March 28, 2013
Vol. 10 • No. 13
Chattanooga’s Weekly Alternative
College Papers
The student press is alive and well in Chattanooga, but it’s struggling to connect in a new media environment
The Ever-Loving Astral EthericWeekend for
Dennis Palmer Performers, friends and fans pay tribute By Richard Winham & Ernie Paik
MUSIC tdawg’s hootenanny ARTS debt relief as conceptual art food ELEMENTAL
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THIS WEEK march 28-april 3 IN THE PULSE COLLEGE PAPERS: Still relevant? THE PULSE REPORTs P6
ON THE COVER » DENNIS PALMER • PHOTO BY BOB WRIGHT ADVERTISING
Director of Sales Mike Baskin Account Executives Amy Allara • Chee Chee Brown • Eric Foster Jessica Gray • John Holland • Rick Leavell Jerry Ware
CONTACT
EDITORIAL
Editor & Creative Director Bill Ramsey Operations & Webmaster Mike McJunkin Contributors Rich Bailey • Rob Brezsny • Zachary Cooper Chuck Crowder • John DeVore • Janis Hashe Matt Jones • Mike McJunkin • Ernie Paik Sarah Skates • Alex Teach • Richard Winham Photographers Kim Hunter • Josh Lang Cartoonists & Illustrators Max Cannon • David Helton • E.J. Pettinger Richard Rice • Jen Sorensen • Tom Tomorrow Interns Gaby Dixon • Julia Sharp • Esan Swan
Offices 1305 Carter St. • Chattanooga, TN 37402 Phone 423.265.9494 Fax 423.266.2335 Web chattanoogapulse.com Email info@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar calendar@chattanoogapulse.com THE FINE PRINT The Pulse is published weekly by Brewer Media and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news. 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. We’re watching. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors. © 2013 Brewer Media. All rights reserved.
BREWER MEDIA GROUP Publisher & President Jim Brewer II
Founded 2003 by Zachary Cooper & Michael Kull
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 3
BOWL
THE kid lit
Deadline for PBS KIDS GO! contest nears If fame, fortune and the pursuit of knowledge are not enough, children in the Tennessee Valley area have a new incentive to read and write. The annual PBS KIDS GO! contest is right around the corner, and the list of prizes is enough to get the most televisionloving second-grader to trade his Wii remote for a pencil and paper. Ironically, the national winners can receive all sorts of tech prizes, such as tablets, e-readers and MP3 players. All participants will have the option to receive a digital or print subscription to Highlights magazine, which is arguably more useful and enter-
the TALK OF THE NOOG NEWS • COMMENTARY • BULLETINS & PUSH NOTIFICATIONS AT DIAL-UP SPEED
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taining than most publications geared to children. Students who win at the local level will be awarded prizes including PBS KIDS gift baskets and WTCI Kids Club Memberships. A Chattanooga-area student won the local and national prize for kindergarten. PBS designed the competition to build valuable literacy skills for success in both school and the future. Students in kindergarten through third grade are encouraged to submit their own original stories and illustrations. There is no limit to content, and all topics are welcome. Local sponsors include CocaCola, Comcast and McKay Books, Videos and CDs. WTCI-PBS announced the judges would be Alei Burns, Mary Edwards, Michelle Hecker Davis, Lee Hope, Stewart Payne, Celeste Williams, Chinyere Ubamadu and Shula
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Yelliott. The deadline is March 31. Visit wtcitv.org to submit an entry. —Julia Sharp
fresh start
Clean up, give it up to Habitat’s Donation Drive Springtime means two things: warmer weather and cleaning. That includes clearing out everything you’ve been stuffing in your closet, under your bed and onto shelves in your garage since last fall. So while your cleaning and fighting off malicious dust bunnies, Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Chattanooga Area will be encouraging you to take gently used household items and building materials to the their sixth annual ReStore Donation Drive from April 6 to 27. Items accepted this year include, but are not limited to, furniture, building materials, lumber, window treatments, cabinets, hardware, tools, plumbing supplies, paint and wallpaper, solid doors only, new mattresses and other salvageable jetsam. All items should be in good and working condition. For those items that are too large and heavy to transport, Habitat’s ReStore Team can pick them up at no charge. The person, contractor, or business that donates the most materials with the highest monetary value during the donation drive wins a $500 Lowe’s gift card along with other prizes. Items can be dropped off between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the ReStore location on 1201 E. Main Street or at the Hixson and Chattanooga Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores on Saturdays. To schedule a pick up or to
learn more about the Spring Donation Drive and Habitat’s Restore or for a full list of accepted donations, call (423) 756-0507 or visitchattanoogarestore.org. —Esan Swan
craft SUDS
Craft Beer Week and festival set for April 15-21 Do you like beer? Yes? Good. We do, too, so why not celebrate it by drinking a nice variety during the launch of the inaugural Chattanooga Craft Beer Fest on April 20 at the First Tennessee Pavilion. The event will last from noon until 5 p.m. and in addition to the craft suds, local restaurants and food trucks will make food available for the maximum attendance, limited to 2,000 people. The festival is a part of Chattanooga Craft Beer Week from April 15 to 21 and will include events such as a different cask beer each day at Taco Mac, a full restaurant tap takeover at Brewhaus (straight to ale beers with 12 taps, guys!), a Women in Craft Beer event hosted by the Pink Boots Society at 212 Market Restaurant with female-owned
and brewed Jackalope Brewing on site to discuss their experience, and lastly the opening of the Chattanooga Market the day after the fest. Jackalope Brewing and Starr Hill Brewing will debut in Chattanooga during the week with a big push at CCBF. Other breweries that have signed on with the event are Bluegrass Brewing Company, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Chattanooga Brewing, Good People, Lazy Magnolia, Sweetwater, Calfkiller Brewing, Red Brick, Shmaltz, Blackstone, Green Man, Brooklyn, Lagunitas, Green Flash and Yazoo. Tickets are $45 and include a six-ounce tasting glass, drinking water, educational seminars and samples of all beers. Designated driver passes are $20. No pets will be permitted and, of course, you must be 21. For more information, visit rhizomeproductions.com. —E.S.
hot cooks
Celebrity Chef Tour to visit St. John’s in April Chattanooga chef Daniel Lindley of St. John’s Restaurant is be-
coming the Susan Lucci of the James Beard Awards. Nominated—and passed over as a finalist—four times for the Best Chef Southeast Award, Lindley is nevertheless honored by each nomination. In that spirit, Lindley is bringing together seven James Beard Foundation Award nominees, semi-finalists and culinary professionals from the South and Southeast, in a single event on April 25. Benefiting the James Beard Foundation, the Celebrity Chef Tour offers attendees a rare opportunity to experience the diverse culinary talent of this distinguished lineup. Joining Lindley in the kitchen at St. John’s will be acclaimed chefs Katie Button (Cúrate, Asheville), Kelly English (Restaurant Iris, Memphis), James Lewis (Bettola, Birmingham), Steven Satterfield (Miller Union, Atlanta), Michael Stoltzfus (Coquette, New Orleans) and Michael Sullivan (Blackberry Farm, Walland). Each chef will compose a dish, demonstrating his or her individual expertise, artistry and culinary background for this intimate seven-course dinner. “It is a great honor for me, and for the restaurant, to bring such a talented group of chefs to my hometown,” said Lindley. “Gathering six of the South’s leading chefs in Chattanooga is exciting in itself; doing so in support of the James Beard Foundation makes it even better.” The James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s preeminent honors for culinary professionals, are awarded to chefs and restaurants, as well as for outstanding books, restaurant design and wine program. The awards will be announced in May. The Celebrity Chef Tour began working with the foundation in 2004, bringing the unique experience of dining at the James Beard House to cities across the country. The Tour has helped raise over $900,000 for the James Beard Foundation, which is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing and preserving America’s culinary heritage and future. The celebration begins at 6:30 p.m. at St. John’s with cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a sevencourse dinner with wine pairings. For more information, contact the restaurant at (423) 266-4400 or visit stjohnsrestaurant.com. —Staff • Got a tip for The Bowl? Send your Talk of the Noog, tips, love letters, advice and trash talk to: info@chattanoogapulse.com. Letters and feedback are always welcome.
