Made june 2014 by MADE Paper

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Issue 14 JUNE 2014

News, Makers & Trends of the New South

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MONTGOMERY

PUBLISHER MADE Paper

Issue 14 JUNE 2014

EDITORS Brent Rosen, Anna Lowder, Caroline Nabors Rosen, Harvi Sahota CREATIVE DIRECTOR Harvi Sahota DESIGN Matter www.iheartmatter.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brent Rosen, Caroline Nabors Rosen, Anna Lowder, Andrea Jean, Heather Steen, Tiffany Bell, Will Abner, Johnny Veres, Sam Wootten, Jennifer Kornegay, Scott Steen, Melissa Tsai, Tom Jean, Edwin Marty, Evans Bailey, Tina Hofer Medico, Robert Wool, Will Steineker, Elliot Knight, Mark Bowen, Christian Kerr, Rebecca Seung, David Mowery, Brian Carroll, Blake Rosen, Josh Carples, Katie Lindgren, Natilee McGruder, CarolineTaylor, Skye Borden, Katie Vega, Rachel Fisher, Amy Collins

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Harvi Sahota, Grace Photography, Josh Moates, Jon Kohn, Ryan Muirhead, Luke Lindgren, Thomas Lucas DESIGN CONTRIBUTOR Jay Wilkins

Made is a free, independent newspaper published monthly. Modern design, authentic voices, smart articles and curated events. ISSUE 14 JUNE 2014

DISCLAIMER: Made publishes news and commentary, critique and reporting, offering different views from our community. Our contributors offer a variety of views and perspectives on subjects covered in Made. These views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Due to the nature of creative industries and the connections we foster with those around us, contributors may have some personal or professional connection with people, events, or organizations covered in the publication or website. All letters, messages, and emails sent to Made will be treated as intended for publication unless otherwise noted by the author. Letters and emails may be edited for space and content. Made celebrates the rich history of a free press and is proud to continue to strengthen this tradition.

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COVER PHOTO: THOMAS LUCAS

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Column feature: SUGAR & STILLS feature: ATLANTA FOOD & WINE feature: WORLD CUP Music Travel MAKERS Food & DRINK feature: LOCAL BRANCH

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MADE is a collective of citizens celebrating the local, the authentic, and the unique. We are creatives featuring other creatives and the engaging work being produced in our city. We call attention to all fields forging new pathways in expression and innovation. We are makers who love to eat, talk, collaborate, question, party, and laugh, and we want you to take part. Thanks for reading this and supporting the artists, craftsmen, creatives, and active citizens that make a city thrive.

WORDS BRENT ROSEN

After celebrating our one year anniversary, we did what every one-year-old does, and spent a lot of time thinking through our mission, our goals, and how we could better provide the Montgomery and greater Alabama community with the information that it wants and deserves. Wait, were you expecting me to say that we drank a bottle of milk and pooped our pants.? We’re not that kind of one-year-old, or at least haven’t been since college. We realized we need to increase our interactivity, so we are bringing in more monthly columnists. One columnist will provide life advice, the other sex advice. The more abhorrent the conduct or bizarre the sex, the better. Our columnists will remain anonymous as will the identities of the advice seekers. Send us your questions and we will publish some answers. We have also decided to stop pretending that it’s 1996 and the internet barely exists. Expect more frequent updates to the website and more posts on our facebook and instagram accounts. We are kind of over twitter, although none of us can quite put our fingers on why. If you are out and about and go somewhere or see something you think MADE should have a look at, use the hashtag #madepaper, and we’ll give it a look. So far people have told us to look at Truman’s catfish restaurant outside Wetumpka, Jakes Fishing Club on Pintlala Creek, and some exciting Alabamarelated clothing designers in New York and San Francisco. Tag your recommendations and we will follow up. The other day I read an article about an old-school newspaper editor working in Boston or New York -- I don’t remember -- who said he turned essayists into reporters by

forcing them to write shorter, more to the point articles. We are going in the opposite direction, working on more in-depth, heavily-reported, essay-type pieces. You’ve probably noticed this emphasis over the past few months, and we will be mixing in more long-form work into the paper in addition to our quicker-reading style, makers, drink, and food sections. Our goal in featuring long-form work is the goal we’ve always had: we want to find the local stories that have been overlooked or underreported and give them their due. This month we have a long story about moonshine in Bullock County; I think it’s something you will enjoy. Later this summer we’ll have some stories on places to visit for Labor Day day-trips, and I promise we won’t just publish press releases from various hotels across the Southeast. As we leave Summer and head into Fall, we are launching MADE Sports, and will have the Bamaist and the Auburnist ready to give you their unique weekly takes before Game Day. The final announcement is something you’ll already have noticed -- we experimented with a different type of paper and size for our commemorative Southern Makers issue, and we’ve decided we really like it. From now on, we are going with the larger format and higher quality to show off the amazing work of our photographers and designers. I know most people pick up MADE at the coffee shop, at lunch or at brunch, and often only have time to flip through and look at the pictures. This change is for you. As always, we appreciate your readership and welcome your comments at editor@madepaper.com.

JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

MADEPAPER.COM • JUNE 2014

WORDS CAROLINE ROSEN PHOTOS THOMAS LUCAS

Stills Crossroads, located at the corner of Highway 7 and Highway 8 on the Bullock County - Pike County Line, looks like any other minor 4-way in any other part of rural Alabama. Cars pass infrequently and leisurely, the woods run right up to the roadway, signs for church events, tree services and political candidates advertise like miniature billboards in one area the otherwise sparse population concentrates. A small convenience store provides necessaries to the locals who don’t want to drive 30 minutes to Troy or Union Springs for bread and toothpaste. Cars honk lightly in recognition at the old men congregated under the overhang on the convenience store’s front porch, the men partially hidden by advertisements for cigarettes and soft drinks tacked to the overhang’s pillars. If you just drove by on your way to somewhere else, giving Stills Crossroads only a passing glance, you’d never notice what distinguishes this particular rural 4-way from any other. You’d fail to see the Styrofoam cups in those old men’s hands, those cups filled with local moonshine. You’d never know that 50 pound bags of sugar fill store shelves on Friday, but by Sunday, they’re sold out. You’d fail to hear the gossip about families with “moonshine in their blood,” families that took care of people and built this part of Bullock County on moonshine after World War II; families that still show up in arrest records for moonshining today. You would have no reason to know that the area surrounding Stills Crossroads is the moonshiningest place in Alabama. Moonshine culture is the culture in Bullock County. At the Macedonia Baptist Church Baseball Diamond, moonshiners sell their liquor on game days in the woods beyond the right-field line. Just down the street from the ball field sits the now-shuttered Almeria Club, site of early performances by Hank Williams, a raucous club where moonshine-fueled good times remain the stuff of legend. If you step off of the road in between, you literally cannot walk

