Steve Wildsmith

OK, everybody sing along now: “Happy birthday to you … happy birthday to you … happy birthday Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson … happy birthday …”

You get the idea. It’s the annual Labor Day/birthday bash celebration this weekend out at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, 1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville, and to commemorate the occasion, owner Scott Maddux and his crack team of motorcycle and music enthusiasts have a full weekend of events planned.

Saturday night, there’s the annual visit by country-rock hooligans the Kentucky Headhunters with opening act The Van Lears; the show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $20. On Sunday night, Blount County’s own The Drunk Uncles, with their pal and roots-music ace Larry Cordle, will take the stage at 8 p.m.; tickets to that show are $10. But it’s tonight’s headliner who’s getting a lot of press these days — piano man Leon Russell, he who resembles Gandalf the White and has played with just about everyone on the planet, from the Rolling Stones to George Harrison.

His most recent project is the one getting the most attention these days — “The Union,” a collaborative album with Elton John. The new record, produced by Oscar and multiple-Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, marks the first time these iconic artists have worked together since 1970. It was recorded live in the studio with Elton and Leon on dueling pianos, features 14 songs (including ones written by Elton and his lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, as well as the combined songwriting team of Leon, Elton, Bernie and T Bone).

According to a recent press release, Leon first met Elton in 1970 when he attended Elton’s first ever U.S. show at the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles. The meeting heralded the beginning of a long friendship and a mutual appreciation between the two artists.  “In the late ’60s and early ’70s, the one piano player and vocalist who influenced me more than anybody else was Leon Russell,” Elton said.  “He was my idol.”  The pair went on to tour together shortly thereafter at New York’s Fillmore East and to this day have held such high admiration for each other’s work.

After years of being out of touch, Elton listened to Leon’s music while on safari in Africa last summer and was inspired to reconnect with his idol.  “Elton called to ask if I would do a duet album with him,’” Russell said.  “I’m very happy that he chose me to do this.”

Russell’s performance takes place at 8 tonight; tickets are $25. Husky Burnette opens the show.

As Weekend editor, one of my responsibilities (with the help of clerk Rheta Murry) is to pull together entertainment calendars from various venues around town. The Copper Cellar family of restaurants manages several — Calhoun’s in Lenoir City and off Neyland Drive in downtown Knoxville, and Smoky Mountain Brewery in three locations: Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and in Turkey Creek. (They own several more, including Chesapeake’s, but those are the ones that feature live music on almost a nightly basis.)

In e-mail us the music calendar for September, we received this statement:

“Also we will be adding another restaurant that will have live entertainment nightly.  We are opening another Smoky Mountain Brewery in Maryville.  It will be open sometime after Dececember 1st.”

I’ll give more details as I find them out.

Here’s hoping East Tennessee is a little kinder to singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant when she returns to town for a performance next week.

Merchant, who first made a name for herself as the front woman for 10,000 Maniacs from 1981-93 before going solo, will perform Tuesday, Aug. 31, at The Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville. I interviewed her for this Friday’s edition of The Daily Times Weekend entertainment section, and while she laughs at the memories, it’s clear her previous performances in our fair area didn’t always go well.

“I have a really clear memory of playing in Knoxville the last time — it was in 1999, I think,” she said. “I remember I asked if anyone had a horse so I could go horseback riding, and someone did, so they took me — and the horse bolted and ran into the forest. I’m not a very experienced rider, so I told them to give me the oldest, most tame mare they could find. They did, and it still bolted.”

The coup de grace as far as Knoxville stories go, however, was a performance previous to that, when 10,000 Maniacs was opening for R.E.M. (From what I can find online, that would have been Oct. 1, 1987, at Stokely Athletic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.) Merchant and R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe have long been friends, but that particular appearance didn’t end well for Merchant.

“The footlights had been trained on Michael’s chest, but they hit me in the face,” she said. “As the warm-up band, you don’t have the luxury of a soundcheck and testing out the stage. I went out on the first song and was completely blinded, got tangled up in a cord, fell off the stage and sprained both knees.”

Wait … it gets better, she added. It was cold outside, and when the crew took her to a local hospital, she didn’t think to grab her coat. Someone else did, however, and as they were pushing her into the hospital, someone draped the jacket around her shoulders.

“They took me to the maternity ward because they thought I was going into labor!” Merchant said with a laugh. “A nurse came over and asked, ‘How close are the contractions?’ I said, ‘I’m not having a baby! I fell off the stage and sprained my knees!’”

