Archive for the ‘Local venues’ Category
R.B. Morris reschedules CD release show
Back in late January, we profiled local singer-songwriter/poet/playwright/man-about-town R.B. Morris and his new album, “Spies Lies and Burning Eyes.” (He even gave us three songs to give away off of it, which you can download at the bottom of this post.) It was for the final Friday of the month, and R.B. was throwing a CD release shindig on the 30th at Barley’s Taproom, 200 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville’s Old City.
Unfortunately, a snowstorm hit, and although the show went on, it wasn’t as well-attended as he’d hoped. So he’s doing it again:
Hey Folks, my band is rescheduled for Barley’s on Friday April 2 for a CD release show for SPIES LIES AND BURNING EYES. I want to thank those hearty souls who made it out on the big SNOW night. We knew so many of you couldn’t make it, including our band coming over from Nashville! But for those who could we wanted the show to go on and so Hector and I played and Tim Lee & co. joined us and we had a big time. And Barley’s was great to keep the doors open when almost everyone else was canceling and closing. They also rescheduled us for Friday April 2 and gave me another chance to bring Dave Jacques, Paul Griffith, and Eric Fritsch over from Nashville to join me and Hector Qirko for an official full band release show for Spies Lies and Burning Eyes!
Please make it out and tell your friends too. I promise to open up a can of rock transcendence! And to help in this endeavor to persevere Jonathan Sexton and the Big Love Choir will open the show! Too cool.
$10 and starts at 9:30. See you there.
R.B. Morris, “Amsterdam”: right-click here (choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”)
R.B. Morris, “Plato’s Perfect World”: right-click here (choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”)
R.B. Morris, “Spy in My Brain”: right-click here (choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”)
R.B. Morris, “Empire”: right-click here (choose “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”)
R.B. Morris, “City”: right-click here (choose “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”)
Buy albums by R.B. Morris (including his most recent, “Spies Lies and Burning Eyes”): click here
“The Shed” continues to roll out the names for its concert season
About a month ago, we announced the initial phase of the lineup for “The Shed” Concert Series at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, 1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville. Organizers continue to roll out the names and fill in the blank dates, and tickets are already on sale for some shows. You can purchase tickets online, or call 977-1669 for more information. And if you like everything you see, pony up $175 — that’s for a pass that gets you into all of the shows this season. Here are the dates so far (shows begin at 8 p.m.):
April 3: Unknown Hinson ($15)
April 10: Voodoo Lounge (Rolling Stones tribute, $10)
April 17: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth ($15)
April 24: Mustang Sally ($15)
May 1: Winds of Thor (Led Zeppelin tribute)
May 8: Shannon McNally
May 15: Ray Wylie Hubbard
May 22: Bill “The Sauce Boss” Wharton
May 28: Devon Allman’s Honeytribe
May 29: Jason and the Scorchers
May 30: Stacie Collins
June 5: Hayes Carll
June 11: Goose Creek Symphony
June 12: Todd Snider
June 19: Use Your Illusion (Guns N’ Roses tribute)
June 26: Hackensaw Boys
July 3: Monsters of Classic Rock
July 10: Tres Hombres
July 17: James McMurtry
July 24: Ozzmosis
July 31: Trent Summar
Aug. 21: Blackberry Smoke
Aug. 28: Big Gun (AC/DC tribute)
Sept. 3: Leon Russell
Sept. 4: Kentucky Headhunters
Sept. 11: Husky Burnette
Sept. 18: Cross Canadian Ragweed
Sept. 25: Mic Harrison and The High Score
Catching up with Hollowtree
It’s been a minute since we caught up with Blount County band Hollowtree — back in 2008, to be exact. Front man Mike McQueen dropped me a line the other day and filled me in with what’s going on:
Just wanted to let you know that we’re playing every Wednesday at Brackins (Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville) and we will be at the Waterfront (Bar and Grill, 404 Greenbelt Drive in Maryville) on Friday, March 5. Also I’m still keeping the Monday Night Acoustic Jam going. My friends from Murfreesboro will be playing at Brackins on Saturday, March 27. They are called The Incredible Heat Machine. We will be opening for them. And our lineup changed a little.
