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The Fall 2003 BMES Meeting Social Program

October 1-4 2003

{Draft Program – August 22, 2003 Build}

Copyright 2003 – Vertical Hover Publishing. All opinions expressed in this document reflect the authors who are unnamed to prevent reprisals.

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Welcome to Nashville, aka Music City, the Capital of Tennessee, the Athens of the South, the Buckle of the Bible Belt, the City of Parks, the Friendliest City in the Country1, NashVegas, Land of the Singer/Songwriter/Bus Boy and home to the Tennessee Titans, the Nashville Predators, the Vanderbilt Commodores, the TSU Tigers, and “thirteen hundred and fifty two guitar pickers”2 If this is your first trip to Nashville we expect to both confirm your expectations and destroy your preconceptions. If you haven’t been to Nashville in a decade or so, then you haven’t been to Nashville. Nashville has grown up significantly in the past fifteen years and in no place have the changes been as evident as in the downtown area where the conference is seated. The expectations we expect to confirm are:

1) there is a lot of music in Music City, 2) in the words of a 2003 summer intern, “People are really nice here.”

The preconceptions that we intend to destroy include:

1) A gourmet meal is hog jowls and red-eye gravy 2) The indoor pool will be referred to as “the Cement Pond”

Nashville isn’t “Hee-Haw” anymore. While we could describe the diverse industry/entertainment/government fabric that is Nashville, we’ll leave that to the Chamber of Commerce. Nope, this here is a social program so it’s time to get socialable. We welcome you to Nashville – “kick off your shoes and set a spell”.

The Master of Revels 11995 Dateline segment. Having said that, Why are you looking at references in a social program? 2 Nashville Cats by the Loving Spoonful. And you’re doing it again.

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Contents:

1. Social Events, Schedule and Information a. Conference general schedule b. Social Schedule

i. Description of CMHOF ii. Bands Blurb

2. Maps and Transportation a. Maps b. Transportation

i. Cabs ii. Airport Shuttles

3. Food a. Restaurant Overview b. Restaurant Information and Reviews c. Restaurant Suggestions d. Advise and FAQs

4. C2H5OH a. Brewski’s, brouhaha’s, b. Vino Veritas c. Everything Else d. Too Much of a Good Thing

5. Music, music, music 6. Sites, sights and cites

a. Parthenon b. Ryman c. Opryland Hotel d. Titans stadium/GEC e. Tootsies f. Frist g. Riverfront h. Library

7. Tours a. NashTrash tours b. Greyline

8. Late night

a. Food b. Music/Dancing

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Social Events, Schedule and Information

“All my rowdy friends are coming over tonight. ” Hank Williams Jr.

Conference general schedule

Wednesday October 1

Thursday October 2

Friday October 3

Saturday October 4

8:00- 9:30am

USNBC BMES Distinguished Lecture

Rita Schaffer Memorial Lecture

International Distinguished Lecture

9:30- 10:30am

USNBC Break Keynote Address John Bransford

Break/Poster Session

Break/Poster Session

10:30- 12:00pm

USNBC Oral Sessions Oral Sessions Oral Sessions

12:00- 1:30pm

Box Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch

1:30- 3:00pm

Oral Sessions Oral Sessions Oral Sessions

3:00- 4:00pm

Break/Poster Session

Break/Poster Session

CAREER FAIR

Break/Poster Session

4:00- 5:30pm

BMES Board

of Directors & Committee

Meetings

Oral Sessions Oral Sessions Oral Sessions

Evening Welcome Reception

W O R K S H O P S*

BMES Business Meeting Alpha Eta Mu Beta Banquet

Reception at Country Music Hall of Fame

Social Schedule

Wednesday 5:00-6:30 Welcome Reception - Nashville Renaissance Hotel Music – The Dodecaphonics

Thursday: Dinner – On your own. Friday: 5:30-7:00 Banquet and Special Speaker – Nashville Renaissance Hotel

7:00-9:30 Reception – Country Music Hall Of Fame Music – Robinella and the CC Stringband

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Description of the Country Music Hall of Fame

