It’s that time of year again. The time when the leaves begin to get a hint of color and the streets of K-town are flooded with enough orange to out fit every deer hunter in the Northern hemisphere for three lifetimes.

It’s that time when every non student in the Fort locks his or her windows and just hunkers down, awaiting the madness to end as Orange Football Insanity burns and boils in the blood of the hardcore fan.

It’s always kind of hard to explain to a non-Knoxvillian the ins and outs of the game day transformation of consciousness. You always come off as feeling a little silly, if not absurd, trying to get it into someones' head that "yes, these 200,000 people are legally insane for approximately 10 hrs prior and 10 hours after a Tennessee Home game."

I realized just how absurd it was while sitting on the patio at the Downtown Grille & Brewery just after dark on a Saturday night with a few traveling friends of mine. I suddenly became aware that they hadn’t experienced game night in Tennessee before, as indicated by their staring at every piece of orange that came by the sidewalk with an inquisitive look. Before I could explain how the night would progress, I turned and asked the gentleman behind me the score. Once given the fact that Tennessee was kicking the snot out of Callie, I turned to my friend and laid it all out for him.

Continue reading "Notes From the K-town Underground : The First Game Day" »

Posted by Sara Schwabe at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Any time you get more than 2 of Knoxville’s up and coming Troubadours in one room at a time, a few things must be understood. The first being that you should make sure your insurance premiums are paid up in full. Next, make sure that there are no combustible materials in the room. Finally, to ensure the safety of all parties involved, place two cases of PBR in the green room and just walk away.

This Friday, September 1st, six of Knoxville’s hardest working acoustic performers will join each other on one stage at Patrick Sullivan’s. The Ballroom stage will be filled to the brim with the likes of Michael Davis and Mat Foster from Medford’s Black Record Collection, Brendon James Wright, John Puckett, Roman Reese, and me--Jon Worley.

Medford's Black Record Collection

Continue reading "The Rebirth of the Americana Jug Train" »

Posted by Sara Schwabe at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Knoxvillian’s historically have had a rough time coming to grips with the culture that takes root underneath its own nose. Roy Acuff said it best, “Knoxville is a great place to come from, but a real shitty place to die.” All we need do is look back on the last 15 or so years and ask ourselves what happened to all the great Knoxville bands. The V-Roys, the Judy Bats, Super Drag, Left Foot Down, to name a few, have gone through the process of honing their musical chops on what I consider to be the hardest circuit in the Southeast, only to be ground on down by the leftover lingering doubts and strife that washes over musicians from Knoxville.

Continue reading "Jon Worley: Diary of a Folk Musician" »

Posted by the 520 gang at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)