Love-Hate Mail
Railroad crossing
In
response to the letter to the editor submitted by Davis Carr (Love/Hate
Mail, Dec. 6), several of the houses on Sadler Avenue predate the
construction of the spur track that crosses Sadler Avenue. In fact, one
of our residents remembers stories of his grandparents fighting the
construction of the spur. The contention of most residents is not only
that CSX continues to use the spur, but that it allows trains to park
for extended periods of time, which blocks access of emergency vehicles
and school buses to our neighbors. If you recall from the article (“A
Neighborhood Railroaded,” Nov. 15), our neighborhood is completely
surrounded by tracks that are operated by CSX. Davis Carr’s comment
that the neighborhood is “cheap” implies that only wealthier
neighborhoods should be shielded from big business operating
in residential areas in an unsafe and unethical manner. If Davis Carr
had a better understanding of our neighborhood, he would realize that
1) the houses were there first and 2) the majority of our homes are
owner-occupied and have been for years. We do not wish for a government
bailout as he so implied. We just wish to have CSX cooperate with us to
improve the safety of our neighborhood.
TERESA BATES
PRESIDENT, SADLER VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
Teresa.Bates2@HCAhealthcare.com (Nashville)
Spin off
While
I usually think it’s bush league when an artist replies to contradict a
bad review, in this instance, nothing was written about the music my
band The Texas Sapphires performed at the AMA Conference (“The Spin,”
Nov. 8). Instead, the anonymous writer attacked the band, calling us “a
bunch of hipster honky-tonk posers…punk rockers re-casting themselves
as down-home country folk.”
A cursory glance at TheTexasSapphires.com would have informed the reviewer that what we do is anything but a pose. My first 18 years were spent on a hog farm performing quite difficult chores (along with such recreational diversions as hunting and horse training). I cut my teeth on Dad’s Roy Acuff and Hank Thompson (not my dorm mate’s Hank III). I’ve played various types of music since age 5, but mostly country. What is a “punk rocker” in ’07? Perhaps the Scratch Acid T-shirt worn under my Nudie jacket compelled the reviewer to such drivel. I played the Willie Picnic in ’01. Not country enough? Ask fellow Austinite Dale Watson—contrasted in the same piece with my band as the “real-deal”—about my guitar picking.
Co-lead singer and native Texan Rebecca Lucille Cannon’s childhood was filled with the likes of Merle, Willie, Lefty, Tubb and such. Her powerful Loretta-inspired vocals caught the attention of our album’s producer Lloyd Maines. That she once fronted a successful alterna-pop band shouldn’t disqualify her. Her husband/steel player Nathan Fleming is considered to be one of the best up-and-comers around, having learned every Buddy Emmons and Lloyd Green lick recorded, studied under Ricky Davis (Dale Watson’s Lonestars) and played on the new Johnny Bush album. He also loves The Misfits. Reckon he should just quit country.
I
have no problem with a reviewer ripping our music and agree that the
scene is rife with band-wagoners who recently discovered Cash, but I
take exception to bogus invectives pegging us as such clowns.
BILLY BRENT MALKUS
TexasSapphires@gmail.com (Austin)
Pulled away
The Dallas Observer
is losing an excellent, honest, smart and fair investigative reporter
in Matt Pulle (Editor’s Note, Dec. 6). The readers of the Scene
should be delighted to hear of Pulle’s return. I have been a local
Dallas activist for many years. I can tell you sincerely that Matt
Pulle’s pen is far mightier than the sword. Hope you guys can keep Matt
for a long time, but we all here wish he had never left. Maybe you guys
can find a way to clone him and send the original back to us here at
the Big D. We will miss him and his pen very much. Congratulations,
Matt.
GEHRIG M. SALDAÑA
gehrigs302@sbcglobal.net
(Dallas)
Ax the Mexican
I would like to thank the Nashville Scene
for putting together such an excellent paper. I much appreciate the
variety of topics covered, and I think it’s an excellent guide for the
events in Nashville and surrounding areas. But I found one article
called “Ask a Mexican” very deplorable, and I believe that the author
Gustavo Arellano portrays an awful image of the Mexican culture to the
Nashville community. I believe that this section just creates hostility
between cultures and that such an excellent paper shouldn’t have such
an article in it.
SUZET GALINDO-MARTINEZ
suzet.galindo-martinez@vanderbilt.edu
(Nashville)
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