Issue 10 - May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE’S WEEKLY MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS

MAY 14, 2015 KNOXMERCURY.COM

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Charlotte Tolley has made the Market Square Farmers’ Market — and local food — wildly popular again

BY CHRIS BARRETT PHOTOS BY SHAWN POYNTER

NEWS

JACK NEELY

MUSIC

FOOD

Knoxville College Decides Its Future

Revealing Recipes in The Knoxville Cookbook

The Dirty Guv’nahs Announce Their Last Waltz

Café du Soleil’s No-Nonsense Approach

Biscuits!

The sixth annual International Biscuit Festival celebrates Knoxville’s biscuit heritage, which is partly the legacy of the J. Allen Smith Co. We hear about northern industrialists moving to ruined Southern cities after the Civil War--but J. Allen Smith (1850-1925) came from Georgia in 1873, and co-founded what was first known as Knoxville City Mills. He found the perfect site for their flour factory at the corner of Depot Street and Central (then known as Crozier). Its location by the railroad was important to bring in his raw materials--mainly, wheat--and to ship finished flour out to a multi-state region.

In 1885, Smith built a large brick factory, and slowly began to conquer the world of Southern biscuit flower. Smith hired British immigrant William Savage, an inventive millwright, to equip his factory with huge rolling mills that made it possible to produce thousands of barrels of flour per day. Savage decided to stay in Knoxville, too, and started a successful heavy- machinery factory.

Manufacturing excellent flour for the world made Smith a wealthy man, and in 1916 built a large, stylish house on Lyons View for himself and Lillie.

Designed by Charles Barber, it was a residence for more than 80 years, finally to be torn down in 2004. Knox Heritage’s J. Allen Smith Endangered Property Fund is named in honor of the house, and its first owner.

White Lily developed a reputation among big-city gourmets as an excellent ingredient for superior biscuits and cakes. By 1992, it was being carried

by New York’s Dean & Deluca.

The J. Allen Smith & Company building at the corner of East Depot Avenue and North Central Street in Knoxville.

Thompson Photograph Collection, McClung Historical Collection Courtesy of Knox County Public Library at cmdc.knoxlib.org

J. Allen Smith & Co. manufactured dozens of different flours, some of them with exotic names like Orange Blossom, Standard Fancy, and Alpine Snow, but one became better known than all the others. The factory became known by the name of its most popular flour, an especially fine, light product known as White Lily. Some say Smith named the product after his wife, Lillie. Some say he named it after his first partner, Jasper Lily. Others say he just named it for the soft, delicate flower his flour resembled.

Although their product was marketed toward the Southeast, White Lily became known far and wide, popular as far away as Cuba.

By the early 1900s, the Smith mill’s 175-foot-tall smokestack was the tallest structure in Knoxville, two-thirds as tall as the modern Sunsphere. Painted vertically with the name of J. Allen Smith, it was for decades a symbol of Knoxville and an advertisement for the flour company, seen by thousands of Southern Railway passengers daily.

Smith became prominent in Knoxville leadership, through corporate boards and charities. He was partly responsible for the University of Tennessee acquiring Cherokee Farm, the site of a great deal of recent campus development.

White Lily had expanded its factory several times by the time it was bought by corporate interests in 1961, and was eventually owned by Smuckers. In 2008, after 123 years of flour manufacturing at Smith’s old factory, Smuckers moved the operation to the Midwest, raising questions about whether White Lily could be the same flour if it were made anywhere but Knoxville.

Fortunately, J. Allen Smith’s 1885 factory is still standing. A little older than most of the buildings in the Old City area, it has recently been renovated for apartments, known as White Lily Flats.

Sawmill gravy, a thick white sauce made with country sausage, popular on biscuits, is believed to have evolved among the sawmills of Sevier County, as a way to feed hardworking men without much expense.

Another kind of biscuit gravy, almost the opposite of sawmill gravy, also has Tennessee origins. Red-eye gravy is a thin but savory sauce typically made of country-ham drippings and coffee. It’s believed to be much older, and has even been attributed to Andrew Jackson who, after a night of drinking, ordered a cook to fix him some gravy “as red as my eye.” (By some versions of the legend, he refers to the cook’s eye.)

Source: Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection

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 2

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

May 14, 2015 Volume 01 / Issue 10 knoxmercury.com

CONTENTS

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower

16 The Farmers’ Marketer COVER STORY

NEWS

14

FOLLOW-UP: Knoxville College’s Deal Knoxville College’s board of directors has been reviewing a potential deal from a local company, Southeast Commercial, to develop its 39-acre campus, This week, it will render its decision, which may determine the troubled college’s future, as S. Heather Duncan reports.

Check knoxmercury.com for an update once the decision is announced.

22 Dirty Guv’nahs Call It Quits Knoxville’s most successful touring band decides to go out while it’s still on top, announcing its final shows before members go their separate ways.

When it launched in 2004, the Market Square Farmers’ Market seemed like a nice try at returning the Square to one of its original, historic purposes—a place for local farmers to sell their wares. While its initial turnout wasn’t great with just 10 vendors, the MSFM’s main organizer, Charlotte Tolley, didn’t give up. And today, it’s a huge success, with over 120 vendors and thousands of shoppers in a festival-like atmosphere. But how much more can it possibly grow? Chris Barrett digs in.

Survey of the Month!

It’s all about you, baby. We want to know more about our readers in our new monthly online survey. Go to: survature.com/s/knoxmercuryMay2015.

DEPARTMENTS

OPINION

A&E

4 6

Letters

8

22

Howdy Start Here: Ghost Signs by Bud Ries, Believe It or Knox!, Public Affairs, Quote Factory.

PLUS: Words With … Bekki Vaden

10

38

’Bye Finish There: Sacred & Profane

by Donna Johnson, Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely, Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray

12

The Scruffy Citizen Jack Neely takes a look under the overpass and sees potential.

Perspectives Joe Sullivan finds Sen. Lamar Alexander’s effort to revamp No Child Left Behind to be positively bipartisan.

Small Planet Patrice Cole profiles the work of Conservation Fisheries, which has been saving species for over 30 years.

23 24 25

CALENDAR Program Notes The Dirty Guv’nahs announce their farewell tour.

Inside the Vault Eric Dawson details local country hero Luke Brandon’s detour into rock ’n’ roll.

Music Ryan Reed talks with local prog quartet Maps Need Reading.

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Spotlights: Thantifaxath, Shooter Jennings with the Dirty Soul Revival, International Biscuit Festival

FOOD & DRINK

34

Home Palate Dennis Perkins appreciates the straightforward approach to French cuisine at Cafe du Soleil.

Movies April Snellings reviews The Salt of the Earth.

May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3

LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015

A NEW USE FOR A DEAD PARKWAY

I enjoyed your meditation on the question posed by the attenuated James White Parkway. [“Follow the Infrastructure,” Architecture Matters

by George Dodds, April 23, 2015] While I’m skeptical about any of the major re-dos you mentioned ever happening, there is one proposal that may make good use of the existing roadway—and the property TDOT acquired for its extension.

Just after Mayor Madeline Rogero finally put a stop to the JWP extension, Allan Miller (avid biker and owner of the Disc Exchange) and I found ourselves in the donated “park” area that now stood in its path. With a bit of map work and tramping through some nasty undergrowth, we came to believe that the parkway’s dead-end could be turned into a gateway to the Urban Wilderness. It seems that the JWP property links to some public land, the donated land, and eventually the UW. If this was an accurate assessment, we thought the city could develop a “gateway” trail where the parkway ends and use the paved spur beyond the last exit as a very commodious parking lot for bikers, hikers, or a small picnic area.

Allan and I brought our idea to Legacy Parks and were told that something like this had been proposed before. Hearing that, we left, encouraged that someone was already working on what certainly seemed like a good idea. Now, well over a year later, we find your piece asking what could be done with this “blunt tool connecting nothing at all to nowhere in particular.” Unless Allan and I were wrong about the connected properties, it seems to me that the real “blunt tool” may be the energy or imagination of some folks who could make this happen.

Thanks for a good piece.

Jim Gray Knoxville

“A DEATH IN THE FAMILY, 2015”

The demise of the Baptist Hospital is killin’ me I didn’t think it would be this hard.

Today as I passed, I watched as a mighty mechanical claw tore at the windows of the 5-West Nurses Station.

I gasped and then I cried. It caught me so off guard.

ANNOUNCING MERCURY MEETUPS Got something on your mind?

An idea that must be shared?

A story you’d like to see covered?

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

We’re launching a monthly series of Mercury Meetups where you can meet us and tell us what’s what.

Here are the details: • Every month, the staff of the Knoxville Mercury will visit a different neighborhood to socialize with readers and to learn more about the issues facing each of our communities.

• The locations will be comfortable “third places” around town where readers can easily drop in: pubs, restaurants, coffee houses.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

• We’ll announce each location on our pages and on our social media feeds.

• There won’t be any speeches or roundtables. We’ll just be hanging out, ready to chat about darn near anything with whomever stops by.

See you there!

—Coury Turczyn, ed.

Machines are punching holes in and pulling apart my youth.

Behind that bay window, my 17-year-old ears were pierced by nurses with I.V. needles and antiseptics.

I worked my first after-school job there and received my first paycheck.

I am not alone in this dying.

If you can find a “local,” probably at the South Knox Senior Center but maybe at Hardee’s or King Tut’s, they will tell you the same story.

It was the center of life for South Knoxville.

It is where we worked for generations, mopping and cooking, nursing and X-raying.

It is where we came when we got hit by something, a car or a stroke.

It is where we came to comfort others, hurting or sick, grieving or grinning in a nursery window.

It is where we were born and died.

It has been like watching a loved one with a terminal illness.

You hated watching the struggle.

Then end would be the best, really.

And then it comes and you just can’t breathe.

Susan Kay Knoxville

EDITORIAL EDITOR

Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR

Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITER

S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS

Chris Barrett Ian Blackburn 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 Joe Tarr 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 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number. We do not print anonymous letters.

Christopher Black chris@knoxmercury.com

BUSINESS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Jerry Collins jerry@knoxmercury.com

KNOXVILLE MERCURY

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

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

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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 Or email us at: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury

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sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION

distribution@knoxmercury.com 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

Like Having an Independent Paper in Knoxville?

THANK THESE BUSINESSES! Their Advertising Dollars Are Making It Happen.

106.1 The River AC Entertainment American Institute of Architects Appalachia Business Communications Architectural Antics Barnes and Barnes Salon Bennett Galleries Bijou Theatre Bike & Trail Biscuit Bash Bliss Blount Partnership: Hops in the Hills Blount Partnership: Scottish Festival Boyd’s Jig & Reel Brewfest Brewhibition Buzz Nabers DDS Central Flats & Taps Church Street United Methodist Church Clancy’s Tavern Clarence Brown Theater

Courtland Group Crown and Goose Cru Bistro Dawn Coppock Dewhirst Properties Disc Exchange EarthFest East End Liquor Echelon Bikes Eldridge & Blakney Gourmet’s Market Gypsy Hands Harpers Bike Shop Holly’s 135 Holly’s Corner John Coleman Bookseller Knoxville Area Reproductive Rights Knoxville Accupuncture Knoxville History Project Knoxville Jazz Fest Knoxville Museum of Art: Alive after 5

Knoxville MPC Knoxville Opera Knoxville Uncorked Little River Trading Co. Magpie’s Mid-Mod Collective North Corner Sandwich Shop Nothing Too Fancy Old City Luxury Condos Pete’s Coffee Shop Plainview TV Preservation Pub Prospect Mortgage Purple Heart Tattoo Raven Records and Rarities Retrospect Saint Tattoo Sally’s Alley Sapphire Scruffy City Film Fest Scruffy City Hall

Striped Light Sugarlands Distilling Sunspot Survature Tennessee Theatre Tennessee Theatre Foundation Three Rivers Market Tomato Head Trio Cafe Union Ave Books UT Center for Student Engagement UT Culinary Program UT Opera UT Poetry Week UT Tolstoy Festival Volapalooza WDVX Webb School WUOT WUTK Zipcar

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 DONATE: knoxmercury.com/donate

May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5

HOWDY

GHOST SIGNS BY BUD RIES

The old Country Table Restaurant on Cherry Street really didn’t want tractor trailers parked in their lot.

Their sign couldn’t have been any clearer about that.

QUOTE FACTORY “ Overall … it’s somewhat disappointing.”

—Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre, reacting in a News Sentinel story to Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s proposed budget, which does not allot funds for the construction of new schools and will make it “very challenging” to pay for teacher raises.

The $435 million budget is $6.5 million less than what the school board requested, though it’s about $10 million more than the last fiscal year.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

5/14 LUCAS RICHMAN’S FINALE THURSDAY

7:30 p.m., Tennessee Theatre. $11-$83.

He is outta here! KSO music director Lucas Richman gives his final concert as conductor of the symphony, featuring works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Ravel. Who will take up the baton? Keep listening.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

Believe It or Knox!

BY Z. HERACLITUS KNOX In 1905, German-born Jewish immigrant Max Arnstein built his department store, the first building constructed in Knoxville with a steel frame, designed by the prominent New York firm of Cleverdon and Putzel. Though only seven stories tall, the building at Market and Union WAS KNOWN AS KNOXVILLE’S FIRST SKYSCRAPER! It was Knoxville’s tallest building only until 1908, when the 10-story Burwell topped it.

The suburban garden spot known as SEQUOYAH HILLS was once planned to be A STEEL MILL! By a deal with a New Jersey company in the early 1890s, the major industrial plant would cover most of the peninsula then known as Looney’s Bend, the same one that now includes winding roads (including Cherokee Boulevard), a school, a library, a few parks, and hundreds of houses. However, the financial crash of 1893 scuttled the project.

Sequoyah Hills was developed as one of Knoxville’s first automobile suburbs more than 30 years later.

The University of Tennessee’s first school color was red! It was the color of the university’s baseball team in the 1870s and later. UT did not start using the color orange, originally the hue of daisies growing on the Hill, until the 1890s.

5/15 FRAGILE FIFTEEN ANNOUNCEMENT 5/16 SMOKY MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND GAMES FRIDAY

10:30 a.m., Historic Westwood (3425 Kingston Pike). Free.

Each year, the preservation group Knox Heritage announces its list of the most endangered properties and places within Knox County. It’s a revealing look at how the fates of our historic buildings may suddenly rise or fall—unexpected names appear, while others are removed with a sigh of relief. This year, we predict, a preservation award-winner on North Broadway will find itself topping the list.

SATURDAY

8 a.m.-9 p.m., Maryville College. $18. Kids under 16 free.

It’s time again to gather ye clan for a day of pipe and drum bands, feats of strength by burly men in kilts, sheepdogs, and Highland Dance. East Tennessee’s biggest celebration of Scottish culture and history is one of the oldest in the country, begun in 1981. It’s also one of the most fun explorations of our regional history. Runs through Sunday. Info: smokymountaingames.org.

5/17 HOWARD HOUSE COMMUNITY MEETING SUNDAY

4 p.m., Central United Methodist Church (210 E. Third Ave).

Knox County Commissioner Amy Broyles is convening this public meeting to discuss ways to save the historic Howard house on North Broadway. The pristine Craftsman home is threatened by a potential new Walmart grocery, which will flatten the house for a parking lot. (See: May 15 event.)

HOWDY WORDS WITH ...

Enter to win tickets to Bonnaroo!

Bekki Vaden

BY ROSE KENNEDY Bekki Vaden will be among those painting naked torsos when the non-profit BreastStrokes has its 7th annual Painting Days event May 16-17. A $10 sitting fee goes directly to two women with cancer in this area, and the paintings are photographed from neck to navel with photos auctioned at a later event.

Vaden founded BreastStrokes.

Whwat’s been the most unusual painting request?

I’m not sure if it was our most unusual, but it is definitely one of my personal favorites: Mayor Madeline Rogero’s likeness painted by Jessica Gregory, who has worked hard as a volunteer for us for the past six years.

Why did this seem like a good approach for cancer fundraising?

It kind of started out as a joke. One day in 2009 I was bored at home and painted googly-eyes on my nipples and a silly, toothy grin on my belly. I took a picture and sent it to some friends for a laugh. At the same time, I found out about a friend of a friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 aggressive breast cancer. Some of my friends were working hard to put together a fundraiser for her, kind of an art flea market. I called my longtime pal Ammi Knight and asked her if she thought it would be a good idea to paint some different things, photograph the artwork on our human canvasses, and then put them up for sale at the fundraiser. She was all in. We invited about 10 lady friends to my tiny home in Old North Knoxville, and Ammi brought her friend Tovah Greenwood, who happened to be a professional photographer. We partied and painted.

