LEO Weekly, June 5, 2024

THE PRIDE ISSUE

LEO meets the Daddy Sisters, and explores an odd, maybe gay, death mystery

EDITORIAL

Editor

Erica Rucker

Digital Media

Sydney Catinna

Culture Writer - Aria Baci

News Writer - Caleb Stultz CREATIVE

Creative Director - Haimanti Germain

Graphic Designer - Aspen Smit

BUSINESS MANAGER

Elizabeth Knapp

DIRECTOR OF SALES

Marsha Blacker

Robin Garr, Jeff Polk, David Williams, Dan Savage, Marc Murphy, Rob Brezsny, Georgia Mallett, T.E. Lyons

And William Detchen •

Chief

Vice

Digital

Chris Keating

DELULU

BY ERICA RUCKER

If you’re a fan of K-pop music, or a fan of anything really, you’ve heard the term delulu. It’s a cute way of saying delusional.

Wanna know what isn’t cute? Convicted felon Donald Trump’s supporters or Trump himself. Their brand of delulu is willing to put the entire American experiment up for sale or collapse.

Now don’t get me wrong, America has a lot coming to its ass for a lot of things but letting this spitting blonde orangutan lead America off a cliff EVEN after being convicted of 34 — Thirty Fucking Four felonies — is WILD.

America, you in danger, girl!

Don’t take this as a sell for Biden. I really can’t stand with him either. How he continues to toss American support behind the slaughter of innocent Palestinian children and (hopefully soon to also be convicted of corruption) Bibi Netanyahu is bonkers. It’s like we’re living in a simulation and the players are just tossing in more madness to see if the NPC’s learn, or retaliate, and so far, good little American NPC’s keep strolling and giggling down the streets of a country so concerned about reaping the spoils of all the wars, it has completely ignored the call from within the house. Hello, America is in shit shape.

Our roads are a disaster. Hell, any drive in Louisville is sure to net a flat tire or bent axle from the many potholes in the streets.

Gun violence has become so common that most news outlets don’t cover most of it unless more than 10 people die, bonus if someone famous is in the mix.

We’re a reality TV version of a failed state. Was the Roman Empire this wacky at the end?

Every day that America continues in this state, I feel like we’re being asked to be Voltaire’s Pangloss, or Candide, but most of us are feeling a bit more Martin.

“But for what purpose was the earth formed?” asked Candide. “To drive us mad,” replied Martin.”

I mean, does Martin not make so much sense? What the fuck are we even doing at this point, and really, it is America. There

is madness in every society but on the most basic level, America is driving us absolutely insane.

To the point that if you go to another country, people pick America last as a place they’d want to live. In other countries, the idea that America is violent and crazy is quite common. Sure there are a few foreigners who might want to attend a university here (if they can afford it). They might want to visit, but few want to leave their healthcare, transportation and other basic provisional needs that are met by perhaps less insane governments.

Transportation in America… Trash. Healthcare in America… Trash. Education in America… Trash, especially if you’re poor.

“‘Do you believe,’ said Candide, ‘that men have always massacred each other as they do to-day, that they have always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloodyminded, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites, and fools?’‘Do you believe,’ said Martin, ‘that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they have found them?’”

It is as Martin elicits, man has always been these things, and expecting better, especially from what we currently call government feels like an insurmountable battle.

Perhaps our battle isn’t with the foam on the beer but the beer itself.

“A State can be no better than the citizens of which it is composed. Our labour now is not to mould States, but make citizens,” Voltaire said.

We have so much work to do. We’re coming upon an election of proportions so ridiculous that many of us feel like any choice is no choice at all, so what do we do?

Do we let the ship sink and bail? At what point do we leave the saving for saviors and just let this mess be a mess?

I wish I had an answer. For now, I’m just trying to keep myself out of a depression so dark that it consumes me. American life doesn’t make it easy.

Erica Rucker is LEO Weekly’s editor-in-chief. In addition to her work at LEO, she is a haphazard writer, photographer, tarot card reader, and fair-to-middling purveyor of motherhood. Her earliest memories are of telling stories to her family and promising that the next would be shorter than the first. They never were.

LOUISVILLE HEARTS PROGRAM MAY HAVE ITS BUDGET CUT BY 80%. WHY?

Mayor Craig Greenberg’s newest budget proposal may slash $800,000 in funding to after-school art programs for city youth in Louisville

BY CALEB STULTZ

Caption for key photo: Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg (D) is set to slash 80% in his latest city budget for the HeARTS program.

LEO Weekly ArchiveBody: In his latest budget proposal, Mayor Craig Greenberg (D) will attempt to slash funding for the HeARTS program by as much as 80% next year. HeARTS, a program that was founded two years ago and supported by the Louisville Metro Government, acts as a liaison to support art programs in commu-

nity centers across Jefferson County.

The goal of the program, according to its site, states that it participates in the provision of “multigenerational, multidisciplinary arts programming in accessible neighborhood spaces during out-of-school time.”

If the budget is approved on June 20, HeARTS — which will lose $800,000 in funding — will then need to make the necessary changes to still operate at 20% of its normal capacity. In an email to LEO Weekly, Director of Marketing and Communications Tory Parker stated that the Fund for the Arts will continue the program even with the

drastic change in budget.

“Fund for the Arts intends to continue with the HeARTS program with the funds Louisville Metro Government has allocated in this most recent budget, and we are still in the process of exploring what that will specifically mean with this reduction,” Parker stated in an email to LEO Weekly.

“While we are grateful to receive this funding from Louisville Metro Government, we are working alongside the Office of Arts + Creative Industries to advocate for additional resources as well as exploring other funding opportunities to fill in the gaps.”

Sarah Lindgren, who acts as vice president for the Fund for the Arts, stated in an email that Fund for the Arts has already begun the process of finding other funding sources in anticipation of an approved budget for the next year. Lindgren stated she and the Fund for the Arts don’t know now whether the program’s budget could be increased after such a dramatic cut in funding, but that Fund for the Arts will “make every effort to advocate for funding.”

“Fund for the Arts remains committed to the HeARTS program and will continue to do as much as possible with whatever budget is available,” she stated in an email obtained by LEO Weekly.

What is the funding going towards if not HeARTS?

Based on the prior reporting from LEO Weekly, almost half of all the money in the $1.1 billion budget will go towards public safety ($448 million). That money will be used to purchase new equipment for Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), Louisville Fire Department and emergency operations.

LMPD’s funding will support new license plate readers and MetroWatch cameras to track vehicles around the city, with additional funding going towards recruitment.

“Thrive by 5,” a nonprofit organization separate from Metro Government, will also get a piece of the budget ($5 million). The money is set to be used to give free universal pre-K education to every 3- and 4-year-old in Louisville.

And nearly $50 million of the mayor’s proposed budget is set to improve quality of life in Louisville, including street paving, sidewalk repairs, guardrail replacements

and more.

“We understand that the budget put forth by Mayor Greenberg was the result of much deliberation, compromise, and strategy, and was crafted with the intention of serving the entire city with the resources available…,” Lindgren said in an email to LEO Weekly. “This cut in funding is far more detrimental to the 20+ community centers, their constituents, and the artists who have been working to facilitate healing through free, intergenerational arts programing throughout Louisville than it is to the bottom line at Fund for the Arts.”

How many children will be affected by the budget reductions?

Currently dozens of community centers, libraries, parks and schools are part of the Fund for the Arts HeARTS program, which includes hundreds of kids in Louisville Metro.

A reduction as significant as the one Mayor Greenberg has proposed in his 202425 budget will drastically reduce the reach of the HeARTS program, Lindgren stated in an email. She said that as the vote gets closer, they are doing everything they can to secure enough funding to continue the program at full capacity.

“For programs facilitated through Fund for the Arts, the proposed budget is decreased by 80%,” Lindgren said. “There is no question that an 80% budget cut will significantly impact the program’s reach.”

Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that focuses on advancing the arts in the United States, conducted a comprehensive study on students of the New York City Public Schools performing arts program to see how access to extracurricular arts programs affected them.

In the study, Americans for the Arts found that students, especially those who were socioeconomically disadvantaged, became more committed to their art, becoming a driving focus of their “daily existence.”

“For many, the arts became the focus of daily existence and the central driving force behind their commitment to talent development. The time they spent in arts classes, rehearsals and performance appeared to give them a satisfaction unsurpassed by other pursuits and aspects of their lives,”

researchers stated in the study.

Students also faced adversity in the midst of learning their respective art forms, according to the study.

“Some faced situations that could have sent them down a path of underachievement and helplessness where they might have felt they had no control over their lives,” researchers stated. “Yet in spite of these circumstances most were able to overcome some of the potential obstacles through external support and their strong desire to excel.”

