2017 Issue 43 Creative Loafing Charlotte by Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | DECEMBER. 14 - DECEMBER. 20, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 43

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CREATIVE LOAFING IS PUBLISHED BY WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC. CHARLOTTE, NC 28206. OFFICE: 704-522-8334 WWW.CLCLT.COM FACEBOOK: /CLCLT TWITTER: @CL_CHARLOTTE INSTAGRAM: @CREATIVELOAFINGCHARLOTTE

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EDITORIAL

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Let 53 breweries from around the world leave a sour taste in your mouth when the folks at Salud throw the 5th annual Release the Funk Sour Beer Festival next door at Neighborhood Theatre on December 16.

We put out weekly 8

NEWS&CULTURE THE CODE BREAKER Former troubled police officer wants to help reform burned out cops

BY RYAN PITKIN 7 EDITOR’S NOTE BY MARK KEMP 10 THE BLOTTER BY RYAN PITKIN

12 14 16

FOOD&DRINK HOW ABOUT ANOTHER ROUND? Success of ‘OrderFire’ inspires new spinoff series focusing on craft cocktail scene BY RYAN PITKIN

COCKTAIL GUIDE: The 12 cocktails of Christmas TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

MUSIC

‘NOT YOUR NORMAL CHRISTMAS SHOW’ Charlotte muse Quentin Talley’s ‘A Soulful Noel’ is for everybody

BY KIA O. MOORE 19 MUSICMAKER: CHARLES WALKER BY MARK KEMP 20 SOUNDBOARD

ARTS&ENT INTO THE DARK Through pain and fantastical power, rising young painter Sloane Siobhan maps black girl magic BY EMIENE WRIGHT 24 FILM REVIEW BY MATT BRUNSON

ODDS&ENDS 26 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 27 CROSSWORD 28 SAVAGE LOVE BY DAN SAVAGE 30 SALOME’S STARS

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NEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

FREE NET CONNECTIONS When the internet is good, communities thrive WHILE EDITING freelance contributor contact for Goldberg hours, or even days, later. Emiene Wright’s terrific cover story on Then I’d call Goldberg and maybe reach her and Charlotte artist Sloane Siobhan this week, I get a quote. I’d then have to call Siobhan and ran across a quote that moved me: “Little kids give Goldberg’s number to her, and hope they reconnected. In truth, all that probably would don’t color like this.” Siobhan was quoting an unnamed early art never happen due to deadlines. The story would have been great without instructor who had seen something special in the budding painter at an early age. I felt the Goldberg’s direct quote; Goldberg and Siobhan piece needed this teacher’s voice, or at least the would have gone on living their lives, doing voice of some early instructor. So I looked on their work, maybe eventually reconnecting. the artist’s website and saw that she’d given a But a connection between the two wouldn’t shout-out to Jillian Goldberg, who had taught have happened in the course of maybe an hour, which is about the time it took for me to get Siobhan when she was a preschooler. in touch with Goldberg, copy Siobhan on the Hello Google. It took maybe five minutes for me to find email, and watch this magical reconnection Goldberg’s contact info. I wrote to her, asking transpire right before my eyes. This is the internet at its most powerful if she remembered teaching a child named and positive: Two women, first connnected Sloane Siobhan. “I am not sure if the Sloane you mention when one was an adult teacher and the other a preschool prodigy, now reconnected two is the person I remember. It would decades later. And I had the privilege be nearly 20 years ago,” Goldberg of watching it unfold online. wrote back. “So if you could I would like to continue being just fill me in a bit more or able to watch connections like send a picture, that would this be made, but powers help. If this is the Sloane much greater than any of I remember, I met her us are currently working to when she was about 4 roll back gains we’ve made and still have her drawing on net neutrality. In May, because, even then, she President Trump’s FCC was exceptional.” chairman, Ajit Pai, came up It was the perfect with a plan to destroy the quote. That Goldberg had MARK KEMP rules that keep the internet free held on to Siobhan’s early for average people like us and give drawing for so many years said over power to big corporations like everything that needed to be said. I AT&T and Verizon. The FCC will vote on thanked Goldberg and continued editing. But Goldberg’s email kept nagging at me, Pai’s proposal December 14, the day after this and I realized this wasn’t enough. Goldberg issue hits, well, the internet. The purpose of net neutrality is to preserve had also written: “I have not heard from her in perhaps 15 years, so do let me know. our right to freely and easily communicate and Her grandmother’s name was Queen, but I do research online. It requires internet service imagine she is no longer alive. I also remember providers to give us open networks and not that Sloane’s last name was Whaley ... I would block us from getting to content they don’t love to help and [would] love to be in contact want us to get to, for any reason whatsoever. Without net neutrality, big companies could with her, so do let me know.” carve out fast and slow lanes on the internet, These two needed to be in contact again. I wrote back to Goldberg: “Jillian, I’m giving fast lanes to those with more resources. going to just connect the two of you here. I’m It took me less than an hour to connect Sloane sure Sloane would love to hear from you, too. Siobhan with her childhood teacher; without net neutrality, that process could’ve taken a I’ve copied her. All best, and thanks again.” A few minutes later, another email came prohibitively long time. Making connections is something I’ve through: “Yes, it’s me, Mrs. Jillian. Grandma is alive and well, but my mom passed last written about often at CL. It’s perhaps the year. It would be great to catch up if you’re in single most important role of a local alternative newsmedia outlet. We make connections, Charlotte.” Ever get those tingly, giddy sensations that introduce you to fellow Charlotteans doing make you feel as though you’re walking on air? interesting work in the arts, culture and local That’s the feeling I had when I saw Siobhan’s government, and you take it from there. We’ve email. And it’s one of those things that could seen positive connections made countless times, and those connections strengthen our only happen in a post-internet world. Years ago, I would’ve had to make several community. Without net neutrality, all of calls and maybe — but just maybe — find a that could come to a grinding halt. CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 7

NEWS

FEATURE

THE CODE BREAKER Former troubled police officer wants to help reform burned out cops BY RYAN PITKIN

HE VIDEO BEGINS with five

officers standing over Michael Fox, pushing him down to the ground as fights rage around them. To the left of the screen, his brother, John Fox, pushes at officers, trying to get them to back away. They close in tighter. The video, along with another one shot at about the same time, goes in all different directions as it captures the events that took place inside La Bamba nightclub in Salisbury during a night of chaos in 2009. Security guards and police officers struggle to maintain control of a crowd that seems to be breaking into fights at random everywhere. Patrons slip on what appears to be Michael Fox’s blood as he lies face down, handcuffed. Through it all, Kareem Puranda, then a uniformed officer with the Salisbury Police Department, can be seen bouncing around the room, getting involved in different altercations. About three and a half minutes into the video, he finds himself face to face with John Fox again, this time without a team of officers at his side. After a few words, Puranda swings. The punch is not the move of a police officer trying to subdue what he perceives to be a viable threat. It’s the move of a kid raised on the streets, grown up but still lashing out at something he fears. It was just one of multiple times that Puranda would be accused of excessive force, each time being found innocent of criminal charges but costing the city tens of thousands of dollars in settlements. As Puranda looks back at that incident, he recognizes that he was lashing out at more than just a man twice his size. He attributes his behavior to PTSD that began during his childhood in Bronx, New York, and was cultivated when he went through Basic Law Enforcement Training. Since leaving the police force in 2010, Puranda has focused on how PTSD, burnout and other psychological issues are allowed to silently run rampant in police departments nationally. He now hopes to confront those issues. In June, Puranda launched Self Talk Counseling & Consulting, a firm that hopes to work with police officers to address the biases and psychological issues that can lead to excessive aggression in the field. In November, he published Breaking the Code

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Kareem Puranda in his Charlotte office, where he meets in groups and one-on-one with police officers to deal with potential psychological issues. of Silence: A Cop’s Journey to Triumph and Truth, a book that lays out the reasons he believes psychological counseling should be mandatory for police officers from training through retirement. We visited Puranda’s east Charlotte office recently to talk about his experiences in law enforcement and why he should be the one to lead a movement for a more stable police force. Creative Loafing: What did you think about police before joining the Salisbury Police Department? Kareem Puranda: Growing up, initially I had this imagination. I looked at the good guys versus the bad guys. The Autobots versus the Decepticons. G.I. Joe versus Cobra. HeMan versus Skeletor. Seeing how they were victorious persuaded my impressionable mind at a young age that I wanted to be a good guy. Growing up in New York, I lived somewhat of a sheltered life, attributed to my mom’s concern for my safety, so I didn’t really get much exposure to the environment. A lot of the challenges that existed in my neighborhood, as it relates to the relationships between police officers and the community, I wasn’t privy to until I had an experience in middle school where I was walking home and I blurted out to a police officer who was sitting in his cruiser near where I lived, “One day that’s going to be my car.” I’m not sure if he heard what I said, but he was very angry. He gave me an angry response about whatever statement he thought I made. From that point on I didn’t really like police officers, so it wasn’t something that was on my radar, but it was something that I grew into after meeting the chief of police in Salisbury [while attending Livingstone College].

What do you think led to the issues you faced as a police officer? I think it has everything to do with the totality of one’s human experience, from childhood up until and throughout adulthood. We are constantly evolving, constantly encountering experiences that shape our perception of the world around us. Personally, my transition into law enforcement was easy because the hypervigilance that you develop as a police officer throughout the training was something I had already practiced in my neighborhood growing up in The Bronx. I was looking over my shoulder, I was always concerned about who was going to rob me or who was going to try to do something villainous. It’s the same mentality in law enforcement: everyone’s a suspect. In BLET, they train you to identify the bad guy. He doesn’t look like any particular individual, but he is identified by behaviors. He runs. He’s noncompliant. He conceals his hands. He doesn’t make the transaction with law enforcement smooth, and these are the individuals that you need to be mindful of. They carry guns and drugs and they do criminal things. What happens is that condition that occurs in BLET is what the officer marries himself to. Then in the mainstream media, you have different genres of music that subscribe these behaviors to a certain population, which makes the young African Americans the usual suspects. There’s a “trap music” culture that embodies the behaviors that officers are trained to address, and these narratives, they clash.

PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN

What experiences stick with you from your time as a police officer, good or bad? I would say it was a good and bad experience all in one; in fact, those situations that earned me lawsuits, where I was able to challenge the ego that I was operating by — that in one point in time in my life kept me safe in my natural environment. It was that same ego that created the conditions for me to encounter lawsuits and the indictments that I ended up experiencing at the end of my career. I say it’s good and bad because that condition created an awareness within me to write this book, to start my own private practice in counseling and to go back to school to become a counselor to learn more about the conditions behind the psychology; to learn why people do what they do. I was at a loss. I did not know. I wasn’t privy to the diagnoses or the criteria for burnout. I didn’t know I was dealing with burnout during my time as a police officer, and I was afraid to ask because the culture of law enforcement doesn’t give one permission to do so. What made you want to look at it from that psychological perspective? I didn’t start law enforcement the way that I ended it, and that was the concern. That’s what triggered the investigation from my own personal introspective, which is why I wrote this book and utilized my life as a case study to highlight the transition from the neighborhood I grew up in, which I believe induced PTSD at one point in time in my life, and it followed me all the way through my law enforcement career as a normalized thing, not something that was abnormal. And I wasn’t privy to it, again, because I didn’t see it as something that I needed help for, until these

So it sort of comes across as a punitive thing to seek help. One of the things that I propose in my book is that counseling should be mandated throughout an officer’s training, his career, and even post-law enforcement career through his retirement because of the stress — the high, chronic, layered stress that officers deal with.

events started happening and it caused me to question why. What makes it alright now for you to be helping officers as someone who faced so many problems on the force yourself? I had an awakening moment. It’s usually out of adversity that the lessons come, or that an awakening type of experience comes. It took those lemons for me to make lemonade, if you will. I don’t think I would have tapped into this understanding or this courage that’s required to address this scenario in law enforcement culture had it not been for those circumstances. Those circumstances were actually necessary, in my opinion, for my journey. How would you describe burnout, as someone who’s gone through it? Some of the byproducts of burnout are cynicism, apathy, low energy, just a hopeless or helpless feeling, even while you’re trying to do the job. You just show up to go back home — you’re really retired on duty, if you will. There’s no motivation. That was pervasive throughout the department that I worked for and even in other departments, with people that I knew that worked in other agencies, it was the same type of low morale. There was no help for the officer. And is that something you continue to see in your counseling work today? Absolutely. Officers are struggling inside and there’s no permission given to provide them the avenue to get help, because of the concern that they’ll be classified unfit for duty and it will compromise their job security. There’s an incident in Eatonville, Florida, going on right now, where an officer has been given a resignation date of December 31 because of his PTSD diagnosis. He was an officer who rescued someone from the Pulse nightclub shooting, and he is now being requested to resign because of the diagnosis. Now, he wasn’t the only officer on scene, but he’s the only one confessing PTSD, and now he’s no longer fit for duty.

That Florida officer, Omar Delgado, is in an unfortunate situation, because he didn’t do anything wrong, but couldn’t keeping officers who are known to be struggling with PTSD pose a danger to our communities? One option is administrative duties. I believe he’s advocated for being placed on a desk job because he had about six months until he’s vested for 10 years. He can do things around the police department in a complementing role; evidence or other areas of the department. As it relates to PTSD, there are varying levels of it, and everyone who is exposed to a traumatic incident isn’t necessarily impacted in a PTSD type of way. However, counseling is in fact able and capable of helping people become officers, become fit for duty again, when you process the events and recognize, as you said, the idea that this incident was no fault of his own. He was tasked with a job to go in there and do what he was paid to do and he did that. So it’s a matter of processing with that particular individual, understanding his path to where he is today and how psychological triggers are formed in his own unique mind so that they can be addressed. Beyond fear of losing their jobs, police officers aren’t known to be open to speaking out about on-the-job issues, even in a private counseling office. How do you break through that “Code of Silence” that you refer to in your book title? It’s ultimately trust. Being able to recognize that working with me, independently of the department, is not going to backfire on them. I think ultimately officers fear being able to disclose some of the challenges that they face on the job because it may get back to their superiors, who will question their ability to do the job. The reality is that we all, as human beings, have challenges that we face, and we all deal with these challenges remarkably differently. The standard that officers are held to in terms of their integrity is a standard of, “You should be able to handle seeing a dead body, you should be able to handle all the grim stuff that average citizens don’t want to deal with.” The reality is that they are human beings, like everyone else. The uniform itself carries no power once that officer wears it. You’ve done outreach with community members, as well as your work with police, right? I started a nonprofit back in 2012 called Achieving Success on Purpose, and what I do through that organization is I educate children from lower sector populations. Currently I’ve been working out of the Naomi Drenan Rec Center, and I do free SEE

CODE P. 11 u CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 9

NEWS

BLOTTER

BY RYAN PITKIN

GROUP SEXT A couple in their mid-50s

were alarmed when some unknown person hopped into the wrong group text with them and other members of their family and refused to stop sending lewd texts. The couple told police that they were a part of a group text that included them and seven others, when a number nobody recognized began sending “inappropriate and unsolicited” messages. The suspect was told to stop and warned that some of the people on the group text were minors, but they sent four more, damaging young minds for years to come.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF A 30-yearold woman was dumbfounded when the employees of a sweepstakes shop in west Charlotte lost something of hers despite her picture being plastered right on the front of it. The woman told police that she was made to turn over her drivers’ license while she played sweepstakes for an hour between noon and 1 p.m. When she was ready to leave, she asked for her license back, but was told that an employee had already handed it to someone else. Must have had a doppelganger in the building. FOR THE BEST A 44-year-old man filed a

police report after realizing that his girlfriend

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lost his gun when she took it away from him. The man stated in the report that his girlfriend attempted to hide his gun from him in her home near Plaza Midwood in east Charlotte back in September. However, according to the report, “while the firearm was hidden it went missing.” Or perhaps, if his girlfriend had any sense she simply got rid of it, because a good rule of thumb is that if you’re girlfriend ever feels the need to hide your gun from you, you probably shouldn’t own a gun in the first place.

NOT WORTH IT An 18-year-old man’s laptop may have been worth three digits, but he almost gave up an extra digit trying to protect it during a robbery on Freedom Drive last week. The man told police that he was trying to sell his laptop in a Wendy’s parking lot, when the suspect grabbed it from him and drove off. The victim wasn’t letting go of the laptop that easy, though, literally. He said that he kept hold of the laptop while the suspect drove away, and the victim was dragged before having his finger run over when he finally let go. He suffered a minor injury in the incident. ICE COLD Another man was scammed during a shady business deal in northeast Charlotte last week, but at least he wasn’t dragged from a car. The victim said a man he met at a gas station on Rocky River Road

offered to sell him an Amazon Fire TV Stick, and he agreed, breaking Rule No. 1 of The Blotter Handbook. Not surprisingly, when he got home he realized the Fire Stick didn’t work, and he was out $100.

SPEND IT TO MAKE IT You could probably

guess from the context above what Rule No. 1 of The Blotter Handbook is, but as for Rule No. 2? If your new boss asks you for money, that’s probably not your new boss. A 26-year-old woman from Uptown learned this the hard way last week when her new employer wrote her a personal check and told her to deposit it in her account, then get cash out to give directly back to the employer. As always happens in such events, the employer’s check bounced, and the employee never saw that $1,980, or her new employer, again.

JACKPOT A burglar in north Charlotte thought he hit the mother lode when he opened a stranger’s freezer and saw what must have looked like a big package of drugs. But alas, he was not so lucky. A 51-year-old man reported a break-in at his home in the Rosedale neighborhood and said only one single item was stolen: a five-kilogram bag of white powder he had stashed away in a bag in his garage freezer. The bag did not contain dope, however, but cooking flour, and was valued at one dollar.

DO IT FOR THE ‘GRAM Three victims

found themselves in an odd road rage experience after getting cut off by a suspect traveling down Providence Road alongside them, or perhaps the victims were just overly paranoid. One victim told police the suspect had threateningly stared at the victims and pulled out an object, which alarmed all three victims in the car, until that object turned out to be a cellphone. The suspect then reportedly took a picture of all three victims, before their car turned onto a side road to get away.

FRESH PAINT Police responded to the Summit Grandview Apartments in Uptown last week after someone took it upon themselves to start painting the entire 8th floor of the building, then stopped after one apartment. According to the report, the suspect spraypainted the walls of the 8th floor hallway, the front door of an apartment and the interior of that apartment, doing $300 in damage. Although the resident was the one who called, he wasn’t able to answer any questions, for reasons that went unspecified in the report. It’s safe to say he won’t be getting his deposit back. All stories are pulled from police reports at CMPD headquarters. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

NEWS

FEATURE

“Throughout the department that I worked for and even in other departments ... it was the same type of low morale. There was no help for the officer.” -KAREEM PURANDA CODE FROM P. 9 t chess lessons over there to educate children on the concepts of applying chess to real life; being calculated in how you make decisions as well as developing social and emotional intelligence with the other children who are participating in the program. I’ve been doing that since 2012, and I’m also trying to kick-start a robotics club, introducing children in those areas to things that are outside of their current scope or reach. In what ways do you see connections, if any, between officers and community members on extreme sides of the spectrum, meaning residents who dislike police or officers who have shown a clear bias? The fear-based concept is, in fact, what I believe is induced in BLET. Officers are exposed to videos with shock value, shootor-be-shot scenarios, and these scenarios are designed to put the officer in a fight, flight or freeze moment, and to condition the officer to go into a default to survive the fight with the bad guy or make a calculated decision during that high-stress moment. Neuroscience tells us that making a calculated decision in a high-stress moment is not possible; you’re going to go to an impulsive default. And so law enforcement conditions an officer to address the threat with a “double tap,” which is two shots to the midsection, the large part of the body, to disable the threat. That impulsive conditioning designates an “us versus them” mentality, especially in the shock value videos when someone walks up and unexpectedly kills an officer while they’re trying to do their job. Then it does become an us versus them. In the community — their perspective going back to the 1960s with Bull Connor down there in Alabama siccing dogs and water hoses on African American protesters — it’s a stain, it’s an imprint, a traumatic imprint through generations that law enforcement can’t be trusted because: Look at how they’ve treated our people. So the people in the community don’t have issues, per se, with the officer as an individual, but they have issues with the badge and uniform. And that’s what creates the adversarial stance. It’s a condition that’s created by the historical narratives of the country and the training and the videos and what’s perpetuated underneath that.

