Vol. 3, Issue 12 Apr. 27, 2017

WHO DOESN’T NEED A GOOD LUNCH?

APRIL 27, 2017 knoxmercury.com V.

3/ N.12

s e h c n u L l o o h c C an S ? d e x i F Be igh School Austin-East H h “real food” it experiments w

BY S H EATH

Knox Justice’s Faith-Based Campaign for Social Justice

Jack Neely on the Thing They Built Near Second Creek

ER D U N C AN

Knoxville’s AffordableHousing Crisis Is Getting Worse

SoKno Taco Emerges Triumphant From the Urban Wilderness

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April 27, 2017 | Volume 03: Issue 12 | knoxmercury.com “Lunch hour is the loneliest hour of the day!” —Charlie Brown via Charles M. Schulz

HOWDY

6 Local Life

by Marissa Highfill

OPINION

8 Scruffy Citizen

Jack Neely recalls his perspective on the odd structure that went up near Fort Sanders 35 years ago.

9 Perspectives

Joe Sullivan assesses Knoxville’s worsening shortage of affordable housing.

A&E 20 Program Notes

A roundup of upcoming local music releases.

21 Inside the Vault

Eric Dawson listens to the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round.

22 Music

Mike Gibson flags down the Mothership.

23 Classical Music

Alan Sherrod hears exciting sounds at last weekend’s KSO Masterworks.

24 Movies

April Snellings ventures to The Lost City of Z.

COVER STORY

14 Can School Lunches Be Fixed?

Everybody has horror stories about their school lunches. But why can’t they be better? That’s the puzzle Hard Knox Pizzeria co-owner Alexa Sponcia has set out to solve at Austin-East High School.

NEWS 10 Action Assembly

Faith-based Justice Knox unveils its social justice agenda at a spirited meeting, as S. Heather Duncan reports.

PRESS FORWARD 12 KSO Music Therapists

Small groups of KSO musicians take the soothing power of music to hospitals and hospices. Carol Z. Shane interviews some of the musicians.

CALENDAR

26 Spotlights

Circle Modern Dance, and T.I.

FOOD

42 Home Palate

Dennis Perkins finds tacos amid the Urban Wilderness at SoKno Taco Cantina.

’BYE

44 News of the Weird

by Chuck Shepherd

46 That ’70s Girl

by Angie Vicars

46 Spirit of the Staircase

by Matthew Foltz-Gray

47 Crooked Street Crossword

by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely

But Sponcia’s journey has been an education in how school lunches came to be like this, and all the challenges involved in creating an appetizing menu for students. S. Heather Duncan digs in.

VIRTUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Now you can contribute to the Mercury on a monthly schedule! We may not actually mail you a copy, but you’ll be helping us produce all this content we give away each week. Go to knoxmercury.com/donate.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 3

FUNDING ARTS & CULTURE I am writing this as an educator, a craftsperson, a parent, a Tennessean, and a taxpayer.

As many families in our communities face hard financial choices, the fight to oppose cuts to cultural programs may feel very far away and removed from what matters in our daily lives.

I want to speak to those who may not be familiar with what the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) do for our community.

Three points to consider: • As a former small business owner and one who runs an organization with a balanced budget, I have deep respect for those who are careful with their money and expect a return on their investment. If deficit reduction is a major concern for you, please consider that eliminating this funding will not make a dent in the national deficit. The cost to the taxpayer for national arts funding is $2 a year.

While that costs less than half the cost of one fancy coffee a year, every $1 of NEA funding leverages $9 of private and public dollars. This total investment creates millions of jobs. If progress is to be made in balancing the national budget, it will require a clear-eyed and thoughtful consideration of what programs, agencies, and initiatives provide a return on investment. We must measure that return in terms of dollars, but we must also consider what we value and what makes our communities stronger.

• Making these cuts in arts funding is about much more than dismantling faraway federal agencies with acronyms for titles. This is about our heritage, our families, and our way of life. Think about the importance of your local history museum or your community dance company or theater group. Keep in mind that organizations which you know and support in your own community, organizations like Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, receive vital funds from these agencies. It is important to know that 40 percent of the grants made by the NEA in Tennessee are distributed at the state level through the Tennessee 4 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

I love how the Mercury is taking such a risk publishing these facts in a Trump-voting part of the country. It shows nerve and reminds us of what journalism was supposed to be in the democracy. I hope that those who support President Trump read and think and realize that (despite the polarity of our nation), these things are not “either-or.” One can support the president but see flaws in a budget plan, for example.

Ms. Duncan—I am a fan.

—Eric J Moore commenting on Facebook about “Who Gets Hurt by Trump’s Budget Cuts,” cover story by S. Heather Duncan, April 20, 2017.

Arts Commission. This group of volunteers is appointed by the governor and made up of fellow Tennesseans who ensure that the money is spent wisely and effectively in local communities.

• Now consider the return on this investment in arts and culture. I work at a craft school that preserves and celebrates the rich Appalachian heritage of our community while building upon that tradition to ensure craft is relevant today. From Dolly Parton’s legacy to the proud community of artists who call Tennessee home, this resilient culture of craftsmanship and creative expression is fundamental to who we are. Over 25,000 local school students have been to Arrowmont through the years as part of our ArtReach program. Please ask your child or grandchild what that experience meant to them. Support those hoping to make a career as artists or craftspeople. Support those finding a voice through poetry, music or dance.

The arts help us better understand ourselves and others, and help us lead creative and meaningful lives.

“You get what you pay for,” and these are programs worth paying for.

Please have conversations with your family and friends about the importance of the arts. The proposed budget will be considered and voted

on by our legislators in Washington, but the hurt will be felt here at home.

Please join me in calling or writing your Representatives and Senators to let them know what you value and how you want your tax dollars spent.

Your individual voice is needed to remind politicians that this is not a partisan issue, but rather a reflection of what you value and what you believe is important to the quality of life in your community. Below is contact information. Thank you for taking time to read this and consider what is at stake.

Sen. Lamar Alexander 455 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 202-224-4944 alexander.senate.gov Sen. Bob Corker 425 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 202-224-3344 corker.senate.gov Bill May Executive Director Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Gatlinburg

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES • Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number.

We do not print anonymous letters.

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

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

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

Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor, Knoxville Mercury 618 S. Gay St., Suite L2 Knoxville, TN 37902 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury

DELIVERING FINE JOURNALISM SINCE 2015 The Knoxville Mercury is an initiative of the Knoxville History Project, a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit whose mission is to research and promote the history of Knoxville.

EDITORIAL EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS Chris Barrett Joan Keuper Ian Blackburn Catherine Landis Hayley Brundige Dennis Perkins Patrice Cole Stephanie Piper Eric Dawson Ryan Reed George Dodds Eleanor Scott Thomas Fraser Alan Sherrod Lee Gardner Nathan Smith Mike Gibson April Snellings Carey Hodges Denise Stewart-Sanabria Nick Huinker Joe Sullivan Donna Johnson Kim Trevathan Tracy Jones Chris Wohlwend Rose Kennedy Angie Vicars Carol Z. Shane MULTIMEDIA ASSISTANT Jeffrey Chastain DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Charlie Finch CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Matthew Foltz-Gray PHOTOGRAPHY INTERN Marissa Highfill ADVERTISING PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Michael Tremoulis michael@knoxmercury.com BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Scott Dickey scott.dickey@knoxmercury.com KNOXVILLE MERCURY 618 South Gay St., Suite L2, Knoxville, TN 37902 knoxmercury.com • 865-313-2059 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & PRESS RELEASES editor@knoxmercury.com CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar@knoxmercury.com SALES QUERIES sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION distribution@knoxmercury.com BOARD OF DIRECTORS Robin Easter Tommy Smith Melanie Faizer Joe Sullivan Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2017 The Knoxville Mercury

IN THE ARENA. 8 years ago a man with a pocketful of hopes and a wood fired oven, entered the arena.

With only a vision to guide him, he emerged from his corner.

The challenger? Uninspired pizza.

Using old world methods and a collection of personal recipes.

He began his journey.

Soon word spread of his unique approach to pizza.

And he joined the revolution in Knoxville food and drink, that is going strong today.

Today, a new and improved Hard Knox Pizzeria is now open, with expanded seating, table service and 14 craft beers on tap.

The vision remains, the food is still inspired and the revolution continues.

For more of the story go to hardknoxpizza.com.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 5

DUMPSTER highlights DIVE Weekly from our blog HUDSON K’S NEW ALBUM In July, Hudson K will release its third album, the follow-up to 2013’s Ouroboros and the Black Dove. Singer/songwriter/synth sorceress (and now recording engineer and producer) Christina Horn describes the new self-titled collection—a nine-track concept album about nature, technology, and humanity—as “an authentic version of my sound.” The campaign for the new album kicks off with a May 6 show at Pilot Light.

PRESS FORWARD’S DIVIDENDS We surveyed the people we interviewed in our Press Forward series and we discovered that our readers have been stepping up to help them. When the prevailing political impulse today is to abandon people and places deemed unworthy of investment, it is reassuring to find that compassion still thrives in Knoxville.

LOCAL LIFE Photo Series by Marissa Highfill

On Saturday, Knoxville’s scientists (and their allies) took to the south lawn at UT’s Ayres Hall for the March for Science.

Over 500 people gathered in support of “evidence-based public policy and regulations that serve public interest and protect vulnerable communities rather than further corporate greed and political gain.”

COLEMAN’S HISTORIC RUN On April 7, UT sprinter Christian Coleman won the 100 meters at the Tennessee Relays at Tom Black Track. His time, 10.03 seconds, was almost a tenth of a second slower than his personal best, set last summer in the United States Olympic Trials. But it tied the school record he set in 2016, and for a meet in early April, it’s an impressive mark—the fastest time by an American so far this year and the fifth-fastest time in the world.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

4/28 MAYORAL ADDRESS: STATE OF THE 4/28 FUNDRAISER: FOOD & WINE YARD PARTY 4/29 FAIR: MENTORING OPEN HOUSE CITY FRIDAY

Noon, Suttree Landing Park (1001 Waterfront Dr.).

Free.

The state of the city seems pretty good, overall, but who knows? Be the first to find out how Mayor Madeline Rogero foresees our future with this presentation of her proposed 2017-18 city budget. Could this finally be the year that we get proper funding for a monorail? The people demand it!

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SUNDAY

SATURDAY

Noon-7 p.m., The Mill & Mine (227 W. Depot Ave.). $60.

1-3 p.m., West Hills Park (410 North Winston Rd.). Free.

You can celebrate Knoxville’s dawning foodie culture and support the School of Hard Knox and the Power of Produce at this day-long courtyard party. Chef Pat Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint fame is the featured guest, and our own Dennis Perkins will be moderating a chef’s roundtable discussion. And much more! Info: themillandmine.com.

The newly launched Knoxville Area Mentoring Initiative presents a family fun day of kickball, food, and other events for mentors and mentees. Learn about becoming a mentor from representatives of Amachi Knoxville, Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Joy of Music School, Girls on the Run, the YMCA, and others. Info: mccartney@klf.org.

5/2 SEMINAR: ORGANIZING 101 TUESDAY

6–8:30 p.m., East Tennessee History Center (601 S Gay St.). Free.

The Citizens Academy Boot Camp launches its weekly series of seminars for rising leaders with this session on getting organized. Presented by the League of Women Voters of Knoxville and Knox County, the Citizens Academy will continue on May 9 and 16. The first session is required. Info: lwvknoxville.org or jameydobbs@yahoo.com.

W E N EED YOU R H ELP! T h e K n o x v i l l e H i s t o r y P r o j e c t S u p p o r t s t h e M e r c u r y.

This page, and this independent newspaper, are supported by public donations. It’s time to renew Knoxville History Project’s contract.

national corporations, all of them based in other states and operated for the profit of shareholders.

The Mercury, by contrast, exists only for the benefit of the people of Knoxville. No individual can receive profit from advertising sales or donations to the Knoxville History Project or the Knoxville Mercury.

The Knoxville History Project is an educational organization, approved as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and controlled by a volunteer board of scholars and community leaders. Its purpose is to research and promote the history and culture of Knoxville.

Believe it or not, the KHP is the first permanent organization formed to promote the history of the city of Knoxville. It works closely with other historical organizations like the East Tennessee Historical Society, which covers a 35-county region.

The KHP focuses on the distinct and complex history of Knoxville.

The city news department of the Knoxville Journal, then an independent daily, in 1925. The Knoxville Mercury is based in the same building—the Journal Arcade on Gay Street—today.

The KHP works with several public educational organizations, and offers talks and tours of the city to help understand its history. We also do research for individuals, nonprofits, and businesses--for plaques, newsletters, website narratives, and other media.

The KHP helped found the Knoxville Mercury. It governs the paper and helps support it. The main way the KHP can help the Mercury is by purchasing an educational page in each issue.

KHP’s weekly History Page is written for all ages. It’s not about opinions or being clever. We strive to make it a public resource for relevant facts and stories about Knoxville’s distinct history. Subjects covered in recent months include blues singers Brownie and Stick McGhee, local participation in World War I, Knoxville’s once-famous marble industry, Old Gray Cemetery, and the Pride of the Southland Marching Band.

History Pages also announce important upcoming historical events and celebrate birthdays of notable Knoxvillians. Each History Page is published in the Knoxville Mercury and also on both the websites knoxmercury.com and knoxvillehistoryproject.org.

The model for print journalism is changing.

However, even in 2017, more than 20,0 0 0 Knoxvillians pick up paper copies of the Knoxville Mercury, impressive numbers in any era. And our website, knoxmercury.com, registers more visits than ever. Combining print and web reads, it’s safe to say more people are reading the Mercury regularly than any other weekly in Knoxville history.

Launched in March, 2015, the Mercury has already publ i shed more t ha n 1,0 0 0 stor ies about Knoxville, from its government to its cultural opportunities. Many of these stories have earned awards, in competition with daily and weekly newspapers across the region, from the Society of Professional Journalists and other organizations. The Mercury is already the most award-winning independent newspaper in Knoxville.

The Knoxville Gazette, founded in 1791 by George Roulstone, was the first newspaper in Tennessee. Since then, Knoxville has had at least one independently and locally owned newspaper. We’re committed to being sure that tradition never ends. Please help us.

Donations to support the KHP are tax-deductible. If you prefer, 100 percent of your gift can go to support and sustain the Knoxville Mercury.

P le a s e v i s it t he web s it e of t he K nox v i l le H i st or y P r ojec t at knoxvillehistoryproject.org. If you’d like, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

If you’re interested in establishing a sponsorship, contact Development Director Paul James, at paul@knoxhistoryproject.org, or call 865-300-4559.

Thanks for all your help.

The Knoxville Mercury is an independent, locally controlled newspaper. Most local newspapers, like most radio and television stations, are controlled by

Jack Neely, Executive Director, Knoxville History Project

The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Lawson McGhee Library Image courtesy of The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection • cmdc.knoxlib.org

Source

T h e K n ox v i l l e H i s to ry P r o j ec t, a n o n p r o fi t o r g a n iz at i o n d e vot e d to t h e p r o m ot i o n o f a n d ed u c at i o n a b o u t t h e h i s to ry o f K n ox v i l l e , p r e s en t s t h i s pag e e ac h w e e k to r a i s e awa r en e s s o f t h e t h em e s , p er s o n a l i t i e s , a n d s to r i e s o f o u r u n i q u e c i t y.

L e a r n m o r e at

knoxvillehistoryproject.org

o r em a i l

jack@knoxhistoryproject.org

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 7

Scruffy Citizen | Perspectives

The Thing Near Second Creek A happily naive perspective on the arrival of a landmark

BY JACK NEELY

T

he World’s Fair started 35 years ago this Monday.

Today, the pundits who declare media as we know it is coming to an end, observe, as their most damning evidence, that “Kids today just don’t read the papers anymore.”

Of course they don’t. They didn’t read the papers before the Internet, either. In early 1982, I was a fresh college graduate living alone in an apartment on the east end of Fort Sanders. I roamed my neighborhood afoot and often walked downtown across the Clinch Avenue Viaduct.

Maybe there was less to do downtown in those days. But the things you could do downtown then, like buy personal computers or camera equipment or cheap tennis shoes—or get a manuscript or a tax return postmarked just before midnight, as I did often—are things you can’t do downtown now.

The viaduct passed over the old rail yards, Second Creek, and the ruins of factories. I rarely encountered other pedestrians there, but looking down, I sometimes saw an elderly scavenger with a burlap bag, looking for lumps of coal spilled from the coal cars. Often, in that valley, it was just her and me.

On my solo trips back and forth, I began noticing some new construction hubbub below. It sometimes went on well into the night, like a secret military operation. I couldn’t make much sense of it. But I couldn’t help

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noticing, just south of the bridge, a steel anomaly. It began to take the shape of a tower of I-beams. It seemed higher each time I walked by.

Trying not to stare, I watched it with some interest, as you might watch owls building a nest.

It went up and up, and when it looked higher than most buildings get, it started to flare out at the top.

Eventually its arching girders formed a globe.

That’s cool, I decided. I told my Fort Sanders neighbors about it. They didn’t know what it was, either. We lived a couple of blocks away from the thing, but couldn’t guess what was sprouting down in the valley.

Like me, my neighbors and I didn’t read the papers. We didn’t watch the news, either, because none of us had TVs. Television, like air conditioning, was for sad, boring old people. We were young and living our lives.

We didn’t think of ourselves as ignorant. In the reading room of the old Hoskins Library they had the latest Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, The Village Voice, and big-city newspapers

hanging from split bamboo sticks.

In a used-book shop at the top of a fire escape on Cumberland, I picked up paperbacks by Raymond Carver and Paul Theroux and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Every book I heard about suggested an urgency. Life is short.

And I was a Citizen of the World.

Who was mayor? I would have changed the subject to something interesting. A 10-minute walk down on Cumberland Avenue revealed new mixtures of music popping up in the bars. Punk rock and neo-rockabilly and reggae and live bebop jazz. That was life. Everything else seemed slow-witted.

I was rarely tempted by the local papers, with their tedium about school board, City Council, murderous spouses, the Tennessee Vols. All those redundant details were for obsessive old folks who, for reasons that were none of my business, couldn’t see value in an old John Coltrane record with a half-gallon of Gallo burgundy, or reading Rimbaud out loud at the moon.

So I was pretty surprised, on my walks, as I watched those steel girders bloom into a lofty globe, suggesting no clue about its purpose. It’s art, I declared, over a 75-cent pint bottle of Stroh’s at Dan and Gracie’s, the little bar in an old cottage on 19th Street, the neighborhood’s best place to consider all theories. It’s our Eiffel Tower, I explained. Second Creek was our Seine. And of course Fort Sanders is its Left Bank.

My companions perhaps let me get away with too much, but I elaborated with beery confidence. It was this steel structure that suggested an attempt to exalt the concept of Sphere, perhaps suggesting a symbolic communication with the creatures of other spheres. It was analogous to Wallace Stevens’ anecdotal jar, imposing order on slovenly wilderness.

I told my Fort Sanders neighbors about it.

They didn’t know what it was, either. We lived a couple of blocks away from the thing, but couldn’t guess what was sprouting down in the valley.

It was our Sphere of Influence.

Then, without consulting with me, the builders covered it with gold-lamé glass. Suddenly this amazing austere creation looked somehow smaller, and sillier, a sticky lemon-orange lollipop.

My chums made fun of my previous theory. Just you wait, I said.

After the bomb, the glass will be blown out. (The bomb was a recurring theme in our conversations.) It will look cool again.

I came to understand the globe tower had something to do with a world’s fair that would soon be opening a block and a half down the street from my boardwalk.

It happened to coincide with a personal urgency. My plan to become foreign correspondent for UPI didn’t pan out. Nobody was hiring writers, I was running out of money, and figured I might be stuck in Knoxville for at least a few more months. I got a job working for the 1982 World’s Fair, in crowd control. Most of the other guys who solved problems in red polyester shirts were from other parts of the country. They developed sacred rites of the Sunsphere, or the Almighty Pod, as my colleagues called it, making elaborately cryptic gestures toward the golden globe daily.

