I say! I say! Did I hear you say Livermush?

Hard to conjure up Foghorn Leghorn here in text at 9 a.m., this is one of our very distinctive events and food traditions here in Shelby. Livermush. Come to town on October 23rd, at historic Court Square, and either sample a southern foodway that you've never heard of, or rekindle old memories if it is something you grew up with.





Livermush has been written about in Our State, Southern Living, and The Charlotte Observer. Heck, there have even been classic odes and haiku poetry written about livermush. It's been the subject of Andrew Zimmern's Bizzarre Food's series in an episode examinging the traditional foods of the Southern Appalachians.



There's plenty of festivities and music as well. Check out the Art of Sound Festival staged around Uptown Shelby by the Cleveland County Arts Festival October 21-23. Check www.ccartscouncil.org/artofsound for a full lineup and schedule of performances.

Lankmark In Uptown Shelby

Yesterday the City Council approved the landmarking of historic Mason Square in Uptown Shelby. The historic building was constructed as the Shelby Masonic Temple, between a formal groundbreaking in 1924 and its completion in 1925. It sits on a prominent corner of the historic Court Square at the intersection of East Warren and South Washington Streets.

It was Shelby's tallest building, at four stories, and has served as home to a number of commercial enterprises in addition to meeting the needs of the Masons for a meeting and assembly hall until 1984. It featured the first electric elevator in town.

Most notably, the building features Egyptian Revival architectural style, with a number of distinctive carvings on the building's surface, as well as columns flanking the Washington Street entrance.

Officially landmarked buildings have certain protections that are key to maintaining the character of an historic commercial or residential district such as Uptown Shelby. In fact the building is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was listed as a contributing structure in the Central Shelby District of the National Register of Historic Districts. The designations provide distinction and honor, but also carry requirement to ensure that the exterior remains stable and is not changed to remove the historic character.

There are two more local historic landmarks on Historic Court Square in Uptown: The Old Court House itself (which will be transformed into The Earl Scruggs Center: Songs & Story of the Carolina Piedmont in 2011), and the original City Hall & Fire Station at 5 East Marion Street. Uptown's other historic landmark building is the Old Shelby Suppy Building on North Lafayette Street, between First Baptist Church and Ascension Lutheran Church.

Next time you are walking around Uptown Shelby, take a few minutes to look up at the pretty unique carvings and columns. There are very few buildings in the United States with this type of detailing, and only one other in North Carolina. Celebrate the uniqueness of Mason Square and our historic buildings in Uptown Shelby.

A new milepost

Well, we've completed our organizaiton's summer series of free outdoor concerts and inexpensive movies for kids and families. I have popped one barge load of popcorn, even stressed the popper enough that we had to arrange for electrical repairs after last night. And now we seem to have finally gotten some weather that we can live with. Wow.

Juliette Lewis comes to town to rock the Don Gibson tomorrow night. That should cause a few graves to shift in Sunset Cemetery. I'm hoping that there's not an abrupt shut-off in fun at the end of the concert. As I said to one local leadership type the other day: We need some anarchy and spontaneity for a change. It's a healthy part of a good mix behind a successful community.

Month's end, another big round to go

Yes, we finally outlived July and the record breaking heat. Given the misery it caused, I think we all behaved fairly well and didn't let the stress break down our social skills . I am coming to realize that my seasonal affect disorder (SAD) may be at its worst in Dog Days. There are 11 more days left to wallow in the discomfort of the ancient astrological cycle. Hopefully the end of Dog Days will bring rain and moderate temperatures so we can get down to working on group projects without worrying that our colleagues are going to die on us.

Much to be done! Head 'em up, move em out!

Friday Afternoon

Don't worry, it's too hot for musings or thoughts! Just enough energy for reactions, I guess.

