Repo Man
Feb 18, 2004, 1:12 AM
http://www.suntimes.com/output/travel/tra-news-detours15.html
A Memphis Makeover
February 15, 2004
BY DAVE HOEKSTRA STAFF REPORTER
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- This city is one of the most compelling American destinations of the year. Like a new dancer in an old Beale Street revue, Memphis is applying a big beat under its sultry atmosphere to attract attention. The city is celebrating the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll.That is no small task. The big bang comes on July 5, the 50th anniversary of when Elvis Presley cut his first record, "That's All Right," backed by Bill Black and Scotty Moore at Sun Studios, 706 Union Ave. To commemorate this event, radio stations worldwide are encouraged to simultaneously play "That's All Right."City planners hope this will mark the largest playing of a single song at the same moment in history. Bill Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was a top 12 hit in 1954. I wonder what his native Highland Park, Mich., has planned for this summer?
Memphis rocks in 2004
* Sun Studio, 706 Union Ave. (901-521-0664)
Any visit to Memphis is incomplete without a visit to tiny Sun Studio, the monster incubator of rock 'n' roll. One highlight is straddling the "X" designed from masking tape where Elvis Presley stood to make his first recordings."The Global Moment in Time" playing of Presley's "That's All Right" will take place July 5 at Sun. Presley's lead guitarist Scotty Moore will play a mint record of "That's All Right." The street in front of Sun will be blocked off and live music will include original Sun cats like Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess as well as Billy "I Can Help" Swan. More acts TBA. Sun Studio is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Visit www.sunstudio.com for updates.*
*The Young Avenue Deli, 2119 Young Ave. (901-278-0034)
Sun was Memphis then. This is Memphis now.One of the hot alt music spots in town features the "Vegas Grind"/ stripper music of the Sophisticats and Cast Iron Filter (bluegrass) at 10 p.m. Friday. ($7, ages 21 and over). Chicago's Trans Am appears at the deli on St. Patrick's Day. The Young Avenue Deli is open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week. Try the 'Bren' (smoked turkey, mushrooms, melted provolone cheese wrapped into a pita). The kitchen is open during gigs.
*Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park, on the Mississippi River, April 30-May 2 (901-525-4611)
The 27th annual Memphis in May International Festival has a global theme every year and this year South Africa is the honored country. Memphis in May lasts the entire month. The Beale Street Music Festival launches the event. Confirmed acts for this year's festival include Buddy Guy, who is touring with Double Trouble, Charlie Musselwhite, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Steve Miller Band, Joss Stone and the Bar-Kays. The fest features about 30 percent Memphis roots acts.A three-day festival pass is $44.50; daily tickets are $17.50. Tickets go on sale March 15. Also don't miss the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (May 13-15). For updated bookings on the monthlong Memphis in May initiative, visit www.memphisinmay.org.
*Hi-Tone, 1913 Poplar Ave. (901-278-8663)
Inner Sounds with DJ Armis and DJ Red Eye Jedi spin great old funk and soul at 10 p.m. Feb. 28. Their music can be found on Memphix Records, a local dusted label that includes turntablist Dante Caganga from Danny's in Chicago. An old school funk band will be added to the bill. Cover is $5.
*Elvis Death Week (that's what locals call it) Aug. 7-16
This year's theme is 50 Years of Elvis/50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll. It's too early for specifics, but check out the Elvis Art Contest & Exhibit (Aug. 6-15) in the ticket office pavilion at Graceland Plaza, across the street from the Big House. Expect tons of Elvis-themed artwork from amateur and professional artists worldwide. Other events will be posted on www.elvis.com/ graceland/calendar/.A new Elvis network special is also in development for airing in the fourth quarter. Elvis Presley Enterprises is the owner and executive producer of this project, which will be produced by David Saltz (U2, Chris Isaac, Mick Jagger).
A nationally televised concert at the FedEx Forum in early September.Maybe.The FedEx Forum is the new 18,200-seat home of the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team going up a block south of Beale Street. The $250 million publicly financed arena is set to open in September. And this is so Memphis (cynical commentary coming from a Memphis fan): a 50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll concert featuring pioneers in rock and soul may christen the stadium. Maybe. Could be. The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking corporate partners for the event and has talked to everyone from MTV to Viacom, according to bureau President Kevin Kane. MTV produced the recent Super Bowl show that featured Justin Timberlake, a Memphis native and an "ambassador" for the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll initiative. "He's still an ambassador," Kane quipped. "He said [the Janet Jackson hand grab] was a mistake. We have to believe him. But we're looking at a couple of big possibilities for the concert." This much is for sure: The Rock 'n' Soul Museum (901-543-0800) is moving into the FedEx Forum; a music theme will run throughout the arena. Keep an eye on the concert developments through www.50yearsrocknroll.com.
