JANUARY 2017 THE YEARBOOK ISSUE
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This year, don’t make a resolution...
Make a difference
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• 615.298.5573
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BLACKFOOT GYPSIES NEW ALBUM COMING APRIL 2017
RESPECT THE UNEXPECTED. VISIT PLOWBOYRECORDS.COM FOR NEW RELEASES 8 / // / / / / / / / / / / / / /////
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OUR ARTISTS: BLACKFOOT GYPSIES • BOBBY BARE • PAUL BURCH • BUZZ CASON • CHEETAH CHROME • CHUCK MEAD • THE FAUNTLEROYS • THE GHOST WOLVES • JD WILKES & THE DIRTDAUBERS • JIM ED BROWN • THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS
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WWW.NASHVILLEOPERA.ORG
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TABLE OF CONTENTS JANUARY 2017
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64 THE GOODS 19 Beer from Here 20 Cocktail of the Month 24 Master Platers 84 NATIVE Class Pictures 89 You Oughta Know 93 Animal of the Month
FEATURES
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28 Literature Spotlight: Rob Rufus 38 Okey Dokey 50 NATIVE High Superlatives 64 Nashville Skate Scene 76 Colony House
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president, founder:
publisher, founder:
ANGELIQUE PITTMAN JON PITTMAN
creative director:
MACKENZIE MOORE
managing editor:
CHARLIE HICKERSON DARCIE CLEMEN
art director:
COURTNEY SPENCER
community relations manager:
JOE CLEMONS
editor:
community representatives:
production:
POLLY RADFORD KELSEY FERGUSON
GUSTI ESCALANTE
film supervisor:
writers: photographers:
design intern:
founder, brand director:
ITORO UDOKO CHARLIE HICKERSON CHRIS PARTON COOPER BREEDEN JEN McDONALD DANIELLE ATKINS LAURA E. PARTAIN DYLAN REYES JONATHON KINGSBURY AUSTIN LORD COLIN SUTKER
founding team:
CASEY FULLER
JESSICA WHITEHOUSE
MACKENZIE MOORE JOSHUA SIRCHIO TAYLOR RABOIN
world come together
DAVE PITTMAN
founder: for all inquiries:
Coffee: where pieces of the
CAYLA MACKEY
HELLO@NATIVE.IS
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CHEMISTRY CLUB
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TEACHERS’ LOUNGE
MONKEY’S PAW by Ben Clemons of No. 308 ph o t o by j en m cd o n al d
“Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.” This drink was named after the short story by W. W. Jacobs. The story is a fable of sorts with a lesson that interfering with fate has its consequences. The paw from a dead monkey brought three wishes to those who found it, however, never the way they hoped. This drink is delicious yet stronger than you’d imagine. The results of drinking a few of these may be a little more than you bargained for.
THE GOODS 1 1/2 oz Fords Gin 1/2 oz St-Germain liqueur 1/2 oz Gran Classico Bitter sparkling wine (Cava, Prosecco, etc.) FStir the first 3 ingredients and pour into a chilled coupe glass. FTop with sparkling wine and garnish with a grapefruit zest. Be careful, you have been warned!
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YEARBOOK ISSUE RELEASE PARTY THIS JANUARY
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Riverside Villiage 14 0 0 M c G avo ck P i ke
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HOME EC
MA NDARIN CAKE
B Y S A M A N T H A S H O R T , P A S T R Y C H E F A T R O L F A N D DAU G H T E R S PHO TOS BY DAN IELLE AT KIN S 24 / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////// //////
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THE GOODS 2 cups mandarin orange puree (about 5 mandarin oranges) 1 cup butter, melted 1 cup egg whites (about 6 eggs) 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 cups almond flour 1 box (1 pound) confectioners sugar 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS F Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 sheet tray with cooking spray and line with parchment. F Wash the whole mandarin oranges and remove the stems. Fill a pot with cold water and add the oranges. Bring the pot to a full boil. Remove from the heat, drain the water, and fill the pot with more cold water. Repeat this boiling process two more times. F Add the softened mandarins, unpeeled, to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the melted butter and process until combined. Set aside. F In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until frothy (like cappuccino foam). In a large bowl, sift together the flour, almond flour, confectioners sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mix to the egg whites and mix until combined. With the mixer running, stream in the orange-butter puree and mix until combined. F Pour the batter onto the sheet tray. Bake until slightly golden on top, 25–35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. *This cake can also be made with Meyer lemons or clementines.
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L I T E R AT U R E S P O T L I G H T: R O B
R U F U S ’
Y O U N G P H O T O S E .
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W I T H B Y
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PA RTA I N
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CREATIVE WRITING CLUB
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
What a great saying. I love its darkly comedic vibe. But now, let’s try and invert it—out of the fire and into the frying pan. Sounds nonsensical, right? It sounds that way to me too. Which is ironic, because that ass-backward phrase perfectly sums up my introduction to Nashville. Music City, USA, was my frying pan. I moved here with my brother when I was twenty-two, finally escaping small-town West Virginia for good. I’d never been anywhere like Nashville, full of tattooed people and record stores and touring bands and cool bars—it was overwhelming, a jolt to the senses. But the culture shock I felt was nothing in comparison to the fire that I’d left behind. See, when I was seventeen, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. By the time they found it, my lungs were on the verge of collapse. The disease had already progressed to stage four. I spent years living in hospitals, undergoing horrific treatments and surgeries, being physically, mentally, and emotionally wrecked in ways that I never thought possible. No one expected me to reach the age of twenty. But by twenty-two, I was cancer-free, though now disabled and living in chronic pain. But I could deal with side effects— screw it, I was alive, man! Moving to Nashville was my chance to start over, to enjoy being normal, just another young dude in another big city. I met lots of nice people, made friends, dated girls—but whenever it came time to tell them about my cancer, the conversation died on the table. The listener would brush past my story faster than a politician dodges a press corps—they’d just sail right on to other, less troubling topics. I can’t blame them. How many young adults want to talk about mortality? At least my friends were usually polite about it. But being polite and being empathetic are two very different things. It wasn’t that I wanted anyone to feel sorry
