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Jason Jet will play an afternoon show at UNC Charlotte on March 14.
NEWS&CULTURE MIND THE GAPS Ordinary folks are helping those who fall through the mental health cracks
BY RYAN PITKIN 9 EDITOR’S NOTE 13 THE BLOTTER 14 NEWS OF THE WEIRD
16
FOOD KEEPING THINGS FRESH Julia Simon’s Nourish Charlotte turns five, looks to expand
BY RYAN PITKIN 18 UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE BY ARI LEVAUX 19 THREE-COURSE SPIEL: GWEN SQUARE BY DEBRA RENEE SETH
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ARTS&ENT LONELY HEARTS CLUB Charlotte Lit celebrates Carson
McCullers all year long BY JASMIN HERRERA
20 TOP 10 THINGS TO D0 24 FILM REVIEWS BY MATT BRUNSON 25 ARTSPEAK: COLLETTE ELLIS
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SPORTS SPOTSHOTS Charlotte Roller Girls get the win in season
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BY RYAN PITKIN
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MUSIC THE ART OF DIVERSIFICATION Charlotte singer-
songwriter Jason Jet loves pop and soul BY KIA O. MOORE 30 MUSICMAKER: JAH-MONTE 32 SOUNDBOARD
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ODDS&ENDS 34 MARKETPLACE 34 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 35 CROSSWORD 36 SAVAGE LOVE 38 HOROSCOPE BY VIVIAN CAROL
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VIEWS
EDITOR’S NOTE
THE ART OF SURVIVAL How to keep sane in an insane world good. They even did things like storefront psychiatry,” Evans tells Infanzon. “It was a very exciting time.” in our society is mental health. We don’t know Infanzon’s cover story is hopeful — but how to deal with our sons and daughters cautiously so. Stigmas remain. And until and mothers and fathers and friends and we all are educated on the disease aspect of neighbors who suffer from diseases ranging mental illness, barriers to treatment will still from bipolar disorder to addiction. keep our loved ones from seeking help. We ignore the man walking down the Speaking of sustained mental and physical street talking to himself, or the woman wellness, in the food section Ryan Pitkin passed out next to a building because she’s talks with Julia Simon of Nourish Charlotte, been self-treating her manic episodes with a vegan and gluten-free food delivery service alcohol and street drugs for decades. that aims to keep Charlotteans living well, When mental health patients enter the one delivery at a time. system, they often encounter a complex “Charlotte was a place where I feel like maze of one-size-fits-all programs and a the kind of food I love to make and I love cycle of institutional residency, from mental to eat, there wasn’t very much of it,” Simon health facilities to jails. Family and friends tells Pitkin in “Keeping Things Fresh,” on sometimes back away. Isolation ensues. page 16. So the graduate of New Several Charlotte angels have York City’s National Gourmet stepped in to help over the past Institute started a service here few decades. In this issue’s that offers what she calls cover story, “Mind the “light, planet-aware, locally Gaps,” on page 10, reporter aware, organic food.” Vanessa Infanzon talks If you really want to with some of those angels get well and stay well and looks at some of the mentally, though, you organizations that they’ve have to enjoy yourself founded to help close the by nourishing your body gap between treatment and soul with art and and sustained services music. In the arts section for those who suffer from MARK KEMP this week, CL intern Jasmin mental illness. Herrera writes about Charlotte Two of those angels are Lit’s year-long celebration of the Virginia and Ernest Schumacher, late Carson McCullers, author of the classic who took matters into their own hands 1940 novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. more than 30 years ago when their youngest McCullers lived in the house that is now the daughter was diagnosed with paranoid Indian restaurant Copper on East Boulevard, schizophrenia. The Schumachers founded and that’s where Charlotte Lit kicked off its the “Drop In” at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church Carson McCullers Centennial Initiative and in south Charlotte. Celebration last month. Read about their Others have stepped in over the years future plans on page 22. with additional citizen-founded programs, Then go check out Charlotte pop and soul including Linda Phillips, who started singer Jason Jet, whose name is reminiscent Providence Place and Betsy and Bill Blue, of another singer named Jett (with two t’s), who opened up the HopeWay Foundation. For mental-health veteran Bob Evans, who loves rock and roll. Regular CL freelancer president of the Charlotte-area chapter of Kia Moore talks with Jet, who performs at the National Alliance on Mental Health, the After Hours Lounge at UNCC on March the gap between treatment and sustained 14, about his new album, The Great Escape, services for mentally ill patients is a result of and his journey from Iceland to the Queen a constantly changing bureaucracy in public City. What keeps Jet interested in music healthcare. is his ability to juggle his various musical “I think one of the major problems is talents. that the system has been redesigned and “For me the ability to know how to dismantled so many times over the past do 10 different things with music keeps couple of years,” Evans tells Infanzon. “So it me going,” Jet tells Moore in “The Art of is hard to get any kind of confidence on the Diversification,” on page 28. “I think if I was ground. There is no long-term tradition that just a singer-songwriter in Charlotte, there you can get your claws into, where we can say just would not be enough there to financially this is where our roots are.” survive.” Evans came to Charlotte from New York Ah, survival. That’s what we’re all about City, where a similar grassroots effort took in this week’s Creative Loafing. place in the 1960s. “I think a lot of things came out of that movement that were very MKEMP@CLCLT.COM
ONE OF THE final frontiers of intolerance
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 17, 2017 | 9
LOUISE BONNER
Betsy and Bill Blue (both holding ribbon) at the grand opening of Hopeway Foundation, a step-down facility for those discharged from acute mental health treatment. Alyson R. Kuroski-Mazzei (cutting the ribbon) is HopeWay’s clinical director.
MIND THE GAPS Ordinary folks are helping those who fall through the cracks of Charlotte’s mental health system BY VANESSA INFANZON
R
OBERT JONES, JR., has struggled with depression and anxiety since childhood. His obesity makes it hard for him to work, which adds to his despair. He has attended countless vocational and psychosocial rehabilitation programs over the past 30 years. None have had much effect, he says. In the past six months, Jones has regularly attended the “Drop In” at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in south Charlotte. He doesn’t receive any medical treatment at the St. Luke’s. He 10 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
just hangs out there and socializes with the volunteers and friends he’s made. Jones also values the free groceries offered to him and others who attend the monthly program. Those visits make a difference for someone who doesn’t get out much, Jones says. “I appreciate myself now. Actually being heard a little bit,” he says. “It’s getting out, away from the four walls that we are in.” Sharon Ballard, 51, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 30 years ago. She says St. Luke’s Drop In is a way to connect with
others without the stigma of her condition leading to judgment from others. “People in the neighborhoods are scared of us,” Ballard says. “And we are not really, like, a danger, as the media is starting to produce us as. Really, most of us, if we continue to take our meds and continue to get help, we OK.” According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a nonprofit started by a group of families in 1979, 230,000 adults with mental illness live within a 100-mile radius of Charlotte. In North Carolina, more
than 46 percent of adults with mental illness do not receive treatment, while 19 percent of those who have sought treatment have been unable to get their needs met. Those statistics highlight the effects of stigmas and gaps in services that the mental health community is trying to combat. Although services, information and educational programs have increased over the past three decades, individual citizens asking the question, “What can I do?” have propelled mental health services forward in Charlotte.
NEWS
FEATURE
There are traditional inpatient and outpatient programs provided through area hospitals, and yet large gaps in services still exist. But those individuals with clear visions for change is what has led to innovative programs throughout the Charlotte area. Grassroots campaigns are now being met with broadbased support from the community, which is pushing larger entities such as Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) and Novant Health to join the effort to close the gaps.
THE INTRODUCTION TO mental illness
is usually sudden and traumatic. It can be a family member or friend who attempts suicide, has a manic episode or shows atypical behavior. When it happens, it is frightening and overwhelming — not only to the person suffering but to everyone directly involved. More than three decades ago, Charlotte residents Virginia and Ernest Schumacher’s youngest daughter was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. She was a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill when she had an episode and was hospitalized. A year later, her condition required long-term hospitalization. The experience propelled the Schumachers into a world that was foreign to them. It became clear that services for the mentally ill were minimal. They became advocates, not just for their daughter, but eventually for the mental health community at large. In the late 1980s, they joined NAMI and served on the state and local boards. In 1990, Ernest Schumacher asked his pastor at St. Luke’s, “What could we do for the mentally ill in this community?” The question prompted a series in which speakers from the mental health field would address the congregation, but that wasn’t enough. At the time, there were no options or activities for people suffering from mental illness outside of a clinical setting. Virginia Schumacher knew the community needed activities that would “boost them up, [make them] feel worthy, and know they have something to offer.” In 1991, with the blessing of their congregation, the Schumachers created an innovative program at the church called ‘Drop In.’ Twenty-five years later, they serve 70 to 80 guests on the third Saturday of each month with the help of 10 to 15 volunteers. Guests at the St. Luke’s Drop In arrive at 10 a.m. for a few hours of conversation, lunch, games, art and celebration. Some have been attending for years; others are newcomers. Most receive Social Security disability benefits and live in a group home or subsidized housing. Some bring rolling suitcases for an easier way to transport the crucial free groceries on their bus rides home. They take prescribed medication for any number of mental health issues like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. In recent years, more citizens like the Schumachers whose lives been touched by mental illness have stepped up to help those who may have fallen through the cracks. Linda Phillips is the author of Crazy, a novel about a girl growing up with a mom
suffering from mental illness. Last year, with NAMI’s blessing, she coordinated the opening of Providence Place — a similar program to St. Luke’s Drop In — hosted by Providence United Methodist Church. “It is designed to be a social opportunity for persons with mental health challenges who typically have fallen away from socializing, or socializing has fallen away from them,” Phillips says. Providence Place is held on the first Saturday of each month for people with mental health issues and their families and friends. The program includes a meal, bingo
hospitalization programs attend sessions five days a week, several hours a day, then return home at the end of the day. Such a transition can pose problems if someone is not ready to rejoin society so quickly. “The challenge of discharge,” Bill Blue calls it. “I would say, ‘Discharge to what?’” That experience left the Blues wondering what they could do so other families wouldn’t have to go through what they did. In 2013, they spearheaded the HopeWay Foundation. The goal for the foundation was to build a residential facility for people with mental health illness that would serve as a step-down
Robert Jones, Jr., says the monthly St. Luke’s Drop In he attends is an escape from the monotony of a life spent mostly at his west Charlotte home. RYAN PITKIN
“I appreciate myself now. Actually being heard a little bit. It’s getting out, away from the four walls that we are in.” ROBERT JONES, JR.
and activities such as writing workshops, art, music and icebreakers. Phillips aims to expand the availability of programs there. Similar to Phillips, Charlotte residents Betsy and Bill Blue dove headfirst into the mental health field after a personal experience 10 years ago with a family member who needed care. They learned that once a patient leaves acute care in a locked hospital setting, the person’s care is typically “steppeddown” to an outpatient day program called partial hospitalization. Participants in partial
program for those leaving acute care at a locked hospital facility, while also offering treatment options for those who need help in other ways. Until HopeWay, there was nothing offered for “in-between” acute care and partialhospitalization in Charlotte. Once the Blues formed the idea for the facility, they received overwhelming support. Both Novant Health and CHS jumped on board to help. The Blues raised $27 million dollars through 500 individual donors, family
foundations and Charlotte’s two hospital systems. Accessibility was also important to the founders of HopeWay. A $5 million portion of the endowment is set aside specifically to help with financial aid. HopeWay Foundation opened its doors in December. It is a nonprofit residential and day treatment facility for adults with mental health issues. It is one of only a few places with this level of care in the United States. The programs offer individual treatment plans that include evidence-based care and education. HopeWay incorporates therapies including art, music, recreation and horticulture using a holistic approach. It has a 12-acre campus at 1717 Sharon Road West that includes walking trails; a gym; a greenhouse and gardens; and classrooms for group therapy and community education programs. In the coming months, HopeWay will begin accepting private insurance and offering financial aid.
