Cover Story
Oakdale: Snapshot of a neighborhood ?in distress
People across Louisville suddenly knew where Oakdale was located, after a double homicide on Evelyn Avenue last October. J. Juan Kimbley and Demond Ramsey were shot to death in what police believe was a gang-related incident. No arrests have been made. The murders were followed days after by several drive-by shootings that luckily resulted in…
A conversation with longtime ‘Star Trek’ composer Dennis McCarthy
Airing originally in 1966, “Star Trek” — a pop-cultural milestone of the 20th century — set a precedent for storytelling, which posited an optimistic future of socio-political harmony as it relates to race, culture, religion, politics and economy. Where much of modern television relies on dystopian futures and gloom-and-doom scenarios to convey dramatic tension, “Star…
Visually Speaking: This week’s art news and events (3/14)
[The above image is “Sisters” by Rachel Stottman at the Lydia House.] Art news Call for art: Gallery Janjobe, 1860 Mellwood Ave., is seeking art for its exhibition “Out of the Blue.” Entry fee is $20 per item (limit 3). Entry deadline: May 11 (galleryjanjobe.com). The William Tolbert Whittenberg Scholarship for Performing Arts Excellence is…
LEO Podcast #25: Sick Velvet
Glam rock band Sick Velvet stopped by our office to talk to contributor Logan Nichols.
Walk in another man’s heels: An inside look at drag and gender
[all photos by Edward Neary] As Ryan Phillips, the Derby City Sister known as Velveeta VonTease painstakingly applied layers of makeup to my face, I found myself trying to remember the first time somebody called me fag. Maybe it was at Toddle Town, the preschool I went to back in Alabama. I certainly got bullied there.…
5 things to do in Louisville this weekend (3/11)
FRIDAY French Film Festival: “Love at First Fight / Les Combattants” UofL (Floyd Theatre) Free; 2 p.m. The latest in UofL’s French Film Festival “Love at First Fight / Les Combattants” is about a small-town man who follows an apocalypse-obsessed woman to a survivalist bootcamp, with a touch of a indie filmmaking and some millennial…
Six Speed Art Museum curators talk about their favorite pieces
[all photos by Nik Vechery] “It’s Your Speed Art Museum.” That’s one of the marketing slogans the Speed Art Museum is using as it reopens after a $60-million dollar renovation and expansion. So we asked the Speed curators to talk to us about their favorite must-see art from the museum’s permanent collection, something they want…
A Q&A with artist Matt Weir
[The above image is a detail of “BrainGrid” by Matt Weir.] Matt Weir (mweir.com) creates sculpture. Yet describing him that way seems a little vague. In reality, he’s s cerebral creator of “contemporary works on nature and behavior” (his words). Think of him as your friendly neighborhood creative scientist. LEO: When did you start making…
Push the future: ?A conversation with Vince Staples
As an associate of the mercurial Odd Future crew from the West Coast and a young, up-and-coming rapper, it was hard to know what to expect from Vince Staples. Would he be as brash or confrontational as his peers? Staples was anything and everything but, offering polite and incredibly thoughtful insight. For Staples, music started…
b-sides: Parlour
Parlour was becoming an elusive Louisville band, but an upcoming LP will soon change that status. After the cliffhanger waves of “Simulacrenfield” crashed on 2010’s unstable shores, and led founding member Tim Furnish down another chaotic path with his ex-Crain bandmate Jon Cook (RIP), the self-titled Parlour will reclaim those absent years. LEO reached out…
Bobcat Goldthwait on leaving ‘Animal’ behind, not doing coke, making documentaries and directing
Bobcat Goldthwait is best remembered for his intense, kinetic performances in the ’80s that often devolved into little more than yelling, growling, snorting and sweating. This stage persona became a character that he honed in comedies like “Hot to Trot” and “Police Academy,” but has since left behind nearly two decades ago. In the meantime,…
Humana Festival opens with ‘Residence’
For 40 years the Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival of New American Plays has been asking and answering the question: “What is new?” From early on, it was clear that the answer wasn’t just chronological. The festival has always been a springboard for new voices, new topics and new approaches to storytelling. The festival…
Video Tapeworm
THIS WEEKS’S TWIN PEEKS BRADDOCK: MISSING IN ACTION III 1988; $19.98; R Chuck Norris was part and parcel of the American mindset of the ‘80s, a time when every long-haired bubba and tank-topped blondie reveled in alcohol, violence, racism and low-brow humor — he was the Donald Trump of his generation! But mainly it was…
Everybody still goes to Havana Rumba
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Did Yogi Berra really say that? Baseball historians attribute this quote to the late, great New York Yankees catcher; but bear in mind that Yogi is also recorded as having said, “I really didn’t say everything I said.” It was déjà vu all over again when we dropped…
WWDD? What would Donald drink?
Years of late nights, intense conversations, and daily bar side “therapy sessions” have helped many a drink slinger such as myself be able to hone in on a special dexterity and prowess when it comes to reading people: A capable and experienced bartender can both guess what a bar-goer might order to drink and most…
Disambiguous
Cap’n Donald’s visit to Louisville on Super Tuesday wrought utter chaos inside and outside the Convention Center, not to mention the ensuing community relations wreckage from The Bad Ship My-Penis-Is-Yuge Lollipop. O city, our city, could we be more of a house divided? Inasmuch as during the Civil War legend has it Kentucky was equally…
Nice caucus, Trump
So the Rand Paul, Republican caucus was held Saturday, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky didn’t miss another opportunity to put its political lunacy on national display. At least this time we have company, as most other state Republicans thus far have gone for Donald Trump. Here is the thing, though: The most common reason I…
Your Voice
CONGRATS LAURA on winning our TICKET GIVEAWAY! Always a good night with @jukeboxtheghost! Thanks @leoweekly for the tickets! #totesghost —lauralouwhoo, March 2 on “United States of Apple (Inc.)” Aaron Yarmuth misses the mark on this debate. Mainly because he ignores the fact it should be a debate. His argument sums up as “Apple shut up…
