In our final installment of Flipside, we give you a little taste of what it’s like to go behind the scenes with the Live From Memphis crew. We produce cool stuff and have fun doing it.
Located in Midtown, John and Beverly Lowe’s Xanadu Music and Books always has a hand-picked selection of rarities for sale. But Lowe’s other product is what sets the store apart from others in its niche. The Lowebow is a mutant, handmade musical instrument based on the classic cigar box guitar. Designed originally for one-man bands and named after the one-stringed “diddly bow” popular with the original Delta Blues players, the Lowebow allows musicians to play both bass and slide guitar parts at the same time. Since perfecting the design in 2000, Lowe has put the unique instruments into the hands of musicians such as the North Mississippi Allstars, as well as selling them at his own concerts.
The Church Health Center in Memphis provides health care for the working poor who fall between the cracks in our health care system. One of Memphis’ great success stories, their model of care has been emulated throughout the country. Many struggling Memphis musicians have sought care at the center, and three years ago, a group of them, led by Marvin Stockwell, the center’s public relations specialist who also happens to be in the punk band Pezz, and the bands of the Makeshift music label, decided to give back to the institution by putting on a benefit concert.
Rock for Love brings together some of the best bands in Memphis for a two-day, multi-venue concert to promote and raise funds for the Church Health Center. The first two were smashing successes, and this year’s edition, which comes at a time when the nation’s attention is focused on the problems the poor have in obtaining quality health care, will take place on August 21 and 22 at the Hi Tone and Shangri-La records.
One of Memphis’ biggest problems continues to be its bicycle unfriendliness. Between the lack of bike lanes and greenways, the oblivious or downright hostile motorists, and the fragmented suburban sprawl, Memphis has not lived up to its bicycling potential. But, as usual in this city, where the powers-that-be have failed, the grassroots take the lead.
Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop was founded in June of 2002 with the mission to promote the most energy efficient form of transportation known to science. From the weekend pedaler to the worker looking for a cheap commute, the shop has helped more than 1,500 people build or rehab a bike to fit their needs. The community that has grown up around the shop was given a huge boost this year when Memphis was chosen to be one of the hosts for the 2009 Bicycle Film Festival. Today, Revolutions stays true to its original mission: teach a man to ride, and he’ll go where he wants.
It began more than a century ago with a single bear in Overton Park. Today, it covers 55 acres and is consistently cited as one of the best zoos in the country. The Memphis Zoo is a Midtown institution, and one of the city’s most valuable assets.
The Memphis Zoo has spent most of the 21st Century pursuing a program of upgrade and expansion. From the Northwest Passage, which brought polar bears and otters to the south; to the elaborate China, the $16 million zoogeographical extravaganza that puts giant pandas Ya Ya and Ling Ling in context with other Asian denizens, the zoo’s exhibits bring the animal’s worlds down home to the Bluff City. And while we Memphians may sometimes take the zoo for granted, the rest of the world knows how awesome it really is.