On the Beat
alex teach
A Desk Job in East Chattanooga I
sat down hard in the chair and reached up to pull the radio mic off my shoulder, dropping it on the desk in front of me. I logged into the network and while Windows loaded I reached below the buttons of my shirt and pulled the hidden zipper down and slipped the uniform shirt off, draping it around the back of my chair. I was finally able to pull the Velcro straps off my armor off with a sharp rip and the instant relief was countered by the corpse-like smell it had concealed. There has never been any comparable sensation in going from the hot tightly-wrapped confines of Kevlar to the release of pressure and sensation of cool air on once hidden skin—better than the shock of cold beer on a sweltering day or a blast of heat from your cars dashboard vents on a cold day. I punched in my login information from memory and began to review police reports, but managed only to stare at a screen full of information while reading nothing. Jesus, was that smell me? I rolled back semi-reclined and glanced to see blood still on my boots, but it didn’t have time to have “gone over,” and there certainly weren’t any brains on them; I had been careful. I rolled forward again and took a moment to cup my face in my hands, elbows firmly spread on the desk, sweat raked outward to the outside of my palms. The pressure it relived was almost as nice as peeling off the vest, and my back involuntarily relaxed as I gave in to the relief. Minutes passed before I looked at the screen through split fingers. An anonymous tipster had reported the presence of a suspicious person with no description on Stanfiel Street and documentation showed that no one had located the unknown person in question as reported by the non-existent caller. On Derby Street, “Malcolm” had been approached by a man who offered to rent him a car for $10. Malcolm thought this quite the bargain and took him up on his offer, stretching his value for three-and-one-half hours before leaving it as directed on a
nearby street corner. Malcolm was shocked to find the vehicle had actually been stolen from its owner, who apparently not been the same man who had rented it to him for what was now, in retrospect, an offer too good to be true. He lamented
his luck and was transported to jail, a victim of circumstance. My hand found my face again while reading, covering my eyes. I thought back to the red shag carpet a half-hour earlier that framed a deformed but shiny copper slug like a diamond laying in a field of smoothed scarlet soil. For the first time I could completely understand a crow’s fascination with shiny objects because I had locked onto it, transfixed during my search of the house, pistol barrel dipping
Imagine a world still in bloom .... Imagine a world where there is still room for the world to get better and better ... Imagine ... a more awesome otter.
in absentia despite my training. The metal was distinguished by a thin thread of blood dried along its one smooth side; it was so beautiful, so … elemental, the copper and blood, pure and uncomplicated. Blood coagulated in thick pools nearby looking like a light and dark crimson swirled marble on the surface, a trick of oxygen leaving some parts more quickly others, still trying to seal off a wound in the veins and arteries in which it no longer flowed. Even when broken up, the individual parts tried to do their jobs until they ran out of fuel. Such engineering, the human body. I still marveled at it after all these years and after so many opportunities to see the different ways it could be torn asunder by means of vehicles, blunt weapons, projectiles and blades. Simply amazing. And such a waste to see it blown all over the rented contents of an apartment, as in this particular case. Gangsta Rap came over the PC speakers from a random play selection and snapped me out of my brief trance, so I got back to work. I was out of coffee and tired, and my only company being a row of mismatched file cabinets was not helping. I had a long drive ahead and I just wanted to be asleep … and maybe to see that bullet one more time. Would they throw it away after the trial? Maybe I’d swing by Stanfiel Street on the way home, in case the as-yet described person was still in the area near the anonymous callers’ house … I’d talk to them and be firm yet polite. I would Help them. Then I would sleep. It was still dark outside, after all. • Alex Teach is a police officer of nearly 20 years experience. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/alex.teach.
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 5
MITH’S Black S DoWNToWN
College Papers
Smoldering Keyboards The student press in Chattanooga is alive and well, but it has cooled and struggles to connect with an audience awash in social media By Esan Swan
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ast year, Hannah Lazar, the current editor-in-chief of UTC’s student newspaper, The University Echo, dealt with a serious issue. The paper was threatened with a libel suit for printing a story about a faculty member who didn’t like how he was portrayed in an article. Lazar described the situation as “scary” and said the administration basically told her she was on her own, which she said she thought was weird because the administration funds The Echo through student fees.
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed between the two parties and the lawsuit was avoided. But this is an example of how student journalists, campus newspapers and university administrations can differ on any number of issues. College newspapers have an historic and vibrant reputation of making their voices and opinions heard and were—and still are—considered the most important forum in sparking discussions between the students they serve and the institutions they represent. Their impact has grown from humble beginnings as only slightly more adult high school rags to becoming the radical, rebellious voice of students during the tumultuous years of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War to the present, where the surge in technology and new media is challenging them to bridge the gap between print and digital media. Chattanooga is home to a number of institutions of higher learning—UTC, of course, but also Southern
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“This is not the type of campus where people are writing furious letters to the editor or where our editorials are making any kind of a difference with the administration.” Hannah Lazar
Editor of UTC’s Echo Adventist University, Chattanooga State and Covenant College, to name a few—but many are unfamiliar with the student press here and how it has evolved. Some even ask, do college papers— here or anywhere—even matter? The answer, as I’ve come to respond, is an emphatic “Yes.” Student journalists and campus newspapers matter because they tell a story— the “first draft of history,” as
legendary Washington Post publisher Phil Graham put it decades ago—about where we’ve been, where we are now and where we’re going, all reflected through the lens of students writing on behalf of their peers. “There is a lot of student press in the country that is widely followed and can often effect a lot of change on their campus, but unfortunately UTC doesn’t have a high enough readership,” Echo editor Lazar said. “We don’t really get that much engagement with our readers. We’ve been trying to build that up and to an extent, we’re getting a little better. “This is not the type of campus where people are writing furious letters to the editor or where our editorials are making any kind of a difference with the administration,” Lazar continued. “We really do have a good core readership that is really interested and are really engaged in campus and national affairs, but the rest of campus seems like they don’t care.” Critical of the structure
of the university, Lazar said many times the administration doesn’t take student opinions into account on many issues affect them. She said she hasn’t seen any change happen based on anything that other UTC media outlets (“The Perch,” the university’s student-run Internet radio station, and the student news website, Mocs News, found online at utc.edu/studentorgs/mocscews) have brought up, but cited The Perch’s presidential election night results party last year as a move toward engagement. Lazar said that despite the “weird” relationship between The Echo and the administration, in other ways the university is very supportive of the student-run newspaper, including uninterrupted funding and new additions to the staff. She also said the administration doesn’t have any hand in their content, so in retrospect she said she could understand their distance in the threatened libel suit. When broached with the issue of generational and changing attitudes toward traditional media, Lazar agreed there seemed to be a trend toward apathy. She referenced lectures on campus and said that earlier in her student journalism career, high-profile speakers visited and filled auditoriums on campus, but said student presence has been scarce at more recent lectures.
“I think that [trend] is changing,” she said. “I think with social media, Twitter especially, people are starting to become engaged. There has been a trend since that time, but I also think and hope it’s shifting back.” As for its own digital initiatives, Lazar said The Echo launched a new website this year featuring a plug-in that allows staffers to see how many and which articles are being read the most and where readers are being referred from. “About half of our readership comes from Twitter, Facebook and search engines,” Lazar said, who added that the paper has ramped up its focus on social media this year. But she also laments the slow demise of print. “Fewer people are picking up print newspapers and that is sad,” she said. “It’s a huge part of what we do, but I think it’s just something we’re going to have to embrace going forward toward the future.”
