Memphis Flyer 12.14.17

Tom Paxton P20 • Jeffrey Eugenides’ Fresh Complaint P30 • Armando Gagliano P31 Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel P34

12.14.17 | 1503RD ISSUE | FREE Carla and Vaneese Thomas

EDGAR MATA

WE ARE FAMILY

Carla and Vaneese Thomas — still making music that matters.

December 14-20, 2017

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MARCH 7 – 25

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CONTENTS

BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Editor SUSAN ELLIS Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, MICHAEL FINGER Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor CHRIS DAVIS, MICHAEL DONAHUE MAYA SMITH, JOSHUA CANNON Staff Writers JESSE DAVIS Copy Editor JULIE RAY Calendar Editor

OUR 1503RD ISSUE 12.14.17 If you watched only Fox News and listened only to President Donald Trump, you would probably be convinced by now that special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of federal investigators are crooked partisans, hellbent on maliciously destroying the president and his administration. You would believe that the FBI itself is corrupt, “in tatters.”

Never mind that Mueller, a lifelong Republican appointed to his position by another Republican, served his country in combat in Vietnam and has served several presidents with unquestioned integrity. And never mind that Russian interference in the 2016 election is an established fact, one attested to and confirmed by all major U.S. intelligence agencies. And never mind that several Trump campaign officials have already made plea deals, admitting to contacts with Russian agents, and that many more campaign and administration officials have been outed as having had contacts with the Russians.

These are facts. These are not fake news stories.

And yet, day after day, Trump and his minions — and the official state mouthpiece, Fox News — push the trope that every other media voice in the country is fake: The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, NBC, CBS, CNN, ABC — they’re all FAKE! They are all purposely publishing and broadcasting false stories about the president.

Trump and Fox relentlessly sell the line that the Russian investigation is political, that there is no there there.

So for the sake of argument, let’s grant that they are correct, that all the evidence we’ve learned about so far is just coincidence, that all those who’ve admitted guilt already are just peripheral pawns, that the president and his closest advisors had no knowledge of any of it. If that is indeed true, why wouldn’t they just ignore the investigation and let it play out, secure in the knowledge that Mueller’s team will find nothing, because there is simply nothing to find?

I think the answer to that is obvious: There is a lot of there there that’s yet to come out, and Trump knows it. His only play at this point is to convince the American people that everyone in the media is lying, that only he — the Great Trump — is telling the truth.

Trump has built up a cult-like base that will believe anything he tells them. If he trashes Al Franken for being a sexual predator but tells people to believe Roy Moore is innocent and that his own accusers are all liars, his cult buys in. They support him when he denounces mistakes made by mainstream media and demands reporters be fired; they support him when he refuses to acknowledge or correct his own false statements. They are the true believers, Trump’s only real hope for staying in office. Unless he’s innocent.

We are fast approaching a crossroads, one where Americans and their leaders will have to choose between doing the right and just thing or allowing a lust for power and greed and a warped cult of personality to replace American values and decency for a generation or more.

The choice may come soon, if Trump decides to fire Mueller. Or it may come later, when Mueller completes his investigation and releases findings that show collaboration with a hostile foregn state at the highest levels of our democracy. If that happens, we’ll learn with quick and sober clarity what it is our leaders in Congress truly value. We’ll find out who among them will stand up for America’s N E WS & O P I N I O N core foundational principles and who THE FLY-BY - 4 among them will continue to prop up NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 5 this shady, scary clown show.

POLITICS - 8 We’ve been teetering on the point of EDITORIAL - 10 a sword for nearly a year now, lurching VIEWPOINT - 11 COVER - “WE ARE FAMILY” from one manufactured crisis to another

BY ALEX GREENE - 12 as Trump plays at president like a cat WE RECOMMEND - 18 knocking objects off a table — seeking MUSIC - 20 attention, seeking to distract us from the AFTER DARK - 22 inevitable moment of decision to come.

CALENDAR - 24 And when that moment arrives, I pray BOOKS - 30 my country rises to the occasion. I pray FOOD - 31 we reject swagger and bluster and propaSPIRITS - 33 ganda masquerading as the truth. I pray FILM - 34 we rediscover our true American heart.

C L AS S I F I E D S - 36 Bruce VanWyngarden LAST WORD - 39 brucev@memphisflyer.com

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THE

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ly on the wall

DAM M IT, GAN N ETT It’s nice to see Memphis’ daily newspaper of record, The Commercial Appeal, honoring Memphis businesses and highlighting all the best places to work in a hard-working town.

But wouldn’t it be even nicer for all the winners if the plaques they were awarded had a picture of the Memphis skyline on them, instead of the Nashville skyline?

Oh, well, it’s the thought that counts, and at least they got the right state. And a bridge.

December 14-20, 2017

#WI S E C H O I C ES The face of Memphis TV news is changing. Last week WMC-TV’s longtime consumer advocate Andy Wise announced he would be leaving his post effective December 15th.

In a teary goodbye on Facebook Live, Wise said he was leaving to pursue a lifelong dream of living on a beach. He also spoke extensively about plans for a marketing and consumer advocacy venture called Wise Choices.

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N EVE R E N D I N G E LVI S This week’s Headline of the Week award goes to the BBC. Thanks, BBC.

By Chris Davis. Email him at davis@memphisflyer.com.

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Questions, Answers + Attitude Edited by Toby Sells

W E E K T H AT W A S

By Flyer staff

MLGW, Wright, and Voting Why your bills could rise, police get a big break in cold case, and council wants your vote.

“MAGNETIC” STUDIO PLANNED A Nashville couple hopes to tap Memphis vibes with a new, mainly analog recording studio on Vance.

Renovations are underway at what will soon be Memphis Magnetic Recording at 618 Vance, close to Advance Memphis and the now-closed Vance Middle School.

UTILITY RATES COULD RISE Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) customers will pay higher water, gas, and electric rates if the full Memphis City Council approves the increases next week.

Last week, a council committee approved a 1 percent increase on water rates, a move that would cost average customers about 18 cents extra each month. The move would yield $1 million each year to be used for research on the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

The committee also recommended gas rates increase by about 9 percent over a two year period. Electric rates would increase 2.3 percent over three years if the council approves the plan.

SANTAS STUMBLED An estimated 2,000 folks (naughty? nice?) participated in this annual downtown event gathering toys and funds for Porter-Leath.

ARREST MADE IN WRIGHT CASE Billy R. Turner, 46, of Collierville, was indicted on a firstdegree charge last week for the 2010 murder of basketball player Lorenzen Wright.

Wright was shot in 2010, his body discovered in a field.

The case went unsolved until police discovered the murder weapon last month in a Mississippi lake.

Turner was arrested for the crime Tuesday. His bond was set at $1 million. No court date has yet been scheduled for him.

VOTING ON VOTING The council voted unanimously last week to ask voters if they want to change the way they vote for council members.

Council members approved a referendum that would repeal instant runoff voting, also called ranked choice voting. Voters approved the method in a 2008 referendum,

but the Shelby County Election Commission never rolled it out.

AGRICENTER GETS ORGANIC The new Organic Resource Center (ORC) will be Agricenter International’s very first fully organic laboratory and demonstration farm. The center is a new model, and its leaders hope it will be a “place for additional collaboration between producers and consumers, and a hub to learn about new markets and emerging trends.”

GOFUNDME SURGES Tennesseans started 24,000 GoFundMe campaigns this year, and 282,000 residents made donations to at least one of them.

Some of the top campaigns raised money for a Nashville widower and his newborn child, Hurricane Harvey victims, and a Chattanooga push to secure internet privacy.

JUVENILE JUSTICE REVIEWED A raft of reforms to the state’s juvenile justice system could shrink the number of offending youths placed out of their homes and save the state $36 million over five years, according to a report issued Thursday.

A state task force focused on juvenile justice this summer, tasked with undertaking a “data-driven, researchbased effort to develop policies to improve outcomes in the juvenile justice system.”

On Thursday, the group issued a 25-page report with a number of recommendations. The group also asked the state to invest $4.5 million in the next fiscal year to implement the plan’s reforms.

Fuller versions of all of these stories and even more local news can be found at memphisflyer.com

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Crossword

Crossword ACROSS 1 One of the Great Lakes 5 Menacing cloud 10 Sony offering 14 Saint’s home, for short 15 Place for a barbecue 16 Rich finish?

17 “Don’t give up” 19 Rather powerful ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE engine 20 Brown 21 Some plants 23 Value 25 Spooky quality 28 Smoothie fruit 29 Popular cookie 31 Taking things for granted on April Fools’ Day and others 32 “Time ___ …”

33 Track, in a sense 34 Not wait for Mr. Right, say 35 Huuuuuuuuge I O W A

D U E L

O A K W H I L A N S Q U A S H

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S E E H S A S L E S K D W S O C K A R A E N D Y

38 Christian with some intelligent designs?

39 Plop down 40 Tiny problem 42 Crewmate of Sulu and Bones 44 “On top we put a ___” 47 Last word of the Pledge of Allegiance 48 South Beach plan and others 49 Obama adviser Valerie 53 Playwright Will who wrote “The Realistic Joneses” 54 Mom-and-pop org.

57 Admit frankly 58 “Finally, we stuck in two ___. Yum!” 61 Rigatoni’s cousin 62 Berry imported from Brazil 63 Counterfeiter, e.g.

64 Newswoman Paula 65 Neat, as a lawn

P L U S R A P T O U S E R E A W A T M Y E Y M O E O E O W E D N O F D A R E A D E L M L A I S I N

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P E E D E E

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J A N I T O R S

S A C U L O N A V K E A A R O Z A R A G T M E A

No. 0215

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35 36 Dancing to the music of the Memphis Jazz Orchestra 50 Hockey team, 7 Major Asian commemorative Love Elvis CD. Love Me Tender playing Big Band favorites 9PM-1AMFrom $249 a night. e.g. carrier R O MTender A N C E PA C K A G E 37 38and39 40 4 Includes a glass of champagne F E B 1 – 2party 8 , 2 0 1 favors 7 51 Words on a R O M A N C E PA C K A G E 8 Attire $95 ++ F E Bper 1 – 2person 8, 2017 jacket 44 45 46 Guestroom packages available for $299 9 Like melancholy 53 Risked a ticket based on double occupancy musical keys 47 48 49 Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past 55 Construction puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

10 The poor Visit GuestHouseGraceland.com or call 800-238-2000 for reservations Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay. staples … or Visit GuestHouseGraceland.com or call 800-238-2000 for reservations 51 52 Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/studentcrosswords.

50 a hint to this 11 Not go alongVisit GuestHouseGraceland.com or call 800-238-2000 for reservations puzzle’s theme 55 56 12 Prefix with lateral 53 54 59 Famous Amos 13 Bedevil 59 60 61 60 Rocker Steve 18 Girl’s name that 61 “Don’t go!,” e.g.

62 63 64 may precede Ann 62 Obnoxious one 63 Subject of some 22 One may be starting in sports PUZZLE BY HOWARD BARKIN codes 36 Actress Wilson of 43 Features of 54 Autho 23 What’s shaken 64 Scandinavian wrote Boston accents “Mrs. Doubtfire” when you say capital insan “Shake!”

45 Milieu of the 37 Sch.IN with the HEALTHCARE long ENROLL CBU’S TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE FX series “The 24 Big letters in George W. Bush horrib MANAGEMENT MBA PROGRAM. Americans” electronics Presidential P O E M B R O W S E 46 Poetic stanza TARGETED FORLibrary PROFESSIONALS: far T A P E S H R E W S 25 Ones moving 56 Burie • Currently Working in the Field 48 Like government from home 38 Corral A T I T C Y C L I C • Who Want to Explore a Healthcare Career bonds • Making39 a Transition into the Healthcare Sector S S H U S A L M A 26 Fifth in a group Strips at 57 Pull ( 49 German of eight breakfast B O O Z E S I M P preposition FINISH YOUR DEGREE IN 27 MONTHS P U D D I N G N E A 27 Saginaw-to-Flint 41 Tough, tenacious 51 OilBEGIN qtys.IN 58 Noted I Z E S Q U O T E D COHORT CLASSES sorts dir. pseud ANDThey AUGUST burn Z Z I Q U I X O T E 29 Bit of beachwear 42 Wild blue JANUARY52 in sh Z O G U I D O yonder 53 Racing letters writin ATTEND CLASS JUST ONE 30 ___ way A F F A I R E B F F NIGHT PER WEEK AT OUR CONVENIENT CROSSTOWN F U Z Z Y W Y L E 33 It may be added Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,0 CONCOURSE LOCATION to alcohol puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

S R E B C A G E S K S bit.ly/hcmba T O M A T O E S 34 Pitiful Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com O P T W O P E N C E 5 35 Hit the gas pedal Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/studentc R Y E L M T R E E S hard

I T E M N A S A S U P R G R I C H I N U T T E E B A R O U T H W G O O N E M C E R F U D A B I S A T

S L A T E D

S S N

66 “Ciao!”

