AMIE VANDERFORD
Photographer Amie Vanderford made Memphis her home in 2004. Her photographs have been featured in multiple publications and exhibits across the U.S. In 2006 a limited edition book of her early Memphis photographs was sold at Burke's Book Store, and 2008 finds Amie working on the photo-per-day project "Memphis Project 366," where she continues to capture hidden Memphis scenes. In July 2008, Southern Spaces, an online journal from Emory University, published her photo essay on hand-painted signs of Memphis.
LAURA FRITZSCHE
Laura Fritzsche is the summer intern at Memphis and a student at Vanderbilt University. A native Memphian, this self-proclaimed choir dork likes coffee shops, thunderstorms, and little boutiques. She dislikes onions, grammatical errors, and spiders. When Laura is not working, you might find her honing her guitar skills (or lack thereof), lurking at Do (her favorite sushi bar), or checking out the local music scene.
FRANKLIN HAMMOND
Illustrator Franklin Hammond lives in a 150-year-old stone gristmill on the Ottowa River. He was born in a set of identical twins. He spent a sickly childhood drawing and painting, and graduated from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. "Reality and fantasy are interchangeable," Hammond says. "Without art there is no life or sanity." He adds that the light in the gristmill is just right.
CHRIS HERRINGTON
Contributing editor Chris Herrington spends most of his time juggling obsessions at the Memphis Flyer , where he writes about movies, music, and the ever-hopeful (to him) exploits of the Memphis Grizzlies. Chris is dedicated to hoops, hip-hop, The Wire, and Louisiana Hot Sauce, and lives with an impossibly cool trio of females — wife Joanna, three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Rosie, and nine-year-old mutt Moe.
PRESTON SHANNON
This month's cover model, singer and guitarist Preston Shannon, was born and raised in Olive Branch. A former warehouse supervisor, Shannon has made his living in the blues since 1988. His 1999 album All In Time received three Grammy nominations. The Beale Street Merchants Association repeatedly recognized Shannon as the strip's "Entertainer of the Year."
He can be reached at 517-9885 or via prestonshannon.com.
