Memphis Flyer 06/24/2021 by Contemporary Media

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OUR 1687TH ISSUE 06.24.21

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JERRY D. SWIFT Advertising Director Emeritus KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, HAILEY THOMAS Senior Account Executives MICHELLE MUSOLF Account Executive BRYCE HAYES Classifieds Coordinator ROBBIE FRENCH Warehouse and Delivery Manager JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com CONTEMPORARY MEDIA, INC. ANNA TRAVERSE FOGLE Chief Executive Officer ASHLEY HAEGER Controller JEFFREY GOLDBERG Chief Revenue Officer MARGIE NEAL Production Operations Director KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director LYNN SPARAGOWSKI Circulation and Accounting Manager MARIAH MCCABE Circulation and Accounting Assistant KALENA MATTHEWS Marketing Coordinator

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CONTENTS

JESSE DAVIS Editor SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor JULIE RAY Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

OUR 1687TH ISSUE 06.24.21 In this week’s cover story, Memphis Flyer music editor Alex Greene takes readers on a tour of producer Matt Ross-Spang’s soon-to-open recording studio, Southern Grooves. Since Ross-Spang is a student of local recording history, references to older, more storied studios abound. But don’t take my word for it — flip to page 12 and see for yourself. Sentimental as I can be, this week’s story sent me on a trip down memory lane. Until recently (say March 2020 or thereabouts), I could often be found in one of Memphis’ recording studios or music venues. I never ascended to the ranks of the Memphis musical elite, but playing music was a big part of my life nonetheless. It gave me a creative outlet, a way to blow off steam, and a reason to get together with friends; it even made me a little money from time to time. Music never paid all my bills, but it sometimes took care of the Memphis Light, Gas & Water payment — or, like a snake eating its own tail, paid for more studio time. I don’t think there’s any chance that I’ll ever get a star on Beale Street, but I’ve written and recorded a couple dozen songs — two of which I think are genuinely something to be proud of. It was a small contribution, but in my own way, I added a little thread to the tapestry of Memphis music. And when one of my bands played out-of-town gigs, we did our best to be admirable amateur ambassadors from the Bluff City. Now it looks like those days are behind me. I’m sure I’ll continue to play and write, and there might be the odd performance or recording session. But I don’t really see myself using vacation time to tour the South in the sweltering summer in a van of questionable reliability. I don’t want to sleep on out-of-town PHOTO BY LORNA FIELD friends’ floors or share a bed with Terry Prince & the Principles, long ago all of my bandmates — and the dog of the house, too. Twelve-hour recording sessions seem more grueling these days. I’ll leave all that to the pros. Still, I can’t imagine a feeling quite like surfing the wave of a close-knit rhythm section, plucking out a guitar solo before the band hits a half-beat pause together, then crashes into the crescendo in sync. Or switching from 4/4 time to compound measure all together. It’s euphoric, and studies have shown that this is more than just romanticized talk — musicians’ brain waves sync up mid-performance. But to be that together on stage in the moment demands a fair amount of rehearsal time in advance — at least for a musician of my middling caliber — and these days I think I’d rather make up silly songs with my nephew. We’re currently working on one about flying away, though I’m not certain of the destination or mode of flight. I can’t be entirely sure, but context clues and his general interests lead me to believe it’s about pterodactyls. He doesn’t get my Dinosaur Jr. references, but that’s okay. It keeps me humble. What’s my point, you might ask. Namely, I think, that too much concern is placed these days on the tangible worth of a thing. Will I ever be counted among Memphis’ musical legends? Heck no! W.C. Handy changed the entire world when he notated the blues. Whether you credit Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” or Elvis Presley’s take on “That’s Alright, Mama,” rock-and-roll has some of its earliest roots in Memphis soil. And from “Green Onions” to Al Green’s entire catalogue to Unapologetic artists getting songs placed in highprofile ads and Netflix shows, Memphis music is still out in the world in a big way. Not to mention Goner Records! I don’t have to hang with the greats, but, even as a Z-lister, I got to be a part of something. If I had worried about being profitable or the best — or any good at N E WS & O P I N I O N all — I would have missed out on so much. THE FLY-BY - 4 More important, to me at least, is that I NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 got to create something with other people. POLITICS - 8 SPORTS - 10 One of my close friends designed the cover COVER STORY for one of my EPs, and my band wrote and “SOUND TRADITIONS” performed the score for another friend’s short BY ALEX GREENE - 12 film. Music gave me an excuse to make art (or AT LARGE - 15 at least noise) with people I admire, and those WE RECOMMEND - 16 memories are nothing short of priceless. CALENDAR - 18 SPIRITS - 24 So, to the folks who listened, thank you. FOOD - 25 To the musicians making a real go of it, I’ll see FILM - 26 you out there. I can’t wait. C LAS S I F I E D S - 29 Jesse Davis LAST WORD - 31 jesse@memphisflyer.com

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Juneteenth, Taxes, & Walk on Union

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Conservatives question the holiday, revenues way up, and movement on a huge Downtown project.

Grizz Gaming, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, tops the East Conference this season with three weekend wins over Blazer5 Gaming, the Portland Trail Blazers affiliate, and a 9-1 record. Here’s how Grizz Gaming guard Chess described the games and how he sees this week’s games against Wizards District Gaming.

POSTED TO TWITTER BY GRIZZ GAMING

June 24-30, 2021

Edited by Toby Sells

A roundup of Memphis on the World Wide Web.

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Questions, Answers + Attitude

“We’re feeling good over here, man,” Chess said in a video posted to Grizz Gaming’s Twitter. “We knew we had a tough opponent in Blazer5. We came out, punched them in the mouth the first game. Kind of let up in the second half, but [in the] second game, we didn’t do that. We stayed on the pedal the whole way. … We got a tough week next week. But I believe we can do a 4-0 ….” Celebrations on the wins and the league standing were captured on Twitter, as seen in a video posted by forward followTHEGOD. On Monday, Grizz Gaming posted a tweet that said, “Hey Alexa, play ‘Touch The Sky’ by Kanye West.” POSTED TO TWITTER BY @ FOLLOWTHEGOD_

B R I D G E O N FAC E B O O K The City of West Memphis Facebook page posts near-daily updates on the repairs of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, making it a go-to site if you want to know what’s going on out there. The city’s posts range from general updates for the public to technical, in-the-weeds descriptions of the work being done and images of the work you won’t likely see anywhere else.

PHOTO COURTESY PROJECT 21

WALK O N U N I O N The Walk on Union, a mixed-use development formerly known as Union Row, announced the Project 21 questions making Juneteenth a addition of two new partners last federal holiday (above); a new poster celebrating week as progress continues on the Tennessee’s 225 years as a state (right) project. Allworld Project Management is now on board to lead coordination and logistics, while posters for each of the Flintco joins the team as lead general contractor on the $367 state’s three Grand Divimillion phase 1. sions were unveiled last Construction had originally been slated to begin in the week. final quarter of 2020, but delays from the COVID-19 panWest Tennessee’s demic pushed back the start. The Walk on Union’s developposter got an electric ment agreement predicts the entire project to be completed guitar that looks much by Q4 of 2023. like Lucille, B.B. King’s The project, formerly titled Union Row, was renamed The famous six-string. It also Walk on Union to signify a renewed focus on the developfeatures a Stax album ment’s walkability and its boon to pedestrian traffic in Downbursting with sunrays, town Memphis. STATE OF TENNESSEE looking like those from Sun Studio in an interestQ U ESTI O N I N G J U N ETE E NTH ing mash-up. The poster features a big river, riverboats, a plow, On the eve of Juneteenth celebrations set for Memphis last and some grain, noting the region’s rich agricultural history, weekend, a national group of Black conservative leaders said and a bald cypress tree. they did not want it to become a national holiday. Not bad considering that if you believe Tennessee license Project 21, “the leading voice of Black conservatives for over plates, the whole state is covered by the Smoky Mountains. 25 years” and sponsored by the D.C.-based National Center for Public Policy Research, said making Juneteenth a national TA X C O F F E R S R U N N ETH OVE R holiday could further divide Americans. Tennessee tax coffers were fuller than expected for the month “I constantly hear everyone talking about unity, but would of May. a federal holiday end up being a unifier?” Project 21 member May tax revenues were $1.6 billion, according to Tennessee Marie Fischer asked in a news release. “Or, would it give fuel to Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner those who support critical race theory by pointing out a day that Butch Eley. That figure is $432 million more than estimated. marks one group as an oppressor and another as the oppressed?” State tax revenues were $587.3 million more than May 2020, and the overall growth rate was 59.8 percent. Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of A B I RTH DAY POSTE R these stories and more local news. Tennessee is readying to celebrate 225 years of statehood, and

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Crossword 1 “Gotta go!”

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37 Common taxi destination 41 Show with many notable alums 42 Oozes 43 Late playwright Simon 44 ___ Lama 46 Without bias 48 Big department store in a mall, e.g.

