The Pulse 15.32 » August 9, 2018

AUGUST 9, 2018

CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE

STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 15, ISSUE 32 • AUGUST 9, 2018

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State Of The Arts 2018 It’s our annual State of the Arts issue, where this year we profile ten “movers & shakers” in the Chattanooga arts and music community. The ten were selected by our writers and represent some of the driving forces behind our fantastic community.

HOW CIVIL IS AXE THROWING?

34

DISTRACTED DIRTY STREETS

48

It’s a bold choice. But hey, who wants to take in a movie when you can wield sharp objects on a first date?

42

I am no fan of pop psychology. Live long enough and you will not only see the rise and fall of trends in that “field,” you will also begin to notice the resurgence and recycling of ideas.

RENEGADES HAVE IT MADE

Renegade is defined as “A person who deserts and betrays an organization or set of principles.”

But Renegade Silver Jewelry did not get its name being owned by rebel entrepreneurs.

RETURN TO MIDDLE SCHOOL

I think there’s a thirteen-year-old girl in all of us. At least, there is if my reaction to Eighth Grade, a new film by comedian Bo Burnham, is any indication.

5 CONSIDER THIS

41 DINING OUT

50 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

6 SHADES OF GREEN

44 MUSIC CALENDAR

53 JONESIN' CROSSWORD

33 ART OF BUSINESS

47 MUSIC REVIEWS

53 THE COMIX

36 ARTS CALENDAR

49 NEW IN THEATERS

54 SUSHI & BISCUITS

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BEGINNINGS · CITY LIFE

How Civil Is Axe Throwing?

Thinking well outside the box for a unique first date

By Jason Tinney Pulse contributor

“

I get women in here chucking axes and they feel that same sort of satisfaction.

You’re creating this motion and you’re seeing the results.”

I

t’s a bold choice. But hey, who wants to take in a movie when you can wield sharp objects on a first date? The floors inside the black box arena that is Civil Axe Throwing are dusted with shards of splintered wood.

Armed with a one-and-a-half pound hatchet, Morgan Hancock steps to the throwing line of one of the five lanes divided by chain link fencing much like batting cages.

Fourteen feet separates her from the target. The blade descends beneath her brow and with wrists locked, her hands let the steel fly. The axe somersaults before cutting a healthy slice into the bullseye. Turning to her date with an expression that’s equal parts shock and surprise, she says, “Shut.

Up.” Forget about the five points she’s just racked up for her team. Hancock, who’s never thrown an axe before, is

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now strutting like a woman who has just gone to battle and returned victorious.

“I’m all smiles,” she says. “That felt good. It was cool...I’m definitely doing this again.”

Civil Axe Throwing is one of a host of similar venues finding their way into cities throughout the US and around the globe as the popularity of this somewhat quirky recreation catches fire.

Owned by the husband-wife team of Jorge and Erin Lima, they opened their flagship operation in Huntsville, Alabama in September of 2017. The company expanded to Chattanooga

this past June with an additional location under construction in Birmingham.

“There’s something about throwing an axe and having it stick into wood,” says Hunter Harden, Civil Axe Throwing instructor and coach who guided Hancock to her bullseye.

“There’s something primitive, primal that everybody relates to. Everybody.

I’m not just talking about a gender. I get women in here chucking axes and they feel that same sort of satisfaction.

You’re creating this motion and you’re seeing the results.”

Played with an instinctive dose of lumberjack swagger, axe throwing has a scoring system that corresponds to varying sizes of circled targets mounted on 2” x 10” boards following the standard rules and specifications laid out by the National Axe Throwing Federation (NATF).

Established in 2016, this organization, which Civil Axe Throwing is a member of, represents a sport that boasts 4,000 league members in over 50 cities and five countries. A bullseye is worth five points and the outer red and blue rings are worth three and one points, respectively.

“It’s sort of like darts and bowling combined,” Harden says. “Once you have your motion down then it’s just muscle memory.” Adding spice to the mix, at the top corners of the board are two green dots called “Clutch” which are worth seven points.

First dates, bachelorette parties, or throwing solo to let off some steam, $20 per person gets you an hour’s worth of blade tossing with tutorial led by Harden and other Civil Axe team members.

“We give you a little bit of technique, enough to get you a little more consistent with how often you are sticking it,” says Harden. “It’s much, much more form then it is force. There’s no need to be a Viking.”

For more information, visit: civilaxethrowing.com/chattanooga. Just remember to aim at the target. Please.

Cons ider This w ith Dr. Rick

“Forgiving you is my gift to you. Moving on is my gift to myself.”

— Buddhist teachings

Ten Years Of Roller Derby The Chattanooga Roller Girls celebrate a milestone As the Chattanooga Roller Girls come upon the celebration of a whole decade of bouts, Chattanooga celebrates the Chattanooga Roller Girls. If you know anything about the Chattanooga Roller Girls, you know that 1) they are badass, and 2) they do a great deal for our community.

While the internet can tell you when their matches are (they have a home doubleheader on Saturday at 4 p.m. to celebrate their decade

of existence), or that they partner with organizations like Girls, Inc. and the Humane Educational Society, I’d like to tell a little personal tale of how the Roller Girls impact Chattanooga not just on a community or sports level, but with each individual encounter.

One especially dark February night, I went out in the middle of the week with two male friends, which culminated with me crying in the bathroom of an Unnamed Bar.

Since neither of my friends could appropriately console me, they recruited Tipsy McStaggers, a Chattanooga Roller Girl, to come to my aid.

All this to say, these girls are worth seeing not only for their amazing athletic ability, but for their kindness, compassion, and dedication to Chattanooga (plus they won’t judge you if you drink a few too many adult beverages at their bouts). — Olivia Haynes

While he’s considered a “great guy” who’s “quick to laugh,” that’s only one part of “Paul.”

What most don’t know is that his big demon is regret. Underneath the laughter is a painful, on-going process of wrestling with regret from a lifetime of hurting others, and himself. He puts it this way: “I suffer from ‘If I had only’ syndrome. So I have to remind myself that I wasn’t ready for growth back then, and was doing my best with what I had and knew, the pathetically broken tools handed down to me. These days I work on easing up on my multitude of regrets. I have more tools now, and more faith in my goodness. I feel gratitude to the universe, and occasionally, even let myself believe that my struggle, my journey, might be a shining light in someone else’s darkness.”

Consider this: We never know what someone else is wrestling with. Be kind. Always.

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COLUMN · SHADES OF GREEN

Haney Assists “Zombie” Reactors Nuclear power is not only not the answer, it's a bigger problem

L Sandra Kurtz

Pulse columnist

“

Nuclear is not clean.

While it’s true that emissions at the reactor are carbon free, mining and getting uranium pellets to the reactor is not.”

Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist, chair of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net

ET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT: NUCLEAR is not an answer! In the 21st century we are moving on to renewable energy for electricity generation. Coal, gas and nuclear are going the way of buggy whips. We didn’t run out of rocks either, but the Rock Age is over too.

Apparently, wheeler-dealer Mr. Haney hasn’t gotten the message. Maybe he has been on his yacht with Qatar investors or spending time with friend President Trump at Mar-A-Lago negotiating ways to get government loans from we taxpayers.

Haney made a down payment of $22 million on his $111 million bid for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant—a song since TVA spent more than $4 billion. The remainder is due in November. He then needs investors for construction and after that customers for the power produced.

None of that is in place. Foreign nuclear investment is illegal and power produced in the TVA territory is only to be sold through TVA. Dubbed zombie reactors by objectors in 2009, they keep trying to come back to life. TVA thought better of finishing them because power demand will be flat in the future. Here’s the perfect time for TVA to replace nuclear with solar, wind and battery storage as aging reactors come to relicensing time.

Mr. Haney says he can produce nuclear power in five years. Fat chance.

The equipment has been cannibalized.

What’s left shows signs of rust and deterioration. Then there’s the licensing process where one has to prove the plant will conform to regulations. Most old records were pitched when TVA opted out.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes there is no viable future for

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nuclear power.

Exxon said so too.

Note the recent cancellation of construction at the Summer plant in South Carolina.

Note extensive delays for the partially, likely never, completed, wayover-budget two Vogtle reactors in Georgia.

The estimated Vogtle 2010 cost was $14 billion for 2021 completion. Now that cost has jumped to $25 billion and is at least 3 years behind schedule not to mention that the main contractor Westinghouse Electric Company declared bankruptcy. Ratepayers continue to bear the cost.

Some say nuclear is good for climate change because it’s carbon-free. While it’s true that emissions at the reactor are carbon free, mining and getting uranium pellets to the reactor is not. New nuclear can’t be built with the urgency required to slow climate change, but solar and wind can be.

Nuclear is not safe or healthy. Less carbon yes, but the trade-off is daily radioactivity, radioactive waste, and the risk of one bad day like Chernobyl.

Pregnant women and young children are especially at risk.

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s Chapter BEST/MATRR based in Scottsboro, Alabama has completed radiation testing showing increased cancers downwind of Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Then there’s the unsolved waste issue.

Presently high-level waste sits on nuclear sites eventually put in huge casks that

don’t last as long as the radiation. Any transport increases risk to people along roads.

Nuclear is not cheap. Nuclear industry folks desperately need customers since most methods for electricity are now cheaper especially gas. Hopes are pinned on technology like small modular reactors (SMRs). TVA has offered a site at a Clinch River site near Oak Ridge.

No designs are approved and all admit that SMRs are more expensive per megawatt. Often not mentioned is cost required for decommissioning as plants close and associated on-going liabilities. Renewables win in the cost race.

So, Mr. Haney, should you actually find the money to acquire the Bellefonte site, devise another plan. Turn Bellefonte into a 21st century example that brings long-term clean, safe jobs to Jackson County. Build on the scenic beauty and recreational benefits along Guntersville Lake.

Those cooling towers could turn into climbing adventure towers with park activities and an educational center powered by solar along with a forest sequestering carbon to alleviate climate change. Line your pockets that way. Let the zombies die.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

KEVIN BATE Taking art to the streets of Chattanooga (and beyond)

By Tony Mraz

F

OR OVER TWO DECADES, KEVIN BATE HAS BEEN DELIVERING one tour de force after another. By organizing and painting a myriad of enormous murals, producing countless paintings in his Chattanooga Workspace studio, and involving himself in community-oriented projects, he has established himself as an influential artist and leader in the community.

All of his paintings, even the largest of his murals, begin with the same process.

Using a photo as a reference, he draws the original images for his paintings by hand, sometimes using his studio window as a light box.

“I work very closely from the photos, I lean on them heavily, and I think for faces to be recognizable, you kind of have to.”

He prefers to work from high contrast photographs, because his style addresses light and dark, and the relationship between the two.

“I step away from a photograph, and squint at it—this reveals the lightest parts, usually in the bridge of the nose, the chin, the cheeks, where the light is coming from—I draw those,” he explains. “The darkest parts are usually under the nose, maybe under the eyebrows, under the hair, and I draw those. Then I basically

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work from those points back out—essentially making concentric circles around those light and dark parts, and bringing them together.”

He draws everything small at his desk, and transfers the drawing to his computer. He then takes the original drawing and projects it onto whatever surface he is painting, transfers it by sketching, and renders it with paint.

The resulting images are extremely lifelike and accurate, yet stylized and refined with a graphic quality.

Many think that he uses Photoshop, but as he tells us, “I’m actually kind of technologically illiterate. Everybody I know tells me that I could save myself a bunch of time, and do this in a couple seconds with Photoshop, but who’s to say what’s right.”

Bate is currently painting a mural for

Cleveland that is being sponsored by the United Way of the Ocoee Region. The 30ft high by 90ft wide piece will depict famous people from Cleveland, the founding fathers, and people who have done good deeds in the community.