through the woods without tripping over a dormant (or working) moonshine still. The indoctrination into moonshine culture starts early. The moonshine business exists in the shadows of illegality; nothing prevents youths from apprenticing under an old master long before they turn 21. The old masters hire the young people to carry heavy bags of grain and sugar out to the stills in the woods. Once there, the old master mixes the sugar, the grain, and the water, then pitches the yeast into the vat. For the next few weeks, the young apprentice keeps watch. After distillation, when the moonshine is complete, the youngster again does the heavy lifting, moving the moonshine out of the woods by the gallon jug. When the old master sells the moonshine, both locally and to places as far flung as Detroit, he shares the profits with the young apprentice. Soon, the apprentice grows into a master moonshiner himself (it is almost always a “him”), a continuous cycle unbroken since before the Civil War. Employment in Bullock County remains pretty much the same as it was before the Civil War too. The county’s largest employers are agricultural concerns and the Department of Corrections. Not many are employed, and a good amount of those who are don’t make much. What Bullock County, and other counties like it across the Eastern blackbelt have, is moonshine. Moonshine is classic “dollar out of 15 cents” hustling, a way to separate yourself and your family from poverty. Moonshine subsidizes the low wages paid in Bullock County and employs hundreds in the shadow economy. Moonshiners invest their profits in gas stations, in farm land, and in timber. Moonshiners give to the church, make sure little leaguers have uniforms, and loan money to their neighbors in need. Moonshine culture, although illegal, keeps Bullock County from falling into the ever-widening economic gap between rural and urban America. But today, illegal moonshiners are under unprecedented attack. *

Week after week, the headlines keep coming. April 18, 2014: “200 gallons of hooch seized in one of the largest moonshine operations in Lowndes County history.” May 5, 2014: “24 gallons of moonshine seized, 8-barrel still destroyed in Bullock County raid.” May 14, 2014: “Alabama’s war on moonshine continues: ABC agents destroy 18-barrel still in Barbour County.” May 28, 2014: “24-barrel moonshine still destroyed in rural

Bullock County; 20th smashed since October.” As I write, members of the ABC Board “Moonshine Task Force” are camped out in the woods around Bullock County, watching vapor drift from working stills, waiting for the owner’s return, ready to make another headline bust. The Taskforce’s success comes from knowledge of the community, knowledge that allows the task force to avoid mistakes made in the past. For example, a few years ago some agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms went out into the woods intending to bust moonshiners. Those agents made one simple mistake: they stopped at a convenience store in Bullock County for canned fish and crackers before entering the forest. As soon as the door to that convenience store closed -- the sound of the cashier saying “y’all come back now” still ringing in the air -- the cashier picked up the phone. Within minutes, like a snow-day phone chain, every moonshiner in Bullock County and the surrounding area was aware of the agents’ presence. The agents found some empty stills, but no moonshiners were present for the agents to arrest. The work of today’s Moonshine Taskforce is far less sloppy. Although less than a year old, the Taskforce has successfully forced Alabama’s moonshiners into a war of attrition the moonshiners cannot win. Day after day, moonshine barrels are put to the axe, equipment is broken, and moonshine is confiscated by the gallon. The State’s resources in this area are essentially limitless -- agents will get their paychecks from the ABC Board as long as Alabama remains in the liquor regulation business. The moonshiners, although operating in vast forestland with the home-field advantage, don’t have the resources to compete. At the current pace with which equipment is destroyed, moonshiners are arrested, and profits are lost, it won’t be long before the price of moonshine dramatically increases. The Taskforce will win the war on moonshine once moonshine ceases to be a low cost alternative to legal alcohol. The higher the cost of moonshine, the more likely a buyer will go to the local ABC store instead of a trailer at the end of a gravellined road. But what happens next? What will happen to the churches, the little leaguers and the neighbors in need? How will those currently subsidizing their income with moonshine get by? What will replace illegal moonshine in places like Bullock County?

JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

At this point, it’s necessary to mention that not all moonshine in Bullock County is illegal. Jamie Ray owns and operates High Ridge Spirits in Bullock County, the first legal alcohol distillery in Alabama. Ray’s current bestselling product is Stills Crossroads ‘Shine, a legal moonshine that has been in Alabama’s ABC stores since late last year. In early June, Ray toured me around his company’s namesake, High Ridge in Bullock County, pointing out all of the locations that figure in Bullock County’s moonshine lore.

bottles so efficiently he only uses half of its capacity in order to make it worthwhile for someone working an hourly wage to operate it. Ray’s distillery is not limited to moonshine, and he will soon roll out a rum, a gin, and a vodka to go along with the ‘Shine. He keeps a barrel full of exotic spices and extracts for use in his distilled spirits, and is currently experimenting with aging his ‘Shine in oak barrels in an effort to eventually go beyond moonshine and into the world of craft whiskey.

Ray came to moonshining later in life. He grew up out West, and first came to the South as a renowned beer maker. He served as brewmaster across Florida and Alabama at breweries like Back Forty Brewing Company, the Brewpub in Montgomery, Hammerhead Brewing in Key West and a stint as the in-house beer maker at the Clevelander in Miami. He came to Bullock County not for liquor, but for horses. Ray and his wife purchased property outside of Union Springs to use as a horse farm, but when the economy collapsed in 2008, so did the market for $15,000 quarter horses.