THE GROWING EFFORTS of local
residents to deinstitutionalize access to mental health programs recalls a similar movement in New York City in the 1960s. Local volunteer Bob Evans was at the front lines of that development. Evans spent most of his career in New York as a public health administrator and therapist. He watched as community outreach programs, clinics and day treatment services replaced the hospitals. The focus changed to access and support. Treatment focused on the patient. “I think a lot of things came out of that movement that were very good. They even did things like storefront psychiatry. It was a very exciting time,” he says. “I think one of the more healthy things that happened is that we tried to make the treatment more accommodating to the patient or the consumer.” Decades later, Evans volunteers his time in the Charlotte mental health community. He is the president of the local chapter of NAMI, which offers free educational programs, support groups and advocacy training. Evans’ reputation as an advocate is widespread, and his knowledge and experience with mental health is valued in the local community. Of the local gaps in services, Evans says, “I think one of the major problems is that the system has been redesigned and dismantled so many times over the past couple of years. So it is hard to get any kind of confidence on the ground. There is no long-term tradition that you can get your claws into, where we can say this is where our roots are.” Evans believes this lack of a foundation introduces fragmentation into the system. There is no clear path for people to follow for help or to participate in comprehensive programs. Of the staff at CHS Behavioral Health, a county program, he says, “[They] work very hard to do the best with what they have.” Evans serves as the link between nonprofit organizations, hospitals and individuals, and says “the relationships with the major institutions like CHS, Novant Health and the county program are all excellent.” Various organizations share resources and information. CHS gives NAMI space in their Randolph facility for monthly trainings and SEE
GAPS P. 12 u
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NEWS
FEATURE
GAPS FROM P.11 t support groups, and CHS currently holds the contract for all services located at the Mecklenburg County Health Department on Billingsley Road. NAMI’s educational coordinator meets with CHS’s program staff on a monthly basis to make sure that NAMI information is getting to consumers in a way that is useful and meaningful. “It helps take the friction out of the system to make it work a lot better,” Evans says.
WITH CERTAIN RESIDENTS inspired
to step up by their own experiences with mental illness, and institutions working together more smoothly than ever, sustained care for the mentally ill is better today. But the stigma brought up by Ballard at a recent Drop In remains prevalent throughout much of society, particularly among those who have never known anyone to experience a mental illness. Ericka Ellis-Stewart is the donor relations specialist at the Charlotte affiliate of Mental Health America (MHA), a nonprofit organization that has been active for more than 80 years. She says the community needs to be better educated about mental health. “Any one of us can be impacted at any given time. We need to give people the tools and the opportunities to talk about mental health in safe spaces,” Ellis-Stewart says. Three years ago, MHA launched Mental Health Matters: It’s Time to Talk. It was a campaign to normalize mental health issues and educate the community. Local people shared their stories in public service announcements, then hosted Coffee Conversations, an hour-long opportunity to open dialogue, break stigmas and provide access to resources. “It is a safe space to talk about what is often considered a taboo subject,” EllisStewart says. Despite MHA’s efforts, the fear of being labeled mentally ill is a critical barrier to getting help. “So many are suffering in silence because the stigma of being judged, the stigma of being discriminated against, the stigma of having people thinking you are crazy,” Ellis-Stewart says. “When in actuality, the prevalence of this health condition is one in five. If you think about that in our community and across the nation, it is a significant number of people that are impacted in any given year. That stigma really prevents people from getting the help that they need.” Ellis-Stewart says it can take eight to 10 years from the onset of the first symptoms for someone to get a diagnosis and treatment. Eight of MHA’s 300 affiliates are in North Carolina. The organization’s primary focus is promoting mental wellness through advocacy, prevention and education. It advocates at the state and federal level, and tracks legislation in real time through 12 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
a grassroots network of 700 people who are ready to take on a legislative call to action. It focuses on topics such as mental health funding, access to mental health services, insurance, Medicaid expansion, treatment, early intervention and confronting criminalization of the mentally ill.
for the large number of suicides among those suffering from mental health issues. MHA is part of a national movement called #B4Stage4, aimed to confront that issue. “That campaign is really about how do we prevent people from waiting until Stage 4, which is the most expensive place to
“It really is designed to be a social opportunity for persons with mental health challenges who typically have fallen away from socializing or socializing has fallen away from them.” LINDA PHILLIPS RYAN PITKIN
Linda Phillips (left, pictured with Carolyn Robinson) started a drop-in called Providence Place that meets once a month at Providence United Methodist Church.
An ongoing stuggle in the mental health field is that many people wait until they are in crisis before seeking help. Stigma leads many people who need help to hide their issues until they’ve reached emergency status. EllisStewart compares it to people waiting to get treatment for diabetes or cancer. She points out that delaying treatment is a major reason
treat people; hospitalization and involuntary commitment. We are working toward early identification, prevention and early intervention,” says Ellis-Stewart. MHA also sponsors a prevention program called Compeer, which has operated in Charlotte for 25 years. It is a companion program similar to a Big Brothers and Big
Sisters program. It matches a volunteer with an adult person struggling with a mental health condition. “The goal is to get them together multiple times over the course of a month,” said Ellis-Stewart. The evidence shows that the friendship reduces the number of hospital visits, increases the chance of compliance to their medication regimen and boosts their quality of life. Jones is involved with a similar programs run through a separate program that he says has been highly effective. “The peer program was the key to turning things around for my recovery. When I got the peer [program], things started taking off. They understand, they listen, they kind of relate to where you are at to the point that you can talk, you learn to trust, you learn to work, you learn to move,” he said.
ANOTHER AREA OF concern that
continues to put those suffering from mental illness in Charlotte at risk is the shortage of psychiatrists in the area and the difficulty of getting an appointment. Once a person leaves acute care at the hospital level, protocol requires that they see a psychiatrist within 10 days. If they’re not able to do so, they will lose their access to crucial medications. Dr. John Santopietro has been the chief clinical officer of behavioral health at CHS and chair of department of psychiatry for the past four years. He acknowledges the shortage of psychiatrists not only in Charlotte, but across the country. “One of the reasons is that up until two years ago, starting in the late 1990s, early 2000s fewer people were going into psychiatry for medical school. The number of students going into psychiatry was declining. Training programs were unfilled,” he says. “In the last two to three years, the pendulum has swung the other way. More people are going into psychiatry.” Santopietro has been interviewing candidates for the first class of residents and says he’s received more than 1,000 applications for three positions in a CHS program beginning at CHS in June 2017. With the number of psychiatrists coming out of programs increasing, Santopietro is more concerned with identifying what kind of psychiatrists are needed. “Places like CHS are building the behavioral health of the future,” he says. “We need psychiatrists that are ready for and excited about the behavioral health of the future because in that system, they will be called upon to do things more so than before; work in multi-disciplinary teams, like being clinical leaders of the team, like working across disciplines, like being comfortable with technology. Telepsychiatry being one example of that.” While the medical field plays catch-up, folks like the Schumachers, who retired from the Drop In in 2014, enjoy seeing what they started continue to flourish. “It’s still going on. That’s what we wanted to see,” Virginia Schumacher says. “We wanted to see that it would continue because we know how desperately it is needed. And that’s what I care about.”
NEWS
BLOTTER
BY RYAN PITKIN
GENIUS A 21-year-old man in southwest Charlotte called police after falling victim to perhaps the most clever marketing ploy ever pulled off in The Blotter. The man told police that he returned home from work one day to find that his house had been broken into. Nothing was stolen or damaged, and the man told officers that the only evidence he could find of someone being in his home was a flyer for an alarm company laying on the table that he knows wasn’t there in the morning. The man said he now felt uneasy after finding the flyer, which is perfect because he’s literally holding the potential solution to his unease in his hands. Time to call the alarm company. GUMBALL 3000 Police responded to a
break-in at a business in west Charlotte last week after someone was desperately seeking some chewing gum. According to the report, someone smashed through the front window of Guaranteed Nails on Freedom Drive, only to grab the gumball machine and make off with it.
TRY VAPING Police responded to an
apartment near UNC Charlotte last week after a couple college students took things too far during an argument about fresh air in their apartment. A 19-year-old student told police that he started arguing with his roommate over the fact that he had been smoking cigarettes inside the apartment. The roommate threatened him in return, however, the report makes clear that nobody was assaulted in the confrontation and the two “went their separate ways,” which is odd because they live together and don’t have separate ways to go.
WATCH YOUR BACK A 67-year-old man in Uptown was left high and not dry last week after reporting that someone had stolen the rear wipers off the back windshield of his Honda Pilot while he slept. BLACK PHILLIP In what appears to be a Blotter first, at least in the eight years I’ve been familiar with the column, a 15-year-old girl in northeast Charlotte reported that someone stole her goat, allegedly carrying it off the property when she was away. DELIVERY SERVICE A 26-year-old man
in west Charlotte was surprised last week when someone brought the party to his house unexpectedly. According to the victim, he was awoken at around 3 a.m. by the sound of something crashing through his window. He went into his living room to find that someone had thrown a liquor bottle through the window, which would normally be great news, except it was empty.
POP OFF Police responded to a road rage incident in east Charlotte after one man pulled a gun on the other, but the officers
were able to call his bluff. The 29-year-old victim told officers that the stranger had pointed the gun at him, which made him fear for his life. The officers seized the gun, only to find that it was just a BB gun all along.
SHANKS FOR NOTHING Over the last two weeks, we’ve reported on a new trend of very young students being caught with knives of varying types on school grounds. This week, more reports surfaced, including a child at Joseph W. Grier Academy being caught with a pocket knife, another pocket knife confiscated from a kid at Croft Community School and a kid at Idlewild Elementary School being found to be in possession of a butter knife after punching a kid on the school bus. For the kicker, a boy at Merry Oaks Elementary was found with a five-pointed throwing star last week. NOSTALGIA A 62-year-old woman who
teaches at a local school received a letter from a former student last week, which would normally be a great gesture, except it seemed this one had a score to settle. The teacher filed a report stating that the former student used expletives toward her in the letter, and while she admitted that no crime was committed, she wanted the incident documented in case he tries to contact her again.
SENSELESS REPORTS A police officer
filed a report last week stating that he found five cents in the back of his vehicle while he was cleaning it out one afternoon. And now here I am including that experience in an actual journalistic publication. It’s a vicious cycle we’re all caught in.
EVENING STROLL Police were called to the intersection of Thomasboro and Glenwood drives in west Charlotte last week after getting reports of a nude woman walking around near the I-85 ramp. Sure enough, officers quickly found the woman easily, as she was standing in the middle of the street, visibly impaired and totally naked. OVERZEALOUS An embarrassed officer
had to file a report on himself after damaging someone’s property last week. According to the report, the officer was knocking on the door of a house in west Charlotte and got a little too aggressive. The officer said he could see people inside that weren’t coming to the door, so his answer was to knock louder on a nearby window, although he knew they already heard him. The intimidation tactic didn’t work, however, and the officer simply knocked through the window, doing $100 in damage when he shattered the one he was knocking on. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 13
NEWS
your delicious weekly alternative news source
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
BY CHUCK SHEPHERD
SUSPICIONS
CONFIRMED Despite California’s 2015 law aimed at improving the fairness of its red-light cameras, the city of Fremont (pop. 214,000, just north of San Jose) reported earning an additional $190,000 more each month last year by shortening the yellow light by two-thirds of a second at just two intersections. Tickets went up 445 percent at one and 883 percent at the other. In November 2016, for “undisclosed reasons,” the city raised the speed limit on the street slightly, “allowing” it to reinstate the old 0.7-second-longer yellow light.
IN THE NEWS Tammy Felbaum surfaced in News of the Weird in 2001 when she, formerly Mr. Tommy Wyda, consensually castrated James Felbaum, her sixth husband. He died of complications, resulting in Tammy’s manslaughter conviction. Among the trial witnesses: a previous spouse, who had also let “expert” Tammy castrate him: “She could castrate a dog in less than five minutes.” Felbaum, now 58, was arrested in February at the Westmoreland County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse after mouthing off at security guards searching her purse. She quipped sarcastically, “I have guns and an Uzi (and) a rocket launcher. I am going to shoot a judge today.” She was in court on a dispute over the installation of a sewer line to her trailer home. COMMON SENSE PREVAILS... Marissa
Alexander of Jacksonville, Florida, convicted and given a 20-year sentence in 2012 for firing a warning shot into a wall to fend off her abusive estranged husband, finally had the charges dropped in February. The persnickety trial judge had earlier determined that Florida’s notorious “Stand Your Ground” law did not apply, even though the husband admitted that he was threatening to rough up Alexander and that she never aimed the gun at him. With that defense not allowed, Alexander was doomed under Florida’s similarly notorious 20-year mandatory sentence for aggravated assault using a gun.
