Cover Stories
Restaff, Reuse, Recycle
For the second year in a row, Jefferson County schools labeled “persistently low achieving” have been restaffed. These seven public schools — now cresting a turbulent few months of replacing principals, as well as half their staffs — are heading into a new year, in theory, stronger. Under the $3.5 billion federal School Improvement Grant…
Mr. Turnaround
In the television show “Kitchen Nightmares,” viewers marvel at the work of high-powered, seriously caffeinated master chef Gordon Ramsay as he ventures to failing restaurants across the country in an (often profanity-laced) effort to revitalize them, transforming them from cesspools of culinary doom into properly functioning, well-managed beacons of gastronomical delight. Although Dewey Hensley’s soft-spoken,…
Home-school bound
Doctors diagnosed Aiden with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at age 3. Every few months, his parents tried a new medication, desperate to find something that worked. By the time he entered first grade, Aiden had trouble performing academically at his public school due to his inability to focus, even though he was on…
Brit Beat
I am not the type of girl to be found breezily racing around Cherokee Park’s Scenic Loop in fluorescent Lycra. Or spending her weekends on all fours in a dangerously hot yoga studio in the Highlands. Or dangling from a medieval torture device while someone with a whistle and a Napoleon complex barks instructions in…
An open(ness) letter
Dear Mayor Fischer, Now that the acrid dust has settled from the demolition of the historic Elmo’s building on East Main and recent controversies surrounding Louisville Metro Animal Services, it’s time to clean up your messy press relations. Thursday, July 21, was a dark day for mayoral credibility. Two news conferences raised troubling questions of…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: ELVIRA’S MOVIE MACABRE: THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE/THE MANSTER 2011; $14.95, UR Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson has relaunched her syndicated late-night horror-host shtick and is putting her best double features out on DVD. This is one of our favorites. “Brain” is the quintessential bad movie: A sleazy scientist goes looking for curvaceous…
Smoke Ring Halo
The Wood Brothers are Oliver and Chris. Oliver sings and plays guitar; Chris plays bass and also sings. Chris is also the “Wood” in Medeski Martin and Wood, but when he’s pulling duty with his big brother, he plays a country-fried style of blues. Smoke Ring Halo is hardly a radical departure from their previous…
Comedy: A ‘Red-Nexican’ in the bluegrass
After two hour-long Comedy Central specials (“Red-Nexican” and “Hick-Spanic”); appearing in “Latin Kings of Comedy” beside heavyweights like Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez and George Lopez; as well as touring with old friend Ron White, Alex Reymundo has carved out a niche for himself in the world of stand-up comedy. The Mexican-born, Texas-raised Louisvillian sat down…
Pork and politics
FANCY FARM, Ky. — There aren’t many places in America — outside of a meeting of the Westboro Baptist Church — where an eight-minute tribute to troops fighting overseas is panned as rude, offensive, cowardly and inappropriate. But Saturday afternoon at the 131st Fancy Farm picnic was one of them. This uniquely Kentucky tradition applies…
Inbox — Aug. 10, 2011
One Part Tease I’m tempted to say that your recent cover photo of a stripper wrapped in the official flag of Metro Louisville was unpatriotic (LEO Weekly, July 20). Yes, it is a form of free speech protected by our First Amendment, like burning the U.S. flag. What bothers me is that we appear to…
Nice tatts
“The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos.” Psychologist Michael Mantell opened his 2009 article, “The Psychology of Tattoos,” with this sweeping statement. Today, Shannon Guttierez is working to change that. Since 2005, Guttierez’s company, GForce Productions, has been bringing Alternative…
The Brotherhood of the Wives
Visually, Tony Ash and Billy Bisig make an interesting combination. The linebacker-sized Bisig makes the compact Ash seem even smaller by comparison, Mutt and Jeff in a rock ‘n’ roll package. The Jagger & Richards of Louisville’s Trophy Wives had no choice but to start a band together. “Billy and I had known each other…
Gardens and Villa
The songs on the Santa Barbara-based Gardens & Villa’s debut album are mostly either slow to mid-tempo Grizzly Bear appropriations or immensely pleasing and grooving electro-pop movements. On the one hand, they can be too serious for their abilities, the songs too stark and boring to find their way into your head after they’re over…
V is for Vermin
Lately I’ve found that the distance between us and our British cousins across the pond has made the task of visualizing the filthy dalliances between autocratic states and corporate mass media propagandists a little simpler to understand. The News of the World scandal has mercifully shone the spotlight on what anyone who has ever owned…
Staffpicks
Wednesday, Aug. 10 The Men Cahoots 1047 Bardstown Road • 454-6687 www.wearethemen.blogspot.com $5; 9 p.m. Intense, epic, unapologetic — these are just some of the words used to describe The Men. Four men from Brooklyn, talented songwriters with a commitment to pure, uncommercialized music — these guys know how to rock, sticks and fingers flying…
Addis Bar & Grill offers tastes of Ethiopia and more
Ethiopia is an East African country that most Americans probably don’t know much about, save perhaps for sad images of famine. But Ethiopia is worth getting to know. The only country in Africa that largely escaped colonialism, it boasts a proud heritage as a monarchy, with roots extending back more than 2,500 years. It has…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your musical act, comedian, open mic or karaoke listed, send e-mail to pberkowitz@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. WED AUG…
Heavens to Murk-A-Troid
Crash DDZ has been a staple in the Louisville hip-hop scene for more years than he’d probably like to admit. From the 502Headz to The DareDevilz, the guy’s CV is Teflon. That rap is a game for the young is undeniable; just don’t tell Crash that. He continues to shred every microphone within 100 feet…
A Rock n Roll Reunion
Soul Inc.’s new album has been a long time in the making — 42 years, to be exact. Fixtures of the ‘60s Louisville rock scene, the members have been making music for the better half of the last century. They are giants in the Derby City’s rich musical history; all told, they’ve been in more…
The Taste Bud: The King of pizza
As I was growing up in Southern Indiana, Steve’s Pizza King was a staple. It just was. So when I moved to Louisville a number of years ago, I was surprised by how few people here even knew it existed. Given that Louisvillians tend to believe there is nothing in Indiana worth crossing the bridge…
B-sides
Like Woody Allen, Garrison Keillor is a prolific, older wordsmith who thrives on collaborating (artistically) with younger, more vibrant women. Andra Suchy fills that role Sunday evening for a live, not-for-radio performance of “A Prairie Home Companion” at the Kentucky Center. LEO: What inspires your songs? Andra Suchy: Mostly my experiences and emotions, but sometimes…
Book: ‘Bright’s Passage’ a smooth transition for Josh Ritter
‘Bright’s Passage’ By Josh Ritter. Dial Press; 208 pgs., $22. Having released six full-length albums brimming with magical ballads, Josh Ritter established himself as a masterful storyteller some time ago. His most recent musical effort, So Runs the World Away, was heralded by many as evidence that Ritter’s talent continues to advance. And although major…
Art: Stitched conversations
How do you know when you’re looking at art by Penny Sisto? First off, the medium is fabric. Yet it’s not a common quilt of abstracted stars or flowers, stitched from whatever fabric is at hand. Her creations are pictorial and are not made for warmth or decoration. The most important element of a Sisto…
