Del and the Boys

The Bijou — and that’s not pronounced like bayou, but like BEEzshu — is the best place on the planet to see a band, and just one more reason to consider relocating to Knoxville, if you’re in the market.

It’s a 100-year-old theater, restored, now hosting music including Tennessee Shines (do note that Knoxville’s graphic identity is courtesy YeeHaw Press).

Enough! The show was great. I haven’t seen Del and the Boys since they got this different bass player, but he made up for not being the big blond guy who thumps by having an amazing voice.

They played lots of stuff from the new album — nothing outrageously new, but more of the same good stuff. Can’t find any videos of the new songs, so here are two of my favorites in one video for your listening pleasure: “1952 Vincent” and “Get Down on Your Knees and Pray.” Plus a little snippet of Del talking about kinfolk at the end. If you don’t like this stuff, you must be dead.

Del and Dan

Mal-rey's smile

Downtown partnership

  

Brian Ashley Jones, on air

This is a term we hear a lot in Atlanta, but I saw some exciting examples in Knoxville this week.  Don’t know much (yet) about the history of this town, but my second impression was that it is young and civil and has strong mo’ in a good direction. (Though I must admit it seemed distressingly white. I saw only three black faces while I was there and nothing in the way of internationalism.) 

Get this: every single business day, the Knoxville visitor’s center, centrally located as you pull into downtown, hosts a “Blue Plate Special” live radio show luncheon with live music. This is the local community radio station, WDVX. 

Perfect partners. The radio station gets visibility, audience and programming (and I’m guessing free or cheap rent). The local BBQ house sells a few dozen sandwiches and gets a big sponsorship. The music acts get a small live audience and a much bigger radio audience. And the welcome center gets natural branding for KTown as a music hub, plus plenty of traffic through its storefront.

That’s smart partnering.

welcome center, with snow

Bonnie Bishop (my band is prettier than your band)

Brian Ashley Jones, on air

BBQ sponsorship

Mal and Frieda after the show

Art for the people (BDay’s little pilgrimage to mecca)

I woke up Sunday and remembered that I was in the hometown of Yee-Haw Industries. Had to stay an extra day to get in when the doors were open but was thrilled to be in the shop that has decorated so many of my walls via mailorder. For those of you who appreciate the art of carving type and graphics into wood or linoleum, or remember the days of actual letterpress printing and enjoy the feel of ink on good paper, or just appreciate faux-folk graphics or a beautiful dingbat, take a look. 

S. Gay St. (not that there’s anything wrong with that)

Tom had to bring a book so I could browse

the whole glorious place

if only I wore jewelry

getting my ink fix and fueling the local economy

Yee-Haw seems to have become the graphic identity of Knoxville. Everywhere I went I saw logos and signs and Tshirts that were either designed by Yee-Haw or emulated their style.