Trying to press on: Yee-Haw's last day

I've never been the type of person that wants to meet a band or musician after a show. I find it awkward, no, impossible, trying to verbalize my inexpressible feelings about something that has stirred my soul.

I've found myself waiting outside a tour bus parked in an alley, however, to appease giddy friends with albums in tow. When it's my turn to shake the artist's hand, my default phrase is something like, "Thank you for what you do," and then I'm out of there. No gushing, no awkward lingering. It's not my style.

***

This morning, I biked downtown to run a work errand and saw the doors of Yee-Haw open, clothing racks lining the entrance. I locked up my bike and walked inside.

Kevin Bradley was off to the right, sporting his plaid pant uniform, sifting through prints, and filling a long list of online orders. He looked up at me and said, "Hello, honey," and gave me hug. "How are you?"

"It's a sad day," I said.

His response: "It's beyond that."

I picked through the prints, finding ones I've always wanted but have never gotten around to buying- the lady that's an ice-cream cone, a Farmer's Market strawberry card, mini cards reading "Te Quiero." I also picked up a journal and a postcard that says "Knoxville Girl," because I had to. I lusted after the larger, more expensive prints, wishing I could indulge.



A few other customers came through while I was there- an older couple shuffling through the endless array of prints and a woman in a dress suit who walked in knowing exactly what she wanted- a tote bag with a pink ice-cream cone printed on it.

When I had made my choices, I walked up to the counter to a voiceless Julie Belcher (she lost it yesterday) who hand-wrote my receipt and whispered my total. She smiled as she bagged up my items.

While I stood there, I wondered if I should say something encouraging or complimentary.

I've really appreciated your work.
You're going to be missed. 
Y'all... y'all are awesome.

What came out instead was, "I wanted more than this, but I'm on my bike. How long will y'all be selling online?"

"Til midnight," she whispered.  (Kevin will be at the shop until at least 7 this evening, too.)

As she handed me my bag of goodies, I thanked her and walked out the door, signifying the death of my longest Knoxville business crush.

***

Going against my normal protocol, I'll linger here a little longer to give a few thoughts about the closing of Yee-Haw.

My personal praises for Yee-Haw are mostly in regard to how they have ridden the impossible line of making good art that sells in Knoxville. They have transformed a creative passion into a viable business, basing it in Knoxville but extending their talents internationally. When the art-scene looks bleak (because it does more often than not when you are a working artist here), I'm reminded of their presence and it puts me at ease. They have been a role-model by consistently inspiring me to stay and encourage the contemporary art scene here. They've inspired me to work harder.

And while I think Knoxville needs Yee-Haw, I know I can't force it to stay. I can, however, be thankful for what they have done for Knoxville and the art scene here. I am and will continue to be long after their doors have closed.

the summer too shall pass

I've been pretty lame this summer, deciding to be super American and drive my car everywhere rather than ride my bike at all. Continuously blasting fake cold air in my face has taken its toll on my psyche, however, so last Tuesday, when the air cooled off a bit, I got on my bike and headed downtown. I realized it had been forever since I've taken time to enjoy an evening on Market Square, so with no plans, I biked up Gay Street to see what would unfold.

Divine providence would have it that The Pol was window shopping at Noveau Classics, because that is apparently what the Pol does when he locks himself out of his apartment. We decided to go have a drink on the roof of Pres Pub because he hadn't been up there yet.

Once on the roof, we were able to find a table close to the Square. The weather was pitch perfect and from the stage, there were jazz musicians playing. We couldn't tell from there if it was an official performance or some buskers, but there were spectators below, enjoying it all the same.

After our drink, we walked out into the Square where The Pol ran into a freshman he had met a few days earlier, and a group of his friends. They would be starting class the next day. Even if no one told me they were freshman, I would have known because one proudly wore a bright orange lanyard around his neck featuring his dorm key.

As the jazz played and I breathed in the sweet, autumn-like air, I was a little jealous of the group of new students. Walking around a bustling downtown Knoxville in college wasn't an option during most of my college experience, let alone before my very first day of class. I looked into their cherub faces, into their deer-in-headlight eyes, and decided it best not to tell them how lucky they were.