Yesterday the local thermometers were reading 99 and 100 mid-afternoon. We held our movie night at the Gibson and I know folks were happy that we no longer have these events later at night in an asphalt parking lot! Somewhere in the neighborhood of 125 + children and adults enjoyed the cool temps and the flick in the evening. 75 kids came to the morning matinee from day care centers around Shelby.

From the smiles or direct comments from parents, I know people appreciate the chance to get their children out for a cool evening of distraction at a low cost. I popped at least 15 of those packs of oil and popcorn as well. Wow.

Unless the heat breaks up I'm staying inside and working this weekend.

Now, where was I?

Wow, it's not that I haven't been doing much or even writing about it. Just not here.

It's hot as the blazes all over the region, so about the only good reason to go outside is to water things to keep them from perishing.

Things are bubbling along here in Uptown. The latest three new businesses to open are perking along. We're going to have to see some property rehabbed or redeveloped if much else is going to come on-board. But I do have faith that some will go through the fixing up stage soon.

Stay cool out there!

What a difference two days of mild weather and full sunlight can make!!

This is the first weekend where we haven't had a boatload of bad weather in ages, and the first time we haven't had a featured artist at the Don Gibson Theatre. But I just heard The Hot Club of Cowtown on WNCW and that portends great times when they come to play in our Uptown!

The week just past has been one for more mundane work. Everyone I've talked with has felt pretty much the same way about it. Nothing bad, but nothing really wild and fun either. Is this the "new normal" I keep hearing about? I doubt it.

Time to close up the shop and get ready for a couple of days with a different rhythmn and standard. Adios for now.

Winter! Be gone!

It's Monday, it's raining, and I'm glad of that. --It's not snowing at least! I moved back to my native soil to escape this type of weather born travesty and this is getting on my nerves in new and unexpected ways.

But even a nasty snow, with slow to blocked traffic on the highways from all directions did not do any more than delay the Shemekia Copeland concert on Friday evening. She put on one of the best concerts I've ever experienced, and that's a whole lot of concerts if you don't know me. Best of all, the smaller crowd who were braving the weather were in a rowdy and fun mood.

I've been hearing her recordings on radio for quite a while, but she's such a powerful performer with the perfectly timed movement of her arm or a quick step forward, communicating even more than the most amazing voice I've heard in years! This was her first tour date in a few months as she'd taken off time for her wedding. She was clearly ready to get back into performing and I think she's an artist who feeds off spirited audiences.

Most of Shelby missed one heck of an opportunity to hear greatness in abundance when they stayed inside with this latest snow storm. But if you ever get a chance to hear this lady, no matter the cost, no matter how far you must drive in awful weather, get yourself to the concert and be ready to float out of the place revived.

She even did a song she wrote to honor the memory of her Grandmother Jesse back in the Wilson, NC area, that was a miniature Holy Ghost revival with a full-sized effect, called Testify! It was as if Saturday Night and Sunday Morning had merged and risen above thi old world in one mighty song. And then she went on to bring the house to our feet, dancing and swaying around. As I've heard some singers and observers note before, when we talk about the Blues, we aren't just talking about songs that dwell on tough times and hard emotions. The Blues, when in the heart and voices of the best, will take us through the low spots and the high, helping us understand how to get over. Testify! And snow be gone!

What A Milestone!

The long weekend for the Martin Luther King Birthdy holiday was a blast. An old buddy came through to visit and that always helps me see things a little differently, especially since I tend to be some sort of renegade Chamber of Commerce tour guide. But I do find that most of the family and friends who I have introduced to Shelby have all found it visually appealing while not overlooking our imperfections.

And this was also the weekend of the Marianne Faithful concert at the Don Gibson. When David Jenkins had first told me that he would love to book her, I think I began to pant or beg about like my Golden Retriever. I don't think either of us dared confess that we hoped he could pull it off. But by golly it happened and one of my artistic heroes from years ago was on the stage, in my own neighborhood, singing "Say It In Broken English" and making the whole place pulsate with energy.