Getting up there involved a long wait and a $10 ticket, and therefore wasn’t for people like us. Toward the end of the fair, though, a couple of us stowed away on a service elevator, wedged in between some garbage cans, and stepped out long enough to behold the view.

Maybe it’s okay that kids don’t read newspapers. They don’t think they need to, and for that rare moment, maybe they don’t. Let them enjoy their freedom from news. The rest of their lives, they’ll be grownups.

Jack Neely is the director of the Knoxville History Project, a nonprofit devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s cultural heritage—not to mention publishing the Knoxville Mercury. The Scruffy Citizen surveys the city of Knoxville’s life and culture in the context of its history, with emphasis on what makes it unique and how its past continues to affect and inform its future.

Scruffy Citizen | Perspectives

Priced Out Knoxville’s affordable-housing crisis is getting worse

BY JOE SULLIVAN

M

elissa is a single mother of three whose telemarketing job pays a little more than the minimum wage. Last fall she felt compelled to move out of her mold-infested apartment because her asthmatic 13-year-old son couldn’t tolerate it. But she was fortified with what’s known as a Section 8 housing voucher issued by Knoxville’s Community Development Corp. The voucher entitled her to a federal subsidy of the amount by which her rent exceeded 30 percent of her income, which is the most that’s deemed affordable, up to a KCDC-set Fair Market Rent (FMR). For the three-bedroom apartment she sought for her family, the FMR in Knoxville is $1,057 a month. So the voucher would be worth $607 a month atop the $450 representing 30 percent of her income.

However, after looking at more than 30 sites, with assistance from Knox CAC’s Homeward Bound program, Melissa hadn’t found a single landlord willing to rent to her at the going rate. Because four months is all the law allows for a newly issued voucher to be outstanding, hers expired unused. Melissa and her family have remained relegated to living mainly in her 13-year-old van, interspersed with short stays in a hotel after each paycheck.

While Melissa’s plight may be more dire than others whose vouchers have expired, her inability to make use of it is anything but uncommon.

Out of 246 vouchers issued between July and December of last year, only

87 recipients have succeeded in making use of them according to KCDC’s Section 8 director Debbie Taylor-Allen. Yet there is also a waiting list of 1,653 others who are seeking to receive one from a supply that remains static.

All of this is symptomatic of a severe shortage of low-income affordable housing both locally and nationally. According to Census Bureau data compiled by the Knox Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2015, there were more than 30,000 households in Knox County with incomes of less than $20,000. But the supply of rental units deemed affordable to them was only about 9,000. This includes some 3,500 units of KCDC-managed public housing and on the order of 2,000 units in privately owned complexes that were financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and in return committed to keep their rents affordable for 15 years.

Lessening the shortfall somewhat, there are 3,596 Section 8 vouchers now in use whose holders are enabled to have apartments that would otherwise be affordable only to people in higher income brackets.

Most of these must go, by law, to households with incomes below 30

percent of the Knox County median, which is $61,000.

Several factors are at work to make the shortage increasingly severe. One is the fact that ever since the housing market crash of a decade ago, more households have been renting instead of owning all across the income spectrum. This trend has both been driving rental rates up and putting a premium on building new apartments that cater to the more affluent.

In Knoxville, average rental rates have climbed nearly 10 percent just within the past year, according to the authoritative RentJungle.com. For two-bedroom apartments, the average monthly rental is now $892, putting it well above the FMR of $811. That gap acts as a deterrent to renting to Section 8 voucher holders.

At the same time, affordable housing complexes built with LIHTCs have an added incentive to convert to higher-market rent properties once they have fulfilled their 15-year commitment to keep their rents down.

That’s been happening big-time in Knoxville where at least seven complexes with a total of more than 1,000 units have come off the affordable rolls, often with new owners and renovations that make them much higher priced.

“Landlords and developers are seeing the market for higher-end rental units so that’s what they are developing. If they can get more higher-end tenants, they are going to get more profit,” says Becky Wade, director of the City of Knoxville’s Department of Community Development.

The department recently produced a PowerPoint presentation entitled, “The Affordable Housing Crisis in Knoxville.” But it’s long on documenting causes and manifestations of the problem and short on identifying solutions.

Here, as nationally, one of the

“Landlords and developers are seeing the market for higher-end rental units so that’s what they are developing.”

—BECKY WADE, city community development director

worst effects is that very-low-income households are being forced to pay far more for housing than they can afford.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 75 percent of those with incomes below 30 percent of the median are paying more than half of everything they earn for housing to the sacrifice of other needs. “For these households an unforeseen expense such as a car repair can turn into a disaster,” states a coalition report.

An approach that many cities, including 170 in California alone, have taken in an effort to augment the supply of affordable housing is called inclusionary zoning. It either requires or incentivizes developers to make a certain percentage of units in new projects affordable to low-income residents. When Nashville’s Metro Council began considering an inclusionary zoning requirement in 2015, the state Legislature quickly enacted a bill forbidding it. But Nashville Mayor Megan Barry last year committed $16 million of city funds to a trust fund that facilitates affordable development.

About the only funding that Knoxville has available for such purposes is derived from two long-standing federal programs, Community Development Block Grants and HOME. But the $2 million available from these programs for 2016 is little more than half of what it was a decade ago. And the Trump administration has recommended their elimination.

Still, with city assistance, two new LIHTC developments are in the works: a 38-unit project on Holston Drive and a 170-unit complex just off Chapman Highway. Moreover, developer Rick Dover has committed to low-income affordability for 12 of the 60 units at the assisted-living facility that’s going into his renovation of the former South High School.

As meaningful as these projects are, they are little more than a drop in the bucket in relation to the total need.

Joe Sullivan is the former owner and publisher of Metro Pulse (1992-2003) as well as a longtime columnist covering local politics, education, development, health care, and tennis.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 9

Photo by S. Heather Duncan

Action Assembly Approach of faith-based Justice Knox puts local leaders in the hot seat

BY S. HEATHER DUNCAN

“J

ustice!” bellowed Pastor Chris Battle from the front of Central United Methodist Church on Monday night.

“Knocks!” thundered back the 1,000 or so people in the pews, members of about 16 congregations across the city. They repeated the chant three times, then thundered their feet against the floor like the hand of God knocking.

They were members of Justice Knox, a faith-based organization founded to pursue social justice in Knoxville.

Its approach, which demands unusually direct accountability from invited local leaders, may also be generating a new group of social activists.

Formed last year, the coalition has chosen to focus on education and mental illness for its initial foray into activism, asking that teachers and law enforcement officers be provided with different types of training to help prevent jails being filled with the mentally ill and low-income black kids.

Interestingly, this coalition of majority-white and -black churches apparently intimidated school board members enough that most did not

10 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

attend—including board chairwoman Patti Bounds, who had committed to coming. Board member Jennifer Owen came, as she said she would, but did not step forward when she and Bounds were called multiple times by name to respond to the requests. (All leaders invited had met with Justice Knox representatives and been briefed on the requests beforehand, although Owen says they changed.)

Justice Knox leaders made it clear that board members were being asked to commit their individual votes and support for funding comprehensive “restorative justice” training at five pilot schools (a concept the board has already endorsed in a general way) using a specific vendor, and to attend a restorative justice circle at Fulton High, which is in Owen’s district. Restorative justice is a discipline approach that focuses on rebuilding community rather than punishment like suspension or arrest.

Given that restorative justice pilots are already going and the board has endorsed the concept, the requests didn’t seem that controversial—yet the format generated contro-

versy. Owen says she told Justice Knox leaders in advance that she wouldn’t directly respond to their requests because she had too little information about the vendor and the estimated costs kept changing—plus, the school district must legally conduct an open bid process for training. She adds that with a “pilot” comes an expectation that training will eventually be extended to all other schools for an uncertain price.

And she says school district attorneys confirmed that “If all I can do is say yes or no, that could come across as me making a commitment for the entire board.” (She acknowledged she could have responded, “No.”) She says she’d be willing to observe a restorative circle at Fulton if the principal wants her to.

Owen says she found the tone of her interactions with Justice Knox manipulative and intimidating. “I have never been treated so badly by any group of people, anywhere, and I just have no words,” she wrote in an email.

Battle, who is pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church and co-chair of Justice Knox, told the crowd that the

school board had apparently decided Justice Knox members were bullies.

“We have been accused of ‘mob activity,’” he told the sea of people who had quietly packed the pews. “I don’t see a mob tonight. I see faithful, informed citizens who want what’s best for our children.” (At one point a single person in the back booed one of the local leaders, and everyone within the surrounding eight pews practically crawled over each other to hush her.)

For many in the majority-white crowd, it may have been the first time they had ever been told that their peaceful civic action was threatening.

The Justice Knox model, and Monday night’s assembly, is something new to public life in Knoxville. It involves an annual nine-month cycle of action, consisting of selecting community problems and conducting time-intensive research into solutions. The process culminates in a high-pressure “Nehemiah Action Assembly” to ask local leaders to commit on the spot to specific actions, in front of God and everybody (read: voters).

Gigantic posters the size of a wall were brought out listing all the requests, followed by names of leaders and boxes that had to be checked “yes” or “no.” The assembly is named after the Biblical story of Nehemiah, who gathered the community to demand justice from leaders who were allowing hungry people to be exploited during a famine.

The Justice Knox approach is not a radical new concept even in the Southeast. The nonprofit, which hired its first staff member last year, is affiliated with the national Direct Action and Research Training Center.

DART provides a model and support to similar organizations in more than 20 American cities, where they have successfully pushed for public transportation funding, elder-care reforms, and (in Lexington, Ky.) funding for an affordable housing trust fund. DART affiliates from multiple Florida cities are working on state legislation to shift from charging juvenile offenders with misdemeanors to giving them civil citations, keeping their criminal records clean.

Justice Knox adds new churches all the time and would like to include synagogues, the Muslim community,

and other nonprofits, says staff organizer Marjorie Thigpen-Carter.

“I think ministers and people in faith congregations, and people in general, get frustrated with their inability to do something bigger than just helping the person they see in need right now,” she says. “That’s mercy, right? You see someone on the street and you feel badly. You can help them and feel good about that quickly.”

Justice is harder, because it means addressing the complex social problem that put that person on the street—like poverty, education, addiction, or mental illness.

“Sometimes social justice issues seem to be more theoretical or on a national level, and this brings it down to the concrete,” says the Rev. John Gill, who says Justice Knox gives structure to a type of ministry that used to be more sporadic and reactive at his Church of the Savior United Church of Christ.

“One of the things we talk about is 52/1: Fifty-two weeks a year we worship and engage in ministries of mercy,” Gill says. “One week a year we can all gather for social justice.”

The question is whether those people will gather twice, which they were exhorted to do Monday when Battle urged them to attend the Knox County Board of Education meeting next week to oppose a contract for “watered-down” restorative justice training.

Justice Knox had better luck with its second set of requests, focused on training all local law enforcement and jail officers in crisis intervention to better handle confrontations with people who are more mentally ill than criminal. The city, via a representative of Mayor Madeline Rogero, declined to agree to a second request for an outside evaluation of the new safety center, which is set to open this year as a means to divert small-time offenders who are mentally ill from jail to treatment. But Sheriff Jimmy “JJ” Jones agreed, on the condition that the study be done after the center has six to eight months of operations under its belt.

The Justice Knox process began late last summer with “house meetings” across the city. At each, a dozen or so people shared what keeps them awake at night and what community

problems worry them.

The Rev. John Mark Wiggers, priest of St. James Episcopal in East Knoxville, says much of the power behind the movement comes from the personal stories that inspire it. For example, Jay McMahan on Monday shared the experience of trying to help his mentally-ill sister when she was having a paranoid episode. Two trained police officers arrived and helped her calm down before an untrained backup officer escalated the crisis.

The final issues chosen were researched by committees of 25 to 50 volunteers who set up in-person interviews with experts such as the district attorney, mental health workers at Helen Ross McNabb, jail employees, and people from communities that have tackled similar problems.

Elizabeth A. Johnson, who attends Tabernacle Baptist, went on two to three of these research visits a week to learn about the criminalization of mental health. At first she felt overwhelmed, but then she began to look forward to them because she was learning so much.

“We were under the impression that the safety center would be the answer, but upon further research we realized it would only accommodate them for three days,” she says. “That’s not what we need… We’re going to push for program that would pay for a pipeline to longer-term treatment and for more qualified mental health workers.”

Johnson says she’ll be more engaged in local government generally now. “I never thought to read a city budget before,” she says. “We have to start going to these public meetings and doing our own research and drawing our own conclusions. Then we can say, hey you got excess (money) here, why don’t you use it for this?”

Johnson and others say that working together with people from other churches has helped them realize that the same problems cross racial, economic, political and geographic lines.

“I think it’s the joy that together we can make a difference, instead of being in individual churches gnashing our teeth over the things we’d like to change,” Gill says. “To seek fairness of systems requires coming together of lots of people.”

The intrepid Phileas Fogg with his loyal valet, Passepartout, voyage from Victorian London through the Indian subcontinent, to Asia and across the Pacific to America on a wager that he will return in precisely 80 days. Literally, a theatrical tour-de-force.

This production employs the use of haze, fog, strobe lights and the sound effects of gunfire.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 11

PRESS FORWARD

Focus: Health & Food

KSO Music Therapists

Stacy Nickell and Eunsoon Corliss

therapeutic musicians

Small groups of KSO musicians take the healing power of music to hospitals

O

ne of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s biggest ongoing success stories is its Music & Wellness program. Introduced by Lucas Richman in 2003, the program began in hospital lobbies with small groups and individuals providing live music in order to enhance the healing process and benefit patients, visitors, and staff.

In 2016, the KSO was one of 22 American orchestras to receive a Getty Education and Community Investment Grant, and board-certified music therapist Alana Dellatan Seaton was brought on board to advise the musicians in more specialized techniques. The grant also funded teacher certification training through the Music for Healing and Transition Program. Of the five former and current KSO musicians who participated, four are now Certified Music Practitioners recognized by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians, and one continues to collect practicum hours toward certification.

Cellist Stacy Nickell and violist Eunsoon Corliss recently sat down to talk about their experiences as therapeutic musicians.

How is playing therapeutic music different from performing the regular way?

Corliss: It’s not performance—it’s service.

Nickell: It’s “entrainment” rather than entertainment.

Corliss: That means the synchronization of the patients’ brain waves and heart rate with our music. When 12 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

we go into a patient’s room, we look at the monitor first. You’re trying to assimilate a comfortable heartbeat. At UT Hospital there’s a NICU that I go into. Those preemies are so tiny. We play baby songs from “Twinkle Twinkle” to “Old MacDonald.” And we really do watch that monitor—the oxygen level goes up. Their hearts beat so fast—they calm down a bit. And they start squiggling and sucking their pacifiers and three or four minutes into it, most of them just go to sleep. It’s a really good feeling to see that.

Are there different types of playing for different situations?

Nickell: We learned five categories of patient condition: acute, which could be someone who has just come out of major surgery but is stabilized; non-acute—the patient is in bed recovering with not much to do; cognitively impaired—that’s someone with dementia; high pain and anxiety; and actively dying. For a non-acute patient—the guy who’s just bored—you can play anything. But you have to be very careful with acute patients, playing only 50 to 70 beats per minute.

Corliss: For the cognitively impaired we play oldies—tunes people recognize.

Nickell: We call it “familiar music.”

Corliss: I went to a nursing home.

When I walked in one patient’s room, the nurse said, “She hasn’t spoken for years.” The lady was in bed; she was covering her face and I could only see her eyes. I played “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and her eyes followed me. She said, “Jeanie with

Photo courtesy of Stacy Nickell

BY CAROL Z. SHANE

the Light Brown Hair.” And then she even sang along! I was shaking. I was told that she was non-verbal. I mean, who would think?

Nickell: For high pain and anxiety you want to improvise gently within a small framework—no big octave leaps, no strong rhythms. Very gentle and simple and soft.

What about playing for hospice patients?

Nickell: For the actively dying we play loosely metered, improvised music—very gentle, soothing, not rigid.

If you’re playing 50 or 60 beats per minute, that can keep the heart going and impede or prolong the dying process. You want to follow and encourage the person’s natural transition, so if they stop breathing for a bit, you stop playing. You don’t give them something to hang on to. For someone who is actively dying, silence is a big part of entrainment.

Corliss: You go with the way they are.

You mention improvising. That’s not something classical musicians do very often, is it?

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra 100 S. Gay St., Ste. 302 865-523-1178 knoxvillesymphony.com Programs • KSO’s Music and Wellness Program provides live musical performances to benefit patients, visitors, and staff in healthcare settings.

• KSO string quartets perform at UT Medical Center and Covenant Healthcare facilities for patients while they are receiving treatment and in waiting rooms for families of patients, as well as for members of the Cancer Support Community.

How You Can Help The impact of President Trump’s proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts is too complicated to recount here. NEA grants are matching grants and any arts organization that receives partial funding this way—including the KSO—has much to lose. So buy tickets to KSO concerts and fundraisers, “like” them on social media, show support with a financial gift, and contact your congressmen to urge them to hold on to the NEA.

“Music triggers something in your mind and memory that nothing else can, so there’s something deeply embedded in our human DNA.” —STACY NICKELL

Nickell: One of our training modules was called “Music as a Language.” That’s where we learned to improvise in different modes, or scale configurations, which can sound dark or bright or in between.

Corliss: The teacher read a poem.

And we would try to get the poem’s mood, and we’d brainstorm: What kind of mode suits this feeling?

Nickell: We would sit in a circle; one person would play and then pass it on to the next person. Sometimes we were sent off in small groups to compose something on a poem or a story. We’d write it down, then perform it for the others…

Corliss: … and the other team had to guess what it was about!

Nickell: There were other people taking the training, too—one came from Dallas, one from Kentucky. We were the only classically-trained musicians.

Corliss: I had not had a chance to play like that. At first I was very uncomfortable. It stretched our musician brains! It’s so different. But everyone was so supportive.

ous, but it’s effective.

Corliss: I lost my father in 2002, several years after he suffered a stroke.

I would carry my viola in and play but I wasn’t quite sure how much he understood—I was kind of reluctant.

But one time I was in a quartet that played in his NHC facility. Mom brought him out to watch us. And he cried. People around us were jumping for joy—“Oh, he is showing his feelings!”

I had thought all my father’s senses were gone; we had had no communication for four years. But this crying—it was a special kind of crying, I know that. That made me think, “I need to play for people. This is a wonderful thing that I could do.” I still think that my father gave me this opportunity to do more. Fortunately, the KSO supported us going in this route.

Why did you decide to get training in music therapy?

Know someone doing amazing things for the future of Knoxville?

Nickell: My mom had Alzheimer’s for 10 years before she died. I remember being at our family cabin with both my parents. I had my travel cello—it’s small so I could bring it on the plane. And my mom seemed so out of it and down and you could just tell that she was in her last months.

But when I started playing hymns, suddenly she just lit up. And that’s when I think I realized how important music is for people who are ill.

Music triggers something in your mind and memory that nothing else can, so there’s something deeply embedded in our human DNA. I think that this language is just so mysteri-

Submit your story suggestions to: editor@knoxmercury.com Contact us for sponsorship opportunities: charlie@knoxmercury.com CATEGORIES Civic & Humanitarian Arts & Culture Business & Tech Innovation Environmental & Sustainability Health & Food Education

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 13

s e h c n u L l o o h c C an S ? d e x i F Be igh School Austin-East H h “real food” it experiments w ER D U N C

BY S H EATH

14 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

AN

Photos by Marissa Highfill

I

t’s almost lunch time at Austin-East High School, and David Howell is snapping on bright blue plastic gloves. The hulking senior will dish up food today, and then—unlike every other school day—he plans to eat lunch.