I’ve seen you criticize the media’s role in that narrative, but it’s important to report on cases like the shooting death of Walter Scott, for example, for which former officer Michael Slager was just sentenced. He might not have faced justice if the media had not shared that video. From my personal experience, after I went through my ordeal in 2009, I saw how that circumstance was reported versus what really occurred. What I took away from it was that the media tends to take a half a truth and present it in such a way that makes one assume that it’s the entire truth. When the brain reads something, if there’s information missing, the brain wants to create the complete sentence without the information being there. I think the media does an interesting job of being able to present a halftruth, and then that blank space is what’s left to question, and based upon the tone of the article, it will go in that direction. I remember going to trial and being able to testify and that being the most exhilarating thing that I was able to do, because I was finally able to tell my side of the story. I was vindicated because I was able to articulate what actually happened. I had to sit on that for years before I was able to actually do that. That was painful for me, because the whole story wasn’t being disclosed, and people were judging me based upon that half-truth. What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with this book? My main agenda for writing the book is to create a conversation about the necessity for counseling to be instituted in law enforcement training — throughout a law enforcement officer’s career as a mandated program and also even for officers when they retire — to change the perception of a tool that can help. Because right now it’s looked upon as something that will, in fact, compromise their ability to work, so officers shun it when it’s a tool that can help. Officers are mandated to go to counseling or see a psychologist following a critical incident or event such as a shooting. They have that in place and that’s a great thing, but what about those officers who are struggling silently with the burnout — with the progression of burnout that BLET doesn’t prepare them for? How do they get help? RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 11

FOOD

FEATURE

HOW ABOUT ANOTHER ROUND? Success of ‘OrderFire’ inspires new spinoff series focusing on craft cocktail scene BY RYAN PITKIN

E WOULD TELL you how the popular Charlotte culinary web series OrderFire came about, but nobody really knows for sure. “Marc [Jacksina, host of OrderFire] and I have slightly different memories of how it all came together,” says director/producer Peter Taylor. “It’s kind of funny because I’ve been trying to nail him down like, ‘We have to tell one story, Marc.’ But his memory is his memory and mine is mine.” I speak with the pair separately and get their respective versions of the story of how they thought up the series, which features in-depth, on-camera interviews — better described as conversations — with some of Charlotte’s brightest culinary minds. Their recollections don’t differ greatly: Once Jacksina left his high-stakes, highdining job for a more laid-back gig at Earl’s Grocery, he began kicking around ideas for what he should do with his free time — something that had been foreign to him in his previous position. One day at Earl’s, he ran into Taylor, who had recently invested in some video equipment and was looking for a worthwhile way to put it to use. The two tell different stories of where and with whom the “Aha!” moment that birthed OrderFire’s premise came, but there’s one thing they both agree on: Once they premiered the first episode in 2016, the series took off well beyond either of their expectations. About midway through the third season, OrderFire has packed the house during 18 free screenings at Free Range Brewing on North Davidson Street, while raising about $20,000 for area charities through raffles. Now, Taylor is launching the first OrderFire spinoff, DrinkOrder. DrinkOrder, which premieres with four new episodes at Free Range on December 18, puts Bob Peters, renowned mixologist from The Punch Room, in the host’s seat. And how did the idea for DrinkOrder come about? “I don’t remember if it was my idea, or Bob’s idea, or Marc’s idea,” says Taylor. “Bob says it was my idea — it could’ve been a team idea, it could’ve come out in a team session, I wouldn’t want to claim it.” I should’ve known before I asked. The guys may be oblivious when it comes 12 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

‘DRINKORDER’ PREMIERE SCREENING Free. Dec. 18, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Free Range Brewing, 2320 N. Davidson St. orderfire.tv

PHOTO BY PETER TAYLOR

‘DrinkOrder’ host Bob Peters pours it up. to the origins of these projects, but it’s clear that the team has put in some real work — all on a volunteer basis — to make OrderFire as sharp as anything you’d see on television. The production values, helped along by the work of two-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Dubinsky, makes for a great watch whether you’re Queen City foodie or a newcomer to the scene. Taylor had worked as a still photographer for television and movies, from million-dollar movie sets to thousand-dollar commercials, and he says it made him aware of how a decent production should be run. “I said, ‘Let’s do as big of a production as we can do with my little amount of gear, and let’s try to do it right,’” Taylor recalls from his kitchen, where I meet him on a Saturday morning. “Let’s have some movement, let’s get the jib involved, let’s work with a couplecamera setup, and that’s the key. You can set up your iPhone here and record us talking, but it’s going to be boring as fuck. We wanted to add as much production to it as we could with what we had.” The finished product blew Jacksina away, along with any doubts that were remaining from his original reluctance to participate in the project. When Taylor first pitched him the idea of filming OrderFire, Jacksina played along, but didn’t take it seriously. The published poet had considered picking up his writing career again and possibly starting work on a new book. He remembers telling Taylor about wanting to do some food writing that would focus on chefs in the area and their personal paths, going beyond the

cliché, “I grew up on my grandmother’s apron strings” stories, as he calls them. When Taylor told him he had some new video equipment and they should record the conversations, Jacksina humored him. “I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t going to do it,” Jacksina admits. “When he said that, it reminded me of when my uncle told me, ‘Hey, you know what your poetry needs? A bongo playing behind it!’ Like, ‘Yeah, great idea, I’m not doing that,’ because I think I know better. But I was trying to change my life around and do things differently. So Pete came back around and was like, ‘Hey, I’m serious if you want to do it,’ and I was finally at a point where I was like, ‘I need to stop saying no, and start saying yes to some things,’ so I told him, ‘You know what, I’ll absolutely do it.’” The series took off from there, with monthly screenings now averaging about 200 people, and sometimes double that. People come to the events from well outside of Charlotte, some from as far as Durham. They could just wait to watch them online, but that would defeat the purpose. “It really is a community project, and that’s the reason that I have no problem taking a little time away from my family,” says Jacksina. “When we started, I said to Pete, ‘Look, I’ve spent my entire career not being there for my family. I’m changing the way that I’m handling my career so that I can spend time with them. This thing is not going to take up the rest of my free time.’ But going one day a month to do an OrderFire thing is kind of akin to going to church. Getting out to commune with people, it’s been great.”

WHEN THE CREW got together to decide

how they could capitalize on the popularity of OrderFire by creating more content, Peters’ name immediately came to mind. A Season 2 OrderFire guest, Peters is an outgoing guy, and his name recognition in the Charlotte culinary and bar scenes made him a shoo-in to host the show. Taylor admits there were plenty of directions OrderFire could have taken for a new series — craft beer, farmers’ markets, etc. — but when one of the world’s best mixologists is already a friend of the show and willing to help, then craft cocktails is the way to go. “I would think one of the impetuses of that is that we had Bob attached,” Taylor says. “How many movies are sitting out there waiting to be made, but then when you attach The Rock to one, it’s going to get made. That’s Bob. Bob’s The Rock.” When Peters was offered the new gig, he immediately accepted, although it took some time for his new role to sink in. Although he’s been behind the bar listening to people spill their life stories for nearly 20 years, the idea of doing it on camera was a new one to him. “After I got over the initial shock of them asking me to do it, I was honored,” Peters says. “It’s been a little bit of an adjustment. After I figured out the concept and what I would exactly be doing as host, I was talking with my wife about it, like, ‘It’s going to be a little odd being on that side of the interview. I’ve never done that before.’” Peters isn’t one to take a new gig lightly. He not only asked Jacksina for some pointers, but set up a mock interview with him at

The first ‘DrinkOrder’ guests [clockwise from top left]: Brian Lorusso, Kel Minton, Stefan Huebner and Colleen Hughes.

Taylor’s house. They recorded the bogus episode (or maybe a bonus episode one day?) and the crew went over it, breaking it down for Peters’ benefit. “I always want to do it right,” Peters says. “I always want to look like I know what I’m doing. I didn’t want to go in there and just sort of get by. A large part of that is how well Marc did [on OrderFire]. He always did such a great job and seemed so very well prepared for what he was doing.” It made things easier for Peters that the first four DrinkOrder guests are longtime friends of his from the cocktail community: Kel Minton of Soul Gastrolounge, Colleen Hughes of Haberdish, Stefan Huebner of Dot Dot Dot and Brian Lorusso of Dogwood Southern Table and Bar. Despite having shared countless long conversations with each of his guests, Peters said he was surprised to learn new things about each one. The DrinkOrder premise differs a bit from OrderFire, as guests bring out three of their signature cocktails for Peters and explain the origins of each drink. While working on the episode, the crew was struck by the extent to which each person put their own stories into each of their signature drinks. For example, Minton had a grandfather who smoked cigarettes and drank scotch. He inspired a cocktail for which Minton smokes tobacco into a glass (no, not with his mouth) before filling it.

PHOTOS BY PETER TAYLOR

“The directness of the conversations did enlighten me on some people that I call my friends already, so that was interesting,” Peters says. “There were ‘Aha!’ moments in pretty much each of the interviews where they were pretty special. There was a lot of family stuff that came out in this, which just speaks to their personalities and what makes these individuals tick. “So there’s some pretty strong, meaningful things that come out in the cocktails about family ties,” Peters says. “There are a couple tearjerker moments, I’m not going to lie. It sounds corny or silly, but I think it’s true.” For Peters, DrinkOrder is an opportunity to connect an already thriving cocktail scene in Charlotte, as well as invite some others who may think of bartenders as just the folks who pour them a Pickleback on a Saturday night. “I would like somebody who is not a part of the community to be able to take away the fact that some of these cocktails are extremely well thought out and extremely personal to the people making them, and a large portion of why they turn out and taste so beautiful is because there’s so much love poured into them,” Peters says. “That love is the human ingredient that DrinkOrder and OrderFire are all about; these people that are putting the love into these drinks and food dishes that really make them so special.” That’s enough to convince us to stay for another round. RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 201 | 13

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STEWART PENICK’S

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Come inside and warm up at Stewart Penick’s Terrace this winter. Known for their Southern cuisine with a twist, this seasonal Christmas Coffee is the perfect drink to warm you up on a chilly evening. Stop by their SouthPark or Ballantyne location for dinner.