I asked Ray if he thought the illegal moonshiners viewed him as competition, or if he’d had any problems with the locals since setting up shop in Bullock County. Ray said he had not. An illegal moonshiner charges $30 for a gallon of moonshine. Stills Crossroads ‘Shine costs about $30 a bottle, making ‘Shine very much a premium product in comparison. Instead of viewing him as competition, the moonshiners view Ray as a novelty, and also as a possible source of work. Ray told me that almost every day someone claiming to have moonshining experience will drop by his farm -- on foot, in a truck, or even once on a tractor -- to inquire about a job at High Ridge Spirits.

When the horse business cratered, Ray needed to find a way to generate income from his Bullock County property. Ray knew the area’s reputation for moonshining and knew the area had plenty of fresh spring water (it’s called “Union Springs” for a reason), so Ray decided to take the lemons life had given him and make liquor. He contacted the ABC Board and started what would become months of negotiations. At the end, Ray and the ABC Board had collaborated in re-crafting Alabama’s liquors laws, culminating in Ray being granted the first liquor distilling license in Alabama since the ABC was instituted in 1937.

Currently, business at High Ridge Sprits is booming, and when Ray does well, so does the State of Alabama. For every bottle of ‘Shine sold in the ABC store for $28.99, Alabama receives $14.77 in liquor taxes and profit. With that profit margin, it’s easy to see why the ABC Board has cracked down on illegal moonshining. The ABC Board’s efforts force moonshiners to make a choice: go straight and split their profits with the State, or go directly to jail. *

Ray estimates it cost him $75,000 in time and money to gain his license and set up the distillery. All of his equipment is top-of-the-line, with a custom-built copper still, stainless steel fermentation vats, and a bottling machine that fills

06 MADEPAPER.COM • JUNE 2014

And now a for a tale of two cities. The first city has a population of 5,740, with median household income of $36,591 and approximately 10% of the population below the poverty line. The second city

has a population of 3,670, with median household income of $18,520 and approximately 40.1% of the population below the poverty line. The first city is Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of the Jack Daniels Distillery. The second city is Union Springs, the county seat of Bullock County and a place in desperate need of an economic jumpstart. If Union Springs looked more like Lynchburg, people would have no reason to rely on illegal moonshine for supplemental income. According to Jamie Ray, legal moonshine in Bullock County could easily be as big as Jack Daniels Whiskey is for Lynchburg. Legal moonshine, like that produced by High Ridge Spirits, could serve as the vehicle bringing moonshine out of the shady woods and into the bright world of economic development. Ray explained his end goal with High Ridge Spirits is the construction of a massive distillery complex featuring tours, a restaurant, an RV Park, and all the other amenities offered at the large whiskey and bourbon distilleries of Tennessee and Kentucky. The job creation and revenue a project like this could bring -- including tourist dollars, sales tax revenue, and direct investment in hotels, restaurants and shops -- is massive. A comparison of the economic situations of Union Springs and Lynchburg amply demonstrates legal distilling’s potential. Legal moonshine, and the celebration of Bullock County’s heritage as the moonshine capital of Alabama, has near limitless economic development potential. Downtown Union Springs once featured a museum celebrating the history of illegal moonshine, but that museum closed due to lack of funding. While it may be painful for some to admit, a museum is where illegal moonshining belongs. If legal moonshine achieves its economic potential, bringing money, jobs, and investment to Bullock County, the reopening of the moonshine museum in downtown Union Springs would be a symbolic way to connect Bullock County’s past with Bullock County’s future.

It is no secret that people in the restaurant industry know how to have a good time. They know the difference between a dive bar and a crappy bar, how to spot a tourist trap, who has the best happy hour and whose kitchen stays open the latest. It’s easy to spot other industry people, the ones not making a fuss at the end of the bar, the ones asking their server to bring them what the chef thinks is best tonight, the people partying on Monday like it’s Saturday -because for them, it is. But industry people tend to miss out on a lot, as they are constantly working in their own restaurants. Chefs can look at pictures via social media or call up an old friend to discuss a new technique, but very rarely do chefs actually get to taste each other’s food.

As soon as food festival season kicks off in May, that all changes. Restaurants load up their coolers and their key employees and hit the road for cities like Charleston, Austin, and Atlanta. Last weekend TRUE had a booth at the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival (#AFWF14), one of the largest food festivals in the Southeast. We were told to bring enough food for 800 portions daily, which for those unfamiliar with the restaurant business is a ridiculous number of portions. Friday afternoon kicked off with a Snapper Crudo in carrot and grapefruit broth with tomato gelèe; Saturday brought Pickled Oysters with cucumber and celery root whipped cream; and finally on Sunday we offered Shrimp Sausage with slaw in a vegetable dashi broth. The only reason I remember them so clearly is that once you get the question “what

This summer, soccer fans from all over the globe will travel to Brazil to experience the cultural and sporting phenomenon that is the World Cup. The month-long soccer tournament is comprised of teams from 32 nations, played every four years in a different country. The United States will be participating in its seventh straight World Cup this summer. Here in Montgomery, there is a rapidly-growing groundswell of US Soccer supporters. They come together to cheer, chant, sing and proudly display their passion and support not only for the United States and its national team, but for the game of soccer as well. They are dedicated, passionate and organized: They are the American Outlaws, a national organization dedicated to increasing support for the United States men’s and women’s national teams, represented by local area chapters across the country. Montgomery officially became the 130th chapter earlier this May. “Everyone knows that college football is king in Alabama, but you would be surprised by how many people here in Montgomery enjoy watching US Soccer,” said Bret Stanfield, Montgomery chapter president. “We started getting people on board with this group last fall and now we consistently have strong turnouts for United States matches. It’s great. The support and participation at our watch

