With the arrival of March and Ole Miss Rebel baseball, the critics start asking questions early and often. Will there be anyone who can replace Logan Power in left field? Who can step up and fill the spot at second base left by Evan Button? Can anyone step up on the pitching staff and provide the help the Rebels need?

So far this season, the critics have been silenced thanks in part to three freshmen, Tanner Mathis, Alex Yarbrough, and Brett Huber.

With the Rebels off to a hot start of 6-1 so far on this year’s campaign, these three young men have been key cogs to the Rebels’ success so far.

The void left in the outfield by Logan Power was a sore in the side of all Rebel fans until Mathis stepped onto the field this year.

The young man out of Louisiana leads the Rebels in batting average so far this season with an eye-popping .500. Mathis has also earned his stripes in the outfield as well with an .857 fielding percentage and only one error.

Last year, Evan Button came on as quite a surprise to Rebel fans and was a staple in the infield all season long. With the 2010 season on the horizon and Major League Baseball’s draft snatching Button away, the Rebels did not know who to turn to. This is where Alex Yarbrough stepped in.

As a true freshman, Yarbrough has started four out of the six games he has appeared in and has not made a single error yet. Along with his slick fielding, Yarbrough has shown promise with the stick as well belting in six RBIs, scored four runs and notched a triple under his belt.

With the loss of Scott Bittle, Nathan Baker, Phillip Irwin, and Brett Bukvich, the biggest concern coming into this year for the Rebels was the pitching staff. Brett Huber has answered the call for Head Coach Mike Bianco.

Although the season is still young, the right-handed pitcher has shown electric stuff on the mound and incredible potential for the rest of his Rebel career. In three appearances this season, Huber has pitched 4 2/3 innings and has an astounding 10/0 strikeout to walk ratio. With his fastball touching the low to mid 90s and his powerful slider hitting the mid 80s, Huber looks to follow suit with the past Rebel greats on the mound.

Despite the season being young and most critics saying the Rebels have yet to be tested, these three freshmen have silenced many of their early critics.

Now that you know a little about each of these impressive student-athletes on the field, here is something that you may not have ever known about them off the field…

#38 Brett Huber
Redshirt Freshman
6’2” 212
Belleville, Illinois (Althoff Catholic High School)
Right-Handed Pitcher
Bats - Right
Throws - Right

What are you looking forward to most this season?
Our goal as a team is to reach 40 wins and host a regional and super regional.

What is your favorite sport to watch other than baseball?
Without a doubt it is hockey.

Who is your favorite sports team?
I’m a big St. Louis Cardinals fan. I really like Adam Wainwright.

What music do you listen to in the locker room?
The favorites are usually Lil Wayne or 50 Cent. Recently the team favorite song is “Tuck Ya Ice” by Trick Daddy and Birdman.

What is your favorite “Coach Biancoism”?
Whenever he says, “I like that.” It always gets me fired up.



#2 Alex Yarbrough
Freshman
5’11” 166
Allen, Texas (Allen High School)
Infielder
Bats - Switch
Throws - Right

What is your favorite pre-game meal?
I definitely enjoy a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich.

What are your plans after you finish your baseball career?
I plan to major in marketing or journalism.

Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?
We have baseball socks that have the Russell Athletic logo on only one of the socks. I always put the sock with the logo on it on my left foot. Also, I always got to have plenty of Bubble Tape gum.

What have you been listening to lately on your iPod?
I have been listening to John Mayer’s new album Battle Studies. My favorite song is “Perfectly Lonely.”

What is your favorite “Coach Biancoism”?
I always like it when he gathers the team and he starts off the speech with “Gentlemen…”



#12 Tanner Mathis
Freshman
5’11” 174
Lake Charles, Lousiana
(Alfred M. Barbe High School)
Outfielder
Bats - Left
Throws - Left

What is your favorite restaurant in Oxford?
I love some Downtown Grill.

Who is your favorite athlete?
Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals is the man.

Do you have any snacks you munch on before a game?
I usually eat a Clif protein bar or a Snickers.

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?
Lately, I have been jamming the “No Ceilings” mix tape by Lil Wayne. The Website hotnewhiphop.com is where I get all my music.

What is your favorite “Coach Biancoism”?
One of my favorites is when he tells us to “find a way to figure it out.”