Does the project stir up strong emotions?

I have been asked on several occasions about how I reconcile our work with pornography and the objectification of women. My answer is fairly simple: Our project is one of individual empowerment, not dehumanization. Every woman comes through that door willingly and we are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable for our own personal reasons. One model had a chemo port and a colostomy bag. She and her close friend came and were painted together. She told us afterward how

(2 pairs of general admission weekend passes will be given away)

thankful she was for the experience. How she hasn’t wanted to be naked in front of anyone, but when she took off her shirt before her friend and artist, she felt okay and held her head high. We are here to empower and provide support to the whole woman; body, mind, and spirit.

What happens with the money raised?

Enter any time by May 18th.

Winners will be chosen on May 19th and announced on May 21st.

To enter, visit either:

We give it directly to our beneficiaries, women with cancer who need financial aid. There are no limitations as to how they are able to use the funds.

They can pay medical bills, mortgages, utilities, groceries, or take a trip to Dollywood with their kids.

Rik’s Music and Sound

Is the painting process awkward at first?

1505 Downtown West Blvd, Knoxville

Our models are vulnerable, so I make myself vulnerable as well by painting topless. I’m already topless when I meet my models, so it might be more awkward for them! We are all about respecting personal boundaries. I’ve had models that want certain parts of their body covered up or enhanced. I’ve painted a woman who didn’t want her nipples to be touched, so I painted a design on her sternum and stomach and we cleverly disguised her nipples behind props in the finished photograph. We can cover your scars or make them shine. And some ladies like to take a shot of whiskey—whatever they want. It’s their body!

OR

Boyd’s Jig and Reel 101 S Central St, Knoxville

How would you define success for this event?

One where women show up excited and leave smiling, full of heart. If I can help one woman see herself as valuable, beautiful, and brave, I know I’ve done my job.

Painting Days: Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17, 2 p.m.-9 p.m. at Ironwood Studios (119 Jennings Ave.), BYOB, guests invited, women-only event. See the group’s Facebook page or e-mail bekki@breastrokesknoxville.com.

Music & Sound May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7

SCRUFFY CITIZEN

So Prodigal Bounty On International Biscuit Festival weekend, a meditation on Knoxville’s culinary past

BY JACK NEELY

O

ld newspapers, legal documents, letters, and directories of various sorts are full of mundane detail.

More interesting stuff about life in Knoxville more than a century ago is often elusive. Like what people ate.

Archaeologists can tell us that people had ham bones, because they often threw them into the cistern or into the backyard. They can’t tell us how often they ate ham, or how it was prepared, or what they had besides ham, perhaps dishes that didn’t have bones at all.

Most written accounts are maddeningly vague. When Louis-Philippe, the future Citizen King of France, came to Knoxville in spring, 1797, he fussed about Knoxville’s street layout and its ability to care for his horses; but the French nobleman remarked that the meals he got here were “not bad.”

Meals were rarely described in detail. We can find names of Knoxville restaurants, 100 or 150 years ago, their proprietors and their precise location.

In most cases we don’t have any idea what they served. I’ve always been intrigued by the 24-hour Depot Street restaurant known as The Owl. Whether they served actual owl is unproven.

One book offers a peek. To my knowledge, there’s been only one book published under the title Knoxville Cookbook, and it came out 115 years ago. I’m a connoisseur of old cookbooks, which I like to read as

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

I’m eating ramen noodles. The Knoxville Cookbook is more interesting than most, a mixture of downhome and haute cuisine, and unlike many old cookbooks, written in actual prose, with just a touch of personality.

Behind it was the Woman’s Building Board, the organization in charge of the Woman’s Building on Main Street—actually the Knoxville Pavilion, moved all the way from Centennial Park in Nashville after the big 1897 exposition, which here served as a sort of art museum and event space. It was an impressive assemblage of women of means who were bound to make a big mark on the city.

On that committee of 12 were Bettie Tyson, who later established Tyson Park in exchange for the promise that the city’s airport would be named for her son, the airman killed in action

during World War I; and Mary Boyce Temple, who 25 years later would save Blount Mansion from becoming another parking lot.

It opens, “Knoxville claims the best market southwest of Norfolk….

With such lavish generosity on the part of Nature back of her, it would be almost an injustice not to make use of so prodigal bounty. This accounts possibly for the reputation Knoxville has attained to in culinary lines.”

So Knoxville had a culinary reputation. Naturally it did: “The rivers and mountain streams are rich in many kinds of fish; the woods that still retain some of the wild solitude of Indian days are filled with game; the Holstein and the Jersey pasture upon the peaceful hillsides, where here the fruit and vegetable world have set up a powerful kingdom.”

Among the Knoxville Cookbook’s recipes are some things you’d expect, like Light Biscuit, Crisp Buttermilk Biscuit, and Raised Biscuit: three very different recipes. The last requires exactly seven hours. Then there are two recipes for the Beaten Biscuit, a different thing altogether, and an acquired taste. One beaten-biscuit recipe is especially formulated to be less noisy than the other. There’s even a Mother’s Potato Biscuit.

There’s Pone Corn Bread, Chow-Chow (two recipes), and Pig’s Foot Cheese, which sounds downhome—but also, on the same page, Pigs’ Feet a la Poulette, which doesn’t.

It’s cosmopolitan in its perspective: Mexican Chili Meat, Maryland Terrapin (calls for a live terrapin, of course), French Pancakes, Canada Eggs, Bavarian Cream, Mignon de Volaille, Welsh Nectar, German Sauce (from peaches!), Italian Sauce (no tomatoes, it’s pureed onions with white sauce), Chicken Gumbo, Italian

The Cookbook proves Knoxville in 1900 had Pigs in Blankets—but they had nothing to do with hot dogs.

Macaroni Soup, Cock-a-Leekie—and Potage a la Reine, which the Knoxville ladies recommended as “Queen Victoria’s favorite soup,” a thick, creamy chicken soup with egg yolks.

There’s a recipe for making pasta from scratch.

And the Cookbook proves Knoxville in 1900 had Pigs in Blankets—but they had nothing to do with hot dogs. Knoxville did have hot dogs. In fact the world’s first known reference to hot dogs, by that name, is in an 1893 Knoxville newspaper. But that was street food, unmentioned in this cookbook. In 1900 Knoxville, a “pig in a blanket” was an oyster wrapped in bacon and served on toast.

It always surprises newcomers to the Victorian era how much Knoxvillians, 400 miles inland, ate oysters.

Beginning when the first trains arrived in the 1850s, and well into the 20th century, oysters were our favorite fast food, in saloons, but also a staple in the kitchen.

The 1900 Knoxville Cookbook offers 23 separate recipes for oysters.

That’s not counting Mock-Oyster, made from “oyster plant,” which I gather was another term for salsify.

Oscar’s Oyster Relish includes vinegar, olive oil, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, shallots, and chives.

There are three recipes for ox tails, none of them ox-tail soup, which is the only ox tail I’ve ever tasted.

There’s Brains and also Mock Brains, made from egg yolks.

Not long ago, I bought a pound of lentils at a little produce market. The cashier looked at it curiously, and at me curiously, and asked me what I did with lentils, because she’d never tried them. I felt, for a moment, hip and exotic, and told her about my thick lentil soup. But Knoxvillians in 1900 were eating lentils: “They are exceedingly nice when soaked, boiled, and served with rice; or as the Arabs serve them, boiled and rolled in cabbage leaves and boiled again.”

And it’s a decidedly pre-Prohibition document. A whole chapter on Drinks includes nothing called a cocktail, but rather “cordials and “punches.” The Roman Punch has a cup of brandy and a cup of sherry.

Several other recipes call for rum, whiskey, claret, or champagne.

Let’s return to our roots as a culinary capital, have a big party, and serve this stuff again. ◆

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

Join us at our first Monthly Mercury Meetup.

Wednesday, May 20th, 5-7 p.m. at Chandler’s Deli 3101 Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37914

There won’t be any speeches or roundtables.

We’ll just be hanging out, ready to chat about darn near anything with whomever stops by.

We hope for a crowd!

MEETUPS May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9

PERSPECTIVES

Class Achievement Alexander excels at bipartisan accord in revamping NCLB

BY JOE SULLIVAN

I

t’s truly remarkable that the two U.S. senators from one of the reddest of the red states that Tennessee has become are showing more affinity than any other Republicans to work with Democrats to achieve bipartisan accords.

As chairmen of two of the Senate’s most important committees, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have not only been able to reach across party lines but, equally important, to keep their own ranks in line to fashion unanimous approval of two important measures recently.

Contrast that with Gov. Bill Haslam’s inability to get Republican supermajorities in the state Legislature to support his signature Insure Tennessee plan for Medicaid expansion.

In Corker’s case, collaboration with Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland produced a mind-numbingly complex set of provisions for Congressional action on any nuclear deal with Iran. On the Senate floor, though, it took intervention by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to ward off poison-pill amendments from the Republican right that could have killed the measure.

As the new chairman of the Senate education committee, Alexander has made a major stride toward breaking the multi-year gridlock that has prevented Congress from revamp-

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

ing the horrifically flawed 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. The worst of these flaws was the unrealistic requirement that states make every student proficient in reading and math by 2014 or else face sanctions. This requirement prompted many states, including Tennessee, to dumb down their standards of proficiency and hindered rather than helped student achievement gains until they were redressed.

To stave off NCLB’s worst consequences, when Congress failed to do so, Education Secretary Arne Duncan since 2012 has been granting states waivers from compliance with the act. But these have come with

strings attached in terms of testing standards and state accountability for improvement on the part of low-performing and disadvantaged students.

In collaboration with the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Alexander has gotten unanimous approval of a bill that preserves an annual standardized test requirement. But, as Alexander puts it, the bill “ends federal test-based accountability and restores state and local responsibility for creating systems holding students and teachers accountable.”

Importantly, the bill also preserves a requirement that standardized test results identify achievement gaps on the part of economically disadvantaged and minority students (while leaving it to the states how to go about closing them). Moreover, it retains the present formula for concentrating federal aid funds, known as Title I, to schools with a high proportion of students in poverty.

By contrast, a bill approved by Republicans alone on the House education committee would reallocate these Title I funds among all schools based on the number of poverty students in each of them.

It remains to be seen whether a successor to NCLB can finally get enacted in a Congress that remains deeply divided in many different ways.

Republican rightists in the House seem bent on stripping the federal government of just about any role in public education. But do they really think it’s preferable to leave a totally dysfunctional law on the books that has resulted in the executive branch exercising almost unprecedented discretionary authority over education policy via waivers?

Since Tennessee replaced its dumbed-down proficiency standards with much more stringent ones beginning in 2007, the state has been in the forefront of fostering robust student achievement gains.

Since Tennessee replaced its dumbed-down proficiency standards with much more stringent ones beginning in 2007, the state has been in the forefront of fostering robust student achievement gains. This is perhaps best evidenced by the unprecedented gains for any state recorded in the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The state has also promulgated a set of annual measurable objectives for reducing achievement gaps on the part of economically disadvantaged and minority students.

Title I funding is aimed at contributing to this gap reduction by concentrating its $12 billion a year in federal funding on schools with the highest proportions of students from impoverished households. In Knox County, 36 of its 89 public schools get over $13 million annually in Title I funding that goes for things like tutoring, instructional coaches, and other specialized support for low achieving students.

So one would suppose that Knox County Schools have been making progress toward achieving gap reductions mandated by the state. But such is not the case. To the contrary, these gaps have mostly been widening over the past three years as measured by TCAP scores. For the economically disadvantaged, from 2002 to 2014, the gap has grown from 31.3 percent to 34,0 percent in reading and from 30.8 percent to 33.7 percent in math. For minorities, the reading gap has widened from 22.5 percent to 22.8 percent while in the case of math it’s narrowed from 21.9 percent to 21.1 percent.

Yet even these regressions pale by comparison with the drop in proficiency at the one Knox County school that’s been singled out for a separate federal Student Improvement Grant that only goes to the very lowest-performing schools. In 2013, Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy received a $1.5 million SIG that went for a specialized summer school. But according to the state Report Card, TCAP reading proficiency at the school dropped from 19.1 percent in 2013 to 13.6 percent in 2014 while math proficiency dropped from 19.1 percent to 13 percent.

Results like these make a mockery of Superintendent Jim McIntyre’s “Excellence For Every Child” mantra. ◆

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May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11

SMALL PLANET

Fishing Trip Conservation Fisheries, Inc. has been saving endangered species for almost 30 years

BY PATRICE COLE

I

t’s probably safe to say that Knoxville has not often been featured in National Geographic magazine, but a local business has been highlighted in two issues of that international publication. Photos of rare native fish propagated at Conservation Fisheries, Inc. grace the pages of the March 2015 and April 2010 issues. CFI has been in business for almost 30 years as a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of this region’s aquatic biodiversity using a threeprong approach.

First and foremost, they work to restore populations of fish eliminated by water pollution or habitat damage, largely by propagating and releasing native fish back to the wild.

CFI was the first facility in the Southeast to propagate rare, nongame fish for recovery work. They also produce fish eggs and larvae for toxicity testing to develop water quality standards, and using fish raised in captivity for this purpose spares wild populations. A third side of the business is non-invasive monitoring of rare fish populations, primarily by snorkeling.

CFI co-founders Patrick Rakes and J. R. Shute met at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as graduate students studying fish species that were imperiled by habitat loss, and

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

after completing school they founded CFI to continue that work. They’ve maintained aquarium populations of at least 65 fish species over the years, and two dozen or more rare fish species are likely to be growing in the CFI hatchery at any given time. For most, the ultimate goal is to return them to their native habitat. Sometimes, as a last resort, they keep “ark” populations of fish that seem on the verge of extinction. A new undertaking is propagating fish as hosts for the larvae of rare mussel species that are being reintroduced in Tennessee

River tributaries.

Rakes and Shute have a small but enthusiastic staff who divide their time between hatchery and field work.

The species they raise in their Division Street hatchery are smallish, usually only a few inches long. The Spring Pygmy Sunfish, whose native habitat includes just a few springs in the Huntsville, Ala. area, is a mere few millimeters in length. Learning the dos and don’ts of rearing fish from cold water streams has been a decades-long process, but these guys clearly have “wet thumbs.”

Larval (baby) fish often need live food, so one room in the hatchery is devoted to raising brine shrimp, rotifers, water fleas, and tiny worms.

It can take more time to care for the food populations than for the fish.

Some species, such as the spotfin chub, require strong currents provided by pumps, and all require very clean, cold water. Over the years they’ve experimented with a variety of natural and man-made materials, such as terra cotta tiles, to discover the best and cheapest ways of mimicking the substrate suitable for the fish to lay their eggs. All of this has resulted in a growing set of written protocols that others can follow to propagate the same species in other hatcheries.

As daunting as all this attention to detail can seem, the level of effort to actually get these fish back into the wild can be even greater. The first step is to stay abreast of land-use changes that can improve, or degrade, the habitat quality of a particular stream segment. For example, the upper Tellico River became a much

They point to agriculture as the “number one killer of our streams” via sedimentation that muddies the water and smothers fish eggs.

Urbanization can degrade or eliminate aquatic habitat.

better fish habitat after a wastewater treatment plant was upgraded, a cannery closed, and off-road vehicles were banned from the North Carolina side of Cherokee National Forest.

Then the biologists look for the best spots for reintroducing fish to the stream, places with suitable cover and spawning sites. Getting to the reintroduction points can be as challenging as walking several miles off-trail carrying a backpack loaded with bags of water and live fish.

This kind of work takes a lot of patience, including waiting five to 10 years typically to see positive results of a reintroduction. A number of visits to a stream, each involving hours of snorkeling in cold water, may be necessary before they see the reintroduced fish persisting and reproducing.

Even then there is work to be done to maintain genetic diversity in the wild populations. Fish tissue samples are sent to geneticists who advise CFI on how many individual fish to move from one stream to another to avoid the genetic bottleneck of too much inbreeding.

