Issue 25 - August 27, 2015

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CLASS RIVALS Fulton and Maryville face off in the most anticipated high-school football game in East Tennessee

BY MATTHEW EVERETT

NEWS

Public Defender’s Holistic Approach Gets National Attention

JACK NEELY

End-of-Summer Reflections on Some Recent Transitions

MUSIC

Jazz Pianist Keith Brown Steps Out on His Own Journey

ELEANOR SCOTT

How Much Sugar Is Too Much in Free School Breakfasts?

Nice job so far,

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Aug. 27, 2015 Volume 01 / Issue 25 knoxmercury.com

CONTENTS

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.” —Vince Lombardi

18 Class Rivals COVER STORY

On Saturday night, the Fulton High School Falcons head to Blount County to face the Maryville High School Rebels for the first time in almost 30 years. It’s the most anticipated local high-school football game in years. Fulton and Maryville have ruled East Tennessee football in the 21st century—they have 16 state championships between them since 2000, including the 4A and 6A titles in 2014, and both are strong contenders to repeat this year. Besides winning percentage, though, the two teams have almost nothing in common. Matthew Everett charts their differences.

NEWS

16 Holistic Defense The Knox County Public Defender’s Office has gained a national reputation for its unique approach to representing those who run afoul of the law, a holistic process that has served as a model for other public defender offices around the country looking to break the cycle of crime and keep people from landing back behind bars. Clay Duda takes a look.

Top Knox 2015 Ballot!

Turn to page 27 to see all the categories in our new readers’ survey. Then vote at knoxmercury.com.

DEPARTMENTS

OPINION

A&E

4 6

Letters

10

32

Howdy Start Here: Photo by Bart Ross, Believe It or Knox!, Public Affairs, Quote Factory.

PLUS: Words With … Grant Rosenblatt

12

52

’Bye Finish There: Open Book by Victoria Knight, Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely, Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray

The Scruffy Citizen Jack Neely offers his end-ofsummer thoughts on some recent transitions.

Possum City Eleanor Scott reviews the sugar content of her children’s free school breakfasts. And finds reason for concern.

33 34 35 36

CALENDAR Program Notes: A new series of online videos thrusts Knoxville musicians into the great outdoors.

Shelf Life: Chris Barrett reviews new selections at the public library’s A/V department.

Music: Jazz pianist Keith Brown unleashes his own compositions at the Knoxville Jazz Festival.

Music: Chattanooga’s Strung Like a Horse brings theatrical weirdness to bluegrass..

Movies: April Snellings is engrossed by the postwar drama Phoenix.

38

Spotlights: 2 Chainz, Namaste Betty, Knoxville Tattoo Convention

FOOD & DRINK

48 50

Dirt to Fork Dennis Perkins surveys 25 years’ worth of Knoxville innovations by Tomato Head.

Sips & Shots Rose Kennedy marks the new school year by heading down to the Fort Sanders Yacht Club for a shandy.

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3

LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015

ON HOLIDAY

Thank you, Jack Neely, for your story on the old Holiday Inn on Chapman Highway. [“An Unmourned Demolition,” The Scruffy Citizen, Aug. 13, 2015] When my family moved from Columbus, Ohio to Knoxville in 1979, my father’s employer put us up there for nearly a month while we looked for a home. It was during the summer, and we swam all day at the outdoor pool and had lunch from the Smoky Mountain Market across Chapman Highway. (Remember the Rooster sandwiches?) I now know that I might have stayed in Mahalia Jackson’s room (well, it is possible) and was surrounded by the bricks of the old Market House.

In any case, your story brought back many memories, and I thank you.

Steve James Knoxville

DIET ISSUES

“Build it and they will come” they say. [“Will It Pay Off?” cover story by Clay Duda, Aug. 20, 2015] Well, how did that work out with the (empty) convention center?

Road diet and other propaganda terms such as complete streets and walkability sound seductive. Sounds are deceiving. Look no further than the planner now exclaiming improved auto traffic management was “never promised.” So much for a “complete” street. How silly of the public to think a “complete” street would be capable of fulfilling one of the key functions of a public road—moving traffic efficiently and effectively.

If this road-diet idea was so good for merchants, why did they not narrow Cumberland down to two lanes at the Publix/Walmart/University Commons development? Why did they build parking garages at University Commons? Surely the developers did not think all the lucrative foot and pedestrian traffic would need parking.

They would not need parking decks for the hordes of shoppers arriving by bikes or public transit bus, would 4

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

they? Maybe, just maybe, these savvy retailers know (gasp!) customers arrive by car.

The plan to eliminate and impound auto lanes is flawed in one significant regard: the UT side of the project has no parallel through streets to pick up and absorb the displaced traffic. Road-diet and complete-street schemes are dependent upon such alternate routing to be successful.

This road diet will be very slimming indeed.

Leland Wykoff via Facebook

A HEALTHY DOSE OF PESSIMISM

Rick Held’s sensible and knowledgeable article criticizing the TVA Integrated Resource Plan for its reliance on nuclear and gas leaves out two important questions: Can renewables really take up the slack for coal and nuclear? And what about conservation? [“Clearing Things Up,” Guest Ed., Aug. 20, 2015] In spite of enormous technical strides, rising popularity, and endorsement by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, renewables still contribute only about 5 percent of world electricity supply. The practical question is the same as for hydroelectric, another renewable but low-density source: Where’s the upper limit?

How much land really is available?

In his solicitude for TVA’s customers’ needs (including, as he points out, the need for survival), Mr. Held says nothing about those customers’ responsibilities. Do energy planners really think our present way of life is sustainable on renewable energy?

What conservation measures will be necessary, and how likely is the population to accept those measures?

Some that occur to me are moving people into cities, abolition of the automobile in favor of mass transit, and generally refitting buildings and cities for greater efficiency. China has clumsily tried to reform its infrastructure and densify its population, but it’s hard to imagine that Americans will tolerate any such thing.

We’re facing a calamity greater than the Black Plague or World War II. One way or another, world population will collapse in our grandchildren’s time. It will go something like this: Droughts and rising sea levels will cause migrations, migrations will cause wars, those wars will go nuclear. Maybe the trouble will break out in the regions that depend on the Tibetan Glacier for water: India, Southeast Asia, and China.

It’s stupid to give in to despair, but the situation does call for a healthy dose of pessimism. Nuclear energy entails long-term consequences, but not as severe or immediate as the consequences of fossil fuels. And it is too late to head off climate disaster through renewables, conservation, and population control.

This is the most important issue we face, so urgent that terrorism, racism, police brutality, and income inequality look trivial. I hope the Mercury will give it plenty of space in the future, and that Rick Held and others can show how I’m wrong.

Joe Finucane Knoxville

EDITORIAL EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com Clay Duda clay@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS

Chris Barrett Ian Blackburn Bryan Charles Patrice Cole Eric Dawson George Dodds Lee Gardner Mike Gibson Carey Hodges Nick Huinker Donna Johnson

Rose Kennedy Dennis Perkins Stephanie Piper Ryan Reed Eleanor Scott Alan Sherrod April Snellings Joe Sullivan Kim Trevathan William Warren Chris Wohlwend

DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Charlie Finch Corey McPherson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Ben Adams Matthew Foltz-Gray

ADVERTISING PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com Stacey Pastor stacey@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE–DIGITAL CONTENT David Smith david.smith@knoxmercury.com

BUSINESS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES

• Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number.

We do not print anonymous letters.

• We much prefer letters that address issues that pertain specifically to Knoxville or to stories we’ve published.

• We don’t publish letters about personal disputes or how you didn’t like your waiter at that restaurant.

• Letters are usually published in the order that we receive them.

Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor Knoxville Mercury 706 Walnut St., Suite 404 Knoxville, TN 37920 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury

BUSINESS MANAGER Scott Dickey scott.dickey@knoxmercury.com

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 706 Walnut St., Suite 404, Knoxville, Tenn. 37902 knoxmercury.com • 865-313-2059 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & PRESS RELEASES editor@knoxmercury.com CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar@knoxmercury.com SALES QUERIES sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION distribution@knoxmercury.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Hummel Joe Sullivan Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It is a taxable, not-for-profit company governed by the Knoxville History Project, a non-profit organization devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s unique cultural heritage. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2015 The Knoxville Mercury

Lincoln Memorial University was founded in 1897 as a living memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. Its mission was simple - to provide educational opportunities to underserved populations in Appalachia.

In 2007, the University renewed its commitment to this mission by establishing the LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine to help prepare the next generation of doctors in the Appalachian region and beyond. At LMU-DCOM, students train to be doctors of osteopathic medicine and physician assistants.

At LMU-DCOM students embrace compassionate, patient-centered care that values diversity, public service, and leadership as an enduring commitment to professionalism and the highest ethical standards.

With an education from LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, osteopathic medical and physician assistant students can pursue their careers with confidence, knowing the extensive knowledge and training they received will propel them onward to impactful experiences at home and around the world.

Your career path is here.

www.LMUnet.edu August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5

Illustration by Ben Adams

HOWDY

Believe It or Knox!

BY Z. HERACLITUS KNOX Old Gray Cemetery is famous as a resting place for old-family Knoxvillians, but it was also the final destination of many immigrants from France, Germany, Switzerland, and other European nations.

Two of its gravestones have stumped local historians for years because they ARE INSCRIBED ENTIRELY IN GREEK!

“Water And Cameras Do Not Mix Or Dr. John Mason Boyd Monument I” by Bart Ross (bartross.com)

QUOTE FACTORY “ If I’m not doing what needs to be done, there’s an election in three years, and someone else can take this over.”

—Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett addressing County Commission last week, after trying to explain why he has not bothered to collect $475,000 in delinquent hotel/motel occupancy tax payments. As pointed out by Mike Donila on his Screams from the Porch blog, Arnett is actually term-limited and won’t be up for reelection. So, yes, someone else will be taking over his office.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

8/27 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES FORUM 8/29 EMORY PLACE BLOCK PARTY THURSDAY

7-9 p.m., Woodlawn Christian Church (4339 Woodlawn Pike). Free.

Hey, there’s an election coming up! The South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition is doing its part to make you a better-informed voter by inviting City Council candidates to this meet-and-greet. Each candidate gets to explain themselves in a minute and a half, then they’ll get grilled by Alan Williams of WVLT News, and finally attendees will be free to assail them with questions afterward.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

SATURDAY

Noon to 9 p.m., 29 Emory Place. Free.

Emory Place, that pleasant nook at the end of North Gay Street, was originally intended as a replacement for Market Square. It’s still not quite there yet, but this pocket of historic buildings is now becoming a creative hub with A1 LabArts, Wood Printing, and others making a home there. Check out its public unveiling and enjoy a variety of performers. Info: emoryplaceblockparty.com.

9/1 MEETING: INSURE TENNESSEE TUESDAY

7 p.m., Concord United Methodist Church (11020 Roane Drive). Free.

Why can’t we benefit from health-care reform like most other states? That’s something to ask your legislators. And one of them will be at this info meeting about Insure Tennessee and its potential economic impact, sponsored by the Knoxville Coalition for Insure Tennessee, the Tennessee Justice Center, and the Tennessee Health Care Campaign. Sen. Richard Briggs is scheduled to speak.

Knoxville’s street numbering system dates from the early 1890s, when the entire county began numbering its streets based on the axis of the streets now known as Jackson and Central. Before that, back to the Civil War, street numbering on north-south streets always started at the southern end, and numbered buildings in order, beginning with the number one. The only part of Knox County that still adheres to this mid-19th-century numbering pattern is Market Square! Its numbers rise from 1 to 37, south to north, just opposite of the pattern on parallel streets like nearby Gay Street, which is numbered from north to south.

Savage Garden was the name of a pop group in the 1990s, but also the name of a garden in Fountain City! Our Savage Garden, established in 1917 by English-born industrialist Arthur Savage, is a unique landmark that inspired the name of its address: Garden Drive.

9/3 5TH ANNUAL RAISE THE ROOTS DINNER THURSDAY

6-9 p.m., The Plaid Apron (1210 Kenesaw Ave.). $50.

This fundraiser for CAC Beardsley Community Farm will feature the culinary skills of Plaid Apron chef Drew McDonald, who’ll be utilizing produce grown at the farm itself. The supper is vegetarian, and vegan options are available upon advance request. Beardsley grows and donates over 10,000 pounds of produce annually to food pantries and kitchens. Tickets: raisetheroots15.brownpapertickets.com.

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August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7

Parents: How do you make sure your child receives the best care?

Look for the Gold Sneaker logo, which identifies licensed childcare facilities in Tennessee that go the extra mile to promote child health & wellness, including:

HOWDY WORDS WITH ...

Grant Rosenblatt

- At least 60 minutes of physical activity per day - Less than 60 minutes of TV or videos per day - A focus on building positive attitudes towards food and exercise

BY ROSE KENNEDY

- Smoke-free facilities that promote tobacco use prevention

Grant Rosenblatt is the managing partner for Joyride Knoxville, a low-speed cart shuttle and tour service started in Nashville and expanded to Knoxville recently.

It does not charge fares—riders pay Joyride in tips only.

How has Joyride done in Nashville?

To learn more about the Gold Sneaker program, go to: http://tn.gov/health/topic/goldsneaker To become Gold Sneaker certified in Knox County, please contact Kerri Thompson:

kerri.thompson@knoxcounty.org 865-215-5445

Join the race to save Tennessee water!

Volunteer Landing Sat., Aug. 29, 2015 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

FREE ADMISSION Downtown Knoxville’s only dragon boat race raises money to support the Tennessee Clean Water Network, to keep our water swimmable, fishable, and drinkable.

Come out to watch the race and help keep our water clean!

FOOD

Blue Mason Coffee Shop pastries &coffee Sweet P's BBQ

GIVEAWAYS

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The first 500 people with this ad receive a free TCWN 16 oz. reusable cup.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

We are wildly successful there. In two years, we have 31 carts with another 52 on order. Our expansion [into Knoxville] will operate just like our Nashville location, just on a smaller scale.

When did you decide to expand to Knoxville?

A year ago. Knoxville was always going to be the next expansion city due to its location, size, and of course football game weekends. Also, Joyride Knoxville will be the first service of its kind to come to a college university campus, so it’s a really great experiment to see if we can expand to other colleges. But a big reason for expanding here: I am an alumnus of UTK. I wanted to bring Joyride to Knoxville almost like my gift or a “thank you” to UT for giving me a lot of opportunities in life as well as really great friendships.

Did you test the market here?

We did a trial run at last year’s Boomsday, showing up with no advertising, no word of mouth, and no expectations. We brought one cart and started giving rides. We lost count around 218 rides and knew Knoxville would be successful. It’s important to know our carts are street-legal and insured. We have been approved by the city and the university. Each cart is maintained weekly and all our drivers pass background checks and must obtain an “F” endorsement.

Is this a unique business model—tips only, no fares—or did it originate with someone else?

There are other companies that attempt to do what we do but they are mainly advertising companies pretending to be transportation companies. We always will be a transportation company first and advertising company second—the ads do generate some revenue, but having great service and great drivers pays a lot of the bills.

What is your golf-cart background?

Funny thing, I have never played a round of golf in my entire life. Joyride is only a 2-year-old company and most all of us who work here started driving golf carts two years ago. It isn’t much different than driving a car.

We just can’t go on roads posted 35 mph or higher.

Do your drivers have good celebrity stories from Nashville?

My favorite has to be last Halloween, our driver recognized the drummer from Foo Fighters walking down the street in Nashville. Our driver pulled over and asked Taylor Hawkins if he needed a ride. After giving him a tour of Nashville, Taylor said he didn’t have any cash but asked for our driver’s name and number. Two hours later, the Foo Fighters’ manager called our driver to inform him he had backstage passes to the sold-out Foo Fighters show.

Would a good football season help you get off to a great start?

Of course! The first home game will be our coming-out party, so to speak. The city, students, and fans will see how we will forever change how people get around in Knoxville. We anticipate a great year for the team, too.

Can people tip you with credit cards?

We accept credit cards and will have an app out that will be attached to your credit card.

Do riders ever just neglect to tip?

Yes, we have a few “No Tippers.” While this is a risk we assume as a business, these people are only hurting themselves. Tips are the only way our drivers get paid and the only way we can expand as a service. So, Knoxville, if you want us here, let your driver know with tips!

To ride a Joyride cart downtown or on campus–seven days a week, 8 a.m.-3 a.m.—call dispatch at 865-333-4569 or hail a passing cart.

Nature MEETS Nurture

WHERE

The Gentle Barn is a place of refuge for creatures of all kinds— humans as well as animals. Come out and visit the farm, meet our animals, and hear their stories. Rediscover kindness and compassion through them. We’re open to the public every Saturday and we look forward to meeting you soon!

MEET

Dudley, OUR MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT!

Register today at www.gentlebarn.org/tennessee OPEN SATURDAYS 11-1 / SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS / BIRTHDAY PARTIES / PRIVATE TOURS / SPECIAL NEEDS GROUPS

SEVIER SOIRÉE STATE HISTORIC SITE

AN EVENING OF DINING ENTERTAINMENT & HISTORY.

PRESENTS:

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 6:30-8:30 PM FEATURING MUSICAL GUEST GUY MARSHALL $50 per person (RSVP by September 14) (865)573-5508 • www.marblesprings.net

Mike Brown, Sponsored in part by:

Knox County Commission All Occasions Party Rental • WDVX • Bradford Catered Events • Woodmen of the World • BI-LO No. 3 August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9

SCRUFFY CITIZEN

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi End-of-summer reflections on a few recent transitions

BY JACK NEELY

O

ver this hot summer, I noticed the UT bookstore, known perhaps more accurately as the VolShop, on Henley Street had closed. I was walking over from UT one searing day in July, and thought I’d pop in there for a Coke, but found it utterly evacuated. In fact, it closed over a year ago. The fact that I’m just now noticing it may have something to do with why it closed.

I’m not sure how many people knew it was there to begin with, but for 12 years it was a UT Press bookstore, a well-stocked snack shop, and practically the only office-supply place downtown. It seems pretty weird to me that downtown, which still supports several thousand office workers, doesn’t have a handy place to buy basic office supplies except those that are available through the convenience store on Gay Street. I’m told most businesses have some kind of service that takes care of that sort of thing. Mine doesn’t.

The bookstore was also the closest thing to a convenience store downtown west of Gay Street. They had good deals on snacks and drinks and Vols souvenirs. When they opened, its location right across the street from the then-new Knoxville Convention Center made it seem a sure-fire thing, a tourist draw. But convention-center conventions have not been as big or frequent as expected, back in 2002. And I’m not sure signage was ever such that conven-

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

tioneers would have noticed there was a UT bookstore, or a downtown, over here, across Henley Street.

Anyway, the couple dozen times I found myself in there, I was often the only customer. When I bought something, the cashier often assumed I worked for UT. Over the years, it seemed to serve mainly UT employees who worked in the same building.

Outside, Henley Street’s still a noisy river of cars racing between the interstate and South Knoxville. Six years ago, I wrote a column called “Our Monster” about the Henley Street problem, noting that despite, or because of, all that daily traffic, Henley Street was showing a marked failure to thrive. As I noted, that UT bookstore was the only retail presence on the entire stretch of Henley Street, from the interstate to the river, more than half a mile. And it was once a street with a great deal of retail,

even a major department store, and popular with pedestrians. But over the years, Henley Street has gotten too wide and too fast, and it’s too obvious people don’t like to be anywhere near it.

Online, I found an old announcement that the VolShop closed because it was “not an efficient use of valuable space.” For over 14 months since it closed, that same space has been dead empty. Emptiness is often inefficient, too.

When I wrote that article, and a citizen proposed a solution that would calm traffic and make Henley Street more of an easygoing boulevard, a pleasure to cross, a city councilman opposed even considering the prospect. He questioned our very premise. “Henley Street retail is doing just fine,” he declared, without citing useful examples. Now Henley Street retail doesn’t exist at all.

The good news is that our old argument that Henley Street is a problem is slightly more persuasive now.

first noticed Dixson’s on my way to a ball game there maybe 25 years ago.

It looked like a barbecue joint is supposed to look: a little house on a rise, back from the road, with screened windows. They were just open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and did a high-volume business in fresh chicken and pork barbecue, mostly in takeout. Through the tribulation and ultimate departure of Knoxville’s last professional baseball teams, the Blue Jays, then the Smokies, then the demolition of Bill Meyer Stadium, Dixson’s abided.

I don’t think it was lack of business that led to its closing. Dixson’s was probably more nationally famous in recent years than ever before, touted on several connoisseurs’ websites, and even featured once on the Travel Channel, about five years ago. But its manager and namesake, William Dixson Jr., died last year as the result of a car wreck. He was the one who knew the secret recipes. Unlike most restaurants, barbecue joints are as mortal as their chefs.

I’ve written about Dixson’s Barbecue several times over the years. It was one of the relative few local barbecue joints that was genuinely distinctive. I’m not sure what it was, a combination of spicy and sweet with a whiff of something else—perhaps tropical?—but I could tell a Dixson’s rib from anyone else’s rib. And they were the definitive practitioners of the Pigburger. They didn’t invent the Pigburger—that honor, as far as historians have been able to discern, belongs to long-gone Mechanicsville institution Brother Jack’s. But Dixson’s made it their own.

It’s a picturesque spot off Magnolia Avenue over near Caswell Park. I

I got a surprising note from a sometime reader in Florida. Albert Matheny is a University of Florida professor who grew up in Knoxville.

At an art gallery walk in Brevard, N.C., about 150 miles southeast of here, he looked in at a place called Underground Salvage Co., a place known for selling scavenged materials, perhaps like Knox Heritage’s Salvage Shop.