Mike McQueen — guitar, vocals
Javan Schiferl — bass
Adam Knable — guitar
Nick Spagnuolo — drums
Jim Avett schedules East Tennessee show at Preservation Pub
Back in November 2008, when The Avett Brothers were coming through East Tennessee for a two-night stand at The Bijou Theatre, we interviewed Seth and had a great conversation about how grounded in family love that the brothers are. We talked about an album by their father, Jim Avett, that the brothers played on — “Jim Avett and Family” — and later that month, their dad joined them on the Bijou stage for a couple of songs.
Now, Jim has a new CD out — “Tribes” — and a couple of Knoxville dates scheduled; March 23 at the WDVX-FM “Blue Plate Special,” which takes place at 301 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville, and on Wednesday, April 28 at Preservation Pub, 28 Market Square in downtown Knoxville. The latter show will feature the all-girl trio Amelia’s Mechanics, whose debut album “North-South” was produced by Mr. Jim and released last month.
Read more about Jim Avett, in his son Seth’s words, here.
Get your Ears wet …
If you’re a music fan interested in checking out the upcoming Big Ears Festival on March 26-28 but feel a little intimidated by artists you’ve never heard of and an atmosphere of creativity that you believe will make you feel like a Neanderthal, fear not.
First of all, there’s no reason to feel that way. Of course, Big Ears is geared toward fans in the know, the folks who can discuss artist-in-residence Terry Riley’s “In C” with all of the enthusiasm of Cold War-era scholars talking about East-West relations, but it’s not just for those people. It’s for anyone who loves music in general, as Big Ears organizers told us last year, and now you can prep yourself with a little know-before-you-go action.
Next week, organizers will hold a “Big Ears Listening Party and Happy Hour” from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Square Room, 4 Market Square in downtown Knoxville. It’s free to get in, and there will be a door prize giveaway of a pair of all-access “Inner Ear” passes. More importantly, it’s an informal listening party to share videos and songs by Big Ears performers with area residents.
“There’s a lot going on at Big Ears, so it’s a lot to absorb,” says AC Entertainment founder and president Ashley Capps in a press release. “We want people who are curious about the festival to get together and find out more.”
At the listening party, Capps will share stories, music and videos about the performing artists and will talk about special collaborations, surprise appearances and unique performances to take place over the course of the weekend; highlighting the “firsts” that will make Big Ears 2010 an unparalleled musical experience.
Also announced yesterday — addition to the Big Ears lineup, including Sufjan Stevens, Adrian Belew and more. Get the full skinny at the festival’s website, where you can browse the schedule, read about the performers and purchase tickets.
“The Shed” announces lineup for spring concert season!
“The Shed” at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, 1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville, is holding the second of its “Shed Unplugged” performances this weekend, featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard and his son, Lucas. (There’s another one slated for March 20 featuring singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith.) However, the good folks over at the dealership are already looking ahead to a bang-up spring and summer concert season, and just now they posted the lineup for the first three months up on their Myspace page. Here it is:
April 3: Unknown Hinson
April 10: Voodoo Lounge (Rolling Stones tribute)
April 17: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth
April 24: Mustang Sally
May 1: Winds of Thor (Led Zeppelin tribute)
May 8: Shannon McNally
May 15: Ray Wylie Hubbard with Hayes Carll
May 22: Bill “The Sauce Boss” Wharton
May 28: Devon Allman’s Honeytribe
June 5: Goose Creek Symphony
June 12: Todd Snider
June 19: Use Your Illusion (Guns N’ Roses tribute)
June 26: Hackensaw Boys
No word yet on ticket prices; if organizers follow last year’s formula, they’ll range from $5-$15. (I think the most expensive was $25 last fall for Leon Russell.) More details, including local bands added to the lineup, extending it into the fall and exact start times, will be announced later.