One intermediate student who was interviewed for the study said they would have had “no real friends who love music the way I do” if not for the group that was dedicated to the artform as part of the performing arts program at New York City Public Schools.

Based on the study, researchers found that students who participated in arts programs in and out of school found more success in their lives overall.

“Ultimately the skills and discipline students gained , the bonds they formed with peers and adults, and the rewards they received through instruction and performing fueled their talent development journey

and helped most achieve success both in and outside of school,” researchers stated in the study.

Lindgren said that public funding into arts programs has fluctuated in Louisville over the years, but HeARTS was a program that brought a positive change to the community’s well-being.

“For the past two years, this funding has been used to support arts programming in community spaces and to build trust and foster relationships between teaching artists, community centers, and participants,” she stated in an email. “It would be a shame for this to be cut short just as it is beginning.”

The vote to approve or revise the mayor’s budget is on Thursday, June 20 through Louisville’s Metro Council. However, there are many public input meetings until the final vote is cast on the 2024-2025 proposed budget.

There are a series of budget hearings scheduled in May and June until the vote. Those who cannot attend public hearings on the proposed budget can voice their opinions on the new budget through a public comment form on the Metro’s website.

One man was missing and presumed dead. His friend was also missing, whereabouts unknown. When the friend was finally found, his story riveted Depression-era Louisville for months. But today it’s long forgotten. It’s not mentioned in any history of Louisville. It’s as if it never happened. That may be in part because we don’t really know what happened. We will probably never know.

On the evening of Monday, February 17, 1936, William Detchen, 23, a drugstore clerk, disappeared from work, and was never seen again. Within a few days, his employer, a gay man, pharmacist George B. Aufenkamp, 32, also vanished. Two weeks later, he was arrested in Miami, Florida, brought back to Louisville, and charged with murder. The charges didn’t stick because no body was found. Because homosexuality was considered a mental illness at the time, Aufenkamp was institutionalized at Central State Hospital. He was discharged twelve years later and died in 1959.

That’s all we know for sure. The rest is what most courts consider hearsay. We only had a single source to rely on, Aufenkamp himself, but his story kept changing. The Courier-Journal did an admirable job of reporting, but errors crept in. We may only know part of the story, and that’s all we can know. Everyone involved is dead.

That Monday was sufficiently unexciting. At about 6 a.m., William Detchen left the residence of his friend Florence White on Third near Main to go to work. He was driving an automobile owned by his employer, druggist George B. Aufenkamp, Jr. Detchen was a clerk at Aufenkamp’s new store on the northwest corner of Market and Campbell

THE ODD CASE OF

BY DAVID WILLIAMS

(the building’s still there). He told White he’d be back by 11 a.m. He always kept his word.

Around 7:45 a.m., R. H. Young, who lived with his wife and son in an apartment above the store, heard moans and groans from the rear room below. Shortly after that, he heard Aufenkamp walk in and say, “Bill, Bill, what is the matter?” Detchen, who sounded like he was in great pain, mumbled something. Aufenkamp went to the front, locked the door, and turned off the lights.

of a prosperous local grocer. A self-privileged brat who played fast and loose with the law, he had a nasty temper. In 1928, he’d been arrested in New York City for robbery and assault. Three years later he pled guilty to selling mortgaged jewelry. By 1935, he was advertising himself as a pharmacist, and even opened his own store, but he didn’t have a license. Even so, somehow he managed to buy a lot of pharmaceuticals legally. The industry was rather lax.

Aufenkamp’s family knew their son was

“After he was back in Louisville, police scoured the banks of the Salt River looking for the body. A double-breasted gray coat showed up, but Detchen’s father couldn’t identify it. At one point Aufenkamp himself was taken to the Salt River bridge to point out where he’d thrown the body. It was never found.”

some time together at a tourist cabin on River Road. But by the time of his disappearance, the affair had cooled. Detchen confided in one friend that he’d become scared of Aufenkamp. And he wanted to get married: to a woman.

Over the next several days, police scoured the city looking for both men. Unable to get into the drugstore, they busted down the door, and searched the premises. They even pumped an outhouse in the back (numerous properties in Louisville still had them). But, by then, Aufenkamp was hundreds of miles away. He’d jumped on a bus to Atlanta, then hitchhiked to Miami, where he found work at another drugstore.

In a coincidence that not even the talkies could make believable, a woman from Louisville was vacationing there when she spotted him. She’d been carrying around news clippings about the case. She showed them to Miami police and they arrested him. When Louisville police were alerted, they boarded a train to pick him up. It took them three days to get there.

Aufenkamp changed his story several times before finally coming up with the one that seems most plausible. Even so, there’s some doubt.

A bit later, the moans stopped. Someone came to the front door but couldn’t get in. Aufenkamp shouted, “We’re closed up,” and they left.

Aufenkamp’s father, George B., Sr., showed up a bit after that. He later claimed he saw Detchen leave the store at about 8:30 a.m. That might be true, but he wasn’t alive. Over the next few days, some friends spotted Aufenkamp downtown, but police couldn’t find him. Then, he too disappeared.

The dapper Aufenkamp was the scion

two-sided. He was perhaps bipolar. His father said he never thought his namesake would harm anyone, but he could sometimes work up a rage. His son had cost him thousands of dollars over the years.

Little is known of the handsome Detchen beyond his height, and a small photo published in the Courier-Journal. It’s not even certain he was gay. He may have been bisexual. He and Aufenkamp probably met sometime in 1935, and had a whirlwind romance. That summer they spent

According to Aufenkamp, Detchen had been suffering from a severe cold and was taking medicine for it. When he came to the pharmacy that evening, he decided to lay down in the back. The building had a rat problem, so Aufenkamp had purchased potassium cyanide from a downtown store, and brought it back to be mixed with sugar and sprinkled on bread. He carelessly left it on the prescription counter with an ear medicine.

Aufenkamp had taught Detchen how to

make capsules in case of an emergency if he wasn’t there: probably another illegality. Detchen wasn’t a registered pharmacist. He said Detchen mistakenly poured the cyanide into a capsule while Aufenkamp was up front, swallowed it, and laid down. Later, Aufenkamp realized what had happened but it was too late. Detchen died soon after. Aufenkamp panicked. He later claimed he’d found a “bum” and paid him $10 to get rid of the body. He said the man took and dumped Detchen in the Ohio River. But that wasn’t true. Aufenkamp disposed of the body himself, probably with a little assistance from his father.

Late that night, Aufenkamp (and his father?) stuffed Detchen’s body into the back seat of his blue sedan and took off. Puttering down Dixie Highway, which was then just a two-lane country road, he got to the banks of the Salt River near West Point and dumped the body from a bridge

doctor in Lexington was imprisoned for it. Psychiatrists of the day presumed that homosexuality was a mental illness because of the number of gay men who came to them for help. But, as Evelyn Hooker pointed out two decades later, if a homosexual was mentally stable, and leading a regular life, he wasn’t likely to consult a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists were ignoring a huge section of the homosexual population.

near Oak while clad only in satin shorts. In October a judge promised to drop all charges provided he left town. He moved to New York City.

In late 1959, Aufenkamp fell ill and returned to Louisville. He died on November 27 and is buried with his parents in Calvary Cemetery.

into the icy waters, then took off for Miami.

After he was back in Louisville, police scoured the banks of the Salt River looking for the body. A double-breasted gray coat showed up, but Detchen’s father couldn’t identify it. At one point Aufenkamp himself was taken to the Salt River bridge to point out where he’d thrown the body. It was never found.

Aufenkamp’s scandalous case dragged on in the courts and the papers the whole summer of 1936. He faced three charges: murder, obstruction of justice, and forgery. In June two psychiatrists concluded he was legally sane but “abnormal and dangerous.” But the only evidence of Detchen’s death was Aufenkamp’s own words. The court was forced to drop the murder charge but decided to pursue a charge of lunacy instead.

At the time, “homosexual insanity” was considered a genuine condition. Around the same time of Aufenkamp’s arrest, a

The case against Aufenkamp came to an end on October 7, 1936. Two psychiatrists told the court he suffered from an abnormal and diseased mind and that he’d stop at nothing to satisfy his perverted desires. A criminal court jury committed him to Central State Hospital for the remainder of his life.

Twelve years later, in late 1948, Aufenkamp, now 44, appealed for release. By then doctors had certified he was no longer insane. Prosecutors still wanted to try him for murder but, without a body, there was nothing they could do. On December 10, he was freed and he returned to Louisville.

There his story might have ended, but Aufenkamp was nothing if not sexually robust. On July 10, 1951, he and another man were arrested at a downtown hotel. Detectives had followed them and heard Aufenkamp make an immoral proposal to the other man. He was sentenced to fifty days in jail and fined $100. Soon after he was arrested again on a loitering charge after he was seen talking to a soldier in the doorway of his father’s house on Sixth

There remains some doubt about Aufenkamp’s story. He had a manic temper. Detchen wanted out of the relationship. Enraged, did Aufenkamp give him a tainted capsule and tell him to take a nap?