As they walked off, The Pol and I sat on a bench to listen to the rest of the set. It was then I realized the trumpet player was my old landlord, Vance Thompson, who is the director of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. When they finished, he thanked the small crowd and said they would be playing every Tuesday until September (or maybe through September, I'm not quite sure).

So if you've been hiding under an air-conditioned rock all summer like me, I encourage you to take a stroll through Market Square this Tuesday evening and have a listen. Even if it's hot, the tunes are sure to be coooool. 

year end thoughts (and how blogging helped me fall for Knoxville)

I'm getting sentimental in my old age.

Nothing makes it worse than when different seasons of life come to an end, so this being my last post of 2010, I'd like to reflect on living in Knoxville, especially in regard to being a writer for the Wigshop.

I've mentioned this in the past, but my first year after graduating from UT was a bittersweet one. Many of my friends moved away to figure out what to do with their lives as I struggled to figure out what to do with mine. I lived in a crappy yet quaint apartment in Maplehurst and watched as downtown Knoxville miraculously made leaps and bounds while the rest of the country seemed to be in shambles. I rode my bike everywhere because I couldn't afford to put gas in my car. I did, however, always seem to have enough money for lots of cheap beer*. Along the way, I was asked to write for the Wigshop. 

I admit that, at first, I used writing about Knoxville as a means to justify living here. I vindicated my decision to stay by trying to prove just how cool of a place it was becoming.

What I didn't foresee was how writing about this city would make living here not just bearable, but legitimate. It opened my eyes to what Knoxville had to offer, and the more I wrote, the more I realized there was to write about. In many ways, it made staying here just as exciting as traveling somewhere new.

Thankfully now I don't feel the need to defend Knoxville like I once did. I'm confident it's a great city in which to live, being a size and caliber that is both close-knit and full of new things to see and do. I'm very proud to call it my home.

So as this year comes to a close, and we ring in 2011, here's to Knoxville, Tennessee. Happy New Year!!**

* One of many things to be thankful for in Knoxville
** My top picks for places to be on New Year's: First Night, Pilot Light Party at Ironwood Studios, and the Public House. Cheers!

suddenly, there were trees

Trees! An instant instant forest has risen on the 100 block of Gay Street (much like a bunch of walking trees did outside a fortress in a certain epic fantasy trilogy that I'd reference here if I was a raging nerd). Anyways, they look good even though we won't get to see them in their full splendor until spring. It kinda makes you wish it was like this all the way down Gay Street, doesn't it?

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Hey Knoxville!

Gettin' excited about Christmas? Me too. I'm asking for a new bike, Sea Monkeys and a Best Buy gift card (so I can buy DVDs and CDs - its easier to just get a gift card than to tell my parents what music to buy, and I don't really want to subject my mom to weird cover art and get into the whole discussion of crass lyrics, etc).


As exciting as Christmas is, we should probably both hold off on thinking about it too much. It is mid-October after all, and we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving to look forward in the mean time.

Alright, just wanted to write and say hey. Hope you are well.

Talk soon.

PS: What are you thinking about going as for Halloween?

For Arts Sake

We at the wigshop could probably write a week's worth of posts about last First Friday. We won't, but here's another:

I couldn't believe the hordes of people downtown for First Friday last Friday night. Crossing Summit Hill at Gay Street with forty plus people was thrilling. I felt like I was in a big city for a moment. It was exciting. It was overwhelming.

I walked through the 100 block of Gay Street for the big grand opening party. There were more galleries than I remembered being there even last month, and all of them were bursting at the seams. It was great to experience, but my night had something quieter in store.

I went to see "For Memories Sake" a short film by Ashley Maynor at the East Tennessee History Center.


For Memories' Sake - Official Trailer from Ashley Maynor on Vimeo.

In this documentary, Ashley conveys the importance of film preservation and proper archival techniques through the fascinating story of her grandmother, Angela, who had taken at least a dozen photographs everyday for thirty-five years. As Ashley sifted through the vast collection of photo albums, she began to realize how talented her grandmother was as a photographer. She was compelled to dig deeper into why Angela took so many photographs, and in the process, she uncovered films and family videos, some in bad condition from years of exposure to sunlight, heat, and dust. She began to go through all of these items to save and preserve them.

