Boulder Weekly 02.23.2023

MAD MOMS

A FAR-RIGHT MOVEMENT COMES FOR BOULDER’S SCHOOLS

FOOD

Appetizers/Tapas

Asian Fusion Bagel

Bakery

BBQ

Breakfast/Brunch

Burger

Business Lunch

Catering

Chinese Restaurant

Donuts

Fine Dining Restaurant

Food Truck

Gluten-Free Menu

Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

Indian/Nepali Restaurant

Italian Restaurant

Japanese Restaurant

Kid-Friendly Restaurant

Lyons Restaurant

Mexican Restaurant

New Restaurant

Niwot Restaurant

Overall Restaurant

Pancake/Waffle

Pizza

Place to eat outdoors

Place to go on a first date

Restaurant Dessert

Restaurant Service

Veggie Burger

Wings

DRINKS

Bar

Beer selection

Cidery

Cocktails

Coffee House

Coffee Roaster

Craft Brewery

Distillery

Happy Hour

Latte/Mocha

Margarita

Teahouse

Wine Selectionentertainment and CANNABIS

Bargains at a dispensary

pensary

Recreational Marijuana

Dispensary

Selection at a dispensary

Wax

HOME & GARDEN

Carpet/Flooring

Electrician

Florist

Furniture Store

Heating, Venting, and Air

Conditioning

Home Builder/Contractor

Home Finishing

Home Repair/Handyman

Hydroponic Store

Kitchen Supply Store

Landscaper

Mattress Store

Sandwich

Seafood

Sushi Restaurant

Take-out

Thai Restaurant

Budtender

CBD Products

Edibles

Flower

Medical Marijuana Dis-

Nursery/Garden Center Painter

Pest Control

Plumber

Roofing Contractor

Scan

Tire Shop

Tobacco/Pipe Shop

Toy Store

14er Holistics

Ajoya

Boulder Wellness Center

The Bud Depot

Complete Releaf

Dab Dispensary

DenRec

Eclipse Cannabis Company

Euflora Extract Labs

The Farm

Fresh Baked

Green Dragon Green Dream

The Green Solution

Green Tree Medicinals

The Health Center

Helping Hand Herbals

Herbal Wellness

Igadi

Karing Kind

Kind Castle

LivWell

Magnolia Road

Medicine Man

Native Roots

North Boulder Wellness Center

Options Medical Center

Starbuds

Terrapin Care Station

The Peaceful Choice

The Republic

TweedLeaf

Twin Peaks Dispensary

Verde Natural

Village Green Society

Zengold’s Lyons

Credit: Michael Martin

COMMENTARY

OPINION MOMS FOR LIBERTY IS NOW ACTIVE IN BOULDER COUNTY

Look to Florida schools to see the damage this far-right group is capable of

BY CLAIRE WOODCOCK

The local chapter of the national far-right group Moms for Liberty (M4L) — which made a name for itself in Florida by campaigning on a fictitious moral panic around whether books and curricula with LGBTQ and racially diverse characters and themes belong in public schools — has been active in Boulder County for over a month.

In a Jan. 9 press release from M4L, Boulder County chapter chair Sameer Brenn wrote, “We are happy to launch our chapter to help parents that felt isolated and shut out feel

heard and understood. Our priority is our children, and we will fight to preserve our rights.”

Brenn’s resume is packed with tech sector leadership experience, including time as a software engineer on staff at Twitter in downtown Boulder. He also held a coveted “Entrepreneur in Residence” position at the University of Colorado Boulder.

I’ve been reporting on M4L nationally for about a year, and as I’ve watched chapters pop up in counties from Florida to California, I’ve taken pride in the fact that Boulder and

Longmont have remained untouched. Until now.

The organization claims that since January 2021, at least 260 local chapters now exist and include more than 110,000 members. Today in Florida, where the 501(c)(4) is nationally headquartered, teachers are de-shelving their classrooms of books in order to comply with guidelines in HB 1467, which M4L members helped craft. Local chapters have also been successful in helping M4L members get elected to school boards across the country in order to

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Volume XXX, Number 27

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

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As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly. com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

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OPINION

micromanage the removal of books the group considers “inappropriate.” The book rating site BookLooks is a M4L project that helps local chapters identify such books and offers language to use for school district book reconsideration forms.

To assume other chapters won’t take a play from the same book if given the chance would be a miscalculation, to say the least.

Boulder County is one of the latest local chapters to be officially recognized. M4L is known for rallying behind a shared belief system that conservative values should be adopted by all parents and community members. But local chapters appear to develop community flavors. The Boulder chapter of M4L didn’t respond to requests for information on its specific goals.

However, a flyer circulating conservative education groups on social media hints that Boulder’s chapter of M4L is following a well-worn path. The flyer shows Boulder M4L vice chair Anne Greene was a guest speaker at a Feb. 5 meeting of the St. Vrain Awareness Alliance (SVAA), which purports to advocate for “a solid, fact-

LETTERS

RE: LEADED AVIATION FUEL

I consider myself to be strongly proenvironment and always have: Yup, I’m a liberal. I am also a private pilot and read the Feb. 9, 2023 article “Boulder County Calls For Regulation of Aviation Gas.” As of today, there isn’t a replacement for leaded aviation fuel and the collective voting of Boulder County municipal leaders is frivolous. One might just as well pass county legislation demanding generally available fusion energy by 2032. Great idea, extremely unlikely to happen.

I was frankly more than a little disgusted with the complete lack of information the various (and unnamed) community officials who voted for this nonsense legislation have. This is nothing more than feel-good legislation and will accomplish nothing. General Aviation (GA) has been anxious to obtain fuel with lead alternatives for decades. The problem is one of origination and supply and demand. The GA community would be thrilled if an

based education in history, science, math, writing, and literature that is grounded in the American principles of liberty and equality for all.” Speaking with Greene was Julie Ramirez, chair of the Weld County chapter of M4L, and Ted Mische, chairman of the National School Board Coalition. While a Google search for “National School Board Coalition” brings up zero hits, Mische’s bio on the SVAA flyer claims he “vets potential school board candidates” and “also trains school board campaign teams and teaches school board campaign strategies” while traveling “nationally helping conservatives get elected to school boards.” In August of 2021, Mische posted on the website of FEC United, a conservative group in Colorado with an affiliated militia, calling for members to fill school board seats: “We need strong Christians controlling our kids (sic) future.”

Ramirez was a 2022 graduate of the Leadership of the Rockies program, which, despite claiming to be nonpartisan, is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a group of rightwing think tanks. Her bio for the SVAA

meeting includes a quote: “I don’t back down when I have to stand for my principles, my Faith (sic), and my family.”

On a national level, M4L is a major player in the education reform movement. Its national leaders have been effective in lobbying state governments to adopt policies that criminalize information access, particularly as it relates to LGBTQ and racially diverse histories and identities. As a community that is mostly white and affluent, it’s critical for Boulder to stay vigilant.

Aligning oneself with an organization that believes there’s no room for discussion of race, gender or sexual orientation in our schools is dangerous. Members of M4L turn a blind eye to the imbalances of power and systemic

abuses that marginalized communities endure. M4L supporters are not the victims — they’ve aligned themselves with the perpetrators, past and present.

Claire Woodcock is a graduate student in the Media & Public Engagement (MAPE) program at the University of Colorado Boulder and an independent journalist writing about the politics of information for Vice’s Motherboard.

unleaded alternative fuel were to suddenly be approved and available at the pump of their local airports. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association surveys all indicated GA is willing to pay for an alternative fuel, even if there is a cost increase to the pilot. (As of this writing, 100 low lead aviation gas is $6.37 per gallon at my closest airport.) The biggest issues preventing unleaded avgas are

1) The GA population is so small that petroleum manufacturers can’t justify developing lead free fuel. 2) The average age of a GA aircraft is about 30 years. (My own aircraft was built in 1959.) 3) There are only 204,000 GA aircraft in the entire U.S. About 25% of them use no lead auto fuel. Compare that to the 1,807,777 cars registered just in Colorado. In other words, GA aircraft are not a significant source of lead pollution. Smelters and lead acid battery manufacturers are.

Lead acts as a lubricant for engine valves. There has been no FAA certified replacement, and the FAA

requires exhaustive testing in order to obtain certification. Perhaps the collective councils that passed this useless legislation should have looked into the data that is easily accessible.

— Dan Meester/Boulder

GRAY WOLF PLAN ‘BREAKS THE LAW’

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) plans to adopt a gray wolf reintroduction plan that breaks the law. The language of the law defines the gray wolf this way: “‘Gray Wolf” means nongame wildlife of the species Canis Lupus.”

This sentence has clarity as nongame species means no one cannot hunt wolves. The law declares the gray wolf is an endangered species, which means it’s protected from killing.

Despite this clear language, the CPW plan includes three ways to kill wolves: lethal control, hunting, and issuing permits for ranchers to kill conflict wolves.

None of these ideas were evident in the language of the law passed in 2020.

There is anguish that the law was passed by a narrow margin. Many laws pass by a narrow margin, but it still is the law that must be followed to the letter of the law.

How can any animal protected by the Endangered Species Act be killed? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can delist any animal using the 10j rule which gives the power to manage endangered species to the state.

Because of the 10j rule, wolf hunting seasons are management tools in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Wisconsin. Recently, laws were passed to kill 90% of the wolves in Idaho and 85% of the wolves in Montana.

CPW began the process to delist gray wolves in August 2022.

How can this be the future of wolves in Colorado?

— Kathleen Willard/Fort Collins

CO IS TRYING TO EXCLUDE INDEPENDENT PARTIES

State Senate Bill 23-101 (Candidate Ballot Access For Primary Elections) would effectively kill all minor political parties in Colorado. It should be killed in committee. Both establishment parties have demonstrated they will stoop to any level to exclude independent and alternative party candidates from participating in the political process.

Corrupt, dishonest legislators led by Senate Majority Leader Stephen Fenberg (D-Boulder) already destroyed ballot access for independent candidates in Colorado. They embedded independent candidate suppression provisions in long, broad based packages of election law changes. This includes HB 19-1278 and SB 21-250.

The United States generally has the world’s worst ballot access laws as a first barrier to obstruct candidates from participating in an archaic 19th century political system that was designed in secret by slaveholders to preserve their own wealth and power.

From 1997 through 2019, Colorado had some of the best independent and minor party ballot access laws of any U.S. state. Democratic Party state legislators cynically destroyed this minor reform under the radar by hiding it in long bills backed by so-called “progressive” organizations.