58 When Pac-Man and Rubik’s Cube were popular … or a phonetic hint for 17-, 23-, 37and 48-Across 62 “Whether ___ nobler …” 63 Department store that once famously put out catalogs 64 Pop music’s Hall & ___ 65 Hesitant speech sounds 66 Rockne of Notre Dame fame 67 Seize forcibly

Edited by Will Shortz 1

DOWN 53 Word spoken 1 Words before “old before and after chap” “James” 2 Double agent 54 Star athlete, for 3 Earthen pot 27 Unfailingly short 4 Chubby 30 Respond to a 57 Network showing 5 Snowman of stimulus “Suits” and “Mr. song who’s “a jolly, happy soul” 31 Secure, as a ship Robot” 6 Sauna sight ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 7 Musical Page 8 “Yecch!” C H A S E S T O R M A P P A E S O P I O N I A W A R 9 Lament S I T T I N G D U C K K E A 10 “Morning Edition” E R A S E N D S E L W A Y airer S O H O A S I A N S 11 One involved with a grand opening? S T A N D I N G O R D E R A E R I E S R I C O D A B 12 Enthused about A A R P A O L T A M E 13 Coped, barely B R O A U R A S P I G O T 18 Sporty Pontiacs W A L K I N G P A P E R S of old I N H A L E E A R S 22 Mo G E E S E S O N I A P A W 23 Seniors’ org. L E A R U N N I N G J O K E O D D G R A C E O L L I E 24 Gets emotional at a wedding, O S S Y I P E S N O E N D maybe

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Health departments in Memphis and Nashville got a $50.3 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address COVID-19 health disparities in what officials call the agency’s “largest investment to date to improve health equity in the United States.” The Shelby County Health Department will get just a bit less than $6.6 million. The health department in Nashville will get just under $5 million. Most of the funding ($38.8 million) will go to the Tennessee Department of Health. The grants are part of a $2.25 billion national investment in funds from the CDC aimed at advancing health equity in COVID-19. “The pandemic has laid bare longstanding health inequities, and health departments are on the front line of efforts to address those inequities,” Dr. José T. Montero, director of CDC’s Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, said in a statement. “These grants will provide these health departments with much needed support to address disparities in communities that need it most.” The grants are set to improve and increase testing and contact tracing “among populations that are at higher risk and are underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities.” They’re also to improve state health department capacity to prevent and control COVID-19 infections.

PHOTO COURTESY TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

The state will get the lion’s share of the grant. A $1 million Tennessee project was launched in April to improve COVID-19 outcomes for underserved Tennesseans. Researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center joined the group of 33 academic and community organizations in the project led by Nashville’s Meharry Medical College. The project is called the Tennessee Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. “People with low incomes are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection, because they more often serve as frontline workers and live in more crowded households,” said Dr. Jim Bailey, a UTHSC professor and an investigator on the Tennessee COVID-19 project. “And because low-income people don’t have equal access to healthful food, opportunity for exercise, and primary and preventive care, they are more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, conditions that put them at much higher risk of death from COVID-19.” The goal of the Tennessee CEAL project is to dig into and better understand the factors that contribute most to disparities in COVID-19 infection and death rates impacting African Americans and the Latinx community in Tennessee.

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On Monday, June 21st, the longest day of the year, starting at 3 p.m., the Shelby County Commission, confronting a meager attendance and an agenda that seemed lean to the point of perfunctory, managed, as if on a dare, to extend its regular meeting to the point of nightfall. The confounding issue was the matter of a final tax rate for Shelby Countians. Early on, County Mayor Lee Harris put in an appearance to express the well-intentioned wish that the body pass a tax rate of $3.45 — the rate, certified by the state of Tennessee, that would generate the same amount of revenue from the county’s latest realproperty appraisal as was previously paid by local taxpayers. The problem was that the commission had settled on a rate of $3.46 at its June 7th meeting as a result of an equally wellintentioned move to add to the certified rate one cent (equivalent to $2.3 million in tax receipts) to pay for a mental health program for youth and adults. To remain at the revised $3.46 rate would require a final vote in July; if it reverted to the $3.45 rate, the commission could finish its preparations for fiscal 2022 this week. To accept the $3.45 rate would have one serious disadvantage: It would edge out the aforementioned $2.3 million that had been allocated for mental health, unless some way could be found to replace that much money. At length, after much discussion, a way was found. Through a process of redistributing fund sources, the burden of the odd $2.3 million for mental health was shifted from the county’s general fund to federal funds allocated under President Joe Biden’s American Recovery Plan (ARP). And the tax rate of $3.45 was duly voted in by all nine members present. Mission accomplished. • Speculation on the electoral politics of 2022 has started up big-time — especially on the matter of the 9th District congressional seat now held by Democrat Steve Cohen. It is generally assumed that Cohen will seek re-election,

for the eighth time since he first won the seat in 2006. Though Cohen normally has a nominal Republican opponent in the fall, his real race has always been in the Democratic primary, where, as a white man in this predominantly African-American district, he has turned aside one name Black candidate after another, usually by overwhelming margins. So who will take him on next year? A recent text poll circulated in the district feeds the conjecture. Cohen is polled against four potential opponents — City Councilman JB Smiley, outgoing Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, and County Mayor Harris. It is assumed that one of the four commissioned the poll, whose authorship remains uncertain. • Harris’ future is a frequent subject of political gossip. One strong rumor has him mentioned as a possible appointment to the seat of Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Donald, who is about to take senior (i.e., semi-retired) status. Until Harris announces his plans for re-election, no Democrat is likely to declare for county mayor, though Strickland aide Ken Moody and County Commissioner Van Turner are possible entries for an open seat. Republicans interested in running include Memphis City Council members Worth Morgan and Frank Colvett, as well as County Commissioner Mark Billingsley.

PHOTO BY JACKSON BAKER

Candidate in the ring: County trustee Regina Newman offers a water toast at a fundraiser to helper Allan Creasy, as supporter David Cocke looks on. The event was at the Midtown home of Aubrey Howard.

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S P O R TS B y Fr a n k M u r t a u g h

Redbird Reinforcements? Who among the 2021 Memphis Redbirds might enter the mix in St. Louis?

he 2019 Memphis Redbirds season began with Tommy Edman on the infield and ended with Dylan Carlson in the outfield. Two years later, both players can be found in the St. Louis Cardinals’ batting order on a daily basis, key components to any World Series aspirations for the Redbirds’ parent club. If we go back to 2018 — a season that ended with a second-straight Pacific Coast League championship for Memphis — we recall AutoZone Park memories of Randy Arozarena, Luke Voit, Adolis Garcia, Jack Flaherty, and Dakota Hudson, all now rising stars in the major leagues (though not all still in the St. Louis system). Back to the present, though, it’s hard to envision current Redbirds making the kind of impact so many of their predecessors have before, during, and now near the end of the pandemic. Among the Cardinals’ current top 20 prospects (as ranked by MLB.com), only two have been with Memphis since opening day in May, and both are pitchers: Matthew Liberatore (the number-one prospect) and Zack Thompson. Liberatore (acquired in a trade that sent Arozarena to Tampa Bay) has an especially high ceiling and could occupy a future spot in the Cardinals’ starting rotation, but he’s pitched in only six games above Class A. Remember, minor-league baseball went dark in 2020, a lost season of competition and development for rising stars like Liberatore. You might say he’s currently pitching on a “Double-A-plus” level, only in Triple-A stadiums. As for position players, who among the 2021 Memphis Redbirds might enter the mix in St. Louis? Outfielder Lars Nootbaar missed 20 games with an injury to his right hand but has put up an eye-popping slash line in his first season at Triple-A: .329/.430/.557 (through Sunday). With the Cardinals’ offensive numbers among the worst in baseball — among 30 teams, St. Louis ranks 27th in on-base percentage and 22nd in slugging percentage — any Memphis hitter with numbers like Nootbaar’s is like a peacock on parade amid a gaggle of geese. Jose Rondon leads the Redbirds with six home runs, and this is telling, as the infielder has been with the Cardinals since being promoted on May 29th. The Memphis lineup is not stocked with bashers, and Rondon’s impact with St. Louis has been minimal (six hits in 13 games). As the

season’s midpoint nears, the Cardinals (and Redbirds) need to maximize production from now-familiar faces. Until Double-A Springfield infuses the upper levels of the system with new blood, the I-55 pipeline may be traffic-free. • The best story this season among former Redbirds on the current Cardinal roster is that of Alex Reyes. The 26-year-old pitcher made his big-league debut in 2016, when he struck out 93 hitters in 65 innings for Memphis as the system’s top-ranked prospect. But a series of injuries limited Reyes to a total of seven innings over the next three seasons. He pitched out of the Cardinals’ bullpen last year, but his workload was just shy of 20 innings in the abbreviated season.

PHOTO COURTESY MEMPHIS REDBIRDS

Alex Reyes Here in 2021, though, Reyes has assumed the role of closer for the Cardinals, walking the ninth-inning tightrope as though he’s been there before. Through Sunday, Reyes has posted a miniscule 0.82 ERA and earned 17 saves, good for fifth in the National League. The riddle for St. Louis, big picture, will be whether to keep Reyes in a role that limits him (typically) to one inning per game, or to return his powerful right arm to the starting rotation, an area that’s been compromised this season by the injury-related losses of Dakota Hudson, Miles Mikolas, and, most significantly, ace Jack Flaherty. Whether in the ninth inning or the first, Reyes should be a difference-maker — if he can stay uninjured — for many years to come.

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INSPIRED BY CLASSIC MEMPHIS RECORDING STUDIOS, PRODUCER MATT ROSS-SPANG BUILDS HIS OWN IN CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE.