He’s painting the image in his studio on mural cloth. When it is done, he will take it up to Cleveland and install it by sticking the mural cloth to the wall with Nova Gel, like a giant wheat paste.

He is under contract with Dalton State College to do a mural (which is still in the design phase), putting together pieces for a show at Chattanooga Workspace in October, and a show at Creative Arts Guild in Dalton in November.

He has been commissioned to paint a monumental painting of a local family’s patriarch, and he just delivered some pieces to The Edwin Hotel.

“My name is getting out there enough where people contact me for projects,” Bate explains. “My wife and I had this plan

“I was on the board for a year and a half, on the artist selection committee, and now I’m on the design review committee, working with the artist we picked, Gerome Meadows from Savannah,” he says. “I work with him on the design, and I hope to be part of the installation. I feel very strongly about this story—it isn’t something that needs to be swept under the rug for another hundred years.”

Bate is also working with Public Art Chattanooga, encouraging the city to access its native talent.

“Hiring artists from other towns is like taking a quarter of a million dollars, putting it in a big catapult, and firing it out of the city. I’ve been pushing for more locally led projects from Public Art Chattanooga, and they are starting to come around. I’m excited about it, I hope they make it happen, and I want them to know that there are people here who want to help.”

Find Kevin online at goodwithfaces.com, or on social media @goodwithfaces

”Bate remains active in the local art community. He is deeply involved with the Ed Johnson Memorial Project, working to commemorate the memory of the man who was hanged on the Walnut Street Bridge in 1906.” when our son was little, when we were running around to daycare, that I would keep my work close in town. But as he started to get older, in first and second grade, I started to branch out, working in Dalton and Cleveland, and got hired to paint a mural at the airport in Huntsville, so I’m slowly growing.”

While his mural work expands to neighboring cities and beyond, Bate remains active in the local art community. He is deeply involved with the Ed Johnson Memorial Project, working to commemorate the memory of the man who was hanged on the Walnut Street Bridge in 1906.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

JENNIFER EDGE Making an indelible mark on Chattanooga

By Alex Curry

E

VERYWHERE I GO IN CHATTANOOGA, I SEEM TO RUN INTO Jennifer Edge. She’s all over the place. On people’s arms, hands, thighs, backs, on their calves and ribs. Her far-reaching influence on others’ lives leaves an indelible brush stroke on the skin of anyone that has spent time in her chair.

Her work is monotonously unique. Her style flutters and flows like your favorite guitarist. You know who it is with the first note of every new tune with no need for anyone to tell you. Her work is undeniable yet always custom, fresh, and full of love.

Jennifer has become a powerhouse in Chattanooga’s budding art and cultural world. The tattoo artist is much more than just that. She radiates creativity and forward-thinking with every action. None of it was a mistake. She has taken life in her grip and is squeezing it for every drop.

Jennifer is coming up on celebrating ten years since she became a tattooer.

In her previous life, she spent her time in retail management.

“I was never really happy doing anything other than art, but I didn’t have the opportunity to pursue it until I got my ap-

prenticeship. The artistic drive has always been there, trying to get out,” says the artist as she reminisces about her journey.

Literary Ink, Jennifer’s artistic incubator, had a massively successful tattoo convention last March. More than a room of tattoo artists, the concept and philosophy of the idea acts as a massive visual-art think tank.

“People can come and see all of these folks that they’ve seen on tv or that they’ve always wanted to get tattooed by and enjoy a moment of being catered to.

It’s refreshing to see some positivity in an often dark and troubling world,” says Jennifer.

The convention will return to Chattanooga next February 1-3 and the experience promises to be one for the books.

The concept is a constantly adaptive procontinued on page 12

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gram with deeper ambitions of social responsibility and community involvement.

“If you work in a job that allows you to talk to people, you should engage. You should engage in your community. We try to do events that bring the community together. We are living in a time with a lot of pain and chaos. Nobody takes the time to connect with their neighbor. We need to flip the script and find ways to engage with people.”

Jennifer’s excitement about her work sits proudly on her sleeve, a token of her masterful brush stroke.

“My compass has shifted. My mentor told me that this is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. I’m still working on navigating those words.”

But after speaking to her, it’s obvious that she has taken the meaningful advice to heart. When she isn’t tattooing she’s finger-painting or water coloring or traveling to educational tattoo seminars or visiting museums and galleries.

To say that she takes her work home is

started controlling her own life.

Two years later, she opened Main Line Ink with her artistic partner and fellow tattooer Danny Siviter.

“My dreams are happening now. I’m not sitting by and waiting for them anymore.”

Now Jennifer wants to share that gift and realization with others.

“Anyone can have their turning page. Get up and move forward.

If there’s something in your way, go around it, go over it, or move it. Anyone can make their dreams come true. But you have to work harder than you ever have. If you’re unhappy, make a change.”

Now Main Line Ink is closing in on a fiveyear anniversary and is raging forward full force like an unstoppable locomotive.

Jennifer is full of motivational mantras that empower her art and her artistic philosophy, but the most important bit of advice that she ever received came from her wife’s 101-year-old grandmother. It’s simple and stoic and humble and has driven her whole career.

“Be nice.”

”Get up and move forward. If there’s something in your way, go around it, go over it, or move it.

Anyone can make their dreams come true. But you have to work harder than you ever have. If you’re unhappy, make a change.” unfair. She takes her life everywhere she goes. The lines are blurred and ambiguous.

“Artists are visionaries that move people.

We know these names because they left marks on the world that are still there today. They show the world a different way. I want to do that. I want to do as much as I can for my community.”

Edge has an innate and unflinching desire to help other people find their passion and their drive. On her 34th birthday, she had a sudden and stark realization that she hadn’t done the things in her life that she wanted to do. She woke up and

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

SHANE MORROW Putting the Jazz (and a great big smile) in Jazzanooga

By Brooke Brown

“J

AZZANOOGA IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT’S DRIVEN BY THE community. It’s what the community needs it to be, what they want it to be. We could’ve gone different ways with it, but I wanted to share the notion with people that if they can do it, you can do it.

From being the performer on stage to being the stage tech. Whatever you want to do, you can do it.”

It’s one of the first thing Shane Morrow says to me as we sit down over brunch at The Camp House to discuss his work with Jazzanooga. One of Shane’s favorite places, The Camp House does what we as Chattanoogans should already be doing: celebrate everyone in the community, not just the community we think we are a part of.

His smile, his demeanor, spending time with Shane is like spending time with a friend you’ve always wanted, or maybe you’re already lucky to have.

He’s the co-founder of Jazzanooga, a not-for-profit that is dedicated to addressing “the art disparities in our city’s underserved communities” and in doing so, benefit those who may have unrealized dreams of performing in the arts.

“I came here in 2003 and I wondered, ‘Where can I go to feel welcomed and

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also be able to share my gifts and talents?’” Shane says, going on to say he comes from five generations of piano players and has always been in love with the arts, performing, and sharing his talents with his community.

What he came to find was a lack of opportunity as he reached out to various theatres and art-focused groups in Chattanooga.

“One theatre I reached out to was putting on a production of Raisin in the Sun which I performed in and won the Miss Annie Award for Best Actor.” He mentions the award humbly continuing on to say he was itching for his next opportunity.

“I asked were there anymore African American musicals or plays coming up and they were sorry to say that no, there weren’t because they were only doing

one a year at the time. And I was taken aback.

“They told me that they didn’t mind for anyone to audition for any production because they were colorblind. And I took issue with that because we’re all capable of doing many different things but there are some times that you have to have a targeted focus, especially on our underserved population.”

Shane quickly realized the need for a group focused on serving those who were underserved. When asked during his first interview with Jazzanooga “What is Jazzanooga?” He was quick to respond, and holds true to this today, “Jazzanooga is what the community needs it to be.”

“There were so many figures of jazz here in the community outside of Bessie that weren’t being celebrated, weren’t being identified,” Shane says.

“For example, Clyde Stubblefield played drums for James Brown and is the single most sampled drummer in history. His song “Funky Drummer,” he did with James Brown, he created that beat and he came

Jazzanooga officially became a 501(c)3 in 2015 so, on paper, they’re new to the game, but so far they have three national grants; a grant for NEA, Cultural Preservation and Levitt.

With the multitude of available paid for events in the city, Shane strived to have Jazzanooga’s events be totally free or “damn sure close to it.”

“There shouldn’t be a barrier financially for anyone when it comes to enjoying the arts,” he says. “If we’re working for the community to educate them on our cultural heritage, I need to give them the opportunity to explore that.”

When asked what will be the future of Jazzanooga?

“It’s a future wish for not just Jazzanooga, but for our city: it’s to celebrate our differences versus creating more barriers. And I hope that we continue to define what inclusiveness and what diversity means for us. Because we have a very rich cultural landscape here, and that needs to be celebrated. By all of us.”

”There were so many figures of jazz here in the community outside of Bessie (Smith) that weren’t being celebrated, weren’t being identified.” from the streets of Chattanooga.

“He didn’t read a bit of music, but taught himself to play on trash cans simply from listening to the sounds of factories. Yes, he received his recognition from being sampled, but wasn’t paid for that. It wasn’t until later on that Questlove from The Roots gave him the recognition he deserved.”

Shane goes on to say when Jazzanooga had the opportunity to bring Stubblefield to Chattanooga a few years before he passed away, he was so incredibly humble it was almost shocking.

“I get emotional when I think about it because he was so humble. What a humble man. It blew my mind and was one of the many things that gave me the energy to keep doing what I was doing.”

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

JEANNIE HACKER-CERULEAN Connecting the world of arts to the world of nature

By Sandra Kurtz

J

EANNIE HACKER-CERULEAN HAS ALWAYS WANTED TO BRING stories to life. When she was five years old, she put her dolls in long dresses as ugly stepsisters and directed her sister to play Cinderella. By the time she graduated from high school in Austin, Texas, she understood what the arts can do for a city.

At Louisiana State University she studied acting, directing and speech. She dabbled in a variety of arts while in Taos, New Mexico where she was a writer, assistant director, and playwright for Taos Children’s Theatre. Her love of nature led her to establish her own New Mexico Nature Theatre.

“People have a need to be creative,” says Cerulean. She points to the Kennedy Center national surveys showing that children want to go to school when it’s art day and that they will choose a story over a cookie.

From her professorial perch at UTC teaching courses like Public Speaking, Advocacy and Debate, Interpersonal Communication with Improvisation, and Reader’s Theatre, she has been instrumental in providing space for students to blend nature with the arts through creative process.

Real life issues are addressed with emphasis on life’s journeys, communication and how to get positive outcomes for ideas. Students had an idea to have a farm on campus and now there is a vegetable garden.

The Green Dorm competition challenged students to track their water use and share ideas to use less. Her Reader’s Theatre courses require reading novels like “Fahrenheit 451” and discussing how future outcomes can be impacted.

Now, for Cerulean, bringing arts to nature does not mean painting landscape scenes or sculpting birds and bunnies.

There are social justice and caring for the Earth components. She has conceived of festivals combining arts and nature with an environmental theme. She formed the organization We Are Nature Lovers’ to provide services for festivals and plays. continued on page 18

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”If you are in a play, you relate to it and later have ‘cognitive embodiment’,” Cerulean maintains. “If you’re in a play, you can believe in the message and take actions later.”

The three years of Cool Down ChaTTown festivals provided a way to bring environmentalists and artists together while enticing festival visitors to delve into sustainability issues and take action. For Cerulean, the arts become a way to connect people to nature and cultural history.

She wrote and directed “Robin Coming to a Forest Near You” presented during the 2017 festival. The message communicated the importance of saving trees, having them in a city, and ways to make it happen.

“If you are in a play, you relate to it and later have ‘cognitive embodiment’,” Cerulean maintains. “If you’re in a play, you can believe in the message and take actions later.”