Section 13 of HB 19-1278 was designed to keep independent candidates off Colorado’s ballot.

Two words were included in Section 83 on the last page of a 63 page bill (SB 21-250) to secretly repeal ballot access for independent presidential candidates without anyone noticing. There was zero media coverage of Stephen Fenberg’s corrupt maneuver to keep independent presidential candidates off Colorado’s ballot.

The current Republican effort to eliminate all alternative political parties looks like a scorched earth tactic by an extremist faction to burn any remaining shred of democratic process to the ground.

Both the Democrats and Republicans are determined to destroy any remaining legitimacy in Colorado’s Fool’s Gold Standard of a sham election system.

Fundamental election reform is critical. The most essential reform would be to institute a hybrid proportional representation voting system to elect Colorado’s General Assembly, as proposed by the election reform group Best Democracy (bit.ly/3lrzKSt). This system would combine a single transferable vote in seven member districts for a unicameral legislature with a compensatory party list system, empowering nearly all voters to elect representatives of their choice.

Everyone should have fair representation in government.

Under any voting system, reasonable ballot access laws are essential. Colorado’s current petition signature requirements are absurd. They are designed to ensure that only political campaigns backed by big money are able to get off the ground.

Ballot access requirements for candidates of any affiliation should be vastly reduced. I suggest giving candidates the option of either submitting a reasonable number of petition signatures or paying a nominal fee for ballot access. The existing option of nomination by party assembly should also be continued.

— Gary Swing/Boulder

HISTORY WILL BE KIND TO JIMMY CARTER

After hearing the sad news of Jimmy Carter now in hospice care, I am thinking how special this man is. Within a decade or maybe much less, Jimmy Carter will be celebrated as the equivalent of a Protestant/ evangelical saint. History will recognize his genuine accomplishment of delicately balancing the imperatives of faith with public policy. In time, we will realize that the tenor of our present partisan comments is simply a symptom of a passing affliction of hyperpolarized acrimony.

Events will surely arise that will cause many more of us to behave like adults. In time, many more of us also will honor real human progress rather than ingrained biases and cherished political ideologies.

— Gary Carter/Homer, Alaska

IMPROVING THE SYSTEM

New report gives Boulder County District Attorney’s Office insight into disparities

BY WILL MATUSKA

Anumber of district attorneys’ offices across Colorado, including Boulder’s, have released data revealing racial and ethnic inequality in their prosecution processes.

The eight participating district attorneys’ (DA) offices initially developed the public-facing data dashboard in September of 2022.

The new reports, released on Feb. 15, delve into “key points of discretion” and interpretation of the data.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty says gathering this data and using it to improve the justice system is his office’s top priority.

“This is exactly what we should be doing — pulling the curtain back on the justice system and addressing issues that exist,” he says.

The reports address disproportionality — when people of a certain race/ethnicity are arrested more than expected compared to population — and disparity, which exists when people who should be treated the same are treated differently.

Data analyzed between March 2020 and June 2022 from the Boulder DA’s office found Black defendants receive deferred judgements at a lower rate and have an increased dismissal rate, and Hispanic defendants show lower rates of charge reductions in plea bargaining and have a higher rate of incarceration.

Christian Gardner-Wood, chief deputy district attorney at the Boulder County DA’s Office, says there’s nuance in the data that raises questions.

“Now that we’ve seen this data, it’s going to drive questions from the community, from within our office, from law enforcement, and we want to be able to answer those questions,” he says.

Colorado is the first state in the country to have multiple prosecutors’ offices collaborating to provide this level of crime data, according to the Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab. One reason behind this is that the Centennial State

is the only state where all DAs’ offices share the same case management system — enabling collection of statewide data and trends in addition to local data.

The Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab and the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators helped develop the dashboards as part of the Colorado Prosecutorial Dashboards project. Another five judicial districts will join the project by 2024, increasing the total to 13 — representing more than half of the counties and 75% of the state’s population.

The Boulder DA’s takeaways reflect statewide trends.

Gardner-Wood says Boulder’s office does diversity, equity and inclusion and implicit bias training, but that “we need to go further than that” and address systemic issues in the justice system.

“We need to think about the system drivers of disparity and how do we tackle that,” he says.

For example, Gardner-Wood says prosecutors typically take into account whether a defendant is in school, and how a ruling will impact their ability to move forward professionally. But he acknowledges that college students have resources and historical advantages others might not have.

“Trying to balance that to make sure even though we would say [being a college student] is an appropriate factor to consider in our discretion, we also recognize that may be driving disparities,” he says.

Moving forward, the DA’s office will use this data to inform expanding its diversion programs, screening cases coming into the office and collaboration with other criminal justice partners.

“I would love to see every jurisdiction in the country doing this work,” Dougherty says. “It’s exactly what we need to do to build more trust in the justice system and to ensure the right results.”

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

creating a water-diagnostic tool to test for contamination that is cheap and accessible. Kristie Letter, the teacher leading the team of students, says a “huge number” of the school’s students and staff were evacuated by the fire, many were displaced and some lost everything.

“Now, our students perceive the danger of climate change in Colorado — high winds, drier weather, warmer temperatures — as more of an immediate threat,” Letter says.

U.S. FOREST SERVICE INVESTS IN FRONT RANGE WILDFIRE PROTECTION

Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service announced it is contributing $37 million “to continue cross-jurisdictional, strategically important wildfire protection efforts in Colorado’s highrisk Front Range.”

This is the second consecutive year the region was selected to receive funding through the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy, which first sent $18.1 million in 2022. The additional funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, includes efforts to reduce fire risk on an additional 16,000 acres.

COUNTY VOTER TURNOUT REPORT AVAILABLE

Boulder County Elections Division released its 2022 post-election data report and map that shows voter registration statistics, voter turnout, how many voters voted in each precinct, and more. Some key points:

● There were 224,533 registered voters throughout Boulder County, which is down slightly from 2021 (231,109) after increasing every year since 2014.

● 74.4% of registered voters cast a ballot in 2022, which is lower than the voter turnout in previous gubernatorial years 2018 (82.4%) and 2014 (74.6%).

● Longmont (65,481) passed Boulder (65,394) with the highest number of registered voters in the county for the first time.

● 95.5% of total ballots counted were cast via mail-in ballot, 4.5% were at a vote center.

Molly Fitzpatrick, Boulder County clerk and recorder, says voter turnout was normal for a gubernatorial election, but noted a record-breaking 55,000 ballots returned or cast on election day.

Fitzpatrick says she is already gearing up for the next set of elections: Boulder’s mayoral election this fall, followed by the presidential pri-

mary, statewide primary and the 2024 general election.

“Our office is always busy preparing and planning for the next election,” she says.

PEAK TO PEAK CHARTER SCHOOL ANNOUNCED STATE WINNER IN SAMSUNG SOLVE FOR TOMORROW STEM COMPETITION

Peak to Peak Charter School is the Colorado winner of the 13th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition. The national competition prompts public middle and high school students to solve issues in their communities and gives winning schools at least $12,000 in technology and school supplies.

The Lafayettebased K-12 school’s project addresses water issues facing the community after the Marshall Fire by

Sophomore Tanishka Tagare says the competition was a “revolutionary experience,” especially because the team learned new physics and chemistry concepts.

“This insightful project has shaped the way we view water contamination in our communities,” she says.

The school will continue through the competition, with the chance to be named one of three national winners that will receive $100,000 in “prize packages” including Samsung technology and classroom supplies.

“We are grateful for these investments which support community, tribal, and partner collaboration for strategically reducing wildland fire risk,” said Frank Beum, regional forester for the Rocky Mountain Region, in a press release.

The Forest Service will work collaboratively with agencies and organizations to complete hazardous fuel reduction projects along the Front Range, and continue the environmental analysis of wildfire treatment projects like mechanical thinning, hand thinning and prescribed fire.

Regional forester Frank Beum with Under Secretary Dr. Homer Wilkes. Courtesy U.S. Forest Service

CLEAN CODE

Renters wonder if new ordinance will address root causes of trash on the Hill

BY WILL MATUSKA

Renters living on the Hill — most of them students — voiced concerns that a new trash ordinance doesn’t address root causes of the problem and will simply push new costs onto them.

Council voted 6-2 on Feb. 16 to update the city-wide weed and trash ordinances to address ongoing issues with compliance, efficiency and repeat violations.

The new ordinance adds a civil citation process and a fine escalation schedule.

While the updates to the ordinance are city-wide, the changes aim at addressing trash issues in the Hill neighborhood, where about 75% of all trash violations city-wide were located from October 2020 to September 2022, according to the City. More than 80% of trash violations are from rentals.

Chase Cronwell is part of CU’s student government. At the Feb. 16 meeting, he advocated for Council to reject the ordinance.

“If we want to address residents who are creating safety, health or other concerns in the community, we should look for solutions that actually engage with them,” he said, “not just an administratively simpler way to issue fines.”

Councilmembers Nicole Speer and Lauren Folkerts voted against the ordinance.

Speer said she wanted to see more input from students.

“The main issue that I had was around who we’re listening to when we’re creating rules and policies,” Speer said. “What I think is the right thing to do is to make sure that we are including the people who are most impacted in the solutions that we’re creating.”

The Code Enforcement Unit, which responds to ordinance violations like these, proposed the update with “input from the Hill Revitalization Working Group and feedback heard from residents and students.” The unit consists of

four enforcement officers, a supervisor and a part-time administrative assistant.

Jennifer Riley, code enforcement supervisor, said at the Feb. 16 meeting that the previous criminal process was inefficient, unpredictable and unreliable.

Previously, if violation warnings were not addressed, a criminal summons would be issued which could result in a maximum fine of $2,650 and/or 90 days in jail (assigned at the discretion of the municipal judge). Most first offenses were $100 fines.

When no one was home, code enforcement officers had to return to attempt to serve a summons. Sandra Yaz, deputy city attorney, said there was also a high failure rate of attempting to serve criminal summons through the mailing process.

According to the City, 32% of trash violation addresses were from repeat offenders.

The updated ordinance will allow the Code Enforcement Unit to utilize the “less cumbersome” civil citation process, while keeping criminal summons as an option for extreme cases. A civil citation could be resolved by the property owner correcting the violation and paying the fine.

Quin Fellows, who is involved with CU student government, said at the Feb. 16 meeting that the updated ordinance could encourage fines issued to landlords to be pushed onto student renters.