DOWN

1 Decidedly non-PC types?

2 Comeback in a cave

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3 Burr/Hamilton showdown 4 Abbr. on some sale goods

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7 “Bali ___”

8 Newspaper section 9 Single, say

10 Like “Pocahontas” or “Mulan” 11 Like a kid in a candy store

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12 StarKist product 13 Something that’s frequently trimmed 18 Poet who wrote “In dreams begins responsibility” 23 Small iPod 24 Toned

25 Was boring, as a meeting

27 Water filter brand 28 State with 1,350 miles of coastline: Abbr.

PUZZLE BY JESSE EISENBERG AND PATRICK BLINDAUER

32 Check alternative

33 Gallic girlfriend 37 “___ Joey” (Rodgers and Hart musical)

38 Word files, briefly 40 Palm : hand :: ___ : foot

42 Worker whose name is, appropriately, an anagram of NOTES

51 Philip who said “goodbye” to Columbus 52 ___ Bell

43 Jeans style

54 Szczecin resident

45 Champion of evolution

55 Weight classification

46 Makes a connection

56 “___ Karenina”

49 Grammy category

59 Lacking refinement

41 Cowboys, but not 50 New Balance competitor Indians

60 Capital of Colombia?

29 Type of type

E D G E

30 What revolting people do?

31 Not showing one’s age, say

© EPE. Graceland and its marks are trademarks of EPE. All rights reserved. Elvis™ and Elvis Presley™ © 2016 ABG EPE IP LLC

© EPE. Graceland and its marks are trademarks of EPE. All rights reserved. Elvis™ and Elvis Presley™ © 2016 ABG EPE IP LLC

Be a Leader in

Healthcare Management

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A R T S

No.

NEWS & OPINION

ACROSS 1 Doc on a battlefield 6 Captain of literature 10 Unwanted subway sights 14 Honda division 15 Singer Bareilles 16 Water, south of the border 17 “We used some food to make a snowman. Under his arms we put ___” 19 Writer Morrison 20 The sun 21 Prov. north of Northumberland Strait 22 Dakar’s land 24 Picked up via gossip 26 Used to own 27 “Then we gave him ___” 32 Touch of love 34 Kind of clef 35 Half a kisser 36 During 37 Org. for drivers

Edited by Will Shortz

NewWith Year’s Gala at Celebrate ThatEve Special Someone Celebrate With That at Special Someone at Guest The Guest House at Graceland Graceland The House atEdited The Guestby House Willat Graceland Shortz

Answering the Call

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CITY REPORTER

By Maya Smith

City leaders work to make emergency response more efficient.

The number 911 is shorthand for a situation that can’t wait, but if you called that number in Memphis a year ago, that’s just what you did.

Last year, some 911 callers here would wait for up to 100 seconds — more than a minute and a half — before talking with a dispatcher.

Since then, that wait time has been cut to 20 seconds for nearly all calls, according to Mike Spencer, the emergency communications administrator for the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

And wait times continue to shrink. For the 50,000 calls made in October, the average wait time was 8.5 seconds, while 93 percent of calls were answered within 20 seconds.

Spencer said that answering calls quicker is solving another problem: abandoned calls.

This happens when callers dial 911 and hang up after waiting for a while. Operators then have to call those callers back, which leads to a “cycle of trying to get caught up.”

He said that quicker responses are partly due to the recent influx of hires at dispatch centers, as well as data-driven approaches now used to staff centers appropriately based on the time of day.

Still, the city’s administration isn’t content. Two years ago it set a goal of answering 95 percent of all calls within 20 seconds. Reaching that goal would

get the city in line with the National Emergency Number Association’s recommendation and the national standard.

“This is a success story, but we are not satisfied until we reach the national standard of 95 percent … and 95 is not the ceiling, it’s the floor,” said Doug McGowen, the city’s chief operating officer.

Memphis City Council member Worth Morgan, who is leading the council’s charge to reduce 911 answer times, said the progress made in the last two

Platelet Donors Needed Platelll

If you are between the ages of 18 and 50 and in good health, you may be eligible to donate platelets for support of important research activities. Eligible donors can donate every two weeks. Donations require about two hours of your time and you will receive $150 in compensation.

Walk-in donations are not accepted.

Wait times are way down. years is “remarkable and necessary.”

“We’re almost there at 95 percent and hoping for a good Christmas,” he said.

The council also hopes to raise emergency response efficiency by cracking down on false alarms. Council members approved a new rule that will require businesses with multiple false alarm incidents to verify there’s an emergency before police are dispatched to the scene.

This applies to commercial businesses that have been cited for six or more false alarms since July 1, 2017. Currently, that includes 34 businesses, each having 15 or more false alarms since that time.

Those repeat-false-alarm offenders now must confirm unauthorized entrance to their business either through an in-person or digital inspection before police respond to an alarm activated there.

McGowen said the goal is “not necessarily to punish anyone,” but rather to reduce the number of false alarm incidents in the city that “take away from critical public safety assets that we have too few of in the first place.”

Responding to the 34 businesses’ false alarms, he said, took 7.5 hours of police time. Responding to all false alarms in Memphis costs the city more than $1.6 million annually.

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Memphis: A Very Tasteful Food Blog

by Susan Ellis

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December 14-20, 2017

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12/11/17 3:06 PM

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Good Tidings for Strickland Next year’s elections won’t involve the mayor, but a consultant is already floating some optimistic numbers on his behalf.

In keeping with the season, Steven Reid, the consultant who has helped guide two local political campaigns to victory in recent years — those of 8th District Congressman David Kustoff and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland — has sent out some would-be Christmas cheer to supporters of the latter.

In a one-sheet document forwarded to the current mayor’s supporters, Reid says, “Over the past few months, I have seen some exciting poll numbers.

It is a standard poll technique to test several wellknown local and national figures (even names that might not be on an upcoming ballot) to gauge voter attitudes and opinions. I am fortunate to have been able to review several recent polls that included Mayor Strickland.”

Reid, who began his consulting career in 1992 by overseeing the upset victory of Blanche Lambert (later Blanche Lambert Lincoln) over her former employer, then U.S. Representative Bill Alexander, in Arkansas’ First Congressional District, quotes a finding from Otis Sanford’s book, Boss Crump to King Willie: “Strickland … made history by

receiving more of a percentage of the black vote than any winning white candidate since William B. Ingram in 1963.”

Then, citing what he says is “an average based on some notable numbers,” Reid makes the following claims: • “The mood of Memphis voters has improved dramatically since 2015. (38-47 from 31-58); • Mayor Strickland is popular with 60 percent favorable — 19 percent unfavorable with a positive rating that cuts across every subgroup in the polls including white (68-13) and African American (58-18).

• It’s interesting to compare those numbers to mayors in peer cities: New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu — 57/36; New York Mayor Bill de Blasio — 50/42; Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley — 48/31.”

Reid concludes his missive with this sentiment: “If you think the last campaign was something, take a minute and think of what we can accomplish now. I can’t wait to celebrate in October 2019.”

With that next mayoral election nearly two years off, it is still a bit early to predict possible opponents for Strickland, but it seems almost certain, especially if the city’s fluctuating crime situation starts to fester or if the legal standoff over Confederate memorials is not resolved, that there will be one or two serious challengers willing to test Reid’s optimism. Watch this space.

• The biggest ballots in Shelby County, size-wise, occur in eight-year intervals, when the numerous elected judgeships come up for election. That won’t happen again until 2020, but next year’s August ballot will feature three judicial races — all special elections.

Two of them are Circuit Court positions, with Judge Mary Wagner in Division 7 and Judge David Rudolph in Division 9, both appointed to fill vacancies during the last year, having to run for the right to serve out terms that will be contested again in 2020. A third race will determine who will serve in the Criminal Court, Division 10, now held by Judge James Beasley, who intends to retire at the end of this year.

Both Wagner and Rudolph have been visibly campaigning to maintain their judgeships, and Rudoph also has an opponent busily making the political rounds: Yolanda Kight, a judicial commissioner who has run previously for Shelby County Clerk.

While the judicial positions are nonpartisan, these three races may, appropriately or not, be affected by the predominant partisan flavor of next year’s voting, with their outcomes determined by turnout factors having to do with the contested nature of Democratic and Republican primaries for other positions. More about that anon.

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December 14-20, 2017

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Help From Abroad This is a peculiar holiday season. Tradition urges us to be festive, and we will do our best to comply, though it may require more than the usual determination to be of good cheer. The current week began in a climate of uncertainty, and we mean that in both a literal and a figurative sense — literal in the sense that there was a day or two of genuinely cold and dreary weather, sufficient to remind us that, with winter approaching, we are indeed at the mercy of the elements. That chilly prospect coexists this year with wildfires raging once again in the far West, tokens, we are told, of unusually severe drought conditions, and (need we add?) of climate change — a term that is now taboo in the vocabulary of this nation’s reigning government.

In the eight years of President Barack Obama’s administration, the attitude regarding this fact of elemental crisis was summarized by this statement on the White House website: “President Obama believes that no challenge poses a greater threat to our children, our planet, and future generations than climate change.”

Under President Trump, that line has been replaced by this one: “President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule.”

And no, we are not making this up.

This week marks the second anniversary of the signing of the muchcelebrated international accord on climate change in Paris — a compact entered into with the full cooperation of the United States. As is well known, President Trump has withdrawn our participation in the agreement, putting the United States in the position of being the only nation on earth formally dissenting from the goals of long-

term planet survival.

This very week, to mark the anniversary of the international consensus on climate change, the nations participating in the agreement convened in Paris for a commemorative One Planet Summit, committed to the goal of what the organizers called “carbon neutrality” — i.e., the progressive reduction of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The United States government was represented at the affair by a stand-alone booth promoting the availability of American coal, the fossil fuel that has been pinpointed as a major source of the deleterious greenhouse effect stemming from excessive CO2. And we’re not making this up, either.

One of the most intriguing statements emanating so far from the summit has been an announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron concerning an ongoing competition sponsored by his government to provide grants allowing climate scientists from elsewhere to relocate in France so as to pursue their researches into combating climate change. Of the 18 grants offered, 13 have been awarded to American scientists. And the name given to this grant program? “Make Our Planet Great Again” — an obvious counterpoint, for those who need reminding, to Trump’s nativist slogan “Make America Great Again.”

And, one more time, we are not making this up, either. Vive la Difference!

C O M M E N TA R Y b y G r e g C r a v e n s

VIEWPOINT By Steve Cohen

Save Net Neutrality

citizens’ ability to receive the information they need to understand proposed policies, debate them, and, if necessary, organize opposition to them.

The proposed FCC order repeals the strong net neutrality framework established in 2015 and would repeal the 2015 Order’s bans on blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization — three of the gravest threats to equal access.

Current rules prohibit broadband providers from blocking a website, slowing a website down, or providing differential speeds for different websites based on whether the content provider has paid for faster service. This type of conduct by broadband providers could limit or block access to political dissent, marginal or minority views, and complex ideas that help a healthy society function.

I have joined more than 40 of my colleagues in asking the FCC to abandon this extremely unpopular plan and to maintain strong net neutrality protections.

Strong net neutrality protections have proven to be one of the most important consumer protections of our time. Net neutrality is extremely popular because people realize slowing streaming speeds to discourage consumers from some sites just doesn’t seem fair. Blocking access to competitors seems unfairly restrictive. Rigging the market for the profit of a handful of internet service providers doesn’t appeal to people already rightly suspicious of corporate control of their lives.

Beyond all that, the proposed rule is not good for competition, innovation, or creativity. Broadband investment has continued to surge under the open rules and could decline in a pay-to-play internet world. Slowing or crippling access to some websites is not innovation.

A free internet permits access to all users, regardless of ability to pay. We don’t want an internet in which an elite has access to critical information or services and others are priced out.

The end of internet neutrality cannot be allowed to occur without a fight. What the FCC chairman has proposed would change the way we communicate, and not for the better.

Congressman Steve Cohen represents Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District.

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

The free flow of information is critical not only to facilitate our commerce, but to ensure that our democracy thrives. While the First Amendment protects us from government attempts to suppress speech, protections from large corporations that use their market dominance to act as self-appointed information “gatekeepers” are not constitutionally guaranteed.

Yet the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is supposed to protect and promote the public interest in the telecommunications industry, has undertaken an aggressive effort to repeal strong legal protections for net neutrality that ensure that information can flow unimpeded on the internet. As a result, Americans could soon wake up in a country where online dissent has been diminished or sidelined. The informed commentary of marginal groups seeking to shape opinion could be blocked, slowed down, or otherwise given disfavored treatment by internet service providers serving their own commercial or even ideological interests and stifle the dissemination of accurate but unpopular views.

This fear of a top-down corporate suppression of opinion is not far-fetched.

It’s the predictable consequence of a plan long sought by broadband service providers: to repeal the FCC 2015 Open Internet Order, which mandates equal treatment of content over the internet by broadband service providers. The commission’s chairman, Ajit Pai, has scheduled a vote to do just that on December 14th. The FCC should reject this effort.

Chairman Pai’s plan would be a catastrophe for both technical innovation and civil discourse. Without net neutrality, a handful of dominant corporations that are both broadband providers and content providers could be in a position to stifle competing content and would have an obvious economic incentive to do so. Not only would this prevent new innovators from entering the marketplace, it would also allow such companies to decide what content is available to their customers and would also allow them to make access to competing content difficult if not impossible.