...AND NOT SO MUCH In 2008, Vince Li, a passenger on a Greyhound bus in Canada, stabbed another passenger, then beheaded him and started to eat him, and in 2009 was “convicted” — but “not criminally responsible” because of schizophrenia. He has been institutionalized and under treatment since then, and in February, doctors signed off on an “absolute” release back into society for Li — now known as Will Baker — declining a “conditional” release, which would have required continued monitoring. Manitoba province law requires absolute discharge if doctors conclude, on the “weight of the evidence,” that the patient is no longer a “significant” safety threat. LEGEND Doris Payne, 86, was arrested once 14 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
again for shoplifting — this time at an upscale mall in an Atlanta suburb in December — but according to a 2013 documentary, “careerwise,” she has stolen more than $2 million in jewelry from high-end shops around the world. No regrets, she said on the film, except “I regret getting caught.” Said her California-based lawyer, “Aside from her ‘activities,’ she is a wonderful person with a lot of fun stories.”
FOR THOSE IN NEED When disaster strikes, well-meaning people are beseeched to help, but relief workers seem always bogged down with wholly inappropriate donations that take additional time and money to sort and store and discard. Instead, all such charities recommend “cash.” A January report by Australia’s principal relief organization praised Aussies’ generosity in spite of recent contributions of high heels, handbags, chain saws, sports gear, wool clothing and canned goods — much of which will eventually go to landfills. Workers in Rwanda reported receiving prom gowns, wigs, tiger costumes, pumpkins and frostbite cream. LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS (1) Alvin Neal, 56, is merely the most recent bank robber to begin the robbery sequence (at a Wells Fargo branch in San Diego) after identifying himself to a teller. He had already swiped his ATM card through a machine at the counter. He was sentenced in January. (2) Also failing to think through their crime was the group of men who decided to snatch about $1,200 from the Eastside Grillz tooth-jewelry shop in St. Paul, Minnesota, in February. They fled despite two of them having already provided ID and one having left a mold of his teeth. NO LONGER WEIRD (1) Matthew Mobley, 41, was arrested in Alexandria, Louisiana, in February (No. 77 on his rap sheet) after getting stuck in the chimney of a business he was breaking into. (2) Former postal worker Gary Collins, 53, of Forest City, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in February to having hoarded deliverable U.S. mail as far back as 2000. He is far from the worst mail hoarder, by volume, that News of the Weird has mentioned. LUCKY
ANIMALS In December, a 400-pound black bear at the Palm Beach, Florida, zoo named Clark got a root canal from dentist Jan Bellows, to fix a painful fractured tooth.
A NEW BEGINNING In January, a pet ferret named Zelda in Olathe, Kansas, received a pacemaker from Kansas State University doctors, who said Zelda should thus be able to live the ferret’s normal life span.
DOING WORK In January, an overly prolific male African tortoise named Bert, of Norwich,
England, who had developed arthritis from excessive “mounting,” was fitted with wheels on the back of his shell to ease stress on his legs.
CONSIDER RELOCATING In January,
another vehicle flew off a Parkway West exit ramp in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, plowing into the Snyder Brothers Automotive parking lot. It was the eighth car to do so in nine years.
SIXTH TIME’S A CHARM Leonard Miller,
88, once again (for the fifth time) picked up the pieces in January from his Lanham, Maryland, home after a speeding car smashed into it.
NO EXPLANATION “I grew up fishing
with my dad,” Alabaman Bart Lindsey told a reporter, which might explain why Lindsey likes to sit in a boat in a lake on a lazy afternoon. More challenging is why, and how, he became so good at the phenomenon that turned up in News of the Weird first in 2006: “fantasy fishing,” handing in a perfect card picking the top eight competitors in the Fishing League Worldwide Tour event in February on Lake Guntersville. “It can be tricky,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of research.”
GET INSIDE ME Each December, Deadspin
reviews public records of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to compile a list of items that caused emergency-room visits when they somehow got stuck inside people. Highlights from 2016: In the nose (raisin, plastic snake, magnets in each nostril); throat (pill bottle, bottle cap, hoop earring); penis (sandal buckle, doll shoe, marble); vagina (USB adapter, “small painting kit,” heel of a shoe); and rectum (flashlight, shot glass, egg timer, hammer, baseball, ice pick “to push hemorrhoids back in”).
ARMED AND CLUMSY Men (women
rarely appear here) who accidentally shot themselves recently: Hunter Richardson, 19, Orange, Massachusetts, December (testing an iced-over lake with the butt end of his muzzleloader). Three unnamed boys (ages 15, 15 and 16), Williamson County, Illinois, January (shot themselves with the same shotgun while “preparing” to go hunting). Suspected convenience store robber, Cleveland, Ohio, July (the old waistband-for-a-holster mishap, shot to the “groin”). James Short, 72, New Carlisle, Ohio, September (reached for his ringing phone in his dentist’s waiting room but instead yanked out his gun). Andrew Abellanosa, 30, Anchorage, Alaska, November (shot himself in the leg in a bar, twice in the same sequence). A 50-year-old man, Oshawa, Ontario, February (making a Valentine’s necklace out of a bullet by pulling it apart with vice grips).
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 15
FOOD
FEATURE
KEEPING THINGS FRESH Julia Simon’s Nourish Charlotte turns five and looks to expand BY RYAN PITKIN
I
I MET JULIA Simon in her company kitchen in southeast Charlotte on a Saturday morning, just as she finished getting a group of about four employees prepped for the day’s work. What’s the work, you ask? Just to cook about 50 pounds of casserole, for one. Simon i s the founder of Nourish Charlotte, a 100-percent vegan and glutenfree food delivery service. Her and her 12 employees spend every Friday prepping an ungodly amount of ingredients for the Saturday cook. On Monday and Tuesday, they hit the streets to deliver around 100 custom-made orders to Charlotte-area vegans. Simon, a vegan since being exposed to the effects of factory farming by the folks in Food Not Bombs at age 13, founded Nourish as a way to help cultivate the growing popularity of veganism among those who may be too busy to locate and cook the right style of food on a daily basis. “Charlotte was a place where I feel like the kind of food I love to make and I love to eat, there wasn’t very much of it,” said Simon, a graduate of the National Gourmet Institute in New York City. She began a blog called No Faceplate, which became popular among Charlotte’s ever-growing vegan crowd. “I feel like a lot of this is Northerners or people who aren’t native Charlotteans coming from other places and kind of looking for this kind of food; light, planetaware, locally aware, organic food.” Simon had always planned on opening up a business of some sort in Charlotte, so launching one aimed at catering to that crowd was the logical next step. Nourish Charlotte turns 5 next month, so Creative Loafing dropped by the office last weekend to see what’s been cooking over that half-decade and what big plans are in store (literally) for the future. Creative Loafing: How have things changed for you in the five years you’ve been in business? Julia Simon: When we launched we were one of three meal delivery services in Charlotte, so that was kind of a new niche at the time. People didn’t want to go out to eat, didn’t want to get take out and wanted healthier options than maybe were available 16 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
JAKE YOUNT
Coconut and fresh corn risotto, peach BBQ oyster mushrooms and kimchi slaw from Nourish Charlotte. from the cold bar at Harris Teeter. These are busy people that do not have the time to cook but are somewhat health aware. And so that niche market was born. There are now, by my count, 14 meal delivery services. So we’ve held our ground, but growth has definitely been an effort. We’re still the only 100-percent vegan, 100-percent gluten free, but it’s been interesting to watch that explode here. I think we’ve done a pretty good job. We now ship statewide, to kind of open the market up a little bit. But it’s been a surprise to see it explode so quickly. The first two years we were in business, we grew by hundreds of percents each year because there wasn’t much else around. But holding our ground since then has definitely taken some marketing effort. What’s the day-to-day like here at the office? [Saturday] is our big cook day. So Fridays we do a lot of vegetable chopping, we do a lot of slicing and cutting and getting everything ready. Saturday we do most of the cooking, so we’ll make 50 pounds of lasagna, we’ll
make a ton of soups. Today, we’re doing a “TuNo” noodle casserole, so instead of tuna fish and a creamy sauce like your grandma used to make, we’re doing our TuNo salad, which is chickpea-based, and doing a beautiful cream of mushroom that’s been creamed with cashews to set the casserole with brown rice pasta and topping it with cashew parmesan. We are making 110 servings of TuNo noodle, so probably about 50 pounds of stuff, and then that gets packaged with a little side order of broccoli. We do soups, we do salads, we do breakfasts. We just launched a seeded milk, so we’ll do these beautiful nut or seed milks that you can use as a dairy alternative and those are available on our menu. We do smoothies. We do raw, dehydrated cereals and granolas. We do all kinds of things. What are some favorites for you in the kitchen? I’ll tell you why we do things like lasagna. Did I envision making lasagna every week as a chef? No. But I do love making our lasagnas because I know they’re one of the
TEPHRA/NOURISH COLLABORATION DINNER March. 15, 7-10 p.m.; Goodyear Arts, 516 N. College St. Nourish: 855-4423663. nourishcharlotte.com.
best arguments out there for how delicious and stick-to-your-ribs and comforting vegan food can be. And I think we’re still having that conversation a lot in Charlotte. People are far more aware than they were five years ago, but it’s still uncomfortable for some. I love that we can catch them when they’re curious, and show them beautiful things and tantalize their taste buds and really satisfy them. How does this bulk cooking style change things compared to more traditional culinary operations? When you look at the margins for Nourish, it does not line up with normal restaurant
margins; it just doesn’t. We spend a ton of money on food. When I tell other restaurant owners how much our food spend is, their jaws just drop. Because organic produce is very expensive, and we try to support local farms the best we can. It would be much cheaper for us to have a US Foods account and just get everything crated from wherever it comes from, but we try very, very hard to hold to our nutritional standards when we buy produce and that just means we spend a lot. Then we also spend a lot on payroll, because there’s very little on the market that I’m comfortable with us purchasing. So everything is made in house except for miso and mustard. We do vegetable stocks from scratch. All of our cheeses that we make, we make in house. The reason that we go to the trouble of making seed milk every week is because there’s nothing on the market that I’m comfortable using. I don’t like shelf stabilizers. I think you can do better for your body and that’s part of the reason why we’re here and why we spend the time to do that.