“Lo and behold, I spot sectioned up pieces of bowling alleys for sale ‘from the UT Student Union,’” Professor Matheny writes. He says they were chopped up in 4- to 6-foot lengths.

He adds, “They also had cafeteria trays with a checkerboard border and a Big Orange ‘T’ in the center for sale, ‘$5 each.’”

I’m not sure how that all got down there so fast. When he saw these items, the University Center wasn’t altogether torn down yet. I daresay Power-T trays would probably sell for more than $5 in Knoxville. And if I saw parts of that bowling alley, I might be tempted. That was the first bowling alley I ever saw. I think I was about 5.

But I’m not sure what the protocol is for selling parts of a beloved landmark at home. Maybe that would have seemed indecent. ◆

The good news is that our old argument that Henley Street is a problem is slightly more persuasive now.

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August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11

POSSUM CITY

Sugar Bombs Public school nutrition program off to a shaky start

BY ELEANOR SCOTT

O

n my children’s first day of school this August, their teachers sent home a letter from Wanda McCown, executive director of school nutrition: “We are pleased to inform you that Knox County Schools will continue to participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program called Community Eligibility Provision for the 2015-2016 school year,” the letter read. “All students attending participating schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge.”

Free healthy meals for all students! I was pleased, too. In the past few years I have witnessed chronic hunger among children in my community, and it’s a complicated, never-ending problem. CEP is a provision of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act that provides funding and guidelines for USDA child nutrition programs. The elementary school my children attend is one of 52 Knox County schools qualified for CEP, which means the majority of the students are low-income, and therefore at risk for chronic hunger.

A 2013 article by National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel, titled “Students Too Hungry to Learn: A Challenge We Can Solve,” says, “Hunger … affect[s] one in five children, and this problem often plays out in the classroom.

Hungry children struggle to concentrate in class, visit the school nurse with daily headaches and stomach aches, and may act out because they are hungry.”

Van Roekel adds that hunger is better addressed by providing free breakfast to all students instead of trying to target at-risk children. When everyone is served free breakfast at

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

the same time, it erases the stigma of being the poor kid who qualifies for government meals, and catches any hungry children falling through bureaucratic cracks.

“Teachers and principals who have breakfast in the classroom report improved student alertness, better attendance, fewer disciplinary problems, fewer visits to the school nurse and fewer tardy students,” writes Van Roekel, quoting from the 2013 Share Our Strength’s Teachers Report.

“That’s great!” I said, “ Hey kids, what did you eat at school today?”

This is where CEP becomes problematic: My first-grader said she ate grape juice, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, chocolate milk, and a Blow Pop, passed out by the school as a “welcome back” treat.

The third-grader, who passed on Apple Jacks for breakfast, had only chocolate milk and the Blow Pop. “Seriously?” I said, “Cocoa Puffs?”

When I voiced my concerns to McCown, she said it is a misconception to assume that name-brand cereals in school meals have the same nutritional content as those on

supermarket shelves. For example, regular Cocoa Puffs have 13 grams of sugar per 27-gram serving, but a Cocoa Puffs Bowlpak designed for schools have 8 grams per 30-gram serving. Reduced-sugar Cocoa Puffs have a similar ingredients list to the regular variety, but sugar is moved from the first ingredient to the second, and fructose (fruit sugar) is eliminated. Both reduced-sugar and regular Cocoa Puffs contain corn syrup and, perhaps surprisingly, the caloric content (110) is the same in both.

A 2005 analysis by the Associated Press, “Experts Say No Advantage to Reduced Sugar Cereals,” cites the research of nutrition scientists at five universities to explain why: “To preserve cereals’ taste and texture, sugar is replaced with other carbs that have the same calories as sugar and are no better for you. That’s also why not even diabetics benefit from these cereals. The body treats all refined carbohydrates the same, whether they are sugars or grains.”

Among the cereals the scientists looked at were Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, all served in Knox County Schools. The scientists found that in reduced-sugar Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs, the calorie count remained the same as the regular varieties. Cinnamon Toast Crunch had the most dramatic change; a serving of reduced-sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch (8 grams of sugar) had 10 fewer calories than a regular serving (dropping from 130 to 120 per 30 grams.)

One Knox County school allowed me to look at the cereal in their cafeteria to compare nutrition data.

Regular Apple Jacks have 12 grams of sugar per 28-gram serving, while an 18-gram serving of reduced-sugar Apple Jacks has 7 grams of sugar. In

Switching the chocolate milk from whole to low-fat does not address the more serious sugar problem. Many experts consider sugar to be a drug, and children are amateurs when it comes to impulse control.

both reduced-sugar and regular Apple Jacks, the caloric count is the same, and the first ingredient is still sugar.

Cereals are not the largest source of sugar in school meals. The beverages are. Mayfield’s TruMoo half pint of fat-free chocolate milk, the brand served in one Knox County school, has 18 grams of sugar, with ingredients including corn starch, salt, the thickening agent carrageenan, and unidentified “natural flavor.” The Ardmore Farms 4-fluid-ounce carton of apple-grape juice from concentrate has 13 grams of sugar.

A Blow Pop has 12 grams of sugar, bringing the total first-day-ofschool sugar intake for one first-grader to 59 grams. The American Heart Association recommends active children ages 4-8 should limit added sugar intake to 12 grams or 3 teaspoons per day. Fifty-nine grams, or almost 15 teaspoons, exceeds that recommended allowed by a lot, and it was only a half-day.

In 2009, pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig’s lecture, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” went viral, bringing widespread awareness to an issue nutrition scientists had been publishing research on for decades. Simply, eating too much sugar has serious health consequences, and nearly everyone in America eats too much sugar. Lustig’s research found direct links between diets high in sugar and certain cancers, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Lustig’s findings are reinforced by a slew of other studies on the effects of sugar on the body, probably the most well-documented being tooth decay. In a September 2012 paper, “Food for Thought: Eat Your Way to Dementia,” UCLA scientists found excessive sugar consumption may damage cognitive health as well, leading to dementia later in life.

Because too much sugar impairs the function of insulin in the brain, some scientists are calling Alzheimer’s disease “type 3 diabetes.”

Paradoxically, low-income children are at risk for both chronic hunger and obesity, and part of the reason why is found in the sugary, empty-calorie, food-like substances poor children are fed. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over one-third of children are overweight or obese. Twice as many children are overweight today

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than were 30 years ago, and four times as many adolescents. Spending one’s whole life overweight equals living with a host of health problems.

The CDC lists cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bone and joint problems, heart disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, many kinds of cancers, and social problems like stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

McCown says all school meals follow state and federal guidelines. In recent years, Knox County’s schools have attempted to take healthier steps such as replacing whole milk with reduced-fat milk, and replacing all cereal with whole-grain cereal. On some days, students can choose cinnamon rolls, sausage biscuits, or mini-pancakes, all pre-packaged.

Troubling substances listed on their box labels include fully and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and mono- and diglycerides. These trans fats are consistently linked to heart disease, America’s number-one killer of men and women. The cinnamon rolls and mini-pancakes also contain sugar.

Switching the chocolate milk from whole to low-fat does not address the more serious sugar problem. The school makes plain low-fat milk available in the cooler beside the chocolate milk, but the sugary milk is hard for children to resist. Many experts consider sugar to be a drug, and children are amateurs when it comes to impulse control. Making healthy choices is especially difficult for children experiencing chronic hunger.

This passage from “Evidence of Sugar Addiction,” a 2008 paper by Nicole Avena, et al. published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, describes a study in rats that mirrors the situation of a child who doesn’t get enough to eat at home and depends on school for regular meals, especially breakfast.

“In this animal model, rats are food deprived daily for 12 hours, then after a delay of four hours into their normal circadian-driven active period, they are given 12-hour access to a sugar solution and chow. As a result, they learn to drink the sugar solution copiously, especially when it first becomes available each day.”

The results of the study are significant, considering that the chemical dependency developing in the brains and bodies of these lab rats may be happening in our most 14

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

vulnerable rugrats as well, as they break their fast with sugary cereal and beverages: “After a month on this intermittent-feeding schedule, the animals show a series of behaviors similar to the effects of drugs of abuse. These are categorized as ‘binging,’ meaning unusually large bouts of intake, opiate-like ‘withdrawal’ indicated by signs of anxiety and behavioral depression and ‘craving’ measured during sugar abstinence as enhanced responding for sugar.”

There is no other drug that we allow our children access to in such quantities. In most households, alcohol, tobacco, and even coffee are put on the high shelf. The most touted feature of the program, that it applies to all students, also has a drawback: Parents can’t control their children from tanking up every school day on sugary unhealthy foods. Children that eat a healthy breakfast at home are eating a second dessert-breakfast at school. As for at-risk children, after a meal of Cocoa Puffs and chocolate milk, they are no longer hungry, but may be too wacked out on sugar to pay attention in class. Though well-intentioned, the public school does a disservice to their students by

hooking them on name-brand sugary cereals and prepackaged food heavy on the trans fats.

Why are there no cheap, healthy in-house cooked breakfasts? Why doesn’t the cafeteria whip up a big vat of oatmeal in the mornings? Here’s something you may not know: The Knox County school my children attend doesn’t have spoons. Students peel off the top of their plastic Bowlpak and eat the cereal with their fingers, washing it down with swigs from their paper carton of milk. I’m glad for all the plastic spoons saved from the landfill. Still, the set-up lends a sad kind of jail-yard depravity to the meal.

The Knox County School Nutrition department spent most of the 2014-15 academic year in turmoil as Executive Director Jon Dickl found himself embroiled in a scandal involving misuse of funds; he resigned shortly before Superintendent Jim McIntyre was set to fire him. Though she’s worked in school nutrition for over 30 years, McCown is brand new as executive director. CEP, which became available nationwide in 2014, is a fairly new program, and the 2015-16 school year is young. Knox County School Nutrition has the opportunity to rise above recent

troubles to become a program of quality and substance.

Already there are encouraging signs. Teachers have a modicum of discretion over the food coming into their classrooms. The first-grade teacher I spoke to requested that chocolate milk not be sent to her room, eliminating temptation and guiding her students to the healthy option of plain milk. Also, on the second day of school, the cafeteria served the superfoods blackberries and blueberries beside the pizza at lunch, with plans to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into their meals.

All nutrition experts worth their salt know that healthy meals have fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, lean meat and fish, fiber-rich whole grains, and dairy without added sugar. Food writer Michael Pollan points out that junk food often comes plastered with health claims on the packaging, while real healthy foods, being whole foods, do not (see for example, real apples v.

Apple Jacks).

We need to be honest: Reducing the sugar content by a few grams in artificially colored and flavored breakfast cereal does not transform it into a healthy meal. Prepackaged cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip pancakes containing trans fats and a long list of preservatives and additives are not healthy meals. Knox County needs to eliminate these unhealthy options from their classrooms and cafeterias if they hope to encourage children to eat truly healthy foods.

Get rid of the Froot Loops; a legitimately healthy alternative could be whole-grain toast with butter, fresh fruit, and a carton of plain milk. The logistics of providing such a meal may be challenging, and children are not always grateful for healthy food. But if students don’t eat it, the school can rest assured these are not the chronically hungry children CEP means to target. Children are survivors, and if they are hungry they will eat a healthy meal in front of them. Sugary, empty-calorie options sabotage students’ opportunity to learn to like healthy foods—as well as their future health.

If the Knox County Schools system says they are going to provide healthy meals to their students, then they should follow through on their promise. The CEP program has the potential to do much good, but that will require unwavering commitment to quality on the part of the adults. ◆

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August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15

Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens has rethought the way his office approaches criminal defense since taking over in 1990, pioneering a new program aimed at breaking the cycle of crime.

Holistic Defense Knox County Public Defender’s unique approach to reducing recidivism earns it a national profile

BY CLAY DUDA

T

he Knox County Public Defender’s Office has gained a national reputation for its unique approach to representing those who run afoul of the law, and Mark Stephens loves telling the story of how it all started. It took a rather inauspicious purse snatching for Stephens, who has served as Knox County’s public defender since 1990, to fully realize that there’s more to law and order than just the legal system. And that realization has led to the institution of a more holistic approach to the law, one that has served as a model for other public defender offices around the country looking to break the cycle of crime and keep people from landing back behind bars.

“I represented a young man who

16

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

on the fi rst Wednesday of every month, he would go to a grocery store parking lot out in East Knoxville and he would wait. If an old lady pulled up in the parking lot and she went into the store but she came out without groceries, that meant she must have cashed a check, so he’d knock her down, take her purse, and off he’d go,” Stephens recounts. And on this day in 1998, the guy was arrested. A couple of good Samaritans chased him into a nearby alley and held him until police arrived. The woman said the robber, who Stephens didn’t name due to privacy concerns, pulled out a knife and threatened her as she clutched tight to her purse strings, but no knife was ever recovered.

“He was the one who took her

purse, there was no question, but if the jury believes he had a knife then that’s aggravated robbery, instead of simple robbery, which carries 8 to 12 years (in prison). So whether or not he had a knife made a huge difference in this case,” Stephens says. Following trial, a jury convicted the man of simple robbery, a win for Stephens as defense attorney, and the judge later sentenced him to probation instead of jail time. It may have been another win, but Stephens says it wasn’t until afterward that he realized he hadn’t really help solve the bigger issues at hand.

“I remember it just like it was yesterday, except I remember when he hit that courtroom door I thought, ‘Oh man, I’ve won the battle but I’ve lost the war,’ because I know—or at least have a strong idea of—where he’s going to be next month. I was so embarrassed at myself because up until that point it never dawned on me that I should ask … is there something that I can do for him to address those underlying dynamics driving his criminal behavior? So now we’re looking at the whole person, not just the criminal charge.”

That case sparked Stephens’ eventual transformation of the public defender’s office, developing methods to help keep would-be criminals from committing crimes in the future. No longer are defense attorneys just charged with legal representation— they now look at the bigger picture for each person and each court case they oversee. It’s a relatively new approach to criminal justice known as “holistic defense,” a tactic the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office helped pioneer when in 2003 it started teaming attorneys with social workers to evaluate select individuals being represented by the office, identify issues contributing to his or her criminal behavior, and come up with a plan to address those challenges. It has served as an example for many other offices looking to improve outcomes for those tangled in the law, and while holistic defense is still only practiced by a small percentage of public defenders across the county, in recent years the federal Department of Justice has offered its backing and some money to

spread the model nationally. Knoxville is ahead of the curve.

“Traditionally, public defenders are charged with representing indigent clients accused of a criminal offense, but there are usually other issues involved like mental illness, substance abuse, unemployment, or homelessness. All of those factors contribute to a person’s difficulties and involvement with the criminal justice system,” says Dr. Roger Nooe, director of social services for the Community Law Office. “If you can address some of the problems not only can you represent them on the charges, but it also affords a great opportunity to break that cycle and help people reintegrate into the community again.

It’s not about just adding social workers, but beginning to integrate social services into public representation, bringing in social services in an effort to reduce recidivism.”

There are some challenges to this approach. The sheer volume of cases handled by the Knox County Public Defender’s Office, coupled with budget constraints, is a big one. Another is the time it can take to work with some folks dealing with the toughest issues.

All of those factors limit the scope of work and, to some extent, the overall effectiveness of the program. The office’s 23 lawyers handle about 12,000 cases annually, of which more than 1,500 are referred to a team of eight social workers for evaluations and services, according to the department’s own figures. During some weeks, social workers see as many as 45 new referrals, a staggering amount, Nooe says. But most of the people walking through the doors are low-level misdemeanor offenders—about 80 percent of all the cases handled by the office—and if key factors can be rooted out that contributed to their minor brush with the law, they’re much less likely to end up back in the clink. The department’s operating budget last fiscal year was nearly $1.9 million (a mix of local, state, federal, and grant money), of which nearly a quarter goes toward social-service work.

“Our lawyers usually refer clients over to the social workers, and we always say ‘do whatever it takes,’” Stephens says. “I don’t care how long the criminal case lasts, if we need to work with this guy for two years then work with him for two years, if it’s 10 years, work with him for 10 years, and

“This really isn’t about what side of the fence you are on politically, it’s about thinking of justice in a smart way.”

— ROBIN STEINBERG, executive director of the Bronx Defender

if it’s 10 days then it’s 10 days.

Whatever it takes to engage that person, assess what those social dynamics are, and come up with a plan to try and address those dynamics—and there’s not a whole lot of offices that do that.”

The local program has attracted top law students from universities across the country for its summer intern program (the office actually calls these interns “externs,” but they are interns by any other name). A rising senior at Harvard Law School, Lisa Fitzgerald relocated to Knoxville this summer to intern and learn more about this method that’s starting to reshape criminal defense. She described Knox County’s work as a “glimmer of hope” in what is otherwise a mostly bleak and dysfunctional legal system, but still more needs to be done, she says.

“What they have going is great, but it can’t really meet the goal of this model that they’re working toward—I think they just need more resources,” Fitzgerald says. “The other frustrating part is that a lot of the work the social workers do could be much more efficient if the system was set up for this model. For example, the jail has a six-week waiting list right now [for inmates who need] to see a mental health professional, so no matter how wonderful the representation here is, we can’t do anything except get them on a list for six weeks.”

According to Stephens, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that the approach is paying off in some big ways, but measured outcomes to support those assumptions are still lacking. The office has done some internal calculations, but declined to release that data until it could be compared with an independent evaluation expected to be completed

next year.

“We’re showing some pretty promising results. Our first internal evaluation shows a recidivism rate of about 31 percent, compared with a state average of 65 to 70 percent,” Stephens says. Other indicators showed that clients who worked with social workers in the office were arrested less than half as often as a group of peers that just received legal representation, and they also spent less time in jail, he says.

Stephens and the Community Law Office have played a key role in developing and refining this new take on criminal defense. He worked with other legal experts to flesh out the idea during a series of executive sessions at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in the late 1990s, where he worked with others tinkering with similar ideas. One key to the approach is adapting the holistic defense model to fit the needs of the community, and those vary depending on a number of factors, says Robin Steinberg, an attorney who worked with Stephens at Harvard and serves as executive director of the Bronx Defenders, a New York non-profit public defender’s office backing the model.

“If you’re not looking at the whole picture then you’re likely to focus on one part of a client’s life instead of the broader picture, and you can actually do more harm than good,” Steinberg says. “Public defender offices across the country are really beginning to look more broadly at their role in the system, asking how we can better serve clients and how we can produce better results, and not just for clients, but for communities. This really isn’t about what side of the fence you are on politically, it’s about thinking of justice in a smart way.” ◆ August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 17

CLASS

Fulton and Maryville face off in the most anticipated

BY MATTHEW EVERETT PHOTOS BY CLAY DUDA

X

avier Malone, Fulton High School’s freshman quarterback, launches a tight, arcing spiral 30 yards downfield. Kentel

18

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Williams separates himself from South-Doyle’s double coverage to make a bobbling, one-handed overthe-shoulder catch along the sideline.

The senior wide receiver never breaks stride; within a few steps, Williams has outrun his defenders and is on his

way to what appears to be a highlight-reel 53-yard touchdown.

The play, during the Falcons’ fi rst possession of the Kickoff Classic preseason jamboree on Aug. 14, looks like a harbinger of the season Fulton fans are hoping for: Malone, the future

of the program, a prodigy who beat out three upperclassmen for the starting spot, connecting on big plays with the veteran Williams, an all-state pick who has won a state championship in each of his three previous years at Fulton.

RIVALS

high-school football game in East Tennessee But a penalty flag on the play interrupts the end-zone celebration.

Offensive pass interference against Williams. No touchdown. A 15-yard penalty.

That could be another sign of the season to come: Fulton enters 2015

with a daunting schedule, a freshman quarterback, and new starters at almost every position. Their roster is loaded with talent but lacks depth and experience. After back-to-back undefeated seasons and three straight state championships, could their

dominance come to an end?

Not just yet. On the very next play after Williams’ penalty, Zack Dobson takes a handoff from Malone and gets around the left corner, dashing 68 yards, untouched, into the end zone.

No flag. Six points.

Fulton holds on to convincingly beat South-Doyle in the 12-minute preseason showcase, confirming that the Falcons remain a force to be reckoned with. But their toughest test arrives this weekend.

On Saturday night, the Falcons August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 19

T

he Fulton Falcons have reeled off 37 straight wins and a streak of three consecutive state championships since 2012. The team’s lack of experience, though, makes them the underdog in this weekend’s big game against the Maryville Rebels.

head to Blount County to face the Maryville High School Rebels for the first time in almost 30 years. It’s the most anticipated local high-school football game in years. Fulton and Maryville have ruled East Tennessee football in the 21st century—they have 16 state championships between them since 2000, including the 4A and 6A titles in 2014, and both are strong contenders to repeat this year.

Besides winning percentage, though, the two teams have almost nothing in common. One is a well-funded, industrial-scale gridiron machine from an affluent suburb, run with ruthless precision. The other is an unpredictable but high-scoring powerhouse, built around speed and skill, from one of Knox County’s poorest schools.

It’s a clash of East Tennessee’s teen titans—and a clash of cultures.

WINNING IS EVERYTHING

George Quarles doesn’t sweat. Even with temperatures in the high 80s and tropical humidity, with the sun hanging high in the sky, the Maryville head football coach appears calm, collected, and in command during 20

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

preseason practice. Trim and tan, wearing a long-sleeve red Maryville T-shirt and a matching red cap, he looks more like a marathon runner or triathlete than a football coach—an idealized version of the contemporary suburban everyman.