is that” 800 times in a day, the answer sort of burns itself into your memory. Nighttime, after the festival closes for the day, is when industry people get to let loose and mingle. On Friday night I found myself at a dinner table at Kimball House eating $4 dollar oysters while discussing the relative merits of boucherie versus barbeque. Afterward, I found myself pre-gaming for a Tiki themed after-party in the bed and breakfast room of a food photographer from Lafayette, drinking white wine and smoking cigarettes on a balcony overlooking midtown Atlanta. The after party promised a show from one of my favorite bartenders, Greg Best, who, as always, did not disappoint. After a long night of drinking (and let’s be honest we started as soon as we were finished prepping the food around noon) I somehow managed to convince the Uber app to find me a ride home. Those in my party that stayed out past my self-imposed 1:00 am bedtime got lap dances from the elderly strippers at the Claremont Lounge. I’m not naming any names. Saturday was more of the same during the day, but with visits to Paper Plane in Decatur and a “Lambs and Clams” after-party featuring Border Springs Lamb and Rappahannock Oysters that night. Liquor makers exchanged samples with beer makers while chefs did their best to one-up each other at their cooking stations in a good-natured, albeit drunken, competition. By Sunday, the entirety of festival talent had bags under its eyes and a splitting headache, but that didn’t stop the service industrialists present from putting on a good face and making the final day of Atlanta Food and Wine great for the customers who paid as much as $2,000 a ticket. That number may seem insane, but just the chance to dine on the food created by the River Region chefs present was worth the price of admission alone. The big four from our neck of the woods, Leo Maurelli of Central, David Bancroft of Acre, Rob McDaniel of Spring House and Wesley True of TRUE represented our state in fantastic fashion, both in the tents during the day and all over Midtown Atlanta at night. Even if you’re not in the restaurant business, next time you go to a food festival, ask someone working a food booth what to do later that night. We welcome anyone who loves meeting new people and having a good time, although I can’t make any promises about the future state of your liver.

PHOTO TARA ROBINSON

parties has been amazing.” Now, with the largest sporting event in the world at hand, the American Outlaws welcome the city of Montgomery to join them for the festivities. The Montgomery chapter regularly holds events at The Tipping Point in Hampstead to watch US Soccer matches and meet other US Soccer fans from around the city. The Tipping Point will host viewing parties for all United States World Cup matches. “The Tipping Point is the perfect place for our group,” said Stanfield. “It’s a good venue for us for many reasons and the staff has done everything to accommodate us. We are very grateful and proud to call The Tipping Point the official home of the Montgomery chapter.” The Outlaws will gather in full force for the first US Soccer match of the World Cup against Ghana on Monday, June 16. Ghana has eliminated the United States from the last two World Cup tournaments. Enough said. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 pm. Following the opening group stage match against Ghana, the US faces Portugal on Sunday, June 22, and then Germany on June 26. For more information about the American Outlaws, visit www.theamericanoutlaws.com. You can also reach the Montgomery chapter by email at aomontgomery@gmail.com. JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

Words BRIAN CARROLL

It’s June, and the spring music drought is officially probably already bought those bands’ new records and what you already know, this month Made reviews three the cracks in light of all the new music by which we

over. If you like the Black Keys, or Swans, you’ve are enjoying them correctly. Instead of telling you solo releases that are in danger of falling through find ourselves surrounded:

SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE BERMUDA WATERFALL

PETER MURPHY LION

DAMON ALBARN EVERYDAY ROBOTS

Pointing to exciting new signs of life in the recently deceased Chillwave genre, the tenth album from heartful Canadian John Waters clone Sean Nicholas Savage is a cool breeze for a hot summer’s day. Eschewing notions of punk as fashion, or even leaving the bedroom, Bermuda Waterfall finds Savage perfecting a homespun mood of sincerity and nostalgic lightness to craft a musical oasis, an admirable and marketable skill worth honing in trying times. Savage sometimes confuses time with place, as if to be transported by nostalgia automatically moves your soul around the globe, but Bermuda Waterfall remains clever, musically sound, loose, and leggy.

As if aware of precious time running out, Bauhaus and Love & Rockets singer Peter Murphy has abandoned patience and ambitions for pensiveness. With Lion, the studio-centric crooner delivers a testosteroneladen blast of Hard Synth-Rock, as if he’s been tracking wounded antelope David Bowie across the Serengeti and is finally ready to pounce for the kill.

Tightly balanced and restrained in form, Bossa Nova is an easy genre on which to screw up the production, so you can expect to see plenty of the bad ideas that have doomed previous revival attempts reemerge as this temperate wave runs its course, especially through established artists already invested in these bad ideas. However, the genre has many stylistic limbs, and right out of the gates the new album from Thievery Corporation nails the core with only a modicum of spectacle.

Your ears will truly stand at attention upon playback; Savage opens the album bizarrely by channeling Exotica legend Yma Sumac from left-field for one minute before fading out abruptly on the first track, “Boogie Nights.” From there, things get much more accessible, but Savage still embraces an unlikely parade of discarded influences throughout the lounge-y affair. With a particular bend to late Seventies R&B and early Eighties lite-FM, like a fourtrack Daft Punk on a shoestring budget, nods to Roberta Flack, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, Lionel Richie, Shuggie Otis, Elton John, Michael Jackson, and even Wham! all pop up in the mix, each subtly pointed toward the Caribbean in their own way. On Bossa Nova single “Naturally,” Savage delivers some of the closed, percussive synthesizer needed to bring electronic music producers away from the deadend of sawtooth-based EDM doldrums. Though his sincerity and enthusiasm is occasionally too apparent, with glorious and sweeping falsetto harmonies unselfconsciously drenched over almost every chorus, Savage’s wonderfully warm acoustic guitars and Rhodes Electric Pianos stand out as the album’s disarming, sunny highlights. Sean Nicholas Savage has created a relaxing vacation record for people who can’t afford to go on a relaxing vacation. The poolside schtick wears a tad thin when it’s dialed in too-directly, unveiled, but as I wipe the sweat from my brow in a sweltering apartment, my hat goes off to him for selflessly attempting to reverse global warming (and time itself). You might not play it into the ground, but will enjoy dusting this record off once in a while for years to come when you can’t quite put your finger on what it is you want to listen to. On Arbutus

