Chuck Burnley, Byrne in the Old CIty, and more

Chuck Burnley
The inimitable Chuck Burnley passed away Sept. 28 at the age of 58. The esteemed local music promoter was diagnosed with lung cancer in July. Burnley owned and operated Planet Earth, the pioneering Old City music venue that, in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, saw an amazing variety of locally and internationally known acts pass through its doors. Fond anecdotes of the eccentric Knoxville luminary have been filling downtown clubs and bars these past few weeks, giving a sense of how important and unique Burnley remains to local music lovers, and what a presence he was. He will be missed.

Knoxville is a place where nothing ever happens
Digging around the Knoxnews.com blogs, we found a link to David Byrne’s online journal, recounting a recent trip through East Tennessee. It begins with his account of Pigeon Forge and Dollywood, and apparently, what made the biggest impression on him there were a pig roasting over hot coals and Dollywood’s giant slices of pie. Leastways those are the only pictures he posted from his ET jaunt. His tone is fairly dry and nonjudgmental throughout much of the journal, but boy, when he hits Knoxville that all changes. He was not impressed with our “historic town center,” and even less so with our “local hip tabloid-sized mag Skirt,” drawing broad generalizations about the populace from the paper’s content and ads. He totally harshes on us! Maybe he’ll end up writing a quirky song about his experiences here. You can read the complete account at http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2007/09/09172007-on-the.html.

Not just for breakfast anymore
If only Byrne had shown up a few weeks later, he might have been impressed to find a cereal bar in the Old City. “A what?” A cereal bar. You know – a coffee shop kind of hang out place where you have a selection of different cereals and yerba mate and bubble teas from which to choose. Very humble-chic. The Knoxville Pearl recently opened on Jackson Street, just a few doors down from Pilot Light, offering sugary breakfast confections and more healthy, organic cereals. Five bucks gets you a bottomless bowl, which, if you’re going to go out to eat cereal, seems the only real choice. They’re open until midnight most nights, and 3 a.m. on the weekends. When we went in, they had old Transformers cartoons on the TV centered in the middle of the large, comfy front room, giving the place that childhood Saturday morning vibe.