“It’s ironic that his initials are G.Q., because he always looks like he just walked off the cover,” says Marcus Fitzsimmons, the sports editor of The Daily Times in Maryville. “Even when they got down in the state championship game last year, he was probably unsettled inside but you could never see it. He was like, okay, we’re going to do this, this, and this, and let’s see what happens. It was never screaming tirades up and down the sideline. I’ve never seen that from him.”

Quarles’ calm, supremely professional demeanor is a good fit for Maryville, an idyllic city of 28,000 with thriving industry, nationally ranked schools, a distinguished private college, easy access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and a median household income of $50,000—well above the Tennessee average of $44,000 and significantly higher than Knoxville’s $33,000.

Quarles echoes a common refrain when asked what’s kept him in Blount County for 20 years: “It’s a great place to raise a family.”

But there’s something hard and merciless behind Quarles’ composure.

It’s reflected in his record. Before he took over as head coach in 1999, after four years as an assistant, Maryville was one of several East Tennessee football powers. In the last 15 years, they’ve become the most successful team in the state’s biggest classification and one of the winningest high-school teams in the country.

In Quarles’ fi rst year, the Rebels lost a close game in the state fi nals; in his second year, they won the title, and they’ve won nine more since then.

Between 2004 and 2008 they compiled a 74-game winning streak, the longest ever in Tennessee. They’re currently riding a 31-game streak.

Winning is everything at Maryville these days.

There’s a wall behind the east end zone at Maryville’s 6,000-seat stadium commemorating each of the school’s 15 state championships—1964, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007,

2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014. They’ll have to make room to fit another plaque if Maryville repeats this year.

“That represents a lot of accomplishment, a lot of history, a lot of tradition and pride,” Quarles says of the championship wall. “I think it can be an intimidating factor for teams that come in and that’s the fi rst thing they see, the number of state championships we’ve been able to win here.”

The Rebels’ afternoon practice sessions are also a reflection of Quarles’ personality—carefully managed and run with military discipline. Repetition is more important than innovation; Quarles’ teams thrive on fundamental skills and teamwork. It’s not a surprise that Quarles is rumored to be a candidate every time there’s a coaching vacancy at the University of Tennessee.

“It’s the most efficient practice I’ve ever seen at a high-school level,” Fitzsimmons says of the Rebels’ workouts. “Everything’s on a schedule, and the only time you see wasted is when the kids are on the way from the locker room to their cars. That’s the slowest part of practice.”

Quarles is indisputably a coaching

genius. But part of his genius is his CEO-level management. In addition to drills, offensive schemes, and defensive sets, running a program that rivals some small colleges requires organization and a talent for delegation.

(Several of Quarles’ assistant coaches have head-coaching experience.)

It also requires cash. Maryville probably spends more money on football than any other team in East Tennessee.

“We spend quite a bit of money on equipment each year,” Quarles says.

“I’m betting we spend $10,000 to $15,000 a year on reconditioning equipment, whether its helmets or shoulder pads. We’ll probably spend that much, at least, on new equipment or replacement equipment. When you buy new uniforms, that’s another $15,000 to $20,000 or so. … It’s not cheap to run a football program. I don’t know how a lot of places do it.”

37-0

Rob Black doesn’t really like Fulton’s 37-game winning streak. He’s proud of what it represents, but the Falcons’ head coach knows that it’s not worth much on its own.

“It’s a little bit scary sometimes, from a coach’s standpoint,” Black says. “You’re thinking, are they putting pressure on themselves that if they lose one they’re failures? We’ve tried in the offseason to say, people are looking at your win streak, but a loss doesn’t necessarily kill you. We’re trying to make them understand that and not put pressure on themselves that doesn’t need to be there.”

The last time Fulton lost was in 2012—Black’s second year as head coach, when this year’s seniors were freshmen. It came in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a 30-7 whooping by Alcoa. Then they went on a run and won the state title,

beating their last six opponents by a combined score of 287-75. Two undefeated seasons followed.

“I’m not so sure we would win that state championship without that loss,” Black says. “It taught us a lot that week, and I think our guys learned a lot from that game that enabled us to move on into the playoffs and run the table from that point on and win a state championship.”

Black is hard to miss at Falcons practice—he’s well over 6 feet tall and heavy, with a booming baritone drawl and a classic coach’s salt-and-pepper crew cut. He’s always right in the middle of practice, running everything from conditioning drills to 11-on-11 full-contact exercises, directing players as well as assistant coaches.

Where Maryville’s practice is defi ned by its discipline, Fulton’s is characterized by intensity and toughness, and it all starts with Black.

Fulton’s rise to prominence over the last 12 years is a little more surprising than Maryville’s decade-plus of dominance. For all of Maryville’s advantages—money, tradition, facilities—Fulton has a challenge to match it. It’s one of the poorest schools in Knox County, with 78 percent of its students classified as economically disadvantaged. The graduation rate is 82 percent, and the average ACT score is 16.5. (At Maryville, those numbers are 96.6 percent and 23.2.)

Fulton upgraded its stadium and locker room a few years ago, but some of its other facilities are still lacking.

The team’s practice field has been improved, too—it’s still called “Rock City,” but it’s been cleared and re-sodded so that the name doesn’t really fit anymore. But now it turns into a quagmire after heavy rain; two of the Falcons’ last preseason practices were held in a parking lot behind the

stadium.

But there’s a die-hard fan base in the area. The home stands are packed for most games, and they stay that way even when Fulton routs its opponents by scores of 83-3 and 84-0, as they did against Powell and Bearden in 2014.

Attendance is crucial for the program—the North Knoxville neighborhood surrounding Fulton is nothing like the affluent community that Quarles taps for support, and ticket sales pay for equipment, uniforms, and travel expenses.

“Man, our budget, it’s probably a lot different than a lot of schools,” Black says. “We don’t have a huge booster club where I make a wish list and say, hey, can you help us raise the money to go get this and this and this?

We live and die off our gate receipts. …

We don’t have a whole lot left over every year, I can tell you that.”

Fulton has a deep football tradition that goes back more than 50 years—D.D. Lewis, Ron Widby, and James Yarbrough all went from Fulton to the National Football League. UT All-American Jackie Walker, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers

but never played in an NFL game, might be the best player Fulton has ever produced. But district rivals Central and Austin-East overshadowed the Falcons during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. Fulton didn’t win a state championship until 2003, under head coach Buck Coatney. They’ve won five more since then—in 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Part of Fulton’s tradition is keeping it in the family. Black is in his fi fth year as head coach, but he’s been on the staff since 1992, and he was a three-sport letterman at Fulton in the early ’80s. His predecessor, Coatney, was a Fulton grad. Black’s father, offensive line coach Bob Black, is a 1960 graduate and has been on the coaching staff since 1965—the football field is named after him. Five other coaches on Black’s current staff are also Fulton alumni, including fi rst-year quarterback coach Justin Long, who played for the fi rst Fulton state champs in 2003.

That team, Black says, turned everything around. The Falcons had lost a close state fi nal the year before and weren’t expected to make another

R

ob Black is in his fi fth year as head coach of the Falcons, but his connection to the Fulton program goes way back—he was a three-sport letterman at the school in the 1980s, and his father, Bob Black, also a Fulton grad, has been on the coaching staff since 1965. Five other Fulton coaches are also Fulton alumni, including QB coach Justin Long, who led the school to its fi rst state title in 2003.

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 21

M

aryville head coach George Quarles has turned a local powerhouse into one of the most successful high-school football programs in the country, with 10 state championships in 15 years and a 74-game winning streak between 2004-2008. He is indisputably a coaching genius, in part because he’s such a great manager— the Rebels’ system rivals that of some small colleges.

postseason run.

“It was neat to see that group of guys, who didn’t have that many returning starters and hardly any experience, coming back to turn around and win a state championship,” Black says. “And then we turn around and do it again in 2004. And then we turn around and do it again in 2006.

And we play for it again in 2007.

“And it became the expectation here. Our guys bought into what we were doing. Coach Coatney, who I coached under at that time, took on that challenge of hey, here’s what people expect now. We’ve got to keep this thing going, and we’ve been able to do that from that point on. I guess it just changed the culture of our school and the culture of expectation in this community.”

MORE TO LOSE

The big suburban behemoth vs. the unstoppable inner-city juggernaut— Saturday’s game has some of the aura of an old-fashioned prize fight, including a televised prime-time broadcast on WVLT. Every preseason list of notable 2015 prep games in 22

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

East Tennessee includes this one.

When the two-game series—at Maryville this year, at Fulton in 2016—was announced last fall, it was reported in USA Today.

“All last season, people were talking about how great it would have been if they could have played last year,” Fitzsimmons says. “It’s going to be one of those games—they’ve moved it to Saturday, it’s going to be on TV, it’s going to have a good gate, and a lot of people are going to tune in to watch it.”

It’s something local fans have wanted to see for a decade or more. There was little chance it would happen until this year, though, because neither school wanted to risk an unnecessary loss. According to the old state playoff system, all 10 regular-season games counted for postseason seedings. Win five district games but lose five out-of-conference games and you’d get a low seed or possibly miss the playoffs altogether. A new rule, effective this year, makes non-district games irrelevant, at least for playoff purposes.

(Besides that, both Maryville and Fulton often have trouble filling a 10-game schedule, because other

schools are reluctant to sign up for almost certain thrashings. Fulton had to travel to Kentucky in 2013.)

“Robbie and I talked a few years ago about the possibility of playing,” Quarles says. “Since then, they’ve had a lot of success and we’ve had success.

With the old playoff format, where all 10 games affected your seeding in the playoffs, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to play the best teams. But with the new playoff format, you’re going to have the chance to play better competition. And this is one I think all of East Tennessee has been wanting to see for a while.”

Even though both schools have similar records over the last several years, Maryville is the Goliath in this game. Fulton, playing the role of the underdog, is talented but green, and they opened the season on the road against playoff contender Morristown West.

“Things are a little different this year because of our youth and lack of experience and only bringing a couple of starters back on each side of the ball,” Black says. “I expect us to start a little slower than normal, but I don’t think anybody in the community expects us to not be a state champion.

Obviously we’ve got some challenges ahead of us, but because of the way our guys work, they do expect that we have a chance.”

The Rebels play in the biggest classification in the state, 6A; Fulton, a smaller school, competes in 4A. Maryville is also better positioned for a big early-season game, with 11 returning starters, including junior T.D. Blackmon, a top college prospect at linebacker who may be the single best player in East Tennessee, and a relatively easy fi rst-week game at home against Heritage High School.

They’re expected to win, which is its own kind of pressure.

“We’re the bigger school, they’re

smaller—if we win, we’re supposed to win, and if they win, it’s a big upset and a huge feather in their cap,” Quarles says. “But put all the egos and that other stuff aside and it’s still two good football teams. We’ve got more numbers to choose from but I still think a good football team is a good football team, whether its 4A, 6A, 3A, whatever.

“But we’ve got more to lose.”

OUTSIZED AND OUTNUMBERED

Everything about home football games at Maryville is fi rst-class, from the AstroTurf playing field and state-of-the-art video scoreboard to the concession stand, which offers name-brand fast food from Chick-fi l-A, Subway, and Buddy’s Bar-B-Q in addition to the standard nachos, hot dogs, and pizza. A small airplane with a banner advertising a local towing service circles overhead. The stadium seems more suited for minor-league baseball than a small-town highschool football game.

A few minutes before kickoff, there are no empty seats. The enthusiastic, almost anxious atmosphere for the Rebels’ opening game against Heritage High School gives the late-summer twilight a sharp edge. The stands are full on both sides, and hundreds of people are lined up behind the fence that runs along the concourse. The home crowd is decked out almost exclusively in the school colors, mostly on officially licensed gear from Nike in dozens of different designs—red T-shirts, gray T-shirts, black T-shirts, performance polos, baseball caps, replica jerseys.

The Rebels file out from their locker room underneath the stands on the home side of the stadium and stream onto the field, passing through a phalanx of students and middle-aged men reaching out for high fives and

T

he Maryville Rebels play the part of Goliath in Saturday’s matchup of East Tennessee high-school football dynasties. A bigger school with more resources, the Rebels have thrived on consistency and fundamentals to become one of the top teams in the state.

slapping the players on their helmets.

There are so many players that you think the procession might never end—more than 100 of them, in black helmets and brand-new red jerseys and white pants from Nike. They outnumber their opponents more than two-to-one. Before the game even starts, it’s evident that Heritage, like most of Maryville’s opponents, is outsized and outmanned.

Technically, any game against another Blount County school is a rivalry game. And this one should have special resonance, since Heritage is now coached by Tim Hammontree, Quarles’ predecessor as Maryville head coach. But it doesn’t merit much hype—Maryville leads 30-0 at the end of the first quarter, 43-7 at halftime, and goes on to win 57-19.

The Rebels have a couple of big plays early—a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 37-yard scoring run—but they dominate by taking advantage of every Heritage mistake, avoiding mistakes of their own, and methodically moving up and down the field. All the Rebels’ expected stars—Blackmon, quarterbacks Austin Ensley and Dylan Hopkins, receiver Kelby Brock, and

running back Isaiah Cobb—contribute to the routine, by-the-numbers rout.

The second string takes over in the second half; the stadium slowly gets quieter and fans trickle out during the fourth quarter. In the second half, no one’s really paying attention any more, except over in one corner of the visiting-side bleachers, where Rob Black and the rest of the Fulton coaching staff are taking notes.

EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAVE GONE BAD

With 10 minutes left in the opening game against the Morristown-Hamblen West Trojans, Xavier Malone is flat on his back and motionless near midfield. Black stands over Malone and waits for the stretcher that’s been called out as trainers gently tend to him. Players on both sidelines are huddled together and praying. The stadium is almost completely silent.

Fulton trails 9-6, but nobody is thinking about the winning streak right now.

Malone had been pancaked by the Trojans defensive line after completing a pass for a loss to Zach Dobson.

It had already been a rough debut for Malone—except for a 52-yard touch-

down pass to Joe Kimber in the fi rst quarter, the Falcons offense was shut down. Penalties and special-teams mistakes kept them buried in bad field position, and Malone looked overwhelmed—anxious, unsure of his receivers’ routes, and surprised at the speed of the game. His passes floated over his receivers’ heads, a sure sign of nerves. He looked like a talented but inexperienced ninth-grader.

The mood at Burke-Toney Stadium in Morristown has been inhospitable, if not entirely hostile.

The stadium is old and uncomfortable, the PA is too loud and trebly. The Trojans have ditched their traditional crimson-and-white uniforms for special-occasion black jerseys and pants. The stadium announcer repeatedly mispronounces Kentel Williams’ fi rst name.

As Malone is carted off the field, he offers the stadium a thumbs-up signal. His injury turns out to be minor—“soreness in his neck and back,” according to the News Sentinel account the following day.

A Fulton loss, even one on the road to a playoff contender, will considerably diminish the hype

leading up to the Maryville game. And the Falcons have barely been able to move the ball with Malone; without him, the prospect of a fourth-quarter comeback is dim. The upcoming game of the century might not amount to much after all.

But Fulton fi nds something in the fi nal minutes against Morristown West. An energized defense stuffs the Trojans for no gain on the series after Malone’s injury. With three minutes left and senior linebacker Hayden Willard in for Malone, the Falcons explode for their fi rst significant gains of the second half. Willard hands off twice to senior fullback Chanton Mobley, once for a 44-yard breakaway and then for a 13-yard run into the end zone. (Even that’s not easy for Fulton tonight—Mobley actually fumbles into the end zone, where Kentel Williams recovers the ball for the winning touchdown.)

“We gritted that one out,” Black told reporters after the game. “Everything that could have gone bad, went bad right there. We just had to fi nd a way to get a win.”

The streak is alive—for one more week, at least. ◆ August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23

Come to the Party Tomato Head’s Silver Anniversary Party this weekend on Market Square is partly a fundraiser for the Knoxville History Project.

The Knoxville History Project is a new educational nonprofit whose mission is to research and promote the history and culture of Knoxville.

Although Knoxville is home to several worthy historical organizations, the KHP is the only organization devoted just to the particular history of the city of Knoxville. Working closely with other nonprofit organizations, including the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Knox County Public Library, the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, and Visit Knoxville, the KHP offers talks and tours to schools, museums, service groups, and other organizations.

Consulting with developers and government organizations on projects concerning Knoxville’s history, the KHP accepts fees for services, but its main source of revenue is philanthropic contributions. (Contributions to the KHP are tax-deductible.) It also supports independent journalism.

Its largest single project is the Knoxville Mercury.

The Knoxville Mercury is a new nonprofit newspaper. It is not a tax-exempt nonprofit, like a 501(c)(3). Most of its revenue comes from advertising. The Mercury also accepts contributions, especially through its League of Supporters campaign. Those contributions are not tax-deductible.

Although the KHP and the Mercury are separate organizations, run by separate boards of directors, the Knoxville History Project is the “sole member,” the equivalent of the owner, of the Knoxville Mercury. Any profits from the Mercury go not to enrich any owner or investor, but to support the educational programs of the Knoxville History Project. The Knoxville History Project buys a full page in each issue of the Mercury, to promote local historical events and projects, and to relate historical stories of general interest.

Market Square, the site of this weekend’s free Tomato Head 25th birthday celebration, is one of East Tennessee’s most historic sites.

Established in 1854, it has served as a produce market for every growing season since then. By the 1860s it was also a commercial, political, and cultural center. Music has been part of the Square’s history since the

early days. Some farmers played fiddle or banjo to attract customers to their stalls. The Market Hall, which stood on the Square from 1897 to 1960, included an auditorium that hosted hundreds of performances over the years, from Roy Acuff to Duke Ellington.

After the removal of the Market House, the open Square has witnessed thousands of performances, especially in recent years, when live concerts are almost a weekly thing during the warmer months. Scott Miller was singer for the V-Roys when they played Market Square in 1998, for the first-ever show in the Sundown in the City series, surprising many by drawing a crowd of several hundred.

Tomato Head played a major, and perhaps critical, role in the revival of Market Square. Though famous for their pizzas and sandwiches and burritos and soups, in ever-changing creations, Tomato Head changed the way Knoxville viewed their downtown, by pioneering outdoor seating, evening and weekend hours on Market Square, when the place was usually empty, and the then-new idea of a no-smoking restaurant.

Tomato Head also helped launch alternative journalism in Knoxville. One of the most regular advertisers in Metro Pulse, Tomato Head’s creative display ads became one reason to pick up the paper.

Plus, Scott Miller, the singer-songwriter who has since produced several critically acclaimed albums and developed a national following, was the subject of one of Metro Pulse’s first cover stories, back in 1991.

He’ll be the main entertainment Saturday night, on a bill that also includes several other popular entertainers of the last 25 years: Guy Marshall, Jacqui and the Tumble Kings, and Exit 65.

This weekend’s party will be a celebration of natural allies.

Come join us.

ID wristbands are $2 each. All proceeds will go to the Knoxville History Project. Those 21 and over will be able to purchase beer from Saw Works Brewery, including a special Tomato Head silver anniversary brew created by Saw Works and Tomato Head co-owner Scott Partin.

The Knoxville History Project, a new nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of and education about the history of Knoxville, presents this page each week to raise awareness of the themes, personalities, and stories of our unique city.

Learn more on www.facebook.com/knoxvillehistoryproject • email jack@knoxhistoryproject.org 24

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Like Having an Independent Paper in Knoxville?

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The Knoxville Mercury is a taxed, not-for-profit company dedicated to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. We rely on ad sales, donations, and grants to exist.

ADVERTISE: knoxmercury.com/advertise LEAGUE OF SUPPOPRTERS: knoxmercury.com/join

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 25

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

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SHOPPING DISTRICT TOP PET SUPPLY STORE P HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE TOP BLOG TOP BIKE SHOP TOP DOG PARK TOP COMEDIAN TOP NAIL SALON TOP PLUMBER TOP YOGA STUDIO TOP INTERIOR DESIG TOP SKIN CARE TOP OUTDOOR SPORTS STORE TOP SMALL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY TOP FACEBOOK PAGE/GROUP TOP HAPPY HOUR TOP TATTOO STUDIO TOP APPETIZERS TOP FOOD TRUCK TOPThe FRAMERY TOP COVER TOP BEER SELECTION (RESTAURANT) TOP HISTORIC LANDMARK TOP PRIVATE SCHOOL ultimate survey ofBAND everything Knoxvillians love most about Knoxville TOP DESSERTS TOP COMFORT FOOD TOP NEW THING IN KNOXVILLE TOP MEN'S CLOTHING TOP PODCAST TOP RADIO STATION TOP BEER MARKET/TAPROOM TOP DANCE CLUB TOP MEXICAN/SOUTH AMERICAN TOP FITNESS CENTER TOP PARK FOR A PICNIC TOP TACO TOP PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER TOP MUSEUM Prepare vote!

We aim to makeTOP Top Knox indispensable user’s guide to the VOTING IS ONLINE ONLY P ATTRACTION TOP LGBT CLUB to TOP JEWELRY STORE GIFT an SHOP TOP COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL TOP BBQ TOP WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER TOP MARTIAL ARTS G TOP MOONSHINE TOP COCKTAILS TOPand LANDSCAPING/TREE HIP-HOP/R&B GROUP SERVICE TOP ELECTRICIAN TOP FREE STUFF TO DO Knoxville area, we need your expert SERVICE help to doTOP it. You know this place insideTOP CATERING www.topknox.knoxmercury.com P OUTDOOR DINING TOP DANCE SCHOOL TOP HAMBURGER TOP SALADS TOP SEAFOOD TOP EYEWEAR SHOP TOP PIZZA TOP AUTO SERVICE TOP HANDYMAN SERV and out—and you’ve got great taste. So let’s make Top Knox the one “best of” list VOTING BEGINS: MUSIC SCHOOL TOP REALTOR TOP THRIFT/CONSIGNMENT STORE TOP ROCK BAND TOP SECRET ABOUT KNOXVILLE TOP FLORIST TOP TECHNICAL/BUSINESS SCH in town that truly matters.

