Cover Story
LOUneyville: Commentary on the year’s craziest stories
It’s that time of year again! Sleigh bells jingle, Santas invade malls, and LEO relishes another year of “Lou”nacy. Not to be confused with our “Fake Issue,” which is appropriately confined to April Fool’s Day, Louneyville comprises actual stories, despite how “Lou”dicrous” they might sound. From smart people doing dumb things, to plain ol’ dumb…
Visually Speaking: this week’s art news and events (12/14)
[The above image is “Sex: Young Man’s Fancy” by Joel McDonald from “Project 10: obby obby” at Zephyr Gallery.] Art news Governor Bevin has named Don Parkinson as Secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. Parkinson is a retired KFC and Yum! Brands executive who served twice as the interim president of the Kentucky…
LEO Podcast #16: An interview with John King from Louisville Is For Lovers, plus listen to a track off of the 2016 Valentine’s Day compilation
John King, founder of Louisville Is For Lovers, swung by the LEO office to talk about the return of the company’s Valentine’s Day compilation, which was released every year between 2001-2010 and will return in 2016, featuring 30 local bands. King spoke about how people can help fund the project, digitizing the Louisville Is For…
Friday UofL Basketball Roundup: On the heels of a ‘Grand’ performance
Ashley: This week has been pretty low key for the Cardinals. They charted a convincing win against Grand Canyon, which was surely an encouraging bounce back from the loss to Michigan State. It seemed in that game that the team might have gotten an inkling of an idea that they can play any team in…
5 things to do in Louisville this weekend (12/11)
FRIDAY “Head Cleaner” Launch Party Modern Cult Records Dec. 11–12 Suggested donation $5; 8 p.m. Gubbey Records organized their first Head Cleaner series in an effort to archive the many bands of our growing music scene. That first series cataloged 46 bands. The most recent has 188. So come celebrate this achievement with live music from…
LEO Podcast #15: An interview with Dave Rucinski of Gubbey Records, plus listen to three songs from this year’s Head Cleaner
Dave Rucinski, owner of Gubbey Records, swung by to talk about the latest Head Cleaner compilation, an annual release that is a sweeping collection of local bands (188 this year). He talked about the process of putting it together and why he chose to release the volumes on cassette tapes. He was also kind enough…
Citizens’ Climate Lobby has sights set on McConnell
The Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) is opening a new chapter in Louisville in the hopes of galvanizing Kentucky residents to lobby Sen. Mitch McConnell and other officials to help “create the political will for a livable world.” “We want to get local constituents involved in developing a relationship with Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul and John…
The door is open: A conversation with Gubbey Records ?about the Head Cleaner compilation
For years now, Gubbey Records has done their part to document the scene in Louisville, often going to epic lengths to do so. In 2013, the label began the Head Cleaner series, a compilation that annually seeks to archive as much of the music from the city as possible. To put it in perspective, the…
Skull Avalanche: Skull Avalanche
(self-released) What makes Skull Avalanche such a magical experience is how they make what is often a nerd-centric set of rhymes seem gritty and hard. That’s not to say that both can’t coexist in the same breath, but that you might not expect a heavy hitter to spit about D&D or nanotechnology. Emcees Touch AC…
Dr. Dundiff: Rare Candies
(self-released) It should be said that 2015 is the year of Dr. Dundiff. From his historical set at Forecastle, which managed to seamlessly incorporate the heavy-hitters of Louisville hip-hop in a public forum, to his string of amazing releases, the good doctor has been on fire. That trend continues here with the release of “Rare…
Dr. Bloodmoney x Filthy Rich: Dollar Dollar Kills
(Us Natives) There are some records that demand a certain atmosphere for proper consumption. In the case of “Dollar Dollar Kills,” the collaboration by producers Dr. Bloodmoney and Filthy Rich, the right time to listen to this album is while plotting a heist or caper of some sort, like probably with ski masks, goggles and…
Carl W. Daniel: Dirty Drunk Love
(self-released) Shawn Sleeps Naked singer Carl W. Daniel breaks out on his own with the recently-released “Dirty Drunk Love.” Here the singer eschews the jangly up-tempo ’90s alt of his band work, for a comparatively low-key and largely acoustic guitar-driven album. Daniel’s work here is delicate and gentle, touched by more than a little melancholy,…
