artwork has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and the 2010 Big Ears Festival.

Our own resident film critic John DeVore has spent a significant portion of his life in dark theaters. From an early age, he was drawn to strong storytelling brought to life through the magic of the silver screen. With degrees in both literature and education,

John has keen insight into critical theory and a genuine desire to educate audiences on the finer points of film appreciation. His favorite films transcend genre— quality storytelling and respect for the intelligence of the audience will win him over every time. When not watching and writing about film, John spends his time writing his own stories and exposing his children to the wonders of movie magic. chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 5

Climate Change: The Basics Prof. Disbrow takes down deniers with just the facts

“

None of those sources can match what humans have been doing to the planet since the start of the industrial revolution. The main thing we’ve been doing is shoving carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”

It’s getting hotter. Evperature.” eryone knows it. Except, Reading that, your brain of course, that it’s actually might be tempted to subgetting colder. Everyone stitute the word “weather” knows that! Heavier rains, for “climate.” That’s a longer dry spells. The natural thing to do, bedrought in cause we California? talk about To r n a d o e s the weather touching all the time, down all and not so over the STEVEN W. DISBROW much about Te n n e s s e e the climate.

Valley…? What exactly is So, what’s the difference? going on here?

The difference is that What’s going on is cli“the weather” is the state mate change. of the atmosphere where The term “climate you are at a particular mochange” has taken on a ment. Is it hot? Cold? Sunlot of baggage over the ny? Raining toads? That’s past few years, so we’ll the weather. start with the dictionary.

“Climate,” on the other com definition: “ ‘Climate hand, is the long-term patChange’ noun; a long-term tern of weather in a parchange in the earth’s cliticular area. For example, mate, especially a change when you say, “It’s redue to an increase in the ally cold in Alaska,” you average atmospheric temare really referring to the

Just A Theory

climate there, which is a long-term picture of what the weather is likely to be on any given day in Alaska: cold.

Here in Chattanooga, when I was a kid, the climate was basically, “Too hot to get out of school at all in the winter.” These days, our climate seems to be “Cold/rainy enough to close the schools regularly.” That’s a big change, and just in my lifetime. So: • Weather is atmospheric conditions where you are.

• Climate is the longterm pattern of weather in a particular place.

• Climate change is the long-term differences in climate everywhere on the earth. (i.e., global changes in patterns of patterns) A decade ago, a certain Tennessee politician made a bit of a stir with a book/movie about “global warming.” Just to be clear, global warming is not climate change. It is, however, one of the drivers

of climate change. Heat is energy, and when you pump energy into something, it changes the behavior of that something.

(Like when you give a toddler a 7-pound gummi worm to gnaw on right before bedtime.)

To be sure, there are a lot of different sources of heat that get pumped into the atmosphere: The sun’s energy output fluctuates, the Earth gets closer to and farther from the sun as it swings through space in its orbit, and volcanoes go off regularly, pumping heat into the atmosphere.

But none of those sources can match what humans have been doing to the planet since the start of the industrial revolution.

The main thing we’ve been doing is shoving carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. This is a “greenhouse” gas that traps heat from the sun.

So, rather than radiating back into space, more heat

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sustaining green practices:

Are coming to Chattanooga!

July 18 the crash pad presents

Go2Green series free admission

29 Johnson Street, Ch Chattanooga, TN alternate rain location: green|spaces

gets trapped, warming things up and adding energy (“gummi worms,” if you will) to the atmosphere and oceans.

There are other greenhouse gases that cause warming, but CO2 is the main troublemaker. Since 1960, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has gone from about 320 parts-permillion (ppm), to 402 ppm as of last month. (Climate scientists agree that 350 ppm is the maximum “safe level” for atmospheric CO2. Visit co2now.org for the latest numbers.)

Combine this with the fact that we’ve been chopping down trees nonstop for the last few centuries and you’ve got a situation where CO2 builds up in the atmosphere, trapping more and more heat. (Remember, trees eat CO2 and sunlight and turn them into oxygen, which we actually need to live.)

This leads to a dangerous feedback loop: The atmosphere heats up, which melts glaciers and polar ice. That ice, which is white and

very reflective, is no longer around to bounce sunlight back into space.

So more heat gets trapped, which makes things warmer, which...well, you get the idea.

As things get warmer, that energy drives stronger storms and changes the temperature of the oceans. So, you get more powerful tornadoes and hurricanes and changed environments in the ocean. This can cause deadly algae blooms and destroy the habitats that fish previously called home.

If things continue the way they are, the EPA predicts that average U.S. temperatures will rise between 4 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. What can we do to prevent it? Come back in a few weeks and we’ll talk about that very thing.

Open House Saturday, July 18

next gen homes bike tour meet 9:30am at the crash pad or 10:00am at 677 Hamilton Ave Green|Spaces sponsored cook-out, 12:00 at the crash pad

Join Us from Noon to 3pm to learn about these exciting New Homes at The Crash Pad, 29 Johnson St.

August 23

tiny homes: 12:00-5:00 tour 5:30-7:00 talk

The NextGen Homes, under development by green|spaces, a local sustainability non-profit, represent the next generation of homes in Chattanooga that will: Produce their own clean energy (Pursuing ILFI Net Zero Energy Certification) Conserve water and materials (EPA Water Sense Fixtures, Bioswale and Rainwater Collection, and Local, Recycled, and Healthy Materials) Protect and promote health (62 Walk Score, 42 Bike Score, Integrated Bike Storage, No-VOC and Non-Toxic Building Materials)

• •

• • • •

Highlights include: First of (4) NextGen Homes to be developed 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms 2,225 Square Feet Screened-in porch off living room and balcony off entrance gallery with spectacular views of downtown and stringers ridge 1 block to new Northshore Publix 3 blocks to Frazier Ave/Coolidge Park/Reniassance Park 1 mile to Aquarium Bus stop on Route 2 across street Rain barrels collect roof runoff

• • • • • • Get more info at greenspaceschattanooga.org/nextgen

Steven Disbrow is a computer programmer who specializes in e-commerce and mobile systems development. He’s also an entrepreneur, comic-book nerd, writer, improviser, actor, sometime television personality and parent of two human children. chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 7

COVER STORY

Do Label Me

Local music label creators follow their passion to support the scene Story by Ernie Paik

A

h, the glamorous life of a record label mogul. Maybe David Geffen comes to mind, standing in front of his vast collection of unfathomably valuable modern art, or maybe it’s a photo of the billionaire adventurer Richard Branson, kitesurfing with a smiling, naked model clinging to his back. But here in the Chattanooga area, record label head honchos instead may be seen manually dubbing a stack of cassettes after a shift at a day job, putting 7-inch singles into plastic sleeves or taking a load of packages to the post office, maybe with an infant strapped to his back.

There is a particularly biting slice of reality in a satirical column in The Onion with the headline, “Find The Thing You’re Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life.”

Tucker McGuinness, of the local label Do Ya Hear We which embodies the do-it-yourself punk spirit, said, “The biggest challenge for our label is trying to make the label self-sustaining while we all work our jobs and live our lives outside of the label.”

Those who run local labels are rewarded, but not with fame or fortune; it’s about following an almost compulsive passion for music. It’s fair to ask the question of whether or not record labels are even relevant today, with online distribution resources, including Bandcamp and CD Baby, or crowd-sourcing sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

“If you’re creating something new, it is relevant, I believe,” said Clark Williams, leader of the band Big Kitty and Teaberry Records. “I think it’s easier to be relevant when the economic incentives are inconsequential, as they are

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with Teaberry.”

Working on a relatively small scale, it’s clear that local musicians value their creative freedoms, disconnected from commercial pressures. “I have trouble treating art like a product,” said Bobby Rayfield of the label/ store Inherent Records, which has a brick-and-mortar presence in Collective Clothing on Frazier Ave. “If you’re trying to please someone else then you are most likely headed for disappointment.”

“I don’t honestly know if labels are that important or relevant anymore,” said Jerry Reed, who runs the cassette label Failed Recordings. “I’d like to think they are, but I know for a fact one is not needed today to get music out to people who want to hear it.”

Jonathan Susman, co-president of Gig City Productions, said, “Selfreleasing music is easier, but the amount of noise that is being made in that space makes it extremely difficult for bands to stand out and be heard.”

That’s where labels can help— tackling the tasks of distribution and promotion, among others. “It doesn’t matter how good your releases might be if no one knows about them,” said

John Schanley of the label Unsane Asylum, which started with Schanley’s devotion to the British punk band Annalise. “Unless your band or label has instant name recognition, it’s very hard to get noticed.”

Record labels can both shape and reflect a city’s personality. Memphis had Stax’s soul and Sun Records’ country and rockabilly. Think of the feminist riot grrl punk movement, and Portland and Olympia, Wash., come to mind with the labels Kill Rock Stars and K Records, respectively. How would one describe Chattanooga’s musical identity?

