The Pulse 16.04 » January 24, 2019

VOL. 16, ISSUE 4 • JANUARY 24, 2019

It’s A Hip Hop Life Drawing on national traditions to create a strong hip hop scene CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

2 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

FROM THE EDITOR VOLUME 16, ISSUE 4 • JANUARY 24, 2019

BREWER MEDIA GROUP Publisher James Brewer, Sr. FOUNDED 2003 BY ZACHARY COOPER & MICHAEL KULL

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Gary Poole gary@chattanoogapulse.com Assistant Editor Jenn Webster City Editor Alex Curry Music Editor Marc T. Michael Film Editor John DeVore Contributors David Traver Adolphus Adam Beckett • Rob Brezsny Kevin Hale • Matt Jones Ernie Paik • Rick Pimental-Habib Michael Thomas • Brandon Watson Editorial Intern Jason Dale Cartoonists Jen Sorenson • Tom Tomorrow

ADVERTISING Director of Sales Mike Baskin mike@brewermediagroup.com

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In Chattanooga, It’s A Hip Hop Life It’s 40 degrees. The sun is slanting westward in a Riesling-clear sky. Rush hour traffic piles up on MLK and hovers impatiently at the corner of Lindsay Street. On the concrete patio of the Camp House, dancer KG glides, drops into a low turn, moonwalks backward.

Account Executives Rick Leavell • Cindee McBride Libby Phillips • John Rodriguez

CONTACT Offices 1305 Carter St. Chattanooga, TN 37402 Phone 423.265.9494 Fax 423.266.2335 Email info@chattanoogapulse.com Website chattanoogapulse.com Facebook @chattanoogapulse THE FINE PRINT: The Pulse is published weekly by Brewer Media and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on music, the arts, entertainment, culture and local news. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publisher may take more than one copy per weekly issue.

The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

Contents Copyright © 2019 by Brewer Media. All rights reserved.

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PLAYING WITH FIRE

10

DOGMA DANCE OFF

20

They move with focused intent. It’s important when you literally play with fire for a living. Or in this case, molten glass. Each step seems methodically rehearsed.

The one-man-band known as Ethan Terrestrial has an eclectic and diverse approach, ranging from psychedelic space rock to heavy riffage to playful, sparkling pop-rock.

GET PAID OR GET CAUGHT

Graffiti art is illegal in most places, including Chattanooga. Fans of Banksy and other graffiti artists know that messages spray painted on a public wall may be against the law.

A SHATTERED GLASS

As hard as it is to believe, superhero movies weren’t always ubiquitous. In fact, there was a time when comic books were largely considered children’s entertainment.

4 CONSIDER THIS

16 MUSIC CALENDAR

19 JONESIN' CROSSWORD

7 AIR BAG

18 MUSIC REVIEWS

21 NEW IN THEATERS

19 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

22 ON THE BEAT

12 ARTS CALENDAR

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 3

BEGINNINGS · CITY LIFE

Come And Play With Fire At Ignis Glass

Cons ider This w ith Dr. Rick “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.”

— Dalai Lama Someone once said that life is about trusting your feelings and taking chances, losing and finding happiness, appreciating the memories, learning from the past, and realizing people change.

What is life if not taking chances, learning to trust your feelings, experiencing both sorrow and joy, practicing gratitude, committing to personal insight and developing compassion for all the creatures with whom you share this planet? We can see how blaming others for the events of our life’s journey is antithetical to these qualities. One view of the world leads to perpetual rage and suffering; the other, to a joyful life well-lived. Seems like an easy choice, right?

Consider this: Buddha taught that “Who you are is what you have been. Who you will be is what you do now.” Your life is happening…right now. It’s a perfect time to create your vision for yourself.

— Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D.

Looking at glass in a whole new way

By Alex Curry Pulse City Editor

“

Ignis Glass gave me the welcoming realization that beautiful creations are not limited to multimillion-dollar operations with dozens of artists.”

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T

HEY MOVE WITH FOCUSED INTENT. IT’S IMPORTANT when you literally play with fire for a living. Or in this case, molten glass. Each step seems methodically rehearsed, the workspace designed with intrinsic purpose to balance the efficiency of every move.

Time is of utmost importance when a matter of a few seconds can drastically change an outcome. It’s like watching a well-rehearsed ballet with more comfortable shoes.

Most of my exposure to the artistic medium of glass has been through the mega-juggernaut studios of Dale Chihuly, arguably the most famous glass artist in the world. Visiting a small-scale studio like Ignis Glass gave me the welcoming realization that beautiful creations are not limited to multi-million-dollar operations with dozens of artists.

Glass art is a method of inspirational creation achieved through technical skill and process. How-

ever, there is one major difference between Ignis and other studios.

At Ignis, you can participate in a hands-on experience resulting in blowing your own glass ornament.

Ignis opened in 2001. The studio now calls 401 Broad Street home, a perfect spot in Chattanooga’s beating heart.

“We allow the public to blow their own glass ornaments or paperweights,” says Chris Mosey, the founder and owner of Ignis. “We have six different objects to choose from. We talk about color and shape and then we help you make the object of your choosing.”

Chris attended the Appalachian

EDITOONS

Center for Craft in Smithville, TN where he studied photography and ceramics. He started making pottery and continued to fall in love with different forms of artwork.

“The Appalachian Center for Craft is tasked with preserving old Appalachian crafts, from glass blowing to metalsmithing, pottery, fibers, etc. I wanted a more focused education in ceramics and pottery, but by the end of my time, I felt that glass spoke to me more creatively,” Chris says.

Ignis also offers the incorporation of cremains into glass. It’s an interesting and beautiful way to encase the ashes of a loved one or a beloved pet so that their memory can be cherished in an artistic format.

Ignis can handle a staggering 90 people at a time for the glass blowing experience. It’s a great way to spend time with family and loved ones. It’s

also a perfect opportunity for children to gain exposure to creative artwork.

Ignis hosts field trips with both a science and an artistic perspective.

A gallery of artwork from employees and local artists sits behind the glass blowing studio. Walk-ins are welcome depending upon availability, but it’s better to call ahead to ensure that you get the best experience.

The glass has to cool overnight, but Ignis offers shipping for people on the move. They also take commissions for restaurants, appreciation awards, and just about anything else you could want.

When asked if Chris was happy with the outcome of his work, he answered enthusiastically. “I’m lucky enough to have three wonderful employees, and I get to make the things that I want to make.”

What’s not to love?

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COLUMN · AIR BAG

Will Chattanooga Build Electric Fords?

The VW-Ford alliance will end up being more than just trucks

B David Traver Adolphus Pulse columnist

“

While VW gets access to Ford’s admittedly impressive truck manufacturing capabilities, Ford does not— yet—get a piece of VW’s electric car business.”

David Traver Adolphus is a freelance automotive researcher who quit his full time job writing about old cars to pursue his lifelong dream of writing about old AND new cars. Follow him on Twitter as @proscriptus.

Y NOW YOU’RE LIKELY AWARE that VW will be starting an $800 million expansion this spring to add electric vehicle capacity to Chattanooga. While $800 million is big money, it barely registers on VW’s global, eight-year $50 billion electrification plan.

Nevertheless, it’ll mean, among other things, about a 30 percent increase in jobs and will bring total investment into the factory to over $2.3 billion. Carmakers are laying off large percentages of their workforce, both domestically and globally, so this is a huge vote of confidence.

You may also have heard that VW and Ford have announced a memorandum of understanding to develop SUVs and pickups jointly.

The Atlas-based VW pickup might be too far along to be retasked onto the new global Ford Ranger platform, but Ford will be making commercial vans and mid-size pickups for the alliance, while VW will contribute a compact urban van, undoubtedly a replacement for the outdated, Turkish-built Ford Transit Connect. VW’s press materials mention the (full size van) Transporter, (Golf platform small van) Caddy, and (body-onframe pickup) Amarok by name.

