AppyLove/MaddyLove

Appy Love is Moving!

2011-02-28T16:42:00.006-05:00

From now on, I'll be blogging under my name. Our move to Wisconsin plus my attempt at building a freelance portfolio plus my desire to write more about music all add up to a more practical bloggy existence over at

amandarigell.wordpress.com.

All AppyLove posts have been transferred there and I'm slowly getting them appropriately catalogued. Thanks for checking it out!

Limerick Challenge

2010-12-08T02:56:00.003-05:00

Earlier this fall, Knoxville's MetroPulse held a limerick contest that a friend challenged me to enter. I didn't enter the contest, but I did just stumble across the limericks I sent him in response to the challenge. It was fun to reread them as I've been missing Knoxville lately.

They primarily focus on music and drinking. For your reading pleasure:

there once was a lady in knoxvul
old records she bought by the boxful
the high lonesome sound
just followed her round
that music is probly unlawful.

there once was an old volunteer
who chased all of his moonshine with beer
but when carbon monoxide
sent popcorn to the far side
he hightailed it like old paul revere

in the rowdy young hamlet of knox
the time is not measured by clocks
it's measured in tears
and the number of years
since hank williams went out in a box

Here's a political one (completely out of my depth but I love the phrase "bronx cheer"):

while climbing atop of the sunsphere
glenn reynolds delivered a bronx cheer
the liberals hollered
"hey, we'll get you collared!
a few of us actually live here."

Random Musing

2010-12-06T19:50:00.003-05:00

I'm gonna see a lot more people's socks this winter due to snowy boots parked on entryway rugs.

Dawes at the Majestic

2010-11-24T15:16:00.014-05:00

I haven't been posting here (had some other writing projects in the works), but I was so frustrated about this show that I wanted to write something about it. Still love the band, but I won't know what their new songs sound like until I buy the album, unfortunately. Here's why.

After listening to Dawes' release, 'North Hills,' for over a year, and then watching their high-energy set of 70s-influenced country-rock at the Terrace this summer, I was looking forward to seeing them at Majestic Madison on Nov. 12.

But I was disappointed.

Their three-part sun-drenched harmonies were still there. Their lyrics haven't changed. Their musicianship has only improved. So what happened?

The Majestic happened.

The venue, one of my favorites, with its funky retro architecture and warm red glow, let me down last night. A set that could have had the roomful of PBR tallboy-nursing hipsters rocking and bopping and throwing its arms in the air for 75 minutes achieved that result precisely ONE time, at the end of the night.

For the rest of the show, lead singer and guitarist Taylor Goldsmith's face was veiled in shadow, and the glorious harmonies that bolster this band's melody-driven romantic songwriting were veiled in tooth-thrumming, wall-trembling bass. It was like the stage crew from my high school's drama club was running this show, more interested in perfecting their secret flashlight code and congratulating each other on their work than in getting results for the guys onstage.

The stage lights were low or off for most of Dawes’ performance, then turned into a Stone Mountain Laser Light Show for the band's biggest hit and last song of the set, 'When My Times Comes.' Those lights danced, flooded the singalong crowd, and finally let us see Goldsmith's face. Giving us absolutely no buildup for 70 minutes and then a light show explosion just felt, um...adolescent.

And soundwise, I'm all for feeling the room shake when a band plays, but Dawes could have gotten us to that point on the strength of their commitment to the songs and their skill as lyricists and vocalists. The moments when the guys climbed into their harmonies and hung there, escalating to the songs' peaks, would have pulled in the crowd more effectively and more permanently if we could've heard the lyrics behind the melodies too.

Instead, we halfheartedly swayed, checked our cellphones, tried to chat despite the deafening noise, and pinballed drunkenly off the ramp toward the bathrooms. Except for the last song, when the stage lights finally came up and everyone invested, sang along, threw our arms in the air, and felt what we came to feel.

I will say this for the night: it was novel. Coming to see a band whose album I'd been singing along with for months and leaving feeling like I'd watched a one-hit wonder was a new one on me.

Great News for Johnson City

2010-08-26T08:51:00.002-04:00

Grant funding for the Depot!

2010-08-16T00:15:00.003-04:00

After two call-free weekends in a row with the AppyHubs, I've noticed that having an amazing weekend in the summer in Madison doesn't seem to take much effort. Witness last weekend's rewards just for LEAVING OUR HOUSE:But the real reward was meeting the woman who gave us the chairs. She is amazing.

Anyway, I started a tally in my head tonight, and decided to store it on the old blog for posterity. We've lived in the Great Midwest for exactly two months this Tuesday, and here's what I have to show for it.

3 house concerts
2 neighborhood festivals
1 samba show
1 todd snider show
2 concerts on the square
4 softball games
2 trips to chicago by train
1 pig roast
14 restaurants visited, including 3 breweries
1 game of settlers
1 10-hour job interview
1 house purchased
20 miles jogged (FAIL)
1 visit with high school friends
6 skype conversations
7 pieces of mail from my parents
2 pieces of mail from becca
1 cd cover design process begun and almost finished
1 teaching memoir blog started
250 email conversations
1 art fair
1 farmers' market (also FAIL)
1 vet visit
1 dentist visit
2 graduate school visits
6 songs recorded in garage band
2 movies at the fancy sundance theatre
1 dylan tribute concert at a brewery
1 successful grant edit for a local community center
2 jam sessions with a couple of family docs from galveston
2 concerts at the memorial union, 1 including fireworks
5 trips to trader joe's, which is now 1.5 miles from our house
and countless warnings from locals about how truly harsh the winter is going to be.

I realize some of you out there accomplish approximately this much before I wake up in the morning (I'm looking at YOU, 500Jerk), but I guess what I'm realizing is that we just DO more stuff here. The energy of the town is kind of infectious. I guess when you know a 7 month winter is around the corner, and you dedicate a pretty substantial amount of time to beer-drinking, you sure as heck better get active when you can. Still on the list are camping on one of the beautiful lakes nearby, lining up some shows, and buying a bike. Slightly lower on the list is getting a real job. I'll let you know how that goes.

Madison Journalism

2010-08-13T20:26:00.002-04:00

I meant to post this yesterday, but forgot. A friend here in Madison writes for the alternative weekly, a paper similar to Knoxville's MetroPulse. (Actually, he wrote there for a while too.)

Anyway, last week he wrote the paper's cover story, which shines an even-handed light on the sex trade in Madison. I think it's a well-written piece on a bleak, heartbreaking subject.

Another House Show

2010-08-13T12:42:00.002-04:00

So, something kind of unique to our new homeland is the supper club. We haven't been to a traditional supper club yet, but we did go to a house show last week that took place in a basement and uses the old supper club concept as its namesake. The owners of the house, on Madison's northeast side, have retained the very 50s vibe of the house, and when they host shows in their basement, they call it the North Mendota Supper Club. It's just a regular old half-heartedly finished basement, with paneling on three sides and linoleum on the fourth wall. On the linoleum, old 7" records have been tacked up. The room looks like it was decorated by a 15 year old with precocious musical taste as part of some kind of bargain with his parents. You know, keep him out of trouble by encouraging him to start a band in the basement. He can even decorate the room!

In short, it's the kind of space that you could grow to love instantly. It feels familiar and hopeful and honest.

I had seen video from a house show there back in the spring by one of our favorite Knoxville artists, who is absolutely revered by the show's host and other attendees of the show we saw. That made the NMSC feel more familiar as well.

The band we saw perform last week is called The Mimicking Birds. They were incredible. The lead singer's voice is remarkably similar to early Paul Simon, but used in a more trancy, hypnotizing way, funneled through a mic effect pedal that made it sound like he was singing into a toy mic-- the kind that's just cheap plastic with a spring inside. Even though that description is weird, the effect sounded incredible. The band plays as a trio--a drummer, rhythm guitar and vocals, and lead guitar with some light harmony. At times I just leaned back against the linoleum wall and felt the way I used to in college when I listened to Radiohead. It was a moving, intimate concert. What said the most to me about the band, though, was the fact that they had a full drum kit and amps in this tiny basement and it never sounded too loud. They completely nailed the way they needed to sound for the space they were in.