“Chattanooga has extremely diverse musical offerings,” said Stratton Tingle, executive director of SoundCorps, a new nonprofit focused on fostering Chattanooga’s music economy, and the musician behind Prophets & Kings.

Even on a single label, one can find a dizzying array of styles and genres.“Failed Recordings has released everything from noise to black metal, indie rock to power violence, sludge to doom hop,” said Reed.

“Most of our artists actually cross over to multiple genres,” said Rayfield, about the acts on Inherent Records.

“I think that our overall musical identity could be much more robust if more entrepreneurs were willing to wade into the record label arena,” said Tingle. “Chattanooga labels could easily be pushing jazz, experimental, R&B, indie rock, hip hop, soul, funk, rap, bluegrass, old-time, gospel/Christian and a host of other genres, but it requires a business plan and a whole lot of work.”

“I think when people try to overly label what Chattanooga’s ‘sound’ is, the more we end up squelching potential, organic growth,” said Susman. “See Seattle, Wash., pre-1991.”

While digital distribution has profoundly changed the music business, labels can cater to fans who favor physical media including vinyl and cassettes.“Because [Do Ya Hear We is] a vinyl-only label, we rely on people who appreciate vinyl as a music format,” said McGuinness. “There is a great love of the art and sound that goes into a vinyl record, and online resources will never replace that art.”

“I’d say one of the few things that keeps any label relevant now is vinyl,” said Schanley. “A CD only costs about $2 to produce, but a 7-inch is $3 at the cheapest and that’s

“

The biggest challenge for our label is trying to make the label selfsustaining while we all work our jobs and live our lives outside of the label.”

>> Continued on page 11 chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 9

“A label can be that element of

assistance that allows the artist to focus with less distraction and equally showcase their work to the public.The label and artists are a family unit.” only if you have a very large amount pressed! When you see bands selling a 7-inch for $5 there’s usually only about a 50-cent profit margin.”

“As an artist, it’s a little scary at times to see how small the revenues from streaming services are,” said Williams, whose Teaberry Records has vinyl and cassette releases plus streaming options. “I love Spotify as a music listener. But I may not bother putting future releases on there.”

“You have to stay on top of what’s moving,” said Nick Nichols, who is the Chattanooga representative of This Is American Music, a Southern label which grew out of a music blog.

“Yes, streaming is controversial, but it’s also not going anywhere. It’s easy to feel like the current digital state of things has somewhat watered things down, but I think that makes musical community all the more important.”

“Either adapt or die and get out of the way,” said Reed.

When discussing his favorite labels, Schanley mentioned the defunct London label Rugger Bugger and its founder Sean Forbes, who offered this advice to people who wanted to start labels: “Don’t.”

It’s common to see labels being started by musicians initially releasing their own material before branching out with other artists, and they are often caught in a dilemma: Should they devote their time and resources to the label, at the expense of personal artistic development? “The more artists have time to cultivate their sound, and really hone their skills, then I think it would be better for both the labels and the artists,” 10 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

said Susman.

“Too easily artists can say, ‘Well, I’m an artist, not an accountant/lawyer, so I’ll trust that someone else will handle it or is better equipped to,’” said Nichols. “If music is to be your life and career, I think you benefit from treating it as such.”

“I have learned to take the business aspect seriously,” said Williams.

“So my business plan is simple—and the plan is to keep it simple and cheap.”

“A label can be that element of assistance that allows the artist to focus with less distraction and equally showcase their work to the public,” said Rayfield. “The label and artists are a family unit.” “[Record labels] have the potential to create atmospheres conducive to collaboration among acts on their rosters,” said Susman.

No matter how seemingly strange and obscure a record might be, it will have an audience, although it may be a small one; finding that audience—not just having the audience find the artist—is one part of taking music distribution to the next level.

“Generally it’s about building good relationships with people,” said Schanley. “If you’re a label, try to book some shows too. Same thing goes for the bands. It’s necessary to have connections in more than just your home town if you want to get anywhere.”

“When you step back and look at the big picture, you realize, and this is true no matter what business you’re in, that you’re nothing

without the people around you,” said Nichols. “We try to support our friends whether they’re musicians, radio hosts, bloggers, or pickle-makers, and they do the same for us.”

“Currently, many Chattanooga intermediate-level artists lack the professional connections to make all of their dreams come true,” said Tingle. “SoundCorps hopes to build connections for Chattanooga music industry professionals because the establishment of more record label connections in Chattanooga will be

an overall boon to Chattanooga’s music scene as we continue to gain recognition as one of the best cities in which to live, work and play.”

On the question of whether or not record labels are relevant today, it’s perhaps useful to take a moment to consider what one’s definition of success is. For Chattanooga labels, it means cultivating friendships with those with similar tastes and interests and sharing the joys of discovery—even if it’s just on nights and weekends.

Current And Upcoming Releases On Local Labels • Do Ya Hear We (doyahearwe.com): Ol Scratch/Onetimers 7-inch single • Failed Recordings (failedrecordings.storenvy.com): Rurnt/Burnhand split tape, ETFU East Tenn. noise compilation • Inherent Records (inherentrecords.com): Bee and Flower (NYC/Berlin) reissue, Battle Path (Murfreesboro) • Teaberry Records (teaberryrecords.net): King Stag (Knoxville), Cornelia Overton (Knoxville), Johni Acorn (Shepherdstown, W.Va.) • This Is American Music (thisisamericanmusic.com): Black Cross, Black Shield by The Bohannons, Science from an Easy Chair by Have Gun, Will Travel (Tampa) • Unsane Asylum (unsaneasylum.com): Annalise (Exeter, U.K.) chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 11

SCREEN SCENE

Gaming Comes To The Big Screen Live eSports is not just for the basement any more...

BY Experience and ESL have teamed up to develop a series of live video gaming events broadcast to theaters on a worldwide basis.

The series will start next Tuesday with a hybrid event for moviegoers featuring the first-of-its-kind eSports documentary about the Intel Extreme Masters. “All Work All Play: The Pursuit of eSports Glory” will followed by a live gaming broadcast from ESL Studio’s in Cologne, Germany.

“All Work All Play: The Pursuit of eSports Glory” takes viewers on a journey as they follow Season Nine of the Intel Extreme Masters, a global

✴✴✴✴

pro-gaming tour that takes the hottest teams and players all around the world to compete for the championship title in their respective eSports.

The documentary will be followed by a live eSports showdown between the filmmakers, subjects from the film, and members of the live audience.

“All Work All Play: The Pursuit Of Esports Glory” Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.

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Featuring the Best Gourmet Burgers in North Chattanooga Ant-Man Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym. Director: Peyton Reed Stars: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly 12 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

Trainwreck Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman played by Amy Schumer may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.

Director: Judd Apatow Stars: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn

Sometimes the Tried and True Is the Right Choice “Me & Earl & the Dying Girl” gets the coming-of-age story right

A

s I’ve mentioned before, it’s important to compare films against type. Whether judging a film against others in a series or others in a genre, it’s important to note the common themes and goals and evaluate the film how on how effectively these are developed by the filmmakers.

times, excruciatingly raw, and viewOf course, the film should be judged ing a coming-of-age story is always against itself as well: How well does meant to be cathartic. “Me & Earl & the film tell its story and what choices the Dying Girl” is one such film that are made by the filmmakers to enhits all the right notes hance the experience and does so with exof the audience? ceptional aplomb.

One of the more Greg begins his story prevalent Amerithe same way many of can film tropes is the the heroes in films of coming-of-age, endjohn devore this type do—by writof-high-school drama/ ing his college entrance essay. There comedy, in which social interactions is not a high school film in existence are more important than anything, that does not place an enormous everyone fits neatly into a group, and amount of emphasis on college admisteachers are a genuine rarity. The relsion. It’s no wonder high schools stuative popularity of these films is based dents fail to see skilled trades as an partly on the unique, shared experioption at the end of their compulsory ence of public school. Everyone has education. Most media fail to even their stories and all of them take place in between the bells. present them as an option.

At any rate, Greg is telling the auAs Tennessee Williams said, dience the story of his senior year. A “Memory takes a lot of poetic license.

It omits some details; others are exaggerated according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart.” And so, many of these films seem the same, because we the audience share the same experiences, the same exaggerations, the same heart. The teenage experience is, at

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classmate has developed leukemia and Greg’s mother is forcing Greg to spend time with her.

Before long, Greg and Rachel (the aforementioned dying girl) have developed a genuine friendship. Greg introduces her to his friend Earl, a young man from the poor part of town with a completely different life experience that allows him to speak the truth to those around him, and Earl introduces Rachel to a hobby he and Greg have had since childhood.