At approximately 9:30 tonight (March 6, 2010) the old building that once housed The Gin in Oxford, Mississippi was the site of a large fire. More details as they become available... til then, here are a few photos shot by people at the scene:

If you have photos you would like to share, please email them to The Local Voice:

••<o>::AFFLATUS::<o>••
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 5-7, 2010


What a great surprise it was last night with Machine Gun Kelley and her G Men opening for Blue Mountain at Proud Larrys! What wasn't a surprise was that band --Jesse Pinion, Ben Yarbrough, Tim Burkhead and Kelley Norris-- has consistently gotten better and better and musicianship has reached a tight and high level. Many of us are looking forward to their next headlining gig.
http://www.myspace.com/kelleynorrismusic


Tate Moore and Dave Woolworth of Tate Moore and the Cosmic Door play happy hour tonight at Parrishs:
http://www.myspace.com/tatemoore

The release party for the new edition of Kitty Snacks is at the Power House tonight and Mr. Dent May plays Ajax Diner at the after party.
http://www.myspace.com/dentmay

Unwed Teenage Mothers and the Barreracudas play Proud Larrys
http://www.myspace.com/theunwedteenagemothers
http://www.myspace.com/barreracudas

The Super Mash Brothers play the Lyric Theater tonight!
http://www.myspace.com/sprmshbros

One Mile South is at Illusions;
http://www.myspace.com/onemilesouth


Good Paper is playing at Taylor's Pub:
http://www.myspace.com/goodpaperband

The Cakewalkers are at Roosters.

Zeebo is at Irie. There are two bands that have myspace sites named zeebo. One is in New York and the other is in London and neither is the one playing Oxford tonight.
http://www.myspace.com/zeeboisgood
http://www.myspace.com/zeebouk

Cadillac Funk plays Two Stick.

Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition unveil Mosquitoville in Sardis tonight.
http://www.myspace.com/jimbomathus

Your Ole Miss Lady Rebel tennis team plays Vanderbilt on campus today:
http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewAr...TCLID=204900141

The Oxford Conference for the Book continues:
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03


Part of the Heard: A full-length film written by UM graduates Alex Mauney and Whitney Merritt starts today on campus
Acted by students in the Department of Theatre Arts.
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/theatr...2010/heard.html


SATURDAY
Ingram Hill plays Proud Larrys.
http://www.myspace.com/ingramhill


It will be a great one upstairs at Roosters as Big Jack Johnson and the Cornlickers will show up and show how it's done.
http://www.bigjackjohnson.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bigjackjohnsonofficial
"Daddy When Is Mama Coming Home"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQr9fbQadLk
"Too Many Drivers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VYCSvAeBKk
"Catfish Blues"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXi...rom=PL&index=38


Star and Micey play Parrishs:
http://www.myspace.com/starandmiceymusic

Journey Into The House on Fire is at Irie.

Jitin Chatlan & Lee Taylor play the Maker's Market at the Lyric Theater 10am-5pm

The Dave Matthews Tribute Band plays the Library (yes, that's really their name)
http://www.myspace.com/thedmtb

One Mile South is at Taylor's Pub
http://www.myspace.com/onemilesouth

Part of the Heard: A full-length film written by UM graduates Alex Mauney and Whitney Merritt starts today on campus
Acted by students in the Department of Theatre Arts.
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/theatr...2010/heard.html

The Oxford Conference for the Book continues:
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03


The Thacker Mountain Radio Show re-broadcast on Mississippi public radio is at 7 (WMVA 90.3).


Scott Baretta's Highway 61 blues show is broadcast tonight on Mississippi public radio at 10.
http://www.highway61radio.com/


SUNDAY
It's my birthday and I want you all to come to the party.
Here is karma:
Last year, March 7 was a Saturday and Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State coalition were playing Roosters, so I had perfect plans for celebrating my birthday. BUT, Alice Walker abused me all day and then dropped me off at home around dark, saying to call her later and we would go to the Jimbo show. I walked in, sat down and fell asleep. Screwed myself out of a great birthday with a great band.
But! as karma would have it, Jimbo and them are playing on my birthday again this year, this time out at Taylor Grocery, and by God, this time I'm not falling asleep.
After the Jimbo show, we're all headed north to Holly Springs to Garry Burnside's new juke joint, the Hut. I just talked to him and he said he would make sure I did not fall asleep.

Recently, the Ole Miss Rebel student body voted to have a voice in choosing a new on-field mascot to eventually fill the void left by Colonel Reb seven years ago. Yea. That’s what the vote was about. Anything else you hear is either the product of someone misleading you or someone having been misled.

Also, poor reading comprehension can be blamed, but to a more limited extent I would hope.

The intent of the administration to proceed with plans for a new mascot without this vote is certainly up for discussion, but that’s not what this RCR via TLV column is about. Nor is it directly about Colonel Reb, the Old South, symbolism, racism, or any of those incredibly hot-button issues du jour.

