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Save The Bijou
The Bijou Theatre this week announced a series of August concerts geared toward relieving the theater’s crippling debt. For the next three Saturdays, the theater will hold shows with the benefits all going toward the theater. On Aug. 7 there will be a night of Celtic music featuring Four Leaf Peat, Betsy Hooper and Evan Carawan, starting at 7:30 p.m.. An Elvis tribute starring Jesse Wade and sponsored by WIVK will be held the following Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. And on Aug. 21, WDVX will sponsor Dark Hollow Band and Roddy Branch Bluegrass Band, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are in the $18 to $20 range.
The historic building was constructed in 1813 and has served as a tavern and hotel. The theater opened in 1909 and is regarded by most music aficionados as the best sounding room in town. But it’s swimming in debt incurred for a renovation a few years ago.
If you can’t make the shows but want to help, you can make donations to: David Sharp, Chairman and CEO, Home Federal Bank, C/o Bijou Theatre Center, Inc. ACT II Campaign, 515 Market Street, Knoxville, TN 37902.
Goodbye, Good Luck
When word spread a month ago that Bryan Baker was leaving town, it made a lot of people sad. It would probably be impossible to find someone who had anything bad to say about the guy, because he’s done a lot for Knoxville through his art and music.
Baker is leaving to take a job teaching printmaking at Clarion University in Pennsylvania.
If you don’t know him, you’ve probably seen his work. He’s worked for a few years at Yee-Haw Industries and he’s designed some of the letter presses’ more distinctive and beautiful posters. He’s also taught as an adjunct professor at UT.
“Bryan Baker is just a champion,” says Yee-Haw’s Kevin Bradley. “He’s just selflessly worked in so many scenes and worked for the greater good of all.”
Bradley says Baker crosses a lot of ground in his work, but that with all of it he has an “instinctive, natural sense... You can’t replace somebody like Bryan.”
Baker was also active in the music scene, most notably with his band theplansoff, which played their last gig at the Pilot Light last week. He played a variety of instruments and was supportive of other local bands.
Jason Boardman, owner of the Pilot Light, is one of those sad to see Baker leave, as he’s done a lot to help make that club a success. “It would be difficult to find one more selfless, genuinely helpful, and friendlier than Bryan Baker,” Boardman says. “Rarer still are these qualities coupled with such tireless follow-through and creativity. He is a boon to the musical and visual art scene in Knoxville and I feel that collaboration is far from over despite his upcoming ‘vacation’ from Knoxville. I wish him the best.”
Forgetful Minds
In last week’s Eye on the Scene, we reported on a new website, Knoxbands.com. We were remiss in not mentioning Knoxshows.com, a website that has done a great job of covering the scene for the past couple of years and has been mentioned in Eye previously. Renée Sanabria, who operates Knoxshows.com, rightfully took us to task with this letter:
“I was disappointed to read in today's Metro Pulse in the Eye on the Scene section. I was surely not disappointed because of KnoxBands.com, but because of how the article displayed a lack of knowledge about the local site, KnoxShows.com, which has been dedicated to the coverage of local music for over two years now. "Metro Pulse writer, Mr. John Sewell, even initiated contact with KnoxShows about a year or so ago for the purpose of writing an article about the site in the Eye on the Scene section. In that case, the article was written and printed.
"KnoxShows.com features the most complete show calendar in the entire city with everything from musicals to operas to symphonies to punk to jam bands to metal bands to straight up rock ’n’ roll bands and more with complete show information listed (yes, it's even more extensive than Metro Pulse's! Nah nah! Sorry, had to brag). It features a section where local bands can sign up and create their own band profiles. It even features a section where show-goers can sign up and create their own personal profiles. It also hosts record and show reviews, columns, a whole section on information for local and surrounding area venues, and a huge assortment of music-related local links. Plus, it has a forum for discussion where complete freedom of speech is upheld and absolutely NO censorship is applied. Anyone can sign up and post.
“KnoxShows.com has over half a million hits a month and nearly 900 members on the forum section of the website, so I really don’t think people are searching as hard as the article suggested for Knoxville show information.
"The insistence that there were no locally run websites or no websites with enough information or websites that were too genre specific was incorrect.
"I know the staff at Metro Pulse can be forgetful with deadlines and such, so I thank you for your time and for letting me voice in a quick reminder about the site! KnoxShows.com is run purely by volunteered time and efforts, so the payment is the acknowledgement of its existence and services and its use by fellow music-interested and involved Knoxvillians.”
—Joe Tarr
August 5, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 32
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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