So far, that’s standard fare: Toyota’s new Supra is a rebadged BMW Z4; Fiat’s 124 Spider is a Mazda Miata; the Jeep Compass and Fiat 500 share a platform...it’s a long list and there’s nothing unusual about it.

The possibilities of the VW-Ford partnership go far beyond some badge engineering, however, especially where

Ford is concerned.

Last May, we talked about Ford getting out of the car business and rebranding itself as a “mobility company”. I was skeptical then and having listened to Ford CEO Jim Hackett flounder around trying to articulate his vision in the months since, my skepticism has matured into scorn.

It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with Hackett’s two-part plan. Part one is to reinvent Ford’s manufacturing and culture as a Silicon Valley-style Technology Company. You know, light and lean and—let me consult some of the buzzwords they used in May—leveraging trusted strengths to refocus and disrupt global brands.

Part two is a little more problematic.

Hackett wants Ford vehicles to do...well, a lot of stuff, but it can be summed up easily: Everything your smartphone already does. They are supposed to be networked, use embedded sensors to report on your health status, plan trips… you know, smartphone stuff.

It is a frankly ridiculous proposal, and

Ford knows it.

It also relies heavily on the IT infrastructure of electric cars, which is why VW is the winner in the deal. Ford is so desperate to get access to VW’s huge investment that their part of the agreement is largely speculative, because while VW gets access to Ford’s admittedly impressive truck manufacturing capabilities, Ford does not—yet—get a piece of VW’s electric car business.

They have to be hoping they can leverage some portion of the business down the line, however, because for a Technological Mobility Company, they have been painfully slow in rolling out electrics or hybrids of any kind.

VW, by contrast, says that in seven years they will stop introducing internal combustion engines for passenger cars.

Should Ford succeed in glomming on to VW’s EVs, then an electric Ford Transit van built in Chattanooga will be Job One. As Ford sheds jobs and brands around the world at an alarming rate, that may end up being one of the pieces that saves it.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 7

COVER STORY

In Chattanooga, It’s A Hip Hop Life

I

Drawing on national traditions to create a strong hip hop scene

T’S 40 DEGREES. THE SUN IS SLANTING WESTWARD IN a Riesling-clear sky. Rush hour traffic piles up on MLK and hovers impatiently at the corner of Lindsay Street. On the concrete patio of the Camp House, dancer KG glides, drops into a low turn, moonwalks backward.

By Jenn Webster Pulse Assistant Editor

His hands pulse—a fine, popping movement, almost a tremor—illustrating the cold, the oscillation of engines. He crosses his arms—a staccato jab—and then his hands circle each other, wizard-like, and he’s conjuring up a spell in the empty space between his palms.

He glides back to the metal chair and sinks into it, all part of the dance.

Dancing, his face had been serene, almost severe, completely absorbed in the movement. Now he smiles broadly.

He’s good.

That’s hip hop. It can be music (but you don’t have to have music). It can be dance (but the dance can be as simple as dropping into a chair). Anywhere you go in Chattanooga, keep your eyes open.

“The cold is the tension,” he tells me about this on-the-spot improv. “When I listen to the motors grinding, that’s where the smoothness comes from. I kind of go back and forth like, to give you an example of an artist I love to dance to, Busta Rhymes. When you hear his flow, you hear a fast pace.

“I like to go off his words more than the beat. That’s where the tension comes into it. But when I flow, that’s when I start listening to the beat. Then I can do tension off the beat and flow

with his words.”

Words and beat. Cold air, pulsing engines. Tension and flow. There’s a cerebral yet instinctive art in this dance, a constant rebalancing of forces, out of which just about anything can arise.

A BURGEONING SCENE Two years ago when I asked to write about hip hop for The Pulse, my editor replied: “We already have a music writer.”

No, I explained—hip hop dance.

He wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t right.

When you talk about hip hop, dancer Kunstruct of the group Natural Habitz told me recently, you’re talking about a lifestyle. There’s hip hop as an allencompassing way of being, and then within its bailiwick are a dozen aspects of art, culture, and social outreach.

“Rapping, or MCing, is something you do; hip hop is something you live,” Kunstruct says. “Peace, love, unity, and having fun—those are the four principles of hip hop. There’s also the language, the fashion, the community outreach.”

A Chattanooga native since he was three years old, Kunstruct has traveled and danced extensively across the southeast.

“Street dance culture all over the world is huge,” he says. “Right next to us in Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville, North Carolina, a city may have 40

8 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

Photo courtesy Hamilton Jackson

or 50 crews. I’m looking to grow that culture in Chattanooga.”

To that end, Kunstruct and his colleagues are teaching dance at several locations in the city, focused primarily on East Lake.

“We are trying to expose Chattanooga to street dance culture,” he says.

“We are teaching…those who want to learn. We’re showing them where the whole street dance situation came from and encouraging appreciation of that.

We want to bring people together in the spirit of happiness and peace and dance.”

DANCE PRIMER Though infinitely accommodating of innovation, street hip hop has a few foundational styles. Locking, or punctuating faster movements by periodically freezing in place, is an exaggerated style often used for comic effect, though any emotional range may be

expressed.

Picture funk music, a dancer alternating between smooth slides and hard freezes, a sudden athletic movement like a drop into a jazz split and then a return to tight, controlled movement… imagine the dancer interacting with the audience, maybe grinning or scoffing at a competitor dancer…that’s locking.

Popping also relies on precise control of the body; in this case, the dancer flexes and relaxes muscles quickly to create a jerking or “popping” style.

Often, popping can create eerie, robotic effects. Picture strobing, where the dancer’s quick stops look like he’s being shown under a strobe light, or tutting, with geometric articulations of the body.

B-boying, b-girling, or breaking (aficionados never say “break dancing”), is by far the most athletic street dance style in the hip hop family. Picture handstands, flips, and spins on all parts of

the body that aren’t usually weightbearing surfaces. That’s b-boying.

Most dancers pull from all styles, adding moves like a turf turn (drop, turn in a squat, stand up quick) or a scooby doo (just picture Scooby walking).

They also draw on dance hall styles, from salsa to the Lindy hop. Martial arts moves, mime, even classical studio ballet? Bring it on! Hip hop can integrate just about anything into its tightly-controlled form and ironic perspective.

Irony—that’s another thing to watch with hip hop. When dancers are joking around, look for the serious hidden message; when they appear to be fierce, check for that moment when they slyly make fun of themselves.

When I ask dancer Kenneth Glatt, aka KG, to dance to the sound track all around us at the Camp House (rush hour traffic, concrete reverb, metal chairs scraping) he reveals a hardedged, industrial vibe—but his hands also make movements as delicate as a kung fu master’s.

DANCE HERITAGE Though Chattanooga does not have the bustling scene of Atlanta or Knoxville, some of its dancers participate in traditions leading by direct line, teacher to student, from some of the earliest nationally-known crews.

Kunstruct tells me he’s part of two out-of-town crews. One is the ATL FunkLordz, part of the Mighty Zulu Kings, descended from the official bboy crew of Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation. (Start Googling these groups and you may not emerge from a YouTube dance trance until dawn). Natural Habitz, then, is part of the extended family of the Zulu Nation.

Talking crew and lineage expresses legitimacy, and also tells people something about the dancer’s style and values. For example, Kunstruct’s description of hip hop’s mantra of “peace,

B-Wave is working hard; as he tells me, he’s learned ten styles so far and is eager to master more. He’s learning bone-breaking now. But the end result transcends self-mastery; it’s selfexpression.

“What I try to let people see is how fun it is,” he says. “How you can express yourself while knowing who you are.”

WHERE TO FIND

Photo courtesy Chris Campbell

“

We are trying to expose Chattanooga to street dance culture. We are teaching…those who want to learn.”

unity, love, and having fun” derives straight from Afrika Bambaataa’s ethos.

