Sinkhole at The National Corvette Museum In Bowling Green, Ky., That Causes Floor To Collapse Becomes A Global News Phenomenal

     I am amazed how the story of a floor collapse underneath the Big Yellow Dome at Bowling Green's National Corvette Museum that swallowed eight Corvettes in Bowling Green early this morning has become world-wide news phenomenal.

      The story has spread like wild fire thanks to social media and other news media outlets like cable television news and radio.  I have even posted and retweeted things about it on Facebook and Twitter just about all day myself.  There were news reports from USA Today, CNN, Fox, NBC, CBS, NPR, BBC, New York Times

and LA Times just to name a few.  I posted a Tweet today that said, "Who broke the story? WBKO news? (Our local television station.  That's where I first saw it on Facebook.)  However, one of my friends stated that she figured Joe Imel, the digital media director at the Bowling Green Daily News, most likely broke the story.  I agreed with her.  Joe Imel or joeimel@joeimel on Twitter has 16,400 followers.  He constantly listens to the police scanner and is usually the first to break all types of police and disaster news in the Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky communities.  He is a very dedicated photographer and journalist. Looking back on Joe's Twitter account today, it looks like he received an early morning Tweet from Bowling Green fireman, Matt Helms@fireman2915 "Floor collaspe at the big yellow dome at the national Corvette museum @joeimel."  Then Joe, retweeted, "BGFD staged at NCM for sink hole that swallowed up 6#Corvette on display in dome area More at bgdailynews.com on this breaking story."  Apparently, Matt and Joe broke the story which has now become a global news story. Great job guys!

Krystal Restaurants Are Still Going Strong In The South Since "The Great Depression" In the 1930's

    I was visiting our local Krystal in Bowling Green recently and I noticed some literature about the history of their restaurant that they were handing out to their customers.

    Immediately, when I started reading it, I thought back to my childhood days of growing up in East Memphis, Tenn.., and my first experience of eating at the Krystal located on Popular Avenue across from East High School in the 1960's.  It was probably around 1966 or so and I would say that I was four or five years old.  I remember that there was always a line of customers waiting to get their little, hot burgers with the tasty steam onions on them.  I remember that the small building was built with black and white tile on the inside and exterior with a big silver, "Krystal" ball on top. I also remember one time that my father took brothers and I to a Memphis State (University of Memphis now) football game at the formerly Memphis Memorial Stadium which is now the Liberty Bowl in the late fall in the mid-1960's when was freezing cold outside.  We played Mississippi State and won! Anyway, after the game, we rode in the back of a pickup truck on the way back to our friend's house located in mid-town and we stopped at that Krystal to pick up a couple sackful of those hot, little burgers to warm us up.  Wow, what an awesome memory!

    Here's what the literature says about the restaurant's history. "It was Oct. 24, 1932, when the nation's first Krystal restaurant opened its doors on the corner of Seventh and Cherry Streets in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., amid the harsh financial times of the Great Depression. Its founders, Rody Davenport Jr. and J. Glenn Sherrill, believed that despite the severe economic upheaval of the times, people would patronize a restaurant that kept spotlessly clean, provided courteous service and offered a good meal at the lowest possible price. Proving this theory true, the restaurant's first customer, French Jenkins, ordered six Krystals and a cup of coffee, all for a bargain price of 35 cents."

    Also, Krystal is a restaurant chain that is based in the South. "A passion that has been passed down from generation to generation, Krystal has become an experience that nearly man, woman and child in the South has shared. As a result, many "Krystal Stories" that directly relate to the company and its products. For years now, customers have been sharing their favorite memories by writing letters and sending emails to the company's corporate office. Recognizing the passion, in 2004, Krystal began recognizing its most devoted customers by inducting them into the "Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame." To commemorate the inductions, each inductee's illustrated likeness is placed on more than one million of the restaurant's famous Krystal Hamburger and Cheese Krystal boxes and used in restaurants across the Southeast."

    And Krystal has been around for years and is still going strong. "Krystal is also keeping an eye to the future as the company invests in new restaurant designs, develops new, unique menu items and expands into new markets across the South-upholding its legacy as a Southern icon by offering that one-of-a-kind taste and personal connection you can't find anywhere else."

