Belated East Nashville Beer Fest/Craft Beer Week post
March 29, 2012
Y’all. I’m slackin’ this week. I fail at blogging. So sue me. I should have mentioned on Monday or even over the weekend that this week is craft beer week in Nashville, and it all leads up to the 2nd annual East Nashville Beer Festival in East Park on Saturday. I went last year and got soused on some amazing beer, and I’m VERY much looking forward to it this year, mostly because I now live a couple blocks from the location and can casually stroll down to it with my girlfriend. They’ve expanded everything this year, and I’m very excited about some of the specialty brews- rare/limited run beers from well-known names that you’ll probably never see anywhere other than at beer festivals such as this. The festival tickets sold out in only 2 hours when they went onsale Feb. 10th, but I’ll be you can find some on craigslist if you try really hard.
While the ENBF is the main event, there have been other fun things going on around town this week as part of Nashville craft beer week. I stopped by the Brooklyn Brewery tasting session at Woodland Wine Merchant yesterday and had their Local #1, Local #2, East India Pale Ale, and Monster Ale Barleywine. All fantastic in their own way. Tonight from 5-7 they’ll be having a Green Flash free tasting session, and Friday New Belgium will be in the store for some free tasting. There are other tastings and events going on elsewhere, so check the schedule for today and tomorrow’s festivities.
I must also take this opportunity to mention how pleased I am that we have several new local breweries popping up here in Nashville. TN’s laws are literally some the WORST in the nation for small-scale craft breweries, but it’s very encouraging to see the huge success of Yazoo and the emerging breweries such as Fat Bottom, Black Abbey, Broacast, Nashvillion, Jackalope, and Jubilee. (All of which will have beers at the ENBF.) Bosco’s and Blackstone will be there as well, but they are in a class of their own in my head- they are restaurants with breweries inside them. Their beers are a force to be reckoned with, however small-scale they may be! And Blackstone has just recently expanded their brewing to a separate facility and are bottling/distributing regionally now. I highly recommend their Chaser Pale- a Kolsch-style ale which is very light and refreshing. You don’t see Kolsch as a flagship beer from many craftbrewers, so I applaud them for doing it!
Ok, off my beer soapbox. Hopefully you have tix to this awesome event- if not, get some to the much bigger Music City Brewer’s fest in July.
My pal Joseph over at Nashville Nights has been working with Red Bull to promote one of their awesome Red Bull Music Academy sessions, which is happening this Saturday at 12th & Porter from 4-5pm. It’s totally FREE, and the guest speaker is none other than Eliot Lipp. This is very unique treat to have here in Nashville, and I suggest checking it out. It’s free so what have you to lose? It’s to promote the 2012 Red Bull Music Academy, taking place in New York Sept. 30 – Nov. 2. If the full-on RBMA is something you’re interested in, and you’re from Nashville, then you simply must check this out. It’s a very cool idea: kudos to Joseph for getting involved.
The Freakin Weekend/New PUJOL song on Spin
March 7, 2012
For the third year in a row, local music blog Nashville’s Dead is hosting their Freakin’ Weekend festival. It all kicks off tonight at The End with a special all-ages show featuring Screaming Females, Titus Andronicus, Diarrhea Planet, and No Regrets Coyote. Thursday night things jump across the street to Exit/In for The Greenhornes, PUJOL, Ranch Ghost, Denny & The Jets, and Dirty Dreams. Friday night’s show stays at Exit/In for Jeff the Brotherhood, Cy Barkley & the Way Outsiders, D. Watusi, Useless Eaters, and Fox Fun. Then we jump back across Elliston Place to The End for the finale on Saturday: Traditional Fools, Mikal Cronin, The Men, Heavy Cream, and Cannomen.