Add that to these other odds and ends: they were heading out that night so they could play Lollapalooza the next morning, their CD is a Glacial Pace release, and unlikely frontman Nate Lacy did the weird, primal artwork for the disc's cover.

It was a great show.

Remote Area Medical in Wise, VA

2010-08-03T15:11:00.003-04:00

Thanks to my old buddy S. for sending this moving article. Every year there is thoughtful, compassionate coverage of this event in Appalachia, and every year the argument seems more compelling for comprehensive healthcare for all Americans.

House Show

2010-07-27T14:15:00.005-04:00

So, last week or the week before we went to a house show here in Madison. David Bazan performed some of his slightly bizarre and always heartbreakingly gorgeous tunes with a minimum of talk between them. We drank some local beers and ate a gas-station Twix bar. It was pretty heavenly.

A videographer whose work I really like was at the show and posted one Bazan video--a cover of Dylan's "The Man in Me."

The house where the show was held was probably the nicest downtown condo I've been in. Curved walls, all kinds of maple woodwork, transom windows over the bedroom doors. Crazy nice. The crowd was subdued and polite. Here's what one attendee had to say about it, in fact:

Nothing very inaccurate here, even the dig at balding hipsters. For heaven's sake, I was there with two bearded, bespectacled psychiatrists. But I love the tweet that says, "I'm too high for this." Oh man, to be twenty again in the summertime, right?

The next night we saw one of our favorite performers ever at High Noon. Todd Snider played a solo show full of his trademark humor and Texas-songwriter grace, barefoot and wearing a hat, vest, and sloppy necktie. The guy is awesome. What I've noticed about him is that every time you talk to someone else who likes his music, they all talk about him by first name only. Like they know him. He hasn't had a beer with a single one of them, but all of them feel like he has. It's magic. (Thanks to ND for the download!)

Madison Art Show

2010-07-12T01:31:00.006-04:00

If the human eye can really perceive images as quickly as researchers tell us it can, I must have seen twenty million beautiful works of art today at the Art Fair on the Square.

Of course, Dolan Geiman would be my favorite. His company's tagline is "Contemporary Art with a Southern Accent." But oh, look at his gorgeous work! It's affordable, too--for his mini-prints, probably 20% more than you'd pay for something similar--but mass-produced and soulless--at Target.
For my southern friends and family, he'll be in Atlanta and Nashville in the fall!

Appalachian Refugee

2010-07-04T16:14:00.008-04:00

Nothing better on the fourth of July than celebrating your own little corner of a great nation. Hell yes, Scott Miller.

And something my old pal voxels said last summer sounds especially true right now:

There are fences in that pasture, even though someone may have left the gate open.

What separates your love for home from your love for East Tennessee? Home is the place you bring someone to show them your peculiar nature. Peculiar are the lightning bugs that rise off a field far into the trees. Trees surround the lakes with depression era silos biding time as fish farms, and that is East Tennessee.

We drove around the sweeping Wisconsin countryside today, only seven miles from town or so. It's everywhere around us--baby cows sleeping in big dog kennels, a stone millhouse, red silos and open barn doors and square mile after square mile of corn. It's nice to know we'll have that nearby for these few years, before returning through the open gate. To the bittersweet fenced-in feeling of home.

Happy Independence Day.

Instant Karma's Gonna Getcha

2010-07-01T16:38:00.014-04:00

Two days ago, I was feeling pretty thrilled to be living in a place as awesome as Madison is proving itself to be. I mean, I was sitting in our apartment with the air conditioning OFF. O-F-F. Just a day before July. For a lifelong Tennessean, this was a staggering experience.

So naturally I did what any unemployed person would do. I thought to myself, I'mma write about this on FACEBOOK!

Behold.

My beloved sister-in-law, a Weather Channel devotee, had some choice words for me about Karma. Obviously I knew that the braggadacio of that post would bite me in the ass eventually, like when it dumps 42 feet of snow here in about four months, and I'm shoveling an uphill driveway and dodging falling icicles everywhere.

But you guys. Ol' Karma had something specialer than 42 feet of snow in mind for me on this day.

Check it out:

That right up there is a map of Lyme Disease.

That black spot that exists right over Madison is the color that means

HOLY SHIT YOU ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO DIE OF LYME DISEASE!!!

I'm going to set the record straight on this right now. There's almost nothing I hate more than ticks. It's pretty much like,

War
Hitler
Ticks.

But what is life, if not a series of unspectacular trade-offs, right? I mean, it's not like ticks live for two years, right? I mean, surely the FRIGID, ARCTIC, BLACK-NOSED FROSTBITE winter kills them off, right?

Wrong. According to this article in the Cap Times, the bastards live for TWO YEARS, hiding out under leaves and sublimating themselves to rise like a *%$*ing PHOENIX when early spring rolls back around.

You know.

In June.

In the meantime, I'll be building a gravel "tick barrier" and obsessively checking my nether regions with a pocket mirror every 18 hours or so. Great idea for a hit song, Brad Paisley.

Ode to a Dog

2010-06-29T19:22:00.005-04:00

Since making the move to Wisconsin, life has changed the most, surprisingly, for our dog Agee. She hates apartment life, so even though we're looking for houses and only have a sublet, the pressure seems even higher to find someplace else just to pull her out of her temporary depression.

Needless to say, she and I have been going on more walks than we did in Tennessee--three a day or so. Spending all this time walking her, coupled with the fact that I spend most of the day in the apartment with her while writing cover letters (checking facebook), looking for jobs (reading emails), and drafting my teaching memoir (playing guitar in the spare room), I've gotten the chance to remember some things about her that I love, but had forgotten.

Here they are.

1) She has a beautiful, snow-white blaze on her neck and chest. It comes to a perfect point under her chin, and I always notice it when I'm walking behind her and she's bent down to sniff something inappropriate. It's like when an actress is sort of interesting-looking, and then she smiles, and she's gorgeous. It's Agee's secret weapon. Which makes her the canine equivalent of Helen Hunt, I guess.

2) I love how she's completely given up on squirrels and cats. One day she figured out that they will always have trees, and she never will. She looks at them with interest, then gives an almost-perceptible shrug. But after five years of fruitless pursuit, she will still chase the living hell out of a rabbit. They're like crack to her.

3) When she stops to smell stuff on a walk, she has a very tender, gentle expression. Like she doesn't want to miss any smells by being too aggressive with her gigantic snout--she's just coaxing them out of there like she's a freaking sommelier or something.

4) Little dogs go bananas when they see her. I mean, you would think she was a dragon, based on their reactions. They scream and claw at their owners' pant legs, then pull against their skinny pink leashes, yipping and shrieking at Agee like tiny banshees. Agee never barks at them. She rarely acknowledges them with a look, and when she does, it's a bewildered one. I love smiling and waving at those dog owners when we pass, while they struggle to pacify their batshit crazy pets, and Agee is shored up to me, my obedient little tugboat.

It almost makes up for the fact that I'm now a regular poop-scooper for a 90 pound mutt.

We Are Headed North

2010-06-01T11:15:00.004-04:00

Like the song says.
We're headed to Madison, Wisconsin for a five-year tour. AppyHubs found gainful employment there, which is a cause for celebration in and of itself. Madison is a great town that holds dear many of the same traditions that make the mountain south glorious: local food, college football, good music, and family ties.

Before we go, though, we're hoping to release a little EP, visit the Little City Rollergirls, catch Dave Rawlings in Bristol, and see one more show at the Down Home. (Speaking of which, Tift Merritt will be there in July and if you are reading this you MUST go see her. MUST.)

And in September, we'll be back for Rhythm and Roots. And in 2015, we'll be back most likely for good.

In the meantime, AppyLove is looking for writers! I know you're out there, waiting to type up beautiful hyperlinked odes to goings-on in the region. Send them to me, as all my posts will be mournful, elegaic ones from a cold three-season porch in Wisconsin. You can post them to me here.

Awesomeness, continued

2010-05-29T00:10:00.003-04:00

This, from the fine folks at ETSU.

And this little calendar update from Dave Rawlings Machine, which is just fantastic news. Check out June 11th!

This too?!?

2010-05-21T00:08:00.002-04:00

Awesomeness.
ps--These two are also touring with Jim James (My Morning Jacket) to raise support for Appalachian Voices!

