Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Goodbye Daniel

At the Downtown Grill & Brewery on Saturday, Daniel Moore said goodbye to his legion of Knoxville friends. On Jan. 8, he'll be traveling to Brazil to learn how to teach English as a second language. In March, he's moving to Japan where he plans to put those skills to use.

Moore is one of those people who seems to know everyone—and it's no surprise. He's an all-around friendly and helpful guy. A computer troubleshooter, he's helped many people out of some jams, both computer and personal ones.

He played in a couple of bands during Knoxville's seminal music scene of the late '80s and early '90s—the Swamis and the Ray-O-Vacs. He's been less active on the music scene of late, but did find time to play drums for Mito Band. The group recently recorded some songs for a CD due out at the end of January. It's accompanied by a 'zine of comics illustrating the songs, which were all written by Travis Gray, a sometime Metro Pulse contributor.

Tom Backus, who recorded the CD, describes the songs as "Charlie Brown music for adults."

Moore will be missed by many here in K-town, certainly by me. "Of all the people I've met in Knoxville, he's my favorite," Gray says of his bandmate.

Perhaps Moore will become one of the many Knoxville expatriates who keep in touch on Metroblab. Peace and good luck. Mito Band will continue in Moore's absence, with Dugan Broadhurst possibly taking his place on skins.

Things to Look Forward to

Aside from the Mito Band package, a number of other CDs have either been recorded or are on the way from some great Knoxville bands.

Leslie Woods is scheduled to have a CD release party at the Laurel Theater on Feb. 6. The album is now being mastered and will be the first release on the new local label, Cult Star.

The Tim Lee Band is slated to release its next record sometime this spring.

"To date, it's been worked on at six studios in three states. It's been a lot to juggle, but it's been a lot of fun," Lee says. "I've had the opportunity to work with some old friends, some of my newer Knoxville buddies, and a few folks I met during the process. One of the more special aspects of this project was working with my wife, Susan, who played all the bass. Among the others contributing so far are Neilson Hubbard, Mitch Easter, Mark Wyatt, Bruce Watson, Don Coffey Jr., John Baker, Jim Rivers, Todd Steed, Paul Noe, Greg Horne, Jason White, Charles David Overton, and Jeff Bills. We're trying to whittle it down from 16 songs to something a little more manageable, but we'll see how that goes."

Mic Harrison's long anticipated solo record won't likely be ready until late spring. "I really don't know," he says. "We're almost done mixing it. Hopefully it'll get mastered next month. I'm starting to talk to people about putting it out. It's looking like late spring. And that's if everything goes right." You can hear many of the songs at his Jan. 23 Pilot Light gig.

Another long anticipated release which will hopefully see the light of day soon is Dixie Dirt's Four Seasons One Window. The band recorded the album in Memphis, but was unhappy with how the mastered songs turned out. They're reportedly rerecording it on their own.

Go Cast!

In the usually non-competitive theatrical arts, a local production is coming up a winner. Pellissippi State Technical Community College's production of The Kentucky Cycle was chosen to proceed to the Region IV competition for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Birmingham, Ala., in February. Director Charles Miller entered the play in the statewide competition in October after premiering the Pulitzer Prize-winning play at Pellissippi State that same month. Student actors Catherine Towler, Matt McDonald and James Francis were nominated for the acting competition, and sound designer Michael Coe and lighting designer Weston Wilkerson were nominated for their contributions. The play, which was the only one from a community college chosen out of the 50, is in contention for the final showdown in Washington, D.C. Break a leg!

Go.

Thursday: Find your Mojo at the Corner Lounge.

Friday: Dance with Dikki Du and the Zydeco Crew at Laurel Theater.

Saturday: Red House Project and Willis at the Downtown Grill.

Sunday: Hike up Mt. Le Conte. Take a thermos of tea and sing songs at the top like a dirty hippie!

Monday: Jodie Manross at Barley's.

Tuesday: The years went by and then the killers came/ And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain/ And Lorca the faggot poet they left till last/ Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse/ Mother of all our joys, mother of all our sorrows/ Intercede with him tonight/ For all of our tomorrows

Wednesday: Support your favorite local bookstore—there's a new one in Market Square. And don't forget the Book Eddy and McKay. Then go home, brew some herbal tea, fire up your pipe and read.

—Joe Tarr, Paige M. Travis