I
n the 1960s and ’70s, when student publications were viewed as more radical and gave birth to progressive movements such as the New Left and the Students for Democratic Society, students organized protest on campus against the Vietnam War, civil rights issues and secrecy and mistrust of the government. From my perspective as a UTC student and staff writer for The Echo, those years were the golden age of the student press. Student journalists then break from the norm, giving birth to the counterculture that can be still be seen in remnants of factions of campus newspapers at universities across the nation. John McMillian’s “Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America,” explained how this happened. “Along with the new gravitas in rock and roll, the rising tide »P8
“I’m not sure we all knew how to do it. Keep in mind that we were a group of students who, with few exceptions, were unpaid who got involved with this newspaper. It was ours to run, and we did it as we went.” Tom Griscom
Former Echo editor and former executive editor of the Times Free Press
Tom Griscom reads a recent issue of The University Echo, UTC’s student-run newspaper. Griscom was a student editor of The Echo in the late 1960s and early ’70s and went on the become editor of the Times Free Press. Photo • Kim Hunter for The Pulse
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 7
of campus-based activism, and the outré counterculture style, underground newspapers began contributing mightily to the New Left’s sense that it stood at the heart of a new society,” McMillian wrote. Taking their cue from a new crop of alternative newsweeklies such as the Los Angeles Free Press and others—which, in turn, gave birth to modern alt-weeklies like The Pulse—McMillian writes that the atmosphere was “fertile” for new, younger and anti-establishment newspapers. That was evident in much of the United States at the time and Chattanooga was no exception. Campus activism still exists at UTC and continues to be reported in the pages of The Echo. Last year, the Kony 2012 video sparked an uprising on campus that spread to downtown Chattanooga and, more recently, the Stand For Freedom—dealing with literally taking a stand against human trafficking—and activism for gay rights have appeared in the newspaper. Tom Griscom, now a communications consultant, was the editor of The Echo from 1969 to 1970, beginning a long journalism career that culminated with his becoming the editor of the Chattanooga Free Press in the 1990s. In 1999, the Free Press and The Chattanooga Times merged and Griscom became the editor of the combined papers and remained in that job until he stepped down in 2010. Griscom compared the decades by the traditional roles of newspapers in his early years as a student and then as a professional journalist to the modern age of new media and the decling days of the printed newspaper. “Nothing else existed,” Griscom said, speaking of the pre-Internet age. “Print was the format.” The Echo, he said, was the primary communication tool between students and the administration, adding that the UTC’s communications department also did not exist, but that the newspaper was always student-run, funded by student fees, as it remains today. As an ROTC cadet throughout his collegiate newspaper career and the Vietnam era, Griscom said the newspaper tested boundaries during a time of national
protest that eventually made its way to Chattanooga. When I asked him what The Echo was like in that era, he said it went through an interesting phase while he was the managing editor in 1969. John Wheeler, a student reporter and columnist (whose colorful journey as “Cadillac Dave” was recently chronicled in The Pulse) remains a friend of Griscom and wrote a column for The Echo at that time that wasn’t afraid to use off-color language. “It was showing you could use four letter words, including the f-word, just because you could do it,” Griscom said. “Rather than having any real rationale, it was sort of just, ‘We’re going to test that boundary.’” Personally, Griscom said he questioned that. He said he didn’t see it as a free-speech issue but rather, “All it was, was to say, ‘We can do this, and we challenge you the administration to say we can’t.’ In my mind, it was really a question for us as students and the people involved with newspapers to ask ourselves: What are we trying to do, why are we doing this and what is our purpose?” When I asked him about the paper’s direct influence within the community or on campus at the time, Griscom said that even though they covered what was going on, he was uncertain that The Echo shaped reactions or opinions. He attributed that fact to the inexperience of the staff and their struggle to put the times in context. “I’m not sure we all knew how to do it,” he said. “Keep in mind that we were a group of students who, with few exceptions, were unpaid who got involved with this newspaper. It was ours to run, and we did it as we went. “The Echo and the university today has an opportunity to say, ‘If you really want to know about what is going on in our community and how it’s impacting students there is only one place to find it,’” Griscom said.
A
different perspective comes from the closedknit community of Collegedale, home to Southern Adventist University, just 30 minutes from downtown Chattanooga but miles apart from the atmosphere at UTC.
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“I don’t feel like we’re in that angry media age of us against them. I think the leader sets the tone. The leader of the university and the leader of the newspaper set the cultural tone.” Andy Nash
Faculty advisor to The Southern Accent at Southern Adventist University Jaime Jacobson, with advice from journalism professor and faculty advisor Andy Nash, edits The Southern Accent, the studentrun newspaper and the largest publication on campus with 2,500 copies distributed every week. “It’s got the atmosphere that it’s our home,” said Jacobson of the university, who described the relationship between the administration and the newspaper as a “parent-child” relationship. Supported and funded by the university, Jacobson said that being a Christian-based campus there is oversight of the paper’s content and even the topics it covers. Jacobson is in her third year on the staff at The Southern Accent and in her first year as editor. She was previously managing editor. “I wouldn’t say they [the administration] tell us what we can and cannot print,” she said. “It’s more suggestions and requests in the form of how it’s reported. There are times that certain things are left out, but we make those [final] decisions in the office.” Jacobson said she and her staff have to tread softly because fear of offending anyone and because it is such a small community, but also to reflect the the Christian campus in the “proper light.” “I want to say ‘monitor,’ not ‘control’ specifically, because they do give us free reign and it is studentrun and that is a big deal,” Jacobson said, adding that the administration does trust and respect the student journalists—but that relationship can get a very touchy
at times, she added. Advisor Nash said most stories follow the routine of events and profiles. But sometimes, he said, breaking news and opinion pieces require a more thorough review. “It’s a positive project in general,” said Nash. “I don’t think the staff seeks to dig up dirt. I think students feel good about the university in general; however, when there is crime they’re not afraid to use a police report and really anything like that is fair game. We want them to feel like they have thefreedom to practice as real journalist.” Nash spoke openly about the 1960s and ’70s generation of student journalists. “You had a betrayal of trust during this time in the country,” Nash said. “You had Watergate and the media became a vehicle to express division between people and, I believe, the establishment.” Nash described the time as one when the one trusted voice, that of iconic CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, had been replaced by an angry and revolutionary spirit in the media that eventually died down with the generation. “I don’t feel like we’re in that angry media age of us against them,” he said. “I think the leader sets the tone. The leader of the university and the leader of the newspaper set the cultural tone.” Jacobson said she feels that student newspapers have kept a leadership role over the years. “It’s sometimes hard to apply it to us, because sometimes it’s not relative to the kind of bubble we’re in because of our Christian campus.” She said that she and her staff strive for “pure journalism,” but under the university umbrella it’s easy for faculty or administration to say, “No, don’t print that.” That’s where the student voice comes in, Jacobson said, to stand up and say, “No, we’re going to be heard.” “I am such a stickler for ‘if it’s true it’s running,” she said. “This is not a brochure; this is a newspaper. We’re going to print the truth. I think that’s how it has to be. When we stop doing that we stop doing journalism.” As far as the paper’s impact on campus, Jacobson said she knows people read it. She also said that the paper has a duty to spark conversations—not to stir up trouble, but to elicit feedback.
“When I hear a nursing student on the other side of campus say they read The Accent every week and love it, it feels so good,” she said. “To know that people are interested, that people care, that they want to be informed and they’re still active in supporting us, it’s nice to know that we’re reaching people and to hear comments like that.” Regarding the competitive nature of campus and other media outlets, Nash said, “The competition isn’t other newspapers. The competition is social media.” Nash spoke critically about young people with regard to student publication interest. He said people are probably less interested in a student newspaper in the same way that they are less interested in anything that doesn’t have to do directly with them. Nash said one thing that makes The Accent different is that as a newspaper on a Christian campus, it is reporting from a holistic worldview. “We are in a much more eternal perspective,” he said. “We view this world as a temporary thing. We teach journalism and talk about God in the same breath.” Jacobson said she found herself pushing against social media and resisting its influences and even technology. “I guess I just have this belief that when you get down to the nitty gritty, simple, back-to-basics, pen-and-paper reporting is when you get the most pure and truthful information,” she said. Campus newspapers and the student press may not be what it once was—but then again, nothing else is either. Times and attitudes have changed dramatically since the heady days of Vietnam and Watergate. Young college journalists with a passion for their work are competing in a unique environment—one in which they do not always have the final say on what is printed in their papers—in a changing media landscape they were born into. And if the student audience is not taking note— reading, participating and urging these campus reporters on—then it is they who are doing themselves a disservice. • Esan Swan is a senior at UTC, a staff writer for The Echo and an intern at The Pulse.
LIST
THE
PICK of the litter » WEEKEND FOR DENNIS PALMER
pulse » PICKS
• A curated weekly selection of picks from the Chattanooga Live and Arts & Entertainment calendars by Pulse staffers.
THU03.28 MUSIC Asian Teacher Factory, Mobility Chief, Medicine Tree • ATF is our Band Name of the Week. 9 p.m. • The Honest Pint • 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-419 • thehonestpint.com
Photo • Bob Wright
Celebrating Dennis Sending love and kindness out to the cosmos EXHIBIT “Beauty Beyond Nature: The Glass Art of Paul Stankard” • New exhibits at the Hunter are always cause for excitement and glass art is an unusual visual treat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. • Hunter Museum • 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 • huntermuseum.org
FRI03.29 MUSIC The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer • The late musician and artist Dennis Palmer is celebrated during this two-day tribute. 8 p.m. • Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. • (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org
EXHIBIT “I Guess You Had To Be There: An Installation Art Exhibit” • This new exhibit is made up entirely of installation art from various local and regional artists. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. • AVA Gallery • 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 • avarts.org
D
ennis Palmer touched a lot of people in very specific ways—as a musician, artist, teacher and a genuine force for the arts in Chattanooga and as co-founder of the Shaking Ray Levi Society. There is much we could say about Palmer, whose untimely death last month stunned the community, but we’ll let his friends and co-horts Richard Winham and Ernie Paik speak for us. On Page 12, Winham reports on the highlights of The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer and how his influence motivated Barkling Legs Theater founders Bruce Kaplan and Ann Law to relocate to Chattanooga and open their venue. In a moving post-script, Paik speaks to Palmer’s many gifts and how the tribute is not the end of Palmer’s influence, but a celebration of his spirit and lifeforce sent out to the cosmos to multiply. Many performers from Chattanooga, the region and around the country will gather at Barking Legs to propel the festival. It’s a testament to the power for creativity—and love. Thank you, Dennis, for making our world a better place. —The Pulse
SAT03.30 MUSIC Sexy Beast • The former frontman of Danger Kitty leads his new band into the Backyard Grille (formerly the Fireside Lounge), offering BBQ and rock ‘n’ roll. 9 p.m. • Backyard Grille 4021 Hixson Pike • (423) 486-1369 backyardgrillechattanooga.com
EVENT Hug-A-Bunny Day • Really, what could be more fun than this? Come celebrate Easter and the arrival of spring at the Chattanooga Zoo. Go on a scavenger hunt for eggs, meet and get your picture taken with the Easter Bunny, hug some real bunnies and much more. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. • Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. • (423) 697-1322 chattzoo.org chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 9
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4021 HIXSON PIKE “WE SMOKE IN OUR BACKYARD”
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Chattanooga Live CALENDAR@CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM
THU 03.28 The Loop 7 p.m. Sugar’s Ribs, 507 Broad St. (423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com Open Mic with Hap Henninger 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (423) 634-9191 Asian Teacher Factory, Mobility Chief, Medicine Tree 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com Chris Gomez, Greg Rudder 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Road (423) 499-9878 budssportsbar.com Subkoncious 9:30 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Telemonster, Sidewalk Dave, Ellison Jackson 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400
fri 03.29
04.11.13 LIVE BROADCAST
The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Standing Room Only 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 756-3400 chattanooganhotel.com Ryan Bingham, Honey Honey 9 p.m. Track 29,
RAW party, redefined.
