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

KSO Gives Tuneful Treat to Area Kids

Last week, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra treated kids from Knox County and surrounding schools to a wonderful program of music with a “Musical Superheroes” theme as part of the KSO’s popular Young People’s Concerts.
KSO Resident Conductor James Fellenbaum was in control and at ease with the skill of a master storyteller. He provided lively, concise introductions noting each composer’s “super power,” hamming it up for the delighted audience.
The “Star-Spangled Banner” kicked off the concert of selections familiar and not-so-familiar. The Civic Auditorium was full of the sound of thousands of toes tapping during the second movement of Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony.
Seventeen-year-old flutist Laura Kappa joined 14-year-old harpist Naomi Falconnier as soloists on a concerto by Mozart. Both are members of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra.
There were squeals of recognition as the first strains of Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” came from the stage. Dancers from Go! Contemporary Dance Works provided a beautiful, moving tableau to illustrate Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.”
For the percussive blast of an excerpt from Stravinsky’s “The Firebird,” Maestro Fellenbaum encouraged the children to use their imagination to picture themselves triumphing against evil in their own scary adventure.
Rounding out the show was the “Theme from Superman” by John Williams, for which the conductor donned a Superman shirt and cape. At the risk of having an English teacher admonish me for ending a sentence with a preposition … the kids ate it up!
KSO Director of Education and Community Partnerships Jennifer Barnett works closely with the Knox County Public School System to make exciting live musical performances part of kids’ learning experience. For more info on the KSO’s educational outreach program, call Jennifer at 521-2305 or visit www.knoxvillesymphony.com
Playlist:
1. Heroes - David Bowie
2. Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy - The Tams
3. American Tune - Paul Simon
4. Little Child - The Beatles
5. Leader of the Band - Dan Fogelberg
6. Mr. Brightside - The Killers
7. Talk about the Passion - R.E.M.
8. I've Got to use my Imagination - Gladys Knight & the Pips
9. Superman - The Kinks
10. That's Really Super, Supergirl - XTC

Getting the Message

With everyone texting and twittering these days, I have a feeling some kids aren’t learning proper phone etiquette anymore.

I remember as a kid being taught to answer the phone “Schoen residence, Emily Schoen speaking.” Short and sweet, direct and helpful. Not like what I hear nowadays.

Of course back then (somewhere in the mid-Paleolithic era), people had the advantage of knowing that if they were calling someone and the phone stopped ringing, it was because someone was actually on the other end. These days you’re more likely to reach someone’s answering machine than you are a real person.

That’s as much due to Caller ID as it is answering machines; we’ve all pretended we’re not home so we don’t have to talk to an unwanted caller. A hopeful “Hello!” has been replaced with this yell to whatever family member is nearest the dreaded home phone: “Don't answer! Let the machine pick up!”

Here are some tips on leaving messages:

*  Don’t assume I recognize your voice. Always identify yourself. Follow this by stating your telephone number. Many callers have assumed I have Caller ID and redial. Sadly, they’ll never hear back from me because they didn’t leave their number.

*   Don’t yell into your phone. This causes a distortion that’s like trying to make out what Peter Frampton is saying on those songs where he uses the vocoder. So much of life is distorted – I don’t need another thing that’s hard to figure out!

*   On the other hand, don’t mutter into your phone like you’ve just had a shot of Novocaine. Speak clearly and slowly. A little consideration will make life easier for everyone concerned.

*   Keep it short, and stick to the basics. For an invitation, give me the event, the date, the time and place, and any cost. I might have one of those answering machines that only allows 30-second messages.

*   Kids: answering the phone should not be a chance to show off your vocal power. Calling “Mom!” at the top of your lungs doesn’t work unless you’re on the high-dive at the swimming pool. Just put the phone down gently, walk over to mom and tell her she has a phone call. And Mom: you might want to ratchet down “Wheel of Fortune” just a bit before coming on the line.