COVER STORY BY ALEX GREENE

(left) A session at Phillips Recording, with (l-r) Rev. Charles Hodges, Matt Ross-Spang, William Bell (behind piano), Leroy Hodges, Ken Coomer, and David Cousar; (right) Southern Grooves, the new recording studio in Crosstown Concourse; Matt Ross-Spang

June 24-30, 2021

emphis is rightly known as a city of musicians’ musicians. Whether they stay planted here, like MonoNeon, or move to the coasts where the music industry and its stars are based, they bring a feel and a groove that few others can match. But the city also attracts brilliant players from elsewhere, in search of that Memphis sound. More than any formula or ingredient, like our much-touted horn players, there’s an elusive ambience, a holistic character, that emerges when one works in this city. And one element of that is simple: It’s in the rooms. That doesn’t mean our well-appointed lodgings, but rather the classic studios that have dotted the city for over half a century. But it wasn’t always thus. At the dawn of the 2000s, digital technology led many to retreat into the safety and economy of home 12 studios, to such an extent that many studio owners wondered if they’d go the way of

the dinosaurs. Was there any money in the studio business? In recent years, that question is being answered with a definite maybe. The pendulum has swung back to the advantages that only dedicated studios can offer, especially larger rooms, classic gear, and efficient engineering. As Boo Mitchell, co-owner of Royal Studios, one of the oldest continuously operated spaces of its kind in the world, recently noted, “It’s shifting back to the way it used to be, when we were a recording destination.” All such history is new again, as many artists and producers clamor for a sound that some call retro and others call classic. One indication came in 2019, when what was once unthinkable came to be: A new studio opened in town. And the classic sound was crucial to it. As Memphis Magnetic Recording Co. co-owner Bob Suffolk reflected, “Our studio is brand-

spanking new, although it’s done in what I call a purpose-built vintage style.” Memphis Sounds, Southern Grooves Now, a new “purpose-built vintage” recording space is opening with an even more local provenance. Matt RossSpang, who distinguished himself first at Sun Studio and then as a Grammy-winning engineer and producer based at the renowned Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio and elsewhere, is customdesigning a new room, to be called Southern Grooves, in what was once the Sears cafeteria on the second floor of Crosstown Concourse. As he puts on the finishing touches, it’s clear that this

PHOTOS JAMIE HARMON

one project embodies all Ross-Spang has learned from multiple studios around Memphis for over a decade, a distillation of the city’s legendary history of recorded music. “On these walls, we used a polyurethane paint. And that doubled the length of the room,” Ross-Spang says. When you get a tour of a studio, you hear such absurdities regularly. Wait a minute, I think, the paint alone can double the length of the room? That’s when I realize he’s talking about the length of the room’s echo. In a studio, what matters is how your ears measure a room, not your eyes or your yardstick.

wanted a combination of live sound and controllable sound. And he just built the acoustics in that studio by experimenting.”

n this instance, the room is basically a closet, but it’s a closet designed to always remain empty: another absurdity. “This is what I’m most proud of, our echo chamber. Steve [Durr] designed it. Here’s what it sounds like,” says Ross-Spang as he claps a single time. “It’s about four seconds. Of course, our bodies are soaking up some of the sound.” When in use, the room will have only speakers, playing audio from the control room, and microphones to record how those sounds bounce off the walls. To build such a room, Ross-Spang and Durr studied Phillips Recording intensely. “Phillips has three chambers. The one behind the pink door at the end of the hall there is the greatest echo chamber I’ve ever heard. It’s about six seconds. I didn’t have that much space, but we had height.” Ross-Spang is one of the few to have seen the Phillips chambers in detail. As Jerry Phillips, son of the late Sam Phillips, says, “We’ve got some of the greatest echo chambers in the world in that building. And we keep them kind of a secret. We don’t let anybody take pictures in there. It’s proprietary. We have three different sizes. And the combination can really give you a great sound. You cannot duplicate it in any kind of digital process.” That’s true of all such physical spaces, be they echo chambers or the large rooms in which bands record. Stepping into the tracking room at Southern Grooves is like stepping back in time, both sonically and visually. Wood panels alternate with orange fabric on the walls; a wooden chair rail runs along the room’s perimeter; linoleum floor tiles sport geometric patterns here and there; perforated light fixtures, reminiscent of the Summer Drive-In, hang from a ceiling with similarly perforated panels, arranged in an uneven sawtooth pattern. All of it seems to invite a band to set up and record in the oldschool way, all together, playing live in the room that time forgot. Memphis Soul Stew, or Ingredients of a Sound Studio “I kinda stole from all my Memphis heroes. At Sun, the V-shapes on the ceiling went

“We’ve Got some of the Greatest Echo chambers in the world … And We keep them Kind of A secret.” long ways, and at Phillips they go like this. And then Chips Moman’s thing was latticework,” Ross-Spang explains, referring to the producer/engineer who helped found both Stax and American Sound Studio. “So the ceilings here are about 15 feet high; the panels drop down and are angled, but the sound goes through the perforated metal, and then there’s insulation so it stops before it comes back down. So you still get the big room, but you don’t have the parallel surfaces. You never want parallel surfaces.” Such surfaces cause sounds to bounce around too much. “That was another big Sam [Phillips] thing. The angles throw off the flatness of the floor.” And yet some bounce is desirable. Take

PHOTO JAMIE HARMON

Jerry Phillips at the bar in Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio the linoleum floor, also a design element from Sun (actually known as the Memphis Recording Service in its heyday). Those floors have often been celebrated as being critical to the roomy sound of early Howlin’ Wolf, Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis recordings. As musician Mark Edgar Stuart notes, one story among his fellow tour guides at Sun Studio is that once Bob Dylan himself walked in on a tour, looked at the floor, said, “Ahh, tile,” then walked back out. As Jerry Phillips says of his father, “Memphis Recording Service was his baby, of course. And Marion Keisker helped him a lot. They laid the floor tiles. He would clap his hands and hear how the echo sounded in the room. How alive or dead it was. He PHOTO COURTESY TERRY MANNING

James Taylor, Peter Asher, and Terry Manning at Ardent Studio in 1971, using the mixing board Matt RossSpang has acquired.

et there are some elements of Southern Groove’s acoustics that are completely unique, unrelated to the studios of yore. “You always want limitations, and I had the limitations of the columns,” RossSpang explains. He’s speaking of the huge concrete columns that pepper the entire Crosstown Concourse structure. There was no possibility of removing or moving them, but Ross-Spang was okay with that. “Acoustically, the columns are interesting because they’re three-foot-thick concrete, they’re smooth, and sound will bounce off that randomly every time. There’s no way to mathematically account for that, acoustically. You play guitar from here, you move and inch, and it’ll bounce differently. I think it’ll be interesting when we get mics in here because it will randomize the room a lot.” For Ross-Spang, the randomness was a bonus. “A lot of acousticians have one design that they go for every time, but Steve [Durr] knows I wanted something weird and not necessarily correct. Because all the Memphis studios aren’t correct, but they’re cool. I continued on page 13

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

s Ross-Spang envisioned it, having such a “live” tracking room, with some echo (as opposed to a “dead,” echoless room) was critical. “In the ’60s, all the rooms were really reverberant,” he explains. “And then in the late ’60s, early ’70s, when they got 16 track machines and could put mics closer on stuff, they started to deaden stuff with burlap. And then they went so far, they would just really deaden it. So I wanted to have a ’60s room that just started putting up burlap. I always thought that was the coolest balance. ’Cause you can always deaden something more. I can always put more shag rugs down; I can put in baffles. But it’s hard to make stuff livelier. And I just love the old tile floor. Ever since Sun, I’ve always loved that sound.” The wood and burlap on the walls, on the other hand, are inspired by the second location of Ardent Studios, built in 1972, where Big Star (and many others) made legendary albums. Once again, Ross-Spang leaned on his design collaborator for much of those details. “Steve Durr was really good friends with Welton Gitane, who built all the equipment for Stax and Ardent and helped John Fry [and Terry Manning and Rick Ireland] design the original acoustics at Ardent. So Ardent Studio A had these kinds of reflectors and absorbers. That was a Welton Gitane design. I brought that back because I always thought that was a great look, and they sound amazing.”

continued from page 13 didn’t want a perfect studio; I wanted a weird studio.”

June 24-30, 2021

s we move into the control room, where two electricians are painstakingly working, it becomes clear that weirdness is literally wired into the entire space, thanks in part to Ross-Spang’s forethought. Pointing to the electricians, he says, “They’re pulling 30,000 feet of cable, and we’ve got conduits and troughs running to all the rooms. I wanted to wire every room for sound ’cause sometimes you want something to sound perfect, and sometimes you want it to sound like it’s in a garage. The hallways and every other little room are wired. Sometimes a guitar in the main tracking room sounds too good. So you put it in the hallway and it sounds like Tom Waits, and that’s what you need, you know? I do that a lot. At both Sun and Phillips, I would use that front lobby all the time. So I wanted to keep that here. All the wiring is running through the floor in troughs, and the cables will come up into these old school ’60s one-fourth-inch patchbays.” Ultimately, the wires will converge on a mixing board that, among all the design features, will make Ross-Spang’s commitment to classic Memphis studios

more apparent than ever. “I actually have John Fry’s original board from the original Ardent on National Street, where they did the first Big Star stuff. It’s getting fixed up, and it’ll be the main board. It was built in Memphis by Welton Gitane. And I also have a later board that Welton built for Stax, when they upgraded to the bigger boards. We’re putting the Ardent console in the original Stax frame, this cool white Formica top thing.” The influence of Gitane on the studios of Memphis is hard to overstate. As Terry Manning, the first engineer at Ardent and now a distinguished producer, says, “Welton was a genius. He was the chief engineer at Pepper [Sound] Studios, which at the time was the biggest jingle recording company in the world and had several studios that Welton had put in. Pepper was huge, and Welton was a prime part of that. And later he started his own company making consoles, which became the Spectrasonics consoles that Stax and Ardent had. Later he changed that to Auditronics, and they were used all over the world. It was all Welton and his crew — acoustic design, electronic design, building the consoles. ‘Hey, we need a direct box! What’s a direct box? I don’t know, but Welton will build it!’ It was an amazing time, where you made your own gear and recorded your way.”

