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[music] This Tennessee author's interest in writing began by composing lyrics for punk rock bands.

He's gone on to write poetry, short stories, and books.

He's had his own band and has worked at record stores across the country.

Straight ahead on Tennessee Writes, we're meeting author Billups Allen.

We'll learn about one of his first stories, a horror novella about vicious tenants during a heat wave, to his latest book about movies you could see before you die.

Grab a fresh cup of coffee and a comfy chair.

Tennessee Writes starts right now.

Books about Tennessee.

Books that come from Tennessee authors.

Books and stories with a Tennessee twist.

West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee Writes.

Welcome to Tennessee Writes, the show that gets up close and personal with Tennessee authors.

My name is Peter Noll.

This is the show that goes beyond the book to learn about its author, from their childhood to where their stories come from.

They'll even offer advice if you want to write a book yourself.

Plus, we put the authors to the test with a stopwatch as they try and answer as many questions as possible in less than two minutes in the lightning round.

Tennessee Writes welcomes author Billups Allen.

He started writing with punk rock lyrics and has gone on to write poems, horror stories, and books.

He's worked at seven different record stores across the country and currently calls Memphis his home.

Tennessee Writes welcomes Billups Allen.

Hello.

-Welcome.

-How are you?

-Thank you for having me.

-Great.

-I appreciate it.

-Have a seat.

Punk rock.

That's how you started?

-Punk rock music lyrics?

-Yes.

I was in a lot of bands in maybe my 20s into my 30s.

I produced my own music in that time period.

One of the bands I found in my research was called Shoutbus.

-Shoutbus, yes.

That was it.

-What year was that?

Could we find those records out there somewhere?

There are documents of that.

I think on Discogs you can find them.

You really went back a long way on that one.

I think those records were out in the '90s, compact discs as well.

We have a pretty extensive research team.

That's funny.

It was in a Washington Post article.

-Oh, really?

-You lived around the Washington DC area?

I did, yes.

I spent a lot of my post-high school years li.. Then I moved around a lot a little bit after that.

We were talking before the show, you're originally from Starkville, Mississippi.

That's right.

My parents.. and they live near Jackson, Mississippi, now.

You left Mississippi.

-When I was about nine, yes.

-Then you went -to Virginia, the DC area.

-Yes.

Boy, we moved all over.

My parents worked for the government, so we did a whole string of things.

Ohio, Virginia, like you said, that's where we landed, New Jersey.

We were all over the map there for a while.

Then how did you find your way to Tennessee?

I was living back in DC for a while, about five or six years ago.

I just felt priced out of it.

To try to do writing and to do creative things, it takes a lot of time, and you have to work a lot of jobs to make rent there.

When I first moved into the city, it was very inexpensive and neglected.

I just felt priced out.

I didn't want to move into Maryland.

Also, my parents are back in .. Being in Memphis, I'm close to them.

I enjoy spending more time with them now.

How is Tennessee?

-Are you liking Tennessee?

-Oh, -I love it.

-You've been here how long?

About six years, I've been in Memphis.

Whenever I used to visit my parents before, we always passed through Memphis.

I just enjoyed Memphis.

I had a couple of acquaintances there.

Also, somebody that ran Garnet, the store I work for now.

I was able to get some work and just ease my way in a little bit.

Garnet is a record store.

Is it one of the seven record stores -that you've worked at?

-It is, yes.

It's a record store and a record label.

They put out the last two books that I did to help me get a little bit of distribution -and things of that nature.

-What was the first record store you remember going to?

Remember going to?

Gosh.

They used to have a chain in Mississippi called Bebop.

You might never have heard of that.

I don't, but I bet some of our viewers do.

Bebop.

Bebop Records was the chain in Mississippi.

I remember being a small child -in those stores.

-What records do you remember buying from there?

Golly, I can remember Black Sabbath's Mob Rules.

[?]

-That's a later Black Sabbath record.

-I remember -buying Lionel Richie's 45 of UR.

-Oh, yes.

Oh, my first records, previous to that, would have been GI Joe and The Curse of the Mummy.

I remember this one.

I listened to that one a lot.

Seven record stores, you must like doing that.

Oh, yes.

I collect records and books.

I just have all my life.

When it came time to move, I just never get rid of them.

I just move more boxes from one place to the other.

-It's been a lifelong hobby of mine.

-Do you sell and trade?

I don't personally do much of that unless it's just stuff I need to get rid of.

Through the record store, I do.

It's like antiquing a little bit.

