The Masters Of The Secret

Chattanooga's music scene is on the rise

Several years ago a sports writer from Chattanooga sent to cover the Masters golf tournament was standing under the big oak tree near the Augusta National clubhouse when Glenn Frey of the Eagles walked over.

Frey, decked out in the white coveralls given to caddies, had actually been carrying the bag of a PGA Tour player in the par-3 tournament that always precedes the Masters. Weary from his day’s work, Frey stopped under the shade of the oak tree and struck up a conversation.

“Nooga,” Frey said after eyeing the sports writer’s press badge. “That place is awesome. I can remember doing a gig down there with Joe Walsh. We played on a barge on the river. There were like, 100,000 people there. It was great.”

Flash forward 15 years or so. The same writer is in Nashville at a small-venue show talking to another music fan who flew to town for a U2 concert and stayed over a couple of days to watch a few more shows. When the writer said he was from Chattanooga, it prompted an immediate question: “What’s the music scene like there?”

Glenn Frey’s animated recollection of the Riverbend Festival immediately sprang to the writer’s mind. “Good,” was his first response to the question, “good and getting better all the time.”

A music “scene” can describe a particular city in two ways. One refers to the talent that is produced there. (See Detroit, Memphis, Los Angeles, Nashville or New Orleans). The other refers to the opportunity a city provides to see live music. For its size, Chattanooga offers a wealth of opportunity in venues large and small. Consider:

Festivals. It starts with Riverbend, still one of the best bargains around—$30 for nine days of music featuring an eclectic mix of artists. Then there are the free festivals, including Southern Brewers, River Rocks and 3 Sisters Bluegrass. Theaters and auditoriums. There’s the historic Tivoli, Memorial Auditorium and even Barking Legs, which is now home to a series of acoustic shows. Athletic facilities. UTC’s basketball arena, the Roundhouse, and Finley Stadium (albeit rarely). Mid-sized clubs. This long-time void is about to be filled by the new Track 29, which, depending on the configuration of the room, can accommodate 1,000 to 2,000 people. Intimate clubs. Rhythm & Brews, J.J’s Bohemia. Nightfall.

Glimpse into the World of the Master Creator « Secret Fire Games™

This section discusses the methodology of constructing your very own scenario, though the same advice can be used to create anything, from a small town to an entire world. These are the places, the Great Unknown, into which your players will venture to discover things bizarre, profane, beautiful, perhaps even sublime, and very often, invaluable (and not just with regard to monetary wealth). In fact, building on this last point, THE SECRET FIRE has at its heart a key to life which the players — note it doesn’t say player characters — may find and use, from now until eternity. In fact, if they acquire the key, they will realize that both “now” and “eternity” mean the very same thing.

Perhaps you already feel odd about the above paragraph. Good. It invites you to pay close attention to what you create. You are the master of this world. That is why you alone are called the Master Creator of your particular campaign. You need not possess the key yourself, or at least you need not be aware of possessing it, in order to craft an engaging multiverse or even a small scenario that evokes great emotions within your players.

THE SECRET FIRE is a game that focuses on players rather than player characters. Yes, the players take on the persona of their characters — and yet do you believe that the young woman across from you has just turned into a giant violent, drunken barbarian who can take on a horde of Goblins single-handedly? Or, is that perhaps an aspect of her personality? One that either remains hidden most of the time, or perhaps in your face most of the time?

The player is simply donning the persona of his or her character. Underneath, the player remains the same. Though perhaps that persona enables the player to act out usually “hidden” elements of his personality (or obvious elements, as the case may be).

You may find yourself asking at this point: Why is any of this important? It’s just a game, after all.

It is just a game. But do you believe life is not a game? And “game” here is used in the broadest sense of the word. It neither over-values nor devalues the experience of life and death. It is simply a pointer to what lies beyond and how we might go about viewing something that seems beyond our comprehension.

For life does lie beyond our comprehension…or, rather, that is the belief of most. Find the key, and all becomes clear. Where does this key lie? Where can it be discovered, unearthed, brought out into the light?