I felt like I was so privileged to see her perform any place, and certainly only one block from my own living room! Some of the first songs were new, by current artists in the early years of their own careers. One was an old Cole Porter standard older than us all--Mrs. Otis Regrets. Marianne's performance of that was so straight on wonderful that I hope she adds it to her repertoire. There was a throbbing bass drum beat that had the passion or un-passion of a burlesque routine, all the way through the song while Marianne crooned in her own unique range. It was bawdy, rowdy, poignant, and witty at the same time. It was even better than Ella Fitzgerald's own recording of the classic.

I was about to express my disbelief that she was going to finish the show without THAT song. But it was the last number in the long set, and she set the stage for it by announcing that it was "my filthy dirty song, --but the band loves it and I think it's fun." Well, George Carlin's 7 words you can't say on TV seems so tame by comparison to "Why'd ya do it?" It was enough to bring nearly 400 people to their feet for five to ten minutes of standing ovation. I think she was even a little touched by how much the audience appreciated the chance to hear and see her live.

After a few minutes of all that she came back onstage with the band, bowed and announced that she would end with a Merle Haggard song, Sing Me Back Home. From Tears Go By to Mrs. Otis Regrets, a wicked Sister Morphine and Broken English to the raw anger and sensuality of Why'd ya do it, to a sweet country ballad you might hear sun around a campfire. Wow, no wonder we were floating on air!

I'd been hearing her songs on radio in Boston years ago, not even knowing that she lived in the area at the time. Only the daring young DJs in a college town with over a quarter of a million students could expect to get away with some of those songs on air. But there were the great renditions she had done of the Brecht & Weill songs from the 40's and 50's, all gritty but packed with emotion that threatened to turn rancid or flow like blood.

We even used to catch fleeting glimpses of Marianne Faithful in places like Harvard Square or Back Bay, just like catching Julia Child at the butcher or wine shop, or Robert Parker drinking and telling stories at The Harvest. Being able to participate in this concert was a connection with the old sounds and energies of my own past, but it was so much more!

It was a hot night in a cold town!

The Allison Brown Quartet concert on Saturday evening was out of this world. With the addition of guest artist Joe Craven in the mix the music was wide ranging in style, subtle and calming at times, but more likely to make a fellow want to jump up and dance for joy.

Five string banjo and fiddle figured greatly, along with references to Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Allison Krause. It was pure Appalachian soul one minute and wild improvisation the next. The grand piano was put to excellent use for driving rhythm as well as an incredible solo performance. And percussion was heavy for the drummer as well as the improvised antics of Joe Craven.

And plenty of people were ready to get out of the house even with the nasty cold weather. It was such a treat to walk a block and enjoy world-class music with extremely talented artists providing the show! Man I love this town!

Shivering, While Sliding and Slamming around Shelby!

Winter wonderland? No way! Winter horror. Cruel fate reared her ugly mug yesterday when I saw that temperatures were actually higher in New England. I moved back to North Carolina 16 years ago when I'd endured one to many winters in the northland.

I've never been much of a winter wimp, but this is testing the limits for me. Really, I've often said that one of the things I like about NC is that we have a real winter, but that it is blessedly brief in duration. Right now I'm not even inclined to take up my relatives' invitation to visit them at the coast of southeastern Georgia. I'm sure they are running around trying to cover citrus trees and checking on the neighbors.

But right now we are mostly rid of the snow and ice that fell before Christmas. We can get along with work and continue with efforts to make some big progress. Businesses are continuing to come into Uptown Shelby and we have had a net gain in the number of businesses operating here over the past 18 months.

One of the great joys I received for Christmas this year was the confirmation of a new business opening coming up in February for something near and dear to my heart. Coffee!!! I've talked with numerous folks about trying to get a coffee shop in Uptown, but nothing clicked until the folks behind Indigo Book Boutique and Coffee Bar entered the scenario. Yes Wade, there is a Santa Claus!

Stay warm and keep the faith y'all.