MOSELEYSARA OUR09.15.22ISSUE1751ST FREE DON LIFTED TAKES A BOW P15 • CLANCY’S CAFE P19 • BARBARIAN P20 Teenage Kicks GONERFEST — BIGGER THAN EVER — STILL DRAWS ODDBALLS AND OUTCASTS.
2 202215-21,September
And then the AI, which claims to have devoured a tenth of the internet so far, passed judgement on what it decided was the worst thing in Memphis. Was it poverty? Racism? Corrupt pols? School leadership? None of these. It’s the horror of traffic. “It can be a total nightmare. I’ve even missed flights because of it before.” (Yes, Jasper Roboto speaks in the first person.) Fighting my own well-learned laziness, I went to the trouble to find a traffic-rating chart that revealed that out of 65 cities in North America, Memphis was a low-stress No. 56. Now Nashville, at 13, is nuts, especially at rush hour. But anyone who thinks the Bluff City is traffic hell has never traveled much.
Sometimes I’m so devotedly lazy that I’ll undertake piles of extra work to avoid any effort. Like with this column. I pondered deep thoughts, jotted down random deathless prose that was apropos of zilch, and muttered at the blinking cursor. Nothing was stir ring in the brain cells (which I have heard before from those who know me).
I’ll note here that Jasper, not terribly gifted with scintillating prose, likes to say “Trust me” a lot. Trust me, you’ll want to carry several grains of salt if you employ this AI. Finally, I figured to give my digital crackerjack another shot by asking it to riff on Memphis AF. I got this: “There’s no doubt about it: Memphis is the most Memphis AF city in America.” The other blather for this entry was generic tourism-speak, so I broadened the search and got this: “Are you looking for a new, edgy way to show your pride for the city of Memphis? Look no further than Memphis As Fuck – the coolest apparel brand around.”
JERRY
Well, it did say that local politics can be confusing, so I thought to let it try some thing nice and easy: Memphis media. Naturally, I wanted to let it praise the Memphis Flyer, and, indeed, it did say that we are “always packed with interesting stories and perspectives that you won’t find anywhere else.” Bravo, Jasper!
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My first instruction to the brainiac was to come up with the best of Memphis. In no time, it delivered breezy thoughts on, predictably, barbecue (but declined to choose a favorite) and then said, “And don’t even get me started on the Memphis-style pizza. It’s seriously to die for.” Oh, Jasper, that’s not a thing. Someone needs to take that robot to The Four Way for some greens. (And for dessert, it mentions “the city’s famous straw berry shortcake. It’s so good that it should be illegal.” I’ll ponder this as I dive into my unfamous pecan pie.)
D. SWIFT Advertising Director Emeritus KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, HAILEY THOMAS Senior Account Executives
I went around Jasper and consulted Professor Google and indeed, there are T-shirts, hoodies, and other fashion basics with that timeless slogan emblazoned for your mama to enjoy. But I didn’t find the “cool est apparel brand around” as promised. Now I’m down with, as the brand claims, “celebrating our city in the most badass way possible.” But Jasper, who was sup posed to write a column for me, doesn’t have the skills of a cub reporter. I had to double-check almost every one of its al leged facts without knowing the sources. And as lazy as I am, I was really hoping for an easier way out. Trust me.
To be fair to the automatonic genius, I then had it try to write something about local civics. It said, unhelpfully, that “Memphis politics can be confusing and con voluted.” It mentions various mayors and also offers high praise for two other local political players: City Council President David Hayes and City Council Vice Presi dent Byron Potts. Anybody know these two? Anybody? I looked them up and found nothing, Jasper. Nada.
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There were plenty of options to write about: Alfredo sauce in the streets, MIM vs. MRPP, politics, TVA or MISO — you get the idea. But instead of developing an idea, I enabled my slothfulness by churning through Facebook. And there I found it: Artificial Intelligence. An ad said, “This tool writes content for you.” I chortled at the pun and then took a closer look. It was for an AI service named Jasper that vowed to take my distracted thoughts and then craft sparkling copy in seconds. All I had to do was give it a topic, set a tone, and click.
But, you ask, shouldn’t I worry about being obviated by Skynet? Or assimilated by the Borg? I think not, as you shall read.
Managing Editor
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AIMEE
The Memphis Flyer is now seeking can didates for its editor position. Send your resume to hr@contemporary-media.com.
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Our AI-for-hire, however, seemed to have strong views in opposite directions about WREG News Channel 3: “It’s pretty much garbage. The news anchors are often obnoxious and unprofessional, the stories are often slanted or totally inaccurate, and they love to stoke fear among their viewers. Basically, if you’re looking for quality journalism, you won’t find it here.” Whew! But then our brilliant bot also said in a related media critique: “It’s known for its comprehensive coverage of local news and events. If you want to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the city, make sure to tune in to WREG.”
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e request would give another month for public comment, and another month a er that for MLGW’s commissioners to review those comments. If the request is granted, a nal vote on the power-supply decision would come no sooner than November 30th.
Hundreds rose before dawn last week to “Finish Liza’s Run.”
When MLGW announced the recommendation, it came with a vague, 30-day period for public comment on the move. Four groups — the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Protect Our Aquifer (POA), Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) — asked the MLGW board of commissioners for an additional month.
{
TO FACEBOOK BY FAMILY PRACTICE CENTER OF WEST MEMPHIS
MLGW Decision
A GoFundMe for Rodolfo “Rudy” Berger, the man shot at an AutoZone store, swelled last week to nearly $19,000.
SACE openly criticized the recommendation, saying, “We’re con dent it’s not in the best interest of MLGW customers.” e group said the new 20-year contract, which has already been signed by numerous other TVA clients, would “lock the utility and its ratepayers into a forever contract.” e current contract with TVA is up every ve years.
MEM ernet THE fly-by
ALLISON
Memphis remembered mother and caregiver Allison Parker last week.
“Without MLGW providing forthcoming and transparent answers to fundamental questions informing the analysis, the public is held back from submitting informed public comments in an e ective way that actually helps inform any eventual decision in a manner necessitated by the enormity of the decision’s impacts,” SACE executive director Steven Smith said in a letter to MLGW last week.
By Toby Sells
comment period may be a “mere formality in a functionally predetermined decision.”
MLGW sta recommended last week that the utility stay with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as its power provider. e recommendation came a er local review on the decision, several studies on energy reliability and potential savings, and much noise made by environmental groups who say TVA is not doing enough on sustainable energy and that its contracts are too long.
DEWAYNE
Other providers, SACE said, could o er longer-term economic and environmental bene ts. ese bene ts could also greatly increase now, SACE said, a er the passage of the In ation Reduction Act. SACE said the new law — with its billions in spending for environmental projects — could “greatly amplify alternative portfolios’ estimated savings and energy resiliency bene ts” that could “be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Memphis if MLGW is not restricted by TVA’s contract requirements.”
TO FACEBOOK
Groups want more time for public comments on TVA recommendation.
Environmental groups are asking Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) for more time on its power-supply decision to allow for further review and public comment.
4 202215-21,September
ENVIRONMENT
Memphis on the internet. LIZA
As for the extra time, SACE said without su cient time for the public to digest the information, the public
RODOLFO
As for environmental issues, TVA said the day before MLGW’s announcement last week that it plans to be 80 percent carbon-free by 2035 and completely carbon-free by 2050. TVA’s timeline does not match that of President Joe Biden, who wants a carbon-free power grid by 2035. TVA says it must move slower to ensure reliability.