It seems odd Detchen wouldn’t have noticed a bottle labeled cyanide, and known not to fill a capsule with it. Aufenkamp’s father didn’t think his son was capable of killing, but parental love is sometimes blind. Murder isn’t out of the question, but without a skeleton to examine, Detchen’s death will remain a mystery.

David Williams is the founder of the Williams-Nichols Collection, one of the largest LGBTQ archives and libraries in the country. It’s housed at the Department of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Louisville. His full report on this case is available for perusal there.

Photos (l to r): George B. Aufenkamp, Jr. AP Wirephoto, date unknown Louisville Courier-Journal, Mar. 1, 1936, p. 2, and William Detchen about the time of his disappearance.

BOWLING GREEN AND BEYOND: THE DADDY SISTERS ARE A BAND YOU SHOULD KNOW

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY GEORGIA MALLETT

Inside Bowling Green rockstar Chick Falcon’s house, a collection of vintage keyboards, stacked amps, guitars played by rock legends and 80s arcade games line the walls surrounding a drum set. This is where the magic of The Daddy Sisters happens.

Chick Falcon and the band are a staple piece of the Bowling Green music scene and have been around for almost five years. The band went through many drummers before Jack Quinn but he was the one that clicked.

“I’ve never been as connected with a musician or a bandmate like Jack in my life ever,” said Falcon. The duo have been expanding their presence to Louisville after signing with sonaBLAST! Records last year.

Falcon’s journey in the music scene began during her time as a student at Western Kentucky University. She would attend house shows in Bowling Green, immersing herself in the vibrant local music scene. It was during this time that she was introduced to trans-identities. After learning more about the gender spectrum from her college peers, Falcon began to reflect on her own gender expression.

“I identified as gender fluid. I was basically learning about my own gender,” she explained. “I’ve always kind of suppressed it, but after learning more, I just said, ‘let’s do it.’”

The Daddy Sisters band became an outlet for Falcon to express her gender identity. As the lead singer and guitar player, Falcon could

use her music to explore her gender expression and share her experiences with others.

The band’s lively blend of rock and punk features empowering lyrics with themes of self-acceptance and pride. Falcon’s powerful and emotive voice not only embeds confidence in the songs but also brings out the music’s humorous and playful elements.

While making the new album, Falcon said it was kind of daunting.

“You want to make the best record possible,” said Falcon. When we were recording the first song, I initially sang it how I always did live and it wasn’t the representation I wanted. It sounded too masculine. I wasn’t feeling that. I wanted to sound more feminine.”

Falcon’s transition includes vocal therapy which affects her singing in the band. She has been training with a professional to move her voice into a more feminine range.

“Queer people and trans-femmes will come up and say ‘hey, it’s awesome to representation in this field. I feel really special that I’m able to be in a popular band and also be someone who’s pansexual and trans,” said Falcon.

Along with being in the band, Falcon has a passion for refurbishing vintage video games, musical instruments and musical equipment and cooking with her girlfriend, Nina.

Said Falcon, “In 2021 it was so many different changes like, my old drummer quit. My ex-girlfriend broke up with me. And my car

But now, I’ve got my dream car. I’m in love and I got my dream drummer. [It’s] incredible.”

The Daddy Sisters first album “The Beast With Two Backs” will be released on June 28. Their new single, “Be A Girl” is out now on sonaBlaAST! Records

crashed.

Left Page Clockwise: The Daddy Sisters pose for a portrait on the hood of Falcon’s prized-possession, her 1984 Nissan 300ZX.

Jack Quinn and Chick Falcon discuss creative direction over the song “Yas Queen” during the first recording session of The Daddy Sisters first album on Feb. 11, 2022. The recording over the song took over five hours. The duo rerecorded several times focusing mainly on the bass drum and the rhythm guitar being the highlight of the beat. Falcon was inspired by bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes that influenced the sound of the Daddy Sisters.

Chick Falcon warms up her voice while getting ready to record vocals and guitar for The Daddy Sisters new album at La La Land Studio for SonaBLAST! Records on May 9, 2023.

Falcon’s Lisa Frank notebook is filled with the lyrics for her songs. She uses it as a reference while recording her song Bitchin’ Tiara.

Right Page Left: The Daddy Sisters perform at Revolution 91.7’s Mayhem Festival at Western Kentucky University’s South Lawn on April 29, 2022.

Chick Falcon performs at Revolution 91.7’s Mayhem Festival at Western Kentucky University on April 14, 2023.

EAT, DRINK AND SEE IN THIS WEEK’S STAFF PICKS

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

Solid Pink Disco with DJ Trixie Mattel

Mercury Ballroom | $45-55 | mercuryballroom.com | 9 p.m.

Known for her life-in-plastic aesthetic, Trixie Mattel has been charming audiences for years with her unmatched performance style, razor-sharp reads, and off-color comedy as a dazzling host and emcee personality. See her live show during Pride Month at Mercury Ballroom with DJ Mateo Segade.

—Sydney Catinna

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Rollin’ on the River Craft Beer Festival

Howard Steamboat Museum | 1101 E. Market Street, Jeffersonville, IN | rollinontheriverfest.com | $55 general admission / Designated Drivers free | 3-7 p.m. | 21 and over

Although there are some great beer festivals in the Louisville area, Fest of Ale in New Albany was always my favorite. Unfortunately, the 2019 edition of the festival would turn out to be its last. Now five years later, it’s back…sort of. Pearl Street Taphouse and Antz Marching, LLC, (founders of the Fest of Ale and former owner of Keg Liquors), present the inaugural Rollin’ on the River Craft Beer Festival at the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville. Expect well over 100 craft beers from more than 65 different breweries, as well as fine wines, ciders, and seltzers. Attendees will also enjoy local food vendors, games, live music, swag, giveaways, and raffles. The expansive grounds boast beautiful views of the Ohio River, plenty of shade, room to roam, and is located just blocks from downtown Jeffersonville.

—Jeff Polk

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Buy Local Fair

Lynn Family Stadium | 350 Adams St. | keeplouisvilleweird.com/buylocalfair | Free | 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Louisville’s favorite local shopping fair returns at Lynn Family Stadium with food, fun and tons of local vendors to buy from. The keyword here is local and all the vendors are serving independent business and quality goods.

—Erica Rucker

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Rosé Partay

The Breeze Wine and Coffee | 1247 S. Shelby St. | thebreezewine.com | $40

The fourth annual celebration of rosé at this elegant yet relaxed natural wine shop in Shelby Park will include tastings of more than 35 different rosés from around the world, Rosé Partay jello shots, and a Rosé Partay commemorative tasting glass. DJs 502twinz2 will be spinning on the basketball court. And pink attire is strongly suggested.

—Aria

Baci

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Pride Month Prag Party featuring Indignant Few, The Response, and Kinzie Skiz

The Alcove | 246 Spring St, Jeffersonville | thealcovebar.com | Free | 9 p.m. | 21 and over

Prag is a cultural revival of punk rock & drag hitting the stage with one-another in order to bring people together and create one big night of magic. And that’s exactly what you should expect as Punk Rock Night Louisville and Partners and Pals presents Pride Month Prag Party featuring music by Indignant Few, The Response, and Kinzie Sikz (from Indianapolis), and drag performances by Jules (Host), Sapphire Rose, Sir Lasher L’Cher, Stixen Stones, and Alaster Jolie. Drag and music acts will be performing alternately for the full Prag experience, so bring your one’s for tips and your savings account for merchandise!

—Jeff Polk

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

Hot Water Music, Quicksand, and Tim Barry Mercury Ballroom | 611 S. 4th Street | mercuryballroom.com | $50.25 | 9 p.m. | 21 and over

Hot on the heels of their recently released 10th studio album Vows, legendary Gainesville, FL seminal post-hardcore band Hot Water Music kicks off the second leg of their 30th anniversary tour right here in Louisville, (their last performance in Louisville was 13 long years ago at the 2011 Krazy Fest). Said the band of the tour, “We are super stoked to get back to so many spots we haven’t been in years and dust off some oldies that haven’t been in rotation for a while. Rest assured, these sets will have something for everyone.” Sharing the bill are two equally legendary and seminal special guests - NYC post-hardcore greats Quicksand, and the solo folk stylings of Avail vocalist Tim Barry.