What it is about, is stupidity.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll take some time to explain this whole Admiral Ackbar for Ole Miss mascot campaign you’ve likely heard about or seen. Just before the vote, four students took it upon themselves to start a movement without actually intending for the movement to actually mean anything or spread like an STD. These students were simply discussing the mascot snafu over lunch one fine February day and, perhaps with the help of friends named Jack or Johnny, came to the conclusion that they should start a campaign for the awkward yet lovable anthropomorphic squid/frog Admiral Ackbar of George Lucas’ famous Rebel Alliance to lead our Ole Miss sports teams.

These students never knew that this idea would catch on like it did. They never anticipated having over two thousand Facebook friends for a fictional character or being featured on TMZ, ESPN, CNN, Access Hollywood, The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, or having Damon Lindelof, a co-creator of the hit TV show Lost tweet to them about what a great job they were doing.

Yes, the event turned viral in a huge way which, while unexpected, really is a good thing. It gave the students who were not a part of the Colonel Reb foundation something to rally behind. It gave those who are jaded by the whole mascot discussion a place to mock the whole situation at large. And, best of all, this campaign was deflecting the attention that a vote about a mascot considered by some to be a symbol of racism would normally bring at the University of Mississippi. The entire story as told by the national media was about this satirical mascot replacement suggestion. The students behind this were painted as witty and progressive, even if they were digging up a four-year-old internet meme. Of course, plenty of media folks missed the point and not all talking heads thought it clever, but for the first time in a long time, Ole Miss was not blatantly being besmirched by the mainstream media hordes.

But the movement also angered a strange group of Ole Miss fans. I think we all know the people about whom I’m talking. This particular cluster is comprised of Ole Miss fans who place a great bit of stock in what the person roaming the sidelines in a foam suit depicts. They were enraged and ready to vehemently attack Admiral Ackbar’s legitimacy as a candidate for mascot. They threatened to no longer support Ole Miss sports teams, the UMAA, or our administration were Colonel Reb to eventually be replaced by a fictional admiral of a fictional race leading a fictional rebel starfleet in a fictional war against a fictional empire. I have even been told by one of the creators of the Ackbar campaign that the group received an e-mail from one particular mother who said that she would “NEVER LET [her] DAUGHTER GO TO OLE MISS IF THERE’S A DAMN ALIEN AS A MASCOT!”
Marinate in that for a little while. This woman would let the character on the sidelines of our football games determine whether or not her daughter would attend the university. The scary part is that she’s not alone. And while these threats are, unfortunately, likely quite empty, they are indicative of the sadly sobering fact that so many Ole Miss students, alumni, and fans take absolutely trivial matters far too seriously.

Here’s the funniest part of this whole whirlwind of wackiness: Admiral Ackbar is not a candidate for mascot. The ASB and administration have both issued statements laughing this off for what it is, an amusing thought to poke fun at the seriousness some people have attached to this decision. In a very roundabout way, the Ackbar campaign’s attempt to lampoon the absurd gravity of this entire debate has worked by giving those who place far too much value in something which does not affect the successes of our university the opportunity to expose themselves.

Folks, it’s a mascot. It’s not important. Let’s save the resources we’ve wasted on mascot-related endeavors and use them to enhance the quality of our educations, contribute to our Oxonian community, and cheer on our Rebel sports teams to victory regardless of whatever goofy symbol we choose to represent them. Please?

Read more RCR at www.redcuprebellion.com

Name: Johnny Valiant

Position & Restaurant: All Around All-Star at Ajax Diner

Hometown: Amory, Miss. I suggest you never go there.

Early cooking: Sugar cheese toast in the microwave. Soggy goodness! Gross, I know, but I was five!

What kitchen tool/utensil could you not live without? Toaster oven.

What is the best thing about your job? It’s a toss-up between fun atmosphere and $1 employee beers. Yum!

What is your favorite flavor combo? Spicy & greasy. You can substitute either with “cheesy.”

Three items in your fridge: Beer, cake, more beer.

Where do you get your best recipe ideas? Weird Al Yankovic songs.

What is the best meal you’ve ever eaten? My mom’s homemade fried chicken paired with a “country boy’s” cheeseburger.

Personal specialties: Chef Boy-ar-dee box pizza. I don’t follow the instructions.

Favorite Midnight snack: Tropical fish topped with smegma.

Favorite Kitchen Music: Hall & Oates, Iron Maiden, Echo & The Bunnymen, Slayer, etc. Ramones anytime.

Who would you most like to cook for and what would you prepare? Jon-Mikl-Thor. I’d cook whatever he demanded.

What herbs do you grow in your own garden? Ragweed. Lots and lots of ragweed.

Where do you like to dine in Oxford? Pizza Den, Blind Pig, Handy Andy. I really miss the Longshot burger.