Located on the west bank of the Cumberland River just a few steps from the historic Ryman Auditorium and the authentic honkytonks of Lower Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame ascends from a former parking lot in downtown Nashville's new entertainment district. Constructed with indigenous natural materials, the 130,000-square-foot building faces a three-acre public park and is near a number of downtown restaurants and hotels. Also nearby are the Gaylord Entertainment Center (home of the NHL's Nashville Predators), the Adelphia Coliseum (home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans), the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (home of the Grammy-winning Nashville Symphony), the new Frist Center for the Visual Arts, the new Public Library of Nashville and Davidson County, art galleries, shops, and a growing collection of public art. Spanning an entire city block, the Country Music Hall of Fame's facade stretches from a massive rotunda to envelop an 11,000-square-foot conservatory, and then soars to an elevation of 107 feet. The story begins chronologically as the visitor next arrives in the lofty, 2,600-square-foot third-floor gallery where hardwood floors and an expanse of oversize Hatch Show Print posters lend a backstage feeling. This gallery overlooks the one below, and both face the glassed-in central core of the building where the museum's vast collection is housed and where archival and curatorial specialists can be seen going about the daily process of preservation and study that is the essence of the museum. The Hall of Fame's audio/video engineer, for example, will be visible to museum-goers as he works to salvage or reproduce sound and moving images in a high-tech studio. Further along, the visitor might see a newly acquired instrument or costume being cared for or prepared for exhibit. Along the way, and helping to set the pace, are four soundproof booths (there are two more on the second floor) where three or four visitors at a time can depart from the larger story line to become intimately acquainted -- through information, visuals and music -- with an important song or performance that, for any reason, may be said to represent a turning point in the evolution of the music. Moving to the 9,000-square-foot gallery below, the visitor is introduced to the modern country music scene as it has unfolded since the 1970s. In a soundproof 75-seat Songwriter's Theater, songwriters regularly entertain and enlighten museum guests with in-the-round guitar pulls and song swaps, a uniquely Nashville tradition. In this area also, professional "pickers" will be available to introduce the instruments typically used on country recordings. Patrons then arrive at the 600-square-foot bridge between the two blocks of main gallery space and the upper level of the rotunda. Piercing the interior is the replicated bottom half of the iconic, diamond-shaped WSM-AM 650 radio tower, which functions as a chandelier and recalls the seminal role of the radio home of the Grand Ole Opry in the creation and popularization of America's music. American painter Thomas Hart Benton's last work, "The Sources of Country Music," will be exhibited alongside the images of the men and women who took those sources and created something original. Looking back at the Country Music Hall of Fame's dramatically lighted rotunda, steepled by the top half of WSM's "tower of power," huge slabs of crab orchard stone adorning the circumference may be recognized as the notes to "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," a reminder of the continuity of the democratic traditions and values that form the old and abiding soul of the American music celebrated within. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 5th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street in downtown Nashville.

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Social Program Music Performing for the Welcome Reception - Vanderbilt’s own Dodecaphonics

The Vanderbilt Dodecaphonics is Vanderbilt University's only all male a cappella singing group. The group was founded in the late 80's with two distinct objectives: "to create beautiful a cappella music, and meet women." After falling apart and being nonexistent for some years, the Dodecaphonics was re-founded in 1991. This time, there were only six members, but they kept the name (Dodecaphonics means 12 voices, or tones). Six more members joined in 1992, finally completing the Dodecs. Since then, the second objective has met with great success, and luckily, the Dodecs sound pretty good-- Good enough to be in high demand throughout the US, have a rigorous performance schedule, and have three recordings under their belts so far. Adam Travis, the “el jefe” of the Dodec’s is a senior in BME at Vanderbilt. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/dodecs/ Performing for the Reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame

Robinella and the CCstringband

From Knoxville, this band mixes bluegrass and jazz. Descriptions have included “honey-sweet voice warms songs like "Man Over" in the tradition of Dolly Parton and Allison Krauss, then shifts to Ella Fitzgerald sass” and “Billy Holiday sings bluegrass”. Beyond Robinella’s voice the Contreras brothers, Billy on fiddle and Cruz on mandolin, prove that traditional bluegrass instrumentation can play a great wealth of musical styles.

http://www.robinella.com/

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Maps and Transportation “I’ve been living on the wrong side of Memphis.

Really breaking away this time. A full tank of gas and a '69 Tempest, Taking me to that Nashville sign “.

G. Harrison and M. Berg

Map 1: Nashville Highways and airport. Conference hotel is at the star.

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Map 2: Closeup showing the Conference hotel, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Vanderbilt.

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Map 3: Closeup of downtown showing Riverfront Park, Titans’ Stadium (called the Coliseum here). The conference center is across Broadway from the Arena and the CMHOF is behind the arena on 5th.

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Map 4: Vanderbilt area showing Centennial Park (where our Parthenon is). There are 54 restaurants within a 3 block radius around Vanderbilt.

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Transportation Cabs - The BMES Social Program recommends the following cab companies: Allied Cab: 244-7433 Music City Taxi: 262-0451 or 742-3030 Yellow Cab : 256-0101 These recommendation do not mean that others might not be good, it’s just that the Master of Revels has either first or second hand experience with these cabs in which the passengers arrived alive, at their desired destinations, with minimally elevated adrenalin levels. Airport Shuttles

Airport transportation is convenient with shuttle service provided by Downtown Airport Express departing from the hotel every 30 minutes. (Now when it gets to the airport… that’s a different issue). Rental cars Nashville rental rates are very reasonable and, remarkably enough, not only can you find parking most places you would like to go, you can actually afford to park there. The BMES has a special deal with Avis which you can get if you know the secret handshake.

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Food “To the Lord let praises be

It's time for dinner now let's go eat We've got some beans and some good cornbread

