Coachella Valley Independent April 2019

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | APRIL 2019

THE

VOL. 7 | NO. 4

Music ISSUE

PAGE 12

Giselle Woo and the Night Owls

Latin music is on the rise locally—and Coachella/Stagecoach promoter Goldenvoice has taken notice. PaGE 26 BY

Brian Blueskye

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

APRIL 2019

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR April is, in my mind, the weirdest month of the year in the Coachella Valley.

April is a series of contradictions. It’s the craziest month of the year in terms of visitors, thanks to Coachella, Stagecoach, The Dinah and the White Party … yet the snowbirds are starting to leave, and we know May will all of a sudden bring relative calm (and blazing heat). The hotels are all full … yet during Coachella, in the west valley, the nights are fairly quiet.

Here at the Independent, if it’s April, that means it’s time for our annual Music Issue, and that means Brian Blueskye has been crazybusy working on all of our extra coverage. This year’s issue, however, is a little different from previous Music Issues: Rather than focusing Editor/Publisher exclusively on the two big festivals, Brian Jimmy Boegle decided to tie things to the local music scene, including the increasing popularity of Latin music. Read all of Brian’s fantastic coverage Assistant Editor starting on Page 26.

Brian Blueskye This issue, however, isn’t all about music; as always, our great columns, news stories, coveR and feature design food coverage and arts writing are here, too—and I’d like to draw your attention to Beth Allen one story in particular, because it’s near and dear to my heart.

Contributors On Page 8 is a story from our partners at Stephen Berger, Max Cannon, Kevin CALmatters about the mental-health crisis Carlow, Katie Finn, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill in California. At the heart of the story is the heartbreaking tale of Elizabeth Brown, Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Robin Goins, a brilliant, gifted college student who killed Bob Grimm, Michael Grimm, Alex herself last year. The piece, in gut-wrenching Harrington, Dwight Hendricks, Valeriedetail, illustrates how our medical system Jean (VJ) Hume, Keith Knight, Brett often fails to properly care for people dealing with mental illness, and examines (so far Newton, Dan Perkins, Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, Robert Victor, futile) efforts by the state government to fix the problem.

Jocelyn Wiener This story hits close to home for me, because I suffer from depression. (What I have to deal with, thank goodness, pales in The Coachella Valley Independent comparison to the severe problems Elizabeth print edition is published every month.

Brown had.) My life serves as a perfect All content is ©2019 and may not be example of the insidiousness of depression published or reprinted in any form and other mental illnesses: On the outside, things are going well for me. I have an without the written permission of the amazing husband, great friends, an exciting publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella social life and a rewarding career with purpose. Yet there are days when it takes Valley, limited to one copy per reader. every ounce of willpower I have to get going.

Additional copies may be purchased I bring this all up not because of me—I am fine, thanks to an amazing support structure, for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the fact that my illness is not that severe, and access to medication if needed—but because the Independent’s authorized distributors. of you: If you often feel down, or anxious, or if you tend to isolate yourself, please get help.

The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter Talk to someone. If things get really bad, of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, please use the resources mentioned at the CalMatters, Get Tested Coachella Valley, the Local end of the aforementioned story (on Page 9).

Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert If you don’t feel down or anxious … well, Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of someone you love probably does feel that way. the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed. Make sure you’re there for your depressed friends and loved ones—and understand that depression often just happens, no matter how things seem to be going in a depressed person’s life.

Welcome to the April 2019 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. Thanks, as always, for reading, and feel free to let me know your thoughts via the email below.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 904-4208 www.cvindependent.com

Cover photo by brian blueskye

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APRIL 2019

HARVEY MILK

DIVERSITY BREAKFAST

Commemorating Harvey Milk’s Legacy and the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall This event brings together all who support equality and social justice in celebration of this influential civil rights activist.

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HONORING

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5

APRIL 2019

OPINION OPINION

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS L

BY ANITA RUFUS

a Quinta native Cruz Moore is a young man with a plan.

The 25-year-old was raised with his younger sister by their grandparents, and he says he was taught about responsibility and the need to follow a path toward the future. Moore’s path has led him to become a filmmaker, and one of his films, The Rise and Fall of Robert Benfer, has been accepted into the Palm Springs American Documentary Film Festival, and will be showing at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 2, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

As a child, Moore was exposed to the full spectrum of film, influenced by his grandparents to see movies like The Sound of Music and Jurassic Park, and by his uncles to see science fiction and horror films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th.

Moore says. “He offered his entire filmography “The full spectrum of human emotions can in boxed sets on the internet. People prebe found in horror films,” says Moore. “When ordered them through PayPal, but the product you take human beings, isolate them in a was never delivered, and getting a refund threatening world and force them to survive, required asking (for the refund) within 60 days you find empowerment. You affect people on of purchase. So many people were ripped off. an emotional level.”

“My film chronicles the beginning of his Moore says he was “the class clown, coming career and his influence on young filmmakers, up with anything I could for comedy—that and I include interviews with his fans and what was just my personality. But I got a lot more he meant to them.” reserved and subtle by high school.”

Moore says one of his strongest influences After graduating from La Quinta High regarding the project was his best friend, School, Moore attended College of the Desert and earned his associate’s degree in liberal arts. Jimmy Mancilla; he introduced Moore to the work of Robert Benfer in 2005. “I thought I “I was too far along in my studies to switch was the class clown until I met (Jimmy). He’s majors when COD adopted a film degree, hilarious, always on point and an intelligent although I tended to hang with people who guy,” Moore says. are into the same interests as I am,” he says.

Is this endeavor the beginning of a career “I do intend to complete my bachelor’s degree making documentaries? “As long as I continue in film.” to make films and make a name for myself, I’m Moore’s 46-minute film in the festival is not stuck in any one genre,” Moore says. “I’m about Robert Benfer Jr., an award-winning into short films, music videos, documentaries clay-animation pioneer who gained a massive and movie trailers—where I pull out clips following online—before becoming what many to make a better trailer than the original call a huckster. marketing package. I’ve made over 100 videos, “I track his work, which had artistic and my primary focus is that people get integrity, and then how he changed into something out of what I’ve done. someone who was apparently a total con,”

Meet Cruz Moore, a La Quinta filmmaker whose film is part of the American Documentary Film Festival

“It’s actually astounding to see how much support the Benfer film has gotten. It shows me that no matter how esoteric or unknown a subject is, there is a fan base out there that will thank you for making the film.”

Moore says he’s been making movies since 2006.

“I started making my own films, recording almost everything, and submitting them to sites like FilmFreeway, where you can submit films by paying a submission fee,” Moore says.

“Some of the sites even take submissions for free. I go to film events and festivals and meet people with similar interests—and I’m aware that the local film community is growing.

We have festivals for international films, short films and documentaries. We need to encourage young people with these interests to stay here (in the Coachella Valley).”

Does Moore prefer documentary filmmaking, or does he also want to make scripted films?

“There’s a big difference between documentary and scripted,” he says. “The biggest factor in scripted film is in crafting your own story from your imagination without falling into some

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stereotype. Documentaries, depending on the subject matter, might be easier, because the story is already there. And I’d be willing to direct others’ films.”

Moore works on a low budget and works as a full-time projectionist at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. “I use Final Cut Pro for editing and do the writing and voice-over myself,” he says. “I haven’t really put together a crew.

“I just know that if you want to work in film, you have to put work into it every single day.”

Cruz Moore is a young man with a plan—and that plan is striving to make creative, diverse content on film. Getting his first festival acceptance into the American Documentary Film Festival is a sign that he is heading in the right direction.

Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal.” Her show That’s Life airs TuesdayFriday from 11 a.m. to noon on iHubradio, while The Lovable Liberal airs from 2 to 4 p.m.

Saturdays. Email her at Anita@LovableLiberal. com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

APRIL 2019

NEWS FLOOD FOLLOW-UP T

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

What are local governments doing to shore up infrastructure affected by the Valentine’s Day flood?

by kevin fitzgerald

he flood the Coachella Valley experienced on Valentine’s Day will not soon be forgotten— and the scars it left will be visible for a long time.

The severity of the event was framed for us by the facts presented by Marcus Fuller, the assistant city manager and city engineer for Palm Springs, in an email sent after we requested an interview. On that day: • The Palm Springs Airport received 3.69 inches of rain—“almost all the rainfall we receive normally in an entire year, (which) was reported as the third-highest volume of single-day rainfall in our (recorded) history.”

• “Riverside County Flood Control reports that rainfall totals in the Mount San Jacinto area Sea, and that is exactly what happened.

(Idyllwild) reached over 9 inches, and (it) was “Because we live in this area that has very considered a ‘100-year event.’” steep mountains all around us, flash flooding • “The storm was also warm, and there is a major concern. The Whitewater Wash was no snowfall on Mount San Jacinto. The storm channel is the safest place for the rainfall melted the prior snow accumulations, water to be for the protection of all our valley generating more runoff into the rivers and the residents—because, when it’s in that channel, desert floor.” it’s not flooding homes and businesses.

The result was traffic mayhem. For about “CVWD is the regional stormwater provider.

24 hours, the only way to get between Palm The cities are the local municipal stormwater Springs and the freeway was via Ramon Road, providers, and they have to build their own which led to massive traffic jams and delays. systems that feed into the channel, so there’s As the waters cascaded in an easterly a need for cooperation here. The cities build direction, Cathedral City was next to sustain their own retention basins and smaller infrastructure damage. Cathedral Canyon channels all that send their water into the Drive was closed for more than a month— Whitewater regional channel system, which although things could have been much worse.

CVWD maintains. The wash was a naturally “As a point of fact, we actually did occurring route (for stormwater) that the pretty well during the storm overall,” said CVWD improved and built upon in the 1970s, John Corella, Cathedral City’s director of but the fact is that we do have some trouble engineering/public works. “When the storm caused by (projects) that were built in the happened, our engineers went out and channel territory, such as golf courses and identified four or five locations where we were roads. There are agreements that allow one to having significant stormwater challenges.” do that—to build a road in the channel if you Further east in Palm Desert, Cook Street want to—but it’s a channel, and its primary was closed for a couple of days at the wash. purpose is to convey storm water.”

The city of Indian Wells had to shut down a And therein lies the problem: Many of the stretch of Fred Waring Drive, and in Indio, important roadways in the valley, by necessity, Avenue 44 remained closed at the wash as of cross the wash. So what can be done to this writing. mitigate the road closures and damage that Despite the grumblings by residents and take place when these types of floods occur— tourists alike about impassable roads and and where will the money come from to fund lengthy traffic disruptions, Katie Evans, the any such projects? director of communications and conservation According to local government officials, for the Coachella Valley Water District, said some projects are already in the pipeline. things went … great?