I Told You So

2010-05-19T21:37:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth Cook is blowing up!

And I thought so last year!

Pardon my excitement. I just never feel on the cutting edge of anything. (I guess I wasn't, since Tennessee Shines introduced me to her!)

Sittin' on Top of the World

2010-05-16T22:21:00.003-04:00

As one of my students said last week, "We're worldwide, ain't we?"

Rock on, Appalachia. Or blues on, I guess.

Marquee of the Week

2010-05-02T20:13:00.002-04:00

From Erwin, TN:

"Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives."

Bristol Public Library Discovery Series

2010-04-18T16:44:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I went with some co-workers to the BPL to hear a talk by Lee Smith, one of my favorite authors. The talk was part of the BPL's Discovery Series. A brief personal history: I wrote one of my college application essays about Smith, and then heard her speak in Oak Ridge about five years later. When a friend's mom went through a period of illness several years ago, I sent her two of Smith's books, and then she went to a book signing and had Smith's novel On Agate Hill autographed for me.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to find out that she would be in Bristol last weekend. What I didn't know was that before Smith's book talk, Barbara Bates Smith was to perform a one-woman stage adaptation of Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies, an epistolary novel set in southwestern Virginia's coal corridor.

Bates Smith's performance was stupefyingly good, and moved myself and my colleagues to tears. Following the performance, Lee Smith's conversational explanation of her connection to Bristol and the inspiration for the novel, which was selected as a Community Reads book by the library, was intriguing for a longtime fan like me and for readers newly introduced to Smith's inimitable talent for capturing the voices of Appalachian people as well as the importance of our connection to the places we're from.

Barbara Bates Smith performs around the region and is accompanied by Jeff Sebens on dulcimer and banjimmer, which adds even greater emotional depth to the performance. I recommend trying to catch one of her onstage if you can.

As for Lee Smith, her new novel Mrs. Darcy Meets the Blue-Eyed Stranger was published in March, and an off-Broadway production of Good Ol' Girls, which adapts stories by Smith and Jill McCorkle (music by Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman!) opened on February 14th. All good things.

Next month, David Baldacci will be speaking!

Final Request

2010-04-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

Mule-Drawn Wagon and all.

Goodbye, Julia Sugarbaker

2010-04-12T18:13:00.001-04:00

A Kennedy in the Coal Mine

2010-03-30T15:16:00.010-04:00

Before I tell you what I'm about to tell you, I should first recount a conversation I had with my dad a couple of days ago. It started with a text message from him.

Dad (txt): When you get home, look in the News-Sentinel online for an article which has a title something like "For more than 40 years, a former nun..." It is about Marie Cirillo.

Yes, my dad's text messages are completely punctuated and grammatically correct. They usually arrive split across three screens' worth of space due to their precision and detailed nature .

Me (txt): k.

A day passes, and then I get a voicemail.

Dad: When you get a chance, look at the featured videos on the News-Sentinel website. You will see video footage and photos of Caroline Kennedy's work on a documentary series based on the lives of Appalachian coal miners.

As you will soon learn, Caroline Kennedy lived with Marie Cirillo when she visited Appalachia in 1973.

The voicemail went on to explain whom I would see in the foreground and background of the video and the photos that KNS had posted on their virtual front page. When I sat down to watch the video, though, I didn't get past the first seven seconds, because who I immediately saw flash across the video's foreground was MY OLD MAN!

Yes, that's right, beloved readers. My dad is in the video, but didn't notice himself there. He is a pretty self-effacing and modest dude. When I called him back in a state of euphoria, he denied his presence at that particular video shoot in 1973, though he's told me before about the work he did on the documentary, along with some friends and brothers. Here's how that conversation went:

Dad: No, I don't think I was there that day.

Me: Dad, I'm telling you. This image that I'm looking at? That I froze on my computer? This is YOU!

Dad: No, I'm pretty sure I wasn't there. Not for those interviews.

Me: Dad. Was this one of the moonshine days, or what? This person has ridiculously curly hair and a bushy mustache and is totally scratching his ear the exact same way you do.

Dad: I totally scratch my ear?

Me: Dad, come on. Did you wear a watch in 1973?

Dad: I stopped wearing a watch in 1990.

Who knows the year that they stopped wearing a watch? I'm planning to investigate this later.

Me: So this is probably you. Will you just watch it when you get home, and then call me?

Several hours pass, and no phone call. Finally, I call my dad.

Me: Well?

Dad: It's me.

Me: I TOLD YOU. You are in a video in Appalachia from the 1970s with Caroline Kennedy!

Dad: Yeah.

So, AL readers, how completely amazing and awesome is that? I couldn't wait to share this story with you so that I could also share this, my dad's explanation of the project for which he and Ms. Kennedy both conducted interviews in 1973:

The Cumberland Mountain Media Project was an oral history project conducted in the summer of 1973. It was a series of interviews of retired coal miners (and often times their wives) who lived and worked in Anderson, Campbell and Claiborne counties in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s.

The interviews were conducted at the homes of the interviewees. All the interviewees were retired at the time the interviews were recorded. The purpose of the project was the record and preserve the stories (the lives and experiences) of the coal mining communities and their residents in their own words.

The communities where the interviewees lived include Anthras, Clairfield, Egan and Roses Creek in Clairborne County; Morley, White Oak, Westbourne, Cotola and Stinking Creek in Campbell County; Lake City (formerly known as Coal Creek) and Briceville in Anderson County.

The videos from the Cumberland Mountain Media Project are currently archived here in Johnson City at the Archives of Appalachia, housed at ETSU.

Here's a screenshot of my dad from the video. As he says, "that cap I was wearing wasn't even touching my head!" Ah, the seventies:

If you haven't, please check out the video footage, Ms. Kennedy's stunning photographs, and Georgiana Vines' wonderful piece about Marie Cirillo and the lifetime of service she has given to Appalachian families and communities.

Ms. Cirillo's story is both humbling and inspirational, and she's someone of whom my dad has spoken highly my whole life. If you've got any stake in Appalachia, I think you'll love knowing what she's been up to the past four decades.

Appalachian Photographers Project

2010-03-22T21:17:00.003-04:00

Beautiful photos in the portfolios of "emerging and established" artists in the region.

Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival

2010-03-22T00:54:00.005-04:00

image copyright gocanada.com

This weekend in Whitetop, Virginia, you can eat pancakes with locally-made maple syrup for about $6, all while listening to local music and storytelling. You might consider biking the Virginia Creeper Trail while you're there.

We got home from a lovely weekend in Whitetop with old friends this afternoon, and heard about the syrup festival from Whitetop residents on our way down the trail when we inquired about all the plastic tubing plugged into the trees, draining to 5-gallon buckets. I'll try to post photos of the sap-gathering rigs if I can snag some from my friend Noah.

In the meantime, here's an article from last year's festival.

Vanishing Appalachia

2010-02-28T15:38:00.002-05:00

A new exhibit opens today at the Museum of East Tennessee History.

International Visitor Couch-Surfs at Greeneville's Waffle House

2010-02-24T23:40:00.002-05:00

Here's an awesome little story that I'm so happy Ms. Southerland discovered and shared.

Local Blogger Sets Admirable Goal

2010-02-22T22:24:00.001-05:00

Our friend Eileen is working on a super project over at her new blog.

Baseball!

2010-02-22T22:20:00.001-05:00

It's getting warmer outside. That can only mean one thing at our house.

Marquee of the Week

2010-02-21T00:51:00.001-05:00

Oh. Yeah.

An Awesome Shout-Out for an AL Pal

2010-02-17T14:46:00.000-05:00

Check it out:
http://niemanstoryboard.us/2010/02/16/the-small-story-long-live-the-community-minded-newspaper-narrative-even-when-it%e2%80%99s-digital/

As If You Needed Another Reason

2010-02-15T22:04:00.002-05:00

...to love Dolly Parton.

Is it Just Me...

2010-02-15T21:16:00.004-05:00

Or does the title of this article seem inherently racist?

I'm reluctant to ever stir the pot on issues of race because it typically just raises lots of negative comments and weirdo trolls. I also want to be clear that I don't know anything about Mr. Carroll or about the JCPD.