Favorite restaurant in the world: Country Boy’s Hamburgers in Amory, Miss. If you get it “to go,” you can actually see the food through the bag. Ahh, grease!

Aspirations: To open a pizza-in-a-cup stand on the Square.

Fried catfish: eat the tail or not? I’m more of a gill man myself.

Big Smith is a band from Springfield, Missouri, composed of five cousins, including two sets of brothers: Mark and Jody Bilyeu, Bill and Rik Thomas, and Jay Williamson. The newest member, fiddle player Molly Healey, brings the total to six creative individuals bound together by blood and harmony.

After coming together professionally in the fall of 1996, they quickly earned a devoted following playing raucous acoustic music that captured the spirit of their native Ozarks, equipped only with an acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass fiddle, and washboard. These early gigs demonstrated to unsuspecting audiences what joy and liberation could be found in the raw mojo of indigenous, authentic Ozarks culture; albeit a culture interpreted through the eyes of modern, intellectually astute neo-hillbillies, if you will.

The thirteen plus years they’ve been together have borne witness to an evolving instrumentation and sonic palate. The original acoustic lineup is still there as a tether to their legacy, but anymore it seems Big Smith simply aspires to be a great American band, regardless of whether the guitars are solid and amplified or woody and earthen.

In 2007 music became the full-time profession for Big Smith, as their expanded touring schedule attests—2008 saw them playing upwards of 110 shows. They are still adored in their native Ozarks, but years of travel have earned them a place as a Midwest institution. They have made their mark outside their region with several forays to Chicago, Nashville, Austin, and Colorado; several tours to the West Coast including two in 2007; and along the length of the Mississippi from the Twin Cities to New Orleans. They have recently enjoyed high-profile opening gigs for the likes of Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, The Avett Brothers and the Del McCoury band. Summer of 2008 found them traveling to Europe for the 21st Annual Country Rendez-Vous Festival in Crappone, France.

The documentary Homemade Hillbilly Jam, profiling the band and the music of their extended family, has garnered rave reviews and a legion of new fans through numerous screenings at film festivals around the world. Much anticipated is the release of the DVD in Europe and the U.S.A with distribution from First Run Features.

Was there ever a golden age in Oxford? Could there have been? You hear rumblings of this sort of thing sometimes around the town now, when people talk of the mushrooming condos and the boutiques on The Square and the fortunes, literally, of the university and the town. People speak in reverent tones of a time when Oxford was sleepy and restrained and everyone knew each other and the cliques weren’t defined by money and property or the lack thereof. The Hoka reigned supreme through the late nights as the restaurant and movie theatre of choice and there was one only bookstore on the Square and about five bars and Billy Brewer was the football coach and everyone went to the games because you could get in free if you sat in one of the end zones. Houses were cheap, rent was cheaper, and you could park on The Square anytime you wanted to as long as you wanted to and not get a ticket.

Yes, there was a time like that, and Barry Hannah was right in the thick of it. The first time I ran across his work was in my hometown public library. It was in the Esquire Summer Fiction Issue, probably from 1987 or 1988, and there he was alongside Don Delillo and Richard Ford. All of them had excerpts from their new works published in that issue, and all had stark black and white photos and all looked quite serious and in the middle of something particularly great. I first met Barry when I moved into a green tin shack on Van Buren Avenue right off the Square with broken sheetrock walls, a front door that couldn’t lock, and one sputtering air conditioner to cool four rooms. He lived three doors up towards the Square, in a light green shotgun house on top of a massive hill. I was dumbfounded for a few weeks that here I was living almost next door to a guy I had seen in a national magazine, that was a published writer, of several books.

He had the same birthday—April 23—as William Shakespeare! I would sometimes be walking back from The Square and see him inch his white convertible car down the steep sloping driveway and head off. Sometimes in the mornings I could hear him bleat out a few bars on a trumpet again and again. Then in the early evenings the clatter of a typewriter provided a bookend to the day.

But in the afternoons he wanted to do something. One day he summoned me to go with him to Ireland’s (now Frank and Marlee’s Piano Bar) and shoot some games of pool. We walked down the hill and up to Ireland’s and in and made our way to the table in the basement and he dropped some quarters in the jukebox and led off with “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf. With stick in hand he juked around the table, taking his time, making a production out of every shot, shuffling a little to the beat of that anthem from the late 1960s. I don’t remember either one of us making many shots, but we had a great time trying.