BAND NAME OF THE WEEK
ASIAN TEACHER FACTORY “Every day through the streets of Taipei, a scientist rides his bike to his robot factory run by school children. As the technicolored lights flash by, the music of Asian Teacher Factory plays in his mind. Half way across the world in Asheville, N.C., Asian Teacher Factory creates this music in their mountain haven, rich with fine teas and kava. A collaborative effort to make rock music with an edgy drive through ethereal compositions, Asian Teacher Factory is a keyboard, drums and guitar trio dedicated to furthering the psychedelic mind in Asian science education.” OK, groovy. We dig that. See them live on Thursday with Mobility Chief and Medicine Tree at The Honest Pint.
1400 Market St. (423) 266-4323 track29.co Blues Hammer 9 p.m. Backyard Grille, 4021 Hixson Pike (423) 486-1369 backyardgrillechattanooga.com Skulls Deep 9 p.m. Southside Saloon & Bistro, 1301 Chestnut St. (423) 757-4730 southsidesaloonandbistro.com Crossfire 9 p.m. SkyZoo, 5709 Lee Hwy. (423) 468-4533 skyzoochattanooga.com Roberts, Sims and Starnes 9 p.m. Jack A’s Chop Shop Saloon, 742 Ashland Terrace, (423) 713-8739 jackaschopshopsaloon.com Ryan Oyer 9 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (423) 634-9191 The Pool 9:30 p.m. Sugar’s Ribs, 507 Broad St. (423) 508-8956 sugarsribs.com Stokeswood 10 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919 Will Hoge, Ryan Oyer Band 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com One Night Stand 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Road (423) 499-9878 budssportsbar.com Moustache Friday 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 Rosedale Remedy 10 p.m. Acoustic Café, 61 RBC Drive, Ringgold, Ga. (706) 965-2065
THU • MAR 28 423 Bass Love FRI • MAR 29 STOKESWOOD 1st Floor DJ REGGIE REG 2nd Floor SAT • MAR 30 STOKESWOOD 1st Floor DJ REGGIE REG 2nd Floor SUN • MAR 31 PEE WEE MOORE & FRIENDS Live on the 1st Floor MON & TUE • APR 1/2 DJ SPICOLI Dancing on the 2nd Floor WED • APR 3 JOHNATHAN WIMPEE & ANDY ELLIOT Open Players Jams
tWO fLOOrS • One big party • Live MuSic • dancing • 409 Market St • 423.756.1919 open 7 days a week » full menu until 2am » 21+ » smoking allowed 10 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
ringgoldacoustic.com
901 Carter St (Inside Days Inn) 423-634-9191
sat 03.30 David Ramirez, Gabriel Newell 7 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer 7 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Shark Week, The Power Players, The Soul Rebels 8 p.m. Track 29, 1400 Market St. (423) 266-4323 track29.co Standing Room Only 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 Broad St. (423) 756-3400 chattanooganhotel.com Sexy Beast 9 p.m. Backyard Grille, 4021 Hixson Pike (423) 486-1369 backyardgrille chattanooga.com Whiskey Run 9 p.m. Barts Lakeshore, 5600 Lakeshore Drive (423) 870-0777 bartslakeshore.com. Soul Mechanic, Morning Teleportation 9 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400 Stokeswood 10 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919 Big Bette & She She Dance 10 p.m. The Office, 901 Carter St. (423) 634-9191 One Night Stand 10 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar,
honest music
Thursday, March 28: 9 p.m. Open Mic with Hap Henninger Friday, March 29: 9pm Jordan Hallquist Saturday, March 30: 10pm Big Bette & She She Dance Monday, April 1: 10pm Comedy Night with Tony Levi Tuesday, April 2: 7pm Server/Hotel Appreciation Night $5 Pitchers $2 Wells $1.50 Domestics ●
THE VELCRO PYGMIES One of the South’s most enduring rock bands and a Chattanooga favorite, the Pygmies return to Rhythm & Brews on Saturday. Photo • Greg Chamblee • gregchamblee.com
5751 Brainerd Road (423) 499-9878 budssportsbar.com The Velcro Pygmies 10:15 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Erin Hill Band 10 p.m. Acoustic Café, 61 RBC Drive, Ringgold, Ga. (706) 965-2065 ringgoldacoustic.com
sun 03.31 Hicks and Goulbourn 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy.
(423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com
wed 04.03 Nathan Angelo 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. rhythm-brews.com Telemonster, The Electric Sons, The Waters Bros. 9 p.m. The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Pkwy. (423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com
●
All shows are free with dinner or 2 drinks! Stop by & check out our daily specials! Happy Hour: Mon-Fri: 4-7pm $1 10oz drafts, $3 32oz drafts, $2 Wells, $1.50 Domestics, Free Appetizers
Facebook.com/theofficechatt
CHATTANOOGA
LIVE MUSIC MAR/APR THU. SUBKONCIOUS 9:30p 28 with ROOSTERTRUCK
29 THE VELCRO PYGMIES SAT. 10:15p30 WED. NATHAN ANGELO 9p 3 SHONNA TUCKER THU. 9p 4 WILL HOGE
with THE RYAN OYER BAND
FRI. 10p
CAM & THE BOYS ROCK YOUR WORLD ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SINGERS
& EYE CANDY with UNCLE LIGHNTNIN’
04.05 SMOOTH DIALECTS 04.06 DEPARTURE 04.17 SISTER HAZEL 05.03 FRANK BLACK ALL SHOWS 21+ UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED • NON-SMOKING VENUE
221 MARKET STREET
HOT MUSIC • FINE BEER • GREAT FOOD BUY TICKETS ONLINE • RHYTHM-BREWS.COM
THURSDAY • APRIL 11 • 7 P.M. Scott Miller • the WhiSkey Gentry roGer AlAn WAde • the reverend Peyton’S BiG dAMn BAnd
JIM LAUDERDALE-HOST • TICKETS: TRACK29.CO
BROADCAST LIVE ON LISTEN TO WIN TICKETS TO THE LIVE SHOW!
local and regional shows
Full Moon Crazies with MegaJoos and Gold Plated Gold ($5) Asian Teacher Factory with Mobility Chief & Medicine Tree ($5) Telemonster with The Electric Sons and The Waters Bros. ($5) The Eskimo Brothers with Turchi and Hot Damn ($5)
Special Shows
Wed, Mar 27 Thu, Mar 28 Wed, Apr 3 Thu, Apr 4
Hicks and Goulbourn • Sunday, March 31, 7 p.m. Sundays: Live Trivia 4-6pm followed by Free Live Irish Music at 7pm
9pm 9pm 9pm 9pm
Full food menu serving lunch and dinner. 11am-2am, 7 days a week. 35 Patten Parkway * 423.468.4192 thehonestpint.com * Facebook.com/thehonestpint
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 11
An Astral Weekend for a Living Spirit A galaxy of performers, friends and fans gather to celebrate the life, art, music and vision of Dennis Palmer By Richard Winham
O
n Friday and Saturday evening, Bruce Kaplan and the Shaking Ray Levis Society are hosting a party celebrating the late Dennis Palmer’s life and work with the Shaking Ray Levis. Palmer, who passed away on Feb. 19, left behind several unfinished projects. As well as celebrating the work he did with his partner Bob Stagner, and many other musicians from across the globe, the party will help raise some funds to complete the three CDs he left unfinished.