MLGW has been a TVA customer for more than 80 years. MLGW is also TVA’s largest customer.
POSTED
POSTED TO GOFUNDME BY VERONICA FIGUEROA
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
“ e [MLGW board of commissioners] must have adequate time to meaningfully consider public comment,” reads the letter issued last Tuesday. “Otherwise, the board risks the appearance of merely rubber-stamping the sta recommendation. It is particularly important that the Board’s decision-making process be open and transparent because of the existing relationships between TVA and MLGW.”
MLGW sta ers said if the utility stayed with TVA, customers would save about $32 a year on their electric bills. Overall, MLGW said the new contract with TVA “demonstrates the greatest value and least risk.” ey said the move would save MLGW $125 million over the next ve years and $944 million over the next 25 years.
Memphis remembered father, friend, entrepreneur, and Good Samaritan Dewayne Tunstall last week.
“We’re confident [staying with TVA is] not in the best interest of MLGW customers.”
POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY TOM BAILEY
Without more time for public comments, the groups worry the decision could look like a “rubber-stamping” process and the comment period “a mere formailty.”
5 memphisflyer.com OPINION&NEWS
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JSU announced in February it would no longer participate in the Classic, terminating their contract agreement early due to scheduling con icts. As alumni and fans prepared to say farewell to the Classic, they re ected on the many elements that contribute to the event’s iconic nature.
For Shun Hill, a 2003 TSU graduate and Aristocrat of Bands alum, “there’s nothing like the feeling of being part of the hal ime
Last weekend was a bittersweet one for Parson. He’s a 1999 graduate of Tennessee State University (TSU) and an alumnus of the school’s famous marching band, the Aristocrat of Bands, and he’s been to every Classic except for one. Last weekend, Parson likely experienced the magic of the Classic for the very last time.
Jackson State University dropped the Southern Heritage Classic from its schedule in February.
PHOTO: SOUTHERN HERITAGE CLASSIC “Everybody is just love.”
F
“Marchingshow.into the stadium … there’s nothing like the crowd’s reaction
By Kailynn Johnson
Fans said goodbye to the Southern Heritage Classic last week.
“I tell anybody in my family, ‘Do not get married on this weekend,’” Parson said. “Check the calendar before you schedule your wedding on the Southern Heritage Classic. It’s not a good weekend to do anything else … because I’m not going to be there.”
‘It’s About Black Culture’
Hill talked about several enjoyable aspects of the game, from the familial aspect of tailgating to the trash-talking prior to the game. She said that alumni have discussed the future of potential matchups for the next game, but she believes nothing compares to the rivalry between the two schools.
“I don’t know what HBCU football will occur a er this, but I can’t see it nearly having the crowd support or even community support that Jackson and TSU have because of the communities that exist here within Memphis,” Hill said.etight-knit community aspect was one that many experienced rsthand as HBCU alums, but Parson said it also impacted those outside of the HBCU community, and even those outside of Memphis.
to a great show,” Hill said. “It’s actually sad that it’s the last one. I don’t know how many I’ve been to — it’s been at least 15 or so. It’s been a part of my life since high school. It’s going to be hard to let it go. It’s going to be very hard.”
“It’s about Black culture. It’s about two universities. ey’re just out there having good, genuine fun for a weekend.”
Edited by Will Shortz No. 1119Crossword
red Parson gave a speech — maybe more of an order — to family and colleagues every year as he prepared to celebrate the Southern Heritage Classic weekend.
{ CITY REPORTER
“Most of the time these kids [in DeSoto County] don’t know much about Memphis,” he said. “ ey didn’t grow up in Memphis. All they hear about is the bad stu and what you see on the news. But when you go to the Classic, and when you go to the tailgate, you see thousands on top of thousands, on top of thousands … probably between the game and the tailgate, you’ll see 100,000 people out there. And everybody is just love.
e Southern Heritage Classic was the annual football matchup between TSU and Jackson State University (JSU), both historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Since 1990, fans have met in Memphis to witness the matchup between the two teams and to participate in a weekend full of events that are a touchstone of Black culture.
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“It’s been a hard week.”
e Tigers’ season will be half over at the end of this home stand, which concludes with a Friday-night clash against Houston on October 7th. e Cougars, of course, were picked to win the American Athletic Conference in the preseason media poll. It’s a time for the Tigers to dig in at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (where they lost two games last season) and re-establish a discomfort level for opponents. ey’ll need to score more than 16 points to win games, but keep that ’94 run on the bulletin board as a motivator.
e scoring … and how little there was.
A month of home-cooking. Chuck Stobart was calling the shots the last time Memphis hosted four consecutive home games. e 1994 Tigers swept all four, beating Arkansas, Tulane, Arkansas State, and Cincinnati. What jumps out in looking back 28 years?
Three Thoughts
e “Ground Chuck” Tigers won those four games despite scoring no more than 16 points in three of the contests.
• “It’s been a hard week.” My favorite part of the Tigers’ win at Navy came immediately a er the game when Memphis coach Ryan Silver eld choked up in responding to a question from the CBS Sports reporter. “Memphis is a great city, and the 901 will keep ghting.” I, for one, have been performing my job duties — be they mundane or somewhat important — in a fog since Eliza Fletcher was abducted on September 2nd, a fog thickened by the shooting spree that brie y locked down the city ve days later. ere are lost members of our community who won’t be coming back. And I nd myself missing them, hurting especially for their families. Aching emotionally.
A football game feels like we’re all rooting together, our entire city, our entire small town.
So I turn to sports now and then. But don’t you know each and every member of the Tiger football team’s sta and players has been operating in a fog, too. Fletcher’s abduction happened on the University of Memphis campus, for crying out loud. Most painful, for me, is the fact that the charged killers in these cases are Memphians. How do we reconcile that, we “the 901”? A football game feels like we’re all rooting together, our entire city, our entire small town. And a win feels good, especially the season’s rst for Silver eld and his team. But then comes Sunday, followed by Monday. Probably a hard week ahead.
•night.
e Memphis defense allowed a total 24 points in the four games … a gure we’re likely to see Arkansas State put up (win or lose) this Saturday.
PHOTO: LARRY KUZNIEWSKI Quindell Johnson
SPORTS By Frank Murtaugh
• No Flyer cover jinx. For the rst time in memory, we put a defensive player on the cover of our annual Memphis football preview. Based on the way Quindell Johnson played in the win over Navy, you might want to hang on to that issue. e senior safety delivered 11 solo tackles and made a one-handed interception in the Tiger end zone to sti e a Navy scoring threat. It’s rare we see true playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, but Johnson has that air about him.
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in the opener at Mississippi State. Can it force the Red Wolves o the eld long enough for Tiger quarterback Seth Henigan to put up another 400-yard game? May be the di erence Saturday
Arkansas State will pose a very di erent problem for Johnson and friends, of course. Navy ran the ball 58 times (a number that leads to high tackle totals) and only passed 11. e Memphis defense did more than bend
It feels like we’re driving through West Texas, except with no billboards to distract from the rolling vistas of dry mountains and green valleys and olive and sun ower elds. e high ground is o en covered with windmills. We counted hundreds during our stay. And the south-facing slopes o en feature arrays of solar panels. A high-speed train passes us as though we are standing still instead of going 120 kilometers per hour. No monster trucks, no asshole drivers, just small-to-averagesized vehicles zipping along on a perfectly maintained four-lane highway. Did I mention there were no billboards?
