A Slyce of Down Home Dirty Blues

Last night, three well spent, musical hours at Slyce Bistro may have changed my life forever. So much of my southern rock’n’roll world was turned upside down, I’m still feeling dizzy. I might believe it’d been a wonderful dream, were it not for the very real red saucy stain left on my sweater (from an out-of-this-world slice of pizza).

Steve Vest is a quietly kept legend of southern rock, as we all know it. Put it this way: when you think “southern rock,” what bands come to mind? Skynard, The Allman Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Steve has played with them all. 

At first, of course I was skeptical that his claims were true. We’ve all met someone who claims to have played with Elvis, or Led Zeppelin, or some other awesome rock your face off kind of gigs. But in the end, it often turns out these guys are full of it, and can’t let go of their garage band glory days. 

This is definitely not the case with Steve Vest. As I sat in the little bistro, he regaled stories and details that could only come straight from a valid source. “We weren’t at the Little Brown Jug the night Ronnie had the gun put to his head,” he told me, of Van Zant’s inspiration for Gimme Three Steps. “We were at the Westside Tavern. But they were close enough together.” He followed this with tales about Gregg and Duane Allman, his days living and playing with them in Daytona, and lots about the Comic Book Club in Jax. Vest even wrote a song about the old bar, which he enthusiastically played for me.

But what was even more convincing than his stories was the way he played his music. Goddamn, can that man pick a guitar. A self-taught player, his fingers still dance nimbly across those strings with the same skill and ferocity of the young man who once opened for Ted Nugent (along with his band, the One Percent).

At the same time, Steve played a few riffs on the harp that’d throw you straight back into the late 60s, when rock’n’roll was making its transition from jam fests in to the mainstream. The passion and honesty that he played with left me with no doubt that this man was for real.

The cheesy grin plastered on my face only became cheesier when I decided to indulge in some of the cuisine offered by chef and owner, Morgan Stringham. And when I say cuisine, I mean I kept it simple and went for a slice of cheese pizza. Why not start with the basics, eh?

Now, I like to consider myself a professional pizza connoisseur (I make a pretty damn good one myself), but WOW this stuff is good. I’m talking full slices of fresh garlic, and what I can only believe is uber fresh cheese, kind of good. Cooked to crispy, melty perfection.

This place is on point, and this girl is in love. Pizza lover though I am, I’m definitely going back to get in on some of this bistro action. The too-sweet and gorgeous girl, Melissa, who waited on us informed me that they’ve got pumpkin-ricotta ravioli. I’m not sure that combination is even legal.

So, do yourself a favor this weekend. Stop in at Slyce Bistro and Pizzeria, grab a bite to eat (or a glass of made-from-scratch eggnog!) and take in the tunes and tales of Steve Vest. You can find him jammin’ out at Slyce (just off NE 25th Street in Ocala, behind the old Albertson’s) Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from 8 til midnight. He’ll rock your socks off with some classic favorites and his own originals. You’ll leave with a happy belly and a satisfied soul, guaranteed.

Find Slyce online at slycebistroandpizzeria.com or go to their Facebook page.

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Repurposedme: why you could use a really good fork

In my last post about the Kiss the Horse fundraiser, I promised you all a piece on Repurposedme Silverware Art. Here it is, in all it's glory. I'm excited about it, and you should be, too.

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose

Reusing old materials to make something brand new, is not a new concept. Lots of people, including myself, recycle paper or plastic materials they use everyday. It helps me rest peacefully at night, knowing that my box-o-wine shell may be put to good use as a Starbucks napkin sometime in the near future. 

We've all heard the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." Many people scoff at the generic and fable-esque meaning, not realizing that it is the very idea behind the idea of recycling. Most of the details of "reduce, reuse, recycle" go on out of sight, and we fail to apply the concept to anything other than household garbage. 
 
Truth of the matter is, many objects and materials you encounter every day have the capacity to function in more ways than what they're originally designed for. Sometimes it just takes a creative mind to harness the hidden power of an everyday object.


Jody Schaible is the genius behind the art at Repurposedme. He takes forks, spoons, butter knives, and the like and transforms them into stunning pieces of jewelry and other functional household items. 

"Silverware is something you handle about three times every day," he says. "Most people never think of it as anything other than an eating utensil." And he's right. You ask anyone on the street what they'd use a fork for, and about 95% of them will tell you it's used for eating. I save that five percent for guys like Jody, and for any girl who still clings to the Little Mermaid's fashioning of the device.