Ashley's time and energy placed great value on a large part of her grandmother's life that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Angela never thought about writing an artist statement or showing her photographs and films to the public. She took pictures daily because she had to, possibly to cope with darkness in her life in the forms of an abusive husband and the tragic death of her son.

We left the film and what I thought to be a profound moment of art viewing and walked back out into the mayhem that was First Friday.

***

I think First Friday has finally caught on and we can expect even more commotion downtown with each first weekend of the month. As it grows, there are a couple of things to consider:

1) The best art can be seen off the beaten path, and some of the worst art is consistently on the beaten path. I say this because I don't want people to mistake Knoxville as a factory for mountain landscapes. There is great artwork out there, one just has to make the effort, and if you haven't yet, please go to the Fluorescent Gallery and the Birdhouse.

2) As you overload on cheese cubes and copious amounts of boxed wine, I hope you will engage in the art being shown. Find out where good art will be, go there, and tell a friend whether you like it or not. If you like it, tell the artist. This may be their only compensation.

With a slew of awards and recognitions for "For Memories Sake," I think Ashley Maynor has received more "compensation" than many artists will ever receive for their work, but I'll give here even more. Her film was moving and inspirational to me. In the midst of everything going on last Friday, there was a quiet and a calm where an artist conveyed to me something important to her in a beautiful, creative, and intelligent way.

***

If you are an artist making good and relevant work in Knoxville (you know who you are), thank you, and keep it up.

sunlight on old brick

The 100 block is the best place to be during a summer sunset.

Just so you know.

when worlds collide

Greetings all.

I was recently on the 100 block, and noticed a new tenant that's headed to the neighborhood. I don't know much about this new neighbor, but what I do know sounds intriguing.

What an odd and incredible paring for this spot. I can only imagine the mix of fried chicken and Lady Gaga that is in store for our friends on the 100 block.

This is surely one to review, come opening day.

trees please

The 100 Block of Gay Street is rapidly approaching completion, and as much as I love concrete, what really got me excited are all the planter spaces waiting for trees to be planted. Later that day, I was waiting for my wife at the corner of Wall and Gay, sweating profusely. It was HOT. Like many Knoxville summer days, it was tolerable in the shade, but direct sunlight was to be avoided. Alas, most of Gay Street was severely in short supply of shade. As I stood there getting sweatier and sweatier, I had a vision of paradise:


So what's it going to take for something like this to happen? I applaud the city for the great design of the 100 block, and for replacing all the limb-dropping Bradford Pears for more elegant maples on Union and Wall. But Gay Street is our showpiece, the main impression (aside from Market Square) that we leave on visitors. There are a few trees by the Bijou, and the 100 block will soon be shady. All I'm saying is let's start planning on getting a little more good shady green-ness in the middle. Who's with me?

How Whoop-Ass Industries became Yee-Haw

Knoxville is so lucky to have the country's premier letterpress print shop located right in the heart of downtown. I love to stop in Yee-Haw Industries' print shop from time to time and just gaze lovingly upon all the kitchy music posters and chat with Kevin, who is never short on energy. I almost always leave with a new set of letterpress greeting cards.

I get especially excited when the world at large acknowledges Yee-Haw's greatness, like last year when they showed at Chelsea Market in NYC. Here's a great video put together by Southern magazine Oxford American on what Yee-Haw's all about. Enjoy.

SoLost: Yee Haw Industries from Oxford American on Vimeo.

P.S. If you're reading this from afar, don't forget you can order Yee-Haw's goods through their etsy.com site.

What's cooking?

Before I mention anything about what's going on this weekend, I want to warn everyone that the weather gurus are predicting severe weather for Saturday afternoon/evening (we're talking possible tornadoes here). Please keep that in mind before you head out to any event this weekend. Better to be safe than sorry!

Now if the weather people are wrong, as they often are, then I want to suggest to you a barbecue event that's for a very good cause. Now for me, there's always a good cause for barbecue, but this one comes with an extra benefit. The Pork Knox Q-Fest at World's Fair Park is this weekend benefitting the Knoxville disABILITY Resource Center, an organization that helps make everyday life more accessible to people with disabilities while also working as an advocacy group. They perform a great service to the community, and supporting them is very worthwile.