“We’ve sent four locations in to Caltrans “I would point out that, from the CVWD perspective, the rain event on Feb. 14 provided in our request for emergency relief funds,” said Corella, from Cathedral City. “One is the a great example of our system working exactly Cathedral Canyon low-water crossing. We lost as we want it to,” she proclaimed. our two northbound lanes to the flood flow I asked her to elaborate. that came through the wash channel. We are “That storm was a pretty significant currently restoring that to two lanes (one weather event,” Evans said, “and the truth is northbound, one southbound), and we are that our system is designed to funnel all the petitioning the state for funds to restore it to water falling or running off the surrounding four lanes again, which would cost about $1.2 mountains into our Whitewater Wash storm channel, and then convey it down to the Salton million—but we’re trying to work with them

Water rushes down the wash in Indian Wells during the early portion of the Valentine’s Day flood. JEFFREY NORMAN

to explain that we already have a bridge project that’s been designed. All the required property has been acquired. … We have a shovel-ready project that will cost $20 million, and we’re on the Caltrans potential-projects-to-fund list in their next funding cycle. So we’ve explained that we’d rather not restore the four lanes in the low-water crossing. … We’d like them to please fund the bridge project.”

In Palm Springs, Fuller wrote that the city has been getting federal help for infrastructure improvements.

“The city has aggressively pursued federal funding through what was formerly called the Highway Bridge Program to replace, widen (and) retrofit/rehabilitate its existing bridges, and we currently have six different federally funded bridge projects underway,” he said.

Some $150 million in federal funding is committed to six projects, which include replacing the two-lane bridge over the railroad tracks on Indian Canyon Drive with a new sixlane bridge; a new raised roadway and bridge/ culvert across South Palm Canyon Drive at Bogert Trail; widening the Ramon Road bridge over the Whitewater Wash from four lanes to six; and a new half-mile, four-lane bridge on Vista Chino over the wash.

Unfortunately, not all needed projects have been approved. Fuller said that the state— using federal funds—did OK a 2015 request for a new, two-mile bridge on Indian Canyon

Drive over the entire 100-year flood plain of the Whitewater Wash. But …

“The state accepted our application but did not approve programming any funding, as the total amount of the project nearly represents the total funding that the state receives from the federal government for the total (Highway Bridge Program) fund in any single year.

“Then, on Oct. 1, 2016, the state stopped accepting applications. … Thus we are prevented from submitting a request for funding a Gene Autry Trail bridge, which would also have an estimated cost of $250 million.”

What does that mean for these two vital arteries in and out of Palm Springs? “Given the costs of these two long bridges, we are unable to proceed unless we find alternative funding sources,” Fuller wrote.

However, there is some good news: The CVWD just announced it is receiving a $51 million loan from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund area improvements.

“The CVWD has a big, long-term capitalimprovement plan for our regional stormwater system,” Evans said. “… System improvements are needed, for example, in north Indio, where there are areas that need flood protection and don’t have it now. Also, the Avenue 54 stormwater channel running to the Thermal Drop Structure has been identified to receive improvement funds.”

CVIndependent.com

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APRIL 2019

NEWS MENTAL HEALTH-CARE STRUGGLES E

by jocelyn wiener, calmatters

lizabeth Brown’s bedroom holds a trove of evidence of her fight to save herself.

Preserved among Twilight novels, posters of Korean pop singers and cameras she used for her budding journalism career are clues about the Santa Rosa teenager’s agonizing struggle with the mental illness that claimed her life last year.

Next to her bed sits the lavender candle she lit to soothe herself. On her desk are the bunny slippers she wore when she was too depressed and anxious to leave the house. Taped to the wall are two plastic hospital bracelets from separate psychiatric admissions in 2017.

Underneath them hang four sticky notes, on which she had printed: “channel all the anger, sadness, hurt into this one thing” by plans is happening,” he said. “you can have control” Experts say mental health has been “you can be beautiful” underfunded historically, in part because of “this pain is good.” prejudice against people with mental illness The cutting, the suffocating despair, the and substance abuse disorders. suicidal thoughts—those details live in the journal she hid behind a password on her alifornia enacted a law requiring health laptop. plans to provide coverage for the “She really tried hard,” says her mother, diagnosis and treatment of severe mental Seong Brown. “She believed in the medical illnesses in 1999. system to help her.

A decade later, in a major victory for “But they failed at every turn.” mental-health advocates, the state passed a law requiring health plans that offered mental round California, people with mental health coverage to provide the same level of illness—and their family members—talk care they gave on the medical/surgical side. about pleading with insurance providers for The law was strengthened again in 2010 when treatment. the Affordable Care Act listed mental health as Their stories share an underlying premise: Despite policy advances in the last two decades an essential benefit that insurers were required to provide. intended to compel insurers to provide Insurers say they’re doing their best to equivalent levels of care for physical and comply with these laws but face a shortage of mental illnesses, the reality on the ground still mental-health providers. Plans are working looks very different. closely with state regulators and using a variety A poll released in January by the California of methods, including virtual appointments, Health Care Foundation and the Kaiser Family to meet these “serious challenges,” said Mary Foundation found that more than half of Ellen Grant, spokeswoman for the California those surveyed thought their communities Association of Health Plans, a trade group that lacked adequate mental-health-care providers, represents insurers. and that most people with mental health Most plans no longer limit the number of conditions are unable to get needed services. visits to a mental-health provider, nor do they The state Department of Managed Health charge higher co-pays or deductibles. But that Care has cited health plans dozens of times in hasn’t made access to mental and physical the past decade—penalizing them millions of health care equivalent, said Lloyd of The dollars—for mental-health-related violations.

Kennedy Forum.

And a federal judge in Northern California The primary challenges for patients now recently ruled that United Behavioral exist in areas harder to track and quantify, Healthcare had wrongly restricted treatment for patients with mental-health and substance- including pre-authorization requirements and determinations of what is “medically abuse disorders in order to cut costs, in necessary,” he said. violation of federal law.

Parity laws are often so complex that it Not all problems with access to mental can be hard for people to know whether the health care are illegal, but some almost barriers they face are actually illegal or just feel certainly are, said David Lloyd, policy adviser unfair, said Jennifer Mathis, policy director at at The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit mental the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in health advocacy organization founded by Washington, D.C. former congressman Patrick Kennedy.

“Most people aren’t able to figure this out,” “There’s a lot of evidence that discrimination

C

A

CVIndependent.com

Families across California say their loved ones aren’t getting the treatment they need

Mathis said.

All many people know is that their loved one desperately needs help—and isn’t getting it.

I

n early January 2019, on the first anniversary of the day that Elizabeth Brown took the action that eventually ended her life, her parents, Seong and David, sat at the kitchen table in the immaculate Santa Rosa home that Seong, an architect, designed.

Seong retrieved an email from her husband’s colleague detailing cancer treatment his wife received from Kaiser Permanente. While Elizabeth descended into mental illness, their friend’s wife was treated by a team of oncologists, nurses, counselors, social workers and outside specialists.

“This is what she got,” Seong said. “And she’s still here.”

Citing federal privacy laws, Kaiser declined to comment on Elizabeth’s care. In a written statement, the company said, “This is a heartbreaking story, and our condolences go out to the Brown Family and her loved ones.

While we can’t speak to any individual case out of respect for the privacy of those involved, the loss of any person greatly saddens every physician, therapist and nurse involved in that patient’s care. We review each case extensively and when opportunities to improve are discovered, we share that knowledge with our care teams.”

Elizabeth was a top student, her parents said. She earned a black belt in karate, played piano and was a violinist in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.

After her sophomore year, she applied to Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Massachusetts and started there before her 16th birthday. She made the dean’s list.

She also started having panic attacks. In May 2016, after her second year at Bard, she asked to see a therapist.

“Something’s not right, Mom,” Seong said she told her.

A few days later, Elizabeth first met with a Kaiser psychologist in Santa Rosa, beginning a treatment odyssey chronicled in 3,000 pages of medical records provided by her parents.

The psychologist described “depression, selfcriticism and self-destructive behaviors,” suggesting a self-forgiveness audio program and discussing cognitive behavioral therapy strategies.

As the months passed, Seong and David Brown grew increasingly concerned. Their daughter would head off to college, only to

Seong Brown tends to the altar the family maintains in Elizabeth’s honor at their Santa Rosa home. Penni Gladstone/CALmatters

land in a hospital or threaten to kill herself and return home to California.

The family was dissatisfied with the frequency of sessions available through Kaiser.

They were referred to an outside contractor, records show, but grew frustrated waiting to hear back. They eventually began paying $160 a session so she could see an outside therapist once or twice a week.

On Jan. 18, 2017, records show, Elizabeth tore up her parents’ house, searching for pills to swallow to kill herself. She found herself holding a kitchen knife and, frightened, called police. They took her to the hospital. Two days later, she was screened for an intensive outpatient treatment program offered through Kaiser.

“Patient’s mother is very worried that Patient will kill herself and requested a higher level of care,” the provider Elizabeth met with wrote in her notes.

Elizabeth agreed to try the Kaiser program—group therapy a few hours a day, several times a week, for two weeks. She was taking several medications, but they didn’t seem to be working, her parents said.

A letter she wrote herself during that time offers a window into her mindset.

“The depression drops you into a deep pit, leaving you to claw at the edges in an attempt to pull yourself out,” she wrote. “But there are people, resources, pieces of hope that will drop you a ladder—I promise. Even though you scream, and it seems like no one hears you, you will learn to help yourself. … You can rely on yourself; you are your own saving grace.

Because in the end, you won’t be saved by IOP or medications or therapy—you will be saved by you.”

Around that time, records show, her Kaiser psychiatrist diagnosed her with bipolar disorder. Over the next few months, he

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

APRIL 2019

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS changed her medications regularly and offered words of encouragement via email.

But a few weeks later, she was struggling again.

I

n 2013, the state Department of Managed Health Care levied a $4 million fine—one of the largest in its history—against Kaiser for deficiencies in providing timely access to mental health care and for violations of state parity law related to mental health education materials.

In an interview, Department Director Shelley Rouillard said Kaiser “actually is doing very well” at meeting the settlement agreement’s benchmarks.

In December, Democratic state Sen. Jim Beall of San Jose introduced legislation to require plans to report to the state annually on parity compliance—and for the state to make those reports accessible to the public.

That same month, Kaiser mental-health workers went on strike for five days to protest long patient wait times. Striking providers described not using the restroom all day and working through lunch, afraid that any call they don’t answer will leave a patient to suffer.

“The HMO is not going to go to oncology and say, ‘Our next available opening is in six weeks, so that’s what’s available,” said Kenneth Rogers, a psychologist with Kaiser in Elk Grove who serves as a shop steward for the union.

People on both sides of the debate agree that mental health workforce shortages are a big piece of the problem.