Stream monitoring is sometimes a harrowing experience, such as the time the co-founders were surprised by a sudden, violent thunderstorm while observing a nocturnal catfish species at night. Other times it can be surreal, as when a beaver suddenly looms out of the darkness, silvery bubbles streaming across its face as it swims toward the diver’s light.

Shute and Rakes know that their quest to save rare fish species and maintain this region’s unusually high aquatic biodiversity depends on changing behaviors that can and have led to extinctions. They point to agriculture as the “number one killer of our streams” via sedimentation that muddies the water and smothers fish eggs. Urbanization can degrade or eliminate aquatic habitat.

Collecting rocks from streams for landscaping materials removes the clean crevices in which most of these species must lay their eggs.

Until these and other assaults on our waterways are stemmed, CFI will continue to buy time for these species and advance the art and science of native fish propagation.

They hope the National Geographic exposure and a documentary that’s in the works will raise awareness of these beautiful creatures most of us will never see. ◆

(AT THESE & OTHER FINE LOCATIONS) MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Calhoun’s (7 Locations) Community Boxes Downtown (12 Locations) Earth Fare (2 Locations) Food City (18 Locations) Food Lion (2 Locations) Knox County Public Libraries (14 Locations) Kroger (14 Locations) Maryville College (4 Locations) Pellissippi State Community College campuses (8 Locations) Publix (3 Locations) The Casual Pint (7 Locations) University of Tennessee campus (22 locations) University of Tennessee Medical Center (3 locations) YMCA (4 Locations)

DOWNTOWN / FORT SANDERS

17th Street Deli Bank Of America (Box) Barleys Taproom Blue Coast Grill Boyd’s Jig And Reel Café 4 Chesapeake’s Clancy’s Tavern Coffee and Chocolates Convention Center (Box) Copper Cellar Crown And Goose (Box) Cru Cumberland Glassworks Downtown Grill & Brewery Downtown Wine & Liquor/Sutree’s Earth To Old City East Tennessee History Center Empire Deli Emporium Center First Tennessee Bank Plaza Five Bar Gameday Hookah Lounge (Box) Hampton Inn Holly’s 135 Java-Inside Just Ripe Grocery Knoxville Museum of Art Laurel Theatre Lawson McGhee Library (Inside and Box) Lenny’s Lox Salon Mast General Inside Mellow Mushroom Nama Sushi Not Watsons Nothing Too Fancy Oliver Hotel Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center (Box) Panera Bread Pendergrass Library (UT Ag Campus)

Premier Parking Lot Market Street (Box) Preservation Pub Public House Remedy Coffee Salon Barnes & Barnes Sapphire Scruffy City Music Hall Soccer Taco Sterchi Lofts (Box) Sunspot Sweet P’s Barbeque & Soul House (Box) Tenn. Supreme Court (Box) The Hill Tomato Head Uncorked Union Books Urban Bar Visit Knoxville Visitors Center YWCA

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Asheville Highway Animal Clinic Chandlers Deli East End Liquor John T. O’conner center Marc Nelson Nostalgia Puleo’s Saw Works Brewing Scotts Place The Muse Knoxville

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Amber Restaurant Central Taps and Flats (Box) Club XYZ Country Inn And Suites Cork and Bottle Wine Court South Glowing Body Gypsy Hands Healing Arts Harby’s Harvest Towne Wine And Spirits Holly’s Corner Hops and Hollers K-Brew KCDC Lenny’s Little Caesars (Box) Litton’s Lost And Found Records Mid Mod Collective Nixon’s North Corner Sandwich Shop On The Rocks Liquor Panera Bread (Box) Raven Records Retrospect Rita’s Bakery

Tomato Head (Gallery) USI Motors Westwood Antiques Whiskey River Wild Wright’s Cafeteria

Ruby Tuesday Tennova Health Workout (Box) Three Rivers Market (Box) Time Warp Tea Room

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Barley’s Maryville Blount County Library Bluetick Brewery Dead End Barbeque Disc Exchange Grinder and Grains Café Little River Trading Company Panera Bread Alcoa (Box) Smokey Mountain Harley Davidson (Box) Smoky Mountain Brewery Maryville Southland Books And Cafe Southland Spirits and Wine Stanley’s Greenhouse Sullivan’s Maryville (Box) Sweet P’s Barbeque & Soul House The Market Vienna Coffee House

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Big Ed’s Pizza (Box) Billy’s Time Out Deli (Box) Clinton Library Doubletree Hotel Hot Bagel Company (Box) Hot Bagel Company (2nd Box) Mr. Ks Used Books (Box) National Fitness Center The Other One Deli

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May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 13

Building Momentum Knoxville College’s board of trustees considers Southeast Commercial’s development deal

BY S. HEATHER DUNCAN

T

he Knoxville College board of trustees was expected to vote Tuesday night on an exclusive contract with Knoxville construction fi rm Southeast Commercial to redevelop the college’s 39-acre property in Mechanicsville. Board chairman James Reese said trustees discussed the proposal at a long meeting Friday but lacked a quorum to vote. Reese said Tuesday morning he expected a quorum for a board conference call that night “and hopefully we’ll emerge out of that with something.”

Although other news reports have indicated the board is still considering multiple proposals, Reese said Southeast Commercial was the only one being discussed. The board received no other formal proposals.

“Somehow the image was that we weren’t willing to work with other developers,” Reese says. “We were totally open. … We did not solicit offers, but anybody who wanted to talk with us about the possibility was received.”

Reese says two other groups showed an interest. One was a partnership between Mechanicsville residents Bentley Marlow and Scott Sherrill; Marlow has publicly expressed disappointment that his team was given no more than eight days to put together a formal proposal once he learned about the impending Southeast Commercial deal, which had not been

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

discussed publicly. (Knoxville College did not issue a request for proposals, a process nonprofits and governments often use to drive competition for better proposals and to avoid the appearance of favoritism.)

Reese declined to name the other group that expressed interest in redeveloping the college property.

WHY THE HURRY?

Reese says it’s important for the college to build momentum toward improving its condition quickly. “A real concern is the longer you delay starting renovation, the more people feel you’re not going to do it at all,” Reese says.

The historic college, founded in 1875 to offer higher education to black students, produced many community leaders. But with enrollment and funding steadily declining for decades, it lost its accreditation in 1997 and shifted from one president to another in quick succession since 2005. (It currently has none.)

The college announced in April— after receiving the Southeast Commercial proposal in March—that it would suspend classes after spring semester.

Reese says the goal is to resume classes in fall of 2016, but for that to happen, donors must contribute significant funds and the college must convince the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to let it begin recruiting and enrolling students again.

The commission voted to put Knoxville College on “conditional authorization” when fall classes were canceled.

“It’s very difficult for some people to see you’re going to continue to be a college if you don’t have any classes,” Reese says, pointing out that the college still pays some staff salaries and utilities and needs to at least try to maintain the buildings, many of which are in terrible disrepair.

Reese says alumni are more likely to make donations toward the college’s recovery if they see concrete improvements happening on the ground. “It will be a big boon to the college,” he says. “The sooner we can say this is going forward, the sooner people will respond.”

However, the Southeast Commercial deal was not expected to provide the college with any upfront payments that it can apply toward its debt, Reese said. “We haven’t talked about money,” he said Tuesday morning.

The college owes the federal government around $1 million—as well as almost $6 million to Foundation Capital, according to a March 5 facilities assessment by college officials.

A March 16 version of the agreement as proposed by Southeast Commercial would basically give the developer a year to work out a plan for what kind of development to offer at the site, how to fund it, how to negotiate with the college’s creditors, and other details. During that time the college would not rent or sell its property or work with other developers. The document, which is an early version of the agreement, doesn’t discuss any

payments to the college or the developer.

Southeast Commercial has developed or redeveloped high-profile hotels and commercial ventures in Knoxville, including the Hilton, the Marriott, the downtown YMCA, Dunhill Apartments, the Knoxville Expo Center on Clinton Highway, and National College.

Marlow says his competing proposal, which failed to solidify for lack of a developer, had lined up $6 million from investors to satisfy debts on the property—if his team had been awarded the job and had been able to clear the property title so his investors could take priority lien.

FOOTPRINTS

The March 16 version of the master-developer agreement with Southeast Commercial states that the college will consider public development incentives and tax financing as part of the project; the document repeatedly refers to low-income tax credits, which the college has also identified as a “potential funding opportunity.” Some (including Marlow) have questioned whether low-income housing is the best direction for the property.

Art Cate, director of the Knoxville Community Development Corporation, says there are 571 public housing units in three developments that are within about a mile: Mechanicsville and Passport Homes, which together cover the footprint of the old College Homes public housing, and Western Heights.

But on paper, at least, there seems to remain plenty of demand. There are 1,234 people on the waiting list for

Western Heights and Mechanicsville; for Passport Homes, it’s 129. Those awaiting a two-bedroom apartment may be on the waiting list two to three years, Cate says.

In the ZIP code that includes Mechanicsville are 306 privately owned housing units that accept Section 8 vouchers, a public subsidy, Cate says. The Section 8 waiting list for the county is closed because it includes more than 1,000 people, he says.

Despite these statistics, Cate notes that a developer considering housing in Mechanicsville would probably still want to conduct a market study.

David Dewhirst, who has successfully redeveloped many historic Knoxville properties, says, “If you were to include only low-income housing because it has tax credits and is easier for the developer, I think you’re asking for some significant social problems in the future. And that’s not to anyone’s advantage.” He suggests that mixed-income housing and walkable mixed-use development would be best.

Dewhirst notes the “enormous impact” the project could have on Knoxville because of size of the 39-acre

campus and how close it is to downtown. “You could screw it up and ruin it for 50 to 60 years, or you could use it to make a place people would want to work and play.”

Dewhirst cautions that he doesn’t know anyone in the region (including himself) capable of developing a project of that scale effectively. He says considering a wider spectrum of approaches and developers might bring about a better result.

“This is a pretty large-scale endeavor, and I’d hate to see the board make a decision on what they think is the quickest and easiest life preserver thrown to them when that’s not what’s best for the college long-term,” he says.

Reese says other aspects of the agreement are still being negotiated, including how much of the land would be available for redevelopment. He says the college wants to maintain ownership of the “footprint of Knoxville College,” which includes the campus “from the alumni gym and the Harvey Center forward” and the historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Among the buildings that would remain as part of

the college would be the chapel, library, Elnathan Hall, and the administration building, Reese says.) The college wants these renovated as part of the deal with Southeast, and it’s “a big part of the negotiations,” Reese says. “The developer would probably find it to his advantage to have some relationship to that renovation because it will affect the image of the rest [of any new development].”

Even though the redevelopment would leave the college without any dormitory or classroom buildings, classes could be held in the remaining space in the administration building, the library, and the educational wing of the chapel, Reese says.

NOT A DISMAL NOTE

Already this year the campus could not accommodate its tiny commencement ceremony for three graduates.

Held Saturday at a church a few blocks from campus, the ceremony was upbeat and hopeful, Reese says.

“There was not a dismal note,” he says.

“Other than the number of graduates, it was like any other commencement we’ve had in 104 years.”

Reese says the college sent a letter to alumni requesting donations a month ago, but he doesn’t yet know what the response has been. The college’s tough past year—the end of classes, two college president changes, the condemnation of the administration building and last functioning dorm, and a federal Environmental Protection Agency cleanup of chemicals in the former science building—has not led to a flood of worried or angry calls from alumni, Reese says. Instead, these changes have been met mostly by

silence. That lack of response is what troubles Reese.

He and his fellow trustees are tasked with getting out good news about the college among so much bad.

But he says it helps every time the city acknowledges the college as one of its gifts. Reese says he might suggest creating a Knoxville College support committee to help boost the college’s profile, and asking Mayor Madeline Rogero to appoint a city representative to serve on it.

Rogero met Friday with representatives from Knoxville College to discuss their efforts at campus preservation and redevelopment. In a prepared statement, Rogero said, “I encouraged them to engage the community early and often to ensure that whatever development might occur is an asset to their neighbors in Mechanicsville.”

In the March version of the Southeast Commercial agreement, it would be up to the developer to decide whether to hold community meetings about any redevelopment plans.

Reese says he supports that. In terms of improving the college’s communication with local residents, Reese says the college used to send a representative to Mechanicsville Community Association meetings in the past. “We would be committed to doing that again,” he says. “I would think that would be one of the first things we would do as soon as students are back on campus.”

The soonest that might be is fall 2016. If Knoxville College inks a deal with Southeast Commercial, work on at least some part of the development is projected to begin before then. ◆ May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15

the

Charlotte Tolley has made the Market Square Farmers’ Market — and local food — wildly popular again

BY CHRIS BARRETT • PHOTOS BY SHAWN POYNTER

16

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 17

I

MAX CAPACITY: Since its launch in 2004 with 10 vendors, the Market Square Farmers’ Market— shepherded by Charlotte Tolley, below—has grown to become a festival-sized event with over 120 vendors and thousands of shoppers each Saturday between May and November.

18

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

t’s the first Saturday of May at Market Square, not quite 8:30 a.m.

The sunlight is still horizontal and shadows are long. There is an air of not-unpleasant chaos as farmers and food vendors and sundry volunteers hustle to prepare for day one of the 12th year of the Market Square Farmers’ Market. You can smell coffee and breakfast offered by both food trucks and resident restaurants, as well as cut flowers and the tang of fecund dirt and clay still clinging to roots unearthed maybe an hour or two earlier. The market is not even open yet and Market Square and adjacent environs already contain more people than most farm-dwellers are able to be comfortable around.

Welcome to Crazy Town.

“The farmers’ market has just exploded in the last couple years,” says Charlotte Tolley, who along with others helped to conceive the market in 2003. “For the first five years we were begging people to come. The next five years were good, manageable growth. Now it’s just crazy town.

We have waiting lists for all of our vendors. We have to be more stringent

about everything that we do. And downtown, when we started 12 years ago, no one gave a crap what we did.

Most of the buildings were empty.”

Determinist mathematician Edward Lorenz theorized in the 1970s that, presuming certain initial conditions, a butterfly could flap its wings and across some span of time and space cause tornadoes. That butterfly might have been named Charlotte. Tolley is soft-spoken, thoughtful and articulate, slim and tall yet somehow still diminutive. If she is on the bus or among those in the elevator with you now, you might not notice her. But she gets things done and makes things happen, most often as an orchestrator and collaborator or person who makes sensible suggestions. Thank or blame her for this mob scene.

Several of the sellers on hand this morning were here when the market launched in 2004, following a fall and winter of planning. They seem both proud and bemused to be asked to consider the growth that they have witnessed and caused. Adrienne Gibson and her family own A Place of the Heart Farm in Pioneer, Tenn., north of Knoxville. Gibson was approached by Tolley after her farm began supplying produce to Three Rivers Market. A Place of the Heart’s booth has some early seasonal

produce, but Gibson says the primary product she’d like to move today is CSA subscriptions.

“One of the things that I think is helping the farmers’ market is that it’s part of a movement,” observes Gibson. “Those things tend to happen out west and then move this way. Now it’s happening here and I feel like that kind of a movement comes from a younger crowd. Charlotte was that person, and she has the right personality to do it. She’s kind and she’s fair, but she doesn’t let people walk all over her. She hustles, but in a mellow and gentle way. It’s really quite awesome. I think she believes in what she’s doing.”

Adam Cottrill refers to himself as Farm Boss at Spring Creek Farm, in Elk Valley, Tenn. Spring Creek Farm and A Place of the Heart Farm are neighbors up in the wilds of rural East Tennessee, and at Market Square Farmers’ Market, where their booths are nearly adjacent. He started selling at the market in 2005.

“To be honest, she was pretty uptight at the beginning,” Cottrill says of Tolley. “She’s a lot more open-minded and easy going now.

She’s done so much since then, and she’s had to deal with a lot of people.

She’s more understanding of the farmers and everybody else. Farmers are a fringe group to begin with.

“We’ve had dogs that bite. They’re not the cleanest.

And they feel free to relieve themselves whenever it’s convenient.”

— CHARLOTTE TOLLEY

There are a lot of gray areas. Charlotte has done a good job of helping the vendors and the customers and the city understand what’s required and what the rules are.”

At its launch in May of 2004, the MSFM featured 10 vendors.

“We had a lot of media attention about a farmers’ market coming back to Market Square, and people did come out,” Tolley recalls. “And more than one of those people told me things like, ‘I thought this was supposed to be a big deal.’ We definitely did not meet expectations. It really does amaze me. The sad thing for me is that I hardly ever get to shop on Saturdays anymore.”