The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau is all shook up with a $1 million marketing campaign that promotes Memphis as "Home of the Blues" (Chicagoans might have something to say about that) and the "Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll" (can't argue with that).
"The 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll is a moving target," admitted Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau and president of the 50th anniversary committee. "People argue if the anniversary is when Alan Freed coined the phrase or when Ike Turner recorded 'Rocket '88.' But most music historians look at '54 [as] the year rock manifested itself. Then when we started checking around, we found Rolling Stone is planning three commemorative issues for 2004 and Hard Rock Cafe is doing special merchandising. We promote the city through our musical heritage anyway, so this was perfect. And this is not a Disneyland, a manufactured series of things that pay homage to something.
"Is our goal to get everybody here for July 5? No. Our goal is to bring awareness to what started here 50 years ago [and] changed the world culturally. When people think of music tourism, they think of Memphis first. That's the long-range plan."I am a longtime fan of Memphis. Readers of this column have walked through the halls of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Peabody Hotel and even the long-gone Great Western Steakhouse. But after 20 visits to Memphis since the late 1980s, I share the feelings of a cultural crossroads that some young Memphians have. How long can you promote the past? For example, last September Elvis Presley's Memphis went belly-up on its premiere Beale Street location. Owned and operated by the Presley estate, it was to be the first of a series of franchised restaurants. "Different generations have different reasons to put premiums on different things," explained William J. Murtagh, the first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, Department of the Interior and author of Keeping Time (the History and Theory of Preservation in America). Murtagh, 80, is one of the country's premier experts on preservation. In an interview from Alexandria, Va., he said preservationists are balancing the past with the present. "The people at Mount Vernon are busy trying to reinvent George Washington to make him real to a younger generation," Murtagh said. "Williamsburg is crying uncle because their visitation is falling off. I don't know the answer, but it is a problem." In terms of pure marketing, Memphis has good products to market. If their existing market is drying up, then they have to find out what the younger generation finds interesting enough to visit and pitch their product from the angle of a younger generation. The essence of life changes. "I call it skinning your cat from another direction."
* * *During a recent visit to Memphis, I took a Sunday morning drive about 45 miles south to Coldwater, Miss., to visit hipster cat Jim Dickinson at his compound of two vintage trailers and an old barn/recording studio. Dickinson is the godfather of the Memphis music scene. He produced the watershed reggae album "Toots in Memphis" and brought the Rolling Stones to Muscle Shoals (Ala.) Studio where they recorded "Wild Horses." Dickinson's sons Luther and Cody are members of the North Mississippi All-Stars, who appeared at House of Blues on Friday night. Dickinson's picture hangs in hip Memphis places like Shangri-La Records, 1916 Madison Ave. (901-274-1916)."The future is still here," Dickinson said as he kicked back in an old easy chair. "There's some kid in south Memphis playing in the garage as we speak. There's a primitive rap scene here that has yet to blow up to the extent that some regional rap scenes have. Whatever happens in Memphis doesn't happen to a lot of people and it doesn't take many [people]."
Many times it has been suggested Memphis has produced so much great music because of the Delta humidity. Others figure it has something to do with murky brown water from the Mississippi River. Dickinson has the best explanation: "I have a theory about altitude in terms of what makes recording work," he said. "If you go to Colorado and try to record, you'll see how hard it is. It's molecules colliding. There's no density in the air, no humidity, so you're not going to get much, especially on the bottom end. The closer you get to sea level, the more difficult it becomes to record. It sounds good in New Orleans, but man it is hard. We are right on the Chickasaw Bluff. We are at a sweet spot."