Kaiser has hired 30 percent more therapists since 2015, and pays the state’s highest rates, said Dr. Linda Kim, chair of regional mental health and addiction medicine and recovery services for Kaiser Northern California.

“I truly believe no other organization is doing more than what we are doing, in terms of aggressively hiring and in terms of truly innovating and finding new models of care that are evidence-based,” she said.

Professional associations representing psychiatrists and social workers say they often don’t want to work with insurers at all, citing low reimbursements and onerous administrative burdens.

One study found that only 55 percent of psychiatrists accept insurance, compared to an average for all health care professionals of 89 percent.

Sheree Lowe, vice president of behavioral health for the California Hospital Association, said health plans often require reauthorization every five days for hospitalized patients receiving mental-health or substance-abuse treatment—even for evidence-based care that routinely takes much longer. In some cases, clinicians have to wait up to two hours on hold in order to get that authorization, she said.

“That doesn’t happen if you go in with a fractured hip or with pneumonia,” she said.

E

lizabeth returned to college in Massachusetts in the fall of 2017. She was quickly hospitalized twice. Doctors there diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder, her parents said, which was subsequently added to her Kaiser medical record.

That October, as the deadly Tubbs Fire moved closer to the hills around the home Elizabeth’s mother had designed, she hosed down her roof and bargained with God: “Take my house. Bring my child back.”

The house was spared. Elizabeth got sicker.

Desperate, her parents made plans to send her to a residential treatment program in January 2018. It would cost $45,000 out-ofpocket.

On Dec. 4, 2017, Elizabeth emailed her Kaiser psychiatrist. “There is a lot to cover since we last met,” she said.

“It’s a 30 min visit to remind you and my part at this time is to refill your meds in the transition to your more intensive treatment,” he responded, according to Elizabeth’s medical record.

That afternoon, Seong sent the psychiatrist an email: “This is very critical and important for Elizabeth’s well-being because of her acute symptoms. She will be home more than a month and she needs an intensive outpatient therapy that is more than once a week.”

He responded that he understood, and that Elizabeth could return to the Intensive Outpatient Program or try to see a new therapist through an outside contractor. “That is the options I have available,” he wrote.

Seong developed a protocol when she was away from Elizabeth. She’d check in via text.

If no response came within 15 minutes, she would call twice. If there was no answer, she’d race home.

On Jan. 10, 2018, Seong felt hopeful.

Elizabeth texted that she was drinking coffee and reading a book. They made plans to buy new glasses frames after Seong came home from work.

In between texts to her mother, her parents said, Elizabeth also sent one to a friend. Its message, in essence: Send the police to collect my body. I don’t want my parents to find me.

This is an abridged version of the full story, which is available CALmatters.org—a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California’s policies and politics. The coverage is funded by a grant from the California Health Care Foundation.

Consumers experiencing access issues, or other issues with their health plans, can reach the state’s Department of Managed Health Care Help Center at 1-888-466-2219 or www.HealthHelp.ca.gov.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, there is help available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) for resources and support.

Call Travis today!

(909) 466-5339 ext.7805

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APRIL 2019

NEWS

THE FOILIES 2019 T

by the electronic frontier foundation

he cause of government transparency finally broke through to the popular zeitgeist this year.

It wasn’t an investigative journalism exposé or a civil rights lawsuit that did it, but a lighthearted sitcom about a Taiwanese-American family set in Orlando, Fla., in the late 1990s.

In a January episode of ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, the Huang family’s two youngest children— overachievers Evan and Emery—decide if they sprint on all their homework, they’ll have time to plan their father’s birthday party.

“Like the time we knocked out two English papers, a science experiment, and built the White House out of sugar cubes,” Evan said. “It opened up our Sunday for filing Freedom of Information requests.”

“They may not have figured out who shot JFK,” Emery added. “But we will.” demanded be made private under their The eldest child, teenage-slacker Eddie, concluded with a sage nod, “You know, once in a nondisclosure agreements.

It’s not just Google using these tactics. An while, it’s good to know nerds.” agreement between Amazon and Virginia Amen to that. Around the world, nerds of includes a provision that the state will give all ages are using laws like the United States’ the corporate giant—which is placing a Freedom of Information Act (and state-level major campus in the state—a heads-up when equivalent laws) to pry free secrets and expose anyone files a public-records request asking the inner workings of our democracy. for information about them. The Columbia But the journalists and researchers who rely Journalism Review reported that Facebook has on these important measures every day can’t also used this increasingly common strategy for help but smirk at the boys’ scripted innocence. companies to keep cities quiet and the public in Too often, government officials will devise the dark about major construction projects. novel and outrageous ways to reject requests for information or otherwise stymie the public’s The Cross-Contamination Award: right to know.

Stanford Law Professor Daniel Ho Since 2015, the Electronic Frontier One of the benefits of public records laws is Foundation (a nonprofit that advocates for free they allow almost anyone—regardless of legal speech, privacy and government transparency acumen—to force government agencies to be in the digital age) has published The Foilies more transparent, usually without having to file to recognize the bad actors who attempted to thwart the quests for truth of today’s Evans and a lawsuit.

But in Washington state, filing a publicEmerys. With these tongue-in-cheek awards, records request can put the requester at we call out attempts to block transparency, legal risk of being named in a lawsuit should retaliation against those who exercise their someone else not want the records to be made rights to information, and the most ridiculous public. examples of incompetence by government This is what happened to Sarah Schacht, a officials who handle these public records.

Seattle-based open-government advocate and consultant. For years, Schacht has used public The Corporate Eclipse Award: records to advocate for better food-safety Google, Amazon and Facebook rules in King County, an effort that led to Sunshine laws? Tech giants think they can just the adoption of food-safety placards found in blot those out with secretive contracts. But two restaurants in the region. nonprofit groups—Working Partnerships and After Schacht filed another round of requests the First Amendment Coalition—are fighting with the county health department, she received this practice in California by suing the city of a legal threat in November 2018 from Stanford San Jose over an agreement with Google that Law School professor Daniel Ho’s attorney prevents city officials from sharing the public threatening to sue her unless she abandoned impacts of development deals, circumventing her request. Apparently, Ho has been working the California Public Records Act. with the health department to study the new Google’s proposed San Jose campus is food-safety and placard regulations. He had poised to have a major effect on the city’s written draft studies that he shared with the infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. Yet, health department, making them public records. according to the organization’s lawsuit, records Ho’s threat amounted to an effort to analyzing issues of public importance such as intimidate Schacht from receiving public traffic impacts and environmental compliance records, probably because he had not formally were among the sorts of discussions Google CVIndependent.com

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Recognizing the year’s worst in government transparency published his studies first. Regardless of motive, the threat was an awful look. But even when faced with the threat, Schacht refused to abandon her request.

Fortunately, the lawsuit never materialized, and Schacht was able to receive the records.

Although Ho’s threats made him look like a bully, the real bad actor in this scenario is Washington State’s public-records law. The state’s top court has interpreted the law to require parties seeking to stop agencies from releasing records (sometimes called reverseFOIA suits) to also sue the original requester along with the government agency.

The Scanner Darkly Award: St. Joseph County Superior Court ProPublica reporter Jessica Huseman has been digging deep into the child-welfare system and what happens when child abuse results in death.

While following up on a series of strangulations, she requested a copy of a case file from the St. Joseph County Superior Court in Indiana.

Apparently, the clerk on the other end simply took the entire file and ran everything through a scanner. The problem was that the file contained a CD-ROM, and that’s not how CD-ROMs work.

“Well, this is the first time this had happened,” Huseman posted to Twitter, along with the blotchy black-and-white image of the top of the disc. “They scanned a CD as part of my FOI and didn’t give me its contents. Cool cool.”

The Cash for Crash Award: Michigan State Police As tech companies experiment with autonomous vehicles on public roadways, reporters are keeping tabs on how often these cars are involved in collisions. That’s why The Information’s Matt Drange has been filing records requests for the crash data held by state agencies. Some government departments have started claiming that every line of the dataset is its own individual record—subject to a copy fee.

Our winner, the Michigan State Police, proposed to charge Drange a 25-cent fee for each of a 1.9 million-line dataset, plus $20 for a thumb drive, for a grand total of $485,645.24, with half of it due up front. Runners-up that quoted similar line-by-line charges include the Indiana State Police ($346,000) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation ($82,000).

Meanwhile, Florida’s government released its detailed dataset at no charge at all.

The Bartering With Extremists Award: California Highway Patrol In 2016, the Traditionalist Worker Party

Hugh D’Andrade

(TWP), an infamous neo-Nazi group, staged a demonstration at the California State Capitol.

Counter-protesters fiercely opposed the demonstration, and the scene soon descended into chaos, leaving multiple people injured.

When the dust settled, a member of the public (who, we should disclose, is a co-author of this piece) filed a California Public Records Act request to obtain a copy of the permit the white nationalist group filed for its rally. The California Highway Patrol rejected the request for this normally available document, claiming it was related to a criminal investigation.

Two years later, evidence emerged during criminal proceedings that a CHP detective used the public-records request as a bargaining chip in a phone call with the TWP protest leader, who was initially reluctant to provide information. The officer told him how the request might reveal his name. “We don’t have a reason to … uh … deny (the request),” the officer said, according a transcript of the call.

But once the organizer decided to cooperate, the officer responded, “I’m gonna suggest that we hold that or redact your name or something … uh … until this thing gets resolved.”

In light of these new facts, the First Amendment Coalition filed a new request for the same document. It, too, was denied.

The Foilies were compiled by Electronic Frontier Foundation Senior Investigative Researcher Dave Maass, Staff Attorney Aaron Mackey, Frank Stanton Fellow Camille Fischer, and Activist Hayley Tsukayama. Illustrations by EFF Art Director Hugh D’Andrade. For more on our work, visit eff.org. Read the full version of this piece at CVIndependent.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11

APRIL 2019

NEWS

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APRIL ASTRONOMY M

This month, the morning sky offers a

Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight preview ofFor theApril, evening 2019sky this summer This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

N

By Robert Victor

y lifelong interest in sky-watching began in the school year 1951-52, a year after our sixthgrade teacher led us to create a mural of the solar system, with the planet sizes to scale.

When I was in seventh-grade, our school library included two books which really changed my life: A Dipper Full of Stars, by Lou Williams Page, originally published by in 1944—and revised and republished as a California state textbook in 1959! The other book was The Friendly Stars, by Martha Evans Martin, published in 1907.