But this, to me, is an instance of poor journalism and poor editing (for the record, Mr. Carroll's name is spelled two different ways--one in the photo caption, one in the piece itself). Who edited this article? And who published it under this title?

Arrowmont

2010-02-15T13:01:00.003-05:00

I saw this article last week and meant to post it then. If anyone knows more about the relocation of Arrowmont, I'd love to know what you've heard. Both Greeneville and Knoxville would be great communities of support for Arrowmont (and of course I'm rooting for my hometown of Greeneville), but I wonder if G-Vegas's distance from the interstate will be prohibitive. What do you all think?

SlackJack Guitars: Hometown Sound

2010-02-03T00:11:00.007-05:00

Photograph courtesy of Positive Approach Events

If you talk to Travis Woodall about cigar-box guitars, you’ll assume he’s been building them for ten years, hunched over a woodbench, trained by a wizened old mentor with a long white beard and an International Harvester cap. If you listen to him play one, you’ll guess that he learned the blues in Mississippi Delta dives and pool halls.

The truth is, he’s just begun. He’s been building cigar box guitars, his own SlackJack brand, just around the corner in Jonesborough, Tennessee, since last fall, each one better than the last. But the quality of the instruments Woodall has produced and the insight he’s gained into their history in his short tenure in the craft is staggering. And his plans for handmade sound in the region are coming together quickly. I ask him how this all got started.

“There was a guy on Daytime TriCities, Canjoe John, who builds these little things called Canjoes,” Woodall explains, as he explains everything, with trademark humor and humility. “[They’re made of] a string, a stick and a can. He’s playing it— and I mean playing the heck out of it. I said, ‘that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve gotta buy one for my brother because I know it’ll make his wife insane.’ So I called the guy. It got me interested.”

His curiosity, combined with his natural aptitude for wood and for building instruments, has led to a rapidly growing business for Woodall. SlackJack Guitars are in increasing demand around the area and from his online shop. And as he perfects his craft and construction, he has found a community of other builders and players that’s got him excited.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the SlackJack brand, though, is Woodall’s contagious enthusiasm for the music that the instruments produce. The company’s website focuses on education more than it does on instrument sales, packed with history lessons, video tutorials, and colorful descriptions of the guitars’ sound and construction.

His plans for the guitars range far beyond finding them homes with musicians who will love them. For one thing, the sky’s the limit on the instruments themselves. “The [guitar] that I want to build next,” he chuckles, “is going to be kind of like Jimmy Page meets Steven Seagal.” After talking with him for a few minutes, you know that, whether he’s joking or not, he’s the kind of guy who could actually pull that off.

The guitar we looked at when we visited was beautiful, and had a sound that I found arresting even after seeing its demo video the day before. The guitars are lightweight but durable, and are ready to plug in for amplification. As word spreads about their quality and craftsmanship, I'd be willing to bet more and more will be custom-made, too.

As Woodall has studied handmade instruments, he’s discovered a community of builders and players locally, regionally, and nationally. There are cigar-box conventions in Alabama, New Jersey, Kansas, and, he says with a glint in his eye, “we’re going to have one here.” First, though, they’ll start with a downtown showcase of local builders and players. In its community efforts, SlackJack partners with Positive Approach Events, owned by Woodall’s wife, Brandi Davis Woodall, who is a top-notch event planner and media director.

Here’s where I have to tell you that, after meeting the Woodalls, I learned quickly that they are the kind of people who Make Things Happen. In the week-or-so between my chat with them and the date on this post, for example, each has appeared on television, Travis has finished another guitar, and Positive Approach’s new partnership with The Eureka Inn in Jonesborough was announced. In Travis’ own words: “If I’m determined to do something, I’ll probably do it.”

The Woodalls are currently looking for spaces to host weekly music in Jonesborough. Their vision for supporting and growing the local music scene there is encompassing, inspiring, and as grassroots as any movement could ever be—in keeping with their mission: "Our goal is to bring back what makes music fun."

Now and Then

2010-02-01T20:37:00.003-05:00

The latest issue of Now and Then is at various retailers near you in the Tri-Cities. The information below is from an ETSU press release regarding the magazine's distribution.

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine is available at the following retail outlets: on the ETSU campus at the Reece Museum or the University Bookstore; in Johnson City at Barnes & Noble Booksellers or the Shamrock on West Walnut Street; Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center; ETSU and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitors Center in Gray; Wallace News in downtown Kingsport; Mountain Music Museum and Gift Shop in the Bristol Mall; Jacklyn’s Hallmark in Elizabethton; the Greeneville Antique Market on West Depot Street; William King Regional Arts Center or Zazzy’Z in Abingdon, Va.; and Downtown Books and News in downtown Asheville.

The magazine is also available by subscription ($15 a year for individuals; $25 a year for institutions) by letter to: Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, ETSU, P.O. Box 70556, Johnson City, TN 37614-1707. Make checks payable to “ETSU/CASS.” Subscriptions are also taken online at www.etsustore.com. For more information, phone (423) 439-7994.

Avatar in Appalachia?

2010-01-24T20:24:00.004-05:00

The January 2010 issue of the Appalachian Advocate, Appalachian Voices' newsletter, raises an irresistible comparison between James Cameron's juggernaut Avatar and coal mining in Appalachia.

Here's an excerpt:

America's newest favorite movie, Avatar, tells the story of a people who suffer exploitation by a greedy corporation in pursuit of a black energy rock. Sound familiar? It is happening every day in Appalachia.

Avatar speaks to that inner knowing that we are all connected--to each other and to the land, air and water. The good news is that there is no need to travel to the distant planet of Pandora to become a champion for protecting special places.

A recent National Academy of Sciences study brings scientific truth to the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining, presenting irrefutable evidence that this form of mining irreversibly damages the environment and people of Appalachia. The study concludes that the practice should be ended, but unfortuntately the destruction continues.

To subscribe to the Advocate, go here.

Here's a relevant clip from the movie, in case you haven't seen it.

If you'd like to hear an insightful analysis and ensuing discussion about the film Avatar, check out my friend Mark's blog post about it here.

Gray Fossil Site

2010-01-24T16:51:00.005-05:00

It's sad, but we just made our first visit to the Gray Fossil Site this weekend.

It is awesome. Just walking through the museum's free exhibit is a rewarding and interactive experience, complete with a recreated lab showcasing both the reconstruction of fossil fragments and the process of making casts, which I found totally fascinating.

We also went on the guided tour, which lasts from 30 to 50 minutes, and takes visitors outside the museum to the active dig site and past the labs. It's wonderful to visit a museum that is also a working lab. I could imagine school groups walking past the big lab windows to see paleontologists and the trained volunteers--who make up the field and lab's workforce--in the middle of applying butvar, AirScribing, and rebuilding the skulls, pelvic bones, and vertebrae of miocene creatures.

As we were leaving, a birthday party group of six or sevenish-year-old girls tromped into the screening room for the introductory video. They had all the enthusiasm and curiosity I remember from my kindergarten days, and those of my little brother, when we learned dinosaur songs and felt overwhelmed by the idea that anything could be both that gigantic AND that long-dead--and then the days that we found jawbones and skulls and femurs in the woods behind out house. Watching the girls try to keep still while their guide talked to them, I felt it again: the remnants of extinct tapirs and shovel-tusked elephants moving below the ground under our feet.

Downtown Living

2010-01-16T18:34:00.002-05:00

Well, this is exciting.

Marquee of the Week

2010-01-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

Quick thinking on this signage.

A hearty thank you to JLK for sending this my way.

Giovanni to Speak at ASU

2010-01-13T23:05:00.005-05:00

Renowned, Appalachian-born poet and professor Nikki Giovanni will speak at Appalachian State's Farthing Auditorium on January 28 at 7:00 pm. Admission to the event is free, and a reception and book signing will take place from 5:30-6:30, prior to Ms. Giovanni's talk.

Look at this Beautiful Blog!

2010-01-10T23:40:00.004-05:00

I just found this blog, which is full of gorgeous photos documenting life in Watauga County. I am completely in love with Annie, the author's dog, who is irresistably captured in photographs archived here. I wish I had the ability to take just one photo of Agee that looked like these.