The MSFM has become so successful today that it’s experiencing the sort of growing pains its originators may have only been dreamed of at the market’s start. It now typically hosts over 120 vendors on any given Saturday (plus a smaller number on Wednesdays), drawing thousands of shoppers to the Square and its adjoining streets for a festival of tamales, gourmet dog biscuits, gluten-free baked goods, and homemade ice pops, not to mention street performers, potters, and jewelry designers. But it’s also spurred a mini-industry of local growers and food providers that hearkens to an earlier era in Knoxville’s food history.

M

arket Square was established before the Civil War on donated land, and farmers parked wagons from which they sold produce and other objects not dissimilar to what’s for sale today. A Market House, no longer standing, housed Union soldiers and Knoxville City Hall over various spells. Intermittently, the Square has functioned as the center of town, which it very much seems to be today and on other days when MSFM is open.

Jack Neely, author of the 2009 book Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth and

executive director of the Knoxville History Project (as well as a contributing editor to the Knoxville Mercury), can scarcely contain his delight while discussing the subject of a populated Market Square.

“It’s been really gratifying to see the resurgence of the farmers’ market on Market Square,” says Neely.

“That’s what it was founded for in 1854. I always thought that that was an important thing to preserve but I’m just amazed by how well it’s come back. Honestly, it’s better than it’s been in my lifetime, now. You might say it’s better now than it has been for most of its history.

“I think Charlotte Tolley and her allies did a lot—young, idealistic people, who came in with this idea of having a farmers’ market just for local farmers. It brought this back around and had an energy and somehow caught on to a national zeitgeist.

People were ready for this. They want something like this. And there it was.”

Like others, Neely thinks Tolley’s personality made her uniquely suited for this particular task.

“Charlotte’s a great combination—a really rare combination—of organization, even temper, and ideas,” he says. “Usually you have the genius who can’t keep things together or someone who gets angry about everything. This requires a lot of organization and a lot of staying cool under pressure and she’s good at all those things. Her combination of talents brought this together. She was just a kid when she started this, 23 years old or so.”

Tolley came to Knoxville from Memphis to attend the University of Tennessee, where she studied fine arts from 1997 to 2001. She says that the only direct contribution of her studies to the work she’s done for the market was a brief digression into architecture, which provided some skills and gear that helped her generate preliminary layouts. Alongside the burgeoning farmers’ market, Tolley was part owner of the downtown market Just Ripe. (She says her

role in that endeavor involved mostly providing support and encouragement for partner Kristen Faerber.) Just Ripe changed hands earlier this year.

Tolley is aware of the current localism shopping and dining trend that finally found its way to Knoxville from points west. And while she has professed a fondness for preservation and was aware of Market Square’s history, her inspiration predates both by several centuries.

“I love downtown spaces,” she says. “I spent some time in London and visited a lot of those outdoor markets that happen in old squares and I just loved the way they enlivened those spaces.”

Tolley has accomplished in Knoxville the sort of feats typically associated with activism or entrepreneurship. She doesn’t think either label would apply.

DOG DAYS: One somewhat controversial measure the MSFM has taken this year is to restrict dogs from the main aisles of Market Square and Market Street in an effort to reduce some of the friction that comes with big crowds.

May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 19

“To be honest, she was pretty uptight at the beginning.

She’s a lot more open-minded and easy going now. She’s done so much since then, and she’s had to deal with a lot of people.

She’s more understanding of the farmers and everybody else.”

— ADAM COTTRILL, Spring Creek Farm

MARKET SQUARE VETERANS: Some vendors have stuck with the MSFM since its earliest days of sparse attendance, including Adrienne Gibson (left) of A Place of the Heart Farm in Pioneer, Tenn. and Adam Cottrill at Spring Creek Farm, in Elk Valley, Tenn.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

“During the first Obama campaign they kept referring to him as a community organizer,” says Tolley. “I thought, ‘Maybe that’s what I am.’

“I’d probably say that if I knew what I was getting into, I wouldn’t have done it. I like the organization part. I like how you can figure something out by looking at it as a whole. And I really like trying to help.

I’m not comfortable being perceived in a leadership role. I’m actually not very comfortable with people, but I’ve gotten better at it. I like being outside.

I like physically doing things that seem tangible. I really like the actual setting up and breaking down of the market and being at market.”

T

olley is quick to share credit for the market’s success.

“Art Carmichael has been here since then beginning, and is a tireless volunteer for the Saturday markets,” she says. “We couldn’t have done it without him. To start the market, the original Market Square District Association board did a lot of legwork to get things off the ground.”

Many people reflexively give that shared credit back.

“I would give a lot of credit to her personality and leadership,” says Bill Lyons, chief of policy and deputy to Mayor Madeline Rogero.

Lyons was a member of the Haslam administration in 2003 and has been involved in implementing the city’s official encouragement of MSFM as well as many of the progressive changes downtown that have facilitated the market and its growth.

In particular, he mentions the Market Square Garage, which dates from that era, and the policy of free parking on nights and weekends downtown. He’s also quick to remind readers of the crucial role played by private development and investment downtown, which has made possible a relatively affluent loft-living, farmers’ market-shopping community.

“She is very effective,” he says.

“And though she has a very pleasing personality, and is very easy to talk to, she’s also quite persistent and has made good cases for what she’s asking.

There were a lot of incremental steps involved”—closing streets and expanding the market into Market Street are his examples—“that weren’t necessarily complete no-brainers at the time.

She went a step at a time. She was very dedicated and it was clear that the success of the farmers’ market was key to her. What she wanted might brush up against some other interests or perceived interests but the way she dealt with it was always very effective.”

Various offices track and forecast the effects of local economic phenome-

na like MSFM. But it’s simpler to ask the business owners who feel that their businesses owe some measure of their success to the market. The Cottrills at Spring Creek Farm sold only overflow from their own kitchen garden during their first year here. They have since built out a certified kitchen for processing and preserving foods. Now they are in the process of building new greenhouses (for a total of four) and have been hiring apprentice labor to supply demand for their goods.

VG’s Bakery (with bricks, mortar, and ovens at the Kohls shopping center in Farragut) is a founding vendor.

Owner Dave Gwin typically mans the booth, but today he is working as a volunteer at the Veggie Valet service along Wall Street. It’s a hat-check variation that allows shoppers to leave large loads in the care of high-schoolers while they fetch the car.

“The market has been great for the bakery,” says Gwin. “Eleven years ago the bakery was at a make-orbreak point in the business. The market has allowed us to reach new people every week. Now we sell at nine different markets in the area.”

Like most people involved, Gwin makes little distinction between the beneficence of the market and Tolley, its public face.

“She’s still young now, but when she started this she really was just a girl,” he recalls. “People make mistakes, and some of the vendors she brought in back in those early days were mistakes. But she’s learned from those mistakes. I’ve been to a lot of farmers’ markets and hers is one of the very best.”

T

olley now leads a new non-profit called Nourish Knoxville—the third non-profit under which MSFM has operated. Growth and popularity have allowed for the addition of some objectives, such as

an annually published local food guide and a winter market, both of which have been notably successful twice. A couple weeks before opening day, Nourish Knoxville launched its 2015 local food guide at an open house event that it shared with the Knoxville Center for Urban Agriculture, on the campus of Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Nourish Knoxville rents office space at the gardens.

“Nourish Knoxville exists,” Tolley says, “to connect East Tennesseans to food grown in East Tennessee.”

Tolley gives credit for the formation of Nourish Knoxville to its founding board, John Schmid, Forrest Kirkpatrick, Amy Hubbard, Paige Travis and Connie Whitehead.

Kirkpatrick is present at the food guide launch. An architect and furniture designer, he studied architecture with Tolley and has known her for some years.

Kirkpatrick says that he and others from Nourish Knoxville have been meeting with the mayor’s office to discuss the coming season.

“We’re on their events calendar,” Kirkpatrick says. “The market is not an event. It’s a space. It’s a space with a lot of value.”

Restaurateur Matt Gallaher, owner and chef at Knox Mason, is also on the board of Nourish Knoxville. Gallaher says MSFM influenced the location where he chose to open his restaurant. He sources ingredients at the market himself. Anything you see him lugging away from market will soon appear on his menu.

“It’s an anchor for activity downtown, so I wanted to be close to it,” he says. “The Market Square Farmers’ market is the best farmers’ market in the region. I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve been to farmers’ markets in Vancouver and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Los Angeles.

It’s just amazing that we have this in Knoxville, honestly.

“Charlotte insists that everything is homemade or homegrown. There are some Saturdays when you want a

bottle of water, you’re thirsty, and it’s not an option. I appreciate that. It keeps the quality and integrity of the market.

“I admire her. I hang all of the success of the market on her. She’s been the driving force and she hasn’t compromised. She’s grown it into something that is truly unique.”

Also present at the food guide event is Tootsie’s food truck, serving tacos as a special. Tolley snacks from a small serving of side dishes, and recommends them at every opportunity. She preaches patronage for a living, alas, and it is entirely possible that she’s not the least bit hungry.

“People often assume I love to cook,” Tolley says. “I don’t love to cook, I love to eat delicious food that makes me feel good. Eating seasonally means making your ingredients shine. You don’t have to do much to make it taste good. I’m a very lazy cook.”

Growth is great except, of course, for when it isn’t. There is the demonstrated demand for more MSFM, but there’s no clear solution as to how that might be supplied.

“There is a farmers’ market every day of the week in Knoxville during the growing season,” says Tolley. “So we’re probably not going to open on another day. We have no desire to expand our footprint. We don’t know what’s going to happen next. This is an infrastructure-building year.”

One result of block-buster attendance has been the decision to begin restricting attendees. Tolley is braced for lots of push-back on MSFM’s decision to establish dog-free zones in the center aisles down Market Square and down Market Street.

“We’ve had dogs that bite,” she says. “They’re not the cleanest. And they feel free to relieve themselves whenever it’s convenient, and sometimes they do that on vendors’ tablecloths or coolers. And of course once something gets peed on by a dog, it gets peed on repeatedly. And it gets really hot and the dogs want shade so they try to get under tables and that

becomes dangerous.”

But, beyond complaints on social media, implementation of the dog-free zones has gone smoothly for the market’s first two Saturday events.

So what’s next for Tolley herself?

She becomes quiet and pensive when asked to imagine what all of this might be leading her toward. Then she smiles.

“I’m the executive director of a non-profit for the first time,” Tolley says. “That’s really exciting. And really boring—it’s mostly filling out forms.

“But it’s my job to make sure that this organization is capable of functioning with me or without me”—she shrugs, perhaps at the concept of impermanence—“which it’s going to have do some day.” ◆

NOURISHING INFO: Nourish Knoxville, the MSFM’s governing body, has been branching out into media, issuing its annual East Tennessee Local Food Guide, distributed for free at local shops.

“If I had one piece of advice to the next generation, it would be just to do stuff.

Don’t sit around talking about how someone should do something about whatever thing needs doing. You can be that someone that does that something.”

—CHARLOTTE TOLLEY May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 21

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P rogram Notes

End of the Road The Dirty Guv’nahs go out on top

L

ast month, just before the Dirty Guv’nahs’ headlining appearance at the Rhythm N’ Blooms festival, James Trimble sounded philosophical about the band’s future. The Guv’nahs were winding up nearly a year’s worth of tour dates in support of their fourth album, 2014’s Hearts on Fire, and considering their options for the future.

“We’re trying to figure out our direction—like every band, you’re always writing music and always trying to stay busy,” Trimble said.

“We’ve got this certain genre and this certain thing we’ve developed, and it’s

23 22

Inside the Vault: Luke Brandon

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

our career, but we’re trying to always ask the question, do you just keep doing more of the same or do you try to expand?”

The answer to Trimble’s question turned out to be neither. Earlier this week, the Guv’nahs—Trimble, bassist Justin Hoskins, drummer Aaron Hoskins, guitarist Cozmo Holloway, keyboardist Kevin Hyfantis, and guitarist Michael Jenkins—announced online that they’re breaking up, with a series of farewell shows throughout the Southeast scheduled in August after a summer break and a final show at the

24

Tennessee Theatre set for Sept. 25.

The Dirty Guv’nahs formed in 2005, almost by accident—none of the original members had ever been in a band before a mutual appreciation of the Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers, and the Band spurred some informal college jam sessions. Their first gig was scheduled a day in advance.

But those awkward early days soon gave way to a steadily rising career. They quickly became one of Knoxville’s most popular bands, winning Best Band in Metro Pulse’s readers’ poll for a record seven consecutive years, and established a solid fan base around the South, particularly in college towns like Birmingham and Athens, Ga. They played Bonnaroo and headlined shows at the Tennessee and Bijou theaters. The Guv’nahs never fully captured the energy of their live sets in the studio, but each of the band’s albums, from 2009’s self-titled debut to Hearts on Fire, offered a glimpse of a group that was always getting better—as musicians, songwriters, and studio performers. For several years, they’ve been a full-time operation, with the members ditching day jobs for lives as professional touring musicians.

Here’s an abridged version of the Guv’nahs farewell announcement: Nine years ago, The Dirty Guv’nahs were born on a whim. None of us expected to play a second show, much less thought that one day this band would be our full-time jobs. We were just six music-loving guys having some fun, planning a one-time concert in our hometown of Knoxville.

That initial show went well enough for us to decide to keep playing together. Within a few years, we all took a leap of faith and quit our jobs in order to tour full-time. The shows grew from dive bars to sold-out theatre tours to slots at some of the

Music: Maps Need Reading

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biggest festivals in the world. We went from playing with our local friends to sharing the stage with some of our musical heroes. We did all of this independently, relying on our amazing, grassroots fan base. We were living a dream.

So why is this dream coming to an end? For many of us, a touring lifestyle is simply not what we desire at this time. Let’s go ahead and dispel any rumors that may be created in the aftermath of this announcement; there’s no band fighting or drama going on. We’re just not in the same life situations we were a decade ago.

Some of us still want a career in music, while others wish to be home with their families and pursue other interests. Touring is incredible, but also makes relationships with your loved ones much harder. Many of us merely desire to be present at home as we start a new chapter of our lives.

It’s an exceptionally difficult decision we’ve made, but it’s the right one. …

We know this is a shock to many of you, and for that we are sorry.

Instead of this being a sad time, we’d love for you to join us in celebrating this magical decade at our final concerts. Our Farewell Tour will hit some of the cities that have supported us the most over the years. We’ll end things just the way we started, with one last hometown show. … It’s been the ultimate honor of our lives to play music for you. We are forever grateful to all of you that let our songs into your hearts over the last nine years.

We hope that our shows have given you a brief break from the struggles of daily life and that our music has touched some of you like you have touched us.

Tickets for the band’s farewell shows go on sale Friday. Read the full farewell message at thedirtyguvnahs. com.

—Matthew Everett

Movie: The Salt of the Earth

Inside the Vault

All-American Guitar Local country hero Luke Brandon also dabbled in rock ’n’ roll

BY ERIC DAWSON

T

he name Luke Brandon is familiar to Knoxville music historians and serious country-music fans. The guitarist had a long and storied career and was still occasionally performing not long before he died, a few years ago, at the age of 87. But he played so many different styles, with so many different people, that some of his accomplishments often get overlooked.

Born in Rockwood in 1925 to Roane County Ramblers guitarist Luke Brandon Sr., Junior first performed on WNOX’s Mid-Day MerryGo-Round at the age of 20. He then honed his skills in Texas and Louisiana honky-tonks following a stint in the Army.

Brandon most frequently played in country bands, but he knew his way around jazz and pop tunes. This diversity allowed him to play or record with such disparate acts as Frankie Avalon, Cowboy Copas, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Lefty Frizzell, and Charlie Louvin, to name a few.

For several years in the 1950s he backed Archie Campbell on WROL’s Country Playhouse, Knoxville’s first country-music television show.

He shows up on a lot of obscure recordings, too, including a handful of

Mercury singles by WNOX personality Jumpin’ Bill Carlisle; Brandon’s guitar solos are arguably the reason songs like “Female Hercules” and “If You Don’t Want It” will continue to be listened to. As a member of Bob’s Cats in the mid 1950s he cut two sides for Knoxville’s Valley Records. “Tailwind” is an upbeat dance number with swinging guitar that prefigures surf rock; the B-side, “Second Chance,” is a slow burner that finds Brandon dueling with repetitive sax and organ riffs.