I sell used and new records to people.

Moving from music to movies, the topic of the book, -have you always been a movie buff?

-Oh, yes.

Movies have always been of interest to me.

I've always wanted to write reviews.

I always thought movie reviews was a fun way to spend time.

I'm a big Roger Ebert fan.

I've read and watched Ebert forever.

He got started on public television, -doing his television show.

-Everyone started on public television.

That kind of reading is always fun to me.

I love genre books.

I love review books.

A lot of people wrote about movies over the years.

I collect those and read them.

Tell us about your experience moving around a lot and how that played into wanting to get your thoughts down in a book.

Not to be a drag, but I think it's because I spent a lot of time by mys.. I don't have any brothers or sisters.

I've always been a loner.

I spent a lot of time thinking about narrative and learning how to think more about movies, or just re-watching movies so much, maybe it just dented.

I spent a lot of time reading.

Not to be sad about it, I enjoy that lifestyle, but I think that's probably why I engage so deeply with some of those kinds of texts.

Having experience living up north, living in the south, living out east, -you spent some time in Arizona as well?

-That's right.

I didn't go to school immediately after high school.

When I went back to school full-time, I went to University of Arizona in Tucson.

Tucson is a good movie town.

They have a lot of big theaters there and a lot of independent theaters there.

A really great place to study movie and movie writing if that's their focus.

Why didn't you stay in Tucson?

I didn't really have any intention of staying in Tucson.

It's a nice town, but it's just far.

It's very far away.

I don't have any connection or family out west at all.

Most of my family is in the south.

I have a lot of friends in the northeast, -in New York and DC.

-You got your degree in creative writing?

Creative writing, yes, with a movie minor.

Actually, they have a film minor at the U of A, which is very attractive to me.

They may have them now, but at the time, that was unusual.

What are some of the differences in the parts of the countries that you've lived in?

Tucson is a great little town.

It's very landlocked.

LA is eight hours, and Phoenix is two hours.

Things don't pass through as much as maybe they would through Phoenix or going north, like bands or productions or things, but because of that, you meet a lot of interesting people who either have been there for a long time.

The arts community is really thriving there.

It's very similar to Memphis.

Small arts scene, but very passionate people, lots of space to do things.

College is nearby, so there are people that come and go.

I like that kind of city.

I'm sure that's why I was attracted to Memphis as I started passing through more often.

It's got a lively arts scene.

Things still come through there.

You don't have to work three jobs to pay the rent.

West Tennessee has been inundated with a lot of people from much more expensive cities out east, out west, that are choosing to move to Tennessee because it is so much cheaper to live here.

The cost of living is so much lower.

Are you seeing that around the Memphis area?

Yes, a little bit.

Not as much as Nashville.

Nashville has grown so much since I've been here.

I think it's coming to Memphis, but it's not quite totally there yet.

It hasn't become Nashvegas.

No, that's funny.

I'm not real familiar with Nashville, but Nashville looks like New York sometimes I'm driving through there.

It's a big city for sure.

I like visiting there.

I go there and see shows once in a while.

[music] Billups, let's dive into your book, 101 Movies You Could See Before You Die.

Not that you should see, but you could.

-You could see.

-Why that in the title?

Not to be pretentious, but it was maybe just a little bit of a jab at list cu.. I understand when you write, you have to do some stuff like th.. and people enjoy just looking for information quickly.

Sometimes I feel like list culture goes too far in making broad statements about things like movies, art, and whatnot.

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

I think a lot of the list culture is clickbait.

10 Reasons You'll Love Living Here, or 12 Things You Should Never Put -in Your Fridge.

-Yes, exactly.

You go to a small town, and there's 10 best coffee shops in town, and there's only seven coffee shops in town, that kind of thing.

My jokey pitch when I was talking to them about it is there's 101 or so movies discussed in the book.

You can miss them all in your lifetime and still live a rich life in the arts.

They're just movies I find interesting.

Some of them are classics, some of them aren't.

I think you have the only book dedication that has made me laugh out loud.

You dedicated this book to anyone who has gone to see a movie or bought a ticket to whatever movie's playing next.

I'm glad you like that.

Like you were saying earlier, I think sometimes people miss out on over-preparing for things.

Especially when I lived in a bigger city, I used to pass the movie theater on my way back and forth to work.

Sometimes you just go in, give something a chance, try something different, that sort of thing.

You have the book broken down into different categories, like The Blame Game, Americana, Adrian Shelley, documentaries, Final Front.

