MADE Paper

MONTGOMERY

A Free MONTHLY NEWSPAPER

Issue 01 May 2013

MADEPAER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 1

4/24/13 5:54 PM

This is the water of presidents. And of celebrities.

It is the water of athletes – even Triple Crown winners. It’s as comfortable in the Oval Office as it was in the Old West. Sodium free and naturally ionized, Mountain Valley was named “Best Water in the World” – twice – at Berkley Springs International Water Tasting. Premium domestic spring water, bottled in glass at the original source for more than 140 years.

Find it locally at MountainValleySpring.com

Celebrate Life at Alley Station Montgomery's Premiere Events Location Rooftop Terrace • Gorgeous Ballroom • Parties Weddings • Business Events • Downtown Excitement

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 2

alleystation.com

4/24/13 5:54 PM

MONTGOMERY Issue 01 May 2013

PUBLISHER MADE Paper EDITORS Brent Rosen, Anna Lowder CREATIVE DIRECTOR Harvi Sahota Brent Rosen ONLINE EDITOR DESIGN Matter CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brent Rosen, Caroline Nabors Rosen, Anna Lowder, Andrea Jean, Heather Stein, Tiffany Bell, Will Abner, Johhny Veres, Sam Wootten, Jennifer Kornegay, Scott Stein, Andrea Marty, Melissa Tsai, Joe Birdwell, Tom Jean, Edwin Marty, Evans Bailey CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Harvi Sahota, Grace Photography, Josh Moates, Jon Kohn ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Joshua Pittman, Robin Birdwell

Made is a free newspaper published monthly.

Modern design, authentic voices, smart articles and curated events.

ISSUE 01 MAY 2013

CONTENTS © 2013 by Made Paper LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the publisher’s express written approval is prohibited. The publication is free, limit two per reader. Removal of more than two papers from any distribution point constitutes theft. Violators are subject to prosecution under city ordinances.

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 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.

Find Blogs, Events, Film, and Online Features on the MADE website. madepaper.com

MADE 505 Cloverdale Road, Unit 104 Montgomery, Alabama 36106 CALL 334.223.4862 EMAIL editor@madepaper.com

COVER: Photo: Jon Kohn, enlove photography MODEL: Lindsey Littlefield Cover inspiration from Amanda Buck

03 04 06 08 10 11 12 13 14 15

Column Feature Style Makers Food Drink Spaces EATSouth Music Travel

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

Last fall, two events helped turn the inchoate idea of an alternative newspaper for Montgomery into MADE. First, EAT South hosted an oyster roast on a Thursday, with oysters, beer and live music at its downtown urban farm. The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts followed up on Friday, bringing the Dexateens back together for a one-night, outdoor show on a hill next to the Museum’s reflecting pool. These events, back-to-back, were as good as any you’d attend anywhere in the country, and many of the people I talked to at these events were amazed they were taking place in the city they called home.

I started thinking about why – why is Montgomery blessed to have such amazing happenings on such a regular basis? I came up with a few reasons, but to generalize, Montgomery’s great organizations, great events and great sense of community reflect Montgomery’s great people. Passionate people that, through force of will, are making Montgomery the kind of place where they want to live. Cities like Birmingham or Atlanta or Nashville are mainly finished products – Montgomery remains a work in progress. The people active in this community are working to ensure Montgomery’s bright future, while not forgetting Montgomery’s important and impressive past.

Unfortunately, many of these happenings fail to reach out beyond a certain core audience. EAT South’s core supporters attended its oyster roast, but we struggled to bring a larger audience ready to embrace the farm and its mission. The Museum was happy with the number that attended the Dexateens concert, but there was plenty of room on that hill for more.

City institutions are not alone. A local chef friend commented that when he hosts special dinners away from his restaurant, he cooks for the same 20 people who always attend. I know amazing local artists and musicians forced to look far beyond Montgomery to establish a following. The Cloverdale-Idlewild neighborhood concert series – with its free, Sunday springtime concerts in Cloverdale Bottom Park -- is generally unknown outside of those neighborhoods.

The more I thought about the problem, the less I could figure out why our local chefs, artists, neighborhoods and institutions fail to generate more enthusiasm in the community at large.

The enthusiasm gap results not from apathy or disinterest, as an abundance of passionate people are changing the faces of their organizations, institutions, and businesses as they work to make Montgomery a better place. However, much of this excellent work is done in a silo – some people are working on the city’s arts culture, some people are working on the city’s food culture, others are using the power of our supportive local government to make improvements to individual neighborhoods – but those active people aren’t communicating outside of their own areas of interest. Great enthusiasm and communication exists within these silos. The problem is no central resource connects them all together.

MADE will be that central resource. MADE will provide this city’s creatives and innovators a venue for publicity and support – support that can bring the work of Montgomerians out of the silos and into the broader public consciousness.

MADE will tell the stories of chefs and artists, musicians and craftsmen, thought leaders and local characters, neighborhoods and organizations – but we won’t stop at just telling these stories. We will also ask the more important question: why do these stories matter to Montgomery?

That MADE is necessary is a testament to how far Montgomery has come in a few short years. Our articles and stories will showcase the diverse tapestry that makes up the New Montgomery, ensuring that anyone interested can become aware of the amazing things happening across our city. I want you to read MADE and realize that other cities in the region may offer more, but no other city, top-to-bottom, offers better.

The paper edition of MADE is published at the beginning of each month. Our website, www.madepaper.com, is updated multiple times a day with unique stories about Montgomery’s people and culture. If you know something that MADE needs to cover, or want to contribute to MADE, email me at editor@ madepaper.com.

As long as you’re reading, we’ll be writing.

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 3

03

4/24/13 5:54 PM

Q&A with Natalie Chanin Founder of Alabama Chanin Natalie Chanin designs world-renowned textiles from small town Florence, which she has helped put on the national map over the past decade. Step inside The Factory for a one-on-one with Natalie.

All of your pieces are hand-sewn by local artisans using only recycled or organic fabric and materials, and it’s been that way for more than a decade. Why have those principles always been so important to you?

Using local artisans is important because it keeps work in our community. The Shoals area lost quite a few jobs with the passage of NAFTA and the promise of cheaper labor elsewhere. Part of our mission is to create job growth within this area and for our artisans. Alabama Chanin is about making beautiful products in an ethical way. That also means that we have to be conscientious in our methods and materials. We use organic cotton because we believe that it is healthier for the wearer or user. We believe it is healthier for the earth and for our environment. Our customers know that we always strive to provide sustainable and beautiful products.

Your work - whether it’s a garment, film or recipe - always tells a story, has a story behind it or invites the imagination to create one. Can you tell us a little bit about your story?

I studied Environmental Design at North Carolina State University, at what is now called the Annie Albers program. This program was based on Bauhaus teaching methods, allowing me to study design theory alongside manufacturing methods.

After graduation, I worked for a short time in New York, eventually moving to Austria for 10 years. Everything that I learned in that city, working as a designer and stylist,/* helped form the person and the designer that I am today.

Returning home from Vienna, I had knowledge of materials, colors, textures, things that are important in when you begin to define yourself as a “designer”. Then I had to teach myself all of the not-so-fun things about business: logistics, supply, and finance. I should own stock in Quickbooks, as often as I’ve recommended it to others.

Smile.

I have read that you started out in Europe in set and costume design - how did you end up on that path? That must have been quite a move from Florence, Alabama...

