March-April 2015

COOKING IN THE HOOD :

S H R I M P & G R I T S | T E N N 16

MARCH | APRIL VOL. V ISSUE 4

Steelism is building music for the future on a solid foundation

Know Your Neighbors:

Scott Stone + Alison Egerton

Julie Sola

makes the stars shine from Kanye to KISS

Artist in Profile

Ashshahid Muhammad

Charlie McCoy & The Escorts How they ushered in a new Music City March | April 2015

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PUBLISHER Lisa McCauley EDITOR Chuck Allen ASSOCIATE EDITOR Daryl Sanders CALENDAR EDITOR Emma Alford EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Danielle Dietze CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Roy Agee, Emma Alford, Skip Anderson, Ellen Mallernee Barnes, Timothy C. Davis, Randy Fox, James Haggerty, Eric Jans, Nicole Keiper, Lockeland Springsteen, Daryl Sanders, Brett A. Withers, Tommy Womack CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chuck Allen DESIGN DIRECTOR Benjamin Rumble ADVERTISING DESIGN Benjamin Rumble

ILLUSTRATIONS Danielle Dietze, Benjamin Rumble, Dean Tomasek

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Stacie Huckeba

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Cardaciotto, Angelina Castillo, Eric England, Tina Gionis SOCIAL MEDIA Ellen Mallernee Barnes, Danielle Dietz, Nicole Keiper

Kitchen

Table Media Company Est.2010

ADVERTISING SALES Lisa McCauley lisa@theeastnashvillian.com 615.582.4187 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jaime Brousse, Nikkole Turner INTERN Victoria Clodfelter

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©2014 Kitchen Table Media P.O. Box 60157 Nashville, TN 37206 The East Nashvillian is a bi-monthly magazine published by Kitchen Table Media. This publication is offered freely, limited to one per reader. The removal of more than one copy by an individual from any of our distribution points constitutes theft and will be subject to prosecution. All editorial and photographic materials contained herein are “works for hire” and are the exclusive property of Kitchen Table Media unless otherwise noted. Reprints or any other usage is a violation of copyright without the express written permission of the publisher.

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Your Nashville Symphony | Live at the schermerhorn

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COVER

FEATURES

32 CHARACTER CONSTRUCTION

42 ESCORTS TO HISTORY

How Charlie McCoy & The Escorts ushered in a new Music City

Steelism is building music for the future on a solid foundation

By Daryl Sanders

By Randy Fox

52 THE DRESSER

From Kanye to KISS, East Nashville artist Julie Sola makes the stars shine

By Skip Anderson

ON THE COVER STEELISM

Photograph by Chuck Allen

Visit

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM for updates, news, events and more!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

March | April 2015

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EAST SIDE BUZZ

IN THE KNOW

15 Matters of Development

41 Know Your Neighbor: Alison Egerton

15 Zoning, Zoning, Zoned

61 Know Your Neighbor: Scott Stone

By Eric Jans

By Ellen Mallernee Barnes

By Brett Withers

By Ellen Mallernee Barnes

COMMENTARY

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65 East Side Calendar

By Emma Alford

Editor’s Letter

AUXILIARY

By Chuck Allen

20 Astute Observations

63 Cookin’ in the Hood

96 East of Normal

92 Thud Thunder Comic Strip

By James “Hags” Haggerty

By Timothy C. Davis

By Tommy Womack

By Danielle Dietze

95 Miss Royanne

IN THE KNOW

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Nashville Five: Lilly Hiatt

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Artist in Profile: Ashshahid Muhammad

By Miss Royanne

By Lockeland Springsteen

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by Randy Fox

Visit

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM for updates, news, events and more!

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CONTINUED

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

Parting Shot: Dave Cloud

March | April 2015

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EDITOR’S LETTER

W

Requiescence

henever a dear friend steps onto the bus for the great gig in the sky, the introspective part of my psyche embarks on a period of reflection. Reflection upon not just the life of my friend, but what he meant to me, and me to him.

Dave Bliss Cloud was my friend. He wasn’t an East Nashvillian — he was a lifelong resident of the Hillsboro Village neighborhood. But he embodied what most would agree is a quintessential quality of East Nashvillians — Dave Cloud was one of a kind.

The notoriety he found in the last decade or so of his life was thrilling to Dave. He loved it. He would have loved the issue of the Nashville Scene that hit the streets the day after his funeral — the one with him gracing the cover. He’d be beaming with pride, making the most of it while playing it down. It wasn’t always that way, his cult status.

I first met Dave in 1980. Or was it ’81? He’d remember — his memory was insanely accurate. I’m not sure if it was a chance encounter or if legendary local deejay Hunter Harvey introduced us. Either way, Dave and I hit it off immediately. An early conversation revolved around the finer points of Stelazine versus Thorazine, which are heavy-duty psychotropics Dave was taking. He struggled with mental illness for much of his life, which didn’t diminish him one iota. In fact, it was Dave’s unequaled generosity of spirit, coupled with the depth of his love for others that allowed him to lead an incredibly rich and productive life in spite of his illness.

How he presented this to other people he knew, I don’t know, but he made no bones about it to me. And that was that. I didn’t care, but I saw how other people reacted to him and treated him, and it was occasionally heartbreaking. He never let it show to me, but knowing how desperately he wanted to be loved, I know it affected him. It should be said, however, that Dave’s desire to be loved was overshadowed by his ability to love.

Dave’s love was unconditional. If you were his friend — which automatically meant that he loved you — then that was it. No judgment.

No agenda. No expectations. No nothing. You were his friend and that was all that mattered.

Particularly fond memories surround the times Dave, Hunter, and I spent together. There was always something afoot when the two of them were around, and it was usually spontaneous and surreal. They taught me how to not think too much; that life was much more nonlinear than meets the eye. They affirmed what I’d always suspected — that joy doesn’t come from possessing things, and that life is art. They were unselfconscious and iconoclastic. I’m not sure if God makes people like that anymore, and if he does, they’re probably drugged into some societal idea of normalcy.

I

only got to play one show with Dave. Somewhere back in the early ’80s, I had a girlfriend attending Vanderbilt Law School whose roommate was chair of the Law School social committee. They asked if I could provide the entertainment for the Halloween dance, and, since there was a lot of money involved, I said, “Sure!” At that point, I’m not certain I’d even heard Dave sing, but I asked if he wanted to do the show, and he said, “Sure!” Jerry Dale McFadden somehow got roped in on piano — it turned out to be the first live show in Nashville for each of them. Along with Todd Gatewood on bass, we formed the legendary Big

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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

Red Rooster & The Cocks. Luckily I’d just moved an upright piano into the spare room of my apartment, so we were good to go for rehearsals.

Three days before the show, we had four songs down, with parts of 10 or so others kinda, sorta down, and an obligation to play three 45-minute sets. I was mortified, but no one else seemed worried. Sons of Zevon we weren’t. By the night of the show, we were ready to rock with about 15 minutes worth of material. The dance was being held at the Peabody recital hall, the building with the round dome visible throughout Hillsboro Village. Prior to the show, some unsuspecting sorority type approached me and said, “I hope you guys aren’t too loud. The band that played last year was too loud.” I looked her squarely in the eyes and said, “Honey, that should be the least of your worries.”

Meanwhile, Dave was backstage regaling the boys with stories about the psychic implications of quantum physics, and everyone was laughing so hard concerns about only knowing four songs soon evaporated. So we took to the stage in front of 300-or-so law students and their dates, all in full Halloween regalia, and broke into “Wild Thing.” Time passed quickly, but I do remember looking up and noticing the entire crowd was standing against the far wall, as far away as they could possibly get … from us.

That disconcerting image troubled me slightly during our first intermission, but it seemed to have enlivened Dave, for during the next set he pulled out all the stops. I no longer noticed the crowd, because all the action was on the stage. Dave began writhing on the floor, fellating the mic, sticking the mic down his pants, and taunting the crowd. This seemed to inspire Jerry Dale. His piano was practically inaudible through the din of the band, so he was walking across the keyboard in his cowboy boots and generally behaving like Little Richard on a bad acid trip.

Somewhere into our third set, during our fourth or fifth or maybe sixth rendition of “Wild Thing,” the entire room seemed to have been teleported into another dimension. By that point, the crowd was packed up against the stage, all eyes glued on Dave, writhing and jerking right along with him in some kind of primordial dance of ecstasy. To say it was surreal would be an understatement, and I’ve never experienced anything quite like it since.

Backstage after the final set, we were laughing and wondering how the hell we’d just pulled that one off, when the same girl who was worried about us being too loud came into the room and said, “You guys were amazing! Please, please do one more.” We all looked at each other, and without missing a beat, said in unison, “Wild Thing?”

B

y the end of the ’90s, Hunter had moved to Asheville, N.C., and I was trying to be a grownup. I’m pretty sure I failed at being a grownup, because that was never really a goal of mine to begin with. Dave just kept being Dave. One of coolest things about him was he was always himself.

For the last 15 years or so, Matt Swanson, the extraordinary bass player from Lambchop, curated Dave’s musical life through the vehicle of Dave Cloud & The Gospel of Power. Thanks to Matt’s ability to (sort of) corral him and pull things together, Dave eventually began making records. He even toured Europe a couple of times. Matt told me recently “Dave’s my Iggy.” I get that, because Dave was totally a punk rock original.

March | April 2015

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EAST SIDE BUZZ

FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, AS WELL AS LINKS PLEASE VISIT US AT: THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM

Matters of Development THE GROUND FLOOR of Christian Paro’s development at 626 Main Street will be the new home of The Family Wash. Freshly laundered and purpose built for Jamie Rubin and company, the space will accommodate a larger crowd as well as a bigger stage. For its second act, The Wash will be a new venture

that also includes Mitchell Fox, Executive Chef John Stephenson (formerly of Fido), and Garage Coffee’s Robert Camardo. They will be rolling out more information about the new digs

throughout the lead up to a hoped-for late spring/early summer grand opening.

It appears Fat Bottom Brewery will be exiting the neighborhood. Owner Ben Bredeson wants to expand his operation and cites the prohibitive cost of building in East Nashville as the primary reason for relocating outside of the area. Another neighborhood favorite, Nicholson’s Cleaners, was recently sold locally to the firm that operates Harpeth Cleaners, among other dry cleaning services both in Nashville and Atlanta.

As the new owner, Ken Roth will maintain the services offered currently at Nicholson’s while adding additional ones.

Owners Brenda and Dan Cook of the event space Rudy near Hillsboro Village recently purchased Riverside Church of Christ at 1530 Riverside Dr. Their plan for the building is an “upscale boutique event space” that will be christened Haesel Hall.

A new entertainment complex is being proposed on the east bank of the Cumberland. TopGolf, based in Dallas, Texas, wishes to have 22 acres at the northwest corner of Cowan and Spring streets rezoned to accommodate it’s unique brand of a golf and entertainment complex. Part driving range, part sports bar and part restaurant, TopGolf patrons hit golf balls at targets on a range similar to a dartboard.

They currently have 13 locations in the U.S. and three near London. Each locations hire an average of 450 employees.

Nearby, on the west side of Cowan Street and north of Cowan Court a 60-acre development — tentatively called The North End — is in the planning stages. The development would include 2,000

March | April 2015

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EAST SIDE BUZZ residential units and more than 1.5 million square feet of offices.

Local Honey salon is opening their second location in Nashville at 519 Gallatin Ave., near Barista Parlor. Around the corner in the same building are two new boutiques: Sisters of Nature and Moto Moda.

Next to Marche, in the former Nuvo Burrito spot at 1000 Main Street, will be a new bar called Duke’s.

Hound Dog Commons, described as a community space with a dog park, café, bar and live music, has plans to join the Highland Heights neighborhood at 1301 Meridian St. The parcel next to 5 & Main, between Yeaman Place at N 6 St., is slated for development. St. Clair Holdings out of Atlanta has plans for a 268-unit apartment complex, which will be called the Stacks on Main. The developer is responsible for the first LEED Gold certification of a commercial building in the Southeast, and, although they won’t be attempting LEED status with this project, their plan is to apply the environmentally sound construction techniques they learned during that LEED certification process to this project. Managing Principle Colin Cavill describes the approach as “practical green.” He hopes the development can provide a “well

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priced opportunity as compared with some of the other high-profile alternatives [in the area].” Cavill also says they will “activate the streetscape” along Main Street by locating amenity and retail spaces on the ground floor.

Other notable features include a rooftop terrace, saltwater pool, paperless office space, and a dog spa. They hope to have local entrepreneurs involved with the retail and amenity spaces, and will have a concierge (think Julie McCoy on “The Love Boat”). The construction timeline calls for estimated completion by spring 2016.

—Eric Jans

Zoning, Zoning, Zoned

THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 2015 SAW the conclusion of lengthy deliberations about zoning ordinances that were generally supported but whose details needed further study prior to finalization.

On February 24th, Council Member Burkley Allen (18 - Hillsboro Village) passed two companion ordinances that officially legalized Short-Term Rental Properties (STRPs), such as AirBnB and VRBO, in Nashville. CM Allen had been working on drafting those ordinances with input from residents, hosts, Metro departments, and state and other legal agencies

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

for approximately two years. Eventually, CM Allen’s efforts led to two separate ordinances that addressed different aspects of legalizing STRPs. BL2014-909 amended the Metro zoning code to create Short-Term Rental Property as an accessory use in residential zoning areas so that commercial zoning is not necessary to operate an STRP in most cases. BL2014-951 addressed the Metro Codes safety criteria and the permitting process.

These businesses had been operating in Nashville residential areas for some time and were becoming increasingly popular, particularly in East Nashville. At the same time, past efforts to pass ordinances permitting businesses to operate in residentially zoned areas — including recording studios — had never passed Metro Council. Therefore, many in Nashville remained skeptical about whether this effort would be successful.

In East Nashville, Lockeland Springs Neighborhood Association president Elizabeth Smith helped to coordinate participation from neighbors and hosts in CM Allen’s process of drafting and passing these ordinances. As a result of Elizabeth Smiths efforts, East Nashville’s embrace of STRPs was communicated to the Planning Commission and Metro Council and those expressions

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EAST SIDE BUZZ of support helped to convince many Metro Council members to support the ordinance — many of whom represent other parts of the county where STRPs are not as popular or where there is much stronger opposition to businesses of any kind operating in residential neighborhoods.

The fact that Nashville embraced the legal codification of STRPs made national news, as several other major cities across the country

have passed laws to ban or limit their uses.

CM Allen’s outreach efforts to obtain feedback and to research questions about the legislation earned high praise from other Metro Council members. Expressions of support from many East Nashvillians convinced skeptics that it is possible for communities and civic leaders to achieve an equitable consensus as new zoning issues and guidelines emerge during this period of explosive growth in our city.

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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

Another example of East Nashvillians working to pass legislation to meet our community’s needs occurred when District 5 Council Member Scott Davis passed a Specific Plan (SP) zone change that permitted Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs, also often called mother-in-law apartments) in single-family zoning areas in Cleveland Park and parts of McFerrin Park.

Last years DADU infill housing ordinance (BL2014-769) that legalized DADUs outside of historic districts had encountered opposition from several Metro Council members whose constituents expressed concerns about increasing density in single-family residential neighborhoods. As a result of that Council opposition, CM Walter Hunt (3) amended the ordinance to limit DADUs to R-zoned areas, which allow single- or two-family homes on one lot, and specifically to exclude them from RS-zoned areas, which permit only single-family zoning. That exclusion of DADUs from RS-zoned areas was a condition of support from many Metro Council members in order to obtain the votes necessary to pass the ordinance.

In East Nashville, McFerrin Park neighborhood leader Dane Forlines championed DADUs as a means of providing small, relatively affordable apartments in the rear yards of houses without changing his neighborhoods character. While changing an area from RS (single-family) zoning to R (singleor two-family) zoning would have permitted DADUs in the McFerrin and Cleveland Park area, that zone change would also have opened the area to the increased demolition and duplex construction R-zoned East Nashville neighborhoods are experiencing.