Brandon appears to have released only a few 45s under his own name, but it turns out that one of them is a key artifact to one of the less talked about sides of his artistic personality: rock ’n’ roll.

In the late 1950s, Brandon appeared on several records released

by Cincinnati’s Fraternity Records.

Brandon’s friend Bill Parsons had co-written a song with a 40-year-old half-Irish, half-Cherokee drifter named Orville Lunsford. In November 1958, Brandon produced and played guitar on the song, a send-up of Elvis Presley’s career and Army induction titled “All American Boy.” Fraternity released the track under Parsons’ name, but it was actually the demo cut by his friend Bobby Bare, who would

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himself soon enter the Army and miss the chance to capitalize on the single’s surprising success. Bare would begin recording for RCA in 1962 and reclaim the song, including it on his album Detroit City and Other Hits.

“All American Boy” was such a hit that Fraternity’s house band was billed as “The All American Boys Orchestra and Chorus” on several records. Brandon must have stood out as a guitarist and arranger, as several 45s are billed as either Luke or Luther Brandon and His All American Boys Orchestra, including another Scoggins’ single and Jack Larson’s queasy novelty song, “Roaches.”

In the summer of 1959, Brandon released two instrumentals on Fraternity: “Tuff-E-Nuff” b/w “Blue Skirt Waltz.” The A-side is credited to Bobby and Johnny Bare, and you might marvel that it took two people to write a 97-second song that’s essentially a simple repeating saxophone riff with the song’s title spoken twice. Once again, what makes the song a keeper is Brandon’s Link Wray-like hot licks. “Blue Skirt Waltz” is a more subdued affair, its men’s chorus and generic lyrics making it quite a contrast to the flip side. Halfway in Brandon delivers a nice solo with a bit of twang, but it’s almost too polite, demonstrating that he could be a utility player on a pleasantly banal pop song made famous by polka king Frankie Yankovic 10 years earlier.

Brandon eventually returned to East Tennessee and continued to gig around the region. He worked at Ciderville Music Store for a while and played music with its proprietor, David West. He died in February 2012, and many fond remembrances and nice tributes from friends and fellow musicians followed. His rock ’n’ roll years aren’t mentioned much, though, which is a shame, because he left behind some great recordings. He must have been something to see live at that time. ◆ Inside the Vault features discoveries from the Knox County Public Library’s Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, a collection of film, video, music, and other media from around East Tennessee.

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May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23

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Music

Off the Charts Local prog quartet Maps Need Reading regroups and finds new direction

BY RYAN REED

M

24

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

2.0 reintroduced themselves in December with a show at Scruffy City Hall. In March, the band took a bolder step, recruiting a pair of horn players from the University of Tennessee jazz department for the Volapalooza Battle of the Bands.

“It gave the music a more danceable, fun vibe,” Webb says. “One of the things we’re doing now that we didn’t really do before is think of ways to change the material and fit it to different situations.”

The original version of Maps Need Reading was one of Knoxville’s most promising young bands, but some of the early material felt one-dimensional and overly scrappy, as if the members’ chops hadn’t caught up with their creativity. Now

came out of African-American culture, and it’s America personified through music. It’s more or less the foundation of all the music we listen to. I feel like it’s helped connect me to my roots, even if they’re roots I was formerly unaware of.”

The old Maps had trouble taking their grand ideas past the conceptual stage, but Webb and company don’t have that problem these days. They’re currently recording their debut EP with Paul Seguna of Lines Taking Shape, with release planned for July.

The set will feature a mix of reworked older songs and new material that showcases the band’s new direction.

And their next move is even more ambitious. The group is currently strategizing a concept album about “personified machines and appliances,” with a goal to hunker down and write this fall.

“The subject matter of our songs is often about humans doing things that go against our own nature,” Webb says.

“We get locked into a routine because we have to go to work, and we have to do all these things just to survive. We end up becoming depressed sometimes and losing the essence of what it actually means to be alive.”

There’s an irony in that theme— for Maps Need Reading, after years of uncertainty and tentativeness, their essence has finally become clear. ◆

WHO

Maps Need Reading with Cautious Beverly, the Sacred, and Mute Poet

WHERE

Longbranch Saloon (1848 Cumberland Ave.)

WHEN

Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m.

Photo by Katie Franklin

aps Need Reading has been an integral part of Knoxville’s progressive-music community for the past four years, developing an early style that guitarist David Webb labels “punk meets indie rock meets prog.” Armed with only a quirky Bandcamp demo, the quartet developed their high-energy live show at venues like Preservation Pub—but their momentum gradually dwindled, leading to a critical turning point last summer, when Webb told his bandmates he was quitting.

It turns out that the band’s real problem was chemistry. After parting ways with their original drummer, they found an immediate spark with childhood friend/percussionist D.J. Young, and it’s given Maps a second life.

“It felt like this magical thing was happening,” Webb says.

Webb, guitarist/keyboardist Chris Burgess, and bassist Nathan Patterson started collaborating during high school in Seymour under the name the Renaissance. When they hit their crossroads, they were skeptical about recruiting another person from their circle. But Young’s zest gave the band a fresh perspective. They started reworking their entire set list, adding elements of jazz and soul to their caffeinated jams.

“A lot of our stuff’s still pretty high-energy, but there’s a lot more dynamic range,” Webb says. “We’re going for a little more of an accessible sound, in general, without sacrificing the integrity of the music.”

After having been out of the Knoxville circuit for six months, Maps

the band’s operating on a different plane. Compare that rough early demo with the maturity of their recent Bandcamp rehearsal set; new tracks like “Lightning Horse” and “Out of the Sea, Into Circuitry” stretch out to eight or 10 minutes, weaving psychedelic guitar harmonies over jazzy rhythm sections.

The jazzier approach makes sense—before switching majors, Young studied jazz at UT. Webb, meanwhile, will graduate from the university in December with a degree in studio music and jazz. Playing in the department has helped him regain “an appreciation for music and life”— and given him a reality check about his own musical abilities.

“I went into the school feeling like I was hot shit,” Webb says. “I thought I was this great guitar player. But I remember the first time I had a class with the other guitar players. I saw all of them play, and I was just blown away—I instantly felt like I was two inches tall.

“There was a long time when I had a cynical view on things, and I recognize that there’s a lot of corruption and terrible things going on in the world and America,” he continues.

“But jazz was the first thing that ever made me proud to be American, as totally lame as that sounds. It’s just this beautiful, beautiful art form that

MORE INFO

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Movies

Friendly Witness Wim Wenders softens Sebastião Salgado’s harrowing photos in The Salt of the Earth

BY APRIL SNELLINGS

E

ven if you don’t know Sebastião Salgado’s name, you’ve almost certainly seen his work. Now 71 years old, the Brazilian-born photographer has spent the last 40 years documenting human suffering: famine in the Sahel, genocide in Rwanda, mass expulsions and civil war in Eastern Europe. His masterful and often devastating photographs have helped define those events for a significant portion of the world’s population. His portrait of a blind Malian woman is perhaps one of the most recognizable photographs of the late 20th century.

It’s that image that first caught the eye of filmmaker Wim Wenders, co-director of The Salt of the Earth, a harrowing documentary that chronicles Salgado’s life and career.

Wenders tells us, via voiceover, that he bought a print of that photograph years ago and that it’s hung above his desk ever since. That small detail actually proves to be a revelatory

statement that sets the tone for the film. Salt isn’t so much an examination of Salgado’s artistic journey as an awestruck celebration of it.

Though a chronological account of Salgado’s life is eventually teased out, Salt begins in the middle, with the photographer considering what is perhaps his most famous series: a photo essay on Brazil’s Serra Pelada goldmine, a hellish pit where 50,000 men spend their days carrying bags of soil up 1,300-foot ladders. The film quickly acknowledges the irony of making a movie about photographs, but Wenders finds an ingenious alternative to voiceovers and talkinghead interviews: Much of Salt was shot in what Wenders calls “the dark room,” where he projected Salgado’s photographs onto a semitransparent mirror and filmed his subject viewing them from the other side. The result is a ghostly superimposition that lets us view the photos (which are jaw-dropping, especially on a big screen) while

simultaneously watching Salgado’s face as he relates firsthand accounts of the often-nightmarish scenes he documented.

Early sequences are devoted to the artist’s pilgrimages to photograph remote communities and indigenous populations. Those affectionate portraits give way to something far darker as the film recounts Salgado’s increasing compulsion to bear witness to disaster and despair. Be warned that Salt is a grueling, sometimes punishing experience; lengthy sequences are essentially slide shows of human suffering, sometimes wrought by nature but more often inflicted by other humans.

The film lingers on photos of emaciated children, mass graves, and corpses piled into bulldozer shovels—a seemingly endless parade of cruelty and callousness that eventually led Salgado to believe that the human race didn’t deserve to exist. Thankfully, there’s some light at the end, when the photographer and his family return to Brazil and become accidental pioneers in the fields of rainforest conservation and sustainable reforestation.

As a film about the power of photography, and as a love letter to Salgado and his work, Salt is an unqualified success. Salgado is rightfully one of the best-known photographers of our time, and Salt is a testament to both his artistic vision

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and his technical prowess. As a documentary about Salgado, though, there are some issues that are difficult to resolve. It’s too reverential to be truly insightful. Some have wondered if Salgado’s work objectifies or even fetishizes suffering; whether or not you agree—I can see both sides of the debate—that’s a criticism that deserves to at least be acknowledged, and doing so doesn’t diminish the impact or the importance of Salgado’s work. If anything, considering those thorny aspects of “concerned photography” would help to impart a deeper understanding of the art itself, if not the drive to create it. Wenders has addressed those issues eloquently in interviews and press materials, and his insights would have been helpful here.

To an extent, that uncritical eye is hardwired into the film. Salt is co-directed by Salgado’s eldest son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado; Wenders was brought in after many hours of footage had already been shot, to add an outsider’s point of view to what began as a very personal project. Juliano seems content to view his father with a son’s adulation rather than a documentarian’s curiosity, and that’s understandable. We get the idea that he doesn’t really know his father very well, and by the end of the film, neither does the viewer. But as a filmed essay about the power of a masterfully rendered image, The Salt of the Earth has few equals. ◆ May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 25

CALENDAR MUSIC

Thursday, May 14 STEVE BROWN AND HURRICANE RIDGE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM HIP HATCHET WITH DONNA HOPKINS • 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 HOMEMADE WINE • Market Square • 7PM • Part of the city of Knoxville’s spring series of free concerts on Market Square. • FREE Friday, May 15 AMERICAN AQUARIUM • The Standard • 9PM • 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. Sometimes, the job is a grind. Most times, it’s a blessing. American Aquarium’s songs, filled with biographical lyrics about last calls, lost love and long horizons, have always explored both sides of that divide. For every drunken night at the bar, there’s a hangover in the morning. For every new relationship, there’s the chance of a broken heart. It’s that kind of honesty — that sort of balance — that makes the band’s newest album, Wolves, their strongest release to date. • $5 SARAH CLAPP • The Square Room • 7:30PM • • $12-$20 FREEQUENCY • Hurricane Grill and Wings • 8PM FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE HIP HATCHET • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • • FREE THE KINCAID BAND • Mulligan’s • 7:30PM KITTY WAMPUS • Whiskey River Wild • 9PM KUKULY AND THE GYPSY FUEGO • Casual Pint (Fountain City) • 7PM MAPS NEED READING • Longbranch Saloon • 7PM • Knoxville-based prog rock. • See Music story on page 24 MARBLE CITY SHOOTERS • Casual Pint (Bearden) • 9PM MAYHEM WITH ELIOT LIPP, SUBSQWAD, AND LIQUID METAL • The Concourse • 9PM • Presented by Midnight Voyage Productions. 18 and up. • $10-$15 SUSAN PRINCE • Susan’s Happy Hour • 8PM • FREE THE SAINT FRANCIS BAND • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM WRENN • 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 Saturday, May 16 THE CADILLAC THREE • Cotton Eyed Joe • 10PM • The Cadillac Three have been friends and musical co-conspirators since they were kids. They’ve emerged with a sound all of their own, a sound that hovers between radio-ready country anthems, hard-and-heavy rock and traditional Southern folk. • $10 ANGIE HAZE • Kristtopher’s • 9PM • • $5 SHOOTER JENNINGS WITH THE DIRTY SOUL REVIVAL • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson • 6PM • $25 • See Spotlight on page 33 KITTY WAMPUS • The Rocks Tavern • 9PM MY MORNING JACKET • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • From psychedelic to soul to classic rock and roll, My Morning Jacket’s range remains steadfast throughout the band’s sixteen years. The Louisville quintet released the first of 6 26

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

Thursday, May 14 - Sunday, May 24

albums in 1999 with their last two, 2008’s “Evil Urges” and 2011’s “Circuital” each receiving Grammy nominations. On May 5, My Morning Jacket will release their seventh full-length album, The Waterfall. • $45.50 THE RMS BAND • Mulligan’s • 7:30PM RED LIGHT RODEO • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • • FREE CASEY REDMOND WITH THE TRAIN WRECK • 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 JOSH ROBERTS AND THE HINGES • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM • • FREE FRED THOMAS WITH MASPETH • Pilot Light • 10PM • Best known for work as a “brainchild” sort of bandleader with the experimental pop sounds of Saturday Looks Good To Me, Thomas has also made significant noise and traveled the world on a seemingly endless string of tours with the washed-out phych of City Center, reverby surf punkers Swimsuit and the internal gentle pop duo MIghty Clouds with former SLGTM singer Betty Barnes.

WHISKEY ‘N’ WOOD • Jimmy’s Place (Tazewell) • 6PM Sunday, May 17 JAZZ AT IJAMS • Ijams Nature Center • 5:30PM • Featuring Melanie and the Meltones and Kukuly and the Gypsy Fuego.

THE LARRY MCCRAY BAND WITH THE JOEY PIERCE PROJECT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 5PM • The Larry McCray Band headlines the Smoky Mountain Blues Society’s Member Appreciation Party. Free admission for SMBS members. • $12.50 THE NAUGHTY KNOTS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Griffin Cavender on guitar, dobro, and vocals, Milly Cavender on upright bass and vocals, Sarah Pirkle on fiddle, guitar and vocals.

OF MONTREAL WITH ICKY BLOSSOMS • The International • 6:30PM • Defining of Montreal is impossible. There are too many perspectives to consider, angles to explore and layers to uncover. Just when you think you have a concept of what kind of creature they are they transform into something unexpected and new. As a result, each album holds the opportunity for re-discovery, re-immersion, re-appreciation.All ages. • $15-$20 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE VACATIONER WITH GAMENIGHT AND UNICORNS • Pilot Light • 8:30PM • $12 Monday, May 18 DALLAS DANGER • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM RYAN DISHEN WITH SIGMON STRINGERS • WDVX • Noon • 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 Tuesday, May 19 JEFF DANIELS AND THE BEN DANIELS BAND • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • The actor brings his long-running music side project to the Bijou Theatre. • $29.50-$34.50 MORIAH DOMBY WITH APPLESEED COLLECTIVE • WDVX • Noon • 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 JAZZ ON THE SQUARE • Market Square • 8PM • Featuring the Marble City 5. Every Tuesday from May 12-Aug. 25. • FREE

THANTIFAXATH WITH IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT AND RAMLORD • Pilot Light • 10PM • $8 • See Spotlight on page 26 Wednesday, May 20 JONATHAN BYRD AND THE PICKUP COWBOYS WITH TIM AND SUSAN LEE • Sweet P’s Barbecue and Soul House • 6PM • • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE RED SAMMY WITH PALE ROOT • WDVX • Noon • 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 RIVER WHYLESS WITH SUSAN UNDERWOOD • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • Asheville four-piece River Whyless perform hypnotic country/folk songs from their new,

self-titled EP. Poet Susan Underwood joins Tennessee Shines for some East Tennessee poetry reading. • $10 Thursday, May 21 JONATHAN BYRD AND THE PICKUP COWBOYS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM JASON MICHAEL CARROLL • The Concourse • 7PM • Country music hit-maker Jason Michael Carroll from Youngsville, North Carolina, is gearing up to release his first new album since 2011, featuring the single “Close Enough.” All ages. • $15-$18 FOURKAST • Market Square • 7PM • Part of the city of Knoxville’s spring series of free concerts on Market Square. • FREE THE GRAHAMS • Disc Exchange • 7PM • Alyssa and Doug Graham have spent nearly their entire lives exploring music together. Friends since she was 7 and he was 9, they became a couple in their teens, then husband and

THANTIFAXATH WITH IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT AND RAMLORD Pilot Light (106 E. Jackson Ave.) • Tuesday, May 19 • 10 p.m. • $8 • thepilotlight.com • 18 and up

The Toronto noise/metal trio Thantifaxath is literally shrouded in secrecy—its three unnamed members perform wearing hooded robes that hide their faces. It’s easy to dismiss that kind of approach as a gimmick, but the band’s music deserves serious attention. Thantifaxath’s debut album, Sacred White Noise, released last year on Dark Descent Records, is a deep, heavy, harrowing debut, matching avant-garde black metal with impressive musicianship and an obvious appreciation for the less-accessible strands of 20th-century classical music. It’s heady, brain-melting, stomach-churning stuff. They’re joined by the equally challenging Imperial Triumphant, a New York band that takes a similarly artful but even more brutal approach to traditional black metal on the new Abyssal Gods. (Matthew Everett)

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Spotlight: International Biscuit Festival

33

Spotlight: Shooter Jennings

CALENDAR wife. Somewhere along the way, they also became The Grahams, a dynamic Americana duo who’ve married their love of adventure with a desire to build on foundations laid by their musical predecessors. Their new long-player, the explosive and aptly named Glory Bound, was helmed by Grammy nominated producer Wes Sharon (John Fullbright, Parker Millsap) at his 115 Recording studio in Norman, Okla., and will be released on May 19. • FREE HARPETH RISING • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Named for the small but powerful river in Tennessee, Harpeth Rising creates original songs that layer lush instrumental arrangements with rich harmonies and powerful lyrics. Their songs depict wanderlust, eternal curiosity, class struggle and extraordinary love. The result is a sound that is both rooted in the folk tradition and simultaneously pushing the envelope.