“We can’t expect Boulder Property Management or Four Star [Realty Boulder] to seriously work with every single one of their tenants to fairly adjudicate the issue,” he said.

Speer says she is in favor of getting rid of criminal penalties for things like trash and weed violations, but her ‘no’ vote was more of a “not yet.”

“Let’s get buy-in from the groups that are being disproportionately affected by these ordinances,” she says, “and at that point … we’ve got the right solutions.”

MUSIC

AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS

Surprise noise rock breakout Chat Pile makes Front Range debut with Lingua Ignota at the Stanley Hotel

BY JEZY J. GRAY

Combing through the seemingly endless constellation of articles about Oklahoma City noise rock band Chat Pile since their full-length debut God’s Country crashed into the culture last summer, you’ll notice a throughline in the use of the word “ugly.”

It’s a fitting descriptor for the quartet’s menacing sludge-metal sound — an utterly miserable ruckus built on “riffs that sound like they’re on the verge of throwing up,” as a reporter with online tastemaker Pitchfork wrote

CHAT PILE DOES COLORADO

JAM BANDS

in the outlet’s year-end feature on its 50 Best Albums of 2022.

But there’s more to Chat Pile, named after the mountains of toxic mining waste clustered in the northeastern corner of the band’s home state, than ugliness alone. The outfit takes a grooveforward approach to its notably vicious style, propelled by huge choruses and system-blowing rhythms described by co-founding bassist Stin (who uses a stage name like the rest of his bandmates) as “the kind of music Beavis and Butt-Head would listen to.”

As a result of this infectious blend of ferocity and fun, the band has found themselves gobsmacked by widespread critical acclaim outside the traditional parameters of heavy music journalism. In addition to the aforementioned Pitchfork accolade, God’s Country also wound up on year-end lists from Rolling Stone, Stereogum,

Paste and elsewhere, becoming something of a meme among fervent fans on social media in the process.

“Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest from the trees, because you hear and see all these people talking about you, but it almost seems like this phantom bubble of sorts,” says Stin, who engineered the record in the band’s Oklahoma City home studio. “Which, I know it is, but then we’ll play a show or something and tons of people will show up and it’s like, ‘Oh, this actually means something! It isn’t just people on Twitter talking about our band.’”

The online chatter has netted realworld results for Chat Pile, but it has also led to some misconceptions about the band that have been tough to untangle. The celebrated outfit’s brief but brutal discography is full of songs taking listeners into the grim inner worlds of killer cops (“Crawlspace”),

With the Southern Plains sludge-metal quartet making its Centennial State debut this weekend, Boulder Weekly asked the band to share their thoughts on a few common local fixtures — from hiking to healing crystals, and points in between.

Luther Manhole: Finally, Ron’s time to shine!

Cap’n Ron [drums]: So, for the most part, jam music is pretty terrible. But I do enjoy Phish quite a bit, and I have seen them many times in Colorado.

Boulder Weekly: How many times have you seen Phish?

Cap’n Ron: About 45. Something like that.

Boulder Weekly: Holy shit.

Raygun Busch: But hey, now I’m gonna step up and tell everyone: I’m also a big Phish fan. I’ve only seen them twice, and I saw Trey Anastasio Band once when I was high on ecstasy. So I love Phish, too. I have bootlegs and stuff. I don’t want Ron to get put on blast. I want to stand with him right now as a Phish fan.

Luther Manhole: I can’t fully stand there hand-in-hand with you guys, because I’m not really into Phish. But Ray, I know you’ll go to bat with me in holding our swords for Dave [Matthews]. Before These Crowded Streets — I love that record.

Raygun Busch: I’m into Dave too, man. Those first five albums, and then select tracks later on. Dave’s great.

CROCS FOOTWEAR

Raygun Busch: Hate ’em. Get ’em out of here.

Luther Manhole: I’m wearing Crocs right now.

Cap’n Ron: Lems Shoes is also a Boulder company. That’s my preferred footwear.

Raygun Busch: How about barefoot, like Christ walked. How about that?

Boulder Weekly: That’s also a popu lar choice out here.

Raygun Busch: I mean, you’re experiencing life more [barefoot]. Wearing shoes, you’re depriving yourself of a whole sensory experience of feeling the earth under your feet.

Stin: Ray’s not just talking the talk. There have been multiple times where he’s been like, “Did I leave my shoes at your house?”

Raygun Busch: I’ve shown up to work deliver ing pizza with no shoes a few times, putting bags on my feet and stuff. I get hygiene, but I’ve also gotta live my life.

Cap’n Ron: Like Phish says: “Whatever you do, take care of your shoes.”

HEALING CRYSTALS

Luther Manhole: I mean, live your life, you know? It’s like astrology and stuff. If people are having fun, they’re having fun. Whatever. Just don’t be weird to me.

Stin: Aesthetically, I like that shit — I love witchy stuff. Ten years ago, the witchy aesthetic was having its heyday and all that. Bring it back. I’m cool with it. But is my psoriasis gonna go away because I rubbed a crystal on my forehead? Fuck no, dude.

Luther Manhole: I have definitely been friends with and dated people who are crystal people, and they are some normal, fine people. I went to a thing called Spirit Fest at the Marriott where they had a whole bunch of crystals and Tarot stuff — incense and stones and all kinds of stuff. It’s not my thing, but whatever.

Courtesy The Flenser

fast-food cannibals (“Rainbow Meat”) and grief-sick slashers (“Pamela”), leading some listeners to lose sight of the delicate line between art and artist.

“There are people who think we’re these misanthropic nihilists or whatever. That seems to still be a thing that pops up all the time, and I don’t know how many times we have to explain

WEED

that’s not who we are,” says guitarist Luther Manhole. “But I guess if that’s what people hear in the music, and it means something to them, I’m not gonna take it away.”

With that sort of postmodern deathof-the-author sensibility in tow, Chat Pile has quickly carved a unique space as one of the most successful

Luther Manhole: There are more dispensaries in Oklahoma than Colorado, by a lot. I’m sorry to say, but we’re a way bigger weed state. I think we have more than California and Colorado combined. It’s ridiculous here. Every vape shop turned into a dispensary overnight. There are about eight within a mile of where I am now.

Stin: I bought a quarter for $18 last night.

Raygun Busch: What’s insane is that we lived in a fascist police state like five years ago when it comes to drugs. It’s pretty clear that money rules the day. Nothing means anything. There’s no noble truth to anything a policeman does. It’s whatever the law is. Like, “I just beat some guy to death a few years ago over a sack of weed. But…”

Stin: I’m the least-stoned member of Chat Pile, for what it’s worth. The rest of you guys are like tenfold what I’m capable of.

Boulder Weekly: Who smokes the most weed?

Stin: It’s between Ron or Ray. It might be a pretty close competition.

Cap’n Ron: 24/7 for me, basically.

Luther Manhole: all going through life in different ways.

Raygun Busch: We are. Whatever — it’s good.

alt-metal crossovers of the century. And as critical consensus continues to mount, these four 30-somethings from the Southern Plains, who started the band more or less as a hobby among friends, find themselves reeling from runaway success that shows no signs of slowing down.

“Imposter syndrome hits hard. It’s so weird for us to be honored in this way — I still don’t believe it’s real,” says singer-songwriter Raygun Busch, whose singular vocal style oscillates between the desperate ramblings of a dead-eyed derelict and the wounded howl of someone in urgent need of emergency medical attention.

“Sometimes I think, ‘If people knew what a horrible singer I am …’ But people do know, and they like it.”

Front Range fans will get their first chance to experience Chat Pile on stage when the band makes their Colorado debut at the purportedly

haunted Stanley Hotel for a two-night stint with headliner Lingua Ignota. The sold-out weekend is the final stop on a swan-song U.S. tour for the apocalyptic folk-metal project of classically trained musician and artist Kristin Hayter, complete with a “séance” following the Friday evening performance and a karaoke session the next night.

“There’s something about her music and ours, and getting people together at The Stanley in the wintertime — I feel like it’s going to be very mystical,” Luther Manhole says. “There’s going to be some ghost energy flowing, powering all of us.”

ON THE BILL: Lingua Ignota with Chat Pile. 7 p.m. Feb. 24-25, The Stanley Hotel, 333 Wonderview Ave., Estes Park. Sold out. Ticket giveaway at instagram.com/BoulderWeekly

TESLAS

Raygun Busch: Fuck Elon Musk.

Luther Manhole: Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’m at.

Raygun Busch: We’re way past the date where he was gonna save the world. He’s on an episode of The Simpsons, and Lisa says, “Dad, that’s Elon Musk — the world’s greatest living inventor!” He’s another celebrity. I want some scientist that I have to learn about 20 years from now. Can we just get the fucking work done?

Luther Manhole: I mean, if we’re talking about the concept of electric vehicles, that’s intriguing to me. I would like them to just be a little cheaper so I could afford one.

Stin: Right. But if someone’s driving a Tesla, it’s like, for any good you’re possibly doing by this, you’re still tacky.

Raygun Busch: It’s still about status and wealth.

Stin: Absolutely. And I barely know anything [about them], but a guy I know drives one. He showed me the interior and it has, like, a full-on iPad screen. I’m like, “Are people literally driving around with crazy visuals shooting in their face like YouTube?” Because if so, I want nothing to do with this. As you know, I document [on the band’s Twitter account] every car that drives into a building in Oklahoma City.

Luther Manhole: There’s a Tesla dealership here and you do see them all over. There’s a lot of oil and energy bros who drive them now. I’d really love to just not have a car. I wish I could do that in Oklahoma City. Hopefully one day we might get there.

Stin: Not in our lifetimes.

HIKING

Stin: Love it. That is like my other true passion in life.

Luther Manhole: All four of us just went hiking together two weekends ago.

Stin: Yeah, we went to the Wichita Mountains [National Wildlife Refuge] — which is basically all you can do in Oklahoma. But I go on multiple national park trips a year, and honestly the only reason I even try to work out is to keep myself in shape to hike long distances. COVID kind of fucked up my rhythm with all that, and I haven’t been going as much as I was. It’s a goal of mine to get back on the trails in a big way this year.

Luther Manhole: I’ve always been an indoor person. We all go on a cabin trip every year in January with about eight people, and normally there’s a hiking portion where the indoor people will stay home and I’ll watch movies during the day while everyone goes on hikes. But I actually went out this year, and it was great.

Raygun Busch: I’m gonna echo Stin and say I’d like to get more hiking done. The pandemic and everything fucked it all up for me too. I’m definitely looking forward to doing more hiking. Maybe when we’re [on tour] we can find some trails.