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CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 201 | 15

THURSDAY

POLITICS & PINTS What: It takes more than a few pints to deal with most political news these days, but this event has more of a positive vibe, as N.C. Sen. Jeff Jackson stops by the ol’ brewery to discuss solutions to the problems we face today. Jackson has used his time in office to fight against gross gerrymandering in our state and improve antiquated criminal laws while also forming North Carolina’s first Early Chilldhood Education Caucus. Join the party, regardless of party. When: 7-9 p.m. Where: Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, 4150 Yancey Road More: Free. tinyurl.com/politicspints

16 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 30, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

FRIDAY

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

Double Door Inn Reunion SUNDAY

PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON

SATURDAY

SUPER MUSLIM COMEDY TOUR

RELEASE THE FUNK 5: SOUR BEER FEST

What: “Why does Ramadan go by so quickly? Because we fast!” Rest assured, the Super Muslim Comedy Tour will not feature lame dad jokes like that one. Instead, a crack team of Muslim funnymen-and-women, including Ramy Youssef, Aman Ali, Feraz Ozel, Azeem Muhammad, Moses the Comic and more are bringing their cross-country tour to the Booth Playhouse. All tickets proceeds benefit Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. When: 7 p.m. Where: Booth Playhouse, 30 N Tryon St. More: $20-25. blumenthalarts.org

SATURDAY

UGLY SWEATER FUNKSHUN

FOXTURE

What: For those not into craft beer, no, “sour” does not equal “skunked.” Sour beers feature an acquired but great taste that the folks at Salud Beer Shop have been at the forefront of cultivating from trend to staple in our fair city. At the shop’s fifth annual festival, held next door at Neighborhood Theatre, bump to tunes from DJ Overcash while enjoying unlimited samples from 53 brewerys ranging in distance from Heist down the street to La Sirene from Australia.

What: The ugly Christmas sweater has become the modern-day chia pet, a repulsive artifact that’s beloved and embraced by millions precisely because it is so crappy. There will be plenty of wearable kitsch on display at the third annual Fuzzy Holidaze event at a private lounge minutes from Northlake Mall. (The address will be sent out Friday before the event.) DJs will spin yuletide classics, jazz and downtempo from artists like Sade and Sonder while you appreciate the hideous holiday threads.

What: When Winston-Salem’s Foxture performed at the Bla/Alt Fest in October, the band brought a magical shimmer to the afternoon with a dreampop sound stretching back to the earliest of such music, like ’80s duo A.R. Kane, straight up to more modern exponents like Vinyl Williams. But Foxture has a sound of its own, which you can hear when the band celebrates the release of its new EP, Eden, along with the atmospheric pop and hip-hop of Charlotte’s Bless These Sounds Under the City.

When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th Street More: $70. saludbeershop.com

When: 6 p.m. Where: Funkshum Sanctum, TBA More: $15. eventbrite.com/e/uglysweater-funkshun

When: 8 p.m. Where: Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. More: $8. petrasbar.com

Politics & Pints THURSDAY

Dead Sea $crilla WEDNESDAY

Roosevelt Coltier Trio TUESDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

SUNDAY

THE BIRTH OF FREEDOM What: Prison abolitionist organization the Exodus Foundation will host this event with aims to show love to the victims of mass incarceration while moving toward the foundation’s end goal of ending the flow of AfricanAmericans to prison. Learn about the cause while listening to jazz pianist Luther Samuel Allison and hearing from restorative justice advocates Ron Roseboro and Dr. Madeline McClenney. When: 6-8 p.m. Where: The Biddle Institute, Johnson C. Smith University, 100 Beatties Ford Road More: Free, donations encouraged. tinyurl.com/birthoffreedom

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE EVENING MUSE

ARTWORK BY JOSHUA CHAPMAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF JACKSON

SUNDAY

DOUBLE DOOR INN REUNION PARTY What: The Double Door has fallen to the wrecking ball, but its spirit lives on. Speaking of spirits, this gig is like A Christmas Carol with shades of The Double Door’s musical past. The Lenny Federal Band is blues-based rock from the 1970s, Crisis represents ‘90s pop rock and The Stragglers are early2000s roots boogie. Before the music, enjoy what may be the last public screening of the doc Live from the Double Door. When: 7 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. More: $10. neighborhoodtheatre. com

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

SULFUR

ROOSEVELT COLLIER TRIO

GIFT RAP WEEK 3

What: Charlotte has produced plenty of dope rap albums, EPs and mixtapes over the years, but none better than Sulfur’s 2015 collection Re: Birth. The underrated gem slams to a start after a little motivational speech name-checking Muhammad Ali and Batman, running from the gritty, guitar-drums attack and booming bass of “Ain’t Stoppin” to the jazzfueled “Yesterdaz” to the stringsdrenched “One Step at a Time,” all marked by Sulfur’s completely orginal snotty flow.

What: South Florida native Roosevelt Collier may speak softly, but he carries a big stick in the form of his sacred steel guitar. Collier built his reputation alongside his uncles and cousins in The Lee Boys, but over the years he’s branched out as an “artist at large,” playing with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, Los Lobos and The Del McCoury Band. Tuesday, he’ll be with Anthony Cole and Matt Lapham to round out the trio at The Muse, and it promises to be a soul-shaking good time.

What: If you missed LeAnna Eden, who opened for Foxture at Petra’s earlier this week, or Sulfur, at the Milestone earlier this week, here’s your chance to catch both, along with indie rockers the Business People and poet Bluz. It’s all part of rap duo Dead Sea $crilla’s Gift Rap residency. Catch DS$ on this week’s episode of CL’s Local Vibes podcast, leading up to next week’s unveiling of the group’s debut, Dead Year’s Eve. Oh, and don’t forget to come as your favorite video game hero dressed in holiday garb.

When: 9 p.m. Where: The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. More: $5-$7. themilestone.club

When: 7:30 p.m. Where: The Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. More: $15. eveningmuse.com

When: 10 p.m. Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $2. snugrock.com

with the Loaf’s new years eve guide coming soon

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 17

MUSIC

FEATURE

The Soulful Noel Angels

‘NOT YOUR NORMAL CHRISTMAS SHOW’ Charlotte muse Quentin Talley’s ‘A Soulful Noel’ is for everybody BY KIA O. MOORE

OMETIMES IT happens when

you’re looking through an old family photo album. Other times the thought may come with the smell of a tasty treat baking in the oven. Or maybe it comes later, during the act of hanging an ornament on a tree. But something will eventually trigger the words, “OK, now it feels like Christmas.” Charlotte’s OnQ Productions is in its fifth year of triggering that holiday thought locally with its original musical revue A Soulful Noel — a program of Christmas classics and originals, remixed and reframed as R&B, soul, funk and gospel. The revue — which last year went viral when the cast performed some of the songs on The New York Times’ Facebook video feed — will take over Uptown Charlotte for three showings at the McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square on Friday and Saturday, December 15 and 16. The show’s director, OnQ Productions founder Quentin Talley, came up with this novel musical revue as a way of celebrating Christmas through the lens of black families, who gravitate to holiday music by James Brown, the Temptations or the Jackson 5 over Bing Crosby, Elvis or the Beach Boys. “You get classic Christmas songs like ‘What Do the Lonely Do?,’ ‘Santa Claus Wants Some Loving,’ ‘Santa Baby,’ ‘This Christmas,’ ‘Some Day at Christmas,’ and all those Christmas songs that really speak to the black experience and performed by black artists,” Talley says. OnQ Productions has been on a mission to produce educational classic, contemporary and original performances that reflect the black experience since 2006, but a Christmas performance would not become a part of its seasonal offerings until 2013. “The funny thing is, I am not a big Christmas show fan,” Talley says. “So, I wanted to make something I, too, would enjoy if we were going to do this.” He launched A Soulful Noel just as OnQ Productions was transitioning into a nonprofit organization. “Since Christmas shows always do well, and this is a great time of year in the [theater] production season, we wanted to create something dedicated to the black experience,” he says. Talley tapped drummer Tim Scott Jr. as 18 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

G I B A T O N M A I , S I G N I H T Y N N U F E H T “ .” N A F W O H S S A CHRISTM — QUENTIN TALLEY

musical director from the get-go. “I remember when he first mentioned the concept,” Scott says. “He called me and asked if I was down and I said absolutely. Q has always been really good at having these great visions. It is always fun to sit down with him to figure out ways to bring his visions to life. So, with my knowledge and

understanding of music and his creativity, we have been able to create something special. It is just a real cool spin on all the songs.” The two work with Charlotte musicians to create one-of-a-kind musical moments during each year’s shows. During last year’s production, they transformed the jazz

The Soulful Noel chorus gets inspirational in 2016

PHOTO COURTESY OF ONQ PRODUCTIONS

CKINGTON

standard “My Favorite Things,” made most famous by North Carolina-born saxophonist and free-jazz pioneer John Coltrane, into a dance-music show-stopper. Scott fondly remembers the performance by longtime OnQ cast member Kenya Templeton. “We had a special moment with Kenya. We did a really dope house version of ‘My Favorite Things,’ and it drove people crazy,” Scott says. “The song was over and the band kept playing, then Kenya had to come back out on the stage to do it again! Q also had to come back out on stage for the encore. It was crazy.” One recurring moment people can always look forward to is Talley’s own funked-up rendition of “Little Drummer Boy.” “We call it the ‘Funky Drummer Boy.’ We just play it in a James Brown funk style and Q then starts doing all kinds of theatrics,” Scott says. “He’s throwing the mic stand. He’s doing splits. The band does solos.” Scott pauses slightly, reflecting on his memories of past performances. “It creates a really dope moment during the show.” This year Scott expects more such special theatrics from Grammy-nominated artists The Hamiltones and emerging local singer Kevin “Mercury” Carter. The Hamiltones — 2E, J. Vito, and Tony Lelo, the trio of singers who back Charlotte soul sensation Anthony Hamilton — are known for spinning mundane phrases and trending pop-culture topics into soul-music earworms. The three have made a name for themselves with their soul-driven viral video performances in addition to their background vocals with Hamilton. For their Soulful Noel performance this year, the Hamiltones will

MUSIC

MUSICMAKER

TEENAGE WASTELAND Charles Walker releases emo-country debut BY MARK KEMP

IT’S FINAL EXAMS week at Appalachian

The Hamiltones premiere songs from their upcoming holiday album, A Hamiltones Christmas. When it comes to Mercury Carter, Scott is looking forward to hearing the young singer’s utterly original, opera-meets-R&B vocal vibe paired with the live-band arrangement of “Silent Night.” “The cool thing is going to be combining that arrangement for the song with what he personally brings to the arrangement,” Scott says. “That is where the magic lies with that song, and with all the songs. “The goal of A Soulful Noel is to create an experience for people,” Scott continues. “We don’t want people to come out of the show feeling like they listened to regular Christmas songs, which is something they could just do sitting at home.”

