InWeekly

REV. REVOLT It was a sad, sad day in Loaded Gun land after a few ignorant people raised hell at the Rev. Tyler Monk's service in Ferdinand Plaza on Sunday, Aug. 7.

The response was fueled, in part, by an Independent News cover story ("Lost in MySpace," Aug. 4) focusing on the Reverend's acceptance of all people—including teens questioning their sexuality and young adults who feel marginalized by traditional religious ideals.

"I got some great responses from your story on MySpace, made some new friends and they all showed up to help," he says. "Now for the bad news."

The 21-year-old, a newly ordained Evangelical minister who holds a service made up of mostly homeless, says the day turned sour when a Pensacola Police officer requested his information and told him he had to meet with the City Council for approvals of the Sunday sermon.

"After I gave the officer my information I walk over toward the park to find another preacher yelling at all the people who came for our service and to eat," Monk explains. "He was trying to cast demons out of one of the gay guys who has been coming to service because he figured he must have a demon in him if he was gay. Ahhhhh!"

Not cool.

The rock 'n' roll reverend says that two young men requested to videotape Monk's service to "make sure he wasn't preaching false doctrine." Monk says, "What amazed me is that all of these groups were from different churches. It's like one huge attack after another!"

Monk had 120 people show up and more than a 100 of the area's hungry and homeless were fed.

"We're really hoping to find a building soon to be able to meet in on Sundays because it's really starting to get too big for the park," he adds, thanking Loaded Gun for the coverage. "You're helping our church make a difference."

TOUR DE HOBBS Master glass blower, Joe Hobbs, crafted one of his trademark hand sculptures for seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.

"My heart was beating out of my chest the whole time I was sculpting the piece," Hobbs recalls.

The glass hand was designed for Sheryl Crow's main squeeze on Wednesday, Aug. 3 after he and his Grammy-winning gal pal watched a demonstration by Hobbs at a Seaside gallery. The biking legend was impressed with the artist, who graduated from the famed Rhode Island School of Design and recently trained at Dale Chihuly's Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, and asked Hobbs for some of his master-class glass.

For those not in the know, the artist's signature motif, the glass hand, has evolved over the years. "I'm sure there's some psychological connotation to the hands thing," he spills to Loaded Gun in an earlier interview. "For me, the hands represent my craft. I create with my hands."

The 30-year-old Belmont Arts Center director and artist added a yellow stripe to the piece to symbolize Armstrong's "Live Strong" band. Armstrong, in turn, handed over the yellow band he was wearing on his wrist at the time.

"I was truly honored that a man of such caliber took such a strong interest in my work," he adds.

Glass blowing workshops with Hobbs will be offered at the Belmont Arts Center beginning this Sept. Call 438-5891 for the lowdown.

TRAILER PARK CHIC George Reasner, co-producer of the Pensacola Bay International Film Festival winning documentary "Liquid Vinyl" and guest DJ at our fab Film Fest Meltdown party at Seville on Sunday, March 20, plans to return to P'cola in September to shoot a narrative feature film in and around our area.

"I hear there's a few last casting things still happening, so it will be next week before we can 'say' anything," the talented Director of Photography says, contacting us from Los Angeles. "I can tell you the title 'What We Did On Our Holidays,' which is based on the British novel by Geoff Nicholson."

For those not in the know, the tale is a black comedy that centers around a fella named Eric who takes his family on a trailer park vacation. No, this is not your typical Griswold family outing. Events in and around the trailer park follow in a quick, nightmarish succession—Eric's oversexed wife cheats, he loses his job, his son goes postal and his daughter Sally runs off with the Hell's Angels.

And Eric's story, believe it or not, gets worse.

Reasner promises to give Loaded Gun the full scoop once everything—including the movie's cast—is confirmed.

We'll keep you posted.

sam@inweekly.net