Here are this year’s categories—to vote, go to our website.

TOP FURNITURE STORE TOP BREAKFAST TOP BOOKSTORE TOP WOMEN'S CLOTHING TOP ROCK CLUB TOP HAIR SALON Thursday, Aug.TOP 13 atASIAN 12:01TOP a.m.WINGS TOP KARAOKE OP TRADITIONAL BARBER SHOP TOP WATERWAY TO PADDLE TOP COFFEEHOUSE TOP RENOVATIONS/REMODELING COMPANY TOP NEW RETAIL BUSINESS TOP BAR And remember: no national chains allowed!

VOTING ENDS:TRAIL TOP DELI/SANDWICH/SUB SHOP TOP EYE CARE TOP ICE CREAM/FROZEN TREATS TOP DENTAL CARE TOP LOCAL-FOODS GROCERY TOP BIKE OR WALKING NPROFIT COMMUNITY GROUP TOP BRUNCH TOP AGENT TOP INSTAGRAM FEED TOP 10 SUSHI TOP SPORTS BAR TOP TV PERSO ResultsTOP willBANK/CREDIT be published UNION in the Oct. 15 edition of INSURANCE the Knoxville Mercury.

Thursday, Sept. at Midnight TTER FEED TOP DRY CLEANER TOP INDIAN TOP BAKERY TOP CLUB DJ TOP LIVE COMEDY VENUE TOP WALK-IN/URGENT CARE CLINIC TOP CHEF TOP PERFORMANC TOP MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS STORE TOP FRENCH TOP HOT DOG TOP JAZZ BAND TOP CHEAP MEAL TOP THEATER GROUP TOP LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPY TOP RESTORATION PROJECT TOP TV STATION TOP NEW RESTAURANT TOP LIQUOR STORE TOP DIVE BAR TOP BLUES BAND TOP VINE FEED TOP MEDI SPA TOP CRAFT BREWER TOP PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS TOP STEAKS TOP WATERFRONT RESTAURANT TOP HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTER TOP MUSIC FESTIVAL TOP CLOTHING ALTERATIONS TOP PERSONAL TRAINER TOP MUSEUM TOP ARTISTS WORKSHOP/STUDIO TOP AUTO DEALER TOP FESTIVAL TOP RECORD STORE TOP FOREIGN FOODS GROCERY TOP TV PERSONALITY TOP GARDEN STORE/NURSERY TOP MIDDLE-EASTERN TOP WINE LIST (RESTAURANT) TOP COCKTAILS OP RADIO PERSONALITY TOP LAWYER TOP AMERICANA BANDTOP VEGETARIAN/VEGAN MENU TOP RIBS TOP ART GALLERY TOP ANTIQUES STORE TOP WINE STOR TOP UNDERRATED NEIGHBORHOOD TOP WINE BAR TOP DANCE COMPANY TOP BRIDAL SHOP TOP ITALIAN TOP SHOPPING DISTRICT TOP PET SUPPLY STORE P HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE TOP BLOG TOP BIKE SHOP TOP DOG PARK TOP COMEDIAN TOP NAIL SALON TOP PLUMBER TOP YOGA STUDIO TOP INTERIOR DESIG TOP SKIN CARE TOP OUTDOOR SPORTS STORE TOP SMALL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY TOP FACEBOOK PAGE/GROUP TOP HAPPY HOUR TOP TATTOO STUDIO TOP APPETIZERS TOP FOOD TRUCK TOP FRAMERY TOP COVER BAND TOP BEER SELECTION (RESTAURANT) TOP HISTORIC LANDMARK TOP PRIVATE SCHOOL www.topknox.knoxmercury.com TOP DESSERTS TOP COMFORT FOOD TOP NEW THING IN KNOXVILLE TOP MEN'S CLOTHING TOP PODCAST TOP RADIO STATION TOP BEER MARKET/TAPROOM TOP DANCE CLUB TOP MEXICAN/SOUTH AMERICAN TOP FITNESS CENTER TOP PARK FOR A PICNIC TOP TACO TOP PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER TOP MUSEUM P ATTRACTION TOP LGBT CLUB TOP JEWELRY STORE TOP GIFT SHOP TOP COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL TOP BBQ TOP WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER TOP MARTIAL ARTS G TOP MOONSHINE TOP COCKTAILS TOP LANDSCAPING/TREE SERVICE TOP HIP-HOP/R&B GROUP TOP CATERING SERVICE TOP ELECTRICIAN TOP FREE STUFF TO DO P OUTDOOR DINING TOP DANCE SCHOOL TOP HAMBURGER TOP SALADS TOP SEAFOOD TOP EYEWEAR SHOP TOP PIZZA TOP AUTO SERVICE TOP HANDYMAN SERV MUSIC SCHOOL TOP REALTOR TOP THRIFT/CONSIGNMENT STORE TOP ROCK BAND TOP SECRET ABOUT KNOXVILLE TOP FLORIST TOP TECHNICAL/BUSINESS SCH TOP FURNITURE STORE TOP BREAKFAST TOP BOOKSTORE TOP WOMEN'S CLOTHING TOP ROCK CLUB TOP HAIR SALON TOP ASIAN WINGS TOP KARAOKE AugustTOP 27, 2015 KNOXVILLE MERCURY 27 OP TRADITIONAL BARBER SHOP TOP WATERWAY TO PADDLE TOP COFFEEHOUSE TOP RENOVATIONS/REMODELING COMPANY TOP NEW RETAIL BUSINESS TOP BAR TOP EYE CARE TOP ICE CREAM/FROZEN TREATS TOP DENTAL CARE TOP LOCAL-FOODS GROCERY TOP BIKE OR WALKING TRAIL TOP DELI/SANDWICH/SUB SHOP NPROFIT COMMUNITY GROUP TOP BANK/CREDIT UNION TOP BRUNCH TOP INSURANCE AGENT TOP INSTAGRAM FEED TOP SUSHI TOP SPORTS BAR TOP TV PERSO

2015 BALLOT

WELCOME TO THE KNOXVILLE MERCURY’S READERS’ POLL!

shop local.

vote local.

top knox 2015 ballot

the rules

FOOD

DRINK

Top Appetizers

Top Bar

Top Asian

Top Beer Market/Taproom

Top Bakery

Top Beer Selection (Restaurant)

Top BBQ

Top Cocktails

Top Breakfast

Top Craft Brewer

Top Brunch

Top Dive Bar

Top Cheap Meal

Top Happy Hour

YOU MUST FILL OUT AT LEAST 20 OF THE CATEGORIES.

Top Chef

Top Liquor Store

Top Coffeehouse

Top Moonshine

You can manage that, right? Otherwise, your ballot won’t be counted. Show us you’re serious about this!

Top Comfort Food

Top Sports Bar

Top Deli/Sandwich/Sub Shop

Top Wine Bar

Top Desserts

Top Wine List (Restaurant)

Top Hamburger

Top Wine Store

YOU CAN’T VOTE FOR NATIONAL CHAINS. Sorry. Top Knox is all about the things that make our area unique—so vote for local and regionally owned businesses only.

YOU CAN ONLY FILL OUT ONE BALLOT. Voting is online only. (The print ballot is just for your information.) You will need to create a login for the ballot with your email address. You are only allowed to send in one electronic ballot for tabulation. Which brings us to…

Top Hot Dog Top Ice Cream/Frozen Treats Top Italian

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Top Food Truck

Top Americana Band

Top French

Top Art Gallery

Top Indian

Top Artists Workshop/Studio

Top Mexican/South American

Top Blues Band

Top Middle-Eastern

Top Club DJ

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STUFF THE BALLOT BOX.

Top New Restaurant

Top Comedian

Top Outdoor Dining

Top Cover Band

No! Don’t bother even trying to game the system—we’ll figure it out. We reserve the right to make final judgments in any categories where there appear to be voting irregularities. Any businesses involved in ballot stuffing risk being disqualified.

Top Pizza

Top Dance Club

Top Ribs

Top Dance Company

Top Salads

Top LGBT Club

Top Seafood

Top Hip-Hop/R&B Group

Top Steaks

Top Jazz Band

Top Sushi

Top Karaoke

Top Taco

Top Live Comedy Venue

ALSO: VOTE FOR BUSINESSES THAT ARE STILL IN BUSINESS.

Top Vegetarian/Vegan Menu

Top Music Festival

Top Waterfront Restaurant

Top Museum

Top Wings

Top Performance Venue

We may hold departed businesses dear in our hearts, but Top Knox is a celebration of the places we can enjoy now.

Top Rock Band Top Rock Club Top Theater Group

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

top knox 2015 ballot SHOPPING

HEALTH & BEAUTY

KNOX ONLINE

Top Antiques Store

Top Dental Care

Top Blog

Top Auto Dealer

Top Eye Care

Top Facebook Page/Group

Top Bike Shop

Top Hair Salon

Top Instagram Feed

Top Bookstore

Top Holistic Health Center

Top Podcast

Top Bridal Shop

Top Fitness Center

Top Twitter Feed

Top Dry Cleaner

Top Licensed Massage Therapy

Top Vine Feed

Top Eyewear Shop

Top Martial Arts Gym

Top Foreign Foods Grocery

Top Medi Spa

Top Furniture Store

Top Nail Salon

Top Gift Shop

Top Personal Trainer

Top Attraction

Top In-Store Pet

Top Skin Care

Top Bike or Walking Trail

Top Jewelry Store

Top Traditional Barber Shop

Top Dog Park

Top Local-Foods Grocery

Top Walk-In/Urgent Care Clinic

Top Festival

Top Men’s Clothing

Top Women’s Health Center

Top Free Stuff To Do

Top Musical Instruments Store

Top Yoga Studio

Top Historic Landmark Top New Thing In Knoxville

Top New Retail Business Top Outdoor Sports Store Top Pet Supply Store

KNOXVILLE LIFE

HOME & GARDEN

Top Nonprofit Community Group Top Park For a Picnic

Top Record Store

Top Electrician

Top Place To Take the Kids

Top Shopping District

Top Garden Store/Nursery

Top Restoration Project

Top Tattoo Studio

Top Handyman Service

Top Secret About Knoxville

Top Thrift/Consignment Store

Top Home Improvement Store

Top Underrated Neighborhood

Top Women’s Clothing

Top Interior Design

Top Waterway To Paddle

Top Landscaping/Tree Service SERVICES

Top Plumber Top Renovations/Remodeling Company

Top Auto Service Top Bank/Credit Union Top Catering Service

EDUCATION & MEDIA

Top Clothing Alterations

Top Cosmetology School

Top Florist

Top Dance School

Top Framery

Top Music School

Top Insurance Agent

Top Private School

Top Lawyer

Top Radio Personality

Top Pet Service

Top Radio Station

Top Professional Photographer

Top Small College or University

Top Realtor

Top Technical/Business School

SHOP LOCAL. VOTE LOCAL.

www.topknox.knoxmercury.com

Top TV Personality Top TV Station

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 29

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

STILL

ROCKIN’ AT OUR NEW LOCATION

(despite what some people say)!

Instruments / Equipment / Lessons / Production Over 20 years in the business and counting!

1505 Downtown West Blvd.

(865) 691-9590

2015

BEST ICE CREAM / FROZEN TREAT

10 YEARS OF SPIRITED NIGHTLIFE.

WWW.SAPPHIREKNOXVILLE.COM

MONDAY - SATURDAY 9:30 AM - 11:00 PM SUNDAY 9:30 AM - 10:00 PM 524 S Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902 | 865.971.5449 August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31

A&E

P rogram Notes

n honor of the 10th anniversary of the Legacy Parks Foundation, 10 Knoxville-area musicians are starring in a series of music videos highlighting the outdoors beauty of the city—taking them out of their natural barroom environments and thrusting them out into actual nature.

The 10 videos, all premiering Monday during WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, feature some of Knoxville’s most well-known musicians, such as R.B. Morris, Trisha Gene Brady, and Wil Wright, performing in some of the city’s most pristine natural environments, including House Mountain, Bicentennial Park, and Fort Dickerson Park. In each video, the musicians perform a song surrounded by beautiful natural scenery, which for jazz musician Jason Thompson meant playing an improvisational piece in a field of sunflowers at Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area.

“It just kind of brings the whole culture of Knoxville full circle,” Thompson says. “We all come from the earth, so protecting these natural spaces within our beautiful city is going to bring us more acclaim as far as the city goes and keeps us in line with our heritage of natural beauty.”

The video series is the brainchild of Amy Gibson and Bob Deck of AK Consulting, who, working with marketing firm Pyxl, say they wanted to celebrate the conservation work of Legacy Parks with their friends in local music.

“If you start to see how beautiful these places are, and you see what people are doing, musically or preserving nature, whatever it is, you start to see how active we are as a community and how vibrant we are,” Gibson says. “[The videos] are speaking to Knoxville as a whole. This is what Knoxville is like. If you’re into music we have great music. If you’re into the environment and recreational resources, we’ve got that.”

While all the natural spaces were selected by Legacy Parks, the artists had freedom to choose a location that meant the most to them.

For R.B. Morris’ performance of “The Eastern Star,” Gibson and Deck placed him at the head of the Tennessee River, the convergence of the Holston River and French Broad River, so he could include a poem of his own about the river.

“The Tennessee River is almost like an invisible river,” Morris says, “I don’t think most Knoxvillians pay any

attention to the fact that it’s there. The river in modern times doesn’t serve the same function it did to the town when it was founded, but still, it’s the Tennessee River. It’s right there.”

Through the videos, Morris says he hopes people become more aware of Legacy Parks Foundation and the organization’s conservation efforts in East Tennessee.

“There’s a lot of natural beauty in East Tennessee,” Morris says, “And unless people are aware of it and protect it, we’ll lose it.”

Legacy Parks Foundation has saved more than 1,000 acres of land in Knox and Blount counties by buying the property and preventing development.

Since 2007, the organization has raised more than $3 million to protect the natural landscape in East Tennessee.

“I want [people] to be proud of where they live,” Deck says, “Yes, appreciate Legacy Parks and their work, but also have a sense of ownership of where we are and the opportunities that the area presents that mostly don’t cost anything.”

The video project perfectly combines music and the outdoors, says Trisha Gene Brady of the Black Lillies, who performs an a cappella version of “Hills of Home” on top of House Mountain in her video.

“Where there is a camp-out or a river-float, there is usually a campfire pickin’ after,” she says by email. “There is no better time to get out and take in the beauty that we are surrounded with. Every day is another chance to experience such a majestic place.”

Provided the videos are successful, Deck and Gibson say they hope to continue the project with more musicians and return to some of the same spaces as the seasons change, giving a new look to the scenery in the videos.

The videos premiere online Monday morning at Legacy Parks and Pyxl’s websites, as well as at akcllc. com/ten, and will be discussed on WDVX’s Blue Plate Special that day, where Morris will perform.

—McCord Pagan

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Natural Legacy A new series of videos celebrating Legacy Parks’ 10th anniversary takes local musicians out into the wild

I

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Shelf Life: Library Movies

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Music: Strung Like a Horse

Music: Keith Brown

Maps Need Reading HOPES FOR CHEMISTRY “Morning haze, one hit more,” Maps Need Reading sing on their debut EP. It’s a pertinent tagline for Hopes for Chemistry, four tracks of psychedelic emo-jazz well-suited for a post-midnight munchies run. The quartet has been a staple of Knoxville’s progressive music scene for the past four years, building a faithful following based on the quirkiness and intensity of their live shows. But by revamping their lineup (with new drummer DJ Young) and hitting the studio (with Lines Taking Shape’s Paul Seguna), Maps sound like an entirely new band in 2015—harnessing that early potential with electrifying results.

“My Sister’s Husband” opens the EP with a storm cloud of jazz-rock elegance, bolstered by the call-and-response melodic accents of guest players Hunter Smith (saxophone) and Tylar Bullion (trombone). That sultry atmosphere trickles throughout the set—lurching into heavier prog rock on the epic, nearly instrumental “Pickle Mansion” (inspired by a 100-year-old house) and Zappa-esque funk-fusion on “Speak in Beeps,” which channels the angst of watching a close friend morph into a robot, figuratively speaking.

Seguna’s lush, live-sounding production gives Maps muscle and clarity, highlighting the band’s bold dynamic shifts. And it’s a trip surveying their continued sophistication—compare the scrappy early demo version of live staple “Two Yellows” with the jazzier, more nuanced version that appears here.

As individual players, their changes are startling: Guitarist David Webb flaunts his jazz-guitar training throughout the EP, like on the trippy mid-section of “Pickle Mansion,” and Young’s textured drumming, captured by Seguna in a stereo-panned mix, is the sonic glue holding it all together.

Maps have already started working on their debut LP, a wacky-sounding concept album about “personified machines and appliances.” Until then, we’ve got Hopes for Chemistry—an alluring tease that reveals new depths with each listen.

—Ryan Reed

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Movie: Phoenix

Shelf Life

A&E

Creeps, Kings, and the Wrecking Crew New movies (and a new edition of a ’90s cult classic) at the Knox County library

BY CHRIS BARRETT NIGHTCRAWLER

Jake Gyllenhall portrays Lewis Bloom, a freelance news videographer without conscience. Imagine Travis Bickle hopped up on Zig Ziglar, plus camera and top light. Bloom’s character is written to be repulsive. We see him manipulate and mislead peers, along with veteran anchor Nina Romina (Rene Russo), who is desperate to increase her station’s ratings. Over the course of a violent crime case, Bloom gathers and withholds information, including the location and identities of the criminals, while placing innocents in harm’s way.

Still, it becomes clear that within the news industry—where quasi-journalists compete to document death rattles at crime and crash scenes—Bloom’s supposed character flaws are more a matter of subjective gradation. He will go far in his field, there is no doubt.

TANGERINES

A quiet, moving meditation on the mundane horrors of modern war, this film was completed in 2013 but only recently released in the U.S. Set in the Abkhazia region of Georgia during the war that took place there during the early 1990s, Tangerines dissects the notion of war, moving it from a map labeled in foreign languages to the intimate and familiar spaces of gardens and front rooms and orchards.

Most Estonians in the area fled when the war began. But old friends Ivo and Margus have stayed behind to harvest their tangerine crop. After a firefight at their doorstep, the men take in a wounded Chechen mercenary. The dialogue between these men and others who arrive in search of the survivor reveals the absurdity of war

among people capable of speech. They clearly have more in common than in conflict, and none of them know exactly why they are killing each other.

THE FISHER KING

If this 1991 gem is the first film by Terry Gilliam that you remember (or remember being impressed by), that may be because it was the first film he directed but did not write himself. Rich LaGravenese scripted this fascinating picaresque that frankly addressed AIDS, homelessness, mental illness, and the media as a menace long before those topics entered mainstream conversation. And he managed to wrap the works in Arthurian legend with show tunes on top. Among the worthwhile bonus features of this new Criterion edition is a photo album of behind-the-scenes images captured by accomplished photographer and male lead Jeff Bridges.

THE WRECKING CREW!

Danny Tedesco assembled this quite sweet documentary in homage to his late father, session guitarist Tommy Tedesco. The name may not be familiar.

But if you own rock, soul, jazz, or pop records made during Tedesco’s lifetime, you can be fairly certain that you own records on which Tedesco and his L.A. cohorts, aka the Wrecking Crew, appear, probably uncredited. Interviews, archives, and session credits are spooled out in a way that’s intended to blow your mind as you realize that your idols did not record most of what you consider to be their music. But once you wrap your brain around Auto-Tune, it’s hard to be too surprised or disappointed by the music industry.

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 33

A&E

Music

Garage ’Grass Chattanooga’s Strung Like a Horse brings theatrical weirdness to bluegrass

BY RYAN REED

O

ne of Clay Maselle’s newest songs is titled “Trailer Park Astronaut”—a fitting description for the quirky “gypsy-punk garage-grass” he creates with Chattanooga’s Strung Like a Horse.

Backed by fiddle, banjo, upright bass and a percussion stool, dubbed “Bertha,” adorned with rotary phone bells, the frontman sings in a half-yelp/half-yodel about murder, bird dogs, and broken hearts. It’s a style too warped to jibe with the ongoing pseudo-bluegrass revival of modern rock (see: Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers). But it’s paying off well for the quintet, who’ve become a charmingly weird staple of the Chattanooga scene.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Maselle, a Mississippi native, formed the band around 2010 in his Chattanooga garage/basement; he settled there after fleeing Colorado to pursue music.

“I did a big road trip and drove all over the Gulf Coast, down through Florida, up the East Coast, through the Smoky Mountains, hit up Asheville, Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga—I went everywhere,” he says. “Chattanooga is the town that really struck me the most—just a really vibrant downtown and people making art, doing stuff, people paying attention.”

Despite the singer’s inexperi-

ence—and the group’s revolving-door lineup—Strung Like a Horse quickly found its niche, drawing strong crowds at local venues like Rhythm & Brews. Their penchant for theatricality hasn’t hurt, either; the band often performs with a belly dancer, Lacy Jo. In 2012, they packed Market Street with 1,000 fans for the “Strut Like a Horse” parade, backed by fire-breathers, jugglers, and stilt-walkers. (“Chattanooga, why would you let us do that?” Maselle says, laughing about the memory.)

Maselle took an indirect path toward building the band’s current lineup, plucking disparate outsiders wherever he could find them. Drummer Crispy had been playing in a variety of reggae bands, and fiddle player Spooky spent time as a street musician. “I don’t know if he was homeless or what at the time, but he was playing music for money down under the bridge one day, so I went and snatched him up,” Maselle says.