That same festival provided opportunities at Moccasin Bend for people to hike, bike, paddle, and play outdoors. These days we call that Placemaking.

Other community work included collabo-

ration with the Beehive Design Collective, an organization that uses visual images to tell the story of mountain top removal with its devastating impacts on Appalachian mining communities. Cerulean coordinated presentations and raised funds for Beehive to travel to Chattanooga.

“Arts can pull down money for the environment,” she declares.

Her community work with Teaching Artists Program and CoPac brings visiting artists to local schools. The program encourages bonding and friendships through an interdisciplinary approach and the hope is to expand this program to recreation centers.

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Cerulean believes that the successful group creative process means having ideas connected to timing. She says theatre skills are valuable in bringing arts to the community.

Through theatre experiences, one learns how to express ideas, how to work with others and how to ask questions that lead to a desired outcome: What does social justice look like? What would make a given situation better? Who should be involved and what do they want?

Never short of creative visionary ideas herself, Cerulean becomes more and more animated as she speaks of arts and environment and the need to do something to protect our resources and protect quality of life on the planet.

Always inclusive, there’s a sense of grapevine values as she encourages telling others. Together, she believes that environmental resiliency through the arts can keep us going even in these difficult days.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

ERNIE PAIK & BOB STAGNER Ain’t nobody movin’ more than the Shaking Rays

By Janis Hashe

E

RNIE PAIK AND BOB STAGNER MAY BE TOTALLY DIFFERENT personality types—Paik, the deeply modest techie and Stagner, the outgoing, passionate percussionist—but together, they form the backbone of one of Chattanooga’s true cultural treasures, the Shaking Ray Levi Society.

Stagner, one of the founders, along with the late Dennis Palmer, is a Chattanooga native. Paik, who moved to Chattanooga in 2004 for an engineering job, “noticed that the SRLS was putting on consistently interesting events with non-traditional, non-mainstream musicians and filmmakers, which was right up my alley.”

After meeting Palmer at a 2005 show, Stagner eventually joined the SRLS board, and has been its president for the last ten years.

“I do plenty of paperwork and numbercrunching in my day job, and I’m happy to bring those skills to the SRLS and into the arts world,” he says.

The Shaking Rays are simply one of the most energetic and eclectic arts organization anywhere, sponsoring performances over 32 years ranging from Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arkestra to avant-garde pianist Matthew Shipp to pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn— this despite operating on what Stagner

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calls “not just a shoestring budget, but a boiled shoestring budget.”

“We have stayed alive in the everchanging arts world by being nimble and flexible with low overhead,” says Paik.

In addition to being in demand as a musician and producer, Stagner manages to find time to run the SRLS’s The Rhythmic Arts Project (TRAP), which teaches teachers working with children with disabilities how to use music to enhance their classrooms.

Paik continues to work as an engineer, but also attends festivals to seek out new artists, and listens to hundreds of new releases for the 80 music reviews he does each year for The Pulse.

“Ernie is one of the only people who even knows how to write about this music,” says Stagner of the eclectic and diverse records to which Paik continuously exposes Chattanooga’s readers.

The biggest project yet for the SRLS was Wayne-O-Rama, which ran from No-

vember 2016 throughout 2017.

Featuring the work of artist Wayne White, the Shaking Rays could best be described as the instigators of the project, which involved dozens of events, from huge installations on both Rossville Avenue and at the Hunter Museum, music and puppetry, and an event with NPR commentator and Duplex Planet creator David Greenberger, a longtime SRLS collaborator.

Both Stagner and Paik remain astonished and grateful at the number of volunteers (over 300) and funders who stepped up to make the project possible.

“People don’t realize the impact of Wayne-O-Rama and the collaborations that came out of it,” says Paik. One example is volunteer Megan Hovany, who became production designer for a satirical short film made for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim called Final Deployment 4.

“She was able to use some pieces in the film made by other artists she met through Wayne-O-Rama,” says Paik. The SRLS is in the process of finding permanent exhibition spaces for some of the sculptures created

role of the organization in fostering film projects, especially pre-Chattanooga Film Festival, largely through the input of longtime associate, filmmaker Jarrod Whaley.

The Shaking Rays helped support the acclaimed documentary about self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar, A Man Named Pearl, as well as Dead Innocent: The Ed Johnson Story, about the mob lynching of a young black man from the Walnut Street Bridge.

On Aug. 4, the SLRS co-sponsored the Barking Legs performance of Atlanta-based Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel, and you can bet there are multiple events upcoming.

“On some level, the internal test we have for choosing whether or not we do an event is, ‘Is this something we are excited about?’ If not, don’t do it,” Paik says. “If we’re not excited about it, why should anyone else be?”

But in reality, there’s always plenty for them to get excited about.

“I’m 61,” says Stagner. “And I don’t have to grow up.”

”Ernie is one of the only people who even knows how to write about this music,” says Stagner of the eclectic and diverse records to which Paik continuously exposes Chattanooga’s readers.” for Wayne-O-Rama, and a lasting association has been formed with Chattanoogaborn White.

Both Paik and Stagner continue to create individually. Paik, a multi-instrumentalist and video artist, has been working for the past year on a video for David Greenberger and Prime Lens, which he says has been a challenge.

“I work at a painfully slow pace,” Paik jokes.

Stagner dreams of making a solo record, and recalls mentioning that to best friend Palmer, who retorted, “Every damn record you’re on is a solo record,” to the lasting amusement of both of them.

In the meantime, there are always potential new SRLS ideas. Stagner notes the

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

WATERS & DOWNUM Art for a City: The Pop-Up Project comes of age

By Jenn Webster

A

GUITAR TRILLS AS PAINT-SPLATTERED STATUES BREATHE, spread their arms, clap! We’re up close, craning over shoulders.

Travelers in 1930s-style trousers, button downs and suspenders rock and stomp along the aisle of the dining car. We’re elbowing past them, crowded tight.

Seamstresses turn their bodies into machines, needle down, bobbin thread up, ghosts in the old factory. We’re flying with the drone cam, swallows in the eaves.

Historic photos and information about the Chattanooga sit-ins and the police brutality that followed fade into a shot down Main Street, closing in on a posse of dancers. We’re in a car, maybe, or pounding down road on foot. Something’s happening. We hear sirens. We walk backward, backward, until poet Arc Twitty comes into frame.

Tears and dust from a thousand marched miles muddy my feet…

These are all scenes from The Pop-Up Project’s recent works, and that’s just a taste. There’s really no way to understand The Pop-Up Project besides watching a performance live or on video; the work is multifaceted yet situated, of many genres yet dance-specific. There are whimsical

projects and heavy ones, celebrations and memorials. Every work is located in a site in or around the city, and informed by that site’s history.

“We’re storytellers,” says Mattie Waters, one of The Pop-Up Project’s artistic directors, along with her colleague Jules Downum. “We take in as much information as we can about a site, which dictates the piece we create. We leave it to our city— our viewers—to have their own thoughts and feelings.”

This work of reflection and creation has been underway for more than a year now.

The Pop-Up Project, now a chartered nonprofit, has assembled a go-to cadre of artists in virtually every medium—fine art, music, videography, make-up, costume— with whom they work regularly. They’re constantly collaborating with new artists, too—up to 40 so far. continued on page 30

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And while many arts groups in Chattanooga compensate their collaborators only with praise, The Pop-Up Project is committed to paying people a fair wage, Downum says. They’re a leader among several groups moving the needle, albeit slowly, toward an innovative, professional performance art culture in Chattanooga.

”Our work is about creating connections. It’s easiest when we have common places. [We explore] the things that happened there. They’re not all good, not all beautiful.”

CIVIC ART With themes spanning the Depression, Appalachian womanhood, sit-ins and terrorism, is The Pop-Up Project creating civic art?

I ask. Is theirs a patriotic mission?

Downum resists the term.

“I would not use the word patriotic,” she says. “Our work is about creating connections. It’s easiest when we have common places. [We explore] the things that happened there. They’re not all good, not all beautiful. The sit-ins, fire hoses…that was not good. But it all happened here. We have a connection to it, here, together.”

BIG WORK: ANCHORS AT SCULPTURE FIELDS The Pop-Up Project’s latest video is Anchors, a piece choreographed in commemoration of

the five servicemen who lost their lives in a terrorist attack in Chattanooga in 2015. Shot in the Sculpture Fields, Anchors features an original composition by Tim Cofield, who is also the Project’s videographer.

Choreographers Emma Pannkuk and Maddie Lane added their skills to those of Downum and Waters. The cast of more than 60 dancers included well-known local professionals, students from Ballet Tennessee, and BTN guest artist Fred Davis, formerly of Dance Theatre of Harlem.

This large (and very partial) credits list is merited because Anchors is big. Shot in and around a statue also commemorating the Fallen Five, Anchors starts as the five principal dancers fall flat to the ground, then whirls dizzily around the statue, scales the heights and descends, follows Davis’ powerful movements, tracks close-up and he catches a procession of child dancers leaping toward at

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him, and finally pans out to encompass a crowd of people, silhouetted, pounding their hearts and dropping, over and over.

I thought that this is how children feel after a disaster. They want to know the grown-ups will catch them.

WHAT’S NEXT?

On Friday, Aug. 3, The Pop-Up Project performed at the Hunter Museum of American Art. And then—the schedule’s more or less open. Supported by grants and private donations, they need money. And that’s too bad, because what they do is important. Their work suggests that of national-scale sitespecific dance groups; Wales’ Ballet Cymru comes to mind.

“We take art out of traditional settings into a found space,” Waters says. “We’d like to do a full-length production inside a building.

The audience could follow the musicians and dancers as they told a story. This is what Punchdrunk [a performance art theater] is doing in London. It’s where theater is happening, internationally.”

Give these people the right budget, and they could create an evening of site-specific dance that would keep you entranced and put the city on the map. They’re that good.

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

ALECIA VERA BUCKLES How to describe the indescribable: “unapologetically fluid”

By Brandon Watson

A

LECIA VERA BUCKLES CAN CATCH YOUR EYE IN ANY DARK and noisy venue with her shocking blue hair and Cheshire cat smile. I met her while working The Road to Nightfall last year. Fast forward and I’m sitting on a foot rest in the Bazar Odditorium talking with Alecia about her time growing as an artist.

Alecia radiates an aura of serenity in this place, a severe contrast from the busy bartender I’ve always known her to be.

It’s clear this is her element with chill music in the background and the summer sun alighting her with an ethereal glow.

She reminds me of a brooding hurricane during a sunset when the sun gives the rising storm a fiery intensity across a turbulent sea.

Alecia’s journey began in Rossville living with her mother until attending Shorter University, a small Baptist college in Rome, Georgia.

There Alecia discovered joy in creating within a welcoming and supportive art department. Although she claims that art never came easy to her, she made it a focused area of study rather than pursue more career driven subjects.

“When anybody asked me what I want-

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ed to be when I grew up I always just said ‘Happy’ and when they asked how I would pay the bills I would say, I don’t care as long as I’m happy,” she said.

Alecia also studied for a year at UTC where she learned to create art in a more results driven environment.

“I do not thrive in competitive environments at all, so I floundered. I was really pushed to the point where I did not want to pursue art, I made art I wasn’t connected to. A lot of people do really well because it forces them to pull out the inner workings of their minds, but that didn’t work for me personally,” she said.

Alecia returned to Shorter to finish up her degree since it would assure her a debt free education. She returned to a more suitable pace that allowed her free reign of the department earning her a Bachelors of Fine Art degree with a minor in painting.

However, during her time at UTC she experienced the Chattanooga art scene and felt a desire to fully immerse herself into the city’s artistic community.

“I’ve always maintained a connection with Chattanooga even when attending Shorter. I’d come up for work on the weekends. It’s a small cozy city and I’ve always had a super great network with the artists even before I thrived as an artist myself.

