Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

R.I.P.

For the last five years, Mike Flannagan would spend the wee hours of every Sunday morning at the WDVX trailer in Norris, spinning CDs and records of music of all stripes. The show was aptly called "All Over the Road" and in an age of bland, computer-controlled radio formats, it was easily one of the best radio shows in the region, maybe even the country.

The 41-year-old Flannagan, who struggled with heart problems his entire life, died last week at his home from an apparent heart attack. It was his passion for music and his good nature that friends remember most about him.

"He was a very important part of the musical community," says News Sentinel music writer and friend Wayne Bledsoe. "His show filled a real void for people looking for that kind of music. WDVX is a terrific entity, but Mike gave it something it didn't have at any other time.

"Some of my most pleasant memories of Mike are sitting around until 4 in the morning, playing music and talking," says Bledsoe, a frequent "All Over the Road" guest.

In 1979, Flannagan started working at the News Sentinel as a copy clerk and slowly worked his way up. Most recently, he was a writer for the business pages, but often wrote music stories as well. One of his last assignments was covering the Bonnaroo Festival at Manchester, Tenn. He also played drums in a band, the Rattlehounds, which had just recorded its first CD.

Bledsoe says Flannagan was one of those rare people whom everyone liked. He was a passionate critic, but also very interested in people. His laugh booming across the newsroom was a common sound. "He had all these clusters of friends. A lot of people knew each other because of Mike."

Flannagan pitched the idea for his radio show about five years ago, says WDVX executive director, Tony Lawson. "When we started out, we identified our niche in the market and went for it. His show was outside of that niche and it helped us to expand and grow and get more listeners," he says.

Lawson says WDVX plans to continue "All Over the Road," which airs from midnight to 4 a.m. Sunday, with a variety of hosts for now. Last weekend, his friends and co-workers hosted a special memorial show for him. They played tunes that Flannagan would have appreciated—including a set of humorous songs, a set of death songs, and some of Flannagan's favorites, like Dylan and the Replacements. Todd Steed and Randall Brown both played songs live for him.

A co-worker and friend, Brown says Flannagan did a lot to champion local music as well as the weirder and more unusual stuff. Because it was broadcast on the Internet, the show had an amazing reach.

"Being up at the camper the other day doing the tribute show, I was struck by how often he did that," Brown says. "He did that every Saturday [evening] for five years in the wilds of Norris, playing whatever he wanted. They got emails from England in sympathy.... That's one of those things you don't think about. Dang, somebody in England used to wake up early to hear his show."

Buddy Can You Spare A Dollar?

After months of uncertainty over funding and location, Sundown in the City finally debuted this year, in its temporary location at the Old City Courtyard. The show—with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Southern Culture on the Skids—was by most accounts a smashing success. So many people showed up that organizers had to temporarily close the gates to new people.

Ted Heinig, a spokesman for promoter AC Entertainment, says that most of the people got in eventually. He estimates the crowd at 3,500 to 4,500 through the night.

Because of a loss of public funding (the city pitched in $100,000 in each of the last two years but nothing this year) and an attempt to bring in bigger acts, AC Entertainment asked for donations at the gate. Heinig wouldn't say how much money was collected, but says they need more. "Without sounding like we're whining, we need to encourage the donations to come up. We're dealing with a gap of funding that's still pretty significant," Heinig says.

"Some people are putting $20 bills in there. And there are a lot of people who walk in without paying anything. There's no way to gauge a percentage or even a dollar per head number," he says.

Asked what will happen if AC brings in more donations than it needs, Heinig says he doesn't know. "I would love to have that problem. Based on the first week, I can't even imagine that being a remote possibility. The artist fees are roughly double of last year," he says.

The series so far has been made possible by a number of donors, including Pilot Oil, Budweiser and Regal Cinemas. The event's held on property owned by ThInQ Tank and Barley's.

Good

Over the weekend, Rus Harper sent this note, typos and all, to Madame Georgie:

"I have fabulous news for knoxpatch. Evil Twin is no more. and there was no 'artistic differences' or enmity involved. the freaks simply recognized that the humans are evil as hell on their own volition and no longer need our guidance. the truth of the matter is that we've killed daisy "chain" mcgraw. please don't tell anyone.

so... in the the immoral words of Iggy Pop, 'screw ya.' of course being the egomaniacal exhibitionist that i am, anonymous and i will have our new project up and running before you are properly healed from this one. and in the meantime, you can see anonymous perform with the Monsters of Japan... so look the fuck out, freaks."

—Madame "do you want to be part of the crime or part of the punishment?" Georgie with Joe Tarr