In searching for a strategy to permit DADUs without also permitting duplexes, District 5 Council Member Scott Davis proposed a Specific Plan (SP) zoning area for Cleveland Park and parts of McFerrin Park that permits DADUs as defined in last years DADU ordinance (BL2014-769) while leaving the single-family base zoning in tact. This ordinance received mostly positive commentary at the Planning Commission and Metro Council public hearings and was finalized on February 3.

—Brett Withers

Several noteworthy East Nashville zone change requests are not yet finalized as of press time. The East Nashvillian encourages readers to follow the status of these requests on our blog.

March | April 2015

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Astute OBSERVATIONS James “Hags” Haggerty

H

The Once & Future ‘Wash’

ello again, my dear readers. I hope this issue finds you well and thawing out from some of the ridiculously cold temperatures that are going on outside my living room window as I write this. I’m iced in, coffee-ed up, and have something on my mind.

By the time you read this, the current location of The Family Wash will be closed. Don’t fear — it will reopen in a new space on Main Street as quickly as possible. But I can’t lie about it — I’m bumming a little.

In the years since it opened in 2002, proprietor Jamie Rubin has managed to create the coolest neighborhood bar in America right on the corner of Porter and Greenwood. It’s a bar, a venue, and a restaurant. It is all of these things and so much more. It’s a place that is built on creativity. One could say it’s a community center with cold beer and comfort food; our very own Regal Beagle, if you will. Weddings, birthday parties, church services, memorials — The Wash has hosted them all.

Jamie’s welcoming spirit, easy laugh, and never-ending enthusiasm are the ingredients that make The Family Wash what it is. He and his staff are responsible for its mellow magnificence. Each and every one of them bring something special to the table (pun intended).

As you know, I’m a bass player. I don’t know how many gigs I’ve played at The Wash, but it’s a lot. I ate a Shepherd’s Pie after each one, and every pie was great. As I think back over all those gigs, a few stand out that I’d like to share with you: • Like the night I brought moonshine to a Keith Gattis gig (at his request). The jug made several passes around the stage, and by the end of the night, we’d become Pink Floyd, Waylon Jennings, and AC/DC all rolled into one. I swear it was really good — both the music and the ’shine.

• Or how about The Ornaments’ shows. Wow, what an honor and a pleasure to play Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas every year and celebrate the holiday

spirit with so many people. In a word — joy! It’s just one of the many traditions at The Family Wash.

• Then there was the night I joined former bandmates Joe and Marc Pisapia for an impromptu set of Joe, Marc’s Brother tunes. Who made this happen? Jamie.

• During one of many amazing Sons of Zevon gigs, I will always remember with laughter singing Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever” and reciting his opening monologue to “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” from the classic, Double Live Gonzo! Mom would be so proud.

• And how can I forget playing with Reeves Gabrels — The Cure’s freakin’ guitar player — and Jamie? I couldn’t keep up! Or what about the Monday night residency with The Jack Silverman Ordeal? I’m still trying to keep up.

The Wash is also fertile ground for dreaming up music projects. Case in point: The night that Audley Freed, Jen Gunderman, Joe and Marc Pisapia, and I cooked up the concept for “Breezy Point,” a project focusing on the Yacht Rock genre. We haven’t performed yet, but the set list exists on several Family Wash guest checks torn from a pad. It’s an amazing set list. We want to play the General Jackson.

I have a band called Hags-A-Nova. We play Bossa Nova music, which I love. Jamie and I were talking about this one night, and he said, “You should do it.” So I put a band of great musicians and singers together, and we did our first show at The Wash in 2005. That band exists because of Jamie.

I could go on forever, but I’m running out of space. All I really want to say is, “Thank You!” to Jamie Rubin and The Family Wash staff for providing such a wonderful place for so many years. I think I can speak for all of Nashville when I say we look forward to many, many more at your new location.

Hags is a part-time bon vivant, man-about-town, and contributor to The East Nashvillian His full-time gig is anchoring the low-end as a bass player.

While awaiting the return of The Family Wash, he plans to catch up on his laundry.

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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

VENN DIAGRAM DEPICTING T YPES OF AGENCIES

Fig. 5

Creative

Unicorn

Geek

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Mermaid

Sasquatch

Strategist

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March | April 2015

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM

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Nashville Five: LILLY HIATT

I

t’s never easy to follow in the footsteps of a famous father, but Lilly Hiatt, daughter of John Hiatt, makes stunning music, familial connections or not. With a new album, Royal

Blue, out now, the East Nashvillian takes the darker moments of life and coats them with a bittersweet gloss; showing the complex corners of emotion and sweeping an acidic, unique eye over the usual

singer-songwriter wares. For her Nashville Five, Hiatt takes us through the places, sounds and tastes that shape her experience – and the dance party where she lets it all hang loose. —Team L/S

MANSFIELD STREET This is the first spot I landed when I moved to the East Side, and is such a happening little street. I love that it’s right by 5 points, yet remains tucked away. I have made many friends just sitting on my porch on Mansfield Street. There are families, musicians, and my neighbors run a hopping Airbnb. All sorts of people are walking up and down the sidewalk, and it’s a great place to feel like a part of something.

ROTIER’S RESTAURANT Amidst all the change in Nashville, this little gem has remained consistently the same. And the waiting staff is the sweetest in town.

HEADQUARTERS COFFEE

I recently attended QDP and was warmed by the open armed vibe and enthusiastic crowd. Not a bit of pretentiousness in the air, just happy folks of all colors, sizes, and sexualities crushing it on the dance floor.

J

This is my favorite coffee shop in town. It’s tiny, friendly, no frills, and has wonderful coffee. The owners, James and Louisa Green, are salt of the Earth type people, and I feel like I could go in sweats and no one would give me a dirty look. You can come as you are here, and leave with a great caffeine buzz.

J

BULLY

Angelina Castillo

The fact that bands like Bully are coming out of Nashville speaks volumes of the musical diversity that the town has to offer. Though it’s always been rooted in country music, everything is happening here.

They are feisty and fun and remind me of all the ‘90s music I grewJ up on.

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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM | April Nashville 2015 CheckMarch out more Five’s at lockelandspringsteen.com

Lilly Hiatt photographed by Chuck Allen

J

QUEER DANCE PARTY

March | April 2015

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Artist in Profile

Ashshahid Muhammad Being the Sun Nashville artist ASHSHAHID MUHAMMAD traveled a long and dangerous road to find his ‘natural place’ “I met this older Muslim,” Ashshahid Muhammad says. “He gave me a good example of what a Muslim should be. He said if you look at the moon or the sun, that’s a true Muslim.

The moon and the sun never get out of their natural place. They never refuse to be what they were created to be. The sun never misses a beat.

It always rises on time and always sets on time.”

The road to Muhammad’s discovery of his “natural place” as an artist and his fealty to his true nature was a long and perilous journey. A native of Memphis, Muhammad grew up in the Bluff City’s poorest and roughest neighborhoods, surrounded by crushing poverty and the dangerous life of the streets. “I would go back and forth to school, and every day I saw gangs, people selling drugs, and prostitutes,” he says.

“I didn’t know what they were doing, but I was curious. It seemed to me everybody worshipped the drug dealers. I would see guys 10 years old who were selling crack and had brand new

clothes on. So whatever they were doing, that’s what I wanted to be.

“I didn’t like school because I didn’t fit in,” he continues. “I would see other kids whose mother or dad would drive up and drop them off at school, and I didn’t have that. I didn’t know how to read, so when a teacher would have each student read,and it would come to me, I would start a fight or do something to get sent to the office.

I preferred a paddling.

“When I was around 12, my mother was going to nursing school, and she would work the night shift. She would call around 10 o’clock, and I would tell her I was going to bed. My little brother was five years younger than me and real quiet. I would leave him in the house and go out and run the streets. That’s when I started breaking into drink machines, stealing cars, breaking into schools — I was just bad. I was going in and out of juvenile, and I started hanging and sleeping in crack houses and selling crack.”

STORY BY RANDY FOX

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Ashshahid Mohammad photographed at Nossi College of Art by Stacie Huckeba

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Artist in Profile

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uhammad’s crimes quickly escalated and reached a turning point when he became entangled in a failed drug deal and was accused of armed robbery. Convicted at the age of 13, he received an eight-year sentence.

“There was a lot of fighting in juvenile, so it was on lockdown most of the time,” he recalls. “I spent long days in my cell with only my cellmate for company. I learned how to read. My mother brought me magazines and a dictionary, and when I was in my cell with my buddy, if I didn’t know a word, I could ask him. The more I read, the faster I got.”

Muhammad’s time in prison also led to other discoveries. “I started drawing,” he says. “I learned how to sketch. I would sketch things I saw and draw graffiti designs. The Simpsons had just come out, and I loved to draw Bart Simpson and his family.”

In addition to his passion for art, Muhammad embarked on a spiritual journey of discovery. “My mother was a Christian,” he says, “but parts of my family were Muslim. When I was little, I didn’t like going to church, but I would go if I was staying with my grandmother. If I was staying with my uncle, I would go to mosque. My mother would read the Bible and the Koran, and she always said you should be open-minded. When I went to jail, I had a Bible and a Koran, and I read both.

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I just try to give back because God saved me to share with people and help people.

“When I was about 17 and a half, they moved me from juvenile to general population. It was different. It was serious. I hung around Muslims and went to mosque. I wanted to talk it, but I didn’t want to walk it, and there were times when I would lose interest. In jail, you can’t be yourself. You can’t show weakness. You put these walls up and don’t let nobody in.”

Paroled in 1995 at the age of 19, Muhammad left jail with the desire to do the right thing, but the reality of the outside world was a challenge. “When I got out of jail, I said to myself, ‘No matter what, I’m going to go to school, get a job and do this and do that,’” he says. “I went back to my momma’s house and everything was different. She was working as a nurse. I remember sitting at the table with my mother and my brother, and I was crying. I didn’t know what to say to them. When I went in, my friends were riding bikes and skateboards; when I got out, my friends had cars and apartments and babies.”

Within weeks, Muhammad had fallen in with old friends and returned to street life — dealing in cocaine and crack. In a matter of months, he was moving up the ladder of dealers, and enjoying the money, cars, clothes, and prestige that came with that, while

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Graffiti Pre-school Comcs courtesy Ashshahid Muhammad March | April 2015

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Artist in Profile ignoring the dangers, even after competing dealers and gang members began to target him.

“I was so blind I didn’t see that I had my momma’s life in danger,” he says. “I had thousands and thousands of dollars stashed in her home. They shot up her house. I wasn’t there, but her and my brother were hiding under the bed.” The violence caught up with Muhammad on May 25, 1997, when he stopped at a neighborhood convenience store for some beer and members of a rival gang pulled up beside his SUV. “They shot seven or eight times, and then they pulled off,” Muhammad says. “My friend’s window was down. They shot and hit him, and they hit me. My friend fell, and he was covered in blood. I remember trying to wipe the blood off the window. I grabbed my gun, and I threw it because I knew the police were coming. I fell on the ground, and all I was saying was, ‘God, don’t let me die.’ I heard the music playing, but I also heard something saying to me, ‘I got you.’ I remember saying to God, ‘If you get me out of this, I’m done.’” Both Muhammad and his friend survived multiple gunshot wounds, but their injuries had changed everything.

“I remember going home, unwrapping my bandages, and there was nothing there,” he says. “My eye was gone. All the cars, the clothes, the money, the dope — I couldn’t take all of that and get my eye back.

“I started smoking crack and shooting heroin. I had smoked weed and drank, but I never did the harder drugs. When my friend got out of the hospital, I hadn’t seen him in six months. All my other friends were saying he was cool, meaning he was still alive. But when I finally saw him, he was in a wheel chair, he was blind in one eye, he couldn’t move one arm and he was crippled.

He had been a good basketball player. He wasn’t no bad dude. All he had talked about was going to pro.”

Muhammad’s drug use soon led to homelessness and a downward spiral of petty crimes to stay alive and supply his habits. He eventually left Memphis and began traveling the U.S., jumping freight trains or sneaking onto cross-country buses.

“I was living on the streets,” he says, “sleeping on benches in parks or by churches in downtown areas because they are safe. I didn’t shave. I didn’t take baths. I got locked up all the time. I was in psych wards, and I once got locked up on Ryker’s Island for two weeks on a minor charge. I was running all the time. I went to New York, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., Philly, and more.

I didn’t realize I was just running.” Although Muhammad didn’t know what he was running from, he eventually discovered a goal to run toward.

“When I started traveling, I saw artists,” he says. “In New York at the Port Authority, there were a whole lot of artists lined up — drawing, painting, hustling their work. I was like, man, this is what I need to do. I had found an identity. I was an artist.

“I started hanging around artists and I would draw and draw and draw. I would get 45 days or whatever and that’s how I spent my time — drawing, because my mind was free. People would see my drawings and say, ‘Why are you locked up? What’s wrong with you?’ I wouldn’t tell them I was on crack; that I was caught up in a living hell.

“I became known for this art bag I carried that had hundreds of pictures that I drew. I would get sober for six or seven months, but I would go back to doing dumb stuff. I would say, ‘When I get out this time, I ain’t going to do no drugs,’ and then as soon as they would let me out, I’d go get high, and all the art I drew would be in some bushes somewhere.”

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“ Artist in Profile

I have a responsibility to show others what a true Muslim is.

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or over a decade, Muhammad found himself locked in a cycle of sobriety and addiction, artistic ambitions and homeless destitution. In 2011, after countless scrapes with the law, short jail sentences, and wandering across the U.S., he found his way to Nashville’s Room in the Inn shelter.

“I joined the program at Room at the Inn,” he says. “I said everything that sounds good, like all the rest of the rehabs — I want to go to school, get my GED, and go to college, but I saw the love there. They had all these resources. You could really come up there.”

“I had never been sober over 15 months,” he says. “I had to look myself in a mirror and say, ‘You’re a coward.’ I was running from life.

I was spending all my money getting high and jumping trains to run from life. I kept reliving the moment I was shot. I kept saying if only I had ducked, and I had to learn to let that go. It happened and nothing could change that.”

After enrolling in Tennessee College of Applied Technology’s adult-education GED preparation program, Muhammad secured his GED and then applied for the Nossi College of Art’s Adult Education Scholarship program.

“My mind kept telling me I wouldn’t make it, but I showed up and did my part, and everything followed through,” he says. “When they told me I’d been accepted, I called my momma, and she said, ‘That’s a miracle!’ I’ve been there a year now, and I’m making straight As. People come to me and say I’m an inspiration to them!”

Although most of Muhammad’s work has been in the form of pencil sketches — moments he captures from observations of the world around him, he is now expanding into other media through his classes at Nossi and has self-published his first book. Graffiti Pre-School Comics is the first installment in a series of autobiographical illustrated books.

“It’s a true story to let kids know what happened to me,” Muhammad

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says. “I wanted to make it look like a kid’s book, and as I get older, the art and characters will become more realistic.”

Muhammad’s artwork isn’t the only way he’s trying to share his life story with children who might be at risk of making the same mistakes.

Working with the nonprofit agency Poverty & the Arts, Muhammad regularly visits local schools to talk about art and his experiences.

“We go to different schools, and I bring my portfolio to show,” he explains. “First, I share about my life, and they really get tuned in. A lot of poorer kids think going to jail is cool because they think it will make you tough. We teach and help them draw, and I tell them about my life. I grew up late in life, but it was worth it.” Muhammad also works with Poverty & the Arts to reach out to homeless individuals who have artistic aspirations.

“We meet every Sunday at Turnip Green Creative Reuse — a nonprofit gallery,” he says. “We bring in homeless artists and help them sell their work in the gallery.”

Muhammad currently has work showing at Phat Bites Delicatessen (2730 B Lebanon Pike), and will be opening a show of his work on April 20 at Art History Class Lifestyle Lounge & Gallery (1305 Jefferson Street).

“I love going to school,” Muhammad says. “I love talking to kids. I just try to give back because God saved me to share with people and help people. And not only that, a lot of people don’t know about Islam.

When I tell people my name, I can feel the shift in the way they look at me. The violence and terrorism you see on TV isn’t Islam. I have a responsibility to show others what a true Muslim is.