FINDING THE CULTURE Though the younger dancers I speak to describe hip hop as street culture, they also speak of coming to the moves in the privacy of their own homes.

KG began listening to Michael Jackson, watching videos, and practicing moves, he tells me. He then moved on to gyms, and later performed at Chattanooga’s Got Talent at UTC. Justino Hale, who performs as BWave, began by watching and imitating dancers on YouTube before he graduated from Red Bank High a few years back. However, he quickly began reaching out to find other dancers in real life.

“I wanted to get some activity into my life,” he says. “I found dancing.

Dancing is like expressing my feelings to people.”

He then found Kunstruct.

“He taught me everything about musicality,” B-Wave says. “He’s basically my mentor.”

B-Wave often competes out of town, and locally when there’s a chance. He became a member of Kunstruct’s other home crew, the ATL BattleHolix.

“I met him, did a little upgrading of my dance style, and learned different styles of dancing,” he says. “He asked if I wanted to be in a crew, since I started dancing in 2016. They put me on a six-month probationary period. After six months, they battled me in after 12 rounds. It was the longest I ever went!”

Battling in means going head-tohead; you perform, another dancer tries to best you; you respond. If you sign up for a studio hip hop class, the nearest you’ll probably get is a freestyle circle, where everyone gets a turn.

Now imagine that every other turn is yours.

Dancers practice as crews, and then compete at local events or, more commonly, out of town. By travelling to Nashville, Atlanta, North Carolina, and beyond, dancers can compete almost every weekend of the year if they have the drive, “representing the 423” as Kunstruct says.

However, it’s Kunstruct’s mission to bring more public-facing hip hop, more instruction, and more friendly competition to Chattanooga.

He teaches at the East Lake Neighborhood Association Building and the YMCA at Hamilton Place, and welcomes students from preteens and up, even, he adds, younger kids who are serious about learning.

He and his colleagues have brought competitions to town before now, and are looking to organize some larger competitions this summer, hopefully drawing big-name dancers to the 423.

To learn more, visit them at facebook.com/natural.habitz To see KG in action, look out for him to perform on Saturday, February 2 at Venue 909, or find him on social media as 24keng Assistant Editor Jenn Webster is a writer, dancer and choreographer. She specializes in marketing and technical writing and is excited to learn and share more about Chattanooga and the innovative works we're creating together.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Get Paid Or Get Caught” Jackson Hendrickson enlivens the Scenic City

By Kevin Hale Pulse Contributor

“

I tell the kids if you paint public property without permission, it is vandalism, Get permission and then hopefully you get commission.”

G

RAFFITI ART IS ILLEGAL IN MOST PLACES, INCLUDing Chattanooga. Fans of Banksy and other graffiti artists know that messages spray painted on a public wall may be against the law but still deserve to be heard.

Jackson Hendrickson understands the technique may be frowned upon but sees that graffiti art as a movement is gaining momentum, especially in such forwardthinking public art places as the Tennessee Valley.

Hendrickson is a Wyoming native who stumbled across tagging and the graffiti art culture while on vacation in 2014.

“I was with my family strolling across the New Jersey Boardwalk and came across this artist calling himself Joshua Moonshine,” remembers Hendrickson.

Moonshine probably encapsulates everything graffiti art represents: he’s quick, clever, subversive, other-worldly, and anonymous. Hendrickson remembers admiring his technique and how he could create images within minutes with his spray cans.

“I was like, ‘I think I can do that,’” says Hendrickson.

Hendrickson soon began painting planets and galaxies in his spare time. The Walnut Street walking bridge provided a perfect setting for his performance art.

“I busted out my cans and a friend

brought his bongos and we sold as many paintings as we could for 20 bucks,” laughs Hendrickson. “We charged as much as we thought we could get away with.”

Around this same time, a friend of his, Robin Ickes, got in touch with him about his art. Her husband happened to work for Facebook in Palo Alto, CA. She challenged him to a sort of national graffiti reverse scavenger hunt.

“So I rented a car and left my work at public places all around the country as I drove to the Bay Area,” says Hendrickson.

“I tagged it and left a website on the back along with an inspirational quote.”

Once Hendrickson arrived in California, Ickes bought the rest of his work. The budding visual artist began networking and realized there were similar performance artists tagging and throwing up other common graffiti techniques around town.

“We all started to develop a certain style [which] I guess you could call space painting,” says Hendrickson. “We began to ask ourselves, ‘When are we going to

THU1.24

FRI1.25

SAT1.26

Free Solo

Lookout Wild Film Festival

Pink! Gala

Held over by popular demand, come see this documentary of a free climb of El Capitan.

6 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D 201 Chestnut St. tnaqua.org/IMAX

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Experience the great oudoors in ways you've never seen before with a weekend of amazing film.

7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. lookoutfilmfestival.org

Come help support the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center and the fight against breast cancer.

6 p.m.

Chattanooga Convention Center 1150 Carter St. memorial.org/pink!

start painting more than planets?’”

And in that question the non-profit Grinternational was born.

The Grinternational Page for Superheroes was the pilot page for the nonprofit, and as it stands, the nonprofit is still in development and piloting stages. It consists of hundreds of Facebook artists who like to bounce ideas off each other and brainstorm.

The collective even have their own mission statement. In it, Hendrickson’s philanthropy extends to community development and early education.

He travelled back to Wyoming to paint a 53-foot trailer in Looney Tunes characters to be used in a gun safety workshop for kids.

“It worked!” exclaims Hendrickson.

“They used the trailer for target practice and really engaged the kids.”

And here is the rub in the frownedupon, much-outlawed vandalism most municipalities call graffiti.

“I tell the kids if you paint public property without permission, it is vandalism,” says Hendrickson. “Get permission and then hopefully you get commission. Get paid or get caught.”

Hendrickson lives with his family in Rossville, where he has already painted a few businesses along the boulevard. He simply canvassed the neighborhood with Kevin Fowler and Justin

Roberts and knocked on doors to see if he could paint their building.

“We asked them to just buy the cans and we would do our thing,” says Hendrickson. “They usually gave us some money when we were through.

They realized these murals brighten it up with color and creativity where it is kind of beat down.”

Hendrickson’s other notable works include a mural of Michael Phelps in Phoenix, AZ at a Swim Spa, which the most decorated Olympian of all time actually signed. A little closer to home is his 22-foot by 140-foot mural at Heaven and Ale on Cherokee Boulevard.

One of his ultimate goals, and he has a few, is to work with kids from elementary to high school.

“I was lecturing to grade school kids and one little girl actually put on the mask and tagged it up a bit,” says Hendrickson. “Then I talk to high school kids and let them know your world is wide open.”

And the future certainly looks wide open for Hendrickson. He hopes to organize public mural events and collaborate with local business owners.

“I want to save the world through painting as many public murals as possible, and want to paint every building in Chattanooga.”

With permission, of course.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR THURSDAY1.24 Scenic City Women’s Network Luncheon 11:30 a.m.

Mountain City Club 729 Chestnut St. (423) 756-5584 scwn.org Red Wolf Revival Film Screening Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Urban Farmers Market and Marketplace 3 p.m.

Miller Park 910 Market St. millerparkmarket.com Naughty Knights Chess Meetup 5 p.m.

Hutton & Smith Brewing Co. 431 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 760-3600 huttonandsmithbrewing.com Introduction to Public Speaking 5:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Workspace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 822-5750 chattanoogaworkspace.com Artists Talking to Art: The Divine Poetess with Musicians and Dancers 6 p.m.

The Hunter Museum of Art 10 Bluff View Ave. (423) 267-0968 huntermuseum.org Free Solo 6 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D 201 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4629 tnaqua.org/IMAX So You Think You Can Speak 6:30 p.m.