—Jeff Polk

FRIDAY, JUNE 13

and SATURDAY, JUNE 14

Knocked Loose with special guests

Old Forester’s Paristown Hall | 724 Brent Street | kentuckyperformingarts.org/venues/paristown-hall | $39.50 | 7 p.m. | All ages

Louisville, KY, (technically from Oldham County, but we still claim them), metalcore outfit Knocked Loose have gone from playing any local place that would have them a decade ago to being one of the highest-charting and well-respected up-and-coming metal bands in the world. Currently on tour for their third full-length album — the recently released You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To — the band comes home for two big shows! Friday night sees another Louisville success story - garage punk band White Reaper, along with Poison The Well and Division Of Mind on the bill. While Saturday night Superheaven, Trash Talk, and Psycho-Frame open the show. Now, who do we need to talk to about getting a ‘Knocked Loose’s Louisville’ Hometown Heroes banner?

—Jeff Polk

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

Kentuckiana Pride Festival

Big Four Lawn | kypride.com | $10 | 12-10 p.m.

Celebrate Pride at one of Kentucky’s biggest LGBTQ+ events with a parade, a vendor marketplace, food stalls, lively entertainment, and more. The parade kicks off in the NuLu area, starting at the E. Market and Campbell intersection, wrapping up at the Big Four Lawn. Stick around for the festival which features performances by Icona Pop, Chappell Roan, Robin S, +FloW, Friday Night Special, Bungalow Betty, Vibe Like Ty, Voices of Kentuckiana, DJ Dan Slater, DJ Griffin Green, DJ Dnasti and more.

—Sydney Catinna

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

Downs After Dark - Yacht Rock

Churchill Downs | 700 Central Ave. | Search Facebook | $20+ | 6 p.m.

If you’re a child of the ‘70s then you are very well acquainted with the idea of Yacht rock and if you were born after this era, you’re still probably pretty well acquainted with the smooth sounds of acts like Christopher Cross, America, and Pablo Cruise. If Yacht Rock tickles your fancy and you’re a big fan of playing the ponies, this night at Churchill Downs is for you.

Erica Rucker

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

Physis / Recollect

Aurora Gallery and Boutique | 1264 S. Shelby St. | auroragallerylouisville.com | Free

The Shelby Park gallery presents a side-by-side art exhibition: Physis by co-owner Mia Farrugia and Recollect by musician Gabrielle Kays. In “Physis,” Farrugia explores death and decay as beauty and art, and presents a challenge to her (and our) notions of growth, strength, and fragility. In “Recollect,” Kays focalizes vintage portraiture, reclaimed organic materials, and the desire to transform memories into physical objects. As macabre or melancholy as their themes might seem, their work offers a glimpse into sublimity too.

—Aria Baci

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

West End Farmers Market

Farmers Market | 2339 Date St. | Search Facebook | Free | 4 p.m.– 8 p.m.

Come to this biweekly farmers market and gather up the fresh goods of the season. There will be live music, food and good community vibes.

—Erica Rucker

MONDAY, JUNE 17

Kim Gordon

Headliners Music Hall | 1386 Lexington Rd. | headlinerslouisville.com | $30

Whether you know Kim Gordon from her influential work in Sonic Youth, Free Kitten, Body/Head, Ciccone Youth, Glitterbust, or Harry Crews, she is a rare musical artist who has to be experienced in person to be truly appreciated. On tour for her second solo album “The Collective,” released by Matador Records in March, her sonic textures and social musings are as seductive as they are staggering.

—Aria Baci

LISTEN LOCAL: NEW LOUISVILLE MUSIC

LEO now has playlists for Listen Local! Search Spotify for LEO Weekly and have a listen!

BY JEFF POLK

Echo Project

Gun Safety Film - EP

While local favorites LUX are on an indefinite hiatus due to members’ college and work schedules, vocalist/guitarist Chaz Owens has taken the solo route. With help from a variety of people, Owens’ latest musical endeavor Echo Project has just released its debut 4-song ep, Gun Safety Film. With its emotional, melancholic, even somewhat haunting melodies mixed with explosive, driving, powerful rhythms, the LUX comparison is unavoidable. However, Echo Project is far from a rehash of Owens’ previous band, as there is something quite different going on here. While the indie rock, shoegaze, and post-hardcore influences are still there, the grunge and rock elements are certainly more prominent here. And with the synthesizer taking on a big role in these four tracks, there is a definite post-punk vibe here as well. The songs are cleaner, brighter, and even — dare I say — poppier and far more upbeat. Owens’ vocals really shine here, as he seems to have come out of his shell and fully embraced what he is capable of; taking on different vocal styles and pushing them to higher peaks than ever before. There is a strong underlying vibe here that brings to mind that ‘90s Louisville sound of bands like Slint, Rodan, Falling Forward, and Telephone Man, as well as modern-era local bands like Thee Tabs, Zerg Rush, and Nerve House. With Echo Project, Chaz Owens has certainly come into his own, and the results are spectacular!

linktr.ee/echo.proj

foolstack

All Fools Day - album

Hunter Crump, otherwise known as foolstack, has had an interesting path that has lead him here. An Ashland, KY native who moved to Louisville to study at UofL, he was set to pursue his PhD in Psychology after being accepted to a program in Palo Alto, CA. Then Covid happened. It was during this downtime that Crump realized music is what he truly wanted to do with his life. Four years later, he’s still in Louisville, now playing drums in four local bands and DJ’ing in a fifth. So yeah, this is a busy guy! The seeds for All Fool’s Day started taking root three years ago after Crump’s grandmother’s funeral when he began creating his own music as a way to get his sadness, anger and confusion out. Between then and April of 2024, Crump continued making and recording music just for the sake of creating. The resulting All Fool’s Day collects 14 of those songs — each track seemingly spanning the spectrum of music from psychedelic, lo-fi, indie, alternative, hip hop, electronic, hyper pop, garage rock, shoegaze, folk, and jazz — painting incredible soundscapes along the way. From the slow lo-fi groove of “Gitgot” (featuring sinkpots), the shoegazy “Inherit” (featuring an intense flow by XEONXEONXEON), to the jazzy undertones of tracks like “Barclays Blend,” “Underbite,” and “Pickup” (featuring Hendo Houdini). Foolstack is bringing a whole different vibe and musical element to the table here, and you really have to experience it for yourself to understand.

foolstack.bandcamp.com

Indignant Few

SMÜT - EP

Those snotty-nosed little punks you knew and hated in the ‘90s are back! SMÜT, Indignant Few’s first EP release since 1992’s Street Smart Girl, sees that band picking up where they left off. A little older, a little wiser, but still the same abrasive, bratty, ‘77 style punk rock with an attitude that made them legendary in the Louisville punk scene of the early ‘90s. But with age has come experience; specifically with songwriting and playing. The material they’ve been creating since reuniting in late 2021, (they broke up in 1994), is miles above their ‘90s material. Thankfully the energy and the attitude they had thirty years ago is still very much intact here.

Four tracks —altogether barely clocking in at over eight minutes total — of straightforward, powerful, energetic, driving, unapologetic punk fucking rock in the vein of Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, U.S. Bombs, and Blanks 77. The band has certainly mastered the art of the sing-along chorus, as “Deadbeat”, “I’m Just Paranoid,” and “Dark as the Night” all have punchy, crowd-chanting, fist-in-the-air, sing-along hooks that get you riled up. The fourth track “Bring Me Down” may not have the sing-along chorus, but certainly makes up for it with catchy-as-fuck riffs and beats. Indignant Few is the past, present, and the future of Louisville punk rock, and we’re all just along for the ride!

indignantfew1.bandcamp.com

James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg

All Gist - album

Have you ever heard music you wish you could climb inside of and stay there awhile? All Gist is a collection of 10-such songs. Chicago-based James Elkington and Louisville-based Nathan Salsburg, both highly accomplished and critically acclaimed solo guitarists, team up again for their third album of instrumental guitar duets, (their first since 2014’s Ambsace), and the result is stunningly beautiful! Delicately balancing folk, classical, bluegrass and Appalachian music, Elkington and Salsburg have created a sound that is as peaceful and relaxing as it is grand in scale. While many tracks are backed by a cast of equally as talented musicians, it’s the guitars Elkington and Salsburg that are shining stars here, both dancing and playing off one-another while intertwining together in a marriage of gorgeous harmony that embraces the listener like a warm hug from a loved one. And while there are covers one might expect to find on here, (English composer Howard Skempton’s “Well, Well, Cornelius,” and a composite of two traditional Breton dance tunes), it’s the cover of Neneh Cherry’s 1988 hit “Buffalo Stance” that really steals the show, completely deconstructed and reimagined without the hip-hop element while still maintaining sincere reverence for the original. This isn’t ambient background music to put on and zone out to, this is truly music that speaks to the soul and should be experienced with full attention paid. Just surrender and let the music take you on an unforgettable voyage!