What they were doing was so cool and I thought, ‘I really want to be a part of that scene’,” she said.

Alecia still takes up various side hustles in town to pay the bills but only to afford herself the flexibility to dedicate meaningful studio time. During the day she is curator of The Bazar Odditorium which exists within The Palace Theater.

For Alecia, being a curator is part of a fully realized dream as a colorful facilitator and vibrant contributor to the evolving art

sculptures made of spray foam which for the most part resemble a David Cronenburg nightmare rampaging through an LSD fueled gypsy circus.

Again, she’s hard to pin down.

What these sculptures offer is some kind of otherworldly fun to experience for those with a sense of the daring, the bold, and the whimsical.

“The spray foam is great because it’s super unpredictable so I’m real excited to start doing figures with it. I’m coming back to my work with a level of intensity because I’m using it as a form of therapy to work through a lot of emotional stuff. But I am still adding my love of color with all of it” she said.

Not only can Alecia’s work be found at The Bazar Odditorium but also online at www.aleciavera.com and follow her on Instagram @aleciavera to see what amazing things this aqueous artist has in store with her unapologetic approach to art.

”For Alecia, being a curator is part of a fully realized dream as a colorful facilitator and vibrant contributor to the evolving art within the city.” within the city.

To classify, Alecia’s work would be like trying to pin-the-tail on a donkey made of mercury in zero gravity. She has cultivated commercial success with her Gunk head art. Gunk heads are comprised of bright colored paint remnants and the recycled bits she salvages from other projects.

She incorporates various textures and substance with two-dimensional figures and faces. Her bright flamboyant personality bleeds through her works which offer a complex array of emotional configurations with eye popping explosions of color.

At present she is experimenting with

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STATE OF THE ARTS 2018 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

TODD OLSON Taking the Chattanooga Theatre Centre into the future

By Addie Whitlow

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ANY PEOPLE ARE BORN KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT THEIR calling in life is, but for many other people, we have to learn through experience, which is exactly what Todd Olson, current Executive Director of the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, did.

Olson, who came to the Theatre Centre in 2017, grew up in a small town called Sioux City, Iowa. He explained that when you’re a big guy in a small town, you compete in all the school sports they have to offer.

Well, Olson did just that. It wasn’t until he was in ninth grade and was actually dared to audition for a play that he discovered that theater is the best team sport he’s ever been a part of, and it was then that he began figuring out what path he wanted his life to take.

After high school, Olson received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre at Missouri’s Tarkio College. He completed a four-year degree in three years, and it was also then that he realized he wanted to get into directing as well.

After his time at Tarkio College, Olson went straight into another degree at the University of North Carolina, where he earned a Masters in Acting and Directing.

He then went to New York and worked for several years. He also spent time teaching and working at a community college in Michigan, and he earned a certificate in stage directing from Harvard.

He worked for the American Stage Theater Company in St. Petersburg, Fla., for over a decade, and he also lived in Maryland, where he was an executive director for an arts festival.

Olson resigned from that position in 2016, and he found that the Theatre Centre was looking for a new Executive Director at the same time he was looking for a new home, which is why he made his 55th move to Chattanooga in April 2017.

Olson inherited the current season at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre from his successor, but his first official season as Executive Director begins with the production of Disney’s “Newsies” this September. Olson is really looking forward continued on page 24

Photo courtesy Julie Van Valkenburg

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to the CTC’s upcoming season for a number of reasons.

“There’s a lot to look forward to. To do two huge, sort of tent pole musicals, like ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and ‘Newsies.’ ‘Newsies’ is auditioning this month, and we’ll end next August with ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’ That’s exciting,” explained Olson. “We have a young professionals group this year, and they chose two of the shows in the season. We have a cultural outreach group with a real eye on diversity, and they chose three of the shows in the season.”

In part thanks to Olson, the Theatre Centre will also be performing “Fences” next February, and they are going to complete the cycle of August Wilson’s plays, which means that every year for the next 10 years, the Theatre Centre will perform a play written by August Wilson.

At one of his last directing jobs, Olson helped his theater become the 13th theater in the world to complete the cycle.

In addition to the great content for the CTC’s upcoming season, Olson has also

the pressures of the financial side have crept into the artistic side.

While the majority of people involved with the Theatre Centre are volunteers, there is still the pressure for shows to do well, to sell enough tickets, and to grow their audience.

One aspect of the Theatre Centre that Olson was exceptionally impressed by is the fact that it has been a part of the city for almost a century. With the direction of Olson, the Theatre Centre will easily be around to serve Chattanooga and surrounding areas for another hundred years.

“Well, I didn’t know that 95-year-old theaters existed. In the professional theater, you’re lucky to get a theater to last 20 or 30 years. I have a photo of the original cast from 1923, which was found when they renovated this building,” Olson said.

“I just think that is really remarkable, that any theater has served a community for 95 years. You just don’t get that in professional theater. So, this theater really has my respect.”

”While the majority of people involved with the Theatre Centre are volunteers, there is still the pressure for shows to do well, to sell enough tickets, and to grow their audience.” worked hard this season to optimize the existing strengths at the Theatre Centre.

With both a team effort and a little luck, Olson said they have been able to nearly double their attendance, subscribership, facility rentals, and endowment. The longserving staff at the Theatre Centre has helped in that respect; several of the directors, such as Scott Dunlap, and other employees have been with the CTC for close to 20 years.

In terms of the future, Olson said he is looking forward to a company of exceptional associates, 5,000 subscribers, a $4 million endowment, and no debt. In many of the jobs Olson has worked in the past,

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THE ART OF BUSINESS

For The Artist Inside All Of Us Art Creations is your one stop shop for framing, supplies, and classes Brooke Brown

Pulse Assistant Editor

“

Being a 100 percent archival frame shop means we only use UV glass, and never use acid based products.

Whatever we do, it’s going to last for generations.”

The Scoop Art Creations 201 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-0072 7351 Commons Blvd.

(423) 531-7606 Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm Sat: 10am-4pm art-creations.com

F

RAMES OF EVERY COLOR DOT the walls of Art Creations’ Frazier Avenue store: deep browns, glittering golds, the spectrum of the rainbow, each frame patiently waiting for your choice to perfectly compliment the piece of art, memorabilia, diploma or out of the box object you want framed and admired for decades to come.

“We’re a family owned, 100 percent archival frame shop. We frame anything, but we specialize in out of the ordinary heirlooms and memorabilia,” says owner Jessica Dumitru. “Being a 100 percent archival frame shop means we only use UV glass, and never use acid based products. Whatever we do, it’s going to last for generations. And because we are a family business we understand the value of hard work, and if you’re going to pay to have something custom framed we want it to last for generations.”

With immeasurable passion and decades worth of dedication, Art Creations is the place to visit if you’re looking for custom framing, art workshops and classes for nearly every art medium, and a staggering selection of art supplies. Beyond their supplies, classes and custom framing, Art Creations is known for their attention to detail when it comes to their customers’ needs and the friendliness that only locally-owned shops here in Chattanooga seem to emit. (Find friendly, helpful faces at either their Frazier Avenue location or their Hamilton Place location on Commons Boulevard.)

“My father originally started Art Creations in 1973—with our Frazier Avenue location opening in 1986 and the Hamilton Place location opening in 2011— and his mother, my grandmother, worked here. And now my brother and I both are

taking over as the next generation,” Jessica says. “Between the three of us, we have over eighty years of experience. So we have a lot of very long term personal knowledge on how to do these things.”

From her days as a child spending summers and afternoons after school in the shop, Jessica’s ties to the store run deep and Art Creations remains the longest running family owned art retailer in the southeast region. And with her father about to be the National Art Materials Association President come 2019, you can rest assured your piece of art or memorabilia will be well cared for if you leave it in the hands of these frame experts.

Beyond their incredible framing ability, Art Creations offers workshops and classes in just about any art medium imaginable. From acrylic paint and figure drawing to mixed media and watercolor, any aspiring or current artist can benefit from their selection of workshops and classes.

Workshops are one to two day events in which you can learn all about a medium you’ve never tried before or already have a passion for as both classes and workshops are catered to benefit any skill level and any age. Classes go on for six to eight weeks, meeting once a

week to give you a longer, more rounded experience in applying yourself to a medium. To sign up for a class or workshop simply call or visit either store, or through their website via PayPal. Both locations carry an outstanding selection of art supplies for, once again, any medium. Canvas, drawing pads, pencils, paints, you name it, they’ve got it. And if for some reason they don’t, anything you need to get your inspiration working can be ordered.

“We offer back to school art sales in which students get a ten percent discount on top of our everyday discounts,” says Jessica, mentioning that if you’re a student and taking a specific art course at a university, they can put together a kit of supplies tailored to your current art course at a substantially lower price than you’d find the same art kit in your university bookstore.

The thing you’ll find beyond frames and supplies when you visit Art Creations are individuals who are dedicated to helping you improve your craft, supply you with outstanding materials and services and overall, allowing your creativity to blossom.

“You don’t have to fit your ideas into a box here,” says Jessica. “If you think it, we can build it.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Hopping From Museum To Museum Ever heard of bar hopping? You know, when you go out with your friends and jump from one bar to another throughout the night? Yeah? Imagine that with museums.

If you’re a museum junkie, you’ll definitely want to participate in the Second Annual Museum Hop. This Thursday and Friday, you can visit nine different museums for only $20. That’s saving over $60 of regular admission fees for NINE museums. Can life get any better?

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about towing, tires, railroads, or decorative arts, you finally can by visiting these different museums to learn everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

The museums include: International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, Coker Tire Museum, National Part Partners, Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center, Songbirds Guitars Museum, Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 6th Cavalry Museum, and Houston Museum of Decorative Arts.

They’ve added four new museums this year to visit. All you have to do is register at their email or by phone, pick up your pass, and go to the museums in whichever order you choose. If you get your ticket passport stamped at each museum, you can get a free t-shirt at the end!

To register, visit tvrail.com or call (423) 894-8028. — Libby Gillies

Renegades Have It Made Catie Posser & Courtney Ingram mine silver art

By Jessie Gantt-Temple Pulse contributor

“

As Renegade thinks more outside the box or, in this case around the ear, they experiment with climbers and decorative backings.”

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ENEGADE IS DEFINED AS “A PERSON WHO DESERTS and betrays an organization or set of principles.” But Renegade Silver Jewelry did not get its name being owned by rebel emerging entrepreneurs.

“We were sitting around trying to think of a name that had some clout then I thought of what did we want to aspire to,” Catie Posser explains.

“If you make it to the Renegade Craft Market, you made it.”

Catie further describes the Renegade Craft Market which is an international showcase where artists feature their homemade goods from London to Portland and a vendor must have $10,000 worth of product available in order to participate.

Renegade Silver Jewelry began in 2015 shortly after two lifelong artists and friends, Catie Prosser and

Courtney Ingram met while silversmithing at a local jewelry store.

Catie described how the pair went together fittingly, “In the beginning, I designed the fronts and Courtney designed the backs.”

Catie learned silversmithing early on at a four year design program in high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and she has a bit of a family background in it as her mother and sister do it too.

Once Catie moved to Chattanooga in 2011, she found work quickly as a manager at Homegrown Silver & Stone creating custom pieces and teaching others how to silversmith.

This is where Courtney comes in. She was taught by Catie, excelled and they both desired to design more, rather than execute someone else’s concept.

Therefore, Renegade Silver Jewelry was created. Renegade Silver Jewelry also chooses to use only high quality, made in America product such as silver milled and mined in the US and their stones come from Arizona.

As Renegade thinks more outside the box or, in this case around the ear, they experiment with climbers and decorative backings. Providing customers the ability to mix and match allows for the creative juices to keep flowing even once the customer gets home.

The multitude of looks is infinite and for the extremely indecisive person, it is a relief to know you aren’t limited to just one pair, one look.