Stin: Estes Park and The Stanley are quite literally at the opening of Rocky Mountain National Park, but since it’s February and we have shit to do, it’s a double-whammy of not being able to do anything. We’ll at least have a little bit of time to spend there, since we are playing two shows over two nights. But we’re probably not going to do much in the way of any serious wilderness while we’re out there.

Credit: Bayley Hanes

OFF THE MAP

Emma Rose of local bluegrass favorite Big Richard charts her own path with Sound of Honey

BY ADAM PERRY

Emma Rose was born in Wisconsin but spent the second half of her childhood along the Front Range in Fort Collins, Longmont and Jamestown. As a kid with a penchant for music, she made her way through the fiddle, banjo and cello before settling on the bass in her middle-school orchestra.

“I remember the first note I played on [the bass] and it was just, like, ‘This is so big.’ As a sixth-grader I was blown away by the power I felt in the note,” Rose says. “As the only bass player in the orchestra, I really loved having control over that sound, in such a big ensemble.”

Rose’s bass is a big sound in a smaller ensemble these days. Big Richard, the all-women local bluegrass band that skyrocketed almost immediately after forming a couple years ago, features Rose on the low end — along with her deep, lush singing and heartfelt songwriting.

Big Richard quickly built a reputation through roaring live shows that turn bluegrass expectations upside down,

featuring left-field covers of Radiohead and Billie Eilish, fans who bring inflatable penises to gigs, and onstage banter that would make a sailor blush. So far, the quartet only has 2022’s Live from Telluride under its belt, but Rose says the first Big Richard studio album is in the works.

“We have a producer lined up and he’s really into live recordings, so we’re gonna do a lot of live takes, trying to capture the energy more than perfecting anything,” she says. “Our band is way more about the energy.”

All four Big Richard members — Rose, Joy Adams (cello), Bonnie Sims (mandolin) and Eve Panning (fiddle) — write songs and play their instruments masterfully, but Rose is the only one who didn’t study music in college. Just days after graduating from high school, she alarmed her family (including her father, bluegrass musician Mike

Finders) by trashing college plans and following a boyfriend to Austin for a different kind of musical education.

“No one was in support of that. They were all like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ and I was like, ‘I swear it’s not about the dude; it’s about the music,’” she says. “We ended up splitting up six months after I got there, but I [met] a really beautiful scene of bluegrass pickers in Austin. At the same time I was doing that, I found a really beautiful community of songwriters. I learned a lot about my own songwriting from those guys while I learned a lot about bluegrass.”

With this educational life experience in tow, Rose returned to Colorado just before the pandemic and began to dream of “the best female band to ever happen.” She knew exactly who she wanted in the group. One of them was Panning, who put together a band of women musicians in 2021 at the request of a local festival organizer who had failed to book any on the bill — and with that,

Rose’s dream came true.

Few bands in the bluegrass world have captured hearts — and snagged coveted festival slots — as quickly as Big Richard, but the quartet’s success isn’t exactly surprising. Each member exudes the kind of exhilarating, fun-loving energy usually seen at a punkrock show (Sims even crowd surfed recently) while displaying world-class musicianship and a rebellious tendency to buck tradition.

Rose’s own material veers more toward indie-pop, in the vein of artists like Feist or even Big Thief — silky, hearton-your-sleeve folk music with an underground creativity. Dozens of Colors, her first solo release under the name Sound of Honey, drops Feb. 23. Recorded two-and-a-half years ago in Lyons with musicians who have since become locked in as her band, her debut EP will be celebrated with upcoming performances at The Coast in Fort Collins and the Chautauqua Community House in Boulder.

“The record itself is really raw-feeling, because we’ve played together so much since then,” Rose says. “It is our first record but it was recorded so long ago. It’s a really cool snapshot of time from how we started — what it felt like the moment we started playing music together.”

Like much of Rose’s life, the journey to Dozens of Colors wasn’t a straight line, but the destination was worth it.

“I’ve always kind of followed my heart and followed the loves of my life, to find myself where I am.”

ON THE BILL: Spinster with Sound of Honey and Elke.

7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, The Coast, 254 Linden St., Fort Collins. $20 | Patrick Dethlefs with Sound of Honey. 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder. $20

Credit: Rachael Stark

Credit: Jo Babb

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LEFT HAND LASER STUDIO

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CURTAIN RAISER

17th annual New Play Summit presents readings of original works by emerging playwrights

BY TONI TRESCA

New work has always been the backbone of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). The company has produced hundreds of world premieres and readings of new plays since its founding in 1972. This enables the nonprofit organization to diversify its play selection each season and cultivate fruitful relationships with playwrights, as evidenced by the annual New Play Summit making its return to downtown Denver Feb. 25 and Feb. 26.

“The new play development process has been something the DCPA has been committed to since day one,” says Grady Soapes, artistic producer and director of casting. “Now, we are at a place [with the New Play Summit] where we are selling out all the tickets because so many people are coming. It is one of the bestattended new play festivals in the nation and a destination for artists to work because of the quality of plays that come out of the DCPA.”

The New Play Summit, which launched in 2005, invites audiences to live performances of play readings by emerging authors. After listening to the shows, attendees can provide notes to

the playwrights, ask questions about the plot and offer suggestions.

“We are always thinking about how the play will resonate with our community and our DCPA audience,” Soapes says. “Every play we select for the Summit we are genuinely interested in seeing fully produced, whether it happens here or not.”

For the 2023 Summit, the DCPA has selected: the reservoir by Jake Brasch; Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids by Vincent Terrell Durham; The Suffragette’s Murder by Sandy Rustin; and Joan Dark by Christina Pumariega. The playwrights are from all over the country and were chosen after a thorough search by the DCPA’s Theatre Company artistic team.

“Development is pretty much ongoing,” says LeeAn Kim Torske, director of literary programming at the DCPA. “We read hundreds of scripts before settling on the four that will be shown at the Summit. As we are narrowing down the list, we are looking at what a play might need, as well as choosing a variety of styles and voices that the DCPA is interested in highlighting.”

IN THE WINGS

Brasch’s play, the reservoir, is an autobiographical narrative of their experience returning home to get sober while their grandparents deal with cognitive decline. It’s a deeply personal show that mirrors Brasch’s battle with addiction while incorporating their distinctly Jewish sense of humor.

“I’m a Denver native who grew up around the Summit and was raised on theater at the DCPA,” Brasch says. “I can’t imagine a better home for this play than the New Play Summit. This is a Colorado play about Colorado people, and I’m so happy one of my first pretty big professional opportunities is happening here.”

Set nearly 2,000 miles east of Brasch’s localized offering, Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids examines political divisions at a dinner party hosted by a wealthy white couple in a newly renovated Harlem brownstone. Durham’s piece is filled with timely and brutally honest conversations about race and class in America.

Turning the clock back to the 19th century, Rustin’s entry in the Summit is The Suffragette’s Murder, a hilarious whodunnit set in 1857 at a boarding house on New York’s Lower East Side. When a tenant is murdered, the residents have to band together to keep the constable from finding out about the house’s involvement in the suffragette movement.

Rounding out these disparate offerings is Joan Dark, which follows a young Latina who longs to become a Catholic priest. Pumariega, an actor-turned-playwright, was supposed to act in the Summit before the pandemic but had to decline the role,

so she is excited to get to participate in the festival this year.

“I knew I wanted to be a part of this because Sam Hunter, Matthew Lopez and all these literary heroes I admired had honed their voices here,” she says. “I started writing right before the pandemic, so this will be the first time my work is heard live in a theater other than virtually. I am incredibly grateful to the DCPA for championing the play.”

In addition to the play readings, the DCPA’s Theatre Company presents two fully produced shows, including the 2020 Colorado New Play Summit audience favorite, Hotter Than Egypt, and the world premiere of Laughs in Spanish. And, after witnessing the pieces, attendees will be able to talk with the creative teams at exclusive special events like the Playwrights’ Slam and Summit Wrap Party.

Playwrights are currently at work with dramaturgs, actors and production teams, putting the finishing touches on their plays before audiences see them at the Summit.

“The fun thing for audiences is that since the plays are in development, they might be ones that you’ll later see get a world premiere,” Torske says. “And the festival doesn’t end at the end of the weekend; the writers can take the feedback they get from the audience members and go rewrite it again. This is people’s chance to see plays before they become huge, because plays that come out of the New Play Summit are produced all over the nation.”

ON STAGE: Colorado New Play Summit, featuring plays by Jake Brasch, Vincent Terrell Durham, Sandy Rustin and Christina Pumariega. Feb. 25–26, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 1101 13th St., Denver. Prices vary.

A reading at last year’s New Play Summit. Credit: Michael Martin

Left to right: Christina Pumariega, Grady Soapes and Jake Brasch.

GAME THEORY

BY GREGORY WAKEMAN

We’re only a couple months into the new year, but The Last of Us looks destined to be one of the most talked-about shows of 2023. Based on the adored video game franchise and co-created by Emmy-winning Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin, HBO’s thrilling new zombie series has earned widespread critical acclaim and millions of viewers since its Jan. 15 premiere, leading many to call it the best video game adaptation of all time.

Jeffrey Pierce is perfectly placed to explain why The Last of Us has struck a chord with so many. The 52-year-old actor hasn’t just appeared in multiple episodes of the show as Perry, a rebel commander in the postapocalyptic melee of Kansas City, but he also provided the voice and motion-capture performance of supporting character Tommy Miller in the original game, as well as its 2020 sequel.

A renowned video game actor, the British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) winner for Best Performer in a Supporting Role actually got his start in the medium thanks to Matt Damon. According to Pierce, when High Moon Studios was developing Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, Damon was offered $1 million for four hours worth of voice work.

“He turned it down, because his mom was on the board of opposing violence in video games,” Pierce says. “To my good fortune, they asked me to be Jason Bourne. They didn’t pay me $1 million. But it was a great entry into the world of video games.”

HOME ON THE RANGE

Pierce may now be a familiar face (and voice) on screens around the world, but his roots trace back to the Front Range. The actor was born in Denver and raised in Loveland until kindergarten, when his family moved to Virginia.

“I have tons of memories of playing in the snow and walking to school in the snow,” Pierce says of those early

“Like many people, my place in the industry ebbed and flowed. Sometimes you hit home runs. Sometimes you did the best you could, because you needed the next job,” Pierce says. “I’ve never been a guy who did five years on a show and put aside a wedge of money.”