for me. I just wanted to be understood. But after years of getting shut down, I simply gave up. I stopped talking about cancer at all—why trouble people with information they’d obviously rather ignore? It was an isolating time for me. But now, more than a decade later, I’m grateful for it; because that sense of isolation is what led me to put pen to paper—if I couldn’t talk to anyone about it, I’d write about it instead. When I started outlining Die Young With Me, my goal was to not just tell a story, but to write an honest exposé of teenage cancer. I had no interest in writing another The Fault In Our Stars. I wanted to leave readers uncomfortably aware of what it’s like to have cancer. I hoped that my frankness might inspire empathy and compassion miles deeper than a get-well card can reach. In the short time since my book was published, I like to think it’s done exactly that. I get messages every day; not only from cancer fighters and survivors, but from the friends and family of those affected by cancer. Whether they loved my book or hated it, I’m thankful that they all seemed to come away with a more empathetic gaze—not just for cancer survivors, but for everyone. So when NATIVE asked me to share an excerpt from my book, this is the passage I chose. It depicts my day-to-day life on the cancer ward and the struggles of squaring that reality with an aching need to do normal things, like play punk rock with my brother or dance with my girlfriend at the Junior Prom. It’s easy to empathize with a character in a book. But I hope you carry that sentiment off the page, out into the bars and the concert halls. I hope that next time someone confides in you about a traumatic life experience, you’ll force yourself to listen, to learn, and to validate, even if it’s an uncomfortable process. We owe each other that, don’t we? I mean, think of it this way—as hard as it is to talk about, it was even harder for them to live through. Trust me. —Rob
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The following is an excerpt from Die Young With Me IN THE HOURS BEFORE MY INJECTIONS—if I felt strong enough—I went on walks with Mom around the hospital. We made laps around the first-floor hallway. I moved ridiculously slow, rolling my IV and using it for balance. There was a huge, open corridor that separated the two buildings of the hospital. Some rich person had donated a fish tank. The fish were bright exotic yellows and blues, oblivious to where they actually were. Watching them swim made me nauseous. Across from the fish tank was the hospital chapel. Down the hall from the chapel was the hospice. I didn’t notice it until the second time we passed. The entrance door was left open. I glanced inside. I saw a boy, about twelve, sitting in a wheelchair. His face was turned away from me. His hair was black. He was alone. A leg was missing. I never looked at that door again. *** Stacey found a bed for my mom at the Ronald McDonald House, right across the street. The parents of sick kids could stay there for free—it wasn’t the nicest spot, but it was closer than any hotel. I could see it from my window. She didn’t need to keep sleeping in the chair across from me. She deserved a rest—or at least a fucking bed. So Mom stayed with me every second of every day. She sat with me through the mornings, and through the brutal hours of my treatment. She stayed with me until the sun was down and the shifts had changed and the hallways of the ward were silent. Then, exhausted, she would kiss me on the forehead and go across the street. In the nighttime, I was alone. And when I was alone, I was really alone. It’s amazing how much having someone there with me— just sitting in a chair reading, or watching the morning news—could normalize my situation. With no one to sit with or talk to, I had no way to guide where my mind went . . . The drugs helped my lonely thoughts, but only so much. My
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last round of pills came at nine in the evening, a few hours after the chemo effects began fading. As much as I hated the drugs, some nights I preferred feeling sick or stoned to facing the moments of total clarity that came in those late hours. Sometimes at night, I plugged the cord back into the phone. I called home and said hi to Dad. I talked to Nat—always about the band. But the first night I called Ali, we got into an argument. Junior Prom was in a few days—things had been moving so fast that I’d totally forgotten about it. Ali, however, had definitely not forgot about the prom. She still wanted to go, even without me. She just wanted to hang out and dance with her friends, then hit the after-parties. Besides, she already had a dress. But for some reason, the thought of Ali going to the prom sent me into a rage. It was pathetic—she wasn’t going with a date, or anything. She just wanted to have fun. All her friends were going. All the normal kids were going. Maybe that’s what pissed me off. “Go ahead—go,” I finally said. “I don’t want anyone putting their lives on hold because of me. Fuck it.” Ali sighed. “I wish you were here to take me. I wish harder than you even know. But I can’t just sit in my house all day, every day, all the time, because you’re in the hospital. It’s driving me crazy.” “WELL I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU!” The line went dead. Shit. Dammit. Fucking idiot. The hesitant talk. The constant stress—I saw a conflict growing inside my girlfriend, the same way I saw it grow in my brother. Every time they got a chance to do something—play music, go to a stupid dance—they hesitated. It was like they were afraid to be normal anymore, because they knew that I couldn’t. The guilt of my existence was weighing down their lives. But I didn’t want to hold them—or anyone—back. I wanted them to do the things I wasn’t able to. I wanted
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them to do everything. I wanted them to live. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t frustrate the hell out of me. More and more, I felt myself becoming a resentful prick. The loneliness and sickness were no excuse. I always took my bad luck out on them. I always pushed those two the hardest . . . And where did it get me? Sitting in a room with a phone in my hand, listening to a dial tone. Sitting in a room, alone. *** Two nights later, when I was trying to sleep, I rolled over and ripped the IV from my arm. I jumped out of bed and flicked on the bathroom light to see what I’d done, and the mirror’s reflection was straight out of a horror movie. The fluorescent lights made my face look translucent. Blood squirted out of my arm in a thick stream, soaking my hospital gown. I pressed the call button and held my arm over the sink. Blood was everywhere. I thought I was going to faint. I didn’t. I just stared at the ghost in the mirror and watched the blood spiral down. *** On Saturday, as the nurse was hooking up my chemo, Mom said that my brother was driving up to visit. I said I wasn’t in the mood to see anyone. “Nat’s driving all the way up to see you. If you want to turn him away, you can do it yourself.” I didn’t answer her. The nurse had started the drip. I felt the chemo spread through my throat and gut . . . Concentrate NOW—nothing, nothing, nothing. *** It was eight-thirty at night. Mom was already gone. When I heard the knock I was in bed reading, waiting on my last dose
ROB RUFUS: For more info on Rob Rufus, visit robrufus.net
Bloated and bald from drugs post-surgery, hanging with NYC hardcore band H2O when I should be resting.
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Make-A-Wish party for yours truly. Look how happy we all are.
The drum set I got from the Make-A-Wish organization, back when I was a hopeless case. I still have it, and I’ve played it in almost every state and over a dozen countries.