THE PRODUCTION did not start out as a musical revue. A Soulful Noel went through several iterations during the first couple of years in order to identify the best storytelling method for sharing the black Christmas experience with its growing fan base. “When we first started, it was a hybrid of spoken word, dance, monologues and songs,” Talley says. “And that format did pretty well, but it seemed like [audiences] enjoyed the music the most. “We tried it again for the second year,” he says. “We got the story a little bit tighter, but again, it seemed like people just kept talking about the singers and the music.” Scott understands why audiences kept coming back for the music. “From the time we are kids, Christmas music has always been about conveying a certain spirit for us,” he says. “I think that as we grow into adulthood, when we hear certain Christmas songs, it’s about getting that feeling back. Regardless of what your belief system is, there is something about this time of year that you don’t really always feel throughout the year. So it is really about recreating that feeling.” By 2015, Soulful Noel’s third year, Talley and Scott decided to transform it into a full-on musical revue with a digital holiday album to go along with it. The album is what brought the opportunity to showcase

PHOTO BY LAVAN ANDERSON

A Soulful Noel at the offices of The New York Times last year, when the cast was invited to perform a selection of songs on The Times’ Facebook live-video feed. It got more than a quarter-million views. “It was a great way to introduce the world to the Charlotte art scene,” Talley says. This year, Charlotteans have three chances to get acquainted with its own art scene at one of the live productions of A Soulful Noel at McGlohon Theater. Talley explains why you should consider checking out what a quartermillion viewers across the globe saw last year. “We have some phenomenal musicians and singers in the Charlotte area,” Talley says. “They take Christmas songs, turn them on their head, and make up their own arrangements. It is just a beautiful time. [Even] if you don’t like Christmas shows, you will love this one, because it is not your normal Christmas show.”

A SOULFUL NOEL $20. Friday, December 15, 8 p.m; Saturday, December 16, 2 p.m., 8 p.m. McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square, 345 N. College St.; blumenthalarts. org.

State University, and Charlotte native Charles Walker Austin-Zimmerman is sleep deprived. Not only has he had to cram for his finals, but he’s had to deal with the mastering and artwork for his debut EP, Whole Again. It’s a remarkable set of music — five songs detailing the anxieties and insecurities of moving away from home and starting college, where Austin-Zimmerman, who performs under the name Charles Walker, studies communications and sociology. The topic could be a stone bore if Walker weren’t a good songwriter with such a nuanced melodic sense and an ear for detail that finds him looking for inspiration in artists as farflung as the alt-country band Pinegrove, singersongwriter Julien Baker, the late Jason Molina of Songs: Ohia and the Magnolia Electric Co., as well as more mainstream names ranging from Sturgill Simpson to Run the Jewels. Walker, 19, gets his ear for music honestly. His mother, Jill, fronted Charlotte rootsrockers the Jill Austin Band. Charles began playing guitar at 10, and released his first EP at 16, when he was still living in Mint Hill and attending Independence High School. But he recently took his first recording offline because it doesn’t reflect his current work. “The first singer-songwriter I really liked was Jack Johnson,” he says. “But in the last few years I’ve fallen in love with this dark, emo-style, country singer-songwriter stuff.” Walker will perform his new, darker, emo-style country at Crown Station on December 16. We caught up with the teen singer-songwriter to talk with him about his very adult sound and style. Creative Loafing: Why in the world did you put out a record during final exams? Charles Walker: The issue with being a college touring artist is that the only times you can tour are during these little gaps at certain times of the year — summer is the main one, but then you also have spring break and winter break. So I planned it this way because I have an eight-show tour over winter break that starts next week, and I wanted to put out the record right before then. [laughs] I haven’t slept much lately. Your mother was in bands all your life. How much did she influence your music? I actually have a funny little anecdote about that: When I was maybe 6 or 7, I was talking about the Jill Austin Band one day, as I did constantly when I was little, and somebody asked me, “Who is Jill Austin?” I didn’t know. To me, my mom was just Mom, and the Jill

COURTESY OF CHARLES WALKER AUSTIN-ZIMMERMAN

Charles Walker Austin Band was my favorite band. So I said, “I don’t know who that is, that’s just my favorite band.” The description emo-country has been tossed around a lot recently. What does it mean to you? Well, the stereotypical emo is stuff like American Football, but there’s also been this surge of twangy emo that’s happened recently with bands like Pinegrove, who’ve kind of made tangy stuff cool. There’s this notion, especially among people my age, that country music is just this dumb southern music that talks about the same two or three topics all the time. When people think of country, they think pop country, but when you take some of those classic country influences and add them to this dark, honest southern songwriting, it creates this really nice blend. Some of your arrangements on the EP — like the unconventional horns and strings, and the background vocals in your song “All That You Need,” which transitions into “Detox” — seem to echo Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. Is he someone you’ve listened to? I’m glad you mentioned that, because that record has influenced me — especially the production, and that transitional element that you mentioned, as well as the Autotune at the beginning of “Detox”... I don’t think I realized that was where that stuff came from until right now. It’s funny, I got the idea for that transitional element from the rap group Run the Jewels. On every record they’ve put out, every song transitions into every other song. I loved that idea, so I wanted to make use of it, and I realized that those two songs were in the same key, so it worked out. You use the language of recovery in your lyrics, particularly in “Detox.” Is addiction something you’ve struggled with? No, I personally have never struggled with addiction, but I have spent a lot of time with people who have gone through detox. I basically took their stories and tried to write a song around it. Insecurity is a huge theme in my music, and I think that’s something a lot of people my age feel as they move on to college — a lot of anxiety about going to parties and feeling like, “Is everybody talking about me?” You know, just stuff we go through. CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 19

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD DECEMBER 14 COUNTRY/FOLK Lisa DeNovo (RiRa Irish Pub, Charlotte)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Carmen Tate Solo (Eddie’s Seafood & Raw Bar) Open Mic for Musicians (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) 2017 K-LOVE Christmas Tour: Steven Curtis Chapman, Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, We Are Messengers (Bojangles Coliseum) Gonzo (Jack Beagles) Heart of a Ghost, Sam the Lion (Evening Muse) Karaoke (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern, Charlotte) Messenger Down, His Dream of Lions, Hang Tight, Raincoat (Milestone) Paperback, Happy, Social Outcast, Never Home (The Station) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

DECEMBER 15 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Darryl Evan Jones’ Carolina Christmas Tiz’ the season to be jazzed! (Dale F. Halton Theater, CPCC) Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant, Charlotte) Kirk Whalum’s A Gospel According to Jazz Christmas. (Dale F. Halton Theater, CPCC)

BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Steven Engler Band (Blue Restaurant & Bar)

COUNTRY/FOLK Jennifer Daniels (Evening Muse) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Sierra Hull - A Special Christmas Show (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Method (RiRa Irish Pub)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

DECEMBER 16 DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Complete (RiRa Irish Pub) Mic Larry (Tin Roof) New Wave Undertow with DJ Price (Milestone) Tilted DJ Saturday’s: DJ Tookie (Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B A Soulful Noel (McGlohon Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK Acoustic Syndicate (Visulite Theatre) The Boat Rockers (Primal Brewery) Guy Penrod (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby)

POP/ROCK Jingle Jam and Holiday Arts Market: Emily Lord, Steve Simpson, Zach Thomas, Tom Williams, Chuck Johnson w/Tom Kuhn, Pam Taylor, David Childers, Students from the Behailu Academy and other special guests (The Third Place) Asheville Holiday Hang: Town Mountain, Amanda Anne Platt, The Honeycutters (Neighborhood Theatre) Bless These Sounds Under The City, Foxture, LeAnna Eden & TGO (Petra’s) Charlie Zimmerman (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) Crimson Sky (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Kyle Forman Sparkman Milk N’ Honey R-CiTE (Evening Muse) Mama’s Remedy (Jack Beagles) The Mike Strauss Band (Comet Grill) Toleman Randall (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)

The Broad Pickups (Jack Beagles) A Soulful Noel (McGlohon Theater)

DECEMBER 17

POP/ROCK

96.9 The Kat and City Barbeque present Schadt-A-Claus: Locash, Delta Rae, Brandon Lay

Balsa Gliders, Leisure McCorkle, John Thomas 20 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

Griffith of Cowboy Mouth (Visulite Theatre) Cardfall (Tin Roof) Ceschi Ramos, Mikal kHill, The Kyle Perkins Band, And The Luckier (Milestone) Col Bruce’s Madrid Express (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Heavy Water, Featherpocket (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) Mutt, Circus (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Strong Maybe (RiRa Irish Pub)

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SOUNDBOARD (Coyote Joe’s)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazz Brunch (RiRa Irish Pub)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Big Lo, Sulfur, Shadow, Keyza Soulsay, Jon Notty, Pee Batters (Milestone)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

DECEMBER 20 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Free Hookah Wednesdays Ladies Night (Kabob House, Persian Cuisine)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

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Karaoke with DJ Pucci Mane (Petra’s) Cyclops Bar: Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor)

DECEMBER 18 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) Stone Soul Mic Love (Freedom Factory @ Seeds) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)

POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic featuring Off The Wall (Evening Muse) The Monday Night Allstars (Visulite Theatre) Music Bingo Mondays (Tin Roof) Open Mic with Lisa De Novo (Legion Brewing) Music Trivia (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)

DECEMBER 19 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Roosevelt Collier Trio (Evening Muse)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jesse Lamar Williams & The Menastree Jazz Jam (Evening Muse)

COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Open Mic hosted by Jarrid and Allen of Pursey Kerns (The Kilted Buffalo, Huntersville) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

POP/ROCK

CLCLT.COM/CHARLOTTE/FREESTUFF

Jeanette Lynne, Heather Himes (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub) Uptown Unplugged (Tin Roof)

Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor)

All Time Low, Secondhand Serenade (The Fillmore) Double Door Inn Anniversary Reunion Party: Lenny Federal Band, Crisis, The Stragglers (Neighborhood Theatre) Omari and The Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Watchdogs, Break Away (The Station)

FREE STUFF!!