It is a barbecue cooking contest (though a Kansas City-sanctioned one, so keep that in mind :), and there's a whole lineup of events (click that link) from now through tomorrow evening. From 6-9 p.m. today, you can participate in the people's choice sampling. Tomorrow there's a hot-dog eating contest and you can meet the Hard Knox Rollergirls.

You've probably also heard, but the Rossini Festival is this weekend too. Street vendors will line Gay Street tomorrow, and you can catch a performance of the Barber of Seville by the Knoxville Opera today and Sunday.

9th Annual Rossini Festival from Knoxville Opera on Vimeo.

So whatever you do this weekend, have fun. But more importantly, be safe and avoid any bad weather headed our way!

bring back commerce & vine

The following map continues to amaze me:


First, half of what was downtown Knoxville is gone. Central Street was actually central. Second, what I'd like to talk about today, is that we had an orderly grid system at one point. Despite that fact that we've done our best to ruin its efficiency by chopping it up and plaguing it with one-way streets, the downtown grid continues to serve and provide our city's best streetscapes... with one particularly glaring exception.

You may notice there is no big squiggle across the top of the map. I'm not talking about I-40, the Mother of All Squiggles, but its far less useful cousin Summit Hill Drive. Born of an era when traffic engineers obsessed with getting from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, Summit Hill frolics across northern Downtown, jumping from grid section to grid section. The curvy four lane brazenly ignores downtown, getting drivers through perhaps 5 seconds faster. Even the name "Drive" implies its suburban era heritage, when downtown was a thing to be avoided and gotten by quickly.


The traditional urban streetscape has returned to downtown, with sidewalk cafes and small shops and people living above. Streets that were built around this idea are flourishing. But this 1960s anachronism works against the grain. Why is it that the "treble clef" square is always empty? Why are there almost no street level businesses on Summit Hill? How can we activate this important part of downtown?

I say: restore the grid. The streets that were minimally affected by the "urban renewal" of the 60s have been the quickest to bounce back. Let's salvage the streets that were chopped up. Let's do something like this:


Summit Hill's path is pretty set to the west, but as it descends to Central Street we have a chance to make something beautiful. Streets that used to be prominent, Vine Ave. and Commerce Ave., would become important again. The buildings at the sides of the square would no longer be isolated by odd triangles of leftover space. Imagine a cafe like on Gay Street, but across the street is a park like Krutch, but larger. The edges of the park would have parking to replace all that is lost and then some. Don't worry, we can keep the median trees in the park- they look so nice at Christmas.


Imagine this: in the park we could build an open shed that would be a permanent home for the Farmers Market. The Market House will never return to Market Square now, but we could make something like it in a new place. Vendors could back their trucks up to it just like they used to and sell their products rain or shine.


Or maybe something else?

A lot of potential is being wasted on what could be one of the great urban spaces of Knoxville. The greatest hinderance is the highway that roars through the middle of it. I've told you what I think we should do. What do you think?

Rock For Haiti Aid

Most of you don't know this, but as well as being a renowned blogger, I am involved with a lot of work in Haiti. I just got back from working in Haiti a month ago, right before the earthquake hit. I've worked down there for a long time, and I can tell you they need all the help they can get. So I wanted to pass this along- Sapphire is hosting Rock for Haiti Aid to raise aid for earthquake relief. You can find more info here.

The low down:

Thursday, February 4th

three bands-

The Fine Line 8 - 9
Vera Noreva 9 - 10:30
Joe Dunn of Adoration 11 - 12

NO cover- 1% of bar sales go to relief efforts through the Red Cross.

I know 1% doesn't sound like much, but if you've ever bought a cocktail at Sapphire you know that those proceeds will pile up quick. If you're going out to drink or see live music anyways, why not do it for a good cause?

[edit: 10% of bar sales will be donated. even better!]

100 Block update

I saw this the other day and realized... this repair might take longer than I thought.