He lived next door at the time to a group of musicians called The Hilltops whose members later morphed into parts of the groups Blue Mountain and Wilco. They set up a badminton net in their side yard and in the summer afternoons we would play badminton. A huge oak tree served as one of the side boundaries. The house served as the other, although if you could bounce the birdie off the house, sort of ricochet it off the wood planks onto the other side of the net, it was still in play. He regarded badminton as a graceful game, much less work than tennis and certainly less macabre and threatening than racquetball. Those were some fun afternoons. At the time he was in the middle of writing what I still believe is one of his best books, Boomerang, a nonfiction journal of sorts that received very little attention when it was published. In that book his true nature, his love for his parents and his childhood and his friends and his state, sans fireworks, really shows through. After another book, the novel Never Die, he came to the end of his drinking period, and then he published Bats Out Of Hell, his classic short story collection (the other classic collection of Hannah stories is Airships), and his reputation as an elder of American letters began to cement.

Through this period and this relationship I became a sort of Hannahphile, quietly collecting his books in hardback and paperback and asking him to sign them, reading Airships and Ray and The Tennis Handsome again and again. I veered off from the usual stuff and into the realm of author nuts and started finding Esquire magazines where he had originally published stories in the 1970s, books of criticism about Southern writers that mentioned him, a poem he wrote on the 125th Anniversary of the founding of Oxford, and even a program for a Rotary luncheon where he must have been convinced at gunpoint to talk a little about his work. He signed them all for me without flinching, although once when I did give him a book of criticism with the dubious word ‘postmodernist’ somewhere in the title, he was taken back a little. “But Jim, I didn’t write this,” he said, looking at the thin book with suspicion. “But you’re one of the subjects, Barry,” I said, and quickly thumbed to a certain part and held it out to him. “This chapter is all about you,” I said. He looked at me and half smiled. “Maybe,” he said, and chuckled, and signed it anyway.

I think that Barry Hannah will be remembered, if the critics are honest, as one of the funniest American writers ever, on an even par with Mark Twain and James Thurber. I think he’ll be remembered for his absolute mastery of the way that language can stir emotion and power besides his wit, the way he could turn a sentence or a paragraph inside out and make it reveal much more than it could in the hands of another writer. And I know he’ll be remembered for the way that he helped thousands of younger people over the years believe that what they had to say could be important to a wider audience besides themselves. No one ever went away from a Hannah reading, workshop, or class, feeling cheated. If he could be like Tom Sawyer and attend his own funeral, I think he would be amazed at the contingent of people who will travel to it from all over this country and probably the world to pay their respects. He was that important. His work will be that important as long as people care about literature and its singular power to move people and change the ways they look at the world. He would never tolerate such a description, of course, because he was thankful always for everything in his life, even the hard parts, and didn’t consider writing anything but a pure joy, a gift. But that’s his legacy. That’s what he leaves us, along with a collection of published work unlike any other author in American letters.

Jimmy Pitts is an artist, writer, musician, and Hannahphile living in Oxford, Mississippi.

••<o>::AFFLATUS::<o>••
Thursday, March 4, 2010


That li'l ol' band from Oxford plays twice tonight in Oxford.
Blue Mountain is the guest on Thacker Mountain Radio along with guitarist Barry "Po" Hannah and they will rock Proud Larrys later on tonight. Steve Amsterdam is the scheduled writer for the show tonight, which takes place this week on campus in Paris-Yates chapel instead of Off-Square books on the Square. 6 in the pm, Rebel Radio WUMS 92.1
Full press release at the end of this E-mail.
http://www.thackermountain.com/index.php
http://www.proudlarrys.com/
Blue Mountain:
http://www.myspace.com/bluemountainlauriecary


The new edition of the Local Voice has an excellent Jimmy Pitts piece on Barry.
http://www.thelocalvoice.net/


The work of Oxford artist Lou Haney has been on display in University Museums for a month or so. It is one of the best we've seen in some time, with a more mature Peter Max feel. The show draws to a close Saturday and Haney will give a brown bag lecture on her work today at noon in the speaker's gallery of the museum.
http://louhaney.blogspot.com/


STS9 plays the Lyric tonight with Big Gigantic
http://sts9.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sts9
http://www.myspace.com/biggigantic


Big Smith rolls back into town for a big show at Two Stick
http://www.myspace.com/bigsmithband


Jay Lang and the Ringers play Roosters
http://www.myspace.com/3ldblues


Hoarsebox plays an acoustic happy hour set at Parrishs:
http://www.myspace.com/hoarsebox


Good Paper is playing at Taylor's Pub:
http://www.myspace.com/goodpaperband


Evidently, "I don't know, call back later" is playing the Varsity Grill.