RYAN PITKIN
Julia Simon in the kitchen at Nourish Charlotte
How do you go about making seed milk? You rinse and soak organic seeds — we like sunflower and pepita seeds because they have a lot of iron and folate and things that vegans might have a harder time coming by — and then you basically use a variety of different organic flavorings. We like to sweeten ours with organic dates and a little bit of organic vanilla and a little bit of sea salt, and then you basically just puree and strain. You have to use these very, very fine mesh bags and just get in there and milk the nut, milk the seeds. As far as businesses, how have you seen the availability for vegan foods grow in your time here? We’re still on a wave that started about when Nourish launched five or six years ago. Elle Erickson was running a cleanse called Three Weeks to Wellness. I know everybody because all of us were either part of that or chefs for that, and some of us were in super start-up mode around that time, too. A lot of bits and pieces of the vegan community — Viva Raw who we share this kitchen with, for example — started and did a lot of work at the beginning with the people doing these cleanses. So I feel like that’s the wave that we’re riding right now, and those are established businesses that are mid-sized to small. Then there’s this new wave of Move That Dough [Baking Co.], Tephra, Terra Flora; a couple of pop-up people who are kind of just getting into it. And then there are operations like Luna’s or Fern that are a little older and even more established than us midsized businesses. So there’s an interesting graduation process that I feel like the vegan community is going through in town. You guys sound like a tight group. I would say this about the vegan community, it’s pretty tightly knit. If you’re not supportive of each other, there’s really not room for you. That’s really beautiful. I think as it’s grown, and I’m very proud of us, we tend to be very supportive of each other. It’s very anti-capitalist. It ends up being a lot of scratching each other’s backs or, “Do you have any of this?” or “I need a little space to cook something, do you mind?” It’s very back and forth, very shared resources and I
“I would say this about the vegan community: it’s pretty tightly knit. If you’re not supportive of each other, there’s really not room for you. That’s really beautiful. I think as it’s grown, and I’m very proud of us, we tend to be very supportive of each other. It’s very anti-capitalist.” JULIA SIMON, FOUNDER OF NOURISH CHARLOTTE
think despite it growing 500 percent over the last few years we’ve maintained that kind of friendship and camaraderie and community, and I’m very proud of that. What are your plans moving forward? We’re talking about moving into a retail space and diversifying this year because it seems like that’s the path for us. I think our food would do beautifully on a plate in a place. When we package stuff, we basically trust that the customer is not just sticking everything in the microwave and hitting 3 minutes. We have all these precise reheating instructions so that it’s as delicious as can be, but we don’t know if they’re following them. So you would be serving food, then, like a restaurant? Yeah, but we’re not going for like a fivestar restaurant. We want something beautiful and comfortable well-designed but not pretentious. I think what we try to shoot
for with Nourish is incredibly gorgeous food that makes you feel very nourished and is beautifully sourced and is extremely ethically put together that nourishes people that work here, our local economy and local farmers. We have this big vision but we don’t want to make that vision unapproachable, and that’s the whole point. How far along is your vision, here? I see it well-lit. I see beautiful sunlight trickling in. I see a relatively minimal front of house. I don’t think we’re ready for a huge operation. We’ve got beautiful people on staff that are comfortable on the line and that will be the learning curve — so a small, casual café. We’re still in the investor phase and talking to people that want to give us money. So once we know what we have then we’ll now exactly what we can do. Do you have a location in mind? We’re looking at Elizabeth and there are a
couple other neighborhoods that I think are underserved with vegan food. I think South End is pretty saturated. Plaza Midwood is just expensive. So we’ll see where we end up. You have a pop-up collabo dinner with Tephra on March 15. What can folks expect there? Shawn Harrison is Tephra, and he actually just moved to Savannah to open up Savannah’s first vegan café, but he’s just a friend of mine, a cohort. I just love Sean’s food. I believe in Sean, I think his food is lovely and I think it pairs beautifully with what we do, too. So much so that we’re not just going to do where he takes a course and I take a course. We’re going to share the main course which is typically not done. Chefs are a little weird about sharing plates. But especially since we’re going to cook together in this kitchen in the days leading up to the event, I know we can figure it out and I’m sure it will be fabulous and delicious. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 17
FOOD
FEATURE PHOTO BY ARI LEVAUX
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE Whip up some eggs and tomato sauce
SHAKSHUKA A LA ABE RISHO
BY ARI LEVAUX
Ingredients 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 onion, julienne 2 clove garlic, sliced thin 1 tbls Aleppo pepper 1 tbls tomato paste 1/4 cup white wine 3 cup whole peeled (san marzano) tomatoes, crushed in hand 2 each red bell pepper; roasted, peeled, seeded, julienne 2 tsp salt 2 tbls paprika, smoked (I have also used baharat, a turkish pepper blend) 6 each eggs flat leaf parsley
S
AY, HYPOTHETICALLY, you find yourself hosting some Syrian or Mexican folk. No big deal, just a typical, impromptu late-winter brunch in some sunny Dilworth kitchen. But suppose the pantry is running on empty, and all you have to cook are eggs, and some kind of tomato sauce. Just suppose. Now the gang must decide: Should we have our tomatoes and eggs Mexican, Syrian or American-style? Eggs, cooked with tomato sauce, or served with tomato sauce, is universal. The Portuguese version is called baked eggs on tomato sauce. Southern Italians call it Uova al Purgatorio, which literally means Purgatory eggs, and consists of eggs poached in marinera. If the guests are especially hungry, the host won’t have time for complicated “ethnic” dishes. Scrambled eggs with ketchup will have to do, and some home fries with which to mop it up if one can scrounge up a potato. Some Tabasco sauce, ideally, and perhaps some cheese or mayo. You got this. Make sure there’s plenty of hot grease in the pan — I like half and half XVOO and butter. Don’t overstir; don’t overcook. As I cook it, I hum that old John Prine song about the girl who likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs. “She don’t like her eggs all runny / She thinks crossing her legs is funny / She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs / Swears like a sailor when she shaves her legs / She’s my baby, I’m her honey, never gonna let her go.” The Mexicans, of course, have their huevos rancheros, which consist of fried eggs on tortilla, with salsa. This dish is only a little more complicated to make than scrambled eggs with ketchup. Especially if you employ my gringo-tastic rancheros method technique. First, fry an egg, preferably with a runny yolk and crispy bottom. Remove the egg from the pan, and set aside on a plate. In a mixture of butter and olive oil, fry some minced garlic and onion. As soon as that becomes fragrant, throw in a few hands full of corn chips, and stir them around in the hot grease. Dump in some salsa, and stir it around some more. (You can use flat corn tortillas if you want to be more authentic. But don’t stir those. Lay them flat). When the salsa has heated up and is simmering, replace the egg(s) atop the chips, 18 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
sprinkle the entire business with cheese, and put a lid on the pan, so the steam from the simmering salsa melts the cheese. Don’t overcook the egg though. The corn chips will soak up the salsa, cheese, runny yolk, and whatever else you added; it’s a total pan-scraper of a dish. But if you do an internet search for, say, “eggs tomato sauce,” about half the returns will be for shakshuka, a North African and Middle Eastern version and the tomato-egg combo that is popular across North Africa, from Morocco to Israel, Egypt to Iraq. My friend Chef Abe Risho comes from a long line of distinguished Syrian cooks, and he served shakshuka for years to an adoring audience at Silk Road, his former restaurant
(Risho and family run a mail-order spice and sauce business). He was kind enough to give me the shakshuka recipe that rocked Missoula. The crushed Aleppo pepper Risho calls for can be purchased online. This is only slightly at odds with the fact that shakshuka is, at heart, a recipe you should be able to create from whatever sparse provisions are on hand, providing they include eggs and some form of tomato. So, order some Aleppo pepper. But while you wait for it to arrive you can work on your shakshuka game by standing on Abe’s shoulders.
Proceedure 1) Make an oven sauce, ideally in a shallow cast iron skillet by heating the pan in a hot oven 475F. add oil, onion, garlic and Aleppo pepper and cook until starting to caramelize. 2) Add tomato paste and try to emulsify, cook until starting to brown. 3) Add wine and cook to reduce to a thick sauce. Add crushed tomatoes, peppers, and spices and simmer until thick and aromatic. 4) By this time the oil should be starting to separate on top of the sauce. Make 6 wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon or ladle. Drop an egg into each well and return to the oven. Cook until egg white is cooked but the yolk is still runny (sunny side up). 5) Remove from oven, sprinkle on a good feta or farm cheese if using and top with torn parsley In the Arabic of the North African region, shakshouka means “a mixture.” This is an appropriate name for a dish that moves freely across borders, hybridizing with the local flavors wherever it arrives. It was the Tunisian Jews that brought the dish to Israel, and it makes you wonder how many other cultures a pan of shakshuka could bind together, through the universal combination of tomatoes and eggs.
FOOD
THREE-COURSE SPIEL
KEEP CREOLIN’ Three questions with Gwen Square of Mae’s Creole Kitchen DEBRA RENEE SETH
THROUGH THE COOL, spring breeze and
the slow stream of traffic heading Uptown for lunch, the scent of cayenne pepper, flour and special Creole seasonings fills the air. It’s Food Truck Friday in Charlotte and Gwen Square and her three sons — Montero, Darrel and Derrick — are gearing up for yet another busy shift inside Mae’s Creole Kitchen, their family owned food truck. Sure, there’s usually half a dozen other trucks around on days like these and some even have similiar offerings but the difference between Square’s truck and all the rest is the genuine Creole flavor. The daughter of French, Native American and Spanish parents was taught to cook by her mother at the age of 11 and by the time she was 13 it was her full responsibility to prepare all her family’s meals. Fast forward to 2017 and Square has not only passed the Creole tradition down to her own children and grandchildren but is also sharing the spicy southern flavors with locals. Her truck has served thousands all over the Carolinas and after 3 years is still going strong. We headed over to Mae’s to find out how they keep their truck rolling. Creative Loafing: So lets get this straight: your mother trained you to cook for 2 years and then turned all the reins over to you at age 13? Tell us more. Gwen Square: (Laughs) Yes, my mother showed me all the secrets to great Creole cooking step by step starting back when I was 11. Then when I turned 13 she was like, “Okay, it’s your job now and I’m going to pay you to do it. So she paid me $10 a week, which back in those days was a lot of money, and I cooked everything from jambalaya to gumbo. You name it, I made it, and that’s how I became good at it. Cooking was truly my first job and I made enough money from my mom to buy my very first car at graduation, a beautiful lime green Ford Pinto (laughs). This was back in the ‘70s, so yeah, I was styling. Your business is a family affair. What is everyone’s role and how did you build to that point? Well, we decided to start the truck back in 2014. One day my son Darrel, who already frequented food trucks, came up to me and said he really thought we should consider starting a truck of our own. From there we
had a family meeting and all of us agreed it was a great idea so we put a plan in motion. I come up with all the recipes and cook our special creole dishes. My son Montero handles all the maintenance and cleaning. My other two sons, Darrel and Derrick, do all the frying. My two daughters-in-law handle all the marketing and even my little granddaughter Peneleope who’s 3 comes by for visits. So yes, everyone in the family is very involved. We’ve seen people literally flag your customers down to ask about your Creole fried shrimp and other dishes. What the heck is it that makes your food so addictive and enticing? Well, it all starts with good high quality seafood and also the right seasonings and flavors. Anybody can fry shrimp but if you want food that’s going to keep people coming back you have to have great ingredients and extra care. With our shrimp, we always use the best seafood sources possible and then comes the family secret. We use a blend of Louisiana batter and local batter along with other spices to add layers of flavor. When you see people using cocktail and tarter sauce you know something’s wrong. With good shrimp you don’t need all that. At the end of the day the job is not easy, but with a little revamping, a little hard work and a whole lotta love, my family and I will be serving Charlotte for many years to come.
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 19
THURSDAY
9
GAME OF THRONES CONCERT EXPERIENCE What: According to a recent accidental leak from one of the show’s stars, we’re still five months from the premiere of season seven of Game of Thrones. While you wait, you could head to Spectrum Center for the ultimate teaser, featuring an 80-piece orchestra, choir and 807 linear feet of video walls. The event is headlined by Ramin Djawadi, the composer who scored the theme song that still gives us butterflies every time. When: 8 p.m. Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. More: $90-250. gameofthronesconcert.com.
20 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
THURSDAY
9
WINE TO WATER LAUNCH PARTY What: This Boone-based nonprofit is dedicated to providing clean water to those in need around the world, and now they’re launching a Charlotte chapter. Show up to Sycamore to learn more about the organization’s goal to provide clean water to 1,000,000 people by 2019. There will be raffle drawings every 10 minutes and DJ Jazzy Jimmy — yes, from the old school Dixie’s Tavern — will be spinning on site. That’s one way to get off to a fresh start. When: 6-9 p.m. Where: Sycamore Brewing, 2161 Hawkins St. More: Free. winetowater.org.
THINGS TO DO
TOP TEN
Run the Jewels TUESDAY
COURTESY OF BIZ3 PUBLICITY
THURSDAY
9
FRIDAY
10
WOMEN PLAYING HAMLET
JACKIE VENSON
What: With their commitment to empowering women, Donna Scott Productions and Chickspeare have long been on the same artistic page, but this is the first time they’ve joined forces to produce a show. When an actress auditions for Ophelia, but lands the plum role of Hamlet instead, Women Playing Hamlet gives ”to be, or not to be” a new spin, questioning the roles that are expected of us vs. the ones we choose.
What: The cool thing about the blues that Austin singer-guitarist Jackie Venson plays is that it’s hardly your typical white-boy barband exercise in rehashed Chicago riffs. Classically trained with a Berklee School of Music degree in composition and studio production, Venson has a sweet, ethereal, but husky vocal lilt, uses looped pedal steel, and generally comes at the time-honored blues form from an experimental singer-songwriter’s perspective.
When: 8 p.m.; Runs through March 25 Where: Charlotte Art League, 1517 Camden Rd. More: $22-28. donnascottproductions.com.
When: 8 p.m. Where: Morehead Tavern, 300 E. Morehead St. More: $10-$15. moreheadtavern.com
SATURDAY
11
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PUB CRAWL What: For 17 years, Rich & Bennett have kicked off their now infamous bar crawl season with this sea-ofgreen romp through Uptown. The party lot across from 7th Street Market will be rocking from noon to 3 o’clock before somewhere around 20,000 people — all wearing custom-made t-shirts — will take to the streets in a booze-fueled escapade. A $20 bill gets you fre cover at all participating bars, a tee, a koozie and the chance to make drunken history. When: 12-10 p.m. Where: Pub Crawl Party Lot, 219 E. 7th St. More: $20. richandbennett.com.