Among the performers playand Stagner. The first time he ing on Friday night will be David heard them play in the midGreenberger, an NPR commen1980s, he was “blown away” and tator and creator of the three became close the celebrated Dufriends. plex Planet series of A few years later, zines, comic books, having completed his CDs and spoken-word training as a neuroloperformances and ragist, Kaplan was lookdio plays, the guitaring for work when he RICHARD ist Killick Erik Hinds came upon an ad for WINHAM from Athens, Ga., a partner in a pracalong with bassist Evan Lipson, tice in Chattanooga. “There’s no percussionist Kofi Mawuko and question in my mind that I would The Reverend Terry Fugate from have jumped right over that one Chattanooga. had I not known Bob and DenGreenberger will be back on nis,” he said. “There’s no way that Saturday night. With him will this little Jewish guy from Miami be a few of the hundreds of muand later New York, would’ve ever sicians Palmer worked with and thought of moving to Chattanoobefriended over the years, inga, Tennessee.” cluding saxophonist Jack Wright That he and his wife moved from Philadelphia, guitarist Davhere in 1990 is a testament to the ey Williams and violinist LaDonpower of Palmer’s vision. In the na Smith from Birmingham, and mid-1980s, after several years of Atlanta’s 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer playing in a rock band called Bend Orchestra. Sinister, he and Stagner formed Kaplan first met Palmer in the Shaking Ray Levis to play and Philadelphia. Born in Miami, the Shaking Ray Levis Society to Kaplan was living in the city and promote improvised music. Much had become friends with the saxmisunderstood, then as now, imophonist Wright. It was Wright provised music is an attempt to who introduced him to Palmer create music in the moment.
Music
12 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
This weekend, musicians from all over the area will converge on Barking Legs to pay tribute to Palmer’s persistent pursuit of his idiosyncratic vision.
The English guitarist Derek Bailey was one of their early heroes. They played many shows together including several here in Chattanooga. In an interview broadcast on WUTC-FM, Bailey said that before he stepped onto the stage he did everything he could to empty his mind of any preconceptions about what he was going to play. Palmer and Stagner approached music making the same way, playing with myriad like-minded musicians in venues all over the world for 25 years. The music is very difficult to
Dennis Palmer Photo • Bob Wright
describe. Frequently dismissed by listeners, not entirely without justification, as cacophonous, incomprehensible noise, it “doesn’t allow the basic, simple pleasures most people look for when they listen to music,” Kaplan said. “It’s a challenging listen.” For Kaplan, it signaled “a potentially vibrant arts community” in Chattanooga, and that was reason enough for him and his wife, Ann Law, to pack their trunks and move here. »See WINHAM on P14
One Last, Good Feeling to Last Forever The Shaking Rays tribute to Dennis Palmer will not mark an end; it’s about channeling the kindness, generosity and creativity he embodied and sending it out to the cosmos, multiplied By Ernie Paik
I
t’s easy to talk about Dennis Palmer— musician, artist, educator and, to me and others, a close friend—in terms of his accomplishments, among them co-founding the Shaking Ray Levis performing group with Bob Stagner and the 27-year-old nonprofit, the Shaking Ray Levi Society (full disclosure: I am its current president.) What isn’t so easy is articulating this complicated person who measurably made Chattanooga more vibrant, more benevolent, and yes, a little weirder. Dennis often spoke of “living in the moment,” which ties in with his love of musical improvisation but has resonance far beyond the arts. “Living in the moment” is being open-minded, receptive, flexible and inventive. One of the most impressive improvisers I’ve experienced, his creativity overflowed, taking inspiration from every»See PAIK on P14
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 13
«PAIK from P13 thing from birdsongs—Dennis could recognize any bird native to this area—to satirical targets, with the conviction that humor had every right to exist in art. Dennis personified a quote from Col. Bruce Hampton—Dennis’s friend and collaborator—which paraphrased is, “Take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously.” Although he could generate ideas quickly, he never, ever did anything half-heartedly. When painting, he would sweat over the tiniest detail; when working on a new recording, he ensured it was recorded and mixed to exacting standards. “Living in the moment” is not complacency, but it is doing the best with what you have. Deep, meaningful connections were vitally important to Dennis; lengthy phone and face-to-face conversations over wine were staples in his life. He could find common ground with everyone and I remember being tickled when he mentioned that one of the reasons he watched current animated children’s movies was so he could connect with the kids he taught. That wasn’t the only reason, of course—he himself was a kid at heart. I’ve witnessed Dennis in classrooms, and he had that rare combination of patience, empathy, awareness and insight that the best educators possess. He found ways to tear down communication barriers; he told me once that some of his most emotionally demanding work was at day
camps for grieving children at Hospice of Chattanooga. Some of these children were too distressed to even want to speak, so Dennis would use music as a tool for children to open up. For these children, the simple act of hitting a drum was an expression and the first step toward communicating. I have never understood the idea of getting closure when it comes to death. Closure signifies an end, but when losing someone close, there really should be no end. Relatedly, several people have recently asked me about the future of the Shaking Ray Levi Society, and my reply to everyone is, “Our mission remains.” Den-
Dennis Palmer leads young students in sending out kindness to the cosmos.
nis co-founded the society with strong ideas, and ideas outlast human bodies. The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer will not be about living in the past—it will be about first understanding the past and then moving forward. Dennis was a sworn enemy of the status quo, after all. Like live improvisation, relationships can sometimes be messy, but more often than not they are rewarding. With collaborative improvisation, one first takes in what others create
and then gives back. There’s an exercise with which Dennis would often close his classes, involving asking the students to remember their last good feeling and give it to themselves, then to all in the room and finally to the whole universe. Our tribute to Dennis Palmer will not mark an end; it’s about channeling the kindness, generosity and creativity he embodied and sending it out to the cosmos, multiplied. • Ernie Paik reviews new music for The Pulse each week and is the president of the Shaking Ray Levi Society. By day he toils at TVA.
«WINHAM from P12 Medicine is his profession, but music is his abiding passion. For Law, a dancer, a receptive audience was essential. Within a few years they opened Barking Legs on Dodds Avenue. Initially, as the name suggests, it was a dance workshop and performance space. But within a decade they’d begun inviting musicians of all stripes to play there. A generation has come of age since the Shaking Ray Levis first began playing and their influence is palpable in Chattanooga’s thriving music community. A community “envied” by people in other bigger cities like Atlanta, who “wish they had something similar,” according to Kaplan. But size is often an impediment to developing a truly innovative creative community. The Beatles, REM and Nirvana all came from relatively small, cohesive communities like Chattanooga. This weekend, musicians from all over the area will converge on Barking Legs to pay tribute to Palmer’s persistent pursuit of his idiosyncratic vision; kindred spirits from larger communities who were originally drawn to Chattanooga, like Kaplan and Law, by Palmer and Stagner. Musicians across the U.S. and as far away as England to Tibet are mourning his passing. Some within driving distance are coming to town to celebrate his life with the kind of cacophonous, sometimes incomprehensible noise Palmer would’ve enjoyed. The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer $20 advance (both nights); $10 advance, $15 door on Friday; $15 advance, $20 door on Saturday 8 p.m. • Friday, March 29 7 p.m. • Saturday, March 30 Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org
• Richard Winham is the producer and host of WUTC-FM’s afternoon music program and has observed the Chattanooga music scene for more than 25 years.