The Edney Innovation Center 1100 Market St. (423) 643-6770 theedney.com Winter Workshop: Map & Compass 6:30 p.m.

Outdoor Chattanooga 200 River St. (423) 643-6888 outdoorchattanooga.com Lookout Wild Film Festival

Red Wolf Revival Film Screening 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 lookoutfilmfestival.org Color Chattanooga Pink!

7 p.m.

The Big Chill & Grill 103 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 267-2445 bigchillchatt.com Propaganda: Spoken Word Performance 7 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Spelling Bee 7 p.m.

Handup Handle & Bar 1155 E. Main St. (423) 541-2324 handleandbar.com Etta May 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Freedom Through Words: Poetic Open Mic 7:30 p.m.

The Edney Innovation Center 1100 Market St. (423) 643-6770 theedney.com Alcoholics Not Anonymous Comedy Open Mic 8 p.m.

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Barley Taproom 235 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 682-8200 chattanoogabarley.com Country Line Dancing Class 8 p.m.

Westbound Bar 24 Station St. (423) 498-3069 westboundbar.com

FRIDAY1.25 Morning Dance Pants: New Year Winter Wonderland 7 a.m.

The Tomorrow Building 818 Georgia Ave. (423) 449-9112 societyofwork.com Red Wolf Revival Film Screening Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Film Friday-America’s Boulevard: A Mural on MLK Noon Chattanooga Design Studio 850 Market St. (423) 664-4837 chattanoogastudio.com Chattacon 44 3 p.m.

The Read House 107 W. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-4121 chattacon.org

Dinner and the Arts 5 p.m.

Center for Creative Arts 1301 Dallas Rd. (423) 209-5929 centerforcreativearts.net Out On 8th 5 p.m.

West Village 802 Pine St. (423) 424-1831 westvillagechattanooga.com Lookout Wild Film Festival 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 lookoutfilmfestival.org Free Solo 7 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D 201 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4629 tnaqua.org/IMAX Etta May 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com “Dead on Arrival” 7:30 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. LaFayette, GA (706) 996-8350 bapshows.com Improv “Movie” Night: Rhymes with “Bisney Bixar” Animated Film

8 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Video Game Night 8 p.m.

Stone Cup Cafe 208 Frazier Ave. (423) 521-3977 stonecupcafe.com Ruby Falls Lantern Tours 8:30 p.m.

Ruby Falls 1720 S. Scenic Hwy. (423) 821-2544 rubyfalls.com Sunday Slasher Presents: “Female Trouble” 9 p.m.

The Palace Theater 818 Georgia Ave. (423) 803-6578 chattpalace.com Good, Old-Fashioned Improv Show 10 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

SATURDAY1.26 WODanooga 8 a.m.

Downtown YMCA 301 W. 6th St. (423) 266-3766 ymcachattanooga.org Winter Writers Workshop 9 a.m.

Chattanooga State 4501 Amnicola Hwy. chattanoogawritersguild.org Beginner Macrame: Plant Hanger 9 a.m.

Chattanooga Workspace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 822-5750 chattanoogaworkspace.com Chattacon 44 10 a.m.

The Read House 107 W. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-4121 chattacon.org Photography Hike 11 a.m.

Reflection Riding Arboretum

400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Backcountry Navigation With A Map & Compass - Level 1 11 a.m.

Greenway Farms 5051 Gann Store Rd. (423) 643-6311 Red Wolf Revival Film Screening Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Chili Cook-Off 12:30 p.m.

West Village 802 Pine St. westvillagechattanooga.com Lookout Wild Film Festival 2, 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 lookoutfilmfestival.org Pink! Gala 6 p.m.

Chattanooga Convention Center 1150 Carter St. (423) 756-0001 memorial.org/pink!

Winter in West Village 6 p.m.

West Village 802 Pine St. westvillagechattanooga.com Free Solo 7 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D 201 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4629 tnaqua.org/IMAX Etta May 7:30, 9:45 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com “Dead on Arrival” 7:30 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. (706) 996-8350 LaFayette, GA bapshows.com Your Stories 8 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

Riverwalk 6:30 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechatt.com English Country Dance for All! 7 p.m.

Heritage House Arts and Civic Center 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 855-9474 chattanooga.gov

WEDNESDAY1.30

Chili Cook-Off Whose Line Chattanooga 10 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

SUNDAY1.27 Chattacon 44 10 a.m.

The Read House 107 W. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-4121 chattacon.org Chattanooga Secular Mindfulness Meetup 12:30 p.m.

Center for Mindful Living 400 E. Main St. (423) 486-1279 centermindfulliving.org Lookout Wild Film Festival 2 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 lookoutfilmfestival.org “Female Trouble” 2 p.m.

The Palace Theater 818 Georgia Ave. (423) 803-6578 chattpalace.com Free Fiddle School 2 p.m.

Fiddlers Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497

“Dead on Arrival” 2:30 p.m.

Back Alley @ The Mars Theater 117 N. Chattanooga St. (706) 996-8350 LaFayette, GA bapshows.com “Who Will Write Our History” 3 p.m.

Jewish Cultural Center 5461 North Terrace (423) 493-0270 jewishchattanooga.com Free Solo 6 p.m.

Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D 201 Chestnut St. (423) 266-4629 tnaqua.org/IMAX Rocky Dale Davis & Neal Reddy 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

MONDAY1.28 Winter Belly Dance Session 5:45 p.m.

Movement Arts Collective 3813 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 401-8115 movementartscollective.com Joggers & Lagers 6 p.m.

Chattanooga Brewing Co. 1804 Chestnut St. chattabrew.com

TUESDAY1.29 Wake Up & Run 6 a.m.

Fleet Feet Sports 307 Manufacturers Rd. (423) 771-7996 fleetfeetchattanooga.com Red Wolf Revival Film Screening Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org No Pressure: Instant Pot 101 6 p.m.

Chattanooga Workspace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 822-5750 chattanoogaworkspace.com AVA Critique Workshop 6 p.m.

AVA Gallery 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282 avarts.org Mission Exchange 6 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 702-8081 thecamphouse.com Poets in Conversation 6:30 p.m.

Star Line Books 1467 Market St. (423) 777-5629 starlinebooks.com Paths to Pints along the

Red Wolf Revival Film Screening Noon Reflection Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 821-1160 reflectionriding.org Main Street Market 4 p.m.

522 W. Main St. mainstfarmersmarket.com Hart Gallery Give Back Night 5 p.m.

Flying Squirrel 55 Johnson St. (423) 602-5980 flyingsquirrelbar.com Learning in a Winter Welding Class 6 p.m.

Art 120 100 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 708-2120 art120.org How to Overcome and Deal with Adversity 6 p.m.

The Edney Innovation Center 1100 Market St. (423) 643-6770 theedney.com Landry 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Open Mic Comedy 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 13

THE MUSIC SCENE

Discover Dogma Dance Off Psychedelic music for a very good cause

Return Of The “Fan-Made Man” Corey Smith is no stranger to Chattanooga. The country singer and proclaimed “fanmade man” has made the city a regular stop on his extensive tours across the country. He even recorded a live album at Track 29 in 2012, simply titled Live in Chattanooga.

The album was recorded just one week after being abruptly shut down at the same venue, where he compensated disappointed fans with a resonant and unfiltered performance which, thankfully, did not end in the same fate.

Making his return to Chattanooga on Saturday, Corey Smith will be playing at The Signal with Chris Bandi opening. As a part of his two-year-long Great Wide Underground tour, fans can expect to hear new and old material from Smith’s sixteen-year career.

Though it has yet to be released, Smith’s forthcoming album Great Wide Underground should appear sometime this year.

Last year, he released three singles from the album, “Empty Rooms”, “Halfway Home”, and “Honky Tonkin’ in My Blood”.

The songs spark nostalgia and emotion through odes to the roaring honky-tonks from Smith’s childhood, as well as the woes of working far from family. There is no doubt that his songs, whether heard at a party or in a moment of reflection, can touch a southerner’s mind.