They all make sense.

I'm glad they do.

I was just, again, trying to give some perspective on why I was choosing some of the movies that I did.

There's some basic genres in there, like horror, documentary, and stuff.

One that I liked particularly was Dangerous on the Train because sometimes when you take a story and put it on a train, there's a whole different set of rules.

I was playing with the concepts.

Again, not to be pretentious, but I just thought it was fun to take those ideas and put them into different categories.

It's not something you have to start on page one and read.

Have you seen all the movies, that was my question, -or did you some of your friends?

-Oh, yes.

-You've seen every single movie.

-Oh, I'd a.. when I was writing that book.

You've seen all the movies multiple times?

-Most of them, yes.

-How many movies total are in here?

It's 101 movies, -but I like to think that I've discussed-- -You mentioned some others in some of the reviews you-- I don't have any idea.

I like the idea of stretching out and going into other things.

There's movies in here I've seen, movies I've heard about, and some, like Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick, -I've never heard of that movie before.

-Oh, interesting.

To me, that's a classic, actually.

-That's something I think people-- -Clockwork Orange, I've seen.

He's known for that.

The ones that you haven't, I fi.. My spouse at home was going through it, and it's like, "Oh, it's like we're at Blockbuster again."

For those that can remember Blockbuster, you would go, "Let's go get a movie."

It's when the new releases were on the outside, and you would go on the inside.

Reading this reminded me of a book version of a Blockbuster.

Yes, there was a certain amount of retro that I wanted to put into it, like something you might keep next to a VCR or something like that.

I tried to write it so it wasn't musty, something that was fun and brought up hopefully new ideas or some things that people could talk about or enjoy, pick up and put down, that kind of thing.

[music] Billups, we've come to the segment of Tennessee Writes we call the li.. It's where we put two minutes on the clock, and we ask a series of questions about books, writing, literature, to the authors to see how many they can answer in two minutes.

Great.

If you don't know the answer, just say pass, but the key is trying to get as many questions answered as possible.

The clock will begin ticking after I read my first question.

-Are you ready to play?

-I'm ready.

Let's do it.

Estimate how many audiobooks you have listened to in your lifetime.

Actually, one.

How many pages would the book about your life be?

300.

What animal best represents your book?

Sloth.

Last time you checked out a book from a public library?

Two years ago.

Favorite movie based on a book.

Barry Lyndon.

How many pages is your latest book?

80.

What is your favorite book of all time?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

What is your least favorite book of all time?

Mein Kampf.

What is the name of the font used in your book?

Pass.

I don't have any idea.

What celebrity would you want to narrate your book?

Stephen Fry.

What's a book that you're reading right now?

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer.

Name a food item or drink that helps you write.

Coffee.

If you could have a book signing in any city in the w.. where would it be?

Paris.

What author, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with?

Stephen King.

Where would you go for dinner?

Not Arby's.

[chuckles] Do you write your books on a computer or by hand?

Computer.

What book have you read multiple times?

1984.

How many times?

Dozens.

Do you prefer paper or e-books?

Paper.

What actor would you want to star in the movie based on one of your b.. M Emmet Walsh.

First book you can remember reading as a child?

The Jungle Book.

What's your favorite magazine to read?

[music] Billups, we always love to hear the authors in their own words, speaking words that they've written and put down in their book.

Would you mind reading a short section -from your book?

-Oh, I'd be delighted to.

Thank you.

This is from the intro of the book.

"My dad told me recently, very matter-of-factly as he does, that I was once dropped on my head when I was very young.

My parents, for some reason, took me to the drive-in.

They figured the volume would keep me awake, and they could keep an eye on me.

I was too young to remember that, but I like to think I've never looked back.

I love movies.

I love theaters.

I loved when my mom would bring a VHS tape from the grocery store without asking, especially when I was sick.

I still love going to the movies with somebody when they want to see something, and I don't know what it is, except that it did once lead me to a screening of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Don't ask me what I thought that movie was going to be about.

As much as I love going to the movies, I love reading about movies.

I love reading about what other people think is a good or bad m.. I love academic books about film.

I love genre guides.

The history of film is endlessly interesting to me, but lists mentioning death stress me out.

The concept of having 100 things to do before I die strains my sense of order.

When I first saw Star Wars, I felt like I'd be seeing Star Wars forever.

I don't have a list of 100 things to do before I die, reminding me that I have a limited number of Star Wars screenings left on this planet.

I have to see these movies before I die, or what?

