The opening a few months back of the Five Star General Store on 12th Avenue South was the kind of magical, spontaneous musical experience that doesn’t happen often enough in Nashville. In the shady yard beside the modestly sized clothing store and craft emporium, families set out lawn chairs and coolers. At the far end of the yard, musician friends of Five Star owner Joy Patterson—including the Cherry Blossoms, Lambchop, Trauma Team, and Paul Burch (backed by members of BR5-49)—played delightful impromptu sets, taking time out only to drink lemonade and eat $3 plates of CYOD frontman Mark Nevers’ justifiably famous hot chicken. The afternoon was free, it was relaxed, it was fun, it was attended by every scenemaker in town, and it sounded great. The only oddity was that this kind of open, all-inclusive event doesn’t happen more often.

Luckily for anyone who wasn’t there—and for anyone who was—Patterson is hosting an end-of-summer bash this Saturday at the Five Star. Once again, the afternoon is free and open to the public, and people can bring lawn chairs and coolers. The musical lineup includes Josh Rouse, Ann Tiley, CYOD, the return of Tony Guides founder James Clauer, David Cloud’s Gospel of Power, Laurel Parton’s reformed Trauma Team, the Cherry Blossoms, bluesman John Smiff XXV, several Lambchop side projects, and Paul Burch’s R&B cover band the Smoky Bacon Combo; the bands will play from 3 p.m. till twilight. The main attraction, however, may well be Nevers’ Jamaican hot chicken, made with a Caribbean pepper called the “purple devil.” Dishes of curried rice and beans will also be on hand for the meat-impaired.

Nevers’ paint-dissolving homemade hot sauce, a local specialty that gets high marks from connoisseurs, is available at the Five Star. So are vintage clothes, Art Deco lamps, and all sorts of widgets and gewgaws—as well as T-shirts for Nevers’ label, Bloodsucker Records, which have been selling primarily to hip-hop kids.

But the store’s real strength lies in these infrequent neighborhood gatherings. The Five Star afternoons are more like block parties than gigs, and they point up how much character funky small businesses give to a community, and to a city. (Think of Little Five Points in Atlanta, or the North Beach district in San Francisco.) Why should tourists—or new residents, or relocating businesses—come to Nashville if it has nothing to offer but gimmicky theme restaurants, generic pro-sports franchises, and interchangeable chains? The Five Star better reflects the Nashville we love—a place where creative people exchange ideas and talent freely; where music isn’t always an industry; and where you don’t have to have a lot of money to find something wonderful.

The Five Star General Store is located at 1118 Halcyon St. across from Corner Music on 12th Avenue South; it’s open noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Call 386-0104 for more information.

—Jim Ridley

While the corporate labels and indies slug it out on Music Row, one of Nashville’s best-kept secrets, Spinout Records, has been catering to a devoted following of rockabilly, surf, and garage-rock fanatics. Owned by Los Straitjackets/Planet Rockers guitarist Eddie Angel and his wife Melanie, the label has released eight CDs and fifteen 45s since 1994.

Angel launched the imprint with one of his side projects, the trash-rock combo The Neanderthals. A joint tour by The Planet Rockers and Scottish beat kings The Kaisers resulted in two more 45s. Without really intending to, the Angels suddenly found themselves running a real record label.

“What we’re after is not just anything that can be sold,” Eddie Angel says. “We want things to sell, but we’re mainly looking for rock ’n’ roll that we like.” So far, the label’s best seller has been the pairing of Los Straitjackets with Western swing vocalist Big Sandy on “La Plaga” backed with “Que Mala.” Most of Spinout’s sales have been through direct mail order or through wholesaling to independent record stores and dealers.

In 1996, the label released its first CD, Rock Don’t Run, a compilation of 18 rock instrumentals from 12 bands, including Los Straitjackets, The Kaisers, and Nashville faves Dragula and Thee Phantom 5ive. Subsequent releases have included two more volumes of Rock Don’t Run; two Planet Rockers collections, including a scorching live set from 1990; a five-song EP by Nashville singer-songwriter Paul Kennerley; the latest release from psycho-blues-billies the Legendary Shack-Shakers; and a marvelous collection of female-fronted garage bands titled Today’s Top Girl Groups.

Angel admits that the label isn’t a big money-maker. “But as long as we’re not losing money and releasing music we like,” he says, “that’s good enough.” For a catalog or for more information, write Spinout Records at 4825 Trousdale Dr., Suite 368, Nashville, TN 37220.

—Randy Fox

Jazz vocalist April Barrows hasn’t been around much this summer—she’s focused her energies on an extended tour through the Southeast. But she’ll return Sunday night to F. Scott’s for her first local gig since her Nashville River Stages date with Lionel Hampton. Barrows is currently working on a new LP, for which she’s enlisting some guest stars who’ve kept a low profile in recent years. In the meantime, you can find her in Nashville Life’s current issue, which spotlights her as one of Nashville’s most stylish people. “I don’t know what they were thinking,” she demurs.

—Jim Ridley

Elliptical dispatches: Congratulations to Nashvillians Dave Harrison and Larry Chaney of the Edwin McCain Band, whose Atlantic Records LP Misguided Roses just went gold. On the strength of the single “I’ll Be,” which was featured in the season closer of the WB network’s Dawson’s Creek, the record continues to sell each week in five-digit numbers, and Harrison and Chaney performed with McCain on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno three weeks ago. Leno was very nice; more importantly, they got to meet Fred Willard. The band is slated to appear on Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show in October....

Two weeks ago, a message on The Cannery’s answering machine said the metal club won’t be booking live music anymore. This week, the number was completely disconnected. Word is that longtime promoter Gus Palas is no longer affiliated with the venue. No one has returned the Scene’s calls....

Real-deal swing revivalists Hoke & the Jump Daddies concluded their month-long stint of Thursdays at Wolfy’s with a special guest vocalist: Buddy Miles of “Them Changes” fame. Miles, who played in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys with Nashville resident Billy Cox, appeared only two weeks after Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell sat in with the Jump Daddies. The Jump Daddies have moved on to a steady gig at Jody’s, and they’re playing Sunday at Belle Meade Plantation at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the Exit/In is jumpin’, jivin’, and wailin’ with Australian swingmeisters Hughie & the Swing Thing every Thursday night this month....

If a bomb had gone off in The Sutler during last week’s show by Velvet Underground drummer Mo Tucker, it would’ve left a lot of stages empty in Nashville’s clubs. Musicians in the audience included Tommy Womack, Mike Grimes, John Sieger, Stella’s Charles Myrick, several members of Lambchop (who opened), and John Smiff XXV. As for the show, Tucker and her three-piece band cranked out one rip-roaring Bo Diddley-derived rocker after another, along with VU standards “After Hours” and a hypnotically droning “Pale Blue Eyes.” Many audience members came away thinking it’s Tucker, not Lou Reed, who best upholds the Velvets’ punk legacy....