The Pulse - Vol. 7, Issue 17

To Tow Or Not To Tow...

That Is The Question The Continuing Controversy Over Towing

by Beverly A. Carroll

FREE • News, Views, Music, Film, Dining, Arts & Entertainment • April 29, 2010 • Vol. 7 - Issue 17 • www.chattanoogapulse.com

2010

Publisher Zachary Cooper Contributing Editor Janis Hashe News Editor Gary Poole Calendar Editor Kathryn Dunn Advertising Manager Rhonda Rollins Advertising Sales Rick Leavell, Leif Sawyer, Townes Webb Art Director Kelly Lockhart Graphic Design Jennifer Grelier Staff Photographer Louis Lee Contributing Writers Gustavo Arellano, Rob Brezsny Chuck Crowder, Hellcat Joshua Hurley, Matt Jones Kelly Lockhart, Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Tara Morris, Stephanie Smith Alex Teach, Colleen Wade Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Editorial Interns Ashley Miller, Jonathan Selby Copy Assistant Bryanna Burns #1 Draft Pick Josh Lang Contact Info: Phone (423) 648-7857 Fax (423) 648-7860 General E-mail info@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Submissions calendar@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising advertising@chattanoogapulse.com The Pulse is published weekly and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per weekly issue. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

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ontents

13 CONTINUING CONTROVERSY OVER TOWING

By Beverly A. Carroll Wrecker and towing company owner Les Cantrell claims to have almost single-handedly saved Brainerd Road, clearing parking lots from gangs and other idle teenagers who litter the lots with beer bottles, cans and other debris. What does this self-proclaimed rescuer want in return?

feature stories 8 TAKE A BOOK, LEAVE A BOOK

By Janis Hashe This week, the Creative Discovery Museum announced that the 2010 Class of Leadership Chattanooga will unveil its second Common Shelf Community Bookcase at the museum.

18 TIME TO PANIC

By Tara Morris With more than two decades of playing together and more than three million records sold, Widespread Panic evokes a multitude of different emotions and memories.

The Pulse is published by

20 A GOOD FRIDAY WITH MITCH EASTER 1305 Carter Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 Letters to the editor must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. The Pulse reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Please keep letters within 500 words in length.

The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news.

Member

By Chuck Crowder You may have never heard of Mitch Easter or his early-’80s band Let’s Active. But his influence behind the mixing board as one of the pivotal producers of the jangle-pop ’80s and alt-grunge ’90s has most likely been music to your ears at one time or another.

24 VISIONS OF ALL FORMS OF SPIRIT

By Michael Crumb Bessie Smith’s birthday on April 15 was celebrated with both cake and art as the Bessie Smith Cultural Center opened an exhibition featuring Aaron Henderson from Atlanta and Logan Kearse from Chattanooga.

news & views 5 11 28 33 38

PULSE BEATS SHRINK RAP LIFE IN THE NOOG ON THE BEAT ASK A MEXICAN

everything else 4 4 5 7 7 20 23 26 27 35 36 36

EDITOON FROM THE PUBLISHER CITY COUNCILSCOPE POLICE BLOTTER THE LIST MUSIC CALENDAR NEW MUSIC REVIEWS A&E CALENDAR JONESIN’ CROSSWORD DINING OUT SPOTLIGHT SPIRITS WITHIN FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

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President Jim Brewer, II

FI wee xt ne

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W e NU RO IES uls AN CK ER he P S T BA M k in L

APRIL

Editoon

by Rick Baldwin

From the Publisher Beginning with the May 6th edition of The Pulse, we will be changing the physical format of our publication. We have struck a successful printing arrangement with the Chattanooga Times Free Press and will be utilizing their printing presses from now on.

We’ll also utilize some of the Times Free Press’s independent carriers to distribute The Pulse.

There are distinct advantages to this arrangement for our readers, our clients and our editorial staff.

First, all of our pages will be full color, which will allow for greater flexibility in our editorial and advertising design. Second, the printing process will produce a cleaner publication—your fingers will no longer have the faint leftovers of black ink after giving us a read. Third, we will be able to gain efficiencies in our distribution and reduce waste. Transporting The Pulse from our current printer in Nashville extended our delivery time, not to mention transportation costs.

One other advantage (but certainly not the last of them)

to our new printing and format arrangement is that we will be moving to a Wednesday 2 p.m. printing schedule, as opposed to our current Tuesday noon deadline. This has great advantages for our editorial schedule. For example, we can more effectively cover the city council meeting on Tuesday evenings and have content readied for that week’s publishing.

The physical size of The Pulse will be the most obvious change.

The Pulse, like a majority of tabloid-format publications, will move to a more efficient, compact size.

What will not change is what The Pulse delivers to you, our readers, each week: civic news and analysis, music features, reviews and listings. Extensive coverage of our city’s arts and entertainment that we have produced for more than seven years now; our creative columnists’ posts and creative feature writing will continue as well.

Chattanooga seems to be experiencing a sort of “Phase Two”, if you will, in its rebirth

and development. Although our new format and operations arrangement is not quite as big a story as the world’s largest car manufacturer locating production operations in our city, still, we are excited to present our new look and to offer you something that will progress along with the promise and evolution of Phase Two. Zachary Cooper Publisher, The Pulse

Send all letters to the editor and questions to info@chattanoogapulse.com We reserve the right to edit letters for content and space. Please include your full name, city and contact information.

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Pulse Beats Cuts, Layoffs Coming To County Schools

Quote Of The Week:

A rundown of the newsy, the notable, and the notorious...

The Hamilton County Department of Education has a balanced budget for the next fiscal year. But that won’t help the budget of 46 teachers who will have to be let go, due mostly to a $9 million drop in the budget from this year as federal stimulus money runs out.

The $372,000,000 budget requires a reduction of 29 positions at the high-school level, 12 at middle schools and two at the elementary level.

“Some of that we can cover with retirement and attrition,” Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales said after the board meeting on Thursday. “But some of that would be some program changes, not necessarily in the core but looking at electives with low enrollment.”

The schools will also have to take more than $3 million from the rainy day fund, something that school board members say cannot keep happening every year.

Dr. Scales said the proposed budget does not include funds to meet the commitment made by the city and county to provide a German school for Volkswagen families.

The cost of hiring German-speaking teachers and purchasing German-language textbooks would run the county more than $1 million a year, which Scales said is beyond the financial capability of the system at the moment.

However, County Mayor Claude Ramsey said the commitment to Volkswagen “will be met” and pointed out that the budget process is still undergoing revisions.

Responding to criticism from some about funding a separate school for children of German nationals working at the plant, Ramsey explained that this was nothing new. “Back when Lamar Alexander was governor, a Japanese school was set up,” he noted, after the state landed a Japanese automaker.

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“The supplier park buildings will be finished by sometime in July, while the suppliers will already move in in June.”

—Volkswagen of Chattanooga CEO Frank Fisher, in announcing five new companies planning to build next to the VW plant, which are expected to bring over 350 new jobs to the region.

Four More Penguin Eggs At The Aquarium Macaroni penguin eggs have been discovered at the Tennessee Aquarium just two weeks after the penguins received the rocks needed for nesting material.

The first egg was found April 16 while keepers were cleaning the exhibit.

“It wasn’t in a nest, but just out in the open,” said aviculturist Loribeth Aldrich. “There were four pairs of macaroni penguins in the general area, so we couldn’t tell which bird had laid this first egg.”

When Aldrich approached the egg, none of the penguins seemed interested in protecting it. This is not abnormal behavior since macaroni penguins typically discard their first, smaller egg by kicking it out of the nest or crushing it. “A few days later we found that Little Debbie had laid an egg, so they must have both been hers,” said Aldrich.

This egg was also laid on the floor and not in a nest. The macaroni was not incubating the egg and keepers pulled it from the exhibit the next day. Little Debbie had been courting Hercules, but he does not seem interested in her.

“Every time they are together, he starts biting at her to chase her away,” said Aldrich.

“So the egg probably wasn’t viable in the first place. Even if it had been, it would have been nearly impossible for Little Debbie to incubate the egg without a diligent mate.”

Chaos and Paulie, last year’s role model penguin parents, produced the season’s third egg. This was discovered Wednesday and has not been discarded yet. “Last year they only kept the first egg for about 24 hours before crushing it in the nest,” said senior aviculturist Amy Graves. “But they were very diligent parents, incubating their second egg and ultimately raising Pepper.”

Then a day later, yet another macaroni egg was found. This one belongs to Sweet Pea and Merlin. “They seem to be very attentive to their first egg, so hopefully Sweet Pea and Merlin will turn out to be great parents like Paulie and Chaos,” said Graves.

Avoiding The “Just Busted” Publicity Pages Is a salacious—and very popular—publication changing the way suspects are handled in court? Last week, Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon authorized a UTC student to waive official booking in the Hamilton County jail. The reason? To avoid having his mug shot appear in the weekly publication Just Busted.

The paper is available at most convenience stores and displays the arrest photos of people who’ve been booked in the past week.

The student, Jacob Ryan Young, has been charged with underage drinking and possession of a marijuana pipe. Young’s attorney, Jerry Summers, originally got Judge Clarence Shattuck to sign the waiver, but the case was supposed to be heard by Judge Moon.

Moon told the student, “Mr. Young, let me suggest to you that if you truly desire to avoid an arrest, booking and publicity in the future, that you might wish to consider avoiding alcohol while underage, ditch the marijuana pipe if you possess one, and get yourself in bed at a reasonable hour.”

Here are several of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the May 4 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

7. Resolutions: c) A resolution authorizing the Police Department to apply for and accept a Governor’s Highway Safety Office Grant for the Chattanooga Drives Safe and Sober Program to pay for overtime for roadside sobriety checkpoints in the amount of $50,016.16. d) A resolution authorizing the Police Department to apply for and accept a Governor’s Highway Safety Office Grant for the Chattanooga Drives Safe and Sober Program to pay for overtime for multiple violations and speed enforcement in the amount of $50,016.16.

While many people have questioned the legality of police checkpoints, the courts have upheld their constitutionality and law enforcement agencies have sworn by their success in getting impaired drivers off the roads. Combined with increased traffic patrol, the grant money for the Chattanooga Drives Safe and Sober Program will hopefully lead to safer roads in the city.

The Chattanooga City Council meets each Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay St. For more information on the agendas, visit www.Chattanooga.gov/City_ Council/110_Agenda.asp

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• It was a busy Friday night last weekend for local law enforcement agencies as they combined for a saturation sweep through the Brainerd, East Brainerd and Highway 58 areas.