This contradicting yet appealing duality present in Smith’s songwriting allows for the singer to exhibit his introspection and raise hell at the same time. — Jason Dale

T

HE ONE-MAN BAND KNOWN AS ETHAN TERrestrial—the brainchild of Chattanooga musician Ethan Boyd—has an eclectic and diverse approach, ranging from psychedelic space rock to heavy riffage to playful, sparkling pop rock that sounds like it could come from outer space.

By Ernie Paik Pulse Contributor

However, as a regional organizer with his “Dogma” branded showcases and annual charitable “Dogma Dance Off” events, Boyd is down-to-earth, focused on bringing the community together with fresh musical and artistic talent.

Boyd took the time to answer some questions for us on the heels of the release of his official debut album, The Death of Ethan Terrestrial.

“Ethan Terrestrial is a simple moniker that I use as an all-inclu-

14 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

sive vehicle for my musical expression,” said Boyd. “There isn’t one sound I feel tied down to record or play live, so I felt like ‘E.T.’ could fit anywhere.”

Born and raised in Murfreesboro, Boyd absorbed the long-running D.I.Y. scene there, which shaped his outlook on Dogma Dance Off and music-making immensely.

“Along with that scene, coming up on all the Nashville garage legends like JEFF the Brotherhood, Diarrhea Planet (R.I.P.), Savoy Motel, Music Band, Ranch Ghost, and many others influenced my musical

taste and ethos,” said Boyd. “All this Middle Tennessee creative energy is what sparked my passion for musicmaking and artistic activism.”

Boyd has been playing in and around Chattanooga for about two years with a solo psychedelic country act, but now he and longtime friend Julia Anderson are forming the band Planet Terrestrial, which he says will feed into the “terrestrial” mythos he’s been creating.

The Death of Ethan Terrestrial was released on January 2 as a digital download on Bandcamp and on cassette.

“The album is conceptual, cohesive, and hits the vibe I wanted to capture,” said Boyd. “The album follows the character Winslow Parish and his descent into mystic corruption in a decertified world of split moons, vertically layered cities

and futuristic decay.”

To make the album, he recorded all the tracks in his duplex stairwell and then sent everything off to the in-house Dogma producer Oscar Valenzuela for back-end sound work.

Valenzuela contributed drumming on one track, and Hannah Glass sang backing vocals on another.

“I’ve started to bust into Chattanooga with 2018’s fundraiser shows and the most recent Dogma showcase,” said Boyd, mentioning the full-house December 30 event at Barking Legs Theater. “The Chattanooga local scene is pretty dang awesome. There is plenty of room for growth but there are a lot of boots on the ground making things happen. For example, the Community House boys throw sick events, and the Shaking Ray Levi Society features incredible artists.”

As far as local musicians, Boyd says to watch out for Psychic Dungeon, BbyMutha, Pinecone, and Superbody. Regionally, he is a fan of “killer acts” like Nordista Freeze, Future Crib, O Summer, King Coogi, and The Holifields.

The third and latest Dogma Dance Off event, in July 2018,

“

The Chattanooga local scene is pretty dang awesome. There is plenty of room for growth but there are a lot of boots on the ground making things happen.” included 16 music acts such as Chattanooga’s new-wave powerhouse Superbody, hip-hop artist King Coogi from Nashville, and the masked one-woman band Limbo from San Francisco. The annual festival has also featured visual artists and a fashion show.

“Dogma Dance Off is the result of my passion for local art scenes and activism through charity,” said Boyd. “People need community and want to make positive impacts on the world around them, so Dogma Dance Off combines these elements.”

The past two years he’s proud to have been able to give a platform to so many amazing musicians and artists while raising funds for Murfreesboro’s local soup kitchen.

“None of this is possible though without the help of my talented friends on the ‘Dog-

Team’ and co-Dog-Wizard Tanner Pancake.”

And he points out that Dogma Dance Off is far from a Murfreesboro exclusive event.

“The 2019 Dogma Dance Off will actually expand into a three-day festival traveling from Nashville to Murfreesboro and then down to Chattanooga,” said Boyd. “It’ll be a crazy I-24 traveling roadshow my team and I are thrilled to do.”

Along with the release of his album, he launched the label side of things, and there are more plans for featuring other types of art forms and more Dogma events.

“Dogma Dance Off is the meat and potatoes of the Dogma platter, while everything else is our bread and butter,” said Boyd. “In essence, Dogma is a creator’s guild while Dogma Dance Off is the annual celebration of life, art, and charity.”

THU1.24 The Dylan Kussman Band A Hollwood actor with a band...that's actualy really good? It sounds unlikly, but it's true with DKB! 8 p.m.

Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. 3210 Broad St. bendbrewingbeer.com

FRI1.25 Blackberry Winter Folk music from the Ozarks Hills, including Americana, roots, oldtime, and bluegrass.

7 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org

SAT1.26 Pains Chapel, Awake in the Veil, Bridges To Burn Celebrate Ziggy's 40th birthday with a big time rock-n-roll blowout!

8 p.m.

Music Box at Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Rd. ziggysbarandgrill.net

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 15

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

Aquaducks

THURSDAY1.24 James Crumble Trio 6 p.m.

St. John’s Meeting Place 1278 Market St. stjohnsrestaurant.com Toby Hewitt 6 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Matt Downer & Hara Paper 6:30 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Company 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Maria Sable 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Propaganda 6:30 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd. thecamphouse.com Toby Hewitt 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Southwind 7:30 p.m.

The Feed Co. Table and Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Rusty Holloway Quintet 7:30 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave

16 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

barkinglegs.org Jesse James & Tim Neal 7:30 p.m.

Mexi-Wing VII 5773 Brainerd Rd. (423) 296-1073 The Dylan Kussman Band 8 p.m.

Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. 3210 Broad St. bendbrewingbeer.com Keepin’ It Local 8 p.m.

The Social 1110 Market St. publichousechattanooga.com Open Mic Night 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Chatt All-Stars 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com

FRIDAY1.25 Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 Jimmy Dormire 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Megan Howard 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar

801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Crownover 7 p.m.

The Camp House 149 E. MLK Blvd. thecamphouse.com The Doyle & Debbie Show 7 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St. museum.songbirds.rocks Blackberry Winter 7 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org Tim Lewis 7 p.m.

El Meson 248 Northgate Park elmesonchattanooga.com Morgan Maier Birthday Bash 7 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Company 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Overland Express 8 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. museum.songbirds.rocks Pamela K Ward 8 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Amber Fults 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com

Behold the Brave 9 p.m.

The Feed Co. Table & Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Jordan Hallquist & The Outfit 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com Aquaducks, Over Easy 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Throttle 21 10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SATURDAY1.26 Binji Varsossa 6 p.m.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant 1809 Broad St. (423) 266-1461 The Briars 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Naomi Ingram 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Sherry Cothran 7 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd.

christunity.org Scott Mulvahill with Stephen Day 7 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St museum.songbirds.rocks Forever Bluegrass 7 p.m.

Westbound Bar 24 Station St. westboundbar.com Tim Lewis 7 p.m.

El Meson 248 Northgate Park elmesonchattanooga.com String Theory 10th Anniversary Gala 7:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Golf and Country Club 1511 Riverview Rd. chattanoogagcc.org Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil 7:30 p.m.

The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul 214 E. 8th St. chattanoogabachchoir.org Corey Smith 8 p.m.

The Signal 1810 Chestnut St. thesignaltn.com The Countrymen Band 8 p.m.

Eagles Club 6130 Airways Blvd.

(423) 894-9940 Pains Chapel, Awake in the Veil, Bridges To Burn 8 p.m.

Music Box at Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Rd. ziggysbarandgrill.net Taylor & Company 8 p.m.