Due to Earl’s home circumstances, the pair spent most of their formative years at Greg’s, watching classic and esoteric films, and then recreating their own versions of them, using terrible puns. Some examples are: “2:48 PM Cowboy,” “A Sockwork Orange,” “Rosemary’s Baby Carrots,” “Grumpy Cul-De-Sacs.” The relationships continue to develop and Greg and Earl are forced to look at themselves and their situation differently and learn hard lessons.

“Me & Earl & the Dying Girl” fol-

“‘Me & Earl & the Dying Girl’ was received to a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Drama Audience Prize.”

lows the formula without deviating or innovating. And yet, it never seems formulaic. Nor does it seem forced or weepy, as a film about a dying teenager is wont to do. Instead, the characters are charming and, if not realistic, at least relatable.

I’ve met few high school students like Greg and Earl and Rachel, fewer teachers like Mr. McCarthy, and visited few schools that allow open anarchy during lunchtime. But, again, films like this are based on memory. They are influenced by what it feels like to be a teenager and not necessarily what it’s actually like to be a teenager.

Everyone is more eloquent in their own minds, long-remembered conversations are always more meaningful than passing small talk. Greg has constructed a reality for himself in the face of an enormously difficult challenge and tells it to the audience through his own deeply conflicted emotions. However, in spite of the heavy-handed subject matter, the film is light, funny and far more enjoyable than many other films in this genre.

“Me & Earl & the Dying Girl” was received to a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Drama Audience Prize. It’s easy to see why—the film is a genuine pleasure to watch, even if it stays true to form without exploring outside the norm.

Sometimes, the box exists for a reason.

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 13

ARTS SCENE

The Light Interacting Michael McCamish’s photos capture the nature of things

Off the Top of Their Heads Giggle improvisationally at Barking Legs on Monday My horoscope this week is suggesting I “scour my brain with silliness.” And what better way to do that than with those adorably goofy guys of First Draft Productions? Also, I can’t resist an email that starts out: “Wheee Doggies! It’s time for ANOTHER Good, Old-Fashioned Improv Show!”

So, head on out to Barking Legs on Monday, July 20 for a show the gang promises will be long-form games exclusively. To wit: • Harold. In which they get a suggestion from the audience, and after a brief monologue, create a series of scenes from those seeds.

• The Bat. They’ll turn off all the lights, get a suggestion from the audience and create a series of scenes, in complete darkness, using noth-

ing more than voices.

• HyperLinks. They’ll start with a suggestion from the audience and when someone yells out “Click!,” they’ll start a new scene. “It’s just like browsing the Internet, but with fewer cat videos,” they promise.

(We’ll see about that.)

Afterwards, there will be a talkback, so you can tell them what you thought of the show, and, what you’d like to see in future shows.

— Janis Hashe First Draft Improv Show Monday, 8 p.m., PG-13 show $5 at the door.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave, facebook.com/ events/1023349477685017/

Thu7.16

fri7.17

sat7.18

painting time

office humor

beer bash

Paint the MLK Mural

“9 to 5”

Q & Brew

Gather together to help with the downtown mural project along historic MLK Boulevard.

4 p.m.

Downtown Public Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310 chattlibrary.org

Dolly Parton's famous movie comes to life on the CTC stage.

8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com

Help support the Chattanooga Zoo with a cold brew and special animal exhibits, all for a great cause.

5 p.m.

Chattanooga Zoo 301 Holtzclaw Ave. chattzoo.org

14 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

I

n our Smart Phone Age, when anybody and everybody can easily snap pictures, it takes something more than a camera to be a photographer. Michael McCamish’s pictures have a substance grounded on the gritty sidewalks of San Francisco, but over the years the spirit of his work has changed. McCamish has always worked with film, a method that is quickly becoming a lost art. A small gallery devoted to classic photography, Studio Space Junk, is exhibiting a retrospective of his work.

Arts tony mraz

“

What happens with film that doesn’t happen in the digital realm is the physical technique.

Instead of just pressing buttons, there is a dance with your hands in the darkroom.”

The Pulse: Why do you make photographs?

Michael McCamish: I have made them for different reasons over time.

Initially, it was a vehicle to connect with people on the street. I was living in San Francisco and walking from work through the Tenderloin district, and I was fascinated with the street culture.

The street became a theater to me, and I started to think about street scenes as theatrical scenes.

TP: What kind of compositions do you look for?

MM: It started out as a social critique.

I was studying theater while working on my Ph.D. in anthropology, and I was working with the homeless population and going into prisons, doing heavy activist work. My theater study helped me to develop an eye. Whatever I saw that caught my eye and drew my attention would be my subject.

Most of my recent photographs are of nature scenes, anything that evokes a certain spiritual element, and also an element of uncertainty. I like to delve into the realm of uncertainty and play with that abstractness. I’m really into water scenes and trees, and I have a five and a two year old, so they’re the centerpiece for many of my photos. too.

TP: Who are some artists who influ-

enced you?

MM: I have countless books on street photography. Weegee is definitely my favorite. He would follow ambulances around and photograph really traumatic scenes, but do everyday life as well. I also like the work of Josef Sudek and Gary Winogrand.

My theatrical background influenced my photography. Eugeno Barba and Jerzy Grotowski are some experimental theater folks who inspire me. I also like the aesthetic of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

TP: Is our civilization in decline or repair?

MM: I think that there is some repair going on, but I’m concerned by what’s happening with the police. I teach criminal justice and anthropology at Chattanooga State. I’ve been documenting the criminal justice system and have been seeing this development for a long time. For hundreds of years, coming from slavery, we’re seeing divisions taking place, particularly concerning police.

People are becoming aware of these inequalities via social media. People have always known that the justice system is horribly corrupt in every direction, from the courts to the police to the prisons. The numbers speak for themselves. The whole prison industrial complex is a picture that has been translated into reality.

Like a photograph immediately speaks volumes of numbers. It’s like going to San Francisco and seeing all of these people sleeping on the sidewalk, seeing the reality of this beautiful city that I was in love with.

TP: What is beauty? What is ugliness?

MM: I listen to industrial metal, and find great beauty in that music.

You have to have an ear for it, and it’s the same way with your eyes. Color schemes are amazing, but I’m into black & white, and when I see the light interacting with the landscape or with humans, especially around sunset, things that really make me think and contemplate existence are beautiful to me. Ugly can be beautiful if it’s done right. Ugly is not well thought out, it has no meaning, it is a lack of intention.

TP: How does working with film differ from digital photography?

MM: What happens with film that doesn’t happen in the digital realm is the physical technique. Instead of just pressing buttons, there is a dance with your hands in the darkroom. You put a soul into the picture. In the darkroom you become the second photographer, because you can take it in so many different directions. You have a technique and you apply it to a negative, but every time you print that negative it might be a little bit different, and that adds to the beauty of it. There’s an intention that takes place in the dark room, a thought process, and a planning.

A closing reception will be held at Studio Space Junk on Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a Q&A with the artist.

Studio Space Junk 436 Frazier Ave (423) 531-6066 studiospacejunk.com

Photo by Michael McCamish

ALL NEW. ALL FOR YOU.

ChattanoogaHasCars.com THE TENNESSEE VALLEY’S MOST POWERFUL AUTOMOTIVE SHOPPING TOOL chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 15

EVERY Friday, Saturday & Sunday until Labor Day!

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For the Whole Family !

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Fridays 11am - 7pm

Saturdays 11am - 7pm

HIGHBEAMS Sundays 11am - 7pm

Old Time Travelers

Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays 9am - 3pm

Join us for old time,

blue grass, and country music with a Seven States view during Summer Music Weekends. Come enjoy a summer day at Rock City Gardens, dine at Café 7, and catch a Rock City Raptor Show!

Community Partner:

Brews. Views. Chews. 11a-4p Daily

For more info call: 706.820.2531

ARTS CALENDAR

Presents

Weave Dance Showcase

thursday7.16 Jewish Peoplehood Lunch Noon Jewish Cultural Center 5461 N. Terrace Dr. (423) 493-0270 jewishchattanooga.com Homeschool Science Club 1 p.m.

Creative Discovery Museum 321 Chestnut St. (423) 756-2738 cdmfum.org Ooltewah Farmers Market 3 p.m.

Ooltewah’s Nursery & Landscape Co. 5829 Main St. (423) 238-9775 ooltewahnursery.com Paint the MLK Mural 4 p.m.

Downtown Public Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310 chattlibrary.org Guided Kayak Tour: “Taming the Tennessee” 5:30 p.m.

200 River St. Outdoor Chattanooga with CHC (423) 643-6888 outdoorchattanooga.com “Hamlet’s Ghost” 7 p.m.

Majestic 12 311 Broad St. (423) 826-2375 carmike.com Doctor Miracle Opera Dinner

16 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com RCsummerMusicQR.375x9.8.indd 1

6/15/15 11:12 AM

7 p.m.