“I’m an artist,” he adds “It’s what God made me to be. Every day when I go out my door, tears come into my eyes. You always say, ‘I’m gonna do that one day,’ and it never comes; but now I’m doing it.”

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Character

STEELISM IS BUILDING MUSIC FOR Story by By Randy Fox

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Construction THE FUTURE ON A SOLID FOUNDATION Photography by Chuck Allen March | April 2015

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think in the ’60s and ’70s, the session musicians were so much stronger and outspoken in the way they played,” Spencer Cullum, Jr. says in his distinctive East London accent. “Look at Pete Drake with his talk box on Willie Nelson’s version of ‘Hello Walls.’ You wouldn’t be able to get away with that now.”

Cullum and Jeremy Fetzer, his musical collaborator in the band Steelism, are sitting in the living room of Fetzer’s apartment, sipping rye whiskey and engaging in a little music nerdery. As is often the case with any huddle of obsessive music fans, the talk is about classic recordings and the conflict of “now” versus “then.” But in this case, Cullum and Fetzer, both top-notch Nashville session players, share a passion for past musical glories paired with their own firsthand knowledge of the current state of the music business.

Continuing the conversation, Fetzer says, “Or how Kenny Buttrey played drums, no one plays drums funky or groovy like that on sessions now.

They thought outside the box and brought their personalities to their session work.”

“For all those guys, it was about their character,” Cullum adds. “It enhanced their playing.

They were allowed to put their personality into the music. Today you go in to do most sessions and you can feel like you’re just a plug-in. It gets very regimented, especially that country-pop demo sound. I guess that’s the machine that works, but with Steelism we get to create our own character.”

Steelism’s “character” can be heard in all its quirky glory on the duo’s recent full-length debut album, 615 to FAME. Taking a cue from

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blues, pop, country, Latin music. I’m fascinated with how people approached recording studios, their instruments and writing during that period. Culture, technology — everything was just right for music to be at its peak.”

His path eventually led to Nashville and Belmont University’s music business program in 2005. Once in Music City, he fell into a grand Belmont tradition of exchanging real world experience for a sheepskin when Dualtone Records signed his band The Deep Vibration in 2008. The ‘70s-influenced country rock quartet produced just one EP (Veracruz) before going their separate ways, but Fetzer had gained his admittance to the Nashville music and recording scene.

“I started doing freelance guitar work and session work,” he says. “One of my first jobs was Caitlin’s Rose’s album [2010’s Own Side Now].

We toured quite a bit, and I ended up meeting Spencer while on that first tour of the U.K.” Cullum’s road to music was a bit more complicated, especially after he made the decision to move from the standard-issue electric guitar to what is considered a strange and rare beast on the British Isles — the pedal steel guitar.

His obsession began with a song by the Rolling Stones from the classic 1972 album Exile on Main Street.

“I was around 19, still in university,” Cullum says. “I was a long-haired, kid guitarist playing in old East London pubs, and then I heard ‘Torn and Frayed’ that had Al Perkins playing pedal steel on it, and I had to have a steel guitar.” After an extensive search of London music shops, he struck pay dirt.

“It was the shittiest Sho-Bud Maverick you’ve ever seen,” he says. “I had to put books underneath because I was too tall for it. I don’t

all of Elton John’s early records and any British band that wanted to sound country, and I kept finding B.J. Cole’s name,” he recalls. “I went to a show in London that he was playing. I managed to convince him to teach me steel guitar. He put me on to Jimmy Day and Lloyd Green records.

He said don’t worry about your right hand picking, listen to John Hughey [on Conway Twitty’s “(Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date”], how simple it sounds, and how in tune it sounds.

His left hand is so vocal, and the right hand isn’t doing that much.

“He was so persistent about how it doesn’t matter how fast you’re playing, it’s how you hold your bar. He made me practice holding my metal bar for like a year, and I had to walk around with it. I remember getting on the tube with it in my hand. It was kind of creepy really.”

In 2006, Cullum, along with his older brother Jeff, joined the Deadstring Brothers while the Detroit-based country rock outfit was touring in the UK. When the band returned to the States, the Cullum brothers accompanied them for a few months. That experience brought Spencer to Nashville for the first time and gave him a taste of Music City. It was late in 2010 when he went to see Caitlin Rose on her first tour of the U.K. and crossed paths with Fetzer.

“Spencer’s accent was so strong I thought he was kidding when I first met him,” Fetzer says. “He took us all out for drinks, and then he decided he was going to play with us the next night. He knew all the songs, so he joined the band, and we just kept playing together.”

Cullum and Fetzer quickly discovered they had a natural musical affinity — one of those charmed partnerships where two players instinctually operate on the same wavelength, reinforcing and driving their mutual creativity.

”

I was a long-haired, kid guitarist playing in old East London pubs, and then I heard ‘Torn and Frayed’ that had Al Perkins playing pedal steel on it, and I had to have a steel guitar.

classic instrumental combos of the 1960s and ’70s, Cullum and Fetzer created a sound by combining each of their multiple and varied musical influences into fresh and engaging tunes. Although they now travel the same musical path, their journey began on opposite sides of the globe.

Originally from Canton, Ohio, Fetzer followed the usual path for born in the USA guitar players — teenage obsession and high school garage bands. It was a way to channel his passion for the music of the 1960s and ’70s.

“I love that era,” he says, “all genres — soul,

think my parents knew what steel guitar was, but I managed to convince them to lend me the money to buy it.” However, owning a steel guitar was a far cry from taming the beast.

“It was so daunting,” Cullum continues. “I was in my bedroom for months just hacking away at it and sounding terrible. The steel guitar is such a beautiful instrument, but it’s the worst sounding instrument when it’s out of tune. My mum, God bless her, put up with it for six or seven months.”

He finally realized he needed help and a little musical Sherlocking paid off. “I went through

The partnership continued when Cullum officially relocated to Nashville in 2011, and their collaborations soon extended beyond working together as just sidemen or session players.

“When we first met over there, Spencer would act like he was taking a phone call and then say that was his record label calling about his band Steelism,” Fetzer says. “We would joke about his fake band, how he was going to take over the world with instrumentals.”

But the joke didn’t last long as Cullum and Fetzer began transitioning Steelism to “realism.”

In 2012, the pair self-recorded and released →

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Steelism – The Intoxicating Sounds of Pedal Steel and Guitar on the Nashville indie label Theory 8 Records. The five-track EP showcased their love of classic R&B and rock instrumentals, and the pop art film soundtrack scores of composers like Ennio Morricone, John Barry, and Lalo Schifrin.

The pair’s musical synergy continued on Caitlin Rose’s 2013 album, The Stand-In. Although it covered much of the same musical territory occupied by Rose’s first long-player, the interplay between Fetzer’s guitar and Cullum’s steel work pushed the sonic punch of the record to new heights. Their playing displayed a mastery of styles that ranged from the bread & butter groove of country rockers like “I Was Cruel” to the lush, postmodern Nashville Sound pop tapestry of “Golden Boy.” “We loved making that record,” Fetzer says.

“We got an acoustic demo with all the spaces and holes, and we shaped the melodic parts for all the tunes. Then somehow we got a guitar and steel solo into every single song.”

With the collaboration gears running at full speed, the pair decided it was time for Steelism to make its full-length debut. Along with their tour work with Rose, and session work for other artists, they began writing songs and laying down tracks. The album got an extra burst of energy when they got the chance to record at the legendary FAME Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Ala. “We started recording tracks in Nashville,” Fetzer says, “and then we hooked up with Single Lock Records which is Ben Tanner, John Paul White, and Will Trapp. Ben used to work at FAME, so he had a connection. As soon as we found that out, we put the pressure on him. It was great to get out of Nashville to record. You can totally concentrate on the music. You don’t have to worry about being home for dinner.”

As musicians and music fans, Cullum and Fetzer were excited and also a little nervous to be working in the same studio that had produced hits from Arthur Alexander, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Etta James, and scores of other artists.

“The studio hasn’t changed a bit,” Cullum says. “It’s a bit of a time warp, like it’s still stuck in 1974. Most of the studios in Nashville now have a very bright sound, and it was a very flat, sort of dark sound.”

The resulting album, 615 to FAME, was released last September to immediate acclaim.

Critics were quick to praise the album for its all-inclusive and transmogrifying approach to the duo’s influences.

“It was our chance to play all the types of music we don’t usually get to play with the singers we back up.” Fetzer says. “Every song had different influences — Morrison, Stax soul, surf rock, Led Zeppelin crossed with Dick Dale, Latin music and Ry Cooder, Kraut rock crossed with country and western.”

While Steelism’s exact recipes may be fresh and tasty, the process of talented sidemen and session players stewing a unique musical gumbo of varied ingredients is a Nashville tradition that dates back to the birth of the Music City scene.

It’s a practice that can be found in the hillbilly-tinted jazz cut by Chet Atkins, Hank Garland, and others in the 1950s and on through the bevy of Nashville-based six-string and steel guitar master instrumental albums of the 1960s. It was found in the early ’70s country rock excursions of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry, and in

the lucha libra surf sound of Los Straitjackets in the ’90s. The formula has always been simple — gather a small group of like-minded Nashville cats together and great music happens with no concern for genres or pigeonholes.

“What’s the most fun is that being an instrumental band, we can get away with playing any genre of music,” Cullum says.

“It’s a showcase for all this great music that we love,” Fetzer adds, “and there’s no singer to get freaked out when you go from a Cuban tune to a surf tune or a funk tune.” →

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We want to record as much as possible and build a library of tracks ...

‘Steelism Spy,’ ‘Steelism Space,’ ‘Steelism Desert’

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But the absence of lyrics doesn’t mean Steelism has chosen the path of extended solos and indulgent instrumentation. Like such classic rock and R&B instrumental combos as the Ventures or Booker T. & the MGs, Cullum and Fetzer chose to build the material on 615 to FAME around traditional song structures.

It’s evident on the south-of-the-border cowboy cool of “Tears of Isbella,” which could easily be the backing track for a lost Marty Robbins classic; the teenbeat garage-punk snarl and strut of “Ladybird,” or the Beatle-esque Britpop of “Greenwich Mean Time.”

“We’re both lead players,” Fetzer says, “but we’re really about the melody. It was our goal to make it where you don’t miss the vocals. To treat the steel and the guitar like they are singers. So we wrote everything like a song with verses, a chorus, and a bridge.”

That desire to keep their presentation simple and to make their music accessible to an audience not generally familiar with instrumentals is evident in Steelism’s live performances.

Drummer Jon Radford and bassist Michael Rinne join Cullum and Fetzer on stage, along with occasional help on the keyboards from Los Colognes ivories tickler Micah Hulscher.

Together, they tear through their original numbers along with catchy and intriguing covers, like the instantly recognizable “James Bond Theme,” as well as more obscure and groovy movie soundtrack selections, such as Italian composer Ennio Morricone’s theme for the 1969 French thriller The Sicilian Clan.

In between selections, Cullum keeps the show moving with wry commentary. “I’ve got quite a strong East London accent,” he says. “It’s considered a very low-class accent in the U.K., but the response is great over here because I sound exotic. I kind of got pushed into being the announcer because I just like talking bollocks to people. The main thing is I don’t want it to be like a jazz concert — moody, where we play a song, and everyone just claps after the solo.”

One of the most distinctive numbers that Steelism performs live is their reggae-tinged cover of the Beatles’ “Something” that features Cullum’s “talking” steel guitar. Cullum shapes 38

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the sound of his solos through the movements of his mouth with a “talk box” — an audio gadget invented in Nashville by steel guitar great Pete Drake and popularized by British rocker Peter Frampton in the 1970s.

“It’s really a one trick pony,” Cullum says.

“You can’t use it on too many songs. The last time we toured England, some proper punk sort of dude came up to us and said, ‘I fuckin’ hate the talk box, I hate cod reggae, and I hate the Beatles, but I enjoyed that.’ It’s probably our best review ever!”

In addition to the acclaim garnered by their first full-length album, Steelism has made several short tours of the U.S. and just returned from their first headlining circuit of the U.K., where B.J. Coles joined them for some London shows.

The duo also remains highly in demand as session players, working with Miranda Lambert, Rayland Baxter, Andrew Combs, and others.

The discussion is winding down in Fetzer’s living room as the pair cast their eyes to the future.

Although doom and gloom have been the bywords of many in the record industry in recent years, Cullum and Fetzer have a different take on the state of the music business, one that involves their own “steely” character.

“We have been seeing a change lately,” Fetzer says. “[In session work] we’re getting asked to incorporate more of what we do with Steelism into other people’s albums. I do think there is an opening right now for new, independent, creative music with its own character. We want to turn Steelism into something more than just a band — make it a brand name for everything that we do — our instrumental recordings, our work as backup musicians or session guys, and we want to write film scores.”

“We want to record as much as possible and build a library of tracks,” Cullum adds. “Like a series of EPs on different themes — making our own soundtracks for films that don’t exist — ‘Steelism Spy,’ ‘Steelism Space,’ ‘Steelism Desert.’ Eventually we may even make a Steelism record that doesn’t have guitar or steel on it,” he concludes with a touch of dry wit.

“Wouldn’t that be something?”

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KNOW your NEIGHBOR

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rom all fours, Alison Egerton grimaces and says, “Whoa, doggie.” That’s what she always says when the going gets tough during the fitness classes she teaches at the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA on Gallatin Pike.

Alison EGERTON

designer when the Y hired me,” Egerton says. “They let me work only nursery hours so I could bring [my son] on site with me.

by Ellen Mallernee Barnes At first I cleaned machines, and then they trained me to be a wellness trainer.”

When the local YMCA leadership got wind that Egerton was behind on her Kicking a leg behind her utilities and other bills, barely in a move meant to maximaking ends meet by floating mize the gluteus maximus, checks, they did something she says, “Y’all came here simple and kind that has made for results, right? If not, her fiercely loyal all these years. you don’t have to be here.”

“I came in to work one day and But then she smiles with a was told, ‘You have something tenderness that belies any in your mailbox that requires of her tough-girl talk, a tenurgent attention; you need to derness that attracts dozens clock in and put [your son] upon dozens of women and in the nursery,’” she recalls. men of all ages to her sweat “Inside my mailbox were copies of all of my bills and a stack sessions each week. She’s of ones and fives and tens and been Margaret Maddox’s twenties — the exact amount group fitness coordinator I owed. They said, ‘Go pay for nearly two years now, but your bills and come back.’ her ties to Nashville YMCAs “It was just what I needed date back a couple of decades to breathe,” she continues “I to her years as a struggling single mom. was drowning, and I came up Today the 37-year-old for air and I made it. I knew is a mother of three, long from that point on that that married to developer March place was special. Since then, Egerton — son of the late in some form or another, I Southern journalist and don’t think I’ve ever had a author John Egerton and a lapse of being involved with 2013 East Nashvillian of the the YMCA.” Year, a distinction he earned After working at the for his work revitalizing the Green Hills Y and the buildings that house Bongo now-shuttered Madison Y, Java, Marché, Edley’s, Fat Egerton came to the Maddox Bottom Brewery, and many Y in 1996. At the time, there were roughly five group fitness classes a week. Now more. Behind the scenes of many of these there are 100 — a testament both to a impressive restorations? Alison. thriving East Nashville and to Egerton’s A muscular little powerhouse with a hard work. Though she’s always been sandy-blonde ponytail and hazel eyes, interested in fitness, her own fitness evoEgerton is almost felt before she is seen lution has unfolded most dramatically — breezing in to teach a class at the during her time at the Maddox Y, where YMCA or through Ugly Mugs, the East she discovered Zumba and more recently, Nashville coffee shop belonging to her the benefits of Tabata-style, high-intensister and brother-and-law and located sity interval training. Her biggest buzz, in Walden, her husband’s first builtthough, comes from seeing changes in from-scratch project. March and Alison’s those who come to her class. stories have been entwined for the past 17 years; she met him when “Even more than the physical part of it, exercise is good for our scanning his card at the front desk of the Green Hills Y, and he later sleep and our longevity, and we’re better moms when we’ve built up asked her for design advice on a house in Little Hollywood he was a serotonin level that day,” Egerton explains. “Even if you don’t see renovating. But this isn’t his story — it’s hers.