On the first page of A Dipper Full of Stars is a quote from Harlan T. Stetson’s Man and the Stars: “To acquire some appreciation of the meaning of the skies, one must make the friendship of the stars; watch their majestic march through the night, and the slow seasonal advance of constellation after constellation from east to west throughout the year. To know in twilight, 10 degrees to the lower left of Orion, Sirius, Taurus, and the Pleiades as leading Venus. roles of the winter skies; or Lyra, with its Vega, April 1-6 at dusk: Mars and the Pleiades, or Cygnus, with its Northern Cross, the Scorpion and Seven Sisters, star cluster are 3 to 5 degrees Antares as the quieter leaders of the softer skies of apart, making a fine sight in the same field of summer, gives one a sense of kinship with nature view of binoculars. Mars’ trek across Taurus, which makes a knowledge of their movements more at nearly two-thirds of a degree per day this significant, and even life a bit more worthwhile.” month, will be fun to watch.

April is an interesting month to start keeping April 2 at dawn: Venus is within 5 degrees a record of bright stars seen each evening, above the crescent moon (8 percent). Using within the first hour after sunset. Seven of binoculars, try for Mercury, 9 degrees to the the 16 stars of first-magnitude or brighter lower left of Venus and 7 degrees left of the observable from the Coachella Valley are moon. gathered in the western sky, arranged as the April 7-9: Enjoy a fine gathering of the moon, huge Winter Hexagon—clockwise starting with Mars, Aldebaran, Hyades and Pleiades at dusk. its brightest member, Sirius, Procyon, Pollux April 10: Jupiter begins retrograde, and ends (with Castor nearby), Capella, Aldebaran, nearly 10 degrees farther west on the evening of Rigel and back to Sirius to complete the Aug. 10. Saturn undergoes nearly 7 degrees of Hexagon—with a bright red star, Betelgeuse, retrograde motion from April 30 through Sept. inside. Nearly all these stars will depart between 19. It was a very close conjunction involving late April and late June, as a result of the Earth’s Saturn retrograding past the third-magnitude revolution around the sun. star Gamma in Virgo in the spring of 1952 The morning sky features the planets Venus, which caught the attention of this writer, not Jupiter and Saturn. Mercury has a horizonquite 13 years old at the time. hugging apparition low in the morning twilight April 10-23, dawn: Mercury stays no more in April, lingering closely to the lower left of than 5 degrees to the lower left of Venus, Venus at dawn in middle two weeks of month. making it easy to locate through binoculars in In the morning, the stars—but not the fastthis otherwise poor, low apparition. Mercury moving planets Mercury and Venus—are in approaches within 4.3 degrees to the lower roughly the same positions they will occupy left of Venus April 15-18. Since these planets in the evening sky a few months hence: approach within 5 degrees but don’t pass each Bright steady Jupiter is in the south to southother, this event is known as a quasi-conjunction. southwest, with red twinkling Antares, heart April 12: The moon is 7-12 degrees from of Scorpius, to its lower right, and steady Pollux and Castor, a pair of stars 4.5 degrees Saturn to left of Jupiter. Golden Arcturus apart, marking the heads of Gemini, the Twins. is in the west, with blue-white Spica to its Night of April 13: Around this date each lower left in the west-southwest. The Summer year, as the Earth passes between Spica and the Triangle of Vega, Altair and Deneb passes sun, the star appears at opposition, nearly 180 overhead, as in evenings in August. Getting up degrees from the sun, and is visible all night. before dawn is a good way to preview the sky Look for Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, low of the coming season! in the east-southeast at dusk, and low in the Events to observe: west-southwest at dawn.

April 1 at dawn: Venus is 8 degrees to the April 13-15: Mars passes 6.5 degrees north lower left of the waning crescent moon (13 of Aldebaran at dusk. Binoculars give a fine percent). Binoculars may show Mercury rising view of the Hyades cluster in the same field

April's evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER

Arcturus

Capella Mars

E

1

Castor Pollux

8

15

29 22

W

Aldebaran

Regulus Betelgeuse

Spica Procyon

Rigel Sirius

Canopus

Evening mid-twilight occurs

as Aldebaran.

Note degrees apart, when Suntwo is 9ostars below8horizon.

Apr. 1: 40Bull’s minutes after sunset. marking tips of the horns, 15-17 degrees 15: 41 " " " above Aldebaran.

30: 43 " " " April 14: The moon is 4 degrees from Regulus, heart of Leo, the Lion.

Night of April 18-19: The full moon is 7-8 degrees from Spica all night.

April 22-26: The waning moon passes Antares, Jupiter and Saturn at dawn. The moon is 7 degrees above Antares on April 22, with close pairings of the moon and Jupiter on April 23 (less than one degree) and the moon and Saturn on April 25 (less than 2 degrees).

Check the website of the Astronomical Society of the Desert at www.astrorx.org for dates and times of our evening star parties at two locations: Sawmill Trailhead, our highaltitude site (elevation 4,000 feet), will next have sessions starting at dusk on Saturday, April 6 and May 4. Our primary, more accessible location is at the Visitor Center of the Santa

S

Stereographic Projection

Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Map by Robert D. Miller Monument (on Highway 74, within 4 miles south of Highway 111 in Palm Desert). Our next session there is on Saturday, April 13, from 8 to 10 p.m., with the final one for the season on Saturday, May 11.

Also, remember to check the Impromptu Star Parties link. I’ll be offering sky watches in Palm Springs at the pedestrian bridge over Tahquitz Creek at North Riverside Drive and Camino Real, including some in predawn for the stars of summer, plus telescopic views of Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn’s rings; and some at dusk to observe the moon, Mars and the mix of winter and spring stars. Wishing you clear skies!

Robert C. Victor was a staff astronomer at Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. He is now retired and enjoys providing sky watching opportunities for a variety of groups in the Coachella Valley.

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APRIL 2019

CVI SPOTLIGHT: APRIL 2019 The Making of an Icon: Charles Busch Brings His Personal Cabaret Show to the Purple Room

H

ow do you get the best roles written for you, both onstage and onscreen?

In the case of the great Charles Busch, you write the roles yourself.

The gay/drag icon—who also found mainstream success with his Tony Awardnominated play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife—will bring his cabaret show Native New Yorker to the Purple Room on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be on the stage,” Busch recently told me. “During college, I was never cast in any plays. I thought that if I was not making it in the university’s theater, I was going to have a big problem in the real world.

“It’s not like I could find any roles that were right for me. Being an androgynous young fellow, I didn’t know what would work for me. I started writing full-length plays when I was 11; I don’t know why it took me to the ripe old age of 19 to figure out I could write a starring role for myself.

Northwestern didn’t offer the opportunity to put on your own production. I figured I’d never let that stop me. My senior year, I wrote a play and found a way of doing it myself. That was the first time I ever wrote, acted and directed my own play. … I really just became a writer so that I could have roles onstage.”

Busch, as the name of his show states, was born in New York City.

“I had an eccentric childhood. My mother died when I was 7, and I was very lucky that my Aunt Lillian, a widow with no children, lived in New York City. She was the great force in my life,” Busch said. “I was always spending weekends with her.

She started taking me to the theater when I was about 9 years old. She was always very, very encouraging to me. When I was 13, I

was living in a fantasy world, and I wasn’t functioning. I was going to be held back in school. I was living up in a suburb, and my aunt stepped in and brought me to live with her in New York City—just like Auntie Mame. She was the most influential person in my life. She encouraged any talent that I had and was extremely supportive. She taught me great lessons, and I was very fortunate I was never saddled with the concept of, ‘What would people think?’ It’s never been part of my consciousness, and that has allowed me to be something of an adventurist and just do something because I thought it would be fun or outrageous.

“My operative word that I have always held onto is always ‘fun.’ I don’t have the concern of, ‘What will people think?’—just, ‘How much fun this could be?’”

Busch’s April shows will mark a return to the Purple Room.

“I love Palm Springs and have been coming to the Purple Room for the last three years. I have some very good friends who live in Palm Springs, and I like to come whenever I can,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t get to spend as much time socializing, because I don’t want to exhaust myself before performing.”

Busch said Native New Yorker reflects his personal experience.

“I am a playwright—really, a storyteller.

My cabaret show is about my story, where I come from—and then finding songs that help illuminate my stories,” Busch said.

“This show is very much about my life in the ’70s and the ’80s. It starts off when I went to college at Northwestern, and it’s really about my quest during that decade and a half of how I was going to have a career in the theater. … The show ends at the opening of my 1985 show Vampire Lesbians

Charles Busch

of Sodom. This play helped establish me as a playwright and actor.

“I sing a collection of beautiful songs from the ’70s and ’80s by Sondheim, Rupert Holmes and Henry Mancini, as well as a collection of Broadway pop songs. The songs really helped to illuminate my storyline. It’s both touching and funny. I’ve told these stories so often in my living room that it’s nice to be able to share it on the stage. I create the illusion that the whole audience is in my living room.”

While Busch is known for his drag performances, he will not be in drag for Native New Yorker.

“Originally, the show was done with me in drag,” he said. “But it is my story, so a

few years ago, I decided to try it without the drag. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it, but I’ve discovered that I really love it. It didn’t really change anything. It made me feel freer, and it makes more sense when I’m introduced as Charles Busch, and I enter as Charles Busch.”

Charles Busch: Native New Yorker will be performed at 8 p.m. (after a 6 p.m. dinner seating) on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, at the Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs.

Tickets are $50 to $60 plus a $25 food/ drink minimum. For tickets or more information, call 760-322-4422, or visit purpleroompalmsprings.com.

—Dwight Hendricks

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APRIL 2019

Something Rotten!

ASERE! A Fiesta Cubana featuring musicians and dancers of the Havana Cuba All-Stars Wed, April 3, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Jo Ann & Alan Horwitz Linda & Manny Rider and Nancy Stone

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McCallum Theatre Education Presents

2019 Open Call Talent Project

Chris Botti Fri & Sat, April 12 & 13, 8pm

Thu & Fri, April 18 & 19, 7pm Sat, April 20, 2pm & 7pm

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APRIL 2019

ARTS

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THE WHITE PARTY TURNS 30 Dance-music diva Beth Sacks gets ready to perform at the biggest dance party in the country

A Southern Love Story by

Audrey Cefaly

Live. Love. Repeat.

T

By Jimmy boegle

he gay circuit party that helped revitalize Palm Springs is celebrating a milestone.

The White Party will be marking its 30th anniversary this year when it returns to the Palm Springs Convention Center and—in a move away from its longtime host hotel, the Renaissance—arrives at the Palm Springs Hilton. The weekend of almost-nonstop parties kicks off at the Hilton pool at noon on Friday, April 26, and concludes the following Sunday night (actually, Monday morning) with the Papa Tribal party at the Convention Center.

However, the weekend’s big event is the White Party itself, taking place at the Convention Center Saturday night. This year’s theme is “House of Gods”—and a featured performer will be Beth Sacks.

If you like dance music, you’re familiar with Sacks’ songs—often with DJ Aron—such as her cover of “Voulez Vous” and their newest song, “Hey Hey Hey.” I recently had a chance to talk to Sacks about her music—and how she wound up becoming one of the most popular names on the gay pride/party circuit.