It was the writers strike of 2007 and 2008 that forced Pierce to look to the world of video games. “It hammered the industry,” he says. “After eight months of unemployment, I told my agent to tell me about whatever is out there. He said, ‘Would you ever consider doing a video game?’ I said, ‘Hell yeah!’”

‘VERY, VERY LUCKY’

getting the job, which was shocking at the time. Until I met Troy [Baker], who played Joel. Then I realized he’d got the perfect person to play Joel.”

Druckmann knew Pierce would be ideal for the supporting role of Tommy, Joel’s brother. Clearly he was right, as this was part that landed Pierce his BAFTA honor. “That was completely out of left field,” he says. “But yeah, it really has been such a rewarding part of my career, more so than anything else I’ve ever done.”

days in Colorado. “I still have a huge attachment to the state. A couple of my aunts still live in Loveland.”

In the 10 years before he was cast to replace Damon, he’d been a working actor across film and television, appearing in S1m0ne with Al Pacino and The Foreigner with Steven Seagal, as well as popping up in bigtime shows like The West Wing, NCIS, Boston Public, Charmed and Judging Amy

After his work in The Bourne Conspiracy, along with Prototype and two Medal of Honor games, Pierce found himself being called in to read for Neil Druckmann, who had just written and was co-directing The Last of Us for California-based video game developer Naughty Dog. His audition was for the game’s main character, Joel Miller.

“It was such a great process. Neil was just this wonderful, thoughtful presence and had great notes and ideas. It was really great to audition,” Pierce says. “Then I ended up not

Pierce wasn’t surprised when he learned HBO and Mazin were developing an adaptation of The Last of Us. Especially since he has remained close friends with Druckmann, who is a co-creator, writer and producer on the show.

“Our friendship has been one of the joys of my life. Artistically, we just have a nice intuitive understanding of how each of us work,” he says. “When I found out about the adaptation, I sent him a note saying, ‘Tell me what I can do to support what you guys are trying to do.’ I was very, very lucky that there was something for me to do.”

When it comes to the huge success of the show, Pierce never had any doubt. “I knew the source material was as solid as you could get in terms of character and story and the sort of lore and mythology metaphor within it. I knew it was as good as anything going that I had ever read.”

Working on The Last of Us has been so rewarding for Pierce that he’s not quite ready to return to the normalcy of other projects. “I told my agents, ‘I want to go forwards. I’d rather do nothing than something that’s not going to make me feel as satisfied as I felt on that set.’ Right now, rather than just finding the next job, I want to find something that’s going to make me happy.”

ON SCREEN: The Last of Us airs Sunday nights on HBO at 7 p.m. through March 12.

‘Last of Us’ actor Jeffrey Pierce discusses his Front Range roots as the blockbuster HBO zombie series wraps its first season

Left: Jeffrey Pierce in The Last of Us. Credit: Liane Hentscher. Right: Courtesy HBO

BOOKS

SLASHING THE SLASHER

Boulder author Stephen Graham Jones hits a vicious stride in second part of his Indian Lake Trilogy

BY BART SCHANEMAN

Celebrated horror author

Stephen Graham Jones is known for transcending the trappings of genre writing to elevate the form into the realm of literary fiction. He says the broader community has come to realize that just because he and his fellow horror writers are using genre tropes for storytelling purposes, that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say about the world.

“We’re not just a nightmare carnival out here at the edge of the light, impressing ourselves with blood gags and scares,” he says. “We’re actually in dialogue with a world where we’re processing the issues of the day — be it climate collapse, political stuff, financial things, or the pandemic. Horror fiction is like a fun house mirror reflecting those things back to us.”

Jones, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and the Ivena Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder, is a famously prolific writer who published

24 books before turning 50. His newest novel, Don’t Fear the Reaper, out now from Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, operates within his trademark slasher style and takes the reader through that proverbial fun house with the mirrors caked in blood.

As the second part of the Indian Lake Trilogy, Reaper follows its 2021 predecessor My Heart is a Chainsaw Four years have passed in this new story as protagonist Jade Daniels, a slasher-film obsessive fresh off a recent jail stint, finds herself back in the fictional mountain town of Proofrock, Idaho.

Without giving too much away, there’s an Indigenous serial killer out there on a revenge quest. Dark Mill South is on a mission to get justice for 38 Dakota men hanged in 1862, and a lot of people end up dead in 36 hours. True to form for Jones, there are themes and symbols related to various tribal traditions throughout, including one murderous white elk.

Like most of Jones’ work, Don’t Fear the Reaper is set in the American West, and his feelings about the history of this region are not romantic.

“In the West, each footstep you leave behind, blood is welling up between the treads of those footprints, because America is born in blood,” Jones says. “It tries to whitewash it, so that it was just progress or whatever. But it came at a steep price.”

JUSTICE FANTASY

“Slasher” stories, where a blade-wielding killer quickly runs up the body count, are on the rise within the horror genre. Jones sees the recent uptick in popularity as a result of fundamental problems in our country stemming from the 2016 presidential election.

“For the next few years, we saw people on the 24-hour news cycle just doing terrible stuff and walking away with no punishment,” he says. “You see that enough times and I think that instills in you a need for justice or fairness in the world.”

That in turn leads people to seek out justice fantasies such as slasher stories, according to Jones.

“A slasher world is not an easy world to live in because

you can get decapitated for littering. Anybody who is a bully, or is dismissive about this or that, they get punished,” he says. “And as an audience who has time and again over the past years seen people not being punished for the wrong they do, it’s really wonderful to engage in a story where wrong is punished.”

But Jones doesn’t just write a typical slasher story. There are layers of meaning and references here that give weight to the narrative beyond popcorn fare of films like Friday the 13th or Halloween

The average slasher fan knows the conventions of the genre so intimately that Jones says he has to underscore those tropes before he undercuts or subverts them, “while still satisfying the audience, which is quite a balancing act.”

In this way, Jones sees what he’s doing as a parody of the genre. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious example of the form.

“The way parody works on a genre is, as I see it, it kind of burns the excess off and leaves the genre more muscular and more vital and more able to survive for a few more years,” he says. “So when I am subverting the slasher genre, as I’ve been doing for a few books, I’m really trying to prop the slasher up and let it live longer and go wider to reach more people.”

Jones does that by highlighting some of the long-running problems with the form, including misogyny and violence for violence’s sake.

“The slasher audience expects the gore scenes and that kind of stuff,” he says. “So I’ve got to supply it, but I always want to supply it in a way that the audience has possibly not seen before, or if they’ve seen it before, then I want to put it into a context they’re not familiar with. Writing novels is so much about keeping the reader off balance, or wrong-footed just a little bit, while at the same time holding their hand to keep them standing.”

ON THE SHELF: Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones is available now in hardback via Simon and Schuster.

Courtesy Simon and Schuster

Courtesy Simon and Schuster

DANCEFLOOR REVIVAL

Boulder Elks Lodge reopens for live music and more after major event center overhaul

BY JEZY J. GRAY

Spend enough time talking to people in Boulder’s arts and culture scene and you’ll hear a familiar complaint about a lack of accessible space. Showgoers regularly line up around the block for blockbuster touring acts at the Boulder and Fox theaters — but when it comes to smaller venues with rental fees appropriate for most local and emerging artists, with some notable exceptions, the pickings are slim to say the least.

Enter the Boulder Elks Lodge (3975 28th St.). A community cornerstone since the turn of the 20th century, the one-time hotspot for local live music and events had seen better days since getting walloped by a series of misfortunes in recent years: asbestos removal, roof repair and last summer’s flooding, to name just a few. But now this local mainstay is poised for a comeback after deep renovations to its 10,000 square-foot ballroom and dining area, reopening its doors to the general public for the first time in more than a decade.

“Opening the new event center at this time is a blessing for Boulder and local musicians,” says events and marketing coordinator Mark Woods, himself a musician and longtime Elks Lodge member who launched his natural foods brand Appleooz from its kitchen in 2013. “We want to be eclectic. We want to appeal to a variety of different audiences. … I mean,

LIVE MUSIC FRIDAYS!

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NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Dennis J Joyce, Deceased

Case No.: 2022PR645

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Boulder County, Colorado on or before June 9, 2023, or said claims may be forever barred.

ERIN JOYCE, Personal Representative

306 Casper Dr. Lafayette, Colorado 80026

we’re an older organization, but we’d really like to have younger music and younger people hanging out.”

Updates to the historic gathering place include a brand new 3,000 square-foot dancefloor, which Woods says is one of the largest in Boulder County. The handsome maple wood planks are spring-loaded like the Western honkey tonks of yore, providing just the right cushion for proper Front Range boot-scootin’.

“It doesn’t move, per se, but it eases the impact on the body,” Woods says of the new dancefloor — no small detail for the older clientele traditionally served by the local nonprofit. “When people dance on this, they will not want to get off.”

The public will get its first look at the new Boulder Elks Lodge during its grand reopening on Saturday, March 11. The evening will feature music from local mainstay Hazel Miller, once a fixture in the former concert hall whose singular blend of jazz, blues and R&B will mark an exciting new chapter in the story of a Boulder institution that’s been an important part of the community’s cultural life for more than a century.

Editor’s note: Don’t miss a careerspanning interview with Hazel Miller ahead of her inaugural performance at the newly renovated Elks Lodge in next week’s issue of Boulder Weekly

MARCH 1, 2023

MACKY AUDITORIUM

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event as Ars Nova Singers presents VOCES8 in a delightful program entitled CHORAL DANCES

The world-renowned British vocal ensemble showcases acappella singing in a concert that juxtaposes Renaissance music with jazz and pop – a rare mix of the ethereal and angelic, along with pure foot-tapping fun.

Buy tickets at ArsNovaSingers.org

2355 30th Street • Boulder, CO tuneupboulder.com

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PARADISE FOUND LISTENING PARTY

7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Paradise Found Records and Music, 1646 Pearl St., Boulder. $10

Ready to discover your new favorite record? Drop by a vinyl listening party with fellow music freaks at Paradise Found Records and Music. This month’s event is focused on cover songs, with expert curators spinning inshop selections of your favorite artists covering their favorite artists. The admission price knocks $10 off your purchase.

24-26

OPEN SPACE: CURATED BY CU DANCE CONNECTION

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, University Theatre Building, 261 University of Colorado, Boulder. $19

CU Boulder’s Department of Theatre & Dance presents a collection of “innovative, multisensory dance performances” taking place in and around the Charlotte York Irey Theatre. The shows will feature a variety of styles across a studentproduced and CU Connection-curated series. Get down to campus for an unforgettable weekend of movement.

