It’s long overdue, but finally a serious campaign has been created to curb Tennessee’s utterly insane beer taxes. I’m not tax expert, but I do understand that if we have the highest beer taxes in the nation, we are going to be way WAY behind the rest of the nation in the craft brewing industry. The fact that Nashville is just now starting to get a decent crop of local breweries is simply depressing. It’s depressing for beer lovers, entrepreneurs who want start a brewery, and the beer industry in general. For example, I have no doubt that our tax rates are a big reason, if not THE reason, that Bell’s Beer distributes all over the southeast but skips TN. Bell’s is one of the finest craft breweries in the nation and it’s a travesty that you can’t get it here.
But enough rambling about it. Now it’s time to do something about it. Yazoo Brewing held a kickoff event at the Yazoo Taproom last night that began a statewide campaign of events in Memphis, Clarksville, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities, Cookeville, Knoxville, and of course Nashville to raise awareness of the problem and build support for The Tennessee Beer Tax Reform Act of 2013. The hub of the movement is their website- www.fixthebeertax.com. There you can find all pertinent information, and most importantly, a web form through with you can contact your local legislator urging them to support this bill. If you love good beer and you live in Tennessee, it behooves you to support this effort and do everything you can to help get it passed. They’re also on Facebook.
As I’ve followed Yazoo Brewing the past few years I’ve noticed Linus Hall mention TN’s crazy beer taxes on their blog several times and wondered if he was going to try to lobby our state legislature to fix the problem. I’m happy to say it’s finally happening!
Nashville music & other local stuff to look forward to in 2013
January 8, 2013
I’ve been slowly digging through the piles of posts in my RSS feed that accrued over the holiday break. While I’ve simply had to skip over the vast majority of it, I’ve found a few tidbits here and there about exciting and interesting things we can look forward to in Nashville’s awesome indie/local music scene in 2013. Check it:
- Ben Todd and his Nashville’s Dead crew have announced the dates for the FREAKIN’ WEEKEND IV. So mark your calendars for March 7-9. The past three have gotten progressively more awesome as they’ve incorporated more of their favorite out-of-towners in the lineup. More at Nashville’s Dead.
- Mercy Lounge will be celebrating their 10th year of putting on great shows this coming weekend. They have two nights, Friday and Saturday, of great local bands playing in all 3 of their venues- Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom, and The High Watt. Some of the bands include JEFF the Brotherhood, The Weeks, Cherub, Wild Cub, and many more. Each night the first 250 people get in free, after that cover becomes $10. Check out their calendar for more info.
- Infinity Cat Records plans to open a small storefront sometime this coming summer. Not many details are known yet, but Steve Haruch at the Scene caught wind of it buried in a blog post on their website and wrote about it on the Cream. Kudos Jake, Jamin, and Bob!
- Not only does Nashville now have Craft Brewed, a combination taproom, beer store, and homebrew supply store, we also have yet another brewery opening downtown- Tennessee Brew Works. For more them, check out the Scene’s Bites Blog, or their official website. And for more on Craft Brewed, check out their facebook. I’ve been there twice already, and their official grand opening party is this coming Saturday the 12th. I highly recommend it for beer lovers!
- This is waaaaay off in the future, but Yazoo, Nashville’s first commercial craft brewery, will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary on October 13th, 2013. Congrats guys!
NASA does “Gangnam Style” parody and a Grammy nominee plays a Nashville chicken wing joint
December 17, 2012
It’s not every day you see a Grammy-nominated musician play a sweaty set of throaty, in-your-face rock ‘n roll jams at a tiny hot wing joint, but that’s just what happened Saturday night here in Nashville. Singer Brittany Howard of the Grammy-nominated Alabama Shakes fronted a Nashville supergroup called Thunderbitch, featuring members of Fly Golden Eagle and Clear Plastic Masks, last Saturday night at East Nashville hot chicken joint Ghot Wingz. I was there snapping photos of this bizarre show, all of which can be seen over at the Cream, along with The Spin’s more thorough review of the happenings. In short, I had to mention it because it’s one of those shows that will go down in history, and I’m proud that it happened in the music town I call home!
In other news, though NASA’s Johnson Space Center Students create fun promotional videos for NASA every year, this year’s is quite impressive. Behold “NASA Johnson Style,” their parody of “Gangnam Style.” :
Oh Shit: Soundland postponed till 2013
September 21, 2012
From the department of OH SHIT: Soundland is postponed until 2013. Straight from the horse’s mouth:
We’ve been so excited to bring you an all-new outdoor SoundLand experience in 2012 and have been working for months on creating a one-day extravaganza Oct. 6th at The Lawn at Riverfront Park. Unfortunately, issues out of everyone’s control have caused us to put this vision on hold until 2013.
Ticket buyers: check your email for details.
Well that sucks. I think the idea behind Next Big Nashville and Soundland is a great one, and I think their mission is not over. So don’t fear- I have no doubt they’ll be back next year with a bigger and better festival. Also, there are still plenty of good events happening on that weekend:
PS – we will still have some great shows happening over the original SoundLand weekend with JD McPherson, Jonny Corndawg, Generationals, The Tontons, HUSTLE: The Biggest Dance Party of the Year, and others. Stay tuned here in the coming days for details.
