Backbeat

NOMAD NO MORE

Entering a new chapter of his career, pianist and composer Eddie Moore focuses on enriching the local jazz community.

BY NINA CHERRY

SINCE EDDIE MOORE ARRIVED in Kansas City in 2010, he has been a trailblazer on the jazz fusion scene and beyond. His original music draws heavily from hip-hop with live sampling and looping, as well as soul and rock, all while remaining deeply rooted in the improvisatory nature and tradition of jazz. His 2013 debut album as a bandleader, The Freedom of Expression by Eddie Moore & The Outer Circle, gained momentum and was awarded a solid review from Downbeat Magazine. In August, in conjunction with Charlotte Street Foundation, Moore launched a one-of-a-kind multimedia performance series: ProdoLAB. The series brings together creatives of all types, combining improvised music and visual art. As a longtime and avid advocate for original jazz music on the local scene, Moore formerly hosted a weekly jam session called Fresh2Def at Tank Room (now the Black Dolphin) and recordBar for improvisers of all genres. But there was one stipulation to the jam session: There were to be no covers and no jazz standards—original music only. Moore brought in countless R&B and hip-hop artists to headline throughout the jam session’s five-year run, giving artists a platform for their original music and young improvisers an opportunity to broaden their skills and vocabulary. But now, like many, Moore is entering a new chapter of his career after reemerging from the pandemic. While he remains an active performer, he is focusing his energies on elevating Kansas City’s creative community, primarily through education and curation. “I don’t want to be a nomad forever,” Moore says. “I’m just as interested in enriching the area around me as I am in touring.” Moore has become an integral member of the Charlotte Street Foundation, curating the monthly ProdoLAB series. Every fourth Thursday of the month, ProdoLAB brings an electronic music producer, soloist, and visual artist together to collaborate on an hour-long, immersive performance in the Charlotte Street Foundation’s new, state-ofthe-art black box theater. As a longtime educator, Moore joined the faculty at KU this semester, teaching jazz combos and a history of hip-hop course. Now Moore has a wider platform to encourage and uplift young jazz musicians to write and perform their original music. “I’m trying to make a lane for original and differentthinking improvised music,” Moore says.

GO: ProdoLAB with Ryan Lee, Charlotte Street Foundation, 3333 Wyoming St., KCMO. Thursday, December 23. 7pm.

CURATING A BEAUTIFUL LIFE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMANTHA LEVI THE HOOF IS ON FIRE Bleached denim returned to popularity way back in 2019, but

one local designer is now taking the trend to a whole new level. In true Kansas City fashion, Marissa Miller, the owner of 90SIX clothing boutique, launched a line of bleached cow-print denim—a cool mix of vintage blue and the latest animal-print trend. You can find similar variations of cow-print denim in shades of beige, brown and black, but Miller’s blue denim variety is a bit of a rarity. It’s the perfect addition to your collection of printed jeans, which you’ve likely noticed expanding in recent months. You can see more of Miller’s dreamy designs on Instagram (@shop90six). Her Cow Bleached Denim retails for $55-$65 (shop90six.com) and looks

great with a funky pair of cowboy boots. —MARY HENN

GRAMMABLE

How a local therapist and podcaster is incorporating the Enneagram into his work

BY SHAYLA GAULDING

CAN THE ENNEAGRAM—that favorite tool of business consultants and executive coaches—help people in therapy?

Michael Shahan of Moss and Main Therapy Group in Kansas City believes so. Shahan is a marriage and family therapist and podcaster who has turned to the personality typing tool to help people understand why they do what they do.

The Enneagram is a personality roadmap of sorts. It consists of nine different ways people view the world, from their primary motivations to their primary fears. Shahan says that knowing which Enneagram number you fit into and using it as a therapy tool can help you understand yourself better than just “traditional” therapy on its own.

“I’m so much less interested in symptoms than what your symptoms are attempting to manage,” Shahan says. “The Enneagram number shows that exactly.”