Also, returning from last year’s Freakin’ Weekend is the pop-up shop at Local Honey! Not only can you grab limited releases, vinyl, tapes, etc… from labels like Infinity Cat, Nashville’s Dead, Turbo Time, Third Man, Cass, Sebastian Speaks and many more, but on Friday & Saturday you can also catch great free day shows in the back lot as well! Head over to Nashville’s Dead for the full lineup+details. Major props to Ben Todd & his crew for making such a cool string of shows happen. They’ve really upped the ante this year by nailing a few bigger-name headliners, most notably The Greenhornes, whose rhythm section shares duties with The Raconteurs.
Another very related tidbit: Spin.com just debuted the first single from PUJOL’s first official full-length on Saddle Creek, DIY2K, via a free download. If this track is any indication, this is gonna be one phenomenal album. It drops June 5th.
Ranch Ghost 7″/By Lightning Video
February 22, 2012
Some cool things to report about two great new local bands:
- Ranch Ghost is awesome. They’re possibly my favorite “newish” local band. Their scrappy, catchy, jangly, hook-laden garage-pop hits all the right buttons on my musical palate. They have a limited edition 7″ that is available for pre-order through Jeffery Drag Records. You can stream the songs at their bandcamp. Love these guys soooo much.
- New local supergroup By Lightning! just played their album release show this past Saturday (my pics and the Spin review are up at the Cream) and followed it up by releasing a very cool animated music video for the first “lead single” off the record- “Weather.” Check it:
Mercy Lounge announces 9 year anniversary parties Jan. 20 and 21
January 11, 2012
Mercy Lounge is arguably the best venue in Nashville in the 300-500 capacity range, and they’re celebrating their anniversary (as they do every year) by throwing some free shows! Just as in past years, they’ve invited a slew of local bands to play and secured sponsorships from some of your favorite brews.
Lineups:
Jan. 20th– How I Became the Bomb, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Ponychase, Kyle Andrews, Wild Cub (ft. Keegan Dewitt & members of Pico vs. Island Trees) and local funksters ReLapse will close it out.
Jan. 21st– Heypenny, Evan P. Donohue, The Nobility, Mayhem performing Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model, Escondido ft. Tyler James, and ReLapse will once again close the night out.
Both nights are FREE so arrive early in case things reach max capacity.
A Few Good Shows: 10/28/11 (Halloween edition)
October 28, 2011
Welcome to Halloween weekend in Nashville. This is a busy one, as always, and I’m just here to give you a smattering of some events of interest. By no means is this a comprehensive list of Halloween happenings. Just some stuff I think looks good/interesting.
FRIDAY:
Self (Matt Mahaffey solo acoustic) w/ Seth Timbs Thing and The Hellens @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
Vitalic Noise presents VITAL: 1 Year Anniversary @ Wine Loft ft. La Zebra, Dee Goodz, Deacon, Total Savage, Dark Sister, plus resident CRAVE DJs Losici and Dali Drama. 10pm $5
Halloween Spooktacular ft. My So-Called Band, The Aught-Nots, Space Capone, and Coach @ Mercy Lounge & Cannery. 9pm $15
The Grayces album release show w/ Dave Cloud and the Gospel of Power @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $5
SATURDAY:
Halloween Warehouse party ft. Girls & Money, Scale Model (I play drums), and Eight ‘O Five @ The Zombie Lair (aka Jiggy Graphics- 1015 W. Kirkland Ave. Suite 310, East Nashy) 10pm, $5 suggested donation gets access to the keg and spiked punch. Also there will be a professional movie makeup artist zombifying people!
Night of the Living Cover Bands: a benefit for YEAH! music programs (SGRRC/TNTRC/NYCRC) ft. Head over Heels (Go-Go’s covers), Ponychase (Cyndi Lauper covers), Cortney Tidwell, The Non-Commissioned Officers, Uncle Skeleton, and Spaceship of the Imagination. @ the 5 Spot, 9pm $5 or donation.
