Cover Story
Out of hand
Marlow Johnson spoke in an Appalachian drawl that was high lonesome and, to the untrained ear, nearly unintelligible. The first time I talked to him was on the fourth attempt I’d made to contact Johnson, the cousin of Kentucky country music legend Gary Stewart. Johnson lives in Virgie, Ky., right outside Whitesburg. Virgie is within…
WEB EXCLUSIVE: The case to erase
Former Metro Councilwoman Denise Bentley has filed a motion in civil court to strike former council candidate Ken Herndon’s defamation lawsuit from the public record. Earlier this week, Herndon — who ran against Councilman George Unseld, D-6 — asked a judge to dismiss the civil case he filed last year in response to a homophobic…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: LOGAN’S RUN 1976; $28.95, PG Long overdue Blu-Ray release of this colossally dumb big-budget ’70s sci-fier. While set in the 23rd century, this flick was able to accurately forecast daily life in the 21st century: mall-dwelling fashion victims vs. supercomputers bent on world-somethingorother. With Michael York, perky little Jenny Agutter, Farrah…
Book: Camera Boy on war, hell and the in-between
When Fred Minnick smiles or laughs, he seems momentarily transformed into a young boy, filled with innocence. Dimples form and his blues eyes seem illuminated. But when the freelance writer and photographer talks about the year he spent as a U.S. Army public affairs officer in the Iraq War, he speaks in a serious, even…
Café Thuy Van: Vietnamese off the beaten path
More than 30 years after the first wave of Vietnamese immigrants came to Louisville, these refugees and their children and grandchildren have moved into the mainstream of community life. Much like our Latino, Bosnian, Senegalese and other immigrant neighbors, these refugees of war brought Louisville a gift that delights both our hearts and our tummies.…
Not so pretty in pink
Poor November. It’s a month without a color, a month without a cause. Sure, Thanksgiving is fun, what with the Macy’s Parade, the turkey and the pie. But let’s be honest: It’s not October. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but few know or care because October is drenched…
Art: News Bits
The National Endowment for the Arts (www.nea.gov) Chairman Rocco Landesman has recently started on an “Art Works” tour. He plans to visit Kentucky, but the city and date are unknown at this time. Galerie Hertz and Chapman-Friedman Gallery are participating in the Louisville Antiques and Fine Living Show Nov. 13-15. The show benefits the Heuser…
The Naysayer
Grunge, metal and, on a lesser level, emo are combined with relative aplomb in this freshman EP by Evil Engine No. 9. I am more a fan of the first two genres mentioned, but these songs are catchy and lyrical. The sound gets a little redundant at times, especially for a five-song release. The commercial…
No smoking gun
Last spring, Ken Herndon made a serious bid for the Metro Council’s 6th district seat. The candidate worked diligently to unseat Democratic incumbent Councilman George Unseld, who had longstanding ties to the community and wide-ranging support among neighborhood associations and city officials. Unlike the usually sleepy council races, the primary battle was hotly contested and…
The Best of The Black President
Got Fool’s Gold and Antibalas on repeat? Go archival for their prolific ancestor. This is the first of what will be 45 reissues both on CD and wax of albums by Afrobeat’s patron saint and multi-instrumentalist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Born in 1938, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Fela’s musical consciousness developed first out of attending spiritual traditional…
Art: A call to creation
Nine years have passed since the muse first struck Gregory Chaney, 52, a former clinical psychologist. He transformed into an artist with the creation of his multimedia installation “The Revolutionary Theatre of the Divine Imagination,” also referred to as “Parnassus.” “I define myself as an artist, yet you will find no formal education or training…
Inbox — Nov. 4, 2009
Animal Abuse Awareness I just wanted to thank you for the (Editor’s Note) “Off the chain” in the Oct. 28 LEO Weekly and the clip in “What a Week” in the Oct. 21 edition. My husband, Kenny, and I are the parents of Layla, the boxer-mix that was put down on Oct. 15 due to…
B-Sides: Music & Other Ephemera
GWAR have their ulterior motives, one of which is the no-holds-barred satire of their stage show. It is bawdy, obscene and in-your-face, not elevated humor trying to emulate Swift. They perform Wednesday with Job For A Cowboy, The Red Chord, Stonecutters, The Revenants, Antikythera and The Burial at Expo Five (2900 S. Seventh St., 637-5218,…
Skeletonwitch is fired up
Sophomore slump? Not much slumps when you’ve got the energy of the five young Ohio headbangers who’ve banded together as Skeletonwitch. Breathing the Fire has just come out, and it’s got all the pummeling rhythms and rapid-fire, old-school-metal thrills of its great predecessor, Beyond the Permafrost … and more. The songs are all ridiculously tight.…
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 publication. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed. Nov 4 Chick Inn:…
Ashes to ashes
Residents of Kingston, Tenn., awoke on the morning of Dec. 22, 2008, to find a sea of dark gray sludge covering the surrounding landscape. The thick muck was toxic coal ash, which had spilled out of a retaining pond at a nearby power plant. In less than an hour, more than 1.1 billion gallons of…
Learning to Sail My Ship
Simply put, C+ is the band Louisville has been waiting for. Free of alt-country affectations, baroque Southern imagery and other trappings that so often bog down local releases, Learning To Sail My Ship is an unpretentious gem that exudes rumpled charm and fits like an old pair of shoes. On “Lost Without My Arm,” “Ever…
World Painted Blood
There’s something comforting about a new Slayer disc. You know there won’t be anything unwanted. Along with The Ramones, AC/DC and Motorhead, Slayer epitomize the axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” On World Painted Blood, Slayer’s 10th studio album, Dave Lombardo is still the king of the double kick-drum. Jeff Hanneman and Kerry…
Industry Standard: Insider info for those who dine out
Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving? Oh, my — I see a few of you raising your hands. That’s probably because it’s being held at your house, and you remember being up to your elbows in a sink of soapy water at 9 p.m. last year, muttering “Never again. Next year, we’re going out to eat.” Thanksgiving…
Almost Acceptable
The former Charlie Daniels guitarist sings about achingly personal themes, like an older man looking back on his life and seeing it with equal shades of regret and joy. While the nostalgic tones are nice, that’s not to say they’re spoken with much elegance or invention. “B-17,” an ode to the war experience of King’s…
Brave new world
I was honored to be invited to the White House for the Green Energy Economy Forum to discuss “American competitiveness in the clean energy economy” two weeks ago. A “select group of business leaders, nonprofit experts, members of the academic community, and White House staff” were in attendance. The big take-away from the day was…
Good for (small) business
John Timmons doesn’t provide health insurance to his employees. Never has. It’s not that the owner of ear X-tacy, the vaunted indie record store and Highlands fixture since 1985, doesn’t want to. Timmons and his wife, a physician, are both activists for single-payer health care. But as it is now, Timmons can’t afford to offer…
Bar Belle: Undercover at the Pendennis
I heard the tall tales of a top-secret debutante’s club located in Louisville’s downtown. Its past is saturated with stories of the famous and infamous — it’s the birthplace of the Old Fashioned, I was told. It’s also where waiter Henry Bain perfected his famous sauce. It was a gentlemen’s club so exclusive that only…
Heart Soul Mind and Strength
Adrianne Archie has one of the finest voices in the city. Heart Soul Mind & Strength, her third album, gives further evidence that she is ready for the national spotlight. Throughout her 17 tracks, Archie blurs the line between soul and gospel. Church folk, that’s not a bad thing: Her faith is evident in the lyrics,…