Sherman Willmott is another go-to-guy around Memphis. He started Shangri-La Records in 1989. The eclectic new and used CD/vinyl store has attracted Beck, Warren Zevon (who bought his own vinyl during the last months of his life) and the Coen Brothers, who were researching music for "O Brother, Where Art Thou." The brothers were knocking on the front door about a half-hour before the store opened at noon. They were chased away before the store opened. Once admitted to Shangri-La, they dropped $200 on blues CDs. "I think the reason they loved the store so much is that they got treated rudely, just as if they were home in New York," Willmott said.Originally from Connecticut, Willmott moved to Memphis in 1974. He now publishes the fanzine Kreature Comforts (Low-Life Guide to Memphis), which features hard-core music tourist attractions like Alex Chilton's parents' home (145 Montgomery) and the Taco Bell, 1447 Union, where the original Sex Pistols performed during their short American tour. Willmott, 37, also founded the Shangri-La Projects record label and imprint that publishes books such as A History of Garage and Frat Bands in Memphis and video documentaries."It is easier to sell the past than the present in anything," Willmott said over a cheeseburger at the wonderful Huey's Midtown, 1927 Madison Ave. (901-726-4372). "In the music business it's easier to sell a greatest hits package than a new CD. There's no one telling people they can't do things here. There's not enough money here to make people sell out. Justin Timberlake and Saliva are the only ones to make big money out of Memphis recently."There will continue to be this incredible breeding ground for artists and bands. This is the best time for live music here in 10, 11 years. In 1993 there were five or six good bands here . Now there are 30 to 40 bands that are really good."
Last summer I made my annual pilgrimage to Memphis to sit in the bleachers of downtown's AutoZone Park, sweat a lot and drink beer while watching Pacific Coast League baseball. (Yes, Memphis is so strange, it is a member of the Pacific Coast League). During my visit I bought a great CD by the Porch Ghouls, a local Gram Parsons-meets-garage band. I've since heard they obtained an opening slot for Aerosmith."That is how Memphis is cool," Willmott said. "The main guy [Mic Walker] was working at Sun Studio. He gives the best Sun Studio tour in town. He moved here from Florida. He's got the big Elvis pork chop sideburns going. He gave a tour to Joe Perry [of Aerosmith] and then slipped him the band's demo. Six months later Joe Perry called him and said, 'I've been listening the hell out of your tape. Let's do something.' He put out their CD [on Perry's label] and took them on tour last fall. Only in Memphis would that happen. It's a weird place."Despite such moments of serendipity, the Memphis Music Commission formally promotes regional music. The 5-year-old commission is currently suggesting Memphis as America's capitol for independent record labels. "In 1973 Memphis was the fourth-largest recording center in the world," said Rey Flemings, the commission's 30-year-old executive director. "We were home to the second-largest music publishing company in the country. The music business was one of the top 10 employment sectors in Memphis. In 1973 it generated revenues exceeding $200 million a year, which would exceed $1 billion today. That industry is nowhere near that relevant today. Memphis has begun to get serious about understanding what it's going to take to establish itself in that way again."
The commission is working with the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau for the 50th anniversary celebration and leases space from the bureau.Dickinson said, "The commission started as a service organization. Now it is an attempt by the city to exploit the pitiful music community we have in terms of creating a tourist attraction. Before Elvis Presley died, the word 'tourism' was never spoken in Memphis. Why would anybody come here? Anything we had worth seeing was torn down."When you think about the people that made the records, they were all misfits, one way or another. That works in Memphis. Nobody cooperated with each other. It was a bunch of crazy rednecks who were compelled to make this trans-racial music; whether they wanted to or not, in some cases. It made this thing happen."