Jacuzzi Boys, Heavy Cream, and Cy Barkley @ The End. 9pm $6
The Greenhouse Halloween party ft. How I Became the Bomb, the Black Belles, and DJ Mindub @ The Greehouse. 9pm $???
SUNDAY:
Meatmen w/ Hans Condor and Slammers @ Springwater. 10pm $5 21+
MONDAY: (throwin’ it in there because I likely won’t have time to post on monday and there’s shit you should know about)
Dixie Downturn presents Halloween 8 off 8th ft. Lylas, How I Became the Bomb, A Greater Good, Casa Castille, Bows and Arrows, Shaboi, and Bummer. 9pm FREE 21+ For more info and previews of each band, check out Dixie Downturn!
Protomen, Peelander-Z, MC Frontalot @ Exit/In. 9pm $14
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin w/ Evan P. Donohue, Faux Ferocious, & Blown Stag @ The End. 9pm $6
PHEW. That’s it. Have a fun and safe Halloween weekend.
The Nobility: The Secret of Blennerhassett Island
October 18, 2011
One of Nashville’s most underrated bands is back with a brand new album. The Nobility (formerly Jetpack, then Jetpack UK) just released their latest, The Secret of Blennerhassett Island, and it’s a masterpiece. 2007’s The Mezzanine was their first proper album under the new moniker, and it firmly set the tone for their future as a band. That tone was one of more mature, intricate, and clever songs with a wide array of instrumentation, all with an unwavering pop sensibility. They stated in their own description of the album that they had been listening to early Paul McCartney and Kinks records, and it shows. TSBI (I refuse to type that name again!) is clearly influenced by the same era of pop music, but no matter how obvious the influences are, these songs never get old or tired. I’ve always loved a good marriage of band to producer, and this album is no exception. They worked with Brian Carter of Paradox Productions as they did with The Mezzanine, and honestly I don’t think there’s a better producer for this band than him. The orchestral instrumentation fits perfectly where it’s used, and it’s never over-used. Especially impressive are the horn arrangements. TSBI is easily one of the best albums to come out of Nashville’s rock scene this year, so go get it at their bandcamp page and thank me later. AND go see them at the record release party on Nov. 14th Nov. 4th at the Rutledge.
Addendum to A Few Good Shows: Terminator the Second
October 14, 2011
What the fuck was wrong with me this morning? I completely forgot to mention the amazing/intriguing theater production that’s happening this weekend at Nashville School of the Arts! My friends Marshall Weber and Cody DeVos (known for his role in the feature film Make-out With Violence) have started their own theater company and it’s called Husky Jackal. Their flagship production is a genre-bending story that combines the sci-fi plot of Terminator 2 with the writing style of Shakespeare. Sounds intriguing right? You aren’t the only one who thinks so. The production has gotten the attention of the Tennessean, i09, the Scene, and Mental Floss, just to name a few. It all goes down at Nashville School of the Arts starting tonight, going through Monday night. Tickets are only $15 and you can get them through the official website.
A Few Good Shows: 7/29/11
July 29, 2011
I’m terrible at naming things. But, I finally came up with a good name for these weekly “here are some good shows to see this weekend” posts: A Few Good Shows. So, from now on Friday posts will be that. But before we get to the show recommendations, I have to mention that yesterday NBN’s Soundland announced several additions to their lineup this year: Yelawolf, Big K.R.I.T., Foster the People, Tristen, Those Darlins, Cults, The Low Anthem, Royal Bangs, Robert Ellis, My So-Called Band, Evan P. Donohue, and many more. Check out their official (and slightly re-designed) website for the full lineup.
Here’s what’s going down this weekend:
FRIDAY:
Evan P. Donohue, Little Tybee @ The End. 9pm $6. I’m sure there are more bands on this bill but I can’t find the full lineup anywhere. Be surprised!
Hammer Torch, Jasmin Kaset, Coconut Patio @ FooBar too. 9pm $?