I giggled as Catie described how “you can pick your own stud, like the bar stud.” Tee hee, bar stud. But seriously, the collection is wonderfully overwhelming in all its ornateness— smooth, hammered, oxidized, mat, shiny, sterling silver, rose or yellow gold filled, toe rings, septum or nose rings, necklaces and the list goes on.

With over a thousand sold, the full moon stud with moonbeam ear jacket is the most popular combination and you get at least three looks in one as you can wear each piece separately.

Geometric bar threaders, twisted ear climbers, and hammered moon studs all sound like climbing equipment but in fact, they are actually a great fashion accessory to anyone who loves the outdoors.

For the really active person who needs extra security in their accoutrements, a threaded screw is available too. Talk about never losing your backing again. This amazingly detailed twisted tiny, intricate piece is such a simple yet powerful improvement to the everyday earring.

The magnitude of options mixed with the simplicity of design and complexity of detail is astonishing considering it is done in Catie’s living room.

“Getting in the flow is easy to do from this view,” she says as she highlights the big inspirational window showcasing a Hummingbird feeder and luscious green yard, “As I am almost certified in welding, I’m interested in doing bigger steel sculptures but don’t have the

space.”

Custom orders are encouraged and Catie is available at the Sunday Market to discuss options as well as group discounts. “(These) are great for bridesmaid gifts as they can be similar yet not identical to showcase each individual’s personality.”

House shopping parties are also an option so gather your group for a night of joyous laughter and jewelry.

“Courtney used to make the Sangria while I showcased the collection,” Catie reflected as now Courtney does the design work from her recently relocated home office in Florida. “We also started the company due to Courtney’s super sensitive ears.

There were no resources for modern, stylish and super sensitive.”

On a side note, Catie proudly rocks her ear cuff, as she does not have any piercings and wants folks to know that you don’t have be pierced to wear earrings.

Available on Etsy or RenegadeSilver.com, but I highly recommend being a renegade, visiting their displays at Blue Skies or at the Sunday Market to design your own set of ideas.

THU8.9 Guitar 101 Part 1

In this first part of a series for beginning pickers, you can learn how to understand your new guitar.

5:30 p.m.

The Chattery 302 W. 6th. St. thechattery.org

FRI8.10 Improv Movie Night

Superheroes are everywhere, and sometimes in the least expected (and amusing) of places!

8 p.m.

First Draft Theater 1800 Rossville Ave. improvchattanooga.com

SAT8.11 “Picnic”

The intimacy of small-town life is at the forefront of one eventful Labor Day in Eisenhower-era Kansas.

8 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. bapshows.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 35

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR Embodied Beauty: What Defines Beauty Today?

THURSDAY8.9 Second Annual Museum Hop 10 a.m.

Chattanooga Area (423) 894-8028 tvrail.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Guitar 101 Part 1: Understanding Your Guitar 5:30 p.m.

The Chattery 302 W. 6th. St. (423) 413-8978 thechattery.org City Sweat: Waterhouse WOD 6 p.m.

Waterhouse Pavilion 850 Market St. (423) 265-3700 rivercitycompany.com Embodied Beauty: What Defines Beauty Today?

6 p.m.

The Hunter Museum of American Art

36 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org Jason Cheny 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Country Line Dancing Class 8 p.m.

Westbound Bar 24 Station St. (423) 498-3069 westboundbar.com Comedy Soul Train 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(813) 220-7536 jjsbohemia.com

FRIDAY8.10 Second Annual Museum Hop 10 a.m.

Chattanooga Area (423) 894-8028 tvrail.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal

League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Out On 8th 5 p.m.

West Village 802 Pine St. (423) 424-1831 westvillagechattanooga.com Cambridge Square Night Market 6 p.m.

Cambridge Square 9453 Bradmore Ln. (423) 648-2496 publicmarkets.us Restorative Yoga: Special Class 6:30 p.m.

Thrive Yoga and Wellness 7633 E. Brainerd Rd. (423) 290-2326 thriveyogaandwellness.com Friday Night Magic!

6:30 p.m.

CM Games Hixson 593 Northgate Mall Dr. (423) 708-7487 cardmonstergames.com Summer Macrame Workshop 7 p.m.

Scot & Haven 4501 St. Elmo Ave. (931) 215-3102 scotandhaven.com Movies in the Park at Dark 7:30 p.m.

Heritage Park 1428 Jenkins Rd.

(423) 463-0202 bridgechristian.org USA Dance: Lesson & Dancing 7:30 p.m.

Brainerd United Methodist Church 4315 Brainerd Rd. (518) 526-4856 chattanoogausadance.com Sunset Tours 7:30 p.m.

L2 Outside 131 River St. (423) 531-7873 l2outside.com Jason Cheny 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Improv Movie Night: Superheroes!

8 p.m.

First Draft Theater 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Cut-Throat Comedy: A Live Comedy Game Show 8 p.m.

Palace Theater 818 Georgia Ave. (423) 803-6578 chattpalace.com Ruby Falls Lantern Tours 8:30 p.m.

Ruby Falls 1720 S. Scenic Hwy. (423) 821-2544

Alla Prima Landscape Painting

rubyfalls.com Improv Showdown 10 p.m.

First Draft Theater 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

SATURDAY8.11 Alla Prima Landscape Painting 9 a.m.

Townsend Atelier 301 E. 11th St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org Dog Adoption Saturdays 10 a.m.

Deja Nu Thrift and Boutique 4784 Hwy. 58 (423) 708-8995 heschatt.org/thriftstore Chattanooga River Market 10 a.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza 1 Broad St. (423) 648-2496 publicmarkets.us North Carolinians at Chickamauga on Snodgrass Hill

10:30 a.m.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park 3370 Lafayette Rd. (706) 866-9241 nps.gov 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Red Wolf Feeding and Talk Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Decade of Derby 4 p.m.

Chattanooga Convention Center 1150 Carter St. (423) 756-0001 chattanoogaconventioncenter.org Bottles and Beads Party Gras River Cruise 2018 4 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy.

(423) 266-4488 chattanoogariverboat.com Family Sleep in the Deep: Summer Sleepover 5:30 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium 1 Broad St. (800) 262-0695 tnaqua.org

Summer in West Village 6 p.m.

West Village 802 Pine St. westvillagechattanooga.com Jason Cheny 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

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

L2 Outside 131 River St. (423) 531-7873 l2outside.com “Picnic” 8 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. (706) 996-8350 bapshows.com 1 Star Reviews - The Show 8 p.m.

First Draft Theater 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Whose Line Chattanooga 10 p.m.

First Draft Theater 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

SUNDAY8.12 Alla Prima Landscape

Painting 9 a.m.

Townsend Atelier 301 E. 11th St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org Chattanooga Market 10 a.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1826 Carter St. (423) 648-2496 publicmarkets.us North Carolinians at Chickamauga on Snodgrass Hill 10:30 a.m.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park 3370 Lafayette Rd. (706) 866-9241 nps.gov Top Tomato 11 a.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1801 Carter St. (423) 648-2496 publicmarkets.us 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 37

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions petplacementcenter.com Free Fiddle School 2 p.m.

Fiddlers Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 fiddlersanonymous.com “Picnic” 2:30 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. (706) 996-8350 bapshows.com Jason Cheny 7:30 p.m.

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

MONDAY8.13 Beginning Watercolor 9 a.m.

Townsend Atelier 301 E. 11th St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org PaintED: Renewed Art Therapy Program 11:30 p.m.

Renewed

38 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

1322 Dodds Ave. (615) 831-9838 renewedsupport.org 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Advanced Watercolor 1 p.m.

Townsend Atelier 301 E. 11th St. (423) 266-2712 townsendatelier.com Summer Belly Dance Session 5:45 p.m.

Movement Arts Collective 3813 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 401-8115 movementartscollective.com

TUESDAY8.14 Wake Up & Run 6 a.m.

Fleet Feet Sports 307 Manufacturers Rd. (423) 771-7996 fleetfeetchattanooga.com “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit

by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions

Noon Tennessee Humane Animal League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute Tour 4 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute 175 Baylor School Rd. (800) 262-0695 tnaqua.org Tuesday Night Chess Club 6 p.m.

Downtown Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 643-7700 chattilibrary.com

WEDNESDAY8.15 “Growing Up Soul” Art Exhibit

by Gerald Byrd 10 a.m.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658 bessiesmithcc.org Middle Eastern Dance 10:30 a.m.

Jewish Cultural Center 5461 North Terrace (423) 493-0270 jewishchattanooga.com 2 for 1 Kitten Adoptions Noon Tennessee Humane Animal

League’s Pet Placement 5975 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 877-0738 petplacementcenter.com Main Street Market 4 p.m.

522 W. Main St. mainstfarmersmarket.com Both Demo Days 6:30 p.m.

L2 Outside 131 River St. (423) 531-7873 l2outside.com Naughty Knights Chess Meetup 7:30 p.m.

The Bitter Alibi 825 Houston St. (423) 362-5070 thebitteralibi.com Open Mic Comedy 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400 jjsbohemia.com Free Improv Night 8 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. (706) 996-8350 bapshows.com

Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 39

40 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

DINING OUT

Kenny’s Southside Sandwiches Enjoying a thoughtful breakfast and lunch on the Southside Josh Carter

Special to The Pulse

“

We wanted to bring a casual breakfast and lunch restaurant concept that focused on locally grown produce and inhouse finished meats.”

The Scoop Kenny's Southside Sandwiches 11251 Market St. (423) 498-5888 Mon-Sat: 7am-3pm Closed Sunday kennyssandwiches.com

F

OR THE PAST 11 YEARS, KENNY Burnap has been in charge of giving the chefs of St. John’s Restaurant and St. John’s Meeting Place the culinary raw materials to wow the palates of local Chattanoogans.

As the daytime butcher of St. John’s and Meeting Place, Burnap also made sausage, cured meats and served as the liaison between the restaurant and local farms. All of this experience helped lead him to where he is today.

Kenny is now running a restaurant across the street from St John’s in the former Porker’s space at 1251 Market Street. His new restaurant Kenny’s is a collaboration with St. John’s owner— Josh Carter.

“There are a number of established breakfast restaurants and also a few locally owned sandwich shops in Chattanooga, but we felt that we were bringing something new and thoughtful to the Chattanooga culinary landscape,” says Burnap.

“We wanted to bring a casual breakfast and lunch restaurant concept that focused on locally grown produce and in-house finished meats.

We want to offer recognizable food with more depth of flavor.”

If you look through the breakfast and lunch menus, you will see a plethora of meats cured or made by Burnap.

For the Muffuletta he makes several different cuts of meat including city ham, cappicola and pastrami.

The most popular menu item is the Brisket Rueben. Kenny seasons and then smokes the brisket for 10 hours, until its perfect. It is served on mar-

ble rye from Neidlov’s bakery, with a mustard slaw, pastrami and Kenny’s own version of Russian Dressing.

Other popular lunch sandwiches are the Pork Belly Bahn Mi, the Meatball Sub, the Turkey Sandwich served with Dancing Fern Cheese from Sequatchie Cove Creamery. If sandwiches aren’t your thing, Kenny’s also serves a local heirloom tomato salad with parmesan soufflé and an arugula salad with smoked trout and avocado.

The breakfast menu is a little different than your average Chattanooga breakfast stop. There is a duck confit biscuit, a pork belly sandwich and a fried chicken biscuit served with hot sauce and apple butter.

If more traditional fare is your thing, there are a variety of breakfast sandwiches served on house-made biscuits or English muffins. These can be simple but delicious, featuring Kenny’s

house-made sausage and housecured bacon. Traditional egg and potato plates are also available.

On the lighter side, they have yogurt, house made granola and fresh fruit and often have meat free and gluten free options. Saturday features an all day brunch menu, with specials of shrimp and grits and smoked trout on an English Muffin.