Howell is helping pizzeria owner Alexa Sponcia feed lasagna and Caesar salad to the school’s 700 students, for free, as part of an effort—by Sponcia, school administrators, and students—to find ways to improve the quality of school lunches.

Howell and several other seniors helping today say they never eat in the cafeteria. One of them fetches a free tray of food to show what they’re rejecting: a gray, flat chicken patty with two waffles, very cooked green beans, a tiny cup of fruit cocktail, squishy green-and-brown grapes, and half a cup of juice. Four big guys lean over it, inspecting and poking it like a dissection specimen in biology class, before grabbing the big bag of Doritos that came with it and tossing the rest in the garbage.

Wander through the cafeteria tables and you hear the teens make the same complaints: The food isn’t seasoned. It looks and feels strange.

“You don’t know what school food has inside it,” says freshman Quayjean Easley.

Why is Sponcia’s lasagna better?

Voices chime in, the same response all the way down the table: “It’s real.”

The lasagna serving line was cobbled together from tables set up on one side of the cafeteria, while the main lunch line remains open. The scent of oregano wafts in the steam from tomato sauce bubbling beneath a layer of mozzarella. Junior Demyia Smith finishes hers, then a friend discreetly delivers her illicit seconds.

“School lunch is nasty,” Smith says. “Normally I eat nothing, even if I’m hungry.”

And that’s a problem—one that adults often consider inevitable because they remember their own school lunches. Given research that hungry students act up more and perform worse academically, some school districts across the nation have been striving to provide tastier lunches made from fresher and more local ingredients—a challenge without all the salt and fat that used to make school food more palatable. Alexa Sponcia and students at Austin-East want a similar push in Knoxville. Yet Sponcia’s journey has been an education in how school lunches came to be like this, and all the hurdles involved in creating an appetizing menu for students.

Hard Knox Pizzeria co-owner Alexa Sponcia (top right) has taken on the challenge of creating tastier school lunches, testing her recipes once a month at Austin-East High School with a free lunch service.

SHOW US YOU CARE When principal Nate Langlois took his job in 2015, he surveyed students about what they liked and disliked about the school. Complaints about food topped the list, he says. Frustration with school lunches also drove a senior statistics project last fall.

“Students told me: Food shows that you care, and what you’re serving us doesn’t show us that you care,” says Langlois, who won’t eat the lunch either. “My big thing is, we want the kids to want to come to school and enjoy it, and lunch is part of that experience.”

Langlois says he approached Sponcia, who was already working with the school’s culinary magnet program. Sponcia owns Hard Knox Pizzeria with her husband Paul, but the two also run a small nonprofit called Live Love Hope in an effort to use their business skills to uplift the community. One of its projects is a program Sponcia calls “The School of Hard Knox,” which brings local chefs

to teach students in the Austin-East culinary program about cooking and the restaurant industry while also introducing them to new flavors.

“I noticed all the kids that weren’t in (the culinary program) who would show up there just to eat,” Sponcia says. “I was asking, ‘Why aren’t you going to school lunch?’ And they were like, ‘It’s so bad.’ They were foregoing eating at all.”

When she asked why they didn’t bring lunch from home, they told her it was too expensive.

“I always say there’s some emotional things that happen when you eat bad food,” Sponcia says. “I’ve taken bites and I’ve seen what they’re given…. The chicken patties are all the extra bits that they put it in a slime and squirt it out, and it’s flattened and breaded.”

Sponcia adds that Austin-East has “an amazing kitchen,” but she was under the impression that it is used only to reheat frozen food, not cook food.

Wanda McCown, executive April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 15

director of the Knox County Schools Nutrition Program, says that’s not true.

“All our cafeterias cook food. We make spaghetti, tacos, and meatloaf from scratch,” McCown says. “There’s recipes that are followed. It’s not just: Take it out of the freezer and put it on a pan. And the menu is always changing because we’re always adding new items.” She says the district lets students taste-test new recipes before adding them to the menu rotation.

The menu doesn’t vary by school, although it does vary by age group—elementary students have a different menu from middle and high school students. (You can take a gander at this month’s menus at knoxschools.org.)

There are at least three lunch options, although for elementary students, one is always peanut butter and jelly with Cheez-It crackers and a cheese stick. (Elementary school students complain that even the jelly is yucky.) There are often many versions of processed chicken served during the same week; at middle and high school, they are available daily, as is pizza.

Despite students’ commentary on the food, McCown says a growing number of kids (including at Austin-East) buy school lunches each year. School district data show that’s less consistent when you compare the daily average participation for the same month from year to year.

McCown says this year’s participation is trending flat.

Data provided by the district shows that generally only about half of Austin-East students eat school lunch, even though a stroll through the cafeteria seems to reveal no more than a couple of kids bringing food from home.

16 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

“If we could just feed them one amazing meal a day, how much would it change their lives?”

—ALEXA SPONCIA

A CAFETERIA EDUCATION Sponcia decided to pursue her own research about school lunches. Her idea was to experiment with feeding the students delicious food with more fresh components, while learning more about the logistics of cooking it, serving it, and meeting federal nutritional guidelines. In January she started providing a meal once a month, cooked in the kitchen of friend and caterer Hope Ellard, who owns Simply Southern. The hot food is transferred in coolers to the school for serving.

The first meal was taco salad with fresh-made guacamole. “Most had never had guacamole and were freaked out about green,” Sponcia says. “I said just try it, and a couple of the kids were like, ‘That’s so good!’”

Langlois saw the guac as a learning experience, too. “I think that’s one of our jobs as educators: To expose our kids to the world,” he says.

Lunch can be educational in more ways than one. Some school districts

have used their food-service program to introduce farming techniques and science concepts to students, and as a vehicle to learn about nutrition.

The farm-to-school trend—which can include serving locally-grown food, or providing hands-on learning like school gardening or culinary classes—has gained ground nationally in recent decades. The National Farm to School Network now reports participation from 42,000 schools.

These efforts aren’t just in wealthier, health-conscious places, but in cities like Oxford, Miss.; Huntington, W.Va.; and even Memphis and Detroit. In Memphis, for example, high school menus include items like lemongrass chicken, chicken Alfredo, veggie pitas and hummus, and grilled chicken salad sourced from local and regional farms.

In Tennessee, school nutrition programs spend about $18.1 million on local products, according to the state education department. McCown says elementary school cafeterias at Pond

Gap and Pleasant Ridge have used small amounts of vegetables grown at school or in nearby community gardens. She says she has tried to source more vegetables from local farms with little success, because Knox County’s school lunch program buys in such large quantities.

“We serve about 35,000 school lunches a day, probably 60,000 meals a day with breakfast,” she says. “With that being said, it’s sometimes hard to get a supplier.” McCown says she tried to work with a farm operation from a nearby county a few years ago, but it had trouble meeting the demand. “We were able to get a few ingredients from him, like cauliflower and sweet potatoes.”

The USDA and the state offer guidelines for school nutrition programs on how to procure local foods by buying in smaller amounts from multiple suppliers.

The state Department of Education website indicates that farm-toschool programs lead to students eating more school lunches, as well as lower meal costs, increased revenue, and less food waste.

Senior Taylor Teasley observed that when Sponcia feeds the student body, “The trash cans aren’t full of food. They’re full of trash.”

MATH FOR LUNCH At Austin-East, distaste for the cafeteria food taught students about statistics.

After hearing athletes in her classes complain about cafeteria food, statistics teacher Lindsay Davis decided to forgo giving an exam in favor of assigning a project related to school lunches.

“I wanted them to see statistics in life,” she says. “I love that they now are empowered to go change other things with data that people will listen to.”

Students designed a series of surveys, then asked their fellow students how often they eat school lunch, how much money they spend in vending machines, and whether a special lunch would make them more likely to come to school. They presented the results to Langlois.

“I have never had a project before where students took such ownership,” Davis says. “It was just really powerful.”

Students broke into groups to try different sampling types, and not all results were the same—another valuable lesson in how survey design affects the outcome. One survey of 84 students did not find a single one who liked the school lunch. Another group surveyed 63 students to find that 12 percent liked the lunches, although 65 percent either disliked or hated them.

When asked what they’d like for lunch instead, some students responded with the names of fast food restaurants, but many listed things like “real salads” or “actual chicken.”

Another student survey elicited suggestions that school lunches should be “more cultural,” have more variety, and be freshly cooked rather than re-heated.

“All the chicken is fake,” says Howell, a big dude in a tie-dyed T-shirt, ripped jeans, and gigantic, untied purple sneakers. He’d like the cafeteria to serve spinach salad (currently it’s mostly shredded iceberg lettuce with a few hothouse tomato slices), more pasta, and “real fruit.”

McCown says Knox school cafeterias serve fresh fruits and vegetables every day; in fact, most of the fruit is fresh. “We spend probably well over $1 million a year just in fresh fruit,” she says.”We try to use fresh vegetables and cook them when we can.”

Howell and Keanu Pritmore say

they survive on Pop Tarts and Rice Krispy treats out of vending machines, spending up to $5 a day of their own money rather than take the free lunch. One of the surveys found that 77 percent of students spend between $1 and $10 a week in the school vending machines.

Davis says athletes in her classes often have an almost contradictory complaint: The food is bad, but even if they eat it, there’s not enough of it to sustain them. Teasley, who plays basketball and volleyball and runs track, says she only makes it through games and meets because coaches bring players food like Subway sandwiches during lunch.

McCown says the federal government sets the portion sizes and Knox County follows those guidelines, although she acknowledged that nothing prevents the county from serving portions larger than the minimum requirements.

Teasley worked on the design and analysis of one of the statistics class surveys. Her group concluded that some students don’t eat at all during the school day, “resulting in malnutrition, bad moods, and failure to pay attention.”

Medical research has shown their conclusions are pretty accurate. For example, a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 1998 found that almost all behavioral, emotional, and academic problems were more common in hungry children, with aggression and anxiety having the strongest correlation.

Langlois says he sees improvement in behavior on the days Sponcia serves lunch: Fewer students try to skip lunch and wander the halls, and more people feel happy and full.

Lunch Laws Unlike elsewhere in the U.S., no Knox County Schools students are denied lunch

I

t’s halfway through the school day, and this first-grader doesn’t have any lunch money. In some school districts, she’d have to throw out the food on her tray, or clean the cafeteria to work off the debt, or wear a stamp or a wristband saying she owes money.

Maybe she should only be allowed to eat a cheese sandwich.

These are all policies various schools across the nation have put in place to deal with student lunch debt, and headlines about them in the last year have caused a national backlash. Last week, Arizona passed a new law banning these practices and requiring that students who can’t pay still be provided a federally-reimbursable lunch—in other words, not a cheap, less nutritious substitute. Texas and California appear poised to follow suit.

Last year, a Pennsylvania cafeteria worker quit after being forced to take a hot lunch away from a student who owed money, and two more were fired elsewhere for feeding elementary school students a hot lunch without payment.

Concerns about these practices caused such uproar that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal school lunch program, issued new guidelines for school districts in March. These require that a written, district-wide policy about overdue school lunch

Fresh Food Makes Sense

Research-based benefits of farm-to-school food in school nutrition programs: • increased student participation in school meal service • increased program revenue and lower meal costs, • increased community support for school meals and acceptance of the meal pattern, • reduced food waste in cafeterias • improved eating behaviors in students (choosing healthier options, eating more fruits and vegetables, more willing to try new foods) Source: Tennessee Department of Education

bills be provided to parents at the beginning of every school year.

Schools can still choose to shame students or refuse to feed them—but they have to state that up front, in writing. The only thing USDA specifically forbids is using the lunch money in a hungry child’s hand to cover an unpaid cafeteria balance instead of giving him food.

Children whose families can’t afford the lunch price can fill out paperwork and be enrolled in a federal program that will foot the bill. Some don’t do this, even though they’re eligible—the Arizona law requires schools to go to greater lengths to inform and enroll these families—and others that have the money simply don’t pay.

Knox County Schools never deny children meals, says director of pubic affairs Carly Harrington in an email, and they aren’t given “alternative” meals, either.

Parents are automatically notified via email, phone, and text about any unpaid meal balances.

The district’s written policy states that the school nutrition director will notify the parent or guardian in writing of an unpaid account balance, and inquire about whether the family would like to apply for free or reduced-price meals. If there’s no response, within two weeks the cafeteria manager follows up with a personal call, then the principal. Eventually the debt will be referred to a collection agency.

A recent survey by the School Nutrition Association found that about three-quarters of school districts had an unpaid student meal debt at the end of last school year. Knox County Schools has an estimated $159,000 in unpaid meal charges to date, Harrington says in an email.

—S.H.D.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 17

MATH FOR LUNCH AT AUSTIN-EAST 11.9%

36.9% 32.1%

67.9%

31%

Do you regularly eat school lunch?

Yes No Sometimes Indifferent

4.8%

4.7%

3.7% 31.7% 19.5%

15.5% 95.2%

Do you enjoy school lunch?

Yes

No

Indifferent

I don’t eat school lunch

I bring my lunch

45.1%

If there were an outside On average, how much source providing lunch, money do you spend would you feel more weekly at the vending inclined to come to school? machine for lunch?

Yes

$0

No

$1-5

$6-10

More than $10

Source: Austin-East student survey

FARM TO SCHOOL IN TENNESSEE 337 school gardens

growing in elementary, middle, and high schools

“It’s a different energy,” he says. “I think they feel more valued. And when you feel more valued, you tend not to make some bad decisions.”

Gathering around a table of enjoyable food also creates community, Sponcia says. “If we could just feed them one amazing meal a day, how much would it change their lives?” she says. “Because I believe that food changes lives.”

Sponcia plans to continue the meals through May and prepare a documentary, with the help of students and a producer friend, that could be presented to the school board in the fall along with a concrete proposal about how to improve the food.

18 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

$18,126,000

of school nutrition program budget dollars invested in local products

“My goal for the video is just for the kids to be able to have a voice,” Sponcia says, and that there are ways to push for change with data instead of just protests. “I try to teach them you need to be heard and respectful, and you do it with dignity and you do it with love.”

She plans to approach local chefs and farmers to help her develop or present her proposal, and would like to work with Nourish Knoxville to find ways to source more food from local farms.

She and Langlois are quick to point out that the cafeteria workers— who also ate the lasagna Sponcia made—care about the kids and want

36 high school agriculture programs growing produce for school cafeterias

to feed them nourishing food. They question not the lunch ladies, but the food-buying decisions made by district administrators.

“I am very passionate about our school nutrition program and very proud of the work we do,” says McCown, who makes many of those decisions. “We are very diligent in offering nutritious and healthy meals to those students, and our goal is to feed those kids that are hungry.”

“It’s not a battle,” Sponcia emphasizes. “I want to link arms with them: How do we change just one lunch, or one breakfast?”

She’s already learning it’s not as easy at it sounds. It’s a challenge to

serve almost 700 students who have less than 30 minutes to get lunch and eat it. When it came time to serve the salad, she realized a lot of the Romaine lettuce had been left behind, so at least half the kids in the first lunch period didn’t get any. Sponcia raced back for more, and with swooping arms she and Ellard mixed it with grated Parmesan, croutons and dressing in big metal bowls.

Sponcia hasn’t been measuring all the servings to count the calories, as would be required for a USDA-funded school lunch. And although the salad was fresh, the lasagna she served was purchased and baked from frozen.

The Unexpected Origins of the School Lunch Program T

HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS? Some critics have laid the blame for lousy school lunches on federal school nutrition rules that became effective in 2012 after a campaign spearheaded by former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The new rules require that schools use less salt and oil and offer more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, in recognition of the tripling of obesity rates among American children since the 1970s. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, one in five school-aged children today are obese, which puts them at higher risk for chronic health conditions like asthma, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

But some school districts have complained that the resulting changes to school lunches led many kids to stop eating them.

A 2015 survey by the School Nutrition Association found that of the 1,100 respondents, 58 percent saw a decline in student lunch purchases, with most citing “student acceptance of meals” as the reason. More than a third indicated they were coping with the financial pressure by limiting menu choices and variety.

McCown says the nutritional guidelines were tough to meet a few years ago because so few vendors offered whole grain or low-sodium products. “But it’s good for the kids, and more and more products are being developed. Enough better recipes are being made that it is being accepted,”

McCown says. “And we see that because of increase in participation.”

The Community Eligibility Provision has, to an extent, freed school districts from some of these pressures.

The federal CEP program provides free breakfasts and lunches to entire schools or districts with large populations of low-income students (40 percent or more). The idea is that when the school district doesn’t have to spend administrative time tracking individual student eligibility for free and reduced lunch, it saves money that can be invested instead into better food or more cooks. The approach also saves students the embarrassment of being identified as “poor” when they go through the lunch line.

Austin-East is one of 52 CEP schools in Knox County. Comparing August lunch participation from 2013 to 2016 shows that significantly more Austin-East students started picking up a school lunch tray—an increase from 5,266 to 6,796—once the school began participating in the CEP program. The feds require that they receive a balanced tray, even if they know they won’t touch some of the components.

“For some kids, this is their meal for the day. It needs to be something they eat,” Langlois notes. “We’re one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Why can’t we provide a better school lunch?”

he unappetizing nature of school cafeteria food is a joke that goes back generations.

Perhaps that’s partly because feeding hungry kids was not the primary purpose of the U.S. School Lunch Program when it was created. It began during the Great Depression, when farmers grew huge surpluses of food that no one had the money to buy. To prevent more farmers going under, the U.S. Department of Agriculture bought the surplus and provided jobs to the women who would cook and serve it to school children, many of whom were going hungry.

The result was that lunches were not designed around nutrition but to use up rapidly-rotting stores of particular commodities.

One year it was apricots, and the next year it might be eggs, cheese, or olives served in every meal, writes historian Susan Levine in her book School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America’s Favorite Welfare Program. (You can imagine how well the daily olives went over.)

The school lunch program wasn’t codified into law until after World War II. A proposal was floated to put it under the federal education commissioner rather than the agriculture department, with the aim of shifting the focus from farmers to kids. Predictably, agriculture lobbyists fought the change, and Levine writes that they found allies in Southern congressmen who feared federal education officials would use school lunch as a lever to force an end to school segregation. School lunches have remained under the Department of Agriculture ever since.

The lunch program expanded in the 1960s and ’70s, adding subsidies for low-income children in 1966 as educators and health

professionals studied the links between poverty and poor school performance. The school lunch program faced massive cuts under President Ronald Reagan, whose administration reduced portion sizes and famously declared ketchup a vegetable.

By the 1990s, school lunches had mostly been outsourced to private companies that relied on processed frozen foods, a system still largely in place today.

Knox County uses different vendors for bread, milk, and produce, says Wanda McCown, executive director of Knox County School Nutrition Program. But it buys most of its other food products from Sysco Foods, which won the contract in an open bidding process.

Sysco and US Foods are the two big dogs of institutional food, and some critics have blamed them for the dominance of processed frozen food in school lunches. The two companies control 75 percent of the national market, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Their attempted merger—which could have created one mega-industrial food source for the whole country—was abandoned in 2015 after Tennessee joined eight other states in supporting the FTC’s successful effort to block the deal on anti-trust grounds.

Of the Knox County Schools’ $27.4 million nutrition budget, $12 million represents the actual cost of food. The rest includes staff, benefits, equipment, storage and software. The federal government covers $21 million of that budget.

This year the budget reflected an anticipated $650,000 drop in total revenue. Savings were achieved by, among other measures, a $200,000 “reduction in labor costs,” according to budget documents.

—S.H.D.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 19

Program Notes | Inside the Vault | Music | Classical | Movies

HUDSON K

REVIEW

Meob f you spent the 2000s listening to all the right indie rock, Knoxville trio Meob’s self-titled debut may offer a sustained and rather welcome sense of deja vu. It’s clear by the end of opener “Keroshina” that frontman Andrew Sayne wears influences like Modest Mouse on his sleeve, and a later highlight alludes to Built to Spill in both title and minute sonic detail.