In addition to being bad for consumers, such content discrimination is bad for democracy, for it potentially impedes

NEWS & OPINION

STEVEHEAP | DREAMSTIME

We don’t need corporate “gate-keepers” to restrain the free flow of information on the internet.

11

December 14-20, 2017

Carla and Vaneese Thomas — still making music that matters.

12

I

COVER STORY BY ALEX GREENE

n February, the Memphis Housing Authority took steps to remove the last dwellers from the city’s oldest public housing project, Foote Homes.

Though many had left already, and though carcinogens stained the surrounding soil, some longtime residents were reluctant to go. Perhaps they still had vivid memories of a time when Foote Homes was at the center of a thriving neighborhood culture in South Memphis.

Some may have even known the place soon after it was built in 1941, when a young couple, Rufus and Lorene Thomas, moved in to start a family with their young son, Marvell. When daughter Carla was born a year later, they had little inkling that the Thomas family was just beginning, or that the father, son, daughter, and daughter-to-come would one day become stars on a global scale.

Rufus was a natural showman, having

proven himself on the road with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and the Royal American troupe, tap dancing, scat singing, and learning how to work a crowd. Perhaps it seemed he was leaving that life behind for good when he and Lorene settled at Foote Homes, but the call of the stage still rang in his ears.

Before long, he was back in touch with his old history teacher from Booker T. Washington High School, Nat D. Williams, a learned writer and entertainer — and a pillar of the community. Williams had been hosting a popular Amateur Show on Beale Street, and when he left, Rufus stepped in to replace him.

He would end up staying for over a decade, helping to launch the careers of B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and local jazz stalwart Herman Green, among others. From there he would become a renowned deejay and recording artist, of course, but this track record can obscure the fact that he was also, first and foremost, a family man.

To learn a bit more about the spirit of the Thomas family, which would ultimately nurture the talents of siblings Marvell, Carla, and Vaneese, I made my way to that hub of African-American culture in South Memphis, the Four Way Grill.

Established in 1946, just a few blocks from the Capitol Theater, the eatery fed the Thomas kids and thousands of other Memphians for generations. When the Capitol was sold and became Satellite, and then Stax Records, the Four Way was a natural hang-out for performers as they dreamed of stardom. Community leaders of all kinds flocked there, and many of their photographs grace the walls. It’s the embodiment of the community of South Memphis and a reminder that to raise families full of potential, it may not take a village. Sometimes the neighborhood will do.

When Carla and Vaneese join me, I have to pinch myself. “Gee whiz, it’s Christmas!” I think. Of course, as soon as we sit down, talk gravitates to

their legendary father who, even 16 years after his death, somehow still commands the room.

Vaneese, the “youngster” of the family, wants to emphasize the musicianship of her father. “If you ever see album credits listing so and so as the arranger of a Rufus Thomas session, don’t believe it. Daddy was always right there, going to each musician, telling them their parts.” She and Carla speak a little wistfully of their parents, and of their brother Marvell, who passed away earlier this year.

And yet it’s like they’re all there with us, as Carla relives her childhood days when Rufus first began working at “The Mother Station of Negroes,” WDIA. It was the first station in the nation to feature African-American deejays, and, as with the Amateur Hour on Beale, the road there was paved by Nat D. Williams, who helped Rufus step into B.B. King’s on-air slot after King’s music took him on the road.

Despite the progressive moves the

(above left) Back: Mr. & Mrs. Marvell Thomas, Vaneese Thomas; Front: Carla, Lorene, and Rufus Thomas; (above middle) Carla Thomas; (above right) Vaneese Thomas

COURTESY OF STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

WE ARE FAMILY

Carla and Vaneese Thomas

beautiful. And she said, ‘Hey, you’re Rufus’ little girl.’

“I’m thinking ‘Oh God, I’m at WDIA!’” But something appeared to be wrong, the show’s producer was in a mild panic.

After the main chorus sang, they were to broadcast the Teen Town Talent Time, where other high schoolers could join the chorus, often winning prizes. They were short one singer. Someone said, “Can you sing, little girl?”

“She didn’t know me from a hole in the ground,” says Carla, still excited at the memory. “And I said, ‘No, ma’am, I can’t sing,’ because my daddy had already told me I couldn’t sing. And then I thought, ‘Oh my God, the Teen Towners are still in there!’ And I said, ‘Mm-hmm, I sing!’

I didn’t know I could sing a note. I just

knew I wanted to tell daddy I could actually sing with the Teen Towners. Anyway, I went in, and they had a little riser she found and stood me on it. And they had the little mic come down right in front of me.

That’s how I won, because it picked up my voice. People called and said, ‘Who is that little girl? We wanna vote for her.’ I kid you not!”

Her talents thus revealed, rules were bent and Carla was allowed to join the regular Teen Town chorus. “Every Wednesday, every Friday, every Saturday. I never missed one rehearsal. From 11 years old to 17,” she remembers.

“And that was the case for all of them,” recalls Vaneese, who later won the talent

contest herself but never joined as a regular member. “Which is why so many of them became professional singers. Percy Wiggins.

He was one. His brother Spencer.

Tyrone Smith. Ed Townsend.” And perhaps the most renowned Teen Towner of them all, Isaac Hayes.

As the Teen Towners made their appearances, Rufus began cutting records that were released on Chess, Meteor, and other labels, including Sun Records’ first hit, “Bear Cat.” Even then, he continued to deejay at WDIA, working days at a textile mill to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the other Thomas kids began their forays into music as well.

Marvell began studying music at LeMoyne College. His professor was known as “Doc Whitaker” — it wasn't until later that the Thomas kids learned of his importance to American music history, having served as part of James Reese Europe’s military band during World War I, widely recognized for having pioneered orchestral jazz both at home and abroad.

Vaneese also learned from her brother’s music professor. “I took lessons there for 10 years,” she says. “He was a very, very cultured man. A very brilliant guy. A classical pianist. He spoke in French to me, and I wound up majoring in French in college as a result. I just love the language.”

Whitaker clearly made an impression on Marvell as well, as marked by the continued on page 14

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

COURTESY OF EDGAR MATA

station made at the time, Rufus found himself in a bizarre, half-segregated world where the deejays of color were not allowed to actually play the records: That was left to the white “engineers.”

Announcers like Rufus would pull their record selections from the shelf, log them in, and step back as the engineers spun the platters. In any case, it wasn’t the magic of the records that captivated Carla so much as the live chorus, masterminded by deejay A.C. Williams. His “Teen Town Singers,” dreamt up as a promotional foray into local high schools, became an inspiration to many an aspiring vocalist.

“When daddy started at WDIA, we’d listen every day,” Carla recalls.

“And that’s when I started listening to the Teen-Towners. I must have been 9 or 10. And I’d be, ‘Am I gonna be in there?’” Rufus would reply, “You’re too young. You can’t be in there.” Still, she persisted. “I wanna be in the Teen Town Singers!”

“She begged for a year,” says Vaneese.

“And then one day, he was nice to me,” says Carla. “He had no idea I could sing or even carry a note. I didn’t either!

I just knew I wanted to be in it. One day he said, ‘I tell you what. You’re about to get on my nerves. Okay, I gotta go pull my show.’ They still had engineers in those days. ‘Now, you sit there with Martha Jean [Steinberg], and you just sit there til I finish.’ He goes in the back and he sits me with Martha Jean. And she was so gorgeous. She was just so

13

continued from page 13 trajectory he traced in the music industry before, during, and after Stax. “Marvell — he carved a niche for himself in Memphis, in the early days of traveling bands, and by working with different arrangers and band leaders,” says Vaneese. This was apparent when Rufus showed up unannounced at the fledgling Satellite Records’ studio in 1960, proposing to cut a record. When Rufus and Carla sang what would become Satellite’s first hit, it featured Marvell on piano and a young multi-instrumentalist on baritone sax by the name of Booker T. Jones. Both would figure heavily in crafting the Satellite/Stax sound.

Carla, for her part, had gained enough confidence from her Teen Towner work to begin writing songs, which Rufus diligently captured on a home recorder.

His tape of “Gee Whiz,” a song Carla had written at the age of 15 or 16, earned her her own session at Satellite and proved to be an even bigger hit than their previous duet. It remains a career-defining song for her to this day. She laughs at the song’s longevity, and the many ways she’s performed it. “I used to play with this little combo, we would go all over Tennessee.

It was a jazz combo, and there they were playing ‘Gee Whiz,’” she chuckles.

The Stax tale is ultimately a tragic one, ending with the label’s bankruptcy in 1976. For Carla, moreso than most Stax artists, it proved to be the de facto

end of her recording career, but not of her performances. Ironically, one of her fondest memories was the time she was called on to fill in for a Motown artist.

When Tammi Terrell, partner in many hit duets with Marvin Gaye, was forced to quit performing due to a brain tumor, Carla somewhat reluctantly agreed to fill her shoes when Gaye played the Apollo Theater. For the confirmed fan of the duo, it was a watershed moment and foreshadowed a future career based more on performance than recording.

After the Stax collapse, Carla performed tirelessly in television appearances and concerts throughout the world. As Vaneese reflects, “It’s so precious that it doesn’t matter, the time frame since you had your last record. It’s timeless, classic stuff.” For her part, Carla seems content with her track record, noting, “Isn’t it amazing how people make you realize how important Stax was — more important to them sometimes than Stax was to itself.”

As the 1970s wore on, the time was ripe for the third Thomas sibling to step up to bat. But Vaneese was determined to explore music on her own terms, without relying on the Thomas family legend. “The Thomas legend, yes,” she muses. “And you know it took a long time for me to want to embrace it. And when I did, it was okay then. And it was because I had worked very hard on my own, and by then

I appreciated the legacy.”

The story of her career begins with leaving Memphis. “I went to Swarthmore, outside of Philadelphia,” she recalls. “And I really didn’t know for sure what I was going to do. I was avoiding music, sort of. Every time it would chase me I would turn. But eventually I started doing it. I sang in recording studios in Philadelphia.

Me and a friend were the B singers of the Sweethearts of Soul. I don’t know if you know the Sigma Sweethearts, but they sang on all the Spinners records and all those people like that. We didn’t get that high on the ladder; we sang on the lesser lights.

But it didn’t matter, we were getting great studio experience.”

A brief time courting success as half of a duet led to some minor record deals, but it wasn’t until she tried her hand as a solo act that she broke out. “My first solo record was on Geffen Records. And I had a top 10 R&B record, called ‘Let’s Talk It Over.’ I’ve been doing this a long time,” she laughs. That first hit was in 1987, followed by another, “(I Wanna Get) Close to You.” Subsequent records failed to chart as well, but “then I moved to New York and did a lot of commercials.”

That last comment underplays Vaneese’s varied career since her Geffen days. Her work can be heard on countless voice-overs and as a background singer for the likes of Aretha Franklin. And with her ongoing work as a singer, writer, and producer, even as she remains planted in

New York, she has launched a new phase of her career — exploring the rootsier sounds of her hometown.

“When I put out Blues for My Father in 2014, that was my first foray into the blues.

So I did that really in honor of Daddy, obviously. And because people don’t know that he sang blues all through his career, from the beginning to the end. So I wanted to dab my toe in that, and I’ve grown to love it. And I want to sing more earthy stuff.” Last year’s The Long Journey Home continues in that vein, and she shows no sign of letting up.

Meanwhile, all records aside, there is the call of the stage. In recent years, it has brought the two sisters closer together.

Aside from one or two performances in the 1970s featuring Rufus and all three siblings, Carla and Vaneese had not performed together until recently.

It began with an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2002, and it seems to be accelerating. “Carla and I did one in the Canary Islands this summer,” notes Vaneese, and that was fast on the heels of performing at the famed Poretta Soul Festival in Italy. This fall, they were scheduled to sing at the Ponderosa Stomp Festival, but Hurricane Nate nixed that.

Nonetheless, they show no signs of slowing. As we sit in the Four Way Grill sipping our tea, they’ve come to terms with each other, with the neighborhood that nurtured them, and where fate may yet take them — together.

December 14-20, 2017

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Lots to see at the Art Center’s Holiday Sale!

Christmas at

Check out the Gift Guide at artcentermemphis.com

Capriccio Grill December 25, 2017 11 AM - 10 PM $45 per person, $19 children 12 and under Plus tax & gratuity

Chez Philippe December 24 and 25, 2017 3 PM - 8 PM $95 per person, +45 per person with wine pairing Plus tax & gratuity

Reservations: 901.529.4000 1636 UNION AVENUE | 901.276.6321 | ARTCENTERMEMPHIS.COM

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This holiday season, we’re encouraging our readers to support local businesses by shopping right here at home.

MEMP

Frost Bake Shop Cookies, cupcakes, pie — oh my! The dessert masters at Frost know how to satisfy a sweet tooth. For a gift or a gathering, pick up a heavenly decadent chocolate silk pie. The creamy smooth filling sits inside a deliciously flaky crust.