Shahan’s approach helps clients identify the motivations behind their symptoms, whether it be anger, fear or shame, and use that information to heal and grow.

“I noticed [Enneagram therapy] created a lot of understanding and compassion in my own relationship,” Shahan says. “When I learned more about my wife’s number, it depersonalized a lot of things she would do so they no longer felt like an attack. Seeing it in my own life and creating positive change was further proof to me.”

Shahan offers Enneagram coaching for individuals, businesses and other therapists. It’s just one of the topics he addresses in his podcast Same Time Next Week, which aims to demystify therapy.

Why did you start your podcast? I found that how the media portrays therapy is hardly ever accurate. I wanted to interview people who have gone through therapy for multiple reasons and have them tell their story.

How do you teach businesses to use the Enneagram? At it’s best, the Enneagram lets us develop compassion for ourselves and for others. Many times, there’s not a problem with the business; there’s a problem with the people. The goal is to help people develop curiosity and understanding of each other. It improves work relationships so much in companies and businesses.

How do you think other mental health professionals can benefit from using the Enneagram? I developed a course to teach other therapists how to use the Enneagram with their clients like I do. When I started doing this, there was nowhere else I saw therapists doing this. My experience is that the Enneagram was so helpful and such an awesome shortcut for the work we do as therapists. [The course is] a six-week program—there’s been a pastor, life coaches, a school counselor and other therapists who use it as a model for helping others grow.

‘NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO THIS TIME CULTURALLY’

Gallery owner Paul Dorrell explains why Kansas City art is at a new peak.

BY SUSIE WHITFIELD

PAUL DORRELL, owner of Brookside’s Leopold Gallery, isn’t done raising hell yet. His gallery celebrated its thirty-year anniversary on the Kansas City art scene.

Dorrell remembers that in the late ’80s, Kansas City considered itself a cultural backwater. Now, the art scene is highly regarded on both coasts.

“Nothing can compare to this time culturally,” Dorrell says. “Kansas City’s greatest strength is its visual arts.”

After he graduated from KU, Dorrell didn’t settle down quickly: “I wandered the world for ten years—worked on a fishing boat in Alaska, on a horse ranch in California.”

Dorrell eventually became the assistant director in a museum of French Impressionism in Connecticut, which had a profound influence on him. When he returned to Kansas City, he wanted to represent Kansas and Missouri artists on a national level.

After opening a gallery space at the Hotel Savoy, he realized how few galleries turned a profit and how often they failed. Dorrell began to approach corporations, encouraging them to embark on a cultural crusade to support regional artists.

Fortunately, Henry Bloch, the University of Kansas Medical Center, the Kauffman Center, St. Luke’s and the Hunt family also wanted to keep local artists in Kansas City.

“When we did H&R Block Building, that became a cultural foundation for visual arts in the Crossroads. That huge collection of local artists’ works inspired other galleries to open there and inspired artists to open studios. It began the Kansas City Renaissance.”

To support the emergence of Kansas City’s young artists, the Leopold Gallery Educational Foundation supports Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Dorrell has also invested in Sumner Academy and Paseo Academy since 2006.

“I found that both academies’ art departments were grossly underfunded—a lack of basic art supplies, functioning laptops, proper cameras, metal for sculptures, oil paint canvases. It was a disgrace. I realized I had to start raising money immediately.”

KC FAVORITES

The West

Bottoms “It’s still raw and unrefined. I love all the old railroad lines and bridges. They’re almost sculptural.”

The River Market

“Saturday mornings having coffee, getting produce from the stalls and flowers for my wife, and then riding bikes along the Missouri River.”

Union Station

“You can feel a different era there. It’s almost a dream state. Go out the back door and take the footbridge across the tracks to the Crossroads.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY STYLE AND GRACE

LAKE LIGHT

Erica Rigdon gives a lake home on Winnebago a classic, casual feel with wood ceiling trusses and effortless chandeliers.