The idea for the silverware art first came to Jody when he and his wife, Elaine, found themselves needing some tie backs for their curtains. Jody twisted a couple of spoons to the shape of a curtain hook, attached them to the wall, and BAM! Repurposedme is born. 
The way I've just described that event makes silverware art sound simple, but let's be real. Anyone can bend a spoon into a circle and call it a curtain tie or bracelet; but what Jody is doing here is truly turning the material into art.
 
These Aren't Your Mother's Spoon Rings

What makes Respurposedme so inarguably cool, is that it combines old-fashioned and modern art into a single piece with massive appeal. Jody considers the decoration and qualities of his materials before his own designs, fashioning each piece to display the intricate carvings or pattern of the original piece. Each handle and prong is then precisely flattened, twisted or tweaked to produce a watch, money clip, or wall hook that is flat-out awesome.

A lot of his designs have clever or witty quips engraved onto them, which I find both amusing and irresistible. Elaine sports a bracelet that reads "smooth like butter." Appropriately enough, the bracelet is fashioned from an old butter knife. How clever is that? The irony of it all is too fantastic. 

Aesthetics and decoration aside, what I really dig about Repurposedme is the way it's so "green," and so unconventional. Jody is taking materials that most people would chuck in a dumpster (and subsequently a landfill), and he's turning it into functional art that nobody in their right mind would toss. He's saving waste and rescuing innocent flatware from an eternity of non-compostable damnation. This stuff doesn't just look cool, it is cool. I haven't been able to eat a meal the same way since I first discovered Repurposedme. Many mornings, I find myself wondering how my Coco Puff laden utensil would look dangling from my left earlobe.


Repurposedme has been in the works for about a year now, but has only been making rounds on the outside for seven months. Jody brought the brand to it's first craft fair at the First Friday Artwalk back in May, and hasn't looked back since (lucky for us!). On most Saturday mornings, you'll find Jody and Elaine set up at the Ocala Farm Market (which takes place each Saturday from 8am-1pm on the Ocala Downtown Square). 
 

 All of Repurposedme's pieces are original and unique, and Jody will customize or size any piece to the perfect fit. Keep an eye out, you're guaranteed to see something you like, that you'll eventually grow to love. I haven't taken my spoon ring of since the day I bought it.

You can count on hearing more about Repurposedme Silverware Art from me in the future; I want to decorate my entire self and house in this stuff.

Look for Elaine and Jody on the Square this Saturday!

Find Repurposedme on Facebook by clicking here --> Repurposedme on Facebook!



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Kiss the Horse Fundraiser

 “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” 

— Victor Hugo

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a local fundraiser; the Kiss the Horse for Literacy event was held at Hennessey Arabian farms, and was the biggest and most successful horse kissing fundraiser yet. 

Mojo's catered the event for the second year in a row, and I spoke briefly with one of their staffers who told me this year's event was easily three times the size of the last. "Last year, there were about 40 people here," she told me. "This year, I just hope we have enough food!" Last year's low attendance is probably due to poor timing and planning. It was held during the week, as an after-5 event; and as the general population of Ocala is either at Bingo night or preparing children for bed at such an hour, it's no wonder the turnout wasn't fantastic.


Saturday, however, proved to be a much greater success than its predecessor. The event ran from 11 to 3, and raised a hefty helping for the Literacy Council. 

The Literacy Council had a few tables set up to offer entertainment (and moderate supervision) for parents' little ones. The purpose of the Kiss the Horse event was to raise funds to promote and enhance literacy, especially among young children; a great cause, considering the shocking amount of children, and even adults, in Marion county who are illiterate (and unable to read this blog!). Learn more about the Marion County Literacy Council, and how you can help here.

But the kids enjoyed a reading station that featured lots of activities to keep the tots entertained, while parents perused the vendors' stable booths.  I honestly feared the kids would pee their pants when the horse-to-be-kissed was paraded over to the reading station for a visit. I'm not going to lie, I engaged in a little nose-petting myself. It's easy to forget the wonder and excitement you feel as a child, when you're presented with something so grand as an award-winning horse. Really, it's still intimidating as an adult.

Each of the events' merchants had their own confine within the cleaned out horse stable, where they displayed hand-crafted jewelry, quilts, candles, and a whole slew of Ocala country-favorites. Many of the featured vendors regularly set up booths at Ocala's Downtown Marketplace on Saturday mornings, so if you missed out this weekend, never fear.

Vendors set up inside this stable. No room at the inn!

My personal favorite of the day was Repurposedme Silverware Art - a crafty setup, taking commonplace silverware and turning it into literal works of art, that are both functional and fashionable. I'll have a seperate piece detailing Jody's work later this week, but if you haven't seen him downtown yet, make it a point to look for him and his wife Elaine when they're on the square next Saturday. It's really phenomenal. 




Stay tuned for the Repurposedme feature - it's gonna be good!
















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