In 1999, I took what was meant to be a sabbatical from my work as a stylist in Austria. I moved to New York City and stayed longer than I’d planned. I made myself a shirt and people really responded to it. So, I had an idea to create 200 one-ofa-kind shirts to sell during New York Fashion Week. I realized that what I was doing was mimicking stitches I’d seen my grandmothers make while quilting. So, this idea brought me back to Alabama and to my community, where I knew I could find skilled

04

seamstresses. It was quite a transition for sure, but more than a location shift, it was a life change – a change in ideology.

What (or who) inspired you most in the start of your career? How about these days - where do you draw continuous inspiration?

I think that truly the beginning of my career as a designer was a glorious accident – the perfect storm of people, places, and ideas coming together at just the right time. I’ve always had a desire to make things and my studies in design school really helped define that desire. I had an amazing professor, who became a friend, who came into my life and helped shape me with his guidance. His direction helped me to understand myself and how I wanted to design.

These days, I’m inspired by my community, by the talented artisans that work for Alabama Chanin, and my family.

Tell us about the T-Shirt that started it all.

We have to ask - do you have any clue where it is today?

Oh – that storied t-shirt. If you have heard the story, please forgive me. While on that previously mentioned sabbatical, I moved, for a time, to New York City. One night, while dressing for a party, I had that moment that many women have – the feeling that you have “nothing to wear.” So, I cut up a t-shirt and sewed it together with the seams on the outside and some appliqués on the front. Everyone seemed to respond to it. Even in super cool New York City. That shirt is now stored in our studio, buried in a box somewhere.

What was it about Alabama that brought you back after spending years in cities some of us only dream of living?

Initially, I didn’t really intend to stay in Alabama for good. As I mentioned, this trip home was only part of a supposed sabbatical from my work in Vienna. But, when I had the idea to make those 200 oneof-a-kind shirts for New York Fashion Week, I found that no one in New York thought it was possible to make what I envisioned and still turn a profit. That’s why I came home to Alabama – I knew there was a workforce here that understood how to make, to sew by hand, to create quality goods.

We’ve heard a lot recently about your organic cotton endeavors in Florence.

What has surprised you the most about growing and harvesting organic cotton?

Has the greater community been receptive to help harvest as you’d hoped?

There are so many things about the process

that surprised me – primarily how difficult each step would be. Simply acquiring organic cottonseed became a seemingly impossible task. We’ve really studied the process and have hopefully learned so much along the way – through research and through trial and error.

We were touched and surprised at each step by how our community embraced our efforts. Of course, there will always be those that think you are on a fool’s errand when you attempt something new. But, the number of people who were willing to physically help us – weed, cut, even pray – was a wonderful surprise.

And it was wonderful to collaborate with the whole team at Billy Reid.

What do you love or appreciate most about living in Florence now?

I love seeing the artistic community grow and flourish. This area is filled with talented artists, photographers, musicians, etc. The resurgence of the music scene in The Shoals is incredible to watch – and hear.

When friends and family visit you in Florence, where do you take them?

The first place I take most people is The Wall, a mile-long rock wall near my home built by family friend, Tom Hendrix, in honor of his great-great-grandmother, a Yuchi Indian woman. It’s a sacred place for our community and for me, personally. We also have a local house designed and built by architect, Frank Lloyd Wright – a perfect example of the beauty of great design. The Shoals is known for its recording history, so I like to take visitors to FAME Studios to see where people like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Etta James recorded. And, of course, we must have a chicken salad sandwich from Trowbridge’s in downtown Florence.

You mentioned (in a recent interview), there was never truly a “plan.” That seems to have worked out quite nicely. What about now, do you have a plan or vision for Alabama Chanin for the next 5-10 years in mind? When are we going to see Alabama Chanin boutiques?

It has always been a goal of Alabama Chanin to collaborate. We want to continue to connect the makers with the users and the manufacturers with designers. Reaching out to other like-minded companies and artists is a wonderful way to expand upon this conversation. This will be part of our plan for the years to come.

And as for an Alabama Chanin boutique – perhaps someday…

Any films, books, art projects in the works in your “spare time”?

We look forward to our continued collaboration with Heath Ceramics. We also plan collaborations with artists like Arkansas photographer Maxine Payne, about main street photographers in the Depression-era south, like Disfarmer.

How about a plan for tomorrow? What does a day in the life of Natalie Chanin look like?

We have several plans in the works for the long and short term. At the moment we are working toward creating a machine manufacturing facility in our studio building that will allow us to create a new line of machine-made knit products. That’s our next big goal.

As for my life, every day in my life brings a different, exciting challenge. That’s the joy and the risk of being a business owner. But, an ideal day would probably involve the smell of delicious coffee, the sound of work and laughter in The Factory, Patty Griffin on the stereo, and dinner from my garden with my family.

Do you have a favorite or go-to meal for dinner around the table with your family?

Breakfast for supper.

There’s certainly a lot of buzz and excitement going around about you visiting Montgomery for Southern Makers. Is there anything you’re particularly excited about for this event?

I look forward to meeting other makers and creating that connection. And, of course, all of the delicious food.

Can you tell us what’s in store for the 25 lucky workshop goers attending your 2 hour Sewing Workshop?

Oh, stories, laughter, and sewing…

Participants will select one from a list of our DIY Kits and we will provide the materials and instruction necessary for them to begin the project. This 2 hour Workshop is great because both beginners and experienced sewers can participate and find common ground in the middle.

Best advice you were given?

Don’t look, just leap.

Any final tips for new crafters?

Persistence. Practice. Patience. All with a bit of fun and lightness of spirit…

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 4

4/24/13 5:54 PM

01

02

03

04

What Inspires Natalie?

01, 04. The Alabama landscape, the people and the possibilities 02, 03, 05. Selection of Alabama Chanin’s work, including fashion and current collaboration with Heath Ceramics 06. Natalie Chanin Photos: Angie Mosier, Peter Stanglmayr, Robert Rausch

05

06

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 5

05

4/24/13 5:54 PM

STYLE EVENTS May 4

Alabama Chanin Sewing Workshop

Natalie Chanin will be leading an in-depth, hands-on workshop during Southern Makers in the trolley car. Very limited space so buy tickets early. Also at the Southern Makers market: Billy Reid Pop-Up Shop, Standard Deluxe t-shirts and more.

Tickets at southern makers.com May 7

National No Socks Day Andrea Marty, jewelry and fine artist, shares her thought process behind her creations…

Hue Studio Spring 2013 Trend Report:

Anything & Everything Floral Colors of the Moment: Mint & Coral For more Fashion & Style tips for May, visit the Style Section at madepaper.com

“I consider myself to be a creator of things. Not just of two beautiful children, but of other, personal, works of art. I create art from side-of-theroad-scores or the ever gratifying “dumpster dive.” I find unwanted objects and transform them into something beautiful.

My studio is in a little red barn on an organic farm. When I’m not at home with my girls, you can find me there covered in sawdust and paint: I saw, I paint, and I sand just about any salvaged scraps I can get my hands on.

“Anchor and Daisy” is my most recent endeavor. It is a nature-inspired, rustic yet modern jewelry line created

from fallen branches or pruned trees I find here in Alabama. I saw the limbs into various thicknesses and then begin adding layers of color. Each coat of paint is sanded to expose bits of the underlying wood while the edges are simply stained to enhance the grain.