During the sweep, officers made 36 arrests, handed out 399 moving citations, investigated 10 vehicle crashed, found 39 fire code violations, served 16 arrest and two search warrants, seized more than 144 grams of various drugs, confiscated more than $1,300 in cash, and took possession of four handguns. Saturation officers also dealt with a shooting and attempted robbery call, helped quell a large fight at Howard High School, and assisted in patrolling Coolidge Park until closing time. All told, officers from the city, county, the TBI and DEA took park in the saturation, which city and county officials say will continue throughout the spring and summer at random times.

• The next time it hails, you might want to double check with your insurance agent to make sure no one is making a false claim on your house.

That’s just what the owner of a Chattanooga County construction company and his mother are accused of doing. The pair were taken into custody and are facing 46 counts of first-degree forgery and 46 counts of making false statements involving bogus homeowner’s insurance claims. According to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, sales representatives of the construc-

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The List The Ten Most Popular Web Sites In The U.S. 1. Google.com 2. Yahoo.com 3. Youtube.com 4. Live.com

tion company would approach consumers about hail-damaged roofs.

They would then contact insurance companies alleging to be the insureds, file claims for hail damage, and then place a lien on the actual homeowner’s property by forging the signature of a notary.

• Chattanooga officers from the Special Investigations Division took part in a recent sweep through Highland Park, East Lake and along Rossville Boulevard to combat the world’s oldest profession. And whether it was a sign of effective policing or just a slow weekend for the street workers, undercover officers posing as “johns” were only able to make five arrests for solicitation of prostitution.

The five women, ranging in age from 37 to 53, were also given the additional charge of solicitation within a mile and a half of a school. Which is almost the default charge, since it is nearly impossible to find a part of the city to ply the sex trade that is not that close to a school building.

Police officials say they will continue

undercover sweeps, targeting both the prostitutes and their customers.

5. Facebook.com

• Ask any police officer and they will tell you their least favorite call is a domestic disturbance. The unpredictability, volatility and heightened emotions present during a fight between lovers, family members or siblings put an officer into a very difficult situation. It is literally the most “expect the unexpected” type of call an officer can respond to on a regular basis. Case in point: A recent domestic disturbance call to a residence on Hickory Valley Road in which a neighbor called 911 after hearing loud shouting from a man. When officers responded, however, they discovered that instead of a shouting match between husband and wife, it was instead all about the family dog. The homeowners rather sheepishly explained to officers that when they had gotten home that evening they found their dog had “torn some things up”. The husband had begun yelling at the dog. He was advised to keep his voice down in the future.

7. Wikipedia.org

6. MSN.com

8. Blogger.com 9. Myspace.com 10. Microsoft.com The World Wide Web, which launched less than 20 years ago, has become an integral part of everyday life, with hundreds of millions of people visiting web sites every day.

What is interesting is how much things change year to year. For example, YouTube just turned five years old this past week, yet in that time has become the third most popular web site in the country.

The same goes for Facebook, which has become the dominant social networking site, though MySpace is not nearly as dead as many people have stated.

Source: mostpopularwebsites.net

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Beyond The Headlines

Take a Book, Leave a Book

By Janis Hashe

“it is important

to spark an interest in books, and summer is the perfect time for children to find enjoyment in reading.”

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

L

eadership Chattanooga, the program sponsored by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. During that time, it’s graduated more than 850—including Bob Corker, Zach Wamp and many others who have gone on to be instrumental in Chattanooga’s progress.

One of the commitments participants make is to be part of class groups, each tasked with creating and executing a community project over the 10 months of the program. Some of these projects have gone on to have a life of their own, including what are now the AEC Culture Fest and the nationally recognized tree-planting

program, Take Root.

This week, the Creative Discovery Museum announced that the 2010 Class of Leadership Chattanooga will unveil its second Common Shelf Community Bookcase at the museum on Thursday at 11 a.m. One of two bookcase locations, the Common Shelf located at the museum will be dedicated to housing children’s books. Community members and guests of the museum are invited to bring a book to fill the shelves, take a book to read, and enjoy complimentary refreshments as part of the ribbon-cutting celebration.

According to the museum ‘s Libby Raiford, the 2010 Leadership Chattanooga class designed the community bookcase to encourage literacy, art, and community building in Chattanooga. The premise of the Common Shelf is to “Take a book.

Leave a book.” And the program is open for participation to anyone who enjoys reading and wants to help open the world of literacy for others.

The bookcase at Creative Discovery Museum will be located just outside the Museum entrance, making it easily accessible to anyone interested in participating in the program.

“The goal is for Museum members

and guests to help the Leadership Chattanooga class keep the shelves filled with a variety of interesting and age-appropriate books to support children’s interest in reading,” Raiford stated in a release.

“Even for excellent readers, it is important to spark an interest in books, and summer is the perfect time for children to find enjoyment in reading what they like while continuing to improve their skill level,” said Lu Lewis, a leader in Early Childhood Education and the role literacy plays in child development. “Research from several studies concludes that children lose two to three months of their reading ability if they do not continue reading during the summer. So, it is good for children to adopt and maintain an excitement for reading at an early age.”

The Common Shelf at Creative Discovery Museum will be accessible throughout the summer months. The bookcase’s building materials were donated by Collier Construction, and the design and construction was completed by museum staff and Collier Construction. Children from Northside Learning Center contributed their artistic talents to paint and decorate the bookcase.

Increasing literacy remains of paramount importance in Tennessee.

A 2006 study by the National Center for Education Statistics found the 53 percent of adult Tennesseans “struggle with basic reading skills.” All evidence shows that those who learn to read early and well continue to be readers for a lifetime—and in an economy that will demand more and more of its higher-paid workers, it’s a case of “can read—will succeed.”

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

www.chattanoogapulse.com

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Shrink Rap

By Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D

What the Pups Teach Us About Coping S

he happily lies at my feet when I’m working on the computer, with no demands except to be in my company.

Sure, she’d love it if we play a few rounds of fetch, or head out for a walk, but she heard that tone in my voice earlier (“Daddy’s gotta work now, girl”) and so she’s undemanding— content with the simplicity of nearby unspoken affection.

Enviable, isn’t it? How often would it serve us humans to be able to accept what is, and feel contentment and peace as a panacea for all the troubles that plague our internal universe? For the embarrassing bursts of out-ofcontrol anger, or the deep and painful sobs of gut-wrenching grief, or the white-knuckled grip of an addiction that won’t end? Who among us does not at one time or another feel desperate, lonely, helpless, frightened?

What coping mechanisms are in our “big bag o’ tools” to help us get through these times of isolation? Do we use them? And are they enough?

As humans, I believe that one of our ongoing tasks on the journey to create better, healthier lives for ourselves is to take stock of the coping tools that are available to us, the ones we’ve created, consciously or unconsciously. Which are the healthy ones…and perhaps most importantly, do we have the wherewithal to make use of them at the moment of need?

Perhaps it’s remembering that “everything changes,” something you’ve read about before in this column. Perhaps it’s remembering to breathe or meditate. Maybe it’s

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about giving yourself permission to feel, to let the emotions have full and safe expression, until they’ve run their course. Maybe it’s about reaching out to a friend for help till the angst passes.

I look down at Betty Lou, my 7-year-old Boston Terrier, who I tease about being “all fuselage and skinny legs.” (She teases me too, believe me.

Those tennis balls aren’t left at my feet all slimy for nothin’.) And I think, she plays with glee and silliness, she sleeps deep and snores like a sailor, she eats with gusto and noisy snuffles, and she loves as hard as she can. If you’re a dog lover, you understand all this and you think this is cool. But do you also take note, and learn the lessons?

Sharing my home with The Betty has taught me a few things. It’s become a priority here: to spend some time fetching every day; to go for walks through the neighborhood; to play tug-of-war in the living room; to dole out generous doses of bellyscratching in between naps. And you know what I love about all that? It makes me feel good. I give her credit for keeping my cholesterol and blood pressure in check.

Our tools for coping are, literally, endless, but we need to learn what works best for each of us and remember to put them into practice when needed. (Therapy can be very helpful for sharpening the tools.)

Successfully doing so is empowering, and increases the good feelings we have about ourselves: Hey, I pulled through that one!

As you take stock of what you have, what you need, and how happy you are with your life’s journey, it may be helpful to consider the following: • Freud suggested that love and

work are all we need. How is your love life? Are you happily involved?

Happily single? Or is there something about the types of guys/gals you become involved with that you need to change?

• How is your work life? Do you look forward to waking up every morning with a sense of purpose to your day? Or are you unhappy and would like to make a change? You’re the only one who can choose to set your path in a new direction.

• How balanced is your life? Are you a workaholic with little or no time for outside pleasures, or do you strike a healthy balance between work, love, family, fun, and quiet solo time?

• Connectedness. Whether you’re a church-goer, meditator, tree-hugger, or all of the above, it’s important for most people to feel spiritually connected to something bigger than yourself.

• Friendships. It’s a sure-fire sabotage of your relationship with your sig other to expect him/her to be your everything. And so we have friends. Be they coupled, single, gay, straight, male or female–you’ll probably grow old together.

You see, you make the choices that allow you to soothe the soul and calm the mind. To provide for yourself a moment to exhale and feel peace is coping. It’s finding balance.

Betty Lou has taught me some valuable lessons…and for that, she can get all the belly-rubs she wants.

Because when you start to feel good about how you’re coping, you feel better about your life, a little more empowered, and better about yourself.

Until next week: “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” — Chinese proverb

“As humans, I believe that one of our ongoing tasks on the journey to create better, healthier lives for ourselves is to take stock of the coping tools that are available to us, the ones we’ve created, consciously or unconsciously.”

Dr. Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist, minister, and educator, in private practice in Chattanooga, and the author of “Empowering the Tribe” and “The Power of a Partner.” Visit his new wellness center, Well Nest, at www.

WellNestChattanooga.com, and his website at www.DrRPH.com.

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Cover Story

The Continuing Controversy Over Towing

By Beverly A. Carroll

“We’re just trying to get paid for doing a dangerous job. If we drop this rate too low where I can’t get my men out there working at night, then it could go back to the way it was.” www.chattanoogapulse.com

paid for doing a dangerous job. If we drop recker and towing company owner this rate too low where I can’t get my men out there working at night, then it could go Les Cantrell claims to have almost singleback to the way it was.” handedly saved Brainerd Road, clearing Chattanooga council members recently parking lots from gangs and other idle tabled a proposed ordinance to set fees teenagers who litter the lots with beer for private, non-consensual tows to match bottles, cans and other debris. fees charged for police tows—vehicles that All this self-proclaimed rescuer wants in need towing because they were involved return?