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of pills. “Yeah?” The door opened. Ali stood there alone. I put my book down and stared at her. She didn’t have on a prom dress—only ripped shorts, and a Bad Religion T-shirt. “Whoa. What are you doing here?” Ali just shrugged, and smiled. She walked toward my bed. Why hadn’t I wanted her to go to prom, again? Why did I have to scream and bitch and guilt her to the point that she ended up here, wasting her night in this horrible place, wasting away with me? I wanted to tell her that she’d made a mistake. I wanted to tell her that she should have gone with her friends. She shouldn’t be in some cramped, pukesmelling hospital room with this jaded prick . . . But all that I said was—“Where’s Nat?” “In the hall. He said he’d give us some time alone.” I cleared my throat. “Well, you still wanna dance?” I asked. My words came out hoarse. Ali laughed. “In here?” “Why not? Help me up.” I pushed my feet down onto the floor. Ali held my shoulders until I steadied myself. I put my palms on her waist. She ran her hands over my shoulders, back behind my neck. She moved closer. When she pressed against me, my hospital gown draped over the curves of her body. She eased her head onto my shoulder. We swayed—slow. Back. Forth. Back. Forth. Slow—like branches moving together in a soft breeze. I breathed in the smell of her hair. I memorized the heat. “What about music?” she said softly. “Don’t we need some music?” “I can hear it if you can,” I said. And I could.
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LOCAL EYECARE. INDEPENDENT EYEWEAR.
SOLVING THE EQUATION FOR PERFECT VISION IN DR. BRASFIELD'S CLASS
Dr. Kathleen Brasfield, Optometrist - Joe Brasfield, Co-Owner Kelsie Haskins, Receptionist / Tech - May Hwen, Optical Manager
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C
E M O DUO
SUPER OKEY ON
DOKEY
RECORDING
THEIR
DEBUT AND
ALBUM MAKING MOST
OF
CHANGE
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U D O K O B Y
P R O V I D E D
B A L E E
B Y
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P H O T O S G R E E R
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LET’S FACE IT, AS FAR AS CHANGE GOES, 2016 WAS A YEAR FOR THE BOOKS. From the nation’s politics to the global economy, it was a year where nothing seemed safe from transition. Changing winds have been blowing heavily through Nashville for more than half a decade now. But they’ve been particularly gusty the past few years, and 2016 seemed to be the stormiest yet. From band breakups to venue closings to ongoing construction and gentrification, we were reminded on a near-daily basis that change is an inevitable fact of life. So how do you accept and embrace change while still preserving our city’s defining institutions and traditions? Where is the balance? That’s a million-dollar question with no simple approach or easy answer. There are no quick fixes. Still, Johny Fisher and Aaron Martin are doing their part to contribute to a solution. Their new musical collaboration, Okey Dokey, is a project focused on community and aimed at bridging the old and the new. It started around New Year’s 2016, when Fisher got the itch to start a new project. The local rock scene was experiencing a string of band breakups at the time (including that of his own outfit, indie stalwarts Sol Cat). Fisher also plays guitar for The Weeks, who had just begun writing a new record and had a relatively quiet year ahead. Faced with the prospect of too much idle time, Fisher approached former Sol Cat bandmate and visual artist, Aaron Martin, with an of- nally drops at the end of this month, just over a year fer to start a new band. since the band penned their first tune. “I called Aaron and met up with him at Halcyon Bike As the duo continues to recall their early days, MarShop. Then we went to a little party after,” Fisher re- tin reveals to me that he was only willing to start Okey calls. Martin, Fisher, and I are catching a bite to eat at Dokey under special conditions. “When we first got Edley’s Barbecue in 12South. It’s almost a year later, together, Johny was like, ‘I wanna do a new project.’ and we’re back on the same block, just a couple build- And I said, ‘Alright, cool, but I want it to be just you & ings down from the aforementioned Halcyon Bike I as far as what people see.’” He pauses thoughtfully. Shop where it all began. “Because at that point there are personalities that peoFisher explains that when they left the party, the ple can attach to. And I feel like that translates with pair went back to his house, a cabin twenty minutes way more people than having a bunch of dudes in a outside of the city, and recorded their first song as band standing stoically. Okey Dokey in his basement. “And I told him that I want it to be fun! I wanna “That recording is even on the album. Whatever make this bigger than just the two of us writing music. we would demo in my house just became the record,” We can start these songs, but I want to bring in people Fisher says. that we care about that are talented and we respect Martin sits up in his chair and chimes in, “It all hap- and get them to help us find what we’re going for. I pened pretty quick. After that, we just wrote as much really wanna collaborate with our friends. I want it to as we could. We had about fifteen or sixteen songs be a community piece that involves a lot of people. I after five or six months. Then we cut it a bit back for just feel like the scope of what we can do is just a lot the record.” The finished product, Love You, Mean It, bigger that way.” is a highly eclectic collection of soul, R&B, and dooThose ambitious guidelines still define Okey Dowop songs tinged in psychedelia and wrapped in hints key’s unique approach, one that highly stresses comof folk, surf, alternative country, lo-fi, and more. It fi- munity. “In the beginning, Johny brought up Willie
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“WITH NASHVILLE GROWING AS MUCH AS IT IS, COMMUNITY GETS DILUTED, BECAUSE WHAT MEANT A LOT TO NASHVILLE FOUR YEARS AGO MEANS LESS TO NASHVILLE NOW.”