And I listened to what the preacher said” Lyle Lovett

Restaurant Overview

The indigenous food of Nashville is the “meat and three” meaning that you can get some form of meat, generally simmered into the consistency of a mastodon trapped for a millennium in the LaBrea Tar Pits, and three vegetables steamed for the same time in a nearby sulfur vent. One interesting twist on this is that delicacies such as macaroni and cheese or stewed raisins qualify as vegetables. (Don’t ask. I don’t make this stuff up, I just report it.) But not to despair, one of the biggest changes in Nashville over the past 15 years has been in food quality. One of the leaders of this revolution was a Vanderbilt alum named Jody Faison. It is both sad and telling that the Faison empire of restaurants which helped move Nashville from a culinary backwater is greatly reduced due to competition. Remarkably, restaurants in which we want to eat now can open and close before we can get there. While this phenomena is often called having a “vibrant restaurant scene” it is frustrating to those of us who remember when Nashville restaurants considered any cheese but processed American to be breathtakingly nouveau. While we do have the mandatory selection of chain restaurants and some interesting local bistros, we will reduce the search space using two major criteria: location and arbitrary arrogance. For the first, we will only include restaurants within a $10 cab ride of the hotel. (If we violate that, it will because the food is absolutely worth the longer ride). For the second, we have to cut down the choices (we have jobs you know) and so we will not comment on restaurants we deem not “conference worthy”. Does that mean that their food isn’t good? Absolutely not, its just that we have decided that, if you were to show up at one of these places in conference clothes asking to see the wine list, you would embarrass the staff, yourself or the drunk at the end of the bar. We also reserve the right to lump restaurants together, dismiss them out of hand or forget that they are within the $10 cab range. Our reviewing is capricious, arbitrary, occasionally plagiarized and highly non-standard. We ask you to consider what you paid for this book. The restaurant at the hotel It might be great, it might be terrible but come on, live a little! What are you going to going to say when someone asks what the weather was like in Nashville? Tell them it was 72 degrees and fluorescent? Take a chance, get out and enjoy! Hard Rock Café, Hooters, Dennys, IHOP, Going to these is sort of admitting that you have no imagination. Yes we have them, yes they qualify under the $10 cab ride limit, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to be an enabler for that lack of verve.

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The Acorn 114 28th Ave N $$$ American 320-4399 The best term for the review of this place is bimodal. Some people love it other people see it as pretentious and weak. So, in the words of famed restaurant reviewer, Clint Eastwood: “Do you feel lucky today, punk?” Amerigo 1920 West End Ave $$ Italian 320-1740 Not your average chain Italian place. Pastas with duck or white sauces. The red sauce is actually a sauce not canned tomato goo. Good wine list Arthur's 1001 Broadway (In Union Station) $$$$ French Long time Nashville high end restaurant. Used to be considered the best Nashville restaurant. Has become somewhat more irrelevant but that’s probably because of the improvement in the rest of the field rather than a drop by Arthur’s. Atlantis 1911 Broadway $$$ Seafood The best seafood within our stated restaurant boundaries. You pay for the fish being flown in everyday. (I wonder how frequent flyer miles work for that? ) Basantes Restaurant 1800 W End Ave (in front of the Days Inn

hotel) $$

Italian 320-0534 Okay, okay,,, so it’s in front of a rather sketchy looking Days Inn. It’s still an excellent restaurant. Trust me. Fresh ingredients, homemade pasta…. Yum. They have a second restaurant in Green Hills Mall. Nicer locale but the interior is all modern industrial which doesn’t really lend itself to quiet conversation over a nice bottle of Salice. Big River Grille & Brewing Works 111 Broadway $ Burgers and Beer 251-4677 Good for a crowd, good for graduate students. Blackstone Brewpub West End $ American and Beer So-so American food: Wings, sandwiches, salads but the onsite-brewed porter is to die for. Boscos Nashville Brewing Co 1805 21st Ave S $$ American 385-0050 Probably the best food of the “Killer B” brewpubs (Big River, Blackstone, Boscos) Bound’ry 911 20th Ave South Menu without borders, Tapas 321-3043 Very far ranging menu, all of it pretty good. Excellent bar but noisy.

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Cafe OneTwoThree 123 12th Ave N $$ American 255-2233 One of Jody Fasion’s restaurants. Absolute quality depends on the chef of the moment but the food usually ranges from good to excellent. Excellent interior ambience, do not be put off by a somewhat seedy locale. Open very late. Capitol Grille 231 6th Ave N $$$ American The grand dining room of the historic Hermitage Hotel . Very good salmon and a most excellent pear and gorgonzola salad. The rest is only okay but the atmosphere’s terrific Chapel Bistro 701 Chapel Ave $$ French 627-1088 Review to be written Chez Jose 2323 Elliston Pl $$ Tex Mex 320-0107 The linguistic hash of a name aside, this is one of the better tex-mex (burritos and quesadilla) places in Nashville. If you want true Mexican food try any number of restaurants on Nolensville Road. DaVinci's Gourmet Pizza 1812 Hayes St $$ Pizzas of all types 329-8098 Handmade pizzas of wide variety. Quality beer selection. In a converted residence (thereby implying rolling floors and lights that dim every time the pizza oven cycles) A number of people believe this is the best pizza in Nashville. Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House 300 Commerce St $ Italian 256-4655 Remember the steak house your grandparents took you to because they went to church with the owner?

Drunken Fish 123 2nd Ave N, Nashville, TN $$ Sandwiches, tapas 254-5550 Review to be written, but you just gotta love the name!

Eddie George Sports Grille $$ American For the non-athletically inclined, Eddie George is the star running back for the Tennessee Titans. Eddie has a personal chef, who doesn’t work at the restaurant. Take that as you will. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