Favorites of 2015 (part one)
Let’s get something straight: never in my listening throughout the year do I think of an album as a number, but ranking is what everyone does, so I play along. Why? So I don’t have to come up with an idea for a new article. Oh yeah, don’t let the others fool you, this is the time we…
Plugged In
Wed Dec 9 8Up: High Up Sounds with DJ Matt Anthony; 7:30 p.m. Baxters 942: Full Contact Karaoke; 10 p.m. Bearno’s (Highlands): Ryan Conroy; 8 p.m. Bistro 42: Little T&A Trio Brooke & Billy’s: Tyrone Cotton; 6 p.m. Brownies The Shed (Hurstbourne): Karaoke; 10 p.m. Clifton Center: WFPK Winter Wednesday with Quiet Hollers, Bobby Long;…
Tossman puts Santa in therapy in ‘The New Mrs. Claus’
A bit of madness, a bit of magic and plenty of merry humor, that’s what Bunbury Theatre is dishing up for the holidays in Juergen K. Tossman’s bright new Christmas play, “The New Mrs. Claus,” which opened last weekend. This is a refreshingly different sort of play for Tossman (who also directs, acts and has…
Art for the People: ?The Umpteenth Annual $20 Art Show
Visitors to last year’s Umpteenth Annual $20 Art Show might have been somewhat daunted when they arrived at Copper and Kings, the then 14-year-old art show’s new venue. The fervor surrounding this annual and affordable arts show had reached a point where there was a line of a hundred people waiting outside to get in…
CirqueLouis: A new ring in Louisville’s growing big top scene
Louisville’s circus scene is taking off. From the street level action of clowns, geeks and fire spinners to the high flying aerialist of the lyra, the silks and the Spanish web, the local crowd of enthusiastic volunteers and a growing number of professionals are keeping the big top alive in Louisville. CirqueLouis, one of the…
Behrendt, on cancer, writing a bestseller and expecting snakes
LEO: Are you feeling healthy these days? Greg Behrendt: Yeah. This is my first follow-up since being diagnosed cancer free. I got back out on the road as soon as I could, and I’ve been out there pretty hardcore ever since. I feel pretty good, but it still takes a little effort to get that…
Video Tapeworm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION 2015; $19.98; PG-13 Tom Cruise and his IM Force — including Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames — team up with super-hot double/triple/fourple agent Rebecca “The White Queen” Ferguson in this stunning bunch of action nonsense when they, in essence, get fired by Alec Baldwin. It…
SuperChefs looks up for inspiration, ?gets down with fine food
[Editor’s note: SuperChefs is now located at 1702 Bardstown Road] In a world as wild and wacky and wonderful as the one we live in, I’m reluctant to declare anything the only one of its kind. But the Last Supper painting in Chef Darren Ferguson’s newish SuperChefs in St. Matthews comes mighty close. It’s a Last…
Biting off more seafood than I can chew
As you may or may not have read, Bluegrass Brewing Company recently started commercially selling food products such as beer cheese, remoulades and bloody Mary mix. The St. Matthews location also recently brought back original brewer David Pierce, which means some new old beers are on tap. On my most recent visit, I noted there…
Ordinary America
There is a Christmas photo of a large family, that of Nevada politician Michele Fiore, dressed in red sweaters and jeans, smiling, holding young children and all carrying large weapons and handguns. In the center of the photo, there is a young boy, maybe five, holding a handgun. This is an American family — a…
A best friend’s merciful exit
Heidi filled our hearts with joy at first blush, when she mirrored our exuberance, previewing a symbiotic relationship we were eager to relive in early 2003, after our third miniature schnauzer succumbed to liver failure amid a toxic pet food scandal. Heidi pranced like a tipsy ballerina obsessed with expressing puppy love in pirouettes without…
It’s all gun terror
Sitting in a LEO staff meeting last Thursday, the morning after the San Bernardino shootings, we digressed from the normal agenda, instead finding ourselves in a conversation about mass shootings — a conversation that is part of the normal agenda in America. This was before anyone knew about the shooters’ radicalization, their arsenal of legally-purchased…
Your Voice
On “No Man’s Land: The neighborhood Louisville forgets 364 days a year” This neighborhood wasn’t like this 20 years ago. Demolition of Iroquois Homes has caused some negative changes. There’s a beautiful garden where it once stood; however, the crime within the housing projects was then transferred into the community. —Charity Radcliffe, Dec. 2 On…