jameselkingtonandnathansalsburg. bandcamp.com

The Shondas

The Shondas - album

One thing Louisville could certainly use more of is just straight-up rock n’ roll bands like The Shondas. Formed by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter David Serchuk, (who is also a former LEO Weekly contributing writer), along with veteran musicians Kevin Peacock (guitar), Aaron Selbig (bass), and Jeff Gard (drums), The Shondas bring a diverse mix of influence to the table with elements of classic rock, power pop, garage rock, Americana, folk, post-punk, rockabilly, and indie rock all blending seamlessly together in their sound. This actually reminds me a lot of Louisville/Lexington hybrid band Letters of Acceptance, whom I’ve highly praised in the recent past. Like LoA, The Shondas have a knack for writing catchy, hook-filled, guitardriven melodies that are easy to get lost in. Comparisons to Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly, My Morning Jacket, and REM are certainly not unfounded. These are great rock songs with excellent pop sensibilities. Each of the 12 songs here seem to take on a life of their own, all the while flowing back-to-back smoothly. Highlights include the raucous country-tinge of album opener “The Clawback,” The Carsreminiscent “Underrated Girl,” the laid-back jam of “Strange Wine,” the folky power pop “Tell Me Your Name,” the ska meets My Morning Jacket vibe of “Murder By Proxy,” the Buddy Holly-ish “Run Little Lola,” and the upbeat power pop album closer “Last Year Was A Bitch”. The Shondas’ debut album proves itself to be an excellent way to forget about your problems and lose yourself in the music for an hour. theshondas.com

FOOD & DRINK

CLAY OVEN INSPIRES AN INDIAN FOOD CRAVE

BY ROBIN GARR

I have this funny reaction to Indian food: The minute I start thinking about it, I want to go get some.

The only issue is where to go! Louisville is currently blessed with enough good Indian eateries that I’d be hard pressed to declare one of them the local G.O.A.T. It would be like trying to pick this year’s Derby winner without a photo!

But I’ll say this for sure: Clay Oven in Middletown is a strong contender for the prize. It’s been a favorite for me since its arrival more than a decade ago, a place with

such allure that I’ll go there even when I’m not reviewing.

Not only is the Indian food seemingly authentic, with a tilt toward the flavors of Northern India, but the large dining room in Middletown’s Eastgate Shopping Center, adjacent to Kroger, is attractive and comfortable. No complaints about service, either, which has been uniformly courteous and cordial.

What’s more, the menu is extensive even by Indian-restaurant standards. You’ve got about 120 items to choose among, divided into appetizers, soups, salads, clay oven (tandoor) specialties, chicken, lamg, seafood, and vegetarian options, IndianChinese dishes, rice-based dishes including biryani and pilaf, an array of Indian breads, Indian desserts, chutneys and other accompaniments, and Indian and American beverages.

Whew! Better still, pricing remains comfortably affordable especially in the current economy, with virtually all entrees priced in the lower to middle teens, and

nothing that I could see costing more than $17.99.

I started my recent visit with a bowl of steaming tomato soup ($4.99). If you think that doesn’t sound Indian, hang on: This is not what you get from the familiar red-andwhite can but something a lot more tasty and interesting. It’s red, all right, but relatively thin and brothy, studded with bits of onion. It’s moderately spicy with a palate-tingling sour note, a hot-sour combination that wakes up your taste buds.

Knowing that more spice was coming, we

summoned a pair of salty lassis ($3.99 each), another Indian standard that Clay Oven does particularly well. Lassi is a simple blend of full-fat yogurt, a little water, cumin and cilantro leaves and salt, buzzed into a foamy, frothy mix that’s cool and refreshing on its own and a great coolant for peppery fire. Lassi is often made with mango or other fruit and sugar for a dessert-like treat, but make mine unsweet and salty, please!

A filling main course, fish palak ($16.99), illustrated the complexity of North Indian cuising. A large portion filled an Indianstyle metal serving bowl with a handle on each side. A rich, thick sauce cloaked finely chopped spinach plus onions and a chorus of herbs and spices. Mixed in were at least a dozen 3/4-inch cubes of salmon that had been seared in the tandoor and a few tomato

Clay Oven Indian Restaurant

Eastgate Shopping Center 12567 Shelbyville Road 254-4363 clayovenlouisville.com facebook.com/clayovenlouisville

chunks. This was ordered, and delivered, with mild spice on Clay Oven’s four-level heat scale: Mild, medium, hot, and Indian hot.

I almost invariably order dal at Clay Oven. This simple yet fascinating Indian comfort food is a porridge-like treat based on lentils, so healthful and good, then kicked up with a bewildering variety of hot or mild spices, herbs, coconut milk or cream or a little brown sugar, yielding dozens of variations that are bound to include one to your liking.

This time my liking was for dal tadka ($11.99), a classic version that’s made in two stages: First yellow lentils are cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices until they’re tender and comforting. Then comes the tadka, an extra flavor blast imparted by spices bloomed in hot oil or ghee and stirred into the lentils just before serving. I ordered this thick, golden lentil stew prepared hot, and it came out spicy enough to make he happy without inflicting actual pain.

I ordered another favorite, dal makhani ($11.99), to take home, and feasted on its rich, creamy decadence for days.

Perfectly prepared basmati rice came alongside in a large oval dish. Its exceptionally long white grains were fluffy, each separate, and prettily decorated with carrot shreds and peas

Tandoori roti ($2.99), a subtly flavored, ghee-anointed whole-wheat flatbread cooked in the tandoor until it was leopard-spotted with sweet spots of char, hit the spot as a side dish.

Our meal came to about $48 plus tip. The takeout box dal makhani ($11.99) to go, which came with more good rice, increased the tab to $60.35 plus a $15 tip.

Noise Level: The dining room was only partially full, and conversation was never a problem, with an average sound level at a gentle 52.7 dB.

Accessibility: The shopping-center space appears accessible to unassisted wheelchair users.

Clockwise from Left: Filling and full of protein, made with plenty of optional spicy fire, dal tadka brings together yellow lentils, onions, and more in a delicious mix.

Warm from the tandoor oven, thin but chewy unleavened whole-wheat tandoori roti made an appealing switch from the more customary puffy naan.

Rich and smooth and dotted with bits of Indian herbs and spices, these salt lassis made a refreshing drink and a functional antidote to fiery fare.

Robin Garr

CATALOGING QUEERNESS

How the Williams-Nichols Collection preserves local LGBTQ history

BY ARIA BACI

As of June 2024 — also known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month — there are 515 anti-LGBTQ bills around the U.S. in state legislatures. People whose sexual orientations and gender identities place them in a minority are once again being marginalized in America. But despite what some political pundits and religious extremists claim, LGBTQ people are not a stain on the fabric of society. We are a shimmering fiber in the very weave of every culture in the world.

There is evidence that LGBTQ people have existed since before there were terms to describe us. In Ancient Egypt, Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, two male ancient royal servants to the sixth pharaoh of the fifth dynasty, are depicted as a same-sex couple. More recently, children’s author Maurice Sendak (“Where the Wild Things Are,” among many others) lived with his partner Eugene David Glynn for 50 years until Glynn’s death in May 2007, but only shared that fact publicly one year after Glynn’s death. Sendak’s work is an unequivocal part of innumerable childhoods, but his sexual orientation was effectively a secret until the last four years of his life.

Sally Ride — the third woman, and the first American woman to travel into space (who was also the youngest American astronaut at the time) — was only publicly revealed to have been married to a woman named Tam O’Shaughnessy in her obituary in July 2012.

Despite the active presence of LGBTQ people in society, our history is often made invisible. Our lives have not always been noted, or regarded by cultural gatekeepers as noteworthy. Our broad spectrum of contributions have often been absorbed by the larger culture without any acknowledgement of who we were as people. Here in Louisville, one gay man wanted to document who we were as a way to celebrate who we are.

The Williams-Nichols Collection

David Williams is a founder of the WilliamsNichols Collection, an archive housed in the Ekstrom Library at University of Louisville. One of the 10 largest LGBTQ archives in the country, the collection includes books, manuscripts, photographs, audiovisual media, and realia with an emphasis on organizations and activities based in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee — although some are from as far away as Laos. Ephemeral material in the collection includes protest banners, posters, fundraising materials, matchbook covers, bumper stickers, pins and T-shirts.

There are approximately 7,000 books and 30,000 magazines in the collection, including entire runs of trailblazing gay and lesbian publications such as “The Lavender Letter,” “The Mattachine Review,” “The Ladder,” and “Vector,” along with feminist publications such as “Sojourner.”

Williams was born in Louisville and attended Catholic schools (St. Agnes, St. Xavier, Xavier University, and one year at Notre Dame). He came out as gay in 1972.

“Until the 1960s and 1970s,” he says, “People

were reluctant to come out as gay.” At the time of his coming out, homosexual activity was against the law in every state except Illinois. Illinois adopted the recommendations of the Model Penal Code in 1962 and became the first state to rescind consensual sodomy from its criminal code — almost 10 years before any other state. In every other location in the country, if a person was even presumed to be homosexual, they could lose their job, be evicted from their apartment, and be ostracized.