inally, aside from the collection of other vintage gear that Ross-Spang has collected in his current home base at Phillips, there will be vintage amps and instruments, including a Hammond A-100 organ and one thing most home studios and even many professional ones simply do not have these days: a grand piano. For that, Ross-Spang received some sage advice from one of the pillars of Memphis’ golden era of recording. “I brought one of my heroes, Dan Penn, over here, and out of nowhere he said, ‘What kind of piano are you gonna get?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to get anything too big.’ And he said, ‘You need to get the biggest durned piano you can buy. Them little pianos, the sound don’t wanna come out of them. But them big pianos, they can’t wait to be recorded. They jump out the speakers.’ So I’m going to have a Baldwin from 1965 in here. It’s a 7-footer. It was really cool to get it from Amro Music ’cause it’s their 100th year of serving Memphis.” I’ll Take You There, or Setting is Everything And yet, despite all of Ross-Spang’s committment to the designs and instruments and gear of yesteryear, there’s another element that he may value over all others. As we wrap up the tour, he reflects a bit more on

the simple fact of where Southern Grooves will live. The name screams out “Memphis,” of course, but there’s more to it than that. Something unique. “Never has a studio been in such an ecosystem like Crosstown,” he says. “That was one of the biggest selling points to me. Think about with Ardent and other places with multiple rooms and who you might run into. You might be doing an overdub, but then Jack Oblivian’s in Studio A, and you’re like, ‘Hey, will you come play real quick?’ And that’s kinda gone now with home studios and one-studio facilities. “But at Crosstown — like, we just ran into Craig Brewer! It’s kinda like having Jerry Phillips come visit Phillips Recording. Here, you can go next door to the Memphis Listening Lab and remember why we’re doing this in the first place. Crosstown is a million-anda-half-square-foot lounge, essentially, filled with creative people. And I don’t think any other studio has had that opportunity. That’s what I feed off of: other people’s energy. If you put me in here by myself, I couldn’t create anything. But when I have the people here, I’ll go two days without sleeping because I’m so jacked, you know?” Matt Ross-Spang plans to have Southern Grooves fully operational this August.

AT L A R G E B y B r u c e Va n W y n g a r d e n

Mommy, Am I a Racist? ommy, am I a racist?” The sad tale of a child coming home from school and asking that question was put forth in the Tennessee General Assembly as one of the reasons the state needed to pass a bill forbidding the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in the state’s schools. Teachers are indoctrinating our children with trauma-inducing leftist bilge, said the legislators. So they passed a law banning the teaching of CRT and anything else that implies that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.” Pshew! That was close. Can’t have our students learning anything about race or privilege. This concern about CRT isn’t limited to Tennessee. Fourteen other states have passed similar laws. It’s the topic du jour in the right-wing media ecosphere. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Mary Kay) and other GOP camera-sniffers bloviate about it whenever someone puts a microphone in front of them. Their message is always the same: The crazy, leftist, socialist liberals want teachers to tell your kids they’re racists! Actually, critical race theory is a decades-old, elective, college-level area of study, often taught in law schools, where it’s used to examine how race has historically shaped our current legal system. CRT studies racism as a social construct — as opposed to something tied solely to an individual — and the effects it has upon society. Those who are demanding that it shouldn’t be taught in our public schools might as well be demanding that teachers quit telling kids the Earth is flat. Little Braxton and Brittney are not being taught that they are racists by their teachers in public schools. The right-wing anger machine is trying to ban something that isn’t even happening. Which, of course, is the whole point. Faux outrage is a feature, not a bug. Critical race theory is just the latest in a long line of false fear-mongering tactics, what passes for Republican policies these days. Put it up there with “caravans are coming,” “they’re

gonna take your guns,” “Obama is a Kenyan,” “Fauci caused COVID,” and, of course, “the election was stolen.” It’s a distraction, something to keep folks riled up against each other. So what are children actually learning about race these days? If my long-ago junior high education is any indication (hopefully, it is not), they might learn that the Civil War wasn’t just about slavery, that it was also fought for economic reasons (as if the entire economy of the South wasn’t based on slavery). They’ll probably learn there were some great generals: Grant, Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee (and his noble surrender at Appomattox). They’ll learn about the glorious and bloody battles. They might learn about Harriet Tubman. They probably won’t learn about what it felt like to be sold as livestock at a slave market or about the dozens of “race riots” around the country in the decades after the war — in Tulsa, Memphis, Chicago, Atlanta, Eufaula, Wilmington, and elsewhere — “riots” being a more comfortable word for lynchings, murders, and the wholesale destruction of Black communities. They might learn about segregation and the Civil Rights movement, but they probably won’t read firsthand accounts of what it felt like to be denied voting rights or refused service at restaurants, stores, and lunch counters. They might learn about fire hoses, dogs, burned buses, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but they won’t learn what it was like to have experienced the countless putdowns, slurs, insults, and indignities large and small suffered by Black Americans throughout our history. Maybe these things aren’t taught because our educators don’t want children to be uncomfortable. More likely they aren’t taught because the entire structure of the American education system was historically created by white people. It’s almost as though we needed a critical theory about our racial history, something that could help all of us understand the fallout from hundreds of years of slavery and oppression of Black Americans, something that could help parents have a calm, informed discussion with their child when she comes home and asks, “Mommy, am I a racist?”

VACCINATE YOUR FAMILY. #Imm un izeT N

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What we should learn from the manufactured furor over critical race theory.

steppin’ out (& stayin’ in)

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

See it Now?

By Julie Ray

A children’s fable by Hans Christian Andersen, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” comes to mind when it comes to a public art piece in the works by artist Stacey Williams-Ng. The art is “invisible,” just like the emperor’s new clothes. In this case though, it’s not a ruse. On the sidewalk around the Crosstown Concourse fountain, Williams-Ng will use hydrophobic paint, which repels water, to create the piece. The shapes will be invisible when the plaza is dry, but when water from the fountain is splashed onto the shapes, they’ll become visible. Can you see it now? Made possible through a grant provided by the Urban Child Institute, the piece is based on the environmental conservation of the Mississippi River. The idea is to teach kids about litter as they play in the splash pad in the summer. It’s a good lesson for all of us. “I recently learned that the Mississippi River is in serious peril as a result of pollution,” says the artist, Williams-Ng. “I thought it would be really neat to create hidden objects and wildlife that reveal the problem of pollution in our rivers. After all, we don’t usually see litter either, so we assume that it’s not there. But beneath the surface, there is trash that is threatening our ecosystem.” The artist has already started work creating cans, shoes, and other typical litter items, interspersed with river wildlife like catfish for the public reveal on Saturday. Activity sheets with an interactive map for a treasure hunt and a word-find puzzle will be available for the kids.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST, STACEY WILLIAMS-NG

Stacey Williams-Ng gives a hoot about pollution.

MICHAEL DONAHUE

CHRISTOPHER D. WALTER

OPENING REVEAL FOR “INVISIBLE AQUAPHOBIC ART,” CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE PLAZA FOUNTAIN, 1350 CONCOURSE, SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M., FREE.

Molly and Richard McCracken want to help you start your food business. Food, p. 25

Become a volunteer crossing guard for box turtles. Last Word, p. 31

June 24-30, 2021

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES June 24th - 30th

Live Comedy Secret Show Local (Downtown), 95 S. Main, Thursday, June 24, 8 p.m., free Get your laughs on with the Comma Comedians. Features a comedythemed menu with food and drink specials. Reservations required.

Celtic Throne The Orpheum, 203 S. Main, Thursday, June 24, 7:30 p.m., $20 Explores the ancient origins of Irish step dance infused with innovative choreography, dazzling costumes, and spectacular lighting.

Food Truck Friday The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park, Friday, June 25, 11:30 a.m., free Features food trucks in Garrett Court and lunch in the gardens. Zio Matto Gelato will also be on-site for a sweet treat to cool off in the gardens.

Annie Oakley Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon Shelby Farms Park, 6903 Great View, Saturday, June 26, 6:30 a.m., $45-$70 Bike, run, and swim during this annual event named as a nod to the buffalo. Benefits Shelby Farms Park.

Zoovie Night: Kangaroo Jack Memphis Zoo, Thursday, June 24, 7 p.m., $25 Watch this classic in the grove near Teton Trek. Ticket purchase includes access to the Kangazoo Exhibit before the movie. Follow signs to Wolf Gate.

North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic Betty Davis Bar-B-Que Ponderosa, 3359 Old Oxford Rd., Waterford, MS, Friday-Saturday, June 25-26, $25 Camp on-site, check out vendors, listen to music of the best emerging artists and favorites, and honor those artists who are no longer with us.

Full Moon Kayak Mud Island Boat Ramp, N. Mud Island, Friday, June 25, 7-9 p.m., free Paddle the Mississippi River at night. The first 30-minute kayak rental is free. A DJ will be spinning tunes while you paddle under the moon and stars.

Closing reception for “StructureIdentity-Transformation” David Lusk Gallery, 97 Tillman, Saturday, June 26, noon-3 p.m., free Exhibition of works by a variety of artists exploring themes of race, identity, gender, language and transformation.

Live music at

SELFIE BY BARBIE WYRE

Wyre prepping for the stage as a creepy neon clown.

Queer Variety

By Julie Ray

Organizer, producer, and host of the queer variety show this Saturday says that as a Rhodes College freshman, they were foolishly allowed to prance around on stage. It was at that moment the thought occurred to them: “Let’s do queer art.” In 2017, Barbie Wyre started doing just that at Growlers by organizing all-ages, open-stage events as a queer community building tool. Then 2020 happened. Now in 2021, Wyre is back in a big way. “This is the biggest show I’ve ever produced,” says Wyre. Without a breath between words, a rapid-fire event description follows: “Underground queer bands. R&B. Soul. Punk. Rock. EDM. Aerial. Fire. Belly dancing. Stilts. Contortionists. Two videographers. Live painter using neon and glitter — must have glitter. Have you seen the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch? It’s my favorite.” Wyre even has a tattoo inspired by the movie. A picture of the tattoo was sent to the movie’s director John Cameron Mitchell, who co-wrote the stage musical of the same name with Stephen Trask. “Mitchell said he liked it,” says Wyre playfully. “So now I have full Hollywood access. By the way, did I mention that anyone who shows up in pajamas gets free unlimited popcorn?” Show up in your pj’s if you like popcorn and quirky queer movies. You can attend the music, variety show, and movie portion of the event separately, but all-day access is only $20. It’s a steal. What comes next? Wyre says there is already a show in the works for July 2021. CLASH OF THE QUEERS VARIETY SHOW, BLACK LODGE, 405 N. CLEVELAND, SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 3 P.M., $5-$20.