Northside Presbyterian Church 923 Mississippi Ave. (423) 667-0928 northsidepresbyterian.org “Mystery of the Nightmare Office Party” 7 p.m.

Vaudeville Café 200 Market St. (423) 266-6202 funnydinner.com PSC present Kevin Adams 7 p.m.

St. John United Methodist Church 3921 Murray Hills Rd. (423) 894-5210 chattanoogaphoto.org Dale Jones 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 3224 Brainerd Rd.

Pulse Pick: Dale Jones Dale's machine-gun style delivery and animated facials combined with quick improvisations and nonstop physical comedy has led to many TV appearances.

Dale Jones The Comedy Catch 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

(423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

friday7.17 Home Education Expo 9 a.m.

Camp Jordan 323 Camp Jordan Pkwy., East Ridge (423) 490-0078 csthea.org Art Throw Down 6 p.m.

Townsend Atelier 201 W. Main St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com “Mystery of Flight 138” 7 p.m.

Vaudeville Café 200 Market St. (423) 266-6202

funnydinner.com Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Birmingham 6:15 p.m.

AT&T Field 201 Power Alley (423) 267-2208 lookouts.com Dale Jones 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Weave Dance Showcase 7:30 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org “The Tempest” 7:30 p.m.

Coolidge Park 200 River St. (706) 621-2870 backalleyproductions.org “9 to 5” 8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com

saturday7.18 Home Education Expo 9 a.m.

Camp Jordan 323 Camp Jordan Pkwy., East Ridge (423) 490-0078 csthea.org Biking Chickamauga

ARTS CALENDAR

Chattanooga Market: Slider Smackdown Battlefield 9:30 p.m.

Chickamauga Battlefield 3370 LaFayette Rd., Fort Oglethorpe (423) 866-9241 nps.gov Chattanooga River Market 10 a.m.

Tennessee Aquarium 1 Broad St. (423) 267-3474 chattanoogarivermarket.com Photo Session Day 10 a.m.

Association for Visual Arts 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 avarts.org Planes of the Head in Paint & Clay 10 a.m.

Townsend Atelier 201 W. Main St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com Visualization through Guided Imagery and Art 10 a.m.

Center for Mindful Living 1212 McCallie Ave. (423) 322-2512 centermindfulliving.org Stroll, Shop & Socialize 11 a.m.

Heritage House 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 855-9474 chattanooga.gov Etsy Photography Master’s Class Noon Downtown Public Library 1001 Broad St.

(423) 757-5310 chattlibrary.org Farmers Market Regulation Training 1 p.m.

Crabtree Farms 1000 E. 30th St. (423) 493-9155 crabtreefarms.org Artful Yoga: Bring on the Beat of the Summer Heat 1:30 p.m.

The Hunter Museum of American Art 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org “9 to 5” 2:30, 8 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com Too Broke for Sturgis Bike Night 3 p.m.

Thunder Creek Harley-Davidson 7720 Lee Hwy. (423) 892-4888 thundercreekharley.com Q & Brew 5 p.m.

Chattanooga Zoo 301 Holtzclaw Ave. chattzoo.org “Mystery of the Facebook Fugitive” 5:30 p.m.

Vaudeville Café 200 Market St. (423) 266-6202 funnydinner.com Video Editing

5:30 p.m.

Association for Visual Arts 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 www.avarts.org “Mystery of the Redneck Italian Wedding” 7 p.m.

Vaudeville Café 200 Market St. (423) 266-6202 funnydinner.com Doctor Miracle Opera Dinner 7 p.m.

Northside Presbyterian Church 923 Mississippi Ave. (423) 667-0928 northsidepresbyterian.org Dale Jones 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

sunday7.19 Planes of the Head in Paint & Clay 10 a.m.

Townsend Atelier 201 W. Main St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com Chattanooga Market: Slider Smackdown 11 a.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1826 Reggie White Blvd.

(423) 266-4041 chattanoogamarket.com

Energy Balancing Session 3:15 p.m.

Center for Mindful Living 1212 McCallie Ave. (423) 322-2512 centermindfulliving.org Dale Jones 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH Bring your tripod on this special evening tour!

Check-in at 7pm, Tour Begins at 7:30pm

Reservations required:

RubyFalls.com/foto 423.821.2544

monday7.20 Chattanooga GradNation Education Summit 8 a.m.

First Presbyterian Church 554 McCallie Ave. (423) 752-0300 fpcchatt.org Audition: MACC New Dance Ensemble 4:30 p.m.

Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain (423) 886-1959 signalmacc.org One Step at a Time 6 p.m.

Shepherd Community Center 2124 Shepherd Rd. (423) 999-7958 League of Woman Voters Panel Discussion 5:30 p.m.

Training Room, Business Development Center 100 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 622-2862

SUMMER SPECIAL Tower ZIP Ride

Round Trip ZIP! $

29.95!

423.821.2544

RubyFallsZIP.com

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 17 RFZIPFoto.375x9.8.indd 1

7/13/15 9:19 AM

AT THE HUNTER MUSEUM www.huntermuseum.org

Thursday, July 2 | 6 p.m.

HOT DAMN

Sunday, July 5 | 1 p.m.

ALEX VOLZ

Thursday, July 9 | 6 p.m.

BIRDS WITH FLEAS Thursday, July 16 | 6p.m.

CADILLAC SAINTS

Thursday, July 23 | 6 p.m.

DARK HORSE TEN

Thursday, July 30 | 6 p.m.

SMOOTH DIALECTS Sunday, August 2 | 1 p.m.

DANIMAL PINSON

Thursday, August 6 | 6 p.m.

PACK OF WOLVES

Thursday, August 13 | 6 p.m.

REMEMBERING JANUARY Sponsored by:

and Brewer Media Group

ARTS CALENDAR

ENJOY LIVE MUSIC THURSDAYS, 6 P.M. JULY 2 - AUGUST 13

"The Merry Widow"

Street Cycling 101 5:30 p.m.

Outdoor Chattanooga 200 River St. (423) 643-6888 outdoorchattanooga.com EtsyNooga Meeting 6 p.m.

Downtown Public Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310 chattlibrary.org Monday Night Vintage Swing Dance 7 p.m.

ClearSpring Yoga 17 North Market St. (423) 266-3539 clearspringyoga.com Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Montgomery 7:15 p.m.

AT&T Field 201 Power Alley (423) 267-2208 lookouts.com Old-Fashioned Improv Show: The Long Game 8 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org

tuesday7.21 Noon Nosh Noon Jewish Cultural Center 5461 N. Terrace Dr. (423) 493-0270 jewishchattanooga.com After-Hours Times

18 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

Free Press Tour 5:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Times Free Press 400 E. 11th St. (423) 756-6900 timesfreepress.com “All Work All Play: The Pursuit of Esports Glory” 8:30 p.m.

Majestic 12 311 Broad St. East Ridge 18 5080 S. Terrace carmike.com

wednesday7.22 1 Million Cups 9 a.m. green| spaces Chattanooga 63 E. Main St. (423) 648-0963 greenspaceschattanooga.org Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Montgomery 11:15 a.m.

AT&T Field 201 Power Alley (423) 267-2208 lookouts.com Main Street Farmers Market 4 p.m.

325 E. Main St. mainstfarmersmarket.com 8-Week Summer Dance Session 4:30 p.m.

Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain (423) 886-1959

signalmacc.org Tour de Beer 5:30 p.m.

Fork & Pie 811 Market St. (423) 648-0963 greenspaceschattanooga.org Wednesday Night Chess Club 6 p.m.

Downtown Public Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310 chattlibrary.org “The Merry Widow”: MET Summer Encore 7 p.m.

Majestic 12 311 Broad St. carmike.com Henry Cho 7 p.m.

Silverdale Baptist Church 7236 Bonny Oaks Dr. (423) 892-2173 silverdalebc.com Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Tennessee 7:15 p.m.

AT&T Field 201 Power Alley (423) 267-2208 lookouts.com

ongoing “The Way We Worked” green |spaces Chattanooga 63 E. Main St. (423) 648-0963 greenspaceschattanooga.org “FRESH 2015” AVA Gallery

30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 avarts.org “Summer” In-Town Gallery 26 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214 intowngallery.com PSC’s Summer Season Show Gallery at Blackwell 71 EastGate Loop (423) 894-7112 chattanoogaphoto.org D. Swasey Art Exhibit Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave. Signal Mountain (423) 886-1959 signalmacc.org July Exhibit River Gallery 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com “Eudora Welty and the Segregated South” The Hunter Museum of Art 10 Bluff View Ave. (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org Novelties, Whimsies and Oddities, Oh My” Houston Museum of Decorative Arts 201 High St. (423) 267-7176 thehoustonmuseum.org Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@ chattanoogapulse.com

Ride Further Ride Faster Ride More Sales Rentals Service ElectricBikeSpecialists.com

Electric

Bike Specialists 423.475.6569

45 E. Main St.

PIN STRIKES welcomes you to our Cosmic Bowling every Friday & Saturday night FRIDAY NIGHT COSMIC

Receive $5.00 off the regular price of $15.99 per person for 2 hours of bowling and shoe rental is included in your Cosmic entry in July and August 2015 — just bring in this coupon for the SAVINGS! EXPIRES 8/31/1015

SATURDAY NIGHT COSMIC

Bowl in our Saturday night Cosmic and pay $15.99 for 2 hours of bowling and shoe rental and you will receive a FREE LASER TAG (a value of $8.50).