Nelson and some of the other outlaw country it for myself as my own Christmas dudes. They would sing about each other in their gift,” he explains. “We’d create the songs and do shout-outs and stuff. We wanted to bones, and everyone else’s parts do something more like that, but kind of in our were usually [recorded] at their house, with the exception of Ron realm.” Okey Dokey’s approach is heavily inspired by Gallo, who came to our place.” The final recordings are distincThe Highwaymen as well as hip-hop music, which “is having more fun,” as Martin bluntly tells it. “I tive and idiosyncratic. Love You, can’t tell you how much I enjoy seeing Vince Sta- Mean It is by no means your typical ples on a track with DJ Shadow or something. Or rock ‘n’ roll album. Fisher attributes part of that to the unique recording [all of the collaborations in] A$AP Mob. “With rock music, or whatever you wanna call it, process. “When everything’s reyou never see a record that’s just, ‘This song fea- corded at different times, no one is turing this dude, that dude, and this other dude,’” perfectly on with each other. So it’s Martin explains. “But then there’s like all this awe- got this wonky, live feel to it.” He’s some hip-hop coming out. And it’s one guy with also quick to point out: “We don’t ultra personality, and you feel like you know him have one single guitar solo on our in and out. And his friends are making cameos and record. But we have a saxophone solo. And a synth solo.” stuff.” The two promotional singles for It’s the emphasis on big personalities, recurring characters, and free-flowing collaborations Love You, Mean It, “Wavy Gravy” and that most attracts Martin and Fisher to hip-hop’s “Congenial Man,” display the band’s ethos. In other words, they’re all about the squad. signature swing and slow-burning So Martin and Fisher enlisted a who’s who of soul, highlighted by Martin’s capthe best players in Nashville’s indie rock scene tivating, crooning falsetto. They’re the only two to help them build Okey Dokey’s squad. They re- songs the band has put out thus far, aside from cruited members from Bully, The Weeks, Rayland a Christmas single collaboration with Kansas Baxter, Wild Child, Ron Gallo, Kansas Bible Com- Bible Company, released under the moniker The pany, and many more—well over a dozen individ- Nashville Country Cowboys. Those three singles have been more than enough to build a huge buzz ual musicians in all. They’re quick to confess that it wasn’t easy con- around the band’s upcoming debut. That’s thanks in part to how many players are vincing everyone. “The hardest part was trying to convey to people what we were doing,” Fisher ad- involved in the Okey Dokey universe. “[Involving] mits with a chuckle. “We’d approach some people a lot of bands that care [about the music] helps like, ‘Hey, you should come sing on a song or play us with promotion and awareness,” Fisher says. guitar on this record.’ And they’d be like, ‘Well, I “Whenever we post a video, we can have five, six, already have a band. I can’t join your band.’ And seven bands all posting. So our potential fan base we’d say, ‘We don’t want you to join our band! or demographic that we can promote to amplifies We want you to help us make a great record that like twenty times.” Or as Martin puts it, “We are not the reason people care about.’” Fisher’s enthusiasm is infectious as he ex- Okey Dokey is cool. It’s because Nashville has givplains the memorable recording process for Love en us a huge group of talented friends and peers. You, Mean It. “No one tracked in the same room. We all hang. We all love each other. It’s just keepEveryone was completely separated during it all. ing it all in the family, you know?” There are other perks to their peculiar model. Some of the guys doing stuff for us would be like, ‘I don’t get this. I don’t have any direction. This “It’s like a writing house as well. We can create a just sounds weird.’ But when we’d finish, they’d huge catalog, and this is the best way,” Fisher explains. “If we wanna make a pop song, we just conhear it and say, ‘This sounds amazing!’” Okey Dokey recorded most of the album at tact one of our established pop friends and we ask Fisher’s cabin, and he tracked everything himself to do a song together.” That recently happened on a brand-new home recording setup. “I bought with Night Beds’ Winston Yellen.
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OKEY DOKEY: For more info on Okey Dokey, visit okeydokeyband.bandcamp.com native.is
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“We’ve never written a pop song before. But it ended up being sick,” Martin says. “But it’s not an Okey Dokey song. It’s Okey Dokey producing a song—Winston featuring Okey Dokey. It’s something else we can do that’s not just ‘a band.’” As a result of years spent cutting their teeth in local bands, Fisher and Martin have the wizened outlook of veterans. And they’re using their experience and resources to adapt to a new era. “Living in Nashville, it’s an industry town. And I feel that if you don’t just absorb some of that through your skin, then you’re missing some of the essence of the town,” Martin tells me. The pair want Okey Dokey to be an example of how to adapt to the city’s evolving industry and scene. “With Nashville growing as much as it is, community gets diluted, because what meant a lot to Nashville four years ago means less to Nashville now,” Fisher reflects. “So I think with the boom of new people living here and just new renters and musicians, you almost have to create a new community for New Nashville out of the old parts if you want it to matter.” Fisher continues, “If we’re the townies, then we should be setting an example of if you move here, this is the culture. We have every right to be the most collaborative, productive place. We have studios, we have labels, we have management, we have booking agents, we have venues. Where else can you say that you have ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI all next door to each other?” At this point in our conversation, Fisher and Martin are finishing each other’s sentences. “Thousands of people [around the country] would love to be on SESAC. But just because you live in Nashville, the prospect of them knowing your career and being like, ‘Yeah, c’mon!’ is so much higher,” Martin points out. Fisher picks up right on cue: “My question is, why live here and then fight it? Why work against your strengths?”
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COFFEE BREAKFAST LUNCH OPEN DAILY 7AM-4PM
700 FATHERLAND ST. 615.770.7097 SKYBLUECOFFEE.COM E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0 # NAT I V ENAS HV I L L E
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HIGH E V
FOR OUR SECOND ANNUAL YEARBOOK ISSUE, WE O N C E A G A I N A S K E D W H AT N A S H V I L L E W O U L D B E L I K E AS A HIGH SCHOOL. AND ONCE AGAIN, WE GOT A L I T T L E C A R R I E D A W AY A N D C A M E U P W I T H A M O C K S U P E R L AT I V E L I S T ( N O , W E ’ R E N O T H U N G U P O N H I G H SCHOOL, YOU ARE). THIS YEAR, YOU’LL FIND EVERYONE FROM A BEAUTY QUEEN TO A DUNGEON MASTER TO S O M E PA S TA - A N D - B E E R - S L I N G I N G B F F S .
W E L C O M E T O N AT I V E H I G H .
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J O N A T H O N H I C K E R S O N
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Caroline Bowman and Gary Branigan
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MOST LIKELY TO BOOTLEG YOUR SHOW (WITH YOUR PERMISSION)
Since their inception last February, Cold Lunch Recordings has been working hard to make sure Nashville has fun. They’ve also been tireless in their efforts to spread the gospel of local punk, psych, and garage rock through shows and releases that include the likes of Thelma and the Sleaze, Quichenight, Keeps, and many, many more. So whether you want to buy a (authorized) bootleg of that great show you just saw, throw a sad-birthday-themed release, see a stacked bill at a local venue, or go bobbing for Jell-O shots, Cold Lunch Recordings has you covered. Catch their second annual Spewfest on January 13, which will feature a swath of local talent playing on three stages at The East Room and Cobra. # NAT I V ENAS HV I L L E
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MOST LIKELY TO APPEAR IN GQ STYLE
We’ve all fantasized about either a) quitting a shitty job in a spectacular, Office Space-esque fashion, or b) going back to a job you were once fired from and showing everyone how awesome you are now. Model/photographer/stylist Phoenix Johnson didn’t do either of those (because he’s not a petty jerk like us), though he certainly could have. After being fired from Nordstrom, he appeared in a Nordstrom ad that has since graced the pages of GQ Style and various billboards around the country. Johnson is making his mark locally as well: his first runway show saw 250 locals swarming 100 Taylor Arts Collective in Germantown back in April, and he’s worked with hometown heroes like Amanda Valentine and AMAX’s Amanda O’Connor. And if that weren’t enough, he just launched his modeling agency, BOYS AND GIRLS MODEL MGMT, and is already planning a second runway show for April 2017.