Duelling pianos is at Frank and Marlee's



LaffCo is at the Power House tonight
http://www.myspace.com/laffco



Part of the Heard: A full-length film written by UM graduates Alex Mauney and Whitney Merritt starts today on campus
Acted by students in the Department of Theatre Arts.
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/theatr...2010/heard.html



Ole Miss is scheduled to beat L.S.U. once again tonight in basketball on campus. Television: ESPN. Radio in Oxford: WORD 93.7.
http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewAr...TCLID=204899492


Thacker Mountain Radio to air from Paris Yates Chapel in honor of Barry Hannah. Former neighbors Blue Mountain to headline show.

Thacker Mountain Radio will broadcast from the Paris-Yates Chapel on the Ole Miss campus at 6PM this Thursday in honor of author Barry Hannah, who passed away on Monday. Barry’s death comes just days before his life and work was to be celebrated at this weekend’s Oxford Conference for the Book. In tribute, we’ll be joined by friends and family of Barry to remember Oxford’s loss, as well as that of the literary world.

Our author is a first time novelist, with a Hannah-like view of the absurd. Steve Amsterdam is a native New Yorker who moved to Melbourne, Australia five years ago. His debut book isThings We Didn’t See Coming (Pantheon), a novel that reads like a collection of interrelated short stories. The book begins on New Year’s Eve 1999 amid the Y2K fears. Throughout its nine stories, it tracks its unnamed narrator from age 9 to 40 during his travels through an unspecified country that has been ravaged by plague, drought, fires, floods, quarantines and wars. Amsterdam invents horses that ride on water, downpours that last for months, and he throws in a fair amount of sex, drugs and guns. One reviewer wrote: “This is the Wild West without cowboy hats, science fiction without the science, some kind of radical and daring offspring of Cormac McCarthy and Philip K. Dick.” (steveamsterdam.com)

Blue Mountain is an alt-country/roots rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford by then-husband and wife duo Cary Hudson (guitar and vocals) and Laurie Stirratt (bass and harmony vocals). The band toured across the U.S. and Europe and released six CDs before disbanding in 2001. In 2007, the group began touring and recording again and has since released two CDs,Ominbus, new recordings of some of their classic songs, and Midnight in Mississippi, a CD of all new material produced by Stuart Sykes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Loretta Lynn). Early in their career they were next door neighbors of Barry Hannah in Oxford where he sometimes joined them, trumpet in hand, for impromptu jams. (myspace.com/bluemountainlauriecary)

Also scheduled to perform (though tentative at press time) is Barry “Po” Hannah. He is a guitarist, formerly of Oxford, now living in Knoxville. While in Oxford “Po” played with many bands in town, including blues combo, The Relaxations, and Beanland. Now a teacher and performer (and father of two) he plays with a variety of groups in the Knoxville area most notably, Brendon James Wright and the Wrongs. He is the son of Barry Hannah and the thoughts and prayers of the entire Thacker Mountain family are with him, Susan, and all the Hannahs.

Join host Jim Dees and the Thacker Mountain house band, the Yalobushwhackers, at the Paris-Yates Chapel at Ole Miss this Thursday, March 4 at 6PM for this very special show. If you can’t make it in person, tune in to Rebel Radio, 92.1FM in Oxford. Don’t forget our rebroadcast every Saturday night at 7PM on Mississippi Public Broadcasting immediately following A Prairie Home Companion.


---
DONATE TO THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO!
Thacker Mountain Radio
www.ThackerMountain.com
Broadcast live on Thursdays,
6PM on Rebel Radio 92.1 FM

••<o>::AFFLATUS::<o>••
Wednesday, March 3, 2010


Tune in to Mississippi public radio this morning (probably around 8:50) to hear a great interview with local musician extroidinaire Jimbo Mathus. The local bandleader has developed a Southern musical virtual-diorama called Mosquitoville that opens this week. It will be a nice interview of realness.
WMVA 90.3 in Oxford



Lance Ingram, writing today in The Daily Mississippian, has a good article on Jimbo that can be found in the print edition and here:
http://www.thedmonline.com/content/just-good-ole-boy



Jimbo and his band, the Tri-State Coalition, play tonight at Proud Larrys, with a free acoustic show during happy hour and then the full-on band pleasure at night.
http://www.myspace.com/jimbomathus



Also today in The Daily Mississippian is a nice Q&A with our ol' buddy Cynthia Gerlach of Bottletree Bakery:
http://www.thedmonline.com/content/...cynthia-gerlach



Tonight at Snackbar is Chris Steiner and Patrick McClary.
Check out those bad boys right here on Music In The Hall:
http://musicinthehall.wordpress.com/artists/patrick-mcclary/



Mat Gilmar and Jay Patrick Marlar play Irie:
http://www.myspace.com/jaypatrickmarlar