I have a feeling the set of essays I was supposed to be grading just took a backseat to exploring this site's beautiful photographs. Thank God for snow days!

A Jonesborough Neighbor We REALLY Want to Meet!

2010-01-08T18:37:00.003-05:00

Check out SlackJack Guitars in Jonesborough! These are amazing little handmade instruments, and the how-to-play video on Travis's blog is excellent. If you're on Facebook, you can see the building process from start to finish in this album.

Photo courtesy of SlackJack Guitars

Jake Legg's Lost State Tours

2010-01-06T23:12:00.009-05:00

Photo courtesy of Jake Legg's Lost State Tours

After stints in San Francisco and Boulder, the proprietors of Jake Legg’s Lost State Tours have come home to roost in Johnson City.

Ashleigh and Jason Bunn, both ETSU alums, started up Lost State Tours in June 2009. Since their regular tour season will run from March to September, they haven’t even been through a full summer tour cycle yet, and response has already been outstanding. At least one tour went out each weekend from June to September—if not two—and October’s ghost-story tours were another success.

The tours start at the Carnegie Hotel, winding through downtown, the Tree Streets, the VA, and ETSU’s main campus. Tour guests board Flattery, a bus so named because “it will get you everywhere,” and designed with the interior of an old railcar in mind—an homage to Johnson City’s roots as a railroad town. The booth-style seating can accommodate twenty-three, and the tours are fun-filled, BYOB affairs for groups of all ages. “So long as you don't share any with the driver,” the company’s website says, “you're welcome to imbibe (though - please - not to excess).” Ashleigh says laughingly, “The tour gets better the more you drink!”

Photo courtesy of Jake Legg's Lost State Tours

It’s clear that even the clear-headed here in the State of Franklin will love the tour, however. The expertise that the couple brings to the project is ample: Ashleigh has worked as a Segway tour guide at SF Electric Tour Company in San Francisco as well as working with Banjo Billy’s tours in Boulder, Colorado. “I didn’t know I wanted to be a tour guide [when we moved to San Francisco],” she says, “but I loved it.” The Bunns are a family of four, and decided to move their own touring startup to Johnson City, where they have the support of family and longtime friends. In fact, when we sat down to talk, Ashleigh’s father showed up in the Starbucks line for an unexpected hello. The support hasn’t stopped with family, though. Everyone downtown, she says, has been helpful and has embraced the project, not least of all the Chamber of Commerce, of which Lost State Tours is a member.

Ashleigh speaks with uncontained enthusiasm about her love for the Johnson City tours. “We’re just making it happen and hopefully it’s really going to take off. I love history and it’s been neat to have been a tour guide in the various cities we’ve lived in. I really got to know more about the area than I would have otherwise. And so it’s neat to be able to gain that information about the town that I lived in and grew up in. To offer that excitement and to recapture enthusiasm for the culture of this area is partly my goal. And the other part is to have a good time.”

So what is there to learn about Johnson City that you can’t figure out with a short walk through downtown or a visit to the railroad museum? Quite a lot, as it turns out. “I think a lot of people are typically surprised about what they learn on the tours,” Ashleigh says. “Some of the stuff they may already know but usually not everything. We’ve even done a couple of birthday parties for octogenarians who have lived here their entire lives, which is—let me tell you—stressful. But they loved it and said there were a few things that even they didn’t know.”

To find out what secrets the Lost State of Franklin has to offer up—including how Jake Legg got his name and which classic rock video was filmed on Hamilton Street—you’ll have to board Flattery this spring. And bring some friends. The coming months will likely provide even more diverse outings for your group—progressive dinners, pub crawls, and Valentine’s Day tours. To charter a tour anytime, contact Ashleigh at 423-557-4248 or at info@loststatetours.com

Marquee of the Week

2010-01-05T00:23:00.002-05:00

"Fornicators and drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven."

From Highway 58 in Kingston, Tennessee.

Upcoming Shows

2010-01-04T22:34:00.007-05:00

Here in Johnson City: The Brother Boys, Those Darlins, Jill Andrews, and Christabel and the Jons are playing this month at the Down Home and Acoustic Coffeehouse.

In Knoxville: Listen to Jay Clark, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Infamous Stringdusters, and The Bearded at The Square Room, and Justin Townes Earle, The Black Lillies, Cutthroat Shamrock, and RB Morris at Barley's, PLUS January's Tennessee Shines at the Bijou.

In Asheville: See Robinella, Catie Curtis, and Andrews and Earle (again) at the Grey Eagle, and Steep Canyon Rangers, Alejandro Escovedo, Donna the Buffalo, and Delbert McClinton at The Orange Peel.

Also check out the If You Wannas this Thursday at the Grey Eagle with Those Darlins and Kovacs & the Polar Bear as well as throughout January at cool Asheville venues. Their year-end album Island Diplomacy was named a Top 8 Local Release by Mountain Xpress.

Post 101

2009-12-31T17:53:00.010-05:00

This is the hundred and first post on AppyLove, and it seems timely, since 2010 is just around the corner, and AppyLove, like some adorable former-babies I know, is just over a year old this month.

As we're ringing out the new year and getting ready for a second night on the town after a heart-stoppingly amazing show by The Avett Brothers last night, I wanted to pause and say Happy New Year to my friends out in the blogosphere. I had no idea when I started writing that anything as wonderful as getting to know you would happen, or even that any of my old friends and excellent family would stop by to visit. Thanks for the encouragement and for your contributions and suggestions. Any of you out there reading whom I haven't yet met, I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks bunches to my folks, S, V, S+B, SS, K, and CKFR, to whom I haven't linked, for your consistent appylovin'.

The coming spring is looking good here at AppyLove, too. I'm hoping to profile an exciting young local business here in town in January, and the following weeks will bring lots of opportunities for fun exploratory missions, since the AppyHubs has a stretch of time off. I'd like to post more frequently than I have this year, and I know some gifted photographers and writers (I'm looking at you, Bear Country) whom I'm trying to lure into the fold as well. It could be huge.

In the meantime, I hope you and yours have a glorious new year full of inspiring music, delicious food, cuddly animals, adorable babies, encouraging elders, and revelry of all kinds.

Love,

Amanda

And because I can't resist giving a little CFF holler, a good way to start might be The Dixie Bee-Liners at the Carter Fold on January 9th. Tickets are just $7!

Asheville Shout-Out

2009-12-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

I have to say, I hate it that this story happened in my (first) hometown, but you've gotta love Asheville women. She followed him in her car?!?

Last-Minute Gifts Not Found at the Mall

2009-12-21T20:47:00.005-05:00

Some local-ish vendors I'd recommend:

Yee-Haw Industries on Gay Street in Knoxville, TN for gorgeous (and one-of-a-kind) letterpress posters, journals, stationery, and fine art prints

Mast General Store on Gay Street in Knoxville, TN (or in Asheville, Boone, Valle Crucis, Waynesville, Hendersonville, or Greenville, SC) for retro candy, Appalachian kitsch, and outdoor gear, plus a two-pack of cozy Christmas socks for $9.99

Boones Creek Potters' Gallery on Boones Creek Road in Johnson City/Jonesborough, TN for beautiful locally-made pitchers, plates, jewelry, wooden spoons, and ornaments

James-Ben Gallery in Greeneville, TN for ceramics, woodcraft, prints, and handmade toys

All of these spots have yielded up a treasure-trove of outstanding last-minute gifts for me in years past. Not that I'm a last-minute shopper or anything. I'd love to hear more suggestions so I can post them earlier next year.

Merry Christmas to all!

Doc Watson at the Down Home

2009-12-16T16:18:00.002-05:00

If you haven't been before, go to this show. Either one of them, actually; he plays an early one and a late one. He's amazing, and we can't go this year, and we'd love to experience it vicariously through you. We saw Doc play at the DH a few years ago, and it was a wonderful live music experience that will be hard to ever recreate. Then we saw him again at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco with hundreds of thousands of people who celebrated his performance with a jubilant standing ovation (and when you're lying on a blanket on a beautiful day in Golden Gate Park, you know a standing o. takes some effort). And you can see him right here, in Johnson City, with a hundred other people, from just a few feet away.

