Enoteca Sogna, the locally-owned Italian restaurant that was unceremoniously booted from its digs on West Broad Street has settled on a new home here in Bellevue. Word on the foodie grapevine is that the restaurant will make its new home in a leased space on Bellevue Ave. According to Epicuriousity:

After several months of searching (soul and otherwise), Gary York has found a new space for Enoteca Sogno, on Richmond’s northside in Bellevue. The former Belle B and Bella Arte space at 1223 Bellevue Ave offers some interesting architectural details and neighbors such as The Northside Grill and Nicola Flora.

Good news for Northside Richmond. Terrible news for my budget.

Wanda Jackson put on a pretty good show last night at Shenanigan’s Pub here in Richmond. The Lustre Kings warmed the crowd up and also served as Wanda’s backing band. She performed all of her hits—Hard Headed Woman, Mean, Mean Man, Let’s Have a Party, Fujiyama Mama—as well as a few covers, including her recently recorded version of Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good ( it was the first time they played that one live and it was, to put it delicately, a trainwreck). Oh,well. The woman is in her 70’s, but she’s still got some fire in her and is clearly enjoying herself.

Jackson, often referred to as The Queen (or The First Lady) of Rockabilly, began her career in the mid-’50s. As a pioneering rockabilly artist she was a peer of other early key figures such as Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, and shared bills with (and briefly dated) Elvis Presley. She recorded for Decca Records as a teen, though Jackson had initially talked with Capitol about a deal, where she was told by a producer, “Girls don’t sell records.”

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It’s been remarkable for Jackson to see the evolution of her audiences from the last years of her country career in the 1970s to today’s shows where she is held in reverence by fans who recognize her as one of the few remaining rock & roll pioneers. “The people are different these days, even in clubs. I’ve noticed that the generation, the people who are coming to see me now, are young adults. There are a few scattered people my age, from my era, but most of them are this new generation of rockabilly and ’50s-rock fans. They’re so cute because they know all of my songs, which is always shocking, and they sing along with me, and they know so much about my career. They’re just really great fans and they seem to esteem me very highly, which is very nice. Plus, I get paid a little bit more these days. That’s always nice, too.”

Shenanigan’s seems an unlikely venue for such a notable performer as Wanda. I would expect her to perform in a larger or more well-known space. But, really, all things considered, it’s  perfect.  Shenanigan’s is one of Northside Richmond’s trusty watering holes,  low-lit with a small stage by the door.  When you walk in you can smell the odor of stale beer mingling with bleach. Dedicated smokers cluster outside on the sidewalk, puffing away. It’s the ideal setting to hear the reigning Queen of Rockabilly sing about hard-headed women and mean, mean men.

Ever since moving to Northside Richmond,  Elaine and I, and our dog Dewey,  have really missed what used to be a daily trip to the dog park on Forest Hill Ave. Soon after we moved here, I began  asking around to see if  there were any plans to build a dog park in the area. There had been some discussion about a dog park on our community listserv, but that forum trail had run cold. So I created my own post, in the hopes of reviving interest. So many people in Northside own dogs.  I knew a significant number of them would support this idea.

That was nearly nine months ago. Since then, I’ve been working with a small group of committed dog owners in the Northside community and with employees of the Richmond City Parks & Recreation Department (shout out to Larry & Mary Lois) to make this dog park a reality. Together we’ve identified a great location–a grassy, wooded area across the parking lot from Pine Camp Arts Center–and have applied for and been approved to be a partner of the Richmond Recreation & Parks Foundation. This gives us 501(c)3 nonprofit status and makes it easier to raise funds. After an orientation meeting with a member of the Foundation,  we’ll be ready to go out and promote our park plans, recruit volunteers,  and solicit financial help.

Our hope is the break ground in spring and open the park in late summer. The City Parks Department has been incredibly supportive, and is contributing significantly to the project. Stay tuned here as we move forward. If you want to know more, check out our Ning site: http://northsidedogpark.ning.com/. To become a member of our group, you’ll need to create a Ning account (it’s free) and then submit a request to join our group.

Update: You can now follow the progress of Northside Dog Park on Twitter. We’re @northrvadogpark

For me, the most interesting parts of his talk were when he stepped away from his laptop to tell a personal story or riff on some aspect of his very long and very interesting career.  I was familiar with his recent film roles (For Your Consideration, A Mighty Wind) and that he is the voice behind so many memorable Simpson’s characters, such as Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, and Montgomery Burns. I also knew that he spent two unhappy seasons  as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live. What I was surprised to find out is that Shearer has been in “showbiz” for most of his life. Born in L.A., Shearer worked with Jack Benny as a child and was the original Eddie Haskell (only named Frankie) in the first few episodes of  Leave It to Beaver. He also covered the Watts riots as a young journalist for Newsweek. He has his own record label and has exhibited several video art installations, most recently at Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center.

It was great to watch Spinal Tap again, which I haven’t seen in several years. Here’s one last sad fact provided by Shearer that added a bit of poignancy to my experience of rewatching this innovative film that took such creative risks (being almost completely improvised): according to the movie industry accountants, Spinal Tap still has not “officially” made a profit.

What started as a way to subsidize a rock band during his college days at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992 turned into both a passion and a career for McCready.

He now owns the Foxwedge school and Bankston & Bailey, where he designs and makes fine furniture.

He started his career as a woodworking apprentice at Richmond-based design and fine-furniture maker Harrison Higgins Inc.

“As it turned out, I liked woodworking more than the band,” McCready said.

After graduating from VCU in 1998, he worked at a couple of research-related jobs before starting a doctoral program in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland.

“I stopped after one year because I wanted to get back to woodworking,” he said.

Forget carbo-loading and resting before the Richmond Half-Marathon: I plan on preparing for the race  by drinking beer, bathing in secondhand smoke, knocking down a few duckpins, and rocking out to cute Japanese punkers Shonen Knife. Inspired by the Ramones, adopted by Sonic Youth, Shonen Knife are one of a kind and not to be missed.

SK are currently touring the US in their Hello Kitty tour bus and will be stopping by Richmond’s own duckpin alley, Plaza Bowl, on November 13th, the night before the big Richmond running hooha. Hot Lava, Hex Machine, and Jeff the Brotherhood will be sharing a lane with the ladies. Get your tickets here

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