25

STORY IN THE ROCKS: THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF BOULDER COUNTY

2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Longmont Public Library, 409 Fourth Ave., Longmont. Free Boulder County’s jaw-dropping landscape is often the first point of discussion for anyone who’s been here. But

did you know those rocks to the west go back nearly 2 billion years? Hop over to Longmont’s Public Library this Saturday afternoon for a free slideshow program on the geologic history of Boulder County — it’s free, informative and great for all ages.

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ARVADA WINTERFEST

11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, McIlvoy Park, 5750 Upham St., Arvada. Free

Complete with cultural performances, carriage rides, numerous vendors, a beer garden, live ice sculpting and a pet parade (including a “pet ugly sweater contest”), Arvada’s Winterfest is an annual hit for the whole family. This Saturday, head to McIlvoy Park in Olde Town Arvada to learn, sample and enjoy a diverse array of arts, culture and entertainment.

“PAINT ME A STORY” WITH AUTHOR ELIZABETH EVERETT

10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Color Me Mine, 1938 Pearl St., Suite 100, Boulder. $25

Join author Elizabeth Everett for an enriching experience at Color Me Mine on Saturday morning. She’ll be reading her new children’s book, This Is the Sun, and following story time, your little one can participate in a corresponding paint project. The recommended ages are 2-7 — make a memory out of this weekend and sign up now.

WINTER CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL

1-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Folsom Field, 2400 Colorado Ave., Boulder. $45

Tired of the same old fizzy yellow pilsner? Head to the Winter Craft Beer Festival this weekend at Folsom Field and leave “with your new favorite beer (or 10).” And that shouldn’t be very difficult — the fest will feature some of the best beers in Colorado, and the world. This year, 50+ breweries are setting up shop at this beer blowout that’s a must for any true hop head.

THE WEDGE LIVE: RESTORATIVE CONVERSATIONS ACROSS DIVIDES

2-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, The Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Ave., Boulder. Free

In a world so divisive, communicating about controversial issues — especially with the ones you love — can be difficult, and sometimes damaging. To help navigate these issues in your own life, catch this live iteration of The Wedge, a popular six-part podcast from Spaceship Media and Colorado Public Radio. Come ready to listen, learn, talk and think.

LIVE MUSIC

ON STAGE: Nearly 25 years ago, Things Fall Apart blasted Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and The Roots into the forefront of progressive hip-hop. They haven’t looked back. Decades later, you can join Philadelphia’s iconic ensemble and acclaimed Mississippi emcee BIG K.R.I.T. for a one-night performance at Mission Ballroom on Friday, Feb. 24. See listing for details.

THURSDAY, FEB. 23

BAREFOOT IN THE BATHROOM WITH BIG PINCH, SANTA ANA RODEO AND BATTERHEAD.

7:50 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $15

SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE WITH THE APPLESEED CAST. 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $36

FRIDAY, FEB. 24

YHETI WITH TERNION SOUND, TOADFACE AND HONEYBEE

9 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $36

ANNA CUTLER & LEOPOLD

6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

SPAFFORD 7 p.m. The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Dr., Nederland. $25

THE ROOTS WITH BIG K.R.I.T.

8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $60

ALEX TRAINOR MUSIC THING WITH PILOT THE MACHINE.

7:30 p.m. The End Lafayette, 525 Courtney Way. $15

SATURDAY, FEB. 25

ERIK BOA DUO 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

REBECCA FOLSOM. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $25

LAST MEN ON EARTH. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $15

EARLY JAMES WITH EARL NELSON & THE COMPANY. 9 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $17

PATRICK DETHLEFS WITH SOUND OF HONEY 8 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder. $20

SUNDAY, FEB. 26

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN 7:30 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $29

SUICIDE FOREST WITH BELLTOWER AND INSIPIDUS

8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

MONDAY, FEB. 27

VIAGRA BOYS 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $36

THE LIL SMOKIES AND EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $35

TUESDAY, FEB. 28

AMERICAN AUTHORS WITH BILLY RAFFOUL. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $25

STICK MEN 7 p.m. Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave., Golden. $40

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 1

CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

PEPPER WITH JOE SAMBA. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $25

DANIEL RODRUIGUEZ WITH EMMA ROSE. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $29

Workday, Inc. is accepting resumes for the following positions at various levels in Boulder, CO:

Software Engineer/Software Development Engineer (20637.2028):

Analyzes, designs, programs, debugs, and modifies software enhancements and/or new products used in local, networked, or internet-related computer programs. Exp Incl: Objectoriented design and development; Algorithms and data structures; Programming language such as Java, C# or C++; and Database and querying languages such as SQL. Salary: $145,787 - $317,900 per year, 40 hours per week.

Submit resume by mail to: J. Thurston at Workday, Inc., Attn: Human Resources/Immigration, 6110 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Must reference job title and job code

Credit: Ben Watts

TOP 10 FOUND SOUNDS

What’s in Boulder’s headphones?

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

Looking to break free of the Spotify algorithm? Check out the latest round-up of bestselling new vinyl releases from Paradise Found Records and Music (1646 Pearl St.) Paramore hangs onto the top spot this week, plus the latest from hardcore heroes Soul Glo, rapper Lil Yachty, Denver indie-pop darlings Tennis and more.

1. PARAMORE This Is Why

2. TENNIS Pollen

3. LIL YACHTY Let’s Start Here

4. KENNY BEATS Louie

5. YO LA TENGO This Stupid World

6. SOUL GLO Diaspora Problems

7. VARIOUS ARTISTS Disco Diggin’: Disco Music Gems From Vinyl Diggers

8. PIERCE THE VEIL Misadventures (Reissue)

9. WHITNEY HOUSTON Whitney (Reissue)

10. AVENGED SEVENFOLD City of Evil (Reissue)

See this week’s event section on p. 26 for info on the upcoming Paradise Found Listening Party on Friday, Feb. 24.

PERFECT TIMING

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Boulder’s festival of films, food, music and adventure returns with the 19th annual Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF).

Screening March 2-5, across four venues, BIFF hosts more than 70 features and shorts and a series of staples that have come to define the fest: CineCHEF, the Adventure Film Pavilion, additional screenings at the Stewart Auditorium in Longmont, parties, live music and more.

BIFF is big on music, and this year’s opening night film, Immediate Family (Friday, March 3), documents the session musicians who helped define popular music from 1970 on, while the Colorado premiere of Little Richard: I Am Everything (Saturday, March 4) revisits the life and times of Richard Penniman, the self-proclaimed “emancipator” and “architect of rock ’n’ roll.” And for the vinyl heads: Squaring the Circle (Saturday, March 4) explores the career of Hipgnosis, the creator behind some of the most iconic album covers.

But if all that singing and screaming is too much for you, then BIFF will help you catch up on your Oscars homework with the Boulder premiere of Ireland’s The Quiet Girl (Sunday, March 5) from director Colm Bairéad, a small drama jam-packed with emotion.

The year is 1981, and 9-year-old Cait (Catherine Clinch) is a silent type trying to stay out of her parent’s way. She already has a handful of siblings, with another on the way, and Mom and Dad are about as physically, emotionally and financially taxed as you can get. So, they drive Cait over to some relatives, an older couple without kids, and drop her off for the summer. They

are Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and Seán (Andrew Bennett), and they live by themselves on a rural dairy farm that looks like a dream. Even the cozy home, with its soft-yellow walls in the kitchen and flowery wallpaper in the bedroom, practically envelops Cait with warm arms. And that’s a good thing, because Cait has a lot of emotional baggage to sort through.

Ditto for Eibhlán and Seán; there’s a hole in their life that Cait slides into effortlessly. A makeshift family forms, full of love, compassion and, in the movie’s best scenes, life.

Aptly titled, The Quiet Girl is a pleasant respite from the chaos of modern society. When people long for simpler times, Bairéad’s film might be what they think of. Not that the movie is free of drama, but how director Bairéad and cinematographer Kate McCullough capture these tender moments makes even instances of anguish seem comforting.

And for that, The Quiet Girl will represent Ireland at the 95th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. It’ll be quite a night for Irish cinema at the Oscars. In addition to The Quiet Girl, writer/director Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin will compete for nine awards, while An Irish Goodbye — also playing BIFF in the Short Films 1 package (March 3) — will compete in the Short Live Action category. Talk about perfect timing for a couple of BIFF screenings.

Courtesy Insceal

Path of the Panther

The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez

Dhaulagiri is My Everest

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): In 1993, I began work on my memoirish novel The Televisionary Oracle. It took me seven years to finish. The early part of the process was tough. I generated a lot of material I didn’t like. Then one day, I discovered an approach that liberated me: I wrote about aspects of my character and behavior that needed improvement. Suddenly everything clicked, and my fruitless adventure transformed into a fluidic joy. Soon I was writing about other themes and experiences. But dealing with self-correction was a key catalyst. Are there any such qualities in yourself you might benefit from tackling, Aries? If so, I recommend you try my approach.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Two Taurus readers complained that my horoscopes contain too much poetry and flair to be useful. In response, I’m offering you a prosaic message. It’s all true, though in a way that’s more like a typical horoscope. (I wonder if this approach will spur your emotional intelligence and your soul’s lust for life, which are crucial areas of growth for you these days.) Anyway, here’s the oracle: Take a risk and extend feelers to interesting people outside your usual sphere. But don’t let your social adventures distract you from your ambitions, which also need your wise attention. Your complex task: Mix work and play; synergize business and pleasure.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Astrologer Jessica Shepherd advises us to sidle up to the Infinite Source of Life and say, “Show me what you’ve got.” When we do, we often get lucky. That’s because the Infinite Source of Life delights in bringing us captivating paradoxes. Yes and no may both be true in enchanting ways. Independence and interdependence can interweave to provide us with brisk teachings. If we dare to experiment with organized wildness and aggressive receptivity, our awareness will expand, and our heart will open. What about it, Gemini? Are you interested in the charming power that comes from engaging with cosmic contradictions? Now’s a favorable time to do so. Go ahead and say, “Show me what you’ve got” to the Infinite Source of Life.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): “Only a lunatic would dance when sober,” declared the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. As a musician who loves to dance, I reject that limiting idea—especially for you. In the upcoming weeks, I hope you will do a lot of dancing-while-sober. Singing-whilesober, too. Maybe some crying-for-joy-while-sober, as well as freewheeling-your-way-through-unpredictable-conversations-while-sober and cavortingand-reveling-while-sober. My point is that there is no need for you to be intoxicated as you engage in revelry. Even further: It will be better for your soul’s long-term health if you are lucid and clearheaded as you celebrate this liberating phase of extra joy and pleasure.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Poet Mary Oliver wondered whether the soul is solid and unbreakable, like an iron bar. Or is it tender and fragile, like a moth in an owl’s beak? She fantasized that maybe it’s shaped like an iceberg or a hummingbird’s eye. I am poetically inclined to imagine the soul as a silver diadem bedecked with emeralds, roses, and live butterflies. What about you, Leo? How do you experience your soul? The coming weeks will be a ripe time to home in on this treasured part of you. Feel it, consult with it, feed it. Ask it to surprise you!

