"The most imaginative and creative sight seeing tour in Memphis..." SIVAD, Memphis Tennessee!
(more tours to come!)
You have been given HIP NOTICE to take the Memphis Couch Trip!
This vacation visit MEMPHIS, take the COUCH TRIP tour and leave town HIPPER, STRONGER, & WISER!
You've just made an appointment in Memphis to see the Shrink. But the appointment is on your vacation! The doctor's office is a hearse and the couch you're going to lay down on is a nice comfy futon in the back.
The MEMPHIS SHRINK is your tour guide. He's the HOST with a ghost town on his back and he's willing to talk if you're willing to listen. To aid you in your relaxation and imagery you will be TRIP-NOTIZED by our lovely assistant THE TRIPNOTIST who rides shotgun with a saxophone. She will 'trip-notize' you with her siren call into thinking that you are actually going back in time to the '50's, '60's or '70s. The TRIPNOTIST is there for your comfort and relaxation.
You may have heard that a hearse is a smooth ride - but our Driver isn't just taking care of business, he's driving the CARE TAKIN' BUSINESS, a 1974 Cadillac Hearse!
Therein, We are not merely observing - but FEELING the sights and sounds of our 188 year old city that created rock and roll. At first it might appear to be a hallucination, but no... it's Memphis Tennessee.
You don't just take this Tour laying down. We stop at key locations and offbeat destinations where you can stretch your legs and stand where musical giants stood. Feel the breeze blowing off the river. Have a tall glass of Memphis water (we supply it).
After ninety minutes you have the right to be 'untripnotized' but even so, you will always be hip to Memphis.
(see at the bottom for times and prices)
We start our dark journey at a beautiful teal blue building on Madison near Zinnies East - the former location of DR. NICK'S PHARMACY. We hear authentic news broadcasts announcing Elvis's death on August 16th, 1977 as we head for the ZIPPIN PIPPIN ROLLER COASTER which was Elvis's LAST public appearance on August 11, 1977 ...
http://www.guerrillamonsterfilms.com/archives/2006/careless_wood/index.html
We''ll also talk about the MID-SOUTH COLISEUM across the street where Elvis played his last Memphis show in 1976.
From there we listen to Moody Blue (Elvis's last record) as we ride to the former site of the BAPTIST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL where Elvis was pronounced dead....
Now we begin to resurrect Memphis.
We drive into Overton Park, where Boss Crumps statue welcomes us. The boss of Memphis politics who died the year "That's All Right" was recorded. Inside the park we walk to the Overton Park Shell, newly remodeled. This is the first place that Elvis played for money (on July 30th, 1954) and Johnny Cash to follow. On the given night we are there, there might just an open air concert (fingers crossed).
Speaking of Johnny Cash....Let's go to Galloway Church in Cooper Young where Johnny played his very first show in the basement downstairs (where I now vote). And from there lets go back a little further to Katz's Drug store parking lot where Johnny saw Elvis play on the back of a flat bed truck. This was three days after Johnny had returned from the service.
We drive back through Cooper Young with a short history of the Yellow Fever epidemic - as we pull up to the gates of Elmwood where 5000 + victims are buried in a mass grave.
Once on Lamar we head downtown to the old Hotel Chisca where Dewey Phillips had his radio show RED HOT & BLUE on WHBQ. He played "That's All Right" 14 times on the night of July 8, 1954 thus changing music forever. Now the building is haunted by Memphis music history and abandoned. We honor this building as a shine, a totem of race and politics, and all things Memphis. It was Rufus Thomas who said that Dewey Phillips was "accidentally born white."
The resurrection continues...
We will stop and talk about Mary the 9 year old Ghost Girl who was struck down and mortally wounded by a street car in 1925. Your guide will tell you about the evil Georgia Tann, who ran the Memphis Orphanage and stole children and sold them to childless couples. Sometimes, if you are very lucky, Mary will appear and talk to you on the curb where she was struck down.
From there we will head around to the LORRAINE MOTEL, where Dr. King was assassinated, we talk about the damage not just to black and white relations but to SOUL MUSIC it's very core. The tour turns toward South toward the soul of the city as we make our way over to Stax which looks so beautiful at night.
On the way back to DR. NICK's old pharmacy you will be UNTRIPNOTIZED. You will be provided a map so that you can return in daylight if you choose to re-visit the CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, The ORPHEUM, SUN RECORDS, & STAX MUSUEM OF SOUL MUSIC - which we urge that you do.
Shape of Kings is our "Landmarks of Teenage Elvis" tour. Not every town has an archetype like Elvis Presley. Here in Memphis, he is the historic preservationist's best friend! If Elvis touched something, there is a good chance it will be saved, but that is not always the case.
On our SHAPE OF KINGS tour, There are many old sights in our town which are made historical by Elvis's affiliation, but that doesn't mean they're going to be around forever.
Enjoy these wonderful places while you can!
Visit our SHAPE OF KINGS sister site here for more details.
www.shapeofkings.com
MEET OUR TALENTED IMPERSONATORS on the DELUXE COUCH TRIP and HELP GIVE HISTORY A LIFT!