David Williams Aaron Bingham

T-shirts in the Williams-Nichols Collection University of Louisville Libraries

These were predictable reactions to what was seen at the time as a pathologically deviant sexual orientation. In the instance of a nonconforming gender identity, a person’s social wellbeing was at an ever higher risk of castigation. Lucy Hicks Anderson, a Black trans woman born in Waddy, KY in 1886, was accused of perjury for self-identifying as a woman and marrying a man in 1920 (then divorcing in 1929 and marrying another man in 1940). She was later charged with fraud for receiving financial allotments intended for wives of soldiers, and sentenced to 10 years in a men’s prison.

“So gays and lesbians tended to be very secretive about it,” Williams says. “That’s one of the main problems with why we have such difficulty of learning about our history: Because everything was so hush hush, so furtive.”

Soon after he came out, Williams began collecting items related to the gay cultural experience. “I’ve always been history-minded and also a packrat,” he says. “So I started collecting, haphazardly, newspaper articles, and magazines, and things like

that.” His collecting was not done in an orderly fashion until 1982, when he formally founded his collection.

Items in his collection had been scattered across all the places he had lived over the course of 19 years. In 2001, after gathering the contents of his decades of collecting, he donated it all to the University of Louisville, an academic institution that he feels is “one of the few gay supportive colleges and universities in the South. It has always been there for us.”

Williams began sending items to the Ekstrom Library during the first few months of 2001. The process was completed by June, and he and the library staff had a celebration, which was serendipitously on June 28 — the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

In subsequent years since the establishment of the archive, Williams did a study of men and women in Louisville, southern Indiana, and throughout Kentucky who had contracted HIV and died of AIDS. His work anthologized approximately 460 shortform biographies of each of those people.

“I put it into a binder called ‘Forever Young: Deceased Men and Women with HIV or AIDS from Kentucky and Southern Indiana.’ I think it’s the best thing I ever did.”

Williams emphasizes that he is engaged in ongoing research into LGBTQ history. “History is not a dead thing — it’s a living, breathing thing — because it’s populated with all these people with interesting lives and stories. We aren’t just collecting things, but adding to our knowledge.”

Fortifying Our Future by Learning about Our Past

Many LGBTQ people are concerned that American culture is moving toward a backwards future, in which book bans, prohibitions on drag performances, and restrictions on trans healthcare are becoming the new norm. Williams has some trepidation about the current trend of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, but thinks of himself as “an eternal optimist.”

“I’ve been around long enough to know that it’s all yin and yang,” Williams says. “Sometimes we wax and sometimes we wane. We had a really long run there. Starting in the Clinton years, going into the Obama years, we were continually progressing and having all these victories. We got same sex marriage, and sodomy laws were rescinded.” The cadence of his voice is steady when he says the although the LGBTQ community was going strong for almost 20 years, it is now moving toward another social and political extreme.

“Wherever there is an action, there is a reaction. We’re going through this reaction with the conservatives and the Republicans and the religious nuts. They smell blood. And they’re out to get it. I don’t know when it’s going to end.” He pauses, and modulates into the tone of someone who has lived through worse times. “I know it will end. It always does. In the meantime, we hold our heads up high and live our lives as authentically as we can. It’s not a permanent thing … It’s just something we have to put up with.”

Not Yet / Always Been

Dr. Jennifer Sichel is an Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art and Theory at the Hite Institute of Art and Design at University of Louisville. Like Williams, Sichel’s research focalizes LGBTQ history, but her research is centered in New York in the 1960s and 1970s. Her forthcoming book “Criticism Without Authority: Jean Swenson and Jill Johnston’s Queer Practices” is about art critics whose writing offered them an improbable queer

space in an otherwise hostile cultural environment. It will be published by University of Chicago Press in 2025.

During the 2023–2024 academic year, Sichel taught a course called “Queer Theory and Curating.” Over the course of the semester, her class of 12 undergraduate and graduate students spent weeks combing through the Williams-Nichols collection. The students are now curating an exhibition that will open in the fall called: “Not Yet /Always Been: An Archive of Queer Louisville.” “It has been an amazing experience for my students to dig into this local queer history and to go through all the boxes of ephemera and think about what it would mean to create an exhibition out of all those objects,” she says.

During one class session, she and her students went to the archive together, and Williams was there. He shared with her students what it has meant for him to develop this collection. “He told his story about growing up in the ‘40s and ‘50s and never seeing any evidence of queer life in the library except for a few treatises on how it was a pathology. He didn’t want that to be anyone else’s experience, so he assembled this collection. It was a really wonderful moment for my students.”

Sichel could see how meaningful it was for Williams to engage with “an animated group of students, laughing and looking at things and passing them around and getting excited about what they were finding. It was a very beautiful moment of teaching and learning.” It was also striking for Sichel to observe her students, many of whom grew up in Louisville, who did not know any of the history that the Williams-Nichols Collection offers. Her students learned about the queer history of Louisville through this archive, and that “queer history has always been part of the fabric of this city.”

We’re Here, We’re Queer, Get Used To It

Nothing any legislature can do can reverse the fact that a gay man wrote some of our culture’s most popular children’s books, or stop a lesbian from having gone into space. But it is not only the renowned members of the LGBTQ community whose lives deserve to be documented or whose stories deserve to be told. Each of us is a part of history in our own way. Each of us belongs here in the present, and whatever weather the current political climate might bring, there are too many of us to ever erase.

COME JOIN THIS AUTHOR’S FEAST

BY T.E. LYONS

As you lie back on picnic blanket or lounge, ready for an exciting summer read, can you picture yourself on the rugged but beautiful coast of rural England? Novelist Lucy Foley, who has become a reliable fixture on national best-seller lists, is ready to transport you there with her newest thriller.

Maybe you’d like to be at the setting for this novel—or so it might seem, at first. Foley has written in the tradition of lockedroom whodunits, but with “The Midnight Feast” she’s opening up environs that are their own deeply involving character. This includes a woods-and-waters resort that’s been built up from the remains of a private family mansion. It once held quiet the secrets of local gentry who exploited the region’s townies and farmers. Now it’s been passed to a generation that wants to fashion a sumptuous showcase for New Age health and spirit—while they reap the bling and lucre that will surely follow along.

As moments tick down to the grand opening of “The Manor,” shadows flicker in the periphery as surmised by the resort’s chief visionary. Some of these peculiarities also appear to staff and guests—but that

fact might be related to a complex web of events that drew certain individuals to this place for more than just a paycheck or vacation. And early on there’s the revelation of a body in the water—found by local fishermen and maybe connected to compelling dark local lore.

Author Foley rapidly shifts point-ofview, but she earns trust via clever twists and vivid detail. Rapt attention will be rewarded as you follow an accrual of tragic circumstances—and what seemed like coincidence will turn toward rough justice.

LEO recently exchanged emails with the author, who shared comments about what her life and her literary preferences brought to the table for “The Midnight Feast.” When asked whether she’s had a personal transformation like the several that ratchet up plot tension (the accomplished architect arose from humiliation as a youth; an embittered guest seeks a cathartic revenge), Foley says “perhaps the most transformative recent transfer I’ve gone through is becoming a parent. It’s simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding thing: glorious, painful, overwhelming. It

makes you very aware of your own mortality and of what you want to pass on to your children.”

Settings and subjects from Dame Daphne Du Maurier’s tales seems to hover over the new Foley novel. She gladly admits it, and then some: “I’m always inspired by Du Maurier and particularly by “Rebecca” in this book—the idea of the large country estate being like a character in itself, its walls enclosing a secret history to be discovered. But also “Jamaica Inn” in terms of the hotel aspect, the local characters, and the strange and secretive goings on in an out-of-the-way place.”

Regarding favorites among her characters, Foley cites the resourceful Eddie, who is “kitchen help and general dogsbody”— but he will eventually serve a pivotal role as confrontations escalate to a climax. The author adds, “I also had such fun writing Francesca, the owner of the hotel, and sending up all things ‘Wellness Goddess’ in the process. Her voice was way too easy to write!”

Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m. at Clifton Center (2117 Payne St.), Lucy Foley will be in conversation with podcast host Anne Bogel. Tickets are $30, which includes book copy. Purchase in advance by following link in the Events page of www.carmichaelsbookstore.com.