Upon his coronation, Murphy never holds back, allowing the listener to feel every crisp beat and guttural vocal roar in the mix as they run for the hills with him to viking Valhalla. The best tracks, like “Low Tar Stars,” “The Ghost of Shokan Lake,” and “Loctaine” still benefit from the Goth flavor Murphy does better than anyone, but as the production frequently strays too far from classic newwave design, updating samples and synths with their supposed modern day equivalents, things only seem to progress as far as 1994, not 2014. While it’s awesome to hear Murphy try to melt faces, he does so strictly on his own, admittedly dated terms. Over-produced, a term I loathe, is a begrudgingly apt description of this bulging mass of effected guitars, synth, orchestration, and digital drums. Imagine Filter, Rob Zombie, Primal Scream, and Rammstein all played simultaneously and you have a sense of the insane power Murphy is attempting here. The album somehow manages to transcend this excess through the sheer tunefulness of Murphy’s actual songwriting, especially when he steps out of attack mode and into rock royalty mode on the flip-side. Despite the album’s impressive ambition and killer energy, you have my permission to feel fully drained by track five, a feeling which the album smartly capitalizes on by letting the reeling dizziness in the wake of its various walls of sound become integral to the drugless psychedelia it creates between outbursts. While listening, I had a hard time flicking this pesky notion that buried underneath the hubris, Murphy was writing like Sea Change-era Beck on some of Lion’s enormous and expansive ballads, for whatever that’s worth.

Records. Remember, Record Store Day is April 19th.

Peter Murphy’s heavy-handed production gambles will likely pay off with overdue commercial airplay and new respect, especially from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra crowd, but anyone who prefers folk, twee, and cute, organic sentimentality should give this release a wide berth. Recommended for Hard Rock veterans.

IMAGE: ©ARBUTUS RECORDS

IMAGE: ©NETTWORK RECORDS

MADEPAPER.COM • JUNE 2014

Damon Albarn’s experience of making a Gorillaz album entirely on iOS devices (The Fall) must have had an effect on his worldview. Forty-five seconds into his fourth -- not first, as his label would have you believe -- solo album, he takes a lyrical swipe at smart phones, and you fear you’re in for another preachy, hypocritical release about the evils of modern technology. Statements about today’s society being programmed and not having enough time to think independently are indeed easy, low-hanging fruits. Especially so when the artists who make them are dependent on the same devices from which they distance themselves to create and spread their music. It’s lucky, then, that the album quickly turns about-face to embrace technology and finds Albarn filling almost every track with odd chirrups and squeaks, giving an experience not-too-dissimilar from riding on a slow amusement park ride featuring animatronic songbirds desperately in need of a little WD-40. These strange background noises and how they interact with lilting acoustic guitar patterns are the album’s architectural strong point. Albarn can crank out effective, lightly heartbroken ballads like nobody else, so he does this almost exclusively here. The title track, “Everyday Robots,” is a curious, serviceable, beautiful earworm, but not a hit. “Mr. Tembo” is a self-derivative single that flatly combines the gospel and African vibes of late-era Blur to unsurprising, lackluster results. Maybe you’ve heard snippets of this album, found it predictable, and are wondering where the truly unique songs are hiding. At the tracklist’s midpoint, starting with “Parakeet,” the same eerie dread and downright weirdness Blur delivered on their classic William Orbit-helmed 13 slowly begin to creep toward the spotlight. By the album’s close, everything starts sounding a lot more comfortable, genuine, exploratory, and, well, interesting. Half creative and half skippably dull, Albarn’s new one is recommended on a track-by-track basis, if you have the time to sort it out. IMAGE: ©WARNER MUSIC GROUP

WORDS BRENT ROSEN

“Skeptical” may be the best word to describe my initial thoughts about the Korean day spa. My wife developed her love for Korean spas when living in Washington, D.C., raving about their reasonably priced treatments, family-style atmosphere, and the overall sense of relaxed detoxification one felt after a full day of saunas, massages, hot tubs and body scrubs. To me, this sounded like lady stuff. My initial skepticism melted away after receiving an hour-long foot, leg, and hip massage. My masseuse led me into a dark room, sat me down in a comfortable chair, put my feet in delightfully scalding water, covered my eyes with a warm, moist towel and left me there for a few minutes to listen to the rhythmless new-age music that I imagine comes as a free gift CD with every order from the spa supply store. I dozed, I murmured, I had my legs pulled, prodded, and popped in every direction, then I walked out into the light of the spa’s main gathering room feeling at least two inches taller. I was hooked. Out in the common areas everyone is wearing spaprovided scrubs, men in orange and women in khaki. There is a real authoritarian-chic aspect to

the clothes; everyone is dressed exactly the same, slowly queuing up in front of massage areas, saunas, and the surprisingly good restaurant like something out of North, not South, Korea. At least that is how things are in the unisex areas. Back in the sexsegregated wet rooms — the locker room/pool areas — everyone just hangs naked. The wet room is huge, at least 50 yards wide and 30 yards across. In the middle of the room sit three pools, one cold, one lukewarm, one hot. There is a traditional Swedish sauna and a steam room, along with at least a dozen open-stall showers. Body scrubs and other treatments are done in one corner of the wet room, and all wet room services are done male on male to eliminate any potential rub-andtug skeeviness (at least of the straight variety). When you’re in the wet room, be prepared to see lots of penises. White penises. Black penises. Korean penises. Stereotypes will be challenged or confirmed. You will leave feeling either better or worse about yourself. There is no shame in chubbing-up a bit before entering. After the wet-room, it’s time to go back out to the common room and reunite with the opposite sex.

You will have trouble recognizing your loved ones because everyone is in the same clothes, everyone has their hair pulled back, and everyone is moving really, really slowly because of intense relaxation. As you wander through the atrium-lit common room, you have to be careful not to step on someone who has rolled out a mat, taken a pillow, and decided to nap on the heated marble floors. There are also people napping in various nooks and crannies, or napping in front of the screen broadcasting incomprehensible Korean television. All of that napping around us gave us a great idea — for $25.00 you get 24 hours at the spa, so why not use the spa as a hostel? Go in around midnight or 1:00 a.m. after a night on the town, roll out mats in a corner, and hang out and play cards. Nothing stopping you from bringing in a bottle of wine. The on-site restaurant stays open until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., so late night snacks are provided for. Wake up and immediately cure the hangover with a dip in the cold pool, a dip in the hot pool, and a steam. Follow up with some massage and then maybe another round of male nudity in the wet room. You’ll never feel better on the ride back to Montgomery, already planning your next trip back.