COUNTRY/FOLK Open mic w/ Jared Allen (Jack Beagles) Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill)

POP/ROCK December Residency: Dead Sea $crills LeAnna Eden, Sulfur, The Business People (Snug Harbor) Open Mic & Songwriter Workshop (Petra’s) Pluto for Planet (RiRa Irish Pub) Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical! (Ovens Auditorium) SondorBlue Brandon Berg (Evening Muse)

COMING SOON  Hectagons!, El Malpais, Recover The Satellite (December 21, Milestone) Moose Kick (December 22, Visulite) Truckstop Preachers, Motel Glory (December 22, Petra’s) Vices & Vessels, Agony, Persistent Shadow, Den Of Wolves, East Viridian (December 22, Neighborhood Theatre) December Residency: Dead Sea $crilla, Hectagons!, JT, Blu House (December 27, Snug Harbor) Devil’s Hatband, Kevin Marshall, Jordan Middleton (December 28, Petra’s) Drop !t Feat. Hippie Sabotage (December 30, Fillmore) Bask, Modern Primitives, Planet Creep (December 30, Snug Harbor) JJ Grey & Mofro, Tyler Childers (December 31, Fillmore) NYE 2018 - Countdown With The Bands featuring: Radio Lola, The Menders, The Penitentials, Party Battleship (December 31, Neighborhood Theatre)

Dollhands, Trunkweed, Dumb Doctors, Taxing (January 5, Snug Harbor) Melodime (January 6, Neighborhood Theatre) Alternative Champs (January 6, Snug Harbor) Plies (January 14, Fillmore) Charlie Mars (January 19, Evening Muse) David Rawlings (January 19, Neighborhood Theatre) Tracy Lawrence (January 19, Coyote Joe’s) A Stained Glass Romance, Beshiba, Black Fleet, Abhorrent Deformity (January 19, Snug Harbor) They Might be Giants (January 21, Neighborhood Theatre) Royal Thunder, Backwoods Payback, Space Wizard (January 22, Milestone) Tim Barry, Laura Stevenson, Roger Harvey (January 26, Milestone) Donna the Buffalo (January 27, Neighborhood Theatre) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (January 27, The Underground) Lana Del Ray (January 30, Spectrum Center) Aimee Mann (January 31, McGlohon Theater) Andrea Bocelli (February 9, Spectrum Center) George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic (February 10, Fillmore) St. Vincent (March 1, Fillmore) Jorma Kaukonen (March 6, McGlohon Theater) Dropkick Murphys (March 9, Fillmore)

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CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 21

ARTS

COVERSTORY

INTO THE DARK Through pain and fantastical power, rising painter Sloane Siobhan maps black girl magic BY EMIENE WRIGHT

HE YOUNG ARTIST is a bit like the black and brown fairyfolk in her paintings: reserved, mysterious even, her smile charged with a palpable sense of mischief. Black Girl Magic, the series of portraits Sloane Siobhan is currently creating, illuminates a corner of her studio with a quiet intensity. A full-featured, plaited and wistful woman rises from lush blooms. Only upon closer inspection do you note the elongated tapers of her fingers, the ears that come to a delicate point. “There’s this light I see in people,” Siobhan says as she closes up shop at Studio Cellar off Camden Road and West Boulevard, where she works. “Everyone gives off this sort of essence about them and I just want to capture it — immortalize it, essentially.” The Black Girl Magic series is inspired by a particular demographic of society whose light is often overlooked or overshadowed. Siobhan calls her style Afro-futurism, but the nods to classical artists like Rembrandt are definitely apparent. She merges realism and abstraction, creating an order out of chaos, she says, because, “I feel like that’s what black people do all the time. You might not have money to pay your bills, your job fucking sucks, but we still survive and thrive. We’ve got the sauce.” At 26, Siobhan, who graduated from Appalachian State University last December, definitely has the sauce. She looks to be on top of the world, actually. The rising Charlotte artist has an exhibit, Archetypes of the Subconscious, in the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Art through January; her work was featured in the Mint Museum Uptown this past fall; and she is regularly sought after for private commissions and creative collaborations, such as the November Feast Your Eyes CLT, a multi-course event that paired visual and culinary artistry. That same month, she was name-checked in a New York Post travel feature about North Carolina art. In her work, Siobhan pulls inspiration from themes and elements of fairy tales, animation houses like Studio Ghibli and comic books — anything fantastical — adding texture to her pieces with wood curls, gesso and inks. “Alice in Wonderland, forests full of mushrooms, Pan’s Labyrinth, steampunk — I try to switch it up a bit,” she says. “I have a little darkness I like to explore. I’m almost like a god, creating this space, these worlds, these universes that exist in them, these 22 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

All Sloane Siobhan [above, in her studio] needs is a canvas and her trusty supply box [below] to create amazing pieces of Afro-futurism like those shown to the right. people. Sometimes I dream up images. And then at some point I have to do it.” “Anyone who looks at her work is pulled in immediately,” says Alexys Taylor, Collections and Exhibitions manager at the Gantt. “The way she takes pain and fantasy and transforms that into art is amazing.” Taylor hadn’t heard of Siobhan before a chance conversation at a private event at Studio Cellar. “She mentioned she painted, which I appreciated because I love meeting artists,” Taylor remembers. “Then she showed me her work and I saw it was on a whole other level. Her talent and skill level make [the Gantt] proud to learn she was born and raised in the Carolinas.” The Gantt Center is very long and narrow, with three galleries and less display space than one might expect. Taylor says exhibitions are planned about two years in advance, so it was a major coup for a rising artist to get work displayed only a few months after graduating. “An opportunity came up for a small space on the exterior wall, and we offered it to her immediately,” Taylor says “I was thrilled the Gantt could be a platform for her work.”

SIOBHAN’S CAREER as an artist began

when a preschool teacher told her mother, “Little kids don’t color like this.” “I met her when she was about 4 and still have her drawing because, even then, she was exceptional,” artist Jillian Goldberg, Siobhan’s childhood instructor, remembers. Right away, Reba Whaley, Siobhan’s mother, became her biggest cheerleader, enrolling the youngster in art classes and later the prestigious Northwest School of the Arts. Whaley, a paralegal by day but also a

frustrated writer, encouraged her daughter to pursue the arts with no compunction. “She was really supportive,” Siobhan says. “A lot of times, especially in black homes, they want you to go for the more practical occupations, but she was like, ‘No, you’re good at this, have fun with it. Don’t worry about the money, the money will come.’” Still, fear of becoming a starving artist drove Siobhan to begin college as a pre-med student. “I wanted to be a pathologist, or, if that didn’t work out, a mortician. I’d always have a job,” she says, laughing. “But I discovered about myself that if I don’t want to do something, I’m not going to do it. It’s hard; it takes way more drugs than I want to put in my body.” Whaley’s death last year, from Stage 4

PHOTOS BY DANA VINIDGNI

breast cancer, altered Siobhan’s outlook on life. She moved back to care for her mother and had a hospice bed set up next to a wall lined with most of her artwork. She would sit with her mother and position her head toward the television, but after a while Whaley would turn away. It wasn’t until after she’d passed that Siobhan realized her mother had chosen to look at her daughter’s art while she was transitioning. “She got to see me graduate, kind of,” Siobhan remembers. “She was on her deathbed and the chairman of my arts college, my provost, the dean of students, and the graduation guard came down in a mock ceremony so she could see it. She wasn’t super lucid, but that’s the last time I can remember her smiling.”