What can people expect from your White Party performance?

A good time! They’re going to want to sing along, because they’re familiar with all of our music that I’ve done with DJ Aron. It’s a good time—a lot of energy, and a lot of uplifting songs that will make you want to dance.

Starring

JOEL BRYANT & KAY CAPASSO

Directed by

APRIL 5-14

DEBORAH HARMON

PEARL McMANUS THEATER, DOWNTOWN

IN THE HISTORIC PALM SPRINGS WOMAN’S CLUB

TICKETS: $30-45 • (760) 322-0179 • DEZARTPERFORMS.ORG sponsored by

MAYTAG VIRGIN is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

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How did you become a gay dance great?

I started singing as a child, listening to disco music; Donna Summer was my idol along with Gloria Gaynor. Later, I got involved in musical theater. I did many Broadway musical productions, and I toured with Phantom of the Opera. I moved to New York to pursue Broadway; I studied opera as well. … However, back in the days of Limelight and Roxy, I discovered Peter Rauhofer and Junior Vasquez.

As a child, always wanted to make the sounds that Donna Summer was making. I’ve always had a love, behind the musical theater that I was doing, for dance music. It just always felt very healing and free. Watching my friends struggle through coming out—you didn’t come out when I was in high school. You didn’t do that. It was a secret. It was not as open as it is today, and I always felt like the music, especially in the gay community, was about celebrating positive messages.

I’ve just always had a love for that type of

Beth Sacks.

music, because it’s very uplifting. It gives you hope. … I have to sit back and be amazed at how blessed I feel. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people who were down on their luck or might have been going through something. … They tell us, “Your music gives me hope for another day.”

You’ve never been to Palm Springs?

No, this is my first time.

I have to ask: How can you be a circuit-party singer and never have been to Palm Springs?

(Laughs.) I remember when bringing a female singer (to a gay dance party) wasn’t always very popular. …It’s a boys’ night, if you will.

But that’s changed. … Because of my work and because what (DJ Aron and I) have done together, I’ve been able to get recognized.

I’ve worked with (White Party promoter) Jeffrey Sanker before. … He invited me to come. I just said, “I will be there with bells on.”

What are expecting from your first time to Palm Springs?

I’m expecting it to be incredible. I’ve watched many videos from the party. I know it is the biggest party in the United States. So, I’m expecting a huge party—a huge turnout.

The White Party Palm Springs, part of White Party Weekend, takes place at 10 p.m., Saturday, April 27, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros, in Palm Springs.

Tickets start at $150. For tickets or more information, visit www.jeffreysanker.com/ white-party-palm-springs.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

APRIL 2019

ARTS

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SETTING A HIGHER BAR

The newly independent Artists Council christens its new home in Palm Desert with ‘Metamorphosis’

T

By stephen berger

he Artists Council is now fully independent from the Palm Springs Arts Museum—and its inaugural exhibition as an independent organization, rather appropriately, is based on the theme Metamorphosis.

The exhibition and sale will be celebrated with a catered opening-night reception on Thursday, March 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., and will be on display at the Artists Council’s new home—the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert—through Friday, April 12.

The exhibition is free and open to the public, as is the opening-night reception, at which attendees will be able to meet the artists and vote for theI should People’s explore Choice Award. system, lease,by the company I know solar, but “Andreas and Trail if III”you (cropped) Marilyn Froggatt.

For 50 years, the Artists Council was awill part you lease from takes it, lowering your I’ve been procrastinating.

What museum shows. There’s a lot of talent in the of the Palm Springs Art Museum. On Jan. 1, monthly payment. Solar companies also motivate me to take the next step? local scene. Lots of artists live in this area.” the Artists Council became a fully independent have some stock now thatartists wereto The best motivation should be the Radcliffe panels said it’sin important to the nonprofit organization. Its mission is to promote here components panels savings canofexpect with solar. have before their work shown in aand/or museum setting. the art andyou artists the Coachella Valley.In subject to the tariff—so exchange for just little bit of your “Metamorphosis is anew juried museumthat show.

Metamorphosis wasachosen as the first time, were means you have great pricing right now. you can reduce your average electric bill This sets the bar higher, and we are building exhibit’s title by the new board of directors. anywhere 25-50forpercent—and on that high quality,” he said. “Our jurors are “We chose from this theme our inaugural just Wow. How and much time are wereally talking? keepbecause that money in your pocketbyeach well-known respected.

You have to event it mirrors the process which improve your art to get into these shows.

Give Renova a call, and we’ll look at your month.

ThenCouncil you canis take your time our new Artists developing,” said “The Artists Council offers critiques for our exhibition Radcliffe in asavings! written roof while you’re on the phone and give decidingchair whatTony to do with the members and classes to improve notinitial only the statement. you an If you “Our goal is to demonstrate the art, but also improve the business side of what high quality evaluation. decide to of artistic achievement by AC they do. The classes and critiques are run by members and to bring a new audience to see Assuming move forward experienced artists. This allows our look members a their work in the beautiful art museum known things quickly, your chance to look at things differently.” assystem the Galen.

This is also an opportunity good, a site can be The Metamorphosis jurors are Alma Ruiz, a for the public to visit (the Palm Springs Art survey at your up and running senior fellow at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Los Museum) in Palm Desert. All of the artwork is home will before the huge for sale, with proceeds split between the artists Angeles, and curator of the 2020 Bienal de Arte detailed summer bills Paiz in Guatemala City; and collect Mary Ingebrandand the new Artists Council.” information hit.

If you lease, Pohlad, internationally known for her abstract I spoke with Radcliffe by phone about aboutof roof you’ll enjoy landscape sculptures and member the Palm how the transition was going, as well as the dimensions, no money Springs Art Museum board of directors.

Artists Council’s new home at the Galen, the tilt and down; free show, and the future vision for The new Artists Council board hasshade, a bold Metamorphosis vision for the council. as well as a few installation; the Artists Council.

“We’re talking about an online “Since becoming independent in January, othergallery items,with and, with the ability to purchase art online.

This would there seemsand to be more energy, and it’s an like the condition of your electric panel.

Renova SunPower, fixed payments givecan us aalso whole said. exciting forwhich us,” hemeans said. “The hardest We getnew on audience,” the phoneRadcliffe with you for 20time years, as electric “We’d like to try to have exhibits outside part, the dirty work, was creating a new and SCE to get your past usage; that, of prices continue to go up, your savings our area and invite Southernwill California nonprofit organization. combined with theother site survey, will increase as well!There are all the artists and even artists from foreign countries finances and budgets. When we were part allow us to create a precise, customized to participate. We’d like more opportunities to of the museum, all of that was done for us. that will showmuseums.” you exact costs OK—pretty good points. Anything else? proposal show our work in other Sometimes, changes are hard. and savings.

Yep! The full 30 percent Federal Tax “We are very happy to have our exhibition That’s it! If youandecide move is still in full effect until Metamorphosis, exhibit to by the Artists atCredit the Galen.

There’s 4,000 square feetthe of end forward, installation takes only 2-3 days, of 2019.

If you purchase, you receive Council, will be on display through Friday, April display space. This allows us to do much more depending onSprings the sizeMuseum of yourofsystem. the Tax Credit to lower themore costlocal of your 12, at the Palm Art in Palm interesting things and to show art. I think it will help invigorate the space and draw a Desert, 72567 Highway 111, in Palm Desert. For Paid advertisement you by more information, visit artistscouncil.com. different audience—people who may notbrought attend to

Solar Q&A

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Due to the craft boom, some defunct historic beer styles have made comebacks

By brett newton

or the casual craft-beer drinker, it’s difficult enough to simply keep up with all of the different IPAs that keep sprouting up. Is it a New England IPA or a milkshake IPA? What is a brut IPA? Or a Southwest IPA? What’s the difference between a hoppy sour ale and a sour IPA? Thankfully, I’m here to muddy the waters by talking about obscure beer styles. Some of these have been resurrected by modern brewers who are just too damn curious and greedy (I mean that in the best way possible) to stick with known beer styles. Some brewers have even gone to great lengths to hunt down historical recipes or, at the very least, try to divine how the particular defunct style seems to have been made, and how it was supposed to taste.

What follows is a list of styles that you brewery.” This is accurate and also has the might need to go out of your way to try—or benefit of being a pithy jab at Guinness, which perhaps attempt to make it yourself. is owned by a multi-national company. But I Kentucky Common: Let’s start relatively digress. As odd as this style sounds, all that local and recent with a beer that grew out of is really added is a briny quality to the overall the influx of German and Irish émigrés into beer, and Porterhouse’s version is a damn fine America in the mid-19th century. This is one dry Irish stout to begin with. of a small handful of styles that can claim to For the curious, the best bet is to find Flying be truly American. Brewed with the native, Dog Brewing’s version, called Pearl Necklace. It protein-rich six-row malt and some native is nationally distributed, and I’ve seen it on the corn for smoothness, this beer is akin to a shelves more than once. darker version of the American cream ale style.

Grodziskie/Grätzer: This is an old Polish The darker, more-acidic malt additions would oak-smoked wheat ale originating from the have likely been necessary due to the alkaline town of Grodzisk. Under Prussian rule, it Kentucky water, something German and Irish was known by its German name of Grätz immigrants would have known much about. (pronounced like “grates”) and thus the beer However, there is a misnomer that this beer style was dubbed Grätzer as it gained in was soured using a sour-mash process typically popularity. The last Polish brewer of the style used for American whiskey. This myth has closed in the first half of the 20th century, been debunked, however, so if you come across but due to the current boom in craft-beer a beer claiming to be a Kentucky common that curiosity, the style was revived and gained is sour, you’ve been sold a false experience (but BJCP status in 2013. The style is brewed using if the beer is pleasant, it shouldn’t be too hard oak-smoked raw wheat in the grain bill and to shrug off). was traditionally anywhere from 2 to 6 percent This style was not very shelf-stable, and it alcohol by volume. The resulting beer is an therefore became extinct around Prohibition. oaky, bready golden ale with a slight fruity, Thankfully, intrepid American brewers have apple note and mild hop bitterness. revived the style to the point that the Beer This is one where you are going to need Judge Certification Program (BJCP) added it to get lucky and either find one on a shelf to their Historical Styles category in 2015. I somewhere or walk into a brewery that have never come across one locally, so if you happens to have tried the experiment. I recall find one, let me know. having one at Modern Times in San Diego, Oyster Stout: This is about as literal of and buying a bottle from a European brewery a name as you can get for a beer style, folks: off the shelf at La Bodega in nearby Riverside.