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MOST LIKELY TO STAY IN TOUCH AFTER GRADUATION
There’s something comforting about simplicity. Don’t get us wrong, the occasional pint of Peanut Butter Milk Stout Chocolate Chai Porter or deconstructed “play” on chicken parm is all well and good, but sometimes you just want a Miller Lite and some spaghetti. Enter what is perhaps the most no-bullshit duo in town: Gallatin Pike neighbors Mickey’s Tavern and Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen. It’s a combo that’s a no-brainer, really—fresh, madedaily pasta paired with refreshingly regular beers and a damn fine whiskey selection. Throw in Mickey’s jukebox, a game of darts, and Nicoletto’s late-night menu, and you’ve got a hang that won’t leave you broke, hungry, or wondering how to drink that liquid nitrogen cocktail. Check out Mickey’s new sister bar, Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, in Madison, and—if you’ve already given up on that New Year's resolution—buy some Nicoletto’s pasta to take home and cook.
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Styled by Stephanie Thorpe; Atkinson’s and Gaines’ blazers by Any Old Iron
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MOST LIKELY TO SPREAD A CONTAGIOUS SMILE
In Lady Windermere’s Fan Oscar Wilde writes, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Sure, by today’s standards that might sound like a cheesy quote posted on your aunt’s Pinterest board, but there’s some validity to staying positive in the face of adversity—just ask Ruthie Lindsey. After enduring a near-fatal car crash, losing her father in a freak accident, battling with addiction, and overcoming a divorce, Lindsey found healing through design, styling, and sharing her story. Her work has appeared in publications like Darling Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens, and she’s traveled the world speaking and encouraging others to live the life they want to live. And yes, she might just be the happiest person ever. If you don’t believe us, try having a conversation with her without cracking a smile.
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MOST LIKELY TO WIN A BEAUTY PAGEANT AND/OR PIERCE YOUR SEPTUM
BettyAnn is a former beauty queen—she won Miss Tattoo USA in 2008—and calendar girl that’s been piercing in Nashville since 2003. After working at local staple Icon Tattoo and Piercing, she opened Dahlia Fine Jewelry & Body Piercing in August. The Berry Hill shop is the only piercing-only (i.e. no tattooing) spot in town, and it’s one of only a few exclusively disposable studios (i.e. all the equipment is thrown away after each piercing) in the country. BettyAnn is also an instructor at Fakir Body Piercing and Branding Intensives in San Francisco, and her clients rave about her knowledge, experience, and calming presence. As it turns out, the same poise that can earn someone a sash can come in handy while holding sharp objects near sensitive body parts.
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“The world needs more heroes. Will you rise to the occasion?” That’s the question Josh Unruh, founder of The Heroes Guild, beckons Nashville to answer. Founded after a successful GoFundMe campaign, The Heroes Guild is an after-school program that provides a place for Nashville youth to explore role-playing games like Dungeon and Dragons and Mouse Guard RPG. The idea, says Unruh and his group of volunteer Dungeon Masters, is that role-playing games help youth with empathy, communication, selfconfidence, critical thinking, and much, much more. The program starts January 11 at the Shelby Community Center, and it’ll run weekly on Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Kids ages eight to fourteen are welcome to play, and adults can get involved by making donations or lending their RPG prowess to a session. So, the question is: Will you rise to the occasion?
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Styled by Stephanie Thorpe; Unruh’s tie by Any Old Iron
MOST LIKELY TO LEAD YOU ON A HEROIC ADVENTURE
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MOST TARDIES
A PEEK INTO NASHVILLE’S S K AT E B O A R D I N G COMMUNITY
B Y C H A R L I E H I C K E R S O N | P H O T O S B Y J O N AT H O N K I N G S B U R Y
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“WE ARE THE MOST MASOCHISTIC ibly modest and would never call himself PEOPLE YOU’LL EVER MEET IN YOUR that). “That’s by no means to take away from LIFE. I mean, think about trying a trick over and over. And over and over again— dudes that skate another way, because mentally, physically, and even spiritual- I enjoy watching all of it,” he continues. ly—it will fuck with you. It will fuck with “It’s like this other approach, and it’s been happening in Nashville for a long time. you until the day you fucking die.” Corey “Flosson” Rosson doesn’t mince Even [the Nashville skate scene] back in the day was kind of a precursor to what words. The two hours we spend drinking we’re doing now.” What is the intangible “approach” beer at Dino’s are accentuated by these blunt—and often startlingly self-aware— Sharer describes? And what makes Nashobservations. Rosson, who’s built like a ville skaters come back, “over and over linebacker and braids his shoulder-length again,” in a city where skaters belong to red hair into Willie Nelson braids, is the what is still a largely underground comdriving force behind NOLO NASHVILLE, munity? What drives the masochists? a local website that shoots and releases *** Nashville skate media. In 2015, NOLO released The Cuntry Vid, Much like our town’s music scene, una full-length Nashville skating video that derstanding and respecting the history traded skate vids’ usual punk, hip-hop, of Nashville’s skate scene is imperative and/or metal soundtracks for classic out- to understanding its current state. It’s an law country. The video was notable not extremely complex, largely oral history only for its unorthodox soundtrack but that’s been passed down for decades, and also for its portrayal of a skating scene it could very well be the subject of its own that was (and is) unlike any other in the article (or a collection of encyclopedias). country. Rosson and NOLO provided a Here’s a brief—and admittedly incomglimpse into a group of street skaters plete—scan of some of the major players united and defined by their city’s scene, and locations that have paved the way for which has always done things a little dif- today’s Nashville skaters. Ray Underhill was the first (and arferently. “[Nashville skating] is more of a cre- guably still most well-known) national ative look at certain things,” says Mat- skater to come out of Middle Tennessee. thew Sharer, who’s sitting across from Born in 1962 in Hendersonville, Underhill Rosson at our Dino’s picnic table. A local was a member of legendary skate team artist and musician (he plays in local fa- The Bones Brigade, who were essentially vorite Ranch Ghost), Sharer is something the Dream Team of skateboarding. On of an unofficial Nashville skate historian the team, Underhill skated alongside his (my title, not his, as Sharer is incred- close friend Tony Hawk and was revered
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for his kindness and down-to-earth attitude. In 2008, he tragically passed after a two-year battle with a Chordoma brain tumor, but his legacy—as both a national icon and the godfather of Nashville pro skating—lives on. Another key figure in Nashville’s storied skate history is Nathan Smith, who, unlike Underhill, was known primarily for his street skating. Smith was incredibly ahead of his time, and he reached the pinnacle of his success in 1998 when he won the famed Tampa Am competition at the Skatepark of Tampa. While the majority of Tampa Am winners have gone on to become nationally known pros, Smith—as one 2012 ESPN article cruelly stated—“disappeared into obscurity hill.” (Side note: last month, Gallatin wunderkind Jake Wooten took first place in the Tampa Am Converse Concrete Jam. Keep an eye on him, he’s obscenely talented.) Locally, however, Smith is a god, and every one of the skaters I interview for this piece—many of whom have met Smith at some point or another—speak of him with reverence. As Sixth Avenue Skatepark Manager Nathaniel Covington puts it: “Even if you don’t really know a lot about skateboarding, you would know some of those names [Smith competed against at Tampa Am], and he blew everybody away . . . You can see him around today, he still rips hard.” Rosson’s take: “Oh my God, Nathan Smith!” Most recently, Antioch native Dathan “Dee” Ostrander received national recognition. The now-pro started skating around town with Nashville’s F.U. Crue, and by the time he was sixteen, Baker Skateboards cofounder and owner Andrew Reynolds signed him based off the strength of his demo tape. Ostrander now has sponsorship deals with the likes of Supra and Spitfire, and the twenty-three-year-old has skated alongside Tony Hawk’s son Riley. Despite the fact that each of these guys skated at different times, in different styles, and with different crews, they all have one thing in common: they’ve skated Legislative Plaza. *** Constructed in 1925 in memory of World