Women Playing Hamlet THURSDAY
NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS
Jackie Venson FRIDAY PHOTO BY TODD WOLFSON
PHOTO BY WELDON WEAVER
SATURDAY
11
HOUSINGFEST What: An Urban Ministry Centersponsored concert devoted to ending homelessness in Charlotte, Housingfest returns for its third year – and its second at the Fillmore. In contrast to last year’s all day, multi-act affair, Housingfest 2017 focuses on a more compact bill. Headliners St. Paul and the Broken Bones can be counted on to tear up the joint with their gospel-tinged, garage-soul. Opener Aaron Lee Tasjan’s bluesy country rock has drawn favorable comparisons to Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman. When: 8 p.m. Where: Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $27. housingfest.org.
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
11
TRIBUTE TO LEONARD COHEN
12
MONDAY
13
TUESDAY
14
SON VOLT
KODO: DADAN 2017
RUN THE JEWELS
What: There’s a lot more to the late Leonard Cohen than the majestic — and oft-covered — “Hallelujah.” For one, there is the masterpiece of erotic despair “One of Us Cannot be Wrong,” which gives this benefit concert its name. Raising funds for Free Arts for Abused Children, a charity that helps restore hope and resiliency to young people, local acts including Farewell Albatross and Blanket Fort will delve into the overflowing catalog of this enigmatic and literate artist.
What: As cofounder of Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar brought the spit and grit to the post-punk band that led the alternativecountry movement of the early ’90s, which inspired later acts like N.C.’s own Whiskeytown to blend the ’60s hippie country and folk of Gram Parsons and Neil Young with the spirit of punk. But while Farrar’s partner in Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, went more experimental with Wilco, Farrar’s Son Volt has maintained the country-folk stylings of his original band.
What: Melody’s fine, but the real heartbeat of music is percussion. Kodo, founded in 1981, explores the expressive sounds made on traditional Japanese taiko drums. The group gets its name from the Japanese word for heartbeat, but “kodo” also means “children of the drum,” referring to a mother’s heartbeat. The group tours relentlessly — some 3,700 performances on all five continents in the past quarter-century — so here’s your chance to catch them.
What: Everyone’s favorite Bernie Bro has joined forces with rapper and producer El-P for what has in recent years become the most powerful hip-hop duo since Outkast, and they’re finally coming to Charlotte. We stand behind any hardcore rap group that will release a cat-themed album, as Run the Jewels did with Meow the Jewels, a favorite in the CL office. Their new release, Run the Jewels 3, was also everything we hoped for. This is the can’t-miss show of the year so far.
When: 8 p.m. Where: Petra’s, 919 Commonwealth Ave. More: $10. petrasbar.com.
When: 8 p.m. Where: The Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. More: $20-$25. visulite.com.
When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. More: $19.50-$49. blumenthalarts.com.
When: 8-11 p.m. Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $34.50. fillmorecharlottenc. com.
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 21
ARTS
FEATURE
LONELY HEARTS CLUB Charlotte Lit celebrates Carson McCullers BY JASMIN HERRERA
T
HE SOUTHERN GOTHIC
novelist Carson McCullers was just 20 when she got married, moved to Charlotte, and began writing her most famous work, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. McCullers’ debut novel, released in 1940, is about the life of a deaf mute and a bunch of misfits. It’s set in a small Georgia mill town likely inspired by the Dilworth neighborhood she lived in at the time. The book shot to the top of bestsellers lists and nearly three decades later became an award-winning film starring Alan Arkin, Sondra Locke and Cicely Tyson. Had she lived, McCullers would have celebrated her 100th birthday last month, and Charlotte’s literary community will be paying homage to the city’s best-known author throughout 2017. One organization with plans to honor McCullers’ centennial is the Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, better known as Charlotte Lit, which celebrated its own one-year anniversary on McCullers birthday, Feb. 19. Co-founder Kathie Collins says the two events dovetail perfectly. “[The Heart is a Lonely Hunter] is a classic, it’s really a great thing that Charlotte can claim,” Collins says. “What Carson McCullers has done in that book is phenomenal in terms of trying to explain human nature.” Charlotte Lit’s year-long Carson McCullers Centennial Initiative and Celebration began in January, but really kicked into gear at the organization’s featured event last month at Copper, an Indian restaurant housed in the historic Mayer House on East Boulevard. McCullers wrote a large portion of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in the Mayer House, built by Edward Dilworth Latta’s construction company. In 1936, when McCullers lived in Charlotte, the house was a boarding residence. “She is probably the most famous author to have lived in Charlotte,” Collins said.
COLLINS APPRECIATES AUTHORS,
famous or otherwise. In 2015, she opened August Moon Creative Co-op, a workspace where readers and writers could meet over their shared love of literature. It became the launching pad for her and co-founder Paul Reali’s Charlotte Lit, which opened its 22 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
PHOTO OF CARSON MCCULLERS COURTESY OF COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY’S CARSON MCCULLERS CENTER FOR WRITERS AND MUSICIANS IN GEORGIA.
doors on the third floor of Central Avenue’s Midwood International and Cultural Center last February. The space — with writing desks, good
lighting and ample room for author readings, discussions and workshops on all aspects of writing — would be the kind of place McCullers might have attended or conducted
a workshop or reading. Collins says she was not personally influenced by McCullers in her own early years as a writer. “I had read her work many
CARSON MCCULLERS EVENTS Film Screening of “Reflections in a Golden Eye”
Panel Discussion: The History of Her Stories
In partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Charlotte Film Society, Charlotte Lit will be screening the movie adaptation of McCuller’s 1941 novel. March 19, 2 p.m.; Charlotte Mecklenburg’s Main Library, 310 North Tryon St. Free.
In partnership with Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte Lit will present a panel discussion of McCullers’ work at the literature festival Sensoria. April 4, 9:30 a.m.; Central Campus Overcash Center, 1201 Elizabeth Ave. Free.
Staged Reading of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”
Book Discussion of “The Member of the Wedding”
Select scenes from Rebecca Gilman’s stage play based on McCullers’ 1940 debut novel will be performed by PaperHouse Theatre. March 24-25, 8 p.m. and March 26, 5 p.m.; FROCK Shop, 901 Central Ave. Donation.
As part of their weekly Wednesdays@Lit events, Kathie Collins will lead a discussion of “The Member of the Wedding,” published in 1946. April 19, 7 p.m.; Charlotte Lit Studios, 1817 Central Ave. #302. Free- $5.
Film Screening of “The Member of the Wedding” In partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Charlotte Film Society, Charlotte Lit will screen the movie adaptation of her 1946 novel. April 1, 2 p.m.; Charlotte Mecklenburg’s Main Library, 310 North Tryon St. Free.
years ago, like in high school, early college, but really, to be honest, hadn’t focused on it,” Collins says. “My mother, who’s not really a big reader at all, sent me [The Heart is a Lonely Hunter]. It had been on her shelf. She said, ‘I love this book, I want you to read it.’ “Her work has been powerful in this last year since I’ve picked it back up,” she admits.
SELECTING MCCULLERS, Reali says,
goes along with the discussion component Charlotte Lit focuses on. “What we like to do is bring these ideas that are in these books and use these works as a springboard for the conversations we all need to have,” he says. “One of the reasons I think we decided to adopt Carson McCullers for the entire year was that the themes in the book are all still
relevant,” Reali adds. “And some of them were actually, I think, groundbreaking at the time. “It’s subtle in the book, but there are issues of gender identity, gender fluidity and possibly sexual orientation. That was just not really written about during that time,” Reali says. “There’s also race and class and disability and religion. These are all in this book and all relevant today.” Among the events scheduled for Charlotte Lit’s McCullers Initiative are several book and film events based on the author’s works, as well as a panel discussion called “The History of Her Stories” at Central Piedmont Community College (see sidebar for more such events). Central Piedmont college hosts a yearly celebration of literature and the arts called Sensoria, founded in 1993 as the Spring Literary Festival by Irene Blair Honeycutt. Honeycutt was Collins’ mentor and editor of her collection of poems. “She’s been a good friend and founding
Charlotte Lit’s McCullers themed events currently continue through October. They will be adding more book discussions and are planning for two additional high-profile events. Visit charlottelit.org/carsonmccullers for tickets and updated event information.
member of Charlotte Lit,” Collins says. Among the events happening during the week-long Sensoria fest, Charlotte Lit will present Honeycutt with its annual award named in her honor — the Irene Blair Honeycutt Distinguished Lecturer — to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival she launched. “It all comes back to community,” Reali says. “We sometimes say very specific things like, ‘We exist to educate and engage readers and writers.’ In all of this we are building community through the literary arts. And a lot of that just requires putting people in the same space together.” “And putting a good book in front of them,” adds Collins. Might we suggest The Heart is a Lonely Hunter? BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
“THERE ARE ISSUES OF GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER FLUIDITY AND POSSIBLY SEXUAL ORIENTATION. THERE’S ALSO RACE AND CLASS AND DISABILITY AND RELIGION. THESE ARE ALL IN THIS BOOK AND ALL RELEVANT TODAY.” PAUL REALI ON MCCULLERS’ THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 23
ARTS
FILM
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD X-MEN Logan’s run ends with a stumble across the finish line BY MATT BRUNSON
I
T’S TOO EARLY to make a definitive declaration, but the R rating handed down by the MPAA to last year’s Deadpool might end up being the worst thing to ever happen to comic-book movies. Certainly, Deadpool earned its R, and it wore it well: Everything about the film was gleefully over the top, and the tongue-inbloody-cheek attitude matched the gore that smoothly flowed like wine at a sommeliers’ convention. But the massive success of that film has emboldened studios to eye the R when making more superhero flicks, and, in the case of Logan (**1/2 out of four), that turns out to be an unfortunate development. Set in the year 2029, the movie explores a landscape in which practically all mutants have died off and (shades of Children of Men) no new ones have been born in approximately a quarter-century. The only ones who apparently remain are Logan (Hugh Jackman), toiling away as a limo driver near the U.S./Mexico border — oddly, no wall seems to exist — Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), now suffering from dementia, and Caliban (Stephen Merchant), tasked with looking after the former Professor X. But when the gang comes into contact with Laura (Dafne Keen), a little girl who, like Logan, also has the ability to sprout claws and shish-kabob the opposition, it’s clear that the mutant lifestyle isn’t as extinct as presumed. Spurred on by Laura and with Xavier tossed into the back seat, Logan hightails it to a presumed safe haven in Canada, dogged every step of the way by a despicable scientist (Richard E. Grant) and his bumbling minions. Superhero sagas have occasionally opted to go deeper and darker (The Dark Knight, for instance), but Logan elects to take the full plunge into pitch-black nihilism. It’s Stan Lee by way of Cormac McCarthy, but the end result suffers from its own sense of selfimportance. There’s little joy to be had in the experience of watching the movie, with director James Mangold (who also helmed The Wolverine) more interested in serving up groovy kills for the gamers than anything more substantive. Since the first X-Men film in 2000, moviegoers have spent 17 years knowing that Logan/Wolverine has no problem with killing, yet Logan, with its 24 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
FOX
Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman in Logan newfound ratings freedom, treats it like a fresh fact. Innocents and evildoers alike are slaughtered with reckless abandon, and the end result makes Natural Born Killers look like The Sound of Music by comparison. Except that Oliver Stone piece at least had purpose behind its gruesomeness — particularly the manner in which this country mindlessly cheers on anybody who can pass as a celebrity. In contrast, the violence in Logan only has the purpose of making 12-yearold kids all that more determined to sneak into the auditorium. At any rate, those who enjoyed watching Keanu Reeves shoot people through the head approximately 400 times in John Wick: Chapter Two will especially enjoy watching Logan stick his claws through people’s skulls approximately 400 times here. Naturally, fanboys who live and die by the hype will love the picture — heck, it
won’t even occur to them that they’re allowed to register any feelings other than absolute worship — but more discerning viewers will note that even the plotline isn’t particularly fresh. The evil scientist portrayed by Grant and a swaggering henchman played by Boyd Holbrook come straight from Generic Casting 101 — the film is crucially missing a worthy villain of note — and when the scripters run out of ideas, they paraphrase Stephen Sondheim and elect to send in the clones. This latter decision renders the action sequences even more rote and less interesting. Still, Logan is extremely well-made — Mangold knows how to frame a shot — and the performances by the leads are topnotch. Jackman, both more wary and more weary than ever in his signature role, is typically excellent — his pain, frustration and tiredness can be felt radiating off the screen.