Superdrag dudes wanna be sedated …
Speaking of “Funhouse” dudes in my aforementioned post, Mr. Senter gave me a tip about another upcoming Barley’s show, this one on Friday, Feb. 26. The Barley’s calendar simply lists the band as “Warthog: A tribute to the Ramones,” but a visit to the Superdrag website reveals some additional information:
“Back in March of 2009, Superdrag’s ‘Senator’ Tom Pappas, John Davis and Sam Powers enlisted the help of unstoppable drummer Joey Sanchez to put together a short set of Ramones covers for a Joey Ramone’s Birthday benefit gig in aid of lymphoma research at Nashville’s Mercy Lounge. They christened themselves Warthog for the occasion to honor the late, great Dee Dee Ramone, who penned the song of the same name (which also happened to be in the set that night). Anyway, they had such a great time playing, they’re bringing the Ramones tribute back for a couple more shows! They’ll be playing a half-hour set at The Basement’s fifth anniversary show on Feb. 6 in Nashville, and a proper headlining set at Barley’s Taproom (200 E. Jackson Ave.) in Knoxville on Feb. 26.”
Admission to that show will most likely be $5. Read last year’s cover story on Superdrag here.
Lucero returns to Barley’s Taproom
After a November show that pulled them from their usual Knoxville venue — Barley’s Taproom, 200 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville’s Old City — Memphis rock outfit Lucero appears to be returning there on Friday, March 26. The Barley’s live music calendar for March lists the band as performing there that night as part of the monthly “Funhouse Presents” showcases, brought to you by that wacky duo Rob Levering and Derek Senter, hosts of “The Funhouse” from 8-10 p.m. every Friday on WUTK-FM, 90.3 The Rock.
We did a story on the band when they played The Valarium last November, and the group’s most recent album — “1372 Overton Park” — made my year-end best-of list for 2009. Check out Lucero online here; no word yet on how much tickets might be or who the opening act is — our fingers are crossed for Glossary, the Murfreesboro-based band that frequently collaborates with Lucero and just put out a new CD, “Feral Fire,” on Lucero’s Liberty and Lament label.
Other notable March shows at Barley’s: Shannon McNally on Friday, March 5 … The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker on Saturday, March 6 … a CD release show by Knoxville expatriate and Nashville singer-songwriter Matt Urmy on Friday, March 12 … and former Dixie Dirt front woman/singer-songwriter Kat Brock on Sunday, March 21.
UPDATE: Tickets to the Lucero show will be $13 in advance and $15 at the door; still no word on opening bands. (Still crossing fingers for Glossary.) Call Barley’s at 521-0092 for more information.
The future is Unknown … for one night, at least …
Just got word from Sean Blair, GM over at Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon (100 N. Central St. in Knoxville’s Old City), that “The King of Country-Western Troubadours” — Unknown Hinson — will perform there at 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18. Tickets are $15.
Read our interview with him from last year, and take our word for it — if you’ve ever experienced an Unknown Hinson show, you’re in for a treat. See for yourself. Here’s Unknown Hinson on:
And finally, some pointers, if you will … words of wisdom from Unknown Hinson’s dental-afflicted mouth to our ears, from a cover story we did on him in August 200!
… on Love
1) “Always suit up before you make love. I am a firm believer in the condominium. We live in dangerous times, and I ain’t ashamed to tell a woman, ‘Look here, darlin’ — you’re pretty and all, but I don’t know where you been or what you been into, so give me a minute to suit up. If I don’t, I might get a touch of the AIDS or something, know what I mean?”
2) “Be good to the womerns. I like to think I’ve learned what they likes — womerns likes mens who shoot guns and sing country-Western music. Gene Autry, he shot guns and sang country-Western, and womerns liked him. Roy Rogers, he shot a gun and sang country-Western music, and womerns liked him. I shoot a gun, and I sing country-Western music, and womern’s likes me. I don’t see no argument there.”
… on Life
1) “Another thing I’ve learned — party liquor is a damn good antiseptic. You might have noticed from my photographs that I’ve got a slight dental affliction. My gums bleed and gets infected from time to time. When I start bleeding from the mouth, I just do eight or 10 shots of party liquor, and it not only helps kill the pain, it ensures my chart-topping mouth is free from disease. In particular, my party liquor of choice is the vodka in the half-gallon size. It’s clear. I don’t ever drink no party liquor I can’t see through. That’s dangerous.”