But atop crisp, restless post-emo rhythms (thank Gamenight’s Josh Manis, who drums and produces here), Meob is importing these touchstones, as opposed to just mimicking or ripping off.

Still, none of that would matter if the songs didn’t do justice to the acts they evoke, and none of it would work if the trio weren’t so terrifically attuned. But Sayne shows a strong sense for both hooks and structure, and the combination leaves the band with some exhilarating tricks up their sleeve as unexpected flourishes (the horns in “Stalwarts of East Jackson,” for instance, or the wordless chorus that closes out “Built to Chill”) end up being key moments. Meob’s sound may be sourced from spare parts, but the care with which they’ve glued them all back together makes for an impressive debut. (Nick Huinker) 20 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

ELI FOX

Record Release Roundup A guide to notable upcoming local music releases

Meob

I

THE PINKLETS

HUDSON K Hudson K The synth-/experimental-pop duo Hudson K is set to release its first album in almost four years this summer. The self-titled disc, the band’s third, is the follow-up to Ouroboros and the Black Dove, from 2013. Singer/ songwriter/keytar wiz Christina Horn says the new album will be a significant departure from her previous recordings. She’s built a home studio and recorded most of the music there, adding vocal tracks and Nate Barrett’s drums at Top Hat Recording Studio in South Knoxville. Tim Lee and Jason Boardman contributed guitar and “synthy” noises; Horn produced the record herself.

“After the experience of working with (male) producers on the last 2 records, I realized I wasn’t allowing my own voice to be heard,” Horn writes in a recent email exchange.

“When you have a producer, they get to make a lot of the final creative decisions. While I’m still happy with those records, I know they are not a true representation of what’s been in my head and heart.”

Hudson K will play at Pilot Light on Saturday, May 6, at 8 p.m. Admis-

sion is $5. The band is unveiling the video for “Mother Nature,” the first single from Hudson K, and kicking off a PledgeMusic pre-order campaign for the album. Hudson K will be released on July 7. Horn says only 300 CDs and 300 LPs will be printed. Visit hudsonkmusic.com.

KEVIN ABERNATHY Kevin Abernathy makes music that draws on Southern rock, ’80s college rock, ’90s alt-rock and Americana, and classic arena rock. His last album, Ain’t Learned Yet, from 2015, echoed Steve Earle, John Prine, and Thin Lizzy, and that was all in one song. He’s wrapping up post-production work on the follow-up to Ain’t Learned Yet and will host an album release show at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria on June 16. Visit kevinabernathymusic.com.

THE PINKLETS The Pinklets The teenage sister trio of Lucy (guitar/ vocals), Roxie (bass), and Eliza (drums) Abernathy has been around, in various formats, for almost a decade. (They also happen to be the daughters of Kevin Abernathy.) It’s been a while since they were notable

simply for being a kid sister act—the trio’s punchy, spiky power pop led them to Bonnaroo in 2016 and the big stage at Rhythm N’ Blooms this year.

They’re releasing their first album, titled simply The Pinklets, on May 12.

The band’s release show will be at Relix Variety Theatre in Happy Holler on Friday, May 12, at 8 p.m. Admission is $7. Visit facebook.com/thepinklets.

ELI FOX Tall Tales Like the Pinklets, high-school senior Eli Fox is yet another wunderkind who’s been prominent in the local scene for several years, first with the middle-school Mumford and Sons-style bluegrass buskers Subtle Clutch and now as a solo performer. Last year, Fox sang and played banjo, harmonica, guitar, mandolin, Dobro, and fiddle on Nothing to Say, his low-key album of foot-stomping country-folk-rock in the mode of early-’60s Bob Dylan. He’s got a new disc, Tall Tales, scheduled for release on May 17. That night, he’s playing WDVX’s Tennessee Shines live-broadcast series at Boyd’s Jig and Reel in the Old City at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. Visit elifoxmusic.com.

—Matthew Everett

Program Notes | Inside the Vault | Music | Classical | Movies

Dixie Swing A 1937 recording reveals a surprisingly jazzy Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round

BY ERIC DAWSON

W

NOX’s Mid-Day Merry-GoRound, which aired from 1936 to 1961, was a pivotal program in the history of country music. Wildly popular throughout East Tennessee and bordering states, the show’s legacy outside of Knoxville will likely remain as something of a farm team for acts who would go on to make it big in Nashville. A few off-air and studio recordings from the 1950s have been found, but it’s long been thought that any recordings of the show’s earliest days hadn’t survived. It turns out that a recording of the Merry-GoRound from Friday, Nov. 11, 1937, has been in the radio archive of the University of Memphis for years, and it reveals a vastly different Merry-GoRound than most might expect.

The Bensman Radio Program Archive, established in 1969, contains

more than 1,500 hours of recordings.

The catalog is available online, where you can request a copy of a particular program. Local disc jockey Dave Young had a CD of the 1937 show from the archive, which was one of several items his wife donated to the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound after he died. Running around an hour, it was copied from four 15-minute transcription discs, a common and easy way to record in the days before magnetic tape. The audio isn’t ideal, but given the source and date, we’re lucky it sounds as good as it does.

Judging by the recording, the 1937 Merry-Go-Round was a much different kind of show than oral histories, books, and photographs have led us to imagine. Of the dozen or so songs performed, only a few

have a distinct country or old-time sound. Instead, the dominant style is jazz. The Dixieland Swingsters were something of a house band at the time; in this show, “Haywire” Dave Durham, an accomplished trumpet player introduced by host Lowell Blanchard as “the hottest fiddle player on the air,” blazes through two jazzy fiddle tunes. Accordion player Tony Musco plays two numbers that have more jazz and polka inflection than country flavor. Even Tex and Curly, the “Arizona Cowboys,” make the old-time tune “Back to Old Smoky Mountain” more swing than western.

After a series of corny jokes, the performer referred to as Monk sings the equally corny “Oh Susanna, Dust Off That Old Pianna,” a saloon song recorded by jazz artists such as Fats Waller and the Harlem Hot Shots.

Dixieland Swingsters’ “Touched in the Head” is a ragtime tune, and toward the end of the program Blanchard himself takes a crack at crooning with “Waiting at the End of the Road.”

Buck “Huckleberry” Fulton tells Blanchard that his throat “feels like a piece of raw beef steak,” but he still delivers the most classically country song of the show, “The Convict and the Rose.” A listener writes in to question the gender of 12-year-old “Little” Frankie Turner, who declares, “I’m a boy, but I sing like a girl.” He proves it with an ensuing country number. The show ends with a group sing-along of “Skip to My Lou.” Those three songs are about it for country music. It’s well known that the Swingsters were a popular band around town at the time, and that many jazz and even classical musicians frequently played the Merry-GoRound. But it’s quite a surprise to hear so little country music on the show.

What’s more expected is the cornball humor and sales pitches throughout the show. In fact, there’s more talking than music during the hour. Blanchard acknowledges dozens of birthdays and anniversaries. He reads letters from listeners in Knoxville and Maryville but also from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. He also reads ads for Indian River Medicine Company and Standback Headache Medicine. We’re informed that many people who used

BC Powder for headaches have also learned it’s good for simple nervousness. There are spots for Miller-Jones Family Shoe Store, at 14 Market Square, Kerr Motor Company, at 508 N. Broadway, Glenmore Clothing Company, at 314 Wall Ave. (“just opposite the St. James Hotel”), and Fielden Furniture Company, at 208 W. Vine Ave. (“just 77 steps from Gay Street”).

A new feature, the “candid opinions of the Merry-Go-Round,” is introduced: “These boys express their opinion of their own volition,” Blanchard explains. “They are not being paid for what they say. They merely say what they think.” Tony Musco, affecting a Chico Marx-esque exaggeration of his Italian accent, says “I like-a the girls with blue eyes. And greenbacks.” “There are two kinds of men,” Huckleberry tells us. “Those who do what their wives tell them to, and those who ain’t never got married.”

There’s much laughter and chatter between the host and musicians, giving a sense of casual ease, but Blanchard keeps the show moving swiftly. It’s a lot of fun, probably even more so for the live audiences who packed the WNOX auditorium at 10 cents a head.

I asked Marvin Bensman, the 80-year-old University of Memphis professor emeritus who started the Bensman Radio Program Archive, if he knew where the original transcription discs were. He told me he retrieved the WNOX discs, along with dozens of other stations’ recordings, decades ago, from the closet of a defunct Memphis radio station that was about to be demolished. He transferred them to reel-to-reel tape, from which compact cassette and CD copies were later made. At some point he had to downsize; he says he thinks the discs were probably thrown out then. He’s not sure if they ended up in a landfill or if someone else has them.

But he’s to be thanked for saving a random Merry-Go-Round show and making a recording, providing an unexpected glimpse into the city’s music history.

Eric Dawson is an audio-visual archivist with the Knox County Public Library’s Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound. Inside the Vault searches the TAMIS archives for nuggets of lost April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 21

Program Notes | Inside the Vault | Music | Classical | Movies

NEXT WEEK

Photo by Robbie Quinn/Sheltered Life PR

High Times

BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS Saturday, May 6 • 8 P.M.

Texas power trio Mothership prepares for a new rock ’n’ roll revolution

CIVIC AUDITORIUM Thrill to the blazing brass of legendary band Blood, Sweat & Tears, now fronted

by American Idol sensation Bo Bice.

BY MIKE GIBSON

Sponsored by Thermal Label Warehouse

THE Q SERIES AT THE SQUARE ROOM Wednesday, May 10 • noon Presented with support from the Aslan Foundation and The Trust Company

ALSO IN MAY

BEETHOVEN’S 5TH Thursday, May 18 • 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 19 • 7:30 p.m.

Aram Demirjian, conductor Timothy McAllister, saxophone

BATES: Mothership STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks WILLIAMS: “Escapades” from Catch Me If You Can BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 Sponsored by The Trust Company and Old Forge Distillery

CLASSICAL TICKETS start at just $15!

CALL: (865) 291-3310 CLICK: knoxvillesymphony.com VISIT: Monday-Friday, 9-5 22 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

T

exas-based power trio Mothership inhabits a world where rock ’n’ roll is still a larger-thanlife proposition—a world of black-velvet sci-fi posters and psychedelics, where willowy rock stars wander arena stages in rhinestone kimonos, all Les Pauls and leather pants and flowing feathered hair.

Mothership bass player Kyle Juett blames his dad. John Juett was Mothership’s founding drummer, with Kyle’s brother Kelley rounding out the trio on guitar. And even with the eldest Juett’s inevitable departure—he ceded the drummer’s chair to current member Judge Smith prior to the recording of the band’s self-titled debut in 2013—his influence still looms large over the seven-year-old stoner-metal outfit.

“The music we play is the type of music my dad always listened to when we were growing up,” Kyle says during a recent phone interview. “The rock music of the 1970s, from the songwriting to the singing to the concert performance, it was all so bigger than life. People back then just wanted to get out of their daily grind and lose their minds. It was a great era for music, especially live music.

“My brother and I, we went

through our different musical phases over the years. But eventually, we got back around to good old-school rock ’n’ roll.”

Kyle recalls the early days of Mothership, of playing four-hour marathons at Dallas-area Harley-Davidson dealers, sneaking in the occasional Juett original in between blues jams and Johnny Winter covers.

“Usually no one knew the difference,” Kyle chuckles. “Every once in a while, someone would come up and ask, ‘Hey what was that one song you played?’ We’d pass it off as a deep cut from ZZ Top.” Sliding in easily alongside the stoner-metal scene’s current crop of retro rockers—think Graveyard, Ghost, et al.—Mothership’s music might best be described as ’70s-centric proto-metal, throwback heavy rock with a decidedly European bent.

Kyle lists Germany’s Scorpions—’70s-era, mind you, before the band became a pop-metal juggernaut—and London’s UFO as foremost among his own influences, and it tells.

Mothership ornament their big-screen blooze with the baroque flourishes that characterized classic Euro-metal giants, a certain minor-key elegance

that set those bands apart from their earthier U.S. counterparts.

“I absolutely love UFO, and that has to be said in print,” Kyle says with no small enthusiasm. “We got to open for UFO in Dallas a while back, and it was a dream come true. It was something that we had actually joked about in the past, and then it ended up happening, for real.”

In addition to playing shows with several of their childhood idols, Mothership has also produced three fine albums on California-based stoner/doom label Ripple Records, the latest of which, High Strangeness, came out earlier this year. All three records were produced by fellow Texan Kent Stump, himself a stoner-rock icon as leader of the Dallas-based heavy-groove trio Wo Fat. And much like their old-school favorites, the members of Mothership are turning into tireless road warriors, having played close to 300 shows over the last two years, including appearances at European stoner festivals Desert Fest and Freak Valley.

“I think we’re part of a new movement,” Kyle says. “I think a lot of musicians have gotten tired of this realm I like to call ‘fake music’—where everything is done over the Internet, and no one wants to play live.

“I think people are ready for rock ’n’ roll to come back. They want something real again, and we’re as real as it gets.”

WHO Mothership with Indighost, Mass Driver, and Part of the Problem WHERE Open Chord Music (8502 Kingston Pike) WHEN Sunday, April 30, at 7 p.m.

HOW MUCH $8-$10 INFO openchordmusic.com or mothershipusa.com

Program Notes | Inside the Vault | Music | Classical | Movies

Something Old, Something New KSO offers an unusual mix of the familiar and the contemporary

BY ALAN SHERROD

A

t first glance, at least, the program for last weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concerts didn’t reveal any particular reasons to expect anything out of the ordinary. On the bill were the usual guest soloist performing a canonical concerto and the orchestra delving into a well-known ballet-derived work of French Impressionism from the early 20th century. The nicely sized audience, though, saw the signs and possibilities that intrigue was afoot, and found themselves in the midst of a very compelling musical adventure for the evening.

The first sign came with the guest soloist, Polish-American pianist Adam Golka, who had previously performed with the KSO in March 2010. On that occasion, the then-22-year-old soloist impressed with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, in a performance that earned him an extremely positive mention in my review: “a remarkably introspective connection to the work and a refreshingly audacious interpretation.” Subsequently, I chose him as my Most Memorable Solo Performance in the annual best-of list for 2010.

For last weekend’s concerts, Golka turned to Frédéric Chopin and one of the composer’s few orchestral works, the Piano Concerto in E minor.

The introspection that Golka showed

seven years ago had matured even further and now flowed to the surface of his performance as well thoughtout, articulate phrasing. Bonuses were his delivery of crystalline tonal clarity, smile-inducing details, and a dramatic sense of dynamics. This was not an over-romanticized or muscular take on the concerto, but rather one on the cerebral—yet entertaining— side of things. Perhaps more Mozart than Beethoven, but in the best possible sense.

Friday evening, as it turned out, was Golka’s 30th birthday. In return for the gift of a long and substantial ovation following the Chopin, Golka offered the audience an encore—the world premiere of a very short composition given to him as a birthday gift from his composer friend Michael Brown. Golka then followed it with Chopin’s familiar “Black Keys Etude,” with a tiny suggestion of “Happy Birthday” thrown in for laughs.

The second sign that the concert was taking a unique twist came after intermission, when KSO music director Aram Demirjian took the stage to explain the complications of what would be happening with the next works: the overture and “Nadir’s Romance” from Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and Night of the Flying Horses, an excerpt from Three Songs

for Soprano and Orchestra by contemporary Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. Because Golijov had used the Bizet aria as a theme, the orchestra would be performing the three pieces as one, without a pause.

Demirjian felt that such a treatment might help audiences ease into contemporary music.

Demirjian’s experiment worked perfectly, although he probably shouldn’t have worried. The Golijov work, with Yiddish music textures and racing tempos, was irresistible and quite accessible. What is worth worrying about is whether audiences will actually get to hear much of Golijov’s music in the future. The remarkable composer has gained the reputation for not delivering on commissions, and, in 2012, found himself embroiled in accusations of plagiarism.

If there had been any doubt remaining that the evening was destined to be a winner, the final work on KSO’s program—Maurice Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé— erased it. The suite, taken from music for the ballet created for Serge Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes, uses a large orchestra, heavy with extra woodwinds and percussion. As a poetic evocation of nature, the work exemplifies musical impressionism and, as such, was a major textural feast for Demirjian and the players in the KSO. Softly gurgling brooks are created in the woodwinds and harps, birdcalls by piccolos and violins. The muted light of dawn surrenders to sunrise, described in a luxurious melodic theme that drenches the listener with sunlight. Ravel builds the rich textures with verdant swaths of musical color all the way to the climax, the ultimate romantic embrace in musical form. This is music that simply must be heard live to be fully appreciated.

The KSO audience found themselves in the midst of a very compelling musical adventure for the evening.

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Program Notes | Inside the Vault | Music | Classical | Movies

Welcome to the Jungle James Gray revives the old-fashioned adventure epic with The Lost City of Z

BY APRIL SNELLINGS

W

riter-director James Gray, the art-house favorite behind such films as We Own the Night and The Immigrant, seems an unlikely steward for the kind of old-fashioned adventure epic that’s been in short supply since the death of Sir David Lean. But with The Lost City of Z, Gray doesn’t just resuscitate an all-but-lost genre; he retains its classic sensibilities while purging it of affectation, making for an experience that hearkens to another era while feeling entirely modern. Equal parts thrilling and contemplative, Z is old-school cinema, devoid of stylistic tics and refracted through a decidedly contemporary lens.

The film opens with a clever feint

24 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

that tells us right away that Gray is a skilled manipulator of expectations.

We hear the ominous pulse of drums over a black screen and assume we’re about to be dropped headfirst into an Amazonian jungle, only to find that the drums belong to a tribe half a world away: British army officers embarking on a formal hunt.

Like so many of the events that unfold in Z, the hunt is an exercise in classist posturing. Maj. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam, in his best performance to date) is the one to bring down the stag, but he’s literally denied his place at the table because, as one senior officer puts it, Fawcett was “unfortunate in his choice of ancestors.” Fawcett’s father, we learn, was

an alcoholic and an unlucky gambler, and the ambitious soldier is eager to redeem his family name. So he’s an easy mark when the Royal Geographic Society needs to send a man to Bolivia to settle a border dispute with Brazil in the interest of averting war between the countries (and strengthening the British Empire’s hand in the burgeoning rubber trade).

At first Fawcett balks at the idea of mapmaking—he says he’d prefer a deployment where he’d see “more action,” bless him—but he reluctantly accepts the mission on the condition that success will clear his family name, even though it will take him far away from his pregnant wife (Sienna Miller) and young son (eventually played by Tom Holland). Soon he’s aboard a steamer headed for South America, where he meets up with surly but experienced aide-de-camp Henry Costin (a prodigiously bearded Robert Pattinson, whose charisma and acting chops might be this film’s most surprising discovery).

Fawcett means to get the job done as quickly as possible, but a curious thing happens to him on his journey.

He acknowledges that, to outsiders like him, Amazonia is essentially a “green hell,” but he falls rapturously in love with it. He returns to England a hero, but almost immediately finds himself jonesing for the jungle. We soon begin to realize that Fawcett is the sort of man who continuously moves his own finish line. He might

have set out to restore his family’s reputation, but as soon as he checks that box, he sets his sights on the greater glory of, well, glory.

That’s where the “lost city” comes in. Fawcett thinks he found evidence of an ancient civilization hidden deep in the forest, where no Caucasian man has ever set foot. He devotes the rest of his life to an increasingly quixotic quest to find it, even if it means neglecting his family or, more dangerously, infecting them with his obsession.

Z offers plenty of thrills, but it’s at least as concerned with Fawcett’s internal yearnings and his troubled family dynamics as his wanderlust. It’s a thematically sophisticated, intellectually engaging story couched in the pulpy trappings of a men’s adventure magazine. Even when Fawcett and co. are dodging arrows and fighting off piranhas, the pacing is unhurried and even hypnotic.