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): According to the color consultant company Pantone, Viva Magenta is 2023’s color of the year. According to me, Viva Magenta is the lucky hue and power pigment for you Virgos during the next 10 months. Designer Amber Guyton says that Viva Magenta “is a rich shade of red that is both daring and warm.” She adds that its “purple undertone gives it a warmth that sets it apart from mere red and makes it more versatile.” For your purposes, Virgo, Viva Magenta is earthy and exciting; nurturing and inspiring; soothing yet arousing. The coming weeks will be a good time to get the hang of incorporating its spirit into your life.

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): If you are not working to forge a gritty solution, you may be reinforcing a cozy predicament. If you’re not expanding your imagination to conjure up fresh perspectives, you could be contributing to some ignorance or repression. If you’re not pushing to expose dodgy secrets and secret agendas, you might be supporting the whitewash. Know what I’m saying, Libra? Here’s a further twist. If you’re not peeved about the times you have wielded your anger unproductively, you may not use it brilliantly in the near future. And I really hope you will use it brilliantly.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Storyteller Martin Shaw believes that logic and factual information are not enough to sustain us. To nourish our depths, we need the mysterious stories provided by myths and fairy tales. He also says that conventional hero sagas starring big, strong, violent men are outmoded. Going forward, we require wily, lyrical tales imbued with the spirit of the Greek word metis, meaning “divine cunning in service to wisdom.” That’s what I wish for you now, Scorpio. I hope you will tap into it abundantly. As you do, your creative struggles will lead to personal liberations. For inspiration, read myths and fairy tales.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Many astrologers don’t give enough encouragement to you Sagittarians on the subject of home. I will compensate for that. I believe it’s a perfect time to prioritize your feelings of belonging and your sense of security. I urge you to focus energy on creating serenity and stability for yourself. Honor the buildings and lands you rely on. Give extra appreciation to the people you regard as your family and tribe. Offer blessings to the community that supports you.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): If you are like 95% of the population, you weren’t given all the love and care you needed as a child. You may have made adaptations to partly compensate for this lack, but you are still running a deficit. That’s the bad news, Capricorn. The good news is that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to overcome at least some of the hurt and sadness caused by your original deprivation. Life will offer you experiences that make you feel more at home in the world and at peace with your destiny and in love with your body. Please help life help you! Make yourself receptive to kindness and charity and generosity.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): The philosopher Aldous Huxley was ambitious and driven. Author of almost 50 books, he was a passionate pacifist and explorer of consciousness. He was a visionary who expressed both dystopian and utopian perspectives. Later in his life, though, his views softened. “Do not burn yourselves out,” he advised readers. “Be as I am: a parttime crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it.” Now I’m offering you Huxley’s counsel, Aquarius. As much as I love your zealous idealism and majestic quests, I hope that in the coming weeks, you will recharge yourself with creature comforts.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): Piscean author and activist W. E. B. Dubois advised us to always be willing to give up what we are. Why? Because that’s how we transform into a deeper and stronger version of ourselves. I think you would benefit from using his strategy. My reading of the astrological omens tells me that you are primed to add through subtraction, to gain power by shedding what has become outworn and irrelevant. Suggested step one: Identify dispiriting self-images you can jettison. Step two: Visualize a familiar burden you could live without. Step three: Drop an activity that bores you. Step four: Stop doing something that wastes your time.

DEAR DAN: I’m a 38-year-old mother of two youngish kids in a 10-year hetero relationship that I am destroying. I cheated with a girl at my job at the end of last year and now I have feelings for her. I’ve ended the affair several times, but each time we start back up again. I’ve always known that I’m bisexual but never really explored that side of myself. I don’t know if I never explored this side of myself out of fear, internalized homophobia, or that the right girl never presented herself. Now I need to choose. Do I stay with my long-term partner, a man I love dearly, and tamp down this side of myself? Or do I break up with him and explore my sexuality? If we didn’t have kids, I would choose the latter. We have talked about opening up the relationship but he is way too hurt for that to be an option anymore. I know I majorly fucked up. I betrayed his trust and snuck around with this girl. Am I just a horrible person who needs to get her shit together and somehow patch things up with my partner? Or is exploring my sexuality something that I should prioritize over stability and long-term love?

DAN SAVAGE

have to end it. But at this point you simply don’t know whether or how this relationship can be salvaged. So, give it a chance, do the work, and see where you are in a year. If leaving was ultimately the right thing to do, it’ll still be the right thing to do a year from now. If leaving was the wrong thing to do, you won’t be able to undo it a year from now.

— Confused As Fuck

DEAR CAF: If you were childless — or childfree — you would leave. But you aren’t childfree, CAF, and you owe it to your kids to at least try to make things work with your long-term partner. That said, CAF, you aren’t obligated to stay in a relationship you can’t make work. If your actions have irrevocably destroyed your partner’s ability to trust you, and if you can’t come to some sort of accommodation moving forward that allows you to be the person you are (an accommodation that could take many different forms), ending it may ultimately be in the best interests of your kids. Because a bitter, loveless, high-conflict relationship will not only make you and your partner miserable, it will also make your kids miserable.

If your relationship never recovers from the blows you’ve inflicted on it — if you can’t get past this — then you’ll

P.S. Bisexual people? Please get out there and suck some dick and/or eat some pussy before you make a monogamous commitment to an opposite-sex partner — or a same-sex partner, for that matter, although I get fewer letters from bisexuals in samesex relationships who’ve recently “explored” their bisexuality (with disastrous consequences) or begged their same-sex partners for permission to “explore” their bisexuality (and been threatened with disastrous consequences). Yeah, yeah: bisexual people can honor monogamous commitments. But as you may have noticed — as anyone who’s been paying attention should have noticed by now — monogamy isn’t easy for anyone. And while it’s considered bi-phobic to suggest that monogamy might be a little bit harder for bisexual people, most of the people making that argument to me are bisexuals who made monogamous commitments before fully exploring their sexualities. LGBTQ people never tire of pointing out how a particular thing might be harder for gay men and a different particular thing might be harder for lesbians and another particular thing might be a whole lot harder for trans people and a long list of other things might a bazillion times harder for asexuals, demisexuals, sapiosexuals, omnisexuals, etc., etc., etc. And yet it’s somehow taboo to suggest that monogamy — which, again, is pretty damn hard for everyone — might be just a tiny bit harder for bisexuals. Send

Whether the sun is shining or snow is falling, our little corner of Pearl Street is the perfect place to soak up winter in beautiful Boulder! Feast alongside the jellyfish, sink into a lounge or take a seat at one of our lively bars.

Prefer the great outdoors? Our fireside patios are the coziest place to savor those mild winter days.

When your own couch is calling, all of your favorites are available for curbside pickup too.

No matter how you choose to dine don’t miss our ever-evolving specials, delicious seasonal cocktails, and latest rare whiskey!

LOVE AND LUNCH

Curious ‘locavore’ seeks compatible ‘reducetarian’ for sustainable and regenerative relationship

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

Sipping an Americano at a Boulder cafe, I watched a 30-something woman swiping right rapidly though potential mates on a dating app. This parade of smiling, filtered faces may be a fine appetizer. However, for the really important stuff about compatibility in relationships, you have to take a deeper dive into the personal menu.

Age, religion, gender identity, occupation and political affiliation matter, but the info about a future lover that may matter the most is how they eat, cook and dine out. Would you kiss someone who loves veal and consumes Twinkies? What’s for dinner may honestly say more about whether love will last.

No doubt sexual attraction matters, but most couples spend a whole lot more time shopping, cooking, eating, drinking and dining than having sex. (If you are the exception, don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes.)

A shorthand list of labels has evolved over time to help reveal a potential mate’s culinary compatibility. Not that long ago it was simple: You

were either a “carnivore” or a “vegetarian.” Then other identities complicated the issue, ranging from “natural foods lover” to “vegan,” “gourmet” and “green diner.” Now, climate change beliefs naturally dominate the dinner plate and the bedroom.

According to various news reports, there is a growing roster of new identities being adopted by younger generations, labels like “climavore,” “reducetarian,” “climatarian,” “sustainatarian” and “regenivore.”

Admittedly, these definitions and distinctions are less than precise, but most involve caring about biodiversity loss, agricultural water use, food justice and greenwashing.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ARE YOU?

Climavore: This is a flexible designation. Some climavores eat pastureraised poultry or more locally grown produce, organic ingredients and a plant-based diet.

Reducetarian: These eaters are environment-curious but unwilling to

make a complete commitment. They try to eat less of the foods with the greatest environmental toll and have concerns about animal welfare, their personal health or climate change.

Climatarian: These diners are more serious. Climatarian food choices are based not on flavor but on how they impact climate change. They avoid beef and blueberries flown in from Chile and foods generally regarded as evil including sugar, slave-grown cacao, cartel-controlled avocados and rainforest-destroying coffee.

Sustainatarian: The environmental toll required to grow and transport foods is the primary concern of the sustainatarian. They eat some meat and dairy, but only when local. The focus is on regenerative farming and ranching practices and sustainably harvested fish and game. They reduce their climate “foodprint” by opting for lower-carbon dining.

Regenivore: These eaters focus on supporting food companies actively healing the planet through carbonreducing agriculture, animal welfare policies, and fair payment to the people who grow and process the food we eat.

LEARNING TO SPEAK OMAKASE

The Merriam Webster dictionary has added some new food words to our common language that give a glimpse into contemporary eating culture. The newest foodie vocabulary items include “pumpkin spice,” “omakase,” “ras el hanout,” “mojo,” “birria,” “oat milk,” “sessionable,” “banh mi” and “plant-based.”

Use these terms in your Instagram posts for extra hipness points.

There are problems with that last vocabulary addition. More than 25 million American consumers say they eat plant-based foods and beverages at least sometimes, according to marketresearch company NPD Group, but there is no dietary or legal definition of what “plant-based” means, or whether those foods are any better for our health and the environment.