On a more serious note, she’s had a baby in the years since — daughter Lucia, born in 2003 — and being a mother in today’s world, especially for a socially conscious artist like Merchant, isn’t always easy, she added.

“Many aspects of the world have become unbearable to me now — the cruelty, the wanton destruction,” she said. “I have this vested interest in the future, and when I hear about ocean temperatures rising and how all the fish in the ocean might be dead in 50 years — that’s in my child’s lifetime. Before, I would have thought, ‘That’s tragic, but I’ll be gone.’ Now I feel it’s my responsibility to care more. I should have cared before, because other people’s children were going to live to see it, but I certainly do now.

“For the first two years of my daughter’s life, I would get physically ill reading the newspaper. I realized everyone who perpetrated a crime, every victim of a crime — whether it was a petty crime on the street or a crime against humanity like what’s happened in Darfur or Kosovo — all those people were infants and completely innocent at one time. What the hell went wrong?

“I keep turning to a lack of love,” she added. “There just isn’t enough love in the world. People spend their entire lives searching for the love they didn’t get from their parents.”

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a massive electronic music festival taking place over Halloween weekend in nearby Asheville, N.C. — Moogfest, slated for Oct. 29-31.

It’s designed to honor the vision and invention of Robert Moog, who called Asheville home during the last 30 years of his life; previously, the festival has been held in New York. This year, it’ll take place at various venues in downtown Asheville and include a lot of latitude for the performers. According to the site, “While the wide range of Moog instruments – the Minimoog Voyager, the Little Phatty, the Etherwave Theremin, Moogerfoogers, and the new Moog Guitar – will play prominent roles throughout the festival’s events, the artists performing will certainly not be limited to those who create their work on Moog instruments. Instead, artists will be chosen for their role in creating unique and groundbreaking musical experiences that embody the essence of Bob Moog’s visionary and creative spirit.”

One of those artists is Derek Vincent Smith — the artist known as Pretty Lights, who’s coming to town for a show next week (Aug. 25) at The Valarium. I asked him about Moogfest when I interviewed him recently.

“I’m excited about my fall tour as a whole because of a lot of new things will be going on, and there are new production elements I’m bringing to the stage,” he said. “Asheville’s one of the coolest cities in the country, and also I love Moog. I’ve been into the factory before, I’ve seen live Moog performances, and I’ve always used the gear they create — even before creating the Pretty Lights project.

“I’m really pumped about that show. Hopefully it’s gonna kick off the fall tour in a big way.”

The Clayton Center for the Arts over on the Maryville College campus got a test run when it opened at the beginning of the year, but now officials are preparing for the facility’s first full season of performances.

Clayton Center Executive Director Robert Hutchens unveiled the 2010-11 season for the center this week, and it includes something for everyone — literally — including some big names in jazz and bluegrass. Here’s what’s headed to Maryville this year:

• Neil Berg’s “100 Years of Broadway” (8 p.m. Sept. 17 in the main theater): Five of Broadway’s leading performers as well as an all-star New York band come to town to perform the most beloved and memorable songs from a century of Broadway musical history, including recent as well as more traditional hits. Not only do they perform — they do so as the characters and scenes from which the songs come.
• Richter/Uzur (7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Lambert Recital Hall): A duo fusing rock , folk and classical  to create a sound that is modern, traditional and unique.
• Sam Bush with Missy Raines and New Hip (8 p.m. Nov. 5 on the main stage): One of the season’s headliners, Bush has been called “The King of Telluride,” “The Founder of New Grass” and “The Heir to Bill Monroe.” He’s an award-winning master of banjo, fiddle, and mandolin and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Lyle Lovett and Garth Brooks. Raines is a seven-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year Awards and will be performing with her band, New Hip.
• Robert deMaine and Andrew Armstrong (7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Lambert Recital Hall): First chair cellist of the Detroit Symphony (deMaine) and internationally renowned pianist (Armstrong) perform an evening of intimate classical music
• American Spiritual Ensemble (8 p.m. Jan. 15, 2011, on the main stage): Part of the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on campus, featuring the spellbinding singing of John Wesley Wright, who entertained at the center’s opening-night gala. He’s just one member of the ensemble, a group of professional soloists who combine their voices in a chorus of tribute to the soul-stirring spiritual.
• The Aluminum Show (8 p.m. Jan. 21 on the main stage): Like Pilobolus and The Blue Man Group, the Israeli troupe of “dancers”  has defined its own genre.  Clad in  imaginative, often bizarre, structures of recycled aluminum, the  performers execute a choreography of shapes and colors that surprise, intrigue and enchant
• Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana (7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 on the main stage): An evening of culture and art featuring dancers celebrating the national dance and songs  of Spain.
• “All Shook Up,” the musical (8 p.m. Feb. 11 on the main stage): Featuring the songbook of Elvis Presley, telling the story of a teenage rebel shaking up a small town.
• “The Comedy of Errors” (7:30 p.m. March 9 on the main stage): The Acting Company of New York City presents one of Shakespeare’s most farcical, accessible plays.
• The Passing Zone (7:30 p.m. March 19 on the main stage): Comedy-juggling team that’s been in the Guinness Book of World Records four times, they’ll juggle everything from human beings to chainsaws.
• “An Evening With Groucho Marx” (6:30 p.m. March 26 in the William Baxter Lee Grand Foyer): Actor Frank Ferrante transforms himself into the legendary screen and comedic legend for a night of dinner theater in the Clayton Center’s foyer.
• Chris Brubeck and Triple Play (8 p.m. April 8 on the main stage): The son of legendary jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck comes to town with Joel Brown and Madcat Ruth to perform their melange of blues, rock, folk and, of course, jazz.