*   And finally, a plea for sanity with regard to outgoing message greetings. We don’t really care what your favorite song is, and we shouldn’t have to sit through it before leaving our message. And if you have a child, please for God's sake don’t record your 4-year-old for your outgoing greeting. The kid may be adorable, but sometimes the phone is a business tool. Someone doesn’t want to have to hear baby-talk in order to leave a message for daddy about that job he’s getting. No? OK, well maybe they’ll just hang up and go to the next guy on the list!

Playlist:
1.   The Message - Grandmaster Flash
2.   Something to Talk About - Bonnie Raitt
3.   A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley
4.   Who Are You - The Who
5.  I Think I Can Hear You - Carole King
6.  Speak Softly Love - Andy Williams
7.  The Great Pretender - The Platters
8.  Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas
9.  Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
10. I've Gotta Get a Message to You - Bee Gees

Beating the Odds

For Central High grads Ashley and Chris Ward, the birth of their daughter Josslyn Rose Ward has been a long and bumpy ride, and scarier than most.
 
The trouble began when Ashley, a stylist at City Salon, experienced abdominal pain during her 23rd week of pregnancy. She was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a severe type of preeclampsia in which Ashley's life-giving placenta became toxic to her own system.
Babies aren't normally born until around the 40th week, so Ashley and Chris knew that a tough decision had to be made quickly. They opted to admit Ashley to U.T. Medical Center, where the top-notch team at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was in place and ready to give the baby a good fighting chance at survival.

Turns out the Wards made a very good decision. Josslyn Rose was born May 5th, and last Friday she left the U.T. Medical Center's NICU at a healthy 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
Babies born this premature are referred to as "micro-preemies," but that hardly conveys the living miracle of modern science that is Josslyn Rose. Consider this: at her birth back in May, she weighed a mere 390 grams, which is only an ounce or so more than your basic 12-oz. can of soda.

With the optimism and expertise of the caregivers at U.T. Medical Center, and a whole lot of praying by the Wards, their family, church, and friends, Josslyn was able to beat the "5% chance of survival" odds that the doctors had given her. In fact, Ashley and Chris credit much of Josslyn's success story to that extended circle of support that they relied on throughout the nerve-wracking period since the devastating diagnosis.

Faith is a powerful thing. It can give you strength you never knew you had. In the middle of their ordeal, the Wards even found time to help out other premature babies at U.T. by donating their time to help with a recent blanket drive sponsored by Central Baptist of Fountain City, where the Wards are active members.
Against all odds, Josslyn is now relatively healthy and has been breathing on her own for roughly two months.

So faith and science came together to save a miracle baby, only the third-most-premature ever to survive out of U.T. Medical Center. These days some folks are bent on convincing us that one or the other is in charge. Inspiring stories like the Wards' convince me that the two aren't mutually exclusive.
Playlist:
1. A Little Good News — Anne Murray
2. B-A-B-Y — Carla Thomas
3. Isn’t She Lovely — Stevie Wonder
4. Baby It’s You — The Beatles
5. Chances Are — Johnny Mathis
6. You Better Pray — Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
7. Long Time Gone — Crosby, Stills & Nash
8. I’m Comin’ Home Baby — Mel Tormé
9. Tiny Dancer — Elton John
10. We Three — Frank Sinatra

Big Band, Big Fun

Last week I heard some world-class jazz at the Bijou.
Vocalist Deborah Brown and the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra performed selections from the Great American Songbook featuring Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin and others.
It was an unforgettable evening.

Deborah Brown is an internationally renowned singer who has worked with bands and arrangers the world over and appears on numerous CDs. This is her third time performing with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. Good things come in threes. KJO, Deborah Brown and some of the nicest arrangements I've ever heard, some being sung live by Brown for the first time, combined for a tasty mix of swinging classics.
Award-winning trombonist Don Hough conducted an expanded KJO that included selected players from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Hough joked that it was a thrill to be working with “real musicians.” In my book, they’re all cracker-jack; the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra is in its 10th season of wowing audiences with their top-flight big-band sound. I knew right away that it would be a very special show.
Deborah Brown has a voice like very good, very old whiskey: warm, pure and infinitely satisfying.