After Strung’s original bassist quit for a day job, Maselle tracked down his replacement, B.J. Hightower, at a local tavern, convincing him to join their ranks—even though the new recruit was initially skeptical about the unorthodox arrangements.

“It’s not typical for an upright bass player to play those songs,” Maselle says. “They’re all really weird. The timing is weird. The changes are weird. It’s not standard stuff. So he was like, ‘You want me to do what?’ But he took on the challenge and kind of fell in love with it.”

Now Strung are prepping a Sept.

25 release show for their debut album, Free, set for Rhythm & Brews’ final weekend of concerts. Self-produced and recorded at a mix of professional studios, “laundry rooms, closets, and basements,” the album maintains the band’s freewheeling bluegrass sensibilities but also veers into sophisticated new territory.

“It’s a really diverse kind of sound that we’ve created on this one,” Maselle says. “We’ve got some anthems on there, some really spacey, weird stuff, some funk driven stuff— there’s even one about getting abducted by aliens.”

Free veers from the blues-punk strut of “Brag” to the classical-styled mandolin runs of live staple “Opus Zero” to the doom-laden, metal-grass intro to “Horizontal,” the title of which references an in-joke made by Hightower about Maselle’s off-kilter songwriting process.

“I’m a horizontal songwriter,” the frontman says. “I don’t necessarily create a hook like you probably should if you’re trying to sell your music in a mainstream way. I like to write part of a song and then come back to it with a totally different inspiration to finish it. Rather than stacking a song vertically, I write from left to right—one long sentence.”

Strung’s current quintet has been together for over a year, and the band’s spent nearly that whole time fleshing out Free. Maselle says he’s currently working 12-hour days to finish the project—tweaking the final artwork and setting up pre-orders through the project’s Kickstarter page. The album marks a new chapter for the band—and it’s a testament to the city’s cultural reach.

“Chattanooga took us in really, really quick. We’ve done really well, really fast,” Maselle says. “Chattanooga has treated us well.” ◆

WHO

Strung Like a Horse

WHEN

Saturday, Aug. 29 at 9 p.m.

WHERE

The Concourse (940 Blackstock Ave.)

HOW MUCH $5

INFO

internationalknox.com

Music

Sideman/Soloist Jazz pianist Keith Brown steps out with his own Journey of personal compositions

BY MIKE GIBSON

K

eith Brown’s forthcoming solo release The Journey is ostensibly a jazz record, to be released on Space Time Records, a jazz label. But Brown’s musical footprint is much larger than the tag would seem to imply.

A composer, bandleader, and pianist/keyboardist nonpareil, Brown is one of the busiest players in town.

His involvement as both a leader and a sideman include soul-rock outfit Aftah Party, jazz combo the BluePrint, and sideman gigs with Vance Thompson projects Five Plus Six and Marble City Five.

But as Brown spread his wings

compositionally in the time leading up to recording The Journey—his first album, Sweet and Lovely, was mostly a collection of jazz standards, with only a couple of original songs—he says he found himself giving vent to his love of contemporary popular music as well as to the blues and traditional jazz that informed his early musical education.

“This was my first chance to really do more of my own compositions,” says Brown, whose father is Donald Brown, the esteemed jazz pianist-composer and University of Tennessee instructor. “There’s still

some element of the more traditional jazz in there.

“But I grew up listening to a lot of funk, modern R&B, and hip-hop.

Those influences may not come out cut and dried, so to speak, but they’re in there.”

Brown has some samples of his latest material on tap at his website, keithbrownpiano.com, and the snippets of new music are telling, though brief. Brown is a facile player, a virtuoso with a light, quick touch and an ear for clever harmonic flourishes—a trait he seems to have inherited from his well-known sire.

But for all of the quicksilver brilliance on display courtesy of Brown and his accomplished sidemen—the album includes a host of talented guest players—there’s never any sense that Brown or his fellows have lost sight of the song.

“More than anything, I like to think that I play for the composition,” Brown says. “What’s appropriate for the music? Whatever context I’m playing in, I try to get as much information as I can, and then I try to fit in with what’s going on.”

Asked about comparisons to his father—both men have a knack for eccentric tonal embroidery, for injecting music with subversive phrases that tweak the ear without ever provoking outright harmonic dissent—Brown says the common denominator has more to do with sensibility than sonic exploration.

“It’s about being tasteful, knowing where to take the music, and how far you can go,” he says.

For now, Brown says he’s happy being a man of many musical faces, a versatile soloist and sideman who may be called upon to play uptown blues, downtown jazz, and silken soul at separate gigs, all within the space of a single week.

“I want to keep doing a variety of things,” he says. “I have love for all these kinds of music, and it’s good that I get to play in bands with this sort of variety.

“I do it if it feels relevant to me, if it has meaning to me. Hopefully, it will mean something to someone else as well.” ◆

A&E The Knoxville Jazz Festival Since 2006, the nonprofit Knoxville Jazz Festival has been rallying local jazz fans with a series of surprising performances as well as its efforts to document Knoxville’s jazz history. This year’s edition features more great musicians.

FRIDAY, AUG. 28 Bijou Theatre, 8 p.m.

Benny Golson The golden age of hard bop may be some 50 years ago, but some of its storied players remain to be heard on stage and are not to be missed. Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson is an all-star sideman who hit his stride in the 1950s and ’60s while playing with greats like Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Yes, that’s him playing on the Messengers’ 1958 Blue Note opus Moanin’—which pretty much qualifies him for jazz immortality. He’s also one of only two jazzbos remaining from the legendary 1958 photo titled “A Great Day in Harlem.” The other survivor is Sonny Rollins. This guy is living history.

Bijou Theatre, 9:45 p.m.

Manuel Rocheman French pianist Manuel Rocheman hit the New York jazz scene in 1980, where he was taken under the wings of Tommy Flanagan and Jaki Bayard.

SATURDAY, AUG. 29 Scruffy City Hall, downtown, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Jazz in a Hot Scruffy City First, Knoxville History Project director Jack Neely takes jazzbos on a walking tour of downtown’s jazz history. Then participants can hunker down at Scruffy City Hall on Market Square for an afternoon of local jazz bands, an art exhibit, and vintage jazz films.

The Square Room, 8 p.m.

Pianist Keith Brown celebrates the release of his new album. See article to the left!

Information and tickets: knoxjazzfest.org

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 35

A&E

Movies

Postwar Horror Director Christian Petzold layers on the noir with the complex psychological drama Phoenix

BY APRIL SNELLINGS

I

nscrutable characters with devastating pasts have long been fi lm noir fi xtures, and German director Christian Petzold gives us an unforgettable pair of them in his terrific new fi lm, Phoenix. A piercing, keenly observed war drama couched in genre flair, Phoenix manages to haunt without ghosts and thrill without onscreen violence.

It’s also a doppelganger yarn with no doppelganger. Set in Berlin in 1945, Phoenix centers on Nelly Lenz (a consistently brilliant Nina Hoss), a nightclub singer who barely survived the horrors of the Nazi death camp where she spent the fi nal stretch of World War II. When the fi lm begins, the Nazis have taken everything from Nelly: her entire family, her livelihood, even her face, which was destroyed by a gunshot wound just before her liberation from Auschwitz. She has only her life and a devoted friend, Lene (Nina Kunzendorf), who helps her procure the services of a plastic

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

surgeon. Given the opportunity to choose a new face, Nelly only wants her old one back—a feat the doctor attempts, but can’t entirely manage.

The face she sees in the mirror once the bandages come off is familiar, but not her own.

Once her face has healed, Lene intends to whisk Nelly away to Palestine, where they can reclaim their Jewish identity and forever escape the shadow of their native Germany. But it isn’t just her own features that Nelly isn’t willing to give up; she seems to think it’s possible to rebuild some semblance of the life she enjoyed in Berlin before the Holocaust. To that end, she spends her nights searching the eerie, bombedout ruins of the city for her husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), who thinks she’s dead. The catch is, Johnny might have been the one who sold her out to the Nazis.

Make that one of the catches.

Once she fi nds Johnny, a pianist now

bussing tables at a nightclub called Phoenix, their reunion is far from what she had in mind. He doesn’t recognize her, and draws her into a Vertigo-tinged conspiracy to imitate the wife he thinks is dead and claim the large inheritance that awaits her in a Swiss bank. She goes along with the deception on multiple levels, letting him coach her in how to act like herself in order to fool authorities, while also allowing him to believe she’s a stranger called Esther.

What follows is a complex psychological drama that adds emotional resonance to its inherently pulpy conceit. Petzold and co-writer Harun Farocki never address the central implausibility of Phoenix’s plot—Johnny isn’t the sharpest shard of glass littering the alleys of postwar Berlin, but does it really never occur to him that this woman who looks like Nelly and writes like Nelly and walks like Nelly might actually be Nelly? But it hardly matters once you succumb to the movie’s hypnotic pacing, its palpable atmosphere of dread and intrigue, and its compelling, heartrending performances.

Visually, Petzold stirs up a heady brew of imagery that borrows from noir, German expressionism, and even classic horror. Silhouettes loom behind pebbled glass; lost women are dwarfed by the shadows of violent men in red-lit alleyways. Early scenes

of a post-op Nelly, her head entirely swathed in bandages as she drifts in and out of lucidity, even recall scenes of a masked Edith Scob floating through the halls of a remote mansion in Eyes Without a Face.

But Phoenix is just as much about what’s left to the imagination as what’s rendered in vivid detail onscreen. One heartbreaking story beat plays out entirely offstage, with nothing but a rolled-up carpet to imply the grim aftermath. Nothing is certain; everything lends itself to layers of interpretation and doubt. Was that a flicker of recognition in Johnny’s eyes? Does Nelly see him for what he is, or is she really taken in by him?

The answers don’t come easily, and scenes rarely play out the way you think they will. This is a director who understands that suspense is what happens before the guns come out, and that the most devastating effects of war don’t become apparent until the smoke has cleared and the treaties have been signed. Even its magnificent ending is a refutation of what we might expect from a fi lm about a life reclaimed from unimaginable horror. Phoenix ends with a song, and it’s more devastating and harrowing than any shootout I’ve seen this year. ◆ Phoenix opens at Regal Downtown West Cinema 8 on Friday, Aug. 28.

F F O 2 0%

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nventor y I e r o t S E nt ire

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Sunglasses • Incense • Glassware

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August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 37

CALENDAR MUSIC

Thursday, Aug. 27 BRAD AUSTIN • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM KARINA BELFORD • Wild Wing Cafe • 8PM • FREE BIG SOMETHING WITH THE PAT BEASLEY BAND • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • BIG Something fuses elements of rock, pop, funk, hip hop and improv. All ages.

• $10-$12 THE BOXMASTERS • Cotton Eyed Joe • 10PM • Teddy Andreadis, J.D. Andrew, Brad Davis and Billy Bob “Bud” Thornton make up “The Boxmasters”; an American roots-rock band of seasoned musicians whose sound is rich in rhythm and story. • $10 ROBBIE FULKS WITH ELLE CARPENTER • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else.

ROBBIE FULKS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM GUY MARSHALL WITH THE VILLAGE GREEN PEOPLE AND KENDALL CALKINS • Campbell Station Park • 6PM • Part of the Lawn Chair Concert Series. • FREE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT SERIES • Blount County Public Library • 7PM • A weekly series of summer concerts, featuring gospel and popular songs by Ebony and Ivory (Aug. 13); high-energy Americana by Pistol Creek Catch of the Day (Aug. 20); a program of Native American music (Aug. 27); and a preview of Knoxville Opera’s 2015-16 season (Sept. 3).

LAMONT 865 WITH YOUNG UKAMEA • Longbranch Saloon • 9PM MR. ILL WITH SEBASTIAN CAMPAIGN, EARL GRAE, AND BLACK ATTICUS • The Bowery • 9PM • Local hip-hop. • $5 THE CHUCK MULLICAN JAZZ BONANZA • Red Piano Lounge • 8PM REALM WITH SPLIT TUSK • Preservation Pub • 9PM THE THIRST QUENCHERS • Mind Yer Ps and Qs Craft Beer and Wine Lounge • 8PM • The Ps and Qs house band.

Y’UNS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM Friday, Aug. 28 THE ART OF WITH FALL OF THE ALBATROSS AND LINES TAKING SHAPE • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 7PM • A night of local prog and heavy rock to celebrate the Art Of’s new album. All ages.

BADLANDS • Preservation Pub • 10PM BETHANY AND THE SWING SERENADE • Red Piano Lounge • 8PM THE BLAIR EXPERIENCE • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • Old-school R&B, funk, and pop. 21 and up. • FREE MARK FARINA WITH KEVIN NOWELL AND J MO • The Concourse • 9PM • The legendary house and techno DJ, presented by Midnight Voyage and WUTK. 18 and up. • $10-$20 FREEQUENCY • The Rocks Tavern • 9PM • Acoustic Americana trio.

FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more.

FUTUREBIRDS WITH NEW MADRID • Scruffy City Hall • 9:30PM GUY SMILEY • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM MIC HARRISON AND THE HIGH SCORE WITH OLD SALT UNION AND BIG COUNTRY’S EMPTY BOTTLE • The Bowery • 8PM • The country influence he absorbed in the V-Roys made its way into Harrison’s songwriting and guitar playing after the band broke up in 1999, even during a brief stint in Knoxville indie/power-pop/punk outfit Superdrag. When he hooked up with local rockers the 38

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

High Score (which currently consists of guitarists Robbie Trosper and Chad Pelton, bassist Vance Hillard, and drummer Brad Henderson) as his official backing band in 2004, he pushed the group in a direction that stretched the High Score’s punky pop-rock experience. The 2007 album Right Side of the Grass, in particular, was nearly a straight-up country album, from its Waylon Jennings-and-Willie Nelson-inspired cover art to its subject matter (drinking, in several cases).That’s changed on Harrison and the High Score’s new album, Still Wanna Fight, from 2012. Harrison and company’s rural roots show through, but the songwriting and production tilt toward classic power pop and old-fashioned ‘70s and ‘80s radio rock. • $12 HOOKA HEY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up.

HUMMING HOUSE • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM HUNGRY OTTER FEST • Pilot Light • 7PM • Featuring No Air Radio, Temperance League, Kevin Abernathy, the Greg Horne Band, White Gregg, and the Melungeons (Friday); Ancient Warfare, Heiskell, Bark, Scrawl, Big Bad Oven, and Hudson K (Saturday); and the Bearded, Black Atticus, Mike McGill and the Refills, and Spades Cooley (Sunday). • $5 KNOXVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL: BENNY GOLSON AND MANUEL ROCHEMAN • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • To say that Benny Golson is among the greatest living jazz players in the world may sound like hyperbole. Yet few jazz musicians can claim to be true innovators and fewer yet can boast of a career that redefines the word “jazz”. Following Benny Golson is French pianist extraordinaire, Manuel Rocheman. • $25-$35 • See story on page 35.

THE LAWLESS FEW • Longbranch Saloon • 9PM LEFT FOOT DAVE AND THE MAGIC HATS • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM NORMAN MANNELLA AND DAVID SLACK • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz.

MY SO-CALLED BAND • The International • 10PM • Hits from the ‘90s. • $1 SAME AS IT EVER WAS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • This 7-piece outfit of Knoxville musicians came together out of their mutual love and respect for the music of the Talking Heads in the summer of 2004 and have not looked back since. Over the years the band has performed extensively, and now nearly have the entire Talking Heads catalog at their fingertips.

ALEXANDRA SCOTT • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else.

DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Instrumental and vocal jazz standards.

THE WHISKEY SESSIONS • Bearden Field House • 9PM Saturday, Aug. 29 2 CHAINZ WITH BABI MAC, DJ ERIC B, AND DJ SAGZ • Old City Courtyard • 7PM • The Hot 104.5 12th Year BDay Bash featuring 2 Chainz, Babi Mac, DJ Eric B and DJ Sagz. 18 and up. • $15-$50 • See Spotlight.

AIR1 POSITIVE HITS TOUR • Knoxville Civic Coliseum • 7PM • Featuring Crowder, Lauren Daigle, NF, Finding Favour, and special guest 3for3. • $22 AMERICAN AQUARIUM WITH HANDSOME AND THE HUMBLES • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 8PM • For nearly a decade, American Aquarium have spent the majority of their days on the road, burning through a sprawl of highways during the day and playing hours of raw, rootsy rock & roll at night. • $20 BETTER DAZE • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM JONATHAN BUTLER • Niswonger Performing Arts Center

(Greeneville) • 7:30 PM • Jonathan Butler remains a captivating and powerful performer pouring his heart into selections from his immense catalogue while thriving on interacting with his fans.

THE CRY WITH LOST ELEMENT AND HELLAPHANT • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 7:30PM • Alt-rock and punk.

• $8-$10 THE DEEP FRIED FIVE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria •

10PM FREEQUENCY • Hurricane Grill and Wings • 8PM • Acoustic Americana trio.

BETHANY HANKINS • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz.

HUNGRY OTTER FEST • Pilot Light • 7PM • Featuring No Air Radio, Temperance League, Kevin Abernathy, the Greg Horne Band, White Gregg, and the Melungeons (Friday);

2 CHAINZ Old City Courtyard • Saturday, Aug. 29 • 7 p.m. • $20-$50 • carleoentertainment.com • 18 and up

Atlanta dope-boy rapper 2 Chainz made headlines earlier this year when he mentioned plans to run for mayor of his small, suburban home town of College Park, Ga.—and who could resist putting a vote behind the man best known for his explicit Southern stylizing on drug culture and street life? Politics aside, though, it seems 2 Chainz’s love for his former stomping grounds is indeed sincere. The first track on his newest mixtape, Trap-A-Velli Tre, released this month, pays homage to that town just southwest of Atlanta and the personal struggles that have formed the crux of the rapper’s nearly 20-year career. “Neighborhood” builds on those early experiences with the sentimental yet gritty lines “Georgia Power was off, I was raised in the dark/I don’t know if it faze me or not—no telling” and “If you don’t shoot or get shot at, you ain’t go through adolescence,” building to the song’s hook and to the point: “If it wasn’t for my neighborhood then I wouldn’t be nothing.” The only problem is, these days, 2 Chainz doesn’t actually live in College Park, which makes mounting a (legal) campaign for mayor a bit problematic. Regardless of those technicalities, the Deep South word-peddler will be back on his lyrical soapbox this weekend to headline the Hot 104.5 Bday Bash at the Old City Courtyard. Local honky-tonk/thug-life hybrid Babi Mac will open, and DJs Eric C and Sagz will spin. (Clay Duda)

41

Spotlight: Namaste Betty

45

Spotlight: Knoxville Tattoo Convention

CALENDAR Ancient Warfare, Heiskell, Bark, Scrawl, Big Bad Oven, and Hudson K (Saturday); and the Bearded, Black Atticus, Mike McGill and the Refills, and Spades Cooley (Sunday). • $5 JAZZSPIRATIONS • Red Piano Lounge • 8PM KNOXVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL: KEITH BROWN • The Square Room • 8PM • Knoxville’s own, pianist Keith Brown celebrates the release of his new CD as part of the Knoxville Jazz Festival. • See story on page 35.

LABRON LAZENBY • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM BRISTON MARONEY • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else.

THE POP ROX • Mulligan’s Restaurant • 8PM THE RERUNS • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Knoxville’s premier TV band plays your favorite television themes.

RYE BABY • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM THE MIKE SNODGRASS BAND • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • Feel-good pop covers and originals. 21 and up. • FREE SOUL MECHANIC WITH CALABASH • Preservation Pub • 10PM STRUNG LIKE A HORSE • The Concourse • 9PM • A high energy gypsy garage grass band based in Chattanooga. • $5 • See story on page 34.

TOMATO HEAD SILVER ANNIVERSARY PARTY • Market Square • 4PM • You can’t shake Knoxville! We’d like to thank our customers for 25 wonderful years by throwing a birthday celebration on Market Square. Join us on Saturday, August 29 for a FREE concert featuring The Scott Miller (and the Commonwealth), Exit 65, Guy Marshall, and Jacqui and The Tumble Kings. This event will also serve as a #LovingSpoonful fundraiser for the Knoxville History Project, which is led by Knoxville’s favorite historian, Jack Neely. They’ll receive 100% of the proceeds from the sale of beer ID wristbands + any profits from the festival. And, an extra delicious reason to come out is to have a few pints of our silver anniversary ale, which is a special collaboration between Saw Works Brewing Company and Tomato Head. We’d like to thank our event partners Eagle Distributing Company, Visit Knoxville, WDVX, WBIR Channel 10, Knoxville History Project, WUTK The Rock, The Knoxville Mercury and Saw Works. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 30 THE BROCKEFELLERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM THE CARMONAS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

HUNGRY OTTER FEST • Big Fatty’s Catering Kitchen • 3PM • Featuring No Air Radio, Temperance League, Kevin Abernathy, the Greg Horne Band, White Gregg, and the Melungeons (Friday); Ancient Warfare, Heiskell, Bark, Scrawl, Big Bad Oven, and Hudson K (Saturday); and the Bearded, Black Atticus, Mike McGill and the Refills, and Spades Cooley (Sunday). • $5 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz.

DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 1PM • Live jazz.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN BLUES SOCIETY IBC REGIONAL • Barley’s (Maryville) • 5PM • $5 TALL PAUL • Mulligan’s Restaurant • 4PM Monday, Aug. 31 MAX BENSON • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else.