Wednesday night at Roosters will be red hot as guitar master Kirk Smithart plays like only he can. His usual gig is as part of the Hill Country Revue, but this show is a special one for the Oxford audience.
http://www.hillcountryrevue.com/
http://www.myspace.com/hillcountryrevue
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113766941
Kirk Smithart of Hill Country Revue playing a 61 South "Convertible"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF6cnD-A95g



Square Books presents Michael Lloyd Young at Off-Square Books on the Square from 5-6:30.
Young has produced a book about three of my favorite things: Blues, Booze and Barbecue.
Here is a nice slideshow on his effort:
http://www.michaelloydyoung.com/ind...%2C%20%26%20BBQ
http://www.squarebooks.com/


Part of the Heard: A full-length film written by UM graduates Alex Mauney and Whitney Merritt starts today on campus
Acted by students in the Department of Theatre Arts.
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/theatr...2010/heard.html


Your Ole Miss Rebels whipped that Memphis State butt in baseball last night and plays that school up north again today on campus in men's tennis:
http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewAr...TCLID=204898649


Your Ole Miss Lady Rebels softball team plays Central Arkansas on campus today:
http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewAr...TCLID=204899552


On campus tonight: Tao, the Martial art of Drumming:
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03


Religious Studies Forum/Book Discussion tonight: 'Hidden Children of the Holocaust':
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03


Ricky Burkhead conducts a percussion clinic this afternoon on campus. Information: 915-5665

City of Oxford, Mississippi Board of Alderman Agenda
March 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm

1. Call to order.

2. Adopt the agenda for the meeting.

3. Mayor’s Report.

4. Authorize approval of minutes of the regular meeting on February 16, 2010.

5. Authorize approval of accounts for all city departments.

6. Appoint member to Tree board.

7. Appoint member to School Board.

8. Appoint member on Economic Development Foundation.

9. Authorize adoption of resolution for the reissue of $3,400,000 Electric Department Revenue Bonds.

10. Discuss opportunity for job training for young adults. (Norie Cotton)

11. Discuss the National League of Cities Prescription Discount Card Program. (Alderman Antonow)

12. Accept bids for Belk-Highpoint-Woodlawn Sewer upgrade. (Bart Robinson)

13. Request approval for TVA Loan renewal in the amount of $2,500,000 and authorize Mayor Patterson to sign loan documents. (Lynn Robbins)

14. Consideration of regulation of dogs at Double Decker festival after 2:00 p.m. for health and safety reasons. (Mary-Kathryn Millner)

15. Re-appoint Jimmy Allgood as the City of Oxford representative to the Three Rivers PDD Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Steering Committee. (Jimmy Allgood)

16. Request permission for two firefighters to attend the Mississippi Fire Investigators Spring Seminar on April 7-9, 2010 with a cost of $506.00. (Mike Hill)

17. Request approval for two officers to attend Baton Instructor Class at MLEOTA March 30-31, 2010 with a cost of $260.00. (Mike Martin)

18. Request approval for travel for one officer to attend FBI Negotiation School at MLEOTA March 8-12, 2010 with a cost of $150.00. (Mike Martin)

19. Request approval for one officer to attend Survival Stress Course in Pearl River, LA on March 29, 2010 at a cost of $310.00. (Mike Martin)

20. Consider approval of Roy Alexander and Vincent Rockett for taxi driver permit for Hotty Toddy Taxi. (Mike Martin)

21. Consider approval of Homer Dowdy, Curtis Thompson II, and William McKinley for taxi driver permits for Rock Star Taxi. (Mike Martin

22. Authorize promotion in Oxford Electric Department. (Al Hope)

23. Consider executive session.

••<o>::AFFLATUS::<o>••
Monday, March 2, 2010



R.I.P. Barry Hannah, a great dog lover.



Frank Coutch, drummer for Blue Mountain for many miles and years, will join Cary and Laurie again on stage and behind his drum kit tonight at Proud Larrys. This special appearance by Blue Mountain caps the 2nd Oxford Appreciation show for the WHO. You also don't want to miss Austin and the Moonies in their final performance and The Cooters doing "See Me Feel Me" is worth the five bucks of admission alone.
http://www.oxfordland.net/who/



Up in New York City tonight, they're copying us at Carnegie Hall with a presentation of "The Music Of The WHO".
Performers include Warren Haynes with Gov't Mule, Bobby McFerrin, Living Colour, Frank Black and many more.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2...e-hall-benefit/
Of the two WHO shows tonight, the Oxford show will be better. Just wait until you hear Austin and the Moonies.


Tonight at Roosters is open mic night.