Born Alison Ellis, she moved to Nashville from Pensacola, Fla., a physical change, really what I want is for you to feel like you gave with her mom and three siblings when she was in the eighth grade. yourself an hour where you’re not doing for your boss or your husband or your mom or your children. I want you to feel accomplished Pregnant at 17, she gave birth to her first child, a son, when she in something that’s yours.” was 18. “I was going to O’More College of Design to be an interior

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Photograph by Tina Gionis

Y’all came here for results, right?

If not, you don’t have to be here.

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Former members of Charlie McCoy & The Escorts revisit old times recently at Cinderella Studio: (L-R) Wayne Moss, McCoy, Jimmy Miller, and Mac Gayden. (Photo by Stacie Huckeba)

o History How Charlie McCoy & The Escorts ushered in a new Music City

By Daryl Sanders

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An early publicity photo of the band for Cadence Records from 1961 in which drummer Kenneth Buttrey is inexplicably holding a bass: (clockwise from lower left) John Sturdivant, Buttrey, Charlie McCoy, Wayne Moss, Jimmy Miller, and Bill Aikins. (Photo courtesy of the John Sturdivant family)

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n a Friday afternoon near the end of January, four musicians — Charlie McCoy, Wayne Moss, Jimmy Miller, and Mac Gayden — gather for a reunion of sorts at Moss’ Cinderella Studio in Madison. They are there to be photographed for a feature story on their old band, Charlie McCoy & The Escorts. Outside, a cold rain falls from the gray winter sky, but inside the control room, amidst the warm glow of the studio’s vintage analog gear, the men fondly recall their time together half a century earlier, back when they were “young rockers.”

The photographer corrals them into the tracking room, where they gather around the studio’s grand piano, McCoy at the keys. As he messes ’round with some old standards, they swap jokes and old stories, and lament that “Groover” — former bandmate Bill Aikins — was under the weather and unable to make the trip from Nevada to Nashville for the photo shoot as originally planned.

Charlie McCoy & The Escorts are back in the spotlight after all these years because of an exhibit that will open on March 27 at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City. The band itself is acknowledged in the exhibit, and four of its members are among the “cats” featured — McCoy, Moss, Gayden, and the late Kenneth Buttrey. If the truth be told, there may never have been any “new” Music City if not for McCoy and the Escorts.

What makes Charlie McCoy & The Escorts so important is not only what the band itself accomplished, which is a lot; but also the work its members did individually and collectively outside the band, as recording artists in their own right, and with other artists, including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Neil Young, Linda Rondstadt, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Jackson Browne, and Jimmy Buffett, just to name a few.

Of course, McCoy’s name is well known. A multi-instrumentalist who plays harmonica, guitar, bass, trumpet, and more, he’s one of Nashville’s most celebrated session players, a Grammy-winning instrumental recording artist, a member of the Country Music Hall

of Fame, and one of the originators of the famed Nashville number system used by the city’s studio musicians. Gayden calls him “the most important musician” in the history of Music City.

When McCoy teamed up with The Escorts in the spring of 1961, he was just getting his start in Nashville. He first visited the city in June of 1959 at the encouragement of Mel Tillis, whom he met while performing at The Old South Jamboree in Miami. “It was a country music dance, and they had rock ’n’ roll 10 minutes an hour for the young people — and that was me,” McCoy says of the Saturday night gig he and his band had when he was a senior in high school. “I met Mel Tillis [there], and he said if I’d come to Nashville, he could get me a record contract.

Well, he couldn’t really do that, but I was 18 years old and gullible, and I believed it.

So the day after school was out, I took off for Nashville.”

When McCoy got to Music City, he learned Tillis was out of town. Undeterred, he headed to the see Tillis’ manager Jim Denny.

As it turned out, Tillis had told Denny about him. “He said, ‘I know who you are. I’ll call and set up some auditions for you,’” McCoy recalls. “He had never even heard me. He was taking Mel’s word for it.”

Next thing McCoy knew, he was doing guitar-vocal renditions of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” at the offices of a pair of Nashville music icons: Owen Bradley at Decca Records and Chet Atkins at RCA. Both Bradley and Atkins thought he had talent, but neither of them were looking to sign the next Chuck Berry. Even though Bradley didn’t offer McCoy a record deal, he did give the young musician a life-changing experience.

“Owen invited me to a session, and I went and watched Brenda Lee record,” McCoy says. “And the whole idea of what I wanted to do changed. At that moment, I didn’t care if I ever sang another song — I wanted to be a studio musician. Because what I saw in that studio was amazing, you know — and of course, what I heard was amazing, too.”

McCoy returned to Miami and enrolled at the University of Miami that September, where he planned to get a degree in music education. “I had mainly music courses, and I liked a couple of them,” he says. “And I liked one of my teachers. But to be honest, I was

not all that thrilled about school.”

Some of his professors didn’t approve of him playing rock ’n’ roll on the weekends, thought he shouldn’t be involved in “lower forms of music,” as he would later tell Billboard. Plus, he couldn’t get that Brenda Lee session out of his head. “What I had seen had just knocked me out,” he says of his visit to Bradley’s already famous Quonset Hut studio a few months earlier.

The following April during the second semester of his freshman year, McCoy got a phone call from Kent Westberry, a guy he knew from Florida who had moved to Nashville to be a songwriter. “He called me and said he had a job for me as a guitar player if I could come on up there,” McCoy recalls.

“That’s when I made the decision to drop out of school and go to Nashville. I broke my father’s heart because it was his dream for his son to go to college.”

When he arrived in Nashville for the job, he was met with a rude surprise. “The singer, a guy named Johnny Ferguson, told Kent, ‘Man, you never called me back. I’ve already hired somebody,’” McCoy recalls with a laugh. “So here I am, I’ve dropped out of school, drove all night, and I don’t have a job. That was pretty devastating.

“This guy Ferguson was such a nice guy, and he felt so sorry for me, he said, ‘What else can you play?’ And I said, ‘Well, I can play harmonica.” He said, “I don’t need harmonica — can you play drums?’

“I knew a little bit about it, and I thought, ‘Say no and you’re done,’” McCoy continues.

“So I said, ‘Yes! But I don’t have any,’ He said, ‘We’ll get you some.’ So, there I was, my first job in Nashville — as a drummer!”

Ferguson cosigned a note for him to procure a drum kit from a local music store.

When the group returned from the gig (two weeks at a hotel lounge in Toronto), McCoy took most of the money he earned and paid off the drums. “Then two weeks later, [Ferguson] calls up and tells everybody, ‘Well, I don’t have any more jobs, so I guess the band is over,’” McCoy says and laughs; then adds sarcastically, “Thanks a lot!”

It’s ironic that McCoy’s first job in Nashville was as a drummer because in less than a year he would be playing in a band with one of the greatest drummers in the history of popular music.

If truth be told, there may never have been any “new” Music City if not for McCoy & The Escorts.

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Publicity photo of a later incarnation of the band taken at the Jolly Roger club in Printers Alley: (L-R) Wayne Butler, Jerry Tuttle, Kenneth Buttrey, Mac Gayden, and Charlie McCoy. (Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

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Charlie McCoy & The Escorts clown around on the stage at The Sack: (L-R) Kenneth Buttrey, Wayne Moss, McCoy, Jimmy Miller, John Sturdivant, and Bill Aikins. (Photo courtesy of the John Sturdivant family)

The band works out at one of their gigs in the early ‘60s: (L-R) Wayne Moss, Jimmy Miller, John Sturdivant, and Charlie McCoy. (Photo courtesy of the John Sturdivant family)

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he story of The Escorts begins in 1959 at the King of Clubs, a two-story roadhouse just outside the Nashville city limits on the Clarksville Highway. The King of Clubs had live music and dancing downstairs, illegal gambling upstairs, and illegal booze on both floors. (Davidson County was a dry county until 1967.)

The house band at that time was a group called Bobby Williams and His Nightlifters, who had a regional hit — “Tarzan” — on the short-lived, Nashville-based Cort label in November of 1958. Williams was a rocker in his early-to-mid 20s who sounded a little like Elvis, and the Nightlifters were a loose, mostly younger collection of musicians anchored by a drummer barely in his teens, the incomparable Kenneth Buttrey.

Buttrey was only 14 when Jimmy Miller first saw him perform. “I was with a group [The Rockers] playing an American Legion up in Joelton,” he recalls. “On the way back, we stopped in an old roadhouse called the King of Clubs, and Bobby was playing there.”

Miller immediately noticed the kid behind the drum kit. “He was a red-hot drummer, even at that age,” he says of the young percussion phenom with whom he would soon be working. Gayle Whitfield, who was playing tenor sax for Williams that night, left the Nightlifters shortly thereafter, and Miller was hired to take his place.

“Anyone who ever worked with Kenneth Buttrey will tell you that he’s the best they ever worked with,” Miller continues. “He just made you want to play. He could bring out the best in you. Everything just felt so good when he was on drums.”

Bill Aikins, who was then playing piano in a group called The Skipper Hunt Combo, also first saw Buttrey play there around the same time. “One night, Skipper and I went out to a place called the King of Clubs in Bourdeaux, and Bobby Williams and the Nightlifters were playing,” the keyboardist recalls from his home in Nevada. “You couldn’t go out into the crowd — I was under age. You could walk on a little pathway through the kitchen and get to the back of the bandstand. You could stand behind [the band] and watch them perform, almost like you were backstage.

“Kenneth Buttrey was playing drums,” Aikins continues. “I’m standing there, and the drummer’s always at the back, so I’m really focusing more on the drummer. When I heard him play, my jaw hit the floor. I could not believe how good this kid was. Instant recognition of a talent. Boom! It was just in your face.

It was like meeting Van Gogh or something.

You just go, ‘Oh, wow! This guy’s special.’

“He had the nicest feel, the best shuffle I probably ever heard — and he was just a kid. I can remember saying to myself, ‘I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but that’s who I want to play with.’ Kenneth was the best

drummer in Nashville, man. There was no one better.”

The band worked at the King of Clubs Wednesday through Saturday from 10 p.m. till 3 a.m. and was paid $40 per week. Miller was not sorry when the residency at the club came to an end — not because of the late hours, or the pay, but because of the club itself. “That was a bad place,” he says. “There would be a fight just about every night. I saw people get cut up.”

Aikins echoes that. “It was a rough, tough nightspot, and it was in a rough part of town,” he says. “It was Punk City.”

No longer booked at the King of Clubs every weekend, Williams began to accept outof-town bookings. By that point, Aikins was working regularly with the group. When they needed a sub on guitar for a gig in Lebanon, Ky., Aikins recommended Moss. Moss had been the guitarist in The Casuals, one of Nashville’s earliest rock combos that eventually became the backing band for Brenda Lee. He and Aikins met when the keyboardist filled in for The Casual’s regular piano player on one of Lee’s shows. He was impressed with Moss’ guitar work and remembered him when Williams needed a sub. Moss had left The Casuals by then, and it wasn’t long before he became the Nightlifters’ regular guitarist.

By the fall of 1960, the Nightlifters’ lineup featured Buttrey on drums, Miller on tenor sax, Aikins on piano, Moss on lead guitar, and Snuffy Smith on bass. Once when Smith wasn’t available for a gig at Fort Campbell, he recommended McCoy, who he knew from Florida, as a sub.

“Wayne [Moss] called me and said, ‘I’m a friend of Snuffy Smith’s, and we have this band, and Snuffy is the bass player, and I wanted to see if you would sub for him,’” McCoy recalls. “I said, ‘You know, I don’t really play electric bass.’ He said, ‘But you play guitar, and it’s just like the bottom four strings of a guitar.’

I said, ‘Well, I don’t own one.’ He said, ‘We’ve got one, don’t worry about it.’

“So I went over to Wayne’s house — it was the first time I’d met him — and he showed me all these songs that they were doing, and I was trying to figure out what to do with the bass, you know. That’s how I started playing electric bass.”

Aikins vividly remembers the gig at the Fort Campbell Airmen’s Club when McCoy first played with the Nightlifters. “We’re playing, and Charlie is playing bass — no big deal, he’s just a guy,” he says. “He’s not Charlie McCoy — he’s just a guy.

“So Bobby says to him, ‘Snuffy says you play harmonica. Do you play harmonica?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I play harp.’ “Well, why don’t you come up and do a blues tune and blow some harp.’

“When he stepped up to that mike and started playing blues harp, he picked the band up about 10 notches,” Aikins continues. “It

CHARLIE MCCOY & THE ESCORTS singles discography

JANUARY 1961

CHERRY BERRY WINE / MY LITTLE WOMAN (Cadence 1390)

FEBRUARY 1962

I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU / ROOSTER BLUES (Cadence 1415)

APRIL 1964

MY BABE / WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW (Monument 45-842)

DECEMBER 1964

HARPOON MAN / I’M READY (Monument 45-870)

JUNE 1965

GIRL / IT’S A MAN DOWN THERE

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(Monument 45-893)

MARCH 1966

LET HIM GO / SCREAMIN’, SHOUTIN’, BEGGIN’, PLEADIN’ (Monument 45-926)

NOVEMBER 1966

MY BABY’S BACK AGAIN / STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW (Monument 45-975)

FEBRUARY 1967

COLD COLD WORLD / YOU’VE GOT TO FACE LIFE (Monument 45-998)

MAY 1968

BOY FROM ENGLAND / GIMME SOME LOVIN’ (Monument 45-1076)

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It went from being a gig to being a party, man. When he hit that harp, I’d never experienced anybody in the flesh that good.

went from being a gig to being a party, man.

When he hit that harp, I’d never experienced anybody in the flesh that good.”

Of course now, McCoy is widely recognized as a harmonica virtuoso, but when he brought down the house at the Airmen’s Club that night, it was the first time his future bandmates heard what he could do.

“When we got through playing that tune, I remember turning around and just sitting down on the keys and looking at everybody in the band and saying, ‘Man, what a fucking groove!’” the pianist recalls with excitement in his voice. “From then on, I became known as “The Groover” — Bill “Groover” Aikins.”

While McCoy’s harp solo was on the minds of the Nightlifters after that show, what he remembers most from that night was the band’s drummer. “[That] first time I heard Kenny play, I was blown away,” McCoy says. “I had never heard anything like it before — it was pretty special.”

McCoy subbed for Smith in the Nightlifters “five or six times,” as he remembers it. “I was enjoying it because all I was doing was hanging

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out at Jim Denny’s office, and I was playing on some demos,” he says, “But I was 20 years old, and I was still into rock ’n’ roll and Top 40, what’s on the radio, and these guys were playing it. So it was fun for me to go and play that kind of music.”

That same year, McCoy cowrote a fateful song called “Cherry Berry Wine” with Westberry and Gil Metters for Denny’s legendary publishing company Cedarwood Music. Metters had shared the original idea with McCoy back in Miami, and he and Westberry finished it in Nashville. Westberry, who was a Cedarwood writer at the time, had always sung lead on his demos, but “Cherry Berry Wine” was a bluesy rocker, which was a little outside his comfort zone. “He said, ‘You need to sing this demo, this isn’t my style at all,’” McCoy recalls. “So I went in and sang the demo.”

In October, McCoy received some surprising news. “Jim Denny called me and he said, ‘I played this song for Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, and he wants to record you,’” McCoy recalls with a laugh. “So there I was singing again, you know, it was the furthest thing from

my mind. But I said, ‘Hey, why not. I’ll do it.’”

In January of ’61, Cadence, which was home to all The Everly Brothers big hits, released “Cherry Berry Wine” as a single backed by the blues shuffle “My Little Woman.” “Cherry Berry Wine,” which featured haunting guitar and a calypso-inspired beat, was favorably reviewed by Billboard and hit the magazine’s Hot 100 in late February, reaching No. 99.

Around that same time, the Nightlifters found out Williams had been shorting them on the earnings from their gigs, so they decided to start their own band. They called the singer one night to give him the news, and he was not happy about it.

Miller figured Williams would try to sway Buttrey, so just to play it safe, he went by the drummer’s house the following morning to give him a lift to North High School. “We didn’t want to lose our drummer first shot out of the box,” he says with a laugh.