Bivalves are dumped into the mash during the I enjoyed both—but smoked beers are not brewing process. No joke. Oysters and stouts everyone’s cup of tea. are a classic food pairing, so it isn’t hard to Steinbier: Onward to southern Austria, imagine that some wise-ass brewer decided where a certain type of stone (or stein, in to combine the two. Here’s where things get German) called greywacke abounds. Producing really interesting, though: This style might enough energy to convert the mash grains have begun as a myth and became a reality. into sugars, and then to boil the resulting At one time, oyster shells were used wort, was a difficult task for most of recorded by brewers as clarifying (referred to as history. However, amateur brewers found “fining”) agents in beer. I have Porterhouse that if they used wooden vessels and heated Brewing Company in Dublin to thank for greywacke stones to certain temperatures, they my first oyster stout experience. They refer could drop those stones into the kettle and to themselves as “the largest Irish-owned accomplish what was necessary.

There are a few interesting upshots of this method. One is that the sugars instantly caramelize, and the stone adds a bit of smoke to the wort. Another is that you can get badly burned by this process if you try it without the proper precautions. (You might recall some videos you’ve seen of idiots operating turkey fryers without properly defrosting the turkeys.) Another interesting tidbit is that greywacke is a very important choice of stone, as it retains heat well without exploding when added to the kettle. You can imagine that this style was honed with pioneering brewers being badly burned or maimed.

A great example of the style is brewed on occasion by Port Brewing of San Diego and is appropriately called Hot Rocks Lager. The caramel and fruit flavors are nice, but it seems a long road to hoe for a style that really isn’t that exceptional.

Braggot: This is really a hybrid of two different things: beer and mead. If your sole experience with mead is reading Beowulf and wondering what in the hell a mead hall is, then you are missing out. Some of the best meads, nay, alcoholic beverages I’ve ever had have been thanks to my friend and liquid conjurer, Chris Anderson. When done expertly, it’s glorious. There was his orange blossom mead, a prickly pear mead, a tropical fruit mead made with Hawaiian Christmas honey (which he estimated probably cost him in the hundreds

of dollars per bottle to make … and it tasted like it) and his infamous “Mega Mead”—a mead he made using a special satchel of fruits, herbs and spices that he “ice distilled” into a 33 percent nectar monster.

Sorry, I got distracted. Where was I? Ah, yes: Combine beer and mead, traditionally with added ingredients, and you have a braggot.

It’s that simple. Most examples are heady and contain a fair amount of alcohol, so this is a great beer for sharing on a cold evening after dinner. I have not come across many examples of this style, and the one I remember most readily is Rogue Brewing’s Marionberry Braggot, which I found to be pretty tasty but far too simultaneously sweet and acidic. I hope to come across more examples so I can give this blended style a fair shake.

I’ve only scratched the surface here, so this subject looks to have the makings of a multipart column. I’ve heard of and tried all of these styles before, but in researching them, I stumbled upon some fascinating, if not frightening, historical styles. Perhaps I’ll save those for Halloween.

Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He currently works at the Coachella Valley Brewing Co. taproom in Thousand Palms. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.

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Food That Stands for Something

Dine Out for Life on Behalf of the Desert AIDS Project on Thursday, April 25

D

arrell Tucci is the chief development officer for the Desert AIDS Project, and he spearheads D.A.P.’s annual Dining Out for Life fundraiser, taking place this year on Thursday, April 25.

“Last year, we challenged people to become part of the B.L.D. Club—to commit to having breakfast, lunch and dinner at Dining Out for Life restaurants,” Tucci said, adding that D.A.P. is issuing the same challenge this year.

I am proud to say I was part of last year’s B.L.D. Club … and then some. In fact, I went a little crazy (in a good way) last year during Dining Out for Life: I wound up dining—or, at the very least, buying a drink or a snack—at 11 different participants last year, starting with coffee and a scone at Ristretto, and ending my night with a Maker’s Mark and Coke at the Tool Shed.

A lot of people joined me in meeting D.AP.’s challenge, and then some: Due to the generosity of the 75 participating bars and restaurants, Dining Out for Life last year raised a whopping $280,000 for D.A.P.—$50,000 more than the year before.

If you’re unfamiliar with Dining Out for Life, here’s how it goes: Local bars and restaurants agree to donate at least 33 percent of their sales on Thursday, April 25, to D.A.P. It’s that simple.

Really. While D.A.P. volunteers will be present at most of the participating venues during the day—offering “I Dined” stickers and giving people the opportunity to make extra donations if they’d like—all people need to do to help D.A.P. is dine and/or drink at one of the participating restaurants and bars.

Find a complete and constantly updated list of participants at www.diningoutforlife.com/ city/greater-palm-springs.

Dining Out for Life is held on behalf of HIV/ AIDS service organizations in 45 cities across North America on the last Thursday each April.

Even though the Coachella Valley is one of the smallest markets—if not the smallest market— that participates, last year’s $280,000 was the second-largest amount raised in any city. Only Denver, which had three times as many restaurants participating, raised more money.

Why is Dining Out for Life so successful in the Coachella Valley?

“We have a secret sauce that’s a combination of a few important ingredients,” Tucci said.

“First, the restaurateurs in our valley really embody our valley’s philanthropic nature.

“Second, this valley has been at the forefront of the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic since day one, and today’s inhabitants embody that. At Dining Out for Life, we see a dedication CVIndependent.com

By Jimmy Boegle

from attendees that’s almost like the dedication people have when going to vote.

“People wore that ‘I Dined’ sticker as a badge of honor, just like the ‘I Voted’ sticker on Election Day,” Tucci said about last year’s Dining Out for Life event. “We’d never ran out of stickers before.”

Tucci isn’t exaggerating when he touts the generosity of local restaurateurs; last year, the top three fundraising restaurants in North America—yes, the entire continent—were all located in Palm Springs: Spencer’s Restaurant, Lulu California Bistro and Trio Restaurant.

Then there are the smaller restaurants that give literally everything they have, and then some, on Dining Out for Life day. Tucci said he was amazed, for example, by the generosity of the Holiday House Palm Springs last year: Not only did the restaurant give 100 percent; the owner then matched that 100 percent donation. And at Rooster and the Pig, the restaurant gave 100 percent—and the staff donated all of their tips for the day, too. Other 100 percent participants last year included The Barn at Sparrows Lodge, Ristretto and—at 110 percent—Townie Bagels.

“All of these restaurants that participate, whether they’re giving 33 percent or 100 percent—not one of them is making money that day,” Tucci said.

This incredible generosity is needed more than ever by the Desert AIDS Project. While the origination remains one of the top HIV/AIDS service organizations in the world, D.A.P. is now also much more: As a Federally Qualified Health Center, anyone in need of primary medical care can walk in D.A.P.’s doors and become a client, getting access to doctors, prescriptions, dental care and behavior-health care. In fact, roughly half of D.A.P.’s clients today are not living with HIV. Seeing as more than half of the Coachella Valley’s residents now live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, D.A.P. is struggling to make sure everyone who needs quality health care in the valley can get it. To meet the demand, D.A.P. is in the midst of a $20 million expansion, slated for completion in 2020, that will more than double the organization’s patient capacity. When the expansion is complete, D.A.P.’s 60,490-square-foot campus will be able to serve 8,000 patients, up from 3,900 in 2017.

The dental clinic will be able to help 1,700 people, compared to 814 in 2017, while the behavioral-health-patient capacity will rise from 583 to 1,200.

Every dollar raised during Dining Out for Life makes a huge difference. As for the aforementioned scone and coffee at Ristretto I

bought to kick off Dining Out for Life last year … with Ristretto giving 110 percent of that sale to D.A.P., that $8 purchase wound up paying for three safer-sex kits. I went to Rio Azul Mexican Bar and Grill for dinner with two friends; we spent $120, and with the restaurant giving 50 percent, $60 went to D.A.P. to pay for three free, confidential HIV tests. I dropped in and had a drink with a party of about a dozen or so friends, most of whom were dining there, at Zin American Bistro; seeing as Zin donated about 75 percent of that check, about $340 went to D.A.P.—enough to house a low-income client for a whole month.

Follow me via the Coachella Valley Independent’s Facebook page on Thursday, April 25, as I try to match or even surpass my 11 stops from last year—and join me in visiting as many Dining Out for Life participants as possible.

After all, the Coachella Valley has a lot of work to do this year to match the giving of last year.

For more information, including a complete list of Dining Out for Life participants, visit www. diningoutforlife.com/city/greater-palm-springs.

If you know of a restaurant that you’d like to see participate in Dining Out for Life, get information at www.desertaidsproject.org/2019-diningout-for-life.

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ON COCKTAILS

It’s worth getting to know these classic drinks that all use equal parts of four ingredients

BY kevin carlow

F

our is a magic number …

OK, I know that isn’t how the song goes, but when it comes to cocktails, some of the most popular drinks use equal parts of four ingredients. When using the right ingredients, the resulting drink can be well-balanced like a properly made table, while using the wrong ones will give you a figurative pile of lumber.

It’s important to have a few of these in your cocktail portfolio, to experiment with and maybe even make into your own modern classic! So just in time for the fourth month of the year, here are some of the most popular classics and modern classics using four ingredients in equal measure.

While its name suggests I should end with it, I will start with the Last Word, since in the early days of my discovering well-made cocktails, it was a favorite. It’s a bit of a tell that someone is sticking their toes in the world of craft for the first time, so to speak, if they order a Last Word. This isn’t to suggest it’s a beginners’ cocktail, though. The unlikely combination of gin, green Chartreuse, Luxardo maraschino liqueur and lime juice is a bold and funky mix of aggressive flavors. According to David Wondrich in Imbibe!, the recipe shows up in 1915 on the menu of the Detroit Athletic Club, and is attributed to monologist and vaudevillian Frank Farrell. This blast from the past is a pricey home cocktail to make, though; expect the ingredients to run just less than $150 total—and your guests will certainly drink you out of them once they get a taste!

1 ounce of gin 1 ounce of Chartreuse, green 1 ounce of Luxardo maraschino 1 ounce of lime juice Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry if desired.

Another classic that uses four equal parts of ingredients (plus a dash of absinthe, but who’s counting?) is the ever-popular Corpse Reviver No. 2 from The Savoy Cocktail Book.

Inventor Harry Craddock states that “four

of these in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again!” True. Bear in mind the Kina Lillet in the recipe would have been more bitter than Lillet Blanc that most people now use in it, so you can use Kina L’Aero D’Or or Cocchi Americano instead for a more accurate reproduction. Feel free to use Curacao instead of the triple sec for a richer drink.

1 ounce of dry gin 1 ounce of triple sec (Craddock used Cointreau) 1 ounce of Kina Lillet (see above) 1 ounce of lemon juice Shake; strain into a cocktail glass that has been rinsed or spritzed with absinthe, lightly.

No garnish needed, but some people like a cherry or lemon zest.

