Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Pop Culture Memphis Photojournalist Robert King Finds John McAfee
Posted by Joe Boone on Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 8:40 AM
Reached by Facebook on Tuesday, King declined to comment on how he caught up to the software entrepreneur whose flight from the law following the alleged murder of a neighbor is the subject of tabloid intrigue.
King and Vice editor in chief Rocco Castoro posted a short piece and photos from Guatemala, where they reported McAfee had contracted an attorney. The article says the two are at work on a documentary film about MacAfee and his time on the lam following the alleged murder of a neighbor with whom he had quarreled.
King has a long history of finding his subject. Earlier assignments have found him in the company of Julian Assange and Moqtada al Sadr. He is the subject of a documentary film, Shooting Robert King, and an article in Rolling Stone about journalists working in the warzone of Iraq, where King was kidnapped and then released. He has photographed in Iraq and chronicled conflicts in Chechnya and the Chiapas region of Mexico. King’s video work in Syria led to his recently being interviewed by Anderson Cooper on CNN.
King grew up in Memphis the son of John King, an early partner with John Fry in Ardent studios.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Music In Studio: Kevin Cubbins
Posted by Joe Boone on Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 10:29 AM
![Kevin Cubbins [left] hanging with Stax legend Steve Cropper in New York City.](http://www.memphisflyer.com/binary/4be2/1354552148-kc_cropper.jpg "Kevin Cubbins [left] hanging with Stax legend Steve Cropper in New York City.")
His main job, for nine years, is recording engineer for Beale Street Caravan, Sid Selvidge’s NPR-syndicated blues radio show — now in its 16th season. BSC was just recognized by ASCAP with the Deems Taylor Award for broadcast excellence.
Cubbins logs hours editing and mixing the radio show, drawing on experience gained at Ardent Studios and Young Avenue Sound.
“When you’re recording B.B., Buddy Guy, guys like Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin — coming from the music-nerd angle — it’s THOSE guys. Working the studios around Memphis, you find yourself in situations where you are recording Big Jack Johnson, Pinetop Perkins, and you ask yourself, how did I get here? You’re recording the source.”
Friday, November 30, 2012
Music Bobby Bland Highlights Memphis Music Hall of Fame Induction
Posted by Chris Herrington on Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 9:11 AM
- JUSTIN FOX BURKS
- Bobby "Blue" Bland at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
And when 82-year-old, Beale Street-bred soul-blues titan Bobby “Blue” Bland took a seat on stage and sang his classics “Goin' Down Slow” and “Stormy Monday Blues,” this alone was, as they say, worth the price of admission.
Bland's voice was worn but still graceful, with a range that went from his deep “yeah” to quavery high notes. He was helped to the stage and to a chair. When an early bit of feedback disrupted the beginning of his first song, Bland smiled and said “That's my fault.” And then he dug into “Goin' Down Slow,” adding extra gravity to the lines “Somebody please write my mother and tell her the shape I'm in/And tell her to pray for me and forgive me for all my sins.”
Monday, November 19, 2012
Music Sound Advice: Lord T & Eloise "Get Basted" at the Hi-Tone
Posted by J.D. Reager on Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 7:44 PM
Memphis "aristocrunk" rap pioneers Lord T & Eloise will perform this Wednesday, November 21 at the Hi-Tone Cafe with special guests Beyonda Doubt, Mr. White, and Witnesse. The holiday-themed event - appropriately dubbed "Get Basted with Lord T & Eloise" - marks the duo's first local appearance in over six months.
Lord T & Eloise has been hard at work in the studio recently creating a follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed Rapocalypse, in the form of a pair of mixtapes titled Blackout Crunk Vol. 1 and 2. The video for the first single from said mixtapes, "Day Drinking," can be viewed here:
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Music Sound Advice: Missing Monuments, the Manatees, Switchblade Kid at the Hi-Tone Café
Posted by Chris Shaw on Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Missing Monuments sounds more like the power pop coming out of the Midwest in the late 1970s than the hillbilly rock-and-roll that Bankston had been cranking out through the mid 2000s, showing his versatility as a songwriter and his knack for a guitar hook. Tonight marks the first time Bankston has played Memphis since resurrecting the Persuaders for a performance at Gonerfest 9.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Music Memphis Dawls’ Analog Adventures
Posted by Joe Boone on Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 8:43 AM
- ERIN JENNINGS
- The Memphis Dawls
The Powell/Peterson deal includes two songs tracked live to analog tape and mastered to vinyl in the same day. The two have extensive experience at Ardent and can dial in sounds that are appropriate for vinyl mastering.