BY DAWNYA BARTSCH

RICA RIGDON KNEW her very first home design project had the potential to be a game changer for her fledgling business. It needed to be not only seamlessly executed but also formidably impressive. “The owner of the very first home I designed took a huge leap of faith in me,” says Rigdon, who got the gig just a few months after starting a home design blog called Style and Grace Interiors. “I thought, this is going to be their family home and I want it to be perfect for them,” Rigdon says. “I only had a few hundred followers at the time.”

The home, a new build in Overland Park, eventually made its way onto the Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer charity home tour, which “launched” Rigdon’s career. “She [the property owner] was so gracious to open her home for the tour, and so many people saw that first home and went through it,” Rigdon says.

One of those tour-goers was Cheryl Lowden, who fell in love with Rigdon’s designs so much

Ethat she nabbed one of her business cards at the event and tucked it away, saving it for when she was ready to build her dream home. Several years later, the Lowdens found an ideal waterfront lot on the newly expanded Lake Winnebago, perfect for a custom build. “Erica is very relatable,” Lowden says, adding that working with Rigdon was one of the best parts of the whole building process. “She quickly understood our personalities and helped make our home fit our lifestyle. Everything she designed had a purpose.” The custom seven thousand-square-foot home has a classic style and an open floor plan. It was designed by architect Gerald Janssen of Elswood, Smith, Carlson Architects. With five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and lake views from almost every room, the property was built with entertaining family and friends in mind. Finished only a few months ago, the house has already become Lowdens’ “happy place.” The Lowdens still have teens living at home but plan to make their new lake house their primary residence when they officially become empty nesters.

1 LIVING ROOM Dramatic and massive wood ceiling trusses lift the eye up past large glass windows that frame views of the lake, bringing attention to a massive chandelier ensconced in a modern metal orb. The fixture’s layers of crystals contrast with the rest of the room’s casual and comfortable approach.

“When I design a home, I try to create an environment that is comfortable and livable but also tailored and put together,” Rigdon says. She aims to design rooms that feel new but are classical enough that the owner won’t feel the home needs to be completely overhauled in a few years.

In the living room and throughout the house, Rigdon used blue and grey tones that invoke waterfront living without being too obvious. “No large anchors on the wall,” she said. “I think overall the whole house vision is a light, casual aesthetic.”

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2 KITCHEN Rigdon chose traditional white cabinets in the kitchen but used simple modern brass hardware throughout to make it fresh. Rather than create a backsplash with classic white subway tiles, she selected a bold and uneven gray subway tile as a surprise element.

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CURVED STAIRS A unique custommade banquette that follows the curve of the stairwell’s base is a perfect example of Rigdon’s “design with a purpose” ethos. It’s an architectural element that also serves a function.

4 ENTERTAINMENT ROOM AND BAR Slightly more masculine than the rest of the home, the downstairs entertaining space and bar was made so that both adults and kids would feel comfortable hanging out there. Backlit shelves behind the bar showcase glassware and special libations. Rough stone, dark wood and a classic copper ceiling make the bar the perfect place to get out of the sun, relax with friends and watch the big game.

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WINE CELLAR Just off to the side and behind the pool table, a large window lets folks peek into the wine cellar. The room’s walls are lined with wine, and the stone counter is anchored by a bourbon barrel that once housed a special brew created at a Kentucky distillery by Alan Lowden and his friends.

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BUNK ROOM A room made for slumber parties, the bunk room, with built-in bunk beds, can sleep six. The room is a lesson in contrasts: Dark wood paneling lines the sleeping nooks while bright white paint covers the trim and ceiling. It’s cozy. Each bunk provides privacy and has its own reading light yet feels open and communal.

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WHY KANSAS CITY LOVES 30A!

Why Buy Property on Florida’s 30A?

There’s a special place in Florida that travelers are just beginning to discover and they won’t likely tell you about it because once you get to know this charming 24-mile stretch of the coast, you’ll want to keep it a best-kept secret. It’s the beachfront community known as 30A Highway.