The pieces are finished with a coat of high gloss resin.

My spring collection includes chunky adjustable wood rings, rustic pendants strung on soft deerskin lace, and hand dyed silk string as well as cuff bracelets made from scraps of lightweight, distressed leather and vintage copper. I welcome custom work and love creating unique hostess or bridal gifts.”

Celebrate by ripping off those socks and getting barefoot in the park! Time for a picnic old-school style with a proper packed lunch.

Try Riverfront park or Shakespeare.

May 12

Mother’s Day

Bake a cake from scratch (chocolate please) for your mom to show your adoration. Or knit her a turban (think 1940s Audrey Hepburn or Marlene Dietrich). Better yet, take a knitting class together as a Mother’s Day gift.

Anchor & Daisy is sold at hue studio and etsy, and will be in Montgomery at Southern Makers on May 4.

Photos GRACE PHOTOGRAPHY

06

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 6

4/24/13 5:54 PM

WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO ITEM THIS SPRING? Top Left. Christian Kerr Floral button-ups and brightly colored socks.

Top Right. Haden Brightwell Crop tops and maxi skirts are a must! Color blocking with any pastel or bold color can work with this duo.

Bottom Left. Lindsey Littlefield My old boots that I’ve resoled and revived. Or pretty floral prints in small doses.

Bottom Right. Will Abner I definitely need a good straw hat for when it gets nice and hot. Couple that with some cut-off shorts and I’m ready for anything.

Montgomery Street Style

Photos JON KOHN

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 7

07

4/24/13 5:54 PM

Words JENNIFER KORNEGAY ILLUSTRATIONs MATTER

Despite unkind stereotypes, generations of Southerners have actually taken great pride in being slow. Slow enough to stop and speak to our neighbors, to smile all the way up into our eyes, to do things right, do them by hand and do them with the materials readily available. We handtat lace, grow our own fruits to make homemade preserves, and hand-make everything from beer to musical instruments. Things undoubtedly move a bit faster in today’s South, but true

craftsmanship is still valued. A new crop of Southern farmers, chefs and artisans is proving this by looking backward and forward at the same time. Whether it’s food, drink, furniture, jewelry or art, the past is becoming present, and old ways of doing things are the new way to live.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Alabama, deep in Dixie’s heartland, and there’s no better way to experience it than at the Southern Makers event in Montgomery on May 4.

One Handy-Dandy Package

If you’re interested in a return to real food grown naturally and prepared by perfectionists; if you want to know more about living off the land while respecting it; if handmade anything gets you going, then Southern Makers is for you. This curated, innovative event evolved out of last year’s popular All-Star Food Festival,

and while it retains a large food component, Southern Makers is bringing together producers of all kinds, celebrating Alabama’s most talented chefs, artists, craftspeople, brewers, farmers and designers in a hands-on, truly experiential way.

Tour the entire state and taste what the hottest chefs are doing with area farmers’ products. Sample the passion being poured into every bottle of beer coming out of Alabama’s burgeoning breweries.

Learn how to sew or to keep your own bees, and take home a piece of contemporary furniture made from antique wood or jewelry fashioned from forgotten bits and pieces. At Southern Makers, you can do all of this in just one day and in one place.

The Makers’ Movement

Event coordinators have assembled an impressive group of Alabama makers including Alabama Chanin founder Natalie Chanin, Southern Accents Architectural Antiques, Tasia Malakaisis of Belle Chevre fromagerie, Back Forty Beer, Chef David Bancroft, Chef Wesley

True, Ex-Voto Vintage Jewelry, metal worker John Phillips, Whippoorwhill Vineyards, Railyard Brewing Co. and many, many more.

Missy Mercer of Café Louisa, Tomatinos and Louisa’s Bakery in Montgomery is one of the food artisans who’ll be on hand. But why would a busy chef and baker take the time to participate?

“Southern Makers showcases local artisans, and that’s important because no matter what the product, I’d rather buy something that’s been locally produced,” she said. “It helps support the community from the ground up and in a sustainable way. Southern Makers is a great way to let the public learn about all the great, local products available.”

Woodworker Ethan Sawyer will also be at the event with his furniture made from salvaged wood. “Events like Southern Makers expose local talent in a dynamic way,” he said. “When people get to interact with artisans and their products on a personal level, the character of the creator and the work really get to shine through.”

The list of things to learn, people to meet, music to hear, and cool things to buy is a long one, so head to www. southernmakers.com for full details and get your tickets before they’re gone.

What: Southern Makers When: May 4, 2 – 7 pm Where: Union Station Train Shed in downtown Montgomery, Alabama Why: Because it’s an easy, fun way to discover all the cool things being made in our great state, and meet the folks making them How: Advance tickets $10 for adults, $5 for kids ages 10 -15 and FREE for kids under 10. At the door, adult tickets $20, and tickets for kids 10-15 are $10. www.southernmakers.com

08

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 8

4/24/13 5:55 PM

BILLY REID’S EYE-POPPING FLORENCE FLAGSHIP WORDS BRENT ROSEN Fashion designer Billy Reid, and his eponymous clothing line, call Florence, Alabama home. Known across the fashion world for his Southern-accented work wear and suiting, Billy Reid’s men’s and women’s clothing uses unique fabrics and silhouettes to turn traditional suits, shirts and dresses into something rakish and modern. The Florence store also stocks a number of graphic t-shirts designed for bands like the Alabama Shakes, Dawes, and Driving and Crying, made from decadently soft cotton.

The feel and texture of the clothing demonstrates Billy Reid’s belief that sight is not the only sense that matters when judging a garment’s quality.

d i e R y l l i B

While the clothes play star, the store itself is incredible in its own right. Billy Reid’s flagship is outfitted with Reid family heirlooms – portraits, sculptures, alcohol accouterments and taxidermy of various kinds – conjuring the sort of house one imagines Flannery O’Connor and Truman Capote would have lived in had they been roommates – so long as part of each room was a dedicated closet. This same design aesthetic permeates Billy Reid’s other stores in New York, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Dallas, and Houston, but none of them are the brand’s true home.

On the second floor of the building sits Billy Reid’s design studio. Unfinished concrete walls, ancient heart of pine floors, and an original tin ceiling share a patina normally found on the pavement of overused logging roads, but this drained color palette sets off the antique furniture and oriental rugs that form the workspace clusters of various Billy Reid employees. Rolling racks full of clothing, baskets of fabric samples, a wall of clipboards detailing the specifications for each garment in the Fall line, an inspiration board that could inspire a color-blind accountant: I’ve never seen a more beautiful place to work.

Interested? Stop by the Billy Reid pop-up shop during Southern Makers and check out his clothes and design aesthetic for yourself.

FEATURE FILM

May 16 • Capri Theatre 1045 E. Fairview Ave 7:30 p.m. $7 for members, $9 non-members, $2 children.

Information capritheatre.org or call (334) 262-4858

You haven’t seen...The Graduate?!

WORDS EVANS BAILEY

That’s okay, it only turned 45 years old last year. Surely you’ve been doing more important things in that time. Right? Was there a college degree in there? Work? Get married? Kids and stuff? Have an affair with your dad’s business partner who happens to be the mother of your future fiancee?