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War I veterans, Legislative Plaza (also known as War Memorial Plaza) was a central gathering spot for political rallies and gatherings throughout the ’60s. As we noted in our NATIVE history piece on War Memorial last February, four Tennessee governors have been sworn in on the plaza steps, and Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson have all given speeches either at the auditorium or plaza. To Nashville skaters, however, Legislative is historic for different reasons. “For the [skate] scene, the things it’s known for is Legislative, Dee [Ostrander], and then Ray Underhill being the big guy back in the day,” Covington tells me one Sunday afternoon at Hunt Supply Co. in East Nashville. “What about Nate Smith?” says Terence Williams, who back in July helped lead Sixth Avenue’s skate team to first place in TransWorld SKATEboarding and Mountain Dew’s Dew Tour 2016 Shop Showdown. If there were a Ten Commandments of Nashville skating, “Thou Shalt Not Forget about Nathan Smith” would surely be high up on the list—right up there with “Thou Shalt Love and Respect Legislative Plaza.” What makes Legislative such a gem is that—aside from Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, and a handful of other locations around the country—there are hardly any spots like it in the United States. In the skating world, a good plaza is hard to come by, so Legislative attracts locals and out-of-towners alike. “It’s spots like that that bring people into a city that they don’t even know about,” Covington continues. “City council members wouldn’t know that it’s bringing business into their city, but if someone could shed a light on that [and] turn it into more skate friendly areas . . . If Legislative somehow turned into some sort of plaza where you could skate, it would be insane.”
But Covington’s dream doesn’t show signs of coming true any time soon. Like most street spots, skating Legislative comes with its share of risks. “People that have skated all of the spots and the plazas [in the country] are like, ‘Dude, the [Legislative] Plaza is the best,’” Rosson explains. “But the thing is, we gotta deal with the troopers and we got to deal with the security guards and things like that. You don’t know if you’re going to get a fifteen-minute session or if you’re going to get kicked out in two seconds or if you’re going to get three hours.” Oddly enough, the only time people could skate Legislative with impunity was during the Occupy Nashville protests. Following an ACLU-backed civil suit against Governor Haslam’s October 2011 executive order (which enacted a curfew for Occupy protesters), police interference in the plaza was temporarily decreased and the curfew was lifted. Naturally, Rosson captured it all on film. Says Matt Cole, co-owner of Low Budget Skateboards: “That was the best time in Nashville skateboarding . . . There has got to be like an hour and a half’s worth of footage from that span of time that’s all really good because you weren’t going to get kicked out in thirty minutes, so you could put the time in.” Even though Cole and the gang can’t put that kind of time in today, Legislative is still, as Rosson puts it, “the heartbeat” of Nashville street skating. If so, it’s an irregular heartbeat. The community and inclusiveness surrounding the spot—and by proxy, the community and inclusiveness surrounding most of the Nashville skate scene—is just as unique as the setting itself.
“YOU DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE GOING TO GET A FIFTEENMINUTE SESSION OR IF YOU’RE GOING TO GET KICKED OUT IN TWO SECONDS.”
*** Adam Hale, a local visual artist and a regular at Hunt Sup-
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ply Co. (they even sell T-shirts bearing his designs), and Jason Hunt, the owner of the shop, both spent time in major skate hubs like San Diego. At the shop, they swap stories about Washington Street, a particularly hostile skatepark in the San Diego area. “Back in the day, dudes would beat you up for just going there,” Hunt explains as the shop dog, Harley, howls in the background. “I was intimidated to skate because this is their territory, you know what I mean?” Hale remembers. “They made it known. You knew when you were in Washington Street who the top dogs were. That’s just the way it was.” Unfortunately, these incidents aren’t unique to the West Coast. Later, Williams mentions a rift between different generations in the Philadelphia scene, and Covington explains that skaters in some cities will go as far as cutting down rails—thus denying anyone who may happen upon the spot in the future the opportunity for grinding. But in Nashville, things are different. “I moved up here and I realized that everybody is, for the most part, really inviting and [they’ve] been solid about showing you where spots are and helping you get around. [They’re] true friends outside of skating too,” Williams explains before motioning to Hunt. “I moved out of my apartment, and he shows up in his truck and helps me move everything to another house. Comes and cuts my grass when my lawnmower gets stolen. It’s a solid community right here.” Hunt jokes that this comes with the territory of owning a truck, but there’s truth in Williams’ comment. Even the fact that Hunt, a local shop owner, and Covington, who oversees the shop at Sixth Avenue across the river, regularly hang at each other’s businesses speaks volumes. The community’s acceptance of outsiders—like the aforementioned
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out-of-towners that come to Legislative—is also rare. For instance, Williams tells me about a skater from New Orleans who happened to drive through downtown as he and some guys were having a session. In a matter of hours, he was drinking tall boys and skating the three-stair set at Legislative. “He was saying, ‘I don’t wanna leave,’” Williams recalls. You can’t blame the guy. At both Hunt’s and Dino’s, the skaters make me—a total neophyte who hasn’t stepped on a skateboard since he was fourteen—feel like I’m in the club. Maybe that’s because, for these guys, “the club” isn’t a shop, location, or skate team; it’s a community based around shared desires and beliefs. And most notable among these is the desire to skate. It makes the injuries, the failure to land a trick, even the threat of a trespassing charge, worth it. “I’d be in the penitentiary right now if it wasn’t for skateboarding—guarantee that,” Williams begins. “I can’t explain how I feel about it, it just keeps me coming back . . . [When skating], I’m just clear minded, I’m not thinking about anything else. I’m not thinking about any other troubles I have. There’s just something about it . . .” After a quick series of nods from the rest of the guys at Hunt Supply Co., Hale picks up where Williams left off. “No matter what trick I’m doing or what it is, it kind of just recalibrates me. If I’m having an issue—a quarrel with another person, or anything like that . . . It’s one of those things where you can’t think about all the other stuff while you’re doing it, because if [you do], you’re going to hurt yourself. There is that side of it, so it literally keeps you focused. No matter what I’ve done—I go through my little process with it, and I feel like we all have our own processes—it keeps me clearheaded, and it allows me to progress in other aspects of my life.” A bunch of masochists, indeed.