PHOTO COURTESY JEJU SAUNA

WORDS CHANDLER HINES

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Atlanta when I awoke to realize why I no longer drink gin. Not because it’s not delicious — it is — but because the hangover growing in my body wasn’t as much fun as the night before. We had plans, however, to meet at the Korean spa later that morning, so naturally I needed to push forward toward the luxurious day ahead! Well, let me just say that whatever terrycloth robe, lemon water, lavender infused spa you are picturing, that’s wrong. As I walk into the ladies-only area to find my locker and get settled, I look over and realize that not only am I overdressed in my skimpy bikini -- I’m the only one wearing any clothes. Now, If any of you know me at all, you can imagine the excitement I felt being in an actual naked space. It was glorious! Again, I’m not modest at all, but the 13-year-old inside of me kept wanting to point out that this could have easily been a spread in the latest National Geographic. I’m a skinny gal myself and generally not self-conscious, but I was surrounded, and somewhat intimidated, by women with generous curves and hair in spots I didn’t know grew hair. I honestly didn’t know there were so many different types of nipples! I was intrigued. But after a while, I realized no one was judging my naked body, and walking naked around the open

“wet-room” full of hot salt water tubs and showers was fantastic. The Korean Spa specializes in full body scrubs and massages. First, you are asked to shower in one of the open stalls because all modesty was left at the door with your clothes. Next, the lady that speaks little to no English tells you to soak in the hot tub for at least 15 minutes before you can get a body scrub or massage. Whew! That was a long, sweaty fifteen minutes sitting next to total strangers and their nipples. Just when you think last night’s gin is going to make another appearance, they invite you to come lay on a large vinyl covered massage table for your body scrub. After you lay down, the scrub begins. The Korean masseuses, who are wearing only black lingerie (I use the term lingerie because it was transparent), toss buckets of warm water on your naked body and just start scrubbing with brillo-pad like gloves and soap. The dead skin literally rolled off of my arms, legs, chest, breasts, back, and even places I can’t see. Yes, they get all up in your business, and it’s magical. After an hour of scrubbing, more warm water is poured to rid the table of the layers of dead skin that have been removed from my now liquorfree pores. Following the warm water bath, my lady massaged my entire body with slippery oil and covered my face in a delicious paste of fresh

cucumbers while she washed my hair….pause for “O” face. I’ve never felt so refreshed and free, and all while lying next to my best girlfriend! And some strangers! After showering again and putting on the provided women’s uniform of khaki scrubs, it was time to explore this Atlanta gem a little more. I met my husband in the common area and we discovered there were at least 7 saunas with different healing powers to choose from in the common area. The saunas ranged in temperature from less than 100 degrees to over 125 degrees, and each had a different mineral-lined wall that removed different toxins from the body. Many people were so relaxed they were sleeping on mats inside the sauna. Naps were not just for saunas, however, as it’s perfectly acceptable to just lay down in the middle of the heated marble floor as if you couldn’t push yourself to walk the few steps further into one of the dark, nap-friendly saunas. I mean, this is my dream come true. Eat, sleep and be naked. With your friends. All in all, this was the perfect day and my body was so perfectly detoxed that I had to come home and drink a bottle of red wine just to feel normal again. I’m already dreaming of my next naked scrub down in this little piece of Korean day-spa heaven. JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

Words RACHEL FISHER

Great Bear Wax, Co.

PHOTOS GREAT BEAR WAX CO. Jake Carnley started the Great Bear Wax Co. to create a product that combines the historic process of beeswax candle making with the modern appeal of craftsmanship and handmade beauty. This Opelika-based company is where Jake’s passion for local, handmade goods and the natural world, culminate to create a product line undoubtedly Southern. Garnering beeswax by way of Alabama beekeepers, Jake primarily creates beeswax candles, but his products also include beard oil and mustache wax. There’s even a Bear

Blend coffee roasted by Auburn’s much-loved coffeehouse, Momma Mocha’s Coffee Emporium. For the sake of quality and intentionality, Jake prides himself in creating his craft in small batches. This approach goes hand in hand with his deep-seated love for the community he calls home, an undeniable characteristic of any true Southern maker, and shines through each piece he creates.

melters, heat guns a-blazing, and patient roommates, Jake is living his dream of creating local, quality products his community and beyond enjoy. His one-ofa-kind candles are available in three scents: Natural Beeswax, Lavender, and Patchouli Jasmine. Scents in the making include Tobacco, Barber Shop, and one “super secret scent” Jake says he’s keeping quiet, at least for now. You can purchase his goods at greatbearwaxco.com, Mama Mocha’s Coffee

With the help of a defunct Kegerator, knives, wax

Emporium in Auburn, and Oakleaf & Acorn in Hoschrton, GA.

Words RACHEL FISHER

It had been an uneventful weekday morning spent scouring every place in town for the perfect dining room chairs for our home in Old Cloverdale. I was driving on Madison Avenue feeling defeated and coming to terms with the fact I would have to spend more than I wanted on chairs I found online, when I saw it. Double garage doors thrown wide and an “open” sign lured me to pull over, park in the gravel lot, and wander inside unsure of what I would find. After the initial surprise wore off, I found myself standing in an old warehouse that is the best version of your grandmother’s attic, without the cobwebs and funny smell. Not only did I find the perfect set of chairs, but I also hauled away a few old doors, knobs and architectural knick knacks. Rescued Relics, they call it. And if you’re a DIY person, a designer looking for some inspiration, a husband with a honey-do list or an old house lover this is your kind of place. From Cloverdale and Capital Heights to Cottage Hill, Montgomery is rich with historic homes and communities reflecting important eras of American history. And from the Civil War to Civil Rights our