No unbiased observer dropping into Memphis (or Nashville or Atlanta or any major American city, to be honest) and spending a few days would have a problem identifying which country was more civilized, more advanced, more livable, less polluted, less worrisome to visit.
We are so far behind. We can do so much better here. Or can we? I guess that’s the question, isn’t it?
AT LARGE By
rom the airplane window at 15,000 feet on this sunny August morning, Spain is all shades of brown, skirls of scrubby vegetation and trees on the hilltops, open beige-and-yellow elds on the plains. (Where the rains in Spain fall, mainly, I’ve heard.) We are descending into Madrid on the rst day of a 12-day vacation that will take us to places in this country where neither my wife Tatine nor I have ever been.
Madrid is not on the agenda for this trip, except for the airport and Hertz o ce, where we’re assigned a Lynk & Co SUV, which we’re told is a Chinese/Volvo hybrid. Whatever. It works and rides nicely. And soon we’re o to the country home of Tatine’s sister, a couple hundred miles away, just north of Valencia, near the Mediterranean. Siri gets us to A-3, the main highway south, and we’re o .
9 memphisflyer.com OPINION&NEWS
I don’t have space in this column to recount all of our further adventures driving around Spain. It was something of a family reunion, with grandchildren showing up from Brooklyn and Tatine’s mother coming over from a nearby village. We managed, in various combinations, to visit some spectacular mountainous country with ancient villages where many of the buildings were erected in the 11th century and where there were cathedrals with Moorish in uences from 1,000 years ago. It was a life-a rming, eye-opening visit. Returning to the U.S. a er a couple weeks in a country where there is literally no litter, where there are no vile accusations and blatant lies muddying the daily political discourse on television, where people of all races appear to live in harmony, was something of a shock.
Valencia, 20 miles south, has a population of 800,000 or so. e murder rate averages six to eight people a year. In similarly sized Memphis, we had more than 300 murders last year, more than in the entire country of Spain. ese are di cult things to justify or explain. But nobody walks into a super-mercado carrying a gun, so there’s that.
eggs, and the house is cooled and heated with solar power. ey are not eld hippies, just ordinary people living comfortably in ways that preserve energy costs and help the environment. It’s a way of life here, not a political statement.
We have made a mess of things in the United States, created a political logjam — in our states and in Washington, D.C. — that prevents us from being able to legislate the most logical and basic modern improvements to the country, such as an e cient high-speed rail system, or universal healthcare, or hell, just removing the proli c visual pollution of billboards from our beautiful landscape. We’re still ghting over oil prices and who’s to blame for them, while Spain (and Portugal) have moved ahead into a world where they don’t worry about the whims of a Saudi prince or Vladimir Putin buckling their economy or leaving them in the cold.
Tatine’s sister’s house is set on a couple of acres lled with fruit and olive trees. ey have a big garden and chickens for
PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Aquarium in Valencia we become a third-world country?
VanWyngarden F
The View from Spain Bruce
Have
GONERFEST — BIGGER THAN EVER — STILL DRAWS ODDBALLS AND OUTCASTS.
is year, the alternative music festival celebrates its last year as a teen, though few expect it to ever outgrow its adolescent angst and experimental bent. And though milestone years are generally reckoned in even numbers, this year’s iteration feels like a true turning point, coming full circle to its earliest touchstones. e King Khan & BBQ Show, who played the rst Gonerfest in January 2005, is back for its rst Gonerfest since then. e Compulsive Gamblers, who set the tone for a new gonzo rockand-roll culture in this city back in 1990, are back again as well. And ticket sales indicate that this will be the most popular Gonerfest ever.
taking o , and their recordings were also among Goner’s earliest releases. at unique mix of fandom and band-dom has colored Goner’s aesthetic ever since, especially when Friedl teamed up with Zac Ives, front man for the Final Solutions, to make Goner Records a brick-and-mortar store in 2004. Gonerfest was conceived that same year, exuding the same blurred line between players and their audience. As Friedl says today, “ ere’s not a whole lot of separation between fans and bands and everything else in Gonerfest. It gives it a di erent feel, rather than seeing someone up on stage that isn’t interacting with the people at all.”
COVER STORY By
In other words, back to normal for Gonerfest. Of course, last year also
When Eric Friedl started the Goner label back in 1993, it was an act of fandom. He saw the Japanese turbo-charged punks Guitar Wolf and knew he had to get their demos out to a wider audience by any means necessary. And it shaded into his work in a band as well. e Oblivians, where Compulsive Gamblers front men Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber joined forces with Friedl as a trio, were just
Since then, the festival’s international reach has only grown, with the notable exception of last year, when Covidrelated travel complications kept the band roster all-American. Now, the entire world is returning to Memphis once more. “ is year,” says Friedl, “we’ve got the Australians, a band from Switzerland, and e King Khan & BBQ Show from Berlin and Canada. We’ve got people coming from all over the place.”
erhaps nothing has been more indicative of how Gonerfest has grown than the moment last year during Gonerfest 18 when Abe White jumped onstage with Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks to sing Alice Cooper’s ode to adolescent confusion, “I’m Eighteen.” It was the perfect moment to celebrate Gonerfest’s coming of age, bigger than ever and still kicking.
10 202215-21,September
The Great Outdoors: Not Going Viral
Fans and Bands
willing to come from Italy to watch these bands over a weekend in Memphis, we might be doing something interesting here.’ at was at Gonerfest 1. We had e King Khan & BBQ Show, and they may have been the only band from out of the country for that one. And then it kind of exploded from there. People wanted to come to the festival, and they had bands as well, so it was like, ‘I’ve got a band, why not just try to play?’”
Friedl recalls the small scale of the festival when it began. “It was amazing that people wanted to come to Memphis to see this music. e rst time I realized we were doing something more than just putting on a show at the Buccaneer was when we saw this guy with a label in Italy, walking down Cleveland in the middle of the day. I was like, ‘Okay, if people are
PHOTO: COURTESY GONER Shannon and the Clams
P
Teenage Kicks Alex Greene
we’ve increased the capacity a little bit, but not enough that anybody would notice. It’s going to feel the same as last year, which I thought was pretty comfortable.”
continued on page 12
Another Covid-induced innovation that will remain in place this year is the live streaming of every performance. “We constantly question the sanity of trying to live stream every performance, but it’s fun,” says Friedl. “I hope people take advantage of it. It’s a full-on video shoot over four days of long hours, with more than just one static
One consequence of the outdoor venue is an earlier noise curfew, but the festival carries on informally a er the outdoor stage goes dark, with a er-parties featuring bands at the Hi Tone Cafe, the Lamplighter Lounge, and Bar DKDC, with DJ sets at the Eight & Sand bar in Downtown’s Central Station Hotel.
PHOTO: (ABOVE) COURTESY GONER e King Khan & BBQ Show PHOTO: (BELOW) TOMMY KHA Bennett
PHOTO: COURTESY GONER Snooper
11 memphisflyer.com STORYCOVER
Last year’s move to Railgarten as the sole venue, as opposed to spreading the festival across several stages in the past, was indeed a game-changer, both in terms of Covid safety and in the camaraderie of the festival-goers. For the rst time, everyone was in one place. “Railgarten has worked out great,” says Friedl. “It’s a and still see everything and get away from it a little bit without feeling you’re not at the festival anymore.”