And Stewart is equally compelling, playing a version of Xavier different than what movie audiences have witnessed before. There, however, rests another problem, one that will bother some (like me) more than others. Professor Charles Xavier is a titan among screen heroes, and it’s unsettling seeing this great character reduced to wasting away in his own piss and vomit while grappling with Alzheimer’s — it’s akin to watching Indiana Jones struggle with putting on his Depends, or James Bond popping out his false teeth before retiring for the night. Some will applaud this direction as bold, but in an era in which the villains have completely taken over our country, it just feels like we need our larger-than-life heroes — even the fictional ones — more than ever.
ARTS
ARTSPEAK
FIRESTARTER Collette Ellis bends flames, dances in the sky and swims like a fish BY GREY REVELL
EATING FIRE is easier than swimming
with a giant fish tail. Just ask Collette Ellis, an aerialist and firebender who recently added mermaid to her list of unconventional talents. She was in the deep end of a pool not long ago, making one final attempt to glide though the water — arms by her sides, propelled by the majestic tail — as gracefully as any other self-respecting sea nymph.Only she hadn’t yet mastered the graceful part. Ellis, who says she’s more comfortable hanging 30 feet above a crowd by her ankles than anywhere underwater, was ready to cry Neptune when. . . “Look Mommy! A mermaid!” A group of children had gathered at the pool’s edge and were pulling on their bemused mom’s sweater, pointing at the lady in the water. Ellis had been discovered — and she had to deliver. “I couldn’t take the tail off in front of the children and ruin their dream of seeing a mermaid,” she says. “And that’s when I actually started to get good at being a mermaid. I don’t know if it was their wanting it so badly and me wanting to do well for them, but I started swimming so much better after they arrived.” Creative Loafing recently sat down for a chat with this Charlotte artist who approaches everything she does with the faith of a child and courage of a soldier — and who never fails to set a room on fire. Creative Loafing: Was fire the gateway to the other forms of ambient performance art that you do? Ellis: Fire definitely took me deeper into the [performance] community, and gave me the courage to try things I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. I would have never gotten on aerial stilts; I would have never done any aerial acrobatics, had I not started with fire. That’s just me, because that was my bigger fear. So now, having conquered that fear, I can proceed forward and nothing seems as frightening. What did you do before you started putting your life in jeopardy for the sake of art? I took a lot of dance classes — not gymnastics or anything, but ballet, jazz, tap, the whole nine yards. So that led to me wanting to do more styles of dance, which led into fire, which led into everything else. So would you say that working with fire is more the hub, and the other things — the mermaid and aerial acts — revolve around that?
PHOTO BY ANDREW DOLAN
Collette Ellis plays with fire. It’s definitely been a hub. Generally, I like to be considered a performance artist, because that doesn’t limit me to one particular field. I enjoy making and sewing costumes. I like to create characters — be it a mermaid, a fire spirit, or a butterfly in the sky. Whatever the character is, I like to make spaces more interesting with my presence.
FREE STUFF! CLCLT.COM/CHARLOTTE/FREESTUFF
What do these kinds of performance bring to your life? I’ve definitely made a lot of friends, and it puts me in a community that helps me to believe in myself and manifest my dreams — no matter how outrageous the dream might be. This whole new mermaid venture happened from a conversation I had with a friend who makes headdresses. She was going to a mermaid’s convention and I said, “Man, I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid. That would be so cool. I can’t believe people do that. That’s a real job for some people?” We left it at that, and later, she sent my husband home from one of his gigs with a mermaid tail. It was like, (laughs) “OK, gauntlet thrown!” Was self-conquest — the opportunity to confront fears and break through them — an aspect of these arts that attracted you to them? It was more like curiosity. I think maybe, on a subliminal level, [conquering fear] may have had something to do with it, but that wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. It was more the curiosity and the “What if?” and “I wonder if I can do that?” factors. Whenever I would see something that would inspire me, it was the question, “If they can do that, I wonder if I can do that? Why not? Let’s see.” Is there a misconception about your profession that you want to clear up? It would be the idea that you have to be predisposed to this to actually be any good at it, and that it’s not open to anyone who wants it. I did not grow up taking any special classes that would have led me down this path. It was through simply wanting to do it and putting in the time and effort. If I’ve made it possible, that means anybody could make it possible, no matter how outlandish it might seem. A lot of times, people think that fire is this little community that’s never going to share, but really, all you have to do is ask — and not be afraid. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 25
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SPORTS
SPOTSHOTS
THE CHARLOTTE ROLLER GIRLS
were back at it on Saturday, March 4, for another season opener at the Grady Cole Center. The Charlotte Roller Girls All Stars took care of business early, taking down the Tallahassee RollerGirls 255-155. The CLTRG’s B-team, the B-Dazzlers, had a rougher go of things, falling to the Carolina RollerGirls Bootleggers from Raleigh by a score of 305-120. Total Lizaster (right, in jacket) skated with CLTRG for 5 years before taking to the sidelines as the All Stars’ coach on Saturday. “Going from an All-Star skater to coach has been incredible. Sure, I wish I was still on the track battling it out with my teammates, but I feel like I bring a unique perepsective to coaching,” Lizaster said following the bout. “With the emotions of being a skater still fresh in my mind, I can have a better understanding of what is going through my players’ heads during the game.” She says she’s confident about the team’s potential as they prepare to cross the country for the Dust Bowl tournament in Bakersfield, California, on March 17. All photos by Ryan Pitkin
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 27
MUSIC
FEATURE
THE ART OF DIVERSIFICATION Chrlotte singersongwriter Jason Jet loves pop and soul BY KIA O. MOORE
J
ASON JET strolls into Nova’s Bakery in Plaza-Midwood on a sunny and oddly warm early March afternoon. His straight posture is perfect showmanship and his gaze is confident as he makes his way to the counter to inspect a smorgasbord of baked treats. The winter sunrays flood the bakery floor in various rectangular shapes, a few of them dancing between the dreadlock ponytail atop Jet’s head as he smiles at the cashier. He orders four small macaroons. One matches his emerald green short-sleeve Lacoste polo shirt. He then walks over to the corner where I am sitting and grabs a chair. With his back to the window, the sunrays continue their dreadlock shadowdance on the table. Jet, 30, is an independent musician raising the pulse and pushing the sound of soul music in Charlotte. He is creating a genre he describes as electric soul, a blend of a smoother style of the vocal crooning you might hear from R&B-rocker Miguel set against the soulful afrofuturistic sounds of a Janelle Monáe album. His most recent album, The Great Escape, is filled with ethereal and spacey music that fits perfectly with his mellow vocals. However, the song that keeps on pulling in new ears is Jet’s uplifting, gospel-tinged, soul-pop tune “Broken Black Faces,” which focuses on sending uplifting messages to those impacted by the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Jet says he wrote the song from a place of love. In actuality, his entire oeuvre is about sending a message that we are all real human beings. From noon to about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, Jett will perform an intimate, stripped-down version of his music in the After Hours Lounge in the Cone University Center at UNC Charlotte. “Unplugged ft. Jason Jet” is a free concert. Today, though, Jet has come to Nova Bakery to share his life journey, and his face lights up as he sits down and says in a mellow, yet elated tone, “I love macaroons.” As he pops the bite-size morsels in his mouth, I notice his closely shaven beard is growing back, as is the hair on his head, which is buzzed on the back and sides. His jet black hair reveals speckles of crystal white greys that are sparsely scattered throughout his beard and the roots of his dreadlock ponytail. 28 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
ALL PHOTOS BY JOSEPH BROWN.
His green shirt, mahogany brown skin and scattered crystal white greys seem to be harkening back to the terrain of his birthland — Iceland.
JET IS A NAVY kid. His dad, Terence
Jones, was stationed in Iceland when his mom, Janeece, moved there to be with him. On her birthday in 1986, she got a most
anticipated birthday gift: On July 15, she and Terence welcomed their son Jason Jones into the world. A year later, the family made their way back to the United States and landed in Charlotte. The Jones’ home was always filled with the music. Terrence was a music producer and songwriter who worked in gospel, R&B, and smooth jazz. With several albums under
his belt including A Golden Touch, His Word, and Just for You, Terence Jones found himself opening for acts ranging from Usher to Earth, Wind & Fire. It didn’t take long for Jason Jones to get the musicmaker itch and begin following in his father’s footsteps. “We would go on long road trips to California and he would play his albums the whole way there,” he remembers.
“Just seeing how he moved with his music and how it inspired him to make music. That inspired me.” He transitioned from avid car-music listener to musicmaker when his dad got him his first keyboard and digital audio workstation Cakewalk. “That laid the foundation for me,” he says. “I pretty much do everything that he does. I have been making beats since I was 10. From the age of 10 to 20, I had about 300 songs in my catalog. Nothing but instrumentals. I did not get into songwriting until I was older.” For a while, Jason Jones dwelled in the language of notation and computer coding. If he had not decided to change his name to Jason Jet and become a songwriter, he would have found his way into the information technology field. “Whether it is running diagnostics on a computer or making my own sound packs for my digital workstation, I am using code. It is good to know code,” he says.
IN 2007, JONES attended Full Sail University in Orlando, Fla., to pursue an associate’s degree in recording arts technology. And it is there that Jason Jones the music-tech geek became Jason Jet, the singer-songwriter and performer. “My entire time in Florida opened me up to the idea of becoming an artist,” Jet says. “I had no ambition to be an artist. I just wanted to be a music producer before moving there.” While in Orlando, Jet hit the books, practicing his recording arts skills in stateof-the-art facilities and working the stages around Florida with the band Bop Gun. After he saw and began to understand the full spectrum of musicmaking with Bop Gun, he realized that adding performer to his list of talents would not be as hard as he initially thought. He graduated from Full Sail in 2009, his final project allowing him to produce an album and generate an electronic press kit. With those tools, he was ready to take on the music industry back home in the Queen City. After returning home in 2010, Jet’s first single, “Love Boulevard,” received airplay on urban radio stations in Charlotte and Fayetteville. Not long after that small victory, a fellow Full Sail alum reached out to Jet with the opportunity to jetset to New York City. His first album got him music management representation that eventually led Jet to label meetings with Atlantic, Warner Bros., and Interscope. He commuted from North Carolina to New York for two years, and in 2012 packed his bags and moved to NYC full time. “I went because I felt like that was where opportunity was and where my team was. It just made sense,” Jet says. He lived in the Big Apple for less than a year. The move shifted Jet’s mental outlook. The fishbowl of top talent became extremely large and the “work-to-survive” mentally took over. His day job started to get more attention than his music. His romantic relationship began to siphon his energy and ability to create. So he moved back home and began to rediscover his creative self. The move back also helped him break from an internalized “victim mentality” and thoughts of being a “slave to your situation.” While in Charlotte, he began growing again both as an adult and a professional music entrepreneur.
UNPLUGGED FT. JASON JET Free, Noon, March 14, After Hours Lounge, Cone University Center, UNCC main campus, 9201 University City Blvd.
JET IS NOT only a performer, he also takes
on recording clients at his home studio. His bread-and-butter job, though, is as a vocal and performance coach. Jet’s vocal power workshops happen each Monday from 8 to 10 p.m. at 1121 Hawthorne Ave. He recognized after returning to Charlotte that to make it here as a musician, he needed to have his hands in multiple musical buckets. “I can teach. I can coach. I can go play piano for a church. I can do a wedding gig,” he says. “If I need to produce a project for a client or be hired as a songwriter, I can do that too. If I need to be a studio engineer, that’s in my musical skill-set too. “For me,” he continues, “the ability to know how to do 10 different things with music keeps me going. I think if I was just a singer-songwriter in Charlotte, there just would not be enough there to financially survive.” Jet is doing more than surviving in Charlotte’s musical marketplace — he is strategizing, implementing, iterating. He is living solely off the sonic art he creates, and he’s doing it in a most creative way.
“I THINK IF I WAS JUST A SINGERSONGWRITER IN CHARLOTTE, THERE JUST WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH THERE TO FINANCIALLY SURVIVE.”
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I’ve grown spiritually because I’ve started studying Rastafarianism. And what inspired that? My friend Cavallo. He’s been living it since 2012. Seeing him grow as a person and all the knowledge he has and his perspective inspired me to become a better person. He pretty much showed me the light. I was born in a Christian family, going to Baptist churches, and it never felt right to me until he explained the Rastafarian way of life. It makes more sense to me.