Kenny’s serves a focused beer menu, with only Tennessee breweries on tap. Wine by the glass is coming soon. There is outdoor seating available and they deliver in close proximity to the restaurant or for large events.

Because the restaurant is closed in the evenings it is available for private bookings and parties after 3 p.m. Call (423) 498-5888 for call ahead ordering. For simple online ordering, go to their website kennyssandwiches.com.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 41

THE MUSIC SCENE

Spinster And Sommeliers Good things often come in threes— the ingredients for a BLT, little pigs, circus tents—and sister band Spinster poses no exception to the Rule of Three. Composed of sisters Amelia, Rosalie, and Rachel Graber, Spinster sounds like a mixture of the Andrews Sisters’ 1959 hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and the sirens from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Spinster artfully combines the unique sounds of the washboard, glockenspiel, accordion, mandolin, flute, with more common guitars and drums into a beautiful and eclectic modernization of down home folk music.

Their music videos range from a moody black and white collection of themed covers, to originals staged in front of a Mapco, complete with cars passing back and forth and a baby free to rummage as it pleases.

The sisters of Spinster possess an intimate energy, often smiling at each other while they play and weaving their sweet harmonies in and out of the round. These Chattanooga locals play venues all over town, from The Honest Pint to The Daily Ration, and this week they’ll be gracing the patio at 1885 for Wine Wednesday.

And yes, Spinster pairs perfectly with a sweet Thorny Rose Riesling on a balmy southern summer day. — Olivia Haynes

Distracted Dirty Streets Pop psychology meets a Memphis-based power trio

By Marc T. Michael Pulse Music Editor

“

We still want our things cheaply and quickly and if it’s supposed to be here Wednesday evening and doesn’t arrive until Thursday morning, there will be hell to pay.”

42 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

I

AM NO FAN OF POP PSYCHOLOGY. LIVE LONG enough and you will not only see the rise and fall of trends in that “field,” you will also begin to notice the resurgence and recycling of ideas that are either long since debunked or, at best, done to death and not especially revelatory.

For all that, I recently read a blog that, in parts, resonated with me. To a degree it was one of those, “Why stuff isn’t making you happy,” observations (somewhere in a Lascaux cave is a painting that translates to, “Thag have fire and meat, why Thag not happy?”) but there were a few points made that were new (to me, anyway.)

One of the main thrusts had to do with the complications of instant gratification and the speed of things.

Like the author, I grew up at a time when ordering something by

mail meant you had to wait six to eight weeks for delivery. Today, with the click of a button, you can have what you want tomorrow or, sometimes, later on that same day.

We occasionally bemoan the plight of folks working in foreign sweatshops to make our things; lately we’ve become more vocal about the plight of folks in de facto domestic sweatshops who handle and ship our things, but at the end of the day we still want our things cheaply and quickly and if it’s supposed to be here Wednesday evening and doesn’t arrive until Thurs-

day morning, there will be hell to pay.

The dichotomy between wanting to be decent, considerate people who care about each other and entitled little buttholes who want more, more, more, now, now, now, plays hell on a person’s psyche.

All this was floating around in my head when I say down to listen to the newly released single from The Dirty Streets, a Memphis-based power trio that alchemizes gutsy raw blows into blistering, guitar-driven rock music.

The band has been around for a while, road-dogging it, paying dues, releasing albums and LPs, and whatever material they started out as, today there are highly polished, razor honed steel.

The single, “Distractions,” is the title track of an upcoming new LP (their fifth) scheduled for release on September 14th.

At first listen, the track is exactly what I’ve described so far; hard edged, thumping guitar music with licks and vocals reminiscent of Gregg Allman circa “Whipping Post.” It is power-

“

The band has been around for a while, road-dogging it, paying dues, releasing albums and LPs, and whatever material they started out as, today there are highly polished, razor honed steel.

ful stuff and whether you call it Swamp Boogie, blues, rock, or half a dozen other labels that approximate the sound, it is ultimately a cauldron of primordial emotion from which musical magic emerges.

If that were the end of the story, that would be good enough, but there’s more here than meets the eye, because the song itself is bit of biting social commentary on the prevalence of sensory overload and the bludgeoning speed with which it is delivered every second of every day.

It is music with a message, and while my general advice regarding “message music” is “don’t do it,” the subject matter here is delivered so deftly that the message is only there

Todd Rundgren Rocks The Tivoli The Hermit of Mink Hollow is coming to the Chattanooga this weekend in a can’tmiss show aptly titled, “An Unpredictable Evening with Todd Rundgren.”

The legendary performer and producer is perhaps as well known for his production work on seminal albums like Bat Out Of Hell, We’re An American Band, and a host of other immediately recognizable records as he is for his own hit singles.

While Rundgren’s mainstream success is undeniable, his true legendary status (at least in the hearts of musicians and Rundgren devotees) is derived from his larger body of non-mainstream work in which he has consistently pushed the envelope in musical technique, style, genre, presentation, recording and virtually every aspect of musicmaking, putting him in the same class as Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, and Frank Zappa.

The highly regarded, much-respected musical genius will be appearing this Friday the Tivoli Theater at 8 p.m. Tickets are, for now, still available, but act fast if you don’t want to miss one of the most significant musical opportunities to ever hit the Scenic City. — MTM

for people who care to hear it.

You could just as easily crank it up, bang your head, drive too fast, drink too much at the party and scream “Whoooo!” if that’s your thing, but there’s so much more there.

Another dichotomy—this one of pulse-pounding jam and subtle, poignant, timely critique—is one I can get behind and speaks to the talent of a band with enough experience to speak deeply on a subject without beating the listener over the head with it. In a word, here is a hard-rocking band with a sublime mastery of lyrics and THAT is all too rare.

The single is available now, the LP debuts September 14th, and Dirty Streets, simply put, is a band that delivers on all levels.

THU8.9

FRI8.10

SAT8.11

Larry Fleet

The Barstool Romeos

Lateral Blue

From the wilds of White Bluff, Tenessee comes this soulful country crooner with a healthy dose of the blues.

9 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com

Andy Pirkle and Mike McGill combine their love of honky-rock and rock-n-roll with heartfelt lyrical expression.

9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com

A ‘’progressive roots’’ band that brings high energy, unique dynamics, and a quality of virtuosity to each performance.

7 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 43

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys

THURSDAY8.9 Catman Smothers 2 p.m.

Virgola 608 Georgia Ave. chattanoogawinebar.com An Evening with Michelle Malone 6 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com Matt Downer 6 p.m.

1885 Grill 3914 St. Elmo Ave. 1885grill.com James Crumble Trio 6 p.m.

St. John’s Meeting Place 1278 Market St. stjohnsrestaurant.com Forever Bluegrass 6 p.m.

Whole Foods Market 301 Manufacturers Rd. wholefoodsmarket.com Dustin Concannon 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Megan Howard 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Toby Hewitt 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St.

44 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

backstagechattanooga.com Open Mic Night 7 p.m.

Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. 3210 Broad St. bendbrewingbeer.com Jamal Traub, Mike Crowder, Stormy & Adrian, Katrina Barclay 7 p.m.

Heritage House Arts Center 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 855-9474 Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Bluegrass Thursdays 7:30 p.m.

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

Mexi-Wing VII 5773 Brainerd Rd. (423) 296-1073 Keepin’ It Local 8 p.m.

The Social 1110 Market St. publichousechattanooga.com Mary Chapin Carpenter 8:30 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. tivolichattanooga.com Larry Fleet 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com

Open Mic Night with Jonathon Wimpee 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Comedy Soul Train 9 p.m.

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

FRIDAY8.10 Summer Music Weekends 11 a.m.

Rock City Gardens 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 Jeff Miller 6 p.m.

Cambridge Square 9453 Bradmore Ln. publicmarkets.us Jesse Jungkurth 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Jimmy Dormire 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com The No Good Deeds 7 p.m.

River Drifters Chattanooga

1925 Suck Creek Rd. riverdrifters.net Cody James Harris 7 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechatt.com Scott Coner 7 p.m.

Tonya’s Pub 5403 Willbanks Dr. (423) 362-8881 Reese & Rosser 7 p.m.

Oddstory Brewing Company 336 E. MLK Blvd. oddstorybrewing.co Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys 7 p.m.

Miller Plaza 850 Market St. nightfallchattanooga.com Rick Rushing and The Blues Strangers 7:30 p.m.

The Foundry 1201 Broad St. chattanooganhotel.com Al Wade and Matt Foster 8 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Rye Baby and Outlaw Ritual 8 p.m.

Barley Taphouse 235 E. MLK Blvd. chattanoogabarley.com

Mudbone Strung Like a Horse 8:30 p.m.

The Signal 1810 Chestnut St. thesignaltn.com Cruzin Keys Duelin Piano Show 9 p.m.

Westbound Bar 24 Station St. (423) 498-3069 Rubiks Groove 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com McKinley James 9 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com The Barstool Romeos 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com Pink Spiders, Behold the Brave 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com FaithHead, EverCross, Daze of Broken Fate, Skelton Key 9 p.m.

Music Box @ Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net Voodoo Slim 10 p.m.

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

SATURDAY8.11 Eric Sanders 11 a.m.

Adelle’s Creperie 400 E. Main St. adellescreperie.com Summer Music Weekends 11 a.m.

Rock City Gardens 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Bluegrass Brunch Noon The Honest Pint 35 Patten Pkwy. thehonestpint.com Jeff Miller 12:30 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza 1 Broad St. publicmarkets.us Bottles and Beads Party Gras River Cruise 4 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Parkway chattanoogariverboat.com Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 Amber Fults 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Preston Ruffing 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St.

westinchattanooga.com Stephen Evans 7 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechattanooga.com Grizzly Fowler Band 7 p.m.

Cambridge Square 9453 Bradmore Ln. publicmarkets.us Mudbone, Genki Genki Panic 7 p.m.

Ross’s Landing Park 100 Riverfront Pkwy. riverfrontnights.com Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Paul Childers Honors Stevie Ray Vaughn 7 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com Lateral Blue 7 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org Danimal 7:30 p.m.

The Foundry 1201 Broad St. chattanooganhotel.com Backwater Still 8 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Up the Dose

8 p.m.

Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. 3210 Broad St. bendbrewingbeer.com The Pickup Lions 9 p.m.

Rumors 3884 Hixson Pike (423) 870-3003 The Freeway Revival 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com Taco Mouth, Kerchief 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Looking for You 9 p.m.

Music Box @ Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net Voodoo Slim 10 p.m.

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

SUNDAY8.12 Summer Music Weekends 11 a.m.

Rock City Gardens 1400 Patten Rd. seerockcity.com Brother Oliver 11 a.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 45

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Natalie Prass Marcus White 11 a.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Barron Wilson Noon River Drifters Chattanooga 1925 Suck Creek Rd. riverdrifters.net Johnny Balik Noon 1885 Grill 3914 St. Elmo Ave. 1885grill.com Mendingwall 12:30 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1826 Carter St. publicmarkets.us Julie Gribble 12:30 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza 1 Broad St. publicmarkets.us Nancy Westmoreland 1:30 p.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Jeff Miller 2 p.m.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1826 Carter St. publicmarkets.us Bluegrass Jam 4 p.m.

Fiddlers Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 Open Mic Night with Jeff Daniels 6 p.m.

46 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

Long Haul Saloon 2536 Cummings Hwy. (423) 822-9775 Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Mathis & Martin 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Maria Sable 8 p.m.

Southside Social 1818 Chestnut St. thesouthsidesocial.com

MONDAY8.13 Monday Nite Big Band 7 p.m.

The Coconut Room 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Open Air with Jessica Nunn 7:30 p.m.