Topped with lightly sweetened house-made whipped cream and grated chocolate, it’s sure to be a hit ($21). Visit Frost Bake Shop at 394 S. Grove Park or frostbakeshop.com.

Novel.

A good book is a great go-to for the hard-to-buyfor folks in your life. Fans of the long-shuttered Libertyland theme park might enjoy Images of Modern America: Libertyland by John Stevenson. This look at the park’s history — accompanied by a collection of photographs provided by former park employees, guests, and historians — will take your giftee on a roller coaster ride down memory lane.

Visit Novel. at 387 Perkins Extended or novelmemphis.com.

Dinstuhl’s Sour, salty, sweet, or decadent — whatever your craving, Dinstuhl’s homemade candies are the cure. Since 1902, the candy-makers at this Memphis institution have produced local favorites, such as their legendary Cashew Crunch toffee topped with flecks of coconut ($10.95/8 oz., $19.95/lb.). To purchase this or other delightful offerings, stop by one of three convenient locations (436 Grove Park, 7730 Poplar Avenue #3 in Germantown, or 5280 Pleasant View) or visit dinstuhls.com.

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

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steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Blue Christmas

Holiday King

By Chris Davis

In its early days as a tourist destination, tour guides would welcome visitors on the steps of Graceland with the line, “This was all farm country when Elvis moved to the neighborhood, but before long the city grew out to meet him.” But times change, people seldom play tourist in their own hometown, and it’s hard to say just how many locals drop by to pay their respects these days.

That dynamic could shift again this week when a Memphis cultural artifact — and one of the Presley estate’s most historically significant pieces — returns to Graceland after a 40-year hiatus. Elvis’ white baby grand piano — once the house piano for Ellis Auditorium — will soon be installed in the mansion’s fully restored music room. Also, a series of three holiday concerts marks Graceland’s first baby steps as a regular music venue.

Elvis had long admired the white 1912-vintage Knabe & Co piano. As a teenager he saw it in use often whenever his gospel heroes (and neighborhood record store owners) the Blackwood Brothers put on a show. Cab Calloway and Count Basie had both sat down to its keyboard, and it had been featured in musical performances led by W.C. Handy. The piano was re-sold in 1971 and changed hands many times over the years before it turned up on eBay earlier this year. It’s being described as the focal point of a music room that’s being returned to its 1960s-era look.

Graceland’s first-ever holiday concert events kick off Friday December 15th at the Sound Stage, Graceland’s new entertainment complex, where concertgoers can take in an orchestral performance with Elvis on the big screen. A pair of concerts follow on Saturday December 16th. An Elvis Gospel Christmas show will be followed with what’s being described as “an Elvis star-studded Rock-and-Roll show.”

HOLIDAY CONCERTS AT GRACELAND’S SOUND STAGE FRIDAY DEC. 15TH AT 8 P.M. AND SATURDAY DEC. 16TH AT 5 P.M. AND 8:30 P.M. $35-$125. GRACELAND.COM

Armando Gagliano (above) designs the menu at Libro in Novel.

Food, p. 31

Jeffrey Eugenides’ Fresh Complaint Books, p. 30

FRIDAY December 15

December 14-20, 2017

THURSDAY December 14

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Booksigning by Arthur Flowers Burke’s Book Store, 6 p.m.

Arthur Flowers signs his latest book, Brer Rabbit Retold.

Fantastical Writers of the Mid-South Barnes & Noble Wolfchase, 7 p.m.

Monthly meeting of area fantasy writers.

Waes hael!

Spirits, p. 33

Graphic Design Senior Show Fogelman Galleries, 6-8 p.m.

Opening reception for this show by graduating UofM graphic design students.

Holiday Wonders in the Garden Memphis Botanic Garden, 5:30-8 p.m., $8.25 Holiday display featuring interactive areas, lighting, food, and drink. Kids get in for $3 tonight with an unwrapped toy for PorterLeath.

Booksigning by Susan Cushman Novel, 6 p.m.

Susan Cushman signs her thriller about a teenaged girl trying to break free from her super dysfunctional family and indulge her artistic side.

Beers and Gears Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

A meeting about bikes with beers.

Kane Brown Landers Center, 6:30 p.m.

Ascending country star Kane Brown performs tonight, his first arena show. Walker McGuire opens.

The Nutcracker The Orpheum, 7:30 p.m., $7-$75 A Memphis holiday tradition.

Ballet Memphis’ production of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet.

Through Sunday.

J&K Cabaret TheatreSouth, 8 p.m., $25 Jenny Odle Madden and Kim Justis team up for songs and witty banter.

Skeletons in Memphis’ closet

Haunted Holidays

By Chris Davis “I see Memphis as a haunted house,” Mike McCarthy says, sitting in his den, in the shadow of an enormous Johnny Cash statue he’s been sculpting from gray clay. This month McCarthy, an artist, preservationist, and activist best known for work as an independent filmmaker, is planning a one-of-a-kind spook tour that may appeal to Christmas revelers who appreciate the spirits.

“Memphis is the kind of haunted house where you look through the boards in the window and you see the cobwebs over the empty bottles,” he continues. “And you see the old radio, and the dusty record collection. You see that this was once a place where people had a really great time. But then you also see signs of struggle. And maybe a murder or two.

And you come to realize why this haunted house has been abandoned. And why people don’t really go there anymore.

And why it’s in danger of being torn down. That’s the Memphis I know. It’s the Memphis I’ve shot on film for decades. It’s the Memphis I’ve talked about to friends who’ve visited. That’s the haunted house I know Memphis to be.”

McCarthy has located a purple hearse for his tours, but says it won’t be rehabilitated and ready to go in time for holiday ghost stories that will take listeners from “No man’s land” to the graves of stolen Georgia Tann babies and beyond.

“If my tour can shine a little light on that haunted house,” McCarthy says. “If it can clean out the cobwebs and open up the doors, then the people who come and visit the house will have an understanding of why it's important to save it. To preserve it.”

In the spirit of the now-defunct Tupelo tourist attraction Graceland Too, McCarthy claims to be open 24 hours. “Customers can call, discuss how long they want their tour to be. I customize accordingly,” he says.

YELLOW FEVER ROCK & ROLL GHOST TOUR: 901-486-6325 FACEBOOK.COM/YELLOWROCKGHOST

Wintertide Holiday Concert Church of the Holy Apostles, 7-9 p.m.

Concert of sacred holiday music.

Reception follows.

Booksigning by Len Melvin The South Main Book Juggler, 3-5 p.m.

Len Melvin signs his thriller The Last Quarterback involving an exploding train, the KKK, and, yes, a missing quarterback.

Holiday Market with American Threads American Threads (7615 Farmington), noon-7 p.m.

Market featuring jewelry, handmade soaps, woodworking, and more.

You Look Like P&H Cafe, 9-11 p.m.

My go-to insult: You look like an asshole. Fits every occasion. Try your own at tonight’s show where comics try to out-insult each other.

CYCFM Holiday Farmers & Artisan Market Cooper and Walker, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Annual holiday market at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market.

Time Warp Drive-in Malco Drive-in, 7 p.m., $10 Tonight’s theme is “Strange Christmas” featuring 2015 horror film Krampus with the half-goat/ half-demon creature who punishes children during the holiday season.

Impossible Language story booth, 7-9 p.m.

Monthly poetry series with readings from Hamlett Dobbins, Christian Anton Gerard, and Emma Bolden.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SATURDAY December 16

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Justin Timberlake and Kate Winslet (right) star in Woody Allen’s new film Wonder Wheel.

Film, p. 34

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MUSIC By Jesse Davis

MOONSHINE

BALL

December 14-20, 2017

THE YING YANG TWINS DECEMBER 31

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Acoustic Sunday Four songwriters and a whole lotta truth, benefiting Indie Memphis.

F

olk music icon and 2009 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Tom Paxton says he doesn’t mean to preach. He just tries to hold a mirror up to the world. “I’m not a propagandist. I never have been,” Paxton says. “I just try to reflect the world I see around me.”

Though he has written his share of incendiary folk songs — such as “If the Poor Don’t Matter” and “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation” — Paxton believes in the importance of seeing the whole spectrum when it comes to songwriting. “I write all kinds of songs,” he says. “I write songs for children. I just finished a love song this afternoon.”

Paxton recently wrapped up a tour in celebration of his 80th birthday — and more than 50 years in the music business as a songwriter, performer, and supporter of music education — from Mary his beginnings as a frequent Gauthier performer in New York’s Greenwich Village, where in 1962, he recorded his first of more than 60 albums, to his more recent songwriting workshops as part of Warren Wilson College’s Swannanoa Gathering. “I turned 80 on Kathy Halloween, and within two Mattea weeks, I heard myself described as spry,” Paxton says.

“You know you’re old when people describe you as spry.”

Paxton credits Pete Seeger and Seeger’s group the Weavers as being early Tom sources of inspiration. “My Paxton model has always been the Weavers. They were the ones who inspired me,” Paxton says. “They didn’t shy away from singing songs about the world around them, but they also sang lullabies and songs of family.” It’s that spirit of unprejudiced observation that fuels Paxton’s songwriting engine. “I’m looking for an idea, and any idea can be a good idea,” Paxton says. “I wrote a song about the firemen on 9/11, who ran up the stairs when everybody else was running down.”

Paxton, along with his band the Don Juans, will play a benefit concert for Indie Memphis, dubbed Acoustic Sunday Live, on December 17th at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts downtown.

“I’m having as much fun now as I’ve ever

12/1/17 3:41 PM

had,” Paxton says, “and it’s all because I’m hanging out with these two friends from Nashville, John Veznor and Don Henry, who call themselves the Don Juans.” The Acoustic Sunday event seems to represent something of a Tennessee truce between the often differing musical styles of Memphis and Nashville, as many of the performers at the Indie Memphis benefit have made Tennessee’s state capital their home. Also performing will be the Nashville-based Three Women and the Truth: Gretchen Peters, Kathy Mattea, and Mary Gauthier.

Bruce Newman, Indie Memphis board member and host of WEVL’s popular Folk Song Fiesta program, conceived the event as a fund-raiser and a showcase. “I’ve been doing these concerts as fund-raisers for different organizations since maybe the late ’90s,” Newman says.

“When I started on the board of Indie Memphis a year ago, I thought that [it] would be a good beneficiary of a fundraiser.” And Newman says asking Paxton to participate was a no-brainer. “I had him in Memphis for a Woody Guthrie tribute,” Newman says. “Then I had him in Memphis to open the Rose Theater at the University of Memphis.

“I know Mary Gauthier and Gretchen Peters,” Newman says. “I thought it would be cool if we could split the bill up with Tom and then have [them] do this thing called Three Women and the Truth, which is basically songs about what it’s like to be a female in a fairly male-dominated business.”

Describing themselves as “three women, three guitars, and the words, music, and hard-won wisdom of three lifetimes spent in pursuit of the song,” the women can boast multiple Grammy nominations, a CMA Song of the Year, and accolades from No Depression magazine, The New York Times, and Bob Dylan.

“I’m looking forward eagerly to coming back to Memphis,” Paxton says. “I’ll be as spry as ever.”

Tom Paxton and the Don Juans, Three Women and the Truth featuring Gretchen Peters, Kathy Mattea, and Mary Gauthier at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts, Sunday, December 17th at 7 p.m.

by

SAMUEL BECKETT directed by

DAN McCLEARY at

On stage

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After Dark: Live Music Schedule December 14 - 20 Alfred’s 197 BEALE 525-3711

Gary Hardy & Memphis 2 Thursdays-Saturdays, 6-9 p.m.; Karaoke Thursdays, TuesdaysWednesdays, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. and Sundays-Mondays, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Mandi Thomas Fridays, Saturdays, 6-9 p.m.; The 901 Heavy Hitters Fridays, Saturdays, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Flyin’ Ryan Fridays, Saturdays, 2:30 a.m.; Memphis Jazz Orchestra Sundays, 6-9 p.m.

B.B. King’s Blues Club 143 BEALE 524-KING

The King Beez Thursdays, 5:30 p.m.; B.B. King’s All Stars Thursdays, Fridays, 8 p.m.; Will Tucker Band Fridays, Saturdays,

5 p.m.; Lisa G and Flic’s Pic’s Band Saturdays, Sundays, 12:30 p.m.; Blind Mississippi Morris Sundays, 5 p.m.; Memphis Jones Sundays, Wednesdays 5:30 p.m.; Doc Fangaz and the Remedy Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m.

Live Music WednesdaysSundays, 7-11 p.m.; Live DJ Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 p.m.; Third Floor: DJ Tubbz Fridays, Saturdays, 10 p.m.

Blue Note Bar & Grill

Handy Bar

341-345 BEALE 577-1089

Queen Ann and the Memphis Blues Masters Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.-midnight.

Blues City Cafe 138 BEALE 526-3637

Club 152 152 BEALE 544-7011

200 BEALE 527-2687

The Amazing Rhythmatics Tuesdays, Thursdays-Sundays, 7 p.m.-1 a.m.