The right to charge as much as he can get in accidents, or found to be stolen, or the from these hapless saps who park in private driver was arrested.

Cantrell claims that shootings like those lots after hours or at businesses they don’t on Wilcox and Tunnel boulevards at a patronize. convenience store where two people died in “We control 14 lots [on Brainerd Road], separate incidents don’t happen in Brainerd the owner of S&H Towing recently told because tow truck drivers keep people off members of the Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board. “Gang shootings are down; of the private parking lots if they are not patrons of the business. If the city wants to violence is down 80 percent. We’re the backbone of the city. We’re just trying to get cap the rates, he’ll go out of business and

W

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Cover Story

“The effort to address costs was ignited by deluge of complaints from the public about overcharging from private tows, exacerbated by questionable behavior, known as ‘spotting’ or ‘hawking’.”

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Brainerd Road could become a war zone, he warned.

Other wrecker company owners are also resisting the set fees. Mike Phillips, general manager of TowCo Towing & Recovery, said the city should not interfere with private businesses. Phillips said he charges a fair rate based on what equipment he has to use and the amount of labor, or manpower required for the job.

But Officer John Collins, with the Chattanooga Police Department Regulatory Bureau, said the effort to address costs was ignited by deluge of complaints from the public about overcharging from private tows, exacerbated by questionable behavior, known as “spotting” or “hawking”.

Spotting means tow truck drivers or their agents lurk nearby at private parking lots and watch as people park and leave their cars, headed for somewhere other than the lot’s business.

“I had one person tell me he went to Mr. Zip, on Frazier Avenue, for a donut,” Officers Collins said. “He walked across the street to get a cup of coffee. They got his car. He was gone all of seven minutes. It cost him $300.”

Most of the complaints police received were about the prices, Officer Collins said.

“Most of the calls I got were people being charged $250 to $400 for a tow,” he reported.

Supporters of the ordinance say that they are not against towing cars when they are illegally parked. The towing company owners frequently mention the fact that they are merely enforcing the law when they tow vehicles from private lots.

“That’s trying to muddy the waters,” Sgt. Mark Haskins, supervisor of the city police department’s regulatory bureau said. “We are not saying don’t tow them if they are illegally parked. We are just trying to be fair about it.”

Despite the fact that the parkers are at fault, the towtruck drivers still generate a lot of animosity. During Riverbend, Chattanooga’s annual music festival held on Riverside Drive around the Ross’s Landing area, Unum allows free use of its downtown surface lots. But there are certain spaces where parking is not allowed. Wreckers contracted to Unum set up an area in which they watch for those cars and tow them as soon as the people leave their vehicles. When they return to find their cars gone, they are told their cars are being held a short distance away and only cash will get them out. Stories abound of people who had to go to ATMs, borrow money and other maneuvers to get back their vehicles. Out-of-towners sent letters to local news outlets bemoaning the incidents and pledging never to return.

This seems ironic in a city that hopes to lure visitors to the city’s International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, where Chattanooga is described as the home of the industry, according to www.worldalmanac. com/newsletter, which says the industry was birthed here in 1916.

The proposed caps for Chattanooga businesses are higher than those of other cities such as Knoxville and Nashville, supporters (including the Beer and Wrecker Regulatory Board), said. And state legislator Rep. Mike Turner has introduced a law to set the cap at $65 for a towed vehicle, and another bill to keep a towing firm from charging over $20 if the owner of the vehicle walks up before the vehicle is taken away.

Board member Chris Keene has said he is wholeheartedly behind the idea of setting a cap, especially after a friend of his reported to him that she had to pay $400 to get her car back.

The wrecker owners say no one will do the job if the city lowers the fees. But the police who regulate the businesses that tow for the city said they regularly receive requests to be added to the city’s list used by the police department.

What a Tow Will Cost The proposed towing fees now being considered by the city council are: • Class A vehicles (most passenger cars and trucks): $125 day/$135 night • Class B vehicles (greater than 7,000 pounds but less than 26 feet long): $250 day/$285 night • Class C vehicles (larger than those in Class B and multiaxle vehicles): $425 day/$500 night

• Storage fee: $20 per day • Processing fee: $15. Covers research and certified letter costs to send notification to vehicle owners after 10 days storage on the towing service lot.

• Drop fee: $75. What the vehicle owner can pay to the tow truck driver to release the vehicle if it has not left the site where it was attached to the truck.

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Cover Story Other Cities Confront the Towing Issue

“If the wrecker companies that tow for the police can make it on $125 a day and $135 a night, why can’t the other companies?” Officer Collins said.

“In a police tow, the driver has to wait around until the police are finished. They have to carry more insurance than the other companies and they often have to do extra work, cleaning up after a wreck.

Some of these people [complaining], they don’t even drive for the city.”

Cantrell has tried to compare the city’s towing business community to that of Knoxville, saying that the city has about 70 companies and Knoxville has about two or three. But the police said Knoxville operates in a different way from Chattanooga, with two companies assigned to each district.

Chattanooga rotates the call list for wrecker companies.

Another issue that can create a problem between business owners and towing companies is a state law that requires that an owner or an owner’s agent request and sign for every privateproperty tow. But sometimes the towing companies will “overlook” that requirement and tow vehicles from lots before the owner can be notified.

In a recent example, Officer Collins arrested Buddy Frazier, of All About Towing, for towing a car without permission and presenting a forged permission slip.

A Brainerd Road nightclub owner said the wrecker companies actively solicited the business of parking lots across the street from his club so they could tow his customers at night after those businesses, like Starbucks, closed.

“They told them that my customers were causing problems in their lots,” Mike Goza, owner of Chattanooga Food and Drink, said.

Goza said his business almost closed before he secured an agreement with Eastgate to rent space in their lot. On top of towing their cars almost as soon as they entered the club, the fees were astronomical, he said.

Some tow company owners say they believe a

fee cap is inevitable and their hope is to get the city council to set it higher than the original proposal.

Phillips said he can accept regulation—but he fears that the city will set rates too low. He said his charges are similar to what the city allows now but he needs the flexibility to set fees based on what he has to do.

Some cars require more expensive equipment to move them without damage, he said.

The city tabled the ordinance earlier this month after council members could not agree about the amount to charge. Councilwoman Pam Ladd said if the charges are set too low, drivers like Cantrell may stop working the Brainerd area.

Brainerd’s parking lots near night clubs could turn into fight zones if the wrecker drivers don’t continue to remove cars at night, Ladd has said. She has said she supports higher caps for drivers.

Councilman Manny Rico said he thinks the council will reach a happy medium between what the proposal asks and what the wrecker drivers want.

“It can be a dangerous job, especially at night,” Rico said. “They have had guns pulled on them. We want to be fair.”

The challenge is to define “fair”. What’s fair for someone with an income of $50,000 might be quite different than for someone with an income of $20,000. And when you need your car to go to work, a $400 hostage fee sounds rough. Twenty-four-yearold Rachael Summers left her car in a downtown lot on M.L. King Blvd., taking a cab home for safety’s sake. When she returned early the next day, her car was gone. And the lot where it had sat was empty.

“Not only did they not have any trouble towing my car out of the lot, there were other spaces,” Ms. Summers said.

A now-defunct company located at the old AMOCCO on Market Street had her gray Toyota Camry. For pulling it less than two miles and keeping it overnight, they wanted nearly $300. Yes, Summers was in the wrong, as she admits. But as she wept at the perceived injustice, the wrecker guy shrugged.

You want your car? You pay, the shrug said.

“Rep. Mike Turner has introduced a law to set the cap at $65 for a towed vehicle, and another bill to keep a towing firm from charging over $20 if the owner of the vehicle walks up before the vehicle is taken away.”

www.chattanoogapulse.com

According to a February 1, 2010 story in Ohio’s The Daily Reporter: “Legislation was introduced in the Ohio General Assembly last week to help reduce unfair, predatory towing practices in the state, and help protect Ohio consumers.

“House Bill 425 would grant the Public Utilities Commission exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over all common and contract carrier towing companies and preempt local regulation, authorize the commission to establish a new certification program for common and contract carrier towing companies and a registration system for towed vehicle storage companies, revise law governing private tow-away zones, and make conforming changes in motor transportation company public utility law.

“Rep. Tracy Heard, D-Columbus, the bill’s sponsor, said she introduced HB 425 after speaking with constituents about their concerns over state towing. “ ‘After countless meetings and discussion regarding this piece, I feel the work that went into HB 425 led to a responsible, common sense and muchneeded bill,’ Heard said. “ ‘Now consumers will be able to have a predictable course of action when they have their car towed. More importantly, the citizens of this state will have a mechanism to address situations where their rights have been abused and we will no longer live in a state where this type of recklessness and predation will go unpunished.’”

And in April 23, 2010’s The Hartford Courant (Connecticut): “Tow truck companies in Connecticut won’t get any of the state-regulated fee increases they have sought since last fall.

“The Department of Motor Vehicles recently rejected the Towing and Recovery Professionals of Connecticut’s request for a 42 percent hike in the base rate for towing a standard automobile (weighing 10,000 pounds or less).

“The towing companies wanted permission to charge $125 per tow — up from $88. They said their operating costs had risen since their last increase, in 2007.

“The increases would have applied only to so-called non-consensual tows: those requested by someone other than the car’s owner, such as a police department.

“Towing companies set their own rates for consensual tows.

“In a decision dated April 6, a DMV officer assigned to hear the rate-increase case wrote that the towing companies ‘failed to provide substantial evidence to support the requested fee increase, either because insufficient evidence was provided or because...no argument was made at all.’”

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Music Feature

Time to Panic

By Tara Morris

“Widespread Panic, which has the majority of its fan base in the Southern United States, has created a panoply of music that allows the dirtiest hippy or wealthiest lawyer a time of musical reflection.”

www.chattanoogapulse.com

G

lowsticks, hula-hoops, and fairy wings—this is what Panic means to me. I know the term “dirty hippie” just crossed through many of your minds, but with more than two decades of playing together and more than three million records sold, Widespread Panic evokes a multitude of different emotions and memories.

After a timeline of different musical genres in my life, the jam circuit was introduced after I had moved to Virginia at age 18, only to return to Tennessee and work at this lil’ festival called Bonnaroo. My then-majority metal mind was taken aback with the images of “shake down streets”, freewill body movements, and music that took you on a roller coaster ride between heaven and hell, depending on

the “goo ball”.

Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the numbers. Panic has consistently grossed in the Top 50 of Poll Star, produced more than 18 albums and stayed out of the constraints of commercial radio; this group of men has reached the ranks of Great American Jam Bands. The release of Dirty Side Down on May 25 will incorporate Panic’s unique blend of rock-, jazz- and blues-inspired textures into songs flowing with melody, rhythm and emotion. Widespread Panic, which has the majority of its fan base in the Southern United States, has created panoply of music that allows the dirtiest hippie or wealthiest lawyer a time of musical reflection.

You might not know that without Chattanooga, Widespread Panic might have never evolved. Founder of the band and dubbed the “quiet genius” behind their music, the late Michael Houser was a graduate of Hixson High School, and Todd Nance, who was recruited in 1986 as the band’s full-time drummer, was born in Chattanooga and spent most of his life here. If my sources are correct, I hear Todd’s mother is very vocal to any passer-by jam fan to make sure they know her “baby” is Todd Vance.

No wonder she is proud—and to think that Michael and Todd were at one point separated from their troublecausing fun. They met in the late ’70s and formed a band called “Just Us”.

After Houser left for UGA, the two didn’t see each other until 1986 when Todd played in Athens, GA at the Mad Hatter to benefit Aid in Africa. This show would go down in history as the first official Widespread Panic show.

Members Domingo S. Ortiz, John Bell, “Jojo” Herman, and Dave Schools came together and the magic began.

After the loss of Michael Houser in 2002 to pancreatic cancer, Jimmy Herring joined the group as of 2006.

“We suffered a great loss, but we picked ourselves up off the ground and have continued. The addition of Jimmy Herring has been a godsend,” Todd Nance told us. As with many of us who have lost a loved one, keeping the tradition alive and creating new levels of exploration is one of the many ways we honor them. From their first show in Athens, Panic has been known for their involvement in nonprofit organizations and continually giving back to the community.

They will keep to their roots, as their Chattanooga performance will double as a food drive. Food donations are down one million pounds from last year. (For more information on specific needs you can visit www. chattfoodbank.org.)

When conversing with Todd about what Chattanooga can do to keep our music scene growing, he left me with a simple and wonderful statement, “Support local music.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. For whatever Panic means to you or if you’ve wanted that excuse to try Panic for the first time, go ahead buy some glow sticks, learn how to hula-hoop or just let your self-consciousness go and dance.

Everyone else will, you dirty hippie!

Widespread Panic $38 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 4 Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Avenue, (423) 642-TIXS. www.chattanoogaonstage.com

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Music Feature

By Chuck Crowder

It’s a Good Friday with Mitch Easter Y

ou may have never heard of Mitch Easter or his early-’80s band Let’s Active.

But his influence behind the mixing board as one of the pivotal producers of the jangle-pop ’80s and alt-grunge ’90s has most likely been music to your ears at one time or another. And now he’s revisiting his roots as Mitch Easter returns to Chattanooga to play his Let’s Active catalogue at Sluggo’s on Cherokee Boulevard this Friday night.

Reared in the heart of North Carolina’s hip, collegiate Tri-Cities, Easter’s musical career began in the late-’70s band The Sneakers with pal Chris Stamey. But at the same time, Easter started what would become one of the most iconic indie-band sound stages of the early ’80s–a tiny recording facility in his parents’ garage called Drive-In Studios. It was there that Easter would be approached to produce many soon-to-be-influential bands of the time, one of which was a fledgling R.E.M. looking to record their debut single “Radio Free Europe” and EP Chronic Town in 1981. Easter enthusiastically took the project.

From there, he teamed up with fellow producer Don Dixon to help shape the next two full-length R.E.M. albums Murmur and Reckoning to high critical acclaim. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine named Murmur its Record of the Year in 1983.

Partially due to that success, Easter has had the opportunity over time to record the likes of Pavement, Marshall Crenshaw, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Velvet Crush and many others. But it’s his calling as a songwriter and musician that enticed Mitch Easter to pick up an instrument in the first place, and his band Let’s Active gave him the perfect outlet for rockin’ out. Now in his mid-fifties, that’s exactly what he wants to do.

“I’ve always been a ‘band guy’,” Easter said in a recent telephone interview. “That’s what all of my friends were doing back in the late ’70s. Except instead of playing in cover bands or following trends like Southern rock, we tended to lean on our Brit-pop influences and write our own material.”

Let’s Active was around in the beginning of an ’80s movement of pop-sensible alternative bands in the college towns of the Southeast that included R.E.M., The B-52’s, Pylon, Game Theory, Guadalcanal Diary, The dB’s, White Animals, Connells, and many more that were all doing the same type of material—but didn’t necessarily know it.

“No one thought of it as an organized movement or anything until it was over,” said Easter. “We didn’t really know each other that well or even hang out together like everyone believes. The only time we ever saw each other is if we ended up playing in

the same town or heard one of each other’s records on the college radio stations—which were our only outlets for getting our music played.”

But fortunately for Easter and his involvement with the ever-growing popularity of R.E.M., Let’s Active was asked to join them on tour as an opening act, and as a result, the band received its own recording contract with the then-hot label I.R.S. Records.

existing song called ‘Pilgrimage’ just by adding an acoustic guitar and doubling the bass part.

Songs like ‘Talk About The Passion’ and ‘Perfect Circle’ however, were pretty much constructed and arranged right there in the studio as we went along.”

Easter went on to say that the follow-up album Reckoning was more aggressive and contained more of the band’s live feel, partially due to the fact that it was recorded while the band was touring in support of Murmur.

“That album had more of a sonic, live-in-the-studio feel,” Easter said. And as for the way things are recorded these days, Easter admits that times have definitely changed.

“It’s a shame that all of the larger studios are being forced to close their doors,” Easter lamented. “Bands these days can record an entire album on their laptop in their living room, so most don’t see the value of recording in an actual studio with an actual producer to help them deliver their best performance. But for those that do, people like me are still around—although we’re a little balder, and a little greyer.”

And we’re glad they are. Don’t miss Mitch Easter at Sluggo’s Friday, April 30.

“Our three-piece of a female rhythm section and me on guitar and vocals lent itself well to the laid-back, artsy pop sound that we were looking for.”

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

“We went from playing small clubs to 13,000-seat venues overnight,” Easter recalled. “Our three-piece of a female rhythm section and me on guitar and vocals lent itself well to the laid-back, artsy pop sound that we were looking for.”

After three albums, Let’s Active called it quits and Easter went back to producing records for other artists. Of his time producing what many consider R.E.M.’s most prolific work, Easter had this to say, “The sessions were really interactive, with everyone contributing suggestions in the interest of making great music.”

“Murmur was thoughtfully ‘produced’ as a pop record with sort of a throw-back ’70s sound,” Easter added. “We created a lot of depth to an

Mitch Easter 9 p.m.

Friday, April 30 Sluggo’s Vegetarian Café, 501 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 752-5224

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

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April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Music Calendar Thursday Spotlight

The Dexateens, Futurebirds Out of the Alabama garage and onto the porch, again. $7 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Thursday Morgan Bayer, Jurt Scobie, Mike McDade 7 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043 Convertibull 9 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202. (423) 499-5055. thepalmsathamilton.com Open Mic Night with Gabriel Newell 9 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com Channing Wilson 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com Karaoke 9 p.m. Images, 6500 Lee Hwy. www.imagesbar.com Eddies of the Wind 9:30 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066. www.myspace.com/ theriverhousechattanooga Erick Baker CD Release Party with Hudson K 9:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

The Dexateens and Futurebirds 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400.

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Friday Spotlight

DJ Lucky Lucky’s, 2536 Cummings Highway, (423) 825-5145.

Friday Overture for Rent 7:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 424- 3775. www.chattanooganhotel.com A.J. Valcarcel’s Bitter Lesson 7 p.m. The Original Blue Orleans Restaurant, 3208 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 629-6538.

Sol Cinza, Downslave, and Silencer 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 634-1074. www.myspace.com/ ziggyshideaway Mitch Easter 9 p.m. Sluggo’s Vegetarian Cafe, 501 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 752-5224 Madre 9:30 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

The Wrong Way: A tribute to Sublime 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com Karaoke 10 p.m. Chattanooga Billiards Club East, 110 Jordan Dr. (423) 499-3883. www.cbcburns.com Black Cat Moon 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com Mark Porkchop Holder 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com

The Unsatisfied and the Scams 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. myspace.com/jjsbohemia DJ Spicolli Raw Sushi Bar Restaurant & Nightclub, 409 Market Street, (423) 756-1919. www.myspace.com/jimstriker DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Saturday And Hell Followed With, EWAP, Permillisecond, Undying Darkness, and The Idle Hand 7 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd. myspace.com/warehousetn Overture for Rent 7:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 424-3775. www.chattanooganhotel.com Blue John 8 p.m. Charles and Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960. www.christunity.org River City Hustlers and Xpia 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 634-1074. www.myspace.com/ ziggyshideaway Open Mic Night 9 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043. www.mudpierestuarant.com Danger Kitty 9:30 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066. www.myspace.com/ theriverhousechattanooga

Mitch Easter R.E.M’s producer hits town with music from his own band.

9 p.m.

Sluggo’s Vegetarian Café, 501 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 752-5224.

Girlz, Girlz, Girlz 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com Black Cat Moon 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com Roger Alan Wade 10 p.m. T-Bones Sports Café, 1419 Chestnut Ave. (423) 266-4240. www.tboneschattanooga.com Up with the Jonses, Hammertorch, and Heartbeater 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. myspace.com/jjsbohemia Amber Fults 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com DJ Spicolli Raw Sushi Bar Restaurant & Nightclub, 409 Market Street, (423) 756-1919.

DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055. thepalmsathamilton.com

Sunday Open Mic w/Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966. myspace.com/debbieslounge

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

Music Calendar

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Saturday Spotlight

Up With the Joneses, Hammertorch, Heartbeater Been jonesin’ for the Joneses? Here’s your chance... $7 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Irish Music Sessions 6 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike.