INVISIBLE THINGS WITH NAAN VIOLENCE • Pilot Light • 10PM • $6 DAVE KENNEDY • Clancy’s Tavern and Whiskey House • 6PM MIKE SNODGRASS • Historic Southern Railway Station • 8PM • Part of the Southern Station Live concert series.

LAURA THURSTON WITH THE GRAHAMS • WDVX • Noon • 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 Friday, May 22 BEGGING VICTORIA • Longbranch Saloon • 7PM DEAD HORSES WITH DAVE EGGAR • WDVX • Noon • 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 EMISUNSHINE AND THE RAIN • The Square Room • 8PM • Emi Sunshine, a 10-year-old Madisonville, Tenn prodigy who has captured the nation’s attention as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, has been described

by The Tennesseans as “an old soul,” noting, “Onstage, this soul’s presence is commanding and her singing voice authentic and folksy.” Similar to artists like Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss or members of the Carter Family, and steeped in Appalachian music, she is a true vocal stylist, one who instinctively knows how to interpret the nuances of a song with her impressive range. • $10-$12 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE KELSEY’S WOODS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM • Local country band Kelsey’s Woods released its most recent album, When the Morning Comes Around, in May. MARBLE CITY SHOOTERS • Casual Pint (Fountain City) • 7PM • • FREE MIPSO • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • • FREE SUSAN PRINCE • Susan’s Happy Hour • 8PM • • FREE RENE RUSSELL • Kristtopher’s • 9PM • • $5 VASKI WITH MARLEY CARROLL • The Concourse • 9PM • American sensation Vaski has spent the better part of two years touring, shaking the globe with his electro-derived dubstep. With releases from the prestigious Rottun Recordings and Play Me Records, Vaski is no stranger to the top of the dubstep kingdom. Starting with his first release, Resonate EP, each of Vaski’s successive releases have enjoyed top-ten status.

Presented by Midnight Voyage Productions. 18 and up. • $7-$10 THE WHISKEY SESSIONS • Bearden Field House • 9PM • • FREE

Saturday, May 23 SHERYL CROW WITH SAM OUTLAW • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Sheryl Crow’s most recent album, FEELS LIKE HOME, captures the sound of a great and established artist enjoying a kind of fresh start. It features songs on which Crow collaborated with her longtime guitar player and frequent co-writer Jeff Trott (with whom she co-wrote such past Crow classics as “If It Makes You Happy,” “My Favorite Mistake” and “Every Day Is A Winding Road”), as well as such Nashville songwriters as Chris DuBois, Luke Laird, Natalie Hamby and Chris Stapleton, among others. • $70.50-$90.50 FORLORN STRANGERS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • • FREE FREEQUENCY • Willy’s Bar and Grill • 7PM MOUNTAIN SPIRIT AND THE GYPSY • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM MUSTANG SALLY WITH HARDWIRED • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 6PM • What happens when you throw Alabama and Lynyrd Skynyrd in a blender, add a dash of Comedy Central, and a hint of Lady Gaga?When you attend a Mustang Sally show, you are transported away from everyday life and into the world that Mustang Sally inhabits: a world where dancing on the bar is encouraged, and spontaneity is king. • $20 OLD CITY BUSKERS • Clancy’s Tavern and Whiskey House • 9PM BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM • • FREE SOCIALITES WITH TIM AND JODI HARBIN • WDVX • Noon • 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 ZACH AND KOTA’S SWEET LIFE WITH EX-GOLD • Pilot Light • 10PM • Local garage rock/guitar pop band Zach and Kota’s Sweet Life celebrates the release of its new EP. • $5 Sunday, May 24 LANEY JONES AND THE LIVELY SPIRITS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Raised on an exotic animal farm in rural Mount Dora, FL, Laney Jones sings tales of love and adventure with a voice that has been described as “a mix of lemon, molasses, gin and gunpowder” (WPRK), mellifluous and smooth but brimming with passion. Her live performance highlights her multi-instrumental prowess on banjo, ukulele, tenor guitar and harmonica backed by her band the Spirits.

MEGAWAVE • Pilot Light • 10PM • $5 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE STEEL PANTHER • The International • 7PM • Satirically pretending to be a hair metal band that missed its big break in the ‘80s, singer Ralph Saenz (“Michael Starr”), drummer Darren Leader (“Stix Zadinia”), bassist Travis Haley (“Lexxi Foxxx”), and guitarist Russ Parrish (“Satchel”) hit the club circuit on the Sunset Strip around the turn of the millennium under the name Metal Shop (later changed toMetal Skool, and then Steel Panther).

With big spiky wigs, leather jackets, zebra-striped spandex, chops earned from playing in a Van Halen tribute band, and lots and lots of machismo, their comic take on sex, drugs, and rock & roll to the extreme caught on quickly, leading to sold-out shows and some unexpected brushes with mainstream success. • $24-$150

OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS

Thursday, May 14 SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

• FREE BREWHOUSE BLUES JAM • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM Saturday, May 16 OLD-TIME SLOW JAM • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 4PM • A monthly old-time music session, held on the third Saturday of each month. • FREE Tuesday, May 19 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. • FREE Wednesday, May 20 OPEN BLUES JAM • Susan’s Happy Hour • 8PM • • FREE Thursday, May 21 IRISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. • FREE BREWHOUSE BLUES JAM • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM Friday, May 22 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OPEN SONGWRITER NIGHT • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Songwriter Night at Time Warp Tea Room runs on the second and fourth Friday of every month. Show up around 7 p.m. with your instrument in tow and sign up to share a couple of original songs with a community of friends down in Happy Holler. • FREE

DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS

Friday, May 15 THE ART OF HOUSE WEEKENDER DANCE PARTY • Southbound Bar and Grill • 11 p.m. • Featuring resident DJs Rick Styles, Mark B, and Kevin Nowell. 21 and up.

TEKNOX 21 • The Birdhouse • 9PM • TEKNOX is a showcase of regional techno and house DJs that takes place at the Birdhouse Community Center. The twenty-first installment will feature music from Broodlings (How to Kill Records, Embassy Recordings) and Kevin Nowell.

Saturday, May 16 THE ART OF HOUSE WEEKENDER DANCE PARTY • Southbound Bar and Grill • 11 p.m. • Featuring resident DJs Rick Styles, Mark B, and Kevin Nowell. 21 and up.

Sunday, May 17 S.I.N. • The Concourse • 9 p.m. • A weekly dance night for service-industry workers—get in free with your ABC license or other proof of employment. ($5 for everybody else.) • 18 and up.

Friday, May 22 THE ART OF HOUSE WEEKENDER DANCE PARTY • Southbound Bar and Grill • 11 p.m. • Featuring resident DJs Rick Styles, Mark B, and Kevin Nowell. 21 and up.

Saturday, May 23 THE ART OF HOUSE WEEKENDER DANCE PARTY • Southbound Bar and Grill • 11 p.m. • Featuring resident DJs Rick Styles, Mark B, and Kevin Nowell. 21 and up.

Sunday, May 24 May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 27

CALENDAR S.I.N. • The Concourse • 9 p.m. • A weekly dance night for service-industry workers—get in free with your ABC license or other proof of employment. ($5 for everybody else.) • 18 and up.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Thursday, May 14 KSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: LUCAS RICHMAN’S FINALE • Tennessee Theatre • 7:30PM • Join us for the thrilling and heartwarming season finale and Lucas Richman’s farewell performance, featuring Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Ravel. The concert begins with Beethoven’s triumphant Egmont Overture. KSO Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz will perform Tchaikovsky’s technically demanding and virtuosic Violin Concerto in D major. The second half of the program begins with Gustav Mahler’s hauntingly beautiful Adagio from Symphony No. 10. The season will conclude with Maurice Ravel’s sparkling La Valse - don’t miss it! • $11-$83 Friday, May 15 KSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: LUCAS RICHMAN’S FINALE • Tennessee Theatre • 7:30PM • Join us for the thrilling and heartwarming season finale and Lucas Richman’s farewell performance, featuring Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Ravel. The concert begins with Beethoven’s triumphant Egmont Overture. KSO Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz will perform Tchaikovsky’s technically demanding and virtuosic Violin Concerto in D major. The second half of the program begins with Gustav Mahler’s

Thursday, May 14 - Sunday, May 24

hauntingly beautiful Adagio from Symphony No. 10. The season will conclude with Maurice Ravel’s sparkling La Valse - don’t miss it! • $11-$83 Thursday, May 21 KSO PICNIC IN THE PARK • Greenbelt Park (Maryville) • 7:30PM • Join the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra in a concert of light pops music at Theater in the Park located on the Greenway in Maryville, TN. In the case of rain, the concert will be rescheduled for May 22.This concert is free and open to the public; lawn chairs are encouraged. Join James Fellenbaum and the KSO for Picnic in the Park on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:30 pm, sponsored by Clayton Homes, Aubrey’s Restaurants, and Hickory Construction. • FREE

COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD

Monday, May 18 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 • FREE

Tuesday, May 19 OPEN MIC STANDUP 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. • FREE

THEATER AND DANCE

Thursday, May 14 MY PLACE PERFORMING ARTS: ‘CRACKADORIS’ • My Place Performing Arts • 7PM • Crackadoris is a small exotic Greek Island. The “Hide and Seekâ€? Corporation has opened a store and manufacturing facility to produce and test market a new line of cosmetics and lingerie for men.

The Island is also the location of the first Star Wars Base.

All was going well and the future looked bright until the Joined Chiefs arrived for an unexpected visit.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: HARRIET THE SPY • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Harriet loves writing and wants to be a spy when she grows up. So what could be more natural for Harriet than keeping a journal? May 1-17. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • With hilariously witty and heartbreakingly moving moments of adoration, regret and desire, this sweeping musical explores the tangled web of affairs centered around actress DesirÊe Armfeldt, the

men who love her, and their jealous wives - all invited for a weekend in the country. With everyone in one place, infinite possibilities of new romances and second chances bring endless surprises in Stephen Sondheim’s masterful musical take on Ingmar Bergman’s comedy of manners, “Smiles of a SummerNight.â€? May 1-17. • $18-$22 Friday, May 15 MY PLACE PERFORMING ARTS: ‘CRACKADORIS’ • My Place Performing Arts • 7PM KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: HARRIET THE SPY • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • May 1-17. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • $18-$22 Saturday, May 16 ARABIAN NIGHTS BELLY DANCE SHOW • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 7PM • Visit www. alexia-dance.com. • $12 MY PLACE PERFORMING ARTS: ‘CRACKADORIS’ • My Place Performing Arts • 7PM KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: HARRIET THE SPY • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM and 5PM • May 1-17. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 8PM • $18-$22 Sunday, May 17 MY PLACE PERFORMING ARTS: ‘CRACKADORIS’ • My Place Performing Arts • 3PM KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: HARRIET THE SPY • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • May 1-17. • $12 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC • Oak Ridge

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

CALENDAR Playhouse • 2PM • $18-$22

FESTIVALS

Thursday, May 14 INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL • Downtown Knoxville • The International Biscuit Festival was begun in 2009 by a group of local Biscuit lovers who wanted to share Knoxville’s Biscuit heritage with the world. What started as a fun gathering for friends and family has grown into a nationally recognized food festival. Visit www. biscuitfest.com for a full schedule and more info. • See Spotlight on page 29 Friday, May 15 INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL • Downtown Knoxville • The International Biscuit Festival was begun in 2009 by a group of local Biscuit lovers who wanted to share Knoxville’s Biscuit heritage with the world. What started as a fun gathering for friends and family has grown into a nationally recognized food festival. Visit www. biscuitfest.com for a full schedule and more info. • See Spotlight on page 29 Saturday, May 16 SMOKY MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND GAMES • Maryville College • Welcome to the Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games at Maryville College, East Tennessee’s premier celebration of Scottish culture and history. Originally founded in 1981 as the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Games, we are one of the oldest Scottish Festivals in the country. With success comes change, and the continued growth of our event ultimately made a new venue necessary. In 2010, we established a new home in the City of Maryville on the picturesque grounds of historic Maryville College, home of “The Scots”. But you don’t have to be Scottish in order to enjoy this unique Festival! Our location in the heart of The Great Smoky Mountains is the perfect backdrop for you and your family to get a wee glimpse of Scotland and to discover and appreciate the rich traditions and history of the Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers of our area – extraordinary people whose courage, determination and pioneering spirit helped forge what was to become an independent United States of America. Visit http:// smokymountaingames.org.

INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL • Downtown Knoxville • The International Biscuit Festival was begun in 2009 by a group of local Biscuit lovers who wanted to share Knoxville’s Biscuit heritage with the world. What started as a fun gathering for friends and family has grown into a nationally recognized food festival. Visit www. biscuitfest.com for a full schedule and more info. • See Spotlight on page 29 KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY’S CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL OF READING • World’s Fair Park • 10AM • The Children’s Festival of Reading kicks off a summer of world class adventures through the pages of a book. You’ll meet your favorite authors and illustrators, clap snap and singalong with beloved musicians and storytellers, and cook up a good time in Jr. League’s Kids in the Kitchen. Keep your super powers ignited as you do some experimenting with The Muse and L&N Stem Academy in Science Village.

Featuring Jonathan Auxier, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, R. Gregory Christie, Debbie Dadey, Donna Gephart, M.H. Herlong, Sara Pennypacker, Dan Santat, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Aaron Nigel Smith, and Erin E. and Philip C. Stead.

• FREE

INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL Downtown • Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16 • biscuitfest.com

Forget about the ongoing dilemma of whether Knoxville really has a nickname. For a few days in May, we all know exactly who we are, and that is the dadgum biscuit capital of the whole wide world. The 6th annual International Biscuit Festival has hot and ready biscuits and biscuit-inspired talent for every taste (that’s sensible enough to like Southern food): FRIDAY, MAY 15

The Biscuit Bash The Standard (416 W. Jackson Ave.) • 6 p.m.-11 p.m. • $75

Food by Knox Mason, moonshine cocktails from Old Forge Distillery in Pigeon Forge, music from the Cleverleys, and a meet-and-greet with biscuit luminary authors and speakers, some from the IBF’s Southern Food Writing Conference.

SATURDAY, MAY 16

Biscuit Boulevard Market Street • Saturday, May 16 • 9 a.m. • $10

Feel the love! The hungry biscuit fans turn out in droves for the best biscuits some very reputable vendors can pull out of the oven: the Tomato Head and Flour Head Bakery, which won last year’s People’s Choice with Ms. Pearl’s biscuits, Bojangle’s, Mama’s Farmhouse out of Pigeon Forge, the Plaid Apron, Biscuit Love out of Nashville, Sundress Academy of the Arts (don’t ask what they’re gonna bake, ‘cause I can’t tell you), the Biscuit Shop from Starkville, Miss., and Murray’s Cheese, which sells out of the Bearden Kroger.