And, he adds, the venue change has dramatically increased the capacity of Gonerfest. “We had our biggest attendance ever last year,” re ects Friedl. “We just had more space to put everybody, and everybody wanted to come. So we’re right on the same pace as last year now, and we’re not close to maxing out Railgarten. Last year, we limited it a bit more than we
PHOTO: (RIGHT) COURTESY GONER Aquarian Blood
marked the advent of a more cautious approach. Proof of vaccination was required of all attendees. is year, Friedl says, “I’m sure it’ll be a lot looser than last year, when people really didn’t know how things would go. But obviously, if you get a bunch of people together, there’s a chance for spreading Covid. We are strongly encouraging people to be vaccinated, and we’re keeping everything outside. And Railgarten gives everyone enough space that you aren’t forced to cram into any kind of small, restricted area. So we’re hoping that is su cient and people can stay safe on their own.”
this crazy, twisted big band lounge jazz. And learning more about the people in Tuscaloosa in the ’70s that did this, and all the wild music and art that came out of there at the time.” Yet even learning that much was not easy. “Before the internet, especially, nobody knew anything about who Fred Lane really was.”
at’s how King Khan sees it, going back to his earliest days in Montreal. “I joined the Spaceshits when I was 17, and it changed my life,” he says. “Me being Brown, with Indian parents, I always felt like an outsider in Canada. Just being someone with Indian genetics, growing up in the ice and snow was a shock. And I think I took that sense of shock to the Spaceshits. Now shock rock is such a ridiculous thing, but I think we were trying to shock the audience. I used to love getting naked and stu . We loved to incite chaos. And having Mark Sultan and the rest of the Spaceshits, we were just a Butdisaster!”thatshock just built stronger bonds with the audiences, all seeking some meaning through music. “Music was my secret world,” Khan says. “But I also found my greatest friends, who were like my chosen family. And that led me also to the Spaceshits. We had this common love of being freaks and accepting freakdom. And worshipping it. We literally worshipped it.”
“I always tried to make it hard to know when everything was recorded,” Reed says today. “I’m a contrarian. If people thought the tracks were from the ’50s or ’60s, we agreed with them. at was back when nobody knew who we were. We were kind of a secret society.”
Lane and his cohort turn out to have been the product of yet another community, this one centered around the University of Alabama, which eerily echoed other alternative communities springing up across the U.S. (Gonerfest has brought in other bands with roots in this era, such as Akron’s X__X.) Even Memphis had a similar avant-garde, giving rise to Tav Falco’s Panther Burns and others.
at was a time, in the early-mid ’90s, when Khan and Sultan rst met the Oblivians, even coming to Memphis for a memorable show at Barristers. “People were throwing snowballs at each other on stage,” recalls Friedl. It was a fortuitous encounter, for when Khan and Sultan formed their duo, e King Khan & BBQ Show, featuring Khan on guitar and vocals and Sultan (BBQ) playing drums and guitar simultaneously, they had a receptive fanbase in Memphis, open to their unhinged hybrid of punk and doowop sensibilities. Indeed, two of those fans ran Goner Records, leading to the duo’s rst commercial release on the label, and ultimately their appearance at Gonerfest 1.
The King Khan & BBQ Show
Indeed, the group’s two releases from the ’80s seemed to come out of nowhere.
PHOTO: COURTESY GONER Freezing Hands
If Fred Lane is an outlier in the usual Gonerfest musical milieu, the Compulsive Gamblers practically de ned it. For many Memphians, the band needs no introduction. ough their heyday was nearly 30 years ago, co-founders Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber (aka Jack Oblivian) have maintained a strong presence here. When they play their 2000 album, Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing, front to back on Saturday night (full disclosure, with myself on keyboards), they’ll be evoking the kind of quality songwriting that both singers have exempli ed ever since.
12 202215-21,September
But lately, with the documentary Icepick to the Moon, and an album by the same name, the Rev. Fred Lane has resurfaced. Superfan Friedl is pinching himself about it. “I never thought I’d have the chance to see them live, much less reissue the records. And I never thought they’d have a chance to play Gonerfest. And it’s de nitely in the Gonerfest spirit of things, and at the same time diametrically opposed to it. Just in terms of music. So I think it’s going to be really fun. e rst jazz group at Gonerfest! With a great feeling of anarchy at all times.”
e covers sported disturbing images of the Reverend himself, looking greasy with a waxed goatee and a demonic grin, his face covered in band-aids, and a list of many imaginary albums on the back cover that created an entire universe.
continued from page 11
camera. Technically, it’s challenging, but we do it in our DIY style. I really like how it turned out last year. We learned a lot. It’s its own kind of animal. And we do have a big community of people that want to be here and participate that way.”
As it turns out, the idea of community is at the heart of both Gonerfest and the many bands it brings to Memphis. is is especially true of one of the opening night’s headliners, e King Khan & BBQ Show, but the theme runs through all the performers we spoke with: Music, be it punk or simply innovative, is a kind of haven for those who can’t quite nd a niche elsewhere, and Gonerfest is just such a haven, writ large.
potential, apropos of most Gonerfest bands, a funny thing happened during the social media revolution. “ e elephant in the room,” says Khan, “is obviously what happened with TikTok, with me and Mark. We had no idea what TikTok even was. We just got weird messages from people, saying, ‘Hey look, this Italian astronaut posted about making a taco in space and used your song!’ I was like, ‘What?’ And it was our song ‘Love You So,’ from our Goner debut! With this taco oating in space! And other weird stu . You know when Drew Barrymore posts it, there’s something fucked up going on. But a lot times, these posts wouldn’t say the name of the song, so a lot of people don’t even know what song it is. ey just grab it because it’s popular.
“It’s funny because we released that song almost 20 years ago, we never even made a video for it. And now it’s up to almost 20 million streams. But because of the pandemic, we haven’t toured since that happened. So I’m curious to see what the e ect will be in America.”
Gonerfest takes place at Railgarten, ursday-Sunday, September 22ndSeptember 25th, and at various venues for a er-hours shows.
Heit.’” was already helping to mount art exhibits mixed with vaudeville-like revues, and ended up writing a whole show built around his persona, the Rev. Fred Lane. “In 1976, I wrote a show called From the One Who Cut You,” he recalls. “ ere were di erent band names, but they were basically di erent versions of a group of us musicians who had been calling ourselves Raudelunas. We were in uenced by Dada, Alfred Jarry, and the Ubu plays.” With
e duo will nd out ursday, when they and garage-pop masters Shannon and the Clams will headline the festival’s opening night. And while the latter band has been put through the ringer, with front person Shannon Shaw still grieving the loss of her ancé, Joe Haener, in a car crash, they too will soldier on for the community, closing Gonerfest’s rst night.
an aesthetic somewhere between Andy Kaufman, Bill Murray’s early lounge act skits, and the Joker, he recruited musicians well-versed in free improvisation and got them to learn tunes, over which he recited and sang his surreal lyrics, o en in a blazer and boxer shorts.