Sure enough, on the way to the school, Williams pulled up beside them in his car, and waved them over. “Bobby pulled us over,” he recalls. “He was a big, ole tough guy — Antioch tough — and he was wanting to fight [over Buttrey]. I said, ‘Bobby, there ain’t no use in this now.’ I didn’t want to fight him, but I would have.”

Miller was a big man in his own right, so as it turned out, there was no fight. “I talked him out of that,” he says with a smile.

The original lineup for The Escorts included Buttrey, Miller, Aikins, Moss, and baritone saxophonist John Sturdivant, formerly with a Nashville group called The Monarchs.

Sturdivant was asked to join in part because of his business savvy. “John was a real promoter,” Miller says. “He was a go-getter,” McCoy adds.

“He was the businessman and he had contacts,” Sturdivant’s widow Sue says. “I think that is why they decided to add John and the baritone sax.”

Initially, they were fronted by Pat Campbell and billed as Pat Campbell & Her Escorts.

McCoy remembers her as “a girl singer hanging around town who sang a little R&B” and worked some of the gigs with Bobby Williams.

As it turned out, Campbell was a little out of her league. By late spring, the band had recruited McCoy, and changed its name to Charlie McCoy & The Escorts. Even though there were a few personnel changes along the way, from that point till the band ran out of steam because of other commitments in 1968, Charlie McCoy & The Escorts were CO N T IN UED O N PAG E 82

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DRESSER From Kanye to KISS, East Nashville artist Julie Sola makes the stars shine

By Skip Anderson

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Julie Sola at Fat Cow Press, her gallery in The Idea Hatchery on Woodland Street. Photograph by Stacie Huckabe.

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Sola and her husband Sergio Webb photographed by Stacie Huckabe chillin’ over a liquid lunch in the couple’s East Nashville bungalow.

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ith Nashville all but shut down last month due to ice, artist Julie Sola was forced to stay a few extra days in sunny Las Vegas, which is where she had been for much of 2015. Sola was working as wardrobe manager for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart, who performed a series of shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in January and February.

Over the last decade or so, Sola also has been wardrobe manager on tours for Kanye West, KISS, Clint Black, Motley Crüe, and Madonna, which causes her to spend a great deal of time apart from her husband, guitarist Sergio Webb. Webb also tours regularly with a number of artists, including Americana icon David Olney and indie folk singer Amelia White.

“When I interviewed with Rod Stewart, he asked me if being apart from Sergio so much would be a problem,” Sola recalls. “I told him that we’ve been doing it for years, and that we make sure when we’re together that it’s quality time.”

Stewart gave her the job, and she now works with him several times each year. “The Vegas residencies are ideal, especially at Caesars. Celine [Dion] designed it [Stewart’s dressing room], and it’s beautiful,” she says. “Rod always writes secret messages for Elton [ John] with a Sharpie somewhere in the dressing room.”

Sir Elton John, a fellow Brit and Hall of Famer, often takes up residency at The Colosseum after Stewart and uses the same posh dressing area. “This time he wrote on the wall above the door,” Sola says. “It’s usually some football [soccer] reference, ribbing him about his team [Watford Football Club].”

Sola got her start in wardrobe management through her sister, who has a degree in costume design and is a wardrobe manager herself. “I have a younger sister — she’s who brought me into the wardrobe world,” she explains. “Clint Black was my first gig. I was with him for three years (2002-2004). He was the best band for me to go out with the first time. I learned that I can travel well and take care of wardrobe. I learned road etiquette.”

Sola also tours with KISS, the face-painted wildmen who have boasted being “the hottest band in the world” for more than four decades now.

“KISS does their own makeup, and Rod does his own hair,” she says. “And I had a case the size of a refrigerator just for Clint Black’s cowboy hats when I toured with him.”

For KISS, she preps the costumes, including Gene Simmons’ knee-high, stacked-heel demon boots, before every show, and cleans and repairs them afterward. She says Simmons is warm, funny, and personable. But when the makeup goes on, his personality changes to the cape-wearing, fire-breathing, blood-spitting, bass-playing persona generations of fans worldwide adore.

“They’re tame until they go onstage,” Sola says. “And when they come off, you never know what you’ll get. But they’re great with the fans and the crew, and they joke around with everybody.”

Some of her favorite moments with KISS come in the relative quiet prior to the start of yet another flame-filled show.

#DylanCashExhibit

@countrymusichof

STEP INSIDE This House

Downtown Nashville • 615.416.2001 Visit CountryMusicHallofFame.org March | April 2015 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM

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Clockwise from top left: 1) Last minute repairs to the KISS backdrop 2) Hatch Show Print tour poster designed by Sola for Willie Nelson 3) Sola hangin’ with the boss, Rod Stewart 4) Kanye West arrives from on high 5) Sola styling in Gene Simmons’ dragon boots 6) Stewart’s sparkly wardrobe All photos courtesy Julie Sola

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“Gene, who is huge even before he puts the boots on, just sits there waiting in his monster makeup and costume, and I give him a red Life Saver—that’s what makes his tongue so red,” she says. “Then it’s time for them to go onstage.”

On their 2014 tour, KISS would open the show atop a light rigging shaped like a spider. One night, the venue’s ceiling wasn’t rated to support the weight of the band as well as that of the lights.

“They don’t like change, they want everything to be the same,” Sola says, not just of KISS, but of headlining artists in general. “[KISS’s manager] told them, ‘You’re not going to ride the spider tonight.’ Gene was like a little boy. ‘But I want to ride the spider!’ he said. After the show, I told him how funny that conversation was, especially with him being in full costume and makeup.”

“ I turned around and there’s Paul Stanley. And he’s vacuuming up the powder wearing a thong in full makeup.

One image that she can’t get out of her mind — for better or worse — is that of the Starchild Paul Stanley in full makeup and teased hair, and little else, doing a little cleaning in the dressing room before a show. “I turned around and there’s Paul Stanley,” she says. “And he’s vacuuming up the powder wearing a thong in full makeup.”

When it comes to dressing rooms, no one is more particular than Madonna, who has carpenters build her dressing room in each city.

“She’s got a pit crew that comes in and builds it,” Sola explains. “Furniture, drapery, carpets, too. They build it for each and every show. She also has a personal gym built separate of the dressing room.”

Motley Crüe’s dressing rooms are adorned with candles, skulls, and velvet curtains. And she describes Kanye West in terms that might surprise some. “Kanye is very soft spoken and appreciative backstage,” she says. “He was great. Nobody believes that, though.”

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ola grew up in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., but later moved to Artesia, N.M., where she would graduate high school.

She remained in Artesia into her early 20s, marrying and divorcing a bull rider before moving back to San Juan Capistrano.

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Kanye is very soft spoken and appreciative backstage, He was great. Nobody believes that, though.

“I had just moved back to California from New Mexico literally the day before I met Sergio,” she says. Sola and her mother were at the Swallows Inn bar (named after the birds that formerly famously inhabited the region) when Pinto Bennett, the legendary bandleader of the Famous Motel Cowboys, introduced her to Webb, who was still getting used to his newly adopted stage name.

“Pinto walked me over to him and said, ‘Hey, Sergio! Look what I found,’ ” Sola recalls. “But Sergio was still a new name to him, and [he] introduced himself as Mark.”

The band would stay in town for another 10 days or so, and they would date when the group returned every couple of months. As her romance with Sergio evolved, she realized she was on her way to fulfilling a childhood prophesy of sorts.

“When I was a child, I would joke that when I’d grow up, I’d meet a cowboy in that bar and marry him, and with Sergio’s band being the Famous Motel Cowboys, I realized, ‘Oh my god, I’m dating a cowboy I met at that bar!’ ” Webb invited Sola to join him in England — he had a two-month tour over there. She said she’d go, but only if she could find work to support herself while abroad.

“I was very independent,” she explains. “So I told him that I was not going to England just to hang out with him, I was going over there with a purpose.”

Drawing on her experience as a horse trainer — she previously had worked for Charlie Whittingham, who trained Ferdinand, the winner of the 1986 Kentucky Derby — she took an assignment working for the senior trainer for the Queen of England.

“I worked for one of six trainers for the queen at her stable,” she says.

“I saw her horses, but I didn’t get to meet her.”

The couple moved a round quite a bit and were living in Jackson

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Clockwise form top left: 1) Kitty hands Sola a giant Pepper.

2) Renee and Julie Sola with the legendary Gene Simmons 3) The door to Sola’s office All photos courtesy Julie Sola

Hole, Wyo., before relocating to Nashville in 1994. They spent a year in West Nashville, then bought a home on the East Side in 1995. They got married the following year in a small courthouse ceremony with Phil Kaufman, aka the Road Mangler, serving as best man.

“We moved here because that’s what we could afford,” she says of East Nashville. “But once we moved here, we started meeting musicians and artists. Todd Snider was living over here then, so was Chuck Mead. Mac [Hill] had just bought Radio Cafe [now Mad Donna’s], and that was the buzz over here back then.

“There really wasn’t that much going on over here at the time other than Radio Cafe,” she continues. “Franne Lee, she designed all those costumes in the early days of Saturday Night Live — The Bumblebees and The Coneheads — she was a huge character. She, J.D. Wilkes, and Leslie Patterson-Marx started the Plowhaus co-op. Then came the Slow Bar, and that was really the start.”

Their one-story home has high ceilings, hardwood floors, and terrific acoustics, which makes it ideal for “pickin’ parties,” as she calls them.

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KNOW your NEIGHBOR

Photograph by Tina Gionis

I

Scott STONE

magine 5 Points being dominated hair salon, and then later, a haven for the by a big, fat, generic drugstore. Well, homeless. They remember The 5 Spot as that’s exactly what would have hapa computer store and The Hip Zipper as

by Ellen Mallernee Barnes pened if not for Scott Stone and his ground zero for a prostitution ring. father Cecil, owners of Advanced Although they opened a second Tax and Income Services.

Advanced Tax office in Portland in Advanced Tax and Income Services 1978, and then added locations in has been located in the 5 points area Lebanon in ’92 and Gallatin in ’95, since 1976, on the block of Forrest they have continued to call the 5 Avenue that now includes Red Door, Points office home base. “We felt like Hip Zipper, and The 5 Spot. In the there was potential here,” Stone says of mid-’90s, Walgreens offered to buy why he and his father stayed in what their building, as well as the surroundwas considered a “bad” neighborhood. ing buildings on Forrest.

“We didn’t have a clue what kind of “Walgreens pretty much talked to potential was here, but there was no all the business owners on this block, reason for us to relocate. We were doing fine regardless.” and everybody said, ‘Yes, we’ll sell,’ very Their clientele returns year after year willingly,” the younger Stone explains. in part because their prices are wildly “Then they came to us and — not competitive: $65 for a simple return, being greedy — we said, ‘We can’t relocate for that’ — I believe the offer was with most fees at least 30 percent below competitors. They likely return, too, for $85,000 — ‘so either leave us be or because they can see that the Stones are you’re going to have to significantly up driven by what they do — that’s why your offer.’ Ultimately, we killed the neither of them bothers to leave the deal for everybody.” office very often.

As Stone sees it, East Nashville’s “Sometimes we make an analogy beturning point came a few years later, tween our occupation and a bartender,” ushered in by the tornado of ’98. His Stone says. “When the finances come dad was at Advanced Tax that day and out on the table, everything else comes weathered the tornado crouched beneath his desk. The tornado may have out with it; so we get to hear the stories ripped East Nashville apart, but after and not just see the numbers on a piece the community put the neighborhood of paper. That’s what makes this job interesting. If it was just the numbers, if it back together, it was better than ever, was just people dropping off profit and he says. loss statements, we would literally be as boring as people accuse us Over the years, the Stones have seen 5 Points’ businesses come of being. People make this job rewarding.” and go. They recall a time in the ’80s when Red Door Saloon was a

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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

Cookin IN THE ’ ’HOOD Recipes from East Nashville favorites

Photograph by Chuck Allen

BY TIMOTHY C. DAVIS

I

t used to be that when you’d mention grits to someone who grew up somewhere other than the South, you’d get — at best — a quizzical look. At worst, said neophyte would wonder out loud and ad nauseam about why anyone would eat such a bland foodstuff to begin with. To be fair, many people’s only experience with the Southern staple came in the form of instant packets of the stuff, which only took a little hot water and about 90 seconds to prepare ... and tasted just as rushed and “convenient.”

Right about the time real stone-ground grits became available again at the local grocers, a dish called shrimp and grits began to take off in the food media. You see, before shrimp and grits was a staple on menus throughout the South, and indeed the country, the dish was more or less a native specialty of Charleston and the greater terroir of Southeastern coastal South Carolina, popularly known as the Lowcountry.

The preparation below, courtesy of Chef Steven Stuart of Tenn 16 Food & Drink Co., is relatively faithful to native preparation(s), which, to be fair, can vary wildly, even from restaurant to restaurant. The faithfulness comes in Stuart’s use of the best ingredients — super fresh shrimp and veggies, quality grits — as much as it does the finished product itself.

PREPARATION

For grits: Place cream, milk, jalapeño, garlic, salt and pepper in a two-quart saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in grits and cook until thick (about 20 – 25 minutes), whisking every five minutes or so to keep from sticking. When grits are thickened, stir in cheddar and butter until melted and well incorporated. Let rest for approximately 10 minutes.

FOR SHRIMP SAUCE 24 large peeled and de-veined shrimp (preferably size 21-25) 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup andouille sausage (diced) 1/2 cup onion (diced) 1/4 cup poblano pepper (diced) 1/4 cup celery (diced) 2 cup dry sherry wine 1 cup clam juice 3 cups heavy whipping cream 2 cups clipped baby spinach 1/2 cup grape tomatoes (cut in half ) 2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup parmesan or Asiago Cheese (grated)

FOR GRITS

1 cup stone ground grits 1 cup heavy whipping cream 3 cups milk 1 cup white cheddar (shredded) 4 oz. butter (1 stick) 1 jalapeño pepper (seeds removed and minced) 1 tablespoon garlic (minced) 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons black pepper

For shrimp sauce: Place two tablespoons butter in a six-quart saucepan and place over high heat until butter turns clear and starts to brown. Add andouille and cook for two to three minutes to render the fat. Stir frequently.

Add onion, celery, and poblano. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring frequently. Add shrimp. Cook an additional five minutes or until shrimp is almost done. Remove shrimp and place on a baking sheet to keep from over-cooking. Add sherry and clam juice. Reduce until liquid is half the original volume. Add heavy cream, salt, and pepper and reduce until liquid is half its original volume. Return shrimp to liquid. Remove from heat, stir in spinach and grape tomatoes to “shock” the cream and prevent further and unwanted reduction.

Put about a cup of grits into the center of four large pasta bowls.

Arrange six shrimp around the grits in each bowl. Spoon the sauce over and around shrimp and grits. Top with Parmesan or Asiago cheese.

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M A R C H - A P R I L 2015

EAST SIDE CALENDAR FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, AS WELL AS LINKS PLEASE VISIT US AT: THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM

UPCOMING TELL ME A STORY ... IN A NEW WAY

UnBound Arts Present: East Side Storytellin’ At Riverwood Mansion

7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays through March, Riverwood Mansion

East Side Storytellin’ is finishing out its residency at Riverwood this March. East Side Story has partnered with UnBound Arts to bring this limited edition run of Storytellin’.

The regular word manifestation is still planned — part book reading, part musical performance and author/musician interview.

However, they’re spicing up the menu a bit, with Chef Debbie Sutton of 8 Lavender Lane Catering. Sutton is crafting special meals influenced by each evening’s readings. The stories will be brought to life, one bite at a time. Check out this supped-up version of Storytellin’ through March. Storytellin’ will be moving to The Post for April. For tickets, email chuck@eastsidestorytn.com or unboundartsnashville@gmail.com 1833 Welcome Lane.

LET THE SUN SHINE The Pisapia Love-In

7 p.m., every Thursday in March, The 5 Spot

In between producing Ben Folds and Drew Holcomb, Joe Pisapia has been been hard

at work finishing his own record at his East Nashville lair. This March, Pisapia brings his material to The 5 Spot for a Thursdays-inMarch residency. The nights will also feature some oldies but goldies from Joe, Marc’s Brother. Get there early, and stay late. Freda People says, “Don’t miss this one!”