The Granfalloon 400 E. Main St. granfalloonchattanooga.com Very Open Mic with Shawnessey Cargile 8 p.m.

The Well 1800 Rossville Blvd. #8 wellonthesouthside.com

TUESDAY8.14 Bill McCallie and In Cahoots

6:30 p.m.

Southern Belle 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chattanoogariverboat.com Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Danimal 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Open Mic Jam Session 7 p.m.

Crust Pizza 3211 Broad St. crustpizza.com Open Mic Night with Mike McDade 8 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com Superbody, Avery Leigh’s Night Palace 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Faith Evans Ruch 9 p.m.

Music Box @ Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net

3914 St. Elmo Ave. 1885grill.com The Other Guys 6 p.m.

SpringHill Suites 495 Riverfront Pkwy. springhillsuites.com Dexter Bell Trio 7 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Hatcher Phillips Band 7 p.m.

Southern Belle Riverboat 201 Riverfront Pkwy. chatanoogariverboat.com Jesse James Jungkurth 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Priscilla & Little Rickee 8 p.m.

Las Margaritas 1101 Hixson Pike (423) 756-3332 Natalie Prass 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.com Prime Cut Trio 9 p.m.

The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com

WEDNESDAY8.15 Spinster 6 p.m.

1885 Grill

Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

ERNIE PAIK'S RECORD REVIEWS

Andrew Raffo Dewar / John Hughes / Chad Popple Reflejo (pfMENTUM)

I

Tania Chen / Jon Leidecker Live in Japan (Eh?)

n an essay, saxophonist and composer Andrew Raffo Dewar clarified that his work is about “setting processes in motion, both social and musical, not in creating discrete, fixed objects.”

One could argue that, structurally, this is an extension of much of what’s classified as jazz, with the typical framework with a reoccurring head melody interspersed with improvisations and solos.

However, on Dewar’s new album Reflejo—half of which is devoted to the titular composition, and half of which is comprised of pure improvisation— that notion is taken to the next, more radical level, and it works on both an intellectual and a gut-feeling level.

As the listener takes in “Refle-

jo,” with Dewar on soprano saxophone, John Hughes on double bass and Chad Popple on percussion and vibraphone, it forces one to contemplate what a “pattern” exactly is, beyond a set of pitches and durations.

By the end of the three-part piece, simply having the trio play a sustained note in unison serves that function, which might be the result of a mental Pavlovian conditioning trick.

In the intervening spaces, improvisational journeys are like super-sonic flights into the stratosphere, untethered from patterns. Do the patterns serve as “frames” for the pictures—in this case, the improvisational moments—or palate cleansers?

What is really under the spotlight? It depends on the listener.

On “Reflejo III,” there’s a re-

markable moment when Dewar plays a note that wavers, with a high amount of control, between a discrete tone and an odd noise—one might mistake it for a fluke if it wasn’t so perfectly executed; in a way, this variation shows a fluctuation on the microscopic level between the familiar note and the unfamiliar noise.

The album’s second half could be subtitled “Extended Techniques on Parade,” with a bounty of foreign sounds, wrapped together with a thoughtful mind-meld between the players.

Hughes offers moments of drifting notes, wispy crackles and harmonics, alongside Popple’s charged scurrying and rustling.

Dewar can play with the clarity of a tone generator and impressively play difficult multi-phonics, and the three performers can lock on together with nimble fluttering or high-frequency squeaking.

Between a path and its diversions, listeners have much to absorb with Reflejo, confronted by, what Dewar articulated in the aforementioned essay, “a shape, sound, or process I don’t quite grasp and can’t predict where it might lead.”

“D

o you want me to use my voice? If I want to, right? <gasp> Oh we’re on!”

It’s perhaps ironic yet appropriate that Live in Japan begins

with this fleeting moment with musician Tania Chen being caught off-guard, chatting with collaborator Jon Leidecker, as bubbling electronics begin a performance in Osaka; you see, with an album jam-packed with spontaneous mischief and playful synthetic excursions, it’s the listener who’s supposed to be caught off-guard.

Originally from London, Chen is currently based in San Francisco, and around twenty years ago, her career deviated from a traditional classical piano path toward one that explored free improvisation and indeterminacy, such as the work of John Cage and Morton Feldman.

Leidecker—also based in San Francisco—also goes by the moniker Wobbly for his sonic shenanigans, sometimes working with fellow sound plunderers including People Like Us and Negativland.

The cover photo of Live in Japan provides some clues regarding a few of the non-traditional sound-making methods, with what appears to be a Black & Decker rotary tool beside a pocket radio that’s wired to a child’s food container, modified with buttons and switches.

The album features highlights from performances from May 2017, with the majority of the release spotlighting pieces from a stint in Osaka. On these pieces, there’s a profusion of both

frolicking jaunts and distress signals, and occasionally, distorted rhythm loops cut in and out, providing a bare semblance of regularity amid chaos.

“Osaka 3” features squeaking, rubbery noises amid ambient space sounds and glistening, bright tones; perhaps acknowledging the uncertainty of the proceedings, Chen sings softly “What’s happened? It’s gone to my head,” and a voice sample acts as a momentary background chorus.

The glorious mess continues with futuristic power tools, a sonic waterfall of polished chrome shards, accordion scamperings, treated robot vocals, synthetic psycho stabs and what sounds like cybernetic fleas and the aural sci-fi representation of supercomputers making incomprehensibly complex calculations.

The moods change with the locations, as the track recorded in Chiba offers an air of mystery with enigmatic piano and keyboard notes, with ample space to let moments resonate and be felt—it’s not all placid, though, as interference and distractions puncture the serenity.

Even more ambiguous is the closing piece recorded in Tokyo, with echoing keyboard wanderings and gently disquieting mutterings, complicating a nourishingly colorful album with one last nudge to keep the listener off-balance.

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FILM & TELEVISION

Rachel Hollis Is Made For More Are you ready for a girl’s night out unlike anything you’ve experienced before?

Fresh off the success of her best-selling “Girl, Wash Your Face”, author, mama of four, CEO and founder of popular “The Chic Site” blog, Rachel Hollis’ is taking the audience on an inside look at chasing the biggest of dreams.

Rachel Hollis’ belief that she’s here to change the world will inspire you to believe you can do the same.

It’s that belief that had her start a live event series where women who don’t look the same, vote the same or act the same come together to be inspired, supported and enveloped in community.

Believing you’re enough, that you can chase the biggest dreams—they’re all tackled in the documentary Made For More, capturing the conquering of Rachel’s own fears and trusting her gut.

This is your chance to get a peek inside and then have a Q&A with Rachel after the show. This is promised to be a night you and your girlfriends will never forget!

Make plans now to attend this life-changing theatrical event this coming Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at either East Ridge 18 or Hamilton Place 8 theaters.

— Michael Thomas

Return To Middle School Bo Burnham digs deep with memories of Eighth Grade

By Brooke Brown

“

Pulse Assistant Editor

For those my age, it feels like a buried memory, one that isn’t unwelcome exactly, but unpleasant at the same time.”

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I

THINK THERE’S A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN ALL OF US. At least, there is if my reaction to Eighth Grade, a new film by comedian Bo Burnham, is any indication. It’s true that there might be some personal history at play in the way I identify with young Kayla Day, the eponymous hero of the film.

I spend around 180 days a year amongst girls just like her and for three to five very rough years had one of my own haunting the bedrooms and hallways of my house.

I doubt I’ve laughed harder at anything this year than the dinner scene where Kayla’s father tries desperately to talk to his teenage daughter only to be continually shut down because I saw remember watching the exact scene play out in my living room on a nightly basis.

All I wanted to do was watch TV.

This is where the strength of the film lies. It is so real, so exact, so honest, that it at times doesn’t feel like a movie at all.

For those my age, it feels like a buried memory, one that isn’t unwelcome exactly, but unpleasant at the same time. Everyone has felt like Kayla. Everyone has endured the unendurable and come out the other side.

A bildungsroman of this type isn’t uncommon in Hollywood—remember last year’s LadyBird—but Eighth Grade feels fresh and new. This is

due to Burnham’s careful characterization of Kayla and his commitment to showing her as she is, not as how she would want to be portrayed.

We see flashes of her online persona, where she makes selfhelp videos about confidence and self-acceptance, neither of which she practices very well in her personal life.

Kayla knows who she wants to be, and believes she knows the steps that will help her achieve those goals, but she is wracked with the self-doubt and social fears that every experiences to some degree, though Kayla seems to have it much worse.

She is still in the early stages of dealing with what may be a lifetime struggle. This film is very personal and intense, focusing on Kayla the way she focuses on herself, the way we all did when we were her age. The film employs tracking shots of her walking, slouch in full view.

The audience sees Kayla try to make herself small, eyes cast downward, hoping to avoid conversations and become part of the scenery. This is, of course, at odds with her inner thoughts, which we see in her videos, in her hundreds of positive post-it reminders surrounding her mirrors, and in her

“

Some of the happiest points of the film are when she succeeds in the small goals she sets out for herself. Her genuine happiness at having a hallway conversation is magical to watch.”

at times inexplicable attempts to connect with her fellow classmates.

Some of the happiest points of the film are when she succeeds in the small goals she sets out for herself. Her genuine happiness at having a hallway conversation is magical to watch.

Much like newcomer Boots Riley, Bo Burnham doesn’t have many film credits. He’s known mostly for his stand-up comedy, rising to fame as a YouTwube star in 2006. He’s acted in a few television shows and movies, written for a few more, and directed a couple of comedy specials.

Eighth Grade is his first feature, and just like Riley, it’s clear that he is an impressive creative force.

The film is polished and artful.

In addition, I can’t say enough about the performance of Elsie Fisher as Kayla. She embodies the

✴ NEW IN THEATERS ✴

role so completely that it’s hard to see where she ends and Kayla begins. It genuine and honest acting on a level that many adults never achieve.

Maybe she plays the part so well because she’s so close to Kayla’s age and experience, which is another reason the film works so well. All of the actors are age appropriate, a rarity in Hollywood.

But I’d rather believe that Fisher is just that good. Either way, she deserves as much recognition as the industry can muster.

At the end of the film, I wanted to tell Kayla that pool parties get easier, but even at 36, I dread them. I still want to fade into the background. I still want to avoid conversations. I still have that nauseated feeling in the pit of my stomach. Some things never really change. For girls like Kayla, I still hope that they do.

The Meg After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible.

Director: Jon Turteltaub Stars: Ruby Rose, Jason Statham, Rainn Wilson, Jessica McNamee

Slender Man Slender Man tells the story of a tall, thin, horrifying figure with unnaturally long arms and a featureless face, who is reputed to be responsible for the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens.

Director: Sylvain White Stars: Joey King, Javier Botet, Annalise Basso

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 49

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY extrapolate some even bigger inspiration from that marvelous fact. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to celebrate and honor and express pride in your idiosyncratic natural magnificence.

ROB BREZSNY LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You probably gaze at the sky enough to realize when there’s a full moon. But you may not monitor the heavenly cycles closely enough to tune in to the new moon, that phase each month when the lunar orb is invisible. We astrologers regard it as a ripe time to formulate fresh intentions. We understand it to be a propitious moment to plant metaphorical seeds for the desires you want to fulfill in the coming four weeks. When this phenomenon happens during the astrological month of Leo, the potency is intensified for you. Your next appointment with this holiday is August 10th and 11th.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In her poem “Dogfish,” Virgo poet Mary Oliver writes, “I wanted the past to go away, I wanted to leave it.” Why? Because she wanted her life “to open like a hinge, like a wing.” I’m happy to tell you, Virgo, that you now have more power than usual to make your past go away. I’m also pleased to speculate that as you perform this service for yourself, you’ll be skillful enough to preserve the parts of your past that inspire you, even as you shrink and neutralize memories that drain you. In response to this good work, I bet your life will open like a hinge, like a wing -- no later than your birthday, and most likely before that.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran fashion writer Diana Vreeland (19031989) championed the beauty of the strong nose. She didn’t approve of women wanting to look like “piglets and kittens.” If she were alive today, she’d be pleased that nose jobs in the U.S. have declined 43 percent since 2000. According to journalist Madeleine Schwartz writing in Garage magazine, historians of rhinoplasty say there has been a revival of appreciation for the distinctive character revealed in an unaltered nose.

