Category / Press

5
Jul

Tammy Movie: Ain't no thang …

17thStreetTees
Last summer, we got a call from the wardrobe director for the movie TAMMY, starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, and Kathy Bates. The movie is produced by Ben Falcone, Melissa’s husband. Melissa and Ben have several ties to Southern Illinois – see the fun facts and links at the end of this post.

The wardrobe director came across our website while researching and she loved the photo {above} of some of our t-shirts hanging above the bar. She wanted to consider one for Melissa’s character, Tammy, to wear during the movie. We sent one of each of our shirts and baseball caps for review, and they ended up ordering three different shirts in specific colors. We had no idea if any would make it into the movie.

Fast forward to this past February. I glanced at my phone and there were multiple missed calls and a message from a California number. Before I could even return the call, the phone rang again. It was from a production editor in Burbank who said, “Hello … this might sound a bit strange, but I’m sitting in an editing bay, working on a trailer for a new movie called TAMMY. Have you heard of it? Melissa McCarthy is wearing one of your t-shirts. It’s awesome and I need one!”

He described the shirt. It’s one that the fabulously talented Matt Price, from Arthur Agency, designed for our staff to wear at a wingfest. We didn’t have any left and never even offered them for sale.

Tammy_AintNoThang
“You’d better order some,” the guy said. “They are gonna sell!”

I kept searching for a trailer of the show where she’s wearing the shirt, but all of the trailers show her wearing a t-shirt with a bear and the word “Mahalo.” An extended trailer was released at the end of June. But still no t-shirt.

The movie opened July 2 and, sure enough, there are several nods to Southern Illinois. Those who live in Murphysboro will notice that the street on which she lives looks very much like it could be Pine Street or Elm Street, with the Craftsman-style bungalows so prevalent in Murphysboro. As Tammy and her grandmother, Susan Sarandon, leave town, it looks as though they’re driving over the bridge on Old Route 13, over the Big Muddy River. There’s a flash of a sign that says “Leaving Murphysboro.”

In the scene depicting a fictitious barbecue restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, there’s a bottle of Blueberry Blonde, by Big Muddy Brewing, on one of the tables. And in a motel scene, there it is: Tammy, wearing our shirt.
Tammy_Frame1

Tammy_Frame2

We’ve already received so many inquiries and Silkworm, producer of all of our apparel, is printing more now. You can order them by clicking here. They’ll ship the week of 7/14/2014 and they will also be available in the restaurants.

Thanks so much, Melissa, Ben, and the TAMMY production crew! Love the nod to Southern Illinois and to your roots. This is huge for our restaurant and for our town. We are grateful!

Fun facts:
• The show was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Many movies and television shows are filmed in that area.
• Ben Falcone is from Carbondale and his parents traveled to Los Angeles for the TAMMY premiere.
• Melissa McCarthy attended Southern Illinois University for one semester; Ben graduated from the University of Illinois.
• Melissa is from Plainfield, Illinois. While she and Ben both have Illinois roots, they actually met at Groundlings, the legendary LA performing group. Read more about them in this article.

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

23
Aug

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party: Media Mania

B. Smith and Thank You, Dan

One of the highlights of our summer is the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party held the second weekend of June in New York City. Some of the country’s most-renowned pitmasters, each famous for a specific, traditional regional style of barbecue, gather at Madison Square Park to feed 150,000+ barbecue-crazed New Yorkers. Live music in the park, a beer garden, and culinary discussions and demos round out the experience.

Spreading the gospel of barbecue and promoting the Block Party itself is a big part of our week in New York City and we hit the ground running the moment we arrive. We always try to make media appearances with another pitmaster or two, emphasizing the tight-knit relationships within the barbecue community.

Click here to listen to our chat with James Beard EVP Mitchell Davis at Heritage Radio.

Good Morning America

Mike and Elizabeth Karmel of Hill Country appeared on Good Morning America. Traditionally we do this spot in Central Park during the Friday morning concert series, but torrential downpours forced us into plan B – the GMA studios. Two teenage bands were playing and there were hordes of teenagers and their mothers trying to crowd into the studio. Watching Mike in make-up next to boys getting their hair straightened was quite a sight. Here’s a clip and one of our recipes on the GMA website.

Leonard Lopate ShowJohn Stage, Kenny Callaghan, and I did an interesting segment with Leonard Lopate. Leonard is an excellent interviewer with smart and insightful questions directed to each of us. Really a pleasure. You can listen to the interview online here.

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NYC’s most-wanted BBQ gang striking a pose: Shovel – to dig a pit. Knife – to dismember. Gloves – leave no fingerprints. Wood – to burn the evidence. ~special thanks to John Hulslander for the photo and clever caption.

We were thrilled to film another segment of The Chew that featured many of our Block Party pitmaster friends and highlighted barbecue traditions from Alabama, South Carolina, New York City, and Southern Illinois. Watching the group above strike a pose and march  down Madison Avenue filming b-roll, for take after take, was pretty entertaining.

The ChewThis time we filmed with the lovely and personable Daphne Oz. We talked barbecue tips and sampled ribs and our famous pink panty pulldown punch. We all received lots of calls and compliments when the segment aired. We’re all very grateful to The Chew for highlighting the Block Party and America’s best barbecue!

Did you see the segment? What did you think?

Stay tuned for more stories about the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.