July 3rd - 7:00pm Temple Underground and Uriah Mitchell

6/23 - 6:30pm

Duwayne Burnside Blues Hour

6/24 - 6:30pm

Le Tumulte Noir (Gypsy Jazz)

6/25 - 8:00pm Nick Black

6/26 - 1:00pm

Ghalia Volt

6/26 - 7:00pm

Thumpdaddy

6/27 - 1:00pm

Lisa Notbumoto

6/30 - 6:30pm 7/1 - 7pm

James Godwin

7/2 - 7pm

Steve Selvidge Mud Day at the Garden Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry, Saturday, June 26, 10 a.m., $5 Celebrate International Mud Day, established to connect children to the natural world. Make mud pies, mud paint, and just plain old mud play. Let’s Brunch Memphis Beale Street Landing, Beale and Riverside, Saturday, June 26, noon-3 p.m., $40 Sample brunch offerings from local restaurants, enjoy drinks, party music and activities, photo booth snaps, and more. 21+

7/3 - 7pm

The Birdcage: 25th Anniversary Malco Paradiso Cinema, 584 S. Mendenhall, and Collierville Towne Cinema, 380 Market, Sunday June 27, 3 p.m., and Wednesday, June 30, 7 p.m., $15 Starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. Event includes exclusive insights from Turner Classic Movies.

“Artwork Inspired by Victory, Vulnerability, and Southern Wrestling” Online from The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, dixon.org, Wednesday, June 30, 1 p.m. Enjoy a lecture by artist Nick Hewlett about his artwork in the current exhibition, “Memphis 2021,” via Zoom.

Novel at Home: Caki Wilkinson Online from novelmemphis.com, Tues., June 29, 6 p.m., free with registration Author discusses book of poetry, The Survival Expo, along with poets Marcus Wicker and Karyna McGlynn, via Zoom.

Sidewalk Chalk Party Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar, Wednesday, June 30, 11 a.m. Show off your artistic skills by creating a beautiful piece of public art. Features sidewalk games and chalk obstacle course. Registration required.

Temple Underground and Uriah Mitchell

7/4 - 12pm

Mighty Souls

7/4 - 5pm

Bluff City Bandits

railgarten.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Sparks Brothers celebrates the duo’s unmatched charisma, unbridled humor, and unlimited talent. Film, p. 26

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Duwayne Burnside Blues Hour

2 1 6 6 C e n t r a l Av e . Memphis TN 38104

CALENDAR of EVENTS:

June 24 - 30

of 2020 through the lens of artists of color, LGBTQ+ artists, and others. Through Sept. 30.

ART AN D S P EC I A L E X H I B ITS

38th Annual Juried Student Online Exhibition

ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS (AMUM)

“Images of Africa Before & After the Middle Passage”

Work by University of Memphis students. Tues., June 1-Dec. 31 ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS (AMUM)

Photography by Jeff and Shaakira Edison. Ongoing.

“Art of a Scientist”

SLAVE HAVEN UNDERGROUND RAIL-

Recent works by Dr. Gopal Murti. Through June 30.

ROAD MUSEUM

“King of Karate”

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Exhibit highlighting Elvis’ lifelong passion of the art of karate. Ongoing.

“Color and Light: Nature’s Gifts”

Impressionistic paintings by Steve Nelson. Through June 30.

GRACELAND EXHIBITION CENTER

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Drip”

Paintings by Kevin Ford. Fri., June 25-Aug. 21. TOPS GALLERY: MADISON AVENUE PARK

“Folk Art”

Works from the collection of Judy Peiser, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Southern Folklore. Through July 31. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Going Places”

Over 70 works of art by 25 artists online at wkno.org. Liveviewing weekdays at Mid-South Artist Gallery in Bartlett. Free. Through June 30. WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER

“Hillbilly Rock”

Featuring items from Marty Stuart Collection. Through Dec. 31.

June 24-30, 2021

GRACELAND

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com or P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY.

Self-taught artist Alex Lockwood’s abstract sculptures are on display at David Lusk Gallery.

“Measured Making: The 150mm Challenge”

Work by amateur and professional blacksmiths who each turned a 150mm x 20mm x 20mm steel rectangle into something spectacular. Through July 3. METAL MUSEUM

“Hindsight 2020”

By four student curators, three professional mentors, and two student graphic designers, offering a reflection of the events

“Meet the Dixons”

Margaret and Hugo Dixon’s personal lives, collections, and legacy. Through Sept. 26. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Memphis 2021”

New work by favorite and emerging artists emphasizing color, texture, scale, community, and an exciting look at what’s to come in Memphis in the 2020s. Through July 11. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Memphis Artists In Real Time”

Photographs by Memphis photojournalists Johnathan “Malik” Martin and Andrea Morales. Through July 10. MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Micro-Aesthetic”

Microscopic images forming a connection to everyday-life patterns, presented by Dr. Amir Hadadzadeh. Through Sept. 30. ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS (AMUM)

“Persevere and Resist: The Strong Black Women of Elizabeth Catlett” Exhibition highlighting the historic and current plights of Black women in America. Through Aug. 31. MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Through Darkness to Light:

Memphis Museum of Science & History

Photographs Along the Underground Railroad

WWW.MEMPHISMUSEUMS.ORG

Exhibition Now Open

CALENDAR: JUNE 24 - 30 “Pieta Mondrian”

Sculptures by Christopher Chiappa. Fri., June 25-Aug. 21 TOPS GALLERY

“The Machine Inside: Biomechanics”

An immersive exhibit for all ages that takes visitors on an intriguing journey into the marvels of natural engineering. Through Aug. 31. MEMPHIS PINK PALACE MUSEUM

Tributaries: Andrew Meers: “Amalgamations”

Exhibition of work by six artists exploring themes of race, identity, gender, language, and transformation. Sat., June 26, noon-3 p.m.

Art installation in the plaza fountain that will reveal artworks only when exposed to water by artist Stacey Williams-Ng. Sat., June 26, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

“Watch for my Signals”

Works made from found objects by Alex Lockwood. Tues., June 29-July 31. DAVID LUSK GALLERY

ART HAP P E N I N G S

Art Trolley Tour

Write your own historical fiction about the people buried at Elmwood. Prizes awarded. Visit elmwoodcemetery.com for full details. $20. Through July 6.

Closing reception for “Structure-IdentityTransformation”

METAL MUSEUM

MID-SOUTH ARTIST GALLERY

Snowden Spirit Series Writing Contest

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

Veterans’ work on view. Through July 31.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

Lecture by Nick Hewlett, Memphis 2021 artist, on topic via Zoom. Wed., June 30, 1 p.m.

Recognizes emerging and midcareer artists in the metals field. Includes a selection of knives and forged work. Through July 17.

Vietnam Veterans & Desert Storm Veterans Exhibition

course. Registration required. Wed., June 30, 11 a.m.

“Artwork Inspired by Victory, Vulnerability, and Southern Wrestling”

ELMWOOD CEMETERY

The Peace Project

Hear the peace offerings made up of artists’ voices, instruments, ambient noises, and reverberations in a healing space featuring work by Hank Willis Thomas. Ongoing.

Opening reveal for “Invisible Aquaphobic Art”

MEMPHIS PARK (FOURTH BLUFF)

WE Gallery

Gallery benefiting artists. Through Aug. 31.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

WOMAN’S EXCHANGE OF MEMPHIS

Shoot & Splice: Artist Development

Whet Thursday

Live music, food truck, metalsmithing demonstrations, and gallery talk. Thurs., June 24, 6-9 p.m.

Virtual event addressing what happens after the festival run of a film? To answer this and more, meet the founders of Dedza Films. Tues., June 29, 7 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY

Novel at Home: Caki Wilkinson

Author discusses Survival Expo, along with poets Marcus Wicker and Karyna McGlynn, for an evening of poetry via Zoom. Tues., June 29, 6 p.m. NOVEL

Reader Meet Writer: Cheryl Diamond

Author discusses Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood via Zoom. Tues., June 29, 6 p.m. NOVEL

Reader Meet Writer: Terry Roberts

Author discusses My Mistress’ Eyes Are Raven Black via Zoom. Thurs., June 24, 6 p.m. NOVEL

C O M E DY

JJ Williamson

Fri., June 25, 7:30 p.m. Second performance at 10 p.m. Sat. $20. CHUCKLES COMEDY CLUB

B O O K EVE NTS

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Memphis Reads

Sidewalk Chalk Party

Show off your artistic skills by Tour the local galleries and shops creating a beautiful piece of on S. Main. Fri., June 25, 6-9 p.m. public art. Features sidewalk SOUTH MAINNCRM-MemphisFlyer-9.7x5.48.pdf HISTORIC ARTS DISTRICT games and1 chalk obstacle 12:57 6/21/21

Oct. 31.

Caki Wilkinson will discuss The Survival Expo at Novel. The poetry collection steers the reader through flyover country, finding beauty in the mundane.

Selected book, Thick: and Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom, engages Memphians in the Black female experience in today’s America. Through

Live Weekly Comedy with John Miller Open-mic style. Free. Tues., June 29, 8-10 p.m. HI TONE

continued on page 20

CMY

Celebrating Thirty Years civilrightsmuseum.org

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

The best Civil Rights story ever told.