Troubadour Lounge tonight at the Power House:
http://www.oxfordarts.com/frontpageblog/53-troubadour-lounge



Your Ole Miss Rebels play Memphis State tonight on campus at 6:30 in baseball.
http://www.olemisssports.com/SportS...748&SPSID=13045



Here is the story that was on National Public Radio this morning about Ole Miss searching for a new mascot:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124227805




Your governor, Haley Barbour, is holding a open-to-the-public press conference on campus today at 2:30pm.
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03



Shirley Jones is performing on campus tonight in the Gert.
http://events.olemiss.edu/events/in...r=2010&month=03


Here is how some people smoke pot:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-...?obref=obinsite


The Now This Sound Is Brave music blog recently did this piece on Oxford:
http://nowthissoundisbrave.blogspot...ippi-night.html


Laurie Stirratt's great Oxford restaurant Tallulah's Kitchen is celebrating its grand opening today!

The menu:

2028 UNIVERSITY AVENUE
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI
662-234-6210
HOURS OF OPERATION
TUESDAY-THURSDAY 11 AM – 4 PM
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 11 AM – 8 PM
SUNDAY 11 AM – 4 PM

ASK ABOUT OUR FRIDAY NIGHT SEAFOOD SPECIALS AND LUNCH SPECIALS
GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE

PLATES: INCLUDES 2 SIDES & BREAD
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

FRIED CATFISH WITH FRIES, HUSHPUPPIES & SLAW
SMALL - $6.99
LARGE - $8.99

FRIED CHICKEN $7.99

SEAFOOD GUMBO
SMALL – ONE SIDE & BREAD $6.50
LARGE – TWO SIDES & BREAD $12.99

CHICKEN & ANDOUILLE GUMBO $8.99
CHICKEN & SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA $8.99
RED BEANS & RICE $7.99

BOILED SHRIMP WITH BOILED POTATOES, SLAW & HUSHPUPPIES
SMALL - $6.99
LARGE - $9.99

BACON, GARLIC & SAGE ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PEACH CHUTNEY $9.99

VEGETABLE PLATE: THREE VEGETABLES AND BREAD $7.00

SIDES - WE OFFER 5 OR 6 SIDES A DAY - THEY VARY DAY TO DAY
*INDICATES VEGETARIAN
MASHED RED POTATOES*, FRESH TURNIP GREENS, FRESH WILTED GARLIC SPINACH*, BUTTER BEANS, PURPLE HULL PEAS, FRIED OKRA*, SWEET POTATOES*, ONION RINGS* AND FRIED PICKLES*

SANDWICHES: ALL COME WITH FRIES UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

SWISS, CHEDDAR AND BUTTER BURGER,
FULLY DRESSED WITH A HEAP OF GRILLED ONIONS $7.50

FRIED CATFISH POBOY WITH LETTUCE, MAYO, TOMATO AND PICKLES ON GAMBINO’S FRENCH BREAD $8.99

FRIED CATFISH ON A BUN WITH MAYO AND PICKLES $5.50

BLACKBEAN CHIPOLTE BURGER FULLY DRESSED WITH FRIES OR ONE VEGETABLE SIDE $7.50

EXTRAS:
HOMEMADE CORNDOGS $4.00
ONION RINGS $3.50
FRIED PICKLES $2.50

WE PROUDLY SERVE BOTTLETREE BAKERY BAGUETTES AND GAMBINO’S FRENCH BREAD

TRIBUTE TO THE WHO
March 2, 2010 at 10 PM
at Proud Larry's on the Oxford, Mississippi Square
featuring
Blue Mountain
The Cooters
Tyler Keith & The Preacher's Kids
Austin & The Moonies
Clint Jordan

also tonight at Proud Larry's starting at 9:30 PM
TRIBUTE TO BARRY HANNAH
In memory and celebration of Barry Hannah tonight, local writers Tom Franklin, Ace Atkins, Jack Pendarvis and more reading favorite passages.

Oxford, Mississippi Author Barry Hannah Dies at 67

Oxford, Miss. — Acclaimed author Barry Hannah has died at his home in Oxford, Miss. He was 67.

Lafayette County Coroner Rocky Kennedy says that Hannah died Monday. Kennedy says Hannah died of "natural causes," but wanted to withhold further details of the cause until he shared them with Hannah's wife.

Hannah's first novel, Geronimo Rex, was published in 1972 and was nominated for a National Book Award. His 1996 short story collection, "High Lonesome," was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Longtime friend Malcolm White, the director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, called Hannah "Mississippi's irreverent poet of the dark side."

Hannah worked as writer in residence at several places, including the University of Mississippi, the University of Iowa, the University of Montana-Missoula and Middlebury College in Vermont. This weekend's annual "Oxford Conference of The Book" is dedicated to Barry Hannah.