The sound is a triple threat all its own: the sassy lightness of Natalie Cole, beautifully controlled phrasing reminiscent of a young Sarah Vaughan and the impeccable fluidity of Ella Fitzgerald. The latter was best shown off when Brown doubled the sax section for intricate breaks on “Mood Indigo” and “Our Love is Here to Stay.” She made it look easy.
The rock-solid rhythm section of Rusty Holloway on bass and Keith Brown on drums was impressive, especially on “Just in Time,” which sent us careering to intermission at the break-neck speed of a thoroughbred horse.
It’s a good thing I was sitting alone in a press box – I’m sure my constant toe-tapping would have driven someone crazy if they’d had to sit next to me!
Notable also was the sheer force of the KJO brass section. It rushed forth with the power of a Waimea wave; it was a living, breathing sound of masterly precision. This was better than a recording. There’s nothing like live music to remind you of what it's all about: the genius of talented composers, arrangers, singer and musicians all coming together at the top of their game.
Hear the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra this fall at one of its “Jazz Lunch at the Square Room” shows at noon on the first Wednesday of the month, or catch the popular program “A Swingin’ Christmas” on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Go to www.knoxjazz.org for details.
How's this for a note-worthy trio: the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, your favorite tunes and you!

Playlist:
1. Unforgettable — Nat “King” Cole
2. Easy to Love — Ella Fitzgerald
3. Thank You Girl — The Beatles
4. Sing, Sing, Sing — The Benny Goodman Orchestra
5. Sing a Song — Earth, Wind & Fire
6. Dancing Shoes — Arctic Monkeys
7. Blow Gabriel Blow — Martha Tilton
8. Too Marvelous for Words — Frank Sinatra
9. Get Rhythm — Johnny Cash
10. Three is a Magic Number — Blind Melon

Weather or Not

All this rain we’ve had reminds me of when I lived on Cape Cod one summer.

It was a different kind of humidity, but vexing all the same. Towels never got a chance to dry out before you had to use them again. Doors and windows swelled stuck.
Here in East Tennessee, little puddles have grown and gained permanency to the point where you could more properly call them ponds. And of course, the mosquitoes have had a field day. The little stinkers are thick this year! Note to self: see about investing in “OFF!”
I don’t know the statistics, but I’d bet the local fair-weather industries like car washes and construction have sadly seen less business this summer.
Prolonged periods of precipitation depress some people. Ever felt like you’d just about sell your soul to see a blue sky?
There’s a short story by Ray Bradbury called “The Long Rain” that has stayed with me for years. The hellish plot involves some astronauts who are stranded on a planet where it never stops raining and there is no shelter. I personally have traveled thousands of miles in an effort to get away from rain and be someplace where I could feel the sun on my skin. Oh, and maybe hear some seagulls calling and waves crashing. But I digress. …

There are upsides, though, to our damp summer (Knoxville’s 10th wettest on record). Grassy lawns that are usually dead, stubbly beige by now are still green. The impatiens we planted back in May are still abloom. And we’ve had a bumper crop of pecans, so the squirrels are happy.
A mild summer and moist soil content should contribute to a more lengthy and intense period of fall foliage this autumn. Which brings us to my favorite time of year: October and “sweater weather” with that cool nip in the air. The smell of wood fires and hot apple cider. You know, after you’ve put your shorts and T-shirts in storage, but before you have to start scraping the frost off the windshield.

Has the summer rain been good or bad? Depends who you talk to. Like Shakespeare wrote, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” We can talk about it, worry about it and prepare for it. But the weather is going to do what it wants regardless. Maybe that’s why we’re so in awe of it – there are so few things left in this world over which we have so little control.
As for me, I’m just going to sit and listen to the raindrops and know that this, too, shall pass.

Playlist:
1. September in the Rain — Frank Sinatra
2. Rain — The Beatles
3. Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again — The Fortunes
4. Baby the Rain Must Fall — Glenn Yarbrough
5. Don’t Rain on My Parade — Barbra Streisand
6. Flood — Jars of Clay
7. The Rain Song — Led Zeppelin
8. Rainy Day Man — James Taylor
9. Kentucky Rain — Elvis Presley
10. Who’ll Stop the Rain? — CCR