CALENDAR: JUNE 24 - 30 continued from page 19 COM M U N ITY

Thistle & Bee Ambassador Program

Become a steward for the Thistle & Bee mission. Email Oriana for more information, oholmes@ thistleandbee.org. Free. Ongoing. THISTLEANDBEE.ORG

and social and networking opportunities. $95. Thurs., June 24-June 27. METAL MUSEUM

FA M I LY

H2Oh! Splash Water Park Garden-themed exhibit with 40+ sprayers. Free with admission. $15. Ongoing. CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS

DAN C E

Argentine Tango

Learn, practice, and dance authentic Argentine tango with Memphis Argentine Tango Society (MATS). Sun., June 27, 5:30 p.m.; Wed., June 30, 7 p.m.

KangaZoo Outback Experience

Experience the outback and meet one of Australia’s largest marsupials, the red kangaroo. Free. Through Oct. 31. MEMPHIS ZOO

THEATREWORKS

Celtic Throne

Explore the ancient origins of Irish step dance infused with innovative choreography, dazzling costumes, and spectacular lighting and projection. $20. Thurs., June 24, 7:30 p.m. THE ORPHEUM

E X PO/SA LES

SNAG Conference: Virtual Convening

Using the interactive virtual platform Hopin, events include main stage presentations, breakout sessions, technical demonstrations, vendor booths,

F ES TI VA L

GET LOUD Concert Series: Rebirth Brass Band + Chinese Connection Dub Embassy Outdoor music series in Handy Park on Beale’s biggest stage. Visit Handy Park’s Facebook page for more information. Thurs., June 24, 6 p.m. BEALE STREET

Locals Live: Memphis Music at the Garden

Features Almost Elton John. Local food trucks and libations on-site. $25. Sat., June 26, 6 p.m.

North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic

Hear from the best of emerging artists as well as regular favorites and honor those artists who are no longer with us. $25. Fri., June 25-June 26. BETTY DAVIS BAR-B-QUE PONDEROSA

FI LM

Jerry Maguire: 25th Anniversary

Also screening at Collierville Towne Cinema. $15. Thurs., June 24, 7 p.m. MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX

The Birdcage: 25th Anniversary

Includes exclusive insights from Turner Classic Movies. Also screening at Collierville Towne Cinema. $15. Sun., June 27, 3 p.m.; Wed., June 30, 7 p.m. MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX

Zoovie Night: Kangaroo Jack

Access to the Kangazoo Exhibit before the movie and held in the grove near Teton Trek. For admission, follow signs to Wolf Gate. $25. Thurs., June 24, 7 p.m. MEMPHIS ZOO

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Depression Bipolar Support Alliance Meeting

FOOD AN D DR I N K

Canoes + Cocktails

Guided evening sunset paddle on the lake followed by socially distant cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, yard games, and music at Hyde Lake Pavilion. Fri., June 25, 7 p.m. SHELBY FARMS PARK

Come to the back behind the ER. There will be a parking lot with a sign reading Auditorium Parking. Group is in those doors in the St. Clair Room. Sat., June 26, 2-4 p.m. ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL

Carpenter Art Garden

Pick up seasonal veggies every Monday and Thursday. Cash or Venmo is accepted. Visit Facebook page for weekly offerings. CARPENTER ART GARDEN

Hope House Support Group

For transgender individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. Tues., June 29, 1 p.m. HOPE HOUSE

Food Truck Friday

Food trucks in Garrett Court and lunch in the gardens. Zio Matto Gelato on-site for a sweet treat to cool off in the gardens. Fri., June 25, 11:30 a.m. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Just For ToGay: LGBTQ Narcotics Anonymous Meeting Closed meeting of Narcotics Anonymous. Thurs., June 24, 7 p.m. CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Taco Tuesday & Torta Thursday

Every Tuesday, a new specialty taco is featured, and every Thursday, a torta. Complimentary item and margaritas are $2.95 with your order. GLOBAL CAFE

H E A LT H A N D F IT N ES S

Delta Transmasculine

Group for transgender masculine folks. Fri., June 25, 5 p.m. OUTMEMPHIS: THE LGBTQ CENTER OF THE MID-SOUTH

Love Well 5K and Festival

Walk, run, eat, shop, and spread the love around the city of Memphis, benefiting Serenity Recovery Center. $25. Sat., June 26, 9 a.m. WOLF RIVER GREENWAY EAST

“Meanwhile in Memphis” Tune into WYXR 91.7 FM where Anna Mullins Ellis and Christy Mullen provide a weekly window into ways Memphians are solving prob-

presents

july 17

LITTLE BIG TOWN august 13

June 24-30, 2021

BRAD PAISLEY september 17

SHERYL CROW liveatthegarden.com

october 21

EARTH, WIND & FIRE

lems, looking forward, and successfully shaping the community. Tues., June 29, 8 a.m. CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Perpetual Transition Meeting

Support and social group for transgender folks. Mon., June 28, 7-9 p.m. OUTMEMPHIS: THE LGBTQ CENTER OF THE MID-SOUTH

Pruning Club

Work with horticulture staff, aesthetically pruning trees and shrubs, featuring occasional speakers and demonstrations from MBG staff and local professionals regarding pruning. Thurs., June 24, 9 a.m.-noon. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Psychometry & Pendulum Psychometry, work with energy/ clair senses, build psychic skills with others, 2-4 p.m. Pendulum, work with a pendulum for basic yes/no questions, chakra balance, 4-6 p.m. $25. Sat., June 26. OOTHOON’S

ThyCa Memphis Monthly Support Group Meeting

Supports all thyroid cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers in the local area. See website for more details. Mon., June 28, 6-7:30 p.m. THE SALVATION ARMY KROC CENTER

CALENDAR: JUNE 24 - 30

OUTMEMPHIS.ORG

Zoo Dude

Hosted by Chief Zoological Officer Matt Thompson, Memphis Zoo updates. Free. Sat., June 26, noon; Sun., June 27, 8 a.m.; Wed., June 30, 8 a.m. MEMPHIS ZOO

S P EC IAL EVE N TS

Best of Memphis Nominations

Vote online for your favorite local businesses. Show them some love. Tell them that they are the BOM, bom.memphisflyer.com. Through June 30. MEMPHIS FLYER

Breeze Cayolle & New Orleans Wed., June 30, 5:30 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Clash of the Queers Variety Show

A day full of live music, aerial acrobatics, lip-syncs, contortions, kings, queens, rainbows, and fun hunnies. After-party film screening of Hedwig and

the Angry Inch. Wear PJs for free popcorn. $20. Sat., June 26, 3 p.m.

Lannie McMillan Jazz Trio

BLACK LODGE

OWEN BRENNAN’S

Sun., June 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

David Cousar

Mary Gagz and Her Gaggle of Girlz

Tues., June 29, 9 p.m. B-SIDE

Mon., June 28, 9 p.m.

Djembe Drumming with Memphis Drum Tribe

BAR DKDC

Mud Day at the Garden

Sun., June 27, 2-4 p.m.

A mud-tastic time filled with mud pies, dirt seed balls, mud painting, and just plain-old mud. $5. Sat., June 26, 10 a.m.

JAVA CABANA

Gayland Grooms

Tuesday, June 29, 6 p.m. THE COVE

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Goner Third Thursday

Rodell McCord

BAR DKDC

TIN ROOF

Graceland Excursions Trips: Tupelo, Mississippi–Birthplace of Elvis Presley

Semi-Average Joe

Wed., June 30, 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 24.

Wed., June 30, 6 p.m. TIN ROOF

Summer Soiree

A musical evening celebrating the “Great American Songbook,” featuring Jeremy Shrader and the New Memphis Hepcats with special guests. Free. Sat., June 26, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Experience the rural setting of Elvis’ upbringing and see where it all began in the two-room house where he was born, the church he attended in his youth, and artifacts from his modest beginnings. $99. Fri., June 25, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GPAC

Sunset at the Park

GUEST HOUSE AT GRACELAND

John Williams and the A440 Band Fri., June 25, 9 p.m.

THE LOUNGE AT 3RD & COURT

Fresh, organic produce, picked the day of, are sold at Carpenter Art Garden, Mondays and Thursdays. Purchases support the garden’s programs.

Features jam session with DJ Brother John, networking, and family fun before enjoying other Downtown events. Fri., June 25, 7 p.m.

Sunset DJ Set

Fri., June 25, 6 p.m. TIN ROOF

Wednesday Opera Time

Join Opera Memphis every Wednesday on Facebook for an assortment of live events including “Opera for Animals,” Bingo Opera, and more. Free. Wed., June 30, 7 p.m. OPERA MEMPHIS

S PO R TS

Annie Oakley Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon Bike, run, and swim during this annual event named as a nod to the buffalo, benefiting Shelby Farms Park. Visit pr-eventmanagement.net for more information. $45. Saturday, June 26, 6:30 a.m. SHELBY FARMS PARK

Baby and Me Yoga at the Garden

Mom, dad, grandparent, or any caregiver is welcome with the child on this fun, sometimes wild, empowering journey. Suitable for babies age 6 weeks to 5 years. Please bring your own mat. $10, $15. Mon., June 28, 11:15 a.m. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

MEMPHIS PARK (FOURTH BLUFF)

continued on page 22

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Weekly Zoom gathering for anyone 18+ who identifies as a member of the trans or GNC community. For login information, email ahauptman@ outmemphis.org. Tues., June 29, 6 p.m.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Virtual-T

CALENDAR: JUNE 24 - 30 continued from page 21 Bar Belles

Women’s-only class takes on the fears and misconceptions that shroud weight lifting in a cloud of confusion. $40. Sun., June 27, 2:30-4:30 p.m. THE SALVATION ARMY KROC CENTER

Full Moon Kayak

Paddle the Mississippi River at night. Fri., June 25, 7-9 p.m. MUD ISLAND BOAT RAMP

Memphis 901 FC vs. Sporting Kansas City II Sat., June 26, 11:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m. AUTOZONE PARK

Memphis Redbirds vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Home game. Tues., June 29-July 4. AUTOZONE PARK

Outdoor Total Body Burn Enjoy the sunset over Downtown Memphis and the beautiful wide-open acreage at Grind City Brewing Co. $16. Thursday, June 24, 6:15 p.m.