Hard Rock Cafe

Blind Mississippi Morris Fridays, 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 5:30 p.m.; Brad Birkedahl Band Thursdays, Wednesdays, 8 p.m.; Earl “The Pearl” Banks Saturdays, 12:30 p.m. and Tuesdays, 7 p.m.; Brandon Cunning Band Sundays, 6 p.m., and Mondays, 7 p.m.; FreeWorld Sundays, 9:30 p.m.

126 BEALE 529-0007

Memphis Music Monday Third Monday of every month, 6-9 p.m.

Itta Bena 145 BEALE 578-3031

Nat “King” Kerr Fridays, Saturdays, 9-10 p.m.

King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grille 159 BEALE

Chris Gales Solo Acoustic Show Mondays-Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.; Eric Hughes solo/acoustic Thursdays, 5-8 p.m.; Karaoke Mondays-Thursdays, Sundays, 8 p.m.; Live Bands Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.

Fridays, 7-11 p.m.; Fuzzy and the Kings of Memphis Saturdays, 7-11 p.m.; Chic Jones and the Blues Express Sundays, 7-11 p.m.; North and South Band Wednesdays, 7-11 p.m.

King’s Palace Cafe Tap Room 168 BEALE 576-2220

David Bowen Thursdays, 5:309:30 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays, 6:30-10:30 p.m., and Sundays, 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Big Don Valentine’s Three Piece Chicken and a Biscuit Blues Band Thursdays, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.-midnight; Cowboy Neil Friday, Dec. 15, 8 p.m.-midnight; Myra Hall Band Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.-midnight.

King’s Palace Cafe Patio

New Daisy Theatre

King’s Palace Cafe 162 BEALE 521-1851

162 BEALE 521-1851

Sonny Mack Mondays-Fridays, 2-6 p.m.; Cowboy Neil Mondays, Thursdays, 7-11 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, 2-6 p.m.; Sensation Band Tuesdays,

330 BEALE 525-8981

Smith & Myers of Shinedown Friday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.; Figure and Midnight Tyrannosaurus Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 p.m.

Rum Boogie Cafe 182 BEALE 528-0150

Young Petty Thieves Thursdays, 8 p.m.-midnight; FreeWorld Friday, Dec. 15, 8 p.m.-midnight and Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.midnight; Sensation Band Sunday, Dec. 17, 7-11 p.m.; Eric Hughes Band Mondays, 8 p.m.-midnight; Gracie Curran Tuesdays, 8 p.m.-midnight; Plantation Allstars Wednesdays, 8 p.m.-midnight.

Rum Boogie Cafe Blues Hall 182 BEALE 528-0150

Memphis Bluesmasters Thursdays, Sundays, 8 p.m.-midnight; Vince Johnson and the Plantation Allstars Fridays, Saturdays, 4-8 p.m. and Sundays, 3-7 p.m.; Juke Joint Allstars Friday, Dec. 15, 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Delta Project Saturday, Dec. 16, 8:30

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After Dark: Live Music Schedule December 14 - 20

183 BEALE 522-9596

Dueling Pianos Thursdays, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Fridays, Saturdays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., and Sundays, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.midnight.

Boscos 2120 MADISON 432-2222

Sunday Brunch with Joyce Cobb Sundays, 11:30 a.m.2:30 p.m.

Canvas 1737 MADISON 443-5232

Karaoke Thursdays, 9:30 p.m.; Kyle Pruzina Live Mondays, 10 p.m.-midnight.

One Last Chance Thursday, Dec. 14, 6 p.m.; Raven’s Bday Party with China Gate & Racquets Thursday, Dec. 14, 8 p.m.; Whitechapel, Carnifex, Rings of Saturn, Entheos, So This Is Suffering Friday, Dec. 15, 6 p.m.; Hits and Jiggles Jello Wrestling feat: HEELS Saturday, Dec. 16, 9 p.m.; No Love For Lions Sunday, Dec. 17, 9 p.m.; Bigger Fish, the Stupid Reasons Monday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m.; Cam Kimbrough

17, 3 p.m.; 5 O’Clock Shadow Monday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m.; Kyndle & Adam Tuesday, Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m.; Mark Edgar Stuart Tuesday, Dec. 19, 8 p.m.; 3RD Man Wednesday, Dec. 20, 5:30 p.m.; Kristi-Lynn Worrell Wednesday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m.

Lindenwood Christian Church 2400 UNION 458-8506

Handel’s Messiah Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7:30-9 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7:30-9 p.m.

Memphis Made

Alleycat, Brother Moses, Hardcastle Saturday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m.

Murphy’s 1589 MADISON 726-4193

University of Memphis

P&H Cafe

535 S. HIGHLAND

Whatever Dude! Saturday, Dec. 16.

1532 MADISON 726-0906

Rock Starkaraoke Fridays; You Look Like Saturday, Dec. 16; Open Mic Music with Tiffany Harmon Mondays, 9 p.m.-midnight.

855 KENTUCKY

East Memphis Huey’s Poplar 4872 POPLAR 682-7729

The Heart Memphis Band Sunday, Dec. 17, 8:30 p.m.-midnight.

Mortimer’s

Earnestine & Hazel’s

590 N. PERKINS 761-9321

531 S. MAIN 523-9754

Van Duren Solo Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Amber Rae Dunn Hosts: Earnestine & Hazel’s Open Mic Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m.

Poplar/I-240

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

East Tapas and Drinks

130 PEABODY PLACE 523-8536

6069 PARK 767-6002

Eddie Harris Thursdays, Fridays, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Van Duren Solo Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m.

Songwriters with Roland and Friends Mondays, 7-10 p.m.

The Halloran Centre

Neil’s Music Room

225 S. MAIN 529-4299

5727 QUINCE 682-2300

Acoustic Sunday Live! featuring Tom Paxton, Mary Gauthier, and Gretchen Peters Sunday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m.

Tommy Cathey CD Release Party Thursday, Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m.; Jack Rowell’s Celebrity Jam Thursdays, 8 p.m.; Eddie Smith Fridays, 8 p.m.; Elmo and The Shades Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.; Band of Brothers feat. Lance McDaniel’s Sunday, Dec. 17, 5-9 p.m.; Charles Streeter Monday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m.; Debbie Jamison & Friends Tuesdays, 6-10 p.m.; Elmo and the Shades Wednesdays, 8 p.m.-midnight.

Huey’s Downtown 77 S. SECOND 527-2700

Bluff City Soul Collective Sunday, Dec. 17, 8:30 p.m.-midnight.

Paulette’s RIVER INN, 50 HARBOR TOWN SQUARE 260-3300

Live Pianist Thursdays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 5:30-9 p.m., Sundays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Mondays-Wednesdays, 5:30-8 p.m.

Summer/Berclair Cheffie’s Cafe 483 HIGH POINT TERRACE 202-4157

The Vault

South Main Ghost River Brewing 827 S. MAIN 278-0087

Sunday Evening with LaNita Smith Sunday, Dec. 17, 5-7:30 p.m.

Loflin Yard 7 W. CAROLINA

Electric Church Sundays, 2-4 p.m.

South Main Sounds 550 S. MAIN 494-6543

Amy Jamison, Jennifer Hall Burris, Seth Austin, Brady McCollough and Tommy Coleman Friday, Dec. 15, 7-9 p.m.

University of Memphis, Harris Concert Hall Stax Music Academy Holiday Concert Friday, Dec. 15, 7:30-9 p.m.

Nancy Apple Thursdays, 8 p.m.; The Po Boys Friday, Dec. 15, 9 p.m.-midnight; Hillbilly Mojo Saturday, Dec. 16, 9 p.m.midnight; Bobbie Stacks & Her Assets Wednesdays, 7-10 p.m.; Bobbie & Tasha Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m.

Grape, the Band Friday, Dec. 15, 9 p.m.-midnight.

DJ Ben Murray Thursdays, 10 p.m.; Bluegrass Brunch with the River Bluff Clan Sundays, 11 a.m.

INSIDE THE RUDI E. SCHEIDT SCHOOL OF MUSIC 678-5400

Dirty Crow Inn

124 GE PATTERSON

The Bluff

Celtic Crossing 903 S. COOPER 274-5151

Jeremy Stanfill and Joshua Cosby Sundays, 6-9 p.m.; Candy Company Mondays.

The Cove 2559 BROAD 730-0719

Jazz with Ed Finney, Deb Swiney & David Collins & Frog Squad Thursday, Dec. 14, 8-11 p.m.; 432 South Friday, Dec. 15, 9 p.m.; Bluff City Backsliders Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 p.m.; David Collins & Frog Squad Sunday, Dec. 17, 6-9 p.m.; Ben Minden-Birkenmaier Wednesday, Dec. 20, 6-8 p.m.; Karaoke Wednesdays, 9 p.m.

Growlers 1911 POPLAR 244-7904

Crockett Hall Tuesdays with the Midtown Rhythm Section Tuesdays, 9 p.m.

and the Memphissippi Sound Tuesday, Dec. 19, 9 p.m.; Ross al Ghul, A55 Conducta Wednesday, Dec. 20, 9 p.m.

Huey’s Midtown 1927 MADISON 726-4372

The Dantones Sunday, Dec. 17, 4-7 p.m.; The Natchez Brothers Sunday, Dec. 17, 8:30 p.m.midnight.

Lafayette’s Music Room 2119 MADISON 207-5097

Marcella and Her Lovers Thursday, Dec. 14, 6 p.m.; Henry Gross Thursday, Dec. 14, 8 p.m.; John Paul Keith & Co. Friday, Dec. 15, 6:30 p.m.; Nick Black Friday, Dec. 15, 10 p.m.; Memphis Ukulele Band Saturday, Dec. 16, 6:30 p.m.; Graham Winchester and the Ammunition Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 p.m.; Joe Restivo 4 Sunday, Dec. 17, 11 a.m.; Jeffrey & the Pacemakers Sunday, Dec.

Brewing Company 768 S. COOPER 207-5343

Shangri-La Records X-Mas Party at Memphis Made Brewing Saturday, Dec. 16, 7-10 p.m.

Memphis Music Mansion 1925 EAST PARKWAY

Chris Milam Friday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.

Railgarten 2160 CENTRAL

Mark Edgar Stuart Friday, Dec. 15, 8 p.m.; Objekt 12 Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.; Live Band Karaoke with Public Record Wednesdays, 7 p.m.; Dale Watson and his Lone Stars with Austin’s Honky Tonk Horn Section Wednesday, Dec. 20, 9 p.m.

Midtown Crossing Grill

Wild Bill’s

394 N. WATKINS 443-0502

1580 VOLLINTINE 207-3975

Natalie James and the Professor Saturdays, Sundays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; “The Happening” Open Songwriter Showcase Tuesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Minglewood Hall 1555 MADISON 866-609-1744

NXT Live! Friday, Dec. 15, 6 p.m.; Lucero Family Christmas Saturday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m.; The Band CAMINO, Jet Black

The Wild Bill’s Band with Tony Chapman, Charles Cason, and Miss. Joyce Henderson Fridays, Saturdays, 11 p.m.-3 a.m.

Songwriter Night hosted by Leigh Ann Wilmot and Dave “The Rave” Saturdays, 5-8 p.m.

Gold Strike Casino 1010 CASINO CENTER IN TUNICA, MS 1-888-245-7829

Gin Blossoms Saturday, Dec. 16, 8-9:30 p.m.

Horseshoe Casino & Hotel AT CASINO CENTER, SOUTH OF MEMPHIS, NEAR TUNICA, MS 1-800-303-SHOE

Gladys Knight Friday, Dec. 15.

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Silky O’Sullivan’s

Hi-Tone 412-414 N. CLEVELAND 278-TONE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Brian Hawkins Blues Party Mondays, 8 p.m.midnight; Chris McDaniel Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 8 p.m.midnight.

23

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T H E AT E R

Circuit Playhouse

The Santaland Diaries, with a healthy dose of sarcasm and snark, Crumpet manages to reveal the shortcomings of the hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays while reminding us of the true meaning of the season. www.playhouseonthesquare.org. $25-$40.

Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., and Sundays, 7 p.m. Through Dec. 23.

Junie B. Jones, The Musical, adaptation of four of Barbara Park’s best-selling books brought to life in a genuinely comical musical. www. playhouseonthesquare.org. $25-$40. Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m., and Thursdays, Fridays, 7 p.m. Through Dec. 23.

51 S. COOPER (725-0776).

Kevin Lipe on the Memphis Grizzlies before, during, and after the game.

The Dixon Gallery & Gardens

Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett as an absurdly comedic response to William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Prompts us all to ask ourselves, who or what are we waiting on this holiday season? Celebrate the now. www.tnshakespeare.org. $16-$34. Thurs.-Sat., 7 p.m., and Sun., 3 p.m. Through Dec. 17.

4339 PARK (761-5250).

The Evergreen Theatre Dangerous Seduction, centers around domestic violence to raise awareness. Proceeds

benefit elderly members in our city. All actors are Memphis Police Officers. www.theatreworksmemphis.org. $40-$65.

Fri., Dec. 15, 6 p.m., Sat., Dec. 16, 7 p.m., and Sun., Dec. 17, 2 p.m.