Well listen, all that important stuff is what’s got Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) down after he returns home from college, The Graduate has swimming pools, Simon & Garfunkel tunes, the alluring Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson (the all-time MILF prototype), a sweet

MORE ON FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/MadePaper

May 3-5 Androcles and the Lion Cloverdale Playhouse

Prizewinning play, applauded around the world again and again, adapted by Aurand Harris, directed by Sam Wootten, presented by actors grades 6-12 in Commedia tradition. A group of strolling performers set up a stage and give a performance using authentic staging and stock characters of Commedia dell’Arte.

Aesop’s fable becomes a colorful theatrical experience for audiences of all ages. The play skyrockets with comedy and glows with friendship.

Tickets and information visit cloverdaleplayhouse.org or call (334) 2621530

May 4, Flimp Festival

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

Annual family-friendly event featuring artists, art making, chalk art treasure hunt, lunch from Café M, music and more to benefit the Museum’s acquisition, exhibition and education programs.

Admission $5 for adults, $3 for children under 12 and free to Museum members. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. www.mmfa.org or call (334) 240-4333

May 6 to June 28 Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story Rosa Parks Museum

New exhibit featuring photos of Pittsburgh’s African-American community from the archive of Charles “Teenie” Harris. Free admission. Rosa Parks Museum and Children’s Wing, 252 Montgomery St..

Exhibit open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information call (334) 241-8615

May 10 Alabama Chanin One-Day Studio Workshop Florence, AL

Spend the day with Natalie Chanin and team at The Factory in Florence for a day-long sewing workshop and Alabama Chanin experience. Guests will create a project from a selection of Alabama Chanin DIY Kits. Suited to beginners and experienced sewers alike, with projects ranging from garments to home goods. Cost is $475/person and includes all materials and a catered lunch featuring local fare. The Factory. 462 Lane Dr., Florence. Saturday, , 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Information visit alabamachanin.com or call (256) 760-1090

Alfa Romeo Spider coupe, and plastics.

Directed by Mike Nichols, whose movies I hope to everything you have seen (Catch-22, Postcards from the Edge, The Birdcage, Charlie Wilson’s War, and Regarding Henry--although the less said about Regarding Henry the better), The Graduate is a pioneer in the genre of awkward humour/modern dilemma films that appears to be all the rage these days.

If you’ve ever seen a Duplass brothers film and liked it, you can thank The Graduate.

Show your appreciation at the Capri Theatre on May 16 at 7:30. Then you won’t have to fake it next time someone asks if you are trying to seduce them.

May 10-12 Southern Writers’ Project Alabama Shakespeare Festival

Pulitzer Prize-winning tale embodies the life-long lessons of childhood, fairness and the courage to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost.

modern-day storytellers, actors, directors and audiences. The program explores Southern cultures and offers playwrights an opportunity to showcase their talents, and visitors an opportunity to become part of the creative process. Information

May 16

Annual three-day workshop brings together

and tickets visit southernwritersproject.net

May 11

Montgomery Street Fair Downtown Montgomery

Information and tickets visit asf.net or call (334) 271-5353

Capri Classic: The Graduate Capri Theatre 1045 E. Fairview Ave 7:30 p.m. $7 for members, $9 nonmembers, $2 children.

Information visit capritheatre.org or call (334) 262-4858

Inspired by the original 1899 Montgomery Street Fair, this event celebrates local talent and creativity. Local artisans and craftspeople will sell their wares on the street during the day as performers of all sorts entertain throughout the evening.

Great for anyone and everyone.

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Information visit montgomerystreetfair.com.

May 12-18 To Kill a Mockingbird Alabama Shakespeare Festival The play Alabama is most proud to call its own comes to inspired life on ASF’s stage. Set in Depression-era Monroeville and told through the voice of Scout, this

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 9

09

4/24/13 5:55 PM

Sunday Morning Coming Down: Time for Brunch in Montgomery WORDS CAROLINE ROSEN

Brunch requires a fluid definition. Brunch does not have to be a combination of breakfast and lunch. Brunch does not have to be eaten between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Brunch does not have to be served off a buffet line (despite that delivery method’s

MICHAEL’S TABLE Michael’s Table was once the only place in Montgomery – aside from a country club – where you could enjoy a true brunch. By true brunch I mean a creative mix of breakfast and lunch items not served from a buffet that can be accompanied by a glass of wine or a cocktail. There are soups and salads if you want something light, and dishes like the Jaeger Schnitzel Po’ Boy – pork pounded thin, breaded and fried, topped with creole mustard and pickled cabbage – if you want something that will actually help with your hangover.

The Breakdown Brunch: 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Price: $$ Reservations: Recommended (heavily) Favorite Dish: Love the Thai Red Curry or Quesadilla paired with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc Alcohol: Abundant Outdoors Area: Yes, ask when making reservation Kid Friendly: Not really Pet Friendly: No Gay Friendly: Very 2960-A Zelda Place 334-272-2500 www.michaelstable.net

CAPITAL OYSTER BAR Capitol Oyster Bar proves the wisdom of defining brunch broadly. While they serve no breakfast food, and are open far longer than traditional brunch hours (12:00 - 8:00 p.m.), the Oyster Bar’s cuisine makes for a perfect brunch. Fresh oysters on the half shell, peel-and-eat shrimp by the pound, and crab claws are excellent for sharing while you break down the Saturday evening gossip. The oyster bar hosts regular concerts on Sunday evenings, so if your brunch turns into lunch, and your lunch into dinner, may as well stick around and see artists like Clarence Carter, Marcia Ball, and Watermelon Slim and the Workers (I have no idea who they are, but that name is FANTASTIC).

The Breakdown Brunch: 12:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m Price: $-$$ (depending on market price and how much seafood you order) Reservations: Laid back, man.

Favorite Dish: Oysters!!! Also check the specials board for fresh catches of the day.

Alcohol: Beer good, wine bad.

Outdoors Area: A large deck overlooking the Montgomery marina. Claims to have “Montgomery’s Best View,” not sure I would quibble.

Kid Friendly: Yes Pet Friendly: Yes. The large outside deck allows dogs on a leash Cat Friendly: Yes. There is a large population of feral cats living in and around the restaurant. They add a little color and tend to keep to themselves.

And love the seafood.

617 Shady Street 334-239-8958 www.capitoloysterbar.com

popularity). Most importantly, brunch should not be reserved for special occasions. Sunday brunch is an occasion to itself, one worthy of weekly celebration. Here are four top picks for your next Montgomery brunch.

MARTIN’S RESTAURANT Since the 1930’s, Martin’s has been serving Meat – i.e. fried chicken, meat loaf, hamburger steak – and Three – i.e. collard greens, fried okra, potato salad – for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and with brunch on Sunday. An analogy best describes Martin’s Sunday crowd: golf course : 19th hole :: Church : Martin’s Starting just after 11:30 a.m., folks in their Sunday best trickle into Martin’s for fried chicken deemed one of the “100 Dishes You Must Eat Before You Die” by the Alabama Tourism Department. Both George Wallace and Martin Luther King fans of Martin’s. I recommend doing as they did: eat too much fried chicken, then spend the rest of the afternoon dozing on your couch. (Editor’s note: we have no idea whether Wallace or King were nappers, but that fried chicken sure is nap inducing).

The Breakdown Brunch: 10:45 a.m.- 2:45 p.m.

Price: $ Reservations: No Favorite Dish: Love the Miracle Whip flavor of the potato salad. Also, killer corn muffins.