’

“I’M ALMOST

LIKE A GOD, CREATING

THIS SPACE, THESE WORLDS,

THESE

UNIVERSES , M E H T IN T IS THAT EX

THESE PEOPLE.” — SLOANE SIOBHAN

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 23

“I’LL KNOW I’VE MADE IT WHEN THEY ARE TEACHING ABOUT ME. I’M NOT THERE YET,”

ARTS

— SLOANE SIOBHAN Siobhan sold her first piece to her alma mater, App State, for $800 plus copyrights. Though proud of the sale, she calls giving up rights to her work a mistake. “It was in the contract. I can post it anywhere but I can’t make any prints of it,” she says. “Art school is great, but you don’t learn the business aspect of it and that part is very in-depth.” It was a lesson learned. After graduating, Siobhan started working events like Pancakes and Booze for exposure, but worried about devaluing her art. “It gets the job done if you sell prints, and if you’re a commercial artist it’s the way to go,” she says. “But museum and galleries won’t take you as seriously if you’re too commonplace. Once I get into the Louvre, I’m selling all the T-shirts I want.” So far, Siobhan has made some strong mentorship connections, from serious art collectors to dealers to creatives like herself. Artist Marcus Kiser just wrapped Intergalactic Soul, his year-long residency at the McColl Center, and garnered national attention with a Miami-based public art series. He met Siobhan at one of the McColl’s Open Studio events, but had been following her Instagram account, @namasteloner, for some time. Drawn by her talent and the fact that she was a native Charlottean, like him, Kiser introduced her to a number of local artists. “People have the mindset that they can’t do things or get to a certain level because they are from North Carolina,” Kiser says. “But dope is dope, no matter where you are. Sloane is extremely talented, and anyone hungry and willing to get it, I support.” Community like this is a boost during those times when Siobhan could use the encouragement. “Charlotte is still kind of small, so the art scene is, too,” she says. “We need more people who understand the importance of investing in art.” Siobhan says she’d like to see more public art around Charlotte, outside of the Uptown 24 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist (Photo: A24)

PHOTO BY DANA VINDIGNI

ARCHETYPES OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day), through Jan. 22, 2018. $7-$9 (free, 5 and under). The Harvey B. Gantt Center for AfricanAmerican Arts + Culture, 551 S. Tryon St. 704-547-3700. ganttcenter.org.

hub. “It wouldn’t have to be like Venice Beach or anything, but there’s a lot of wall space where art could benefit the neighborhood,” she says. “People basically act like their surroundings, so if their area looks like trash, that’s how they’re going to behave. But if you come through and beautify it, and show people who look like you doing it, it really changes the morale.” She’s been approached by her earlier alma mater, the Northwest School of the Arts, to create an installation in the school’s newly renovated auditorium, and she’s done several public murals in Raleigh and Cornelius. Though her reputation is growing fast, she’s not close to her end goal yet. “I’ll know I’ve made it when they are teaching about me. I’m not there yet,” Siobhan says. “Everybody knows DaVinci; he’s made it. You work for however many years you’re given and one day it’s gone and if no one is here to remember it, that’s it,” she says. “That’s the facts of it, that’s why I want to be known. I promised my mom, I’ll make sure no one ever forgets you. I just piggyback on her light.” BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

FILM

ROOM TO GROW James Franco hits new heights with latest film BY MATT BRUNSON

HE SPIRITUAL COMPANION piece to director

Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, directorstar James Franco’s The Disaster Artist (***1/2 out of four) is another cheerful Hollywood-insider piece about a man whose ambitions far outweigh his expertise. In this case, it’s Tommy Wiseau, the mysterious figure who in 2003 served as writer-director-producer-star-financier of The Room. A shockingly inept film about the love triangle between a nice guy named Johnny (Wiseau), his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero), The Room was barely seen upon its original release but has since emerged as a cult sensation. It even inspired a tell-all book, Sestero’s The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made, and it’s that tome that functioned as the primary source for this endlessly entertaining film. Scripted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (the team behind The Spectacular Now and (500) Days of Summer), The Disaster Artist initially traces the growing friendship between Wiseau (James Franco) and Sestero (Dave Franco) as the pair try to make it in San Francisco. Eventually realizing that true thespian stardom can only be achieved in La La Land, the men move to Los Angeles and immediately hit the various agencies. While the good-looking Sestero lands a few nibbles here and there, the bizarre Wiseau

has absolutely no luck — this in turn spurs Wiseau to make his own movie, with Sestero as his co-star. What follows is an often uproarious yarn that finds Wiseau attempting to get The Room made even as his own cast and crew members stare in disbelief at his eccentric antics (Seth Rogen adds some nicely modulated deadpan humor as script supervisor Sandy Schklair). Yet even amidst all the hilarity, there’s a subtle poignancy at work, as Franco (as director) and his scripters clearly admire Wiseau’s sincerity while also taking note of his insecurity. This is especially hammered home in an early sequence set in an acting class — condescendingly told that his unconventional looks and irregular cadence will only allow him to play monsters and villains, Wiseau responds by informing the gathered assemblage that they’re the villains because of how they’re treating him. It’s a sobering moment, and Franco, delivering a career-best performance, sells it beautifully. The Disaster Artist is engaging enough on its own terms, and it’s not a requisite to have seen The Room beforehand. But it’s definitely recommended. Virginal viewers who watch as Franco’s Wiseau wails, “I did not hit her! It’s not true! It’s bullshit! I did not hit her! I did not! Oh, hi, Mark.” will extract a few chuckles from the scene, but Room rompers had best prepare for nyuks on a nirvanic level. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

Grand Opening

Monday December 18

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 25

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the bottom floor of the taproom. That’s when I noticed there was another set of taps End’s newest craft beer attraction Hoppin’, on the second floor! Convenience if I’ve ever you may mistake this spot for just another seen it. commercial space waiting to be filled. As It struck me later that I was probably one of my former co-workers and I pulled up so taken in by Hoppin’ because it’s the to the corner of West Bland and Winnifred perfect place for introverts and extroverts streets on a recent Wednesday night, the alike. I’m an only child, so I appreciate as warm light of the entryway doors and a few social interactions with people outside circular window was the only indicator that of my friend group as possible. I know, I there was life inside the small gray building. know, who would’ve thought? But it’s true; I’d heard about a new self-serve craft you’re faithful Nightlife correspondent isn’t beer and wine taproom somewhere near always into meeting new people. Finding Seoul Food Meat Company and invited my a bar I could walk into and get right down friend to join me when I checked it out. I was to business without even interacting with a bit apprehensive at first, wondering if this a bartender seemed like the perfect setup place would end up having the same feel as to me. other bottle shops around the Queen City. We walked outside to the back patio The answer? Not at all. When we entered where patrons will be able to play cornhole the building, there were two people greeting and purchase ice cream once the us — one of whom took the time to weather warms up, judging by walk us through the process: the presence of an unplugged - Show your ID and hand cart sitting nearby. We sat on over your debit/credit card. a bench while safely people -Receive a wristband. watching the folks inside -Enter the taproom where you’ll find 50 beer through a glass garage taps and 12 wine taps door. along the wall. We went in for one -Find your drink of more round while glancing choice and hold your wrist at the Hornets struggling up to the hop symbol. to keep up with a Curry-less -When the green light Golden State team. Hoppin’ AERIN SPRUILL appears, pour away. may not be first choice for major Where’s a Staples “easy” sports fans, but the TV situation button when you need one? works well for the casual fan. According to North Carolina law, you can’t Not to mention, at one point we were serve more than 32 ounces of alcohol at sitting next to a small stage so you know a time. That’s why you’ll have to return what that means … potential for live music, to the front when you’ve consumed 32 karaoke and all that jazz. ounces. Don’t worry, Hoppin’ utilizes iPour Considering my friend and I showed up technology, so you’ll know everything about just a few days past their grand opening, the beverage you choose and how many Hoppin’ is not hurtin’ when it comes to ounces you have left before you need to go being able to fill the space. Blame it on the back to a checkpoint. fact that they were closed on Monday and I started browsing through the taps with Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether niche one mission: find a sour beer. Just when I’d bars like this and Lumberjaxe will remain given up hope, I found one. I was nervous popular for just a couple months before the about looking crazy using the tap for the first novelty wears off and people go back to their time so I ended up with quite a few ounces of respetive neighborhood bars, but I think the a very dark sour. Needless to say, I was able concept they’ve created is one that remote to hang on to that glass for quite some time. workers, craft beer drinkers, business We walked into the open area and walked professionals and networking groups will be up the stairs past the three huge flat-screen able to enjoy. TVs and became obsessed with the layout The short of it? If you’re looking for and the concept immediately. The industrial “good beer, wine and good vibes” and you elements of the building are offset by bright haven’t been to Hoppin’ yet, you’re missing lighting and modern décor in a two-story out on a great time. Just do us all a favor taproom, another thing that separates and learn to pour a beer from a tap, or Hoppin’ from other, non-alcoholic self-serve you’re going to look silly walking around the venues in the area. taproom with a glass full of foam. We passed by a set of dartboards and But who am I to judge? found a small couch to sit on that overlooks BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

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FeeLing Lonely?

CROSSWORD

LINKING VERBS ACROSS

1 Defers (to) 5 Pretenders 11 Animistic religion of northern Asia 20 Adored star 21 How bed linens are often sold 22 Audio product introduced by Bose in 1993 23 CHARM 26 Spending jag 27 “-- ed Euridice” 28 “Ben- --” 29 SEE 34 Citi Field MLB team 37 Clothed very shabbily 38 Prefix with color 39 Fleecy beast 42 Lose vigor 43 Not difficult 44 HEIGHTEN 48 Grows older 50 Daisy cousin 51 California’s Point -52 Was of use to 56 See 29-Down 58 “Nothing -- it seems” 60 FALL 65 Suffix with host 68 Certify 69 Actress Ortiz or Gasteyer 70 Ghost shout 71 Marketing space in a newspaper, e.g. 74 “Li’l ol’ me?!” 75 STEAL 79 Donne, e.g. 81 Lead-in to history 82 E.T.’s human friend 83 Ranch rope 86 Fizzy drinks 90 Holiday song 91 SUPPLY 95 “Aloha Oe” instruments, for short 99 Crux 100 Czar’s edict 101 See 103-Down 102 Mint-family herbs 104 Gets more narrow 107 CHANGE 110 “... -- mouse?” 111 Davis of “Hot Stuff” 113 Eventual oak 114 ERASE

122 Proper noun in an atlas 123 Ripped thoroughly 124 Huge-scale 125 Person on both sides of an issue 126 Treats with malice 127 Gas brand

DOWN

1 Spill-catching wear 2 Poem of laud 3 “Amazing!” 4 Ramp for accessing a ship 5 Gem sides 6 Ghostly pale 7 Jay-ell linkup 8 Psychic “gift” 9 Stimpy’s bud 10 Small porch 11 Small bird that builds edible nests 12 Visible air 13 Chevy’s Sonic, before 2011 14 Many adults 15 Don Marquis’ “-- and Mehitabel” 16 Poet Tate 17 “It really seems to me ...” 18 Moral failure 19 Pithy remark 24 Math subj. 25 Cave beings 29 With 56-Across, compete to obtain 30 Suffix with czar 31 LAX info 32 Madras “Mr.” 33 Female sib 34 Turner of an insurrection 35 “Tall” story 36 Mil. officers 40 Rd. relative 41 Physicist Curie 44 Funny Foxx 45 English noble 46 Special time 47 Strikes (out) 48 Heady drinks 49 Docile 52 Actor Driver 53 “No” from a higher-up 54 Italian wine area 55 Luge surface