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14 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
Portrait of the Artist as Debt Eraser Tom Gokey could call himself an artist who’s engaging in activism, but he simply wants to create a society in which debt functions differently By Rich Bailey
P
ublic discussions of art and money in Chattanooga usually revolve around whether enough public money is being spent on art or whether any public money for art is too much. Tom Gokey has a fundamentally different take on that topic. He’s a recent transplant from New York and still teaches art at Syracuse University in the summer. Gokey’s medium is money. Picciotto from Fugazi was there. In 2011, soon after graduating It was really an amazing cultural from the Art Institute of Chicago event.” with massive student loan debt Two weeks ago, the Rolling Juhe acquired the exact amount bilee Fund announced that it had his tuition had cost— used some of the money $49,983—in the form of it raised to purchase shredded cash, pulped consumer debt. it to create fresh sheets “We bought $1.1 milof paper and sold it for lion dollars worth of $607.70 per square foot. emergency room mediIf he sold every square CONCEPTUAL cal bills and we just inch, his debt would be wiped it out. Those paid. people don’t have to pay that any Recently, his art has turned to more,” said Gokey. large-scale collective social projAccording to CNN, the group ects involving debt. The latest is paid about $21,000 to retire over called The Rolling Jubilee. $1 million in medical bills for a “My friends and I in a group little more than 1,000 people. called Strike Debt—which “Most people don’t know that emerged from Occupy Wall banks, credit cards, payday lendStreet—raised $600,000 in a ers, hospitals sell debt on a sectelethon we put on in November,” ondary market for pennies on the he said. “Janeane Garofalo was dollar,” he said. “And we’re just there, Jeff Mangum from Neugetting started. With the money tral Milk Hotel was there, Guy raised so far, by the time the proj-
Arts
ect is complete we should be able to abolish over $12 million of debt. “There’s a lot of other artists involved in Strike Debt, including some really brilliant art critics and art historians,” he added. “None of us know what to think of what we do anymore. It’s like we’re all former artists.” Gokey could call himself an artist who’s also engaging in activism, but I’m glad he didn’t. Placing his debt work under the banner of art is an in-your-face reminder that everything we do is art. It’s become a truism that everything in our world is designed. From the Michael Graves teapot that separates you from a little more of your money at Target to downtown wayfinding signs set in Chattanooga’s very own Chatype font to the visionary urban design and technical civil engineering standards that complete to mold the public realm, most of our stuff gets its shape and a lot of its function from choices made by designers. But even if everything we have is shaped by design, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that everything we are and everything we do is art. Artists are like tea bags. They can’t help it: the world flows through them like water and comes out different. The best art adds something new to the world or changes the way we experience life. The same is true of art world civilians. The way we
“Most people don’t know that banks, credit cards, payday lenders, hospitals sell debt on a secondary market for pennies on the dollar. And we’re just getting started. With the money raised so far, by the time the project is complete we should be able to abolish over $12 million of debt.” Tom Gokey of The Rolling Jubilee Fund, which purchases debt and wipes it out
dress, our vocabulary of words and movements, how we treat the people around us ... everything is a deep-welling expression of who we are. It’s all art. It’s what we’re adding to the world every day. So why not be more deliberate about the art we all produce every day? In ancient Hebrew law and the Christian Old Testament, Jubilee happens once every 50 years when slaves are freed and mortgages canceled. The artists of Rolling Jubilee are freeing thousands of people from consumer debt by participating in the debt market as if they were creditors, then canceling the debt. “I’m shifting away from building objects and more toward trying to build society,” he said. “I want a society where the debts we owe are to each other. I’m obligated to you. If you get sick today, you should be able to get health care. That’s my obligation to you. That’s the real debt that I owe you. The debt I owe to Sallie Mae [which collects on student
loans] is illegitimate. It’s a crime that it exists in the first place. No one should have to go into debt to get an education, to put food on the table, to have a basic shelter over their head.” Gokey and his friends want to create a society in which debt functions differently. “That’s my art now,” he said. “I want to smash the system and build a new one.” The managers have had their turn. Let’s see what the artists can do. Gokey will give a presentation on “The Theology of Debt” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, as part of the Theology on Tap series at The Camp House, located at 1427 Williams St.
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 15
Arts Entertainment CALENDAR@CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM
THU 03.28 “Beauty Beyond Nature: The Glass Art of Paul Stankard” (Through April 21) 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org “I Guess You Had To Be There: An Installation Art Exhibit” (Through April 27) 11 a.m.-5 p.m. AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 avarts.org Accessibility 2013 Talk: Tyson Parks 3-4 p.m. Cleveland State Community College, Humanities 127, 3535 Adkisson Drive (803) 847-0441 accessibilitycleveland.com “Taste of the Mountain ... On the Move” 4-7 p.m. Monteagle Chamber of Commerce, 16 Dixie Lee Hwy. Monteagle, (931) 924-5353 monteaglechamber.com Warner Park Easter Egg Hunt 5-7 p.m. Warner Park, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. (423) 643-6052 chattanooga.gov Detox/ Retox 6 p.m. Warehouse Row, 1110 Market St. (423) 624-4757 girlsincofchatt.org Discussion: Art, Community, & Museums 6-7:30 p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org New Chattanooga Story Telling Circle 6 p.m. Northgate Public Library, 271 Northgate Mall (423) 870-0635 chattlibrary.org Chardonnay Wine Tasting Event 6:30-8:30 p.m. Easy Bistro, 203 Broad St. (423) 266-1121 easybistro.com Open Mic Night 7 p.m. The Camp House, 1427 Williams St. (423) 425-5242 thecamphouse.com Chattanooga State Vocal Performance
16 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
7:30 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Theatre, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-3383 chattanoogastate.edu
fri 03.29 Accessibility 2013 Discussion: 3D Printing 3-4p.m. Cleveland State Community College, Art Studio, 3535 Adkisson Drive (803) 847-0441 accessibilitycleveland.com “Hunt To Can Hunger” 4-8 p.m. Hamilton Place YMCA, 7430 Shallowford Road (423) 521-1764 hunttocanhunger.com Frog Watch 6-8 p.m. Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. (423) 697-1322 chattzoo.org “How I Became A Pirate” 7:30 p.m. Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s Youth Theatre, 400 River St. (423) 267-8538 theatrecentre.com Shaking Ray Levi Society: “The Ever-Loving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer” 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Lon Eldridge & Ed Huey CD Release Party 8 p.m. Folk School of Chattanooga, 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 827-8906 chattanoogafolk.com Regional Comedy Talent Showcase 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com
sat 03.30 Free Seminar: Backpacking For Beginners 9 a.m.-5 p.m. TN Wild & Outdoor Chattanooga, 200 River St. (423) 322-7866 tnwild.org Sacred Heart Singing School 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Folk School of Chattanooga, 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 827-8906 chattanoogafolk.com
Hug-A-Bunny Day 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. (423) 697-1322 chattzoo.org Open Air Yoga 10 a.m.-Noon Chattanooga Nature Center, 400 Garden Road (423) 821-1160 chattanoogaanc.org Alan White Exhibition Opening (Through June 9) 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org Artist Demonstration: Kim Keats 11 a.m.-4 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. 2nd St. (423) 265-5033 river-gallery.com Georgia Winery Shamrock Celebration 2-5 p.m. Georgia Winery, 6469 Battlefield Pkwy. (706) 937-WINE georgiawines.com Shaking Ray Levi Society: “The Everloving Astral Etheric Weekend for Dennis Palmer” 7 p.m. Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Rare Coalition 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Road (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com
sun 03.31 Coolidge Park Egg Hunt 9-11 a.m. Coolidge Park, 150 River St. chattanoogahasfun.com Easter At The Tivoli 10 a.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 642-8497 easteratthetivoli.com “Beauty Beyond Nature: The Glass Art of Paul Stankard” (Through April 21) Noon-5p.m. Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org
mon 04.01 Accessibility 2013 Film: “Press Pause Play” 3-5 p.m. Cleveland State Community College, Johnson Auditorium 3535 Adkisson Drive (803) 847-0441 accessibilitycleveland.com
Chattanooga State Jazz Band Performance 7:30-9:30 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Theatre, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-3383 chattanoogastate.edu
tue 04.02 Accessibility 2013 Talk: Nathalie Quagliotto 3-4 p.m. Cleveland State Community College, Humanities 127, 3535 Adkisson Drive (803) 847-0441 accessibilitycleveland.com Clint Schmitt Recital 6 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 736 Vine St. (423) 425-4371 utc.edu/music “Shakespeare for the Elizabethan Impaired” (Through April 16) 6:30-8:30 p.m. English Rose Tea Room, 1401 Market St. (423) 265-2900 englishrosetearoom.net “Ning & Friends” 7:30 p.m. Lee University Humanities Building, 1250 Parker St. (423) 614-8240 leeuniversity.edu
wed 04.03 Accessibility 2013 Talk: Kyle Baker, Soundcrawl 3-4 p.m. Cleveland State Community College, Humanities 127, 3535 Adkisson Drive (803) 847-0441 accessibilitycleveland.com Kayak Roll Class 6 & 7 p.m. Brainerd Recreation Complex, 1010 N. Moore Road, (423) 425-3600 outdoorchattanooga.com Lee University Student Recital 6p.m. Lee University Humanities Building, 1250 Parker St. (423) 614-8240 leeuniversity.edu Presentation: “Putting Style Into Your Garden” 7 p.m. Chattanooga State Humanities Building Auditorium, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 821-1160 chattanoogaanc.org Duo Pegasus Recital 7:30 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 736 Vine St. (423) 425-4371 utc.edu/music
Sound Check
Dawg Show TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny a family reunion for many fans By Sarah Skates
T
Dawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny feels more like a family reunion than a music festival. The concert and camping event, held twice a year at Cherokee Farms in LaFayette, Ga., has maintained an intimate vibe while attracting top Americana performers such as this spring’s headliner, Jim Lauderdale (host of Scenic City Roots). Set for Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, the line-up also includes Chattanooga garage grass favorites Strung Like A Horse, renowned banjoist Rev. Jeff Mosier, folk-infused gypsy rockers The Ragbirds and roots-rock singer/songwriter Caroline Aiken. Event organizer Thomas Helland, aka TDawg, carefully considers the cohesiveness of the artists when booking the event in order to encourage the late-night bonfire jam sessions that have become a Hootenanny hallmark. “It’s really a blast,” Helland says. “You’ll hear people singing and jamming until sunrise. Most of the musicians end up camping and staying up all night and fans bring their instruments and participate. It’s picturesque out there under the stars.” Helland was in the midst of
finalizing the current festival line up when he went to see Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller in concert. “I saw the Buddy & Jim Show, and oh my God, they’re awesome,” Helland says. He spoke to longtime pal Lauderdale after the show and quickly booked the Grammy winner for the Hootenanny. “He’s definitely a special headliner and it gives the Hootenanny a nice boost, as far as artist name recognition.” Cherokee Farms owner Smokey Caldwell encouraged Helland to check out the unique sounds of Strung Like A Horse after the band shot a music video on the property. In addition to respected headliners, Helland loves to bring rising acts to his events. “The Hootenanny is a great showcase opportunity for bands because it attracts enthusiastic music lovers,” he says.