Present this coupon for your FREE LASER TAG! EXPIRES 8/31/1015

LLC

Pin Strikes Entertainment Center 6241 Perimeter Dr., Suite 109, Chattanooga (423) 710-3530 · www.pinstrikes1.com chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 19

German-American BrewPub

224 Frazier Ave • brewhausbar.com

Featured: Spaetzle entrée with vinegar slaw and brussels sprouts w/bacon marmalade

UPCOMING BREWHAUS EVENTS Thursday, July 16 @ 7 pm Dogfish Tasting featuring American Beauty Tapping With Grateful Dead Theme Party!

Thursday, July 23 @ 7 pm Abita Tap Takeover Friday, July 24 @ 7 pm Carson’s Tap Takeover

“I am focused on helping patients live life to their fullest.”

Dr. An L. Tran,

Medical Oncology/Hematology Serving the Cleveland Community

MORE THAN 80 PHYSICIANS IN 30 LOCATIONS

423.339.0300 | tnoncology.com 20 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

Come On In, the Current’s Fine A newcomer and a deeprooted German join the startup party

“

Last summer Brown tagged along on Becker’s tour of entrepreneurial Chattanooga and met Krue Brock, who walked him into Co.Lab and convinced him to volunteer for Gig Tank.”

Rich Bailey is a professional writer, editor and (sometimes) PR consultant. He led a project to create Chattanooga’s first civic web site in 1995 before even owning a modem. Now he covers Chattanooga technology for The Pulse and blogs about it at CircleChattanooga.com. He splits his time between Chattanooga and Brooklyn.

Observing Chattanooga’s technology and startup scene through column-tinted glasses definitely has its moments. Freed from the unnatural journalistic compulsion to write only when “newsRICH worthy” facts are in hand, I can respond when I run across fun synchronicities like this one.

Uli Becker, the former CEO of Reebok, not only became an investor in Feetz, the 3-D printed shoe company that began at last year’s Gig Tank, but actually has Chattanooga connections that go back 35 years. I spoke with Becker recently when he was in Chattanooga for meetings with Feetz and another startup he’s involved in here.

“I was in the first group of exchange students from Hamm, Germany, the sister city of Chattanooga,” Becker says. “That’s where the relationship started, and while I have relatives in Chicago, my family’s true venture to America started with a relationship to Chattanooga.”

His brother was already a student at Covenant College when Becker spent the summer of 1979 in Chattanooga through a sister city exchange program.

Becker came back in 1981

and stayed with the family of Roger and Joy Gulick on Lookout Mountain.

The Gulicks, who are part of the Brock clan, became his American parents, eventually marrying him and his BAILEY wife and baptizing their son.

We’re sitting in George Brown’s living room in a downtown condo. He and Becker are both entwined in the same spaghetti bowl of relationships with Chattanooga. They met years ago when they worked for Adidas, the parent company of Reebok.

Eventually, their paths diverged and they lost touch.

Brown wound up working for a Northeast company with offices in Chattanooga, then moving here in 2012.

When Becker left Adidas, and both were working with startups, they reconnected.

“When Uli said he was coming to visit last year, Krue Brock set up an agenda to meet some of the community,” Brown says. “Part of Krue’s quest is to get Uli to move here because he wants better minds, more people to add to the growth of Chattanooga.”

Last summer Brown tagged along on Becker’s tour of entrepreneurial Chattanooga and met Krue

Tech Talk

Brock, who walked him into Co.Lab and convinced him to volunteer for Gig Tank. It was Brown who introduced Becker to Feetz.

“That’s how the city works,” Becker says. “It’s so incredibly networked, and they’re all working toward making the city a better place.”

“At Co.Lab you see things like this every day,” adds Brown. “A lot of it is simply listening to people’s needs and asking ‘Who in my network can help them?’ You just make some phone calls.”

“I’ve lived for nine years in Boston,” Becker says.

“There are all sorts of things happening, but it’s too big.

For me, here the size is big enough, and there are enough good people that are somehow connected that a current can be created.”

This current he’s talking about includes things that make Chattanooga cool, like bakeries and coffee shops. But it also includes entrepreneurial development and things to do and helping people and communities who need support.

Brown adds rock climbing to the current: “Rock climbers are problem solvers.

They call a climb a problem, and they try to solve it.

Chattanooga has become a mecca for bouldering. We’re bringing these intellectual people who come for rock climbing.”

“People work hand in hand to make things move, and the people that got help before now help others,” says Becker. “If you have a startup company and you

get support, you know you will give that back. It’s all part of the bigger scenario to make the city a better place. It’s kind of a mutual agreement. That creates current, because nobody is moving this way while everybody else goes that way.”

Despite some initial nervousness about being a Yankee coming to town and trying to break into the good old boy network, Brown says he has found Chattanooga to be welcoming. “I think if you come in with an honest agenda and with a willingness to help, Chattanooga is a really open community for outside ideas.”

“It’s maybe cliché thinking, but if you don’t live here, you don’t expect people to be progressive,” says Becker. “You think progressive is the Bay Area, Seattle, and maybe also the Northeast when it comes to biotech—where the new ideas come to life and big things happen.

You wouldn’t associate that with here, but that’s what is reality.”

The current even includes soccer, whose advent in Chattanooga Becker actually assisted. When the Chattanooga Football Club was being created, he connected Krue Brock with someone at Adidas who equipped the team for the first three years.

“It’s all moving, it’s the current,” Becker says. “It’s all part of the same current that creates great DNA for growth, a ground for everything else that will come in the next 20 years.”

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 21

MUSIC SCENE

All Alone With His Muses Sharkweek’s Kip Bradley goes solo with the the gorgeous Hunky Diamond

Quatro’s Simply Not Enough...

Atlanta rapper and friends throw down at Tivoli On July 17, under the bright Friday night lights, Atlanta-based rapper Johnny Cinco brings his brash and unapologetic sound to Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre.

But Cinco doesn’t ride alone. With him come an entourage of other hip hop artists, including Bank Row Fresh, Skooly “Rich Kidz” and Jose Guapo, banding together to turn the stage into their very own urban musical playground.

It’s safe to say that Johnny Cinco is not an easy man to please. Just six weeks after dropping his successful mixtape, “I Swear,” he went right back in the studio and recorded a brand new 10-track album entitled “Trap Religious.”

Like other Southern rappers, he has a knack for making classic hip

hop melodies sound like they’ve had one too many sips of cough syrup. It’s music on codeine.

But that doesn’t mean it will put you to sleep with a nasty headache.

Instead, it’s the perfect head-bobbing and two-stepping remedy for both hardcore rap junkies and Urban Dictionary illiterate newcomers.

One thing’s for sure though: Cinco and his support crew will leave you with a case of hip hop fever.

— Shaun Webster Johnny Cinco with Bank Row Fresh, Skooly “Rich Kidz” & Jose Guapo Friday, 6 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. chattanoogaonstage.com

thu7.16

fri7.17

SAT7.18

bluegrass cure

get on the porch

don't be afraid

Appalachian Antidote

Front Porch Junkies

Unknown Hinson

Original songwriting and musicianship combine to form an eclectic mix of blues-folk-rock and haunting vocal harmonies.

9 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org

It's like sitting on the front porch with some very talented friends.

Just with plenty of cold beer and good food.

10 p.m.

T-Bones Sports Café 1419 Chestnut St. tbonessportscafe.com

From parts unknown comes this zombified version of Hank Williams, Sr. with a twang and a wicked sense of humor.

9 p.m.

Rhythm & Brews 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com

22 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

O

ne of the great rewards of being in a successful band is that the combination of talents and influence produce a result no single band member could have anticipated. To put it another way, when you have the right players in a group, the sound of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When that happens, it may not be magic, but it’s close enough to call it that.

Music marc t. michael

“

Hunky Diamond is a gorgeous album and Kip is as powerful solo as he is in Sharkweek, albeit in a very different way.”

On the other hand, every member of a group must, on some level, acquiesce to the overall direction of the group (that’s the first rule of being in a group, after all).

Sometimes though, a single player has a need to express some ideas that may be outside the range of what the group is meant to be, and that’s where the solo album comes in to play.