If you haven't heard his Legacy collection (a 3-disc set), I can't recommend it strongly enough. It's full of Docs's favorite songs and stories, which are gently encouraged and curated by David Holt, his frequent collaborator. We met George Winston in Chattanooga a few years ago, and I asked him what album he would listen to if he were stranded on a desert island, and the Legacy collection was his number one choice. That's when I bought it for my dad as a birthday present, and took it from him after he listened to it a couple of times, and my dad hasn't seen it since.

Marquee of the Week

2009-12-07T22:06:00.001-05:00

I've seen this one many times before, but it's a classic.

Shame looks down

Worry looks around

Faith looks up.

From Highway 11E in Washington County. Where else would it be from?

AppyLove goes National

2009-12-07T00:36:00.003-05:00

Not really. But I did participate in an AP interview about the Storycorps Project, one of my favorite things in the whole world, which was picked up by USA Today as well as several of our local papers. Even though the quotes in the article don't do justice to the overwhelming goodness of my grandmother's buttermilk biscuits, I am really lucky to have gotten to talk about interviewing her; it was a singular and humbling experience. In a world of instant information, constant contact, social media, and viral videos, it's transformative to sit and listen to someone from a completely different generation talk about the way things used to be, or to sit and listen to someone you've talked to your whole life tell you things you never would have known otherwise.

If you don't listen to NPR, you can find out about the Storycorps Project, which was founded by MacArthur fellow Dave Isay, here. Happy listening.

Cookeville-Bound

2009-12-04T22:57:00.003-05:00

It's been a banner year for Greeneville Football all the way down to the middle school level. The kicker for the middle school team is one of my students this year--a beautiful and hilarious soccer girl whose kicks (legend has it) were so powerful, the football team recruited her after the ball she was kicking kept leaping from the soccer field to the football field.

And this weekend, Greeneville High School is headed to its first state championship football game in Cookeville. There is a sweet little video about it here. If you love friday night lights in general, there's also a well-crafted NPR series covering high school football around the country here.

Kenny Tedford, Storyteller

2009-11-22T23:57:00.013-05:00

Photo courtesy Greeneville Middle School

Eighth graders sit, legs crossed, on an outdated linoleum floor, their eyes riveted on Kenny Tedford, a 56-year old storyteller and a graduate student in ETSU’s world-renowned storytelling program. His tales come to life with humor, movement, and sound effects, and today he’s telling the kids about a young girl named Alice, who convinced Abraham Lincoln he’d look more presidential if he grew a beard.

Kenny finishes his story with a trademark word of inspiration to his audience. “You can do anything you set your mind to, just like Alice. Even one child can make a difference,” he says. The kids lean in, transfixed. “Just be careful how you tell someone they’re ugly.”

The cafeteria rings with laughter, but as the story comes to a close, no one claps.

Instead, the kids raise both hands above their heads, twisting them back and forth. Kenny bows. They are acknowledging his performance with American Sign Language applause, because Kenny Tedford is deaf.

The two hundred hearing children in the cafeteria know how to show Kenny their appreciation because he teaches them the sign before he begins his tale-telling. “I’m deaf,” he says. “Love it.” The kids giggle, mostly because it’s unheard of, at their age of thirteen, to both acknowledge and embrace your own flaws, and they instantly fall in love with Kenny for his candor and self-deprecation before his story even gets off the ground. As he explains the sign for applause, he asks, “Can you hear me back there? ‘Cause I can’t hear me up here!” The kids laugh, and practice applauding, their skinny teenage wrists twisting at the ends of their long, gawky arms.

It wasn’t always this way, of course. Growing up in the fifties, Kenny explains, he was placed in classes for mentally handicapped students, left in the back row with what he calls a “magical crayon” that helped him embrace his creativity, even though he was trapped in a silent world. As his teachers and parents realized the extent of his true abilities and he was moved into mainstream classrooms, his flair for drama and humor revealed itself, and he was recognized as a child with a gift.

His talent for making others laugh has come in handy through the years, with life throwing one obstacle after another in his way. His parents both died within months of one another when he was in second grade. The woman who became his foster mother died before his senior year of high school. It was hard for him to be motivated to finish school, but he credits his foster mother’s own determination as well as his strong faith for his decision to complete his high school education. He says that he became a Christian as a junior in high school, and his spirituality gave him strength. “When my foster mother died, I was mad at God,” he quips, “Even though I had only known him a year.” Even in discussing the tragedies of his childhood, his irresistible, inspirational sense of humor is evident.

After high school, Kenny’s path took the unexpected twists and turns of an entertainer’s life, each bringing him closer to his current work as a storyteller. He received a bachelor’s degree in theatre at the University of Tennessee, worked for the office of the Governor, became a comedian and a motivational speaker. In the meantime, he fought personal battles with heart problems and is a ten-year cancer survivor.

For a time, Kenny traveled and spoke to crowds with his friend Marty, a quadriplegic entertainer. Through humor, the duo spoke to people about determination, respect, and the will to overcome, until Marty was killed in a car accident. Sometimes, when Kenny starts feeling depressed about his deafness, he says, he can sense Marty’s admonition to get over it. When he talks about Marty, in fact, it’s hard to tell whether Kenny will laugh or cry. In the end, he sums it up this way. “Marty was always with me in his wheelchair, and we talked to people like that, and we could laugh at each other.” He knows now, he says, “that anytime I’m talking to people, telling a story, he’s standing with me now. Not in his wheelchair, but standing with me.”

The devastating trials of loss and struggles with his own health frustrate Kenny less because of any penchant for wallowing—he doesn’t have one—but because there is so much he wants to do, and such limited time in which to do it. He tells me that there are hundreds of thousands of deaf children in the United States, but only two psychiatric counseling centers that specialize in providing support to children with hearing loss. One of his dreams is to establish a faith-based center to address this need. He imagines a future of traveling around the world to tell stories to the hearing and non-hearing, and expanding his audience through audio recordings, print, and film.

In the next year, Kenny will finish his graduate program at ETSU. He’s got big plans for life after graduate school. His first is a capstone project, an interactive storytelling production based on the life of his grandmother, Birtie Tedford. He talks about following her around everywhere as a young kid, because, he says, “I had never seen anyone so wrinkled.” In the show, he'll perform as Great Granny Parker. The character will work as a theatrical vehicle to deliver stories about his own childhood—its graces and grinds. He envisions the first production here in the Tri-Cities, with his audience of children around the rocking chair, snapping beans while the yarn spins around them, weaving them into a world where Kenny Tedford, a child born without hearing, grew up to tell the greatest stories of all.

Support Local Organic Farming!

2009-11-20T00:38:00.002-05:00

Come to the screening Saturday night. At Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. $10 down, boundless karma in return. Benefits Rural Resources as well as the film's post-production.

Justin Townes Earle at Machiavelli's

2009-11-20T00:30:00.003-05:00

We had the pleasure of watching Justin Townes Earle's show at Machiavelli's in Bristol last weekend. The show was sponsored by Bristol's Rhythm and Roots Reunion, and both local guys Folk Soul Revival and Earle's touring partner Jessica Lea Mayfield opened.

In short, the show was fantastic. JTE can hold a crowd transfixed on his own with a guitar, and Mayfield played beautiful, trance-y tunes that left the crowd insisting on an encore. We stood not four feet from Earle, and had to tear ourselves away to make the drive home and get in bed since the show was on a Sunday night. Check out his winter tour schedule on Myspace.

Watch This Space

2009-11-17T23:24:00.005-05:00

Beginning this week, I'll be adding a new feature to AppyLove, inspired by my friend Cara at The Small Story.

The new feature will be more journalistic in style. It's an experiment, so be sure to let me know how you like it.

My first foray will be a profile of a local storyteller named Kenny Tedford. Stay tuned.

Gift Ideas

2009-11-14T16:10:00.002-05:00

For the discriminating Appalachian in your life, might I suggest these two finds as ideal holiday gifts?

Carver's Gap

2009-11-07T22:02:00.003-05:00

One of our favorite places to hike, picnic, and lounge around on big rocks is Carver's Gap. It's a heavily visited part of Roan Mountain State Park, right on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. We're hoping to incorporate the Gap into a backpacking trip, but we just went up for a day-hike today. It's one of the first places we took our dog when we got her from the shelter four years ago, so we loved watching her romp around in the windswept grasses on the balds today.