PHOTO: (ABOVE) COURTESY GONER Michael Beach
If, as King Khan quips, “the quality I love most about rock-and-roll is when it’s a secret,” then Fred Lane and his band are the perfect expression of that, for they have purposefully aimed for obscurity since their rst recordings. But they aren’t really rock-and-roll.“Sincethe’80s, when Shimmy Disc put out the Fred Lane records,” says Friedl, “I’ve been fascinated with the idea of this group of people in Alabama, putting out
The Rev. Fred Lane
The Compulsive Gamblers
Indeed, the songs hold up impressively. Garage rock a cionados can hear the nascent echoes of Reigning Sound and Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks in nearly every ri and chorus. And it will be all the more powerful in combination with Gonerfest coming full circle, back to its roots, and back to the future.
And while the duo is decidedly unconcerned with traditional commercial
“ e Gamblers were my favorite band in Memphis. Everything was an event. ey had the horn section that was never in tune, and a violin player, and nobody was really doing that. Even in the garage kind of scene, it was too weird. A lot of those bands, once they’re in a genre, they use those genres to de ne who they are. But Greg and Jack had this big, expansive idea of all the music they wanted to make, ranging from Tom Waits kind of stu to punkier stu to more R&B stu . It was fantastic, and the shows were just a mess. But at the same time, the songs they were writing were so good.”
One of the musicians in Tuscaloosa was the visual artist and autist Tim Reed, who describes how the scene expressed an impatience with consumer-oriented music. “By the mid ’70s, I was getting sick of rock and counterculture music. It sounded manufactured. ere was no heart in it. So I just said, ‘I’m gonna go out there and pretend I’m a really bad Frank Sinatra, and just insult people in the audience. If Don Rickles can do it, I can do
13 memphisflyer.com STORYCOVER JASON WILLIAMSD. SEPTEMBER 15 | 6:30 PM MEMPHISSOULREMEDY SEPTEMBER 22 | 6:30 PM MARSHALLSUSAN OCTOBER 6 | 6:30 PM Opening Night! Herb Alpert & Lani Hall SEPTEMBER 16 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder SEPTEMBER 23 An Evening with Chuck Leavell SEPTEMBER 29 Jazz in the Box: Shelly Berg SEPTEMBER 30 An Evening with Jessica Vosk OCTOBER 1 Old MedicineCrowShow OCTOBER 7 Mavis Staples OCTOBER 8 Joey Alexander OCTOBER 15 Concerts in The Grove Cyrena Wages OCTOBER 20 And More! gpacweb.com • (901) 751-7500 IT’S ALL HAPPENING AT WATSONGPAC!DALEOCTOBER 13 | 6:30 PM Tune into the Memphis Flyer Radio podcast! A weekly podcast from the pages and people of the Memphis Flyer Available wherever you stream your podcasts!
october
e Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Friday, September 16, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, September 18, 3 p.m., $15-$27 Pete Pranica, popular television broadcaster for the Grizzlies, returns as the humorist Mark Twain in an original and literary performance sure to enliven and o end in equal parts across multiple centuries.
e Trouble Begins at Eight features Pranica/Twain’s unique on-stage mixture of stand-up performance, lectures, and readings of selections from Huckleberry Finn and from Roughing It, plus other written works and speeches to be selected by Twain in accordance with his mood that a ernoon. In fact, you should expect that any number of things may be done in accordance with Twain’s mood that a ernoon.
steppin’ out
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES
22nd
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
e special event also has “components of a harvest festival and a fertility festival,” says Jesse Davis, communications manager at Crosstown Arts.
e reception will feature light refreshments as well as an activity station where visitors can create custom Cra s Fair stickers.
By Abigail Morici
14 202215-21,September railgarten.com2166CentralAve.MemphisTN38104
october
e Mid-Autumn Festival, or Tết Trung u in Vietnamese, is also known as the “Children’s Festival” as it celebrates children’s innate innocence that marks them as the closest connection to the pure and natural beauty of the world.
Over the Moon
rough an eclectic collection of ne cra and handicra pieces, the exhibit will showcase the cra smanship on display every year at the Cra s Fair. “Celebrating 50 Years of the Pink Palace Cra s Fair” not only traces the evolution of the fair, but also celebrates MoSH’s dedicated volunteer support group, who makes it a success year a er year.
e Áo dài is traditional Vietnamese formal wear, essentially a long, split tunic worn over trousers. Already, Crosstown is decorating its central atrium, hanging lanterns that traditionally signify the wish for the sun’s light and warmth to return a er winter. “Just that alone is fantastic,” Davis says, pointing out that the evening itself promises to be just as — if not more — fantastic.
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL, CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 5-8 P.M., FREE.
14th Live musicat
“Celebrating 50 Years of the Pink Palace Cra s Fair” Exhibit Opening Day Reception
is exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Pink Palace Cra s Fair, one of Memphis’ most beloved and enduring events.
STACYPHOTOS:WRIGHT e knownFestivalAutumnMid-isasthe“Children’sFestival”inVietnam.
Fall o cially begins on September 22nd this year, but, for some of us, especially my mom, waiting just a couple more days to embrace the season and put out the knock-o Pottery Barn pumpkins and pumpkin-latte-scented candles is practically unbearable. So, why not celebrate the season of harvest a bit early, the Vietnamese way, with a Mid-Autumn Festival, hosted by Crosstown Concourse, in partnership with Gloss Nail Bar, Karina Tong, and the Vietnamese Association of Memphis?
7th
Museum of Science and History, Saturday, September 17, noon-2 p.m., $13-$18
September 15th - 21st
As such, lunar imagery plays a large part in this holiday, traditionally celebrated during the Harvest Moon, with celebrants observing the moon to divine the future of the people and the harvests. In fact, mooncakes, representative of the night sky, are a staple dish for the festival and will be served at Crosstown for the occasion.
Crosstown’s festival will also feature live music, face painting, and a dragon dance. Davis explains, “In its oldest form, the festival commemorated the dragon who brings the rain [for crops].” Moreover, this year’s festival will host an Áo dài fashion show.
Cooper-Young Festival Cooper-Young Historic District, Saturday, September 17, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. In its 34th year, this event has grown tremendously and is one of Memphis’ most highly attended festivals. e Cooper-Young Festival celebrates all things Memphis in the largest and oldest historic district dating back to 1849. is year, over 130,000 guests will enjoy an appealing mix of art, music, and cra s presented by more than 435 artisans from around the country. Handmade, unique, and quirky art and great, local original music are what the day is all about.
Headliner for the 2022 festival is Bailey Bigger with Mark Stuart (bass guitar), Wyly Bigger (keyboard), and Danny Banks (drums).
october
MUSIC By
PHOTO: NUBIA YASIN Lawrence Matthews III
hen Don Li ed appears in the Orion Free Concert Series at the Overton Park Shell this Friday, September 16th, it may not exactly be his last performance, but don’t hold your breath ’til the next one. at’s the message from artist Lawrence Matthews III, who created the alter ego of Don Li ed, as he ponders the upcoming show. “I’m not treating this as the last time you’re ever going to see me perform,” he says. “ at’s too nite of a thing to say.” And yet Germantown’s Renaissance man, who’s exhibited photography and paintings, directed videos, and motivated nonpro ts, does seem to feel the Don Li ed persona has run its course.
For one thing, the most recent singles/videos he’s released, “Baby Teeth” and “ e Rope,” will certainly be the nal recorded products under that name. And that alone is signi cant, coming barely a year a er his major label debut, 325i on Fat Possum. When we featured that album in a story last year, it seemed to portend a storied career for Don Li ed. But in this era, seemingly permanent things can slip through your ngers in a heartbeat.