(423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com Rick Rushing and The Blue Strangers 6:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043 www.mudpierestaurant.com Covered in Scars, Noiscult, and Mindsplitter 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 634-1074. www.myspace.com/ ziggyshideaway Open Mic 8 p.m. Gene’s Bar & Grill, 724 Ashland Terrace, (423) 870-0880. myspace.com/genem14 Karaoke with DJ Stoli 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Sunday Spotlight

Widespread Panic 7:30 p.m. Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Avenue. (423) 642-TIXS. chattanoogaonstage.com Karaoke with DJ Stoli 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com Post-Panic with Milele Roots and Incredible Sandwich 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Tuesday Billy Hopkins 6 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com

The Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th Street, (423) 756-8253. www.table2restaurant.com Spoken Word/Poetry Night 8 p.m. The Riverhouse, 224 Frazier Ave., (423) 752-0066. www.myspace.com/ theriverhousechattanooga Open Mic with Hellcat 9 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919.

Open Mic 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike.

(423) 266-1996. www.tremonttavern.com Karaoke with DJ Stoli 9:30 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Editor’s Pick of the Week

www.chattanoogapulse.com

Sometimes only banging your head will do. $5 8 p.m.

Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 634-1074. myspace.com/ziggyshideaway

DJ ScubaSteve Fox and Hound Pub & Grille, 2040 Hamilton Place Blvd #150, (423) 490-1200.

DJ GOP The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd., #202.

(423) 499-5055.

Wednesday Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

Old Crow Medicine Show 8 p.m. Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Avenue.

(423) 642-TIXS. chattanoogaonstage.com Dave Dykes and the Grateful Hearts 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Got a gig coming up that you want to tell the world about?

All you need to do to get the word out for free is to send us your information (the basic when, where and time) and we will list it here in the weekly music calendar.

Monday Old Tyme Players 6 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

Paul Lohorn and the Monday Nite Big Band 7 p.m. Lindsay Street Hall, 901 Lindsay Street.

(423) 755-9111 www.lindsaystreethall.com

Covered in Scars, Noiscult, Mindsplitter

Old Crow Medicine Show Americana roots, rock and roll attitude from a band that began in NYC and made its way to Nashville via North Carolina.

Wednesday, May 5 $20 - $28 8 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad Street.

(423) 642-TIXS. www.chattanoogaonstage.com

Email the particulars to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse. com at least ten days before the event.

And for last minute changes and updates, be sure to visit chattanoogahasfun.com

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

New Music Reviews Lac La Belle Lac La Belle (laclabellemusic.com) When it comes to Americana and music with countryfolk origins, the playing field is fairly crowded these days. Many are content to simply play it straight up—it is traditional music, after all—but distinguishing oneself can mean maintaining a tricky balance: doing something striking, yet staying true to origins. The concerns here are trying to avoid going too far and sounding like a gimmick or simply becoming lost in an endless wave of nostalgia. The Detroit trio Lac La Belle manages to strike a right chord with its take on backwoods folk and Western swing; the band members clearly know the ropes but expand upon that with memorable details and approaches.

The group’s self-titled debut album opens with “The Way I Run,” with a webbing of acoustic guitar and

www.chattanoogapulse.com

By Ernie Paik

banjo and passionate harmonizing from singers Jennie Knaggs and Nick Schillace; however, the real kicker of the song is Joel Peterson’s arresting standup bass playing, with unrestrained solos featuring trills and glissandos as a sort of wild card. Knaggs demonstrates an admirable command over her voice, singing with a pretty, controlled vibrato and intonation but not at all clinical; the album primarily has an egalitarian approach, but Knaggs steals the scene for the final number, “Cattle Call,” with soaring vocals. The album has an even split of originals and traditional standards, such as the instrumental “Grandfather’s Clock,” played with a vibrant, hopeful manner with an accordion and Schillace’s adept fingerstyle guitar playing.

A good choice was made by going with Jim Diamond (known for engineering earlier White Stripes material) for the recording, which was made with a clean, balanced, nonobtrusive sound that serves the material well. From Lac La Belle, a listener shouldn’t expect an earth-shaking style, but the members carry their music with charm, top-notch musicianship, and a sound that is true, distinctive, but not off-base.

Lali Puna Our Inventions (Morr Music) I wonder why computer companies aren’t beating down the door of the German electronic group Lali Puna to make some theme song or commercial music or operating system desktop noises or something. The band seems to convey the perfect technological sound: modern, sophisticated, optimistic, artificial, yet inviting. Lead singer and group founder Valerie Trebeljahr has a detached, unadorned singing style which some might find a bit sterile and too uniform over the course of an album. Nevertheless, she can sound warm and soft (consider a polyester blanket, regarding non-organic warmth) without swaying to either the cheery or stern side of things.

Our Inventions arrives six years after the outfit’s last proper fulllength album, Faking the Books, and

fans won’t find it to be much of a stylistic departure. One of the more distinguished tracks, “Move On,” employs a sort of “Galang”-esque tug, making it sound removed about halfa-decade; among the processed beats and tones, Trebeljahr sings the verse with just two notes, relying upon her rhythm—this is about as close to getting down as she gets. The band favors neat, synthetic sounds and certain resonating, malleted metallophone sounds, and the sonic pieces themselves are simple note patterns or sample loops. These function as overlaid transparent cells, as if composing a shot in an animated movie, making a complex picture.

Insiders and sample-spotting geeks may appreciate the sample choices, including a piano snippet from the late Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore’s “The Swan,” and the playful, bloopy beats of synth pioneer Raymond Scott’s electronic rendition of “Twilight in Turkey.” There are no gross missteps on Our Inventions, but one might have anticipated a little more musical growth within six years. Still, if you’re thinking of throwing a cocktail party in a microchip cleanroom, then here’s what you’d want to play in the background.

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Arts & Entertainment

Visions of All Forms of Spirit

By Michael Crumb

“This show features a number of expressionist works, and viewers will encounter intense visions and colors by accomplished artists.”

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

B

essie Smith’s birthday on April 15 was celebrated with both cake and art as the Bessie Smith Cultural Center opened an exhibition featuring Aaron Henderson from Atlanta and Logan Kearse from Chattanooga.

This show features a number of expressionist works, and viewers will encounter intense visions and colors by accomplished artists.

The majority of these paintings come from Aaron Henderson’s “Harmonic Inspirations,” a series inspired by jazz. In Henderson’s words, “It’s a magnificent art form, America’s only original art form, and it’s often treated so badly, but it doesn’t care; it drives its practitioners to seek mastery and genius.”

This comment on the music remains appropriate to his paintings as well, all of which are rendered with gouache on paper. This medium allows Henderson to present both depth and brightness of color, expressed in different ranges of tonalities. In “Quartet Blues” (2006), musicians on piano, saxophone, and drums are all done in various shades of blue against a black background.

In “Masterpiece By Midnight” (2006), Henderson’s expressionist trio has been portrayed with a kind of muted brightness, yielding a sense of luminosity in a dimly lit room.

Henderson’s versatility of composition combines with these complex tonalities to delight. The viewer first encounters the masterful “I Love You Madly.” This large composition features blue hands among a swirl of keys and rounded forms in a dynamic, geometrical outpouring felt as well as seen.

“Highlights from Another World,” a portrait of Sun Ra, blends stillness with the dark intensity flowing around the subject.

There are other portraits, and in “Strawberry Midnights” (2006), a trumpet soloist of a curvy Cubist style comes through in pink, blue and black. “Oklahoma Jazz” presents jazz guitarist Charlie Christian more realistically, but here Christian himself emerges as a brightly colorful presence.

A large portion treats expressionist ensemble blends of musicians and instruments in a swirly dynamism of musical complexity. “First Encounter”, which shows Cannonball Adderly’s combo, provides a sense of “conjured narratives;” as Henderson makes clear, “narratives that reflect my life’s experiences.” From the framed paper, the sense of improvisational interplay leaps out to viewers.

Logan Kearse has recently moved to Chattanooga. He has also been an artist for some time, and his subjects have also included jazz. His five paintings currently hung in the atrium are from a series called “Visions of the Spirit.” These works present iconography based on verses from the Bible. Spiritual visions are a mode of expressionism.

A painting of Jesus crucified began this series. This image, worked with acrylic and oil stick on found wood, confronts the viewer with dark tones and palpable suffering. Kearse’s “purpose is to use his gift to present his visions revealed to me from the spirit.”

Other paintings include a passage from “Revelations” (2007), featuring the Lamb and Mary, as well as Adam and Jacob from “Genesis.” These are done in pastels. Kearse found an exemplar in Salvador Dali, and these images provoke thought. He explains, “I’m not trying to convert anyone.” Perhaps another painting, “Write the Vision” (2009/10), using acrylic and oil stick, expresses his inspiration.

“Harmonic Inspirations” $5 Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 MLK Blvd. (423) 266-8658, www.caamhistory.org

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

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April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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A&E Calendar Highlights Friday

Thursday

“Hot Jazz in Stone and Steel: An Exploration of Early American Jazz” Hunter’s jazz series presents the music of Bix Biederbeicke and Louis Armstrong.

Free (cash bar) 6 p.m.

Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View.

(423) 267-0968. www.huntermuseum.org

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Annual Boxcar Pinion Memorial Bluegrass Festival 10 a.m. Racoon Mtn. (706) 820-2228.

“Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” & “Bold Elegance” reception 4 p.m. My Color Image Boutique and Art Gallery, 330 Frazier St. (423) 598-6202.

“Catering to the Boys” 5:30 p.m. The Mill, 1601 Gulf St., #100. (423) 634-2299.

Enchanted April 7 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Execution of Justice 7:30 p.m. Roddy Theatre, Baylor School. 171 Baylor School Rd. (423) 267-8505.

Dale Jones 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

The Dream of Don Quixote Chattanooga Ballet dances this, plus new works by local choreographers. $13 7 p.m.

UTC Fine Arts Center, Vine & Palmetto Streets.

(423) 425-4269.

Saturday

CSO: “We Will Rock You!” Queen, Queen and even more Queen. $19 - $79 8 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad Street.

(423) 467-8583. www.chattanoogasymphony.org

Monday CSO Youth Orchestra Spring Concert 7 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 267-8583.

The Color Purple 7:30 p.m. Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave. (523) 757-5156.

Paul Lohan and the Monday Night Big Band 7:30 p.m. Lindsey St. Hall, 901 Lindsey St. (423) 755-9111.

“Speak Easy” Spoken word and poetry 8 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9040.

Austin Center & Lawrence Mathis Exhibit Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 N. Terrace Ave. (423) 483-0270.

“Horizons” Shuptrine Fine Art Group, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.

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Annual Boxcar Pinion Memorial Bluegrass Festival 10 a.m. Racoon Mtn. (706) 820-2228.

Earth Dayz 11 a.m. Rock City, 1400 Patten Rd., Lookout Mtn, GA. (706) 820-2531.