Kip Bradley is the frontman for Sharkweek, one of the first bands I ever wrote about for The Pulse and still one of the top ten bands in the area in my estimation. This Friday, July 17, Kip is releasing his solo album Hunky Diamond at the Camp House.

As Bradley explained to Voices of Chattanooga: “SharkWeek has become a very collaborate effort, which is great and we love doing that. At the same time I just naturally gravitate toward writing songs. I started writing all these songs that were kind of in a different vein, and I wanted my own personal outlet, something I could control 100 percent.”

Solo albums can be a tricky business, however. Sometimes it’s a matter of pure self-indulgence that doesn’t serve the listener very well, other times it becomes apparent that a musician who thrives in a group might not have the

legs to stand alone. Fortunately there is no such worry in Bradley’s work.

Hunky Diamond is a gorgeous album and Kip is as powerful solo as he is in Sharkweek, albeit in a very different way.

“Split Wide” is the opening track of the album, and well chosen, I think.

The bright, peppy guitar part hearkens back to Paul Simon’s Graceland while Bradley’s vocals are…well, they’re hard to pin down. He sounds like he could either be a dusty cowboy poet or the lead singer for some of the best alt-bands of the ’90s. On an album full of great tunes, this one is my personal favorite. It’s just damn infectious.

The haunting harmonica of the title track, “Hunky Diamond,” reinforces the controlled tremolo of Bradley’s voice which, in this case, has more than a touch of Jeff Buckley. “Clementine,” on the other hand, is a tune wherein he lets his twang-flag fly, going full Jagger circa “The Girl with

the Faraway Eyes.”

I’ve never liked pigeonholing albums, and the truth is, that’s harder and harder to do these days as more artists become bolder (and more skilled) at combining various elements in their music. The country roots of this LP are strong, but not so strong that I’d call it a country album.

The dulcet guitar is, again, very ’90s alt (which is nice) and the songwriting itself? The songwriting is the greatest strength of an already strong album.

The lyrics are direct, the narrative sincere, and the truth is that the writing could be any genre you like, depending on the instrumental hat you hang on it.

A solo album can go a lot of ways.

Fortunately, this one is going to the top. Get your copy of Kip Bradley’s Hunky Diamond on beautiful translucent red vinyl this Friday night at the Camp House (or pre-order now via Kip’s Bandcamp page at kipbradley. bandcamp.com). chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 23

LIVE MUSIC

JULY

16 FRI THE AVERAGE 9p 17 UNKNOWN HINSON SAT 9p 18 GROOVE ORIENT THU 9p 23 BACKUP PLANET FRI 9p 24 SAT ERICK BAKER 9p 25 CHRIS JANSON WED 7p 29

FREE SHOW

UNDERHILL ROSE THU 9p

BLUEGRASS MEETS R&B

with NEW PLANET & SPACE TRAIN

with ROGER ALAN WADE

with KALEIGH BAKER and SHABTI

with SOUL MECHANIC

with GRACIE and JOEY

FREE SHOW

TOBY KEITH’S OPENING ACT

7.30 CANEY VILLAGE 7.31 ARPETRIO 8.1 THE ART OF NOISE ACADEMY BENEFIT

COMING SOON

DEPARTURE

A TRIBUTE TO JOURNEY

VELCRO PYGMIES BACK TO ROCK YOUR WORLD!

FRI 10p

SAT 10p

7

8

ALL SHOWS 21+ UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED • NON-SMOKING VENUE

221 MARKET STREET

HOT MUSIC • FINE BEER • GREAT FOOD BUY TICKETS ONLINE • RHYTHM-BREWS.COM

MUSIC CALENDAR

CHATTANOOGA

The Average

thursday7.16 Dana Rogers 5 p.m.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill 2107 Gunbarrel Rd. firebirdsrestaurants.com All American Concert Series: Cadillac Saints 6 p.m.

The Hunter Museum of Art 10 Bluff View huntermuseum.org James Crumble Trio 6 p.m.

St. John's Meeting Place 1278 Market St. stjohnsrestaurant.com Feel It Thursday Open Mic 7 p.m.

Mocha Restaurant & Music Lounge 511 Broad St. mochajazz.net Scarlet Love Conspiracy, Kate and Corey, Steadfast Soul 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Appalachian Antidote, Joshua Songs, Amanda Rose 9 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Open Mic with Hap Henninger 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com

24 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

Underhill Rose 9 p.m.

Rhythm & Brews 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com

friday7.17 Summer Music Weekends 8:30 a.m.

Rock City 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Scenic City Rising Star Auditions Noon Robert Kirk Walker Community Theatre 399 McCallie Ave. sceniccitychorus.com Eddie Pontiac 5:30 p.m.

El Meson

Pulse Pick: Emily Earle She's sung with CeeLo Green and The Muppets, performed at CMA Festival, been featured in American Songwriter, and opened for artists such as David Wilcox and Peter Bradley Adams.

Emily Erle Sunday, 12:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Market 1 Broad St. chattanoogamarket.com

2204 Hamilton Place Blvd. elmesonrestaurant.com Johnny Cinco with Bank Row Fresh, Skooly “Rich Kidz,” Jose Guapo 6 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. chattanoogaonstage.com Marlow Drive 7 p.m.

Miller Plaza 850 Market St. nightfallchattanooga.com Husky Burnette 8 p.m.

Wheelie’s Bar & Grill 742 Ashland Terrace facebook.com/ wheelies-bar-grill Selwyn Birchwood 8 p.m.

Miller Plaza 850 Market St.

nightfallchattanooga.com Priscilla & Lil’ Rickee 8:30 p.m.

The Foundry 1201 Broad St. chattanooganhotel.com The Average, New Planet, Space Train, Remembering January 9 p.m.

Rhythm & Brews 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Joel Clyde 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Front Porch Junkies 10 p.m.

T-Bones Sports Café 1419 Chestnut St. tbonessportscafe.com Ryan Oyer 10 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com

saturday7.18 Summer Music Weekends 8:30 a.m.

Rock City 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Jason Thomas and the Mean-Eyed Cats 5 p.m.

Chattanooga Choo Choo 1400 Market St. choochoo.com Eddie Pontiac

5:30 p.m.

El Meson 2204 Hamilton Place Blvd. elmesonrestaurant.com Marlow Drive 7 p.m.

Thunder Creek Harley-Davidson 7720 Lee Hwy. thundercreekharley.com Roy Book Binder 8 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Molly McGuires, Subterranean Cirquis, Shakim 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com The Main Squeeze 8 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd. thecamphouse.com Pains Chapel 8:30 p.m.

Thunder Creek Harley-Davidson 7720 Lee Highway thundercreekharley.com Unknown Hinson, Roger Alan Wade 9 p.m.

Rhythm & Brews 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com She She Dance 10 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com

sunday7.19 Summer Music Weekends 8:30 a.m.

Rock City 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Jamal and The Unstoppables 11:30 a.m.

The Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Emily Earle 12:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Julie Gribble 12:30 p.m.

Chattanooga River Market 1 Broad St. chattanoogarivermarket.com Dustin Overbeek 2 p.m.

Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com Open Mic with Jeff Daniels 6 p.m.

Long Haul Saloon 2536 Cummings Hwy. (423) 822-9775 Mudsex, Tricounty Terror, Freaky Deaky 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com

monday7.20 Monday Nite Big Band

7 p.m.

The Coconut Room 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Open Mic 7 p.m.

Magoo’s Restaurant 3658 Ringgold Rd. facebook.com/MagoosTN Very Open Mic 8 p.m.

The Well 1800 Rossville Blvd. # 8 wellonthesouthside.com Jeff Stice 8 p.m.

Lee University 1120 N. Ocoee St. leeuniversity.edu

tuesday7.21 Bill McCallie & In Cahoots 6:30 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chattanoogariverboat.com Rick’s Blues Jam 7 p.m.

Folk School of Chattanooga 1200 Mountain Creek Rd. chattanoogafolk.com Folk Killer, GT 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 8 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com

MUSIC CALENDAR

Unknown Hinson

901 Carter St. Inside City Cafe (423) 634-9191

Thursday, July 16: 9pm Open Mic with Hap Henninger Friday, July 17: 9pm Joel Clyde Saturday, July 18: 10pm She She Dance Tuesday, July 21: 7pm Server/Hotel Appreciation Night

wednesday7.22 Eddie Pontiac 5:30 p.m.

El Meson 248 Northgate Park elmesonrestaurant.com The Other Guys 6 p.m.

Spring Hill Suites 495 Riverfront Pkwy.

(423) 834-9300 Tim & Reese 7 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com Dan Sheffield 7:30 p.m.