2525 W End Ave $$$

Steakhouse 342-0131

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Peter Fleming wants your food money. As the founder of Fleming’s and PF Changs, he wins awards for Restaurant Concepts. Note, this is different from wining awards for restaurants. That said, Fleming’s has an outstanding wine by the glass list and you can get a pretty good steak there. F. Scott's 2210 Crestmoor Rd $$$$ American Probably at the limit of the $10 cab ride but the food and atmosphere are worth it. A favorite choice for recruitment dinners for Vanderbilt faculty. Gerst Haus 301 Woodland St $ German If you’ve got that hankering for sausage, sour kraut and a ompah band, this is the place. Expect to sit at a table with 6 people you’ve never met. On site brewing of fresh but American style beers. Goten Japanese Restaurant 110 21st Ave S, $ Japanese, Sushi Vanderbilt area sushi restaurant. A favorite among Vanderbilt faculty. Granite Falls 2000 Broadway Nashville $$ American 327-9250 A pasta with chili and tequila? Try the rattlesnake chicken pasta! Ichiban Japanese Restaurant 109 2nd Ave N $ Japanese (cleverly enough) 254-7185 Review to be written. Jack's Bar-B-Que 416 Broadway Nashville $ Barbecue 254-5715 Nobody claims this is the best barbecue in Nashville but it’s right in the heart of downtown and they’ve got a great flying pig sign. Jimmy Kelly's 217 Louise Ave $$$ Steakhouses 329-4349 A long time Nashville tradition. Good steaks but outstanding corn cakes! Kobe Steaks 210 25th Ave N $$ Steakhouses One of those “sit at the grill” Japanese steakhouses. The food is what you would expect but admit it, you go to these places based on the possibility of witnessing a dismemberment when the chefs start spinning their knives.

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Mad Platter Restaurant & Catering 1239 6th Ave N $$ American 242-2563 This is the Master of Revel’s favorite Nashville restaurant. It’s in converted house in a gentrifying neighborhood called Germantown and the owners live upstairs. Soups, appetizers and entrees and desserts are all excellent. Easily the best restaurant in the world with a painting of Elvis on velvet in the men’s bathroom. Not the best neighborhood, it’s best to go in small groups. Reservations are almost mandatory. Mambu 1806 Hayes St, $$ Eclectic & International Small, intimate with an innovative menu. Excellent seafood specials based on freshest available fish. Funky décor that works. Margot Cafe and Bar 1017 Woodland St. $$$ American The reviews have been mixed for this restaurant. For some, it’s their favorite place in Nashville, others find it a bit shabbily pretentious. Market Street Brewery & Pub House 134 2nd Ave N $ American 259-9611 Pub food --for all the good and the bad that implies. The biggest of the local microbreweries. Mario's 2005 Broadway $$$$ Italian 327-3232 WAY overpriced, snobby waiters and weak food, What else can I say?… Oh, a few years ago a local paper demonstrated that their veal dishes were actually pork. Melting Pot 166 2nd Ave N $$$ Fondue Fondue…it just sounds so 60’s doesn’t it? It resonates with Danish Modern Furniture and go-go boots. However, this place is very popular with a good, if expensive, wine list.

Merchants Restaurant 401 Broadway $$$ American 254-1892 Who is in the kitchen? Merchants has provided some of the best meals in our history in Nashville (one night we had the swordfish of the gods) and some decidedly so-so fare. Chefs come in, and if they’re a success, get sucked up by one of the other restaurants. However, that track record means that good young chefs look to Merchants. Mirror Restaurant 2317 12th Ave S $$$ Eclectic & International, Tapas Review to be written

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Monell's Dining & Catering 1235 6th Ave N $ Meat 'n Three, Southern & Soul “Come on in, hon.” Family style (i.e. you and a bunch of other people at the same table) comfort food. Fried chicken , mashed potatoes and tea so sweet it would give diabetes to a hummingbird. Morton's of Chicago 618 Church St $$$$ Steak & Seafood 259-4558 To more clearly demonstrate your carnivorous nature, you’d have to kill the animal with your bare hands. Mulligan's Pub and Restaurant 117 2nd Ave N $ Irish (I sure as hell hope so!) 242-8010 Review to be written Nick & Rudy's Steakhouse 204 21st Ave South $$$ Steakhouse 329-8994 Big thing here is “steak and biscuits”, the charm eludes me but some people swear by it. It does have one thing going for it however, it has survived in a building which previously was known as the “place where restaurants go to die.” Noshville

1918 Broadway $$ Deli 329-NOSH A New York deli in Nashville? It is astonishingly good. (Of course, I’m an Episcopalian from the south, so what do I know?) Old Spaghetti Factory 160 Second Ave N $ Italian 254-9010 Tops in the most important graduate student category: “Maximum Food per Dollar”. Osaka Japanese Restaurant 2930 West End Ave $$

Japanese (You would hope) 329-3368 What is it about Asian food restaurants and pricing? The same item which costs $5.25 from 11:00AM until 2:00 PM suddenly costs $11 after 5:00 PM. Does it get better tasting? Anyway, go for lunch. The Prime Cut Steakhouse 170 2nd Ave N $$ Steakhouses 242-3083 Review to be written The Palm 140 5th Ave S $$$$ Steakhouse Big steaks, high price clientel. Your choice: make the payment on the car or eat some flesh with the chance to see some stars?