56 Arial, e.g. 57 Large elliptical fish 59 Not volatile 61 Flying British mil. branch 62 Ridesharing app 63 Stir 64 Curly’s bud 65 Ferrari who founded Ferrari 66 Riverbed deposit 67 “Keep it in” 72 Secluded valley 73 Arm of Israel 76 “Don’t worry” 77 -- dixit (unproven assertion) 78 Cat cry 79 Chi-omega linkup 80 Alley -83 Gave temporarily 84 Kind of blue 85 Of the region just north of the Antarctic Circle 87 Female gametes 88 Catastrophe 89 Antarctic penguin 90 Scale part 92 Toys -- (chain for kids) 93 TV “Science Guy” 94 Ruhr article 95 Turnpike toll, e.g. 96 Takes for ransom 97 Wallach of “Nuts” 98 Old aviation inits. 102 What pull-ups work 103 With 101-Across, thus far 105 Actress Durance 106 Evaluated 108 Sends cell messages 109 Unclear 111 Kind of gel 112 Unchanged 114 Photo -115 Deli staple 116 Cut off 117 Fizzy drink 118 Geller from Israel 119 Bottom-line 120 Prefix with gender 121 Prefix with friendly

graB Your copy today

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ENDS

SAVAGE LOVE

NOW HIRING INTERNS. THE BRIGHTER, THE BETTER. EMAIL BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

NEURODIVERSE There are books and blogs for that BY DAN SAVAGE As a 36-year-old straight woman with autism, I am often misidentified as lesbian because my social signaling must read as masculine. I am not bothered by this. However, it is annoying when someone who should know better thinks I would hide it if I were LGBTQ. I’m very direct and honest — sometimes to my detriment — and the idea that I would hide something so fundamental about myself is abhorrent to me. I don’t consider myself disabled; I am different than most people but not broken. But as a person with a diagnosed “disability” that includes an inability to accurately read and display social cues, I know that a person’s perception of your sexual orientation is definitely affected by social signaling. I enjoy your podcast and I feel like I am educating myself about how neurotypical people think. But I wish there was as good a source of advice for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I have been searching, but a lot of the advice for people with ASD is written by people who are not on the spectrum and focuses on passing for neurotypical. NOT DISABLED, NOT LESBIAN, NOT TYPICAL

I shared your letter with Steve Silberman, the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, NDNLNT. I really have nothing to add to his response — your question is outside my supposed areas of quasi-expertise — so I’m going to let Steve take it from here. “I’m not surprised to hear that NDNLNT is more annoyed by people thinking she’s in the closet than by them misidentifying her as gay. In my experience, a passionate concern for social justice — and compassion for other stigmatized and marginalized people — is so common among folks on the spectrum that it’s practically diagnostic. Furthermore, there seems to be an interesting overlap between being autistic and having a nonstandard gender identity — whether you define yourself as gay, bi, trans, straight but not cis, or nonbinary. “My autistic friends share NDNLNT’s concern about the lack of good resources for autistic people who want to learn more about the nuances of sex, dating, and gender identity. As she points out, many of the advice books written specifically for people on the spectrum take the approach that the route to success in this arena involves acting as much like a neurotypical as possible, which just adds stress to an already stressful situation. They 28 | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

also tend to be tediously heteronormative and you’re worried about him ruining the day for your best man. So ask your best man what drearily vanilla-centric. “But there are exceptions. My autistic would be worse — the new boyfriend being friends recommend Life and Love: Positive excluded (and your best man incurring his Strategies for Autistic Adults by Zosia Zaks, wrath at home) or the new boyfriend being The Aspie Girl’s Guide to Being Safe with Men included (and your best man having to put up by Debi Brown, and the anthology What with his bullshit at the wedding). Then +1 or Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew +2 accordingly. edited by Emily Paige Ballou, Kristina Thomas, and Sharon daVanport. While not I’m an attractive 30-year-old woman. autism-specific, The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Recently, I was stuck in a packed subway Disability also comes highly recommended. car. I squeezed in next to the best-looking straphanger I could find, faced him My favorite autism blog, Thinking like we were slow-dancing, Person’s Guide to Autism, runs pressed my tits into him, and frank and fascinating pieces straddled his leg. We were so like ‘Autism and Orgasm.’ close, my head was over his Another place to look shoulder — I could feel an for useful advice is electrical charge running in presentations by through his body — and autistic self-advocates we stayed that way until like Lindsey Nebeker, I got to my stop. Upon Stephen Mark Shore, parting, I whispered, and Amy Gravino (whose “You’re very attractive.” TEDx talk ‘Why Autism DAN SAVAGE And he whispered back, Is Sexier Than You Think “So are you.” I’ve pulled this It Is’ is on YouTube).” on crowded trains a few other Dan here: Thank you so times. They’re my favorite erotic much, Steve. And to everyone memories, and it sure seemed like the else: There’s more about Steve and his work at his website (stevesilberman.com), guys enjoyed these experiences. But and I strongly recommend following him on Charlie Rose thought he was “exploring Twitter (@stevesilberman), where he daily shared feelings.” So I wanted to ask: Am battles Republicanism, ignorance, and hatred. a groper? TIRESOME REALITY ARROGATES INTIMATE NEARNESS (I’m sorry, was that redundant?) My fiancé and I are getting straightmarried this summer. My fiancé’s best man is in a polyamorous relationship — which is not the problem. The issue is that we like only one of his boyfriends. Our best man moved in with the boyfriend we like two years ago. The other boyfriend is new (six months), younger, and immature. Whenever we’ve seen the three of them, his new boyfriend was fighting with one of them. I don’t want our best man to feel like we are being rude in excluding his new partner, but I don’t want there to be drama for our best man at our wedding. BEING RUDE ISN’T DAT EASY

Hmm. A new addition to a poly relationship who creates drama and makes close friends of the original pair uncomfortable? I’d put the odds of their third being in the picture six months from now at zero. So this is a problem that will most likely solve itself. But you could always ask your friend what he would like you to do. You’re not worried about the new boyfriend ruining your wedding, BRIDE,

Yup. Some people would say the obvious response — the obvious way to open your eyes to what’s so wrong about your actions — would be to ask, “If a dude did this to a woman on a public conveyance, would that be OK?” But a woman seeking out the hottest guy on the subway and pressing her tits into his chest and straddling his leg exists in an entirely different context than a man doing the same to a woman. As I wrote recently on my blog in the Savage Love Letter of the Day: “Men don’t move through their lives deflecting near-constant unwanted sexual attention, we aren’t subjected to epidemic levels of sexual violence, and consequently we don’t live with the daily fear that we could be the victims of sexual violence at any time and in any place.” So a man on the receiving end of your behavior — even a man who felt annoyed, offended, or threatened — is going to experience your actions very differently than a woman subjected to the same actions by a man. A man is unlikely to feel threatened; a woman is unlikely to feel anything else. While the men you’ve done this to seemed

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to enjoy it — and we only have your word to go on — that doesn’t make your subway perving okay. There are definitely men out there, TRAIN, who would be upset and/or angered by your actions. Me, for instance — and not (just) because I’m gay. (I don’t like being hugged by strangers. I would hate being humped by a random perv on the train.) There are also men out there who have been the victims of sexual violence — far, far fewer men than women, of course, but you can’t tell by looking at a guy whether he’d be traumatized by your opportunistic attentions. Even if your hump-dar (like gaydar, but for humping) was perfect and you never did this to a man who didn’t enjoy it, you’re normalizing sexual assault on subways and buses, TRAIN, thereby making these spaces less safe for women than they already are. Knock it the fuck off. Give the gift of the magnum Savage Lovecast at savagelovecast.com; follow @fakedansavage on Twitter; mail@savagelove.net; go to ITMFA. org.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 14 - DEC. 20, 2017 | 29

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SOLUTION TO THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE

WHERE WE ALL REFUSE TO WEAR SOCKS.

ARIES

(March 21 to April 19) An old adversary wants to make amends over the holidays. The decision is yours. But wouldn’t it be nice to share the upcoming new year with another friend?

TAURUS

(April 20 to May 20) As news of your work gets around, expect to receive a special holiday “gift” from influential contacts who could help you launch your new projects in the new year.

GEMINI (May 21 to June

20) Instead of fussing over what you didn’t do to prepare for the holidays, relax and enjoy the kudos for a job truly well done. A happy surprise awaits you early next year.

CANCER (June 21 to

July 22) The best way to shake off lingering holiday blues is to join loved ones in the fun and festivities of this special time. A confusing situation starts to make sense in upcoming weeks.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Special emotional rewards mark this holiday time for Leos and Leonas who are able to open up to new relationships and the possibilities they offer in the upcoming year. VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Your efforts to make the holidays especially memorable for some people will be rewarded in some unexpected (but very welcome) ways in the upcoming year.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Be assured that your efforts to make this holiday special for everyone won’t go unnoticed by those who could make some important changes in your life. SCORPIO (October 23

to November 21) Lots of folks want you to light up their holiday parties. But try to take some quiet time ‘twixt those glittering galas to spend with some very special people.

SAGITTARIUS

(November 22 to December 21) While the current round of holiday revels has your social life on the fast track, someone special might want to keep pace with you next year, as well.

CAPRICORN (December 22

to January 19) Enjoy all the fun you deserve at this holiday time. However, don’t lose sight of the need to check out some of the changes the new year is expected to bring.

AQUARIUS

(January 20 to February 18) What happens during this holiday time can help clear confusion up some of the jeopardizing a once-stable relationship. Follow your instincts on what to do next.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Your holidays are brightened by new friends eager to become part of your life. But don’t forget to spend time with that one special person. (You know who!)

BORN THIS WEEK You have the ability to encourage people to reach their potential by setting an example with your own efforts.

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