T. Scott Carlisle

Scott designs (and occasionally builds) things. He did not design (or build) the leaning tower of Pisa, but rest assured that if he had, it would not be leaning. He did design this website, and it does not lean one bit. He also designs the articles you read on this website. Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Scott is now a freelance renaissance man in Birmingham, AL and one of the two Ts behind t-photographic. Whether you need a web site, a logo, a special photograph, or a home renovation, Scott will bring it into existence with grace and aplomb. And whatever it is, it will not lean.

Chris Copeland

Chris is a high school teacher and freelance writer in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the recipient of the 2008 Mensa Press Award, a national recognition of writing about intelligence. For his day job he teaches 9th and 11th grade English and sponsors his school’s literary arts magazine, The Muse. If Chris had a time machine he would go back to New York City in 1962, when Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Dylan would have overlapped in the clubs and when men still wore fedoras. Chris looks terrible in a fedora and feels like, as a result, he can never fully be a gentleman.

Cassia Kesler

Cassia Kesler blames her mother. The woman owned the first vinyl pressing of nearly every Beach Boys, Beatles and Doors albums, and repeatedly exposed her daughter to live music as a young girl. Cassia first began experimenting with stadium rock shows — Rush, no less — at age 11. Her addiction soon spiraled out of control. While her peers studied hard and played sports, Cassia fed her habit by sneaking out to see local bands play. “She’d come in at 3 a.m., incoherently mumbling about how she had just seen ‘the best show ever,’” a former college roommate, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells FWD. “It just got worse. She’d do, like, three shows a week. They’d leave her euphoric and babbling.” Never having sought treatment, to this day Cassia will interrupt otherwise polite conversation to ask if you have any new music on you; she might break into uncontrollable dancing at the merest whiff of a good tune. Cassia maintains a normal* life as a freelance writer and mother of two in Birmingham, AL.

*approximation

Tony Lombardo

Tony Lombardo is a fixture in the Birmingham music scene with a variety of outfits, including the Tony Lombardo Quartet and The Legendary Pineapple Skinners. If Tony comes within several yards of a stringed instrument (most notably the tenor banjo), he will play it. If that stringed instrument is yours, you will want to go home in shame. Tony also teaches high school English, a side effect of obtaining four degrees in literature related fields. He is a jazz aficionado with his finger on the pulse of culture, both high and low—If you are interested in riveting conversation about topics ranging from the Rolling Stones to Jacques Derrida, or from John Keats to Woody Allen, Tony is your man.

Jim Naftel

Jim Naftel is an attorney and aspiring chef living in Birmingham, Alabama. His most notable achievement in the field of music criticism is that his work has never been published in Rolling Stone magazine. While G is his favorite chord to play on the guitar, he often tells people that it is A minor, because he feels it gives him more street cred. In his dreams he is the fifth Beatle.

Jacob Tubbs

There is an unverified rumor circulating in Birmingham legal circles that Jacob was once held in contempt of court for playing a blaring guitar solo during an opening statement. There is a verified rumor circulating in Birmingham cycling circles that Jacob has come close to breaking the sound barrier* while cycling around town or in various regional races. In between lawyering and cycling, Jacob develops penetrating insights into the less explored corners of rock music. Thankfully, he shares his thoughts with Four Walls Down, which has him on retainer through 2011.

*approximation

Clint Wells

Clint is a local musician who has spent the last six years touring the country with all kinds of bands and artists. At age twenty-five, he is filled with stories of rock and roll decadence and the hard life on the road. These stories usually involve drinking a bottle of champagne alone in a hotel room and falling asleep to Conan O’Brien and Rufus Wainwright records. Clint started playing in clubs around town when he was sixteen years old. Surprisingly, this did little to affect his social status amongst high school peers (read: girls). These gigs only fueled his love for music, which he had exhibited at a very early age. Clint tells an adorable story about inviting his neighborhood friends over with their tennis racquets to “rock out on air guitar” to R.E.M.’s Monster. Interestingly, this was about two weeks ago. Turn-ons: vinyl, Beatles, irony, mid-90s U2, mid-90s Metallica, planetary science, cult horror, and Tarantino films. Turn-offs: Nirvana, non-belt wearers, lying, Biff Tannen, and Poison (band and substance).