DRINKING CREATIVELY Paint Nites

Fat Bottom Brewery and Rumours East

Let your inner artist come out and play. Paint Nite hosts paint parties, where artists take you step-by-step through an entire painting. They provide all the goods you need to get going: brushes, paints, and even a smock. Artist Sara Beigle is bringing her brushes to the East Side, and she’s even offering a $20 discount for you East Nashvillians if you enter the coupon code “eastnash20” when buying tickets online. Grab a drink and release all inhibitions; it’s time to make your masterpiece.

A DAY TO REMEMBER “When the Earth is Angry: Japan 2011”

Opening Reception: 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, Shelby Bottoms Nature Center Open House: 12 to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 14 It seems strange that just four years ago we were getting reports of one of the most massive earthquakes in history shaking Japan to it’s core — in it’s wake it left tsunamis, nuclear reactor explosions, thousands of

casualties, and a forever-changed Japan.

This exhibit will feature original artwork and music created by two best friends that were living in Japan during the time of the Tohoku earthquake. To highlight the disaster’s four-year anniversary on March 11 the artists will be there to discuss their experiences and explain their work. This educational evening will explore the aftermath of the quake by taking a look at these individuals’ art and will also give folks a chance to hear musicians play traditional Japanese Taiko drums. If you can’t make the Wednesday event, catch the open house on March 14 or see the exhibit while it is on display through April. 615-862-8539

LUCK O’ THE PUP St. Puppy’s Day Festival

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat. March 14, Riverfront Park

Dress yourself and your furry friend in all green for this affair or be prepared to get pinched — or licked. Nashville Humane Association is hosting its own St. Patrick’s ... excuse me, I mean St. Puppy’s Day celebration.

Nashville Humane promises to round up as many green pups and leprechaun lookalikes as they can find. They will have a puppy parade for all the canines in costume and pet vendors will also be on site, so you can get your fur nuggets the latest and greatest in pet products.

Give a dog a bone and buy your tickets in advance. For the two-legged, it’ll cost you $5; four-legs gets you in free.

121 4th Avenue South

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR

“EDUTAINING” THE EASTSIDE

Mr.Bond and the Science Guys Science Shows

10 a.m. Sat. March 28: The Salvation Army (611 Stockell St.) 10 a.m. Sat. April 18: Shelby Bottoms Nature Center 10 a.m. Sat. May 2: Pavilion East for East CAN Mr. Bond and his crew are here to remind you that science IS fun. The Eastside has its very own Bill Nye of sorts. Mr. Bond is back again, touring around East Nasty pushing his own scientific agenda in a fun, new way. He calls it “Edutaining” – educating and entertaining.

He’s hosting a monthly show at different venues across the eastside to raise funds for each individual location he has chosen. While the shows are technically free, attendees are encouraged to make donations to the charity of the month. The law of gravity makes these shows irresistible!

YOU C.A.N. DO IT

East C.A.N. Community Meeting

2 p.m., Saturday, March 28, East Park Community Center

East C.A.N. is barking up your tree for some help. By hosting an information session, they hope to further educate the community they serve about this paw-sitiviely charming organization and all the work they do to rescue, foster, and secure adoptions for our four-legged friends. Enjoy the snacks and learn about becoming a volunteer or foster parent. It could be the purrfect way to spend your Saturday afternoon. 600 Woodland Street

TELL ME A STORY East Side Storytellin’

7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays in April, The Post

Looking for something to get your creative juices flowing? East Side Story has got you covered. In March, they wrap up their stint at Riverwood Mansion and are moving to new digs at The Post for April. They’ve partnered with WAMB radio to present an all-out affair, with book readings, musical performances and author/musician interviews. Look for this event twice each month. Check the website to see who the guests of honor will be for each performance. The event is free, but you’ll have to reserve a spot by calling East Side story ahead of time. 1701 Fatherland St. Suite A, 615-915-1808

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GET EGG-UCATED Shelby Park Egg-arama

10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 4, Shelby Bottoms Nature Center

Easter means egg hunts. Shelby Park is talkin’ the real deal eggs. You won’t be looking for the usual dyed dozen and you won’t find any Cadbury cremes on this search. You’ll learn about the eggs that can be found in Shelby Park and there will even be a scavenger hunt, where kids can collect knowledge instead of plastic eggs. You might even run into the Easter Bunny! For more information, call 615-862-8539

I THINK I’M TURNING JAPANESE, I REALLY THINK SO

Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 11, Nashville Public Square Sushi’s great and ramen is even better, but if you want to learn more about the land of the rising sun, here ya go. The Cherry Blossom Festival is a free, family-friendly hoorah of Japanese culture. The fest kicks off with the 2.5 mile Cherry Blossom Walk. You can expect to see a menagerie of Japanese traditions, including martial arts displays, “Candyman” demonstrations (look up what this is, you won’t be disappointed), Japanese cuisine, and tons of children’s activities. So, what’s the cherry on top, you ask? Proceeds from the festival go toward the planting of 1000 Cherry Trees across the city over the next 10 years. 10 Public Sq.

FUNNIEST WEEK IN HISTORY

Eight Is Enough: A World Record Breaking Comedy Stand-Up Show

Begins 6:30 pm April 12 ... until?, The East Room

Have you ever laughed for so long it hurts?

That’s kind of the idea behind this show. Chad Ridden and friends at Nashville Stand Up are attempting to not break but SHATTER the Guinness World Record for stand-up comedy. The standing record comes in at 80 straight hours of humor at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood. In a most supreme “one-up,” Nashville wants to bust that record by 112 hours—so that’s 192 non-stop hours of laughs, or 8 amusing days. They’re still recruiting comics and are working on an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the funny. You’ve got multiple nights to drop in on what is destined to be one long and strange trip.

2412 Gallatin Ave.

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR NASHVILLE

UNDER THE NEEDLE

Nashville

Record Store Day

10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 18, The Groove

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Who cares what artist has the top single on iTunes this week? In this digital age, it is good to know we can still appreciate the trends of olden days. This is not lost on The Groove, so head on over there to celebrate National Record Store day. Isn’t it better to hold something in your hands than to have it downloaded digitally across the ether?

On Record Store Day, you can expect some Groovy in-store and sidewalk sales, local craft beer on-site, live music — and, of course, records. 1103 Calvin Ave.

CAPTAIN PLANET, HE’S OUR HERO

Nashville’s Earth Day Festival

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 18, Centennial Park

NASHVILLE

Nashville

We all think we should become a little more conscious of how we treat our little blue marble. Maybe you can’t save the ice caps or polar bears in an afternoon, but you can learn ways to make yourself and your family more eco-friendly. Nashville’s Earth Day festival is a free event with nearly 100 fun exhibits and activities to help educate us about how to better treat good ol’ terra firma. There will be plenty of hands-on activities, workshops and family-friendly booths for all ages. The “Green Market” will offer fresh local produce and products for purchase. Plus, there is a green-friendly beer garden. Need I say more?

2500 West End Ave.

DINNER WITH A CAUSE

running buddies? Throw out that year of training you’ve been sweating through and kick back with a few beers. Call it your cheat night. The Pavilion East will bring out the bands and brews, so all you have to do is bring your tired soles. 1006 Fatherland St.

LIFT YOUR SPIRITS Music City Spirits and Cocktail Festival

April 29 through May 3, various locations

We’ve all got our favorite haunts for tasty libations here in Nashvegas. The mixologists of Music City are teaming up across our fair metropolis to honor the craft of cocktails. Jon and Lindsay Yeager of PourTaste are bringing this festival to a variety of watering holes for one alcohol-steeped week. The various sessions will focus on different liquors and wines, with plenty of information on how to pour and pair like a pro. Check out www.musiccityspiritsandcocktail.com for details about each event and to purchase tickets.

MAY DAY MAY DAY SHELBY PARK PLAY DAY May Day Festival

10 a.m., Friday, May 1, Shelby Park

The sun we thought might’ve been swallowed by a black hole during the icepocalyspe has reappeared! Shelby Park is celebrating the return of spring with a play day for the kiddos — expect stories, crafts, games, and a short hike. Soak up the sun with the little ones and forget that groundhog Phil cursed us with such a brutal winter. Register in advance. For more information, call 615-862-8539

Dining Out For Life

Tuesday, April 21, various locations

This special Tuesday sounds like the perfect date night to us, if you’re feeling generous.

Across the country, restaurants will participate in this nationwide fundraiser to raise money for HIV/AIDS services and organizations.

Participating restaurants will donate a portion of all sales on this day to Nashville CARES, which offers services to over 60,000 middle Tennesseans suffering from the HIV virus and AIDS. You can tack on that dessert guilt-free knowing that your bill will go towards a great cause. Check www.diningoutforlife.com for a full list of participating restaurants.

AFTER THE PARTY IT’S THE AFTER PARTY East Nasty Marathon After Party

6 p.m., Saturday, April 26, The Pavilion East

What better way to celebrate slaying a 26-mile-trek than an after party with all your 68

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AFTER THE FLOOD

The Flood of 2010: A Reflection of a Historical Event That Made Nashville Stronger Than Ever Before

12 to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 2, Shelby Bottoms Nature Center

Five years have passed since the flood, a natural disaster that shook Nashville and altered the city forever. The community knows all to well how challenging this time was for many Middle Tennessee residents and their families. Shelby Bottoms Nature Center is remembering the deluge through pictures, writings, and other interpretations. Come along and share stories of your own. For more information, call 615-862-8539

EAST SIDE CALENDAR

RECURRING ANSWER ME THIS Trivia Time!

8 p.m., each week Monday @ Drifter’s Tuesday @ Edley’s BBQ East and Edgefield Sports Bar and Grill Thursday @ 3 Crow East Siders, if you’re one of the sharper tools in the shed (or not, it’s no matter to us) stop by one of the above East Side locales to test your wits at trivia. They play a few rounds, with different categories for each question.

There might even be some prizes for top scoring teams, but remember: Nobody likes a sore loser.

HIP-HOP AT THE SPOT The Boom Bap

9 p.m., fourth Sunday of each month, The 5 Spot

Once a month, The 5 Spot brings the beats and you bring the moves. Think of it as a hip-hop roundtable. A mess of DJs — resident hosts and guests — spin their favorite tracks, rotating throughout the night. Let their records bring the ruckus to you. This soiree was so popular it’s spread to other cities, but catch it where it started here in East Nashville.

1006 Forrest Ave., 615-650-9333

BRING IT TO THE TABLE

Community Hour at Lockeland Table

4 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, Lockeland Table

Lockeland Table is cooking up family-friendly afternoons to help you break out of the house or away from that desk for a couple of hours.

Throughout the week, they host a community hour that includes a special snack and drink menu, as well as a menu just for the kiddies.

A portion of all proceeds benefits Lockeland Design Center PTO, so you can feel good about giving back to your neighborhood while schmoozing with your fellow East Nashvillians. 1520 Woodland St. 615-228-4864

gals, and it’s quickly become one of the best places in town for up-and-coming comics to flex their funny bones. If you’re looking for a laugh, check it out. Five bucks gets you in the door. They usually have some music planned for post-laughs, so stick around to see the bands. 2412 Gallatin Ave., 615-335-3137

STOP, SHOP AND SWAP FOR THE SONGSTERS Nashville’s Musician’s Swap Meet

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the first and third Sunday of each month, The Building

If you’re among the sea of musicians and songwriters in Nashville, you might want to drop in on the monthly Musician’s Swap Meet at The Building in 5 Points. The musically inclined gather to buy, sell and trade their gear, and there’s always a smattering of various musical odds and ends: guitars, drums, amps, fiddles, horns — you name it. You’ll also find vinyl, artwork, clothing and other musicrelated memorabilia. This folky flea market of sorts is free and open to the public. Stop by, grab a coffee at Bongo Java, grub down at Drifters and check out the musical arsenal.

If you’re interested in renting a booth for the swap, contact Dino Bradley. 1008-C Woodland St., 615-593-7497

I’M WITH YOU IN ROCKLAND Kerouac’s Beat Mondays

8:30 p.m. Mondays, Performing Artist Co-op

The Performing Artist Co-op (a.k.a. the “Purple Theater”) has a forum for lovers of the Beat generation to share their own writing, and they’re calling all you Dharma Bums to bring out your prose, poetry, or music to this laid-back listening party. It’s reminiscent of a 1950s lounge setting — the kind of joint you might have seen Burroughs stumble into on a hard night. Five bucks gets you in the door and a strong brew of coffee or tea. If you require some other type of liquid courage, it’s BYOB. 107 N. 11th St.

HIT THE OPEN ROAD Open Road Monday

8 p.m., Mondays, The Building

EAST ROOM HAS JOKES SPiFFY SQUiRREL Sundays

6 p.m. Sundays, The East Room

The East Room is making a name for itself in Nashville’s comedy scene, in part through SPiFFY SQUiRREL Sundays, started up by East Room head honcho Ben Jones through NashvilleStandUp.com. Hosted by local comedian Chad Riden, the shows bring in an array of national and local funny guys and

The Building’s four-year tradition of “Open Road Monday” rambles on. It’s a weekly show that features one or two different bands every week, promptly followed by an open mic session. It’s just a $5 cover and BYOB. Check out some of the budding talent the Building is showcasing over here on the East Side. 1008 C. Woodland St. 615-262-8899

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SHAKE A LEG Keep On Movin’

10 p.m. until close Mondays, The 5 Spot

For those looking to hit the dance floor on Monday nights, The 5 Spot’s “Keep on Movin’” dance party is the place to be. This shindig keeps it real with old-school soul, funk and R&B. Don’t worry, you won’t hear Ke$ha — although you might see her — and you can leave your Apple Bottom jeans at home. If you have two left feet, then snag a seat at the bar.

They have two-for-one drink specials, so you can use the money you save on a cover to fill your cup. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-650-9333

RINC, Y’ALL

Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance

4:30 to 5 p.m. ages 3-6, and 5 to 5:45 p.m. ages 7 & up, Mondays, Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall

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You’re never too young — or too old — to kick out the Gaelic jams with some Irish Step dancing. No experience, or partner, required.

Just you, some enthusiasm and a heart of gold will have you dancing in four-leaf clovers before you can say “aoibhneas.” 1601 Eastland Ave., 615-300-4388

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9AM 2-for-1 mimosas & build your own bloody mary bar

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UKE IT IF YOU GOT IT

Nashville Ukulele Monthly Jam 6 to 7:30 p.m., Third Monday of each month, Fanny’s House of Music Fanny’s is calling all uke-heads once a month for a jam night at their House of Music. They invite players of all skill levels and anyone else who might just want to drop in for a listen at this rambling raga of gut-string bliss. 1101 Holly St., 615-750-5746

JAZZY BOTTOM FOR YOUR BUCK East Nashville Jazz Jam

7 to 9:30 p.m., Tuesdays Fat Bottom Brewery

Q: What’s better than a craft beer and a tasty meal? A: Cheap craft beer and a tasty meal. Q: What’s even better than cheap craft beer and a tasty meal? A: Cheap craft beer, a tasty meal, and a jazz jam. Fat Bottom Brewery just added a little soul the to their $10 pint and entrée special. Each week they’re putting on a jazz jam hosted by local drummer Nicholas Wiles.

It’s a chance to meet some other jazz cats and play your poison. Peruse their menu and beer garden and pick a brew; they’ve got plenty of options for the seasoned beer drinker, and they’re always kegging fresh batches and pouring cold ones.

900 Main St.

THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM March | April 2015

NO LAUGH TRACK NEEDED Ultimate Comedy Show by Corporate Juggernaut

8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, East Room

Local jokesters have taken up residency in the East Room for Corporate Juggernaut, a weekly series of open-mic comedy shows put on by Gary Fletcher, Jane Borden and Brandon Jazz.

Brad Edwards is your host and his backing band is The Grey Grays. You can always expect to see fresh material and new talent.

