Government

I hope you'll all join me in voting for Basil Marceaux Dot Com for Governor of Tennessee. He's the Republican Obama.

Woodenmouth~Maktub~Live

Here's Woodenmouth performing at the Hitone on 7-21.

American Literature 101

The Collected Works (my band!) perform an original called "Rosasharn" at Peabody Park. For the kids!

Music Appreciation

Last night at the Buccaneer:



Brian Hartley played an incredible set. I wish I would've caught more.

Current Events

My band, the Collected Works, are playing at the Buccaneer tonight. Come one, come all!

Music Appreciation

This is a little late in coming. It's Golden Triangle's final song from their set at the HiTone on March 12th.

History

Clearing out some of the backlog, we've got Richard James rattling off the names of some of his favorite bands in the area...



...and Steve showing off his drum skillz during a section of Woodenmouth's newest song.

Marketing 101

The following is an email that I sent to Herr's Snack Foods regarding one of their products.



Dear Herr's,

I recently stopped by a local gas station (a Shell on the corner of Poplar & Hollywood, in Memphis, TN) and saw a large, prominently displayed stand of your new "Creamy Dill Pickle" chips.

My question is about the name of the product. "Creamy" is perhaps the absolute worst adjective one could use to describe a pickle. A friend told me that "creamy dill" is a type of sauce, but this is no excuse as your chips are not called Creamy Dill Chips, but rather Creamy Dill Pickle Chips.

Do you guys do focus testing? I ask because I can't imagine a sane person hearing a pickle described as creamy and not throwing up a little bit in his mouth.

Also, your baby back rib flavor does not taste like ribs. They taste pretty good, though. And I can understand the choice to name them as you did because it makes your product stand out on the shelf against all the other barbecue chips. Obviously someone over there has some marketing savvy, and I applaud him for it. However, that person obviously wasn't given the memo that you were about to launch a pickle flavored chip and describe it as creamy, or he would've yelled in Mr. Herr's dumb face and quit and gotten a job where his ability to describe things in flattering and inaccurate ways would be appreciated.

Following is a list of appropriate adjectives bound to possible chip flavors:

Sweet Mesquite Chips
Extreme Hot Chips
Easy Cheesy Chips
Sexy Mexican Taco Chips
Creamy Milkshake Chips
Weird Pickle Chips

I would be happy to help you name future products so that you can stop making fools of yourselves over there. My email address is enclosed for this purpose.

Sincerely,
Stan Polson

PS: You guys are so weird.

Geography

Today you get a Richard James double feature.

Music Appreciation: Woodenmouth

Woodenmouth perform "Coleoptera" at the Buccaneer in Memphis, TN.

Foreign Affairs

While this video blog is intended to focus on Memphis, I thought I'd share some videos taken during my recent trip to St Louis.





C. Felton Jennings II (aka: Raven Wolf) performed this tune for the camera outside of a record store on Delmar Loop in University City - a suburb of St Louis. His Myspace page can be found here.

Music Appreciation: The Burning Sands

The Burning Sands played the HiTone awhile back. Enjoy.

Music Appreciation: Exeter

Exeter, from Austin, TX opened for Twin Pilot at Murphy's the other night. They were real impressive. My wife and I joined them and Chris and Jason of Twin Pilot for lunch at Pho Hoa Binh the next day, but I sadly neglected to get a video of them eating lemongrass tofu. Apologies to the hardcore Exeter fans out there.

Music Appreciation: Ziggy Stardust

Some acquaintances threw a party the other night. I am, admittedly, the type to crash parties - but I was given independent invitations by no fewer than three people, so I don't think it counts as crashing.

In accordance with Memphis custom, we burned garbage and drank wine. When Ziggy Stardust came on, as whenever and where ever it appears, love filled the air like electricity on fire.

Music Appreciation

At the HiTone last night:



If you're from Memphis, you've seen this guy singing classics and/or freestyle rapping while riding his bike in circles in the HiTone parking lot. He's also known for dancing to the live music spilling out of Murphy's, where he can be seen through the window behind the band. He's colorful and charismatic, and the guy to my right fell deeply in love with him.

Intro to Vlogging

My super interesting video blog begins.