SATURDAY:
The final show at Glen Danzig’s House ft. Cy Barkley & the Way Outsider, Cannomen, Bad Sports, Wax Museums, D. Watusi, and The Paperhead. 7pm $5. Yep, one the most legendary house venues in Nashville is closing its doors. (Read: Cy and Ben are moving out.) But never fear, these things happen, and there will be another “frontrunner” in the house venue scene soon. A good punk venue has to be like a good punk song you know? It says what it needs to say and nothing more, then it’s over. On to the next song.
Dex Romweber Duo, Kingston Springs, and Wans @ The End. 9pm $10
Have a great weekend!
91.1 WRVU sold to WPLN- my opinion
June 7, 2011
*Disclaimer: The following statements are my personal opinion and in no way reflect the views or opinions of my employer Vanderbilt University.*
The news broke today that Vanderbilt’s student radio station WRVU had its FM broadcast license sold to Nashville Public Radio for $3.35 million. The governing body for WRVU is Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) which is a separate entity from Vanderbilt. VSC was created long ago so that the student media could be editorially independent from the University to avoid possible conflicts of interest, though VSC is still financially tied to the University. The sale was first mentioned back in September 2010, and VSC stated that it was “exploring the possibility” of selling the broadcast license and going to an online-only format. They solicited public comments and opinion on the possible sale. The full timeline of what transpired can be found at savewrvu.com.
I have stayed mostly silent on this issue, just watching, and supporting the efforts of the Save WRVU campaign, which is now an official non-profit organization. I can no longer be silent. They way VSC handled this was downright wretched, vile, and disrespectful to the students, the DJs, and the Vanderbilt community in general. They had been secretly working out the details of this deal with Nashville Public Radio all along, and according to a comment from WPLN President Rob Gordon tweeted by the Nashville Scene’s Steve Haruch, a letter of intent for the sale was signed in March of this year. The VSC board held its final meeting of the 2011 spring semester and claimed they’d made no final decision on the sale and also stated they would not be making any decisions over the summer. Well, they lied. To everyone. And to make matters worse, they basically ignored the fact that almost all of the solicited public opinion on the sale was in support of keeping WRVU as it was. Today they simply cut the station off the air without giving the DJs or the listeners any warning that the deal had been done. This is possibly what hurts me the most about this horrible situation- the fact that many good DJs never got a chance to give a formal goodbye or have an official last show. As a former college radio DJ on MTSU’s student station WMTS, I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to have your beloved show ripped out from under you with no warning. The move was also disrespectful to the students, because they did the deed during summer, while most of the students are away. I am literally appalled by how VSC handled this, and they should be ashamed. Save WRVU is going to do everything they can to fight this, and I applaud their efforts. They’re an official non-profit, though I have no idea what means that gives them to fight this. They’ve said themselves that it’s not over. I’m no legal expert so I’ve no idea what options exist at this point, but I’ll keep an eye on savewrvu.com to see what they’re up to.
While I’m devastated that this sale happened, after reading the press release, the outcome is honestly the most tolerable circumstance I can think of. If it had to happen, this is probably how I would want it to happen. In a nutshell, 91.1 FM is now owned and operated by NPR and will be is an all-classical music station with the call letters WFCL, and WRVU will remain on the air via WPLN’s HD3 channel (and remain online as well). Honestly I don’t know that much about HD radio, but it does seem like a viable option for WRVU to remain on the air. The problem is not many people have HD radios. I just don’t know if HD radio is really going to catch on unless the FCC forces it like they did with HDTV broadcasts. But that’s a whole separate issue. The fact is, this deal is not nearly as bad as it could have been. I still hate it, but I hate it less than I ever thought I would.
In the end I have a much bigger problem with the way VSC handled the overall situation than I do with outcome of the sale itself. This is my opinion given what I know right now. If I learn something new regarding either side of the issue, my opinion may change slightly.
steve cross loves music and science 