Memphis Tennessee-Week Four

I just got back from our first show.
Honestly, I have no reason to complain. yes, I had to get up today (Tuesday) at 4am to go to work. Yes it was a 16.5 hour day. Yes I lost all verbal capability by the end of the show and had to use grunts and smoke signals to communicate with anyone. My feets are killing me and I feel like I was hit over the head by a blunt object.
But you know
All in all
It was a good day.
The local crew is good. Better than good. And the rest of the Spam road crew has been working since 5pm YESTERDAY. Those boys (and Vera our prop head) have worked their asses off. What is that - a 30 hour day?! Bless'em. They were great. Hats off, people.
On a day like this, you HAVE to keep laughing. Seriously, your humor has to stay right at the surface and at the ready.
Jaki, Mike and I worked hard, efficently, and had fun. I just love them so much. When it works, it works, and I truly believe this combination is so dead on. We made fun of each other and worked hard and just kept laughing. We trained our wonderful local crew - I took a risk and jumped in and trained 2 tracks I had never trained before because time was running out.

Oh my people, I can't even type anymore. I must get into my bed. You get the idea of our first day in Memphis. More to come.

It is Wednesday afternoon at this point. I slept long and deep and woke up feeling pretty good. Extremely mellow. Jaki and I went and bought a new sewing machine today. the one we have at the theater is crap. Every city I have been to so far, I have had to take valuable time out to sit and deal with it. it is 150 years old, missing all kinds of pieces, and really needs to be retired. So we did that and then went to Graceland.
The last time I came to Memphis, I didn't have time to go on a tour I just went and saw the place. This time, I took the De-luxe tour. It was so enjoyable. I suppose it would be different during the busy season. No one was there today and you could just roam around at your own pace without people getting in the way.

Before we went in we ate lunch at the Piccadilly Cafeteria. It was one of those places where you get your tray, line up with all the other hungry folks and choose what you want as you go down the line. A place like this has RULES. Thing is though there is no sign telling you what they are. So you go down the line and try to learn from the person ahead of you, but those people have been there 100 times and KNOW the rules. It turns into this high pressure thing where you know the people behind you are going to start sighing and getting impatient, like hungry people do. You get all nervous and your palms start to sweat and you wind up just pointing to things. Then the lunchlady asks you a question but you are a Yankee with an earwax issue and she is from Memphis and there is a serious language barrier.
Lunchlady : "Do you want Brayhaheada"
Me: "Heh?"
LL: "Do you want Brayhaheada"
M: " Excuse me. What did you say?"
LL: "Do you want Brayaheada"
M: "I'm sorry. WHAT??"
LL: "BREAD DO YOU WANT BREAD"
M: "Oh bread. Sure. Thanks" humilation. embarrassment. shame. Food was good though.

I was never a huge fan of Elvis. You can't help, if you are a music geek like me, to respect him, especially when you walk into a room that is floor to ceiling gold records. I always liked him though. He has always kinda reminded me of my dad. It must be the hair, I think. I loved the house. It is beautiful without being ostentatious. Comfortable and homey.


I have an affinty for this town. It is unexplainable really. The city itself is dirty. The trolley system is just useless. You can walk faster than it moves. (That is Jaki on the trolley in the pic) Homeless people abound, and are very friendly - read persistant. Beale St., while full of my favorite live music (Blues) is a bit on the trashy side from what I remember, but when I was 27 I had no problem with arrows pointing to windows that read "BIG ASS BEERS HERE". I am starting to think there is a Big Ass brand of beer, the brewery of which must be located in Large Rump, Mississippi. Nonetheless, the people are very nice here, and there is a heartbeat I like. Some places you just like.

Wednesday night's performance was a little eye opening. I got slammed at the start of the day and starting helping our awesome but molassas in August slow stitcher crank through the repairs and wound up getting buried, not being able to check my presets, which ALWAYS makes me cranky, and never asked for any help from Mike or Jaki, even when they offered. I am so quick to jump in and help out, but when it comes to me asking for help...well...let's just say I need a little work in that department. I must remember there is no "I in Team" noiinteamnoiinteamnoiinteam. there was a point in the show where I realized that if something really went wrong I would be completely screwed. It is a helpless and horrible feeling. I really have to start learning where these clothes come from and go to before and after they leave my sight. I have the changes down, but not the travelling. That way if something is missing I can know where it originated from and where it needs to be. Someone handed me a glove and thank god it didn't need to be used anymore because I had NO CLUE where it needed to be. ugh. I know all the travelling patterns for the women's stuff but I hardly deal with the men at all.

I went on my first real outing in search of some live Blues. You would think in Memphis finding live Blues would be a cakewalk. Walking into B.B.King's I was surprised to hear live 70's disco music.
Umm. No.
The fried pickles were AWESOME though! (sure you scoff now, but you take a bite into one of those bad boys and you are hooked I tell ya HOOKED!)
Suzanne, (a buddy of mine on this tour who i met on the road when I was out with The Producers) and Tim (new friend in the cast) went searching for some decent music and found it in Dr Feelgood Potts Blues Band. They were exactly what a wanted. Just this wonderful visceral sexy music. Why would anyone come to memphis to hear club music? You can hear that crap anywhere. It was a lovely evening. Just what the doctor ordered. I never learned the name of the bar we were in, but it was just a little hole in the wall.

Friday i went to the National Civil Rights Museum. Very intense. The building encompasses the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assainated, as well as the boardinghouse that James Earl Ray fired the shot from. It covers the enslavement of people as far back as the 1500's. As someone who was born after the civil rights movement of the 60's, and only remembers the riots of the Rodney King verdict, it was full of so much information that my brain is just packed right now. I can't imagine what it was like being a young adult in the sixties. It just seems like such an intensely volatile, but incredibly hopeful time period. People took risks for what they believed in. I just don't see that happening in my generation. One of the most important things I learned was that any movement is fueled by the actions of individuals. Rosa Parks wasn't a group or organization, just a woman who wanted to sit on a bus. These are things I really need to remember. I think I am just as complacent as the next person. My head hurts. If you come to Memphis and you don't go, you are really missing out on something valuable.

I still have 2 shows and a load out to do but this is long enough and if anything really exciting happens, you know I will tell you...
So farewell Memphis. Until next time!
Next Stop - Atlanta!!

The extra pics:

Jaki didn't know Elvis was buried at Graceland. I think it threw her a lil bit.



Elvis' cell phone. LOL. That is hilarious. You know he would own a Razor or a Treo now.



This venue is one of those theaters that has the touring companies paint their logo on the wall and then everyone signs it. It is really very cool. You can go through the hallways looking for your friends. I actually found myself! Ten years ago I was on the road and this is the show. You can see my name right there. Dang. I was 27 when I signed that wall. What a kid I was!



This is my friend Suzanne. She just got Botox put in her forehead. Nut. She doesn't need it. She is trying to raise her eyebrows in this picture. giggles.