* * *For cultural anthropologists, the South Main Historic District is the place to go. The neighborhood centerpieces are the Amtrak Station, the Arcade Restaurant, 540 S. Main St. (the city's oldest restaurant, built in 1919) and Earnestine & Hazel's, a former whorehouse (circa 1918-1990) turned into a bar at 531 S. Main St. (901-523-9754). This South Main landscape has been used in films like "Mystery Train," Jim Jarmusch's postcard to Elvis and Memphis, and more recently "21 Grams.""Trolley Night" is the last Friday of every month. Between 6 and 9 p.m. visitors ride the trolley for free while enjoying complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres. The trolley travels in a circle starting in North Memphis and stops by South Main galleries such as Hollis Arts, D'Edge Art and Thames Art & Interiors. "All these people from the suburbs come in," Willmott said. "A couple thousand people will be down there. Back when 'Mystery Train' was filmed there [in 1989], the streets were filled with hookers and that was it. The galleries on South Main are doing great. South Main is working."Dickinson added, "Memphis creeps further south and consumes more. They're building that [FedEx] coliseum that looms over Beale Street like the mother ship. But there's still something there. You can stand out in the middle of Beale Street when it's empty [and] you can still feel something. That will never go away. There's something there I can't escape. I stay away from here too long and I start to play funny. It creeps into my playing. It comes from my left hand first. After 10 days I don't play like I'm here anymore. That's what people hire me for, to play like I'm from Memphis. I know it's what Dylan wanted, unquestionably." Dickinson played piano on Bob Dylan's 1997 Grammy winning "Time Out of Mind."Doug Bacon has a timely vision for Memphis. He is executive director of Mpact Memphis, a group of 1,000 volunteers between the ages of 21 and 40 who are trying to create a hip image for Memphis. Bacon said his membership is 37 percent of color. Mpact Memphis formed in August 2001 and is headquartered in a restored warehouse in the South Main district.Bacon is 33 years old. I wondered how Mpact balances the city's weighty history with the present. "That is a good question," he said over breakfast at the Arcade. "Memphis is always represented with cotton, river boats and Elvis. History has shaped who we are, but it is important to get beyond that and look [at] who we are and what's going on today. We have 'Mphasis' music programs [that feature up-and-coming local music in unusual places]." A couple of weeks ago jazz-rock artist Christopher "Free Sol" Anderson drew 600 people to funky Earnestine & Hazel's. Mpact Memphis also works with the music commission. Several commissioners are Mpact members. "Memphis has a spirit that comes and goes," Dickinson said. "It can be that simple. It's been here at least three times and surely it will return. The sad thing about Stax and even the death of Elvis is that it happened so publicly for us, here. We watched Stax go out of business in a humiliating way for over a year because of the way money was being pumped into it by the bank. Headlines every day. I thought it would be devastating to the community. I never expected it come back, but it did. "Rebirth is the miracle of nature."
[b]The rock and soul of the real deal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Musical landmarks are all over the Memphis region. Jerry Lee Lewis drank here. Booker T. Jones went to school there. I once interviewed Elvis' favorite florist. It's a jungle out there, which is why Tad Pierson created his American Dream Safari tours. Pierson drives tourists around Memphis in a vintage Pecos beige 1955 Cadillac. He specializes in blues sites, but also customizes tours for architecture, gardens, gospel sites and even a Tupelo, Miss., day trip. Pierson, 52, received his master's degree in English as a second language from the University of New Mexico. He spent a year teaching English in the Saudi Arabian oil fields, and he still finds the degree handy when he drives clients who don't speak English. He lives in the basement of the century-old Talbot Heirs guesthouse in downtown Memphis. Pierson can transport four to five people comfortably in his tours. Notable clients have included Wilson Pickett, Jerry Wexler and Tom Marker of Chicago's own WXRT-FM.
"It must be the way I ring the bell, but my travelers want to see the real Memphis," Pierson says. "It's the same for the Elvis fan. They want to see stuff not included in the Graceland tour. Where he was a kid growing up, things like that." Pierson's tours are so popular, Memphian Sherman Willmott is starting an excursion called Shangri-La Projects Ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Tours. Willmott is the founder of the popular Shangri-La Records store and he publishes the essential Kreature Comforts (Low-Life Guide to Memphis) magazine. Now in its fourth edition, Kreature Comforts directs readers to the birthplace of Aretha Franklin (406 Lucy, a mile from the Stax Museum of American Soul Music) and even the ranch house in the Coro Lakes subdivision where Jerry Lee Lewis moved in with his 15-year-old cousin. [Jerry Lee's own tours of his current home in Hernando, Miss., have been temporarily suspended.] Beginning March 1, Willmott will transport tourists around the area in a commercial van."My tour is more about music," Willmott says. "If anything, it should help Tad's business. I don't see it [as] a conflict. His is more based on experience, going to clubs, being in a Cadillac. It's a great tour. Mine will be like the 3-D tour of Kreature Comforts."
Willmott was curator at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music between 1998 and 2001. He says, "When I finally went through the Stax Museum and realized they didn't have a guided tour, a headset or anything, that inspired me to do this. If you're going to come from Australia or England, the least you can do is spend an extra $20 on a guided tour as opposed to a car rental or taxi rate. [Willmott will charge $50 an hour for up to four people.] We spend an hour or two in the Stax neighborhood alone."Willmott will also do custom tours. He says, "If you want to learn more about Carl Perkins, I'll take you to [his hometown of] Jackson, Tenn. If you want to learn more about Johnny Cash, and you're really hard-core, I'll take you to his [birth] house in [Dyess] Arkansas. It's about 45 miles from here. There's no reason for it to be there. It's in the middle of nowhere. People from out of town appreciate this stuff a lot more than people here."