Another cocktail with which I was enamored in my early days of drinking, and which has undergone many strange and complicated iterations over the years, is the Singapore Sling. While the Raffles Hotel in Singapore gets the attention for this one, Wondrich points out in Imbibe! that the drink was ubiquitous in Singapore years before the hotel claims it was created there. Ignore all the other recipes you see in cocktail books; the real McCoy is equal parts of the four ingredients. Feel free to adjust the proportions to your preferences as you go, of course.

1 ounce of gin 1 ounce of Cherry Heering 1 ounce of Benedictine 1 ounce of lime juice Build this one in a tall glass; add soda or mineral water, and stir gently.

Being a sling, it’s going to need some bitters as well; I like four to six dashes of Angostura.

No garnish needed, but a cherry flag is fun, and traditionalists like a spiral cut lime zest.

Now onto a couple of “modern classics” that I frequently make behind the bar, starting with the Paper Plane. Sam Ross invented this one just more than 10 years ago in New York, and it quickly became a “must-know” drink if your establishment attracts cocktail nerds.

1 ounce of bourbon 1 ounce of Amaro Nonino 1 ounce of Aperol 1 ounce of lemon juice Shake and strain into a cocktail glass; no garnish is necessary, but I usually use an orange zest. Don’t skimp on the expensive Nonino!

Although this drink can be made with, say, Averna, it won’t be the same.

You can see the pattern developing here: one part of a strong spirit, two parts of liqueur, and one part of citrus. This becomes a template for creative substitution, or in bartender parlance, “Mr. Potato Head” cocktails.

Next up is the Naked and Famous. Joaquin Simó, who came up with this one while at New York’s Death and Co., calls it “the bastard child of a classic Last Word and a Paper Plane, conceived in the mountains of Oaxaca,” according to a feature online in Imbibe magazine.

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1 ounce of Aperol 1 ounce of lime This one can also be made as a mezcal Paper Plane just by subbing the spirits, but the lime and yellow Chartreuse pair better with mezcal, so it’s worth doing it this way. Although Simó made it with Del Maguey Single Village Chichicapa mezcal, that’s a pricey ingredient that’s better enjoyed neat, in my opinion. Any decent mezcal will do.

This little list is by no means exhaustive, and I know I am leaving some people’s favorites out (looking at you, Blood and Sand!), but I chose these ones specifically for their particular balance and widespread appeal. They are also the drinks that people like the most at cocktail parties, in my experience, especially the Corpse Reviver No. 2 and the Paper Plane. As a bonus, the recipes are easy to remember and measure.

You don’t even need a jigger, really—just a small shot glass or anything like it will do in a pinch!

So, yes, four is a magic number—when it comes to cocktails, at least.

Kevin Carlow is a bartender at Truss and Twine and can be reached at krcarlow@gmail.com.

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VINE SOCIAL

Shopping for wine can be intimidating—or it can be a lot of fun, if the shopper and retailer are on the same page

JASON DAVID HAIR STUDIO

By KatieLOVE finn YOUR

I

HAIR

’ve been working at a wine shop in Palm Desert for about three months now—and I love it!

It’s a tiny little space, with a limited number of wines—and because the store is so small, each of the wines is thoughtfully curated. They each serve a purpose and are designed to be the best representation of the region, the price and the varietal.Club and Cook Street Country For years, I was a wholesaler of wine. My job was to bring the samples of wines to the buyers Palm De sert of these little independent retail shops and peddle my goods. I was selling wine to other wine professionals, and there was no such thing as from 760-340-5959 a different place, fed a different diet getting “too geeky” when it came to describing (which, of course, affects the taste) and came the wine or telling the story about how the wine from different months of the year, with some www.jasondavidhairstudio.net came to be. Now I have the honor of being the months producing better eggs, natch. Some buyer sitting on the other side of the proverbial of these eggs are $5, and some are $100, with table, listening to the stories and determining some at every price point in between. The which wines make the cut for the store shelves. words “fear,” “panic” and “confusion” come I’m not gonna lie: It’s an insanely fun job for to mind (as does perhaps a fleeting thought someone as passionate about wine as me. of becoming a vegan). This is how a lot of That said, there has been a definite learning consumers feel walking into a wine store. curve working with wine civilians (aka the So in my brief yet educational time as a public); I am constantly working on not retail clerk, I’ve discovered there a few kinds intimidating, scaring or confusing the pants of shoppers: Those who know what they want; off the average customer. Just the other day, a those who ask questions to discover what they lovely lady came in looking for a chardonnay. I want; and—the majority of folks—those who began to ask her what she normally drinks and have no idea where to begin. what she likes her chardonnay to taste like.

There are a few foolproof ways to navigate About two minutes later, I was using words like through a wine selection. The first is to start “malolactic fermentation” and “diacetyl.” taking photos of wines you enjoy. It seems She blankly turned to my co-worker and stupidly simple, but I guarantee that you will asked: “Is that lady speaking English?” Oops. not remember the name of that one wine you I feel an innate responsibility to help people loved two weeks ago at Susan’s house while when they come in. I want to give guidance you played Bunco. Case in point: the customer and suggestions if needed, and not let anyone who came in asking if we carried a certain drown in a sea of unknown labels. bottle. He couldn’t remember the name, or Shopping for wine is unlike shopping for where it was from, but he was certain it was a anything else. Nowhere else is a consumer white wine of some sort, and maybe it had a faced with so many choices, spanning so many black label. “Do you have that wine?” Umm … price points, with so many variables. Imagine There are a few apps like Delectable and if you walked into a grocery store and had Vivino that are also great for tracking the an entire aisle of eggs in front of you—and wines you like, and there’s a community of each of those eggs was a different color, came people reviewing and rating those wines along

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chardonnay!” To which I replied: “Super! We have a few bottles of Edge Hill chardonnay available; it’s $159 a bottle.” After he regained consciousness, he told me he was thinking more along the lines of a $40 price range.

The terms “splurge,” “mid-priced” and “a great value” all mean very different things to different people. A millionaire might think a great value is a $70 bottle of Double Diamond from Oakville, while I, myself, would consider that a splurge. And if the idea of coming up with descriptions for wine (like juicy, jammy, oaky, buttery, dusty, or earthy) give you a panic attack, just tell the sales clerk what you normally drink. Anyone worth their salt will be able to properly guide you to a wonderful alternative bottle.

Remember: Most wine professionals, and I stress the word professionals, are not wine snobs. Spirited, intense and fanatical? Maybe.

But not one wine industry person I know would ever embarrass or shame someone who wanted to learn more about wine. And don’t tolerate anyone who does. Ever.

Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with more than 15 years in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@gmail.com.

award-winning

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with you. If you’re not app-savvy, photos on your phone work just fine.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say again: One of the best ways to find the wine you want is to shop at a store where people can actually help you. No one, and I mean no one, has innate knowledge of every wine out there. And no matter the size of the store, or how many wines the store carries, the shop is only as good as its employees. Find the store that has passionate people working there, and you’ll be in good hands.

The best experiences I’ve had with customers have occurred when there is a dialogue about wine—when someone is curious about what’s new and wants to learn about it. As a sommelier, I will always have wines that are intriguing me right now, or a new region that is hot, or a style that is making waves. I want to talk about them with you! If you’ve had a wine that you love, I want you to tell me all about it!

Next thing you know, we’ll be behind the tasting bar sipping a vibrant white from the Canary Islands, and we’ll laugh and laugh and become best friends. Or at the very least, I’ll get to know you and what you like.

One final suggestion: Don’t be afraid to be specific. As one customer said to me today, “I really want to splurge on a great

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the

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT This month, we savor a classic sandwich and a classed-up side dish

By Jimmy Boegle

WHAT The Reuben WHERE Wexler’s Deli at Arrive Palm Springs, 1551 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $17 CONTACT 760-507-1640; wexlersdeli.com/ wexlers-arrive-palm-springs WHY It’s a top-notch sandwich.

When it was announced that Wexler’s—a Jewish-style deli with three popular Los Angeles-area locations—would be taking over the main restaurant space at the Arrive Hotel, I was excited. After all, there’s a serious demand here for the type of food served at Wexler’s “Have you ever tried to get a table at Sherman’s in Palm Springs at noon on a Saturday during season?” I wrote when Wexler’s opened.

Since the fall 2018 opening, however, I have neither seen nor heard much about Wexler’s.

Therefore, I decided to go in for lunch one recent day to check things out—and I found a restaurant that’s wasting a ton of potential.

The food at Wexler’s is not the problem— hence its inclusion in this column. While the menu is much more limited than what you’ll find at Sherman’s or Manhattan in the Desert, the Jewish-deli staples are all there, and the Reuben sandwich I had was excellent all around, from the delicious and thick slices of corned beef, to the perfectly toasted rye bread, to the tasty potato salad and pickles on the side.

However … the sandwich costs $17. That’s about what you’ll pay elsewhere in town— but elsewhere, you can get fries, whereas at Wexler’s, if you want fries instead of coleslaw or potato salad, you’ll have to get a side for $5.

(It’s worth noting that the Wexler’s locations in L.A. charge $2 or $3 less for this Rueben.)

Also: As I mentioned, I haven’t seen or heard much about Wexler’s since it opened, and it seems to be out of mind for many locals.

Advertising and/or community involvement is needed here.

I say this, because despite a gorgeous space at Arrive, and despite great food, Wexler’s was basically dead during my weekday lunch visit.

When I drove by Sherman’s on my way home— after the “lunch rush,” about 1:30 p.m.—there was a throng of people waiting outside.

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WHAT The famous truffle tots WHERE Heirloom Craft Kitchen, 49990 Jefferson St., No. 100, Indio HOW MUCH $6; $4 when added to an entrée CONTACT 760-773-2233; heirloomcraftkitchen.com WHY The crispiness, seasoning and sauces.

Andie Hubka is one of the valley’s most talented restaurateurs. More than six years ago, she opened the stylish Cork and Fork in La Quinta; then early last year, she opened Heirloom Craft Kitchen, a fast-casual joint serving brunch, lunch and dinner in Indio.

As justifiably acclaimed as Cork and Fork is, Hubka really outdid herself with Heirloom: It’s more accessible than Cork and Fork—and the food is every bit as delicious.

Heirloom offers “craft sandwiches,” “crafted salads,” starters, a handful of entrées, fun brunch items and an impressive selection of vegan offerings.

Everything on the menu is thoughtful and unique—so much so that on a recent lunch visit, I had one hell of a time deciding which delicious-sounding thing to order. I finally decided on the shrimp and grits with andouille sausage ($14)—and because I have a policy of trying anything on a restaurant menu that includes the word “famous,” I added on the famous truffle tots.

The shrimp and grits were excellent— elevated by the inclusion of small pieces of pickled jalapeños, which added a much-needed brightness to the dish. However, the highlight of the meal was the add-on: The “famous” truffle tots were downright revelatory.