Personally, I’m a fan of Generationals and will make an effort to see them wherever they end up playing. And that HUSTLE dance party will be off the chain- it’s all of this town’s finest dance party producers all in one night/event. That’s an OH SHIT in the good way.
R.I.P. Brad Baker, a.k.a. the sound guy at The End
September 6, 2012
Some very sad news came across my twitter feed yesterday. Brad Baker, the main sound guy at our beloved little rock club The End, passed away in his extended stay hotel room in the Super 8 on Spence Lane on Friday, August 31st. According to the Scene, he had been suffering from sleep apnea, which I know can cause a host of issues including heart and lung problems. He had also been suffering from other health problems the past few years from what I could tell. I, just like most musicians that have played The End, was initially confused and a little freaked out by his barky, fast way of talking, but I quickly realized that he really knew his shit and was actually a pretty nice guy. The sound quality of shows at The End both for the audience and for the band onstage was always great when he was working. He had a weird sense of humor and if you played there often, you eventually learned to “speak Brad” and not have to say “huh?” when he spoke to you. He also had a signature trick where right before the band onstage started, he would fade up the house music to blaring for just a split second and then cut it off. It took me a while realize why he did it, but it really did the band a favor. It grabbed the attention of the crowd, stopping their conversations and giving the band a chance to start their set with the crowd’s full attention.
My friend Jesse Baker, who also worked as a sound guy at The End, posted this video of Brad fronting a cover band in 1991. I really wish I’d seen this before his passing. No one really knows the details of his past but the Scene reported that he had stints as a touring crew member for REO Speedwagon and Chicago, as well as plenty of other concert production endeavors. But apparently he was also one incredibly badass singer in Hotel Bill & The Incidentals:
Brad was quite a character and in his passing we’ve lost a very special part of the Nashville rock community. Rest in peace Brad, we will miss you dearly.
I didn’t fall of the face of the earth, I just totally forgot to post a disclaimer here that I would be out of pocket for a while taking photos at Bonnaroo. This was my 5th year there and we had amazing weather. It actually felt a bit chilly some nights! Anyway, please do check out the Nashville Cream for comprehensive coverage and lots of photos from me and Michael Bunch. Back soon y’all!
Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp announces WANDA JACKSON as guest performer for 10 year anniversary
May 4, 2012
I’m sure you’ve heard me mention the awesome non-profit group Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH) here before. That organization started 10 years ago with the first annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp. This year to celebrate their 10-year anniversary they’ve really pulled out the big guns, so-to-speak. They’ve just announced that one of the guest performers at this year’s SGRRC will be none other than the queen of rockabilly: WANDA JACKSON. I’m floored. Talk about knocking it out of the park… can you imagine being a teenage girl and getting to spend a week making new friends, learning to play a rock & roll instrument, forming a band, AND getting to see one music’s greatest female legends perform AND getting to ask her questions at the end?!?!? My mind is officially blown. Katie, Rachel, Lizzie, Kelley, and everyone involved- well done.
This is as good a time as any to say that if you have any time or talent to donate, this is the most worthwhile cause I can POSSIBLY think of. I’ve volunteered almost every year for the past 6 years and I promise it will change your life. I can sit here and go on about how awesome it is till I’m blue in the face, but you just have to do it to truly understand. So go to the YEAH website and sign up to volunteer. There are summer camps and after-school workshops/activities in both Nashville and Murfreesboro.
Two major things to mention (or re-iterate, since you may have already seen this):
Photographer/filmmaker Joey Ciccoline has been hard at work on a very cool-looking short film titled 88:88 and my pal Matt Pusti aka Makeup and Vanity Set did the soundtrack. Awesome in every possible way. Here’s the trailer:
You can also download the trailer and free mp3 of “The Cross” at the MAVS bandcamp. There will be a full soundtrack album released in the future as well.
Uncle Skeleton released another (the third and final) teaser single from their upcoming album All Too Human. “The Well-Tempered Albi” is available for free download on their bandcamp, along with remixes from DPAUL, Makeup and Vanity Set, and Shaboi, as well as 2 unreleased b-sides.
What a treat to have all of these great projects originating right here in Nashville. *warm fuzzies*
A Few Good Shows: 3/30/12
March 30, 2012
Obviously after yesterday’s post, the beer festival will be a large part of my weekend, but there are also plenty of good shows to be seen this weekend… here’s what seems cool to me:
FRIDAY:
Parachute Musical (final show), Winter Sounds, Baby Baby @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $5 21+
The Danberrys w/ Kelsey Waldon @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
SATURDAY:
By Lightning! w/ Wax Fang and Poly @ The Basement. 9pm $7 21+
Couched, Youth Camp, New Pleasure, Reid Magette @ The End. 9pm $5
Quintron & Miss Pussycat w/ Nashville’s Dead DJs @ Third Man Records. 7pm $7
SUNDAY:
Jesco White (The Dancing Outlaw), with Beitthemeans, Pick Up The Snake, and Roger Alan Wade. 9pm $15
On completely separate note, I wanted to direct you to a brand spankin’ new blog just created by my girlfriend- Old Red Boots. It’s centered around fashion and other girly things, and I’ll be taking most of the photos for it, so check it out.
Also, have a great weekend!
steve cross loves music and science 