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THE CITY THAT LISTENS MUSICIANS CORNER TURNS THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE FINEST ARTISTS RESIDING AND MAKING MUSIC IN MUSIC CITY
MUSICIANS CORNER WILL LAUNCH ITS 8TH SEASON THIS COMING MAY. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ARTISTS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MORE COMING # NATSOON! I V ENAS HV I L L E
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GLEE CLUB
COLONY HOUSE B O L D LY E X PA N D S THE CHAPMAN FA M I LY BUSINESS
BY CHR I S PA R T O N | PHO TO S B Y AUSTI N LO R D
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LIKE A LOT OF SONS, Caleb and Will Chapman for. With the addition of lead guitarist Scott Mills and wanted to be just like their dad . . . and also to not be bassist Parke Avery, the band expanded their brotherjust like their dad. It’s a conflicting truism of youth hood by two, and their razor-sharp major label debut, that’s not unique to them, but it does seem like a big- Only the Lonely, comes out January 13. It’s the follow-up to a trio of EPs and the indepenger deal when your dad is a hugely successful musician dently released When I Was Younger, whose standout and you’re starting a band. “For a long time when we were starting out, just be- single “Silhouettes”—full of suburban bedroom melodies and cul-de-sac cause of the music we optimism—has alwere doing, it was like, ready been streamed ‘Maybe we shouldn’t ten million times on even mention Dad,’” Spotify. Only the Lonesays Caleb, frontman ly, however, is more of indie-rock outfit aggressive and asserColony House, one of tive, an all-out street the latest Nashville fight between adolesexports to earn nacence and adulthood tional recognition. delivered in thirteen You see, Caleb and stages. Will’s dad is GramThe sophisticated my-winning Connew single “You & temporary Christian I”—which features icon Steven Curtis dagger-like guitar riffs, Chapman, and even a brief bow to Queen, though the boys had and a stab at social a pretty clear path to commentary—is spinfollow if they wanted ning on SiriusXM’s it, they didn’t want it. Alt Nation and has “Not only was he in already racked up Christian music, he another million Spowas like the poster tify streams, leading child,” Caleb contina project that at difues. “We tried all different times channels ferent facets. StartThe Black Keys, Kings ing out it was like, of Leon, Delta Spirit, ‘Here’s my dad’s manand U2. No matter ager, here’s my dad’s how you describe it, booking agent, here’s though, it’s definitely the label,’ and we not Contemporary tried but it didn’t feel right. It’s not because we didn’t like those people—we Christian . . . right? “It’s not a conscious effort to not have [faith in our love them, they helped feed me and probably changed my diapers. It was just like, ‘We want to be in a band, music],” Caleb explains. “We’re all believers and all Christians, but there’s no bait and switch. It’s not like, and we want to play rock ‘n’ roll.’” Fast-forward to a damp autumn day in a pristinely ‘Okay, if we write this song that sounds like we’re singlit Hillsboro Village coffeehouse, and the guys are ex- ing about a girl, but really we’re singing about Jesus, plaining how they now have exactly what they wished maybe Christians will like us.’ Being under the roof of
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‘SCC,’ a lot of it was Christian music in Caleb says, quoting Nietzsche. Song topour house. But it wasn’t the ‘You can only ics like masculinity, political strife, and lasting legacy show a group mature belisten to Christian music’ kind of thing.” Still, it’s not like they’ve tossed aside yond their years. In the album’s opening track, “Cannot anything their faith stands for. On the contrary, their family-first values are ever Do This Alone,” Caleb and the band celepresent. Still in their twenties, all four brate family values but also use pounding members are married and Caleb has a drums and a Springsteen-esque dose of son, earning them the self-imposed title “whoa-ohs” to question the notion that men should be “the sole providers”—and of “the squarest band on the road.” And while their lifestyle and pedigree shoulder the pressure silently. “It’s like the personal definitely set them apart realization that I want from the indie-rock pack, so to be able to handle the does their music. pressure of this business Built on the high-energy and the pressure of my shows perfected while tourfamily and take care of ing with diverse acts like it on my own,” Caleb Needtobreathe, Ben Recadmits. “It’s learning to tor, Drew Holcomb, and The humble yourself and say, Mowgli’s, Only the Lonely ‘I actually need people,’ was recorded largely live and because when I start with the band gathered in thinking I can do it by one room, giving it a sense of myself is when things urgency and danger not presstart falling apart.” ent on the last release. It was Looking outward— recorded a full year ago—bebut actually inward at fore they scored a deal with the same time—the sinRCA. And surprisingly, the gle “You & I” is Caleb’s label left it alone. first try at a political “They didn’t add or substatement. And it’s one tract anything, which was a of compassion. cool sign for us,” Caleb says. “I wish we could all sit “We just wanted to make the across from the person record that we thought felt who believes the oppolike us, and then to have site of us and say, ‘You someone believe in it, it was know what, you think like, ‘Cool, at least they see something in it. We’ll see what the rest of something completely different than me, but you could be right about some of it.’ the world thinks.’” All about “being on the road, missing It’s nearly impossible and it’s what has home; being home, missing the road; and divided countries and families and relithe tension between the two,” Only the gion, but it’s not this grand thing like ‘the Lonely is not only more aggressive than world is going crazy and we’re screwed.’ the band has been in the past, it’s also It’s me and you, we’re the problem.” “You Know It” offers a different take on way more revealing in its point of view, if not conviction. “Convictions are more touring, a surf-rocking road-trip anthem dangerous enemies of truth than lies,” about getting home to loved ones as soon
“WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE RECORD THAT WE THOUGHT FELT LIKE US, AND THEN TO HAVE SOMEONE BELIEVE IN IT.”