Specifically:For more information on American Dream Safari, visit
http://www.americandreamsafari.com
A Memphis Makeover
February 15, 2004
BY DAVE HOEKSTRA STAFF REPORTER
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- This city is one of the most compelling American destinations of the year. Like a new dancer in an old Beale Street revue, Memphis is applying a big beat under its sultry atmosphere to attract attention. The city is celebrating the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll.That is no small task. The big bang comes on July 5, the 50th anniversary of when Elvis Presley cut his first record, "That's All Right," backed by Bill Black and Scotty Moore at Sun Studios, 706 Union Ave. To commemorate this event, radio stations worldwide are encouraged to simultaneously play "That's All Right."City planners hope this will mark the largest playing of a single song at the same moment in history. Bill Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was a top 12 hit in 1954. I wonder what his native Highland Park, Mich., has planned for this summer?
Memphis rocks in 2004
* Sun Studio, 706 Union Ave. (901-521-0664)
Any visit to Memphis is incomplete without a visit to tiny Sun Studio, the monster incubator of rock 'n' roll. One highlight is straddling the "X" designed from masking tape where Elvis Presley stood to make his first recordings."The Global Moment in Time" playing of Presley's "That's All Right" will take place July 5 at Sun. Presley's lead guitarist Scotty Moore will play a mint record of "That's All Right." The street in front of Sun will be blocked off and live music will include original Sun cats like Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess as well as Billy "I Can Help" Swan. More acts TBA. Sun Studio is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Visit www.sunstudio.com for updates.*
*The Young Avenue Deli, 2119 Young Ave. (901-278-0034)
Sun was Memphis then. This is Memphis now.One of the hot alt music spots in town features the "Vegas Grind"/ stripper music of the Sophisticats and Cast Iron Filter (bluegrass) at 10 p.m. Friday. ($7, ages 21 and over). Chicago's Trans Am appears at the deli on St. Patrick's Day. The Young Avenue Deli is open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week. Try the 'Bren' (smoked turkey, mushrooms, melted provolone cheese wrapped into a pita). The kitchen is open during gigs.
*Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park, on the Mississippi River, April 30-May 2 (901-525-4611)
The 27th annual Memphis in May International Festival has a global theme every year and this year South Africa is the honored country. Memphis in May lasts the entire month. The Beale Street Music Festival launches the event. Confirmed acts for this year's festival include Buddy Guy, who is touring with Double Trouble, Charlie Musselwhite, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Steve Miller Band, Joss Stone and the Bar-Kays. The fest features about 30 percent Memphis roots acts.A three-day festival pass is $44.50; daily tickets are $17.50. Tickets go on sale March 15. Also don't miss the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (May 13-15). For updated bookings on the monthlong Memphis in May initiative, visit www.memphisinmay.org.
*Hi-Tone, 1913 Poplar Ave. (901-278-8663)
Inner Sounds with DJ Armis and DJ Red Eye Jedi spin great old funk and soul at 10 p.m. Feb. 28. Their music can be found on Memphix Records, a local dusted label that includes turntablist Dante Caganga from Danny's in Chicago. An old school funk band will be added to the bill. Cover is $5.
*Elvis Death Week (that's what locals call it) Aug. 7-16
This year's theme is 50 Years of Elvis/50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll. It's too early for specifics, but check out the Elvis Art Contest & Exhibit (Aug. 6-15) in the ticket office pavilion at Graceland Plaza, across the street from the Big House. Expect tons of Elvis-themed artwork from amateur and professional artists worldwide. Other events will be posted on www.elvis.com/ graceland/calendar/.A new Elvis network special is also in development for airing in the fourth quarter. Elvis Presley Enterprises is the owner and executive producer of this project, which will be produced by David Saltz (U2, Chris Isaac, Mick Jagger).
A nationally televised concert at the FedEx Forum in early September.Maybe.The FedEx Forum is the new 18,200-seat home of the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team going up a block south of Beale Street. The $250 million publicly financed arena is set to open in September. And this is so Memphis (cynical commentary coming from a Memphis fan): a 50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll concert featuring pioneers in rock and soul may christen the stadium. Maybe. Could be. The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking corporate partners for the event and has talked to everyone from MTV to Viacom, according to bureau President Kevin Kane. MTV produced the recent Super Bowl show that featured Justin Timberlake, a Memphis native and an "ambassador" for the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll initiative. "He's still an ambassador," Kane quipped. "He said [the Janet Jackson hand grab] was a mistake. We have to believe him. But we're looking at a couple of big possibilities for the concert." This much is for sure: The Rock 'n' Soul Museum (901-543-0800) is moving into the FedEx Forum; a music theme will run throughout the arena. Keep an eye on the concert developments through www.50yearsrocknroll.com.