MADEPAPER.COM • JUNE 2014

buildings and homes have been privy to some of history’s most notable moments. However, during the social revolution craze of the 1960s, the capital city lost more than 300 historical structures to urban renewal policies and central city disinvestment that affected cities everywhere. Downtown became just another dot on the map and the distinctive charm of our city dimmed. With a passion to save the homes and buildings central to the identity of Montgomery and give them the renovations they deserved, the Landmarks Foundation was born. Since its inception in 1967, Landmarks has worked to preserve local history and the architectural heritage throughout Montgomery. The development of Old Alabama Town in 1971 has led to 50 historic structures being revitalized and renovated. In the midst of this restoration effort, many interior and exterior unoriginal components were removed to accomplish and authentic restoration for the house museums. Not wanting to further crowd city land fills or let these pieces collect dust in storage, Landmarks established Rescued Relics, a not-for-profit salvage warehouse offering many historical architectural elements and

materials from a variety of building styles and time periods. Today, Rescued Relics is one of Montgomery’s best-kept secrets for anyone looking for a one-ofa-kind fixture, hard to find hardware, or piece native to their historic home. If a more modern house is your thing, think of Rescued Relics as a unique and inexpensive home accent store. The treasures they call inventory at Rescued Relics include, but are not limited to, sinks, doors, light fixtures, mantels, window sashes, balustrades and a load of other pieces that strike the creative match of anyone restoring an old home or wanting to give a modern home a rustic appeal. If you’ve completed a restoration project, Rescued Relics accepts pre1960s building materials and elements from other home renovators, contractors, and remodelers (all tax deductible). And the best part? When you purchase from Rescued Relics you’re not only buying a piece of the heart of Montgomery’s past - you’re giving back to an organization that is committed to helping us remember what made Montgomery great way back when.

FEATURE FILM June 5-August 1 Children’s Matinees

Capri Theater 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. The June line-up features favorites like Fantastic Mr. Fox, Despicable Me 2, and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2. Tickets $1. www.capritheater.org

June 10 Veg Out Montgomery

Eat South Farm at Hampstead

7 to 9 p.m. Join EAT South for monthly plant-based pot luck dinners on the second Tuesday of each month. For more info, call 334.422.9331 or email info@eatsouth.org. facebook.com/vegoutmontgomery

June 12 Raiders of the Lost Ark Capri Theatre 7:30 p.m.

The first Indiana Jones movie returns catch up with Harrison Ford circa 1981 on June 12. Tickets are $7 for members and $9 for non-members. capritheatre.org

June 14 Second Saturday

Riverfront Park 5 to 9 p.m.

Second Saturdays at the Riverfront are back - every second Saturday through September. Family-friendly festivities include live entertainment, games, bocce ball, food vendors and libations at SandBAR. Admission only $1 per person. www.funinmontgomery.com

PHOTO PARAMOUNT PICTURES

June 18 Best Chef’s America Wine Dinner Central 6:30 to 9 p.m.

WORDS EVANS BAILEY

There are, in certain circles on the internet, intense, brutal, vulgar, debates regarding the ranking of movies in a series (ready your fainting couch). Your humble reviewer will attempt to wade into one of these more heated discussions with this simple premises: Raiders of the Lost Ark is the best Indiana Jones film. This simple premise is heresy to most--like arguing that Return of Jedi is better than the Empire Strikes Back. Of course, the argument that Raiders is the best Indy film shares a lot in common with the argument that, as an indisputable fact, The Last Crusade is the finer film. Raiders proponents, along with their Last Crusade brethren, can easily agree that the latest Indy installment, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a wretched abomination, best forgotten like the Phantom Menace. So to, the differing Indy factions (Raiders/Last Crusade) can agree that the second film, Temple of Doom, is a decent film that simply can’t measure to the genius of their favorite. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a better film than the Last Crusade because of its newness and originality. Before Raiders, there was no such thing as an Indiana Jones. Films before had bookworms and hustlers, and swashbucklers, and ladies men, but no film had encompassed all of these traits in one person before Raiders. Raiders first gave us a hero with a doctorate and whip. By the time that Last Crusade came along eight years later, Indy was an institution--an action figure and a video game. Raiders saw a young Spielberg and Lucas capture lightning in a bottle

absent the pretense of “franchise.” Raiders is straightforward. There’s a hero, a girl, bad guys, and an objective--stop the bad guys (and arch-rival) from getting to the MacGuffin first. There are pitfalls along the way, and of course snakes. But in the end, the good guy gets the girl, saves the day, and the bad guys get their freaking faces melted off in one of the most memorable scenes in Hollywood history. The Last Crusade, on the other hand, is more convoluted. There’s Indy’s daddy issues, for one, a contrived Nazi love story, and blimps too. The Last Crusade, as its title implies, is a more serious film, and Raiders is just plain fun. The newness of Raiders plays a huge role in this crucial difference. Raiders speaks to what Hollywood blockbusters can be, original, exciting pieces of art made from sheer imagination; whereas, the Last Crusade (and Crystal Skull to a greater extent) represents where tinseltown is now--stuck in an endless series of retreads, sequels, prequels, and reboots. Even the end of the Last Crusade, where the bad guys suffer old age in a split second and die, is a call back to the unforgettable ending of Raiders. My recommendation to you is to block off June 12 on your calendar. Grab the significant other, and maybe even the kids, and go see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Capri and try not to remember that wonder and pure joy of meeting Indiana Jones for the first time. If you don’t, I’ve got a box I want you to open while me and 1980’s Karen Allen hide behind this rock...

Save your seat at Central’s Best Chef’s America Wine Dinner with Chef Leo of Central, Chef Herrigan of A Stone’s Throw in Birmingham and Chef David Bancroft of Acre in Auburn. Tickets $150 including cocktail reception and 4-course dinner. Call 334.517.1155 or visit www. central129coosa.com.

June 19-29 Clybourne Park

Cloverdale Playhouse

By Bruce Norris. Directed by Greg Thornton. Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the 2012 Tony Award, Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family, who happen to be the Youngers - protagonists of A Raisin in the Sun. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification. For tickets and showtimes, visit cloverdaleplayhouse.org.

July 16-July 27 Mary Poppins

Alabama Shakespeare Festival

ASF brings another family spectacular to the stage for the season finale. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family how to value each other again in ASF’s $1 million production. Tickets start at $30 and are expected to sell out. For tickets, call the Box Office at 800.841.4273 or visit asf.net.