On the plus side though, there should be some very nice (and sturdy) sidewalks. Also I'm hoping for a few underground storefronts. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Flower power

I love flowers in a big, big way, so I love that The Flower Pot on Gay Street loves to give away free flowers to people of a certain name every day. The other day as I was walking by, they were giving away free flowers to people named Holly and Charles.

Apologies for the poor camera phone quality.

I've never been by on a day when they're giving away a free flower to anyone named The Modern Gal, but let me know if you see that they are (since I don't get to walk by every day.)

The Flower Pot is at 700 S. Gay St. on the same block as Dazzo's. It's also at 2314 N. Broadway across from the Fellini Kroger.

this week in review

 
I made sure to have my camera on me this past week to catch all of the different festivities happening in downtown Knoxville recently. Here are a few highlights.




Above: Ice skating in Market Square on Monday.


   The Christmas parade on Gay Street Friday night. Above are some pretty cute VW bugs, and below, who else but Frosty the Snowman on a dump truck.

 
 
 Above: At Lox Salon on First Friday for a show themed around the highly esteemed PBR.


Above: The snow covered valley of Townsend. I had the pleasure of waking up to this Saturday morning. I don't think I've never witnessed this much snow in Tennessee before.

Hope y'all had a merry week as well!

Always open, even when it's closed

On my typical commute to and from downtown, I pass by good ole Mer-Mer's Bakery on the north end of Gay Street, right past 5th. First I'd like to comment on the name... but considering I don't really know what to say about a name like Mer-Mer's, I'll just bring attention to it.

Secondly, I'd like to know what, exactly, the owner is trying to suggest by constantly being open and closed at the same time. More often than not, their neon "open" sign is glowing while their closed sign is hanging on the door. It's so confusing, so baffling, and I love it.


photo by Tracy Jackson

back in business

When I walked by the Crimson Building yesterday I heard unusual sounds emanating from it. Hammering and what sounded like a huge drill. There was new plastic covering the windows and the lights were on. Flory reported that it had been sold, and it seems the the new owners are proceeding poste haste. As much as I've grown accustomed to the neon green upper floor, I'm glad that such a prominent downtown building is finally going to be finished.

Does anyone know what the new plans are? Condo or rental? Completion date?

We've got spirit. yes we do!

Happy Veteran's Day from the Wigsphere!


The Parade is starting now. So head on down to Gay St. to celebrate with your fellow Americans.

Pre-opening Review of the S & W

Yesterday, (as B stated earlier this week) was the preview of the S&W Grand on Gay street. There were hundreds of people there, a host of serving staff, and a lot of reasons for me to go back once it opens.

I took loads of pictures but will try to limit to the best available, you'll just have to go see for yourself next week what the place is like if you didn't go last night.

First of all they have done a great job of restoration. Keeping as much of the original feel of kitschy American cafeteria as one would want, but adding the modern comfortable surrounding that everyone enjoys.














The seating capacity is around 150 in the restaurant with split seating up and down. There are two bars, up and down, and plenty of large and small booths for any size party.

The banquet room has a very different feel to it than the restaurant. It's on the third floor and has views over Gay St and Crutch park and would make a great location for a wedding reception. That space can hold (I'm told) about 100 or so more people. One of the most interesting parts about that space is the skylight, it changes colors thanks to the miracle of LED lights. Which by the way, are what lights the bulk of the place.

















Now onto the food, which is really what you'll go for. I talked to a server (see picture below) and a host who told me about the food. Apparently the new owners got ahold of the original menu from back in the day and have incorporated 30% of that into the new menu. What they called, twice, "A new take on your old favorites." I expect to hear that alot at first. they also refereed to it as "Retro-American", that's a new one to me.

I'm going to assume that the food they served at the event is to be a taste of what is to come. There were mini-Reuben sandwiches topped w/ slaw and french fries. An interested little crab cake think sliced onion rings, and a roast-beef/ french dip that were also quite tempting.














Finally the wait-staff. Apparently S&W Grand is going classic in this way as well. The servers are in white chefs coats w/ S&W Grand on them while the Bartenders are in the same, but in black.


















OK enough regurgitation of what is. I think this is going to be a great improvement for this part of Gay St. More dining to serve the venues is only going to benefit everyone. Two bars, good food, great location, this place should do well.