VFW Post 4848 2402 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 624-6687 For The Love Of Funk with Dr.B and Sleazy Sleazy 8 p.m.

Stone Cup Cafe 208 Frazier Ave. stonecupcafe.com Maya Trippe 8:30 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com

wanderlinger.com Space Jam Open Mic with Xll Olympians 7 p.m.

Barley Taproom 235 E. MLK Blvd. chattanoogabarley.com Live Jam Session with Freddy Mc & Friends 8 p.m.

Granfalloon 400 E. Main St. granfalloonchattanooga.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 8 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com

Scott Mulvahill Neon Moon 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. museum.songbirds.rocks John Carroll 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Jess Goggans Band 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com Danimal Planet, Smart Objects 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Throttle 21 10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SUNDAY1.27 Laura Walker Trio 11 a.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Carl Pemberton 11 a.m.

Westin Chattanooga 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Lew Card 1:30 p.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St.

flyingsquirrelbar.com The Other Brothers 3 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Company 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Monroe Crossing 3 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Bluegrass Jam 4 p.m.

Fiddlers Anonymous 2248 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 994-7497 Southern Symphony Orchestra Concerto Concert 4 p.m.

Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists 4829 College Dr. E. collegedalechurch.com Open Mic with Jeff Daniels 6 p.m.

Long Haul Saloon 2536 Cummings Hwy. (423) 822-9775 Space Jesus ft. Minnesota 8 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. museum.songbirds.rocks The Molly Maguires 8 p.m.

The Honest Pint 35 Patten Pkwy. thehonestpint.com

MONDAY1.28 Open Air with Jessica Nunn

6 p.m.

The Granfalloon 400 E. Main St. granfalloonchattanooga.com Blues Night Open Jam 6:30 p.m.

Songbirds South 35 Station St. museum.songbirds.rocks Dustin Concannon 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Monday Nite Big Band 7 p.m.

The Coconut Room 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Very Open Mic with Shawnessey Cargile 8 p.m.

The Well 1800 Rossville Blvd. #8 wellonthesouthside.com

TUESDAY1.29 Gino Fanelli 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Danimal 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Sage Against The Machine 7 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Company 1208 King St.

WEDNESDAY1.30 The Other Guys 6 p.m.

SpringHill Suites 495 Riverfront Pkwy. springhillsuites.com Ryan Oyer 6:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Jesse James Jungkurth 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Kathy Tugman in the Lounge 7 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Randall Adams 8 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Priscilla & Little Rickee 8 p.m.

Las Margaritas 1101 Hixson Pike (423) 756-3332 Prime Cut Trio 9 p.m.

The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 17

ADAM BECKETT'S RECORD REVIEWS

Zach Ryan The Seas of Mist (znryan.bandcamp.com)

R

ecently released The Seas of Mist, by Chattanooga’s own Zach Ryan, is a solid gold album that unveils a local sensation who is about to bust at the seams with success. The music that pours from his being is powerful, to say the least. It is music you feel in your bones.

A truly remarkable musical showcase flows effortlessly with the mighty, poetic, and raw vocals that combine to make each track. Ryan knows a little something about feeling the music.

The album does not fit a mold and is not one particular genre. Hints of blues, classic rock, alternative rock, singer-songwriter/ acoustic, chill jam band sounds, and some musical bliss all combine to fill this album with magic.

Listeners can easily connect with The Seas of Mist.

The whole album is good, but the standout tracks “The Right Thing”, “My World”, and “Never Give Up” ignite the pathway and showcase his talents as a righteous music man.

All three tracks demonstrate some serious soul.

These tracks rock like some old school Doors or Jimi Hendrix. I do not use that

18 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

comparison lightly. Zach Ryan is on fire; his music is inspirational.

Singer/songwriter-type track “Hole in the Light” tells a beautifully poetic story about love and loss; it shows the side of him that is a troubadour. The instrumental track “All In” reveals another artistic dimension from Ryan. It is a chill, almost tropical, easy flowing jam track that is next level.

Ryan has found a way to mesh sounds from music history while putting a current spin on them. This album should not be overlooked. It is pure music.

Artists like Zach Ryan are why Chattanooga is regularly getting national attention as one of the best in the country. Chattanooga is constantly being blessed with great music. Support this local artist; he is a rising star.

Magnificent Lions Magnificent Lions (magnificentlions.com)

T

he local indie/emo/ alternative band Magnificent Lions have started the year off right with the release of their self-titled album Magnificent Lions. The versatile album demonstrates the multifaceted capabilities of the group and their ability to mix things up from track to track.

It is apparent that all the

individual members of the band put a lot into making the album, while seeming to pour themselves effortlessly into the music. The sound has an organic, authentic feel. This is music from a group of talented musicians that are not trying to do anything, they are just doing it, naturally. It is awesome to see artists click like this.

Brilliant music that is laced with thought-provoking and heart-piercing lyrics blasts through the airwaves to tell emotional stories of life, love, misunderstandings, and struggles. The album has captured the passions of the artists, and it gives a glimpse into their combined heart space.

Having the ability to connect with the listener is a mighty aspect of the album.

The whole album deserves a start-to-finish, honest listen. Every song brings something to the table, but standout tracks “The Need”, “Motionless”, “We Were the House All Along”, “Endlessly”, “The Circle Dream”, and “Coda” all lead the way.

It is obvious that Magnificent Lions have that “It factor” that gives artists and groups the ability to rise to the top. They are really on to something with their music, and the sky is the limit for them.

People often get hung up on genres and decide what to listen to based on their particular interest. Forget the genre and give this album a listen. It will make you a believer that music exists outside of genre confines. Support this local sensation.

JONESIN' CROSSWORD

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In May 1927, Aquarian aviator Charles Lindbergh made a pioneering flight in his one-engine plane from New York to Paris. He became instantly famous. Years later, Lindbergh testified that partway through his epic journey he was visited by a host of odd, vaporous beings who suddenly appeared in his small cabin.

They spoke with him, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of navigation and airplane technology. Lindbergh's spirits were buoyed. His concentration, which had been flagging, revived. He was grateful for their unexpected support. I foresee a comparable kind of assistance becoming available to you sometime soon, Aquarius.

Don't waste any time being skeptical about it; just welcome it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): More than four centuries ago, a Piscean samurai named Honda Tadakatsu became a leading general in the Japanese army. In the course of his military career, he fought in more than a hundred battles. Yet he never endured a major wound and was never beaten by another samurai. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for the coming weeks. As you navigate your way through interesting challenges, I believe that like him, you'll lead a charmed life. No wounds. No traumas. Just a whole lot of educational adventures.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1917, leaders of the Christian sect Jehovah's Witnesses prophesied that all earthly governments would soon disappear and Christianity would perish. In 1924, they predicted that the ancient Hebrew prophet Moses would be resurrected and speak to people everywhere over the radio. In 1938, they advised their followers not to get married or have children, because the end of civilization was nigh. In 1974, they said there was only a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end." I bring these failed predictions to your attention, Aries, so as to get you in the mood for my prediction, which is: all prophecies that have been made about your life up until now are as wrong as the Jehovah Witnesses' visions. In 2019, your life will be bracingly free of old ideas about who you are and who you're supposed to be. You will have unprecedented opportunities to prove that your future is wide open.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Movie critic Roger Ebert defined the term "idiot plot" as "any film plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots." I bring this to your attention because I suspect there has been a storyline affecting you that in some ways fits that description. Fortunately, any temptation you might have had to go along with the delusions of other people will soon fade. I expect that

as a result, you will catalyze a surge of creative problem-solving. The idiot plot will transform into a much smarter plot.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1865, Prussia's political leader, Otto von Bismarck, got angry when an adversary, Rudolf Virchow, suggested cuts to the proposed military budget. Bismarck challenged Virchow to a duel. Virchow didn't want to fight, so he came up with a clever plan. As the challenged party, he was authorized to choose the weapons to be used in the duel. He decided upon two sausages. His sausage would be cooked; Bismarck's sausage would be crammed with parasitic roundworms. It was a brilliant stratagem.