I propose, Libra, that in accordance with current astrological omens, we

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.” This definition, articulated by author Isaac Asimov, will be an excellent fit for you between now and September 20. I suspect you’ll be unusually likely to feel at peace with yourself and at home in the world. I don’t mean to imply that every event will make you cheerful and calm. What I’m saying is that you will have an extraordinary capacity to make clear decisions based on accurate appraisals of what’s best for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I’ve compiled a list of new blessings you need and deserve during the next 14 months. To the best of my ability, I will assist you to procure them. Here they are: a practical freedom song and a mature love song; an exciting plaything and a renaissance of innocence; an evocative new symbol that helps mobilize your evolving desires; escape from the influence of a pest you no longer want to answer to; insights about how to close the gap between the richest and poorest parts of yourself; and the cutting of a knot that has hindered you for years.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “It has become clear to me that I must either find a willing nurturer to cuddle and nuzzle and whisper sweet truths with me for six hours or else seek sumptuous solace through the aid of eight shots of whiskey.” My Capricorn friend Tammuz confided that message to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were feeling a comparable tug.

According to my assessment of the Capricorn zeitgeist, you acutely need the revelations that would become available to you through altered states of emotional intelligence. A lavish whoosh of alcohol might do the trick, but a more reliable and effective method would be through immersions in intricate, affectionate intimacy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Not even five percent of the world’s population lives in a complete democracy. Congratulations to Norway, Canada, Australia, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Sweden. Sadly, three countries where

Homework: If you could make money from doing exactly what you love to do, what would it be? Testify at Freewillastrology.com my column is published—the U.S., Italy, and France—are categorized as “flawed democracies.” Yet they’re far better than the authoritarian regimes in China and Russia. (Source: The Economist.) I offer this public service announcement as a prelude to your homework assignment. According to my astrological analysis, you will personally benefit from working to bring more democracy into your personal sphere. How can you ensure that people you care about feel equal to you, and have confidence that you will listen to and consider their needs, and believe they have a strong say in shaping your shared experiences?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Mystic poet Kabir wrote, “The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.” He was invoking a metaphor to describe his spiritual practice and reward. The hard inner work he did to identify himself with God was the blooming flower that eventually made way for the fruit. The fruit was his conscious, deeply felt union with God. I see this scenario as applicable to your life, Pisces. Should you feel sadness about the flower’s withering? It’s fine to do so. But the important thing is that you now have the fruit. Celebrate it! Enjoy it!

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa writes that in the Arab world, to say a mere “thank you” is regarded as spiritless and ungenerous. The point of communicating gratitude is to light up with lively and expressive emotions that respond in kind to the kindness bestowed. For instance, a recipient may exclaim, “May Allah bless the hands that give me this blessing,” or “Beauty is in the eyes that find me beautiful.” In accordance with current astrological omens, I propose that you experiment with this approach.

Be specific in your praise. Be exact in your appreciation. Acknowledge the unique mood and meaning of each rich exchange.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you need this advice from

mythologist Joseph Campbell: “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” He says it’s “a rescue land…some field of action where there is a spring of ambrosia— a joy that comes from inside, not something external that puts joy into you—a place that lets you experience your own will and your own intention and your own wish.” Do you have such a place, Taurus? If not, now is a great time to find one. If you do, now is a great time to go there for a spell and renew the hell out of yourself.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When he was 20 years old, future U.S. President Thomas Jefferson had an awkward encounter with a young woman who piqued his interest. He was embarrassed by the gracelessness he displayed. For two days afterward, he endured a terrible headache. We might speculate that it was a psychosomatic reaction. I bring this up because I’m wondering if your emotions are also trying to send coded messages to you via your body. Are you aware of unusual symptoms or mysterious sensations? See if you can trace them back to their source in your soul.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a zone in your psyche where selfishness overlaps generosity, where the line between being emotionally manipulative and gracefully magnanimous almost disappears. With both hope and trepidation for the people in your life, I advise you to hang out in that grey area for now. Yes, it’s a risk.

You could end up finessing people mostly for your own good and making them think it’s mostly for their own good. But the more likely outcome is that you will employ ethical abracadabra to bring out the best in others, even as you get what you want, too.

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.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 51

52 • THE PULSE • AUGUST 9, 2018 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

JONESIN' CROSSWORD

THE COMIX

“Even Chances”—the odd one’s out.

ACROSS 1 Worker’s compensation 5 “M*A*S*H” actress Loretta 9 Wilson of “The Office” 14 Have ___ in the oven (be preggers) 15 “What ___ God wrought” (first official Morse code message) 16 Muppet wearing a horizontally striped shirt 17 2000 movie with the quote “What we do in life echoes in eternity” 19 Box lunch?

20 Relative that might be “once removed” 22 Wood for baseball bats 23 Removed 27 Mustard sometimes mixed with mayo 31 “Out of the Cellar” glam rockers 33 ___-de-France (Paris’s region) 34 1998 skating gold medalist Kulik 35 In-between feeding time invented for a

Taco Bell ad campaign 38 Olympus ___ (Martian volcano) 39 Come together 40 90 degrees from norte 41 Intuitive power 43 “Don’t change” 44 Suffix similar to -let 45 Painters’ mediums 46 Lunar cycle segment 47 Present-day 49 Act like an oldtimey suitor 51 Honorific for landmarks like the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, or Empire State Building 58 Cable movie channel owned by Lionsgate since 2016 61 Lou Gehrig’s nickname, with “The” 62 TV input or output component 63 Appellation 64 Johnny of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” 65 Color for rolls of dimes 66 Actress Natalia of

“Stranger Things” 67 “Undertale” character named for a derided font DOWN 1 Tail movements 2 Skilled 3 Burrito bar side, for short 4 Prefix with plasm 5 Sardine cousins 6 Look after 7 “Was ___ harsh?”

8 “No ___ Traffic” 9 Renaissance 10 Bowl game venue, maybe 11 Roadside rest stop 12 Insect egg 13 Keanu, in the “Matrix” series 18 “___ everchanging world ...”

21 Living room piece 24 Short nap 25 Makes happy 26 Leave out 27 Chinese restaurant style 28 Repetitivesounding province of the Philippines

29 Brought bad luck to 30 Brewer’s dryer 31 Archaeological site 32 The “A” that turns STEM into STEAM 35 Joining with heat 36 Harvard-set Turow book 37 Fit together 42 Range of perception 46 “Christopher Robin” character 48 Like feelings from ASMR videos, for some 49 Mock-innocent reply 50 Team VIP 52 Golden ___ (Sir Francis Drake’s flagship) 53 Airplane seat attachment 54 Head bobs 55 De Matteo of “The Sopranos” 56 Channel with a “Deportes” version 57 Sales force members 58 Succumb to gravity 59 NBC News correspondent Katy 60 Ending for Power or Gator

Copyright © 2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents perminute. Must be 18+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle No. 896 CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • AUGUST 9, 2018 • THE PULSE • 53

FOOD & DRINK · SUSHI & BISCUITS

“¿Te Gustaría Comprar Unos Tamales?”

Our resident chef shares his love of all things tamales (the real ones)

Mike McJunkin Pulse columnist

“

They were puffy, savory pillows of corn flavored dough surrounding slow-cooked, tender pork or chicken; freshly steamed and kept warm nestled inside that big blue Igloo cooler.”

Mike McJunkin is a native Chattaho has extensively travel abroad, trained chefs, and owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits

“¿TE GUSTARÍA COMPRAR UNOS TAMALES?¿TAMALES?” I was barely out the door of my favorite Southside carniceria when I heard a woman’s voice behind me quietly pose that magical question: “Would you like to buy some tamales?”

I turned and a small, grandmotherly looking Latin woman, still wearing her flowered kitchen apron, was standing next to the open back gate of a red Chevy Luv pointing into the truck bed.

As I walked towards her, she reached into an Igloo cooler stationed just inside the tailgate and held up two corn husk wrapped tamales. “¿Te gustaría comprar unos tamales?”

Until that fateful day, my experience with tamales had been almost entirely limited to the Southern US version known as the Mississippi Delta-style or “hot tamale.” If you’ve had Champy’s tamales then you get the idea. They taste like small beef tamales that have been cooked in canned chili.

Don’t get me wrong, I love those things. They’re exactly the type of tamale I grew up eating and I order them every time I go to Champy’s. But this tamale lady was not selling hot tamales; she was selling classic masa tamales.

“Puerco y pollo,” she said, “sólo 1 dólar.” Several awkward attempts at Spanish later, I had a sackfull of pork filled, dollar tamales.

When I say classic masa tamales, I do not mean the bloated, mealy lump of corn-flavored dough that appears on a sampler platter in your favorite sub-par “Mexican” restaurant, covered in some unnatural colored sauce and melted “cheese product.” Those bastardized crimes against tamaledom fall on the culinary phylogenic tree somewhere between a Taco Bell enchirito and Chili’s Tex-Mex Grit Casserole.

This tamale lady had real, homemade, grandmother-style tamales. They were

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puffy, savory pillows of corn flavored dough surrounding slow-cooked, tender pork or chicken; freshly steamed and kept warm nestled inside that big blue Igloo cooler.

I sat in my car, still in the parking lot of the carniceria, and devoured two of these fluffy flavor-filled muchies straight out of the bag, without even looking up to notice that the tamale lady had vanished.

The Chevy Luv, the cooler, her little white apron and all of those tamales had quietly driven away while I sat in my car, engrossed in a world of masa-flavored wishes and puerco colored dreams.

I never found that same tamale lady again. The cashier at the carniceria would sometimes repeat rumors in hushed tones that she would return on this day or that…but she never materialized, shattering my hopes of savoring more of those little packets of pallet pleasure.

This would be a sad story if it ended there, but there is a happy ending to this tamale tale, and that does not mean you can get a massage with your pork tamale. Tucked away in Latin neighborhoods all around town are carnicerias and guatemaltecas providing foodstuffs from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and South America.

The little neighborhood guatemalteca in the 2100 block of East Main St., for example, has a well-stocked butcher counter with two actual butchers doing actual butchering, not just unpacking meat that’s been pre-cut at a central processing warehouse. They have beautiful produce, cases full of spectacular baked breads and sweets, but most importantly, they have tamales.

Right by the cash register is a blue

Igloo cooler, sitting on an upside-down milk crate like the Treasure of Lima waiting to reveal its bounty. At least once a week I stop in, lift the lid on that plastic tamal treasury and get my weekly quota of the good stuff.

If you would rather get your tamales from a restaurant instead of an Igloo cooler your choices for quality tamal are actually more limited. There are very few restaurants in Chattanooga that serve decent tamales. Taqueria Jalisco on Rossville Avenue (not Blvd) puts out a killer tamale, especially the mole, which is outstanding (that’s MOH/leh as in the sauce, not mole like the animal).

Taconooga and Taco Roc both serve a respectable tamale as well, but I must say I’m especially partial to their tacos and tortas, but that’s for another day.

I will leave you with three recommendations to keep in mind when your next tamale craving strikes: 1. Don’t confuse hot tamales with classic masa tamales. That’s like confusing Taco Bell with Mexican food.

2. The best tamales are often bought from the back of a pickup truck.

3. Go to a carniceria or guatemalteca right now and look for the cooler of tamales. Pro tip: get some fresh chicharrones while you’re there.

Trust me, I’m a professional.

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