Sugar’s Downtown 507 Broad St. sugarschattanooga.com Calliope Musicals 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Wednesday Night Jazz 8 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Blues Night with Yattie Westfield 8 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

$5 Pitchers $2 Wells $1.50 Domestics ●

●

Wednesday, July 22: 8pm Blues Night feat. Yattie Westfield Happy Hour: Mon-Fri: 4-7pm $1 10oz drafts, $3 32oz drafts, $2 Wells, $1.50 Domestics, Free Appetizers

citycafemenu.com/the-office

$10 Ladies Day Special every Monday 4115 Shallowford Rd www.superiorhandcarwash.com

Every Wednesday 4pm-6pm

Locally & Sustainably Raised Foods 325 East Main Street on Chattanooga’s Southside mainstfarmersmarket.com

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 25

Record Reviews

zach nicholson

Poppy, Positive Wall of Sound, Jammin’ Meets Songwritin’ I Can Japan bobs and smiles, The Groove Orient grooves and shimmies

I Can Japan [history] (icanjapan.bandcamp.com)

F

rom ashes rises the phoenix, right? Well, a phoenix is what Chattanooga has found in new indie pop band I Can Japan—a project led by Rigoletto’s bassist Chris Williams. The band’s got ambition—no surprise there—and plans to release three tracks every three months indefinitely. On June 22, the first of these tripletrack-tapes came out to Bandcamp. [history] is a feel-good,

The Groove Orient Generation Y (thegrooveorient.com) pretty-looking first release for I Can Japan. Trumpets and a tiny string section add to I Can Japan’s pop sound, headed by drums, guitar chords, and upbeat vocals.

Actually, the cello and violin really make up a huge portion of I Can Japan’s sound. The climax of songs (I’m looking at you, “History”) hits the listener with a wall of sound— washed cymbals, overlaid vocals, strings en masse, thick bass, and huge guitar. The

wall of sound, usually heard in the chorus, is a nice switchup from the easy-going pop verses that are interspersed throughout the tracks.

The best parts of [history] are the positive vibes it elicits.

It’s an EP that you listen to in rooms lit by the sun of early afternoons, something to bob to with a smile. It’s at once relaxed and energetic, streamlined and full-bodied.

I’m glad to see Chris Williams continuing in the Chattanooga music scene and with such enthusiasm, too.

I’m excited to see the band’s progression every three months with these short EP releases. I Can Japan started strong with [history]. It’s fun to imagine what’s next, and we don’t even have to wait that long.

G

ood old rock n’ roll is still alive (and may never die), and jam-groove band The Groove Orient is out

to prove it as only they can.

Hailing from Orlando, Florida, The Groove Orient is taking their tour to Chattanooga’s doorstep at Rhythm & Brews on Thursday, July 23.

And I suggest you acquaint yourself before you jump into what they got.

Because they got a lot, it turns out. And it can all be summed up nicely in their 2015 release Generation Y. The 6-track album starts off with “Bad Man,” a song focused on gut-wrenching solos from the guitars and Hammond organ. And just to keep it fresh, Groove Orient throws in a bangin’ chorus and introduces you to the fun lead vocals of frontman Mr. Harry Ong. Really, “Bad Man” is a great introduction to the band. Catchy chorus grooves, blazing guitar solos, an organ that sings, and a solid rhythm section that no jam band could live without.

So let’s fast-forward through the rest of the album to the final track “Fatima’s Sensation.” It’s the perfect juxtaposition to “Bad Man.” It’s no guns-out jam fest showcase. It’s slow and smooth.

The organ lays in the background real low-key, and the bass plucks a sexy beat while you just close your eyes and let it happen. Some lightly tapped bongos in the background and a sensual guitar solo and damn, this isn’t The Groove Orient from earlier.

Generation Y proves The Groove Orient isn’t just another jam band that blazes up and plays 20-minute improv sessions, and for that I am very grateful.

Maybe they started off as a pure jam band, but Generation Y shows a tightened awareness of songwriting that’s gonna catapult The Groove Orient onto bigger stages with bigger names in no time.

Where the BIG Hits live!

Chattanooga’s Greatest Hits 26 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

Diversions

Consider This with Dr. Rick

by Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. “Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you—there will be lots of them.” – Hillary Clinton Perhaps you’ve seen the recent Facebook post from a teen who wrote: “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.” It was accompanied by a picture of a very distraught young boy.

Not all schools in this country honor anti-bullying laws or “safe zone” programs. Very few schools have a chapter of GSA—the Gay/Straight Alliance—which was started to further understanding and acceptance of differing sexual orientations. And this is why the suicide rate for gay teens, or teens who are perceived to be gay, is over one third higher than the national average.

How about this: Let’s just love all little kids. And instead of throwing disapproval at them, let’s throw our arms around them and let them know they’ll be OK. chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 27

Free Will Astrology

“ Homework: What’s the name of the book you may write some day—perhaps your memoir?

Testify at FreeWillAstrology. com

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.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “A poet must not cross an interval with a step when he can cross it with a leap.”

That’s an English translation of an aphorism written by French author Joseph Joubert. Another way to say it might be, “A smart person isn’t drab and plodding as she bridges a gap, but does it with high style and brisk delight.” A further alternative: “An imaginative soul isn’t predictable as she travels over and around obstacles, but calls on creative magic to fuel her ingenious liberations.”

Please use these ideas during your adventures in the coming weeks, Cancerian.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): July is barely half over, but your recent scrapes with cosmic law have already earned you the title of “The Most Lyrically Tormented Struggler of the Month.” Another few days of this productive mayhem and you may be eligible for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records. I could see you being selected as “The Soul Wrangler with the Craziest Wisdom” or “The Mythic Hero with the Most Gorgeous Psychospiritual Wounds.” But it’s my duty to let you know that you could also just walk away from it all. Even if you’re tempted to stick around and see how much more of the entertaining chaos you can overcome, it might be better not to.

In my opinion, you have done enough impossible work for now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “People who have their feet planted too firmly on the ground have difficulty getting their pants off,” said author Richard Kehl. That’s good advice for you in the coming weeks. To attract the help and resources you need, you can’t afford to be overly prim or proper. You should, in fact, be willing to put yourself in situations where it would be easy and natural to remove your pants, throw off your inhibitions, and dare to be surprising.

If you’re addicted to businessas-usual, you may miss opportunities to engage in therapeutic play and healing pleasure.

28 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

rob brezsny

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A failure is a person who has blundered but is not able to cash in on the experience,” wrote American author Elbert Hubbard. In light of this formulation, I’m pleased to announce that you are likely to achieve at least one resounding success in the coming weeks.

At this juncture in your destiny, you know exactly how to convert a past mistake into a future triumph. A gaffe that once upon a time brought you anguish or woe will soon deliver its fully ripened teaching, enabling you to claim a powerful joy or joyful power.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The poet Mary Ruefle describes reading books as “a great extension of time, a way for one person to live a thousand and one lives in a single lifespan.” Are there other ways to do that? Watching films and plays and TV shows, of course.

You can also listen to and empathize with people as they tell you their adventures. Or you can simply use your imagination to visualize what life is like for others. However you pursue this expansive pleasure, Scorpio, I highly recommend it. You are set up to absorb the equivalent of many years’ experience in a few short weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian rapper Nicki Minaj is not timid about going after what she wants. She told Cosmopolitan magazine that she’s “highmaintenance in bed.” Every time she’s involved in a sexual encounter, she demands to have an orgasm. In accordance with the current astrological omens, Sagittarius, I invite you to follow her lead—not just during your erotic adventures, but everywhere else, too. Ask for what you want, preferably with enough adroitness to actually obtain what you want. Here’s another critical element to keep in mind: To get exactly what you want, you must know exactly what you want.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A college basketball player named Mark Snow told reporters that,

“Strength is my biggest weakness.” Was he trying to be funny? No. Was he a bit dim-witted? Perhaps. But I’m not really interested in what he meant by his statement. Rather, I want to hijack it for my own purpose, which is to recommend it as a meditation for you in the coming weeks. Can you think of any ways that your strength might at least temporarily be a weakness? I can. I suspect that if you rely too much on the power you already possess and the skills you have previously mastered, you may miss important clues about what you need to learn next. The most valuable lessons of the coming weeks could come to you as you’re practicing the virtues of humility and innocence and receptivity.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind, Rhett Butler delivers the following speech to Scarlett O’Hara: “I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken— and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.” Your oracle for the near future, Aquarius, is to adopt an approach that is the exact opposite of Rhett Butler’s. Patiently gather the broken fragments and glue them together again.

I predict that the result will not only be as good as new; it will be better. That’s right: The mended version will be superior to the original.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Australian actress Rebel Wilson has appeared in several successful movies, including Bridesmaids, Bachelorette, and Pitch Perfect. But she didn’t start out to be a film star. Mathematics was her main interest. Then, while serving as a youth ambassador in South Africa at age 18, she contracted malaria. At the height of her sickness, she had hallucinatory visions that she would one day be “a really good actress who also won an Oscar.” The visions were so vivid that she decided to shift her career path. I foresee the possibility that you will

soon experience a version of her epiphany. During a phase when you’re feeling less than spectacular, you may get a glimpse of an intriguing future possibility.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Stop Making Sense” was originally the name of the film and music soundtrack produced by the Talking Heads in the 1980s, and now it is the central theme of your horoscope.