To know 30A is to love it. It’s technical geographic description is the highway that runs along the beach from Topsail Hill State Park on the edge of Florida’s Miramar Beach and Camp Helen State Park on the edge of Panama City Beach.

What makes the properties so special, aside from their elegant Florida vibe, are the powdery white beaches with relatively high dune bluffs nearby set against the turquoise blue waters. There are a number of surrounding State Parks, State Forests and plenty of area’s that will remain undeveloped as they’ve been deemed unbuildable--all serve to protect the pristine properties and charm of the community.

And along the scenic stretch of 30A you’ll find more than a dozen picture-perfect small towns, each with their own quirky personality, all are most especially inviting to new visitors. Within these small towns, you’ll find great accommodations, unique shops filled with oneof-a-kind art pieces, pottery, souvenirs as well as thriving local food scenes, family-friendly activities and incomparable ocean views.

Why Should You Buy Property on 30A?

The price is right, right now. As is the case almost everywhere, real estate values are climbing, but as more visitors discover America’s best kept secret, home values can only continue to soar.

As an investment property, you will never have trouble generating income to help offset your investment. But, as a second home, you won’t find property more peaceful or more relaxing than 30A’s laid-back communities.

And, it’s easy to own and manage a vacation property when you know the right people.

Some of the most popular properties include: Alys Beach, Kaiya Beach Resort and the Watercolor community.

KAIYA WATERCOLOR ALYS BEACH

Alys Beach

One of the fastest growing communities along 30A is ALYS BEACH. This beach-front community is masterfully planned and has become known for its large white butterflies and towering palms that flank 30A. Constructed of all white concrete stucco, and touted as the strongest and most efficient homes on earth, Alys Beach home planners, designers and architects worked together to make a fortress of a community that can withstand both the test of time and natural disaster.

Strolling Alys beach is a dreamy experience. The 20-acre nature preserve is perfect for a lazy bike ride complete with an elevated wooden boardwalk. You’ll also find carefully crafted walk paths tucked into natural landscape peppered with edible fruits and of course, those breathtaking views.

Watercolor

WATERCOLOR is a master-planned community located in the heart of 30A. The resort town hosts Western Lake, Gulf front swimming pools, luxury shopping, Florida’s only four Diamond AAA hotel and timeless architecture. Watercolor is interspersed with butterfly gardens, boardwalks and nature preserves, providing plenty of green space and recreational opportunities for families. This is the place to sink your feet into white sand, take in the views and celebrate the fact that you’re living in the lap of luxury.

One of the key things you will notice while touring Watercolor and its homes for sale is how this community fits snugly into its natural surroundings. Watercolor is home to matured oaks, magnolias, palmetto trees and other coastal forest greenery. The luxury homes for sale in Watercolor are seamlessly embedded in its natural surroundings.

Kaiya Beach Resort

With a name inspired by an ancient word for connection and comfort,

KAIYA BEACH RESORT offers a refreshing experience to 30A. This luxurious property conveys a carefree lifestyle and a feeling of being cared for. From expertly curated fine dining and recreational adventures, to the concierge service and VIP benefits of the members-only Kaiya Club. Kaiya nurtures a balance with luxurious homes that blur the line between indoor and outdoor living and spacious floor plans balance the excitement of family life with the quiet of private moments.

Want to learn more?

As a Midwest transplant and someone that has vacationed and spent time on 30A for 20 years prior to permanently relocating to the area, I truly appreciate the evolution of one of the best-kept secrets in our entire country. My focus is to first and foremost be a resource to all of my clients interested in this special place so I can help them make the best decision for themselves and their families. I personally enjoy the investment opportunities that come along with a purchase on 30A and take pride in assisting my clients to reach their financial and Beach House goals with their purchase. —Brad Dahler

BRAD DAHLER

Berkshire Hathaway Beach Properties of Florida

brad@bpfla.com 30arealestatefl.com

Office: 850-842-8800 Mobile: 850-842-8800