I was out for about two hours. By the time I returned, Phil was home and the boys were up. During my trek, I remembered that in addition to being junior high and high school classmates and friends, Phil and I also worked together at a movie theater in Tucson when we were 16 or 17 years old. I reminded him, and we reminisced a bit more about the good ol' days.
We decided to get out and experience more of Memphis. Phil acted as our tour guide and drove us around to many of the city's famous landmarks. Wherever there was an admission fee, we were content to simply observe from the outside. Being "Elvis Week," it seemed only fitting to begin with a stop at Graceland.
Next on the agenda was lunch at Central BBQ. The boys seemed pleased with the ribs; I ordered the bbq chef salad with smoked turkey. It was delicious, and so was the edible crispy red salad bowl in which it was served.
From Central BBQ, we walked down the street to Midtown Music. The young owner was very cool and told us to feel free to play anything on the walls. He had all the instruments needed for a bluegrass jam, plus some more unique items, like the Kala U-Bass, a ukulele bass that sounded surprisingly bass-like. I plugged in a fretless model, and the three of us ran through one of our newer instrumentals, The Midnight Coker.
From there we drove over to Sun Studio, which happens to be a short walk from tonight's venue. Sun Studio is, of course, where artists such as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash recorded, to name a few.
We then drove to the Lorraine Motel, the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and the site of the National Civil Rights Musem. The scene is an emotional reminder of where we've been and where we are as a nation.
We continued on to Mud Island for a view of the wide Mississippi River and Arkansas just across it.
As we were driving by the Peabody Memphis Hotel, Phil realized our timing was serendipitous. We walked inside to witness the silly spectacle that is the marching of the Peabody Ducks.
We rested for a bit at Phil's, then headed out for our gig at Kudzu's Bar & Grill. The show itself was both good and bad. There wasn't a big crowd, and we didn't make any money. However, Brett dialed in a great mix on the house PA system, and I thought we played really well, which I was happy about because it was Phil's first time seeing us live and a few of his friends showed up.
Our set was only an hour, and we were done relatively early. Phil and I understood that Brett and Mikey shouldn't leave Memphis without visiting Beale Street, so we headed there after the show. We walked the strip, stopping in a few shops and grabbing drinks "to go" at a couple of bars. Even though I was at times tempted to partake, I stuck to water and didn't feel like I was missing too much of the fun of being with the guys on Beale Street.
Today was jam-packed with highlights and history. Phil certainly helped us make the most of our short stay in Memphis. He and I both felt the same, that it's been great to see each other doing well, and to reconnect with one another at this stage of our lives. We're both grateful for good parents and good friends growing up, and we feel fortunate to have spent our teenage years at a good school in a good area of a good city. Of course, nobody's perfect, and it's all a matter of opinion, but I'd say we both turned out alright.
Cheers to good friends!
- Jon
Relationships may be the whole story!
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