Chattanooga Traditional Jazz Festival 2:30 p.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-0944.

Chattanooga Bio Blitz 3 p.m. Chattanooga Nature Center, 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160.

“Recent Discoveries on Science One Time” Exhibit 5:30 p.m. Doctor’s Building, corner of Mcallie and Palmetto.

“Spring” 6 p.m. Carylon Killbrew Gallery, 1641 Berkely Cir. (423) 265-5436.

“All That Jazz: Fiberworks of Carole Harris” reception 6:30 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033.

Execution of Justice 7:30 p.m. Roddy Theatre, Baylor School. 171 Baylor School Rd. (423) 267-8505.

Jack and the Beanstalk 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Dale Jones 7:30, 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Enchanted April 8 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210.

Sunday Annual Boxcar Pinion Memorial Bluegrass Festival 10 a.m. Racoon Mtn. (423) 706-820-2228.

Traditional Jazz Festival 10 a.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-0944.

Mosaic Market 11 a.m. 412 Market St. (corner of 4th/Market) (423) 624-3915.

Art ‘Til Dark Noon. Northshore, Frazier Ave. A Blues Song of My Own Booksigning 1 p.m. Pasha Coffeehouse, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 475-5482.

Jack and the Beanstalk 2:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

Chattanooga Bio Blitz 3 p.m. Chattanooga Nature Center, 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160.

“Seeds” opening reception 6 p.m. Asher Love Gallery, 3914 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 822-0289.

“The Bible on Broadway” 7:30 p.m. Oak Street Playhouse, 419 McCallie Ave. (423) 756-2426.

Dale Jones 7:30, 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Execution of Justice 7:30 p.m. Roddy Theatre, Baylor School. 171 Baylor School Rd. (423) 267-8505.

The Dream of Don Quixote 8 p.m. Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 425-4269. www.chattanoogaballet.net Female Impersonation Show Midnight. Images, 6065 Lee Hwy. (423) 855-8210.

Tuesday

Wednesday

“Films from the Seventies: Harlan County, USA 6:30 p.m. Chattanooga-Hamilton Library, 1001 Broad St. (423) 757-5310.

“Battle of Missionary Ridge” Lecture 7 p.m. Olde Towne Bookstore, 3249 Brainerd Rd. (423) 475-7187.

“Picture This” North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Dr. (423) 870-8924.

Works by Helen Exum St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 305 W. 7th St. (423) 266-8794.

“Birds of a Feather” Houston Museum of Arts, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176.

“Earth Day with Daniel Bigay” Bill Shores Frame and Gallery, 307 Manufacturers Rd. (423) 756-6746.

The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

“City Share: Vision to Action” 12 p.m. Create Here, 55 E. Main St. Ste. 105. (423) 648-2195.

“Harmonic Inspirations” Chattanooga African American Museum, 200 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-8658.

Sandra Hobbs and Mary Zelle Studio 2/Gallery 2, 27 W. Main St. (423) 266-2222.

“Themes of Identity” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.

“All That Jazz: Fiberworks of Carole Harris” River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033.

Photography by Robert Parker Leo Handmade Gallery, 22 Frazier Ave. (423) 634-0440.

“A Breath of Fresh Air” In-Town Gallery, 26A Frazier Ave. (423)267-9214.

Enchanted April Last chance to see the CTC’s romantic comedy. $10 - $20 2:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Main Stage, 400 River Street.

(423) 267-8534. www.theatrecentre.com

Traditional Jazz Festival 10:30 a.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-0944.

Hunter First Free Sundays Noon. Hunter Museum of Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.

Execution of Justice 2 p.m. Roddy Theatre, Baylor School. 171 Baylor School Rd. (423) 267-8505.

Jack and the Beanstalk 2:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8534.

The Creation 2:30 p.m. Brainerd United Methodist Church, 4315 Brainerd Rd. (423) 516-0335.

“The Bible on Broadway” 7:30 p.m. Oak Street Playhouse, 419 McCallie Ave. (423) 756-2426.

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week

Choral Arts of Chattanooga with the Chattanooga Bach Choir & Orchestra Both organizations are celebrating their 25th anniversaries, and collaborate to present Haydn’s The Creation in the setting of the beautiful Brainerd United Methodist Church.

Sunday, May 2, 2:30 p.m. $15 Brainerd United Methodist Church, 4315 Brainerd Road.

(423) 877-7050. www.choralartsofchattanooga.org

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

JONESIN’

By Matt Jones

“Battle of the Bands” –who would win?

Across 1 Maggie Gyllenhaal’s brother 5 Tallahassee’s st.

8 Earthy shade 13 Fix text 14 “___ Boot” 15 Weasel out (on) 16 “You’d think Band A would hold up, but it’s flimsy. Band B wins.”

19 Like some computer errors 20 Blood type for about 6% of the U.S. pop.

21 They follow B 22 Unable to work, perhaps 24 First responder 26 Comp. storage sites 27 Forever, it seems 31 “Charter” tree 33 Diamond Head locale 35 “Band B wins, since Band A only has a tolerance for booze.”

39 Drink from (a bowl), like a cat 40 Cutesy-___ 41 Four Holy Roman Emperors 43 “Drop Band A on Band B? Band B wins, no contest.”

46 Art ___ 47 Suffix for orange or lemon 48 Gaelic tongue

49 “Ben-___” 51 Abbr. in some town names 53 Furthest degree 55 Fertile Crescent’s place 57 Golfer Aoki 59 Inspected diamonds?

64 “Band B wins, because it’s pointy and doesn’t digest well.”

67 Early actress Langtry 68 Dir. opposite WNW 69 “Scientific American Frontiers” host Alan 70 Didn’t dine out 71 “Slippery When ___” (Bon Jovi album) 72 Spotted Down 1 Constantly napping member of the Wiggles 2 Song from Sarah McLachlan’s “Surfacing” 3 Highland Games garb 4 “At Last” blues singer ___ James 5 Prez on the dime 6 Kitschy illumination 7 Part of AARP 8 “___ the fields we go...”

9 “Mad Money” network 10 Job search insider 11 Spurred (on) 12 Hull wreckers 15 Stringy cleaner

17 Mr. Manning 18 “Isn’t that something?”

23 ___ Lobos 25 California/Nevada attraction 27 The whole thing 28 Burrito add-on, for short 29 Fashionable sandal 30 Drive-thru drink 32 Villainous surname in the Super Mario Bros. series 34 Request to the dealer 36 Blacksburg sch.

37 What automobile interiors may drown out 38 Geologic time periods 42 Sault ___ Marie Canals 44 Candle type 45 Hound healer 49 “Se ____ espaÒol” 50 “___ wisely” 52 Reptilian warning 54 Clueless response 56 Obesity drug Orlistat, more familiarly 58 Not too many 60 CEOs may have them 61 Stripper’s fixture 62 “The Neverending Story” author Michael 63 Jimmy of sausage 65 Half of an eternal balance 66 Ready to roll

©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0465.

www.chattanoogapulse.com

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Life in the Noog

By Chuck Crowder

Tattoo You I

’ve been thinking a lot about tattoos. Not about getting one, but about all of the ones I’m starting to see on newly exposed skin this Spring. They never cease to be one of the most intriguing aspects of people-watching.

I’m tatt-free. No ink. Not that I’m against body art. In fact, it’s a very bold statement that can look great…on other people. I’m just not that guy. Me with a tattoo would look about as silly as racing stripes on an AMC Gremlin.

That’s because to successfully pull off a tattoo with any sort of authenticity, you’ve got to look the part, live the life, actually be the type of person who could arouse an uncanny element of surprise if it’s ever discovered that you actually don’t have a tattoo. “I thought for sure…”

You’ve got to commit to the permanence of skin discoloration for the sake of becoming a human canvas of artistic expression to really pull it off. That means not just sporting these little “party tattoos” on the parts of your physique that can easily be covered up by the most basic of clothing, but getting down and dirty and truly wearing the ink on your sleeve (so to speak).

Speaking of sleeves, a full sleeve of tattoos is just plain cool. One entire arm covered in various images all intertwined together to create a whole mood or sum up the interests and expressive nature of the individual is pretty damn awesome. It’s when the one arm turns into both arms, neck, calves, back, chest and possibly fingers however, that one has officially transformed themselves from an interesting person into a heavy metal drummer.

I’m not against people who choose

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to go to those extremes, though. I just think it’s a blind commitment to a place and time in one’s life that transcends any long-term expectation a job, spouse, house or possibly a child could ever bestow.

It’s what marriage and family mechanics like “First Things First” base their whole diatribe on— commitment because you made a commitment. And unlike any of the aforementioned life stations, the tatt is stayin’ put.

I think it was Ben Franklin who said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Obviously tattoos and piercings weren’t very popular back then because nothing is more certain than the fact that Tony Danza will forever have the ill-fated ‘70s slogan “Keep On Truckin’” (complete with zoot suit man) emblazoned on his arm.

That’s one reason I don’t have a tattoo. There’s nothing I’ve really liked long enough to permanently affix it to my person. That may be why you can’t get a tattoo prior to age 18.

If you could, I’d likely have the Rush pentagram dude, MTV logo and some random girlfriend’s name under my now bashfully long sleeves.

The tattoos I respect the most are the ones that either mean something significant to the wearer, or are truly works of art that deserve to be displayed on the gallery of a leg or forearm.

The ink that I don’t understand is the “tattoo for the sake of having a tattoo” tattoo—otherwise known as “fad-too.”

This is the by far the strangest of the body ink phenomena.

I’m not talking about the girl who got her sorority letters or a tiny flower tattooed on her ankle during a college spring break. No, I’m talking about the girl—likely somewhere between the ages of 26 and 34—who thought it would be a good idea to get some squiggly,

swirling right/left mirror-image design tattooed on her lower back so that the only person who has to look at it now is her unfortunate husband, boyfriend or one-night stand. Yes, I’m of course referring to the dreaded “tramp stamp.”

And guys aren’t exempt. Some find that a round-the-arm band design known as a “tribal” is the perfect complement to the tanning bed, muscle shirt, spiked hair and Axe body spray combo of the perfectly unoriginal mind. Sometimes it’s barbed wire. My favorite is the Gaelic symbols. “It means ‘brotherhood’.” Right.

Regardless of whether it’s a work of art, meaningful symbol or just some cool design, tattoos are like fashion— sometimes it’s time for a new wardrobe.

And unfortunately, tatts just don’t easily lend themselves to change. It’s like having the zipper of your Member’s Only jacket stuck so badly that you’re forced to wear it for the rest of your life.