I think your brain would benefit from a thorough washing.

That’s why I invite you to scour it clean of all the dust and cobwebs and muck that have accumulated there since its last scrub a few months back. One of the best ways to launch this healing purge is, of course, to flood all the neural pathways with a firehose-surge of absurdity, jokes, and silliness. As the wise physician of the soul, Dr. Seuss, said, “I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When you read a book that has footnotes, you tend to regard the footnotes as being of secondary importance.

Although they may add color to the text’s main messages, you can probably skip them without losing much of the meaning.

But I don’t recommend this approach in the coming days. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, footnotes will carry crucial information that’s important for you to know. I mean this in a metaphorical sense as you live your life as well as in the literal act of reading books. Pay close attention to the afterthoughts, the digressions, and the asides.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The English word “quiddity” has two contrary definitions.

It can refer to a trivial quibble. Or it can mean the essential nature of a thing—the quality that makes it unique.

I suspect that in the coming weeks you will get numerous invitations to engage with quiddities of both types. Your first task will be to cultivate an acute ability to know which is which.

Your second task: Be relentless in avoiding the trivial quibbles as you home in on the essential nature of things.

Jonesin’ Crossword

matt jones

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“We’re On the Air”—and the path is clear.

ACROSS 1 Where SSTs used to land 4 Curve segment 7 Come in 12 Indie rock band ___ Kiley 13 Mayday call 14 Insect with a 17-year life cycle 15 Rent-___ (airport service) 16 “Uh-oh,” in kiddie talk 18 Chase doggedly 20 Spread over 21 American-born former queen of Jordan 22 Coloring agent 25 Assoc. formed in Bogota 26 “Wanted” initials 29 Go paragliding 30 Little round hill 32 Planet explored

by Voyager I 34 It has its ups and downs 37 Truck stop purchase 38 Back twinge

39 Lofty poems 40 Angular prefix 41 “Much ___ About Nothing” (“Simpsons” episode) 44 Chinese cooking need 45 Euro fraction 49 “Green Acres” costar Eva 51 “Dallas” spinoff 54 Island resort town in South Carolina 57 “Garfield Minus Garfield” character 58 Balance sheet heading 59 Wayne LaPierre’s org.

60 Walter ___ Army Medical Center 61 Big serving spoon 62 In the closet, or out of it 63 Suspicious element?

DOWN 1 Starchy root used in salads 2 Cereal bits

3 Divided Asian nation 4 Beginning at 5 Housetop 6 “Washington Journal” airer 7 Duck with soft feathers 8 “First in Flight” st.

9 Mai ___ (bar order) 10 Cutting crew, for short?

11 “A drop of golden sun” 12 “Midnight Cowboy” hustler Rizzo 14 ___ Institute (D.C. think tank) 17 Airport northwest of LAX 19 Fake-tanned 22 Gloomy 23 Needlework supply 24 Geographical suffix 27 1980s-’90s chancellor Helmut 28 Ctrl-___-Del 29 Flute part 30 What X may mean 31 Old albums 32 Walk of Fame award

33 Punctuation in an email address 34 Cousin of Rover 35 Bulbed vegetable 36 On target 37 Financial barometer, with “the” 41 “The Dude ___” 42 Small horses 43 Pushed hard 45 $100 bill, in old slang 46 Billions of years 47 “Ultimate” degree 48 Taiwanese golfer Yani ___, youngest to win five major championships 50 Love like crazy 51 “Hooked on Classics” company 52 “Tomb Raider” heroine 53 One-___ (multivitamin) 54 Talking computer of film 55 “Love ___ Battlefield” 56 Psychedelic stuff

Copyright © 2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle No. 0736

writers

Can you craft a compelling 650-word short feature or profile—and a longer, in-depth feature worthy of our cover? If so, let’s talk. The Pulse is seeking a few good freelance writers to join our stable of news, feature, music, political, fashion and arts writers.

We reward our writers with fair pay and a showcase for their skills.

If you’ve got the “write stuff,” we want your voice in The Pulse.

Email samples of your best clips along with a brief bio to: creative@chattanoogapulse.com

Whatever your goals, we can help you get there Planning for your future is one of the most important steps you can take in your life. We are here to help you build your retirement plan.

Join us Saturday mornings on Big 95.3 from 9am - 10am for planning advice for your golden years.

Chattanooga’s Greatest Hits

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 29

The Stupid Tax: Its Ways And Means Officer Alex explains why no one else gets upset when you are being a dumb-ass

“ As a civilization, we can land a robot on a passing comet.

But as individual people? We’re lucky to not accidentally kill ourselves with an electric razor on an hourly basis.”

When officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city on the heels of the criminal element, he spends his spare time volunteering for the Boehm Birth Defects Center.

Editor’s Note: Officer Alex has been busy chasing car thieves, so we are running a past favorite column this week.

Opening a car can be difficult. I mean, you have to extract your keys and push a button on a fob, or in the olden days you’d actually have to ALEX insert an actual key into an actual lock, and a couple of those dinosaurs are still on the road from what I can tell. I mean can you imagine? Unlocking a door?

And that’s before you get to the nightmare of actually having to place a key into the car’s ignition. Is this the Dark Ages or what? “They” may as well ask us to build another pyramid at Giza, or raise our own children!

I can’t save you from inconveniences such as the latter two, but I can give you a way out of the former two examples given: Bypass the whole process by leaving the car unlocked and placing that antiquated phallic symbol in the ignition 24/7.

Two birds, one stone. Oh, there is a downside, sure, but what are the odds? For that risk, you don’t have to

30 • The Pulse • July 16-22, 2015 • chattanoogapulse.com

go to the trouble of “pushing a button” or “turning a key” ever again! And that’s important.

Should you make that choice though, when your ride is inevitably stolen?

Brace yourself, because not only are you going to be sad…

TEACH you’re going to be irrevocably irritated that no one else is going to give any more of a crap than you did by leaving your damn key in the ignition in the first place. Allow me to explain.

Policing can be a very complex issue, and with so many different variables affecting so many different crimes we have to use science to make us operate as efficiently as possible.

In the case of the example above, we use an algorithm that serves as a sliding scale of sorts to determine our response. It’s actually quite complicated and my word processor won’t allow me to display the proper characters for the equation, so I’ll simplify it by saying that “the level to which one gives a %$#@ about a thing has a directly proportional

On The Beat

effect on the response to its theft.” That is to say, if you did not give a %$#@, it would not be reasonable for you to expect others to give a %$#@ either now that you’ve gone from a time of internal peace to a time of internal nuclear jihad Def Con 1 as a direct result of being of being agonizingly lazy.

This is particularly irritating when your irresponsibility suddenly forces you to do a 180 on your prior stance, because no one else will be as eager to join you on this unexpected journey of self-discovery, no matter how much energy you are suddenly putting into it. These journeys are ones taken alone—unless of course you’re dragging along a group of hapless victims (aka “family” or “a friend”) with you who are equally victimized by your carelessness. And while they are literally onboard with you, emotional support would not be a reasonable expectation from them.

So when the initial officer responds and puts the tag into the national database, covers the basics, and then goes on to answer other calls instead of heading to City Hall to wake up the commissioner to establish a task force to map out key choke points across the Tri-State area and re-task NSA satellites for the car you didn’t

insure and left unlocked with the key plugged in?

I recommend you put on a helmet, because your emotional crash will be a profound one.

Sometimes…you just have to let the Universe unfold as it was intended to.

And this isn’t limited to giving away the car your cheapass “didn’t see the need to waste insurance money on since it was just going to be in your driveway.” No. If you get blackout drunk at the local Slap & Tickle and come to in an unfamiliar parking lot with your pants unbuttoned and your wallet missing? Hey, man.

Don’t consider yourself a victim—consider yourself lucky. Buy a time-share or get in on the ground floor of a foolproof guaranteed investment deal and lose your ass? Same thing.

As a civilization, we can land a robot on a passing comet. But as individual people? We’re lucky to not accidentally kill ourselves with an electric razor on an hourly basis.

We all have to pay the Stupid Tax at one point or another, and being mad at others for not chipping in because of a situation you created will not help anything, I assure you.

But if you do get mad? I appreciate it. Your response is proportional to the sense of humor in others, as well.

chattanoogapulse.com • July 16-22 • The Pulse • 31

1202 Heritage Landing

Chattanooga Luxury

99 Walnut Street

Lisa Brown, Diane Patty and Carmen Patty Chattanooga Property Shop Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty Each Keller Williams Office is Independently Owned and Operated

(423) 664-1900 路 chattanoogapropertyshop.com