Cover Stories
LEO and Me: My Gut Reaction
After 13 years in Los Angeles, I made it back home in one piece, although some would argue that point. I landed in rural Kentucky to spend time with my recently widowed mother and enjoyed weekend jaunts to Louisville, revisiting my favorite places — Cherokee Park, the Back Door, ear X-tacy. The riverfront was suddenly…
An anniversary love letter
Dear LEO Readers, When the first issue of this alternative rag debuted in 1990, it was unclear exactly what the future might hold given the grim fate of most fledgling publications. Despite the very real potential for failure, LEO founder John Yarmuth was confident Louisville craved something different — a unique outlet for informed discourse…
Out with old, in with the same old?
“A succession of mayors have pretty much followed what they thought was the will of the community to preserve a great lifestyle, but there is a widely held concern that we may lose that lifestyle if we don’t develop more Providians* and Humanas.” —Consultant Bill Beam, commenting to LEO about a survey he conducted for…
Cards flying high
When LEO hit newsstands in the summer of 1990, college sports was not mired in the profit über alles ethos it is today. ESPN was but a decade old and had not yet cornered the market in collegiate football, basketball and baseball. Nor in minor sports, which with the advent of ESPNU, are now in…
A(nother) modest proposal
It is a melancholy object to those who walk around through this great town, when they see the streetboxes, racks and other dispensaries overflowing with this publication quietly accumulating like the dust on an ancient lampshade. I think it is generally agreed by all parties that we, as a city and society, have failed to…
Outside the Inbox: Readers weigh in on LEO
In the midst of all the reminiscing, celebrating and self-congratulating surrounding this 20-year milestone, LEO thought it might be worth reaching out to the good people of Louisville to gauge what they think of the product we put out each week. After all, we do it for you (and because it’s just about the most…
A Wonderful LEO
Moments after Tyler Allen lost the Democratic nomination in Louisville’s mayoral primary, I walked a couple of blocks to the Second Street Bridge with the intention of throwing myself off it. So that’s it, I thought. All our coverage showing the other guys were just wealthy phonies and braggarts, and for what? So they could…
A decade of clutter
LEO has been around for 20 years, and I’ve been here for half of them. I was only supposed to stay for two or three years — cut my journalism teeth at a gritty alt-weekly in Louisville. Get some experience and good clips, and be on my way to New York … or maybe L.A.…
The more things change
If somebody had told me 20 years ago that LEO would still be publishing today, I’d have laughed out loud and said something like, “Yeah, sure, and someday John Yarmuth is going to be elected to Congress.” Who was going to read an “alternative” newspaper? Alternative to what? Surely not the comfortable lifestyles that make…
Tales of a real, live LEO intern
The summer of 2008 aged me — in a good way, mostly. I’ll always remember my internship at LEO as a crucial milestone of my career and a wonderful but slightly bizarre experience that shaped me in some, well, interesting ways. It all started long before those hot three months, though — all the way…
An afterthought
It may seem like the newspaper you’re reading has always been here. But it hasn’t. Nostalgia can be boring, so I’ll try to refrain. But after spending several hours revisiting back issues of this publication, it was interesting to note that LEO actually started out as a pretty grown-up product — the founding editors were…
A Modest Proposal
Where more than a few local groups turned to one person to handle vocals, singer-guitarist Jeremy Podgursky and bassist Brian Kaelin, both formerly of Dybbuk, divided those duties and conquered. Their ever-shifting harmonies always caught you off guard in the best kind of way. Repeated shows at The Machine/CD Graffiti’s/The Enterprise in St. Matthews —…
Staffpicks
May 27-29 ‘The Tricky Part’ The Rudyard Kipling 422 W. Oak St. • 636-1311 $12; 7:30 p.m. (May 27 & 29), 9:30 p.m. (May 28) Sometimes all it takes is one voice to delineate an intricate sketch of human experience, with all of the joy, sorrow, sin and humor we encounter daily scribbled in. The…
Ten LEO stories that stirred controversy
In the span of 20 years, an upstart alt-weekly with a notorious Dave Barry fetish has managed to write about things that matter and, subsequently, piss off a lot of people in the process. What follows is a list (in no particular order) of stories that have generated ample public discourse, be it in the…
The Aftereffects of Insomnia
We owe a big debt to Ed Lutz and Michael Jarboe: the two men behind this series of tape compilations that are now or at least should be collectors items. Like all good labels, Three Little Girls really didn’t have a sound, per se, more like a curatorial process that emphasized consistently strange and beautiful…
A sibling’s perspective
Forgive me if my recollection of the past 20 years is not the same as yours, LEO. My name is ear X-tacy, and I’m five years older than you, kid! When you were born, I lived elsewhere on Bardstown Road, where Highland Coffee thrives now. It was a great place, 1,800 square feet jammed full…
Outside of Everything
Brent Starkey and his revolving cast of members in Cherub Scourge, which included late drummer Tony Bailey and bassist Rankin Mapother, were pop-punk when pop-punk meant more than just visiting Hot Topic. They shared a certain kinship with the Lookout Records bands of the ’80s and ’90s but employed their own Midwestern twist. Outside of…
Film: Local action
It was the first question I heard at film festivals, teaching a workshop or during a radio interview to promote a new movie — “What was your budget?” OK, that was usually the second question, following: “What’s your film about?” Because in the early ’90s, a boom time for indie film in Louisville, the unspoken…
Visual arts: Past, present and future
I was asked by LEO to reflect on the last 20 years of the Louisville visual arts scene. I imagine I was invited to this task because I was a part of this history as both witness and participant. Although the story goes back more than just 20 years — the scene really began to…
