All Y'all

On June 29, the world lost someone very special. The film industry brought Jim Hayes to Shreveport, but his love of our little town is what kept him here—along with his wife, Christine, and son, Walker. Jim was many things, but first and foremost, he was an artist. Whether building props for movies ranging from Austin Powers to Mulholland Drive, painting his signature flames down the side of a hot rod, or creating interesting environments at local businesses like Abby Singer’s Bistro and Twisted Root Burger Company, Jim literally left his mark on Shreveport. After the recording of Jim and Christine’s Exit Interview (https://www.allyallblog.com/2018/06/27/exit-interviews-jim-and-christine-hayes/), Jim stuck around afterward to share the story of how a car gig for Johnny Depp secretly went totally wrong. We’re glad to finally have it out in the world today. See Jim at work in episode 2 of Moviesauce‘s series “Faces” : https://youtu.be/CmXrgoFWTpo All Y’all is brought to listeners with the support of Marilynn’s Place, Rhino Coffee and Maccentric. Like All Y’all on Facebook http://facebook.com/allyallblog Follow All Y’all on Twitter http://twitter.com/allyallpodcast Follow All Y’all on Instagram http://instagram.com/allyallpodcast

The second installment in an ongoing series, this episode of Exit Interviews features Ashley Johnson and Ari Butler, both of whom have recently relocated from Shreveport, Louisiana to Connecticut. The Exit Interviews series features candid conversations with former Shreveport-Bossier residents about how living here shaped their lives and what lead to their decision to relocate. Ashley and Ari's conversation with host Sara Hebert highlights many of the best aspects of life in Shreveport (live music, grassroots-organized community events, a supportive LGBTQIA community) while underscoring the need for more professional opportunities. It's an insightful, revealing conversation. Want more conversations like this? Help us by sending a few bucks our way at Paypal.me/AllYall Thank you, Marilynn's Place and Maccentric All Y'all would not exist without the incredible support of our sponsors, including Maccentric and Marilynn's Place. Please support these wonderful local businesses.

You can tell a lot about someone from the way they treat the animals in their lives. When storyteller Cristal Willcox's beloved cat Kashmir passed away, her friends gathered for the kind of midnight funeral that could only take place in Louisiana. In another time and place, storyteller Randall Ross embarks on a lovelorn holiday acid trip during which a talking feline encourages him to commit cat burglary. It's a weird episode. All Y’all Live: Going Through It on Saturday, Sept. 28 The next All Y’all live storytelling event, Going Through It, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at LSU Shreveport’s beautiful University Center Auditorium. For our sixth annual Fidnto Award fundraiser event, we’re currently seeking true stories of overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, beating the odds, and going the distance. There’ll be a cash bar and live musical interludes. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit mental health support services for under-served communities in and around Shreveport. Purchase tickets at http://allyallblog.com/tickets Our Sponsors Are Freaking Great Seriously, how lucky are we to be sponsored by an incredibly good po' boy shop (Marilynn's Place) and the most trusted Mac service shop in town (Maccentric)? Can you imagine if, instead of talking about two badass, locally owned businesses, we were hawking MeUndies.com? That would be awful. Please support our sponsors.