June 26 A&P Courtyard Summer Series

The A&P Courtyard 5 to 9 p.m. True presents the A&P Courtyard Series select Thursdays this summer at The A&P Courtyard. Join us for outdoor movies on the big screen and a special menu from Chef True. For info, visit facebook.com/ truemontgomery.

Catch this film at The Capri, April 12-15. The Capri is located on Fairview Avenue. Visit www.capritheatre.org for info.

JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

Experiments & Happy Accidents WORDS WILL ABNER

It’s a beautiful, rainy afternoon at SpringHouse. Mise en place is underway in the kitchen and behind the bar. Wine reps filter in and out of the seats at the bar as they present their prized products to us. Discussions of the latest vintages, new cocktails and plans for spring harvest, while the clatter of pots and pans fill the air as the rain pours. It’s usually at this time when I get to testing. Mid conversation, pouring this and mixing that while everyone else is distracted. I reach for a bottle of orange marmalade I made from the pulp remnants of the orange juice I squeeze almost daily. I’ve been waiting for just the right moment to use this, fresh, sweet, yet acidic concoction. I marry it with whiskey and tonic, bringing life to it all with just a touch of sparkling water. I slide the glass across the copper bar and ask for suggestions. “More” is the group consensus. A friend told me about combining bourbon and tonic in a discussion about summer drinks, I was skeptical at first but after a few experiments I was a believer. Photo JON KOHN

WORDS & PHOTOS LUKE LINDGREN

MADEPAPER.COM • JUNE 2014

I’m a huge fan of Jack Rudy products, one taste of this tonic and you’ll be a believer too.

You can read more about the tonic renaissance in this month’s Garden & Gun. I use Bernheim’s because of its light flavor profile, mild aromas, and soft finish. It’s a wheat whiskey, meaning it has been distilled from at least 51% wheat instead of corn. This is what attributes to it’s smooth profile and makes it a good summertime whiskey choice. I make the Marmalade syrup with the leftover pulp after I squeeze and strain my orange juice. Usually about 1/2 a cup of pulp is left after a big squeeze. I put that in a pan and heat it to a simmer and let it reduce for about ten minutes. I remove that from the pan and add it to a smile syrup of a 1c:1c ratio, stir it well, then strain out the pulp. To make the drink, build ingredients in your favorite glass and enjoy!

2oz Bernheim’s Original Wheat Whiskey .75oz Orange marmalade syrup .5 Jack Rudy Tonic Top with soda

There is something about holding a product, that you purchased directly from the maker, that gives it a deeper sense of value. A few weeks ago I met a couple of pioneers, Mackenzie and Blaine, that own a company called The Local Branch.

They are from California and are traveling across the States this summer selling their creations and finds. They are a lifestyle brand with a story and they provide a unique blend of apparel, leather products and accessories. They are all created and repurposed in their remodeled Airstream (that they live and travel in) while they explore and travel the nation. Every product is tagged with a description of the inspiration behind it and the exact American location in which it was created. Every item they sell has a unique story. They take the quintessential phrase of “Made in America” and have recreated it to “Made Throughout America, by Americans.” Go visit their website to find out what they currently offer, where they will be and when. www.thelocalbranch.co @thelocalbranch

JUNE 2014 • MADEPAPER.COM

20—26 Design Week Birmingham

dwbhm.com

October —2014

Hampstead PHASE II

N OW

OPEN the

LARGEST

LAKE

LOCATED IN EAST MONTGOMERY ON TAYLOR ROAD

IN THE CITY OF M O N T G O M E RY

Call 334.270.6730

Open Weekends 1-5pm

hampsteadliving.com

Beautiful Amenities in Montgomery’s Fastest Growing Neighborhood!

The Mercer

The Hudson

The Helena

The Bromley

3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 1,915 sq.ft conditioned approx

4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,610 sq.ft conditioned approx

4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,569 sq.ft conditioned approx

$286,750

$381,200

3 BEDROOM 2 BATH 1,768 sq.ft conditioned approx 518 sq.ft porch / garage approx

The Abbey

The Adele

The Ebury

The Maggie

3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 1651 sq.ft conditioned approx

4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,268 sq.ft conditioned approx 735 sq.ft porch / garage approx

4 BEDROOMS 2.5 BATH 2,440 sq.ft conditioned approx

4 BEDROOM 3 BATH 2,372 sq.ft conditioned approx

$357,650

$314,900

$269,900

$299,900

$289,900

COMING SOON

hampsteadliving.com

VISIT THE HAMPSTEAD INFORMATION OFFICE & MODEL OPEN DAILY CALL FORREST MEADOWS AT 270.6730 HAMPSTEAD IS LOCATED ON TAYLOR ROAD, 1.5 MILES SOUTH OF VAUGHN ROAD INTERSECTION Town building, design, & construction are an evolving process. The Hampstead master plan, features, floor plans, & pricing may change without notice due to a variety of considerations. Any illustrations are artist’s depictions only & may differ from completed improvements. This is not an offer to sell real estate property. Information is correct but not warranted. Void where prohibited by law. Equal Housing Opportunity.© 2014

Russell Lands On Lake Martin is an idyllic place on the shores of Lake Martin, Alabama’s largest lake. With 44,000 acres of

the southeast. Russell Lands On Lake Martin lies at the heart of Lake Martin and includes 25,000 acres of pristine forests with

pristine water and 750 miles of

more than 80 miles of hiking, bik-

shoreline, Lake Martin is a recre-

ing and equestrian trails, four flag-

ation destination unparalleled in

ship marinas, an outstanding, private golf course and country club, and a town center - Russell Crossroads - that harkens back to a simpler time, yet provides charming shopping and fine dining opportunities.

Throughout our country’s history,

the town center has served as a community gathering spot – a common meeting ground to shop, to dine and if luck had it, to leave with a few friendships formed. Located in the heart of Russell Lands On Lake Martin, Russell Crossroads perfectly blends these storied traditions with today’s conveniences. For more information, call 256-215-7011 or visit RussellLandsOnLakeMartin.com