And that would just be my luck.

“The tattoos I respect the most are the ones that either mean something significant to the wearer, or are truly works of art that deserve to be displayed on the gallery of a leg or forearm.”

Chuck Crowder is a local writer and general man about town. His opinions are just that. Everything expressed is loosely based on fact, and crap he hears people talking about. Take what you just read with a grain of salt, but pepper it in your thoughts. And be sure to check out his popular website www.thenoog.com

Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

www.chattanoogapulse.com

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

On The Beat

By Alex Teach

Saturated I

was part of an operation last week that is referred to as a “saturation”. Don’t you just love that word? “Saturation.” It just feels good rolling off your tongue and it creates a visual for me of water filling a jar of sand, filling every nook and cranny and just barely spilling over the lip of the jar…but not quite. If that doesn’t do it for you, think of how you felt about 40 minutes after your second Thanksgiving dinner last year after leaving the in-laws or one of your blended-families’ houses for the modern-day circuit of three to four meals we all have to attend. “Saturated.”

I want to tell you about it, but unfortunately in order to describe this single concept I have to give you a broad background on how Law Enforcement works from the administrative side.

People will be shocked by this, but law enforcement is not generally progressive by nature. It’s not that it doesn’t want to be, but rather a corner it is backed into. Its budget (or lifeblood) is dictated by people that don’t participate in its operation and generally have different priorities or agendas (which is as polite as I can phrase it, for those that know my writing and opinions). With the resources it is limited to, being progressive simply isn’t often possible until it becomes emergent, and even then it is temporary at best.

This is a result of the fact that unlike business, police departments don’t have a “bottom line” to meet for production purposes with which to justify more spending. It is a complex organization

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that is completely necessary, but it defies the common business model since its primary goal is preventing crimes: Something that literally cannot be measured with numbers (only comparisons from previous years, at best).

Car companies, for example, produce “X” amount of cars for “Y” amount of money. The amount they sell (“Z”) and the profit they make from this goes back to adjusting “X & Y”. See? Numbers.

Productivity. (Bear with me here.)

Elected officials are usually businessmen, and they gauge their companies’ (or operations’) success on what they produce for the money that is put into them. Since policing doesn’t have a product (per se) that can be counted upon which to base this, when combined with the fact that they (the elected officials) don’t have to run it themselves, it’s a miracle anything gets done at all because they’re shoving policing and its budget into the standard business model, all while not running it themselves. Progressiveness and innovation are set aside for bare survival, and this is the cycle we live in.

That dead look that veteran innercity street cops (and rural traffic cops) have? That’s from the desensitization of a few decades of seeing the worst society has to offer and trying to process it with the limited capacity of a rational mind, usually meaning the best coping mechanism they can hope for is randomly and inexplicably crying in private (as opposed to public). That has nothing to do with this.

Now, the dead look that veteran police administrators have? That is from the desensitization of dealing with government bean-counters and elected officials who don’t see the barriers they present to allowing the cops they supervise to be proactive and do their jobs, and therefore cut down on their need to randomly and inexplicably cry.

It’s as confusing as it sounds, and that’s why the rare progressive idea such as a “crime saturation” operation is as important as I’m implying it to be.

Where was I? Ah. “The Saturation.”

The essence of the operation itself is to concentrate all excess personnel from the patrol division and combine them with all the available investigators from that division, then fold that group in with excess from other police departments as well as state and federal agencies. In the weeks and months prior, we do something crazy like “get information from the residents themselves of what the neighborhood problems are”, and hand this list to the massive group of cops who also use the manpower for safely executing the search and arrest warrants the specialists have been working on for months (and even years in some cases), and concentrate their efforts from a broad stroke to an arrow point with resources they would never otherwise have at their disposal.

The result from an administrative standpoint is a crime sweep of massive proportions without hindrances like overtime pay to fight over…and from a street cop’s standpoint, it’s a great way to just do your job and remember why you loved doing it in the first place.

Dozens of you, just hitting the street and looking for bad guys. Period. It’s sad that this is so much to ask for.

The next day we’re greeted with public criticism on how “raids don’t work” and we are “setting up a police state like Hitler-Germany”, but since the day before and after we’re accused of not doing anything at all and being cursed at the other end of the spectrum, it’s pretty easy to digest. But those days…they’re just fun. They leave you feeling…well, “saturated”.

You’ll have to excuse me now. Back to business school.

“People will be shocked by this, but law enforcement is not generally progressive by nature. It’s not that it doesn’t want to be, but rather a corner it is backed into.”

When officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city on the heels of the criminal element, he is an occasional student at UTC, an up and coming carpenter, auto mechanic, prominent boating enthusiast, and spends his spare time volunteering for the Boehm Birth Defects Center. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alexteach

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative

The Pulse • Dining Out Spotlight

Fresh, Local—and Delicious at Broad Street Grille

by Colleen Wade Sustainability. It’s a word you often hear in reference to Chattanooga. I’ve used it several times in this column in regard to local restaurants.

“Sustainability” has been defined as an attempt to provide the best outcomes for human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future. So how can a restaurant be described as sustainable? There are actually a number of ways a restaurant can be considered as such—but a big part of that is how a restaurant contributes to the sustainability of its community. Broad Street Grille, located in The Chattanoogan, is a restaurant that definitely contributes to the sustainability of our community.

Rick Shell, Director of Food and Beverage at The Chattanoogan, sat down with me earlier this week to discuss Broad Street Grille’s “Field to Table” initiative.

Field to Table is a concept that brings fresh, predominantly local food to patrons, with an emphasis on using organic foods when available. Broad Street Grille orders produce from Crabtree Farms, bison from Eagles Rest Ranch, their breads come from Niedlov’s Breadworks, eggs from Bill Keener, and even hydroponic lettuce from Happy Valley Farms. With these quality products, Executive Chef Matt Pinner and his team have created a menu that is not only healthy but also reflects our regional culture. There is Apple Wood Bacon Grilled Georgia Quail with hydroponic arugula and maple vinaigrette, salads with petite local hydroponic lettuce, pecans, gorgonzola bleu cheese, and an apple

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vinaigrette, or beef brisket sandwiches on Niedlov’s ciabatta bread with arugula and bleu cheese-horseradish vinaigrette.

Says Shell, “As much as our food is known for the Field to Table, and the concept behind it is regional Southern cooking; you’re not going to find a lot of the fried food. We’re not trying to be that. We’re trying to have the local food done with our twist of creativity, and it still has the local flair, the concept of the cooking.” Broad Street Grille has a garden in the works as well. “It’s going to be very small,” explains Shell. “It’s only going to be 30 feet by 50 feet, but it’s our plot where we can have our own herbs or some vegetables.” The garden will be located in The Chattanoogan’s courtyard, by a fire pit that was placed there for dining guests.

Broad Street Grille also has Chattanooga’s only true chef’s table experience, something Rick Shell highly recommends. “We have a [table that

seats eight], with four seats on each side that is our chef’s table. The chefs are the ones that serve you; they entertain you, a full tasting. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to sit right there. You can sit there and talk to the chefs, and the chefs will ask you what you like, what you don’t like and they’ll run you right through the menu. It’s going to be all small plates, but you taste a little bit of everything. And, again, you have the creativity of the chefs right there. If they’re having something new, they’re going to try it on you.” Of course, if you’re looking for a romantic evening to gaze longingly into someone’s eyes, the chef’s table is probably not the place for you. But fret not! Broad Street Grille has tables for romantic evenings too, and after dinner, head to The Foundry for drinks, and if you happen to be there on a Friday or Saturday night, you can listen to some local jazz musicians.

Whether you’re looking for a place to close a business deal, a romantic night out with your special someone, or entertainment for the family, Broad Street Grille is the place to go—as long as you’re looking for a delicious and healthy meal as well.

Broad Street Grille is located in The Chattanoogan, 1201 South Broad Street, downtown Chattanooga. Hours: Monday through Saturday 6:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch buffet, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. dinner. Sunday 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. only. Reservations (423) 756-3400 or book online atchattanooganhotel.com.

April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

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Spirits Within

By Joshua Hurley

Affordable Rouge et Blanc R

ed or white? Sometimes that is the question. If the quality is high and the price low, why not both? This week’s “Great Buy” has that problem solved. Great Buys is where Riley’s Wine and Spirits on Hixson Pike in Hixson picks a favorite from a large selection of wine and spirits from around the world and shares it with the readership of The Pulse.

This week lands us in Bordeaux, France’s famed wine region, with its leading label—Mouton Cadet.

Bordeaux (bohr-doh) is an area in the southwest portion of France known as the world’s greatest wine-producing region. Bordeaux earns that distinction; not only is the climate perfect for grape cultivation, the region leads the world in quantity and quality of wines produced.

The region that is Bordeaux covers a large area around the seaport city of the same name that lies on the Garonne River upstream from the Gironde estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region produces both red and white wines, but the former dominates, making up to 88 percent of total production.

Mouton Cadet is considered Bordeaux’s most successful brand. It was created in 1930 by Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The brand’s name comes from both the vineyard of origin— Chateau Mouton Rothschild—and from Rothschild’s son, referred to in French by the word “cadet”. Today, Mouton Cadet Red is a blended red wine from an assembly of grapes grown in several Bordeaux appellations. The entire region is broken up into districts, similar to counties and appellations similar to, say, communes.

Cadet Red did well enough in France until occupation by the Nazis, when the entire production was shut down.

After the war, “Cadet” was marketed extensively around Europe and enjoyed a popularity surge that reached the U.S. in the mid-1960s. In 1975, Mouton Cadet added a “second label” white blend to great sales and acclaim, selling three million cases the first year in the U.S. alone.

Mouton Cadet Rouge Bordeaux 2007 blend contains 65 percent merlot, 20 percent cabernet sauvignon and 15 percent cabernet franc. After pressing, the juice is brought down to a low temperature before fermentation. This

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process refines the grape flavor. After alcoholic fermentation, the process is repeated, then the wine is aged for 12 to 18 months before bottling. Deep red in color, this selection contains aromas of intense berry fruit, which give over to a palate alive with berries, vanilla and herbs. The finish or aftertaste is a soft, toasted spice.

Mouton Cadet 2007 Bordeaux is a white blended wine containing 50 percent semillon, 40 percent sauvignon blanc and 10 percent muscadelle.

Semillon is a white grape that grows well in Bordeaux. It doesn’t make particularly good wine by itself, but if mixed with sauvignon blanc the results can be quite extraordinary, adding a complexity unique to all white wines.