Like the t-shirt says: Y’all Means All. Since our first live event, All Y’all has prioritized the inclusion of LGBTQ voices. This past June, Sara from All Y’all took part in StoryCorps’ Stonewall OutLoud project, helping gather stories from LGBTQ elders in Shreveport including Randy Moulder, Deborah Allen and David Radford. For this special episode of All Y’all, we’ve assembled a few of our favorite moments from their stories, in hopes that these excerpts will encourage you to listen to their full stories. Here’s links to their full StoryCorps stories: David Radford: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/why-do-i-like-aquaman-instead-of-wonder-woman-i-didnt-know-what-was-wrong-with-me/ Deborah Allen: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i-look-at-their-children-and-they-are-so-full-of-love-and-empathy-and-love-my-kids-are-the-parents-i-wish-i-could-have-been-like/ Randy Moulder: Pt 1: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/if-these-people-would-take-five-minutes-to-say-hello-and-get-to-know-me-this-old-queens-got-some-pretty-interesting-things-to-say/ Pt 2: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/if-these-people-would-take-five-minutes-to-say-hello-and-get-to-know-me-this-old-queens-got-some-pretty-interesting-things-to-say-2/ All Y’all Live: Going Through It on Saturday, Sept. 28 The next All Y’all live storytelling event, Going Through It, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at LSU Shreveport’s beautiful University Center. For our sixth annual Fidnto Award fundraiser event, we’re currently seeking six true stories of overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, beating the odds, and going the distance. There’ll be a cash bar and live musical interludes. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit mental health support services for underserved communities in and around Shreveport. New Stuffed & Busted E-Newsletter Our food and drink podcast, Stuffed & Busted, has a new, semi-weekly e-newsletter where All Y’all co-host Chris Jay publishes wild rants on topics like snow cones, farmers’ markets, food events, and more. Sign up for Stuffed & Busted’s Small Bites e-newsletter here: http://tinyletter.com/stuffedandbusted Thank you, Marilynn’s Place and Maccentric All Y’all live storytelling events wouldn’t be possible without the support of our presenting sponsor, Marilynn’s Place, and our podcast sponsor, Maccentric. Please support these incredible local businesses the next time you need your Mac repaired or your belly filled.

This is a rebroadcast of an episode from the All Y'all archives: Kate Archer Kent, “Keep Your Hands On the Rope.” We'll be back next week with all new stories and episodes. Thanks for letting us take a break after our wildly successful and fun evening of stories!

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A young, gay man comes of age in the Deep South, where he is the son of a pastor. If you're expecting this story to end in tears, you may be right - but they may be tears of joy. Michael Chisum's ode to the love of two fathers was a message that we very much needed to hear in this time of bigotry paraded as faith. "God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him." -1 John 4:16 All Y'all Live: Wildcard 2 on Friday, July 26 Tickets are now available for the next All Y'all live storytelling event, Wildcard 2, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 26 at RSVP. At Wildcard events, storytellers names are drawn from a hat - anyone who's drawn has to either tell a short, true story (10 minutes or less) or nominate a friend to tell a story in their place. Tickets are $15 each. There'll be a cash bar and musical interludes by Nate Treme. These events are an absolute blast, and can often feel like a combination of a house party and a live storytelling event. Tickets may be purchased at http://allyallblog.com/tickets Thanks to everyone who's already gotten tickets - y'all are the real MVPs. New, Weekly Stuffed & Busted E-Newsletter Our food and drink podcast, Stuffed & Busted, has a new, weekly e-newsletter where All Y'all co-host Chris Jay publishes wild rants on topics like snow cones, farmers' markets, food events, and more. Read the first two editions or sign up to receive future e-newsletters: http://tinyletter.com/stuffedandbusted Thank you, Marilynn's Place and Maccentric All Y'all live storytelling events wouldn't be possible without the support of our presenting sponsor, Marilynn's Place, and our podcast sponsor, Maccentric. Please support these incredible local businesses the next time you need your Mac repaired or your belly filled with well-seasoned red beans.

So, let's say it's your day off. You get some friends together, make some plans, and head out for a day filled with anything - anything - but work. You know what comes next, right? Your services are required. Duty calls. Do you answer? When retired DEA agent Pam Brown took the stage at All Y'all Live: I Just Work Here in April 2017, she reflected on an unusual ethical conflict at the office ("the office," in this case, being a beachfront bar in Cocaine Cowboys-era Miami). It's a story about grey areas, moral ambiguities, and "doing the right thing for the wrong reason." Live storytelling just 2 weeks away All Y’all Live: Wildcard 2 will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 26 at RSVP (formerly Maurice’s Bar) in Shreveport. Purchase tickets: http://allyallblog.com/tickets During Wildcard events, any audience member may be called onstage to tell the best true story that they know – it’s 50% live storytelling event, 50% party. There’ll be a cash bar, live musical interludes, and more. Seating is limited; grab your tickets today. Please Support Our Sponsors We have wonderful sponsors in Marilynn’s Place and Maccentric. Please help us thank them for their patronage by doing business with them whenever you need someone to feed you a po’ boy or fix your Apple products.