2) “One of the things I’ve learned the hard way, is that I’ve learned a lot about ice machines. I never stay in a hotel or a motel that ain’t got no nearby, working ice machine. Hell, when I got a woman in my room after one of my shows, and we’re having a drink, I’ll be damned if I’m gonna disrupt our romance by going out and looking for a damn ice machine. If I find one and it ain’t working, I check out of the hotel right then and there. I ain’t a dealing with that mess. A working ice machine is one of the most important fixtures a hotel or motel has to offer, in my opinion.”
… and on the Music Business
1) “Practice your guitar, or your drums, or your pianer or whatever you play, at least a half-hour a day. Don’t give up because, hell, you never know — success might be just around the corner.”
2) “Try to avoid a prison sentence if humanly possible — your record sales will drop off if you go into the joint like I did for 30 years.”
3) “Just write what’s in your heart. Write about what you know, because you can’t write about something you don’t know and something you ain’t experienced. If you try to, people see through it.”
4) “I tell young musicians and performers, never leave your wallet or your billfold in the dressing room. While you’re out there performing, somebody might sneak in there and steal your billfold, which contains your cash American monies and your condominiums.”
5) “Another thing I would tell the young up-and-coming aspiring artists — people will think you is a vampire if you have two pointed, sharp teeth like me and a thick, bountiful head of jet-black hair with a pronounced widder’s peak like I do and thick black sideburns and bushy black eyebrows like me and always dress in black tuxeders like me. But hell, if it makes them happy to believe I’m a vampire, that’s fine. It’s like believin’ in Santy Claus — if they want to believe it, that’s fine.”
6) “I advise the youngerns that wants to get into this racket — never, ever sign anything, except an autograph for one of your fans. I’ve signed record contracts, movie contracts, television contracts, publishing contracts and management contracts, and they’ve all earned me five damned dimensions of hell in my chart-topping life. Womern fans, though, are always wanting me to sign their breasts, which I’m happy to do. They’re happy to have my name emblazoned across their chests, and even though it makes the husbands and boyfriends jealous, it’s kindly becoming a national phenomenon. Some of ‘em even get it tattooed on there.”
7) “One more thing to the young folks wanting to get into this business — never get paid with a check for one of your concert performances. Have you ever tried to cash a check made out to Unknown? It’s impossible. Think about it.”
Clayton Center for the Arts tickets go on sale Friday
Friday is the big day — tickets go on sale for upcoming events at the almost-completed Clayton Center for the Arts, construction of which is wrapping up on the Maryville College campus.
Earlier this week, readers of The Daily Times got a glimpse of the new Steinway pianos in the recital hall; starting Friday, they can begin planning their social calendars around several of the events taking place at the center in the coming months. Those events include:
- Maryville High School Orchestra Valentine’s Day concert with special guest Mark Wagner: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14. Tickets are $11 adults in advance/$14 at the door and $6 students.
- Jo Dee Messina: 8 p.m. Friday, March 26. Tickets are $36, $46 and $56.
- Grand opening gala: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27. Tickets are $20.
- Contigula Brothers recital (benefit for the Adams Foundation, in the center’s Recital Hall): 2 p.m. Sunday, March 28. Tickets are $26 adults/$11 students.
- BANFF Film Festival: 2 p.m. Monday, March 29. Tickets are $10 advance/$12 day of screening.
- Delores Ziegler/John Wesley Wright vocal recital (in the Recital Hall): 8 p.m. Monday, March 29. Tickets are $15.
- Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys with Cherryholmes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29. Tickets are $24.50, $29.50 and $36.
- Ball in the House (five-man R&B vocal group): 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 30. Tickets are $20/$16 students/$11 Maryville College students
- “Our Town,” a production of the Maryville College Department of Theatre (in the center’s FLEX Theatre): Thursday, April 29 thru Sunday, May 2. $7/$5 Maryville College students
- Wood and Strings Puppet Theatre (in the FLEX Theatre): 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 14. $12 adults/$5 MC students
In addition, the Clayton Center for the Arts will serve as a local Tickets Unlimited outlet, allowing visitors to the box office to purchase tickets for most Tickets Unlimited events in the East Tennessee area. For more information, visit the center’s website, call the box office at 981-8590 or visit in person at 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville. The box office opens for business at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5.