Visually, Gray’s film is a thoroughly immersive historical epic, majestically photographed and resplendent with period detail. His cinematographer is Darius Khondji, who has shot some of the 21st century’s most graphically stunning films for the likes of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and David Fincher. Not for nothing, Z’s final shot is easily the most haunting, moving, and beautiful image of the year. I can’t stop thinking about it.

The movie is far less concerned with verisimilitude where its hero is concerned. Z is based on David Grann’s exhaustively researched nonfiction book of the same name, but it’s an enthusiastically revisionist portrait of a man whose jaw-dropping racism and sense of privilege eventually contributed to hundreds of deaths.

But all that is beyond the purview of the film, which concerns itself with a character who feels so out of place in his own time and culture that he routinely risks gruesome death to find a sense of purpose and belonging.

Gray gives the viewer plenty of room to decide whether his version of Fawcett is a restless visionary or a reckless fool; whatever your verdict, Z is a deeply compassionate character study and a thoughtful, engaging cinematic experience.

www.Te www.TennesseeTheatre.com w. nnesseeTheatre.com w.Te

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 25

Thursday, April 27 — Sunday, May 14 Spotlight 29 T.I.

MUSIC Thursday, April 27 THE COPPER CHILDREN WITH SALLY AND GEORGE • WDVX •

12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE PALEFACE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 6PM • The WDVX 6 O’Clock Swerve is weekly musical trip with talented regional artists featuring live performances and insightful interviews in a living room atmosphere. • FREE NEWSBOYS • Knoxville Civic Auditorium • 7PM • Helping define the sound of Christian music for more than two decades, Newsboys’ live performances continue to sell out venues across the country. • $28-$106 BACKUP PLANET AND THE HEAVY PETS • The Concourse • 8PM • Backup Planet’s arena-size anthems echo with progressive intricacy, funk swagger, and even a little metallic edge.

SIX MILE EXPRESS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM KING GHOUL WITH SWEETTALKER AND RAVINER • Open Chord Music • 8PM • All ages. Visit openchordmusic. com. • $5 BYX ISLAND PARTY • University of Tennessee • 8PM • Since the founding of BYX at the University of Tennessee in 2012, Beta Upsilon Chi has hosted Island Party in celebration of the completion of another great school year. Island Party is a week filled with fun activities concluding in a massive outdoor concert in the heart of campus. Island Party is based on the purpose of growing community on and giving back to campus. This year’s concert, benefiting Tiva Water, will feature Headliner, Cody Fry, and Opener, My Red and Blue. Visit utkislandparty.com. • FREE SHAUN ABBOTT • Wild Wing Cafe • 9PM • FREE PALEFACE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM MODEL INMATES • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

THE BLACK ANGELS WITH A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • The sultry neo-psychedelic sound of the Black Angels came together in spring 2004, taking their name from a Velvet Underground classic, “The Black Angel’s Death Song.” • $18-$20

Friday, April 28 SCOTT AINSLE WITH THE TERRAPLANE DRIFTERS • WDVX •

12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a 26 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE VOLAPALOOZA 2017 • World’s Fair Park • 5:30PM • The University of Tennessee’s annual end-of-spring-semester concert features X Ambassadors, COIN, Pell, Mountains Like Wax, Electric Darling, and DJ A-Wall.

• FREE-$30 JOHN CONDRONE • Vienna Coffee House • 6PM • FREE ALIVE AFTER FIVE: GEOFF ACHISON AND THE SOUL DIGGERS • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM • Geoff Achison is an

award winning blues-roots artist from Australia known for his energetic live performances and unique guitar mastery. • $15 KITTY WAMPUS • Quaker Steak and Lube • 7PM FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • FREE CAGE THE ELEPHANT: LIVE AND UNPEELED - THE ACOUSTIC TOUR • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • “With this record, we

wanted to be more transparent,” says Matt Shultz, lead singer of Cage the Elephant. “We wanted to capture the sentiment of each song, and whatever emotional response it provoked, to be really honest to that.” • $49.50 BLACKFOOT WITH INWARD OF EDEN • Open Chord Music • 8PM • If there’s one thing Rickey Medlocke cant do, its sit still. The Blackfoot cofounder and Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist is constantly looking for ways to challenge his creative impulses, and his latest pet project has been to shepherd the next-generation incarnation of his beloved Blackfoot. All ages. Visit openchordmusic. com. • $15-$20 SCOTT AINSLE • Laurel Theater • 8PM • As a musician with expertise in Southern Appalachian fiddle and banjo traditions as well as Piedmont and Delta blues, Scott Ainslie has specialized in performing and presenting programs on the European and African roots of American music and culture. • $15 THE KIRK FLETA BAND • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM STANTON WARRIORS WITH DJ ICEY, HUGLIFE, PCKNS, AND JASON PAUL • The Concourse • 9PM • 18 and up. Visit

internationalknox.com. • $15-$18 MILKSHAKE FATTY WITH 3-TREE • Preservation Pub • 9PM • 21 and up.

THE COVERALLS • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM • Knoxville’s long-running bar/wedding/special event favorites are masters of mood—they know what an audience wants, whether it’s Top 40 hits, Motown, classic rock, or jazz standards, and they deliver, on time, every time.

Circle Modern Dance: Layer by Layer Modern Studio (109 W. Anderson Ave.) • April 27-29 • $15 • circlemoderndance.com Circle Modern Dance’s spring show, Layer by Layer, kicks off the troupe’s 26th season. They’re best known for their annual Primitive Light show, held each December at the Laurel Theater, an intentionally broad experience by a famously welcoming troupe. (“It is our philosophy that everyone is a dancer, and every body has the right to dance.”) That show brings out a maximum number of dancers and emphasizes playfulness and humor when toying with the vulnerability so frequently explored in dance. The spring show promises a more ambitious showcase.

“We’ve been developing the work over a longer period of time,” says core dancer Amelia Breed, who has choreographed a trio for the show. Other choreographers include Circle Modern co-founder Kim Matibag in a guest appearance, as well as current core dancers Kat Milligan, Callie Minnich, Darby O’Connor, and Sarah Whitaker.

Layer by Layer is Circle Modern’s first show at Modern Studio, a new multi-purpose community space, where the audience will surround dancers on three sides. That provides the dancers with what Breed calls “a wonderful choreographic challenge.” It promises to provide audiences an unusually intimate viewing experience and, if you attend more than one performance, the opportunity to see the dances from different vantage points. Be advised, the playbill for the show says, “Bring a pillow: the floor is your friend!” (Amanda Mohney)

April 27 — May 14

THE NINTH STREET STOMPERS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel •

8PM • FREE

10PM • FREE

DAY AND AGE WITH ALL HELL • Pilot Light • 9PM • 18 and

DEROBERT AND THE HALF TRUTHS • Barley’s Taproom and

up. • $5 T.I. • The International • 9PM • Grammy-award winning rapper, actor and Grand Hustle Records founder Tip “T.I.” Harris is set to introduce his new line-up of artists signed to his label during the 29-city U.S. “Hustle Gang Tour “kicking off April 26 and making stops in New York, Washington, DC, Birmingham, AL and Philadelphia, PA. • $35-$100 • See Spotlight on page 29.

Pizzeria • 10PM AUNT BETTY • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE SOUTHBOUND • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM

Saturday, April 29 GRAYSON JENKINS WITH NICK NACE • WDVX • 12PM • Part

of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE MARILYNE AND LOGAN ASBURY • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 6PM • FREE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE WITH DUSTIN LYNCH AND CHRIS LANE • Thompson-Boling Arena • 7PM • With their

innovative fusion of country, rock, hip-hop and pop, Florida Georgia Line have already proven themselves as a once-in-a-generation force of change in modern music, but the duo of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley is far from done pushing the envelope. Visit floridageorgialine.com or tbarena.com. • $25-$75 TUESDAY’S GONE WITH DRAKE FREEMAN • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 7:30PM • A tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. • $10 THE DEAD DEADS WITH THE ACORN PEOPLE AND THE CRYPTOIDS • Open Chord Music • 8PM • The Dead Deads

are comprised of a pair of siblings and three childhood best friends who came together for a girls jam night that turned into much more. All ages. Visit openchordmusic.com. • $10-$12 THE REALITY • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM THE LARK AND THE LOON • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM ROCKIN’ THE RIVERBOAT • Star of Knoxville Riverboat • 9PM • With music by Natural Born Leaders, Profit Levi, the Jaystorm Project, Bobby Fuego, Loch Brown, Shanese, YTM, and Earl Grae. • $15-$20 CALABASH WITH EARPHORIK • Preservation Pub • 9PM • 21 and up.

GIMME HENDRIX • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM FRAZIERBAND • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE GONE COUNTRY • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Knoxville’s premier 80s-90s country cover band. • FREE WILDWOOD • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE

Monday, May 1 MIGHTY MUSICAL MONDAY • Tennessee Theatre • 12PM •

FREE LORIE JO BRIDGES • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue

Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE PIERCE THE VEIL WITH SUM 41, EMAROSA, AND CHAPEL • The International • 7PM • Since 2006, Pierce The Veil unassumingly, yet consistently have climbed their way into the hearts of millions worldwide via an unshakable devotion to making honest and hypnotic hard rock. All ages. • $32-$60 HAMMOND EGGS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • FREE BLOND BONES WITH MOCCASIN COWBOY • Preservation Pub • 10PM

Tuesday, May 2 DRUGSTORE GHOST WITH THE STEEL WHEELS • WDVX •

12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE KNOXVILLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA • Market Square • 6:30PM • FREE

11AM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE MOTHERSHIP WITH INDIGHOST, MASS DRIVER, AND PART OF THE PROBLEM • Open Chord Music • 7PM • Supersonic

Wednesday, May 3

internationalknox.com. • $5 AVENUE C • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM

Sunday, April 30 SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery •

intergalactic heavy rock trio. All ages. Visit openchordmusic.com. • $7-$10 • See preview on page 22.

THE BROCKEFELLERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria •

ALL YOU CARE TO TASTE 60 BEERS/40 BOURBONS pLOTS OF BBQ pTASTING THEATER CLASSES pARTISTS & BREWERANIA pTHE SHRINE OF SWINE pLIVE MUSIC & MUCH MORE!

UPON A BURNING BODY WITH WITHIN THE RUINS, KUBLAI KHAN, AND COLDCASKET • The Concourse • 6:30PM •

Prepare yourself for a brutal, unrelenting array of unabashed aggression and sheer ferocity that will beat you to oblivion. All ages. Visit internationalknox. com. • $15 CHEVELLE WITH AEGES AND DINOSAUR PILE-UP • The Mill and Mine • 7:30PM • Winter can feel as ominous as it does endless. The seasonal equivalent of a horror flick, the blistering cold and unpredictable curtain of snow teeter between brutal and beautiful. Chevelle work well under these conditions. This atmosphere even inspired the title of the multiplatinum Chicago alternative rock band’s eighth full-length album, The North Corridor. • $32-$35 THE STEEL WHEELS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • FREE

WICK-IT THE INSTIGATOR WITH PAERBAER, XYON, AND KWIKFLIP • The Concourse • 10PM • 18 and up. Visit

THE EVENT SWEEPING THE NATION IS COMING TO KNOXVILLE!

KYLIE ODETTA WITH THE BARSTOOL ROMEOS • WDVX •

12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert

ADMISSION OPTIONS: VIP Tasting Glass: $49 advance

VALID NOON - 6PM, Includes admission into the event, a souvenir

tasting glass, unlimited beer and bourbon sampling, TWO EXTRA hours of tastes, a collectible lanyard and all live entertainment.

Regular Tasting Glass: $35 advance

VALID 2PM - 6PM, Includes admission into the event, a souvenir

tasting glass, unlimited beer & bourbon sampling, all live entertainment.

WWW.BEERANDBOURBON.COM Tickets are non-refundable. Show is rain or shine. Please drink responsibly. Advance ticket sales close 05/17/17.

On-site tickets subject to tax.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 27

April 27 — May 14

series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • FREE I PREVAIL WITH STARSET, VAMPS, AND COVER YOUR TRACKS • The International • 7PM • With nearly two

years on the road under their collective belt, the group had fully realized their style, merging entrancing hooks and a powerful and pummeling sonic backdrop.

Ultimately, Lifelines sees I Prevail take another big collective life step. All ages. • $20-$25 TENNESSEE SHINES: PETER COOPER AND FRIENDS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • $10 LIONS WITH NARRA AND SEE MONSTERS • Pilot Light • 9PM • 18 and up. • $5 THE BUORGEOIS MYSTICS • Preservation Pub • 10PM MACHINE GUN KELLY • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • The talented young rapper who hails from Cleveland, OH possesses the attitude of rap greats with the talent to match. From his gritty rhymes to his tenacious presence, MGK has become a permanent staple in the hearts of his ever so growing fan base. • $20-$23

Thursday, May 4 THE HUMMINGBYRDS WITH JOHN NEMETH • WDVX • 12PM

• Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock,

and everything else. • FREE ADEEM THE ARTIST AND DAJE MORRIS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 6PM • The WDVX 6 O’Clock Swerve is weekly musical trip with talented regional artists featuring live performances and insightful interviews in a living room atmosphere. • FREE SOUNDS OF SPRING CONCERT SERIES • 6PM • Sounds of Spring is taking center stage at the Pinnacle at Turkey Creek each Thursday in May with nationally recognized musicians. All proceeds from the concert series will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. • FREE ZACK ROWDEN WITH MATT NELSON • Pilot Light • 9PM • 18 and up. • $5 THE DIRK QUINN BAND • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • FREE HEATHEN SONS • Preservation Pub • 10PM

Friday, May 5 ORDINARY ELEPHANT • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s

Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE SCHOOL OF ROCK SPRING SHOWCASE • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 6PM • Students from Knoxville’s School of Rock pay tribute to the British Invasion and Southern rock. • $8-$10

BRANDON FULSON • Vienna Coffee House • 6PM • FREE ROBBY HECHT • WDVX • 7PM • FREE TIME SAWYER • Modern Studio • 7PM • $8-$10 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose

• 8PM • FREE FOREVER ABBEY ROAD: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES • Open

Chord Music • 8PM • All ages. • $15 GOATWHORE WITH SUMMONER’S CIRCLE, CEMETERY FILTH, AND WARCLOWN • The Concourse • 9PM • Whether

driven by an unwavering commitment to their craft, pure insanity, the divine powers of Satan or perhaps a combination of the three, Goatwhore forever perseveres, inadvertently establishing themselves as one the hardest working, consistently punishing live bands of the 21st century and a true institution of heavy music. 18 and up. • $10-$15 AARON WATSON • Cotton Eyed Joe • 9PM • Groundbreaking, independent country artist Aaron Watson just released his album Vaquero, which debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. 18 and up. • $10 KUKULY AND THE GYPSY FUEGO • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM GUY SMILEY • Two Doors Down • 9PM THE COMPANY STORES • Brackins Blues Club • 9PM THE DEXATEENS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • For the better part of the last decade, a band of Alabama garage rockers under the moniker the Dexateens has been bringing their self-styled “skillet rock” to an audience of music lovers that hunger for

something that feeds the spirit. • $5 WHITE GREGG WITH CRISWELL COLLECTIVE, SHOVELS, AND PSYCHIC BAOS • Pilot Light • 10PM • A typical White

Gregg song, if there is such a thing, has multiple parts and changes—lots of twists and turns. If that makes them sound proggy, it would be an abrasive post-punk prog. 18 and up. • $5 FUNK YOU • Preservation Pub • 10PM THE THOMAS CASSELL PROJECT • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE MARTINA MCBRIDE • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Welcome multiple Grammy nominee Martina McBride to the Tennessee stage for a gala fundraiser, an event that helps us raise money to maintain, operate, and preserve the Official State Theatre of Tennessee. • $59.50-$250

Saturday, May 6 BRAD AUSTIN WITH PATRICK COMAN • WDVX • 12PM •

Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week live-broadcast lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE WESLEY PELLE • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 6PM • FREE RICKY MITCHELL • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 7PM • FREE BRIAN WILSON: PET SOUNDS: THE FINAL PERFORMANCES •

2 0 1 7

KNOXVILLE’S SPRING CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL

APRIL 29 TH SOUTHERN RAILWAY TERMINAL

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April 27 — May 14

Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • With one of the most in demand concert outings of the year, music legend Brian Wilson is extending the final performance run of his Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour. Garnering critical acclaim and marking a true return to form, Wilson continues to deliver a live performance of Pet Sounds in its entirety, as well as top hits and fan favorites spanning his 54-year career with The Beach

Boys and as a solo artist. • $60-$120 MARTY STUART AND HIS FABULOUS SUPERLATIVES • Bijou

Theatre • 8PM • With legends like George Jones, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard all passed on, country music purists often echo the question Jones himself asked: “Who’s going to fill their shoes?” The answer, in part, is Marty Stuart. • $35 40 OZ. BURRITO: A TRIBUTE TO SUBLIME • Open Chord

Photo by Matt Jones

T.I. The International (940 Blackstock Ave.) • Sunday, April 30 • 9 p.m. • $35-$289 • 18 and up • internationalknox.com It’s been an eventful 21st century for T.I. The Atlanta rapper released three tough, acclaimed albums of hard Southern drug rap before breaking through to mainstream success with the 2016 album King, one of the best Atlanta rap albums ever made. The 2008 follow-up, Paper Trail, was an even bigger hit, with two number-one singles and successful pop and R&B crossover collaborations with Rihanna, Usher, and Justin Timberlake. But success was interrupted by one stint in federal prison on gun charges and another for violating his parole.

Black Lives Matter has given T.I. new purpose: He describes his 2016 EP Us or Else as “revolutionary art” in the socially conscious spirit of Public Enemy, Common, and KRS-One. Us or Else and its expanded Letter to the System edition are T.I.’s response to the publicized killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner. (His new engagement with civil rights doesn’t include support for women’s rights; he said last year that the Loch Ness Monster would be elected president before a woman.)

Us or Else isn’t a grand statement like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly; its politics aren’t as insightful or deeply informed as Lamar’s or Killer Mike’s. It’s not a multifaceted, largescale masterwork like King, either. It’s a modest record, but a heartfelt and urgent one that makes one of the best rappers of his generation sound more relevant than he has in almost a decade. (Matthew Everett)

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 29

April 27 — May 14

Music • 8PM • All ages. • $10

Sunday, May 7

HUDSON K WITH BR’ER AND TEACH ME EQUALS • Pilot

SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery •

Light • 8PM • Knoxville synth-pop/experimental rock duo Hudson K kicks off the pre-order campaign for its new self-titled album, scheduled to be released on July 7. They’re also unveiling the video for the album’s first single. 18 and up. • $5 CYPHER: A HIP-HOP SHOW • The Birdhouse • 9PM • Open mic for the first half of the night, then two featured artists to close out the night. 18 and up.

DIRTY POOL • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM SUPATIGHT WITH CHEW • Preservation Pub • 9PM ALIEN LOVE CHARM • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM K CAMP WITH KLEAN KEAM AND TROP BLANCO • The International • 10PM • In the fast-paced world of rap music, some artists are lucky enough to have opportunities fall into their lap and blow up instantly.

Then you have the ones who have to toil behind-thescenes before they finally get their chance to shine. K Camp, the man behind the hit singles “Money Baby” and “Cut Her Off” can relate to being a little bit of both.

• $20-$60 THE CRUMBSNATCHERS WITH ELECTRIC DARLING • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM • Knoxville’s premier indie/punk/art pop party band.