Alcohol: No (unfortunately) Outdoors Area: No Kid Friendly: Yes Pet Friendly: No Mother-in-law Friendly: Completely. Great place to get family together because family time can be over by 1:30 at the latest.

1796 Carter Hill Road 334-265-1767

In the past year Chef Wesley True has revamped the brunch menu at True into a small sophisticated menu of brunch favorites. Shrimp and grits with a poached egg, chicken biscuits with bacon jam, lox (cured salmon to you Gentiles) and bagels.

True takes each of these dishes and gives them a unique signature twist. True knows that a good brunch means good cocktails, thus the $5 bloody marys, mimosas, and Aperol spritzes. When the weather is right, enjoy one of those cocktails after brunch on the outdoor patio while you people watch and read the Sunday edition of your favorite newspaper, or the monthly issue of MADE. The Breakdown Brunch: 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Price: $$ Reservations: Polite, but unnecessary Favorite Dish: Two words: Chicken Biscuit.

Alcohol: Yes. Great brunch cocktails and wines by the glass.

Outdoors Area: Yes Kid Friendly: Well, they do have doughnuts.

Pet Friendly: Yes. Walk your dog to brunch -- it’s good for both of you.

“Walk of Shame” Friendly: Cloverdale has no secrets.

503 Cloverdale Road 334-356-3814 www.truemontgomery.com

FOOD EVENTS May 10-11

May 20

One of Montgomery’s favorite food events. Spanakopeta, lamb, chicken, baklava - enough said.1721 Mt. Meigs Rd, 334 462 7285

Sorry, sworn to secrecy on this one. Get on the email invite list at eateasymgm@gmail.com

Annual Greek Food Festival Greek Orthodox Church May 16 • Capri Theatre 1045 E. Fairview Ave 7:30 p.m. $7 for members, $9 non-members, $2 children.

Information capritheatre.org or call (334) 262-4858

TRUE

May EatEasyMGM Secret Dinner Location TBD

Easy Bake

Simple, Classic Treats Now that the weather is warming up, all I can think about is spending time outdoors on afternoon picnics or evening strolls. Even though I’m spending so much time outside with the family, I’m still doing lots of cooking and baking at home. I’ve just made adjustments to make it all portable, like these apple hand pies. These are perfect for my husband who loves to take his breakfast-on-the-go or our dessert dates in the courtyard.

My mom is so cute. She’s been hounding me for this recipe after I showed her these hand pies through Facetime the other day. Growing up in a Chinese family, I rarely ate things like this as a child. I guess now that my parents have lived in the States for over 30 years, they are beginning to show interest in making American food at home. But now that I think of it, these do resemble something you find at dim sum: char siu sou, which is a flaky pastry wrapped around savory roasted pork. Nonetheless, I’m excited to share this recipe with you and my mom. WORDS & Photo MELISSA TSAI Follow Melissa on her blog www.madebymelis.com 10

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 10

4/24/13 5:55 PM

What’s Brewing in Alabama?

WORDS SAM WOOTTEN

This is a question I asked myself when I moved to Alabama a little over three years ago, and was harder to answer than I imagined it would be. Having lived in several mid-sized to large cities across the country, local beers always seemed ubiquitous and a great way to get to know the “flavor” of the area. While our region has seen great growth over the past 15 years for new breweries, Alabama was clearly running behind our neighboring states… that is, until recently.

Beer in Alabama has a long, if spotty history, and we are currently in the midst of a renaissance of sorts that has people across the country taking notice. Since the end of prohibition and the invention of the refrigerated rail car, beer has consolidated into a handful of macro-breweries with large distribution areas, massive marketing campaigns and somewhat limited flavor profiles. Macro-beers certainly have broad appeal, but they lack the local stamp that makes a beer drinker proud to call a beer truly his own.

The clouds parted in 2009 when we saw sweeping changes in our local beer laws. Much credit should be given to the hardworking men and women lobbying on behalf of local beer, spearheaded by the efforts of the Free the Hops organization, a grassroots effort to repeal Alabama’s prohibition-era laws that limited a beer’s ABV to 6%. This has allowed great craft brewers from across the country to market their beers to thirsty consumers from Huntsville to Mobile and everywhere in between.

More importantly, it allowed the industrious few who were ambitiously brewing locally under those old laws, and

trying to keep up with the creativity and output of those other award-winning brewers around the country, to hone their skills and create a verifiable craft beer boom right here in Alabama.

We pick our favorite sports teams by proximity to our hometown. Many of our favorite bands are often homegrown. We love to eat local, and find more and more restaurants are developing menus with local in mind.

So, why not drink local? What has St Louis, MO or Golden, CO ever done for your pee-wee football team, your neighborhood school’s “Couch to 5k”, or any of the dozens of community charity related events you’re likely to participate in every year?

Your local brewery knows this is a great way to win friends and influence people and keep the money in your community with jobs, positive growth of local businesses, and general local identity. The folks at any of the twelve active breweries operating in our state will tell you that the key to their success is building relationships with the people in their own surrounding markets first. They are showing up at your charity BBQ, donating to your soap-box derby, and creating new community events that highlight gathering friends and neighbors for a weekend or special night at your local pub.

For the sake of all that is good and holy, for the sake of small business, for the sake of better beer, visit your neighborhood grocer, restaurant or pub and ask for something local. Alabama has a cold one waiting for you.

I started with just a splash of home-made simple syrup in a tumbler, tossed in a few sprigs of mint and hit them a few times with the muddler. I was sure not to break the leaves into pieces, last thing I wanted was a bunch of cocktailers walking around with mint particles in their teeth. I poured in the bourbon and gave the mixture a good swirl, then poured it over the ice, settling perfectly in the cup, mint on top and everything.

This Mint Julep was good, the standard textbook definition of what it should be. A great drink for a bourbon enthusiast, but to my surprise there are people out there that aren’t fans. This is where the Patron Citronge comes in. I cut the amount of sugar I used by half, replacing it with the Citronge. This adds a subtle new layer that softens the bite of the bourbon. We passed this deviation around the room, and it was a hit with everyone. Soon enough everyone had their cups refreshed with this version, we became more and more convinced that we had something big on our hands. So this May while you’re reminiscing about our mild winter, go find a good front porch and try out one of these. Just make sure you don’t have work the following morning.

My arms are sore, I feel as though I’m walking around in a bowl full of Jell-O...maybe I shouldn’t have conducted this month’s cocktail experiment on a work night. I am proud of my condition though, as through many trials and errors, we arrived at a significant conclusion: How to make the perfect Mint Julep at home.

Earlier that afternoon I made a few phone calls and rounded up friends to make this cocktail. It was important that there was a diverse group to test and give input on how we were creating our Mint Juleps. My goal was to appeal to every drinker, even someone who doesn’t like bourbon (gasp).

Now personally I have never made a Mint Julep, but I knew they were simple to make since I needed only four ingredients: bourbon, sugar, mint, ice. I say to myself “this should be a snap” as I hunt down mint in Publix while dodging shopping carts, gaggles of heathen children, and apathetic parents. Mint in hand, I head over to the ABC store to pick out a good middle of the road bourbon. I chose Buffalo Trace, a new spirit in our ever-expanding liquor selection here in Alabama. It’s good stuff, comparable to Maker’s but cheaper. I also picked up something special to kick my julep up a notch. I reached for the Grand Marnier but saw the price tag and trembled. A quick Google search sent me to Citronge, a product made by Patron. Picking up the Citronge ended up a great choice, and at $12 there room for regret.