THE BLUEPRINT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM

JERRY GARCIA TRIBUTE • Preservation Pub • 10PM Tuesday, Sept. 1 SEAN KIELY • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE STRANGLED DARLINGS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM TALL PAUL AND QUINCY YEATES • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 7PM Wednesday, Sept. 2 BOYS’ NIGHT OUT • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more.

THE LONETONES WITH BRIAN GRIFFIN • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • East Tennessee’s own The Lonetones (led by married couple Sean McCollough and Steph Gunnoe) mix roots music with psychedelic and progressive elements for a unique sound that’s perfect for our life and times. • $10 THE NORM • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

PRESTON SHIRES • Bistro at the Bijou • 7PM • Live jazz. • FREE Thursday, Sept. 3 JENNI ALPERT WITH AUBRYN AND BYRON • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE DYNAMO • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM HOT SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT SERIES • Blount County Public Library • 7PM • A weekly series of summer concerts, featuring gospel and popular songs by Ebony and Ivory (Aug. 13); high-energy Americana by Pistol Creek Catch of the Day (Aug. 20); a program of Native American music (Aug. 27); and a preview of Knoxville Opera’s 2015-16 season (Sept. 3).

THE THIRST QUENCHERS • Mind Yer Ps and Qs Craft Beer and Wine Lounge • 8PM • The Ps and Qs house band.

WILLIE AND THE GIANT • Preservation Pub • 10PM Friday, Sept. 4 BACKUP PLANET WITH KOA • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM THE BURNIN’ HERMANS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM THE COVERALLS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

DIRTY POOL • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM FISH STYX • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM FREEQUENCY • Mulligan’s Restaurant • 8PM • Acoustic Americana trio.

FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more.

HERE COME THE MUMMIES • The International • 8PM • It’s been a long and dusty road since 1922 when, at a dig in the desert south of Tunis, Professor Nigel Quentin Fontenelle Dumblucke IV (1895-1973) unearthed the ruins of an ancient discotheque to find a dozen undead Egyptian mummies inexplicably throwing down what he dubbed, “Terrifying Funk From Beyond the Grave.”From these hovering souls, who called themselves Here Come The Mummies, Professor Dumblucke learned of the powerful curse that doomed them to wander the earth, seeking the ultimate riff, the one that may allow their spirits to rest after eons of, as they put it, “banging out solid fly grooves, y’all.” But their story was murky at August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 39

CALENDAR best...What is clear is that these saucy specters resurfaced around the turn of the Millennium. Since their discovery (and without so much as a hot bath) Here Come The Mummies has opened for P-Funk, Al Green, and Cheap Trick; rocked Super Bowl Village 2012; become a regular on The Bob and Tom Show; been invited to play Summer Camp Music Festival 2015, Voodoo Fest 2015, Common Ground 2015, Musikfest, and Summerfest; and made themselves the darlings of sell-out crowds over wide swaths of North America. Maybe that’s why the ladies (and some dudes) can’t stop losing their minds over these mayhem-inducing mavens of mirth.Some say they were cursed after deflowering a great Pharaoh’s daughter. Others claim they are reincarnated Grammy-Winning studio musicians. Regardless, HCTM’s mysterious personas, cunning song-craft, and unrelenting live show will bend your brain, and melt your face. Get ready, for Here Come The Mummies. • $20 TOM JOHNSON • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE DEVAN JONES AND THE UPTOWN STOMP • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE THE JONNY MONSTER BAND WITH DREW STERCHI’S BLUES TRIBE • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM MARBLE CITY SHOOTERS • Casual Pint (Fountain City) • 7PM MIDNIGHT VOYAGE LIVE: EPROM • The Concourse • 9PM • $7 THE PLATE SCRAPERS WITH JOSH MORNINGSTAR • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional,

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE THE PLATE SCRAPERS • Preservation Pub • 8PM RUMOURS • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • A tribute to Fleetwood Mac. 21 and up. • FREE DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Instrumental and vocal jazz standards.

Saturday, Sept. 5 APPALACHIAN FURY WITH MAPS NEED READING • Preservation Pub • 10PM THE BAD DUDES WITH MASS DRIVER AND REALM • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 7PM • $8 THE BAND TEMPER • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM WILL BOYD • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz.

CYPHER: A HIP-HOP SHOW • The Birdhouse • 9PM • Open mic for the first half of the night, then two featured artists to close out the night. 18 and up. • $5 THE JUKE JOINT DRIFTERS • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS WITH OTIS • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 8PM • $20 LOS COLOGNES • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM MARBLE CITY SHOOTERS • Preservation Pub • 8PM PHOURIST AND THE PHOTONS WITH THE TILLERS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE THE RERUNS • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Knoxville’s premier TV band plays your favorite television themes.

BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM SMOOTH SAILOR • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM THE TILLERS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM

Wednesday, Sept. 2 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OLD-TIME JAM • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Regular speed old-time/fiddle jam every Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. at the Time Warp Tea Room. All instruments and skill levels welcome.

OPEN CHORD OPEN MIC • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM BRACKINS BLUES JAM • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM • A weekly open session hosted by Tommie John.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 3 BREWHOUSE BLUES JAM • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM

Sunday, Sept. 6 LLOYD WITH PRINCE TELL • NV Nightclub • 9PM • 18 and up. • $15 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz.

DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 1PM • Live jazz.

WISEWATER • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Wisewater is a contemporary folk trio composed of Kate Lee, Forrest O’Connor, and Jim Shirey.

Sunday, Sept. 6 NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE CIRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 4PM • Meets the first Sunday of the month. All levels welcome. Call Ijams to register 865-577-4717 ext.110.

OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS

DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS

Thursday, Aug. 27 SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM

Friday, Aug. 28 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • ‘80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk.

Friday, Aug. 28 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OPEN SONGWRITER NIGHT • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM

Saturday, Aug. 29 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • ‘80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 PRESERVATION PUB SINGER/SONGWRITER NIGHT • Preservation Pub • 7PM • A weekly open mic.

OLD-TIME JAM SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Hosted by Sarah Pickle.

Sunday, Aug. 30 LAYOVER SUNDAY BRUNCH • The Concourse • 12PM • Brunch with a side of chill ambient music.

presents the 2nd annual

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Music RooM GuitaRs & RecoRds

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@ Big FATTy’S

Friday August 28 Saturday August 29 Sunday August 30 ShoW STARTS @ 7PM

No Air Radio Temperance league Kevin Abernathy greg horne Band TBA The Melungeons

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Ancient Warfare heiskell Bark Scrawl hudson K Big Bad oven

ShoW STARTS @ 3PM

The Bearded Black Atticus Red Shoes & Rosin Spades Cooley

FOLLOW US:

Streaming 24.7.365 at WUTKRADIO.COM or listen on your

40

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

smart phone and iPad app.

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

CALENDAR

Friday, Sept. 4 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • ‘80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk.

Saturday, Aug. 5 TEMPLE DANCE NIGHT: WHAT IS FETISH? • The International • 9PM • Knoxville’s long-running alternative dance night. • $10 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • ‘80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk.

Sunday, Sept. 6 GLO PAINT PARTY • The International • 10PM

COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD

Saturday, Aug. 29 IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10AM • A weekly improv comedy class.

Sunday, Aug. 30 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic.

Monday, Aug. 31 QED COMEDY LABORATORY • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • QED ComedyLaboratory is a weekly show with different theme every week that combines stand-up, improv, sketch, music and other types of performance and features some of the funniest people in Knoxville and parts unknown.

It’s weird and experimental. There is no comedy experience in town that is anything like this and it’s also a ton of fun. Pay what you want. Cost: Free - But Donations Gladly Accepted.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 EINSTEIN SIMPLIFIED • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Live comedy improv. • $0 OPEN MIC STAND-UP COMEDY • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM • Come laugh until you cry at the Longbranch every Tuesday night. Doors open at 8, first comic at 8:30. No cover charge, all are welcome. Aspiring or experienced comics interested in joining in the fun email us at longbranch.info@gmail.com to learn more, or simply come to the show a few minutes early.

Saturday, Sept. 5 IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10AM • A weekly improv comedy class.

Sunday, Sept. 6 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic.

THEATER AND DANCE Thursday, Aug. 27 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Aug. 14-30. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12

Friday, Aug. 28 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Aug. 14-30. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • Change is in the air for Francis Henshall, who was recently fired and looking to make his

NAMASTE BETTY World’s Fair Park • Saturday, Aug. 29 • 9:30 a.m. • facebook.com/ namastebetty

Betty Kalister was like a ray of sunshine. Yeah, I know how twee that sounds, but it’s true. She always had a kind word, was always upbeat, always gracious and vivacious, always happy. She practiced gratitude, and it showed.

She was a yoga teacher, one who worked hard to create a real sangha—that is to say, a spiritual community among yogis—here in Knoxville, a task that proved to be on par with herding cats. Still, she never gave up, organizing dinners and meet-ups and group classes. She was exactly the right kind of person for the job: one who could cross lines laid down by studio and style with ease.

She also yearned to spread the good news about yoga around—not proselytizing, exactly, but again using her natural urge to organize and put together free classes. Like the ones she organized on the World’s Fair Park lawn in the late summer/early autumn.

When she died quite suddenly in an airplane accident on June 28—along with her physician husband, Joseph, and daughter, Nicole, who was on the way to her college orientation at Northeastern University in Boston—the yoga community was shocked, saddened, and utterly bereft. We shape our practice now around a Betty-shaped hole in our hearts.

In honor of her and her efforts to create cooperation and community and outreach, Knoxville’s yoga teachers will gather to offer a free yoga class dedicated to Betty on the lawn at World’s Fair Park on Saturday, Aug. 29. The three leading teachers—Jen Schappel, Jill Bartine, and Catherine Widner—will be joined by teachers from every studio in town.

“Literally anyone can join in this event regardless of age, skill level, or body size,” Schappel says.

“There will be so many yoga teachers on hand, walking the crowd, we’ll be able to offer personal assists and one-on-one instruction to everyone.”

And that is Betty Kalister’s vision, realized. (Hillari Dowdle)

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 41

CALENDAR mark. Circumstances find him suddenly working for not one, but two bosses. Faced with the distractions of a buxom bookkeeper, a self-important actor, and select members of the local criminal community, all the while fighting mounting mistaken identities and confusion, Francis goes out of his way to serve both his “guvnors” while keeping his moonlighting a secret. But how long can he keep them apart? Fast-paced and infectious, the hilarity is as boundless as Francis’ massive appetite. Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

Saturday, Aug. 29 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM and 5PM • Aug. 14-30. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

CATALINA MYSTIQUE ENTERPRISES: EROTICA • Kristtopher’s • 9PM • Hosted by international burlesque performer and producer Kisa Teasa, alongside an incredible cast of entertainers, we create a night of fun filled riveting entertainment. Tickets: http://erotica.bpt.me/ $10 Gen Adm $15 VIP Performances by: Egypt Blaque Knyle (Los Angeles) Deb Aunare (Asheville) Veronica DeLore LaShae The Katharine Slowburn Experience plus more. • $10-$15 Sunday, Aug. 30 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • Aug. 14-30. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

Ridge Playhouse • 2PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

Thursday, Sept. 3 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

Friday, Sept. 4 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

Saturday, Sept. 5 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

Sunday, Sept. 6 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 2PM • Aug. 28-Sept. 6. Visit orplayhouse.com.

FESTIVALS

Thursday, Aug. 27 HISTORIC BIJOU THEATRE OPEN HOUSE AND TOURS • Bijou Theatre • 6PM • The Bijou Theatre will host our annual open house with tours of Knoxville’s most historic theatre available throughout the night. We’ll also kick off our fall membership campaign with refreshments and music on the U.S. Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre. Our Friends of

the Bijou membership program supports the ongoing preservation of the Bijou Theatre as well as providing a unique venue for artists and musicians. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 29 KNOXVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL: JAZZ IN A HOT SCRUFFY CITY • Scruffy City Hall • 11AM • The festival highlights Knoxville’s excellent jazz musicians and celebrates its vibrant jazz history with a jazz jaunt through downtown Knoxville led by Knoxville History Project Director, Jack Neely. Following the tour comes Jazz in a Hot Scruffy City, an afternoon of local jazz bands, an art exhibit, and vintage jazz films at Scruffy City Hall.

EMORY PLACE BLOCK PARTY • Emory Place • 12PM • The first annual Emory Place Block Party has been organized to help bring attention to the historic Emory Place area.

The goal of the block party is to create an opportunity for residents to get out and meet one another while experiencing what the area has to offer. Email emoryplaceblockparty@gmail.com or visit www. emoryplaceblockparty.com.

CENTER FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY GARDEN FESTIVAL • Knoxville Botanical Garden • 12PM • Join the Center for Urban Agriculture for the very first Community Garden Festival! This event offers FREE workshops presented by the Smoky Mountain Center of North Carolina. Enjoy food, music, kids crafts, take a tour of the beautiful gardens, and meet some of your local non-profits in the Knoxville area. • FREE TOMATO HEAD SILVER ANNIVERSARY PARTY • Market Square • 4PM • You can’t shake Knoxville! We’d like to

thank our customers for 25 wonderful years by throwing a birthday celebration on Market Square. Join us for a FREE concert featuring The Scott Miller (and the Commonwealth), Exit 65, Guy Marshall, and Jacqui and The Tumble Kings. This event will also serve as a #LovingSpoonful fundraiser for the Knoxville History Project, which is led by Knoxville’s favorite historian, Jack Neely. They’ll receive 100% of the proceeds from the sale of beer ID wristbands + any profits from the festival.And, an extra delicious reason to come out is to have a few pints of our silver anniversary ale, which is a special collaboration between Saw Works Brewing Company and Tomato Head. • FREE Thursday, Sept. 3 TASTE OF BLOUNT • Maryville • 6PM • The 14th annual Taste of Blount hosted by the Blount Partnership and the City of Maryville will be held at the Theater in the Park in Maryville (across from the Blount County Courthouse) on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 6–8 p.m. Savory favorites from local restaurants, caterers, and gourmet grocers can be sampled by ticket holders.

Saturday, Sept. 5 MORRISTOWN LATINO FOOD FESTIVAL • Rose Center • 11AM • The Hispanic Outreach Leadership Association of the Lakeway Area (H.O.L.A. Lakeway) invites everyone to its First Annual Morristown Latino Food Festival on September 5, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Rose Center. The Morristown Latino Food Festival will feature food from various Latin American countries as well as games, music, and other surprises.

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42

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

CHARLES SANDERS SCOTT MOORE

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

Sunday, Sept. 6 MCCLUNG BOOMSDAY PARTY • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 7PM • The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will host its second Boomsday party at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6. “A Night at the Museum” is a fundraiser for the McClung Museum’s education outreach programs. Attendees will enjoy guaranteed on-site parking, farm-to-table dinner stations, cocktails and live music. This year’s event also will include expert handwriting analysis and a silent auction.Dinner and cocktail stations will be set up throughout the galleries.

Guests may roam the various museum exhibitions before proceeding to a tented private viewing area on the bridge between UT’s Andy Holt Tower and the Communications Building to enjoy dessert stations and a spectacular view of the fireworks show. This exclusive event is limited to 200 guests. Tickets are $200 a person (a portion of which is tax-deductible) and can be purchased on the museum’s website at http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/ boom or by calling 865-974-2143. US Bank’s Private Client Group is the presenting sponsor for the event. Other sponsors include WUOT.The McClung Museum is at 1327 Circle Park Drive. Museum admission is free, and the museum’s hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1–5 p.m. Sundays. Free two-hour museum parking passes are available from the parking information building at the entrance to Circle Park Drive on the weekdays. Free public transportation to the museum is also available via the Knoxville Trolley Vol Line.Additional parking information is available at http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/visit/parking.For more information about the McClung Museum and its collections and exhibits, visit http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu. • $200 BOOMSDAY • Volunteer Landing • 3PM • The final edition of Knoxville’s big Labor Day fireworks show, with food, live music, kids’ entertainment, and, yes, loads of fireworks. • FREE

SPORTS AND RECREATION

Saturday, Aug. 29 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: BALD RIVER FALLS AND WILDERNESS • 7AM • Hike 9.6 miles, rated moderate. Meet at Maryville Walmart at 7:00 AM or at Bald River Falls parking lot at 8:00 AM. Leader: Steven Miller, Samiller71@ rocketmail.com.

FORGET ME NOT 5K FOR ALZHEIMER’S • University of Tennessee • 8AM • Show your Volunteer spirit and help Pat Summitt fight the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.

The Forget Me Not 5K benefiting The Pat Summitt Foundation is a fun fast loop 5K in Knoxville Tennessee on University of Tennessee Campus.

RUN FOR THE ARTS 5K • Carter High School • 8AM • The proceeds from the Run 4 the Arts 5K benefit the dynamic musical theatre and choral programs at Carter High School.

DIRTY DASH AT WINDROCK PARK • Windrock Park • 9AM • The Dirty Dash is a mud run for everyone. Runners and non-runners can play dirty on this 5K run with obstacles and fun! Be ready to get mudddy.

HORSE HAVEN TRAILER RODEO • Knoxville Center Mall • 10AM • Test your towing skills at the Trailer Rodeo at Knoxville Center Mall. Run your truck and your livestock trailer through our timed obstacle course in two categories – Gooseneck and Pull-Behind. See if you can

CALENDAR

make it through without touching cones or spilling water from the bucket in your trailer. Compete for bragging rights and prizes from Sundowner Trailers of Tennessee, Christian Brother’s Automotive, and Infinite Tattoos. • $25 Saturday, Sept. 5 KTC HAL CANFIELD MEMORIAL MILEFEST • Sequoyah Park • 8AM • The fourth annual Hal Canfield Memorial Races will start at 8:00 am on Monday, September 5, 2015. The races will take place on Cherokee Boulevard in beautiful Sequoyah Hills. This promises to be the fastest one mile course in the Knoxville area throughout the entire year.

The start line will be close to the Indian Mound, near the parking lot close to the 1 mile greenway marker. The course will go out on Cherokee Blvd, make a wide turn around the fountain, and finish close to the start.

FILM SCREENINGS

Monday, Aug. 31 BIRDHOUSE OPEN SCREEN • The Birdhouse • 9PM • Birdhouse Walk-In Theater and SAFTA films are proud to present Birdhouse Open Screen. Open Screen is an open-mic night for local filmmakers and film lovers happening the last Monday of every month at the Birdhouse located in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood.

Videos can be of any length, from 1 minute to 1 hour, and anyone can submit. The screenings are free and open to the public. If you are interested in screening any of your work or have questions contact Blake Wahlert at: birdhousewalkin@gmail.com.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 TWIN PEAKS VIEWING PARTY • The Birdhouse • 7PM • Bi-weekly viewing parties for every single episode of the cult TV series. Attendees encouraged to dress as their favorite characters. Trivia, Twin Peaks-themed giveaways, donuts and coffee, plus some surprises. Trivia begins at 7:00pm with viewing to follow at 8:00pm.

THE PUBLIC CINEMA: WHEN IT WAS BLUE • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • Two 16mm films projected simultaneously onto a single screen (we’ll be watching a hi-def transfer), When It Was Blue is a complex patchwork of cinematic material and experimental processes. Found footage bleeds into hand-painted imagery; documentary shots are blown into high-contrast, black-and-white etchings; the natural world is rendered as abstraction. Reeves’s subject, generally speaking, is human ecology.

Symbolically, the film models a kind of return to Eden.

But the experience of watching When It was Blue is much more difficult to describe. • FREE Wednesday, Sept. 2 SCRUFFY CITY CINE-PUB • Scruffy City Hall • 7PM • Free Wednesday movie screenings.

KNOXVILLE FILM FESTIVAL FILM NIGHT • Flow: A Brew Parlor • A free Knox Film Fest “special edition” screening.

• FREE Friday, Sept. 4 CRESTHILL CINEMA CLUB: FOLLOW THE BOYS • Winder Apartments Clubhouse • 8PM • Get this, hep cats: our next program will be taking place on Friday, September 4 (see attached program). That night, at 8 PM, we’ll be concluding our Second World War tribute with the rarely-shown musical extravaganza, Follow the Boys (1944). During World War II, most of the major film studios produced all-star morale boosters, boasting a string of marvelous tunes, performed by top artists of the day – and held together by the slimmest of plots. Follow the

Boys follows that blueprint, as it tells the story of Tony West, an ex-vaudevillian dancer who becomes a Hollywood star through his association with dancer Gloria Vance. Tony marries Gloria and goes on to help form the Hollywood Victory Committee, an organization that will bring entertainment to troops stationed all over the world.Our location: The spacious clubhouse of the Windover Apartments. The journey there will take you to Cheshire Drive (off Kingston Pike, near the Olive Garden); going down Cheshire, turn right at the Windover Apartments sign, then go to the third parking lot on your right, next to the pool. There, the building that houses the clubhouse and offices of the Windover will be just a few steps away.

ART

American Museum of Science and Energy 300 S. Tulane Ave. (Oak Ridge) JUNE 12-SEPT. 13: Nikon Small World Photomicrography Exhibit.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 556 Parkway (Gatlinburg) MAY 18-AUG. 22 Arrowmont 2015 Instructor Exhibition The Birdhouse 800 N. Fourth Ave. SEPT. 1-30: Extraordinary Women, paintings by Asa McEwan. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 4, from 7-10 p.m.

Bliss Home 29 Market Square AUG. 7-31: The Lake House, paintings by Kate Moore.

Downtown Gallery 106 S. Gay St. AUG. 21-29: First-Year MFA Student Exhibition. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 21.