The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau is all shook up with a $1 million marketing campaign that promotes Memphis as "Home of the Blues" (Chicagoans might have something to say about that) and the "Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll" (can't argue with that).
"The 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll is a moving target," admitted Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau and president of the 50th anniversary committee. "People argue if the anniversary is when Alan Freed coined the phrase or when Ike Turner recorded 'Rocket '88.' But most music historians look at '54 [as] the year rock manifested itself. Then when we started checking around, we found Rolling Stone is planning three commemorative issues for 2004 and Hard Rock Cafe is doing special merchandising. We promote the city through our musical heritage anyway, so this was perfect. And this is not a Disneyland, a manufactured series of things that pay homage to something.
"Is our goal to get everybody here for July 5? No. Our goal is to bring awareness to what started here 50 years ago [and] changed the world culturally. When people think of music tourism, they think of Memphis first. That's the long-range plan."I am a longtime fan of Memphis. Readers of this column have walked through the halls of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Peabody Hotel and even the long-gone Great Western Steakhouse. But after 20 visits to Memphis since the late 1980s, I share the feelings of a cultural crossroads that some young Memphians have. How long can you promote the past? For example, last September Elvis Presley's Memphis went belly-up on its premiere Beale Street location. Owned and operated by the Presley estate, it was to be the first of a series of franchised restaurants. "Different generations have different reasons to put premiums on different things," explained William J. Murtagh, the first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, Department of the Interior and author of Keeping Time (the History and Theory of Preservation in America). Murtagh, 80, is one of the country's premier experts on preservation. In an interview from Alexandria, Va., he said preservationists are balancing the past with the present. "The people at Mount Vernon are busy trying to reinvent George Washington to make him real to a younger generation," Murtagh said. "Williamsburg is crying uncle because their visitation is falling off. I don't know the answer, but it is a problem." In terms of pure marketing, Memphis has good products to market. If their existing market is drying up, then they have to find out what the younger generation finds interesting enough to visit and pitch their product from the angle of a younger generation. The essence of life changes. "I call it skinning your cat from another direction."
* * *During a recent visit to Memphis, I took a Sunday morning drive about 45 miles south to Coldwater, Miss., to visit hipster cat Jim Dickinson at his compound of two vintage trailers and an old barn/recording studio. Dickinson is the godfather of the Memphis music scene. He produced the watershed reggae album "Toots in Memphis" and brought the Rolling Stones to Muscle Shoals (Ala.) Studio where they recorded "Wild Horses." Dickinson's sons Luther and Cody are members of the North Mississippi All-Stars, who appeared at House of Blues on Friday night. Dickinson's picture hangs in hip Memphis places like Shangri-La Records, 1916 Madison Ave. (901-274-1916)."The future is still here," Dickinson said as he kicked back in an old easy chair. "There's some kid in south Memphis playing in the garage as we speak. There's a primitive rap scene here that has yet to blow up to the extent that some regional rap scenes have. Whatever happens in Memphis doesn't happen to a lot of people and it doesn't take many [people]."
Many times it has been suggested Memphis has produced so much great music because of the Delta humidity. Others figure it has something to do with murky brown water from the Mississippi River. Dickinson has the best explanation: "I have a theory about altitude in terms of what makes recording work," he said. "If you go to Colorado and try to record, you'll see how hard it is. It's molecules colliding. There's no density in the air, no humidity, so you're not going to get much, especially on the bottom end. The closer you get to sea level, the more difficult it becomes to record. It sounds good in New Orleans, but man it is hard. We are right on the Chickasaw Bluff. We are at a sweet spot."