1705 POPLAR (274-7139).

Hattiloo Theatre

Take the Soul Train to Christmas, musical journey follows Granddad as he ushers his granddaughter and two of her friends back through time on the magical Soul Train. www. hattiloo.org. $30-$35. Sun., 3 p.m., Sat., 2 & 7:30 p.m., and Thurs., Fri., 7:30 p.m. Through Dec. 17.

37 S. COOPER (502-3486).

Playhouse on the Square

Peter Pan, life will never be the same for Michael, John, and Wendy Darling after Peter Pan visits their nursery window offering to take them to the magical world of Neverland. www.playhouseonthesquare. org. $25-$40. Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m., and Fridays, 7 p.m. Through Dec. 31.

66 S. COOPER (726-4656).

Theatre Memphis

Jingle Belles, jingle and mingle before the performances with carols and cocoa. FEMMEmphis and ShoWagon of Theatre Memphis celebrate the gift of theater this holiday season with six new works. www. femmemphis.com. $10, $5 Children 12 and Under. Mon., Dec. 18, 6-9 p.m.

630 PERKINS EXT. (682-8323).

TheatreSouth

The J & K Cabaret, fantastic funny ladies of Memphis, Jenny Odle Madden and Kim Justis, are hitting the stage with an age-infused cabaret that is destined to twirl your socks. www.voicesofthesouth.org. $25. Fri., Sat., 8 p.m. Through Dec. 16.

INSIDE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 1000 S. COOPER (726-0800).

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Holiday Concert Weekend at Graceland, Friday and Saturday

A R T I ST R EC E PT I O N S

Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art, University of Memphis

Artist reception for Graphic Design Senior Show, exhibition of work by graduating U of M undergraduate Graphic Design students Elizabeth Dunaway, Alexandra Ellington, Cameron Gray, Catherine Knowles, Morgan Robinson, Jerrica Willins, and James Womble.

(678-2216), www.memphis. edu. Thurs., Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m.

3715 CENTRAL.

Jay Etkin Gallery

Artist reception for “Works on Paper,” exhibition of colorful new works by Nathan Alan Yoakum. www.jayetkingallery. com. Fri., Dec. 15, 6-9 p.m.

942 COOPER (550-0064).

OT H E R A R T HAP P E N I N G S

Casting Demonstration Saturdays, Sundays, 3 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM, 374 METAL MUSEUM DR. (774-6380), WWW. METALMUSEUM.ORG.

It’s a Hustle Holiday 2

Get to know your local community. Expect silly games and sillier prizes with special host, Eso Tolson. Tues., Dec. 19, 6-8 p.m.

CROSSTOWN ARTS, 430 N. CLEVELAND (507-8030), WWW. CROSSTOWNARTS.ORG.

M.T.A. Art Show

Live painting, poetry, artwork, food, and wine hosted by Tosha the Artist. Sat., Dec. 16, 5:309:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN ARTS, 430 N. CLEVELAND (507-8030), WWW. CROSSTOWNARTS.ORG.

“Stargazer Garden” Flower-Folding

Stop by and fold a paper flower for collaborative art installation. Mondays-Fridays, 9:30

continued on page 27

25

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

HAPPY HOLIDAYS MEMPHIS • HAPPY HOLIDAYS MEMPHIS • HAPPY

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CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE (FORMERLY SEARS CROSSTOWN), N. CLEVELAND AT NORTH PARKWAY, WWW. CROSSTOWNARTS.ORG.

WinterArts

Unique hand-crafted work by regional artists including a stellar collection of Holiday gift ideas crafted in glass, metal, wood, fiber, and clay, plus jewelry and more. Sundays, 12-5 p.m., Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Mondays-Wednesdays, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Through Dec. 24.

PARK PLACE CENTER, 1215 RIDGEWAY (260-7486), WWW. WINTERARTSMEMPHIS.ORG.

EACC Fine Arts Center Gallery

“Atmospheric Abstracts,” exhibition of abstract paintings by Jaquita Phillips Ball. www.eacc.edu.

Through Dec. 15.

EAST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 1700 NEWCASTLE, FORREST CITY, AR.

Eclectic Eye

“Skyward,” exhibition of ceramics and oil by Melissa Bridgman and Martha Kelly. www.eclectic-eye.com.

Through Dec. 29.

242 S. COOPER (276-3937).

FireHouse Community Arts Center

Mosal Morszart, exhibition of works by Black Arts Alliance artist. www.memphisblackartsalliance.org.

Ongoing.

985 S. BELLEVUE (948-9522).

O N G O I N G ART

Art Museum at the University of Memphis (AMUM)

“Desert to Delta: Saudi Contemporary Art in Memphis,” exhibition by 20 artists and a video artist collective from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. www. memphis.edu/amum. Through Jan. 6, 2018.

“Africa: Art of a Continent,” permanent exhibition of African art from the Martha and Robert Fogelman collection. Ongoing.

142 COMMUNICATION & FINE ARTS BUILDING (678-2224).

ANF Architects

“Flying Colors,” exhibition of works by Sally Hughes Smith. www.anafa.com. Through Jan. 12, 2018.

1500 UNION (278-6868).

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Flicker Street Studio

“Small Worlds,” exhibition of small format painting, sculpture, and ceramics by Jim Buchman, Nancy Cheairs, Erin Wright, Melissa Dunn, Elizabeth Alley, Susan Maakestad, Sunny Montgomery, and others. (767-2999), flickerstreetstudio.com/. Through Dec. 16, 6-8 p.m.

74 FLICKER (767-2999).

Fratelli’s

L Ross Gallery

Gallery Artists Holiday Group Exhibition, www. lrossgallery.com. Through Dec. 31.

5040 SANDERLIN (767-2200).

Marshall Arts Gallery

“Love of Art” and “Memphis,” exhibition of work

by Nikki Gardner and Debra Edge by appointment only. (647-9242), Ongoing.

639 MARSHALL (679-6837).

“From My Garden and Other Places by Zoe Nadal”, www.memphisbotanicgarden.com. Through Jan. 3, 2018.

750 CHERRY (766-9900).

Java Cabana

“Putting the Pieces Together,” exhibition of new paintings by Erica McCarrens. Through Jan. 24, 2018.

Memphis Botanic Garden

“Winter Wonders”, exhibition of work by the Memphis Artists Group. www.memphisbotanicgarden. com. Through

continued on page 28

2170 YOUNG (272-7210).

New Year’s 2017 Eve Party

“Chinese Symbols in Art,” ancient Chinese pottery and bronze. www.belzmuseum.org. Ongoing.

CELEBRATE AT FITZ!

119 S. MAIN, IN THE PEMBROKE SQUARE BUILDING (523-ARTS).

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library

• • • •

“Christmas in Memphis,” exhibition of photos. www.memphislibrary.org. Through Jan. 6, 2018.

3030 POPLAR (415-2700).

Bingham and Broad

“My Kin Is Not Like Yours,” exhibition of works by Debra Edge. Ongoing.

Party Favors Midnight Balloon Drop Midnight Champagne Toast Special New Year’s Eve Buffet

2563 BROAD (323-3008).

Brickwood Hall

“Triptych Memphis,” exhibition of work by London Thomas, Nicole Maron, Samilia Colar, Alesandra Bellos, Colleen Couch-Smith, Bree Mayes, and others benefiting Alzheimer’s & Dementia Services of Memphis. Through Dec. 17.

CASINO PROMOTIONS

391 S. FRONT.

Buckman Arts Center at St. Mary’s School “From Trash to Treasure,” exhibition of new works

by Frank Lilly. www.buckmanartscenter.com.

Through Dec. 16.

60 N. PERKINS EXT. (537-1483).

Circuitous Succession Gallery

1789 KIRBY PARKWAY.

Crosstown Concourse (formerly Sears Crosstown)

“Lavender’s Landscape,” exhibition of latex and urethane on panel, triptych large works by Anthony Lee. www.crosstownarts.org. Through Jan. 14, 2018.

“Art/Race/Violence: A Collaborative Response,” exhibition of multidisciplinary art in collaboration with visual culture historian Dr. Earnestine Jenkins and artist Richard Lou. www.crosstownarts.org.

Through Jan. 14, 2018.

N. CLEVELAND AT NORTH PARKWAY.

David Lusk Gallery

“Angst,” exhibition of painted photographs by Catherine Erb. www.davidluskgallery.com. Through Dec. 23.

97 TILLMAN (767-3800).

The Dixon Gallery & Gardens

“Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper,” exhibition of recreated historic fashions.

Through Jan. 7, 2018.

“Boukay,” exhibition of mixed-media works by Justin Bowles. Through Jan. 7, 2018.

“Made in Dixon,” exhibition showcasing the artwork created by artists of all ages in the Dixon’s educational programs. www.dixon.org. Ongoing.

4339 PARK (761-5250).

FitzgeraldsTunica.com • 1-662-363-LUCK (5825) • Must be 21 and a Key Rewards member. See Cashier•Players Club for rules. While supplies last. Tax and resort fee not included in listed price. Advance hotel reservations required and subject to availability. $50 credit or debit card is required upon hotel check-in. Arrivals after 6pm must be guaranteed with a credit card.

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“Uninhabitable,” exhibition of paintings and drawings on paper by Christopher St. John. www. circuitoussuccession.com. Through Dec. 20.

27

CALENDAR: DECEMBER 14 - 20 continued from page 27 Jan. 3, 2018.

750 CHERRY (636-4100).

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

“Coming to America: Lachaise, Laurent, Nadelman, and Zorach, 1914-1945,” exhibition of sculptures. www.brooksmuseum.org. Through Jan. 7, 2018.

“About Face,” exhibition located in the Education Gallery highlighting the different ways artists interpret the connection between emotion and expression. www.brooksmuseum.org.

Ongoing.

“Drawing Memory: Essence of Memphis,” exhibition of works inspired by nsibidi, a sacred means of communication among male secret societies in southeastern Nigeria by Victor Ekpuk. www.brooksmuseum. org. Ongoing.

1934 POPLAR (544-6209).

Memphis College of Art

2017 Fall BFA Thesis, exhibition of work from graduating seniors in the BFA program in conjunction with the Jan Hankins exhibit in the Alumni Gallery and the Creativity and Inclusivity exhibit in the Lower Gallery. www.mca.edu.

Through Dec. 14.

“Creativity and Inclusivity,” exhibition of work created by artists from Memphis Center for Independent Living (MCIL), Shelby Residential and

Vocational Services (SRVS), and Memphis College of Art. www. mca.edu. Through Dec. 14.

Jan Hankins, www.mca.edu.

Through Dec. 14.

DAN C E

Children’s Ballet Theater Nutcracker

Charming rendition of the classic holiday tale about the adventures of young Clara and her beloved nutcracker doll. $31. Sat., Dec. 16, 6-7:30 p.m., and Sun., Dec. 17, 2:30-4 p.m.

1930 POPLAR (272-5100).

Metal Museum

“Everyday Objects: The evolution and innovations of Joseph Anderson,” exhibition of works by artist-blacksmith and sculptor highlighting utensils and functional objects. www. metalmuseum.org. Through April 22, 2018.

Master Metalsmith: David Secrest, exhibition by sculptor and blacksmith well known for his incorporation of textures and patterns in forged iron, fabricated steel and bronze sculptures, and furniture. www. metalmuseum.org. Through Dec. 31.

“The Tributaries: Zachery Lechtenberg,” exhibition of enameling techniques applied to jewelry and illustration combined creating brightly colored cartoon style imagery. www. metalmuseum.org. Through Jan. 14, 2018.

374 METAL MUSEUM DR. (774-6380).

Overton Park Gallery

“Visual Poetry: Mundane made Magical,” exhibition of photography by Jenn Billy Brandt. www.overtonparkgallery.com.

Through Dec. 29.

1581 OVERTON PARK (229-2967).

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 1801 EXETER (921-0388), WWW.BALLETCHILDREN.COM.

Nutcracker

Nutcracker at the Orpheum Theatre, Friday through Sunday Playhouse on the Square

Tops Gallery: Madison Avenue Park

“Man Finds Meteorites in His Yard (This is Planet Earth),” exhibition of new works by Josef Bull. Through Jan. 12, 2018.

“Wild in the City: Animals Real and Imagined,” exhibition by Angi Cooper. www.playhouseonthesquare.org. Through Dec. 31.

151 MADISON (340-0134).

66 S. COOPER (726-4656).

177 N. HIGHLAND (325-4000).

Slavehaven Underground Railroad Museum

“Images of Africa Before & After the Middle Passage,” exhibition of photography by Jeff and Shaakira Edison. Ongoing.

Trezevant Manor Art Gallery

Artists’ Link Group Exhibition, Through Jan. 4, 2018.

WKNO Studio

Bartlett Art Association, exhibition of work by Association members. www.wkno.org.

Through Dec. 29.

Favorite holiday must-see featuring Ballet Memphis and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra celebrating worldly cultures, the magic of childhood, and the joy of the season. $7-$75. Fri., Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m., Sat., Dec. 16, 2 & 7:30 p.m., and Sun., Dec. 17, 2 p.m.

THE ORPHEUM, 203 S. MAIN (5253000), WWW.ORPHEUM-MEMPHIS. COM.

