Grimey's

Nearly seven years ago, I met my wife (she's the beautiful one at center-left in the picture above) and my concepts of music -- among other things -- changed drastically. Before then, I kept my genre preferences firmly held within the rock tradition: classic rock, punk rock (admittedly "poppy" as far as punk goes), and alternative rock were the flavors that I enjoyed. (I shied away from metal, being a relatively passive person.) But when Sarah came along, she not only brought along the promise of lifelong happiness, but also a knowledge of indie music, folk artists, and a broad spectrum of more "underground," non-commercial sounds that eventually shaped my overall musical tastes. And with the indie genre came a new method of listening to music, a medium that at one point seemed dead, then became characteristically "independent" and counterculture, and now shows more promise than it has in the last forty years: vinyl. 

The Frothy Monkey

Just out of high school, when my friends and I were at our most industrious and adventurous, we thought about starting a business: we wanted to give our little town in South Carolina a local, "grassroots" coffee shop. No shopping mall location, no corporate affiliations, just a place for people to hang out, drink coffee (if they wanted it; we weren't going to discriminate against loiterers), and enjoy a friendly, native atmosphere. Had my friends and I lived in Nashville at the time (and if we hadn't all been terrible procrastinators), that idea might have come to fruition as a place much like The Frothy Monkey, Nashville's own hometown coffee shop.

Editorial Post: Vacation's Over

Even though Sarah and I have only been in Nashville for a few weeks, we've managed to get quite a lot done. We found some favorite places around town, and then quickly realized that those preferences will likely change as we discover more of what the city has to offer. We even did some of the touristy things that visitors "just have to do," like visiting the Grand Ole Opry, walking through downtown, and relaxing on the grass in Centennial Park. We even visited the Opry Mills Mall for an afternoon and ate at tourist central, Dave and Busters. More recently, we did something that I still consider to be a an experience that bridges local excursion and tourist attraction: touring the Yazoo Brewing Company. (Speaking of which, we also got to relish Craft Beer Week, proving that we certainly did move here at just the right time.)

Yazoo Brewing Company

There are certain attractions that people visit when they are a tourist in a new city. Often, those attractions are iconic of the city, and anyone who's around for a while -- a few days, a week, whatever -- would be remiss if they did not visit them. "You went to New York and didn't go to the Empire State Building?!" "What do you mean, you didn't see the Golden Gate Bridge?!" "The Pyramids were right there and you didn't even go check them out?! What's wrong with you?!" Yes, the interrobangs are noticeable in the accusers' voices. However, there are certain monuments, events, or places that locals call their own. They transcend tourist attractions because they are such an appreciated part of the overall community. The Yazoo Brewing Company is one such location that bridges the gap between tourist attraction and point of local pride, and we had the opportunity to tour it yesterday. 

Book Reviews!

In addition to writing about our Nashville escapades, I also write reviews for books I'm reading. If anyone is interested in reading any of my takes on novels of various genres, then check out my Goodreads feed (also in the sidebar of my main page). And to give you a sense of what kinds of reviews I write, I've included my most recent review below, on The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling's pseudonym). Enjoy!