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Patrick’s 1711 Division St. $$ Cajun/Creole 742-3900 When the crawfish etouffee puts that cravin’ on ya, your best chance for relief this side of the Big Easy is Patrick’s. P.F. Chang's China Bistro 2525 West End Ave $$ Chinese 329-8901 Chinese food for people who don’t like Chinese food. Red Wagon 1112 Woodland St $ American 226-2527 In a Victorian house in East Nashville, Red Wagon's menu is interesting and fresh.-no boorish in-your-face food here. Avocado, goat cheese and dried cherries accent the roasted chicken sandwich on crusty bread. A lively not-pimiento cheese is a sophisticated combo of white cheddar, roasted peppers, capers and kalamata olives. Stylish, deep white bowls hold the noodle of the day and the inventive tabbouleh salad made with French lentils. Try it for breakfast! Restaurante Zola 3001 West End Ave $$$ Mediterranean 320-7778 The jury is very divided on this one. The food is expensive but it’s good and you get huge portions. (Even the Master of Revels, famed trencherman that he is, needed a doggy bag). And you can save money on doing anything afterwards because the service can be VERY slow. Some of the best paella we’ve ever had. Rhumba 3009 West End Ave $$$ Caribbean Food 321-1350 Quick! the last three places in this location have gone under in 6 months. I mean this place goes through restaurants faster than the University of Tennessee goes through presidents. Get there before the curse strikes! Different food and “adventuresome” rum drinks. Ruth's Chris Steak House 2100 West End Ave $$$$ Steakhouse 320-0163 The steakhouse with two first names. Have your waiter explain that to you, they never get tired of it. It’s a Good King Wenceslaus kind of place “ Bring me flesh and bring me wine.” Any one of their big steaks plus a potato with butter AND sour cream earns you a complementary carotid endarterectomy. Salathai 2016 W End Av $$ Thai Stuck in that restaurant twilight zone between fast food and sit down. Sole Mio 94 Peabody St $$$ Italian 256-4013 Some people say it’s the best Italian food in Nashville, others point to troublesome service and the occasionally clunker of an item. Still recommended

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Stock-Yard Restaurant $$$$ Steakhouses The advertising jingle for this restaurant promotes it as being “a place to be seen”, Don’t you think they should talk about the food? Sunset Grill Belcourt Avenue $$$ American Perennial contender for “Best Restaurant in Nashville”. Owner Randy Rayburn is almost always onsite and he has the best staff of almost any restaurant we’ve been in. You will be moved to tip heavily. Highly recommended.. Tin Angel 3201 W End Ave $$ American 298-3444 Comfortable. Comfortable food, comfortable surroundings, good serving staff. Tenno Japanese Restaurant 3408 West End Ave $$$ Japanese 386-8399 Review to be written The Trace 2000 Belcourt Ave $$ American 385-2200 Review to be written Valentino's Ristorante 1907 West End Ave $$$$ Italian 327-0148 Another bipolar place. Some people think it’s the best italian food in the state, others describe the food as “Well at least it sounded Italian.” Virago 1811 Division St $$$ Eclectic & International 320-5149 Review to be written Wild Boar 2014 Broadway Second mortgage. French This is probably the most expensive (and snobbiest) of restaurants in Nashville. However, the food is good and the wine list is mammoth. Can you get an excellent meal? Absolutely. Is it worth the price? Magic Eight Ball says “Answer cloudy” Wolfy's 425 Broadway $ American 251-1621 The place to see both the country stars of tomorrow and intriguing street people. The trick is telling which is which.

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Recommended Restaurants

1. Departmental embezzlement – Wild Boar 2. Clinical Expense account - Mad Platter, F. Scotts, Sunset Grill 3. NIH Grant – Mambu, Basantes, Tin Angel 4. Graduate Student – Market Street, Boscos, Old Spaghetti Factory

FAQ’s and Advice

1. My friend invited a friend who invited a friend and so on…. and now I get to try to find a table for 30. Go out the door of the hotel, take the first left. Break into a run, take the next right and hide in the first open doorway. They still following you? If so, try Big River. They’ve got lots of tables. 2. We want individual, itemized checks which we will scrutinize like a CSI team working a murder investigation. Oh, and we want to charge it on a credit card on a bank in Lower Slobovia. First, everybody at the table tip the server $10 at the start of the meal. Then make your requests known BEFORE you order. If they get the orders and bills correct, then tip them 25% of that bill at the end. Go outside and throw yourself into traffic.

Most places will provide copies of bills and you can figure out your charges later. One person just puts it on his or her credit card and you work it out at home. Or the restaurant will split a bill into N equal pieces. But asking a server to reconstruct what everybody ate and to provide individualized bills is annoying to the staff and to your dinner mates. Pay cash and get an unfilled-in receipt. Then fill in the maximum amount your organization will reimburse minus 17 cents. If you come out ahead, take a graduate student to breakfast, your treat.

3. We saw restaurants advertised as “where the stars eat”. Should we eat there? Doing so will maximize your chances of meeting highly intelligent, highly paid members of Nashville society. Unfortunately those society doyens are most likely members of Vanderbilt’s level one trauma center. Running into stars in Nashville requires luck, persistence, money and luck. The ones you know are highly compensated and as such probably aren’t hanging out at the restaurant near the local no-tell motel. The stars that frequent such places are either on the way up (so you won’t know them) or on the way down (so you can’t get rid of them.) The ones you want are riding the big checks. So hanging out at high end eateries maximizes your chances. But it still requires luck. One note here. It’s very rude to approach the stars. They’ve got live somewhere. If you’re standing next to them waiting for a cab or something, then striking up a conversation is fine but leaning over their linguini with white clam sauce and screaming “Toby Keith!!!! I’m your biggest fan!!! Will you sign my scapula??” is sort of bad form… Especially if it’s Trace Adkins.

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C2H5OH “When the gunsmoke settles, we'll sing a victory tune.