And those shows are on top of what’s already been announced:

• “On Golden Pond,” presented by the Foothills Community Players, Sept. 10-12 and Sept. 16-19 on the main stage
• “Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran,” a talk by Roxana Saberi at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 on the main stage (admission is free)
• Wood and Strings Puppet Theatre at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sept. 28 on the main stage;
• British rock band The Boxer Rebellion (fronted by Blount County native Nathan Nicholson) at 8 p.m. Oct. 12 on the main stage. Tickets are now on sale (via box office walk-up only for the time being) and are $12, $18 and $20; and
• Nations of Unity present “An Evening of Native American Entertainment,” 7 p.m. Oct. 30 on the main stage; $25/$12 children.

As far as ticket sales go — 12 of the events are being offered in subscription series of different sizes through Sept. 19.  Patrons who buy a series of five to seven performances will receive a 10 percent discount; those wanting 8 to 11 performances get a 15 percent discount; and those who purchase tickets for all 12 get a 25 percent discount. Regarding single-ticket sales — excluding the Groucho Marx dinner theater show, the average ticket price is $16.09 for adult economy tickets (average price for students and seniors — $12.50).

To reserve seats for any of the shows, call the Clayton Center box office at (865) 981-8590, visit the center online or go by the box office between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets go on sale Thursday, Aug. 19.

Get yer credit cards ready — there’s a ton of shows going on sale this coming Friday (Aug. 20). Doubtful they’ll sell out as quickly as Sufjan Stevens did, but nevertheless … they’re all pretty cool. Here’s what’s going on sale Friday:

• Benjy Davis Project, Taylor Brown and Co., Jonathan Sexton (8 p.m. Sept. 23 at The Square Room in downtown Knoxville; $10 adv/$12 door)
• Mindy Smith (8 p.m. Sept. 30 at The Square Room; $12.50 adv/$15 door)
• GWAR, Mobile Death Camp, Infernaeon, The Casualties (7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at The Valarium in Knoxville; $19 adv/$22 door)
• Robert Randolph and The Family Band, Hill Country Revue (9 p.m. Oct. 13 at The Valarium; $22 adv/$25 door)
• Will Hoge (9 p.m. Oct. 13 at The Square Room; $12.50 adv/$15 door)
• The Temptations, The Four Tops (8 p.m. Oct. 14 at The Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville; $55 and $70)
• Corey Smith (9 p.m. Oct. 14 at The Valarium; $18 adv/$20 door)
• 311 (8 p.m. Oct. 26 at The Tennessee Theatre; $41.50)
• Punch Brothers feat. Chris Thile (8 p.m. Nov. 3 at The Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville; $19.50)
• Reverend Horton Heat, Legendary Shack*Shakers, Split Lip Rayfield (8 p.m. Nov. 17 at The Valarium; $20 adv/$22 door)

For Valarium, Tennessee Theatre and Bijou shows, call 656-4444 to order, or visit Tickets Unlimited online. For Square Room shows, visit the Square Room’s online ticket office.

If you were psyched about the double bill of Beach Fossils and Warpaint headed to The Pilot Light (106 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville’s Old City) … well, sorry to dash your expectations, but Beach Fossils have been dropped from that show. According to Pilot Light owner Jason Boardman, Beach Fossils trimmed the number of shows the band was doing with the LA girl-group Warpaint and so won’t be hitting Knoxville on Thursday, Aug. 19, as originally planned. Instead, Boardman said, Fecal Japan will be the opener. Admission is $10; look for our interview with Warpaint tomorrow on The Daily Times Weekend website.