C O M E DY

Cafe Eclectic

The Wiseguys Holiday Extravaganza, join Wiseguys cast members from throughout the years for a holiday reunion show. A portion of the proceeds will go to charity. PWYC. Sat., Dec. 16, 8 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN, 750 CHERRY (636-4100), WWW.MEMPHISBOTANICGARDEN.COM.

Friday Night Dance Party

Themed outdoor dance parties featuring illuminated dance floor, food vendors on site, and beer and wine available with a valid ID. Free. Fridays, 6-9 p.m.

MEMPHIS PARK (FOURTH BLUFF), FRONT AND MADISON, WWW.THEFOURTHBLUFF.COM.

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Happy Holidays from your friends at PetVax!

The Enchanted Forest Festival of

Featuring Festival of Trees, Gingerbread Village, Model Train and Christmas Village, pictures with Santa, and Enchanted Forest Fridays. $6. Through Dec. 31.

MEMPHIS PINK PALACE MUSEUM, 3050 CENTRAL (636-2362), WWW. MEMPHISMUSEUMS.ORG.

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Time Warp Drive-In

603 N. MCLEAN (725-1718).

7151 CHERRY FARMS (458-2521).

826 N. SECOND (527-3427).

ent species, this nationally recognized traveling art exhibit features 10 giant wooden bug sculptures towering up to 18 feet tall. Through Dec. 31.

Movies start at dusk. See website for theme and movie line-up. Sat., Dec. 16.

MALCO SUMMER 4 DRIVE-IN, 5310 SUMMER (681-2020), WWW.MALCO.COM.

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TOM PAXTON Acoustic Sunday Live! is a special presentation of Three Women and the Truth, featuring Gretchen Peters, Kathy Mattea, and Mary Gauthier, along with very special guest GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Recipient Tom Paxton with the Don Juans.

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Tickets on Sale Through Ticketmaster or visit orpheum-memphis.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

with Very Special Guest GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Recipient

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

THE INDIE MEMPHIS FILM FESTIVAL GRETCHEN PETERS, KATHY MATTEA, and MARY GAUTHIER

29

B O O K By Richard J. Alley

Bite-Sized

A new collection from Jeffrey Eugenides.

December 14-20, 2017

M

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y main complaint with Jeffrey Eugenides is that he doesn’t turn out novels fast enough. That’s not really his problem, though, as much as it’s mine. I’m a fan, and what a fan wants most is to consume. But books — especially really good books — need time to cook. So take your time in the kitchen, Mr. Eugenides; I’ll wait.

Until the next novel makes its way onto my plate, Fresh Complaint (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Eugenides’ short story collection, is new on the menu.

Eugenides imbues many of these 10 stories with a sense of urgency, one that drills into the chest of the reader to get at the valve that regulates heart rate.

With each page, as the story nears its inevitable conclusion, we feel as though we’re there with the protagonist, that what is about to befall them will also befall us.

In the title story, a young immigrant woman is so panicked over her imminent arranged marriage that, in desperation, she brings ruin upon a visiting writer to her college.

Or does he bring ruin upon himself?

As the married man invites her to his hotel room, runs out for condoms, and comes back to complete the act, he knows it’s wrong. We’re right there with him, heart pounding, conscience churning, as he thinks of his family back home and the damage this could cause.

Yet, it happens. And, while it appears that only one gains from the encounter, both suffer.

This sense of peril is felt, too, in “Great Experiment,” when a oncepromising poet takes stock of his life and the ways in which it might improve.

Though he once had the literary world at his fingertips, Kendall is, these days, the editor for a small publishing house.

Working from his absentee boss’ penthouse on the Gold Coast of Chicago, it is as if Kendall becomes awakened to his opulent surroundings by the company’s accountant. Why not us? The bean

counter suggests, and Kendall wonders the same when he goes home to his wife and kids and the house they’d bought to fix up, but which is still in a state of disrepair after so many years.

When the two make the leap into the world of embezzlement, the warm embrace of security takes over. But underneath is that dread, the danger that something, somewhere, is amiss and just waiting to be overturned.

But perhaps we aren’t all familiar with that sense of foreboding and dread, as though something just beneath the surface is pressing upward and threatening to tear the fabric of your comfortable life. Good for you if not. In “Air Mail,” the subject is something we can all relate to: poop. Okay, it’s dysentery, and perhaps we haven’t all experienced that. But remember that stomach bug you had just before the holidays? There you go.

Mitchell is on a journey, both physically as he travels the world, and spiritually, as he takes stock of himself among humanity. During an unintended extended layover on an island off the coast of Thailand, Mitchell is overcome by amoebic dysentery and the inward thoughts of a man whose innards are emptying out. Convalescing in a bamboo hut, he writes a series of letters home to his parents, informing them of his mystic insights. He self-medicates by starving himself, as he describes to his parents: “Rather than being some weird penance, fasting is actually a very sane and scientific method of quieting the body, of turning the body off. And when the body turns off, the mind turns on. The Sanskrit for this is ‘moksa’, which means total liberation from the body.”

There is a little something for everyone in Eugenides’ collection, and, as I read it over the Thanksgiving holiday, it was more like leftovers — a series of turkey sandwiches — as opposed to the heavier meal of his Pulitzer Prizewinning Middlesex or his debut The Virgin Suicides. The stories hit me just right, if not making me a bit uncomfortable, just when my hunger was at its greatest.

Armando Gagliano’s path to becoming a chef.

A

rmando Gagliano’s mother blindfolded him when he was five or six years old, but it wasn’t to play Blind Man’s Seek.

“She would blindfold me and give me different things to eat and taste, and I’d have to tell her what it was,” Gagliano says. “She’d even let me taste wine — just a little sip — and she’d ask, ‘What nuance of the wine do you see?

What do you taste?’ She was training my palate. Not on purpose, but because she saw that I took an interest in food and flavors.”

Gagliano loved hanging out in the kitchen. “When my mom would be cooking when we were younger, I would be the only one in the kitchen just staring at her. Like ‘What are you doing?

What is that?’ I guess she picked up on my interest.”

The tables have turned — literally. Now when Gagliano is in the kitchen cooking at Libro or Ecco on Overton Park, his mother, Sabine Bachmann, who owns both restaurants, often stands by asking

MICHAEL DONAHUE

Armando Gagliano

similar questions.

Gagliano, 28, is executive chef of Libro, the restaurant in the new Novel bookstore in Laurelwood, and at Ecco.

Growing up, Gagliano was interested in architecture. He loved drawing, sketching, and painting. When he was 8 years old, he told his mother he wanted to own a restaurant named Silly Wolf’s. He remembers “drawing plans of the building. So, there was a little bit of the artistry, then some of the architecture, then the food, all in one deal. I was like, ‘I want to design my own kitchen and the front of the building, then the menu.’”

His first job was making sandwiches and pasta salad when he was 13 at his mom’s former restaurant, Fratelli’s. “It was long hours, but it was fun.”

Gagliano thought of becoming a nurse practitioner, but before the final day to register, he told his mom, “I’m not going to register for class. I’m going to save that money and go buy a knife set, then go get

a job at a restaurant.”

He got a job as a prep cook at Sweet Grass. His idea was to work his way up in different kitchens and one day become a chef de cuisine. But six months later, Bachmann opened Ecco and asked Gagliano if he could run the kitchen. “She said, ‘I’ve always eaten your food and loved it. You just come up with the menu.

Do whatever you want back there.’”

Gagliano decided on a Mediterranean menu, but he uses ingredients from all over — Italy, southern Spain, Germany, Israel, North Africa, Asia. “I like the flavors that just punch you in the face. We used to do this steak dish that was marinated in guajillo chiles and soy sauce. So, it was like an American steak with a Mexican and Asian marinade. With French beans.

Why omit all the other ingredients and flavors that you can zest up your food with or expand upon by trying to keep it a set cuisine when you can be global? Global cuisine.”

Gagliano spent four months last year in Italy at the Italian Culinary Institute. He came back with “more of an appreciation for how much time and effort people will put into food. In the type of food that I love, which is mainly Italian.”

Two weeks after returning to Memphis, Bachmann was asked by his mom to become the chef at Libro.

Trying to get him to keep the same menu as Ecco, a family friend told Gagliano, “Don’t fix something unless it’s broken.”

“I say, ‘I like to break things purposely so I can fix them in a different way.’”

“My mom says, ‘We’re not trying to do fancy Michelin-style food here, okay? We want to do a nice lunch with some dinner items, homemade bread. We use clean, fresh ingredients. And then, every once in a while, if you want to to a special with your little crazy crap on it, do that.’”

Says Gagliano: “I didn’t want to do any super-eclectic stuff here in East Memphis.

We have some typical American items, like a BLT. Chicken salad.”

But he also serves Mediterraneaninfluenced items, including porcini mushroom ravioli.

And, he says, “We do our own housemade Italian sausage here with baked beans. But it’s not like American-style baked beans. It is and it isn’t. They have some sweetness. We put balsamic vinegar in with the beans and molasses and some honey and brown sugar. So, it’s got a little twist in there with the Italian sausage and the balsamic. Then, also, with my roots in the South, the baked beans.”

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Bacon, Eggs…Champagne?

S P I R ITS By Richard Murff

Waes Hael!

A Christmas tradition that’s worth preserving. of your social inferiors demanding that you fill up their creepy drinking bowl and, because it’s cold outside, make with some munchies, while you’re at it.

“And we won’t go until we’ve got some/ We won’t go until we’ve got some, so bring some out here.” Sounds a lot less quaint coming from a well-gassed mob. At any rate, people started making a festive punch to slosh out to the wassailers so they’d eventually go away.

Here’s a very traditional Anglo-Saxon Christmas Wassail you can try at home, just so you’re prepared:

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Stud the orange with cloves to feel like a celebrity chef. Core the apples and sprinkle with sugar and water. Bake the orange and apples at 375°F for 30 minutes or until tender. Leave apples in the dish to keep warm and take the orange out. Cut in half and place in a large saucepan.

Add the rest of the ingredients and the juices from the apple roasting dish to the saucepan, and gently heat until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. Leave for 30 minutes. Strain and pour over the roasted apples.

If that sounds like too much trouble, here’s another option. In college, I learned a simplified version at a Christmas party in Mobile, Alabama: Fill up a coffee percolator with vodka, and heat it up. Add a bunch of Red Hots candy.

Serve warm.

I have no idea how my college-mates made the leap from making wassail to making this horrific concoction. And if I’m going to be completely honest, at the time, I didn’t much care.

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I

t’s one of those old Christmas traditions that nearly everyone has heard of, many have plans to execute, but few ever pull the trigger on. With the deranged commercialization of the holidays, making a wassail just seems like too much trouble. You’ve got things to do, and that credit limit isn’t going to blow itself up without help.

The very word “wassail” is old — Pagan-era old. “Waes hael” was a traditional Saxon greeting meaning “to your health.” And they did a lot of drinking to health in those days. It was important because the Saxons were short on modern medicine and long on marauding Norsemen. A drink might ward off an infection, but it’s hardly a hedge against being cloven in twain by a Dane.

By 1066, when the Normans showed up in England, wassailing was a solid tradition, and not necessarily a Christmas one. In the November harvest, revelers would head out to the apple orchard, where they soaked pieces of toast in cider and put them up in a tree to attract robins, which were believed to carry good spirits.

Then they yelled and carried on to scare off the evil spirits and, presumably, those lucky robins. What it lacked in effectiveness it made up for in style, and to this day we “toast” one another for good fortune.

All this good cheer was consumed from a communal wooden bowl, creepily called “The Loving Cup.” They’d drink, lift the bowl over their heads, and yell “Wassail.” If you are keeping track, Wassail has gone from a greeting, to a cheer, to a verb and a noun. Sort of like “Roll Tide” with ’Bama fans.

The point was to get drunk enough to sing to a tree. At some point, city-folk decided that the whole thing sounded like a hoot. Lacking apple orchards in the grimy alleys of London, wassailing got moved to Christmas, and the town-folk just got drunk enough to sing to a door. From there it quickly devolved into an inebriated caroling/ trick-or-treat mashup. Except this wasn’t a couple of adorable neighborhood kids dressed like princesses and firefighters, but a half-in-the-bag horde

33

FILM REVIEW By Ben Siler

Pale Shadows Wondering about Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel.

I

was a huge Woody Allen fan for years but haven’t watched his movies since Dylan Farrow published her letter detailing memories of abuse. Until I was assigned Wonder Wheel this week, I avoided his films.

Having an object of intense identification (whom I aspired to imitate as a writer-filmmaker) suddenly designated for intense ostracism resulted in alienation: You just don’t think about who you formerly idolized. I loved him; now, I associate him with rape. His later, hackier works are often pale shadows of movies from the height of his talent. (Instead of watching them, I now periodically consume Farrow family testimony.) Any online discussion of new work instantly becomes a battleground over the specific history of his case. His movies lay the groundwork for many other romantic comedies and dramas, and their association with child rape is an incredibly uncomfortable piercing of the pop-culture bubble.