Jim Lauderdale headlines TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny April 5-6 in Lafayette, Ga.
Helland has been promoting music events throughout the Southeast for 15 years. His larger-scale Blue Ridge HarvestFest had an eight-year run at Cherokee Farms. A few regular Hootenanny-goers met at HarvestFest, got married and now bring their kids to the Hootenannys for a weekend of camping and music. Helland encourages family attendance by offering free admission to kids 12 and under, and a discount for ages 13 to 16. Helland says he expects about 400 attendees, with fans arriving Friday evening to enjoy music as they set up
camp in preparation for a full day of tunes starting at noon on Saturday. TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny featuring Jim Lauderdale, Rev. Jeff Mosier, The Ragbirds, Strung Like A Horse, Caroline Aiken, Bibb City Ramblers, Scott Warren & The Booze Mountaineers April 5-6, 2013 Cherokee Farms 2035 Old Mineral Springs Road LaFayette, Ga. tdawgpresents.com
04.11.13 LIVE BROADCAST chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 17
Food Drink
DINING OUT CHATTANOOGA
Elemental’s New South The farm-to-table philosophy is on full display at chef Charlie Loomis’ new restaurant on the North Shore, where a renaissance of Southern food is taking hold that’s not simply a trend By Mike McJunkin
W
hat is Southern food? For some it can only be called Southern if it includes fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and pecan pie made by a Paula Deen-esque character dropping spoonfuls of butter or lard into everything her greasy fingers can reach. While this may reflect the comfort foods many of us grew up with, there has been a backlash against this caricature of Southern food that is resulting in a reexamination of what makes food “Southern” and what it means to cook the food of the South. Chef Steven Satterfield of Atlanta’s Miller Union recently said, “We are experiencing a renaissance right now with the sweep of awareness of where food comes from—to cook with heritage ingredients and think about our ancestors.” This renaissance is on full display in Chattanooga with the opening of Elemental, executive chef Charlie Loomis’ spacious showcase for Southern ingredients prepared with a fresh per-
Elemental 313 Manufacturers Road (423) 648-9160 elementalrestaurant.com Hours Tuesday-Sunday • Lunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. • Dinner: 5-10 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday; 5-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
spective and a serious commitment to regional flavors. While Elemental could certainly hang its hat on its devotion to locally sourced foods and farm-to-table philosophy, Loomis said, “We’re not doing this to be trendy. We just want to go about this the right way by getting the best products we can get.” When you taste the food at Elemental, you immediately know that Loomis has taken the farmto-table philosophy as a given and distilled the spectacular flavors of the air, soil and water of the South onto your plate. The menu reads like a “greatest hits” of the South’s best farmer’s markets. On the “Small Plates” section, items such as Boiled
18 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
Peanut Hummus and Shroom & Grits with Benton’s Bacon display Elemental’s twist on Southern classics, but I was drawn to the Rustic Pork Mousse with Onion Marmalade and Mustard Caviar. The caviar is made by repeatedly boiling, then pressure cooking mustard seeds until they expand and take on the consistency of caviar with the explosive flavor of a finely crafted mustard. Elemental also offers flatbreads made in a beautiful 1200° wood-fired “Woodstone” oven. All coming in at under $10 and topped with such tongue-teasing toppings as Bacon Marmalade, Sorghum Glazed Beef and House Made Buttermilk Ricotta, these pizza-like munchies would go great with a salad or a cocktail,
Whole Roasted Beet
but on this visit I decided to move straight to the main event. The “Mains” portion of the menu has an impressive array of choices, but once again I spotted a roasted pork dish and my mind was made up. My date was tempted by the Seared airline-cut Chicken with Alabama White Sauce, Roasted Turnips and Country Ham Crisps, and almost went with the Grilled Pickett’s Trout with Charred Brussell Sprouts, Carrots and Cornbread Panzanella, but finally decided on a Whole Roasted Beet with Farro Risotto, Charred Greens and a Green Onion Gremolata. The beet dish was simply beautiful. I truly never expected to love beets
so much. Every part of my tongue was engaged by the sweetness of the beet, the nuttiness of the farro, the char from the greens and the mild bite from the citrus in the gremolata. The roasted pork I ordered had a simple description that belied the complexity of the dish itself. Cloudcrest Farms pork shoulder is removed from the bone and then rolled porchetta style with garlic and fennel. This juicy and explosively flavorful roll of porky goodness is then served on a layer of fresh sweet corn that’s been mixed with just a touch of house-made ricotta and cream, then topped with apple relish and a side of mixed seasonal greens. Once again, my tongue was taken on a joy ride of tastes and contrasting flavors as I gleefully—yes, gleefully—devoured every bite. No Southern meal would be complete without something sweet at the end, and Loomis’ 8-year-old son Oliver is the creative inspiration behind their “Ollie Pop” dessert. Milk and Honey’s vanilla gelato, with just a hint of coconut, is molded and put on a stick before being dipped in rich Oliver and Sinclair chocolate. This is a delicious and playful alternative if the Coffee Crème Brûlée or Flourless Chocolate Brownies doesn’t strike your fancy. The food that Elemental is bringing to Chattanooga’s dining scene is evidence that the renaissance of Southern food is upon us and farm to table is much more than a trend, it is becoming an integral and ubiquitous part of what it means to eat like a Southerner. I couldn’t be happier.
chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 19
Free Will Astrology ARIES (March 21-April 19): I was too
lazy to write your horoscope this week, so I went to a website that hawks bumper stickers and copied a few of their slogans to use as your “advice.” Here you go. 1. Never follow a rule off a cliff. 2. Have the courage to honor your peculiarities. 3. It’s never too late to have a rebellious adolescence. 4. Criticize by creating. 5. Never make anything simple and efficient when it can be elaborate and wonderful. 6. Complex problems have simple, easy-to-understand, morally clear, wrong answers. APRIL FOOL! I lied. I wasn’t lazy at all. I worked hard to ensure that all the suggestions I just provided are in strict accordance with the astrological gestalt.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s a perfect time to watch the cult classic film “Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead.” It will provide you with just the right inspiration as you deal with your own problems. APRIL FOOL! I lied. Don’t you dare watch any horror movies. You’re in a phase when you can make dramatic progress in transforming long-standing dilemmas -- but only if you surround yourself with positive, uplifting influences.
