Cuckoo for Culture

If you go cuckoo for culture in K-town, you’ll have an excellent chance to see and hear tons of it this weekend. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-5, the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville will host its fifth annual Emporium Holiday Extravaganza. At the beautiful Emporium Center at 100 S. Gay Street (corner of Jackson Avenue and Gay Street), the Extravaganza will feature loads of great holiday ideas from area artists and museums. Handmade items will include home accessories, ornaments, stationery, jewelry, paintings, drawings and more.

9"x9" giclee prints of "Fish on a Leash" by Knoxville Illustrator Lesley Eaton are available at the Extravaganza. Lesley is an accomplished children's book illustrator who works with painted paper collage and mixed media. To see more of her fanciful artwork, visit her website at www.pepperedpaper.com.
Here’s a great way to kick-start your Christmas spirit this year: check out all the fantastic artwork at the Extravaganza while awaiting the downtown WIVK Christmas parade, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Browsing is free, and there just might be some yummy holiday goodies on hand to help you get in a festive mood.

As if this feast for the eyes (and tummy!) weren’t enough, the Extravaganza is also a great way to catch live performances by some of Knoxville’s most popular groups like the Knoxville Children’s Choir, Circle Modern Dance and Smoky Mountain Harmony A Capella Show Chorus. Log onto www.knoxalliance.com for more info, schedule of performances, directions, parking, etc., or call the Alliance at 523-7543. Extravaganza hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
On the off chance that the Extravaganza can’t provide the unique present you’re looking for, you can always get that special someone a Culture Cash gift certificate good at more than 40 of Knoxville’s local arts and culture organizations. Have fun playing Santa and supporting Knoxville artists.

Playlist:
1. Arts and Crafts — Maceo Parker
2. See Me, Feel Me — The Who
3. Downtown — Petula Clark
4. Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied) — B.T. Express
5. Get Up and Go — The Rutles
6. Right Here Right Now — Jesus Jones
7. Suddenly I See — KT Tunstall
8. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year — Andy Williams
9. Because — The Beatles
10. The City is Here for You to Use — The Futureheads

James and John: Good as Gravy

It’s the centennial anniversary of the birth of two giants of American creativity: James Agee and Johnny Mercer.
Had they lived this long, Knoxville-born author James Agee and pop lyricist Johnny Mercer of Savannah, Ga., would have turned 100 this month.
I recently discovered something else these two southern gentlemen had in common: they both had occasion to appreciate gravy.
James Agee included some local incarnations of gravy in his 1941 book “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.” Agee mentioned this pork-infused staple of poverty-stricken southerners as one of the “… true tastes of home.” And Johnny Mercer praised gravy in the verse to his song “Lazy Bones,” which begins “Long as there is chicken gravy on your rice, Ev’rything is nice.”
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the South, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like gravy – myself included. And these acknowledgements of the Everyman’s ambrosia just reinforce why I so like their work.
Both Agee’s and Mercer’s words evoke images of the small-town South during the first half of the 20th century. You can almost feel the humidity and smell the magnolia blossoms in their writing.
Mercer’s lyrics don’t always speak directly to a Southern experience, but you can tell he’s from here. Most of his standards indirectly attest to his down-home roots: talk of trains, breezes, moonlight and meadows all help paint a sentimental picture of love lost or unrequited.
The miracle of saints James and John was in their storytelling of the common ground that connects all humanity. They remind us of childhood, nature, the richness of living simply and a time when no matter what else was happening, at least there was gravy on the stove. And it’s as true today as it was then – somehow everything’s the better for that.
Playlist:
1. Gravy Waltz — Oscar Peterson
2. Sharecropper’s Son — Ralph Stanley
3. That’s What I Like About the South – Phil Harris
4. Going Back to Georgia — Nanci Griffith
5. Arkansas Traveler — Michelle Shocked
6. Southland in the Springtime — Indigo Girls
7. I Wanna Go Back to Dixie — Tom Lehrer
8. Poor Old Dirt Farmer — Levon Helm
9. Good Brown Gravy — Joe Diffie
10. Feels Like Home — Bonnie Raitt

Songs for Sickies

Seems like everyone you talk to is either sick, has been sick, feels like they're getting sick, or knows someone who's been sick. Here's a little musical guide for those of you suffering from "The Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" (Dr. John).
* "Beds are Burning" (Midnight Oil) because you're feverish. First it's like a "Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas), and then you’ll bundle up against that feeling of a “Cold Cold Heart” (Hank Williams).

* If you're tired of blowing your nose, you might feel "Born to Run" (Bruce Springsteen). “Try a Little Tenderness” (Otis Redding) and get some of those tissues with lotion in them. Just “Hold Your Head Up” (Argent) and hope for an “Even Flow” (Pearl Jam).
* If your sinuses are blocked, remember "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka). Just “Dream On” (Aerosmith) of the day you’ll once again be “Running on Empty” (Jackson Browne).

* Don’t trust just anybody’s opinion. “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” (Marvin Gaye). Better to “Hang On Sloopy” (The McCoys) and “Wait” (The Beatles) until you can see your doctor.

* The flu is contagious. It’s "Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan), so make sure the only thing you catch is the "Lovebug" (Jonas Brothers or George Strait).
* Don't spread germs to others; "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" (The Georgia Satellites).
* Try not to overdo it, and don’t go to work — just stay "Homesick" ( Ferlin Husky or The Vines) and "Take It Easy" (The Eagles).
* If a cold has gripped you “All Day and All of the Night” (The Kinks), just keep “Jammin’” (Bob Marley) pills so you can start “Feelin’ Alright” (Joe Cocker).
* Remember you’re not alone, because "Everybody Hurts" (R.E.M.), and the best medicine is still “Laughing” (The Guess Who)!

Craft Fair a Fall Tradition

The prestigious Foothills Craft Guild will host its 43rd annual Fine Craft Fair this Friday through Sunday at the Jacob building in Chilhowee Park. The amazing original artwork of more than 140 artisans and craftspersons will be featured.
A partial list of media includes woodwork, pottery, stained glass, basketry, printmaking and jewelry.

I caught up with Guild member and woodturner Bob Klassen of Farragut, who will be working booth No. 129 at the show this weekend. He’s a happy part-time retiree who enjoys mastering the fine art of the wood lathe. His woodturnings are also on display at the Art Gallery of Farragut.
Leilla White has worked with beveled glass for almost two decades and enjoys the Fine Craft Fair as an opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones looking for that special holiday gift. She makes candleholders, sun-catchers, window pieces and even tables. Her work is currently showing at the Highland Craft Gallery in Gatlinburg.
The Fine Craft Fair is a great place to learn about a huge variety of arts and the local artists who create them. There will be a fun hands-on booth for kids, and everyone can enjoy demonstrations of basket making, whittling, chair caning and corn shuckery. I didn’t know it was called shuckery. There – I’ve learned something new already!
So if you haven’t yet treated yourself to this autumn tradition, bring the kids and make a day of it. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for children 6 and under. Visit www.foothillscraftguild.org for more info. See you there!

Playlist:
1. Autumn Almanac — The Kinks
2. Tradition — Fiddler on the Roof
3. Art in Me — Jars of Clay
4. Sugar Craft — Medeski, Martin & Wood
5. Mona Lisa — Nat “King” Cole
6. Scarborough Fair — Simon & Garfunkle
7. Pictures at an Exhibition — Ravel/Mussorgsky
8. Portrait of my Love — Steve Lawrence
9. Turbulent Indigo — Joni Mitchell
10. Harvest Festival — XTC