The bubble should pop. Nevertheless, the first two-thirds of Wonder Wheel have the attributes of a dramatic product that is consumable. We open on Mickey (Justin Timberlake) in a 1950s Coney Island

lifeguard tower, addressing the audience. He is a playwright who wants to write a great melodrama in the style of Eugene O’Neill The beach he surveys is fully realized: a million bright bathing suits in Edward Hopper light. We follow Carolina (Juno Temple) and Ginny (Kate Winslet) as they meet there. Ginny is an actress turned waitress, and Carolina is her stepdaughter, on the run from a Mafioso ex-husband, in search of her estranged father, Humpty (Jim Belushi).

They go back to Ginny’s house, and it is a proper stagebound set with the eponymous Ferris wheel in the window, always flooded with artificial golden light. The trio emote in their cramped, fake quarters with screaming and monologues, but the framework saves it. The O’Neill and Tennessee Williams pastiche forgives the tendency of Allen’s characters to state their thoughts and feelings too plainly. Temple and Winslet are pros; Belushi never quite leaves the quotation marks of his character, an abusive husband who wears a wifebeater. Timberlake pulls double duty as both self-proclaimed author of this world and Ginny’s secret lover. He gives one too many speeches

Juno Temple (above) plays Carolina in Woody Allen’s new film, Wonder Wheel. commenting on the action, but there is a coldness to his eyes and a willingness to deceive in his delivery that make him interesting.

Ginny and Mickey discuss fatal flaws in tragedy.

Humpty threatens to hit Ginny. Winslet’s pyromaniac son (Jack Gore), the only openly comedic character, sets things on fire. Ginny dreams of starring in Mickey’s play and running away with him to Bora Bora. As she begins to obsess over him, Winslet does a great soliloquy swathed in unnatural red light.

When things get more melodramatic, her scenes are soaked in neon blue, then harsh white.

Unfortunately, the artificiality that sold the beginning of the movie handicaps emotional connection at its end. Simple moments like a birthday party have no real life. The pauses between lines among minor characters there have the rhythm of an amateur stage production where the timing is

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FILM REVIEW By Ben Siler flat. What made Allen’s delivery as an actor special was the sense he was both doing a comedian’s routine and reacting authentically to the world he had constructed around him. His anger and fear seemed real. Without Allen, everyone is Margaret Dumont.

The only characters that seem alive are the two female leads. Temple mainly fuels the plot, but Winslet has a great American accent that is best used in cutting anger and brutal sarcasm. The movie should have built toward that, turning her self-hatred outward toward those around her. Instead, at the finish line it fumbles a final monologue by heading toward an emotional state similar to Cate Blanchett’s in Blue Jasmine: denial.

As with everything, Allen’s biography leaks in. Ginny seems to be

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a stand-in for Mia Farrow, Timberlake for Allen. The movie is arguably a multimillion-dollar protestation of innocence. Last week, Dylan Farrow wrote a second letter, realleging the abuse and demanding Allen’s removal from the world of prestige filmmaking as the only punishment available (after previous contradictory legal episodes).

Her question is not of separating the art from the artist, but of public safety.

If Allen is a predator in a position of power, he is able to commit crime and avoid both justice and rehabilitation.

Such questions make Allen’s art inconsequential to his nonfiction.

35

EMPLOYMENT • REAL ESTATE Business Opportunities OVER $10K IN DEBT? Be debt free in 24 to 48 months.

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SAM’S TOWN HOTEL & Gambling Hall in Tunica, MS is looking for the next Direct Marketing Pro, is it you? We need someone who has excellent organizational skills, knows Direct Mail and Database Marketing, previous Casino Marketing experience preferred. Must have strong written and oral communication skills and the ability to meet deadlines in the fast paced casino environment, proficient in Microsoft Office, CMS and LMS. Must be able to obtain and maintain a MS Gaming Commission Work Permit, pass a prescreening including but not limited to background and drug screen. To apply, log on to boydcareers.com and follow the prompts to Tunica. Boyd Gaming

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Engineering GLOBAL SPECIALIST Tissue Systems needed at Buckman Laboratories in Memphis, TN. Must have Bach. degree in Pulp/Paper, Chemical Eng., Chemistry or Biology & 4 yrs of chemical tissue sales exp., including: Multiple structured tissue technologies; Mill Production: Planning & running pilot machine trials, product trial dev., production planning, shift operations; Mentoring/Training engineers in production setting; Planning & leading Yankee creping/coating chemistry evals on all varieties of Structured Tissue machines; & development, direction & implementation of strategic initiatives for global tissue mktg incl. directing R&D initiatives in polymer cased chemistries to yankee coating. Must be available for long-term assignment at Buckman customer facilities or customer sites globally.

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Professional/ Management SHAREPOINT ANALYST I needed at International Paper in Memphis, TN. Must have a Bachelor’s in Engineering, Comp.

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THE LAST WORD by Maya Smith

Equally Educated?

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Richland, a 67 percent white and 18 percent black elementary school that sits in the third-most affluent neighborhood in Memphis, is getting a $4 million renovation.

The East Memphis school is slated to get a new gym and two-story classroom building by next fall to replace the school’s portable buildings. Because apparently, classrooms in portables just won’t cut it for the kiddos at Richland.

That’s all fine and good, but having to go to class in portables is not the worst thing in the world. What about the other schools in some of the city’s lower-income neighborhoods that lack more basic necessities — like teachers and other personnel, supplies, and equipment?

What about the 43 schools in Memphis that are in the lowestperforming 5 percent of schools in the state?

Not having doors on all the bathroom stalls, a current problem at KIPP Academy in North Memphis, seems like it would be a higher priority for school board members than a school having to hold a couple of classes in portables — especially at a school that is already ranked the 10th-best elementary school in the state. Doors on bathroom stalls are a standard privacy need, and privacy is a basic human right. A Basic. Human. Right.

Just as disconcerting is the situation at Booker T. Washington High School, where students went nearly the entirety of last school year without a chemistry teacher, at a school where 96 percent of students are black and 99 percent are “economically disadvantaged,” according to Shelby County Schools (SCS). Instead, for the majority of the year, the students were taught a complicated subject by a substitute teacher with no teaching license or background in chemistry.

So, when it came time for the state chemistry test last year, it’s no surprise that 92 percent of the 65 students there who took the test scored in the lowest percentile.

Quite frankly, that’s not fair at all. From the start, they didn’t even have the chance to perform as well as their counterparts at other schools in higher-income neighborhoods.

Currently, only 39 percent of third-graders in Memphis are proficient in reading; by seventh grade, that percentage decreases to 38. That’s an issue.

Although this can’t be completely attributed to the school board, perhaps instead of SCS focusing on building state-of-the-art gyms and classrooms for elementary school kids, they should invest equally in every school, to ensure that each has at least the fundamental essentials for students to adequately learn.

It would seem to be common sense that schools need welltrained teachers who are invested in their students’ learning.

Schools need textbooks. And schools need doors on the bathroom stalls, running water, and clean classrooms.

If you were the coach of a basketball team in a developmental league, would you spend limited resources training the few star players who are already scoring 20 points a game, or would you use those resources to develop the less-skilled players who have not yet reached their full potential?

It’s the same for schools. It’s only fair that every school gets an equal amount of proper attention and care to help level the playing field for all students. It all goes back to the claim of “liberty and justice for all” — words of a pledge that most students are strongly “encouraged” to recite every day. True liberty, justice, and equality for all would mean that every child in Memphis has access to a quality education, no matter where they grow up or where their neighborhood school happens to be.

This issue is not isolated to Memphis. Nationwide, 67 percent of third-graders are not reading at proficiency levels. More than 80 percent of those third-graders are from low-income families.

If the problem goes unchecked, efforts to end intergenerational poverty, close the achievement gap, reduce high school dropout rates, and increase college enrollment are undermined.

If something is not done about the disparity in facilities and personnel present across the county’s school system, and in systems throughout the country, then how can we expect all students to thrive in school and have equal opportunities of success in the future?

The short answer is: We can’t.

Maya Smith is a Flyer staff writer.

THE LAST WORD

SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOLS

The playing field at our schools must be leveled if all students are to thrive.

39

MINGLEWOOD HALL

JUST ANNOUNCED: Lyfe Jennings [2/9] Jeezy [3/16] 12/15: NXT Live!

12/16: Lucero Family Christmas w/ Cedric Burnside 12/22: 21 Savage W/ NBAYoungBoy 1/20: V3Fights 3/3: Wild N’ Memphis 3/15: SuicideGirls Blackheart Burlesque 4/18: Nightwish

CELEBRATING 75 YEARS JUST ANNOUNCED:

Sun April 29- Parkway Drive UPCOMING SHOWS:

Sat Dec 16 - Daisyland w/ Figure and Midnight Tyrannosaurus Fri Dec 22 - The Prince Experience Sun Dec 31 - Daisyland NYE Blackout w/ BT Sun Jan 14 - The Wailers Fri Jan 19 - Greensky Bluegrass Sat Jan 20 - The Eric Gales Band: The Resurrection Reunion Tue Jan 23 - Daisyland XL w/ Datsik, Space Jesus, Riot Ten, Wooli Thu Feb 1 - August Burns Red w/ Born of Osiris, Erra, Ocean Grove Tue Feb 6 - Y&T Tue Feb 13 - Daisyland w/ Excision: The Paradox 2018 Tue Feb 20 - AJR Thu Mar 1 - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Fri Mar 2 - The SteelDrivers Sat Mar 3 - Beth Hart Thu Mar 29 - Ty Dolla $ign Wed April 4 - Big K.R.I.T. Thu April 5 - Dweezil Zappa Sun May 13 - Jimmy Eat World NEW DAISY THEATRE | 330 Beale St Memphis 901.525.8981 • Advance Tickets available at NewDaisy.com and Box Office

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YOUNGAVENUEDELI.COM 2119 Young Ave • 278-0034

12/13: $3 Pint Night!

12/14: Memphis Trivia League!

12/19: Ballast Point Victory at Sea Celebration 12/22: Ghost Town Blues Band 12/30: UFC 219 Chris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm 12/31: NEW YEAR”S EVE w/ Spaceface Kitchen Open Late! Now Delivering All Day! 278-0034 (limited delivery area)

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STONEWALL COUNSELING

David Joslin, LCSW, LAPSW. 26+ years exp new to Memphis now accepting clients Case Management, general counseling, LGBTQIA issues, male survivors of child/sexual abuse. Credit cards accepted.

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GROWLERS

1911 Poplar | 901growlers.com 12/13 - Bearly Funny feat Dan Frigolette 12/14 - The March Divide 12/15 - ‘68 w/ Whores., Alistair Hennessey, Onus, Precursive 12/16 - Toys For Tots feat Blood Like With & With Bravado 12/17- Toys For Tots Hip-Hop Toy Drive 12/27- Eyehategod w/ Pressed & Dawn Patrol 12/31- The Schwag 1/12- Ron Gallo 1/24- Red Fang 2/4- Declan McKenna 2/5- Marco Benevento 3/2- Kofi Baker’s Cream Experience

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JESSE & THE TWO SHOTS OF TEQUILA BAND

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GONER RECORDS New/ Used LPs, 45s & CDs. We Buy Records!

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ACOUSTIC SUNDAY LIVE! THREE WOMEN AND THE TRUTH

featuring: Gretchen Peters, Kathy Mattea and Mary Gauthier with very special guest Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Recipient TOM PAXTON, with the Don Juans.

Sun, Dec. 17, 2017 - 7pm (doors open at 6:15).

Halloran Centre for Performing Arts 225 S. Main St. Memphis, TN 38103 Tickets visit orpheum-memphis.com or call 901.525.3000.

TUT-UNCOMMON ANTIQUES 421 N. Watkins St. 278-8965 1500 sq. ft. of Vintage & Antique Jewelry. Retro Furniture and Accessories. Original Paintings, Sculpture, Pottery, Art & Antiques. We are the only store in the Mid-South that replaces stones in costume jewelry.

BOOK REPAIR

Have an old book or bible that needs repair?

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12/15 - Mark Edgar Stuart, 8p 12/16 - Objekt 12 12/20 - Dale Watson and his Lone Stars w/Austin’s Honky Tonk Horn Section, 9p 12/23 - Snowglobe Holiday Show w/opening act, 8p 12/27 - Live Band Karaoke w/Public Record, 7p 12/29 - The Showboats, 8p Graham Winchester & The Ammunition, 10p.

12/30 - All day, Old Dominick, Liberty Bowl Railgating, 11a.

12/30 - Juke Joint Duo w/Cedric Burnside & Lightenin’ Malcolm, 8p 12/31 - NYE “Free For All” spons. by Old Dominick Southern Ave., Star & Micey,

I Buy Old Windup Phonographs & Records Esp. on labels: Gennett, Paramount, Vocalion, QRS, Superior, Supertone, Champion, OKeh, Perfect, Romeo, Sun, Meteor, Flip; many others.

Also large quantities of older 45’s.

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MEMPHIS ARTS COLLECTIVE HOLIDAY ARTIST MARKET Nov. 24 - Dec. 24 • 1501 Union Ave (near Kimbrough Towers) Annual Solstice Party, Sat. Dec. 16 from 6-9 pm, music by the Sidestreet Steppers.

Store Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30-6:30; Fri til 7:00, Sun 12-5.

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