We'll all meet back at the local saloon, We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces,

’Singing: 'Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.’” Toby Keith

Ah, the dew of Dionysus, the adult phase of sugar, bread that has died and gone to heaven. That’s right, alcohol. Two carbons, six hydrogens and an oxygen conspiring to make everyone at the table have just a little bit better time. While beer nerds, wine snobs and those poofy guys who insist on single malt scotches may see this as a continuum based on alcohol content, specific gravity and the phase of the moon in Gdansk, I’m going to break the alcohol topic into three zones: beer, wine and everything else. Brewski’s and brouhaha’s. One of the highest forms of academia is to take something simple and straightforward and to study it, scrutinize every detail, develop methodologies for assessment, argue over the weights assigned to every piece of the assessment, deconstruct the whole establishment and put a reverse spin on everything and generally suck the life out of something that was easy to understand and appreciate. For examples see the art criticism section of your university class catalog. This is why universities are full of beer nerds. Here at the BME Social Program we like to keep things simple. You can get a beer just about anywhere, provided it’s not after 2 AM and before noon on Sunday. Hell, even some our fast food places have beer licenses now. Do not, however, go into Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, shove the cowboy at the bar aside and order a Belgian Framboise. After you wake up in the gutter you’ll find the cowboy has carved “Real men drink Bud” on your chest with his spur. So if it is specialty beers you want, here are some ideas: Brewpubs Generally the brewpubs offer only their own beers as choices but their beers are clearly fresher, often without preservatives and can compete with some of the best microbreweries. Big River Grille & Brewing Works 111 Broadway 251-4677 Part of a modest chain, you can get food as well as beer. Example of beer types are : Southern Flyer Light Lager, 16th Ave Pilsner, Nashville Steamer Golden Ale, Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale, Thick Brick Red Ale, Iron Horse Stout and Summer Wheat. Beer snobs give it an “Okay” If you’ve got a group , this is the place to be. Blackstone Brewpub West End The porter is to die for. I’m sure they serve other beers (IPAs, nut brown ales and the like) but the porter is the reason for the visit. The food is nothing to write home about, but did I mention the porter?

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Boscos Nashville Brewing Co 1805 21st Ave S 385-0050 Probably the best food of the “Killer B” brewpubs (Big River, Blackstone, Boscos). They also have perhaps the widest variety of beer styles with Boscos Bombay IPA, Germantown Alt, Isle of Skye Scottish Ale, London Porter, Cask Conditioned Ale, Bottle Conditioned Ale being served all year and then seasonal favorites. Oh, yeah, there’s one other regular: Boscos Famous Flaming Stone Beer They brew a normal (if malty) beer and then drop a hot rock into it. Somehow this is supposed to matter.

Micro to mini breweries These are places which have their own beers and restaurants but they also distribute their beer over the region.

Market Street Brewery & Pub House (Bohannon Brewery)

134 2nd Ave N 259-9611

The biggest of the microbreweries, these guys turn out a very respectable product. Known for their wheat beers they also have a number of ales, a stout and some fruit beers. Ship home a case or two. Gerst Haus 301 Woodland St Probably the least likely to impress the beer nerds but you have to offer up some serious style points for being in business since 1890 (although now contract brewed by Pittsburgh Brewing) An amber beer and a light ale. Extensive Tap and/or bottle selections The Beer Sellar 107 Church Street 254-9464 Motto: “50 taps, 150 bottles, and 1 bitchin' jukebox” Broadway BrewHouse/Mojo Grill 1900 Broadway 321-3363 Featuring: “The Wall of Beer” 400 beers, including 70 on tap. The Mojo Grill (attached) serves pretty good Cajun and pub food. Flying Saucer 111 10th Avenue South

Located behind the Union Station hotel 259-PINT

Hours are Monday through Wednesday 11 am to 1 am, Thursday through Saturday 11 am to 2 am, and Sunday noon to midnight. The beer menu at the Flying Saucer is truly impressive with over 75 tap handles and 125 bottled selections. Mafiaoza's 2400 12th Ave South 269-4646 Pizza place with excellent beer selection

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Vino Veritas – While Tennessee can surprise you (are you listening Al Gore Jr?) there are times when

your expectations can be sadly fulfilled. When we first moved to Tennessee, they had both kinds of wine: over-priced and Thunderbird. Finding a good bottle of wine required a dowsing rod, a specially trained bloodhound and plane ticket to another state. Wine in restaurants was marked up by a factor of six, often came from Italian vineyards (although labeled in French) and had been poorly handled and stored. Enter the hero of this piece: Jody Faison. When Faison opened his first restaurant, cleverly enough called Faison’s, he demonstrated that there were people out there who were willing to pay for a bottle of good wine at dinner and, if you only marked the price up 2x versus retail, there were a surprising number of us. Wine sales in Nashville took off, which is really remarkable when you consider that; due to a mixture of Bible Belt mentality and a remarkably active beer lobby in the Tennessee legislature, you can’t buy wine in a grocery store here. (A quick aside: doesn’t it seem like the Bible Belters should be on the side of wine? I mean, it’s not like Jesus turned water into Colt 45 Malt Liquor.) Anyway, so we sell beer everywhere and wine only in liquor stores and restaurants. This has lead to a flourishing bar scene in the local eateries. And it is there, where we send you, Oh intrepid adventurer, to find a wee dram of the spoiled grape. Restaurant Bars with Good Wine Selections Fleming’s - Advertises itself as a wine bar Merchants Restaurant - Hopping young professional scene, Sunset Grill - Carefully selected wine list with well informed sommeliers Wild Boar - Most extensive wine selection Note on Tennessee wine – Often when people go to cities they have never visited, they want to sample local cuisine. This is occasionally extended to local wines. Don’t. Everything Else Since we import our ports, sherries and brandies just like y’all, when we’re talking about everything else, we’re talking about liquor. And if you’re talking about liquor in Tennessee, you’re talking about Tennessee Whiskey. Tennessee whiskey is a bourbon that undergoes charcoal filtering and storage in oak barrels. The two big sources of note for this divine product are Jack Daniels and George Dickel. The Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and the George Dickel distillery near Tullahoma are both about an hour and a half drive from Nashville (I –24 south towards Chattanooga). Now you might think, “lets go down and hit the factory store for some discounts…or at least a free sample!” But it’s not to be… both distilleries are in dry counties. Yeah, we know that’s perverse. But you say: “I need my green appletini or a nice minty mojito to unwind at the end of a stressful day of conferencing, or a cosmo is just the thing for networking.” Well, that’s allright precious, we got you covered there as well. All of your hotel bars and most restaurants can handle that, but places of special note are:

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Pub of Love 123 12th Ave N 256-5683 Havana Lounge (Upstairs from Buffalo

Billiards)

Easy's in the Village 1910 Belcourt Avenue 292-7575 Rumba 3009 West End Ave 321-1350 La La Lounge 209 10th Ave S, Suite 102 254-2000 Too Much of a Good Thing For your edification we offer a modified version of Lewis Grizzard’s 10 Stages of Drunkenness 1. WITTY & CHARMING (Part I) 2. RICH & POWERFUL 3. BENEVOLENT 4. I CAN DANCE 5. CLAIRVOYANT 6. SCREW DINNER 7. PATRIOTIC 8. WITTY & CHARMING (Part II) 9. INVISIBLE 10. BULLETPROOF

Tennessee has recently lowered its DUI level to 0.08% alcohol. Take a cab. Allied Cab: 244-7433 Music City Taxi: 262-0451 or 742-3030 Yellow Cab : 256-0101

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Music, Music, Music

“We have both kinds of music –Country and Western” The Blues Bothers.

Music City – Just another Chamber of Commerce flack job right? Or maybe it has music but it’s all nasally stuff by old guys in sequins. We beg to differ. Nashville is astonishingly complex in its past and present musical endeavors. Sure we’re the home of country music but we’re also home to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, John Kay from Steppenwolf, a nationally acknowledged symphony orchestra and the Fairfield Four. The Master of Revels himself ran into Stevie Winwood at the hardware store. Ask a clerk at any store about their job is and an amazing number of them will tell you that this job is just what they’re doing until they get their recording break. And there are precedents for that. Faith Hill sold T-shirts, Randy Travis washed dishes and Kathy Mattea worked as tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame before their careers got on track. There are more people who can sing on key in this town than anyplace else on earth. As a case in point, listen to advertisements from local businesses on radio and TV while you’re here. The jingles will be better than any place else you’ve been. Some selected music places The Ryman Auditorium – 116 5th Avenue North - The “mother ship” of country music. Sit in church pews and enjoy an intimate and acoustically wonderful encounter with whoever is playing. Bluebird Café - 4104 Hillsboro Pike – Singer/Songwriters You can sit inches from the “Next Big Thing” or the “Completely Fooling Themselves”. Part of the charm is not knowing which you’ll see. Exit/In - 2208 Elliston Pl – Mainly rock – “Legendary” usually means “old, smelly and irrelevant” but the Exit/In has just recently been spruced up, continues to rock and is ready for all comers. Gaylord Entertainment Center - 501 Broadway – a big arena for big shows. Robert's Western World - 416 Broadway – A store with a stage? Alt country (or retro-country) band BR5-49 got their first exposure as the house band here. Station Inn – 402 12th Avenue, South – Bluegrass central. Previously smoky but now smoke free, the Station Inn is hardly compelling from the exterior. But as a place to watch master bluegrass players jam with each other and occasionally, members of the audience, it is unparalleled. 3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill - 816 3rd Ave. South – Blues- While our sister to the west, Memphis, stakes out the blues as her territory, we do pretty well on our own., 12th & Porter - 114 12th Ave N – Rock – Jodie Fasion adds a club to one of his restaurants providing a venue for adults to here live rock music .

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Wildhorse Saloon - 120 2nd Ave N – Line Dancing heaven. One of the few places in Nashville which might actually play “Achy-Breaky Heart” But don’t just limit yourself to these places. Coffee shops, restaurants, bars and downtown street corners all feature music at various times. You are in Nashville, indulge your musical sweet tooth! The BMES social program staff is going to try to get extra copies of the Nashville Scene and the Rage, two weekly newspapers which list the musical happenings in town. We recommend the Scene for the over 35 years old crowd and the Rage for the younger ones.