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COLONY HOUSE: For more info on Colony House, visit colonyhousemusic.com See them perform at Cannery Ballroom March 9. native.is 82 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////
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as possible. “Where Your Father’s Been” is a touching ballad written to Caleb’s young son, and then there’s “Remembered For,” the second-to-last track on the album, but maybe its spiritual closer. With lyrics like “My days are numbered / But numbers only mean so much,” it’s an upbeat examination not of death, but of how to live so we’re remembered. Part of the song’s inspiration came from the passing of Caleb’s grandfather-in-law, who died of natural causes while surrounded by his family. Caleb was honored to be present when it happened. “We all got in the room, and his son goes, ‘Alright Dad, we’re all here. We love you. You can go now,’” Caleb says, his voice cracking. “He had an oxygen mask on and he couldn’t really talk, but he moved it and said in a really deep Southern Alabama accent, ‘Love y’all,’ and that was it. That was the last thing he said.” The song’s powerful reprise is almost a pledge to hold that moment close, and when asked what he wants to be remembered for, Caleb doesn’t say hits or fame. He says he wants his kids to stand up at his funeral and say something like, “My dad found beauty in a world that looked crazy, and he loved us well through that.” Colony House are not a Contemporary Christian band, and they definitely don’t take a hard-liner’s view on most issues. But if you listen close—between the quirky riffs, propulsive beats, and energetic bass lines—you might find more grace than you’d expect in the often-cynical world of indie rock. Caleb explains that in order to be truly honest with fans, exploring the intersection of faith and big-picture issues has to be a part of their music. It’s who they are and how they were raised. “If you grow up on the docks in Seattle and fishing is the family business, that’s what you know. We saw someone passionate about what they were doing, and for all the hard times and low times, our dad was still fulfilled by what he was doing. He’s done exactly what he feels like he’s supposed to, and seeing that has made us want to do exactly what we feel like we’re supposed to do.”
Pig Studio Assistant
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25 MUSIC SQUARE EAST
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Jonathon Kingsbury
NATIVE CLASS OF ’16 PHOTOS BY COLIN SUTKER O F C O L L E G I AT E C O M P O S I T E S
These are a few of the writers and photographers who contributed to NATIVE in 2016. And since it’s a Yearbook Issue, we found it fitting to shoot them class-picture style. On top of being some of the city’s best writers and photographers, they’re musicians, filmmakers, marketing gurus, moms, dads, authors, visual artists—you get the idea. We’re incredibly fortunate to work with them every month, and we’re even more fortunate to call them friends.
The NATIVE Yearbook Staff (left to right, top to bottom): Jon Pittman, Mackenzie Moore, Darcie Clemen, Kelsey Ferguson, Gusti Escalante, Charlie Hickerson, Polly Radford, Courtney Spencer, Joe Clemons (not pictured: Angelique Pittman) 84 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////
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Chris Parton
Henry Pile
Austin Lord
Adam Livingston
Danielle Atkins
Christopher Morley
Cooper Breeden
Lindsey Button
Colin Sutker
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PROM KING: CHANCELLOR WARHOL
CHANCEL L WARHOL OR For more info on Chancell or Warh visit ch ol, ancellor warhol.c om native.i s
If you keep up with local hip-hop and/or NATIVE, you’re probably familiar with past cover story Chancellor Warhol. What you may not know, however, is that the local rapper finally released his follow-up to 2014’s Paris Is Burning last month. Until the Light Takes Me doubles down on Warhol’s Paris brand of dance-friendly, sleek runway rap, while simultaneously showcasing the local MC and director’s darker, more aggressive new direction (some of the album’s beats, like the Big Youth–sampling “King Solomon,” wouldn’t sound out of place on Yeezus). Until the Light Takes Me also includes appearances from past NATIVE features BASECAMP and CAPPA, the latter of whom Warhol directed the “I’m Good” video for. Because Warhol’s latest video was for the single “Prom Tux”—and because this is our Yearbook Issue—we found it fitting to ask the rapper a few questions about high school. Read his answers above, and listen to Until the Light Takes Me on all major streaming platforms now. # # NAT NAT II V V ENAS ENAS HV HV II LL LL EE
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BIOLOGY 101
Written by Cooper Breeden*
Mallards live in wetlands, ponds, lakes, or anywhere else there may be standing water. They eat seeds, insect larvae, worms, and snails by either scavenging them on shorelines or by dabbling, i.e. dipping their head underwater to nibble the vegetation within reach. Mallards are the most abundant of all ducks, and their populations are not currently threatened. However, the effects of a changing climate do not bode well for mallards or most other migratory waterfowl. Scientists anticipate that much of the shoreline habitat in coastal areas will disappear as sea levels rise. To make matters worse, a warming climate is predicted to cause more droughts, which will shrink the inland wetlands, lakes, and other watery habitats. If this prediction is manifested, then the suitable mallard habitat will be severely limited. This is particularly true of an area in the north central United States and south central Canada called the Prairie Pothole Region, where a large percentage of our ducks breed. Further, if temperatures continue to change, the migration patterns of ducks are also likely to change. If a mallard migrates to escape the frigid northern winter, then a warming climate will mean it will not need to fly as far, if at all, to find a comfortable living situation. Outside of climate change, mallards are faced with the threat many other animals are faced with: the loss of habitat due to suburban development, draining of wetlands for agricultural use, or other changes in land use. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Mallards and their waterfowl cousins get a lot of support from birding and hunting enthusiasts, and their wetland habitats are increasingly becoming a focus of conservation. But effective conservation takes a village. So the next time you see a V formation in the sky, let that not only be a reminder to live a climate-friendly lifestyle, but also a sign of hope that you’re part of a larger movement working to protect our natural heritage.
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photo by Mayter
) L A (RE
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A M E R I C A N W R E S T L E R S & N E - H I - T H E H I G H WAT T JESS NOLAN, SHANNON LaBRIE, KYSHONA ARMSTRONG & MORE - MERCY LOUNGE GREYHOUNDS - THE HIGH WATT BIG THIEF w/ SAM EVIAN - THE HIGH WATT TAKING BACK SUNDAY VS. BRAND NEW COVER NIGHT - MERCY LOUNGE MAGGIE ROGERS - THE HIGH WATT IKE REILLY REIL - THE HIGH WATT WHISKEY MYERS - CANNERY BALLROOM MERCY LOUNGE ANNIVERSARY PARTY - MERCY LOUNGE BASSH - THE HIGH WATT PAUL McDONALD - THE HIGH WATT DNCE - CANNERY BALLROOM SLEEP - CANNERY BALLROOM HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES - THE HIGH WATT MARGARET GLASPY - THE HIGH WATT THE DEVIL MAKES THREE - CANNERY BALLROOM JULY TALK w/ MONA - THE HIGH WATT YACHT ROCK REVUE - CANNERY BALLROOM 96 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////
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