The proposition spooked Bismarck, who backed down from the duel.

Keep this story in mind if you're challenged to an argument, dispute, or conflict in the coming days. It's best to figure out a tricky or amusing way to avoid it altogether.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): An imaginative 27-year-old man with the pseudonym Thewildandcrazyoli decided he was getting too old to keep his imaginary friend in his life. So he took out an ad on Ebay, offering to sell that longtime invisible ally, whose name was John Malipieman. Soon his old buddy was dispatched to the highest bidder for $3,000. Please don't attempt anything like that in the coming weeks, Cancerian. You need more friends, not fewer— both of the imaginary and nonimaginary variety. Now is a ripe time to expand your network of compatriots.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In December 1981, novice Leo filmmaker James Cameron got sick, fell asleep, and had a disturbing dream. He saw a truncated robot armed with kitchen knives crawling away from an explosion. This nightmare ultimately turned out to be a godsend for Cameron. It inspired him to write the script for the 1984 film *The Terminator*, a successful creation that launched him on the road to fame and fortune. I'm expecting a comparable development in your near future, Leo. An initially weird or difficult event will actually be a stroke of luck.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Psychologists define the Spotlight Effect as our tendency to imagine that other people are acutely attuned to every little nuance of our behavior and appearance. The truth is that they're not, of course. Most everyone is primarily occupied with the welter of thoughts buzzing around inside his or her own head. The good news, Virgo, is that you are well set up to capitalize on this phenomenon in the coming weeks. I'm betting you will achieve a dramatic new liberation: you'll be freer than ever before from the

power of people's opinions to inhibit your behavior or make you self-conscious.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What North America community is farthest north? It's an Alaskan city that used to be called Barrow, named after a British admiral. But in 2016, local residents voted to reinstate the name that the indigenous Iñupiat people had once used for the place: Utqiaġvik. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that in the coming weeks, you take inspiration from their decision, Libra. Return to your roots. Pay homage to your sources. Restore and revive the spirit of your original influences.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The Alaskan town of Talkeetna has a population of 900, so it doesn't require a complicated political structure to manage its needs. Still, it made a bold statement by electing a cat as its mayor for 15 years.

Stubbs, a part-manx, won his first campaign as a write-in candidate, and his policies were so benign— no new taxes, no repressive laws— that he kept getting re-elected.

What might be the equivalent of having a cat as your supreme leader for a while, Scorpio? From an astrological perspective, now would be a favorable time to implement that arrangement. This phase of your cycle calls for relaxed fun and amused mellowness and laissezfaire jauntiness.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Trees need to be buffeted by the wind. It makes them strong. As they respond to the pressure of breezes and gusts, they generate a hardier kind of wood called reaction wood. Without the assistance of the wind's stress, trees' internal structure would be weak and they might topple over as they grew larger. I'm pleased to report that you're due to receive the benefits of a phenomenon that's metaphorically equivalent to a brisk wind. Exult in this brisk but low-stress opportunity to toughen yourself up!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Writing at ThePudding, pop culture commentator Colin Morris reveals the conclusions he drew after analyzing 15,000 pop songs. First, the lyrics of today's tunes have significantly more repetitiveness than the lyrics of songs in the 1960s. Second, the most popular songs, both then and now, have more repetitive lyrics than the average song.

Why? Morris speculates that repetitive songs are catchier. But in accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you Capricorns to be as unrepetitive as possible in the songs you sing, the messages you communicate, the moves you make, and the ideas you articulate.

In the coming weeks, put a premium on originality, unpredictability, complexity, and novelty.

“Free Range”—another freestyle puzzle for everyone.

ACROSS 1 Video game series where you follow the moves of onscreen characters 10 Food service giant based in Houston 15 Very soon 16 Knightley of “Atonement” 17 La Paz currency 18 Archipelago feature 19 Took the offer 20 Mystical foresight 21 Employer of Africa correspondent Ofeibia Quist-Arcton 23 Idris of “The Wire” 25 Play ___ (cause mischief) 27 Sooner than soon 28 Distributed cards 30 Ballet practice 32 Two before Thursday 33 Journal opening 35 Abbr. before a founding date 36 Musical genre

for 1990s punk band Bikini Kill 38 “’Scuse me” 41 Western movie hangout 44 “Chandelier” singer 45 Muscle-tobone connector 46 Makes the scene 48 Leave behind 50 Stereotypical librarian admonition 52 Shiraz, for one 53 “Tell me ...”

55 Velvet finish?

57 Aptly titled ‘80s film about BMX racing 58 RR station posting 59 It’s on a continuum 62 Fulcrum for an oar 63 Character whose headwear had a tag reading “10/6” 64 Ravi Shankar’s instrument 65 Completely broke

DOWN 1 Shied away, slangily 2 Still squeaking 3 Meme nickname of Turkish meatseasoning chef Nusret Gokce 4 “Enough already!”

5 Peace proponent 6 They shun most technology 7 Three-part flavor 8 Tapper’s home 9 English prep school 10 Steers clear of 11 Simple question type 12 Early movies 13 Soldier’s hairstyle 14 Cereal grain item 22 In ___ (“on paper”) 24 Smartphone setting 26 Long-eared dogs 29 Quindecdivided by five 31 Some stone finds at

archaeological digs 34 Peanut butter-based Girl Scout Cookie 35 Macaroni shape 37 2020 political event in Charlotte, for short 38 John Stockton has the most in NBA history 39 Sony competitor 40 Eavesdropping range 42 “True, no?”

43 Titles differently 45 “Watchmen” director Zack 47 “Why is this night different ...?” feasts 49 Cub Scout pack leader 51 Anne of “Donnie Brasco” 54 Sch. at West Point 56 “Swell!”

60 “N’est-ce ___?”

61 Inits. for supplementary costs at a car dealership

Copyright © 2019 Jonesin’ Crosswords. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents perminute. Must be 18+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle No. 920 CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 19

FILM & TELEVISION

Glass Shatters Under Closer Observation An unsatisfying end to a ground-breaking series

John Waters Has Female Troubles Director John Waters, Baltimore’s “Prince of Puke”, has a well-earned reputation for putting some of the strangest—and most distasteful—images ever seen on screen.

And now the folks behind the Sunday Slashers film series present a fall-out-of-your-seat funny bad-taste epic from Waters, the rarely seen on the big screen Female Trouble.

Divine, the American actor, singer, and drag queen, plays Dawn Davenport, go-go dancer and Moll Flanders of the Baltimore slums. From her bad-girl roots to her death in the electric chair, Dawn never backs down from gratuitous violence.

Dawn’s mouthy daughter Taffy, played by Mink Stole, is conceived following a junkyard mattress romp with an obese ne’er-do-well in soiled undies (also Divine, in drab).

When Mary Vivian Pearce and David Lochary, playing beauty-parlor owners who believe “crime equals beauty”, take Dawn under their wings, a bizarre Pygmalion story ensures. The cast of characters around them are equally vile and hilarious.

Brilliant? Appalling? Reactionary or the reverse? View this disgusting, funny cherry on Water’s oeuvre and see what you think.

Female Trouble runs Friday at 9 p.m. and again on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Palace Theater on Georgia Ave. Come if you dare.

— Michael Thomas

By John DeVore Pulse Film Editor

“

Glass is engaging in the theater, but less so on the drive home.

The more you think about Glass, the less you’ll like it. ”

20 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

A

S HARD AS IT IS TO BELIEVE, SUPERHERO MOVIES weren’t always ubiquitous. In fact, there was a time when comic books were largely considered children’s entertainment. Batman, for instance, wasn’t always brooding, violent, and angry. He was once a goofy inventor of things like Bat-shark repellant.