MUSIC
MUSICMAKER
KEEPING TRADITION ALIVE Jah-Monte is a flashback to how rap used to be BY RYAN PITKIN
JAH-MONTE IS sprawled on a reclining
sofa in his buddy Sage’s studio, one of many that line the halls of NoDa Studios in its namesake neighborhood. Graffiti is scrawled across the walls with chalk. No space is left uncovered. The slew of unrelated images above JahMonte’s head is symbolic, as his mind can sometimes wander from topic to topic. He jumps from female empowerment to police violence to quoting Nubia Jones within a matter of seconds. While he sometimes loses his train of thought, his priorities are clear: spreading knowledge and unifying the human race. That message is portrayed more succinctly on his new album, Testing Her Creation, released on Feb. 19. His first album since shedding his former moniker King Callis at the end of 2016, Jah-Monte continues to be the rare conscious hip-hop head on the Charlotte rap scene. His style is reminiscent of those who stalked the scene in the early ‘90s — acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, and a young Common Sense or Talib Kweli. Jah-Monte sat down with Creative Loafing recently — passing a blunt around the studio and wearing a King Callis hoodie, already a relic of 2016 — to discuss his message and why it’s so hard for Charlotte rap fans to hear ht. Creative Loafing: Your first release was Brunch (Food For Thought) in 2014. How have you grown since then? Jah-Monte: I feel like I’ve grown a lot since my first release. I’ve met a lot more people who are more open to helping. Also,
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He’s the one featured on tracks like “Vallo Ciphering,” which are not music tracks but more like lectures, right? Yes, in the second part of the album, there’s verses one through nine, that’s just songs. After that I go through the building sessions with Cavallo, five of them, then I have two or three drum sessions. It’s pretty much the perspective that I’m trying to push with this album. It’s a self-love and melanin thing, my whole angle I’m coming from with this album. I got that inspiration from the sessions and meetings with Cavallo. I look at him more as a teacher. He’s someone I draw inspiration from. Why the name change? I feel like King Callis was a made-up thing. I got my name from a street I used to live on in Akron, and Callis Tower was the building, but I feel like that’s just something I put up there. My real name is my birth-given name and it’s all real and authentic. So I’m giving you straight up me. The message of lifting up women is a major theme in the new album. What inspired that? I just remember how it was growing up. I tapped back into my past. My mom was a single mother, my aunt. I don’t know what is going on in the community, but I grew up around a lot of single mothers. Just to see the stress level and the determination as well, the beauty of it. To see everything they go through from my past and to see everything come around from this time. If you look on the Internet, there’s a lot of black men vs. black women arguments that happen daily on Twitter and Instagram, and that’s what the media is pushing as well, so I figured I’d be the one to say something. The inspiration for this album came around the time I saw Korryn Gaines get killed. Around the time Korryn and Sandra Bland died, I was like, “OK, I see nobody around me is stepping up to speak on it so I feel like I should be the one.” You don’t hear much conscious-type rap in the local scene today. The only thing I’m doing is just carrying on a tradition, that’s what my people taught me to do. If you’re going to make art, say something to inspire. I feel like it’s a lost art. Why is that? The quote-unquote forefathers, or the people who set the platform in Charlotte, they’re so stuck in their place. They pay attention to certain shit. You have to open up to everybody, because once we all get there it’s over with. Once everybody gets together and helps push each other, that’s what we need.
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 31
THIS FRIDAY
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SOUNDBOARD
❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
TUCKER BEATHARD LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $15 ALL OTHERS $18
❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
MARCH 17
DRAKE WHITE
AND THE BIG FIRE WITH SPECIAL GUEST
DAVE KENNEDY
LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $12 ALL OTHERS $15
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MARCH 18
1-2-3 NIGHT FEATURING MUSCADINE BLOODLINE TICKETS $10 MARCH 22
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SOUTHERN GIRLS NIGHT OUT FEATURING
BRETTANDYOUNG RUNAWAY JANE
TICKETS ON SALE NOW $12
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APRIL 1
1-2-3 NIGHT FEATURING DARRELL HARWOOD ALL TICKETS $10
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APRIL 28
JON LANGSTON ALL TICKETS $12
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MAY 20
DYLAN SCOTT
LIMITED ADVANCE $12 ALL OTHERS $10
WILD1-2-3 NIGHTS
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MARCH 11, 18, 24, APRIL 1, 7, 15, 21, 29 ON SALE AT COYOTE JOES AND COYOTE-JOES.COM
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COYOTE JOE’S : 4621 WILKINSON BLVD
704-399-4946
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32 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
MUSIC
MARCH 8 COUNTRY/FOLK Open Mic (Comet Grill)
POP/ROCK Ashley Heath (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Dance Gavin Dance, Chon (Neighborhood Theatre) The Dig, Communist Daughter (The Evening Muse) Jettison Five (RiRa Irish Pub) Karaoke with DJ Pucci Mane (Petra’s) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Open mic w/ Jared Allen (Jack Beagles) Sally & George, Danielle Howle (The Evening Muse) Terrain, Sin, Vanilla Envelope (The Station) Trivia & Karaoke Wednesdays (Tin Roof) Young the Giant, Lewis Del Mar (The Fillmore Charlotte)
MARCH 9 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Lee Fields & The Expressions, Alanna Royale (Neighborhood Theatre) River Whyless w/ Tall Heights (Visulite Theatre)
CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience (Spectrum Center)
POP/ROCK Basic Printer, DSRTDBCH, Morrowville (The Station) BIG 90’s Party (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) An Evening with Pam Taylor, Maya Beth Atkins (The Evening Muse) Karaoke with DJ ShayNanigans (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Lisa DeNovo (RiRa Irish Pub) Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Songwriter Open Mic @ Petra’s (Petra’s) Todd Johnson Band (Tin Roof)
MARCH 10 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant)
COUNTRY/FOLK Jem Crossland (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Tucker Beathard w/ Out of the Blue (Coyote Joe’s)
DJ/ELECTRONIC Steve Aoki (Label)
POP/ROCK Belmont Playboys, Toleman Randall (Petra’s) Black Ritual, Gruzer, Bone Shelter, Dragged by the Neck (Milestone) Deafheaven (The Underground) DeCarlo (Strike City) Face 2 Face (The Fillmore) Gaslight Street (The Evening Muse) GiGi Mack and the Gispot (BluNotes) The Head and the Heart w/ Mt. Joy (Ovens Auditorium) Ian Sweet w/ Ovlov, Ernie, MyBrother MySister (Snug Harbor) The Indoor Kids (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Jackie Venson (Morehead Tavern) Nathan Angelo, Quincy Mumford (The Evening Muse) Shipping Up To Boston, The FanDamily Band, The Fill Ins, The Commonwealth (Visulite Theatre) Unruly Boys (The Station) Wicked Powers (RiRa Irish Pub) Open Mic Night (McGlohon Theater)
MARCH 11 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH A Tree Without Roots (CPCC’s Pease Auditorium)
COUNTRY/FOLK Fall For Nothing w/ Brave The Bullets (Puckett’s Farm Equipment)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Gena Chambers (BluNotes, Charlotte) DREAMS: Notorious B.I.G. + Bad Boy Tribute feat. JETA Team/Universal Zulu Nation, DJ Justice (Club One)
POP/ROCK Aarodynamics (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Cameron Floyd, Dane Page (The Evening Muse) Captured! By Robots, Drunk in a Dumpster, Black Fleet, Violent Gods (Milestone) Casting Crowns (Bojangles’ Coliseum) Chosovi, J and The 9s (The Evening Muse) The Clarks w/ Michael Tolcher (Visulite Theatre) Green River Revival: Major & The Monbacks, The Motet (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Housingfest: St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Aaron Lee Tasjan (The Fillmore) Leonard Cohen Tribute (Petra’s)
Modern Primitives w/ Shadowgraphs (Snug Harbor) Shamrock Celebration: Ezra Root, Old Skool Ent DJ, Mic Larry (Tin Roof) Shindig Vol 5. w/ Blondzai & Services (The Station) Silver Wings (Comet Grill) Something Clever, Skinkage, Vices & Vessels, Raimee (The Underground) Thirsty Horses (RiRa Irish Pub)
MARCH 12 POP/ROCK Bad Suns (The Underground) Son Volt w/ Johnny Irion (Visulite Theatre) Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke Party (Snug Harbor) Omari and The Hellrasiers (Comet Grill)
Jade Moore (Tin Roof) Milennial w/ Farewell Albatross, The YeahTones, Megan Jean & The KFB (Snug Harbor)
COMING SOON Landless (March 18, Snug Harbor) Judah & the Lion (March 18, The Underground) Hungry Girl (March 24, Snug Harbor) The Flaming Lips (March 30, The Fillmore) Birds of Chicago (April 5, Evening Muse) Shadowgraphs (April 7, Snug Harbor) Kehlani (April 6, The Underground) Dark Star Orchestra (April 15, The Fillmore) Red Hot Chilli Peppers (April 17, Spectrum Center) Periphery (April 20, The Underground)
MARCH 13
The Weeks (April 20, Visulite)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
Rangers (April 22, Ovens Auditorium)
Tony Passavanti (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)
Diet Cig (April 22, Snug Harbor)
#MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)
Neil Diamond (April 28, Spectrum Center)
CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazz Workshop and Improv with John Shaughnessy (Petra’s)
Steve Martin, Martin Short, Steep Canyon
Lauryn Hill (April 28, CMCU Amphitheater) Dawes (May 3, The Fillmore) Sean Rowe (May 4, The Evening Muse) Carolina Rebellion (May 5-7, Charlotte Motor Speedway)
POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic (The Evening Muse) Ecstatic Vision, Cheesus Crust (The Station)
Bastille (May 6, CMCU Amphitheater) San Fermin (May 9, Visulite)
Locals Live: The Best in Local Live Music & Local Craft Beers (Tin Roof)
MARCH 14 COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Open Mic with Jeff Claud (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Run the Jewels (The Fillmore)
3/9 +TALL HEIGHTS 3/10 3/11 THE 3/12 3/24 HIPPO CAMPUS 4/5JD MCPHERSON 4/14 PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG
CLARKS
DJ/ELECTRONIC Karaoke w/ Dj President James A. Garfield (The Station)
POP/ROCK Flatfoot 56, Revolution Radio, Minimums, The Hooliganz (Milestone)
NEED DIRECTIONS? Check out our website at clclt.