If you were asked to conjure up the most American meal possible, you might dream up a Thanksgiving Dinner shared with silver screen cowboy John Wayne. Storyteller Bonne Summers actually shared a Thanksgiving with Wayne, during an idyllic American holiday that she recounted live onstage at our June 2015 live event, "Brush With Fame." Live Events and New Stuffed & Busted All Y’all Live: Wildcard 2 will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 26 at RSVP (2609 Youree Drive) in Shreveport. Purchase tickets: http://allyallblog.com/tickets. During Wildcard events, any audience member may be called onstage to tell the best true story that they know or nominate someone else to do so – it’s 50% live storytelling event, 50% party. There’ll be a cash bar, live musical interludes from Nate Treme, and more. Seating is limited; grab your tickets today. Stuffed & Busted, our food and drink-themed podcast, is doing a lot of fun stuff lately. We just released a short documentary film about Kon Tiki, a Polynesian restaurant and lounge that operated in Shreveport from 1970 to 2008, and we're in the process of launching a weekly e-newsletter called Small Bites. Sign up for the newsletter: http://tinyletter.com/stuffedandbusted Watch our new short film, Kon Tiki Nation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsUQ9G-m6IU Please Support Our Sponsors We have wonderful sponsors in Marilynn’s Place and Maccentric. Please help us thank them for their patronage by doing business with them whenever you need someone to feed you a po’ boy or fix your Apple products. Like All Y’all on Facebook: http://fb.com/allyallblog Follow All Y’all on Twitter: http://twitter.com/allyallpodcast

Doesn’t it seem like the harder you try to impress others, the less likely it is that things will go as planned? Anwar Fikri’s story of awkwardness, allergies and Airmen elicited many sympathetic groans - and lots of laughs - during our August 2017 live event, “The Skin I’m In.” He joined us during while serving at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City. Live Events and New Stuffed & Busted All Y’all Live: Wildcard 2 will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 26 at RSVP (formerly Maurice’s Bar) in Shreveport. Tickets are available at http://allyallblog.com/tickets. During Wildcard events, any audience member may be called onstage to tell the best true story that they know – it’s 50% live storytelling event, 50% party. There’ll be a cash bar, live musical interludes from Nate Treme, and more. Seating is limited; grab your tickets today. Please Support Our Sponsors We have wonderful sponsors in Marilynn’s Place and Maccentric. Please help us thank them for their patronage by doing business with them whenever you need someone to feed you a po’ boy or fix your Apple products. Do you have a story that you’d like to tell at an All Y’all live storytelling event? Call us at (318) 582-0665 and leave a message about your story, as well as your contact information, and we’ll be in touch! Like All Y'all on Facebook: http://fb.com/allyallblog Follow All Y'all on Twitter: http://twitter.com/allyallpodcast

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? During our November 2016 live event, "Haunted", we heard stories about personal demons,phantasmagoric chicken wings, andhaunted houses. Artist Kathryn Usher ended the night with a heartfelt ode to lost love that would make Edgar Allan Poe proud. Experience more of Kathryn's compelling storytelling in her TEDxRedRiver talk, "Folk Art in the Front Yard." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOcNANpKMU Upcoming Live Events All Y’all Live: Wildcard 2 will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 26 at RSVP (formerly Maurice’s Bar) in Shreveport.Buy tickets at http://allyallblog.com/tickets During Wildcard events, any audience member may be called onstage to tell the best true story that they know – it’s 50% live storytelling event, 50% party. There’ll be a cash bar, live musical interludes from Nate Treme, and more. Seating is limited; grab your tickets today. All Y’all will host its sixth annual fundraiser event at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 in the University Center auditorium on the campus of LSU Shreveport. Please Support Our Sponsors We have wonderful sponsors inMarilynn’s PlaceandMaccentric. Please help us thank them for their patronage by doing business with them whenever you need someone to feed you a po’ boy or fix your Apple products. Do you have a story that you’d like to tell at an All Y’all live storytelling event? Call us at (318) 582-0665 and leave a message about your story, as well as your contact information, and we’ll be in touch! Like All Y’all on Facebook. http://facebook.com/allyallblog Follow All Y’all on Twitter. http://twitter.com/allyallpodcast