Sleeper Agent's "Winter Wonderland" Verizon Wireless 2013 ChristmasCommercial Is Now Available on iTunes

   My previous entry about the Bowling Green, Ky., based alternative rock band, Sleeper Agent and their "Winter Wonderland" Verizon Wireless 2013 Christmas commercial is now my most widely read blog with 11,522 pageviews! Simply, amazing for sure!  My second highest read blog has 4,562 pageviews and it took three and half years to get to this point. Obviously, viewers of this Christmas commercial are wanting to know what the name of this alternative rock band that did a cover of "Winter Wonderland."  This is a classic song that has put the Christmas spirit in people's hearts for years.  So now everybody knows and they can even have their own copy of the full version of the Sleeper Agent song.  Thanks to Sleeper Agent's manager, Missy Worth, who is based in Hollywood, Calif., and their management team at RCA Records in New York City, they made it happen in just four days according to band member, Tony Smith.

   You can download Sleeper Agent's version of "Winter Wonderland" that has been taking the world by storm or "snow storm," if you will by clicking on to this link to make your purchase for only a $1.29. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/winter-wonderland-single/id776216341  And along the way, grab yourself some Christmas Cheer!

Sleeper Agent's Verizon Wireless Christmas Commercial 2013

     Several weeks ago Bowling Green, Ky.'s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XliBdscCSQk&t=23sbased alternative rock band, Sleeper Agent, recorded a demo of a cover version of a well known Christmas pop song, "Winter Wonderland," written in 1934 by Felix Bernard (music) and Richard B. Smith (lyricist). Sleeper Agent's version was picked over two other band's demos. After having the song recorded song professionally in a studio in Nashville, Verizon Wireless initially liked the Sleeper Agent demo better, the one they had recorded themselves in their own practice room in Bowling Green. However, Sleeper Agent and Verizon Wireless met halfway and came to an agreement to use lead singer, Alex Kandell's professionally recorded vocals dubbed over the demo music. But at the last minute, Verizon Wireless decided to go ahead use the professional studio version for the commercial that is now airing on major television and radio networks across the country during this 2013 Christmas holiday shopping season according to band member, Tony Smith. Watch the video here: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/76IY/verizon-winter-wonderland Also, if you would like a copy of the full version of the song, you can now purchase it on iTunes for only a $1.29.  Click here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/winter-wonderland-single/id776216341

Sun Club Will Shine Its Light On Rocky's Bar In Downtown Bowling Green, Ky., Thursday Night, Nov. 14th.

   Since the Bowling Green Music Scene has gained national and international attention these last couple of years thanks to alternative rock bands with major record deals and touring schedules such as Cage The Elephant and Sleeper Agent, Bowling Green has become a destination point for other lesser known groups to play shows.
   One of those such bands is "Sun Club" from Baltimore, MD. and they will perform at Rocky's Bar located on Main Street in downtown Bowling Green, Thursday night, Nov. 14th. According to band member, Shane Justice McCord, said they have been playing for a while.
   "We formed out of the ashes of another band in 2012. Last year we toured down to SXSW, passing through Bowling Green and lots of other cities on the way. We've been constantly touring since and are releasing our debut EP in early January," McCord said.
   On their Bandcamp web-site they describe themselves as "Sun Club is a group of buddies playing happy music." You can also hear two songs of theirs called, "Beauty Meat" and "Language Juice, " on the site. To find out more about Sun Club, go to their Bandcamp or Facebook pages at www.sunclubband.com and www.facebook.com/sunclubband
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Bowling Green, Ky's Alternative Rock Sensations, "Sleeper Agent" Announce New Album and Single

     For those of you who are signed up on Bowling Green, Ky's alternative rock sensations, "Sleeper Agent's" e-mail alerts on their web-site already, you probably saw where they announced yesterday the name of their new upcoming album on RCA Records, "About Last Night," and their new upcoming single, "Waves."

"Our new album, About Last Night, is finally on the horizon. Sleeper Agent has returned and is ready to get raw and cathartic with you. Over the last year songs poured out of us at a feverish pace. From the back bench in a van to total seclusion in the mountains of Kentucky, we grew closer, shared stories and turned them into what would become a labor of love, life and loss. Heavier in heart, heavier in sound; we couldn't be more thrilled to finally share this batch of 12 brand new songs with you. The beginning of 2014 marks a new beginning for Sleeper Agent as we kick off an extensive stateside tour with New Politics. In the weeks to come you’ll have your first taste with "Waves"accompanied with intimate visuals. We can’t wait to meet you all over again. Let’s make it count."