“We just use the balance we get, touch it with a little EQ, and print it,” Powell says.
The Dawls were cutting the tracks to the second song and not to be bothered. The first track blends American string-band music with sharp female harmonies harkening to the 1940s. The second track moved gorgeously through its changes as they cut the rhythm tracks. These ladies specialize in harmony, and that shows in the part writing of the instruments as well as in their captivating vocals.
The masters were headed to Nashville the next day. Check their website for details about availability. Hear their latest EP below.
The Memphis Dawls EP:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Music / Internet Rolling Head Orchestra Election-Night Stream
Posted by Joe Boone on Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 1:58 PM
Rolling Head Orchestra
Live Election Night Stream, 6-7 p.m.
www.dittytv.com
Music Sound Advice: Gentleman Jesse and Dave Cousar at the Buccaneer Lounge.
Posted by Chris Shaw on Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 8:54 AM
As a member of Atlanta power-punk group the Carbonas (whose final record came out on Goner), Jesse Smith cranked out nasty punk riffs that bands like the Zero Boys and Radio Birdman made popular in the late 1970s, but don’t expect that from this project. Sounding a lot like the Nerves and maybe even a slower, sadder version of the Exploding Hearts, Smith has found a power-pop sweet spot with lyrics focusing on heartbreak, self-loathing, and failed relationships.
Also playing the show is Memphis guitarist Dave Cousar, who’s sat in as a session player with everyone from Al Green to Lucero. Cousar also plays guitar for Amy Lavere, and can often be seen playing his brand of guitar blues at the Buccaneer on Tuesday nights. The show is being advertised as a late one, with the first act scheduled to go on at 11:30. Admission is $7.00 and the show is 21 and up.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Film Indie Memphis Awards: Antenna, As I Am, Open Five 2 are among the winners.
Posted by Chris Herrington on Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 11:09 PM
C. Scott McCoy and Laura Jean Hocking's full-length music documentary Antenna and Alan Spearman's South Memphis-set short doc As I Am were double-winners at the 15th Indie Memphis Film Festival, which presented its awards at a closing ceremony Sunday night.
Antenna won Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature and a Special Jury Award for Local Significance from the Hometowner jury. As I Am took in two Hometowner awards, Best Documentary Short and the Audience Award.
The ceremony was hosted by producer Savannah Bearden and featured video clips from the local Corduroy Wednesday filmmaking group, which spoofed the upcoming presidential election with a fictional election for Indie Memphis executive director. Filmmakers G.B. Shannon, Edward Valibus Phillips, and Ben Siler portrayed challengers to "incumbent" Erik Jambor, who went above and beyond this year by overseeing the biggest and best Indie Memphis yet despite having his first child — a daughter, Simone — just two days before the festival began. (Simone made a cameo at the ceremony, in the arms of mother happy mother Robin Salant.) Helping in the expansion is primary sponsor Duncan-Williams, Inc..
"I've told Erik, we're going to continue to make this bigger and better every year," Williams himself announced at the ceremony's outset.
The most memorable acceptance speech came from Kentucker Audley and Caroline White, the "stars" and co-producers of Audley's intensely personal Open Five 2, which won the award for Best Hometowner Feature.
"I think I'm the only person on the stage that likes the movie," Audley cracked after White was struggling for words to explain the film.
Film Indie Memphis Sunday: Open Five 2, Silver Linings Playbook, Not Fade Away
Posted by Chris Herrington on Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 8:23 AM
The final day of the 15th Indie Memphis Film Festival will feature a Big Star encore, a local premiere, perhaps the two highest-profile features of the fest, and the distribution of festival awards. As always, see IndieMemphis.com for a full schedule and ticketing info. But here are some selected highlights from today's schedule:
After an unofficial, unlisted work-in-progress screening at last year's festival, Kentucker Audley's Open Five 2 (Circuit Playhouse, 5:45 p.m.) makes its official Memphis debut. A provocatively personal film that collapses the distance between fiction and documentary and is packed with memorable moments, it's Audley's best film yet. I wrote more about it in this week's Flyer cover story.