THE SCRUFFY CITY SYNCOPATORS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE

11AM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Pop hits of the present performed à la pop hits of the past. Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” assayed as a doo-wop number; Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” tricked out in flapper jazz; Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” rendered a 1940s big-band standard. • $39.50-$105 IN FLAMES WITH AVATAR, KATAKLYSM, AND DRAYTON ROAD •

The International • 8PM • In a music scene full of seemingly endless subgenres and transient trends, In Flames are an example of what it means to steadfastly stay true to your vision. Since forming in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1990 the legendary melodic metal act have toured the planet countless times and influenced many of today’s biggest metal acts without ever ceasing to push their own signature sound forward. 18 and up. Visit internationalknox.com. • $25-$30

Tuesday, May 9 FOZZY WITH KYNG AND SONS OF TEXAS • The Concourse •

7PM • The band Fozzy has really always been about one thing: having fun. What started out for guitarist Rich Ward as a weekend cover band soon became an internationally signed act with the biggest star in

professional wrestling, Chris Jericho, as its lead singer.

18 and up. • $15-$20 MARBLE CITY 5 • Market Square • 8PM • Vance Thompson’s small combo, featuring members of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, performs on Market Square May 9-Aug. 29. Visit knoxjazz.org. • FREE SPOON WITH TENNIS • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • Hot Thoughts, Spoon’s ninth album, is the bravest, most sonically inventive work of their career. There’s a lyrical bent that’s as carnal as it’s crafty, and a newfound sense of sonic exploration. It’s pop as high art, delivered with total confidence and focus. • $25-$30

Wednesday, May 10 TENNESSEE SHINES: WEBB WILDER • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • The Last of the Full Grown Men and his trademark honky-tonk/surf rave-ups will headline WDVX’s Tennessee Shines series. • $10

Thursday, May 11

of Knoxville’s Variety Thursday series of free outdoor summer concerts. • FREE

Friday, May 12 THE PINKLETS • Relix Variety Theatre • 8PM • This

teenage sister act’s stock-in-trade is a bright, teen-centric brand of mid-tempo power pop, replete with fetching melodies, the occasional vocal harmony, and a few classic piano-rock overtones. • $7 PEAK PHYSIQUE WITH LITTLE WAR TWINS AND HAZEL • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM • Peak Physique’s woozy, processed slow jams are enhanced by the vulnerability of Wil Wright and Matt Honkonen.

Saturday, May 13 THE HILLBENDERS: TOMMY • Clayton Center for the Arts (Maryville) • 7:30PM • 45 years after its original release, the Who’s Tommy has been fully realized as a full length bluegrass tribute. • $15.50-$28.50

SOUNDS OF SPRING CONCERT SERIES • 6PM • Sounds of

Sunday, May 14

Spring is taking center stage at the Pinnacle at Turkey Creek each Thursday in May with nationally recognized musicians. All proceeds from the concert series will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. • FREE JOE LASHER JR. • Market Square • 7PM • Part of the city

ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND WITH LUKE WADE • The Concourse • 8PM • Many musicians claim

that they “grew up in the church,” but for Robert Randolph that is literally the case. If it wasn’t being played inside of the House of God Church Randolph simply didn’t know it existed. Which makes it all the

Bach or Basie?

Your music, your choice.

Your classical and jazz station.

Thursday, April 27, 7pm • Friday, April 28, 7pm Saturday, April 29, 3&7pm Modern Studio Bring a pillow: the floor 109 W. Anderson Ave. Tickets $13 & $15 at door Advance tickets $10 & $13 at circlemoderndance.tix.com 865-309-5309 • circlemoderndance.com

FIX THIS BASTARD 30 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017 WUOT_Ad_4.625x5.25_ClassicalJazz_KnoxMerc.indd 2

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is your friend!

April 27 — May 14

more remarkable that the leader of Robert Randolph and the Family Band is today an inspiration to the likes of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Derek Trucks, all of whom have played with him and studied his technique. 18 and up. • $25-$28

DJ and Dance Nights

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY A CAPPELLA CHOIR •

St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral • 7:30PM • Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts has earned a reputation as one of the country’s outstanding collegiate music programs. • FREE

Wednesday, May 10 KSO Q SERIES • The Square Room • 12PM • $18

Friday, May 5

THEATRE AND DANCE

TEKNOX V.33 • The Birdhouse • 10PM • The monthly

Monday, May 1

house and techno dance night celebrates its fifth anniversary with DJ Shiva and Alex Falk. • FREE

HENLEY ROSE PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION FOR WOMEN STAGED READING SERIES • Modern Studio • 7:30PM • The

CLASSICAL MUSIC

staged readings will feature the first-, second-, and third-place plays from this year’s competition. The competition offers women around the world an opportunity to be recognized for their work in playwriting.

The 2017 reading schedule includes Harvested, by Donna Kennedy (April 24 at Modern Studio); Moonshine by Liz Appel (May 1 at Modern Studio); and The Flora and Fauna

by Alyson Mead (May 8, Clarence Brown Lab Theatre).

Visit yellowroseproductions.org. • FREE

Thursday, April 27 KNOXVILLE CHAMBER CHORALE SPRING CONCERT • Episco-

pal Church of the Ascension • 7PM • For more information, please visit www.knoxvillechoralsociety. org. • FREE

Friday, April 28 KNOXVILLE OPERA: ‘MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS’ • Tennessee

Monday, May 8

Theatre • 2:30PM • A riveting, explosive showdown featuring unspeakable insults and violent, vocal fireworks. Fighting for her crown and survival, Elizabeth sends Mary to the executioner’s scaffold in Donizetti’s dynamic 1835 masterpiece. Visit knoxvilleopera.com. • $21-$99

HENLEY ROSE PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION FOR WOMEN STAGED READING SERIES • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre •

Saturday, April 29 OAK RIDGE CHORUS • First Baptist Church Oak Ridge •

7:30PM • The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association presents the Oak Ridge Chorus, led by recently appointed chorus director Jaclyn Johnson, in a delightful evening of American music. Visit www.

ORCMA.org or call (865) 483-5569. • $15

Sunday, April 30 KNOXVILLE OPERA: ‘MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS’ • Tennessee

Theatre • 7:30PM • Elizabeth I, fearing her rival in love and politics, has imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots for 18 years. What happens when Elizabeth and her cousin, Mary Stuart, finally meet face to face? Visit knoxvilleopera.com. • $21-$99

Thursday, May 4

7:30PM • The staged readings will feature the first-, second-, and third-place plays from this year’s competition. The competition offers women around the world an opportunity to be recognized for their work in playwriting. The 2017 reading schedule includes Harvested, by Donna Kennedy (April 24 at Modern Studio); Moonshine by Liz Appel (May 1 at Modern Studio); and The Flora and Fauna by Alyson Mead (May 8, Clarence Brown Lab Theatre). Visit yellowroseproductions.org. • FREE

(until April 15th, then $55)

and include: Live Music Cajun Shrimp Boil by The Shrimp Dock Complimentary wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages Admission to the silent auction VIP tables for 8 available for $750 through April 15th

For tickets, visit www.shrimpboilforautism.com

Knoxville Children’s Theatre knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

Circle Modern Dance circlemoderndance.com

Monday, May 8

Tickets ickets are $50

talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song. May 2-4. • $38-$78

Civic Auditorium • 8PM • Thrill to the blazing brass of legendary band Blood, Sweat & Tears, now fronted by American Idol sensation Bo Bice.

Saturday, May 6

5210 Kingston Pike

RIVERDANCE • Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined

KSO POPS SERIES: BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS • Knoxville

7:30PM • Part of the city of Knoxville’s Variety Thursday series of free outdoor summer concerts. • FREE

6:30 to 10:00 p.m.

Broadway at the Tennessee tennesseetheatre.com

‘THE ISLAND OF DR. LIBRIS • Young Billy Gillfoyle is spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on with Dr. Libris’ private bookcase. A world-premiere production based on the best-selling 2015 novel by Chris Grabenstein, adapted by Grabenstein and Ronny Venable. May 5-21. • $12

KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • Market Square •

presented by Regal Entertainment Group, a fun event to benefit the Autism Society of East Tennessee

LAYER BY LAYER • Modern Studio • An evening of

exploration and commentary through movement,

All proceeds benefit the Autism Society East Tennessee, a nonprofit that provides support, services, advocacy, education, and public awareness for all individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families as well as educators and other professionals throughout 36 East Tennessee counties.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 31

April 27 — May 14

celebrating Circle Modern Dance’s past 26 years while looking forward to many more years of dancing. CMD core dancers and guest performers will explore vulnerability, love, and loss. Layer by Layer is an accumulation of months of exploration into overarching ideas that influence our daily lives and how we as humans react to them. April 27-29 • $13-$15 • See Spotlight on page 26.

Clarence Brown Theatre clarencebrowntheatre.com AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS • Adapted by Mark

Brown from the novel by Jules Verne. The intrepid Phileas Fogg with his loyal valet, Passepartout, voyage from Victorian London through the Indian subcontinent, to Asia and across the Pacific to America on a wager that he will return in precisely 80 days. Literally, a theatrical tour-de-force. April 19-May 7.

Maryville College Theatre claytonartscenter.com LYSISTRATA • The Maryville College Theatre Department

will present Lysistrata, the Greek comedy by Aristophanes. The play, which is adapted by Ellen McLaughlin, centers on the title character Lysistrata, a woman of Athens who calls for her fellow women of Greece to help end the Peloponnesian war. Lysistrata has devised a plan for the women to withhold sex

from their husbands in hope that they will see reason for peace. Due to adult content, this play is intended for mature audiences. April 27-30. • $10

Oak Ridge Playhouse orplayhouse.com THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES • We first meet the girl

group the Marvelous Wonderettes as they take the stage at their 1958 senior prom. Through classic hits of the 50’s we learn about their lives and loves, discovering that their dreams are as big as their crinolines. A decade later, the Wonderettes reunite, eventually discovering that no matter what life has thrown their way or what the future may bring, they can conquer it together. April 28-May 14.

River and Rail Theatre riverandrailtheatre.com

remarkable career when a case presents itself that is too tempting to ignore. In this spirited, fast-moving and thoroughly theatrical adaptation, Steven Dietz presents Holmes at the height of his powers. April 21-May 7.

8:15, get there early for the best seats. No cover. Visit einsteinsimplified.com. • FREE

COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD

JIM BREUER • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • With over 20 years

Thursday, April 27 WHAM BAM GLITTER GLAM BURLESQUE SHOW • Kristtopher’s • 9PM • The burlesque collective featuring Porcelain, Evelyn DeVere, Tiger Bay, and Fancy Feast will be touring performance venues in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. 18 and up. • $10

Monday, May 1

EVERY BRILLIANT THING • A charming, brave, and often hilarious look at life in the shadow of depression. Hoping to save his mother from her struggles, a 7-year-old boy begins a list of all the things in life worth sticking around for. At Emerald Academy May 11-21. • $18-$25

Theatre Knoxville Downtown theatreknoxville.com SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE • The world’s

greatest detective has seemingly reached the end of his

FRIENDLYTOWN • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • A weekly comedy night named after the former red-light district near the Old City. Visit facebook.com/friendlytownknoxville. 18 and up. • FREE

Friday, May 5 of stand-up comedy experience, Jim Breuer remains one of today’s top entertainers and continues to win over audiences with his off-the-wall humor and lovable personality. • $29.50 THE OOH OOH REVUE • Cocoa Moon • 10PM • Knoxville’s exciting monthly fun and sexy variety show. Visit oohoohrevue.com. 18 and up. • $10

Monday, May 8 FRIENDLYTOWN • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • A weekly

comedy night named after the former red-light district near the Old City. Visit facebook.com/friendlytownknoxville. 18 and up. • FREE

Tuesday, May 9 KNOXVILLE POETRY SLAM • Open Chord Music • 8PM • All

ages. • $5 EINSTEIN SIMPLIFIED • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Visit

Tuesday, May 2

einsteinsimplified.com. • FREE

EINSTEIN SIMPLIFIED • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Einstein

Simplified Comedy performs live comedy improv at Scruffy City Hall. It’s just like Whose Line Is It Anyway, but you get to make the suggestions. Show starts at

FESTIVALS Thursday, April 27

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859 Ebenezer Road, Knoxville, TN 37923 o. 865.357.3232 | c. 865.356.4178 Melinda.Grimac@SothebysRealty.com Each office is independently owned and operated

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April 27 — May 14

TASTE OF SCIENCE • Starting gently by bringing

scientists to bars to talk to non-scientists, Taste of Science is now introducing these scientists to other social situations. Taste of Science runs April 23-28 at various venues around Knoxville. Visit tasteofscience. org for details. • FREE

Friday, April 28 ROCK AROUND THE DOCK FOR AUTISM • The Shrimp Dock

• 6:30PM • The 4th annual Rock Around the Dock for Autism benefits the Autism Society of East Tennessee.

Tickets to the Margaritaville-style event include live music, Cajun shrimp boil, complimentary wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, and admission to the silent auction. In addition to single tickets, VIP reserved tables of 8 are available for $750. • $50 HEALTHY LIVING EXPO • Knoxville Convention Center • 9AM • The 13th annual Healthy Living Expo will focus on fitness, nutrition, health and wellness. Over 100 exhibitors will offer educational displays, cooking demonstrations, informative speakers and fun entertainment. Guest speakers include Dr. Bob Overholt, Sam Venable, and Dr. Bill Bass. For more information visitTheHealthyLivingExpo.com. • FREE-$10 DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL • Market Square • 11AM-9PM • With quality arts and crafts booths, performing arts, and an expanded children’s creation station, several blocks of downtown Knoxville are transformed into a lively street fair for the Dogwood Arts Festival. • FREE TASTE OF SCIENCE • Visit tasteofscience.org for details. • FREE SOUTHERN TEQUILA AND TACO CINCO FEST • 6PM • The festival to benefit Remote Area Medical will be in the Gander Mountain parking lot in Turkey Creek. Not only will attendees enjoy hand-crafted tequilas, but margaritas, mojitos, cocktails, Mexican beers and craft beers, as well. More than a dozen area Mexican restaurants will feature their specialty tacos and other signature dishes. Visit southerntequilafest.com. • $35

Saturday, April 29

more than 1,200 attendees, the Farragut Food and Wine Festival, presented by TDS, returns to Renaissance | Farragut. The goal of this regional festival is to showcase “best bite” samples from Farragut’s eateries, as well as to pair those bites with wines, beers and ready-to-drink cocktails from Farragut’s wine distributors.

WDVX CAMPERFEST • 4PM • WDVX is bringing back Camperfest as part of the station’s 20-year anniversary.

The Camperfest Reunion will feature Grammy nominated and nationally recognized headliner Darrell Scott along with perennial favorite Scott Miller and the Commonwealth and Jill Andrews. The festival will happen at Dumplin Valley Farm, in Kodak. • $22.50-$50

Saturday, May 6 SWEET P’S JAZZ FEST AND FEAST • Sweet P’s Downtown Dive • 12PM • In celebration of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Sweet P’s Downtown Dive will host Jazz Fest and Feast. The event will take place in the beer garden of the downtown restaurant, and guests will be treated to live musical performances by Brian Clay, as well as Frog and Toad’s Dixie Quartet.

Visit www.sweetpbbq.com.

WDVX CAMPERFEST • 1PM • WDVX is bringing back Camperfest as part of the station’s 20-year anniversary.

The Camperfest Reunion will feature Grammy nominated and nationally recognized headliner Darrell Scott along with perennial favorite Scott Miller and the Commonwealth and Jill Andrews. The festival will happen at Dumplin Valley Farm, in Kodak. • $22.50-$50

Sunday, May 7 KNOXVILLE FOOD AND WINE YARD PARTY • The Mill and

Mine • 2PM • An all-day celebration of Knoxville’s burgeoning culinary scene. Tickets include beer, wine, and cocktail tastings and samples from participating restaurants. • $60

FILM SCREENINGS

HEALTHY LIVING EXPO • Knoxville Convention Center •

Saturday, May 6

9AM • For more information visit TheHealthyLivingExpo.com. • FREE-$10 DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL • Market Square • 10AM-9PM • With quality arts and crafts booths, performing arts, and an expanded children’s creation station, several blocks of downtown Knoxville are transformed into a lively street fair for the Dogwood Arts Festival. . • FREE

TRAIL MAGIC • REI • 7:30PM • Trail Magic is the true Story of Emma “Grandma” Gatewood. In 1955 at the age of 67 Emma became the first woman to solo through hike the Appalachian Trail. • FREE

Sunday, April 30 DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL • Market Square • 11AM-5PM •

With quality arts and crafts booths, performing arts, and an expanded children’s creation station, several blocks of downtown Knoxville are transformed into a lively street fair for the Dogwood Arts Festival. . • FREE

Friday, May 5 FARRAGUT FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL • 6:30PM • With

over 25 restaurants anticipated and a regional draw of

Sunday, May 7 PUBLIC CINEMA: ‘THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIV’ • Knoxville

Museum of Art • 2PM • A wry neoclassical chamber drama, a work of pure magic by Albert Serra, one of today’s most singular directors. Visit publiccinema. org. • FREE

Sports and Recreation Saturday, April 29 KTC DOGWOOD CLASSIC 5K • Sequoyah Park • 8AM • Visit

ktc.org. • $15-$30 DOGWOOD ARTS BIKES AND BLOOMS SCENIC RIDES •

Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center • 2PM • Discover new routes on these family friendly bike rides through scenic neighborhoods and on local greenways. Rides are approximately eight miles long and are geared to help you learn how to do your own road rides. Visit dogwoodarts.com.

Sunday, April 30 DOGWOOD ARTS BIKES AND BLOOMS SCENIC RIDES •

Suttree Landing Park • 2PM • Discover new routes on these family friendly bike rides through scenic neighborhoods and on local greenways. Rides are approximately eight miles long and are geared to help you learn how to do your own road rides. Visit dogwoodarts.com.

Wednesday, May 3 SMOKY MOUNTAINS HIKING CLUB: ACE GAP TO BEARD CANE TRAIL • Smoky Mountain Hiking Club • 8AM • We will hike

the Ace Gap trail to the Beard Cane trail and return. Hike: 11 miles RT. We may encounter some blowdowns. Meet at Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 8:00 am.

Leader: David Grab,digrab@aol.com. • FREE

Saturday, May 6 SMOKY MOUNTAINS HIKING CLUB: APPALACHIAN TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY • 8AM • Visit www.smhclub.org. •

FREE RUNNER’S MARKET SATURDAY GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 9AM • Every first Saturday of the month at 9 a.m., join us for a relaxed-pace run of 3 to 5.5 miles or beyond along the Third Creek and Sequoyah Hills Greenways. Afterwards, enjoy coffee and refreshments provided by the gang at Runner’s Market. Visit runnersmarket.com. • FREE CATALYST ADAPTIVE CLIMB • River Sports Outfitters • 10AM • Join us the first Saturday of every month as we climb with Catalyst Sports. This event is for anyone with physical disabilities. All ages are welcome to come and climb our rock wall. • $10 SATURDAY BIKE POLO • Skyline Park • 2PM • What’s bike polo? It’s like hockey on wheels—two teams of players ride bicycles and use mallets to strike a ball into the other team’s goal. We encourage people of all ages and genders to come learn how to play. We’ll have mallets; just bring a bike, helmet, and gloves. • FREE

Sunday, May 7 SMOKY MOUNTAINS HIKING CLUB: VIRGIN FALLS POCKET WILDERNESS • 8:30AM • Rated moderate to difficult

depending on weather conditions and water level.

Meet at the Lenoir City Walmart on Hwy 321 at 8:30 am. Leader: Brad Reese, bradktn@gmail.com. • FREE

ART Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts arrowmont.org April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 33

April 27 — May 14

MARCH 10-MAY 6: Un//known, new works by Arrowmont artists in residence.

Art Market Gallery artmarketgallery.net APRIL 4-30: Paintings by Harriet Howell and mixed-media artwork by Marilyn Avery Turner. May 2-28: Artwork by Dennis Sabo and Larry Gabbard. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 5, at 5:30 p.m.

Broadway Studios and Gallery broadwaystudiosandgallery.com APRIL 7-29: Interrupted Signal, artwork by Charlesy Charleston McAllister. MAY 5-27: Artwork by Candee Barbee and Synthia Clark. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 5, from 5-9 p.m.