    According to the e-mail, the single will be out sometime this month (November) accompanied by a lyric video which will be posted on their web-site and the internet such as Vevo and Youtube.  Sleeper Agent will tour with the "New Politics" and "Magic Man" beginning Jan.14, 2014 in Houston, Texas.  They will also tour for one week in November starting on Nov. 22 in Nashville and ending up in Atlanta on Nov. 27. For more information regarding their new album and ticket sales for their upcoming tours, go to their web-site at http://sleeperagentmusic.com/  You can also signed up on their web-site to receive the e-mail alerts in order to get the latest news from Sleeper Agent.

Craig Fehrman's "Home Grown: Cage The Elephant and The Making Of A Modern Music Scene" Is A Smash!

      Last Summer, while talking to my wife, Patty, and Tony and Alex over dinner, (Tony Smith and Alex Kandel who are from the alternative indie rock band, Sleeper Agent. Tony is my son and Alex is our future daughter in-law), Tony informed us that a writer from New York had been in Bowling Green interviewing the guys from Cage The Elephant and other local musicians and key people in town about the Bowling Green Music Scene.
    Tony also said that the writer who had written for the New York Times and had interviewed him and Alex too. Of course, I thought that was really cool but Tony did not know a whole lot about it other than he just said that the writer was probably going to write an article of some sort about Cage and the booming music scene in Bowling Green. Tony said that he didn't know where it or when it was going to be published. After that conversation, I basically forgot all about it until over a year later when somebody posted it on Facebook last week, that Craig Fehrman's Kindle single, "Home Grown: Cage The Elephant and the Making of a Modern Music Scene" was now available on the internet. Of course, I bought it for $1.99 and then gobbled it up within an hour or so on my iPhone. It's a quick read and about a 20,000 word article or 58 pages. It has 13 chapters such as "Too Hot For Skinny Jeans," "It's Like Its Own Little Babylon in the Middle of the South. But With a Lot of Churches," and "Tidball's." I have to admit that I was totally fascinated how this very talented writer had captured the essence and the current mood our of fair city of 60,000 and its happening downtown and music scene.

"But Cage seemed different. A little Googling revealed that all five members still lived in or near Bowling Green. It also revealed that they were right about the quality of their tiny local scene. In the last few years, Bowling Green had birthed Sleeper Agent, a snappy retro rock group that had signed with the iconic Mom + Pop label, played on Fallon, toured with Weezer and fun. The city could also claim Morning Teleportation, a spacey jam band that packed their six-minutes song with 20 minutes's worth of hooks."

    Fehrman describes Cage in great detail and writes about Cage drummer Jared Champion's dad, (Bill Champion, who happens to be a friend of mine.). He also writes about local DJ, Tommy Starr from Bowling Green's legendary rock station, D93, who helped build the local music scene to what it is today through the years by his radio program, "Home Cookin'" showcasing local musicians and bands. Also featured in the book, is Bryan Graves, a Bowling Green resident and co-founder of the Starry Nights Music and Arts Festival along with Matt and Brad Shultz from Cage, that has gained a lot of widespread media attention these last few years as far as outdoor music festivals goes. He also interviews local Blues musician Kenny Smith and Jeremi Simon-Kinnaman from the indie rock band, "Schools" and writes about another up and coming band, "Buffalo Rodeo." Fehrman digs in deep and really gives the reader sharp insight of what's happening in the Bowling Green Music Scene and how it involved to where it is today. Fehrman even conducts a phone interview with John Carperter, the famous horror film movie director who lives in Hollywood who is originally from Bowling Green. Fehrman reveals that Carpenter is also a musician of many sorts.
    Here's the author's bio from is web-site: "Fehrman is a Ph.D. student in Yale’s English department and a freelance writer. He’s written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and Slate, among others, and been interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. (You can find a full archive of his work here.) He’s also working on a book about presidents and their books — and, more broadly, about how, when, and why we started expecting politicians to write books.
    Fehrman grew up in Dillsboro, Indiana, and graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in 2007, majoring in English literature and psychology. Both Yale and Connecticut represent new experiences for him, but, so far, they’ve been good ones. According to Fehrman, he's married to a beautiful and understanding woman named Candice, who works as a book editor in Fairfield, Connecticut."

    I give Fehrman's Kindle single, five stars.  It's an awesome read and spot on regarding the ins and outs about Cage The Elephant and the Bowling Green Music Scene. To download his book, go to Amazon.com here at http://www.amazon.com/Home-Grown-Elephant-Making-Modern-ebook/dp/B00G2N4JCE/ Also, to view Fehrman's web-site, go to http://craigfehrman.com/