Also on Market Street: the Biscuit Bazaar (with vendors like Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Ham) and the Flatbed Music Stage (free live performances), both starting at 9 a.m.

Blackberry Farm Biscuit Brunch Krutch Park Extension • Saturday, May 16 • 11 a.m. • $85

Luxury restaurant (and purveyor of some fabulous Foothills cuisine) Blackberry Farm pulls out all the stops for an elegant brunch in the park. Lots of preserves, delectable entrees, some adult beverages, and, I’m betting, some signature Benton’s-bacon or country-ham treatments. A bucket lister, for sure.

Miss and Mr. Biscuit Pageant Krutch Park • 3 p.m.

Knoxville’s got Biscuit Talent, some of it over the top. We are all winners when these contenders strut their biscuit-making fashion, poise, and biscuit-related talent.

—Rose Kennedy

Sunday, May 17 May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 29

CALENDAR SMOKY MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND GAMES • Maryville College • Welcome to the Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games at Maryville College, East Tennessee’s premier celebration of Scottish culture and history. Originally founded in 1981 as the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Games, we are one of the oldest Scottish Festivals in the country. With success comes change, and the continued growth of our event ultimately made a new venue necessary. In 2010, we established a new home in the City of Maryville on the picturesque grounds of historic Maryville College, home of “The Scots”. But you don’t have to be Scottish in order to enjoy this unique Festival! Our location in the heart of The Great Smoky Mountains is the perfect backdrop for you and your family to get a wee glimpse of Scotland and to discover and appreciate the rich traditions and history of the Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers of our area – extraordinary people whose courage, determination and pioneering spirit helped forge what was to become an independent United States of America. Visit http:// smokymountaingames.org.

Saturday, May 23 BCPL MINI-CON • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Join us at the Blount County Public Library for the kickoff to our Summer Reading Program, MINI-CON, a locally organized comic convention for people of all ages. • FREE

SPORTS AND

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

Thursday, May 14 - Sunday, May 24

RECREATION

Friday, May 15 GLOW KNOXVILLE 5K • World’s Fair Park • 5PM • $20-$45 SATURDAY, MAY 16 TOUR DE BLOUNT • Maryville • 8AM • The Tour de Blount is a one day cycling event with a variety of rides through beautiful Blount County, Tennessee. The ride is organized and promoted by the Foothill Striders, a non-profit club dedicated to promoting the benefits of cycling, hiking, and running. The event offers four different routes traversing the scenic rolling hills, farmlands and rural countryside next to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The proceeds for this event go to support scholarships for area high school seniors and various other community projects like additions and improvements to the greenway system, as well as a Friends of the Smokies endowment for the Trails Forever Program which supports trail maintenance in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Visit www.foothillstriders.com. • $30-$40 Sunday, May 17 KNOXVILLE OPERA CROQUET TOURNAMENT • University of Tennessee RecSports Field Complex • 10:30AM • We will be playing a shortened version of croquet, an easy-to-learn variation of the game we all love.

Two-player teams proceed through up to five wickets; no experience is necessary. The first team to score three wickets wins! There will be a court captain at each court

who will give instructions, organize the game, and answer any questions. Games typically run around 20 minutes – it’s fast-paced and lots of fun!Additional excitement will mark the awarding of the Knoxville Arts Challenge Cup. Cheer on the heads of Knoxville Opera, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Museum of Art, and Clarence Brown Theatre, as they compete for Knoxville’s most prestigious croquet award!This is a great opportunity to support the opera while having fun on a beautiful spring afternoon. Enjoy the wonderful High Tea with champagne. • $100 CHALLENGE FAMILY AMERICAS TRIATHLON • World’s Fair Park • 7AM • Beneath the giant 300-foot Sunsphere at World’s Fair Park, athletes will gather on May 17th for the much anticipated season opener of the Challenge Family Americas races, Challenge Knoxville presented by Pilot Flying J. Headlining the field are top talents Cameron Dye (USA) and Rebekah “Bek” Keat (AUS).The Challenge Family series of triathlons features 44 full and half distance races around the world, including the world’s largest long distance triathlon - Challenge Roth in Germany. The birthplace of the Challenge Family, Challenge Roth now features over 5,500 athletes and 220,000 spectators and is home to both world records held by Andreas Raelert (GER) and Chrissie Wellington (GBR). Since 2002, races throughout Europe, UK, Australasia, Asia, North America and South America have joined Roth. Together they provide athletes with a new experience of long distance racing with a strong focus on athlete and spectator experience, giving back to the community while respecting the legacy of sport and being committed to its

continued growth. For further information on Challenge Family visit www.challenge-family.com.

Wednesday, May 20 MARYVILLE RIDE OF SILENCE • Blount County Courthouse • 7PM • On Wednesday evening at 7pm bicyclists assembling at the Blount County Courthouse in Maryville Tennessee will roll-out for the annual Ride of Silence conducted each year in memory of their friends, family, and associates killed or injured by motor vehicle operators. The Maryville Ride of Silence is one of over 300 rides that occur worldwide on the 3rd Wednesday of May each year. In 2013 an estimated 12,000 riders participated. Over 700 cyclists are killed each year while riding. Most of them occur in our cities, and suburbs. With this ride, we hope to educate motorists that cyclists have the legal right to the road and to watch out for us. The Ride of Silence is similar to a funeral procession. The ride will be a slow paced 8 mile loop of Maryville, ridden no faster than 12mph. There will be no talking, only silence, to remember our fallen brothers and sisters. Black armbands are often worn in memory of those who have been killed; red armbands may be worn by those injured while riding.The Maryville Ride of Silence is sponsored by The Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation. The ride is open to all individuals interested in participating. Participants are asked to arrive at the Blount County Courthouse by 6:30 pm with ride departing promptly at 7pm. Helmets are required, front and rear lights are strongly recommended.

Additional information about the ride can be obtained on the Foundation’s website (http://www.jeffrothcyclingfoun-

CALENDAR dation.org) or by contacting The Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation @ (865) 309-5723.

Saturday, May 23 KTC EXPO 10K AND 5K • West Jackson Avenue • 8 AM • KTC’s signature 10K starts near the 100 block of Gay Street and runs through downtown Knoxville in its 38th year. • $40-$50

ART

Art Market Gallery 422 S. Gay St. MAY 1-30: Artwork by Inna Nasonova Knox and Mary Saylor Bliss Home 29 Market Square MAY 1-31: Artwork by Sarah McFalls, part of the International Biscuit Festival The District Gallery 5113 Kingston Pike APRIL 24-MAY 30: Automata: Art Cars by Clark Stewart Downtown Gallery 106 S. Gay St. MAY 1-31: Richard J. LeFevre’s Civil War series of mixed-media works 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. MAY 1-31: Artwork by the Artist Association of Monroe County and the Community Artist League of Athens; Clarence Brown Theatre Costume ad Prop Art; International Biscuit Festival Art Exhibition; Thoughts and Things by Marty Elmer; and artwork by Graceila Barlesi Snyder.

Ewing Gallery 1715 Volunteer Blvd.

MAY 1-JUNE 12: UT BFA Honors Exhibition Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive MAY 8-AUG. 2: Intellectual Property Donor, an exhibit of work by Evan Roth. See Spotlight on page 26. 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 MAY 8-23: Birds in Art, featuring artwork by Jim Gray, Theresa Shelton, Daniel Miller, Steven McGovney, and Hill Dee Fisher.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture 1327 Circle Park Drive JAN. 22-MAY 24: Drawn From the McClung Museum, an exhibition of work by 27 artists inspired by the McClung Museum collection. Ongoing: The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church 2931 Kingston Pike MAY 8-JUNE 30: Knoxville Watercolor Society Exhibit.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 6-7:30 p.m.

Urban Bar 109 N. Central St. APRIL 3-MAY 30: Paintings and drawings by Charlie Pogue.

LECTURES, READINGS, AND BOOK SIGNINGS

Thursday, May 14 “SHELL SHOCK AND PTSD: FACTS AND FICTION” • Lawson McGee Public Library • 6:30PM • Through her historical novels, USA Today bestselling author, Pamela Schoenewaldt, explores issues facing Americans in the 20th century. Her latest novel, Under the Same Blue Sky, offers vivid images of military and civilian shell shock symptoms from the Great War. Now called post-traumatic stress disorder, shell shock was a common malady of returning veterans then and remains so today as one in three combat veterans suffers some form of PTSD.Under the Same Blue Sky, tells the story of a young woman grappling with the realities of war and the ravages it takes on the human psyche. After the reading, Dr. Mitchell and Ms. Schoenewaldt will discuss the history of PTSD, along with a screening of rare documentary footage of World War I shell shock victims. Handouts of community resources for PTSD survivors, family members, and care-givers will be available. • FREE Bill McGowan: ‘The Ali Files’ • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Book signing with Bill McGowan author of The Ali Files: On the Town with Ali Akbar. • FREE Friday, May 15 KNOX HERITAGE LOST AND FOUND LUNCH • Knox Heritage • 11:30AM • Guest speaker Adam Alfrey will give us an exciting look into the history of Civil War-era base ball and the movement to bring it back to life in the 21st century. Space is very limited and advance reservations are required. To make reservations, call Hollie Cook at 865-523-8008 or email her at hcook@knoxheritage.org.

For more information, visit www.knoxheritage.org. • FREE Sunday, May 17 DENTON LEVON: CRIMES AGAINST BIRDS • Union Ave Books • 2PM • Book signing with Denton Loving reading from his new collection of poems Crimes Against Birds. • FREE Wednesday, May 20 BOOKS SANDWICHED IN • East Tennessee History Center • 12PM • Knox County Public Library’s monthly book program features KAT director Dawn Distler discussing Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design

by Charles Montgomery (March 18); Knoxville attorney Wanda Sobieski discussing A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power by Jimmy Carter (April 15); Jean Ash on Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos (May 20); Knoxville City Council member Mark Campen on Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers’ Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm by Forrest Pritchard (June 17); University of Tennessee professor Michelle Commander on Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Trade by Saidiya Hartman (July 15); and Knoxville Police

Department deputy chief Nate Allen on 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman by Adam Plantinga (Aug. 19). For more information, contact Emily Ellis at (865) 215-8767 or eellis@knoxlib.org.. • FREE

FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS

Friday, May 15 S.T.E.A.M. KIDS • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • Every week will be a different adventure, from science experiments to art projects and everything in between.

Materials will be limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For grades K-5. • FREE Saturday, May 16 KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY’S CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL OF READING • World’s Fair Park • 10AM • The Children’s Festival of Reading kicks off a summer of world class adventures through the pages of a book. You’ll meet your favorite authors and illustrators, clap snap and singalong with beloved musicians and storytellers, and cook up a good time in Jr. League’s Kids in the Kitchen. Keep your super powers ignited as you do some experimenting with The Muse and L&N Stem Academy in Science Village.

Featuring Jonathan Auxier, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, R. Gregory Christie, Debbie Dadey, Donna Gephart, M.H. Herlong, Sara Pennypacker, Dan Santat, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Aaron Nigel Smith, and Erin E. and Philip C. Stead.

• FREE Friday, May 22 S.T.E.A.M. KIDS • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • Every week will be a different adventure, from science experiments to art projects and everything in between.

Materials will be limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For grades K-5. • FREE

CLASSES

Thursday, May 14 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 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • East Tennessee Medical Group • 8AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Seymour First Baptist Church • 9AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

Friday, May 15 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Seymour First Baptist Church • 9AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

Saturday, May 16 LEARN TO MEDITATE WORKSHOP • Lawson McGee Public Library • 2PM • Led by Mike Wright, author of 800 Stepping Stones to Complete Relaxation. Call (865) 851-9535 or email mikewright102348@gmail.com. • FREE AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • East Tennessee Medical Group (Alcoa) • 8AM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: LAUNCH YOUR SUMMER GARDEN • All Saints Catholic Church • 10:30AM • Now that the weather is warm, join Extension Master Gardeners of Knox County to learn how to direct-seed summer veggies and properly transplant those tomatoes May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31

CALENDAR and peppers into your raised beds. This free public event is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, from 10:30 until noon at the EMG Demonstration Garden at All Saints Catholic Church, 620 N. Cedar Bluff Rd, Knoxville, TN 37923. Enter the church property from N. Cedar Bluff Road. The rectory and a two-bay garage will be on your left. The presentation will be in the garage. For more information call the UT Extension Office at 865-215-2340. • Free KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: LET’S GO NATIVE! • Cedar Bluff Branch Library • 1PM • Plants from foreign countries do not support our local wildlife and are often considered ‘invasive’ by naturalists. Extension Master Gardener Gail Erwin will explain the value of using native plants in the garden. Learn where to use these plants, where to purchase them and how to care for them…hint, effortlessly! This free public event is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, from 1-2:30 at Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37923. For more information call (865) 470-7033 or visit knoxlib.org.

• FREE Monday, May 18 KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: LAUNCH YOUR SUMMER GARDEN • Davis Family YMCA • 1PM • Now that the weather is warm, join Extension Master Gardeners of Knox County to learn how to direct seed summer veggies and properly transplant those tomatoes and peppers into your raised beds. This free public event is scheduled for Monday, May 18, from1-2 at the Davis Family YMCA, 12133 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville TN. For more information phone 865-777-9622. • FREE

Thursday, May 14 - Sunday, May 24

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

Tuesday, May 19 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

Wednesday, May 20 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • John T. O’Conner Senior Center • 12PM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

Thursday, May 21 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • John T. O’Conner Senior Center • 12PM • Call Carolyn Rambo at 382-5822.

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

KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: KILLER TOMATOES • Humana Guidance Center • #N/A • Join Extension Master Gardeners Joe Pardue and Marcia Griswold for a class on growing killer tomatoes. Whether the newest garden center hybrid or Grandma’s ancient heirlooms, everybody’s favorite garden vegetable is the tomato.

Learn how to select varieties, start seeds, plant seedlings, fertilize, water, prune, sucker and harvest a bountiful crop. This free public event is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, from 3:15 -4:30 at the Humana Guidance Center, 4438 Western Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37921. For more information call 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

Friday, May 15 LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS’ MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • FREE

MEETINGS

Saturday, May 16 OAK RIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • MARYVILLE FARMERS MARKET • Founders Park • 9AM MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • FREE BREASTSTROKES 2015 • Ironwood Studios • 2PM • Once again, it is time to take it off for a good cause! Round up your lady friends and get painted while helping two local women who are battling cancer. We kindly ask for a suggested donation of $10 to participate as a human canvas for this empowering and fun event. No appointments necessary, as it will be first come, first served. You are welcome to bring a drink of your choice.

We will be painting and partying from 2-9 on Saturday and Sunday (May 16 and 17).

THE FOLLIES GIRLS: SATURDAY NIGHT WE GO LIVE • The Bowery • 9:30PM • The Follies Girls Productions are a unique group of women who aim to please through down-to-earth dance, performance art, sketches, comedy, spoken word, drama, burlesque and song in SHOWGIRL neo-vaudeville-style. We offer a show that is body-positive and female empowered that delivers powerful entertainment guaranteed to delight. 18 and up.

• $10 KNOXVILLE SOUP • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • SOUP is an exciting community-focused project sponsored by the

Monday, May 18 GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • We hold facilitated discussions on topics and issues relevant to local gay men in a safe and open environment. Visit gaygroupknoxville.org.

Tuesday, May 19 KNOXVILLE COCOAHEADS • Knoxville Entrepreneur Center • 7PM • CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple’s Cocoa and Cocoa Touch Frameworks for programming on OS X (Mac) and iOS (iPhone, iPad). During monthly meetings, members offer tutorials, present their projects, share app ideas, and provide advice to other programmers. Whether you are an experienced developer or just getting started, Knoxville CocoaHeads is a great way to stay current with the latest technologies and improve your programming skills.

ETC.

Thursday, May 14 NEW HARVEST PARK FARMERS MARKET • New Harvest Park • 3PM • FREE

Bonnaroo or Bust! www.bonnaroo.com

WUTK congratulates Josh Smith for winning Bonnaroo or Bust 2015!