Evening arrives and it was time to finally get started, all the key participants were ready and the cocktail making ensued. The only aspect of all this I was worried about was the ice. Tradition calls for using shaved ice, and from what I have researched and heard from other bartenders it is a total pain to make. I was determined to find a solution other than going to Sonic and picking up a few pounds of ice. That solution just called for using a cocktail shaker and literally shaking the ice to bits. I didn’t realize how sore I would be the next morning after shaking up about two dozen of these, but it was well worth the kind of ice it produced.

YOU’LL NEED: • A cocktail shaker/pint glass/cup • Simple syrup (1c boiling water, 1c sugar. Mix & cool.)

• Your choice bourbon - lots • Patron Citronge • Mint • Ice THE MIX: 1. Shake your ice, crush it, turn it into small fragments somehow and put it in your cocktail glass.

2. Add .5oz of simple syrup, .5oz Citronge, and 1-2 mint sprigs all in your cocktail shaker/mixing glass and hit the mint with a muddler/ spoon/object.

3. Add a good 2oz of bourbon and swirl it around.

4. Pour over your ice and enjoy.

Montgomery: Railyard Brewing Company Birmingham & Nearby: Good People Brewing Co. Avondale Brewing Beer Engineers Tuscaloosa: Druid City Brewing Gadsden: Back Forty Beer Anniston: Cheaha Brewing Company Huntsville: Straight To Ale Old Black Bear Yellow Hammer Brewery Blue Pants Brewery Mobile & Area: Fairhope Brewing Company

May 4 Kentucky Derby Leroy

We’re placing our bets on this dark and hidden spot as the ideal place to cheer on the horses. Bourbon tastes better in lovely glasses anyway. Decorative hats encouraged.

May 5 Cinco de Mayo El Rey Burrito Lounge

You know the drill: chips, dips, margaritas, repeat. At least these cocktails and craft beers won’t leave you regretting it the day after the night before. Uno mås, por favor!

May 13-19 American Craft Beer Week Info & Events www.craftbeer.com

May 17 Back Forty Brewing Co. Chilton Co. Peach Wheat Launch TRUE Restaurant, 5pm

Join Brad, Jason, and Tripp as Back Forty unveils its new peach brew of the summer.

Craft beer and crawfish boil!

May 30 - June 2 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Midtown Atlanta

This definitive event is the first culinary weekend in the country dedicated to the food and drink traditions of the South. Don’t miss sessions with the Lee Brothers or the talent behind The Optimist, Holeman & Finch and so much more. Featuring 3 types of events: Learning Experiences (cooking and cocktail classes, tasting seminars and panel discussions), Tasting Experiences with the region’s top talents, and Dinners & Events.

Tickets: atlfoodandwinefestival.com

After tackling the ice situation I pressed on to mix the cocktail itself.

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 11

11

4/24/13 5:55 PM

01

02.

WORDS ANDREA JEAN In the early 1990s, Sam “Sambo” Mockbee founded the Auburn University Rural Studio architecture program. The program’s original vision was to help balance the scale away from highly styled, big-budget buildings for the wealthy toward more social and civic structures that would improve the living conditions of the less fortunate.

Auburn University students that participate in the program are tasked with building humble yet pioneering facilities: homes and structures for the Hale County Community.

This is social, community design in its purest form, as Hale County is one of the nation’s poorest regions located in the Black Belt of Alabama. Amy Bell, an architect at Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood in Montgomery, describes the Rural Studio as “a place for expanding your mind in terms of design and humanity. The Rural Studio gives

a student the ability to make the connection between people and the built environment.”

There is no doubt that the Rural Studio captures the spirit of the rustic, southern country. “I don’t think Rural Studio is really associated with a particular aesthetic, it is more a design approach. The creative process is what is key, and it emphasizes making inventive and efficient use of materials on a very limited budget,” says Jeff Slaton, another architect at Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood who attended the Rural Studio.

From the students’ standpoint, the Rural Studio teaches not just architecture, but life lessons. “The Rural Studio instilled a mindset for responsibility and recognizing that our role is to practice responsibility in all facets of our work. Whether it is seeing that which is hidden to the client, responding to the external forces that so

easily shape what we do, connecting the priorities of the day, or seeing the path to which we follow,” says Tanner Backman, 2012 Rural Studio graduate.

Bell cites the Shiles House as a project that helped shape her design philosophy toward efficiency, re-purposing, and working closely with clients to create beautiful environments on a budget. The 2002 Shiles House – one of 9 houses built on a $20K budget as an experiment in the creation of low-cost housing – featured insulated door panels cut for roof sheathing and insulation, shipping pallets cut into siding shakes to form the house’s exterior and discarded tires filled with rammed earth to serve as part of the house’s foundation. The result is a beautiful, functional house that uses recycled and re-purposed materials innovatively -- while remaining cost-effective. Projects like these

01, 02. Shiles House, Hale County, Alabama

are why the Rural Studio has garnered an international reputation for its social responsibility and distinctly southern beauty.

While Sambo passed away in 2001, his vision lives on in Hale County. It is Sambo’s spirit that animates the students who come through the Rural Studio, and then apply the values and principles they learned in the program to the work they do today. Bell sums it up this way: “Arts and humanities will never leave a Rural Studio student.

Sambo wanted you to be ‘snake bitten’ for life.” Bell explained that Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood reaches out to organizations like the Explorer’s Program, Can Do Good, and Teach for America to continue Sambo’s “snake bitten” legacy.

Interest peaked? Go see it for yourself: it’s a couple hours away on Highway 80 West. www.ruralstudio.org

Photos TIMOTHY HURSLEY

12

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 12

4/24/13 5:55 PM

EAT South encourages healthy lifestyles through education and sustainable food production in urban areas throughout the Southeast. www.eatsouth.org

Have a Good Food Day

WORDS EDWIN MARTY

EAT South is challenging Montgomerians to improve their health and our community by eating more locally produced food and preparing that food in healthy ways. We are doing this through our EAT South Pledge.

We’re asking individuals, corporations, and schools throughout our region to make a pledge for what they will do this year to increase the amount of locally grown food they eat and how they will prepare that food. EAT South will post these pledges on our web site and other media outlets. At the end of the year, EAT South will ask all of the participants to submit what they have actually been able to do, and award the individual, corporation, and school that best reached their goal.

Why eat local? Purchasing food from local producers (we define local as “from our own state”) is a great way to support our economy, protect our natural resources, and get affordable food. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are almost always the best value for your food dollar since you don’t have to pay for significant transportation costs. It’s also a great way to

ensure you’re eating the freshest food possible.

Why eat healthy? Fresh seasonal food tastes great! When you buy local food, it’s fresher which means it has more nutrients and flavor.

Children love food with flavor, so eat local and give them what they want! A diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables is the simplest way to avoid serious health issues such as obesity, hyper-tension, and strokes.

Tips on Eating Local: •Shop at farmers markets and farm stands. And always ask the farmers where their produce is from - it helps you get to know each other and the food you’re eating.

• Eat seasonal food, like collards and cabbage in Spring and tomatoes in Summer. Fruits and vegetables in season are more often from local sources.

• Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. These ‘subscription’ programs are offered by dozens of Alabama farms and give you a fresh supply of locally-produced fruits and vegetables each week throughout the growing season.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW Farmer’s Tip: Growing Tomatoes

There’s simply no better source for quality, free produce than your own backyard. Here are a couple of easy things you can do to ensure your work yields delicious, bountiful food.

• Start off right by adding generous amounts of compost to the soil. Incorporate 2 inches of finished compost to the top of the soil to ensure your plants have all the nutrients they need and to improve soil drainage. Make your own compost or buy it in bulk from J3 Organics (J3Organics.com).

• Deep, infrequent watering is better than frequent shallow watering. Once your plants are established, you can encourage their roots to grow deeply by watering around the base of the plant for 30 minutes every 3 or 4 days. Sounds crazy but it’s true. This lets the soil dry out in between watering and decreases disease. Soaker hoses work great. This is particularly important when growing tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.

• Check out the EAT South website for more about our Organic Gardening Workshops and how you can get involved. Also download the Alabama Planting Guide from the Alabama County Extension Service (www.aces.edu.) – an invaluable resource for all the basics of a successful garden.

Have a Good Food Day We’ll be posting your pledge on our web site and in printed materials throughout the year. At the end of the year, we’ll be reaching back out to you to hear how you’ve achieved your pledge. We’ll select an individual, a school, and a corporation that have achieved their pledge to receive an award. All pledges will receive recognition for their efforts. Drop completed pledges off at the Downtown Farm or Hampstead Farm.

Please check one of the three categories for your pledge

Individual

School

Corporation

Name: Email: Address: What’s your EAT South Pledge?

Can we use your EAT South Pledge in our promotional materials?

EATSouth will not share your email with any other group. We will use to contact you regarding the pledge and EATSouth updates.

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 13

13

4/24/13 5:55 PM

What Time Will Tell: 30 Years of Rocking with Tim Lee Words TOM JEAN

In popular music, where longevity is rare, consistency goes unrecognized, and the concept of “success” is subjective, Tim Lee has had a very long, consistent and successful career.

“Who?” you may ask? In the MTV-dominated early 80’s, an era of misplaced music industry priorities and notoriously huge, overlyprocessed productions, Tim Lee first surfaced as a singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Jackson, Mississippi’s The Windbreakers, one of the most refreshing of the emerging independent “new guitar bands’’ that were kicking against the bloat of day-glo and hair-gel. The band released 2 E.P.’s and 5 L.P.’s of consistently well written, catchy and tastefully executed pop music between 1982 and 1991.

The Windbreakers hit all the right notes with up-front guitars that were a perfect balance of jangle and crunch, instantly memorable vocal harmonies, and sincere selfreflecting lyrics of longing and love all with just the right amount of cynicism. And while they never got “famous,” and never went majorlabel, The Windbreakers were often critics’ favorites.

Tim also found time to stretch out musically on a few excellent solo outings (notably, 1988’s “What Time Will Tell” and 1991’s “Crawdad” -

both well worth seeking out), and side projects (like 1986’s not-to-bemissed “Gone Fishin’” collaboration with Rain Parade’s Matt Piucci).

There was not much downtime for Tim Lee during his first decade in music. And in independent music, staying busy is one of the hallmarks of success.

Things changed, however, in the 90s. Many of the previously supportive independent labels didn’t have the resources to keep up with the prevailing industry “go big or just go away” aesthetic, and subsequently folded up shop. Acts that were able to get by the decade before on a combination of modest record sales and touring suddenly found themselves having to hustle more than ever for. After the amicable disbanding of The Windbreakers, Tim felt that this was the right time to step away from his solo career and re-evaluate just exactly what it was that he wanted, and to hopefully find a way to make writing and performing fresh and fun again.

As the 1990s gave way to the 2000s, advances in Internet technology provided an easily accessible way for artists to reach

new audiences and reconnect with old fans. Tim released “Under The House” in 2003, where he layed out a manifesto in the opening lines of “Keep It True:” Crawling from the wreckage Starting anew After falling off the face of the earth You gotta keep it true Showing a renewed confidence and sense of purpose, Tim kept it true by delivering some of his best work on 2004‘s “No Discretion” and 2006‘s “Concrete Dog,” with an always unpretentious, less-is-more simplicity and work ethic that emphasizes the song over production pageantry. Tim remains one of those artists with the rare ability to glide effortlessly between styles (powerpop, punk rock, country balladry), while never coming across corny.

The trademark elements of Tim’s artistry - a distinct nasal-yetsomehow-bass-y vocal twang, uncomplicated but crafty song forms, favorite lyrical themes (escaping the boredom and narrowmindedness of the small town, the hypocrisy of bible-thumpers, the gothic mystery of the south) - add up to an ever-present, unmistakably

individual stamp that’s all over his work.

The third act of Tim’s career in rock had an unexpected twist. Tim’s wife, Susan Bauer Lee, woke up one morning determined to play the bass. She was a natural, becoming scary-good at holding down the bottom with spot-on feel and taste.

So good, in fact, that with the addition of her singing and songwriting, the Lee’s made it official around 2007 by forming The Tim Lee 3. Tim and Susan share lead vocals and writing duties, and with Tim untethered from the microphone half of the time, his guitar playing assumed a greater muscularity and inventiveness. That, along with Susan’s appealingly dry vocal delivery (like the Kitty Wells of rock), provided a new depth as displayed on 2008’s “Good 2B3,” and the expansive 2010 double album “Raucous Americanus.”

With 2013‘s “Devil’s Rope,” the TL3 have served up their most diverse long-player to date. The fruits of the Lee’s recently instituted “songwriting date night,” and new alliance with solid drum warrior Chris Bratta, it’s an impressive stew

of styles and sounds - with a jangly celebration of the rock’n’roll lifestyle (“Signal”), an infectious bluesstomping title track (this will get stuck in your head for days), a gorgeous, lush mellotron/e-bow laden ballad “Alibi” (did they raid King Crimson’s rehearsal room?), a bouncy, unapologetic meditation on Tim’s Windbreakers days (“Monkey Dance”), a couple of ferocious, Stooges-worthy guitar sludge-fests (“Cut Rate Divorce,” “Says Baby Strange”), the acoustic southern wisdom tinged “Weird Weather” (one of their finest songs to date), and a cover of Magnapop’s 90‘s semi-hit “Open The Door” (a “hi and thanks” to old pals), “Devil’s Rope” is one satisfying slab of mature rock’n’roll.

Currently on the road supporting “Devil’s Rope,” there are 2 opportunities to see and hear the Tim Lee 3 in downtown Montgomery on May 4th. They will perform in the afternoon as part of the Southern Makers festival, and again that evening at the official Southern Makers after-party at AlleyBAR.

MUSIC EVENTS May 11 Hail The Titans New Orleans

Rock and roll that’s big, unashamed, and unafraid. HTT shows are true experiences in and of themselves. Don’t miss this Alabama-born band bringing avant-garde rock to the forefront, and getting national acclaim doing it. HTT plays New Orleans’ Banks St. Bar, and will be in Montgomery at AlleyBAR June 28. www.hailthetitans. com

May 17-19 Hangout Music Fest Gulf Shores

The fourth annual beachfront festival features Kings of Leon, Shovels and Rope, Bloc Party, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Public Enemy, Black Crowes, and Trey Anastasio Band.

Needless to say something for everyone.

Pack sunscreen, cash, and patience - last year’s pulled a daily crowd of 35,000.