Two Fun Music Blogs

2009-11-05T13:26:00.003-05:00

A WDVX deejay named Nelson maintains a thoughtful music review blog named for a Scott Miller song, full of links and sound files for you to enjoy. I've gotten pretty hooked on this one.

Another new music source I found is called I am Fuel, You are Friends. Lots of sound files and clips.

More soon, I've got a profile in the works.

AppyLove hits the Big Time, thanks to The Small Story

2009-11-01T20:47:00.008-05:00

My friend Cara over at The Small Story gave AppyLove a great shout-out on blogtalkradio the week before last. Sincere thanks to her for such humbling support, and for the great writing on The Small Story. Cara is a veteran journalist committed to telling the kinds of stories that knit communities together. Her work at TSS is simultaneously heartbreaking and inspirational. Her latest piece, about a man who lost his sight and the innovative way he experiences visual art, is my favorite one yet.

Expert Advice from the Blogosphere

2009-11-01T20:42:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I sent a question to one of my favorite writer-photographer-outdoorsmen-whom-I've-never-met, Mark Peacock over at Appalachian Treks. His blog is wonderfully and thoughtfully written, beautiful, and brimming with information about gorgeous hikes around our region.

In response to my question, he consulted two regional experts and posted the results of those conversations on his blog--incroyable et magnifique! See, I'm so excited I can't even restrict myself to English adjectives!

Also, this will probably result in more solicitation of advice on the part of AppyLove.

Johnson City Train Depot

2009-11-01T18:22:00.002-05:00

The old train depot in Johnson City shows a lot of promise as a beautiful home for a business, but needs extensive restoration and rescue from foreclosure status.

Know anyone with $53,000? With a 20% match, the Johnson City Development Agency could secure state grant funding to save the depot.

Driving by, you can envision a dry space for the farmer's market, an outdoor patio for a trendy new restaurant, or a second stage for the cozier acts at the Blue Plum Festival.

Here's hoping the JCDA takes advantage of the momentum they're beginning to achieve with First Fridays and the downtown concert series to begin raising matching funds to salvage the depot. There is, after all, a railroad museum in this town.

Brewers' Jam 2009

2009-10-26T19:06:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note about Brewers' Jam:

It was awesome. Here's a nice shot of it from a stranger's flickr page.

The crowd was friendly, the ground was muddy, the Vols almost won, and over a hundred breweries of all stripes provided a quality supply of brewskies for the sold-out crowd.

My personal favorite of the day was the Carolina Pumpkin, from Carolina Beer Company.

Next time you're looking to spend a fall afternoon hazily paying attention to UT football while sampling beers from around the country, listening to local music, and eating free cheese, check it out.

Marquee of the Week

2009-10-18T22:23:00.002-04:00

From Market Street:

"Long before E-mail, God answered Knee Mail. Send him a message today!"

If You Haven't Been Listening...

2009-10-15T22:34:00.002-04:00

to Jill Andrews' new songs with her new band, you should be. They are fantastic. We were E-fields fans for...ever, but her new EP is out on the 26th, and we can't wait. Johnson City/Knoxville Pride!

AppyLove Solicits Advice

2009-10-15T17:17:00.001-04:00

Any suggestions for fun things to do this weekend? We're up for something different from our regular haunts. Fall color, music, and good beer are all high on the interest inventory.

Another Reason Why I Love My Job

2009-10-06T22:16:00.002-04:00

I love that I work in a town so small that this was the exchange I had with a student last week:

Student (opening her huge handbag): I forgot. I have something for you.

Me: You do?

Student: Yeah. My granny heard good things about you from my other granny, so she sent you this.

Me: blink blink

Student: She said it'll keep you from getting sick.

Me: Oh! A potion! Sweet! (taking small glass jar containing fine orange powder, wrapped with fine orange grosgrain ribbon)

And let me tell you, that magical elixir could not protect me from airplane germs, but it tastes AMAZING.

Farm Arts Festival

2009-10-06T21:56:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, October 9th, Rural Resources in Greeneville will be hosting its annual Farm Arts Festival. The festival will be fun for the whole family, chockablock with games, music, craft demonstrations, and great food. This year, thanks to a generous grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, the festival's music lineup includes Ras Alan, Oona Love, and The Bearded, all local artists of great renown. If there's one can't-miss on the lineup, it's The Bearded, whose down-home, front-porch pickin' and grinnin' will roust hoots and hollers from young and old.

Two Things

2009-09-27T00:11:00.004-04:00

Some classic mountain south slang:

Straddle = groin

I love it. Just heard it this week for the first time in my life. As in "I've got pain that goes all the way up into my straddle."

And S. sent a great article from The Washington Post about two young newlyweds--it's love in the time of recession.

(500 Jerk, that was an homage to your recent literary triumph. I loved 100 Years of Solitude while reading it, but have absolutely NO IDEA what the hell happened, and never moved on to Cholera.)

Rhythm and Roots

2009-09-21T23:09:00.004-04:00

photo courtesy of believeinbristol.com

We caught part of Holy Ghost Tent Revival's set on Friday night after navigating the tricky world of buying beer at Rhythm and Roots. You can't drink on the street, so you have to either be willing to sit out someone's set while you partake, or guzzle quickly so you can make it to the next set you want to see. It's like being a kid at Dollywood and knowing you only have two hours to ride all your favorite rides. Though the chances of you trying to squeeze in a billow of cotton candy, then throwing it up on a roller coaster are not quite as high at BRRR.

Anyway, HGTR puts on a great show, which at first is reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, who are pretty much the gods of the roots-rock alt-country punk-grass revolution that is being celebrated by fans of good music across the country. But I hesitate to list them in the imitators category, as evidenced by exhibit A: a trombone player, and exhibit B: a drummer. The vocal similarities can be uncanny at times, though. But what a show, what a show. Good rollicking times were had by all, at the Piedmont Stage on Friday night, then at the Dance Tent on Saturday.

Other highlights included a beautiful, stripped-down set by Justin Townes Earle, who sucked us in for much longer than we expected with pretty vocals and uptempo sentiment; Darrell Scott, who just always kicks ass with that Voice and as my friend Tony calls it, The Best Song Ever Written; Scythian, who got two grannies sitting on the windowsill at The Burger Bar to raise the roof, high-kick, clap, holler, and stay up late; and seeing all of our favorite local-ish artists walking the streets, buying funnel cakes and ice cream, and booking it to see their own faves performing. Oh, and Dr. Dog is a quality band, proving once and for all that you just can't have enough diminished chords, three-part harmony, or sunglasses. You can enjoy some of their work here.

Good, good stuff in Bristol this weekend. And most of it squarely straddling the state line, with the old sign glimmering in the background.

Rhythm and Roots

2009-09-16T22:40:00.002-04:00

THIS WEEKEND!

We're struggling to lay out our personal attendance lineup. So many bands, so little time. Definites include Darrell Scott, The Black Lillies, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, Sam Quinn + Japan Ten, The Hackensaw Boys, and Dr. Dog.

Appalachian Medicine

2009-09-14T21:55:00.001-04:00

There are few places like the mountain south to make such a compelling argument for a public health care option.

Jill Andrews at the Down Home

2009-09-04T11:38:00.001-04:00

Tonight at 9:00. $15 advance. New band included.

Marquee of the Week

2009-08-20T19:21:00.002-04:00

This marquee was contributed by AL reader and higher-ed scholar CKFR:

"If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it! Come worship with us!"

Thanks, old buddy!

Introducing...

2009-08-13T12:53:00.001-04:00

A new local act.

Fresh Air Photography

2009-08-10T18:41:00.002-04:00

Check this out. A locally-owned, locally-based photography studio doing AMAZING work here and around the world. Beautiful stuff.

Excellent Friday Lineup

2009-07-31T16:56:00.004-04:00

You can check out Robinella and Rob Ickes (9pm) at the Down Home, or a fun Nashville trio called Stillhouse Hollow at Acoustic Coffeehouse (10pm).