Doors and sign-up are at 8 p.m., so get off the couch and go show some support Nashville’s growing comedy scene. 2412 Gallatin Ave., 615-335-3137

SPINNING SMALL BATCHES

Small Batch Wednesday and Vinyl Night

Wednesdays, Fat Bottom Brewery

Fat Bottom has plenty of things happening on Wednesday nights—reason enough to move your own bottom over there. Each Wednesday they have food specials and a small batch brew release. They’re called small batch for a reason, so get there early enough to sip one.

They’ll also have special guest DJ’s every week spinning their own vinyl, but you can even bring your own records if you’ve got a special song request. Is this enough to get your through hump day? 900 Main St.

GET ON THE BUS

Music City Roots Party Shuttle

Every Wednesday 5 p.m. pickup at The 5 Spot 5:30 p.m. pickup at Hippie Radio

Everyone loves a deal, right? Well, what better deal than a Party Shuttle bus ride to Music City Roots, libations along the way, and a ticket to the show, all for just $15! That’s right, intrepid travelers, you can have you cake and eat it, too. Amble on down to one of the pickup locations and hop aboard for a round trip ride to The Factory in Franklin. There will be even be hosts on board to pour you a drink!

TOAST TO MOTHER EARTH East Nashville Green Drinks

6-9 p.m., third Wednesday of each month, Village Pub & Beer Garden

Tired of talking sports and gossip every night out? Village Pub has something in mind for the greener East Nashvillian. Once a month

FOOD • LAWN GAMES • MUSIC

S A T U R D A Y, M A Y 1 6, 2015 10AM-6PM

MORGAN PARK/4T H AvE

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they host an evening for environmentalists to sit down for a drink and discuss ideas for a more sustainable future. Just think about it like this: You’ll be saving the planet, one drink at a time. 1308 McGavock Pike, 615-942-5880

just for the broads. Gals can grab a Genny Light for $2, bubbly for $3, wine for $4, and well-crafted Hangar 1 cocktails for $5. They’re calling all contessas and queens — go wet your whistle. 701 Porter Rd., 615-873-4978

PUG NOT SMUG

PALAVER RECORDS POW WOW

Comedy Pug Hugs

7:30 p.m., third Wednesday of each month, Mad Donnas

Contrary to the name, you won’t see pugs taking the stage with their stand-up routine.

However, you can expect to see a fresh lineup each month full of local and national funny dudes and dude-ettes. Nashville comedians Paulina Cornbow and Mary Jay Berger host this pugnacious evening. Performers will show off their storytelling, stand-up, sketch and musical comedy acts. If the five dollar price tag and laughs aren’t enough to make your tail wag, a portion of ticket sales will benefit Midsouth Pug Rescue. 1313 Woodland Ave.

SPITTING RHYMES

Token Notes Promotions Presents: Braggin’ Rights Rap City Blow Out

8 p.m., third Wednesday of each month, The Building

Find your flow and head over to The Building for a free style open mic rap battle. If you think you can lay a few lines, bring all the bravado you’ve got to this battle. If you just want to see a good show, then come out to hear the licks. It’ll be a tenner at the door, and, as always, BYOB at The Building. 1008c Woodland St.

ART IS FOR EVERYONE John Cannon Fine Art classes

6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays, The Idea Hatchery

If you’ve been filling in coloring-book pages for years but you’re too intimidated to put actual paint to canvas, it might be time to give it a try. Local artist John Cannon has been teaching intimate art classes at The Idea Hatchery since last year, and the small class size keeps the sessions low-pressure and allows for some one-on-one instruction.

If you’re feeling like you could be the next Matisse with a little guidance, sign yourself up.

1108-C Woodland St., 615-496-1259

YES, IT’S LADIES NIGHT Dame’s Day Happy Hour at Pomodoro East

6:30 to 10 p.m., Thursdays, Pomodoro East

It’s ladies night and the feeling’s right.

Pomodoro East is making a happy hour

Palaver Thursday Showcase

9 p.m. Thursdays, fooBAR Too

Looking to hear some fresh new tunes without paying a pretty penny to do it? Head over to FooBar on Thursday nights — East Nastybased record label Palaver Records hosts a weekly showcase to promote both local and traveling acts. It gives them a chance to scout performers and the bands get an opportunity to promote themselves, all while giving music lovers a cheap show to catch during the week (only $5 at the door). You can see an array of different genres from week to week, and the beer always flows easy at fooBAR with $3 Yazoo drafts. 2511 Gallatin Rd.

HONESTLY, OFFICER …

East Nashville Crime Prevention meeting

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursdays, Beyond the Edge

Join your neighbors to talk about crime stats, trends and various other issues with East Precinct commander David Imhof and head of investigation Lt. Greg Blair. If you are new to the East Side, get up to speed on criminal activity in the area. If you are a recent victim of crime, they want to hear your story. 112 S. 11th St., 615-226-3343

BLUEGRASS, BEER, BURGERS

Bluegrass Thursdays with Johnny Campbell & the Bluegrass Drifters

8 p.m. until close on Thursdays, Charlie Bob’s

To celebrate your post-Hump Day, head to Charlie Bob’s and bring your axe along. Watch North 2nd Street’s own Bluegrass Drifters kick things off, then join in on the pickin’ party afterward. Have a Thumper Burger, buy a few beers and add a little ’grass to your life. 1330 Dickerson Pike, 615-262-2244

FEELING JAZZY

UnBound Arts Presents Second Thursday Jazz

3 to 5 p.m., second Thursday of each month, Riverwood Mansion

UnBound Arts is bringing the boogie over to Riverwood Mansion. The second Thursday March | April 2015

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR of each month they’ll have jazz performances from prominent vocalists and musicians on the local jazz circuit. 1833 Welcome Lane

STOP AT THE SPOT

TROUBADOURS AND VIRTUOSOS UNITE

Your local watering hole has Tim Carroll’s rock n’ roll band playing their way through happy hour every Friday. It’s a great Spot to grab a beer and hear some tunes to kick off the weekend — drinks are discounted and the music is free. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-650-9333

UnBound Arts Presents: Third Thursdays

7 p.m., third Thursday of each month, Riverwood Mansion

Tim Carroll’s Friday Night Happy Hour

6 to 8:30, every Friday, The 5 Spot

SHAKE YOUR FOOBAR Sparkle City

10 p.m., Friday, fooBAR

Foo’s best dance party with their freshest DJs happens every Friday night. Spin Meisters David Bermudez and Jonas Stein drop the needle on vinyl all night, spinning only the numbers that’ll make you shake what y’er mama gave you. 2511 Gallatin Rd.

UnBound Arts has come up with a unique way to combine the worlds of visual, and musical artists together in one evening. Each month UnBound seeks out intriguing artists and displays their work while musicians play a few sets of their best stuff. Think of it as a hybrid art opening/rock show. UnBound Arts hopes to promote camaraderie, collaboration and fusion between the various disciplines of the arts. Come join in on this artistic amalgamation.

1833 Welcome Lane

DON’T BE BASHFUL No Shame Theater

8 to 10 p.m., third Thursday of each month, The Building

Call it an open-mic night of theater. No Shame gives everyone a chance to show off material in front of a live audience. The only rules: Your act must be no more than 5 minutes long; all original; and no harm can come to the audience in the process (physical or emotional, be nice guys). For every installment, 10 slots will be open with sign-ups an hour prior to show time. If you just feel like watching, cough up $8 at the door and BYOB. For you local filmographers, they also accept digital short submissions. If you’d like to screen something, check their FB page for more details.

1008C Woodland St.

YARNING IS CONTAGIOUS Stich n’ Bitch

6 to 8 p.m., Fridays, Nutmeg

We all know the quintessential image of an old woman knitting by the fire — so take that, add a few more stichers and seamstresses, throw in some wine, and you’ve got yourself a Stich n’ Bitch. Enjoy this spicy edition to the neighborhood by dropping by one of their sessions. Bring your supplies, or better yet, buy some there. Get hooked. 1006 Fatherland #204

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR

DO THE JITTERBUG

Jump Session Swing Dance Classes

8 to 12 p.m., Fridays, DancEast

Grab your partner and swing on over to Jump Session’s Swing dance classes at DancEast.

They’ll be dipping and hopping all night long to ’20s-’40s jazz. Pull out the poodle skirts and give it a twirl. If you’re a newbie, they have a beginner lesson from 8 to 9 p.m., with the full-on dancehall party starting afterwards.

You can hit the floor for just $7, or $5 if you have a student ID. 805 Woodland St.

CAN’T FORCE A DANCE PARTY Queer Dance Party

9 p.m. to 3 a.m., third Friday of each month, The 5 Spot On any given month, the QDP is mixed bag of fashionably clad attendees (some in the occasional costume) dancing till they can’t dance no mo’ at The 5 Spot, which was coincidentally named the second-best place to dance in Nashville. Help pack out the cozy club, shake a leg, slurp down some of the drink specials, and let your true colors show.

1006 Forrest Ave.

GUFFAW AND GET DOWN Luxury Prestige III

7 p.m., third Friday of each Month, The East Room

The East Room always has you covered for Friday nights. You’ll be able to get all your giggles and grooves in one spot. At 7 p.m., Luxury Prestige III kicks off the night with a scripted comedy competition where the audience chooses the winner. Also featured are live sketch and scripted video competitions (with prizes awarded), and a musical guest.

Pay $3 to get y’er kicks. After Luxury Prestige III, starting at 10 p.m., bands will kick out the jams until 1 a.m. 2412 Gallatin Ave., 615-3353137

WHOSE EAST SIDE IS IT ANYWAY? Music City Improv

8 p.m., third Friday of each month, The Building

Music City Improv proudly puts on their high-energy show at The Building in East Nashville each month. Every month’s show is different, featuring a healthy mix of shortand long-form improv, plus live and video sketch comedy. Think of it as your own local “Saturday Night Live” on a Friday night. This gig tends to sell out, so buy your tickets in advance online. 1008 C. Woodland St.

THERE’S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING First Time Stories

7 to 10 p.m., first Friday of each month, Actor’s Bridge Studio

We all have our firsts; some are better than others. Whether it’s a story about that first prom night (when you weren’t crowned king or queen), your first concert, or maybe that first kiss, these stories are the stuff of the stage — well, this stage, at least. Actors Bridge hosts an open mic night especially made for such soliloquies. They call it “storytelling karaoke,” and they only ask that you tell it straight from the heart in less than five minutes. Bring your first and it won’t be the last time you make it out. Admission is $5 (bring a few extra bucks for the cash bar). 4304 Charlotte Ave.

TURN THIS ONE OVER Palaver Records Presents at Turn One

9 p.m., Saturdays, Turn One

Palaver Records is casting out its net a little further into the dives of East Nasty. They have their weekly showcase spot at FooBAR and now they’re moving down Gallatin with another evening of music at Turn One. Each Saturday they will have three bands to get your grooves going. Tip: this haunt is cash only with games galore. Get your shuffleboard on, shoot some pool, or throw darts while you listen to the Palaver lineup. Bring enough dough for the $5 cover and your tab. 3208 Gallatin Pike

GET ALTRUISTIC AT EAST ROOM LightsOut Events

7:30 p.m., fourth Saturday of each month, The East Room

The East Room is getting their philanthropy on. Every month the venue hosts a show in partnership with LightsOut Events to benefit selected charities. Four bands crank out the tunes and proceeds will go toward the cause of choice for the month. One of the events most notable benefactors is Notes for Notes, which provides music instruments and lessons to children (we know how much you love that, Music City). If you’re feeling froggy, come out and listen to some local acts for a good cause.

2412 Gallatin Ave., 615-335-3137

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR

WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME Desire/Desire/Desire

9 p.m., first Saturday of each month, The East Room

If you’re looking for a place to shake it out to some tunes that don’t include the latest and greatest from Billboard’s Top 100, The East Room fits the bill. They host a dance night

solely dedicated to only the most dark and sensual tunes of years past. This party, created for “electric youth and dream warriors,” blends all types dark pop including (but not limited to) Italo disco, freestyle, synthpop, Lazer Soul, hi-NRG, and electro-hop. DJs Baron Von Birk, Grey People, and HYPE will be laying down the tracks for the evening. 2412 Gallatin Ave., 615-335-3137

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS & EVENTS

SHELBY HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

6:30 p.m. third Monday of every odd numbered month, Shelby Community Center 401 S. 20th St., www.shelbyhills.org

MAXWELL HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION 6 p.m. fourth Monday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct 936 E. Trinity Lane

EASTWOOD NEIGHBORS

6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of every month, Eastwood Christian Church 1601 Eastland Ave., www.eastwoodneighbors.org

GREENWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION 6 p.m. second Tuesday of every month, House on the Hill 909 Manila St., www.greenwoodneighbors.org

EAST NASHVILLE CAUCUS

5 p.m. first Wednesday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct The East Nashville Caucus provides a public forum for East Nashville community leaders, representatives, council members and neighbors. 936 E. Trinity Lane

CHAMBER EAST

8:15 to 9:30 a.m. first Wednesday of every month, location changes monthly The Chamber East meets every month for a networking coffee to discuss community updates and how to grow and improve the East Nashville area.

EAST HILL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

6:30 p.m. second Wednesday of every month, Metro Police Precinct East 936 E. Trinity Lane

CLEVELAND PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION 6:30 p.m. second Thursday of every month, Cleveland Park Community Center 610 N. Sixth St., www.facebook.com/groups/ ClevelandPark

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EAST SIDE CALENDAR

INGLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION 7 p.m. first Thursday of every month, Isaac Litton Alumni Center 4500 Gallatin Rd., www.inglewoodrna.org

MCFERRIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

If you have an event you would like to have listed, please send information about the event to calendar@theeastnashvillian.com.

For more up to date information, be sure to visit us at theeastnashvillian.com

6:30 p.m. first Thursday of every month, McFerrin Park Community Center 301 Berry St.

ROSEBANK NEIGHBORS

6:30 p.m. third Thursday of every month, Memorial Lutheran Church 1211 Riverside Dr.

HENMA

6 to 8 p.m. second Tuesday of every month, location varies HENMA is a cooperative formed among East Nashville business owners to promote collaboration with neighborhood associations and city government. Check the association’s website to learn about the organization and where meetings will be held each month. www.eastnashville.org

DICKERSON ROAD MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION

4 p.m. last Thursday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct 936 E. Trinity Lane, www. dickersonroadmerchants.com

MOMS CLUB OF EAST NASHVILLE

10 a.m. first Friday of every month, location varies by group MOMS (Moms Offering Moms Support) Club is an international organization of mothers with three branches in the East Nashville area.

It provides a support network for mothers to connect with other EN mothers. The meetings are open to all mothers in the designated area. Meetings host speakers, cover regular business items of the organization including upcoming service initiatives and activities, and also allow women to discuss the ins and outs, ups and downs of being a mother. Visit www. momsclubeast.blogspot.com to determine which MOMS group your residence falls under.

Inglewood: 10 a.m. (email inglewoodmoms@ gmail.com for location) Lockeland: 10 a.m. East Park Community Center, 600 Woodland St. Eastwood: contact chapter for time and location

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Escorts to History CONTI N U E D F R O M PAG E 5 0

Charlie McCoy and his former bandmates hang out in the control room at Cinderella Studio in January: (L-R) McCoy, Wayne Moss, Jimmy Miller, and Mac Gayden. (Photo by Stacie Huckeba)

the most popular band in Nashville. They played a variety of gigs over those years, from frat parties and high school proms to club gigs at Fort Campbell and club residencies in Printers Alley. They even occasionally opened for Roy Orbison, including an appearance at The Hippodrome in Nashville and a couple of shows in Macon, Ga. For a short time, they even owned their own teen club in East Nashville.

It wasn’t just their superb musicianship that made the band popular. “It was all about showmanship,” Sturdivant told the Nashville Scene in 1995. “That was what we felt set us apart.”

“You had to have some zaniness, or some acrobatics, or some silliness — you couldn’t just get up there and play,” Aikins explains. “Well, you could, but you wouldn’t get the attention, you couldn’t book as many jobs.”