com. CL online provides addresses, maps and directions from your location. Send us your concert listings: E-mail us at aovercash@clclt. com or fax it to 704-522-8088. We need the date, venue, band name and contact name and number. The deadline is each Wednesday, one week before publication. CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 33
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704-737-2145 34 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
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NIGHTLIFE
LA DI DA DI, WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY Busing through the Queen City — but not on CATS “MEET US AT Piedmont Social House,” my
group pics (without the party bus in the background because apparently that was a co-worker said as I attempted to chug an offfaux pas at that point) I knew I would have brand version of Pedialyte. Sighs. to make a break for the bar to catch up ASAP. The last time I’d gone to PSH was for a That’s when one of my coworkers pulled random after-house party. Before that? I’d out a baby bottle filled with a mixture of gone to meet with the marketing manager vodka and Gatorade. Ingenious. A Dadchelorabout the grand opening. Both times? I was themed party bus complete with baby bottle either working on a hangover or hungover party favors for every guest?! Too bad, wearing the same clothes I’d worn the night Gatorade isn’t a thick enough chaser for my before. palate, I couldn’t even stomach the idea of In other words, I wasn’t sure going there sucking on a baby bottle nipple that anyone was a good idea. else had already suckled on. One RBV later Last week, I mentioned in my column accompanied by nausea, and we were hopping that I ended up having to forego CIAA events back on the bus for what seemed like the for two reasons. The first being I partied longest ride back to Uptown ever. too hard on Friday in French Quarter Soon after boarding the after planning just a drink or two bus I realized I was nowhere after work with coworkers. near ready to rally. I know, I The second being those know, what a buzzkill I was, same coworkers had right? That’s when baby planned a bus party. bottle nipples were being Now, if you’ve followed thrown in my face. “Aerin, this column for a while, you’re not tipsy enough, you know this isn’t the you need to drink it.” “Oh first time I’ve gone on no I’m fine, just chilling,” a party bus with these I responded queasily. That same coworkers to PNC for didn’t work. All I could think Weenie Roast and a Dave AERIN SPRUILL was, “This. Is. Happening. Get Matthews Band concert. Both over it.” What we didn’t factor in, times, I wanted to run for my however, was that this was the first life and grab an Uber by 9 p.m. time we would be party busing without a Nevertheless, one of those coworkers “pot (or parking lot) to piss in.” So imagine found out he was having a baby and why a bus full of full bladders riding on a bus wouldn’t my amazing friends think we should with no bathroom and no destination. Yeah, throw a party in his honor? That’s when the I couldn’t even focus on drinking a beer or concept of a “Dadchelor Bus” came to be. Oh, music because after each bathroom break my you didn’t know? According to Google, it’s a anxiety went through the roof wondering thing. A Dadchelor Party, or Man Shower, is when we’d stop by a bathroom again. a celebration of baby-making for the fellas. It wasn’t until we were dropped off in Welcome to the feminist movement of 2017? front of Tyber Creek for Tyberpalooza and Don’t get me wrong, every party bus those of us that made it until 9 p.m. were we’ve been on has been epic, but I was nonsensical that I realized I was tipsy but definitely scared. Especially given the fact still not drunk enough for the shenanigans. that I’d gone to grab a beverage that I The line at Tyber was absolutely ludicrous despise because it “prevents dehydration and I was seeking shelter for my inner circle. and replaces nutrients and electrolytes lost I looked for anywhere we could find refuge, through vomiting and diarrhea.” and that’s when my eyes landed on Big Ben By the time I started feeling better, I’d British Restaurant & Pub. I’d never been been at the dealership getting my oil changed or knew anyone who’d been, and yet, there for an hour and I was running late for the we were asking if we could stash our cooler bus pick-up in Southend. That’s when my anywhere, baby bottles in hand. coworker called suggesting I just meet the Needless to say, this party bus trip crew at PSH. That meant they were already was one we will never forget, and I drank well on their way as far as pregaming goes Pedialyte and survived the following and I would be showing up completely sober morning like a Queen of the City should. The to the beginning of a hot mess. next time you’re trying to get weird and can’t When I arrived by way 30 minutes later, find anything to do, hit the road in style and all my friends greeted me with the warmest, safety, grab a crew and rent a party bus! happy-drunk welcome ever. While taking
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CROSSWORD
ADD CAMPAIGN ACROSS
1 British Derby town 6 -- apso (terrier) 11 Billy’s bleat 14 Time and -19 Name on a mower 20 Greek letters 21 Raised RRs 22 Storybook elephant 23 Cheer up the singer of “Galveston”? 26 Cowboy rope 27 “Aw, quit -- bellyachin’!” 28 Frozen cubes 29 Puck, for one 30 Lack of law 32 Rice fields whose workers love a frothy pastry filling? 38 With a very sharp image, for short 40 Ipanema site, briefly 41 Drink in many a 58-Across 42 Corp. VIP 43 Scottish boys testifying in court? 49 Fr. woman with a halo 52 “As I see it,” to a texter 53 “Science Guy” Bill 54 Turkey Day tuber 55 Artistic users of acid 58 Pub barrel 59 Farm fowls 61 Food grinder 65 “Zapped!” actor Willie 66 GQ staffers 67 Threw one’s ordinary existence into confusion? 71 Sky’s color, in Salerno 72 Luau guitar, for short 73 Ocean filler 74 Driver’s 180 75 Horse riders’ activity in an Asian island country? 81 Insult, hip-hop-style 84 “-- a Grecian Urn” 85 Actor Davis 86 Rebuke to Brutus 87 Rhea’s kin 88 Bill or Hillary 90 Suffix with joy or humor 93 Slim fish 94 Big primate
95 Slugger Griffey 96 Officer in charge of soft packing material? 102 Tycoon Onassis 104 Two, to Jose 105 Take it on the -- (escape) 106 Woes 107 NFL announcer John acting up? 115 Typical 116 Crude stuff 117 Stud’s place 118 Pay a visit to 121 Municipal 122 Deliver a craze follower into custody? 128 Up in the air 129 Nero’s “I love” 130 Spirits in bottles 131 -- -car (Avis service) 132 Hopes to get 133 “Fresh Air” airer 134 Artery-opening tube 135 Letters of plurals
DOWN
1 All nerves 2 Brazilian soccer hero 3 Sniffers in rescue operations 4 O’Hare airport code 5 Army doc 6 Tablecloths, e.g. 7 Ad -- committee 8 “I’m -- loss” 9 Froot Loops toucan 10 In line with 11 Hybrid meat 12 Completely 13 Like -- in the face 14 Wear away 15 Beehive, e.g. 16 Ancient calculators 17 Machine shop tool 18 Gets ragged 24 Prefix with car or chic 25 Make dim, as by tears 31 Opposite of day, in Bonn 33 Kooky 34 Nation south of Braz. 35 Super-small 36 Opus finale 37 Drop-line link 38 “Looks great to me!” 39 Called 44 Aid for an asthmatic
45 Looked at amorously 46 Wire, e.g. 47 Stone of film 48 Word 49 Interstate rig 50 Not kosher 51 Nero’s “to be” 56 Cruel Roman emperor 57 Physically fit 60 Aspersions 62 Linear, for short 63 Weigh down 64 As -- (usually) 68 Squeezes (out) 69 Arnaz of TV 70 Her niece is Dorothy 71 Weed -- (lawn care brand) 75 Foot coverer 76 Be inactive 77 “No, Hans” 78 Charlie Chaplin’s last wife 79 Era after era 80 Agenda part 81 Envy and lust 82 Urge to act 83 Plaintiffs 89 In arrears 91 Wrinkly citrus fruit 92 Flip through 97 34th prez 98 Show respect (to) 99 “Because -- so!” 100 “Wow!,” in an IM 101 Not a one 102 Going with the flow 103 Strikes back, say 107 Kind of parrot 108 Teresa’s city 109 English county 110 “Borstal Boy” author Brendan 111 Many YouTube uploads 112 Prove apt for 113 Little battery 114 Rapper with six Grammys 119 Villa d’-120 Greek letters 123 Rock blaster 124 Pooch’s doc 125 Propyl ending 126 -- Tin Tin 127 Arles article
SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 38.
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | 35
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up in a conservative town and got a late start exploring my sexuality. I lost my virginity at 26, but I lacked the confidence to really allow myself to enjoy sex until I learned how to enjoy the present moment. I really hit my stride a couple of months ago, and now the floodgates have opened. I get on Grindr and have sex up to three times a week. I feel in my gut that this isn’t a compulsion so much as an exploration, and something I need to get out of my system while I search for a monogamous relationship. As long as I’m safe, do you see any problem with me fucking around for a while?
home with me, and she turned out to be a pre-op trans woman. I’d never been with a trans person before, so I decided to just roll with it and ended up having a pretty good time. Over the course of the weekend, I started to get the sense that she really liked me and maybe even considered me boyfriend material. I want to see her again, but I’m not really available for a serious relationship. Knowing the kind of unbelievable shit trans people have to deal with, I feel like it would be unfair to string her along. She is not aware of my marital status. What should I do? CAN’T THINK OF FUNNY ACRONYM
O brave new world that has such straightidentified guys in it. You’re on your cumspringa, Anyway, CTOFA, here’s PDUMN. Most gay men what you should do: Get in have at least one. Be safe, a time machine and go be get on PrEP, remember completely — what’s the that HIV isn’t the only word? — oh right, go be sexually transmitted completely straight with infection (use condoms), this woman before you enjoy yourself, and be take her home from that kind to the guys you bar. You’re married and meet on your cumspringa (even those you don’t doing the LDR thing and the DAN SAVAGE expect to see again). And if marriage is open and you’re a monogamous relationship available for fun but nothing is what you ultimately want more. — and monogamy is a fine choice No time machine? Then handle it the — telling yourself that sexual adventures same way you would if you’d deceived some are something you have to get out of your cis woman — excuse me, if you’d accidentally system first is a mistake. gotten some cis woman’s hopes up by failing People who convince themselves that to mention the wife. Level with her — serious commitment means the death of you’re married — and let the nips fall where sexual adventures — particularly people they may. She might be angry or she might who enjoy sexual adventures — will either not give a wet squart (she may not be as avoid commitment entirely or murder the interested as you think she is). If she accuses ones they make so they can have sexual adventures again. you of making up a wife because you don’t I’m not saying you have to be want to date a trans woman, it shouldn’t nonmonogamous, PDUMN. I’m saying be hard to prove your wife — and your a couple can be exclusive and sexually marriage — exists. adventurous at the same time. I’m Finally, CTOFA, you say it would “be also saying the person you are now — a unfair to string her along” because of the person who enjoys sexual adventures — is “unbelievable shit trans people have to deal the person you’re likely to be after your with.” It would be unfair — it would be cumspringa is over and you’re ready to make wrong — to string a cis woman along, too. a commitment. Stringing people along is wrong, period. I’m a straight-identified guy in my early On the Lovecast, we love Lindsey Doe from 30s. I am married, but my wife lives in Sexplanations, and you will too: savagelovecast. another part of the country and we’re doing an open relationship until she com. Follow @fakedansavage on Twitter; mail@ moves to live with me. Last weekend, I savagelove.net. met a girl at a bar who ended up coming PLEASE DON’T USE MY NAME
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FOR ALL SIGNS Venus turned retrograde
on Mar. 4, 2017. It will remain so until it turns direct on April 15, 2017. There is a pre-shadow before the retrograde and a post shadow following Venus’ change back to direct on April 15. The time frame affected by Venus retrograde began on Jan. 31, 2017 and continues through May 17, 2017.
ARIES This is a time in which you may be unsure of where you want to direct your energies. Consider your history. If you could take today’s perspective and advise the person you were in years past, what counsel would you give?
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TAURUS Venus is your ruling planet and she is turning retrograde in the area of the past. You may find yourself surprised by experiencing feelings you thought were long since finished. This cosmic signature occurs this month but it may very well have been making you wistful for much of Feb. It passes in May. GEMINI You may be backing out or avoiding commitments in the community. Possibly you will become bored with the usual activities or people in your 2nd tier circles. It is OK to give yourself R&R in this area for the next couple of months. Maybe you will return refreshed in the spring. It is possible that friends from long ago will resurface. CANCER Venus is retrograding in your
career territory. You may back away from recent decisions in this area. “Career” includes life direction, so you may be reevaluating that as well. Former partner(s) and client(s) may return. If you have a huge expenditure in mind concerning career, it is a good idea to put off the final decision until after Venus turns direct.
LEO People who live at a distance are likely to seek out contact with you. If anyone who reappears is known to you to be of less than favorable character, use extreme wariness about mixing again.
WE ALL REFUSE TO WEAR SOCKS.
VIRGO This will be a time to evaluate
resources that you share with others, including stocks or investments. You may be drawn to make changes in your estate planning. Consider your options but don’t make final decisions until after May.
LIBRA You and your partner have need of increased space between you. You have been so in tandem that the Self is getting lost. It does not matter who initiates the idea for a breathing space. It comes from a joint need. SCORPIO Venus retrograde will cause
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38 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM
you to focus on your health unless that is normal for you. For those who are routinely conscious of fitness, you may be surprised that you are prone to let good habits slide.
Don’t beat yourself to pieces. A retrograding planet in this territory asks us to make positive health decisions again and again.
SAGITTARIUS Venus is beginning to
retrograde in your territory of romance, play, creativity, and children. This suggests that there is some need to “go back” or reevaluate your position in these areas. You may need to slow down or take a breather from forward motion so you can look more deeply at your personal needs in these areas. Repeating old behavior will only recreate old mistakes.
CAPRICORN Use special caution when
handling beautiful items in your home, office, or vehicle. Breakage is more than normally possible. You may have a need to reconnect to family members who have been out of the loop in your life. Don’t let anyone draw you into discussions of traumas in bygone times, lest it put a kink in your mood.
AQUARIUS Venus will be rolling backward in your third house of communications and local travel. It is possible you will be seized with an intense desire to purchase a vehicle, but that is ill advised. Try, but don’t buy. Double check any contractual process with a magnifying glass. Hold your tongue if you become angry during a conversation. PISCES THE FISH (Feb. 18 -- Mar 19)
Venus is backtracking in the territory of finances and other personal resources, so these topics will have special priority this spring. It is in your better interest to conserve assets (money, time, health, and energy) during this period. Think carefully about the future before you spend your holdings. (It is also possible that you are arguing with yourself about right and wrong related to sharing, spending.) Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at 704-3663777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. You may also visit her at www. horoscopesbyvivian.com.
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40 | MAR. 9 - MAR. 15, 2017 | CLCLT.COM