'He worked hard at being a good person, but alas, he never got around to seeing The Deer Hunter.'

Firstly, I don't really want to die.

Secondly, I hope near the end I have more to think about than if or not I've seen the exact 100 movies some list says I'm supposed to see.

That means every time I watch Dodgeball, I should have been watching Godard, or I was wasting my time.

That looks good on paper, but try it on practice.

My estimation, I was not wasting my time, but what if I die thinking about that?

What if I see one of the 100 more than once?

Does three screenings of Clerks negate the need to watch The Apu Trilogy?

I don't think it does, but it's a slippery slope for a neurotic, and they do this with everything.

Loads of things I don't care about have a 100 lists.

Every pizza slice is a distraction from the 100 restaurants we're meant to patronize.

What if I like one of the 100 restaurants and go to it every night until I die?

What if I go to one restaurant 100 times and the waiter decides to kill me?

That'll be 99 restaurants I'll never get around to seeing unless one of them happens to be Arby's, and Arby's wasn't my choice that time either.

Neither was the Algonquin, where I actually have had dinner, in spite of my station.

No one forced me to go to Arby's or the Algonquin.

I still had a choice."

That's the flavor of the intro and how we get into the reviews.

[music] Billups, we have people that are watching right now that are thinking, "I could write a book.

I got an idea for something fun, unique."

What advice would you give to them about how to get their book written, published, and out there?

It's funny, I think the one thing that comes to mind is people, I think sometimes, and they don't teach you this in school, don't realize quite how to work with editors.

I would say find an editor, whoever it is, somebody you trust or somebody that's professional, to help you along.

I think people sometimes have a misconception about what editors do.

Editors are responsible for keeping the integrity of the voice of a publication, or a book, or something like that.

I think people have now come around to feeling like an editor-writer relationship is combative.

I've been lucky.

I've found a few good editors here and there that have helped me quite a lot, whether it's with magazine articles or hiring to help me just to make sure you have a clean manuscript.

Think about your relationship with editors is the best advice I would have because that's helped me a lot.

That's the thing I hear most young people don't seem to understand the role of an editor in their .. Good advice.

Where can people get your book?

The book is available in Memphis at Garnet and on the Garnet website, garnetrecords.com.

It's also available at Berks in Memphis.

We've been doing some grassroots mailing off to a few stores.

We've had some luck in Huntsville, Alabama.

There's a video store called Big Mix that sells it.

There's a store in Los Angeles that's called Skylight that sells it.

Just a few stores here and there.

You're out with a new one that just came out.

I Exhibited Films For A Year.

I Lost Money, but I Think I Made My Point.

What is that about?

Last year, I tried to do a film series in a bar.

I tried to do it very legitimately, like paying licenses and dealing with directors.

I had this vision that maybe people would really rally behind this and come out and see some of the movies and get behind this project.

You can see by the title, that didn't happen.

I was real proud of the film series.

I thought maybe it would help other people understand the process of what it means to pay distributors, pay filmmakers for the use of their art, and stuff like that.

What's your website you want people to go to?

It's cramholeszine.com.

There's information about everything I'm doing up there, including a list of retailers and links to Garnet, where you can pick up these books.

-If they have a question for you?

-All my information is on there.

I'm always glad to hear from people.

I always find your horror novella unfurnished.

What year is that from?

2000.

Is it 2001?

That's an oldie.

That was the first thing I ever did like that.

There are copies floating around out there for sure.

I need to maybe dig back.

You've inspired me.

I might dig back into it and see if I can get it redone.

Our 30 minutes goes by very quickly, Billups.

We want to thank you so much for coming on Tennessee Writes and sharing about your life, your journey from punk rock to 101 films you could see before you die.

As a thank you gift, we have this Channel 11 All About Home writing kit, briefcase, latte mug, or you can put your coffee in it, pen, and notepad for your writing adventures of the future.

Thank you so much.

It's been such a pleasure being here.

I appreciate it.

Before you leave, -would you mind signing your book for us?

-Of co.. [music] To PBS West Tennessee, thank you so much for having me.

Keep loving the movies.

Billups, out.

My name.

Glad not to think about that one.

Thank you so much.

For comments about today's show or to suggest a Tennessee author for a future program, email us at tennesseewrites@westnpbs.org.

Tennessee Writes, on air and streaming now.

[music] The program you've been watching was made possible through the generous financial support of West Tennessee PBS viewers like you.

Please visit westtnpbs.org and make a donation today so that we can continue to make local programs like this possible.

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