rob brezsny to build your brand by being mischievous. Or to demonstrate your power by showing off your sense of humor.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the animated
TV show The Simpsons, ten-year-old Bart is constantly getting into trouble because of the monkey business he loves to perpetrate. His teachers punish him by compelling him to write corrective declarations on the classroom blackboard. It so happens that some of those apologetic statements should be coming out of your mouth in the coming week, Leo. They include the following: “I will not strut around like I own the place. I will not claim that I am deliciously saucy. I will not instigate revolution. I will not trade pants with others. I will not carve gods. I will not Xerox my butt. I will not scream for ice cream.” APRIL FOOL! I lied. The truth is, you SHOULD consider doing things like that. And don’t apologize!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The sport of ferret legging is an endurance contest. Participants vie to determine who can last longest as a live ferret runs loose inside their
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The coming week will be an excellent time to wash dishes, clean bathrooms, scrub floors, vacuum carpets, wash windows, do laundry, and clean the refrigerator. The more drudge work you do, the better you’ll feel. APRIL FOOL! I lied. The truth is, you now have astrological license to minimize your participation in boring tasks like the ones I named. It’s high time for you to seek out the most interesting work and play possible. CANCER (June 21-July 22): You know
what would be a really cool prank to pull off this April Fool’s Day? Arrange to have rubber tires airlifted into a dormant volcano, then set them on fire. Smoke will pour out the top. Everyone who lives nearby will think the volcano is getting ready to explode. Don’t forget to videotape the event for Youtube. Later, when you reveal the hoax, your video will go viral and you’ll become a celebrity. APRIL FOOL! I don’t really think you should try this prank. It’s old hat. Back in 1974, a guy named Porky Bickar did it to Alaska’s Mt. Edgecumbe. Here’s my real oracle for you: It is a good time to boost your visibility by doing something funny. Or
20 • The Pulse • march 28-april 3, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
pants. The current record is five hours and 26 minutes, held by a retired British miner. But I predict that a Virgo will soon break that mark. Could it be you? APRIL FOOL! I misled you. I don’t really think you should put a ferret in your pants, not even to win a contest. It is possible, however, that there will soon be a pleasurable commotion happening in the area below your waist. And I suspect that you will handle it pretty well.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Risk being a
crazed fool for love, Libra. Get as wild and extreme as you’ve ever been if it helps you
rustle up the closeness you’re hungry for. Get down on your knees and beg, or climb a tree with a megaphone and profess your passion. APRIL FOOL! I was exaggerating a little. It’s true that now is an excellent time to be aggressive about going after the intimate connection you want. But I suggest you accomplish that by being ingenious and imaginative rather than crazy and extreme.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): British comedy team Monty Python did a sketch in which a policeman apprehends a criminal. The bad guy says, “Yes, I did it, but society is to blame.” And the cop says, “Right! We’ll arrest them instead.” You should adopt this attitude, Scorpio. Blame everyone else but yourself for your problems and flaws. APRIL FOOL! I lied. In fact, the truth is the opposite of what I said. It’s time to take more responsibility for your actions. Bravely accept the consequences of what you’ve done -- with your sense of humor fully engaged and a lot of compassion for yourself. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Banzai skydiving is a step beyond ordinary skydiving. To do it, you hurl your folded-up parachute out of the airplane, wait a while, and then leap into mid-air yourself. If all goes well, you free-fall in the direction of your parachute and catch up to it. Once you grab it, you strap it on and open the chute, ideally before you hit the earth. This is the kind of beyond-ballsy activity that would be perfect for you right now. APRIL FOOL! In truth, I don’t recommend banzai skydiving now or ever. Plain old skydiving is fine, though. The same principle applies in relation to any adventurousness you’re considering: Push yourself, yes, but not to an absurd degree. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Should you relocate to Kazakhstan and grow sunflowers? Is it time to think about getting a job in Uruguay and living there for the next ten years? Can you see yourself
building your dream home in Morocco on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean? I suggest you spend some quality time thinking way, way outside the box about where you belong on this earth. APRIL FOOL! I went a bit overboard in my recommendations. It is true that you should brainstorm about the kind of home you want to create and enjoy in the future. But that probably means revising and refining your current situation rather than leaving it all behind and starting over.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your brain has a bigger capacity than you realize. According to professor of psychology Paul Reber, it can hold the equivalent of three million hours’ worth of television shows. As I’m sure you know, your brain is not even close to being full of that much data. And in accordance with the current astrological omens, I suggest you cram in as much new material as possible. APRIL FOOL! I told you a half-truth. While it’s correct that now is an excellent time to pour more stuff into your brain, you should be highly discerning about what you allow in there. Seek out the richest ideas, the most stimulating information, the best stories. Avoid trivial crap.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): July 2012
was a sad time in the history of mythic creatures. The National Ocean Service, a U.S. government agency, made a formal proclamation that there are no such things as mermaids. But I predict those stuffy know-it-alls will soon get a big shock, when a Piscean scientist presents evidence that mermaids are indeed real. APRIL FOOL! I was exaggerating. I don’t really foresee the discovery of a flesh-and-blood mermaid— by a Pisces or anyone else. I do, however, suspect that your tribe is now highly adept at extracting useful revelations and inspirations from dreams, visions, and fantasies -- including at least one that involves a coven of Buddhist Ninja clown mermaids.
Jonesin’ Crossword
matt jones
“Classical Remix”—recomposing composers.
Across
1. Insult hurled at 30-across 6. Mediterranean island nation 11. Two for Juan? 14. Block, as an Arctic ship 15. Message sender SETI hopes to detect 16. Hose problem 17. Photography size, based on Elgar? 19. Lance with a gavel 20. Driver around Hollywood 21. Spectator 23. “The Price Is Right” game 25. Ernie’s special friend 26. Reverberate 29. “Wowzers!” 30. “South Park”
protagonist 32. Understand fully 34. Dropped a line 36. Longtime Harry Belafonte label 39. Polite 41. Shakespeare nickname 43. Bizarre 44. Tahrir Square’s country 46. Disturbed 47. “If it feels right, do it” 49. Public regard 51. Caustic substances 52. Scotch mixer 54. Chew out 56. Game where you tug on your ear 59. Smokin’ 63. Rand of “Atlas Shrugged” 64. 2013 dance
all over YouTube, based on Mahler? 66. Was winning 67. Went on the radio 68. Toss option 69. “Gangnam Style” rapper 70. Times to eat cake, casually 71. Dark-skinned wine grape
Down
1. Get on tape 2. Berry in juices 3. Sea bird 4. Stake out by the road, perhaps 5. Reporter April, friend of the Ninja Turtles 6. Great Leap Forward name 7. Jovial weatherman
8. Pole dance? 9. Loose-leaf selections 10. Stud fee? 11. Seriously irritate, based on Verdi? 12. Like a rind 13. Make pig noises 18. “Bridesmaids” director Paul 22. Diamond stat 24. Word before created or elected 26. Breakfast brand 27. Street ___ 28. Useful, based on Haydn? 30. Numerical suffix 31. Diver’s place 33. Banana shell 35. Weasel’s cousin 37. Plains language 38. Contributes 40. Driving force 42. Did some farm work 45. “The Pelvis” 48. Rowboat mover 50. Chicken ___ (dish on “The Sopranos”) 52. Make some money off those tickets 53. “I just remembered...” 54. Quotable Yogi 55. Tries out 57. “Moby Dick” captain 58. “Pore Jud Is ___” (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) 60. It’ll grow on you 61. Tulsa’s st. 62. New age musician/ former TV host John 65. Alt-weekly workers, briefly
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Life in the Noog
chuck crowder
Last Words I
t’s with a very heavy heart, and dried up pen, that I announce this will be the last column I file with The Pulse. I hate to admit it, but after 5-∏ years, it’s time for the paper to print something other than my inane observations and pet peeves about parking spaces.
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It’s been a good run. My first column ran on Oct. 11, 2007. Since then, you’ve been subjected to my drivel each and every week—roughly 280 entries—whether you like it or not. Thankfully, many of you have. It’s truly an honor to be approached by a friend or stranger and cited for something funny they read in the paper. That makes it all worthwhile (well that, and the beer money the paper threw at me each month). Whether you’ve ever thought about it or not, it’s hard to sit down and come up with something to write about every damn week. I think that after my experience with this column, I can now produce 800 words about any subject you can think of. In fact, just hanging out with friends chatting about stupid stuff has inspired some of my more memorable pieces. There was the column about how Old Spice attracts the ladies because you suddenly smell like a father figure. There was the ballad of how I would never compromise couch ownership for a failed relationship ever again. There was the famous dream sequence column about a proposed gentleman’s club filled with local dignitaries that almost got The Pulse sued. There was the popular column where I proposed that marriage licenses (and subsequently vows) be renewed every four years
like presidents and military service in order to keep couples playing nice with each other. There was the S.O.S. column I wrote while hunkered down in the bathroom of the Greyhound bus terminal during the tornado of 2011. And then there was my proposed “Fonzie scheme” for slacker survival. When I first agreed to do this thing way back when, I didn’t think anybody read The Pulse. I certainly didn’t … well, not cover to cover. I would thumb through it like everyone does, land on the calendar and be on my way. But I wanted an outlet to speak my mind and convinced then-publisher Zach Cooper to let me take a stab at a weekly column. What amazed me in doing so is that I immediately learned people actually do read The Pulse— and rightfully so, it’s the only unwaveringly honest news source in town. In addition to this column, I’ve written cover stories and features every now and then over the years and will continue to contribute those in the future. Contrary to popular belief, writing for The Pulse isn’t my only job. My main gig is as a freelance advertising copywriter.
Giving up my post here will provide more time for delivering convincing arguments on how you should spend your disposable income. And you may even see me hang a shingle at another endeavor in the coming months. But enough about me. Now comes the point in this column when it’s time for me to say goodbye. To finally end it once and for all. Kind of reminds me of some of my favorite Hollywood endings: Nicholson getting a needless lobotomy in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”; Slim Pickens riding the nuclear bomb like a bronco in “Dr. Strangelove”; Paul Newman getting shot after giving up to the man with no eyes in “Cool Hand Luke.” You know, the happier endings. What I will take away from The Pulse are the fond memories of writing tongue-in-cheek observations about the general crap that runs through my warped mind at any given time. I’ll take away the pats on the back I’ve received from those who agree with me and also the sadness of a truly fun and rewarding outlet that is going away. I guess I’ll have to call Barry Courter at the Times Free Press and see if he’ll let me print it over there … Barry? Until then, have a good time, all the time. Cheers! • Chuck Crowder is a local writer and man about town. His opinions are his own.
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chattanoogapulse.com • MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2013 • The Pulse • 23