East Tennessee History Center 601 S. Gay St. APRIL 27-OCT. 18: Memories of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War in East Tennessee at 150 Emporium Center for Arts and Culture 100 S. Gay St. AUG. 7-28: ETSU Department of Art and Design: Further East; Melanie Fetterolf: Fire, Rain, and Nature Images; artwork by Sharon Gillenwater and Michael McKee; MAP!: Artwork by Jennifer brickey, Nick DeFord, Marcia Goldenstein, and Tony Sobota; Knox Heritage Art and Architecture Tour photographs; and artwork by Rosalina Tipton and Michael Giles. SEPT. 1-8: Frutos Latinos, featuring artwork by the winner of HoLa Hora Latina’s annual arts contest. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 4, from 5-9 p.m.

Ewing Gallery 1715 Volunteer Blvd.

AUG. 24-SEPT. 25: Selections from the Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection. An opening reception will be held on Monday, Aug. 24, from 4:30-7 p.m.

Flow: A Brew Parlor 603 W. Main St. SEPT. 4: A First Friday reception featuring artwork by Jon Putril and music by Blond Bones. 5-9 p.m.

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 43

CALENDAR Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive AUG. 21-NOV. 8: The Paternal Suit, paintings, prints, and objects by conceptual artist F. Scott Hess. ONGOING: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art From East Tennessee and Beyond; and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass.

Liz-Beth and Co. 7240 Kingston Pike AUG. 3-29: Contemporary Art on Canvas, featuring work

by Ursula Brenner, Mike Ham, Mildred Jarrett, Nelle Farrara, and Bonita Goldberg. SEPT. 1-26: Country Roads Take Me Home, featuring art by Jim Gray, Theresa Shelton, Eileen McConkey, Sandy Brown, and Ober Rae Starr Livingstone.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture 1327 Circle Park Drive JUNE 5-AUG. 30: Through the Lens: The Botanical Photography of Alan S. Heilman. Ongoing: The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church 2931 Kingston Pike JULY 17-AUG. 30: Exhibits by Lisa Kurtz and Art Group 21.

Westminster Presbyterian Church 6500 Northshore Drive

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

JULY 5-AUG. 30: Work by the Tennessee Artists Association.

LECTURES, READINGS, AND BOOK SIGNINGS

Thursday, Aug. 27 GERRY MOLL: LABOR DAY SUNFLOWER PROJECT • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 5:15PM • Join us in the museum auditorium for a lecture on public and community art with artist Gerry Moll, founder of the Labor Day Sunflower project. This lecture is free and open to the public. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 30 JAMES B. JONES JR.: ‘THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF TENNESSEE POLITICS’ • Union Ave Books • 2PM • Book signing and reading. • FREE MONDAY, AUG. 31 WRITERS IN THE LIBRARY: MARGARET LAZARUS DEAN • University of Tennessee • 7PM • Writer Margaret Lazarus Dean will read from her work on Monday, August 31, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as part of the Writers in the Library series. The reading will be in the Hodges Library auditorium at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Margaret Lazarus Dean’s “Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight” (Graywolf Press, 2015), winner of the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize, charts the final year of NASA’s space shuttle program, confronting difficult questions about the past and present

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of America’s efforts to send human beings into space.

Dean is also the author of “The Time It Takes to Fall” (Simon & Schuster, 2007), a novel set near Cape Canaveral that follows a fictional NASA family through the aftermath of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

Margaret Lazarus Dean is Associate Professor and Director of UT’s Creative Writing Program. She is the recipient of a Bread Loaf fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Thursday, Sept. 3 DAVID PAYNE: ‘BAREFOOT TO AVALON’ • Laurel Theater • 7PM • New York Times Notable author David Payne will read from his newly released memoir, which recounts the story of Payne’s relationship with his brother, who died unexpectedly 15 years ago.

OAK RIDGE INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUED LEARNING: CHARLIE DANIEL • Roane State Community College (Oak Ridge) • 3PM • Charlie Daniel, editorial cartoonist at Knoxville newspapers for 57 years, started drawing cartoons for the Daily Tar Heel, the newspaper at the University of North Carolina, from which he earned a B.A. degree in political science in 1957. A year later, he joined the Knoxville Journal as editorial cartoonist. In 1992, when the Journal closed, Daniel moved to the News Sentinel, where he continues to be its editorial cartoonist. The public is invited to his free talk, which will open the second RSCC-Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning intergenerational lecture series and the ORICL fall kickoff.

Catalogs on the upcoming ORICL fall term will be

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FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS

Thursday, Aug. 27 TODDLER’S YOGI YOGA • Shanti Yoga Haven • 9AM • Ages 2 to 5 yrs old.

BABY BOOKWORMS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • For infants to age 2, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 4:30PM • To reserve a seat in any class, or for more information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@ childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $180 Friday, Aug. 28 SMART TOYS AND BOOKS ART CLASS • Smart Toys and Books • 10AM • Mommy, Daddy & Me Art Classes are every Friday at 10:00am & 11:00am. Reservations and payment are required in advance. Class fees are non-refundable.

Ages 2+. • $10 Saturday, Aug. 29 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 9:30AM • To

Calling Student Artists!

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

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Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

reserve a seat in any class, or for more information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@ childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $150 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 10AM KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 10AM • To reserve a seat in any class, or for more information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@ childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $180 SATURDAY STORIES AND SONGS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • A weekly music and storytelling session for kids.

Monday, Aug. 31 TODDLER’S YOGI YOGA • Shanti Yoga Haven • 9AM SMART TOYS AND BOOKS STORYTIME • Smart Toys and Books • 11AM • Storytime with Miss Helen is every Monday at 11:00am. No charge. No reservations required. • FREE Tuesday, Sept. 1 PRE-K READ AND PLAY • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • Pre-K Read and Play is a pilot program specifically designed to prepare children to enter kindergarten. While the format of the program will still feel like a traditional storytime with books, music, and other educational activities, each weekly session will focus on a different standard from the Tennessee Department of Education’s Early Childhood/Early Learning Developmental Standards.

Library programs for preschoolers are typically designed to develop early literacy, or pre-reading, skills, and Pre-K Read and Play will still focus heavily on these skills, but will also feature other topics in the wide range of skills that children need to be developing before they enter school, including math, science, and motor development.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 4:30PM • Knoxville Children’s Theatre, a non-profit theatre producing theatre for children by children, will hold week-long, intensive acting classes during late June and July. Most classes will culminate in a “showcase” presentation for family and friends at the end of the term.

All classes include 2 free tickets to a KCT performance.

To reserve a seat in any class, or for more information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@ childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $180 EVENING STORYTIME • Lawson McGee Public Library • 6:30PM • An evening storytime at Lawson McGhee Children’s Room to include stories, music, and crafts. For toddlers and up.

Wednesday, Sept. 2 BABY BOOKWORMS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 10:20AM • For infants to age 2, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • For ages 3 to 5, must be accompanied by an adult.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 4:30PM • Knoxville Children’s Theatre, a non-profit theatre producing theatre for children by children, will hold week-long, intensive acting classes during August, September, and October. Most classes will culminate in a “showcase” presentation for family and friends at the end of the term. All classes include 2 free tickets to a KCT performance. To reserve a seat in any class, or for more

CALENDAR

information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $180 Thursday, Sept. 3 TODDLER’S YOGI YOGA • Shanti Yoga Haven • 9AM BABY BOOKWORMS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • For infants to age 2, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM • Middle and high school students (or any age) are invited to play chess. Tom Jobe coaches most Saturdays in the Teen Central area of the library. On one Saturday of every month, there will be a rated tournament at the Blount County Public Library.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER ACTING CLASSES • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 4:30PM • Knoxville Children’s Theatre, a non-profit theatre producing theatre for children by children, will hold week-long, intensive acting classes during August, September, and October. Most classes will culminate in a “showcase” presentation for family and friends at the end

®

of the term. All classes include 2 free tickets to a KCT performance. To reserve a seat in any class, or for more information: e-mail Academy Director Dennis Perkins at dennis@childrenstheatreknoxville.com, or call (865) 208-3677. • $180

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Thursday, Aug. 27 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

WRITING FOR THE HEALTH OF IT • Cancer Support Community • 12PM • Experience the therapeutic value of expressing yourself and your experiences through writing. No writing talent or experience necessary. A light

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KNOXVILLE TATTOO CONVENTION Holiday Inn Downtown (525 Henley St.) • Friday, Aug. 28-Sunday, Aug. 30 • $20-$35 • knoxvilletattooconvention.com

If you are into ink and want to kick it up a notch from tattoos to true body art, this weekend might be your chance. Choose from among 90 artists, including some of the best in the Southeast, as they gather Friday through Sunday for the Knoxville Tattoo Convention at the Holiday Inn Downtown on Henley Street. If you prefer brilliant colors and intricate designs, check out South Carolina’s Upstate Inkslingers. Try Studio 1891 Tattoo of Young Harris, Ga., for designs in the style of a gritty dark comic or graphic novel. Or are you drawn to mysterious figures and lifelike faces?

Visit Mike McMahon Tattoo of Atlanta. Besides watching the masters at work, on Friday and Saturday you can also catch a burlesque show by Chattanooga’s Vamp Valley Vixens, or a daily performance by the Enigma, a sideshow act famous for his body modifications and full-body jigsaw puzzle tattoo. Live tattooing will be offered throughout the convention, with daily contests for the best tattoo plus awards in a dozen specific tattoo categories. In its fourth year, the convention is still organized by founders Danny Fugate and his wife, Amanda Marie, nationally recognized owners of Ambition Tattoo in Knoxville. Hours are 2-10 p.m. on Friday, noon-11 p.m. on Saturday, and noon-7 p.m. on Sunday. Kids under 12 get in free—check out the kids tattoo-coloring contest! (S. Heather Duncan)

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY 45

CALENDAR lunch will be provided. RSVP. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: PERENNIAL GARDENS • Humana Guidance Center • 3:15PM • Fall is the perfect time of year to prepare your site for a new or renovated perennial garden. Extension Master Gardeners Carolyn Kiser and Barbara Emery both have created many successful new gardens. You will learn how to identify and assess your space, prepare the soil, and select your new plants. The garden of your dreams will take shape before you know it. 865-329-8892. • FREE BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING CLASSES • Candoro Marble Company • 2PM Portrait practice session. Call Brad Selph for more information 865-573-0709. • $10 Friday, Aug. 28 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

YOGA AND QI-GONG BASICS • Shanti Yoga Haven • 6PM Saturday, Aug. 29 YOGA AT NARROW RIDGE • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9AM • For more information contact Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at 865-497-3603 or community@ narrowridge.org.

NAMASTE BETTY YOGA AT WORLD’S FAIR PARK • World’s Fair Park • 9:30AM • A free yoga class on the lawn of the World’s Fair park to honor the memory of Betty Kalister

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and her contribution to the Knoxville yoga community.

Bring a mat and your water bottle. • FREE • See Spotlight on page 41.

Monday, Aug. 31 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Valley Grove Baptist Church • 9AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at (865) 382-5822.

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 5:30PM • Call 865-5772021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

GET TO KNOW YOUR GOPRO: GOPRO BASICS • REI • 7PM • Looking to get a GoPro, or you have one and would like some insight into best practices for capturing your life’s most exciting moments? Join our GoPro experts for this class and Get to Know Your GoPro. We will focus on the camera’s user interface, video capture, image settings, and accessories. • FREE Tuesday, Sept. 1 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Valley Grove Baptist Church • 9AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at (865) 382-5822.

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

YOGA WITH SUBAGHJI • The Birdhouse • 5:15PM JUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS LIVE SOUND MIXING WORKSHOP • Laurel Theater • 6:30PM • As part of its community service and education programs, Jubilee Community Arts is offering a two-session workshop which will provide an introduction to audio setup, equipment, and mixing for concerts. Designed for

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吀伀

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Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

匀瀀氀攀渀搀椀搀氀礀 猀椀氀氀礀⸀⸀℀

ⴀˠ攀 一攀眀 夀漀爀欀 吀椀洀攀猀

䈀唀夀 吀䤀䌀䬀䔀吀匀 伀一䰀䤀一䔀 愀琀 眀眀眀⸀漀爀瀀氀愀礀栀漀甀猀攀⸀挀漀洀 漀爀 挀愀氀氀 㠀㘀㔀⸀㐀㠀㈀⸀㤀㤀㤀㤀

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

musicians and volunteers interested in a basic introduction to live sound mixing, this workshop will present the basics of microphone usage, gain settings, monitor and house mixing, house and channel EQ, and use of mixing boards.There is no charge for the workshop, but participants are encouraged to volunteer 6 hours of time over the next year to aid production of Jubilee Community Arts activities.The workshop will be presented by Dr. Lou Gross, Volunteer Sound Engineer for the Laurel Theater. The workshop dates are Tuesday and Wednesday September 1 and 2 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Laurel Theater, 16th and Laurel Ave. To register call Jubilee Community Arts at 522-5851.The Laurel Theater is located on the corner of 16th and Laurel Avenue in the historic Fort Sanders neighborhood of Knoxville near the UT campus.For additional information call Toby Koosman at (865) 522-5851 or email concerts@jubileearts.org. • FREE GOPRO VIDEO EDITING BASICS • REI • 6PM • Now that you have your GoPro, how do you edit and share your videos?

GoPro Studio video editing software can help you get there. Join us for an inside look at GoPro’s revamped video editing software and get ready to make your videos POP. Bring your laptop with GoPro Studio and video files to edit. • $20 Wednesday, Sept. 2 JUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS LIVE SOUND MIXING WORKSHOP • Laurel Theater • 6:30PM • For additional information call Toby Koosman at (865) 522-5851 or email concerts@jubileearts.org. • FREE

Thursday, Sept. 3 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING CLASS • Candoro Marble Company • 2PM • Life drawing practice session. Call Brad Selph for more information 865-573-0709. • $10

MEETINGS

Thursday, Aug. 27 OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Recovery at Cokesbury • 5:30PM Saturday, Aug. 29 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org.

Sunday, Aug. 30 SILENT MEDITATION SUNDAYS • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For more information contact Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at 865-497-3603 or community@narrowridge.org.

Monday, Aug. 31 GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • We hold

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 6

facilitated discussions on topics and issues relevant to local gay men in a safe and open environment. Visit gaygroupknoxville.org.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION • Sky Ranch Airport • 7PM • The Experimental Aircraft Association EAA 17 meeting will talk about restoration of aircraft for The Museum of Aviation Admission is free. eaa17.org or contact Jerry Depew 865-789-0899. • FREE Wednesday, Sept. 2 COMITE POPULAR DE KNOXVILLE • The Birdhouse • 7PM • A weekly meeting of the local immigrant advocacy organization.

Thursday, Sept. 3 OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Recovery at Cokesbury • 5:30PM • This is an OA Literature Meeting.

Saturday, Sept. 5 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org.

SEEKERS OF SILENCE • Church of the Savior United Church of Christ • 9AM • Father Terry Ryan, CSP, former pastor of Knoxville’s St. John XXIII Catholic University Parish and Center, will speak on “Reflections on the Unknowable.”

Sunday, Sept. 6 SILENT MEDITATION SUNDAYS • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For more information contact Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at 865-497-3603 or community@narrowridge.org.

ETC.

Thursday, Aug. 27 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM • Woodlawn Christian Church • 7PM • The South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition is sponsoring this candidates meet-and-greet/forum. Candidates invited to participate include At-Large Seat A: George Wallace; At-Large Seat B: Marshall Stair and Pete Drew; At-Large Seat C: Kelly Absher, Paul Bonovich, Finbarr Saunders, and David Williams; 5th District: Mark Campen and Jennifer Mirtes. • FREE Friday, Aug. 28 UNION COUNTY FARMERS MARKET • Maynardville • 4AM • FREE LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS’ MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM 8 FREE Saturday, Aug. 29 OAK RIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • FREE SEYMOUR FARMERS MARKET • Seymour First Baptist Church • 8AM • FREE MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • FREE GENTLE BARN TOUR • The Gentle Barn • 11AM • Visit Knoxville’s new farm-animal sanctuary.

Sunday, Aug. 30 THE TRAVELING BAZAAR • Bearden Banquet Hall • 10AM • Come out to The Traveling Bazaar and see over 30 fabulous hand picked vendors. Antiques & artisans only, all from within 3 hours of Knoxville, in Tennessee.

Honeybee Coffee Company & Dale’s Fried Pies will be

CALENDAR

there. We will have a bin where you can donate to the Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee. There will be door prizes from some of our vendors and a photo booth courtesy of our sponsor, Sweven Vintage and Rustic Rentals. Visit https://www.facebook.com/The.Traveling.

Bazaar/events or https://thetravelingbazaar.wordpress. com/. • FREE MAGIC MEN LIVE! • The International • 8PM • The first live stage production to bring the phenomenon of Magic Mike, Fifty Shades of Grey and others to life with a high-energy and breathtaking experience unlike any other. • $20-$50 Monday, Aug. 31 TASTE OF VIENNA • So.Knox Food Co-Op • 3PM • Come by and sample a selection of Vienna Coffee Co., artisan breads by the Bread Shed, local jams by Camaron Farms, and baked goods by Sugar Mama’s Bakery. Music by Barty Faust. Info: 865-240-6035 • FREE MAGIC MEN LIVE! • The International • 8PM • The first live stage production to bring the phenomenon of Magic Mike, Fifty Shades of Grey and others to life with a high-energy and breathtaking experience unlike any other. • $20-$50 Tuesday, Sept. 1 EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS’ MARKET • Ebenezer United Methodist Church • 3PM • FREE COUNTING THE COSTS FOR TENNESSEE COMMUNITIES • Concord United Methodist Church • 7PM • The Tennessee Justice Center and the Tennessee Health Care Campaign are presenting this discussion of Gov. Haslam’s Insure Tennessee plan and its potential economic impact. State Sen. Richard Briggs will be speaking. • FREE Wednesday, Sept. 2 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 11AM • FREE Thursday, Sept. 3 NEW HARVEST PARK FARMERS MARKET • New Harvest Park • 3PM • FREE BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM RAISE THE ROOTS FUNDRAISING DINNER • The Plaid Apron • 6PM • Our 5th Annual Raise the Roots dinner will be better then ever, and feature the rich bounties of Summer on the farm.

Dinner will be prepared by the owner and chef of The Plaid Apron, Drew McDonald, and his team. Hor d’oeuvres will begin at 6 pm, and dinner will be served promptly at 6:30 PM. Guests will have an opportunity to learn about Beardsley Farm, meet farm volunteers, and share their experiences gardening and cooking in Knoxville and East Tennessee. All proceeds from the dinner will directly benefit Beardsley Farm. Pricing: Tickets are $50 per person or $180 for a table of four. Tickets are available for purchase at raisetheroots15.brownpapertickets.com About the dinner: The supper is vegetarian, and vegan options are available upon advance request. The supper will be locally sourced and most of the produce is grown at CAC Beardsley Community Farm. Special requests: Please email beardsleyfarm@gmail.com if you have any dietary restrictions or needs, to request a vegan option, and for any special seating requests (i.e., You would like to sit with friends who purchased separate tickets). About CAC Beardsley Farm: CAC Beardsley Community Farm has promoted food security and sustainable urban agriculture through practice, education, and community outreach since 1998. Beardsley Farm grows and donates over 10,000 pounds of produce annually to food pantries and kitchens in the Knoxville area. The farm additionally offers extensive child, youth, and adult education programming nutrition and sustainable gardening. • $50 GOODWILL VINTAGE FASHION SHOW AND SALE • Hilton

Downtown Knoxville • 6PM • The 31st Annual Goodwill Vintage Fashion Show & Sale is a night of fun and fashion, guaranteed to sparkle, shine, impress and entertain! The show will featured hundreds of vintage and vintage-inspired modern looks, all of which can be found at your local Goodwill. WHEN: Thursday, September 3 Doors open at 6pm; Vintage Boutique Presale opens at 5pm. WHERE: Hilton - Downtown Knoxville Tickets for this event are $40 each or $375 for a table of ten and include a full-course dinner, entry to the show, and entry to the post-show sale. Tickets are limited and must be ordered in advance online at goodwillknoxville.org/vintage or by calling the Marketing Department at 865.588.8567. Items featured on the runway will be available for sale in the Vintage Boutique immediately following the show. This sale will feature exclusive vintage merchandise including clothing, hats, shoes, coats, furs, formals and accessories, as well as many top name brands. If you can’t wait to get your hands on these great Vintage finds, Goodwill will host a pre-sale from 5:00 pm until 6:15 pm.

Entry into the pre-sale is only $5 and early shopping guarantees the best selection of these hard-to-find men’s and women’s items. A special thank you to the sponsors of the 31st Annual Vintage Fashion Show and Sale: WBIR-Channel 10, B-97.5, the Knoxville News Sentinel, Designsensory, Regal Entertainment Group, Carlenea’s Hair Fashions, and The Trust Company. Proceeds from this event will fund Goodwill’s mission to provide vocational services and employment opportunities for people with barriers to employment. Learn more about Goodwill at goodwillknoxville.org. • $40 THE CHARLOTTE COUTURE RUNWAY SHOW • NV Nightclub • 8:30PM • The Charlotte Couture Runway Show is an event that provides an intelligent, innovative platform for progressive, established, and emerging designer to showcase her Swimsuit collections. Charlotte Couture is a local clothing company specializing in custom one of a kind clothing ranging from swimsuits, jewelry accessories to gowns. Music will be provided by The Norm, Kenzie Lash and the Fisherman. Doors open at 8:30pm. This event is 18 and up. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10. • $10

Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 47

FOOD

Home Palate

While the original Tomato Head on Market Square may be larger and nicer, its let’s-try-it philosophy remains intact. Its original staff from the early 1990s was documented by local photographer Bruce Cole and featured in a series of ads in Metro Pulse.