June 24-30, 2021

Cutting Garden Tours

Garden docents will focus on the cutting garden each week on Saturday morning. Meet in the Catmur Foyer to see the large urn design and start tour. Sat., June 26, 10 a.m.-noon.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Tai Chi

Classes held near Woodland Discovery Playground. $8. Wed., June 30, 3 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Ghost Walk

Tai Chi at Quan Am Monastery

Join the Historical Haunts Investigation Team and explore the macabre and dark history of Downtown Memphis. $20. Fri., June 25-Sat., June 26, 8 p.m.

Newcomers and beginners welcome. Thurs., June 24, 5:45 p.m. QUAN AM MONASTERY

Walk ‘n’ Talk

THE BROOM CLOSET

Sip on a cup of tea or coffee from Fourth Cup while you listen to Memphians’ stories and share ideas with others. Wed., June 30, 6:45-7:30 a.m.

Hotel History Tours with the Peabody Duckmaster Hear stories from The Peabody’s nearly 150-year history and learn behind-the-scenes details about the charmed life of the world-famous Peabody Ducks. $10. Thurs., June 24Wed., June 30, 11:30 a.m.

RIVER GARDEN

Yoga at the Garden

Connect breath with movement through an all-levels vinyasa flow to increase strength and flexibility, while calming and focusing the mind. $5, $8. Thurs., June 24, 4:30 p.m. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

GRIND CITY BREWING COMPANY

TH EATE R

Slow Your Roll Saturday Morning Meditation

Songs for a New World

Join mindfulness and meditation teacher Greg Graber’s meditation session in the Church Health Meditation Garden. No sign-up is required.

Masks are a must. Saturday, June 26, 9:30-10 a.m.

A musical theater song cycle composed by Jason Robert Brown takes four singers through a journey of discovery. Live-streaming performance. June 18-27, Friday-Saturday, 7

THE PEABODY HOTEL

p.m. and Sundays, 2 p.m. $25. June 18-June 27. PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

TO U R S

City Tasting Tours

Interact with chefs and managers and sample local flavors. Fri., June 25-Sun., June 27; Wed., June 30. CITYTASTINGTOURS.COM

JEAN FRANK PHOTOGRAPHY

North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson will perform at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, alongside a roster of other musicians, June 25th-26th.

Metal Museum Audio Tour

Explore the newly updated Sculpture Garden and accompanying audio tour while adhering to safe social distancing. Thurs., June 24Wed., June 30; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. METAL MUSEUM

Old Dominick Distillery Tours

See firsthand the dedication and passion put into every bottle. Experience the spirits and learn recipes from experts. $12. Thurs., June 24-Sun., June 27, 1-7 p.m. OLD DOMINICK DISTILLERY

Old Forest Hike

Walking tour of the region’s only urban old-growth forest. Sun., June 27, 10 a.m. OVERTON PARK

Tales from Elmwood: A Cemetery Walking Tour

Buried at Elmwood Cemetery are 80,000 individuals, and they all have a story to tell. $20. Sat., June 26, 10 a.m. ELMWOOD CEMETERY

Tours at Two

Join a Dixon docent or member of the curatorial staff on a tour of the current exhibitions. $5. Sun., June 27, and Tues., June 29, 2-3 p.m. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Yellow Fever Rock & Roll Ghost Tour See what used to be, Memphisstyle, with Mike McCarthy. Email jmm.memphis@gmail. com to schedule a personal tour. Monday, June 28, 11 p.m.

For help, call the Tennessee REDLINE 1-800-889-9789

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

S P I R ITS By Richard Murff

Writers’ Tears Cry me a river — of Double Oak Irish whiskey.

I SUMMER MARKET sa PM tu 4 rda y, july 10 • 10AM CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE PLAZA

35+ LOCAL MAKERS AND ARTISANS Our unique Crafts & Drafts shopping experience showcases a curated group of independent local artists for a fun day of shopping and tasty local brews!

June 24-30, 2021

H O S T E D BY: S P O N S O R E D BY:

I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H

memphiscraftsanddrafts.com 24

have always liked Irish whiskey, but have never been overly wowed by it. Being a Scotch guy — and specifically an Islay whisky (note that the Scots leave off the “e”) — I go for peat and seawater. To me, Irish whiskey tastes like Scotch with the corners sanded off. Not a bad description because the Irish stuff is traditionally distilled three times as opposed to the two passes they make in Scotland. The extra loop makes a lighter finished product and doesn’t have that peaty aspect that puts the cowardly modern drinker off. The notable exception to this is Auchentoshan, the only triple-distilled single malt Scotch. Honestly, it tastes like Irish whiskey to me. Monks first brought distillation to Ireland in the early Dark Ages, and supposedly thanks are owed to St. Patrick himself. Understand that Patrick gets the dubious credit for nearly everything good in Ireland, but the whiskey claim is a lot more plausible than that business with the snakes. It would be another century before another Irish monk would cross the North Sea and bring the art to Scotland. Because practice makes perfect, they got very good at it. Then they stopped practicing. It’s a misconception that Prohibition was strictly an American thing. The truth is that the early 20th century temperance movement was a global phenomenon: Finland, Iceland, and Russia(!) all toyed with Prohibition in the decade before the U.S. finally enacted it. Believe it or not, it was a powerful movement in Ireland as well — the upshot being that demand dropped and so did production, meaning that in turn quality also suffered. True, sales picked up in the Great Depression, but that was more about quantity than quality. The consequence to all this was that by 1950 there were only four distilleries in Ireland, and they were just barely hanging on. A further consolidation in 1966 left just three, but this was a tactical retreat. The distilleries teamed up with the goal of focusing on making a superior product, not just surviving. They started practicing again. Throughout the 1970s the quality attracted more investment, and that led to a revival boom in Irish whiskey through the ’90s. When I saw Writers’ Tears Irish

Whiskey, well, I had to give it a whirl. (To be clear, I’m not Irish; I spell my name Murff, not Murph. It is Swiss German, and yet I have no firm opinion on fondue.) I hoped that the whiskey’s name, clever as it is, was just a marketing gimmick. Being a prolific producer of writers’ tears myself, I know that they have a bitter and lonely aftertaste. I can assure you that there is nothing bitter about this stuff. Writers’ Tears Double Oak was a 2019 Top 20 pick from Whisky Advocate magazine and has been called the most premium Irish blend. It may well be. It’s made the traditional way and finished in American white oak bourbon barrels, then French oak cognac casks. All of which gives a depth and complexity to Writers’ Tears that I don’t normally associate with Irish whiskey.

ATOMAZUL | DREAMSTIME.COM

Pour a dram and you get a deep color that you might mistake for cognac or bourbon. There, the similarities end. It’s got a nose that gives you dark, rich fruit; dark chocolate; and spices. There is oak on the front end. I’ve heard other reviewers talk about a honey blond sweetness — but I think that I’m picking up the same quality as an almost cosmic smoothness of a dark, mellow vanilla. You don’t get much heat, just a finish that’s peppery with a hint of a little green apple. To give full scope to these whiskeys would require me to go full Irish writer on you, but my handlers refused to up my allotted word count to 25,000. So I’ll sum it up: Writers’ Tears Double Oak is a whiskey that has not had its corners sanded off.

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Can’t Stand the Heat?

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So, Aunt Sally decides to sell her pies, but she finds it’s $2,500 a month to rent a kitchen. Then she needs an oven and a kitchen mixer. That’s $12,000. She also needs other kitchenware, which could be another thousand. She says, “Oh, my God. I just can’t do it.” “That’s where we come in,” Richard says. “We offer any equipment you need. I’ll buy it for your use. You come in. Pay us rent.” Their commercial equipment includes eight convection ovens, eight standard ovens, four 10-burner stoves, two flat-top grills, a 30-quart and 60-quart mixer, food processors, a 24-by-14-foot walk-in cooler, a 32-by-7-foot walk-in display cooler, 50 prep tables, 120 storage shelves, and 40 feet of vent hood space.

