The City of Memphis shapes people. Its history and harmony ignite ideas and new vision. Its food scene inspires my pen (or keyboard). Its basketball team inspires community spirit and grit (despite last night's Game 4 loss). And its music momentum inspires the strum of a guitar and beat of a track.
For the up-and-coming Indie-rock band The Black Cadillacs, an East Tennessee group of five, their album was missing a valuable final song. Scribbles on notepads simply could not translate to chords and harmonies. So, naturally, the Black Cadillacs jumped in a van and traveled to my city for four awe-inspiring days of deep discussion and lyrical listening. The end product? A compelling final album track (which you can now download!), and a newfound perspective on Memphis, documented with raw footage and magnetic emotion.
My natural first questions: How did the crew experience Memphis in four days? And what did they eat?!
Gus's Fried Chicken, Slider Inn, James Lee House, and Double J Smokehouse were a few culinary stops along the tour. A culmination of the smoky and fried, casual and fancy, The Black Cadillacs got a true taste of Memphis' diverse dining palate.
As Memphis musician Amy Lavere explains in the video, "Memphis is the kitchen. If you ever go to a really nice dinner party, where does everyone wanna be? They all want to be in the kitchen."
I just love that analogy.
Today, the documentary is live to the public, and so is the band. The Black Cadillacs are putting on a pop-up in-flight performance on the new Southwest Dallas-Memphis connection today. Tonight, upon their arrival, they'll perform a set at BB King's, including the last song inspired by the city surrounding us. I'll be there, and I hope you'll join me.
And if you love Memphis, share this video.
original photo sources unknown