Central Collective thecentralcollective.com APRIL 7-30: Boy Howdy, illustrations by Laura Baisden.

Downtown Gallery downtown.utk.edu APRIL 7-29: Breach, a mixed-media exhibition exploring issues of gender, race, and the African diaspora through the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. MAY 5-31: Artsource 2017. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 5, from 5-9 p.m.

East Tennessee History Center easttnhistory.org NOV. 19-MAY 14: Rock of Ages: East Tennessee’s Marble Industry.

Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art From East Tennessee and Beyond; and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass.

Emporium Center for Arts and Culture knoxalliance.com

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

APRIL 7-28: Little River Artists Exhibit; paintings by Sharon Gillenwater and Michael McKee; Connections, a mixed-media exhibit by Renee Suich; artwork by Kat Lewis; and the Barbara West Portrait Group Exhibit. May 5-26: 6 to 96: The Stevens Family; Luis Velázquez: Retrospective 1937-2016 and Family Continuity; Embodiment: A Search for Serenity by Julie Fawn Boisseau-Craig; artwork by Heather Heubner; and Iterations of Movement by Stephen Spidell. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 5, from 5-9 p.m.

FEB. 3-MAY 7: Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt.

Ongoing: The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier.

Fountain City Art Center fountaincityartcenter.com APRIL 28-JUNE 1: Knoxville Watercolor Society Exhibition.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 28, from 6:30-8 p.m.

Knoxville Museum of Art knoxart.org MAY 5-JULY 23: Gathering Light: Works by Beauford

S H A K Y B E AT S F E S T I VA L . C O M 34 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

Delaney From the KMA Collection. ONGOING: Higher

#SHAKYBEATS

Westminster Presbyterian Church wpcknox.org MARCH 5-APRIL 30: Paintings by Shirley Wittman and Lauren Lazarus and blown glass by Johnny Glass.

FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS Saturday, April 29

Park • 9AM • The clinic will provide children ages 7-12 with an introduction to bicycle safety, including rules of the road, bike basic maintenance, bike helmet, and bicycle skills. Free helmets are available for children who do not have a proper fitting one. For more information about the Smoky Mountain Bicycle Skills Rodeo or to volunteer contact Smoky Mountain Wellness. SmokyMountainWellness.com or 865-803-8887. • FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: FAMILY FUN WITH DRUMMING AND MUSIC • Cancer Support Community •

11AM • With cancer in your family, chances are there is more stress for everyone. Saturday Family Fun Day is a chance to play together and spend time with other families living with a cancer diagnosis.

MCCLUNG MUSEUM FAMILY FUN DAY: TREASURES FROM THE VAULT • McClung Museum of Natural History and

Culture • 1PM • Join us for free a free Family Fun Day featuring activities, crafts, tours, and more. This family event will bring out a variety of objects from the museum’s collection in storage. • FREE

VIRGINIA COLLEGE SUMMER CAMP FAIR • Virginia College

KNOXVILLE AREA MENTORING INITIATIVE FAMILY FUN DAY • 1PM • The Knoxville Area Mentoring Initiative (KAMI)

• 10AM • Representatives from summer camps will be available to share information, answer questions and take signups. For more information about Virginia College in Knoxville, visit www.vc.edu/knoxville. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN BICYCLE SKILLS RODEO • Founders

launched earlier this year and is making an effort to raise awareness and earn new mentors for its partner organizations. KAMI will host a Family Fun Day, in which mentors and mentees from the various groups will be on-site to enjoy kickball, food and other events.

April 27 — May 14

• FREE

Thursday, May 4 MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU: STAR WARS TRIVIA •

Blount County Public Library • 6:30PM • Teens as well as adults are invited to an all-ages Star Wars celebration with a trivia contest and other fun. Prizes will be awarded to team trivia winners, courtesy of the Blount County Friends of the Library. All day, look for special displays and café treats in the library. • FREE

Saturday, May 6 JERRY’S ARTARAMA MURAL BLOCK PARTY • Jerry’s

Artarama • 10AM • Jerry’s Artarama of Knoxville will celebrate the unveiling of its recently completed commissioned mural and the growth of fine art in Knoxville by welcoming families and fellow artists for a day of outdoor fun and artist instruction. • FREE MARBLE SPRINGS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL • Marble Springs State Historic Site • 10AM • Professional storytellers from the Smokey Mountain Storytellers Association will be performing on our historic grounds telling traditional and historic stories. For more information please visit www.marblesprings.net, email info@marblesprings.net, or call (865) 573 - 5508. • FREE

Sunday, May 7 BEES, BUTTERFLIES, AND BIRDS • 1PM • Heska Amuna

Synagogue will be buzzing with outdoor-related activities – and the entire community is invited to fly by and join in the fun. For more information please email HAButterflyBush@gmail.com or call the synagogue’s office at 865-522-0701. • $5

LECTURES, READINGS, AND BOOK SIGNINGS Thursday, April 27 MARY CAMPBELL: ‘CHARLES ELLIS JOHNSON AND THE EROTIC MORMON IMAGE’ • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Book

signing with UT professor Mary Campbell, discussing her book Charles Ellis Johnson and the Erotic Mormon Image. • FREE

series, given by Civil War Curator Joan Markel, will be held at 2 p.m. one Sunday each month, from January– April. The lectures are free and open to the public.

• FREE SATURDAY MORNING PHYSICS • University of Tennessee • 10AM • FREE

Sunday, April 30 JULIE WARREN CONN: “STONE STORIES” • East Tennessee History Center • 2:30PM • Julie Warren Conn will discuss her career as a sculptor working with Tennessee Marble and will share her memories of an older generation of stone carvers in Knoxville.

For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org. • FREE

Saturday, May 6 MINDFULNESSTN • Knoxville Convention Center • 8:15 AM • MindfulnessTN is a mindfulness-based symposium held in Knoxville. The goal of MindfulnessTN is to raise awareness of mindfulness meditation-based research and its impacts on health and well-being. • $10 WOMEN’S GSMNP 900-MILER PANEL DISCUSSION • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 11:30AM • REI is teaming up with four local women and the new 900-miler record holder to bring you the best knowledge on hiking all 900 miles in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. • $25

Tuesday, May 9 UT HUMANITIES CENTER CONVERSATIONS AND COCKTAILS SERIES • Holly’s Gourmets Market and Cafe • 6PM • •

FREE BLOUNT COUNTY LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS PANEL DISCUSSION: THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE IN TENNESSEE •

Blount County Public Library • 7PM • FREE KNOXVILLE CIVIL WAR ROUNDTABLE • Bearden Banquet Hall • 7PM • Featuring notable historians and other Civil War experts. Call (865) 671-9001 for reservations.

• $3-$17

Friday, April 28

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE SCIENCE FORUM • Thomp-

Thursday, April 27

son-Boling Arena • 12PM • Visit scienceforum.utk.edu. • FREE

Saturday, April 29 UT COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN 2017 SPRING LECTURE SERIES • Bijou Theatre • 2PM • The University

of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design will host a variety of internationally renowned architects and guest lecturers during the 2017 spring semester.

• FREE MCCLUNG MUSEUM CIVIL WAR LECTURE SERIES • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 2PM • The McClung Museum’s seventh annual Civil War Lecture

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios •

12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@ gmail.com. Donations accepted.

CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: HEALING THROUGH ART •

Cancer Support Community • 1PM • No experience necessary. RSVP. Call 865-546-4661 for more info.

BCPL TECH TIME • Blount County Public Library • 2:30PM • FREE KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS • Humana Guidance Center • 2:45PM • Join Master Gardeners Joe Pardue and Marcia Griswald for a presentation on growing killer tomatoes while preventing tomato killers. For

more information phone 865-329-8892. • FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY RESTORATIVE YOGA SERIES

• Cancer Support Community • 3PM • 865-546-4661.

KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM •. Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4 LIFE DRAWING AND PORTRAIT PRACTICE SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 12:30PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art and Heritage Center. Call Brad Selph for more information at 865-573-0709. • $10

SATURDAY

JUNE 17

Friday, April 28 NARROW RIDGE YOGA • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@narrowridge.org. • FREE

Saturday, April 29 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Westminster Presbyterian

Church • 9AM • Call (865) 675-0694.

NATIVES IN THE LANDSCAPE • Knoxville Botanical Garden • 9AM • We love native plants. Natives can make a beautiful, durable, and ecologically beneficial addition to the landscape. The Natives in the Landscape workshop will be led by our friends with the Native Plant Rescue Squad. • $20 KNOXVILLE COMMUNITY DARKROOM INTRODUCTION TO PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS • Knoxville Community

Darkroom • 10AM • To sign up online go to theknoxvillecommunitydarkroom.org, email news@knoxdarkroom.org, or call (865) 742-2578. • $50 KNOXVILLE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE TEACH-IN • Church of the Savior United Church of Christ • 1PM • Knoxville People’s Climate Teach-in will feature a wide-ranging discussion of the social and environmental consequences of climate injustice. . • FREE LEARN TO MEDITATE WORKSHOP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 2PM • By the author of 800 Stepping Stones to Complete Relaxation. Email mikewright102348@gmail.com. • FREE

ALL NET PROCEEDS BENEFIT

CURE DUCHENNE EXCITING NEW LOCATION

700 BLOCK OF GAY ST. NEXT TO BIJOU THEATRE

Sunday, April 30 IJAMS FAMILY DRUM CYRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 3:30PM • Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

• FREE

Monday, May 1 KMA DROP-IN FIGURE DRAWING CLASS • Knoxville Museum of Art • 10:30AM • $10 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Blount County Courthouse • 9AM • Call 865-982-1887.

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios • 6PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail. com. Donations accepted.

KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvilleperApril 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 35

April 27 — May 14

sonaltraining.com. • $15 MONDAY NIGHT YOGA • Church Street United Methodist Church • 7PM • Cost is $5, with first class free. Bring a mat and strap. In the class we stretch, bend and relax with low light and music. It is suitable for beginners and all levels. No advance registration required.

Contact Micarooni@aol.com with questions. • $5

Tuesday, May 2 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Blount County Courthouse

• 9AM • Call 865-982-1887.

NARROW RIDGE YOGA • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@narrowridge.org. • FREE GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@ gmail.com. Donations accepted.

KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CITIZENS ACADEMY BOOT CAMP • East Tennessee History Center • 6PM • Are you

looking to learn how to organize for change in this new era of polarization, and start-up or rev-up organizations that can influence critical local or national issues? Register or find out more information by visiting lwvknoxville.org. • FREE KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every

Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4

Wednesday, May 3 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Oak Ridge Senior Center •

9:30AM CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL BALLET CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6:30PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 TENNESSEE VALLEY BIKES YOGA • Tennessee Valley Bikes • 6:15 AM • Join us Wednesday mornings for an hour and 15 minutes of yoga. Cost for each class is $12 but if you ride your bike in the cost is reduced to $10.

There is no subscription or membership required. • $10-$15

Thursday, May 4 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Oak Ridge Senior Center •

9:30AM GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios •

12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@ gmail.com. Donations accepted.

LIFE DRAWING AND PORTRAIT PRACTICE SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 12:30PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art and Heritage Center. Call Brad Selph for more information at 865-573-0709. • $10 BCPL TECH TIME • Blount County Public Library • 2:30PM

• FREE KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts

and Culture • 6PM • Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4

Friday, May 5 NARROW RIDGE YOGA • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@narrowridge.org. • FREE

CIRCLE MODERN DANCE: MODERN DANCE FOUNDATIONS CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM •

Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 IJAMS STRAW BALE GARDENING CLASS • Ijams Nature

Center • 2PM • Call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register. • $20 IJAMS FAMILY DRUM CYRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 3:30PM • Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

• FREE

Monday, May 8

for a women’s introductory bike maintenance class designed to teach you routine maintenance to keep you riding smooth and prolong the life of your bike. • FREE WOMEN’S BACKPACKING BASICS • REI • 12PM • Want to take your day hikes overnight? Connect with other female hikers and REI to get an overview of backpacking planning, preparation and gear in this women’s-only class. • FREE

KMA DROP-IN FIGURE DRAWING CLASS • Knoxville Museum of Art • 10:30AM • $10 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios • 6PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail. com. Donations accepted.

KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $15 MONDAY NIGHT YOGA • Church Street United Methodist Church • 7PM • Contact Micarooni@aol.com with questions. • $5

Sunday, May 7

Tuesday, May 9

CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium

NARROW RIDGE YOGA • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy

Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10

Center • 9AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@narrowridge.org. • FREE

Saturday, May 6 WOMEN’S BIKE MAINTENANCE BASICS • REI • 9AM • Join us

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Saturday, April 29, 2017 6-8:30PM at the Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 Worlds Fair Park Drive Knoxville, Tennessee

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BOX OFFICE: 865-981-8590 ClaytonArtsCenter.com

April 27 — May 14

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Balanced You Studios •

12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@ gmail.com. Donations accepted.

KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10

Monday, May 1

Tuesday, May 9

GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • Visit gaygroupknoxville.org.

AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE STFK SCIENCE CAFE • Zoo Knoxville • 2PM • A free monthly discussion of science-related topics, hosted by the Spirit and Truth Fellowship of Knoxville. Email rsvp@knoxsciencecafe.org. • FREE ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • West Hills Flats and Taps • 5:30PM • Visit meetup.com/KnoxvilleAtheists. • FREE HARVEY BROOME GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7PM • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Call (865) 257-4029 for more information. • FREE

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CITIZENS ACADEMY BOOT CAMP • 6PM • Are you looking to learn how to organize

Tuesday, May 2

for change in this new era of polarization, and start-up or rev-up organizations that can influence critical local or national issues? Register or find out more information by visiting lwvknoxville.org. • FREE KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • West Hills Flats and Taps • 5:30PM • Visit meetup.com/KnoxvilleAtheists. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Call (865) 257-4029 for more information. • FREE

Wednesday, May 10

Wednesday, May 3

CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL BALLET CLASS •

AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

Wednesday, May 10

Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6:30PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 TENNESSEE VALLEY BIKES YOGA • Tennessee Valley Bikes • 6:15 AM • Join us Wednesday mornings for an hour and 15 minutes of yoga. Cost for each class is $12 but if you ride your bike in the cost is reduced to $10.

There is no subscription or membership required. • $10-$15 CLIMBING FUNDAMENTALS • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Come learn the basics of climbing every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Space is limited so call 865-673-4687 to reserve your spot now. Class fee $20. Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • $20

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE

AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

MEETINGS Thursday, April 27 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS/DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES • The Birdhouse • 6PM • Contact Laura at

706-621-2238 or lamohendricksll@gmail.com for more information or visit the international ACA website at adultchildren.org. • FREE

Saturday, April 29 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@ narrowridge.org. • FREE

Sunday, April 30 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Sacred Heart Cathedral • 4PM • For more info call or text (865) 313-0480 or email OASundayknoxville@gmail.com. • FREE

AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE LESBIAN SOCIAL GROUP OF KNOXVILLE • Kristtopher’s • 6:30PM • Just a casual gathering of women to socialize and plan activities. Meetings are the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. • FREE

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS/DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES • The Birdhouse • 6PM • Contact Laura at

ETC.

Thursday, May 4 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

706-621-2238 or lamohendricksll@gmail.com for more information or visit the international ACA website at adultchildren.org. • FREE KNOXVILLE WRITERS’ GUILD • Central United Methodist Church • 7PM • Additional information about KWG can be found at KnoxvilleWritersGuild.org.

BLACK LIVES MATTER • The Birdhouse • 7:30PM • Visit blacklivesmatterknoxville.org. • FREE

SOUP is a dinner and micro-funding event at which creative projects are proposed, voted on and enacted by members of the Knoxville community.

NEW HARVEST PARK FARMERS MARKET • New Harvest Park • 3PM • Visit facebook.com/newharvestfm. • FREE

Saturday, May 6

Friday, April 28

SEEKERS OF SILENCE • Church of the Savior United Church of Christ • 9AM • Visit sosknoxville.org. • FREE AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For more information call 865-497-3603 or emailcommunity@ narrowridge.org. • FREE

LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org. • FREE

Sunday, May 7 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit

farragutalanon.org or email FindHope@Farragutalanon.org. • FREE OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Sacred Heart Cathedral • 4PM • For more info call or text (865) 313-0480 or email OASundayknoxville@gmail.com. • FREE

Monday, May 8 GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • Visit gaygroupknoxville.org.

Thursday, April 27 KNOXVILLE SOUP • Dara’s Garden • 6:30PM • Knoxville

Saturday, April 29 ARTISTS ON LOCATION • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM

• Local and regional artists have been invited to showcase their talent by producing work out of doors around Knoxville between April 26 and 29. Artists will then exhibit and sell those works at the Awards Reception and Art Sale. • FREE CASUAL PINT ART AND CRAFT BEERS SHOW • Casual Pint (Northshore) • 4PM • Join us for an afternoon of local art, local craft beer, and local music. Curtis Glover has been working for weeks on our new mural in the hall spotlighting Knoxville’s fantastic local breweries.

• FREE KEEP KNOXVILLE BEAUTIFUL EAST KNOXVILLE CLEAN-UP • 9AM • The event will kick off at Eternal Life Harvest Center Plaza, where participants will gather supplies then disperse into their own communities to pick up litter. • FREE WALK MS: KNOXVILLE • World’s Fair Park • 10AM • Since 1988, hundreds of thousands of people have taken part April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 37

April 27 — May 14

in Walk MS events across the country raising critical funds and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

COMMUNITY SHARES CIRCLE OF CHANGE AWARD • Bearden Banquet Hall • 6PM • Circle of Change is closely tied to Community Shares mission of promoting a more just and caring community through supporting the work of more than 30 member organizations working on social, economic and environmental issues. • $65 AN EVENING OF EVERYTHING CHOCOLATE • Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church • 6:30PM • Sample chocolate desserts, savor the flavors and support Agape House of Oak Ridge at its third annual Evening of Everything Chocolate, featuring tables filled with chocolate culinary temptations. • $30 KNOXVILLE BOTANICAL GARDEN SPRING PLANT SALE • Knoxville Botanical Garden • 8AM • We’ll be in LeConte Meadow with a wide variety of plants to choose from, including hydrangeas, native perennials, annuals, shade plants, and herbs & vegetables. • FREE OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org. • FREE MARYVILLE FARMERS MARKET • Founders Park • 9AM • FREE KNOXVILLE MARCH AND RALLY FOR CLIMATE, JOBS, AND JUSTICE • Downtown Knoxville • 9:30AM • Knoxville

March and Rally for Climate, Jobs, and Justice will

feature marching, speakers, music, a kids’ performance, and networking with neighbors. • FREE

Sunday, April 30 CARS AND COFFEE • West Town Mall • 8AM • West Town Mall invites all automobile fanatics to make a pit stop at Cars and Coffee. The event will include free coffee and doughnuts, a chance to mingle with other vehicle buffs and the opportunity to simply revel in all things auto. • FREE

Tuesday, May 2 EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS MARKET • Ebenezer United Methodist Church • 3PM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org.

• FREE

Wednesday, May 3 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square •

11AM • Visit nourishknoxville.org. • FREE

Thursday, May 4 NEW HARVEST PARK FARMERS MARKET • New Harvest Park • 3PM • Visit facebook.com/newharvestfm. • FREE REBEL KITCHEN FARMER’S TABLE DINNER • Central Collective • 6:30PM • Join us for a special pop-up dinner honoring East Tennessee’s farmers, ranchers, and growers. Chef Paul will create an incredible multi-course dinner sourcing ingredients from his

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Friday, May 5

Knoxville • 12PM • Ask many downtown residents what inspired them to move to downtown Knoxville and chances are they’ll mention the City People Downtown Home Tour, which has been showcasing urban living for more than 25 years. • $25-$35 SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 4PM • Visit jigandreel.com. • FREE

LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org. • FREE CITY PEOPLE DOWNTOWN HOME TOUR • Downtown Knoxville • 5:30PM • Ask many downtown residents what inspired them to move to downtown Knoxville and chances are they’ll mention the City People Downtown Home Tour, which has been showcasing urban living for more than 25 years. • $25-$35

Jockeys and Juleps has become one of the Rotary Club of Knoxville’s most important annual fundraising efforts.