Even in the late eighties and early nineties, superheroes in film were more camp than anything else, with stylized set pieces and larger-thanlife villains. It’s hard to say exactly where the shift happened—it might have been with the release of Batman Begins or the Raimi Spider-man films. It certainly solidified into what we know now with the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film Iron Man. But each of these films were tent pole, big budget action films by competent directors. There was

another film that wasn’t this way.

One that happened nearly twenty years ago, before superheroes were what they are now. One that took the idea of realism and fantasy and combined them into something fascinating.

Unbreakable, by polarizing director M. Night Shyamalan, could easily be seen as the impetus for our current world. Shyamalan had two incredibly effective opening features before his career took a turn, although arguably every film he’s

made has something memorable and challenging about it.

He’s had a renaissance of sorts recently, with relatively good films like The Visit and Split. Split, in fact, had a sudden twist at the end that tied the film to Unbreakable.

These two films have led to Glass, a film that is the culmination of a three-movie cinematic universe spanning twenty years.

Glass is engaging in the theater, but less so on the drive home. The more you think about Glass, the less you’ll like it.

The solution, then, is just not to think about it.

Glass is not a film you can see cold. A knowledge of the previous two film is essential. The film does its best to reintroduce the characters—David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the super strong and durable security guard from the first film, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), the dangerous sufferer of dissociative identity disorder who can change his very physiology to match his personalities, and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), known as Mister Glass, a hyper intelligent and hyper breakable comic book expert with a penchant for mass murder.

Glass has spent most of the last twenty years institutionalized for his criminal past, namely caus-

“

The film is overwhelmingly plot driven, relying on audiences to remember the previous films in order to fill in the blanks.”

ing massive accidents in order to look for solitary survivors, hoping to find a superhero. Dunn, it seems, has accepted his role as protector of the innocent, hunting down criminals for violent crimes and punishing them without trial.

Crumb has evaded capture since the end of the previous film and found more victims.

In typical superhero fashion, the three are brought together under unlikely circumstances. As Dunn seeks out Crumb, who has become known as The Horde, the two are captured by authorities and imprisoned in the same mental hospital as Elijah. They are there to be treated by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), a psychiatrist who specializes in a certain delusion. All of her patients believe that they are superheroes. Treatment goes as well as you might expect.

Unbreakable, Shyamalan’s last great film, is character driven, and far more about David’s weaknesses than his strength. It’s about a person rather than a premise, which

makes it effective. Split, too, had shades of this hidden between its genre-specific proclivities. Glass, unfortunately, doesn’t have any of this. It simply doesn’t have time.

The film is overwhelmingly plot driven, relying on audiences to remember the previous films in order to fill in the blanks. What explaining it does is overdone.

Glass, at times, seems like it is to comic book movies what Scream was to horror movies. It explains motivations through meta references rather than letting audiences come to their own conclusions.

This isn’t bad, necessarily, but it doesn’t make this film better than the ones that brought it to fruition. At its heart, Glass is a film for fans of the series, for the ones that wanted to know what happened to these characters and how the story ends.

The ending, like many Shyamalan films, is largely unsatisfying.

But again, if you don’t think about it too much, you might just enjoy it in spite of itself.

✴ NEW IN THEATERS ✴

Serenity The mysterious past of a fishing boat captain comes back to haunt him, when his ex-wife tracks him down with a desperate plea for help, ensnaring his life in a new reality that may not be all that it seems.

Director: Steven Knight Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway

The Kid Who Would Be King A band of kids embark on an epic quest to thwart a medieval menace. Gee...where have we seen this story before? Sword in a stone, good vs evil. It all seems strangely familiar.

Director: Joe Cornish Stars: Rebecca Ferguson, Tom Taylor

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 21

COLUMN · GAME ON!

Precursor To Global A.I. Domination Will Amazon's Alexa become the next great Dungeon Master?

D Brandon Watson Pulse columnist

“

Forget VR; we may be looking at more practical evolution of gaming with artificial intelligence and augmented reality stepping up and invading our home spaces.”

When not vaporizing zombies or leading space marines as a mousepad Mattis, Brandon Watson is making gourmet pancakes and promoting local artists.

URING THE RECENT ALEXA convention, I crossed paths with X2 Games from Burbank, CA. If you’re like me and never heard of X2 Games before, let me offer a brief shot of backstory with a gaming history chaser.

The legendary Nolan Bushnell, the man who practically created both the home gaming console (Atari) and the parental nightmare pizza arcade (Chuck E. Cheese’s) industries teamed up with the Hollywood special effects director Zai Ortiz.

Ortiz is no slouch either, having worked on big budget films such as Iron Man and Mission Impossible. The duo would create X2 Games based in Toronto and Burbank and then later partner with Global Blockchain to launch this ambitious baby towards a new frontier.

This frontier is one that I never knew existed because of my ignorance. Now that I’m keen to the concept, I have been kicking myself hard for not thinking of it sooner.

So, what’s the concept? Artificial Intelligence hosted board games.

Forget VR; we may be looking at more practical evolution of gaming with artificial intelligence and augmented reality stepping up and invading our home spaces. X2 Games has hit the road to show off their latest project, which will utilize the technology of A.I. smart speakers and turn them into virtual game masters. These games will blend high-end Hollywood productions with various combinations of table top mechanics.

The product X2 Games has been showcasing is a game that definitely looks interesting and a bit terrifying. The game is called “St. Noire” and it’s hyped as an A.I. hosted cinematic board game made exclusively for the Amazon Echo.

This is a game that human players will actually play with Amazon’s Alexa. Al-

22 • THE PULSE • JANUARY 24, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

exa acts as the game director as it walks the players through the rules and how the mechanics work.

Alexa also seems to function much like a simulated Dungeon Master; the A.I. speaker runs the show.

Could the days of plying a DM with booze so you can start bending game rules in your favor be numbered? I’m not sure if pouring Jack Daniels for Alexa would work; she sounds more like a gin and tonic girl, to be honest.

“St. Noire” is a mystery game of solving crime cases by listening to the stories of the suspects and informants and deducing the culprit through story irregularities. These interviews and interrogations come at the player through quality staged productions with atmospheric sounds accompanying the professional voice work. It’s like playing a game through a radio show or podcast.

“St. Noire” comes with a game board and game cards for actual concrete items to help keep the humans on track.

But Alexa actually builds the world through different set combinations and scenarios. Usually this is done with shuffling cards or rolling dice or months of prep work by skilled DMs. With the A.I. programing, the game will never play out the same way each time.

The art style of the game pieces and playing cards oozes of dark mystery and rainy neon capers. “St. Noire” certainly feels like it can draw you in to interact with the fictional world. It’s a very cerebral approach to board gaming that could change the way we game forever.

I wish I was able to play a full demo at the Alexa conference to accurately ex-

plain how the interrogations will work.

I’m very curious if the players will be able to converse with the characters as if talking with another live person or if players will simply be listening, taking notes, and explaining to Alexa what their next move is. There isn’t much information regarding the game available right now but I expect more definitive reviews about “St. Noire” after its official release in February.

The story content will be rated for 14 and up (PG13), so there’s nothing gratuitous or nightmare inducing. It won’t be Se7en The Board Game or anything like that. This is a game that takes you through an overly dramatized crime fantasy thriller, rather than a facts-and-stats inspired crime documentary. It’s a family/friends-oriented game that falls within the goldilocks realm for those squeamish or easily bored.

Godfather Bushnell and friends may be setting a new trend in the gaming world—a trend I’m very eager to participate in. But does this mean I’m encouraged to purchase the latest technological gizmo that may be the harbinger to humanity’s enslavement to a master A.I.?

Best start brushing up on your Terminator films and memorizing recipes for rotisserie rodent, because this gamer may just doom us all!

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE PULSE • 23