Porn Stars on Parade

How Zippy could possibly have turned a blind eye to the August 7 arrival of an adult film star performing a "dance routine" for a packed house at the Old City's Rainbow Club is beyond believable. Fortunately, Flippy (Zippy's queer counterpart) was on hand for all the not-too-lascivious action and logged this report:

After a rousing prelude from drag queen extraordinaire Angel Collins—in a costume that had to be seen to be believed—Vince Rockland took the stage in a mod tuxedo absolutely no one wanted to see. It was quickly and dramatically doffed and his muscle-bound body got down to the serious business of bumping and grinding while men stuffed dollar bills in an already obscenely bulging white mesh thong. An autograph session followed. In addition to his spirited film performances as a top man, Rockland is best known for having two brothers he persuaded to join him in the business. The triumvirate stars in a movie fittingly titled The 3 Brothers.

Rockland is the first in a string of gay porn performers who will be visiting the Rainbow Club in coming months. Club owners Ed Price and Jeffrey Bishop plan to feature a different star every other Saturday night. Says Price, "We are always trying to do something different for the gay community. This is not your run-of-the-mill stripper-type thing. These are professionals. They're top stars within their field—there aren't many bigger than these." And he said that last line without even cracking a smile.

Former marine Rod Barry will perform next on Saturday, August 21, followed by Tony Cummings on September 4. Other coming attractions whose names don't include such obvious sexual connotations include Christopher Scott, J.T. Sloan, and Chad Donovan.

WNOX Starts to Fulfill Its Potential

You're in a modern theater with over 1,000 good seats; the acoustics are nearly perfect, because this place was built just for popular music. There are lots of large dressing rooms backstage, connected by a spiral staircase. It's nowhere near downtown, but it's still in Knoxville. And it's not connected to any high school or college. Where are you? We'll give you some time to think. But we bet you still won't be able to guess.

The Jubilee Center's "Bluegrass Revolution" show at the old WNOX Auditorium on Whittle Springs Road in North Knoxville was a revelation to many on stage and in the audience, most of whom had never been there before, many of whom didn't know it existed. Built in 1955 just as WNOX left its Gay Street digs, the auditorium was used for only a few years at the very end of WNOX's country-music heyday and never fulfilled the promise of its grand opening, when the owners talked of making records here and bringing in big Broadway shows. Still, they say the very young Dolly Parton did some of her first shows here. It's seen better days, but if Saturday night was any indication, the WNOX Auditorium still has a few more sets to play.

The auditorium was actually a third choice for this talent-charged but logistically-challenged Jubilee show, a lineup of five of East Tennessee's finest pickers, from guitarist Steve Kaufman to the Dismembered Tennesseans and the Lone Mountain Band. To many, the big surprise of the little-advertised show was the Cruz Contreras Sting Band, an amazingly versatile combo with the band's namesake on mandolin, Robinella Contreras on guitar and angelic vocals, and 14-year-old Billy Contreras on fiddle. And the last act was 99-year-old Bob Douglas, rested up from his national exposure on Prairie Home Companion a few weeks ago, who went through about a dozen tunes including "Muddy Road to Ducktown" and even "Milk Cow Blues." For a finale, all the musicians got up on stage together.

Ever seen two fiddlers on the same stage who are 85 years apart? If you weren't there Saturday night, you probably missed your chance forever.

The Jubilee show was a reminder of the potential of very young and very old talent. But also the potential of a place we'd very nearly forgotten about.

Last Chance

All good things must come to an end. It's no different for band line-ups, which regular readers of this column should know by now. The latest mutation is the blues/ jazz/ rock/ groove band The Boogeymen (winner of Best Blues Band in our '99 Best of Knoxville readers' poll). Drummer/percussionist Michael Ryan will be leaving the 'men fold to move back to the great state of Connecticut. "I've played over 1,000 shows since I've been here. It's been great playing here," he says. "Great musicians are here." But, sadly for K-town, the call of his home state is great as well and provided some job opportunities that couldn't be missed. You can catch Ryan's last gig with the 'men on Saturday, August 21 at 10 p.m. at The Spot, where you can also pick up a new copy of their CD Sister Blue—which will be reviewed by yours truly at a later date.

Hate Knox Radio?

I just can't stand it anymore. Knoxville radio is starting to drive me a bit battier than usual, which is why the Zipster has started checking out online options. You can find almost anything online these days, but as a public service to the punks out there—a group that is seriously underserved in Knoxville—I just have to mention two new sites: screwradio.com and hardcoreradio.com. Both broadcast in the Real Audio format, which requires a downloadable player, and feature the catalogues of SST and the Cruz Records labels—like, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Screaming Trees, and Chemical People. At least it's a break from Ms. Spears.

Lick and a Promise

Thursday: Raggae with Razzor Posse at Neon Nites.

Friday: Rock with Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, Slaughter, and Quiet Riot at World's Fair Park.

Saturday: Punk out with Kid Snack, Immortal Chorus, and Slugboys at The Longbranch.

Sunday: Peace out (and gag) with Jewel, Rusted Root, and Steve Poltz at World's Fair Park.

Monday: Rest up with a nap.

Tuesday: Trip with Aspera Ad Astra at Tomato Head.

Wednesday: Swing with Marcus Shirley's piano at Fairbanks.

—Zippy "Straight, But Not Narrow" McDuff