Open Five 2 trailer:
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Film Indie Memphis Saturday: Keep the Lights On, Pilgrim Song, V/H/S
Posted by Chris Herrington on Sat, Nov 3, 2012 at 10:14 AM
The retrospective of Memphis-bred filmmaker Ira Sachs kicks into full drive. Earlier in the day, a selection of Ira Sachs Shorts (Circuit Playhouse, 11 a.m.) will screen, followed by Sachs' made-in-Memphis coming-of-age debut, The Delta (Brooks Museum of Art, 2 p.m.).
And then, the gala screening tonight is, in my mind, the signature event of the festival, the Memphis debut of Sachs' newest and best film, Keep the Lights On (Playhouse on the Square, 7 p.m.), a delicate, richly textured epic about the troubled, decade-long relationship between two New Yorkers that's been hailed as “landmark in gay cinema” and one of the year's best films. You can read my profile of Sachs in this week's Flyer here.
Keep the Lights On trailer:
Friday, November 2, 2012
Film Indie Memphis Friday: Antenna, Ira Sachs, The Comedy
Posted by Chris Herrington on Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 9:17 AM
Antenna tells the story of the titular rock club, once located at the corner of Madison and Avalon in Midtown, where so many culturally left-of-center Memphians in the '80s and '90s found their voices and each other. Along the way, we get glimpses of early alternative/punk/new wave acts such as the Panther Burns, the Modifiers, and Calculated X and see the rise of the city's signature '90s bands, the Grifters and Oblivians.
Antenna trailer:
The doc situates the Antenna as a key part of a growing national indie-rock network via interviews with major figures such as R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, Minutemen's Mike Watt, and Black Flag's Greg Ginn. And it takes a great detour into the all-ages hardcore scene that grew up around the club in the late '80s and early '90s.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Film Indie Memphis Thursday: Big Star, Craig Brewer, Sun Don't Shine
Posted by Chris Herrington on Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 10:26 AM
You can check out my cover story in this week's paper on Memphis-connected filmmakers Ira Sachs and Kentucker Audley, who are both involved with multiple films at this year's festival, most notably new features — Sachs' Keep the Lights On and Audley's Open Five 2 — that are provocatively personal. I also touch on a quartet of selections rooted in Memphis cultural history, including the two highest-profile screenings tonight. Separately, colleagues Chris Davis and Greg Akers join me to highlight a handful of potentially overlooked festival selections.
The gala screening tonight of Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (Playhouse on the Square, 6:30 p.m.), the fine new documentary portrait of the great Memphis ’70s band, is sold out, but there's plenty more to choose from.
Music Sound Advice: Destruction Unit at the Buccaneer Lounge
Posted by Chris Shaw on Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 8:17 AM
The Memphis connections don’t stop there. The original lineup of Destruction Unit also included Memphis musicians Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout (Lost Sounds, Black Sunday). That pair also recorded the first two Destruction Unit albums and eventually helped write a few songs that appear on the second album.
After moving back to Arizona, the band went stagnant for a while, with Rousseau focusing on his more psychedelic outfits Desert Children and Earthmen & Strangers. But in 2009, Rousseau recruited fellow desert punks from various groups to round out the second era of Destruction Unit, this time incorporating elements of krautrock into the distortion-laden mix.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Music Don Trip Releases Help is On the Way Mixtape
Posted by Chris Herrington on Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 1:57 PM
In an interview with the Flyer last month, Trip described Help is On the Way as as “honest and dark,” with more “Chris Wallace” (Trip's real name) and less “Don Trip” in the songs. The 16-track mixtape features producers such as Cool & Dre and Young Ladd and guest appearances from rappers such as Starlito, indie-scene fave Danny Brown, and Memphis mainstay Juicy J. Help is On the Way is available as a free download from the mixtape site datpiff.com. You can get it here.
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