Call the Shelby County Health Department at 901-222-9263, A, B, C’s of Safe Sleep Babies should sleep Alone, on their Back, and in their Crib. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED UNDER A GRANT CONTRACT WITH THE STATE OF TENNESSEE

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DONAHUE

Molly and Richard McCracken at their Memphis Kitchen Co-Op

The McCrackens “will sit down with you if you have any concerns — how to price food, food costs, where to go for your business license, Department of Agriculture certified aspect of agriculture. We help you with all that.” They also provide help getting the word out online. “We have an in-house marketing group, Ruby Red Media, that does individual or group social media [and] handles email and stuff like that.” Memphis Kitchen Co-Op rent is based on time, space, and need, but it’s less than most commercial kitchens, Richard says. Unlike other commercial kitchens, they will include a store. “We’re going to sell all our tenants’ products in there. People can walk in and buy 30 or 40 different companies’ products.” They also will have a website, where people can order Memphis Kitchen Co-Op products. “We deliver or you come to the store and we have it ready for you in a box.” Renters can range from bakers and food truck owners to people who prepare school lunch programs. “Anybody who wants to start up a new business, we’ll help them get going.” Richard also plans to till a 14-by-120foot patch of grass next to the building for a community garden. Richard, who wrestled for 20 years, and Molly opened Amplified Meal Prep three years ago. Customers can order healthy comfort food or build custom meals according to their specific diet plan. They were “camped out” in another commercial kitchen, but, Richard says, “We ran out of room.” The couple couldn’t operate out of that space anymore. “So I started looking in November of last year for a commercial building. All of a sudden this popped up.” Molly originally thought the building was too big, but Richard told her, “We’ll grow into it.” Memphis Kitchen Co-Op is “a testament of hard work. And I really want to get our message out there that people like me and Molly, who worked our full-time jobs for two years and Amplified two years — that’s what you have to do. Now look at us. We have, essentially, a million-dollar building for four years. It’s centrally located, smack dab in the middle of everything. It’s 15 minutes from Downtown, 15 minutes from out east, and 15 minutes from Germantown.” For information on Memphis Kitchen CoOp, go to memphiskitchenco-op.com.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ichard McCracken is happy to say, “Amplified Meal Prep has a new home now.” He and his wife Molly are the owners of their first brick-and-mortar business, Memphis Kitchen Co-Op, at 7946 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova. The 6,500-square-foot building, which also houses their healthy food business, Amplified Meal Prep, has space for people like themselves, who don’t have room in their homes to make food in quantity. “I just want to help people,” Richard says. “I wanted to open a community kitchen where people can rent from us. But I didn’t want to be like, ‘Here’s the key. You owe us $700 the first of the month. See you later.’ I want to be able to help people do what we did. We wanted to have a place where we can help you start a business from A to Z.” Somebody might say, “I have an Aunt Sally, and she makes the most amazing peanut butter pie in the world.”

FILM By Chris McCoy

Your Favorite Band’s Favorite Band The Sparks Brothers is a must-see music doc from director Edgar Wright.

June 24-30, 2021

o address a common misconception, Sparks was, and is, a real band. They are not, as everyone inexplicably thought, British, but rather from Southern California. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael have been making music together for 50 years. Ron is a keyboard virtuoso with a deadpan scowl and a wicked sense of humor. Russell is taller, blessed with more conventional good looks and a precisely controlled voice that can be Freddie Mercury operatic or Robert Plant screamy, according to the needs of the song. They made their recording debut in 1967 as Halfnelson with the little-heard “Computer Girl,” which got the attention of legendary prog-rock musician and producer Todd Rundgren. The reason most people think they’re from the U.K. is that they were discovered on the right side of the pond before they were accepted in America. In 1974, they appeared on the classic BBC show Top of the Pops to sing “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us,” and soon the song was burning up the charts. It’s tough to say what Sparks sound like because they radically change their sound every other album, and they are reportedly now working on their 25th full-length. They started out as Pink Floyd-like psychedelia but were

well-positioned to go glam because of Russell’s rock god locks and Ron’s uncanny ability to absorb new music and immediately create a synthesis that’s smarter and better than the inspiration. The biggest coup of their career was when they almost singlehandedly created the synth-pop branch of new wave music after hearing Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and cold-calling Italo-disco producer Giorgio Moroder. The brothers fired their band, bulked up on synthesizers and drum machines, and made the album, No. 1 in Heaven. “The Number One Song in Heaven” and “Beat the Clock” became huge hits in Europe and inspired a legion of musicians to put down their guitars and make music from bloopy noises. The Sparks Brothers is director Edgar Wright’s first documentary. The Sparks superfan is better known for his stylish, groundbreaking pop confections like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Shaun of the Dead. Wright weaponized his musical obsession in 2017 with the balletic car-chase movie Baby Driver. His restless, inventive visual style fits perfectly with Sparks’ wry, heady music. His energetic editing keeps the proceedings light and eminently watchable throughout its two-hour-plus running time. That sounds like a long movie, but there’s a lot of story to cover, and the Mael

Let sparks fly — Russell Mael (left) and Ron Mael are Sparks, the subject of the new documentary The Sparks Brothers by Edgar Wright. brothers, now in their 70s, are endlessly fascinating characters. Wright is not alone in the Sparks cult. They are, as the tagline goes, your favorite band’s favorite band. From Beck to Björk, Duran Duran to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, author Neil Gaiman to comedian Patton Oswalt, everyone wants to weigh in on the brilliance of the Maels. Sparks, while they perpetually hung around on the musical B-list, made frequent television appearances in the ’70s and ’80s, which means Wright has a ton of archival footage to work with. Especially entertaining are the duo’s appearances on American Bandstand. At one point, Dick Clark asks, “Who is the oldest?” to which Ron deadpans, “You are.” For some of the juicier stories, which happened without cameras rolling, Wright resorts to animating the visuals. This is pretty standard for documentary re-creations these days, but the director, like the continued on page 28

Saturday, June 26 11 AM – 5 PM

Join us at the

Donor Fest Blood Drive!

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

All participating blood donors will receive a Donor Fest T-shirt! When you donate blood, you provide a life-saving treatment for patients undergoing surgery, experiencing trauma or battling cancer and blood disorders. Learn more at vitalant.org/DonorFest

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Overton Square Tower Courtyard 2102 Trimble Place Memphis, TN 38104

FILM By Chris McCoy continued from page 26

NEW ISSUE If you’re looking for the most competent

PLUS you’ll enjoy all our regular

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band, keeps changing styles. Some of the stories are told in stop-motion, while others are hand-drawn animation and CGI. Why, exactly, Sparks were perpetual also-rans in America is a good question, and Wright takes a couple of stabs at answering. Maybe it was Ron’s Hitler mustache. (It’s a Charlie Chaplin mustache, Ron would insist.) Maybe they were just too smart for the audience, or they never stuck around in the same style long enough for their following to grow beyond the loyal cult. But as the

film progresses, that question becomes less and less interesting. What makes The Sparks Brothers a must-see is the brothers’ impish wit, ample charisma, and bottomless well of unique talent. And they’re still at it. The boys wrote and scored the musical, Annette, which will open the Cannes Film Festival in July and will star Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. It’s Sparks’ world; we just live in it. The Sparks Brothers Now playing Malco Studio on the Square

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T H E L A S T W O R D B y C h r i s Wa l t e r

To Get to the Other Side

THE LAST WORD

My son started summer camp a few weeks ago. The camp is maybe six miles from our house, but in Atlanta traffic around 8 a.m., that is the equivalent of a 45-minute commute. I work from home and I have meetings in the morning, so that leaves my wife to take him to the camp. I say I have meetings in the mornings. I kind of do, but I doubt she’d see it that way. The meetings are with myself, a cup of coffee, and 45 minutes of silence. They are true bliss. Paradise, even. Then, without fail, when my blood pressure drops from high down to its resting place at medium-high, the phone rings. On this particular morning the call was from my wife and son. They had passed what looked like a turtle about to cross a busy road a few miles from our house. For most people, this would be a tragic tale of what was about to become of said turtle. For me, it’s a little different. I have a sworn duty to stop my car, no matter the condition, if it means I can save the life of a turtle. This solemn vow comes from an experience I had about five years ago. I lived much further out in the suburbs in a place that could almost be considered rural if the golf courses didn’t outnumber the trees. Back then I ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER D. WALTER didn’t really care about a turtle’s well-being more than any other animal … and then I did. For some reason, my wife and I were driving around in my father-in-law’s Prius. This was during an upcycle of anger toward manufacturing going overseas. The Prius had Michigan plates, so we already had two strikes against us in rural Georgia. This upcycle also coincided with another upcycle of anger about electric cars and how they were putting our domestic oil workers out of jobs. Strike three. As we took a relaxing mid-June drive, I watched the scenery from the window. My wife was driving. I have never been granted the permission to drive my in-laws’ chariot and probably never will, given my habit of aloofness with directions. We were on a small paved road with barely any shoulder, and I noticed a blob edging toward the pavement. We passed and I saw that it was a box turtle. Since the road was so narrow, I was sure that this turtle was going to get hit and I didn’t want to be responsible for that if I didn’t have to be. I asked my wife to turn around. She did and parked 50 feet or so away in someone’s driveway. I hopped out of the car and started walking toward the turtle. A distance away I heard a loud grumble. I looked up and there was a large, black pickup truck barreling toward me. I saw the driver. He saw me. He saw the Prius. He saw the Michigan plates. He looked at me. I looked at him. I looked at the turtle. The turtle poked his head out and looked at me. The driver looked at the turtle. He looked at the Prius. I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. I ran toward the turtle as the truck came toward me. The next thing I recall is wiping blood and specks of shell off of my shirt and standing in the middle of the road. There was a wet spot in one direction and a plume of “rolled coal” in the other. My wife stood with her mouth wide open. I was beside myself. Was there anything that I could have done? Realistically, no. Either way, I made a promise to myself right then and there that I would never let that happen again. No matter the circumstances. If I have to park my car in the middle of the road and shield the critter from what I will assume was a truck worth more than my house, then so be it. When I got the call the other morning during my “meeting,” I really did not want to get in my car and locate this turtle. I was scared of what I might find. I also forgot to put my pants on. Luckily, I got there right before the thing crossed over the white line into the danger zone of a four-lane highway. I stopped my car, put on my hazards, and picked the guy up and moved him to the other side. The turtle was saved and the commuters got a show. Would I be bothered if a hawk came right behind me and carried him off or if a raccoon jumped out and cracked him open? No. As long as it wasn’t a tire, I consider my promise fulfilled. Chris Walter is a Southern writer and artist. His recent book, Southern Glitter, and more can be found at his website kudzuandclay.com

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Box turtles are the gardener’s friend — take the time to help them cross the road safely.

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