Pizza Pioneer And it’s not just pizza—over 25 years, Tomato Head has introduced a number of innovations to the Knoxville menu

BY DENNIS PERKINS

L

ike mimeograph, telephone busy signals, and life before email, a moribund Market Square seems lost to the mists of time. It can be hard to remember that not too long ago the city center was a quiet place with a little midday traffic that simply died after 2 p.m.

But Mahasti Vafaie remembers because she was there and open for business.

On Aug. 2, 1990, Vafaie opened the restaurant that remains an icon for the rebirth of Market Square and downtown Knoxville. Tomato Head (then known as the Flying Tomato) opened as a lunch spot appeasing the early afternoon appetites of downtown workers. But in the intervening years, the growth of the restaurant would help change the face of Market Square and would introduce a number of concepts—from gourmet pizza to open-air wine service—that would

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

contribute mightily to the transformation and tone not only of the city center, but also of Knoxville itself.

Vafaie, of course, had no such aspirations when she launched her business. The fact is she didn’t even plan on being a pizza purveyor, let alone a pioneer—chance and a stubborn landlord paved the way for that decision. All Vafaie had in mind was owning her own restaurant. When an affordable lease with an easy out clause (in the event that her restaurant plans failed) brought her to Market Square, she also acquired a pizza oven; and that’s exactly how Knoxville got its first taste of gourmet pizza.

“Initially we didn’t plan on doing pizza,” Vafaie says. “But, because the landlord wouldn’t take the oven out of the building, we said, okay, we have to do pizza, so let’s do fun and interesting ones.”

While the 1982 opening of Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Los Angeles brought gourmet pizza into the national limelight, it wasn’t until Vafaie started advertising special pies topped with adventurous foods like smoked snails and frog legs that Knoxville’s pizza consciousness really jumped out of the box.

“Our specials were designed to catch your attention, just anything to make you stop in your tracks to look at the reader board,” she says. While a pizza topped with snails, smoked or otherwise, might still make the average bear look twice, items like sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, pesto, fresh spinach, Fontina cheese, and other things that, today, seem almost run-of-the-mill pizza toppings were all novelties in Knoxville, summer of 1990.

The menu also introduced some of Knoxville’s first regularly available tofu, vegetarian, and vegan menu options.

While there was a weekend brunch at the late Nature’s Pantry on Bearden Hill that had bean curd on offer, it was the Tomato Head’s Vegetarian Sub that first brought it onto the daily menu; it was also easily transformed into the city’s first consciously vegan sandwich, too. That original sub sandwich remains available, though now it’s just called the Vegetarian.

The response to the menu innovations was mostly positive, though Vafaie remembers one guest who swore she’d never step foot in the place again. But other folks did come back, many of whom were new to the city and employees of Whittle Communications—the now defunct media conglomerate had 900+ Knoxville

Home Palate

employees who worked in the building that currently houses the Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse.

“We were really lucky to have opened when Whittle was still around,” Vafaie says. “I think that was a huge reason we were able to keep going. They were the initial customer base.”

In addition to the groundbreaking menu, Tomato Head also introduced the crazy idea of evening hours to Market Square in the spring of 1991.

Despite Vafaie’s fear that nobody would come downtown after hours, a friend and co-worker, Jay Beasley, convinced her that a poster campaign throughout Fort Sanders and Maplehurst would bring enough business to sustain a Friday night opening. And so Tomato Head opened the doors for what was probably the first dinner service on Market Square in living memory.

But, sadly, Vafaie’s intuition was right. Nobody came. Not one person.

And yet, for reasons that she still can’t quite explain, Vafaie persevered and opened the next Friday night as well.

Nothing. Finally, several lonely nights after the beginning of the experiment, Vafaie recalls that “two people finally came in. But we had already turned off the oven, so we turned them away.”

The couple, undeterred, promised that if the restaurant would open the next Friday, they would return with friends—and so they did.

At nearly the same time, Tomato Head instituted patio service.

“We couldn’t afford real outside furniture, so we just took some of the inside furniture and pulled it outside,” Vafaie says. “We did that pretty much right away. I thought, ‘Wow, we have this beautiful Square, why not enjoy it?’”

It was just that enjoyment of the Square that help inaugurate yet another development in 1997, although Vafaie says she and her husband, Scott Partin, ran afoul of the law to achieve it while imbibing a drink outside: “We were sharing a bottle of wine and an officer came by and asked us what we were doing. We said we’re just drinking some wine, and he told us we were breaking the

FOOD law and wrote us a ticket.

“I called Coury [Turczyn] at Metro Pulse and asked if he could write an article about this, because it was just crazy. So he did and word got out, and people really helped and talked to the mayor, Victor Ashe.“ The effort led to the birth of the ordinance that now allows businesses to serve alcohol on their outdoor patios.

In 1996, Tomato Head also became the first Knoxville restaurant to ban smoking. Vafaie says that they tried a smoking section, “But the original restaurant was tiny, and we had a smoking section of four tables; but people would chain-smoke at those, so the restaurant would still smell. So eventually we decided to cut those four tables out as well. A few people were really upset [by the ban], but they could just step outside to smoke, so it wasn’t that big a deal.” (The state of Tennessee banned smoking in restaurants in 2007.)

Vafaie was too busy running a restaurant to keep detailed records of every new idea that the restaurant put into practice, but throughout its evolution, Tomato Head has remained open to alternative ways of doing business. And because it always seemed to attract progressively minded guests and employees, Tomato Head was often at the forefront of new ideas like recycling, use of local ingredients, a carefully planned beverage program, and other practices that are now common across the city.

Despite all the changes to Market Square and the expansion of her own business concerns over the last 25 years, Vafaie says, “The thing that blows my mind the most is coming down here on a holiday weekend or a Sunday afternoon and seeing all the people walking around. I still sometimes think that I’m gonna come down here on a holiday and it will be deserted like in the old days.”

Here’s hoping that never happens.

Enjoy Happy Hour

Food Specials! bistro M-F 4 -7 PM ALL FOR ONLY

$5

■ BAKED ARTICHOKE DIP

Margherita Pizza

■ ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS ■ GRILLED BUTTERMILK CORN

BREAD WITH PIMENTO CHEESE ■ FRIED CHICKEN & WAFFLE ■ MARGHERITA PIZZA

Fried Chicken & Waffle

TURKEY CREEK 11383 Parkside Dr. ■ 865-671-6612 DOWNTOWN 141 S. Gay St. ■ 865-544-1491 www.crubistroandwinebar.com

Tomato Head is celebrating its silver anniversary on Market Square this Saturday, Aug. 29, starting at 4 p.m.

Performers include Scott Miller, Exit 65, Guy Marshall, and Jacqui and The Tumble Kings. Wristband sales benefit the Knoxville History Project, which governs the Knoxville Mercury.

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 49

FOOD

Sips & Shot s

Fort Sanders Shandy Forever What to drink for a evening of mellow vibes and video games

BY ROSE KENNEDY

A

s neighborhood bars go, this one fits right into its neighborhood— Fort Sanders, the mix of heritage, hippies, and hipsters. A fair bit of academics, a whole lot of partying.

Fort Sanders Yacht Club, much the same. Though its originator, Fort Sanders fan and promoter Jon Haas, died in 2013, the spirit of the place right off the sidewalk on 17th Street is still intact under Dillon Luttrell and Jason Elcan, whose ownership is coming up on two years now.

It’s still a “barcade,” as Haas conceived it, with its collection of classic consoles like the Nintendo 64, and some old-school video games like Pac Man, and very splashy abstract art by one Justin Valley on the tiny tables lining the path to the bar. They advertise “liquid lunch” specials worthy of their neighbors without day jobs: a buck off a different beer classifications each weekday from noon-2 p.m., and PBR on tap in perpetuity.

There’s a touch of the learned amidst the partying, aside from the students who have returned to the fold

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

in recent weeks, particularly the hotly contested house-brand trivia contest on Sunday nights—the defending champs being the bar’s own worker team.

Bob Boyd, the bartender, fits right in, too.

He wears a tie-dye T-shirt and Clark Kent glasses without conscious effort to be hip or hippie. He is a heavy hitter on that trivia team and a writer of “magical realism,” though, he says, pointing to his close-cropped hairdo, “most of it is still in here.”

“Right on,” and other ’70s expressions pepper his speech—that’s just how he talks, and yes, he’s only 23. As in “the Gringo”? That’s a special drink they’ve been advertising, his take on a White Russian like the Big Lebowski’s, only made with coffee tequila. It became the White Mexican, and then the Gringo. And people dig it. Despite the creaminess, it’s not considered girly, he insists: “Guys really dig ’em.” Even the framed photo of Haas behind him at the bar seems to approve.

And shandy? Right on. That is his favorite, what he likes to drink when

he goes to other bars. He likes Stiegl Radler grapefruit as a light option.

And he’s created his own shandy, a beer cocktail with a name he carefully punctuates to “be silly and look as interesting as possible.” That’s the Bomb-Ass Shandy, and it is tasty and light, slips right down, though you can still taste the fermentation that makes you appreciate the craft of the beer involved.

Boyd will share the recipe. He’s not worried people will stay home and make them instead of coming by.

“We’ve got atmosphere, we’ve got games, we’ve got all the ingredients, I’m not scared,” he says.

The Yacht Club is suffering the recent construction and closings in Fort Sanders with the rest of the neighborhood as the Cumberland Strip undergoes two more years of the upgrades and landscaping that will result in a new Cumberland Avenue Corridor, two lanes instead of four on the main drag—hopefully transforming the place into a tourist and entertainment and retail magnet.

Co-owner Luttrell wants it understood that it’s been rough, with the street outside lacking a sidewalk in places and driving hampered by sporadic road closings and stingy daytime parking options. But his prevailing message is that Strip’s business owners are really working together.

“Things are better now that the students are back, and we are all realizing that there is only so much space to share, so we are working it out,” Luttrell says. “We are intent on keeping the Strip alive.”

The neighborhood isn’t the only thing that will improve by 2017. In the case of the Yacht Club, they’re also working on opening the roof for business, “building up, not out,” says Luttrell, and waiting on two high-rises that will house some 700 possible partiers, which should be finished next year. They’re also developing Monster Pizza down the street, and the sister outfit will provide New York-style pizza for the Yacht Club, too.

Boyd nods along with this idea—it will be good pizza, great with PBR on tap, maybe even with certain shandys.

Oh yes, he murmurs. “Right on.” ◆

“ Bomb-Ass” Shandy Explicit instructions from inventor Bob Boyd, bartender at the Fort Sanders Yacht Club—remarks in quotes are all his: INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 oz. house gin “You’re just going for the herbal flavor, and the taste of a high-end gin won’t really come through, so it’s not worth using, say, Tanqueray.”

2 oz. lemonade “Any kind will do, but if you have the ingredients available, always make it fresh.”

2 oz. ginger ale 1/2 oz. lime syrup or sweetened lime juice, using fresh limes and table sugar if available 1 12 oz. can Terrapin Maggie’s Peach Farmhouse Ale or equal amount RJ Rockers Son of a Peach DIRECTIONS Layer the ingredients, all chilled except the lime syrup, in a tall beer glass, adding about 10 ounces of the beer at the end, garnishing with a lime wedge and serving the remainder of the can on the side.

NOTE: “This also makes a nice big batch for a brunch or tailgate, adding the ginger ale with the beer and tossing in some slices of fresh peach.”

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 51

’BYE

O pen Book

Knoxville: Summer 2015 A remembrance of Fort Sanders, right now

BY VICTORIA KNIGHT

W

e are talking now of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the time that was so successfully disguised to me between youth and adult, that wavering period between knowing who you are, and discovering who you may come to be.

Both found and lost.

The intersection of James Agee Street and Laurel Avenue is a mix of old antique houses, decrepit apartments from the 1970s and shiny plastic condo-like buildings that are brand-marked with their owners’ names. Along the paved, heat-soaked roads, the sides are dotted with a car or two, scattered unevenly down the block. Summer is not the time of year for population.

In the evening, around 7 or 8 p.m., if I sit on the porch of my own old, crumbly, yellowing, rented Fort house, at the intersection of James Agee and Laurel, I’ll observe the humanity who hide in their air-conditioned buildings and cars, finally emerging to feel the hot and heavy air between their legs and arms, as they swing down the sidewalk.

Runners, saving their passion and energy for the cooler dusk of the day; couples walking hand in hand, oblivious to everything but the one beside them; and dog owners, pulled along by small dogs, large dogs, and all manner of others in between. If I’m lucky, I’ll see my favorite recurring character—a small Asian man who hurries through the Fort at all random hours. No matter where my evening

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

run seems to take me through the streets of the Fort, he always seems to appear in a different spot. And every time I wonder to myself where he might be going.

Less often, these Fort inhabitants turn toward James Agee Park—the one spot of open green grass in the whole square of the neighborhood.

The park also happens to be directly connected to the yard of my yellowing house. Since Agee’s family house was demolished to build shiny apartments in the ’70s, it’s the last commemoration to the man who first wrote of Knoxville in the summer of 1915.

The park itself is empty much of the time, but also full of life. Sometimes a car will drive by, rap music blaring, but if I jump down the three front steps of my porch, walk through the backyard, stroll under the trellis into the park, and sit on a certain bench and listen, I’ll hear the birds first. In the trees beside me, flitting through the air above me, so small and thin and gray against the sky, I wonder if instead they might be bats or even just abnormally large insects.

But if I don’t look up in the sky, they can’t be seen. Only heard. They move around, in movements too fast for me to see. They speak in a language high pitched and unfamiliar.

And then, around the 9 o’clock hour, though it’s not quite dark yet, the cicadas begin. I’ve always thought their sound was beautiful, a sign of summer.

The music to my humid nights, an assurance that yes, there are at least a

couple more months until winter arrives and silences them all. Comforting, like the noise of a fan or a machine, not noticeable until made aware.

Their companions, the fireflies, soon join the gathering, too. Uglier up close than they are far away, yet still wondrous when they flicker and light up, no matter how many times I’ve seen them—and they do still convey the urge to catch them in the same way I used to as a child.

If I wait long enough, when twilight finally succumbs to its dark seducer, more humanity emerges, waiting for their entrance just as they do when it’s time to arrive for a party.

Usually found in packs, they loudly crowd the sidewalks, discussing which bar to file into on the Strip as they clumsily pass me on their way.

The Fort has a different feel in summer than the school year. Though parties rage through every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night in the fall and spring, there’s still a restrained air. The inhabitants all know responsibility awaits them eventually. Come Monday morning, the classes or lovers or football hopes they drank to forget will be back.

But oh, in the summer. It feels as if there are no rules. The university gives a reprieve of its dark shadow for a couple of months, and it’s once again a nether world—no longer tied to any one loyalty. Once again, it is a safe haven for all those who wish to live in between its one-way streets.

Protected from bustling Knoxville around its edges, people congregate on porches, set up hammocks in between trees, and sit on sidewalks to

talk and sip beer—a good time is the only priority. Life moves a little slower, a little saner, and a little stranger—but I believe it’s the only time the true essence of the Fort can be found. Perhaps, it is also the only time the first seeds of the Fort can be traced back to James Agee’s planting, when he wrote of it so long ago.

But I speak of the summer in the time between youth and adult—Ayres Tower chimes and as it tells me the hour, it also subtly reminds me that my time is almost spent in this betwixt world.

We cannot always live in the land of our glory days, no matter how much we wish to. For as we steep in our nostalgia, wringing the last little bit out of the cloth that is life, the rest of the world moves past. The younger keep coming, and the older keep moving—and when you’re stuck in the middle, don’t move to the left or the right, but throw off your inhibitions clinging to you, and go up. We can only go up.

Now I lay on a blanket in the park, the stars above me, though blocked by the yellow-orb moons of the street lamps, and the construction crane ever hanging over this city. I lay there, not surrounded by my friends, but by the memories of us, of this place, of the tears, laughter, pain, pleasure, we’ve carelessly thrown around the streets of the Fort. We’re loved, if not in this current moment, then in the summer days gone by, and the summer days to come.◆ Feeling creative and perhaps a little frisky? Send us your essays for consideration: editor@knoxmercury.com

The Fort has a different feel in summer than the school year.

The inhabitants all know responsibility awaits them eventually.

’BYE

BY IAN BLACKBURN AND JACK NEELY

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY 53

’BYE

Spir it of the Staircase

BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY

54

KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 27, 2015

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Now’s your chance to tell us what you really think–in person!

MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES

KNOXVILLE’S LARGEST USED APPLIANCE DEALER! We have Washers, Dryers, Refrigerators, Stoves, Dishwashers +More! Top Quality, Name Brands! HUNLEY TURNER 865-689-6508 www.

HunleyTurner.com

MEETUPS Join us at our Monthly Mercury Meetup.

Thursday, September 10,

5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at

Sunspot

FURNITURE VINTAGE LIVING Room Furniture, couch w/2 matching chairs, 2 end tables, 1 extra table, exc cond, make offer, 865-693-5621, 865-660-6847 PETS PUPPY NURSERY. Many different breeds.

Maltese, Yorkies, Malti-Poos, Poodles, Yorki-Poos, Shih-Poos, Shih Tzu, $175/up. Shots & wormed. We do layaways.

Health guaranteed. Division of Animal Welfare, State of TN Dept. of Health. 423-566-3647

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Call Craig Brown, 865-982-2240.

2200 Cumberland Ave,

CONSTRUCTION AFFORDABLE DEMOLITION & CONSTRUCTION. WE GET IT DONE! *CONCRETE WORK *BOBCAT WORK *SITE CLEARING *EXCAVATING *RIGGING *COMMERCIAL GUT OUT *HOME REPAIRS *HAULING *TRASH/BRUSH REMOVAL *PAINTING *SHEETROCK *ALL TYPES REPAIRS!! OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE!! FREE ESTIMATES, LICENSED/INSURED, COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL, 865-973-6757, JESSLETNER78@ GMAIL.COM

Knoxville, TN 37916

This is a great opportunity for the business owners and residents

FLOORING STEP AHEAD FLOORING, **Hardwood/Tile Installation **Custom Showers **Custom Staircases **Licensed & Insured **Free In-Home Estimates. Call James 865-382-2949, visit www.stepaheadknoxville.com FLOOR IT! Carpet, Repairs, Restretch, Installation, & Cleaning, 30 Years Experience, Serving Roane, Knox, & Anderson Counties, call Richard 865-717-3523, cell 865-748-6902

REAL ESTATE RENTALS MOBILE HOME for Rent, 3BR, 2BA, on 5 acre secluded lot, fenced-in yard, huge sunroom, no pets, no smoking, background check, $800/mo, $800/ dep, Rockwood, 931-456-6186

865-249-7061

what’s on your mind!

FENCING BROWN’S CUSTOM Fencing & Construction. All Types fencing, wood, vinyl, wire, Licensed & Insured, 800-249-6274

We hope to see you there.

2015 SUBARU IMPREZA 2.0I, Lease for $145 per month. for more details call 888-627-3441 .W.A.C 1966 FORD Galaxy, 2 dr hardtop, auto, runs, asking $3000, 423-623-7701 EMAIL amclassifiedsknoxville@yahoo.com to place a classified ad today or..........

To place classifieds Residential or Commercial please call

865-249-7061

MOTORCADE AUTO PARTS TRUCK BED Cover, fits 2011 Chevy Silverado, black, undercover, locaks, 6.5ft, new condition, $850.

865-963-5037 AUTO PARTS Store Closing, Complete inventory for sale, for more info please call 423-627-2575 BOATS NEEDED BIG BOAT TRAILER for 30' 11,000 lb boat, 3 axles, 423-620-1850

PONTOON BOAT, 28', 90hp Mercury engine, new ignition, new deck, trailer, new cover, depth finder, no seats, lawn furniture, approximate year 1988, $3500, 423-836-2991 2000 TRITON, 21', fully equipped, depth-finder, fish-finder, GPS, tandem trailer, 225 Mercury, 1 owner, exc cond, garage kept, $16,575/obo, 865-966-2527 CARS

To place classifieds Residential or Commercial please call

of Knoxville to stop by and tell us

1994 CADILLAC Eldorado, 2dr, Northstar, body/ trans good, motor runs, needs maf & injector work, $600. 865-583-9564

2006 CHRYSLER 300c/SRT8, beautiful, great car, Hemi V8, 71k, loaded w/sunroof, navigation, new battery, tires, custom grill, Brembo brakes, like new in/out, non-smoker, FSBO $16,950.

865-882-2512

2015 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.5I, Lease for $259 per month. for more details call 888-627-3441.W.A.C.*

2015 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5I, Lease for $209 per month. call 888-627-3441. W.A.C.* SUVS

2015 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5I, Lease for $229 per month. call 888-627-3441. W.A.C.*

2015 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK 2.0I, Lease for $239 per month. Offer expires August 3rd 2015. for more details call 888-627-3441 W.A.C.* MOTORCYCLES 2007 SUZUKI Boulevard C90, 1462cc, under 10k, garaged, 1 owner, like new, saddlebags, Mustang seat, Hwy bars, windshield, $4,250.

865-397-6434 TWO BMW Motorcycles, R100/7 1978, new tires, $4,000. R1200c, 1998, $6,000. Holston Hills. email: zansartre@yahoo.com TRAILERS FURY BY Homesteader, 2013 Enclosed Cargo Trailer, 5’x10', rear door, $1,200. 423-851-2117

TO PLACE AN AD CALL 865-249-7061 OR EMAIL AMCLASSIFIEDSKNOXVILLE@YAHOO.COM VIEW OUR ADS ONLINE AT WWW.KNOXVILLEAMERICANCLASSIFIEDS.COM 1

KNOXVILLE MERCURY March 19, 2015

August 27, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 55