Before we head over to Acoustic, we're going to grab a bite at Sushi Blues (just kidding, it's closed for now, due to re-open under new management) and watch Funny People at the Carmike 14.

And Michelle Malone is playing tomorrow night at the DH. Should be a good show.

Happy Trails

2009-07-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

Good news from Scripps.

More Guns in Bars

2009-07-29T12:07:00.002-04:00

From Tellico Plains comes this little gem. (Check out the comments that follow the article.) And Dunlap and Jackie's take on the legislation is hilarious, if you're not easily offended.

Worst Idea Ever

2009-07-28T15:27:00.003-04:00

Sorry the embedding looks so wacked-out, but here's Colbert's take on Tennessee's newest gun law.

Cafe Lola, Croque Monsieur

2009-07-28T00:10:00.003-04:00

Just want everyone out there to know that the Croque Monsieur (a fancy sandwich, in case you haven't heard of it before) is bringing retired quilters, two-beer-lunching salesmen, and hard-drinking night owls out during the lunchtime hours at Cafe Lola in Johnson City. Seriously. Vegetarians, get yours with a slice of tomato or eggplant as a ham substitute and you won't be disappointed.

RANT

2009-07-27T23:57:00.003-04:00

So, this is completely off-topic. And I'm not even going to try to come up with some artificial link between this rant and the theme of this blog, but I have to tell you, this campaign bothers me.

I just don't think it's okay for Obama to tell Americans that:

"To be a great dad is the most important job in a man's life, but it doesn't have to be hard. All it takes is a few minutes of your time. Because the smallest moments can have the biggest impact on a child's life. Take time to be a dad today."

What IS that nonsense?!?

Looky Who's Coming to Town!

2009-07-27T23:26:00.001-04:00

One for the Gardeners:

2009-07-22T11:02:00.002-04:00

Tomato late blight.

Not that I bought ALL Bonnie tomato plants.

Oh wait.

I did.

(But other than my sheer ineptitude and laissez-faire approach to gardening, they actually seem to be okay. Growing well except for the one my dog uprooted in her rush to eat the plant food because it contains chickenshit, which appears to be her new delicacy of choice.)

It's Never Too Early...

2009-07-22T10:57:00.001-04:00

To start planning your Rhythm and Roots Reunion weekend.

MusicFest in Sugar Grove

2009-07-09T07:26:00.003-04:00

This is a sweet little festival at the Old Cove Creek School in Sugar Grove, NC. Doc Watson will be performing, along with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Steep Canyon Rangers, and The Kruger Brothers. When we went last year, Doc was sick and couldn't perform, but the Chocolate Drops were amazing. There was also lots of good barbeque and sides and homemade ice cream that knocked our socks off.

Marquee of the Week

2009-07-08T23:33:00.002-04:00

From Smithsboro, KY:

"Free tickets inside."

Thanks to Marvin for this one. It reminds me of a mechanic out in Solway whose sign used to read:

"Jesus Saves. Garth Brooks tickets sold here. Mechanic on Duty."

It's always nice to know when people have their priorities in order.

More This Week in Food

2009-07-07T11:05:00.003-04:00

Check out the ETSU Student Community Garden. Launched by a grad student, it looks like a 40-by-70-foot swath of brilliant grassroots food activism.

Foodways

2009-07-06T15:02:00.004-04:00

This week in food:

I'm teaching a class for Upward Bound this summer (awesome, awesome program for college-bound students whose parents didn't attend college), and as an experiment, we shopped at the Farmers Market, then price-/taste-/carbon-footprint-compared it with Kroger.

The results? Farmers Market $27, Kroger $55.47. The carbon footprint was difficult to calculate with any accuracy but it appeared to be greater than 2:1, with Kroger having a much greater carbon footprint than the FM. In our taste tests, the blueberries, bread, and strawberry jam from the FM triumphed, but the retail grocer's green peppers beat our locals. Handily, sad to say.

Also in food news, if you're a Tri-Cities dweller, pick up a copy of the latest Now and Then, the Archives of Appalachia's quarterly. Yours truly published a non-fiction piece therein about Rural Resources and their work in Greeneville and Greene County, and the magazine overall focuses on the significance of food in Appalachian culture.

And finally, if you want an eye-opening and painful bit of food reading, check out Skinny Bitch. Written by a former model and modeling agent with a graduate degree in nutrition, it's a terrifying approach to eating. That might seem obvious based on its authorship, but the terrifying parts of it deal with the conspiracies of the food industry, particularly meat and dairy. I suspect it goes hand-in-hand with the June 10 release Food, Inc., a documentary about food processing plants, food corporations, and genetic engineering.

Marquee(s) of the Week

2009-06-28T17:01:00.003-04:00

So, I like to dole these out one at a time, but I'm worried I won't remember these if I don't post them now.

"Heavenly forecast: Reign Forever." (courtesy of Kevin S.)

also, two from Unaka Baptist, which are downright awesome:

"You don't have to know why, as long as you know Who." (courtesy of The Rat Bat)

and my current favorite:

"If you live like there's no God, you'd better be right."

Oh, SNAP!

Stuff to Do

2009-06-28T16:51:00.004-04:00

Here is a pretty good itinerary for a Saturday in Johnson City:

A visit to the Farmer's Market, where you can pick up handcrafted stuffed owls, honey, preserves, soap, bread, goat cheese, freshly-dug new potatoes, homegrown bluegrass music, and eggs.

A stop at EarthFare, where you might sample gourmet cheese, chocolate and beer, take a yoga class, or even get an all-natural burger for a dollar.

A Johnson City Cardinals game, where you can experience a $3 Italian Ice and also the absolute batshit craziness of children aged 0-12 when the "free stuffed animals" event takes place.

Add that to a Trust pizza from Scratch, and you should wind up feeling pretty satisfied.

Margarette Falls

2009-06-27T12:12:00.004-04:00

This photo was taken back in the spring at Margarette Falls in Greene County by my friend Slick. The dog is Agee (mine). Slick and I did this hike last week and it was really fantastic, littered with swimming holes, millipedes, smaller falls, and fairytale mushrooms. You can read more about it here.

One More Reason

2009-06-26T19:32:00.003-04:00

...to love the Down Home is the graffiti in the bathrooms. I can't speak for the men's, but last week when we were at the Black Lillies show (have I mentioned they were amazing?), I saw a nice articulation in the ladies' room of what it's like to see a great show close to home. Or to take a pretty hike, or shop for raspberry preserves and sugar snap peas at the Farmer's Market.

Anyway, something The Rat Bat wrote made me remember the coolness of the graffiti below:

"Has it always been like this? Is it possible all this magic's gone unnoticed?"

And I guess our luckiest times are the times when we notice. Here's to the people who stop.

More on Scotty Melton

2009-06-25T11:00:00.003-04:00

He's playing at McGinn's in Elizabethton tomorrow night at 10. Like this guy says, he's a diamond in the rough. But he writes some really, really good songs. I'm thinking about going to hear him again after seeing his set at the Acoustic Coffeehouse on Tuesday.

Marquee of the Week

2009-06-22T14:11:00.001-04:00

This might be the best the 11E Lutherans have come up with yet.

"Stop, drop, and roll won't work in hell."

(And as an addendum: "High Life probably won't quench your thirst, either." Thanks, Jennifer.)

Acoustic Coffeehouse

2009-06-22T01:06:00.002-04:00

Scotty Melton is playing there on Tuesday night, and he's not half bad.

Plus you might see my favorite dog in Johnson City, Jacob Marley. His owner told me his real name is Sebastian, but he calls him Jacob Marley when he drags his chain leash around.

Nice.

The Black Lillies

2009-06-20T15:04:00.003-04:00

Listen to them. Do it now! Also go see them at Tennessee Shines on Wednesday.

Stop the Press!

2009-06-18T19:04:00.002-04:00

Doing a little shopping and lunch-eating at EarthFare in Johnson City today, we discovered that on June 27th, there will be a "Cheese, Chocolate, and Beer Tasting"--suggested donation, $7.

Are you KIDDING ME?!? This is fantastic news. Plus I just happen to have seven bucks burning a hole in my pocket.

Also, one dollar burgers there on June 25th. Check it out.