Book Preview Come Join this Authors Feast

Author Lucy Fole

Philippa Gedge

Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com BrezsnyAstrology@gmail.com

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week of June 5

ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): What potentials should you strive to ripen as the expansive planet Jupiter glides through your astrological House of Connection, Communication, and Education in the coming months? I’ll offer my intuitions. On the downside, there may be risks of talking carelessly, forging superficial links, and learning inessential lessons. On the plus side, you will generate good luck and abundant vitality if you use language artfully, seek out the finest teachings, and connect with quality people and institutions. In the most favorable prognosis I can imagine, you will become smarter and wiser. Your knack for avoiding boredom and finding fascination will be at a peak.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Since 1969, Taurus singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has played his favorite guitar in over 10,000 shows. His name for it is Trigger. Willie doesn’t hold onto it simply for nostalgic reasons. He says it has the greatest tone he has ever heard in a guitar. Though bruised and scratched, it gets a yearly check-up and repair. Nelson regards it as an extension of himself, like a part of his body. Is there anything like Trigger in your life, Taurus? Now is a good time to give it extra care and attention. The same is true for all your valuable belongings and accessories. Give them big doses of love.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Off the coast of West Africa is an imaginary place called Null Island. A weather buoy is permanently moored there. Geographers have nicknamed it “Soul Buoy.” It’s the one location on Earth where zero degrees latitude intersects with zero degrees longitude. Since it’s at sea level, its elevation is zero, too. I regard this spot as a fun metaphor for the current state of your destiny, Gemini. You are at a triple zero point, with your innocence almost fully restored. The horizons are wide, the potentials are expansive, and you are as open and free as it’s possible for you to be.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When I worked as a janitor at India Joze restaurant in Santa Cruz, California, I did the best I could. But I was unskilled in the janitorial arts. I couldn’t fix broken machines and I lacked expertise about effective cleaning agents. Plus, I was lazy. Who could blame me? I wasn’t doing my life’s work. I had no love for my job. Is there an even remotely comparable situation in your life, Cancerian? Are you involved with tasks that neither thrill you nor provide you with useful education? The coming months will be an excellent time to wean yourself from these activities.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I foresee two possible approaches for you in the coming months. Either will probably work, so it’s up to you to decide which feels most fun and interesting. In the first option, you will pursue the rewards you treasure by creating your own rules as you outfox the system’s standard way of doing things. In the second alternative, you will aim for success by mostly playing within the rules of the system except for some ethical scheming and maneuvering that outflank the system’s rules. My advice is to choose one or the other, and not try to do both.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Please note that during the next 12 months, I may seem a bit pushy in my dealings with you. I will encourage you to redefine and enhance your ambitions. I will exhort you to dream bigger. There may come times when you wish I wouldn’t dare you to be so bold. I will understand, then, if you refrain from regularly reading my horoscopes. Maybe you are comfortable with your current type of success and don’t want my cheerleading. But if you would welcome an ally like me—an amiable motivator and sympathetic booster—I will be glad to help you strive for new heights of accomplishment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Three months after Rachel Denning bore her fourth child, she and her husband sold everything they owned and embarked on a nomadic life. They have been roaming ever since, adding three more kids along the way. She says they have become addicted to “the personal transformation that travel extracts.” She loves how wandering free “causes you to be uncomfortable, to step out of the familiar and into the unknown. It compels you to see with new eyes and to consider things you had never been aware of. It removes preconceptions, biases, and small-mindedness.” If you were ever going to flirt with Rachel Denning’s approach, Libra, the next 12 months would be a favorable time. Could you approximate the same healing growth without globetrotting journeys? Probably. Homework: Ask your imagination to show you appealing ways to expand.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Among the Europeans who first settled in South America were Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity by Portuguese and Spanish persecutions. Centuries later, some families resolved to reclaim their Jewish heritage. They led a movement called la sangre llama—a Spanish phrase meaning “the blood is calling.” I invite you to be inspired by this retrieval, Scorpio. The coming months will be an excellent time to commune with aspects of your past that have

been neglected or forgotten. Your ancestors may have messages for you. Go in search of missing information about your origins.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you simply let the natural flow take you where it will in the coming weeks, you would become a magnet for both degenerative and creative influences. Fortunately, you are reading this oracle, which will help ensure the natural flow won’t lead you toward degenerative influences. With this timely oracle, I am advising you to monitor and suppress any unconscious attractions you might have for bewildering risks and seemingly interesting possibilities that are actually dead ends. Don’t flirt with decadent glamour or fake beauty, dear Sagittarius! Instead, make yourself fully available for only the best resources that will uplift and inspire you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is campaigning to be US President. But oops: He recently confessed that a parasitic worm once ate a portion of his brain, damaging his memory and cognitive skills. “The worm is dead now,” he assured us, as if that were a good reason to vote for him. Why am I bringing this up? Like most of us, you have secrets that if revealed might wreak at least a bit of mayhem. As tempting as it might be to share them with the world—perhaps in an effort to feel free of their burden—it’s best to keep them hidden for now. Kennedy’s brain worm is in that category. Don’t be like him in the coming weeks. Keep your reputation and public image strong. Show your best facets to the world.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The English and French word “amateur” comes from amatus, the past participle of the Latin word amare, which means “to love.” According to one definition, an amateur is “someone who pursues sports, studies, or other activities purely for pleasure instead of for financial gain or professional advancement.” In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to make this a featured theme in the coming months. On a regular basis, seek out experiences simply because they make you feel good. Engage in lots of playtime. At least part-time, specialize in fun and games.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Good news, Pisces: In the coming weeks, one of your flaws will mysteriously become less flawed. It will lose some of its power to undermine you. If you engage in focused meditation about it, you could rob it of even more of its obstructive force. More good news: You will have an enhanced capacity to distinguish between skillful pretending and earthy authenticity. No one can trick you or fool you. Can you handle even more good news? You will have a skillful knack for finding imperfect but effective solutions to problems that have no perfect solution.

Homework: What mediocre pleasure could you give up to better pursue a sublime pleasure?

Hey Dan: Is pegging only for butts or can vaginas get pegged too?

I’m not a pegging purist.

When the term originated in my column — when my readers selected “pegging” as the name for a woman fucking a man in the ass with a strap-on dildo — it was gendered; pegging was something a woman did to a man. But now people use “pegging” in reference to someone of any gender fucking someone of any gender in the ass with a strap-on dildo, an evolution of use and meaning that I fully support. But I think it’s good we have a term that refers to a particular and very popular kind of ass fucking. But meaning follows use, of course, and I am not the boss of the English language, and if people start using pegging to refer to any kind of penetrative sex that involves a dildo and a dildo harness, I won’t be mounting any legal challenges.

Hey Dan: Best sex position for celebrating the NY verdict?

Not sure — but it should be something you can get away with doing 34 times.

Hey Dan: I’m a unicorn to a hot married couple that lives a few hours away. I came up for her birthday and a fun party. For the first time the sex was off. The wife and I had our usual hot time, but the husband seemed to be ignoring me and focusing only on his wife. I left feeling rejected. I called and said it’s ok if he wants to fuck his wife, but why was I there then? He apologized and assured me he’s still attracted to me and wants me to come back. Should I go back?

Maybe the husband felt his wife should be the center of attention on her birthday… or maybe you were the center of attention the last ten times and his wife asked to be the center of attention on her birthday. Either way, if the husband had a plan to focus things on the wife for a change, he should’ve shared that plan with you in advance. But if the sex was good every other time, I think you should give it and them another go. If you expect to be the center of attention during every threesome, you should share that expectation with them — but I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation. A one-off threesome with a couple? You’re the very special guest star and you should be the center of attention. A relationship with a couple that involves lots of threesomes? Everyone should get to be the center of attention once in a while.

Hey Dan: After four years together, I found out that my boyfriend cheated on me. I became suspicious because he didn’t want to have sex anymore

and he spent most of his time on his phone. At first, I learned he kissed a coworker after I found the shadow of a hickey on his neck. He uses a car sharing service to get home, and I asked to see where he got the car, and it was the street where this woman lives. He insisted it only happened twice. Now I know it has happened fifteen times in nine months. I love him dearly and I can’t live without him. What am I supposed to do? How can I believe it just two kisses? Can I ever trust him again?

If you can’t live without him, you’ll have to put up with this shit. If you can’t put up with this shit, you’ll have to learn to live without him.

Hey Dan: Married 24 years, haven’t had a BJ in fifteen years.

That sucks.

P.S. Since I’m an advice columnist and you’re a straight married man — men couldn’t marry other men 24 years ago — I’m supposed to ask if you’re doing your fair share of the housework, if you have good personal hygiene practices, and if you’re making sure your wife comes when you have sex. The implication: you must not be doing these things — or eating her pussy — because otherwise you would be getting regular blowjobs. But there are men out there who do everything right — their fair share of the housework, they shower and brush their teeth, they get their wives off — and they never get blowjobs. They may have married women who never liked sucking cock or they may have married women who loved sucking cock at first but something about the act doesn’t work for them in the context of an established relationship.

P.S. If you want a BJ, ask the wife for one. If she won’t give you a BJ, ask the wife for permission to get a BJ elsewhere. If she won’t give you a BJ or let you get a BJ elsewhere, do what you need to do to stay married and stay sane.