You might even chalk Matthews’ change in priorities to a heartbeat: the accelerated pulse of a panic attack. “I entered 2022 having a panic attack on Cooper. I don’t even know what triggered it. I managed to get down the street to Overton Park, and I laid in the grass until I could breathe again. I was really, really scared. I had never had a panic attack in my life.”
Furthermore, being snubbed two times over caused the artist a lot of anguish. “Fat Possum informed me they couldn’t do another album with me, and I was already four songs into it. at was very de ating. It took the wind out of my sails a bit, but it was also a chance to be free, not think about a label or budgets. Well, two weeks later, my manager dropped me. A er that, I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is coming apart really fast!’ en I went through a phase of blaming myself. ‘Did I screw up? Did I not make a good record? What? How?’
Somewhere along the way, Matthews also realized that relating to his own Don Li ed persona was becoming more di cult. But while the most recent singles might be Don Li ed’s swan song, Matthews still has a full album under his belt, ready to be released under his own name. And as for Friday’s show, “I’m really excited to show that this is not an ending, but a continuation of a story.
Lawrence Matthews: e artist formerly known as Don Li ed comes into his own. Lawrence’ Alex
‘It’s Just
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It turns out that a er the album release last fall, and as Matthews commenced work on its follow up, a lot went down. “When I released 325i, there was a lot of anxiety that started to click in. A lot of people who hadn’t been around for a while popped back up. My social circles shi ed a little bit. I was way too busy to see what was shi ing, and it resulted in me being in a very unsupportive and
15 memphisflyer.com ENTERTAINMENT&ARTS
unhealthy environment. I started getting really paranoid, because there were people around me that were not genuine. Part of that was also my anxiety around Covid. I have asthma and can’t play around. So I closed o and became isolated.”
“Anyway, I was dealing with so much that I just stayed in the studio, working on this new album. At the same time, I spent a month grieving my old job with Tone, which I le in April in order to focus on music more. It didn’t just feel like quitting a job — it felt like breaking up. So I was processing a lot of emotions.”
“I’ve been trying to reevaluate this Don Li ed thing for a long time,” he continues. “Now, the trilogy of Alero, Contour, and 325i is perfect. It tells the story of my youth, and me getting to the man I am today. But the story of Lawrence Matthews is so much bigger than that. From here on out, it’s just Lawrence. is is me talking.”
MAYNARD WAY
HATTILOO THEATRE
Shakespeare’s play about two quite different love stories. Friday, Sept. 16-Oct. 2.
Dinner on Stage
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
COMEDY
“2022 MGAL Member Showcase and Sale” View artwork by members of the Memphis Germantown Art League. Through Sept. 30. GALLERY 1091
ART AND EXHIBITSSPECIAL
COOPER-YOUNG HISTORIC DISTRICT
THE HALLORAN CENTRE
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
Monday, Sept. 19-Sept. 25.
FAMILY
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
THEATRE MEMPHIS CALENDAR of EVENTS: September 15 - 21 Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL. Dana M. Groff’s Super Cell is on view alongwkno.org/gallery-1091,atwithotherworkbyMGALmembers. The electrifying jazz ensemble, Marcus Roberts Trio, returns to the orchestra stage for their signature interpretation of Gershwin’s masterpiece. GERSHWIN WITH MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO Saturday, October 1 · 7:30pm · Cannon Center Sunday, October 2 · 2:30pm · Cannon Center Robert Moody, conductor Marcus Roberts Trio presented by Paul and Linnea Bert Tickets Now On SaleOrder Yours Today! MemphisSymphony.org901.537.2500 $5 off a Full Price Adult Ticket with Promo Code MFLYLTMA Limit four Generous support provided by TICKETS 901.682.8323 ONLINE theatrememphis.org THEATRE MEMPHIS presents William Shakespeare’s “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” Directed by IRENE CRIST • Sponsored by DR. THOMAS RATLIFF Media Sponsors WKNO 91.1FM and MEMPHIS FLYER SEPT 16– OCT2 © 2022 thein MuchAdoAboutNothing.FlyerAd.indd 1 8/11/22 10:49 AM
Whose Live Anyway?
AUTOZONE PARK
Black Lodge Rumble Armored fighting with real steel weapons. Saturday, Sept. 17, 4-8 p.m.
Memphis Redbirds vs. Gwinnett Stripers
great musical performances. $30. Thursday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.
BLACK LODGE
Memphis Music Hall of Fame CeremonyInduction
Memphis vs. Arkansas State
THEATREWORKS
Stein-holding competitions, dog costume contest, and more. Saturday, Sept. 17, noon.
Tim Convy Convy has been featured on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kim mel Live, and MTV. $15-$30. Thursday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m.
A night of shenanigans with cocktails, drag nuns, and science experiments with the Blue Suede Sisters. $25. Friday, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
HEALTH FITNESSAND
16 202215-21,September
Much Ado About Nothing
Master Harold & the Boys
“Memphis Proud: The Resilience of a Southern Community”LGBTQ+ Explore the history and culture of Memphis’ LGBTQ+ com munity. Through Sept. 26.
Almost Elton John Masquerade Ball Dance party/costume contest. Thursday, Sept. 15, 7-9 p.m.
SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM
A great family-friendly event! Friday, Sept. 16-Sept. 18.
CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
901 FC vs. Charleston Battery
Tiger Band 5k Color Fun Run
A full evening of tributes and
Pirates Raid Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day and enjoy pirate fights, mermaid story times, escape room, pirate tavern, and more. Sunday, Sept. 18, 1-5 p.m.
FESTIVAL
THEATER
Saturday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
Giordano Dance Chicago
CEDAR HILL FARM
SPECIAL EVENTS
SPORTS
MeeMaw’s Ratchet BBQ
Friday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.
Get splashed with waves of multi-colored powder throughout the course. Saturday, Sept. 17, 9 a.m.
Cooper-Young Festival A mix of art, music, and crafts. Saturday, Sept. 17, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
FOOD AND DRINK
ORPHEUM THEATRE
ORPHEUM THEATRE
SOUL & SPIRITS BREWERY
A white teen, who has grown up in the affectionate com pany of two Black waiters, learns that his racist father is on his way home. $35. Through Sept. 25.
The stage play that had audi ences rolling last year is back. $30. Friday, Sept. 16-Sept. 17, 7-10 p.m.
PERFORMING ARTS
Collierville Balloon Festival
Oktoberfest
Celebrating beauty and il luminating the world through deep connections. $30. Friday, Sept. 16-Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Cocktails & Chemistry
AUTOZONE PARK
A three-course meal and an inside peek into the stories and history of the theater. $80. Thursday, Sept. 15, 6 p.m.
Four of the world’s most mas terful improv artists will take you on the high-wire act of comedic acrobatics. $38-$58. Saturday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m.