Howdy
Is this the publication you’ve been waiting for? Beats me. I don’t even know what it’s about. Its title hardly provides a clue — just a characterization. It’s eccentric. I once referred to a political candidate as eccentric, and I meant it in a very positive sense. Unfortunately, he didn’t accept the compliment graciously. He…
Live long and prosper
One score, five offices and two logos ago, this father brought forth upon our community a new medium, conceived in innocence and dedicated to the proposition that no idea is too weird to discuss in print. Now we are engaged in a great civil war of ideas … OK, enough of that. Twenty years ago,…
Provincial yet progressive
I moved to Louisville in February of 2000. My first encounter with a Louisville musician was at a dinner party where I met the late Tim Krekel. He was a shining example of how I now view our music community on the whole: open-hearted, supportive and talented. New friends told me stories about the history…
Poppy
Technically, Scott Ritcher’s voice is awful. But when he stepped on that Ibanez Tube Screamer and let his cracked, bleating delivery fly, he nailed the awkward teenager paradigm to the wall, giving every zit-riddled 14-year-old a roadmap to self-esteem. Dry wit, sardonic punch, treatises on confusion, women, protest and boredom — it was all there…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to mherron@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. May…
Screaming Secrets
Did you know Carrie Neumayer can scream? Not some like-omg-I-just-went-to-the-mall-bought-a-new-top-and-it’s-sooooo-fab scream. I’m talking about an all-you-testosterone-meatheads-can-bow-down caterwaul. For the chorus on “Clocks” alone, she deserves to be credited as Louisville’s first, true riot grrl. She’ll probably kill me for saying this, but the art students of Meyzeek should feel fortunate to have an intelligent, thoughtful…
Video TapeWorm
At this tedious moment in history, we’d like to thank all the little people — insignificant ants, really — who’ve made The Video TapeWorm what it is today: “The world’s largest-smelling guide to video.” First, thanks to John Yarmuth for recognizing the burgeoning talent and complete lack of financial skills that make us such valuable…
La La Land
Quirky, futuristic, reckless — all of these qualities fall in second place to one: vital. For Wax Fang’s second album, Scott Carney couldn’t have picked better pals than Jake Heustis and Kevin Ratterman to carry out the execution of this dreamworld put to sound. From the wormhole “Avant Guardian Angel Dust,” which fits anywhere in…
Where we have been, where we can we go
Twenty years ago, the LGBT community in Louisville was planting seeds of political activism that have grown to make our city the gay-friendly home it is today. In 1990, gay rights activists persuaded the Louisville Board of Alderman to pass a hate crimes ordinance that included the category of sexual orientation. For the first time…
The Chapel of the Bear
Of all the hair-brained ideas: Manning wants this record to sound like summertime in Kentucky. So he and engineer Kevin Ratterman pack up some gear and head under the bridge at Tyler Park. Thankfully, a benevolent cop didn’t quash this prime directive, and we’re better for it. Festooned with sounds of crickets, night wind and…
Nobody knows the changes I’ve seen … on the eats beat
Ah, nostalgia. There’s hardly a better way to get a room full of foodies chattering, in real time or Internet time, than to start a conversation about the evolution, development and changes of Louisville’s dining scene. Scratch a food lover, find a memory bank full of stories about great meals past, real and imagined, along…
Rusty
Once “Shiner” and “Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto” started popping up on locally released compilations and singles, it became clear that Jason Noble, Jeff Mueller, Tara Jane O’Neil and Kevin Coultas were the best hope for aiding and in some cases redirecting Louisville’s postpunk transition out of the early ’90s. Though there are thematic comparisons to…
Inbox — May 26, 2010
Inbox, aka Erosia, has been an open forum for people to speak out on the issues of the day. Letters are sometimes angry, sometimes congratulatory and sometimes out of left field. Here are four gentlemen whose names you are familiar with if you spend any time on this page. They write often, adding their voices…
We are this beat
Slint Yes, Brian McMahan, there was a crystal ball. Inside it? Thousands who revere these post-rock pioneers. In August 1990, drummer Britt Walford, McMahan, bassist Todd Brashear and David Pajo began work on their second album, Spiderland. Producer Brian Paulson captured greatness at Chicago’s River North Records, cementing the quartet’s legacy and further strengthening…
Speed
As much praise as the world piles on Slint, Speed deserves equal time. Where to begin? After their time in Cerebellum, Joey Mudd, Tim Furnish, Jon Cook and Will Chatham turned to engineer Steve Albini’s eight-track to document what amounts to a perfect vision. Opening with whole-note collective bursts, “Car Crash Decisions” makes you wonder…
Theater: Into the spotlight
LEO didn’t spring to life fully formed. In the beginning, its eccentric observers were focused almost exclusively on political and social commentary. Nowadays, browsing early columns by John Yarmuth, Bob Schulman, Mary Caldwell, Denny Crum and Dudley Saunders is like stumbling upon a gang of smart, provocative kids suddenly unleashed to say anything at all.…
LEO: Helping Louisville get laid since 1990
LEO loves you and wants you to be happy. For 20 years, this paper has presented hard-hitting local journalism, indispensable arts coverage, provocative commentary and thoughtful reviews. But all of that is merely to serve our primary mission, which is to get you laid. Whether it’s by reporting on the local zeitgeist, helping you find…
Of tape and tires
Changes over the past 20 years in local music? Sure. Been a lot of ’em. Mostly superficial ones. The haircuts change, as does the equipment. But not much else. Things (recording) get easier, and other things (making sense in a senseless world) get harder. Getting a message to the masses should be more practicle now…