P.P.S. Not calling it a “BJ” might help.

Hey Dan:. Best soap for cleaning smelly cock?

Any soap will do — seriously, cocks don’t smell bad because men are using the wrong soap.

Hey Dan:. My boyfriend said he wants to ask his therapist “for their approval” before we can have a threesome. Is it a no-go?

Does your boyfriend have a long history of compulsive sexual behavior? Did he need years of therapy before one-on-one sex with someone he actually cared about was a possibility for him? Did your boyfriend’s ex-husband leave him for someone they had a threesome with? And did the fallout from

the breakup require years of therapy to clear away? Did your boyfriend walk in on his mom getting double penetrated by his dad and his dad’s best friend when he was ten? And has your boyfriend only recently managed — with the help of his therapist — to block the mental images that were ruining sex for him and him for sex? If any of the above or something close is true, your boyfriend might have a good reason to check-in with his therapist before having his first threesome with his new boyfriend. But he could’ve and should’ve checked-in without telling you about it.

Hey Dan:. Sex has become boring and routine. Best advice for spicing it up?

Location, location, location — meaning, if you’re having sex with the same person in the same place over and over again, you might wanna fuck that person somewhere you’ve never fucked that person before, e.g., at the office, on the roof, in the darkroom of a sex club with other couples having sex all around you. If you’re having sex lots of different people in lots of different places and you’re bored, you may need to take a break.

Hey Dan: I can take really big sex toys, but men’s dicks are painful. Why?

Men come attached to dicks — typically — which can make dicks somewhat unpredictable. Toys, by way of contrast, are very predictable; toys stay where you put them, toys don’t make any sudden moves, toys don’t their own ideas about the depth, angle, or pace of penetration. If you’re someone who experiences even mild anxiety around penetration, playing with typical dick — the kind that comes attached to man — may be causing you to tense up and tension is the enemy of painless penetration.

Hey Dan: Cis female here who has sex with trans women with [eggplant emoji] who also sleep with people with [eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji]. Should I be on PrEP?

Yes.

Hey Dan: What’s the most erotic thing you’ve watched IRL in a room?

Pass.

Hey Dan: How legit are all the ads telling me I have low T? I’m a 45-year-old male. Do all men my age have low testosterone levels?

Those ads are designed to make all men feel like they’re suffering from low testosterone, which

QUICKIES

BY DAN SAVAGE

not all men do. Luckily for men, getting your testosterone levels checked is a pretty simple procedure.

Hey Dan:. My partner and I enthusiastically adopted your #fuckfirst philosophy and doing so has improved our lives immeasurably! But I have noticed that on the social occasions when it’s not an option, I often find myself feeling disconnected and prone to being testy with my partner. Is this a problem? Is our relationship too dependent on sex? Would we be together if it weren’t for our incredible sex life?

I couldn’t tell you — but if you stay together long enough, i.e., if you’re together into advanced old age, you’ll find out.

Hey Dan:. Will casual gay sex between consenting adult males ever be normalized?

God, I hope not — because it feels like discomfort with gay sex is the only thing keeping bachelorette parties out of bathhouses.

Hey Dan:. Are friends of exes or exes of friends always off limits? What’s the best way to handle one of these sticky situations so you don’t lose a good friend?

Friends of exes and exes of friends are never off limits — life is too short for those kinds of baby-ass dating games. If you’re dating the ex of a friend, you owe your friend the courtesy of a call. Your friend should hear it from you and — yes —it’s gonna be awkward, but the sooner you make the call, the sooner the awkwardness ends. If you’re dating the friend of an ex, they need to make the call.

Hey Dan:. If I’m having a quickie outside, what’s the best way to deal with unclean surroundings?

You can plant your feet — and stay on your feet — and get plowed and seeded all at the same time.

Hey Dan: How do I get my low-libido partner to fuck more often?

No idea — but if you figure it out and the solution is something you can bottle and sell, you’ll get rich.

Read the full column at LeoWeekly.com

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HOLD YOUR DOZE

BY CHRISTINA IVERSON AND KATIE HALE

Puzzles Edited by Joel Fagliano

Christina Iverson, of Ames, Iowa, is an associate puzzle editor at The New York Times. Katie Hale, of London, is an assistant crossword editor for The Los Angeles Times. This is their fourth Sunday collaboration for the magazine. As mothers of young children, they often draw on themes from real life — this puzzle was inspired by a congested toddler.

ACROSS

1 End of the line?

5 Agnus (motif in Christian iconography)

8 French companions

12 Hubris

17 Lead-in to marine or marathon

19 The house, to a blackjack player

21 1993 Beck single

22 Break up the band, say

24 Charades, but not chess

25 Certain wedding role

26 ‘‘If that missing house title ever does show up . . .’’

29 Grunting ox, by another name

30 Poetic preposition

31 Show with the Church Lady and Target Lady, for short

32 Bill in a till

33 Change for a 32-Across, perhaps

37 Having a studious appearance

40 Treats that Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith picked as runner-up to Doritos for ‘‘best snack in America’’

42 Tiniest amount

43 Question from someone with a lot of outstanding debt?

48 ‘‘No promises .’’

50 Biblical king of Judea

51 Spice Girl Halliwell

52 Oversight

55 Over which announcements about pep rallies might be heard, for short

56 One of many in the Colosseum 57 Teacher’s instruction in a class on pointillism?

61 Grass

62 ‘‘Bye Bye Birdie’’ actress ____-Margret

63 Salt-N-Pepa hit with the refrain ‘‘____, ba-doop’’

64 Weaknesses

65 How one might punnily define ‘‘Saran’’ or ‘‘sari’’?

70 Cheeky

72 Follows a recipe direction

74 Actress McDonald

76 Underwater steerer

77 DHL competitor

80 Stevedore’s complaint?

85 Champagne specification

86 Whitman of TV’s ‘‘Parenthood’’

87 Chocolate mint brand

88 Paper pack

89 Like a redhead’s temperament, it’s said

90 South ____, river through Denver

92 ‘‘No need to find a professional illustrator!’’

96 Name that means ‘‘night’’ in Arabic

and ‘‘purple’’ in German

97 Change form

100 Utensil drawer compartment

101 What ‘‘Eat’’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘‘Never Eat Soggy Waffles’’

102 Post-op locale

103 NASA shorthand for a spacewalk

106 Gym rat’s focus

107 ____-weekly

110 Tour guide’s remark at the challah factory?

116 Out the

119 ‘‘Hmm, hard to say ’’

120 Fictional dog with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

121 Cry of delight

122 Supporter of the arts?

123 Lazy river conveyances 124 Question of ownership

125 Checked the license of, informally

126 Farm home

127 Spreadsheet button

DOWN

1 1991 crime drama starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening

2 Luau greeting

‘‘No worries’’

Pants, informally

Biblical verb

Olympic event with masks 7 Giveaways in some common scams of the 2010s 8 ‘‘And Still I Rise’’ writer 9 Drink for which Pliny the Elder recorded a recipe

Con 11 Coming from both sides

Sum thing 13 Fragrant additive to beauty products 14 It’s like ‘‘-like’’

Kaitlin Olson’s role on ‘‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’’

46 ____ Lanka

47 ‘‘You have a face for radio,’’ for one

49 Cause to rise

53 Fusses

54 Perform very well, in modern slang

57 Makeup of a tiny twisting ladder

58 ‘‘Keep going!’’

59 Tuna type

60 Do wrong

62 Nincompoop, more vulgarly

66 Matcha, e.g.

67 Like cutting the line

68 Makes sense

69 For

71 Where a golf ball sits

72 Golf-ball indentation

73 Home to Firenze

75 About 40% of a hectare

78 Knitting stitch

79 Small, painful bump

81 Lack of energy

82 What context is, in a saying

83 Country that becomes a language if you remove its last letter

84 ‘‘My turn’’

85 Info in an ‘‘About Us’’ section

89 Frosting alternative

91 They might cover your back

93 Stored for the night, as a bus

94 One of the Starks on ‘‘Game of Thrones’’

95 Hatches, e.g.

98 Masters of underwater camouflage

99 Sent express

104 ‘‘Parlez-____ français?’’

105 Some godmothers

107 National dish of the Philippines

108 Member of an isolated colony, once

109 Meeting for two

111 A ‘‘waking dream,’’ per Aristotle

112 Senate staffer

113 Little annoyance

114 Sacred

115 Promises to pay

116 URL starter

Wide receiver Beckham

Certain arm muscles, in brief

Not accept a refusal

for an absent student,

Official OKs

‘‘Then again ,’’ in text messages

Video-game company that published Frogger

117 Gratified groan

118 Metaphor for a house with young children, perhaps

Last week’s answers