Bicep ligament tears have forced honky-tonk hero Billy Joe Shaver to cancel his summer tour dates, including one that was set for later this month — Aug. 28, to be exact — at “The Shed” at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, 1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville. A replacement has already been set — jam-band godfathers Goose Creek Symphony, which performed at “The Shed” back in June. The new date is billed as a Goose Creek “encore performance.” Click here to buy tickets. Best of luck to Mr. Shaver in his recuperation; Lord knows the man’s dealt with his share of health problems over the years. Good thing he’s tougher than Texas armadillo jerky.

Last Friday, we told you about ’80s hair-metal outfit Gun*Slinger and the band’s show that night at Irish Times Pub, 11348 Parkside Drive in West Knoxville’s Turkey Creek district.

Well, the guys went … they played … and they were asked to leave. It’s an amusing brouhaha, but it’s left the guys in Gun*Slinger a bit bitter about how it all went down.

“Before we started our first set, the owner (Jon Ferrie) came up and said, ‘I want you guys to know — start out soft and work into your rock, because the crowd will turn into more kids as the older folks leave,’” bassist Ryan Scott told me this morning. “So we said, sure. We started jamming, and after we get done with the first set, he came up and said, ‘You guys were a little hard; I need you to do a softer set.’”

Here’s where things get complicated. Obviously, the Gun*Slinger dudes haven’t built a loyal local fan base by playing “softer” sets. The occasional lighter-flicking power ballad is well and good, but these guys are more WASP than White Lion. So toning it down isn’t exactly in their nature.

The second set started, Scott said, when the owner asked the guys to back up a friend — Doug Thomas, part of the local AC/DC tribute act Big Gun — on a couple of songs. Together, they ripped through an AC/DC track and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” and Gun*Slinger started its second set, thinking it was time to rock. I mean, that particular Zep song isn’t “Going to California,” and the owner’s buddy was the one who chose it, right? Cue up some Bulletboys and The Nuge. Unfortunately, the reaction was still disapproving.

“He came up and said, ‘I told you guys, I wanted soft music and chart-busting hits,’ and me and (lead singer) Cole (Graham) were like, ‘Do you know what kind of band you booked?’” Scott said. “Then the guy started swearing and told us that if we didn’t cooperate, we could pack up and leave. So we did ‘Purple Rain’ and some Def Leppard, and when we were finishing up Def Leppard, the bar stereo came on. He turned to us and told us, ‘You’re out of here.’”

Needless to say, the boys were pissed. Ferrie, Scott said, approached him and offered a truce while he was breaking down the band’s gear — $200 for the band and free beer. And, he gave them a few compliments, the same ones he told to me when I called him this morning.

“They’re amazing musicians, and they have a great future in what they’re doing, but on that particular night, they weren’t what we’re used to doing,” Ferrie told me today. “They were booked, but we didn’t really know what type of music they were. When they said ’80s hair band, I expected the ’80s chart music. But they’re pretty particular, and pretty gun-ho in their set.

“I’m really sorry it happened like it did, but we were at 100 percent capacity, and after they started playing, we went down to 20 percent — and unfortunately, I make my living on what comes in the door. I told the boys, if I had a venue with a major stage, maybe a satellite bar or something, and advertised them for what they are, I would have the place absolutely packed. They’re a great bunch of guys, and I don’t have a bad word to say about them — I understand how angry they must be.

“It’s nothing personal; the people who stayed thought they were the best band we’d ever had in here,” Ferrie added. “But it’s the other 80 percent who pay my bills.”

According to Scott, it’s not the first time the band has surprised bar owners with their straight-up approach to ’80s metal in all of its sleazy, high-octane glory — but it is the first time they’ve been thrown out of a club. Still, they managed to entertain for the short time they commanded the stage.

“The only people who left were the older crowd,” Scott said. “We had girls dancing down front and people hooting and hollering.”

Heads up — there’s a show taking place at The Bistro at the Bijou, 807 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville, on Friday night that’ll call some attention to that hideous environmental nightmare process known as mountaintop removal mining. It ties into the show taking place next door at The Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville — which features Daniel Martin Moore, Ben Sollee and My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James calling attention to the same thing — only the Bistro show is cheaper and features local talent — poet and musician David Phillips will be playing with local composer Brandon Beavers, Evan Carawan will be playing dulcimer and mandolin and Ben Maney will close the show on the piano. It starts at 9 p.m.; admission is $5, and information will be available for those who want to learn more about the process and do what they can to end it.