Proceeds from the event go directly to benefit the Rotary Foundation of Knoxville’s charitable work. • $75

Saturday, May 6

Tuesday, May 9

OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org. • FREE MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • Visit nourishknoxville.org. • FREE MARYVILLE FARMERS MARKET • Founders Park • 9AM • FREE HOLSTON HILLS COMMUNITY CLUB GARDEN SALE • 9AM • The Historic Holston Hills Community Club will hold their Second Annual Garden Sale at the Holston Hills Community Park located at Chilhowee Drive and Holston Hills Road. All proceeds from the sale go for the upkeep and improvements to the Park. • FREE CITY PEOPLE DOWNTOWN HOME TOUR • Downtown

EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS MARKET • Ebenezer United

ROTARY CLUB OF KNOXVILLE JOCKEYS AND JULEPS DERBY PARTY FUNDRAISER • Lighthouse Knoxville • 3PM •

Methodist Church • 3PM • Visit easttnfarmmarkets.org.

• FREE KEEP KNOXVILLE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH KNOXVILLE TRASH RUN • SoKno Taco Cantina • 5:30PM • Join us at our spring

Trash Run in South Knoxville at SoKno Taco Cantina. • FREE

Wednesday, May 10 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 11AM • Visit nourishknoxville.org. • FREE SEND YOUR EVENTS TO CALENDAR@KNOXMERCURY.COM

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Home Palate

Photos by Dennis Perkins

SoKno Taco Cantina 3701 Sevierville Pike 865-851-8882, soknota.co Sun.-Wed.: 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Thu.-Sat.: 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Hot Tacos SoKno Taco Cantina emerges triumphant from the Urban Wilderness

BY DENNIS PERKINS

I

f you ask Google to direct you to the SoKno Taco Cantina, it will almost inevitably take you there via James White Parkway and Moody Avenue, which is an efficient way to travel to this shiny new gem across the river.

But someday, you should consider my preferred route along Sevier Avenue, where you may be waylaid by the worthy temptations of Honey Bee Coffee or Alliance Brewing. This out-of-the-way path showcases one of the most likable things about South Knoxville: the experience of seemingly rural routes emerging suddenly into brief but charming village-like moments of commerce. One of my favorites from youth was on Martin Mill Pike where Pease Furniture seemed to leap out of the woods to offer you a really comfortable easy chair.

If you head to SoKno Cantina by way of Sevier, you’ll find what feels like a tiny village square formed by Al’s

42 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

Market and Deli and a firehouse with a baseball field behind it, just before you cross Baker Creek. Then Sevier becomes residential long enough for the sight of SoKno to emerge like a beacon. Along with the legendary Round-Up Restaurant across the street, the sudden appearance of these places where people gather is exciting and, for me at least, stimulates the appetite like nothing else.

Many of my trusted eating clan have been positively giddy since the opening of this busy eatery—one of them practically crowed that he’d been forced to wait (happily!) for a table in South Knoxville. And it is, in fact, a tasty oasis in the Urban Wilderness.

The decor is of that industrial chic—a style that has become a little too ubiquitous for my personal taste, though it works perfectly here. I imagine that the urban neo-garage

feel as right to the young diners who wear vintage eyeglasses and newly colored tattoos as it does to folks who spent time hanging out in my cousin Leonard’s motorcycle garage deep in South Blount County. It’s pleasant and comfortable enough to keep the focus on the important stuff.

Speaking of food, as you might suspect there are tacos on this menu, and the rumors are true: They’re good eats. You can also get burritos if you want—all you’re doing is picking your filling from the same set of taco stuffing in the lamentably named “Featured Meats” section, which either ironically or insultingly also includes the vegetarian and vegan options.

But whatever you do, don’t overlook the very lovely tamale. You can order it on a platter or add it a la carte, neatly wrapped in foil and a corn husk. At the suggestion of the server, I had beef, though chicken is also available. The first thing that struck me was that the tamale wasn’t steamed—or at least it wasn’t finished that way because the exterior was golden brown, and though not exactly crispy, there was an extra bite of

texture to the exterior that thrilled my tactile obsession.

Inside was a rich and nicely done beef braise, intensely flavored and impeccably tender; the surrounding dough was an accomplishment—like a good tamale ought to be, it was light but hearty and never pasty. Apparently, this beauty gets baked, which accounts for the excellent texture and color, and contributes to the ease of eating this joy by hand.

The tacos are a mixed lot, but the most important thing to know about them is that almost every one of them tastes better with a blue corn tortilla. It comes standard with the Thai portobello but otherwise costs an additional quarter—but really, you deserve it.

Forget the case of Corn v. Flour; the texture alone wins the day. Sure it’s fried a little, but that brings out a special kind of toothsome bite, almost like a shell, but not that firm at all.

Like the tamale, all those tacos come wrapped in foil—one shudders to think about how much of that metallic wrapping they’re throwing away. Is there really no other way to serve these little beauties?

My favorite was the Mezclar La Carne, a blend of ground chorizo and beef—spicy with a light and lingering heat. Likewise, the carnitas taco was very tasty—the particularly tender and deeply flavorful pork is slow-smoked in-house. Both of these virtually cry out for the corn tortilla. The soft luxury of the filling needs (and is very well

Home Palate

served by) that extra bite. No one ever actually offered me the choice, and I’m disappointed by that. Oddly enough, on my first visit, my editor sent me a text mid-meal suggesting the alternative wrapper; so, I had no choice but to over-eat in the line of duty.

The one taco that comes in corn was also the most disappointing of the lot. The Thai portobello didn’t taste very Thai at all—I don’t know what’s in SoKno’s Thai house seasoning, but I think I’d bump it up with some curry paste. In a similar vein, the tofu taco was a letdown. Despite the putative inclusion of both roasted jalapenos and roasted red peppers, and tofu cubes that looked delicious, there wasn’t much action on the palate.

That was true, too, for the El Pescado—the presence of mango-jalapeno slaw barely made an impact on the under-seasoned fish, which was supposedly blackened cod with red fish seasoning. That combination of words alone set my buds to tingle— perhaps it was too much expectation?

El Camaron, however, came roaring back with flavor and texture— Diablo shrimp were perfectly cooked and seasoned appropriately to its nomenclature. Of course, this taco features both cilantro and cilantro sour cream, which give a pleasant frame for the other flavors. In this instance, I preferred a flour tortilla over corn for tactile reasons—the play of the firm shrimp against the soft tortilla was really cool, and I like the feel of a flour tortilla’s tender chew with sour cream.

I didn’t order anything in platter form so I never tried the Fiesta Rice, though I was tempted by the Cast Iron Beans. Kitschy me hoped they would be served in a little skillet, but nope, they come in an honest little bowl draped in house queso. Well-cooked as they were and even cheese-laden, they didn’t do much for me. Perhaps I’m jaded by memories of other beans, other places, but my little bowl didn’t have any pop.

But I will forever order SoKno churros to end or even make a meal.

These are the finest churros I’ve ever, ever, ever stuffed my face with. They may the best thing about the place.

Perfectly fried to give extraordinary crunch on the outside but yielding to a soft, perfectly tender interior, they are the stuff of dreams. A coating of sugar gives an extra oomph to the first bite, and the light drizzle of chocolate sauce is perfectly portioned; and I know you may never believe me, but these don’t need a tub of melted chocolate. The little drizzle is fine because the pastry itself is heavenly.

The ice cream cuts a fine figure on this plate—it’s not homemade, but it’s fantastically creamy and dense and makes a perfect foil for the light and crispy churros. Yeah, I’m a fan.

And, really, I’m a fan of SoKno Taco Cantina. The food is fresh, mostly delicious, and best of all it sits beautifully in a beautiful part of town.

I love Knoxville, and there’s something special across the river that keeps getting better, and—thanks to the SoKno Taco Cantina—tastier, too.

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News of the Weird | That ’70s Girl | Cartoon | Puzzle

Bouquets of Beef!

And all the other odd news that’s mostly fit to print

BY CHUCK SHEPHERD

TRY, TRY AGAIN Samuel West announced in April that his Museum of Failure will open in Helsingborg, Sweden, in June, to commemorate innovation missteps that might serve as inspiration for future successes. Among the initial exhibits: coffee-infused Coca-Cola; the Bic “For Her” pen (because women’s handwriting needs are surely unique); the Twitter Peek (a 2009 device that does nothing except send and receive tweets—and with a screen only 25 characters wide); and Harley-Davidson’s 1990s line of colognes (in retrospect as appealing, said West, as “oil and gas fumes”). (West’s is only the latest attempt to immortalize failure with a “museum.” Previous attempts, such as those in 2007 and 2014, apparently failed.)

GOVERNMENT IN ACTION • Toronto, Ontario, Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz finally ridded his docket of the maddening, freeloading couple that had quibbled incessantly about each other’s “harassments.” Neither Noora Abdulaali, 32, nor her now-ex-husband, Kadhim Salih, 43, had worked a day in the five years since they immigrated from Iraq, having almost immediately gone on disability benefits and begun exploiting Legal Aid Toronto in their many attempts to one-up each other with restraining orders. Approving the couple’s settlement in March, Judge Pazaratz added, “The next time anyone at Legal Aid Ontario tells you they’re short of money, don’t believe it. … Not if they’re funding cases like this.”

• In May, a new restaurant-disclo44 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

sure regulation mandated by the Affordable Care Act is scheduled to kick in, requiring eateries (except small chains and independents) to post calorie counts for all menu items including “variations”—which a Domino’s Pizza executive said meant, for his company, “34 million” calorie listings. The executive called the regulation, for the pizza industry, “a 20th-century approach to a 21st-century question,” since for many establishments, orders increasingly arrive online or by phone.

REDNECK CHRONICLES (1) Dennis Smith, 65, was arrested in Senoia, Ga., and charged with stealing dirt from the elderly widow of the man Smith said had given him permission to take it. Smith, a “dirt broker,” had taken more than 180 dump-truck loads. (2) New for Valentine’s Day from the SayItWithBeef.com company: a bouquet of beef jerky slices, formed to resemble a dozen full-petaled roses ($59). Also available: daisies. Chief selling point: Flowers die quickly, but jerky is forever.

NEW WORLD ORDER In March, Harvard Medical School technicians announced a smartphone app to give fertility-conscious men an accurate semen analysis, including sperm concentration, motility and total count—costing probably less than $10. Included is a magnification attachment and a “microfluidic” chip.

The insertable app magnifies and photographs the “loaded” chip, instantly reporting the results. (To answer the most frequent question: No, semen never touches your phone.

The device still needs Food and Drug Administration approval.)

PRETENTIONS • Hipsters on the Rise: (1) The Columbia Room bar in Washington, D.C., recently introduced the “In Search of Time Past” cocktail—splashed with a tincture of old, musty books. Management vacuum-sealed pages with grapeseed oil, then “fat-washed” them with a “neutral high-proof” spirit, and added a vintage sherry, mushroom cordial and eucalyptus. (2) The California reggae rock band Slightly Stoopid recently produced a vinyl record that was “smokable,” according to Billboard magazine—using a “super resinous variety of hashish” mastered at the Los Angeles studio Capsule Labs. The first two versions’ sound quality disappointed and were apparently quickly smoked, but a third is in production.

• The telephone “area” code in the tony English city of Bath (01225) is different than that of adjacent Radstock (01761) and probably better explained by landline telephone infrastructure than a legal boundary.

However, a Bath councilwoman said in April that she is dealing with complaints by 10 new residents who paid high-end prices for their homes only to find that they came with the 01761 code. Admitted one Bath resident, “I do consider my phone number to be part of my identity.”

WEIRD SCIENCE • Magnificent Evolvers: (1) Human populations in Chile’s Atacama desert have apparently developed a tolerance for arsenic 100 times as powerful as the World Health Organization’s maximum safe level (according to recent research by University of Chile scientists). (2) While 80 percent of Americans age 45 or older have calcium-cluttered blood veins (atherosclerosis), about 80 percent of Bolivian Tsimane hunter-gatherers in the Amazon have clean veins, according to an April report in The Lancet. (Keys for having “the healthiest hearts in the world”: walk a lot and eat monkey, wild pig and piranha.)

• Awesome: (1) University of Basel biologists writing in the journal Science of Nature in March calculated

that the global population of spiders consumes at least 400 million tons of prey yearly—about as much, by weight, as the total of meat and fish consumed by all humans. (2) University of Utah researchers trained surveillance cameras on dead animals in a local desert to study scavenger behavior and were apparently astonished to witness the disappearances of two bait cows. Over the course of five days, according to the biologists’ recent journal article, two different badgers, working around the clock for days, had dug adjacent holes and completely buried the cows (for storage and/or to keep the carcasses from competitors).

• News You Can Use: A study published in the journal Endocrinology in March suggested that “wholebody” vibration may be just as effective as regular “exercise.” (The Fine Print: Vibration was shown only to aid “global bone formation,” which is not as useful for some people as “weight loss,” which was not studied, and anyway, the study was conducted on mice. Nonetheless, even for a mouse immobile on a vibrating machine, muscles contracted and relaxed multiple times per second.

This “Fine Print” will soon be useful when hucksters learn of the study and try to sell gullible humans a “miracle” weight-loss machine.)

THE ARISTOCRATS! Wild Maryland! (1) Prince George’s County police officer James Sims, 30, pleaded guilty to four counts of misdemeanor “visual surveillance with prurient interest” and in February was sentenced to probation (though his termination investigation was still ongoing). His fourth event, said prosecutors, in a Sports Authority store, was taking an upskirt photo of a woman who, as Sims discovered, was also a cop. (2) A Worcester County (Maryland) judge fined Ellis Rollins $1,000 in February and gave him a suspended sentence—for the June 2016 ostentatious nude dancing and sex with his wife at an Ocean City, Md., hotel window in view of other people on holiday. At the time, Rollins was the Cecil County, Maryland, state’s attorney, but has since resigned.

April 27, 2017 knoxville mercury 45

News of the Weird | That ’70s Girl | Cartoon | Puzzle

The Greatest Important life lessons, courtesy of Muhammad Ali’s action figure

BY ANGIE VICARS

“W

hat do you want for your birthday?” my mother asked when I was about to turn 8. “I need something to tell your grandparents.”

“I want a Muhammad Ali doll,” I said immediately.

“You know you’re a skinny white girl, don’t you?” my older brother cut in.

“I’m the greatest,” I said, sounding more like Billy Crystal imitating Muhammad Ali. “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”

In March of 1976, I saw the Ali doll while my mother was shopping at Rose’s. He came with boxing trunks, a robe, boots, gloves, and sparring headgear. He could even knock out his opponents when you moved his arms with a lever on his back.

Ali was displayed beside the O.J. Simpson doll, a close second on my

wish list back then. Every time Buffalo played, the Juice left a field full of defenders in his dust. But Ali was a poet, a braggart, and a boxer who KO’d his competition. He was just what this skinny white girl needed.

I wanted to make certain my grandparents found Ali in the store so I drew a diagram of the aisle and pointed to his location on the shelf.

“He is the boxer,” I wrote carefully.

“He is NOT the football player.”

On my birthday, my grandparents brought my present in a wrapped box.

I tore off the paper and lifted the lid to reveal—a yellow T-shirt. My face fell as low as my Junior Keds.

“Keep looking, honey,” my grandmother said as she laughed. I yanked the shirt up to reveal the Muhammad Ali doll encased in plastic but all ready for action.

BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY www.thespiritofthestaircase.com

46 knoxville mercury April 27, 2017

I wanted to put him in the ring right away, but the adults wanted photos first. I gave in because Ali always loved attention from the media. “Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see,” I declared, posing by the piano. My other grandmother snapped pictures of me, Ali, and the Hangman game she gave me.

My friend, Robbie, called up a little later. “You should bring Ali over here. He can fight the Lone Ranger.”

“Cool,” I told him. “What does the winner get?”

“The winner gets Tonto,” Robbie offered.

“Muhammad Ali doesn’t need a sidekick,” I said.

“Okay, the winner gets Silver,” he countered.

“Muhammad Ali doesn’t need a horse either. You’ve got to make this really good,” I insisted. “The winner has to get the black mask for keeps.”

“The Lone Ranger already has the black mask for keeps,” Robbie informed me scornfully.

“Your Ranger’s face won’t be so pretty after we get down to the nitty gritty,” I improvised.

We built the ring out of Legos and Tinker Toys. Tonto was the Ranger’s corner man. As the third round started, Ali’s powerful uppercut knocked the Ranger to the mat. The Ranger bounced up in seconds, but his black mask ripped down the middle and floated to his feet.

“You did that on purpose!”

Robbie yelled.

“I did not!” I yelled back. “The

Ranger’s mask wasn’t up to the task!”

Robbie’s face turned as the red as the collar on Ali’s robe. “The match is over! You and Ali better get out of here!”

“Fine,” I retorted. “But it would’ve looked better on Muhammad Ali.” Then I grabbed Ali’s gear before Robbie could ruin it, and I beat a hasty retreat.

Ali and I tried hanging out with Johnny West, but Johnny kept getting knocked out and losing his gun. When my friend Randy arrived with his new G.I. Joe, I was ready for a worthy opponent. “Let’s fight the Thrilla in Manila,” I suggested, heading to the backyard sandbox.

“But this G.I. Joe has Kung Fu Grip,” Randy said, showing me how Joe’s fingers held his gun perfectly.

“That’s very cool,” I admitted.

“Let’s have a fire fight.”

“Can we fight the Russians?”

Randy asked.

“Okay, we’ll use my brother’s Army men,” I told him and we set them up on the other side of a dune.

“You go in first,” Randy told me.

“I’ll cover you.”

“But you’re the soldier,” I objected. “You should go in first.”

“No way! I’ve got Kung Fu Grip, remember?”

“So what!” I burst out. “You’re a chicken who’s about to get a lickin!” I grabbed G.I. Joe’s curly fingers and hurled him into the Russians, kicking up a sand storm.

“What’s going on out here?” my father said, coming to the back gate.

“She broke G.I. Joe’s arm,” Randy

blurted, “and she won’t even help fight the Russians.”

“You two better come inside for a history lesson,” my father told us.

We chugged Kool-Aid as Dad found a World Book Encyclopedia picture of Ali and some other men, all dressed in suits. “Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted and fight in the Vietnam War,” Dad explained. “The case went to the Supreme Court, and he finally won. But they took his title away. He had to win it all over again.”

“Muhammad Ali wouldn’t fight?” I slapped my forehead. It was hard to believe.

“That’s right,” my father said. “He fights other boxers to make his living.

But he doesn’t fight people when he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

“See,” I told Randy. “You should’ve gone in first.”

“He doesn’t make his friends mad

and tear up their stuff either,” my father added, as Randy tried to put G.I. Joe’s arm back in place.

I didn’t decide that Ali should retire. I just spent all my allowance replacing Randy’s G.I. Joe. Robbie agreed to glue the Lone Ranger’s mask to his face, but it dried a little crooked and ruined his reputation as an authority figure.

I recently found a booklet I made in second grade about how to be a good friend. At the top of my list I wrote “share my toys,” and “not hit.” I guess I took my own advice. Quit kicking ass and rely on your sass.

Angie Vicars writes humorous essays and seriously good Web content for UT. In a former incarnation, she authored My Barbie Was an Amputee, Yikes columns for Metro Pulse, and produced the WATE website.

CROOKED STREET CROSSWORD

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2017 EDITION NOW AVAILABLE Is your copy of last year’s guide to area greenways, parks, and trails as tattered as ours? Need a new copy to keep in your car for quick reference? We’ve updated it for 2017 and made it available for purchase in our online store for only $3.95 + shipping. buy yours now!

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