One storied example of the band’s “zaniness” took place at Hillwood Country Club when 82

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they found themselves playing before an unexpectedly large crowd around the club’s swimming pool. At the urging of Moss, Sturdivant and Aikins climbed up on the diving boards while playing their horns during a spirited performance of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.” As the kids in attendance chanted “jump,” the two horn players obliged them, leaping into the pool as the song ended with instruments in hand. “The place went nuts,” Aikins says.

Their shows would open with the band vamping on a riff and Sturdivant acting as emcee. He would bring McCoy onstage with a rousing introduction that concluded with “… the Harmonica Wizard of the South, Charlie McCoy!” McCoy would not only wow their audiences with his spellbinding harp work, but also with his ability to play more than one instrument at a time. “He would squeeze the bass with his left hand and make the note, and then play

trumpet with the right hand and sing in between,” Moss says, describing McCoy’s musical ambidexterity. “We had two other horns in the band at the time, so if they went, ‘dah-dah dah dah” in three-part harmony, it sounded pretty massive with the rhythm section behind it.” On some songs, Aikins, who was a standout keyboardist, would switch to trumpet and add to the horn section’s big sound.

weren’t using a lot of horns on sessions in Nashville at that time. Occasionally, artists they worked with in the studio, such as Ray Stevens and Carl Perkins, would come to The Sack and give the material they had recorded a test run in front of a live teen audience with backing from McCoy & The Escorts.

In 1962, the band closed The Sack and

moved the club’s PA system to the two-car garage at Moss’ house that would become Cinderella Studio. The band also had its first lineup changes that year, with Miller being the first to leave. His replacement was Quitman Dennis, a Vanderbilt student who was a well-regarded saxophonist and flutist the band knew from a local rock group called The Sliders.

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n June of ’61, McCoy landed his first two master recording sessions. “Kent was writing a lot and he would let me sit in on his writing sessions,” he explains. “I would get my harmonica out and play along while he was singing his songs. So he did this song called “I Just Don’t Understand” that he and Marijohn Wilkin wrote together, and I was playing along with it, and he said, ‘Boy, I’m going to ask Denny if you can play on the demo of this song.’”

So McCoy played some signature, mournful harp on the demo recording, and not long after that, he got a call from Denny. “Chet [Atkins] just called,” the publisher said, “and he’s recording a new girl singer from Sweden named Ann-Margret, and he wants you to play exactly what you played on the demo.”

The week after he played on his first record, McCoy played on his second. Fred Foster, the head of Monument Records, had also heard the demo for “I Just Don’t Understand” and booked him to play harmonica on Roy Orbison’s “Candy Man.” Not a bad start to his career as a studio cat: two sessions, two Top 40 hits, both powered by his harmonica work.

By that fall, McCoy & The Escorts had opened a teen club called The Sack above the Goodyear store on Gallatin Road, two blocks up from East High School. As Miller put it, “The Sack took the worry out of jobless weekends.” The club would hold 100-125 people, and the band would pack the house.

Cadence’s Archie Bleyer stopped by the club to check out the band during a rehearsal one afternoon and liked what he saw and heard so much he had The Escorts back McCoy on his next single for the label. They went into RCA Studio B in October and recorded “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “Rooster Blues,” a pair of sides that foreshadowed blues-influenced recordings British bands like The Animals would be releasing a few years later. “Charlie is a master at rhythm & blues,” Moss says.

As a result of his work with Orbison and Ann-Margret, McCoy was starting to get a lot of calls for sessions, and whenever possible, he included his band mates, especially Buttrey, Moss and Aikins — unfortunately, producers March | April 2015

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“Wayne and Charlie were doing a lot of sessions, and we couldn’t actually leave town very [often] because of that, and I needed the money,” says Miller, who was soon playing with Dale Hawkins of “Susie Q” fame.

“I couldn’t turn down jobs because they were doing sessions.”

Dennis hadn’t been in the band long before Moss departed because he no longer had enough time for the band. “What happened is we got Cinderella Studio [set up], and Wayne was spending more and more time there,” he

recalls. “And Wayne was also missing more and more gigs because of studio work.”

Dennis recommended Mac Gayden, the guitarist from The Sliders, to be Moss’ replacement. According to Aikins, Gayden made the band “funkier.” As it turned out, Gayden would emerge as the band’s best songwriter, writing or cowriting seven of the 14 songs McCoy & The Escorts recorded for Monument after Cadence went out of business. He credits McCoy with helping him develop as a writer. “If not for Charlie, I would have been a banker,” jokes

Gayden, who would go on to cowrite the pop and R&B standard “Everlasting Love,” which was recently recognized for passing nine million airplays in the U.S. One of the songs he cowrote that was recorded by the band — the up-tempo blues number “Harpoon Man” — probably played a role in the events that led Bob Dylan to begin recording in Nashville in 1966. As has been well documented, at the invitation of producer Bob Johnston, McCoy met Dylan at Columbia Studios during a visit to New York City in August of 1965. He ended up sitting in on the recording of “Desolation Row,” the 11-minute finale to Highway 61 Revisited, and contributed the signature Flamenco-style guitar fills on the track. The ease with which McCoy did that has often been cited as a pivotal factor in Dylan’s eventual decision to come to Nashville to make Blonde On Blonde. But something Dylan told McCoy when they were first being introduced almost certainly factored into his decision, as well. He said he had one of McCoy’s records — “Harpoon Man” backed by “I’m Ready” — and that he liked McCoy’s harmonica playing on it.

Dylan had to have liked the way the rest of the band played on the record, too, especially Buttrey.

McCoy & The Escorts were already making the kind of rock ’n’ roll recordings Dylan wanted to make, so why not use them on his records? As it turned out, McCoy, Moss and Buttrey played on all the Nashville sessions for Blonde On Blonde.

Gayden and Aikins also appeared on the record, as did Wayne “Dock” Butler, a trombonist/ saxophonist who had joined The Escorts lineup by then. Butler is best known as the trombone player McCoy called in the middle of the night to help create the Salvation Army sound on Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.”

As McCoy has often noted, after Dylan came to Nashville to record, the floodgates opened, and an array of artists followed him to Music City, including The Byrds, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Johnny Winter, Joe Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, and Steve Miller. More often than not, the musical pilgrims coming to the emerging music mecca were recording with McCoy and members of The Escorts — they were like the rock and soul A-team.

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s their work outside the band increased, it wreaked havoc on their live performances, with subs filling in for members who were working sessions, or even worse, offers of gigs being declined. It got so bad, there was at least one time that even McCoy himself had a sub, albeit a talented one — Joe South.

According to Dennis, South’s brother Tommy and Jim Isbell would sub for Buttrey, as did a drummer named Tommy Amato, who as teenager used go to see McCoy & The Escorts play at The Sack.

This mainly affected the horn players, but Aikins left the band for the same reason in 1963, although he continued to record with 84

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them from time to time. Like Miller before him, Dennis left The Escorts for more reliable work not long after Aikins and was replaced by tenor man Jerry Tuttle. Sturdivant departed the band in 1963, and two years later he opened the first Nashville office of the music trade magazine Record World. He would later become the editor of the Music City News.

By the time Charlie McCoy & The Escorts called it quits in 1968 because they had too much else going on, the band had an all-brass horn section: Eddie Tinch, Benny McDonald, and sometimes McCoy on trumpet, and Bergen White, who later made his mark as a string arranger, on trombone.

That same year, Dennis, Aikins, and Amato relocated to Las Vegas, where they would work with Bobby Darin up until his death in 1973.

Dennis would later move to L.A., where he recorded with a number of well-known artists, including B.B. King, Etta James, Jackson Browne, and Joan Armatrading.

In 1969, McCoy, Buttrey, Moss, and Gayden joined with five other Nashville session cats to form the trailblazing instrumental supergroup Area Code 615, which released two genre-defying albums in ’69 and ’70 that influenced the emerging subgenre of country rock, as well as the jam band movement that would come later. After the demise of the Code, in addition to his session work, McCoy went on to have an award-winning and hit-making career as a

country instrumental recording artist. Gayden, Buttrey, and Moss founded the pioneering Southern rock group Barefoot Jerry, which famously was name-checked on the 1975 hit by the Charlie Daniels Band, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again.” Buttrey and Gayden left Barefoot Jerry after the first album, but Moss kept the group going for five more records, moving the group in more of a country rock direction. Like McCoy, Buttrey continued to be an in-demand session musician, but he also was a longtime member of Neil Young’s Stray Gators band and Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. In addition to continuing to be a hit pop and R&B songwriter, Gayden recorded a pair of solo albums in the ’70s, as well as one with his band Skyboat.

He also pioneered the use of the wah wah peddle with slide guitar, which influenced Steve Miller and Lowell George, among many other slide players.

The rain is still falling outside Cinderella Studio, but inside, McCoy, Moss, Miller, and Gayden are all smiles as the photo shoot comes to a close. While the photographer packs up her equipment, the men say their goodbyes. On the way to his car, Gayden reflects back to the day more than five decades earlier when he was invited to join Charlie McCoy & The Escorts: “It was the defining moment of my career — period!”

The Dresser CONTI N U E D F R O M PAG E 5 8

Over the years, a lot of notable musicians, past and present, have tuned up and sung along.

“Townes Van Zandt, David Olney, Chelle Rose, Gail Davies, John Hadley, Phil Kaufman — the list is long,” she says.

With colorful walls and lots of windows, the home is also conducive to Sola’s work as an artist — she creates hand-pulled prints, books, and textiles that she sells at Fat Crow Press, her gallery in the Idea Hatchery on Woodland Street near 5 Points. She learned her skills as a typesetter and printmaker while working for Hatch Show Print whenever she wasn’t on tour.

“Every time I would come off the road, I’d work there,” she says. “I was up there for eight years between touring. I took 2011 off, and all I did was work at Hatch and do art festivals.

I would work on three posters a week. We all did. We did a lot of CD covers, [and] I headed up the posters for the presidential debates for CNN all over the country.”

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It was through Hatch that Sola first came to do some work for Willie Nelson.

She has done some additional work for Nelson since then, carving his face for a 4th of July poster and designing the image for his “merch bag.”

“I needed Willie’s album title for the Hatch poster I was designing,” she says, referring to the poster for his 2009 appearance at the Ryman Auditorium. She called Scooter Franks, one of her contacts in Nelson’s camp, who happened to be seated next to Willie on the tour bus at that very moment.

“I heard Scooter say, ‘It’s Julie, she needs the name of the album.’ It put him on the spot, and then and there, he named the album American Classic. The next day, Willie sent me a dozen yellow roses thanking me for helping him name the album.”

For more information about Julie Sola or her artwork, visit www.fatcrowpress.com.

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marketplace

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Dear Miss ROYANNE DEAR ROYANNE, My husband says I’m domestically challenged. Okay, so I accidentally tried washing the dishes with the agave nectar instead of dishwashing liquid, but everybody makes mistakes, right? And who around here isn’t allergic to crack Kroger? Yeah, I hate doing laundry almost as much as I hate sweeping, but who doesn’t? If we could afford a housekeeper we’d get one. What to do?

Very truly yours, DIRTY LAUNDRY DEAR DIRTY, I once remember my husband scraped all the stuck-on food with a solution he called “clean sauce.” It was a mixture of old fertilizer, some our little one’s baby wipe juice, and sodium pentagram — or something. I just remember those dishes sparkled!! Sadly, we had to put him a “special home” in ‘89. They linked it to fertilizer and his little “glue” habit. If I woke up in your shoes, and lord knows I have, I would make some Apple Butter and eat your feelings. Treat yourself to blackout levels of intoxication. That helps too.

MISS ROYANNE, If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Signed, THE THINKER DEAR THINKY, Glad you asked that question.

This bears some deeper explanation. You see, Thinky, we must first examine the nature of the tree. Did you know they talk? I am not pulling your brain stem here —I am SERIOUS. I hear ‘em. And you know what they tell me? They tell me that they want 300 million dollars or you will receive a dead box elder bush everyday until their demands are met. Trees are liars, so the question is moot. I am gonna make you my special Chicken Nugget Frito Shame Pie! Hope you’re hungry, honey!

MISS ROYANNE, Rideshares, especially Uber becoming increasingly popular. What are your thoughts?

Roll on, KEVIN DEAR KEVIN, We are two dots from total disaster — that’s what I think.

Like they used to teach in the lil skool room: “I before E except after C and double dots cause world wars” What’s next? Uboat? See? Slippery slope. You want me to fix somthin’ for ya to eat?

DEAR MISS ROYANNE, I am thinking of convering part of my house into an Airbnb but I am not sure where to start. What do you suggest?

Feelin’ nesty, MSUHME Me … um … how do you even pronounce that? I feel like maybe the nations of the world are closing in on us. First Uboat and Uber and now some kind of ancient language from a superior species and you are gonna have one IN YOUR HOUSE? I suggest you start gussin’ up and get you a husband before you go totally nuts.

Now, how about some Fish Casserole?

MISS ROYANNE, Me and my boyfriend have been together for 8 months now and he is tired of waiting to have sex. How do I stave him off?

Patiently yours, SWEATER PUP DEAR PUPPY Does he have a beard? Good credit? Gets a bath quarterly? Send him my number. I’ll heal him so he won’t bother ya much. You want some apple butter I made last year when there was food?

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East of NORMAL TOMMY WOMACK

I

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye to The Family Wash, or at least not to the edifice that was host to its first life. I plumb forgot and now I feel like there’s unfinished business. But what am I going to do? Amble to the corner of Greenwood and Porter and kiss the front window?

I played The Wash dozens and dozens of times. There was a rare vibe in that old converted laundromat; from the twinkly Christmas lights onstage to the cool paintings and photos of local talent, from the shepherd’s pies and ploughman’s platters to the Guinness and the Crazy Cat Lady action figure in the original box. (Cue the theme from Cheers.)

I haven’t had a drink in years, and I hope I never do again. But I still like bars — places where I average five hugs in an evening, where there’s happy chatter, good music, great food, and enough Class A musicians wetting their whistles that you can start at one end of the bar and have a band by the time you get to the other end. I’ve done it. One night I had a solo acoustic gig and wished I had a band. So I drafted Audley Freed to play guitar, Billy Mercer for the bass and Steve Latanation for the drums.

We marched up to the stage and played a set foaming with brio.

Now, let’s be clear: The place had inherent flaws that would sink a lesser venue. The PA was always on its last legs, night after night on the verge of disintegrating once and for all. On any occasion, the audience might be

louder than the band. If you were playing a solo acoustic set, God help you. But here’s the thing: For some reason, you never got angry at a noisy crowd there. Chatty patrons that would make you boiling mad at any other venue just washed off like water off a duck’s back. I don’t know why, other than the fact that no matter how loud the crowd was, they always applauded fiercely after every song.

Lastly — and this is why they’re moving — business was booming to the point that there were often more customers than room to put them. I’m going to guesstimate there were 12 tables in the place, and the bar could accommodate maybe 15 to 20 people. Say it was a night when The Ornaments or Sons of Zevon were playing, and you would have all the tables taken, 40 people at the bar and people stuck in every nook and cranny from the back corner to the waitress station, down the back wall to the one restroom. It engendered a feeling of being one of 75 mice crammed into a Days Inn ice bucket.

So now, the unfailingly sweet major-domo Jamie Rubin and the whole gang have pulled up stakes and are moving into a larger space.

If he and the same people are involved, it’ll be great. Some people will bitch that it’s not the same — you can set your watch by people like that. But Pete Finney will be there, as will Warren Pash, Kevin Gordon, Stacie Huckeba, and all the others who call The Wash home. The spirit will carry on, resting on the broad backs of people I love and will continue to, in any building, anywhere.

—Tommy Womack is a singer-songwriter and a member of Government Cheese, Daddy, and the bis-quits. He is the author of “Cheese Chronicles” and “The Lavender Boys & Elsie.” Visit his website at tommywomack.com and keep up with his popular “Monday Morning Cup of Coffee” series and “Tommy Womack’s Friday Happiness Hour” on EastNashvilleRadio.com.

His column “East of Normal” appears in every issue of The East Nashvillian. He is currently working on a memoir and a new Government Cheese record to be released in Spring 2015.

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PARTING SHOT

DAVE BLISS CLOUD

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