Thanks to Central Flats and Taps, and Fort Sanders Yacht Club

for sponsoring this year’s reverse drawing.

Visit www.bonnaroo.com for tickets and more!

See you on The Farm!

From your festival hook-up in knoxville...

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

CALENDAR South Knoxville Alliance (SKA) and is open to the public.

It is a combination of a dinner – part potluck, part planned – and a showcase of proposals for community-based projects from which attendees will choose the winner. It’s where Democracy meets Charity. The SKA hopes to hold the dinners monthly and to award an average of $1,000 per dinner. For more information: www.

KnoxvilleSOUP.com or email SOUP@SouthKnoxvilleAlliance.org. Project proposals may be submitted online on the website.

Sunday, May 17 BREASTSTROKES 2015 • Ironwood Studios • 2PM • Once again, it is time to take it off for a good cause! Round up your lady friends and get painted while helping two local women who are battling cancer. We kindly ask for a suggested donation of $10 to participate as a human canvas for this empowering and fun event. No appointments necessary, as it will be first come, first served. You are welcome to bring a drink of your choice.

We will be painting and partying from 2-9 on Saturday and Sunday (May 16 and 17).

FAMILY FRIENDLY DRUM CIRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 4PM • Bring a drum or share one of ours. All ages from toddlers to grandparents welcome. Free. Call Ijams at 865-577-4717 ex 110 to register. • FREE Tuesday, May 19 EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS’ MARKET • Ebenezer United Methodist Church • 3PM • FREE Wednesday, May 20 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 11AM • FREE Thursday, May 21 NEW HARVEST PARK FARMERS MARKET • New Harvest Park • 3PM • FREE

SHOOTER JENNINGS WITH THE DIRTY SOUL REVIVAL Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville) • Saturday, May 16 • 6 p.m. • $25 • smh-d.com

Since leaving Universal’s country-music division in 2009, outlaw scion Shooter Jennings has done just about whatever he’s wanted to do—a dystopian concept album with Stephen King, a tribute to Italian disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder, a project matching his own taste for ’90s industrial music with the last recordings of his late father, Waylon Jennings. Most of it is more fun to write about than listen to; I’d rather read the Wikipedia entry for Black Ribbons, his 2010 disc about conspiracy theories, UFOs, and the occult, than ever hear most of it again, particularly King’s spoken-word interludes.

You can read Shooter’s career as either an argument for more executive control over artists—if he’d stuck with a big label, Jennings might still be cranking out reliable country rock like The Wolf and Put the “O” Back in Country—or evidence of the kind of damage that creative struggles can wreak on an artist’s career—if he’d been allowed some leeway early on, he might not feel so compelled to deliver the unexpected. Maybe the pressure of being the son of the original country outlaw is too great a burden. Or you can take Jennings’ body of work for what it is—an unprecedented catalog of weird music, with its creator’s emotional and intellectual obsessions laid bare.

Jennings has turned away from an easy and predictable career path in favor of something altogether more personal—that it includes space rock, flying saucers, and the Illuminati as much as classic country may make it difficult to come to terms with but all the more remarkable.

(Matthew Everett)

Friday, May 22 LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS’ MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • FREE Saturday, May 23 OAK RIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • FREE

Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com

ADVERTISE HERE if interested contact us at: sales@knoxmercury.com 865-313-2048 May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 33

FOOD

Home Palate

French Connection Café du Soleil brings a no-nonsense approach to French cuisine

BY DENNIS PERKINS

I

CAFÉ DU SOLEIL 416 West Clinch Ave., 865-595-0134 cafedusoleilknoxville.com Hours: Lunch Mon.–Fri.: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.; Dinner Tue.–Sat.: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.; Brunch Sun.: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

don’t make much of an impression until after the dinner hour.

The café has a small dining room with a few booths made memorable by the comfortable but too-low seating that can make you long for a booster seat, but there are tables, too, and seating at the bar. The initial impression may seem a little clubby. The dark burgundy walls and the oldworld feel of the bar (combined with the fact there aren’t very many people inside) may strike you as distinctly private—unless, of course, you’re greeted by owner and sometime server, Joe Consumo. Le propriétaire is a charming man who loves the food he serves, even if he can’t always tell you much about it. That may be because there’s a newly tweaked

Photos by Justin Fee

t’s all too easy to reduce a religion, a political issue, or even a cuisine to a few sound bites or images that can mislead the great wash into simplifying something that is hardly simple.

For many, the very mention of French cuisine evokes a singular image of a snail or, perhaps, a frog’s leg, or any number of animals’ livers. But that’s a silly way to minimize what one might call the mother of Western cooking technique. French food is vast and varied, owes a great debt to Italy and, increasingly, the far East, and can be as simple or as complex as you can imagine. Certainly, it includes all sorts of liver and other organs, but there’s also ham, fried fish, and lots of steak.

Knoxville is lucky to have a few bastions of French cooking that represent several varieties of Gallic culinary expression. For downtown diners, there’s an excellent crêperie at the French Market, but there’s also a little café tucked away on Clinch Avenue between Walnut and Market. Café du Soleil is easy to miss; if you’re strolling along Market Street and happen to glance westward down Clinch, there’s no real signage to catch your eye. You might notice the covered patio, you might even notice the little sign that the café dutifully puts out every day of service. At night, there are some fairy lights under the patio’s canopy, but in the lingering days of summer, the lights

menu, a revival of lunch and brunch service, and a new chef, Dino Niccolu.

Chef Dino, while not French in lineage, has all the hallmarks of a real Frenchman in terms of his no-nonsense, classic approach to cooking and his coequal measures of charm and irascibility.

I should admit that I’ve been acquainted with Niccolu for more than 20 years—he was a regular visitor to a house I shared with a mutual friend.

Once, upon seeing me cooking sans recipe, he growled, “I see you’re playing in the food again.” Whether he knew it at the time or not, Niccolu might have been addressing a whole generation of future, Food Network-inspired chefs, who Guy Fieri-like, seem to think that good food comes when you go gonzo and trick it out all to hell with heat, fat, and umami, then pepper your menu with mouthwatering descriptions that bear little to no resemblance to reality or, even worse, sensible cooking.

It’s sad that this café sits, uncrowded, only a few blocks away from a few busy restaurants that practice that kind of tom-foolery. You won’t find such shenanigans in Niccolu’s kitchen—he doesn’t play in the food. You can taste that for yourself.

That’s not to say that the restaurant lives on some untroubled peak— transitions bring growing pains. So if the green beans are properly cooked to a nice, fresh crispness but are sadly pale and don’t taste like much, we remember that it’s still spring.

However, a lamentable pile of wavy potato chips from a bag is harder to forgive—especially when they sit alongside a surprisingly glorious execution of a fish sandwich. But then, we think, the chef is new and the restaurant isn’t on its feet; so we smile, count our blessings in the form of the sandwich, and hope for better in the future.

The sandwich is a winner—perfectly fried Baja corvina (a member of the croaker family that’s sometimes called Pacific white sea bass) is served on ciabatta and comes topped with a spicy remoulade, caramelized pickled red onion, some lettuce and tomato, too. What makes this particularly nice is that the fish is breaded and cooked with a light hand so that it maintains both a flaky texture and distinct flavor.

The remoulade and onion add a little kick and crunch to the corvina without dominating it, and, ultimately, function like a tartar sauce but with more

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY 35

AMERICAN AQUARIUM FRIDAY, MAY 15

9:00 PM

| THE STANDARD

416 W. Jackson Avenue | $5 cover at the door

FOOD finesse and less goop.

Another sandwich option available at both lunch and dinner is a delectable croque madame. This thing is a commitment—it combines grilled, applewood-smoked ham, generously sliced and paired with the softly nutty flavor of Gruyère, and comes topped with a lightly fried egg. Mon Dieu, it’s a hefty endeavor, but it’s one that’s well rewarded. This classic and brilliant construction takes all the glories of ham, eggs, and cheese into one mouth-fi lling and magic moment.

It comes with either a salad or a cup of tomato bisque. Skip the greens in favor of the rich bisque that’s made for dipping; for my money this is a real French Dip—the soup clings to the sandwich like some desperate and passionate lover whispering Je t’aime!

As for those green beans, wannabe haricorts verts, they’re available with your entrée and, thankfully, are easily forgiven and forgotten in the broader context of your plate. The bronzed rib eye is saturated with flavor, utterly tender, and compelled

Home Palate

me, literally, to chew the fat. Bronzing is an obscure technique, pioneered by Paul Prudhomme, that’s really just an excellent tweaking of good sauté skills.

Grill snobs and broiler fans should taste before tutting.

There’s more to explore on Café Du Soleil’s small and pleasant menu: Silky chicken liver pate is served canapé like with a lightly dressed pile of greens for a nice start; a ginger crème bruleé is a sweet but subtle end to the meal; an attractive smoked salmon salad is a simple and fresh lunch; and there are snails on the menu, too. It’s good food that’s worth savoring, and it’s a good place to have in the downtown mix.

The patio is one of the best options for outdoor seating in the whole of downtown—it’s elevated, covered, and often served by a pleasant breeze. True, the patio faces a parking lot, but that’s very easy to ignore because of the concentration of trees along the sidewalk that give a very distinct feel of a boulevard, perhaps somewhere near the Eiffel Tower. ◆

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Local French Favorites PARISIAN STYLE CRÊPE The French Market 526 South Gay St., 865-540-4372; 161 Brooklawn St., 865-288-7912, thefrenchmarketknoxville.com Sweet crêpes have been available periodically in Knoxville for a long time, but the French Market offers an original and complete crêperie experience that’s both sweet and savory. The Parisian crêpe, a hot buckwheat pancake folded around ham and Swiss cheese, is a personal favorite, but the menu includes many options from roast beef and hummus to the classic Crêpes Suzette made with Grand Marnier and whipped cream.

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MOULES MARINIÈRE Northshore Brasserie 9430 S. Northshore Drive, 865-531-5399, northshorebrasserie.com Northshore’s menu is full of French delights, including foie gras, escargots, and bouillabaisse. But nothing quite says brasserie like a big pot of steaming mussels with a crusty loaf of bread for sopping the sauce. The mussels can be sautéed in different styles, but my favorite is the simple and classic marinière combination of shallots, garlic, parsley, and white wine.

FILET OF BEEF TARTARE Echo Bistro 5803 Kingston Pike, 865-602-2090, echobistro.com Raw beef isn’t for everybody, but if you’re one of the valiant eaters, Echo’s tartare is a fine example. The chopped and chilled raw steak is seasoned and served with an egg yolk along with arugula, mustard, and capers. The texture of this classic hors d’oeuvre is so unmistakably luxurious and buttery that it nearly melts in your mouth. With a glass of mild Cotes du Rhone or Pinot Noir, it makes for a very sophisticated bar snack.

—D.P.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

Architecturals

A vibrant district along Central Street and Broadway.

Visit Downtown North

Architectural Antics Art & Antiques COME SEE OUR NEW INVENTORY!

MONDAY Central Originals for $5 after 7pm TUESDAY 25% Off Bottles Of Wine WEDNESDAY Trivia Night & Pint Night

12pm-6pm Wed-Fri 10am-5pm Sat 12pm-5pm Sun Or by appointment: 865.414.4838 or 865.696.7777 820 N. Broadway • Knoxville TN www.architecturalantics.com

Welcome Biscuit Lovers

THURSDAY Whiskey Night $1 off all Artist: Matt Burns

1020 N. Broadway 865-971-3983 www.sainttattoo.com

Happy Hour 3-7pm

Stop in Late for Nightly Specials

$6 Daily Lunch Specials Ever changing. Always delicious.

Created only from the freshest local ingredients.

Open till 3am Wed-Sat Open till 1am Sun, Mon, & Tue 1204 Central St., Knoxville 865.247.0392 flatsandtaps.com

May 14, 2015

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 37

’BYE

Sacred & P rofane

Concerto No. 2 A night with Arthur Rubinstein

BY DONNA JOHNSON

W

hen I lived in New York in the early ’70s, no one in my circle ever knew each other’s names.

Nor did we call before visiting one another. We just kind of dropped in.

That’s the way we met: People just sort of arrived in your life then departed as destiny dictated.

It was a time when everything was new: I was new to New York, New York was new to me, and everything seemed to be coming and going at a very rapid pace. I was 21 years old.

I don’t recall how James Ursee came to be in my life, only that he was a large presence in it and one of the people who mattered to me—out of many others who did not. His apartment was a place where I could go at all hours of the night and day and count on a cup of bitter, strong coffee; a glass of good, cheap red wine; and always interesting conversation.

James lived in a basement apartment on 89th and Amsterdam where it always seemed to be late at night. I liked that. Inside it was magic.

There were beautifully framed pictures of dead composers—Chopin, Beethoven, Bach—that sat on top of a grand piano that dwarfed the room.

Arrangements of dried flowers were placed around the room. James usually sat on an overstuffed chair while I invariably sat across from him on the ragged burgundy couch by the window. I almost always fell asleep there after a night of drinking red wine, talking out the meaning (or lack of meaning) in life, and listening to music as varied as Schütz, Jethro Tull, Etta James, and Gregorian chants.

James himself was a very romantic figure with his mane of brown hair that fell over one eye and his red satin smoking jackets with a crisp handkerchief tucked in the pocket. We drank, we smoked cigarettes, and James would sometimes—if I pressed him hard enough—play for me. He played beautifully. I seem to remember that he always played Chopin, but this may or may not be true. It’s just that his apartment contained within it the

BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 14, 2015

atmosphere of autumn and the melancholy and holy beauty that I associate with Chopin’s Études and his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor.

James was brilliant and good-looking and interesting, and I would have fallen in love with him were it not for the fact that I was only able to fall in love with people who were certain not to love me back.

At the time I was in the midst of a three-year obsession with a classical conductor who pretended to like me only when he wanted me to type for him, which was sometimes 12 hours a day.

“Why won’t you tell me who it is?”

James often asked me. Inexplicably, I would never expose the person who was poisoning my life with his demands and ruthless behavior.

Certainly, James would have known who he was, for this conductor was well respected all over the world.

“I just can’t tell you,” I repeated each time my friend asked me.

Though I wouldn’t reveal the man’s name, I talked about him incessantly—what he had said that day, how he

said it, and so on—until James must have wanted to strangle me.

One evening in early November, James handed me an envelope around which he had wrapped a silver ribbon.

Inside were two tickets to Carnegie Hall. Arthur Rubinstein was playing an entire program of Chopin, which included the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F-minor. I was too moved to speak.

James had an ill-paying job at a classical music station and I knew he had had to save his money for a long time to buy these tickets.

On Nov. 12, I dressed carefully. I knew what people wore to these concerts for I often sneaked into shows during intermission at Lincoln Center with the ticket stubs I had picked up off the ground. To Carnegie Hall, I wore an ankle-length crimson satin skirt, a cream-colored vintage blouse, and black shoes that sparkled under the street lights. James wore a black vintage tuxedo jacket with a starched white shirt underneath, black trousers, and black patent leather shoes. Quite the pair, we took the bus to the Russian Tea Room, another surprise

I was only able to fall in love with people who were certain not to love me back.

Crooked Street Crossword

James had in store for me.

We were young, we were in love with life, and we were almost in love with each other.

At the concert, James took out his score of Chopin’s concerto and followed it intently as Rubinstein played. During the exquisite second movement I touched James’ arm ever so lightly in thanks and placed a kiss on his forehead with the tips of my fi ngers. Surprised, he looked at me, then back at his score.

I didn’t see him for a few days after that, but one Friday evening I decided to treat him to a bottle of Dom Perignon, which I had fi lched from the wine closet of my slave-driver boss. I figured I had earned it, since I had worked so many hours without getting paid. As I tripped along Amsterdam Avenue, I imagined my

’BYE

friend’s delight when he realized what I had brought for him. Arriving at his apartment, I put the bottle behind my back so I could surprise him and tapped in the door. No answer. When I looked through the bars of his door, I was aghast. For gone was the grand piano. Gone were the photographs and the antique couch. The room had been completely white-washed and was bare of anything at all.

What to do after such a shock? I walked the few blocks to Central Park, popped the cork of the champagne, and drank it straight out of the bottle.

I saw James only once after this, at a concert of Le Sacre du Printemps where he sat with a pretty girl, as always following the score with his pencil. He looked up and saw me just before I vanished into the crowd to fi nd my seat. ◆

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