Muscadelle is also vital to Bordeaux white blends, adding a slightly sweet, perfumey character to the mix.

Mouton White benefits from a procedure called “cold maceration”, in which, after the pressing of the grapes, the juice and grape skins are held together at a low temperature for an extended period of time. The procedure helps to keep the grapes’ natural aromas intact. Then, only 20 percent of the juice bounty undergoes alcoholic fermentation. This wine is matured in steel vats for three to six months and stirred regularly for the first three of those months. Cadet White is golden yellow in color and displays aromas of citrus, apples, pears and green grass.

The palate contains a broad spectrum of fruit, like a melody, coming one after another. The finish is easy, slightly sweet.

Red and white are available for $7.97 each. You can do both. This low price is only available at Riley’s Wine and Spirits.

Free Will Astrology TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A little knowledge can be dangerous. I constantly meet people who have boxed themselves into tight spots by misusing their smattering of astrological information. There’s no better example of this than the superstition about Mercury retrograde, which is supposedly a bad time to begin anything new. During one such period last year, an acquaintance of mine decided to delay accepting a dream job offer as editor of a magazine. By the time Mercury returned to normal, the magazine had hired another applicant. I wish I’d have known, because I would have told her what I’ll tell you: Some of America’s biggest, most enduring Fortune 500 companies began when Mercury was retrograde, including Disney, Goodyear, and Boeing. The moral of the story: Of all the signs of the zodiac, it’s most important that you Tauruses don’t worry about launching new projects during the current Mercury retrograde.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Would you really prefer it if you had no problems? Do you imagine you’d enjoy life more if everything was pure fun and smoothly easy? Here’s an astrological perspective: People who have an over-abundance of positive aspects in their natal horoscopes often turn out to be lucky but lazy bums who never accomplish much. So I say, be thankful for the complications that are visiting you. I bet they will make a man out of you if you’re a woman, or a woman out of you if you’re a man. If you’re white, they’ll help you get blacker, and if you’re black, they’ll make you whiter. Catch my drift? As you do your best to solve the knotty riddle, you’ll become better balanced and more versatile than folks who are rarely challenged.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here’s the most important rule for you in the coming week: Keep your eyes fixed on a vision of your shining destiny.

If you do, you’ll be unflappable, indefatigable, and irrepressible. Your luck will be so crazy good it’ll be almost spooky. Noble deeds you did in the past will finally bring the rewards you deserve. Allies will conspire to assist you, sometimes in ways you couldn’t have predicted. I’m not exaggerating, Cancerian. If you stay focused on the highest prize, you’ll live a charmed life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 1990, my rock band World Entertainment War played at a San Francisco nightclub on the same bill as the Beatnigs, an assemblage fronted by Michael Franti. Their avant-garde industrial music featured band members rhythmically hitting a steel bar with a power saw and slapping a long chain against a piece of sheet metal hanging from the back wall. Fast-forward to 2009, when Franti’s latest band Spearhead released a catchy romantic pop ditty titled “Say Hey (I Love You),” which reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. I predict a comparable development for you in the next six months, Leo: moving from a state of raw, dark, obscure power to a state of bright, refined, accessible power.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Mangosteens and rambutans are exotic fruits that grow in faraway places. The mangosteen is creamy and purple, with a peachy citrus taste, while the rambutan is like a big hairy red grape. This is a perfect moment, astrologically speaking, to invite them into your mouth. Likewise, the time is right for you to consider welcoming other colorful, striking, and foreign elements into your life. So maybe consider making friends with a Paraguayan acrobat. Sing Vietnamese folk songs. Read the memoirs of an Iranian exile. Exchange conspiracy theories with an Icelandic fairy.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A reader named Emory proposes that we add a new meme to the cultural lexicon: interpersonal intellectual orgasm. Here’s how he describes it: “It happens when your conversation with another person becomes so intense that nothing else matters except the dialog you’re creating together. The two of you are so intune, so intellectually bonded, that the sensation is almost like making love. For that time, it’s like that person is in you and you are in that person; you are one because you understand each other so

By Rob Brezsny

completely.” I bring this to your attention, Libra, because you’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when the interpersonal intellectual orgasm is far more likely than usual to occur.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Unlike people who cheat on their mates, polyamorists carry on two or more intimate relationships but don’t lie about it. Their lovers know about each other and have agreed to the arrangement. I applaud those who have the inclination to pull off this tricky work, even though I personally couldn’t manage it. Handling just a single intense bond takes improbable amounts of my ingenuity. If I were trying to weave my fate together with more than one partner, I wouldn’t have any energy left over to write these horoscopes or do anything else.

How about you, Scorpio? You’re in a phase when splitting your attention might be tempting, not just in regards to your love life but in other areas, too.

Whether that’s the right thing to do, I can’t say.

Here’s what I do know: You can either go deeper or wider, but not both.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Never bear more than one trouble at a time,” wrote author and clergyman Edward Everett Hale. “Some people bear three kinds -- all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.”

That’s good advice for you, Sagittarius. Please just stick to the trouble you have, and drop the other two kinds. There’s no need to fill up your beautiful head with extra torment. Besides, you’re much more likely to wrestle the current trouble into submission if you’re not weighted down by unnecessary extras.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): What excites you? What makes you itch with a longing to be surprised? What fills you to the brim with curiosity and an agitated sense of wonder? You may not know even half of what you could potentially realize about these matters. Have you ever sat down and taken a formal inventory?

Have you ever dedicated yourself to figuring out all the things that would inspire you most? Do it sometime soon, please; attend to this glorious task. According to my reading of the omens, it’s prime time to do so.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It’s a good thing Margaret Mitchell suffered a broken ankle back in 1925. She got so bored as she lay around the house recuperating that she started writing a book. Eventually it blossomed into the 423,000word blockbuster Gone with the Wind, which sold 30 million copies and won her the Pulitzer Prize. Judging from your current astrological omens, Aquarius, I suspect that you too may soon be offered an opportunity disguised as a ho-hum problem PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I was pleased when I discovered a website with a video of quirky songstress Cat Power singing David Bowie’s iconic song “Space Oddity.” I love her, I love Bowie, and I love the tune. And yet a wave of disappointment broke over me when I realized, 30 seconds into the performance, that it was actually a car commercial. I felt duped. Appalled. Outraged.

Any pleasure I’d gotten from the experience was ruined. Don’t be like me, Pisces. You, too, may soon receive a blessing that has some minor annoyance. Don’t overreact like me. Look past the blemish and enjoy the gift.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “In a recipe for salsa published recently, one of the ingredients was misstated, due to an error,” said an apology run by a local newspaper. “The correct ingredient is ‘2 tsp. of cilantro’ instead of ‘2 tsp. of cement.’” This is an example of the kind of miscue you should be alert for in your own life during the coming week, Aries. As long as you pay close attention and spot the tiny booboos as they arise, you won’t end up dipping your chips into a gritty, gravely mess.

Homework: Practicing unconditional love is the toughest, most heroic task of all. Here’s my attempt to get better at it: http://bit.ly/WorldKiss.

Can I see yours?

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April 29, 2010 | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | The Pulse

37

Ask A Mexican!

By Gustavo Arellano

Overcoats and Height Requirements Dear Mexican, I live in a Northeastern city, and a game I play with myself during the cold, wintry months is counting how many Mexicans I see without a heavy coat or appropriate outer-garment.

Believe me, I’m not prejudiced (I, too, am a minority, and this game is lightweight to some of the games I play involving my own race), but I’d like to know: Why do so many Mexicans prefer to brave the elements in just a long-sleeved shirt or a sweater? (Is it a cultural thing, like “I don’t need no stinkin’ coat?”)

— Black Urban Gringo.

Dear BUG, See, you think you’re not prejudiced, but then you threw in that allusion to the notorious quote used by my tío, Alfonso Bedoya, in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre involving badges. Now, why would a good negrito do that? You won’t find the Mexican quoting Stepin Fetchit or Mantan Moreland, although I did steal my beautiful grin from the darkies of yore because gabachos demand consistency in their racial caricatures.

But, yes: Mexicans don’t need no stinkin’ coat. Large-scale Mexican immigration to the frozen Northeast and upper Midwest is a relatively recent phenomenon; like not flushing our soiled toilet paper and distrusting tap water, buying the various layers needed to properly weather a snowstorm is a custom most icebacks still need to learn. Besides, it’s not like the Mexis that unwittingly constitute your game are prancing around desnudos—as you noted, they’ll at least have some layers against the elements.

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The Pulse | Vol. 7, Issue 17 | April 29, 2010

Besides, we’re cut from a different stock, BUG: ours is a raza where North Face jackets or Burberry coats are the least of our concerns.

After all, what’s a snow flurry when President Obama has yet to make any push for amnesty, or when the bigoted, corrupt shade of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has now spread across Arizona?

Dear Mexican, Why is it Americans think Mexicans are all short? I’ve been around various communities of Mexicans in California and in Mexico, and I see a wide variety of height, from short to tall. I’m 30 years old and 5 feet, 10.5 inches, and my little brother, who’s 16, is six feet and growing! Could this be a recent phenomenon of all the shorter Mexican nationals coming from Oaxaca and other regions near Guatemala? Because we all know chapines are the shortest in Central America! Also, can you answer us the science behind why some cultures/ ethnicities vary in height? Apparently, the Dutch in the Netherlands are among the tallest people in the world!

— A Tall Mexican, Standing Proud!

Dear Wab, Gracias for taking a swipe at Guatemalans for me! But I hate to

break it to you—gabachos think we’re short because, statistically speaking, we are. The Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics released a 2008 study titled, “Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2003–2006” that found Mexicans are substantially shorter than their gabacho y negrito peers.

The average height in the survey for Mexican males over 20 was 5’7”, a full two inches shorter than the ebony and ivory. Mexican women were 5’2”, also about two inches shorter than their sisters from other misters. But, like the example you gave from your brother, heights are a’changing. The average height for wab men between 20-39 was 5’7.2”, 1.1 inches taller than hombres 60 and older.

I’m not a geneticist, but good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle will always add a couple of pulgadas to any raza. Hear that, Guatemalans?

There’s still hope to trump your enano status—not that there’s anything wrong with that, por supuesto…

“What’s a snow flurry when President Obama has yet to make any push for amnesty, or when the bigoted, corrupt shade of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has now spread across Arizona?”

Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, facebook.com/garellano, youtube.com/ askamexicano, find him on, Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815.

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