Tickets: hangoutmusicfest.com

May 24 Duquette Johnston & The Rebel Kings Birmingham

Album release party with Walter Liars. If you missed them at The Old 280 Boogie in Waverly, catch them at The Bottletree Cafe, one of Birmingham’s better venues.

Tickets: thebottletree.com

14

Words JOHNNY VERES Josh Carples is a member of the Montgomery based band Hail the Titans, a singer-songwriter, actor and writer, and he somehow manages to work a “big boy” job in his free time. He will be periodically sending dispatches from the road when his band is on tour.

“The tour is booked. Now it’s time for packed venues, screaming fans, after parties, groupies, free-flowing alcohol, drugs, hotel room destruction and daily hangovers. Hashtag YOLO, amirite? Ah, the glamorous life of a touring musician… with a day job. If only that were the case.

Allow me to start over: The tour is booked.

Now it’s time to live in a van with three other hairy, sweaty guys for the next however-manydays, shower every two-to-three days (if you’re lucky), sleep intermittently and maybe even grab a meal that doesn’t come from a gas station once in awhile.

When touring, you never really know what to

expect, especially if you’re hitting a city you’ve never been to. Playing a hole-in-thewall venue on a Monday night in a city far from home might mean that you’re playing to the bar staff or to the other band on the bill, and if you’re lucky, the handful of friends that came to hang out with them.

But you load in all the equipment, check levels, mentally focus, and play your heart out. Maybe someone there will like you or you’ll make a friend. Maybe they’ll tell others about you or bring more people the next time you come to town. Maybe… just maybe, they’ll even let you park in front of their house and sleep on their floor.

After four or five hours of sleep on a stranger’s floor, you get up, find coffee, and head to the next city to do it all over again. Sometimes, you get lucky and play an awesome venue or house show with great bands and a great crowd.

Sometimes, you play for three people and the

sound guy. The key is to give them both the same show.

It’s not fame or money that keeps bands touring independently: it’s the love of music, and the experiences and stories are the icing on the cake. When some random girl wants you to drive her to see her jailhouse boyfriend in another city (the answer is “no”), when you hear a man on a D.C. sidewalk yelling about how his knees are worth $100,000, when you meet family members for the first time, when you experience restaurants you’ve seen on Food Network, and when a bartender, fan or sound guy tells you that your band is incredible and that he hasn’t heard anything like it before and then offers to buy the band a round, you’re reminded about how it’s all totally worth it.

Catch Hail The Titans this May in New Orleans or Atlanta, and AlleyBar in Montgomery June 28.

MADEPAPER.COM • MAY 2013

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 14

4/24/13 5:55 PM

Words BRENT ROSEN

In 1952, Hank Williams was staying in a cabin on Lake Martin when he wrote a song about a stubborn Indian named Kaw-Liga whose unrequited love for an Indian maid turned him into wood. That song gave its name to Kowaliga Restaurant on Lake Martin, where for years a wooden Indian stood guard over the doors. Over time, Kowaliga lost its identity to a string of other restaurants and its wooden Indian to theft. This summer, Russell Lands is bringing back the old Kowaliga, Indian and all.

First, the food. When Rob McDaniel, executive chef at SpringHouse, and Russ Bodner, Chef at Kowaliga, created the menu, they wanted to take what had been served at the location before and make it their own. Don’t expect drastic change: the menu keeps things lake-classic, with fried catfish, cheeseburgers, and seafood. Bodner told me the biggest change for the food at Kowliga will be an emphasis on freshness. The shellfish come from the Gulf, the vegetables are farm fresh, the catfish is raised in Mississippi and never frozen before it’s served. While the restaurant is focused on freshness, longtime customers should not expect major price increases (aside from the crab claws, which used to come frozen from Indonesia but are now sourced from the Gulf, where market price dictates an appetizer order will cost about $20). An exciting addition to the menu will be Po’Boys – fried shrimp, oyster, and house smoked beef brisket – served on the world’s best French bread shipped direct from New Orleans’ Leidenheimer Bakery.

Next, the atmosphere. Russell Lands didn’t pick up and move Kowaliga, so it still has the best view on Lake Martin. New covered deck space has

been added to create more outdoor seating for customers to enjoy that view. The restaurant wants to become more kid friendly, and a beach with picnic tables was added on the shore of Lake martin so that children can play in the sand while their parents enjoy their lunch. A dedicated gaming area was created to make the restaurant experience more interactive, so step up to the corn-hole and washers area and gamble with strangers on what would otherwise be meaningless games. In the next few years Kowaliga may go further and add a miniature putt-putt golf course, another winking throwback to the Kowaliga of old.

Finally, the Indian. For decades, no trip to Lake Martin was complete until you had your picture made with Kowaliga the Indian. That tradition continues now that Corey Worden has carved a new Kowaliga. Worden, a Titus, Alabama based woodworker and artisan, used a chainsaw to carve the eight-and-half-foot wooden Indian out of a single knotty pine tree found in Elmore County. To prevent the Indian-napping of this Kowaliga, he will be kept inside the restaurant.

P.S. Don’t worry about Chef Bodner ruining your favorite haunt on the lake. Bodner has long-time Lake Martin bona fides. His mother is from Tallassee and his family has had a Russell Cabin on the lake since the 1950’s. He worked at Sinclair’s on the lake before attending culinary school in New York City, and has been back on Lake Martin working at SpringHouse since leaving New York three years ago. Bodner is the right chef to revive Kowaliga (the restaurant, not the wooden Indian. MADE does not advocate the creation of zombie wooden Indians).

LAKE EVENTS June 7 Alexander City Jazz Fest Strand Park info www.alexcityjazzfest.com

June 8 Lil’ Calypso Art Fest Chuck’s Marina

Dozens of artisans from around Alabama set up outdoor booths hugging the shore of Lake Martin to display their works. Past shows have included pottery, folk art, furniture, garden art and jewelry.

July 4th Kowliga Bay

Many places are called landmarks because of their iconic status. Chuck’s Marina is not only iconic, but literally a landmark for the boaters of Lake Martin. Directions to places on the Dadeville Side of the lake often begin with “you know where Chuck’s Marina is, right?”

What makes Chuck’s special? If there was a “Best T-shirts” on Lake Martin contest, Chuck’s would win. If there was a “Best Place for Karaoke” on Lake Martin contest, Chuck’s would win. If there was a “Best Pizza” on Lake Martin contest, Chuck’s would win. Chuck’s Marina only does a few things, but it does all of them excellently. If you’ve already made it over to Chimney Rock, you may as well boat on over to Chuck’s: it will only take 15 minutes and is well worth the trip.

Chuck’s Marina: 237 Marina Road, Dadeville, Phone: 256 825 6871

Plenty of activity happens in the Kowliga Bay are of Lake Martin on July 4th. At 10:00 a.m. the festivities get kicked off with a parade of boats decorated in an Independence Day theme. If you love American flags and freedom, be there. Spend the rest of the day boating around, but be sure to return to the Kowliga Bay area by 9:00 p.m. for one of the best fireworks shows in the Southeast.

September 1 Labor Day Concert Lake Martin Amphitheatre Info www.lmat.org

MAY 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM

Made MAY Issue -ƒ .indd 15

15

4/24/13 5:55 PM

Made MAY Issue -Ć’ .indd 16

4/24/13 5:55 PM