For a few dollars more, you can have another daytime Couch Trip experience!
The Old Hearse called The Care Takin' Business has some time traveling curb side stops to make:
Near Lauderdale Courts, we spot a greasy haired 18 year old kid with a guitar on his way down the street. He looks like he could use a lift since his work truck broke down a ways back. He says he''s heading to Sun Studio to make a $4 recording. Sun is just around the corner so we accommodate him. He takes a chance with us despite the fact we must look pretty weird (remember he thinks it's 1953). You have about ten minutes to talk to this very shy Humes High School graduate before we drop him off at Sun Studio. He's about to pay $4 for his first recording. there's only one problem - he's flat broke.
While we are at Sun-
We offer a ride to the 34 year old blonde secretary. She's been working so hard for the recording engineer/ owner because honestly, she has a crush on that man. She holds down two jobs, the other is in radio at WREC located at the Peabody. She tells us about her dream: the first all female radio station - and something else... she recorded this strange kid awhile back who said, "I don't sound like nobody". She thinks her boss might have a crush on this kid too cause he's recorded him at the Memphis Recording Service three times already trying to find a "a white kid that can sound black." You have ten minutes to get to know her before we drop her off at the Peabody.
While we are at the Peabody Hotel ...
We pick up a 31 year old slicked back Alabama boy turned rockabilly record producer as he's walking out of the Peabody Hotel. He's just had a crazy meeting with Daddy-O-Dewey" Phillips, WHBQ DJ and good friend. They've been drinking at the bar and talking about this new demo "That's All Right Mama" and there's only one acetate copy.
The record producer needs a lift back to Sun Studio. So he tells us on the way that he got the answer to his question from Dewey. The ultimate question which will kick off rock and roll history.... "Is this kid black or white?" You have ten minutes to talk to him before we drop off this hyper cat at Sun Studio.
You know the rest of the story...
And to get everyone "in the know", this tour will kick off with a tour of Sun Studio (cost included!)
While continuing to be the "godfather of independent cinema" in Memphis with his pop culture company www.guerrillamonsterfilms.com, (Tupelo born) Mike McCarthy has allowed Memphis to infect him like a yellow fever. But McCarthy has survived and lived to tell about it. Amidst drawing comic books and playing in bands, Mike played Dewey Phillips for japanese television back in 97 and wrote and directed the short ELVIS MEETS THE BEATLES with Craig Brewer producing in 2000. Mike was a tour guide at Sun Studio for 4 years, 5 months, and 6 days starting in 2003. He was hired on the day Sun became a historic landmark (the night before Hurricane Elvis had struck) and seven days later - Sam Phillips died. Then later McCarthy would work for the innovative and road ready Backbeat Tours, another incredible live tour experience located on Beale Street. McCarthy also learned from the Master of Memphis tourism, Tad Pierson's American Dream Safari with his deluxe 55 Cadillac! All worthy tours and fine compliments to McCarthy's new and outrageous MEMPHIS COUCH TRIP.
The lovely and talented SUSIE HENDRIX who has lived and performed in Memphis through 20 years and several bands, Susie is also a Universal Life Church Minister and can also perform marriage ceremonies in the hearse.
Jay. Lazarus Hawk is the owner of the 1974 Cadillac Hearse. He is the fourth owner and fully insured. Lazarus is an actor and director who has lived off and on in Memphis for ten years.
Lazarus's car: A beautiful gray 1974 Cadillac Hearse.
THE RECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION!
The COUCH TRIP typically goes out twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7 to 9 pm. Admission is $30 per head + tips if you like the ride.
Private tours or custom tours MAY REQUEST ANY DATE YOU LIKE and we will STRIVE to meet those demands as well, day or night. Always CALL 901-486-6325 to find out what we can do for you.
A minimum of five guests are needed per COUCH TRIP - That's $30 a head OR $150 per party. The hearse is BIG and can hold up to ten guests quite comfortably but ten guests are the maximum.
The more upscale ROCKABILLY HITCHHIKER TOUR is $50 a person with a six person limit - or $300 minimum with a smaller party. Again, ten people would be the maximum.
You will be asked to sign our standard 'no liability' contract stating we (The Memphis Couch Trip) are not responsible for personal injury or harm. Also, that you agree to being "tripnotized (not hypnotized) and following the tour, you will be customarily UN-tripnotized. However, you have the right to remain "hip" after the tour.
Also customarily, we ask that each guest divulge a DEEP DARK SECRET, to be written on paper, thrown in a hat - and we read those at the end of the tour.
YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN HIP-NOTICE!
MEMPHIS COUCH TRIP, SHAPE OF KINGS, ROCKABILLY HITCHHIKER TOUR, copyright 2008, all rights reserved DEATH SALES, LLC.
Please call Mike at 901-486-6325 with any other questions.
Thanks
The MEMPHIS SHRINK
aka Mike McCarthy
901-486-6325