Menu note: According to recent Datassential research, there are a handful of words restaurants can add to a menu item’s description that virtually guarantee increased sales. At the top of the list, according to consumers: “bacon” and “cheese.”

TASTE OF THE WEEK: EMPANADA OUTPOST

Tucked inside the funky shop-lined Old Town Marketplace, Abuelita’s Empanadas (332 Main St., Longmont) is an under-the-radar oasis of authentic hand pies. Born in Durango, Mexico, Mirella Wood handcrafts crusts stuffed with a variety of savory and sweet fillings. The oven-baked roster features chicken tinga, sweet potato, spinach and cheese, ham and cheese, steak and others. I became an instant fan of Mirella’s spicy chile relleno empanada and her sweet pineapple empanada.

NIBBLES

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: A LEGEND PASSES

● We bid a fond adieu to legendary Boulder restaurateur Don Monette, who passed away Feb. 14. In 1971, he and his family started turning an old cabin into Flagstaff House Restaurant (1138 Flagstaff Road, Boulder). Back in the 1980s, when I was a young food editor, Don kindly made me much more knowledgeable about food and wine.

● Pasta Press, a new Italian eatery, has opened at 911 11th St., Boulder.

● Pizzeria Alberico has opened at 1730 Pearl St., Boulder, replacing Pizzeria Locale.

● The Empire Lounge & Restaurant in Louisville (816 Main St.) is closing after almost 20 years in business. The eatery was originally opened by late chef Jim Cohen in the former Colacci’s Restaurant space.

● Longmont’s Urban Field Pizza and Market (150 Main St., Suite 202)

CULINARY CALENDAR: BOULDER’S SHARK TANK

● Naturally Boulder’s 18th annual Pitch Slam, Feb. 23 at the Boulder Jewish Community Center, is a competitive Shark Tank-style event featuring local natural and organic companies. This year’s competition features Hazlo elixirs, Hooch Booch kombucha and Peak State Coffee fortified with functional fungi.

● If you have backyard fruit trees, attend the March 4 workshop presented by Community Fruit Rescue and Boulder’s Benevolence Orchard & Gardens to learn how to prune properly and upgrade the amount and the quality of this year’s harvest. Register: bit.ly/tree-pruning-workshop

NIBBLES INDEX: PRICEY CO PIES

$21.23 That’s the average price of a large cheese pizza in Colorado, making the state among the priciest in the

burrito’s

THE REVAMP

BY COLIN WRENN

When longtime patrons saw The Hungry Toad shut down for three weeks, with promises of a new menu and a refurbished interior, there were some knee jerk reactions: “You’ve ruined The Toad!”

Opened in 1991 by Terry Morton, the English-style pub has amassed a legion of regulars who have flocked to the place for decades. Folks have always come for the sense of community, a pillar of British drinking culture that hasn’t necessarily sprouted in most American watering holes.

The Toad is not, in fact, ruined. It assumed new ownership in November 2021 when husband and wife Hansen and Bonnie Rada, themselves longtime devotees, bought the place. After 30 good years in business, Morton was done.

“Essentially the Radas didn’t want to see The Toad die,” says general manager Johnny Rutter. “If Hansen didn’t step up to the plate, who knows what it could have been.”

Slight changes appeared at first. Hansen installed a few extra TVs, hoping to shift his restaurant in favor of being more of a soccer bar. The menu, a catalog-length hodgepodge of British, American and Mexican pub fare with no less than 10 burgers and 14 sandwiches, loomed large. Every night the place was still packed, buzzing with people who liked to sit down to enjoy two to three hours of leisurely sips and nibbles.

In late October 2022, the restaurant shut down. The kitchen was almost entirely redesigned. The sloping floors of the bar and dining area were torn up and leveled, and a new staff, both back and front-of-house, was brought on to facilitate the new opening.

“While we were closed, people were knocking on the door and peeking in the windows,” Rutter says with a grin.

So, on Nov. 9, when The Toad reopened, this time with a full cocktail list and a menu that fit on two sides of a single sheet of paper, some people were shocked. Were the new owners coming for the Old Speckled Hen, the Guiness, the Fuller’s and the Smithwick’s? Would families still be able to get solid meals and feel like they had gotten their money’s worth? Had the casual intimacy that made The Toad so special been stripped?

Now four months into the new era, The Toad is still bustling. A Hawaiian shirt or two dot the floor and loud bikers mingle with old heads who settle into the place like it was their own living room.

“We’ve gotten to the point where the community here is excited,” says bar manager Carrie Morrow.

Sweeping changes can be jarring. Yet somehow, despite all the seismic shifts, The Toad still feels familiar. It’s still cozy,

though the food has gotten a lot better. It’s still casual, though the drink list now includes the kind of creative cocktails guests could expect at more chichi establishments downtown.

One of the key facilitators of the sweeping improvements is executive chef Carlos Ortiz. Born and raised in Mexico City, Ortiz began his culinary career on a whim after visiting his brother in Austin.

“I came to party with my brother. Then I ran out of money and started my career,” the chef says wryly. After working in a series of restaurants in the Texas capitol, Ortiz moved to Colorado where he continued what would become an illustrious devotion to the craft. A lifelong student who claims to have read over 300 cookbooks, Ortiz worked at such iconic institutions as the Denver ChopHouse, La Sandia, Lou’s Hot and Naked, and Los Chingones.

Ortiz has been rebuilding the menu from the ground up. Fresh ingredients are paramount, with the new menu paying homage to modern British pub classics.

“Cooking is not what makes the chef — it’s everything that goes behind it,” Ortiz says, noting that planning, finances, preparation and the visual and psychological organization of the menu are a big part of what he brings to the table. “Also, the only item I have canned is coconut milk.”

Nobody seems to mind that the menu is now down to less than 30 items. The beer battered fish and chips is made with a single piece of succulent fresh Atlantic cod and Kennebec potatoes, the burgers now draw their flavor from a precise blend of ground chuck and brisket. The Toad Nachos and the jumbo wings — staples of the original list — exist only in name, each one markedly refined.

“If you are going to do something you have to do it without any apologies,” Ortiz says. “And I haven’t had any requests from regulars to bring back anything from the old menu,” he says with a smile.

Morrow’s drinks are another reason to visit. The cocktails are remarkably innovative, even by big city standards, something Morrow attributes to her time at Seattle’s Purple Cafe, a wine bar that would routinely do 500-600 covers a night.

“At least once a shift a guest would ask me to make something random,” she says. Don’t leave without getting the A Healthy Bond, which combines white port, zucchini and lemon for a porch pounder that may just find its way onto the summer menu.

The restaurant has also introduced a fresh weekend brunch. A smaller list of breakfast sandwiches, coffee and beer is served even earlier for those who want to come in and watch English Premier League games. There are plans to introduce things like Scotch flights and punk tea time as the restaurant continues to get its sea legs.

Author’s note: I have many happy memories of coming to The Toad when I was a kid with my late father, George Johnson. Once upon a time, it was his favorite place to drink beer.

The Hungry Toad is forging a new identity without losing its heart

Under new management, The Hungry Toad is still serving up traditional English fare. Credit: Justin Lee

THE IMPORTANCE OF ICAROS

Research suggests modern psychedelic-assisted therapy should use music to guide patients

BY WILL BRENDZA

Medicine songs like the Amazonian icaros are a standard tool used by shamans in ayahuasca-healing ceremonies. Often sung in Spanish, Quechua, or other Amazonian Indigenous languages, they have a very rhythmic, lullaby-like quality. For millennia, icaros have been used to support communication with ancestors and spirits, and to guide, heal and protect individuals on their psychedelic journeys. They are key to unlocking many of the benefits traditional Amazonian medicine has to offer. Research supports the importance of these songs — in psychedelic therapy of all kinds.

Owain Graham is a University of California, Riverside doctoral student in ethnomusicology with an interest in the relationship between music and altered states of consciousness. He’s spent a lot of time studying indigeneity and ritual music in South America, with a primary focus on icaros.

Graham recently co-authored a research paper published in AnthroSource exploring the influence and effects of icaros on patients undergoing ayahuasca healing ceremonies. His findings suggest that as psychotherapists and psychologists

develop programs for psychedelic treatments in places like Colorado and Oregon, they should consider how and why music is traditionally incorporated into medicine ceremonies.

“While Western biomedicine’s foundation in science is strong, it has also neglected to explain the connection of mind-body and how music can affect healing,” Graham says.

He set out to find out. Graham visited Peru’s Takiwasi Center for Drug Addiction Rehabilitation and Research on Traditional Medicines multiple times between 2017 and 2020. The Takiwasi Center uses an addiction treatment model with three core “tools” and principals: psychotherapy, traditional medicines with plants, and cohabitation. It’s a nine- to 12-month treatment program with five stages, three of which take place in-residence at the facility.

Graham’s paper assessed 180 responses from 12 ayahuasca patients at Takiwasi. They were questioned on the perceived connection between the icaros and their personal healing during their addiction treatment. All of them reported that the icaros helped modify their psycho-emotional states. And all of them said the music improved their healing by helping them with “unblock-

ing.” More than half of respondents reported the icaros helped them with “connection,” and “learning and comprehension.”

While some said the effect was negligible, others reported full on “supernatural experiences” and a sense of “protection” the music instilled in them. Interestingly, none of them had negative feelings associated with the icaros.

Graham and the study’s other authors cite previous research on the Takiwasi Center where 86% of their patients showed “improvement” on the Addiction Severity Index, and 53% showed “major improvement.” A full 67% of graduates did not return to substance abuse following the program.

Graham’s paper is quick to clarify, “Correlating musical experience in ayahuasca sessions with therapeutic results is not the goal of this article.”

However, previous research pub-

lished in Psychopharmacology showed a correlation between music in psilocybin therapy and “mystical-experiences” and “insightfulness” reported by clinical patients. In the conclusion of that paper, the authors note, “Crucially, the nature of the music experience was significantly predictive of reductions in depression [one] week after psilocybin, whereas general drug intensity was not.”

Graham believes that as people and companies develop education and certificate programs for psychedelic-assisted therapies (Weed Between the Lines, “Training psychedelic therapists,” Jan. 12, 2023), traditional practices like icaros should be closely studied, considered, and incorporated.

“Now is the time to be thinking about how to shape those therapeutic models,” Graham says. “I think [music like icaros] can be an important tool in the tool belt for those therapists.”

Photo: Susan France