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Sites, sights and cites

Parthenon - Centennial Park – (Off West End near Vanderbilt) Quick -name two places with Parthenons. Now, name one whose Parthenon is still standing. That’s right, Nashville. Built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London. The Nashville Parthenon was originally built with plaster and wood. In the 1920s the Parthenon was rebuilt as a full-scale replica of the ancient Parthenon with one large exception. The colossal statue of Athena from ancient times was not in this replica. In 1982, the city commissioned Alan LeQuire to build a full-scale replica of Athena Parthenos. Soon after, a group of concerned citizens formed the Athena Fund. Starting with funds accumulated over the years from the nickels and dimes of school children and tourists, the Athena Fund grew rapidly through private and commercial donations. The statue of Athena Parthenos is 41 feet, 10 inches tall. There are about 12 inches between the top of her helmet and the ceiling beams. Her weight is estimated at 12 tons. The statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, in Athena's right hand is 6 feet 4 inches tall. Nike holds a wreath of victory preparing to crown Athena. Not to be missed. The Parthenon also serves as the city of Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. The Ryman Auditorium 116 5th Avenue North - The “mother ship” of country music. Sit in church pews and enjoy an intimate and acoustically wonderful encounter with whoever is playing. The Ryman was designed to resemble a tent used for gospel revivals. It was restored about 10 years ago and is an major force in music. Opryland Hotel –just about the biggest freakin’ hotel you’ve ever seen. Hell, they’re still looking for a gaggle of dental hygienists who wandered away from a conference in search of a powder room…in 1996! It costs $5 just to park at the place but if you try to see the whole thing, that works out to only 0.35 cents per mile walked. Pack a lunch and a GPS unit. Music Row – While we’d all like to believe the story of the boy heard singing for tips on the street corner being heard by a producer and making millions off the record he cuts the next day…in reality this is a big business with the associated suits, hangers-on, toadies, yes-men, corporate weasels as well as people dedicated to the craft. And all of them have to work somewhere. In large part this is concentrated from 16th to 18th Avenue South between Edgehill and Demonbreun. (PS – it’s not pronounced “Demon Bruin” it’s “de MUM brie un”. Hey, blame the French) Titan’s Stadium – home to the Tennessee Oilers, oops, Titans, the Adelphia Colis… oops Titans Stadium commands the East side of the Cumberland River just across from downtown..

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Thinking about staying over Sunday and seeing a game? They’re out of town. Not that you could have scored tickets anyway. Gaylord Entertainment Center (Pronounced Gek) – 501 Broadway (Hey, it’s just across the street) Home of the Nashville Predators (Joe Billy Bob digs the NHL…who knew?) Also site for big concerts and other events. Pretty outrageous architecture for Nashville. Tootsies Orchid Lounge – Just down the hill from the Ryman. Country stars used to come here for after hours pickin’, grinnin’, cussin’ and fightin’. Now they get back on their air conditioned tour buses, drink bottled water and surf the internet. Frist Center For the Visual Arts – 919 Broadway – The Frist family is one of the mainstays of Nashville. They founded Hospital Corporation of America and Bill Frist is the Senate Majority leader. As part of their community outreach, they led a public/private foundation to purchase the old main post office and create a museum/education/arts center. It’s not the Hermitage or the Gugginheim but what is? It’s quite good in it own right. Check it out. Riverfront – First and Broadway (Quick note – as a dyslexic do you know how hard it is to type “Frist” and the three lines later type “First”? Geez.) Prior to every major interstate highway in the country being routed through Nashville (Thank you, Albert Gore Sr.) the Cumberland river was the most significant transportation venue in Nashville. One of the other pillars of Nashville, the Ingrams, still maintain a thriving barge business here. Today we don’t do as much direct off-loading of barge traffic downtown so some of the warehouses and storage have been converted into a park. Should be nice this time of year. Library- Wondered when I’d get to the “cites” part of this didn’t you? (615 Church Street, 862-5800) Schedule of Hours: M-Th 9:00-8:00, F 9:00-6:00, Sat 9:00-5:00, Sun 2:00-5:00. Recently renovated, the library is a very nice classical style building. An excellent place to relax after touring around.

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Tours

“Step right up, come on in. If you'd like to take the grand tour,” George Jones

NashTrash Tours The Nash Trash tour leaves from the Farmers Market on 8th avenue. Hosted by the outrageous Jugg Sisters, Sheri Lynn and Brenda Kay. They provide a unique comedy routine while spilling the beans about most of the country music stars! Very friendly and welcoming, the duo promises to get "down and dirty" about all Nashville's 'lil secrets. For ninety minutes in a bus painted flamboyant pink with a driver named "Bubba", the girls actually deliver music, jokes, drama and an amusing dialogue of facts and speculation to an appreciative participating audience. 226-7300 Gray Line Tours – For a little more conventional way to see the sights, Gray Line offers tours (generally less than $30 a head). They will pick up at most major hotels. Contact: Gray Line of Nashville Inc., 2416 Music Valley Drive, Suite 102, Nashville, TN 37214, (615) 883-5555

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Late night

Food – So you got that “business meeting ran until midnight, you’re starving and thinking only Wendy’s will be open” blues thing going, is that what’s bothering you Bunky? Well, not to worry sweet cheeks, the BMES social program has you covered. While Nashville’s Bible Belt tradition suggests that the streets roll up at 11:00, remember that this is a town revolving around music. And late light recording sessions mean late night food. Late Night Food – Reviewed in the restaurant section: The Acorn, Bound’ry, Café 123 Others:

Cafe Coco Coffee shop with food – Open 24 hours 210 Louise Ave 329-0024 Music/Dancing Havana Lounge154 2nd Ave N Nashville, TN 37201-2017 313-7665 Bar Nashville Outrageous bartenders, girls dancing on the bar--it doesn't get much wilder than this. La La Lounge 209 10th Ave S, Suite 102 254-2000 Wild Horse Saloon