17 memphisflyer.com ENTERTAINMENT&ARTS Saturday, September 17 th 9am to 7pm Join us and celebrate with a day of music, art, shopping and dining at Memphis’ largest and most anticipated event held in the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood annually. It is the biggest party of the summer! Rain Date – Sunday, September 18th MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES STAGE 12:30pm Joy Dog – Danny & Joyce Green 1:30pm Rachel Maxann 2:30pm The Delta Project 3:30pm Jay Jones 4:30pm Generation Gap EVOLVE BANK & TRUST STAGE 11:15am SoundBox 12:15pm Rodrick Duran 1:15pm Elevation 2:15pm The City Fathers 3:15pm Chinese Connection Dub Embassy 4:15pm Carlos Ecos 5:15pm Headliner – Bailey Bigger PRESENTING SPONSOR 10 YEARS IN A ROW SILVER: MEDIA: TRADE:PLATINUM: 12 Bands, 2 Stages, Over 400 Artisans and a Kickoff Parade with Bellevue Middle School Drum Line SUPPORTING: LOCAL MEMPHIS,474TN.
18 202215-21,September AUDUBON PARK SEPT 23-25 ARTS • CRAFTS • POTTERY • FOOD • MUSIC • KIDS ACTIVITIES • CRAFTSDEMONSTRATIONSFAIR PRESENTED BY THE POWELL FAMILY FRIENDS OF THE PINK PALACE THE MARSTONMOBILEGROUPMINI WHY SETTLE FOR LESS WHEN YOU CAN GO FOR GOLD! GOLD LAW FIRM 25 DR. ML KING, JR. AVE. SUITE 203 MEMPHIS, TN 38103-1626 901.244.5003 WWW.DGOLDLAW.COM(OFFICE)
If you are between the ages of 18 and 80, weigh more than 110lbs, and are currently taking a blood thinner such as Aspirin, Brilinta, Eliquis, Lovenox, Plavix or Xarelto, or have been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, you may be eligible to participate.
Tyler Clancy, owner of Clancy’s Cafe in Red Banks, Mississippi, was in sixth grade when he made his rst real stab. “It was Valentine’s Day and I woke up super early before my parents got up and I cooked a breakfast,” he says. “I did Scotch eggs by myself. ey’re the hard-boiled eggs covered with breakfast sausage. It came out of a Eureka Springs bed-and-breakfast cookbook that I found.”
He then became co-owner of JT’s Fish Shack, which opened on New Year’s Eve 2010 in Red Banks. Five months later, Clancy became sole owner and changed the name to “Clancy’s Cafe.”
“ e whole restaurant thing kind of took on this ‘rock star chef’ in my eyes. For a 20-year-old, that whole image intensi ed my passion for cooking.”
“It’s just like here in the past two years people are realizing, ‘Man, that cat sh place has some amazing baby back ribs.’ And, ‘ at cat sh place has some of the best brisket you’re going to get east of the Mississippi River.’”
He advertised on Facebook. “ at rst night we were mandatory curbside, the parking lot was slam-packed full.
RESEARCH
Clancy learned teamwork at Bouré Restaurant, and “ ne-tuned avor pro les” and cooking from scratch at Emileigh’s Bakery & Catering Company, both in Oxford, Mississippi.
Volunteers to donate blood for a research study.
Participants will be paid for blood donation.
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e community came out to support us. People from Collierville and DeSoto County discovered us ’cause there weren’t many of these options available. And we still retain a lot of these customers.
His restaurant was a cat sh place before he owned it, but Clancy decided to sell barbecue, too. “I’ve always loved cooking on re and smoking it.”
“Food and cooking have always been a passion. And I’ve always felt blessed to have a passion. I just think it’s helped me in so many ways to keep me out of trouble. To have something to focus on. And food has always been that.”
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Tyler Clancy
Norma Jackson, Clancy’s grandmother, makes eight cakes a week as well as chocolate cobbler and fried pies.
Living the Dream
“Being 26 years old and still a bit naive, I thought we were going to take over the worldButinstantly.”itwas“alot of learning.” Business was up and down until 2020 when the restaurant went to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. “We just came up with the idea to do these ‘Family Packs,’ which were meals that fed three to four people: the entree, sides, desserts, bread, and tea.”
Volunteers to donate blood for Ifstudy.aresearchyouarebetween the ages of 18 and 80, weigh more than 110lbs, and are currently taking a blood thinner such as Aspirin, Brilinta, Eliquis, Lovenox, Plavix or Xarelto, or have been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, you may be eligible to participate.
He worked at other restaurants, including a Downtown bar in Little Rock, Arkansas. “ is is about the time Anthony Bourdain was getting popular with Kitchen Con dential
For more information, 901-866-1705call:
19 memphisflyer.com ENTERTAINMENT&ARTS OCT. 22 YOUTHVILLAGES5K.ORG RIDGEWAY CENTERREGISTERTODAY!PRESENTEDBYW/ PURCHASE OF ONE 2PC DARK DINNER & 2 MED DRINKS. WITH THIS COUPON. EXPIRES 12/31/22. FREE NO PHOTOCOPIES ACCEPTED! Drive Thru 2520 Mt. Moriah 4349 Elvis Presley 2484 Jackson Ave. 1370 Poplar Ave. 890 Thomas GET ONE 2 PC DARK DINNER
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rofessional chefs o en talk about their rst childhood cooking experience, and it’s usually not so good.
“Once we opened back up, they couldn’t wait to come and check out the inside and see our full menu.”
His cat sh, hush puppies, onion salad, and tartar sauce recipes came from the old Starnes Cat sh Place in Abbeville, Mississippi. But, Clancy says, “I’ve always been pushing for the barbecue to take over cat sh in sales.
Clancy posts his “outrageous sandwiches” on Facebook. “If you post a mile-high burger or barbecue sandwich on Facebook, it instantly activates the drooling mechanism.”
NEEDEDVOLUNTEERS
Clancy’s Cafe is at 4078 Hwy. 178, Red Banks, Mississippi; (662) 252-7502
Clancy, who always wanted to own a restaurant, got his rst job in high school as “the baked potato boy” at Colton’s Steak House & Grill in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Two of those, “ e Sippi” — pulled pork, homemade pimento cheese, fried pickles, and sweet barbecue sauce — and the “Firecracker” — a half-pound of ground beef stu ed with pimento cheese and jalapeños and topped with onion rings and homemade queso — made it to the menu and have “reigned supreme.”
If you are between the ages of 18 and 80, weigh more than 110lbs, and are currently taking a such as Aspirin, Brilinta, Eliquis, Lovenox, Plavix or been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, you may be eligible
He served it with fruit and French toast. “It was pretty impressive, looking back. A passion for cooking has always beenGrowingthere.” up in Helena, Arkansas, Clancy was fascinated with Creole cooking on TV’s e Galloping Gourmet. “I was watching Justin Wilson on PBS when other kids were watching cartoons.”
MLM Medical Labs
This is a blood collection study only. No drug treatment Participants will be paid for blood donation.
Tyler Clancy always wanted to own a restaurant.
Clancy’s Cafe also caters events. And when he’s home, Clancy cooks for his wife and two children on occasion.
This is a blood collection study only. No drug treatment will be provided.
Participants will be paid for blood donation.
MLM Medical Labs is seekingcurrently
FOOD By Michael Donahue
P Dishing it out.com.at A Very FoodTastefulBlog
MLM Medical Labs is currently seeking Volunteers to donate blood for a research study.
Seriously, stop reading now if you don’t wantOkay,spoilers.forthose of you still with me, here’s the lowdown: Tess (Georgina Campbell) is in Detroit for an important job interview — an assistant director on a documentary about the white ight that le large swathes of the city a blighted wasteland. She rolls in late one rainy night to nd the key to her Airbnb missing from the lockbox. e property manager won’t answer the phone, but she’s unsettled to see a light come on inside. e door opens to reveal Keith (Bill Skarsgård), who should not be there.
Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård star in (no spoilers here) this well-done nail-biter.
inally, a lm that dares to ask the question that’s been haunting America since Bu alo Bill purred, “It puts the lotion on its skin, or it gets the hose again,” in Silence of the Lambs: Does a secret underground torture dungeon count as livable square footage in a real estateelisting?answer may surprise you!
e resolution of this unusual capitalist conundrum is only one of the twists in comedian-turned-director Zach Cregger’s new horror lm Barbarian — and hopefully, the only one I will give away. Usually, I say anti-spoiler mania is wildly overblown, especially given that trailers routinely give away the entire plot of the lm they’re promoting. But in the case of Barbarian, the less you know about the plot, the better.
If you’re a fan of horror and you wanna go in clean, here’s what you need to know: Barbarian is a well-written, well-directed, well-acted nail-biter. It relies on exquisite camera work and an ingenious structure to deliver the scares. Go see it, then we’ll
talk about it on Twitter a erward.
drugged. Keith is not aggressive, and seems to be sensitive to her concerns. ere’s a medical convention in town, so there are no vacant hotel rooms to be found. Keith o ers to let her stay the night. He will give her the bedroom and sleep on the couch. en, tomorrow, they’ll call the management company and both get their moneyKeithrefunded.seemslegit, and a er a bottle of wine, they’re kind of hitting it o . A er an awkward moment at bedtime, Tess goes to
FILM By Chris McCoy
There Goes The Neighborhood
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Keith claims he booked the house on Vrbo and has the con rmation emails to prove it. He insists she come in out of the rain — it’s not safe to stand alone on this street. Tess is no fool. She’s listened to enough true crime podcasts to know that this mysterious stranger might as well be a ashing red sign, saying, “Girl, you in Whendanger!”heoers her a cup of tea, she declines to drink it, thinking it could be
bed unmolested. en, creaky doors start opening and closing by themselves. Meanwhile, in Malibu, Hollywood actor AJ (Justin Long) is having a bad day. He’s on the phone with his manager, who tells him that his female co-star in the new sitcom pilot that was just ordered to series is accusing him of sexual assault, and the
A Detroit Airbnb is the scene of Hitchcockian horror in Barbarian
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Hollywood Reporter is running a story tomorrow morning. One way or the other, he’s off the show and now has to mount an expensive legal defense. His only option is to sell the properties he owns in his hometown of Detroit — which happens to include the house where Tess and Keith wereCregger,double-booked.whoisbest known as a cast member of The Whitest Kids U’ Know comedy show, stages the collision between these worlds (as well as another, much darker world) with considerable skill. He learns important tricks from the old masters of suspense, most notably Alfred Hitchcock. Where most horror films these days — even the “elevated” horror that has taken over the art house — go for maximal shock and awe, Cregger wrings scares from simple things like walking
down a darkened corridor. He gets a big assist from cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, who sets the mood for an unsettling flashback sequence by shooting in an extreme wide angle. (Respect where it’s due: I’m rarely moved to write “great lens choice!” in my little critic’s notebook — and for you hard-core photography nerds out there, there’s a split diopter shot!) Campbell and Skarsgård are perfectly pitched as two strangers thrown together in an uncomfortable situation, and Long practically oozes Hollywood sleaze. Barbarian is another great entry in what is shaping up to be a banner year for horror.
FILM By Chris McCoy
22 202215-21,September
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THE LAST WORD Coco
PHOTO: TOM BAILEY Hundreds rose early to “Finish Liza’s Run.”
Another memory: My brother and I were going to walk somewhere or another, as we o en did, and I had a purse with me for the very rst time. It seemed very grown-up. I was probably 10. I doubt there was actually anything in the purse. But what I remember is my mother nonchalantly showing me to wear the strap “like this,” across my body instead of hanging o my shoulder. at way it would be harder for someone to snatch it. At the time, this seemed perfectly straightforward and wise, and it only occurs to me now to be saddened by that lost moment of innocence.
At this point, worry and fear haveourpermeatedlives.
By
23 memphisflyer.com WORDLASTTHE
June
Women have “to be worried all the time.”
One of my rst memories from childhood took place when I was around 5 years old. My mother was holding me, and I was half asleep as it was so early in the morning the sun was barely even up. She was bending down to put me into the car — well, lay me down, to be precise. is was the mid-’90s, so there was no pretense of a car seat. Just a cheetah-printed sheet stretched out across the back seat. Oh, to be a kid in the ’90s, rattling around the back of a car like a bean in a can.
“I don’t know about that parking lot,” he said as I was getting ready to leave. “Be careful.”
Men, I want you to understand: You get to pick and choose when you’re worried about the women in your life. We don’t have that luxury. We have to be worried all the time.
I stared at him, incredulous.
“I have to worry when I’m in the parking lot of a grocery store,” I said.
I’m tired of constant vigilance. Coco June is a Memphian, mother, and the Flyer’s theater columnist.
A friend of mine recently had a breakin at her home. en, there was another one, clearly done by the same person. is man didn’t steal anything from her. Instead, he laid out personal items in a sick tableau for her to nd. Women have to be worried all the time. In our driveways. In our homes. At work. I’ve worked in many places where there is an unspoken rule that whoever closes the business doesn’t leave by herself. I’ve also worked in places where this rule isn’t unspoken but acutely laid out by management.
I started writing this weeks ago on August 19th, with my friend’s break-in fresh on my mind. At work today, I learned that Eliza Fletcher was abducted this morning, and I had several conversations with people about the struggle of staying safe. Yesterday, my coworker walked me to my car at 5 p.m. as a matter of course. At this point, worry and fear have permeated our lives.
Constant Vigilance
A phrase o en comes to mind when I’m thinking about all this: “CONSTANT VIGILANCE.” It always amuses me that this utterance is the catchphrase of a man, not a woman. Mad-Eye Moody of the Harry Potter book series is cool, but “CONSTANT VIGILANCE” has always seemed like a feminine mantra. Constant vigilance is exhausting. We have to watch where we park, how we hold our keys, where we go on walks. Heaven forbid we let a drink leave our hand at a bar.
ere are myriad ways in which my upbringing taught me to be cautious and aware of my surroundings at all times. A few months before my divorce, I went to the movies by myself. My ex-husband was concerned.
My mother was mugged as she put me down into the car in our driveway in Midtown Memphis. I remember her expression changing to an “O” of surprise as she was jerked away from me by her purse strap. e rest I don’t actually recall, but it’s been told to me a hundred times over the years. For a long time growing up, I was naively shocked that someone would choose to target a woman with a child to rob. Somewhere along the way I realized that my mother was targeted because she had a child. She was distracted, compelled to stay put to protect her daughter instead of running or ghting back.
I am committed to do what it takes to support you, your state and our local government. Let us show this nation what we can get done the changes we can make the lives we can better let us remind people there’s nothing that we can’t accomplish when we work together to spread faith in our system and get this done The Fresh Start Act of 2022 (H.R.6667) thank you for your time.
I
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I’ve noticed here in Memphis people are stepping up for one another. Courageous people can and are doing extraordinary things in these challenging times.
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Calling on members of Congress and The Senate to Support Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) Fresh Start Act of 2022 (H.R 6667) To put people first and truly care about the people in your party line. To make a more just society system that’s fair and equitable to all.