Sherman Willmott is another go-to-guy around Memphis. He started Shangri-La Records in 1989. The eclectic new and used CD/vinyl store has attracted Beck, Warren Zevon (who bought his own vinyl during the last months of his life) and the Coen Brothers, who were researching music for "O Brother, Where Art Thou." The brothers were knocking on the front door about a half-hour before the store opened at noon. They were chased away before the store opened. Once admitted to Shangri-La, they dropped $200 on blues CDs. "I think the reason they loved the store so much is that they got treated rudely, just as if they were home in New York," Willmott said.Originally from Connecticut, Willmott moved to Memphis in 1974. He now publishes the fanzine Kreature Comforts (Low-Life Guide to Memphis), which features hard-core music tourist attractions like Alex Chilton's parents' home (145 Montgomery) and the Taco Bell, 1447 Union, where the original Sex Pistols performed during their short American tour. Willmott, 37, also founded the Shangri-La Projects record label and imprint that publishes books such as A History of Garage and Frat Bands in Memphis and video documentaries."It is easier to sell the past than the present in anything," Willmott said over a cheeseburger at the wonderful Huey's Midtown, 1927 Madison Ave. (901-726-4372). "In the music business it's easier to sell a greatest hits package than a new CD. There's no one telling people they can't do things here. There's not enough money here to make people sell out. Justin Timberlake and Saliva are the only ones to make big money out of Memphis recently."There will continue to be this incredible breeding ground for artists and bands. This is the best time for live music here in 10, 11 years. In 1993 there were five or six good bands here . Now there are 30 to 40 bands that are really good."
Last summer I made my annual pilgrimage to Memphis to sit in the bleachers of downtown's AutoZone Park, sweat a lot and drink beer while watching Pacific Coast League baseball. (Yes, Memphis is so strange, it is a member of the Pacific Coast League). During my visit I bought a great CD by the Porch Ghouls, a local Gram Parsons-meets-garage band. I've since heard they obtained an opening slot for Aerosmith."That is how Memphis is cool," Willmott said. "The main guy [Mic Walker] was working at Sun Studio. He gives the best Sun Studio tour in town. He moved here from Florida. He's got the big Elvis pork chop sideburns going. He gave a tour to Joe Perry [of Aerosmith] and then slipped him the band's demo. Six months later Joe Perry called him and said, 'I've been listening the hell out of your tape. Let's do something.' He put out their CD [on Perry's label] and took them on tour last fall. Only in Memphis would that happen. It's a weird place."Despite such moments of serendipity, the Memphis Music Commission formally promotes regional music. The 5-year-old commission is currently suggesting Memphis as America's capitol for independent record labels. "In 1973 Memphis was the fourth-largest recording center in the world," said Rey Flemings, the commission's 30-year-old executive director. "We were home to the second-largest music publishing company in the country. The music business was one of the top 10 employment sectors in Memphis. In 1973 it generated revenues exceeding $200 million a year, which would exceed $1 billion today. That industry is nowhere near that relevant today. Memphis has begun to get serious about understanding what it's going to take to establish itself in that way again."
The commission is working with the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau for the 50th anniversary celebration and leases space from the bureau.Dickinson said, "The commission started as a service organization. Now it is an attempt by the city to exploit the pitiful music community we have in terms of creating a tourist attraction. Before Elvis Presley died, the word 'tourism' was never spoken in Memphis. Why would anybody come here? Anything we had worth seeing was torn down."When you think about the people that made the records, they were all misfits, one way or another. That works in Memphis. Nobody cooperated with each other. It was a bunch of crazy rednecks who were compelled to make this trans-racial music; whether they wanted to or not, in some cases. It made this thing happen."
* * *For cultural anthropologists, the South Main Historic District is the place to go. The neighborhood centerpieces are the Amtrak Station, the Arcade Restaurant, 540 S. Main St. (the city's oldest restaurant, built in 1919) and Earnestine & Hazel's, a former whorehouse (circa 1918-1990) turned into a bar at 531 S. Main St. (901-523-9754). This South Main landscape has been used in films like "Mystery Train," Jim Jarmusch's postcard to Elvis and Memphis, and more recently "21 Grams.""Trolley Night" is the last Friday of every month. Between 6 and 9 p.m. visitors ride the trolley for free while enjoying complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres. The trolley travels in a circle starting in North Memphis and stops by South Main galleries such as Hollis Arts, D'Edge Art and Thames Art & Interiors. "All these people from the suburbs come in," Willmott said. "A couple thousand people will be down there. Back when 'Mystery Train' was filmed there [in 1989], the streets were filled with hookers and that was it. The galleries on South Main are doing great. South Main is working."Dickinson added, "Memphis creeps further south and consumes more. They're building that [FedEx] coliseum that looms over Beale Street like the mother ship. But there's still something there. You can stand out in the middle of Beale Street when it's empty [and] you can still feel something. That will never go away. There's something there I can't escape. I stay away from here too long and I start to play funny. It creeps into my playing. It comes from my left hand first. After 10 days I don't play like I'm here anymore. That's what people hire me for, to play like I'm from Memphis. I know it's what Dylan wanted, unquestionably." Dickinson played piano on Bob Dylan's 1997 Grammy winning "Time Out of Mind."Doug Bacon has a timely vision for Memphis. He is executive director of Mpact Memphis, a group of 1,000 volunteers between the ages of 21 and 40 who are trying to create a hip image for Memphis. Bacon said his membership is 37 percent of color. Mpact Memphis formed in August 2001 and is headquartered in a restored warehouse in the South Main district.Bacon is 33 years old. I wondered how Mpact balances the city's weighty history with the present. "That is a good question," he said over breakfast at the Arcade. "Memphis is always represented with cotton, river boats and Elvis. History has shaped who we are, but it is important to get beyond that and look [at] who we are and what's going on today. We have 'Mphasis' music programs [that feature up-and-coming local music in unusual places]." A couple of weeks ago jazz-rock artist Christopher "Free Sol" Anderson drew 600 people to funky Earnestine & Hazel's. Mpact Memphis also works with the music commission. Several commissioners are Mpact members. "Memphis has a spirit that comes and goes," Dickinson said. "It can be that simple. It's been here at least three times and surely it will return. The sad thing about Stax and even the death of Elvis is that it happened so publicly for us, here. We watched Stax go out of business in a humiliating way for over a year because of the way money was being pumped into it by the bank. Headlines every day. I thought it would be devastating to the community. I never expected it come back, but it did. "Rebirth is the miracle of nature."
[b]The rock and soul of the real deal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Musical landmarks are all over the Memphis region. Jerry Lee Lewis drank here. Booker T. Jones went to school there. I once interviewed Elvis' favorite florist. It's a jungle out there, which is why Tad Pierson created his American Dream Safari tours. Pierson drives tourists around Memphis in a vintage Pecos beige 1955 Cadillac. He specializes in blues sites, but also customizes tours for architecture, gardens, gospel sites and even a Tupelo, Miss., day trip. Pierson, 52, received his master's degree in English as a second language from the University of New Mexico. He spent a year teaching English in the Saudi Arabian oil fields, and he still finds the degree handy when he drives clients who don't speak English. He lives in the basement of the century-old Talbot Heirs guesthouse in downtown Memphis. Pierson can transport four to five people comfortably in his tours. Notable clients have included Wilson Pickett, Jerry Wexler and Tom Marker of Chicago's own WXRT-FM.
"It must be the way I ring the bell, but my travelers want to see the real Memphis," Pierson says. "It's the same for the Elvis fan. They want to see stuff not included in the Graceland tour. Where he was a kid growing up, things like that." Pierson's tours are so popular, Memphian Sherman Willmott is starting an excursion called Shangri-La Projects Ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Tours. Willmott is the founder of the popular Shangri-La Records store and he publishes the essential Kreature Comforts (Low-Life Guide to Memphis) magazine. Now in its fourth edition, Kreature Comforts directs readers to the birthplace of Aretha Franklin (406 Lucy, a mile from the Stax Museum of American Soul Music) and even the ranch house in the Coro Lakes subdivision where Jerry Lee Lewis moved in with his 15-year-old cousin. [Jerry Lee's own tours of his current home in Hernando, Miss., have been temporarily suspended.] Beginning March 1, Willmott will transport tourists around the area in a commercial van."My tour is more about music," Willmott says. "If anything, it should help Tad's business. I don't see it [as] a conflict. His is more based on experience, going to clubs, being in a Cadillac. It's a great tour. Mine will be like the 3-D tour of Kreature Comforts."
Willmott was curator at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music between 1998 and 2001. He says, "When I finally went through the Stax Museum and realized they didn't have a guided tour, a headset or anything, that inspired me to do this. If you're going to come from Australia or England, the least you can do is spend an extra $20 on a guided tour as opposed to a car rental or taxi rate. [Willmott will charge $50 an hour for up to four people.] We spend an hour or two in the Stax neighborhood alone."Willmott will also do custom tours. He says, "If you want to learn more about Carl Perkins, I'll take you to [his hometown of] Jackson, Tenn. If you want to learn more about Johnny Cash, and you're really hard-core, I'll take you to his [birth] house in [Dyess] Arkansas. It's about 45 miles from here. There's no reason for it to be there. It's in the middle of nowhere. People from out of town appreciate this stuff a lot more than people here."
Specifically:For more information on American Dream Safari, visit
http://www.americandreamsafari.com