Truffle oil has become a ubiquitous ingredient, but the way Hubka uses it here is a perfect illustration of why it became ubiquitous in the first place: The truffle flavor doesn’t overwhelm the tots, but instead just makes them more interesting. Then there are the sauces: The fantastic homemade ketchup (lighter and fresher-tasting than the bottled stuff) and the dill aioli (which I apparently received by mistake) were perfect matches. (I later got the sauce I was supposed to receive: a truffle aioli; it was decent.)

Heirloom Craft Kitchen is truly a special place. And the famous truffle tots are pretty special, too.

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Creative Chef Johannes Bacher

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CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

Restaurant NEWS BITES

By Jimmy Boegle AT LONG LAST: O’CAINE’S IRISH PUB IS FINALLY OPEN IN RANCHO MIRAGE It seems like as long as there’s been a city called Rancho Mirage, O’Caine’s Irish Pub has been under construction.

OK, I am exaggerating here, but I do so to make a point: The bar and restaurant at 36101 Bob Hope Drive—that’s the shopping center Gelson’s is in—has been “coming soon” for a really long time.

But finally, the wait is over: O’Caine’s opened in March, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll find the beer and cocktails one would expect to find at an Irish pub, and O’Caine’s menu offers tasty-sounding fare like sausage rolls, king salmon, bangers with mashed potatoes, fish and chips—and, of course, corned beef and cabbage (with bacon, too!) and shepherd’s pie.

“Chef Gavin’s menu offers high-quality, freshly crafted dishes, which reflect the authentic flavors of Ireland. We work with local vendors to procure the freshest ingredients and to source organic, non-GMO, sustainable items for the menu,” the website says.

We’ll be in soon to check things out with our own eyes. For more information, call 760-202-3311, or visit ocainesirishpub.com.

A TASTE OF MÉXICO CITY IN PALM SPRINGS

$5 Margaritas All Day (Bar Only) $14 Lunch Special—Soup or Salad Included A sophisticated Mexican dining experience like no other

1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs 760-537-1279 • Alebrijeps.com CVIndependent.com

TUSCANO’S AND BREWQUINTA OPENS IN LA QUINTA, BOOSTING THE CRAFT-BEER SCENE In 2013, the valley’s nascent craft-beer scene got a boost when the number of local breweries tripled—that is, went from one to three—with the openings of Coachella Valley Brewing Co. and La Quinta Brewing Co. The future of craft beer in the Coachella Valley was looking bright and promising.

Today, in 2019, the number of local breweries is … still three.

Yeah, there have been endless rumors about other breweries popping up, and La Quinta Brewing has expanded its footprint by opening two taprooms in addition to its flagship Palm Desert location.

Revel Public House has started the Palm Springs Brewing Company—although the handful of beers with that moniker are actually as of now brewed by San Marcos’ Mason Ale Works. In other words, there has been some progress in the local beer world—but the fact, is the number of companies actually making beer locally has stayed the same for almost six years.

However, that number will finally be increasing. Desert Beer Company will be opening this year in Palm Desert, according to its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/desertbeerco). And then there’s Tuscano’s and BrewQuinta.

The restaurant and brewery recently opened at 78772 Highway 111, in La Quinta—a site that has some local beer history, as it was once the site of Lamppost Pizza and Backstreet Brewery. It’s a project of two Yucaipa-based businesses: Tuscano’s Pizza and Pasta, and Brewcaipa.

As of now, Tuscano’s and BrewQuinta aren’t brewing any beer onsite. However, according to the Coachella Valley Beer Scene (CVBeerscene.com), that will soon change.

“In the early days, they’ll be bringing beer in from Yucaipa, brewed by none other than our local valley friend and beer writer, Aaron Ramson,” writes CVBeerscene.com. “Aaron has been the head brewer at Brewcaipa for a little over a year, and was formerly the assistant brewer at Babe’s. They plan to put a brewery in the La Quinta location within six months.”

This is all very exciting news for the local beer scene—and we’ll keep you updated as it develops.

For more information on Tuscano’s and BrewQuinta, call 760-625-1129, or visit www.facebook. com/TuscanosBrewQuinta.

IN BRIEF The Ingleside Inn, at 200 W. Ramon Road, in Palm Springs, has changed management—and that means so, too, has Melvyn’s Restaurant. Out is the PlumpJack Group, owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s family; in is the team that also runs the nearby Avalon Hotel. Executive Chef Jennifer Town has departed, and Melvyn’s is now being run by Jason Moffitt, the executive chef at the Avalon. … Congrats to Chelsi Bishop, the manager of the Ben and Jerry’s store at The River, at 71800 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage: She has been named by the corporate office as the nationwide Manager of the Year. Congrats! … The Steakhouse at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, at 32250 Bob Hope Drive, in Rancho Mirage, has a new executive chef.

Kenneth Williams’ resumé includes a stint at Mirage Resorts in Las Vegas, where he helped open the Bellagio; most recently, he worked as the executive chef of theme park operations at Universal Studios Hollywood. Get more information at www.hotwatercasino.com/steakhouse. … New to 73130 El Paseo, in Palm Desert: Kitchen 86 + Bar, a “modern eclectic small plate restaurant.” The menu includes all sorts of “sharables” including various dumplings, rosemary lamb chops and boom-boom shrimp, while “mains” include a cowboy rib eye and a house curry. View the menu and more at www.kitchen-86.com.

APRIL 2019

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Music ISSUE

Latin music is on the rise locally—and Coachella/Stagecoach promoter Goldenvoice has taken notice BY Giselle Woo and the Night Owls. BRIAN BLUESKYE

Latin music has always been a vital part of Coachella Valley culture—but it hasn’t necessarily received much attention outside of the Latino community.

However, that’s started to change, and Goldenvoice—the mega-promoter that puts on Coachella and Stagecoach each year—has taken notice, last year adding the event known as Chella in between Coachella weekends. The concert, at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, is returning this year, on Wednesday, April 17.

Ocho Ojos, a local cumbia band, performed at last year’s Chella, but is not on this year’s bill. Instead, the group is playing at Coachella itself—and is even listed on the official poster. This will actually be the band’s second Coachella appearance; Ocho Ojos was one of the local bands selected to play at the festival in 2017.

I recently talked with the members of Ocho Ojos at the La CVIndependent.com

Quinta Brewing Co. taproom in La Quinta about the band’s sound.

“It’s electronic music, but it still connects to the roots of cumbia,” said guitarist Cesar Flores. “It’s a modern sound.

We use this SP device for backing tracks, but we also have a drummer that incorporates the rhythm. It’s pretty modern— because we’re hip guys.”

Keyboardist Daniel Torres elaborated on the band’s modern direction.

“It’s much more modern because of technology and things like that—and we’re trying to create new content within this genre,” he said. “All of us have different styles that we’re into, so that alone brings something different to the style of cumbia that we play. Even people who have an untrained ear and people who don’t necessarily know a lot about certain styles can listen and say, ‘Oh yeah, sounds like cumbia!’”

Ocho Ojos was formed in late 2016, and the members—all between the ages of 26 and 30—remember a time when it was almost impossible to find Latin music in the Coachella Valley.

“If it was, it was usually a Top 40 band that was at a restaurant or hotel. They would play covers and not any original content,” Torres said. “They were playing popular songs that were in Spanish from different genres. There wasn’t necessarily any (Latin) band or group in the music scene that we were involved in. … There was definitely no band playing anything Latin.”

Added bassist James Gastelum: “I think that came from a lack of resources. There were no bands to watch, so you don’t get inspired.”

However, that slowly began to change.

“Little by little, we met people through the years. We didn’t necessarily grow up with (them), and we’re from different age groups, but we’re all going to come together,” drummer Rafael Rodriguez said. “There’s always the scene of bands that play in the casinos for money and stuff, but we’re one of the groups people really like because we’re doing original music.

“Latin people have always had a presence here in the music scene.”

One newer venue in particular has been vital in helping foster the Latin music scene: Kilos Cantina in Thousand Palms.

“Kilos is dope, and I can really appreciate them hosting all the bands that are coming through town,” Gastelum said.

“They have the right idea, and they own a great space. They have a great location, and they’re running it well. They respect the performers and set up some pretty dope shit. I don’t even question it at all, because it feels like it belongs there.”

Brian Blueskye

Torres added: “Felipe Oros from Kilos has treated the local musicians and touring acts really well. Even though it feels like it’s geared more towards a Latin club, he’s had metal shows and had D.R.I. at Kilos. It’s a little bit of everything … and that’s what creates a sense of community in the music scene.

“Michael Murphy, who owns Bart, is the same way.”

When Ocho Ojos played at Coachella in 2017, the band was invited only a few days before the festival—as is often the case with local bands that earn a spot on the Coachella lineup. This year, however, the band was invited well in advance.

“We were on their radar and listed as a band that people should check it out. That’s how we got asked to play again,” Torres said. “We got an email back over the summer, so we knew about it months before. We put in a lot of time and a lot of work. We’re really excited to be playing Coachella again.”

Gastelum said the band has indeed worked hard to create new fans and a good reputation.

“We put out good recordings that are available on all platforms,” he said. “We also put out some music videos. We invest in ourselves as far as being consistent with recordings and shows.”

While Ocho Ojos is not part of this year’s Chella

lineup, Giselle Woo and the Night Owls is, joining Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Mon Laferte and Cola Boyy for the show at the Riverside County Fairgrounds.

Woo talked about how she received her invitation to play at Chella.

“We were performing at a mixer back in February for young professionals,” she said. “That was taking all of my attention, and I got this message on Facebook. One of the representatives of Chella asked me, ‘Have you seen it yet?’ I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Between sets, I checked my e-mail, and I had received an e-mail from him asking me if I’d perform at Chella if we were available. Obviously, I said yes without thinking twice about it. I didn’t even know who the other bands were going to be. I just knew this was awesome (based on) what the event is and what it stands for. I feel like they made an awesome decision, and it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Woo grew up in Cathedral City in a family that listened almost exclusively to Latin music.

“Latin music is pretty much all I was exposed to,” she said.

“A lot of kids I know who are Mexican American and who grew up in the valley, their parents listened to the Rolling Stones and stuff like that. My parents didn’t listen to that stuff. It

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

APRIL 2019

BEAUTY FACIAL FAT VS. AGING FACIAL FAT

By Shonda Chase, FNP Nurse Practitioner, Co-owner, Artistic Director and Advanced Aesethetic Injector at Revive Wellness Centers in Palm Springs and Torrance, and Medweight, Lasers and Wellness Center in Irvine

T

Ocho Ojos.

was strictly a lot of the cumbia bands and all the older Mexican big names. It wasn’t until I was a teenager when I first heard Sublime, and was like, ‘Whoa! That’s cool!’

“My parents listened to all Spanish music. I don’t regret any of it, though, and a lot of the reason I have what I have in me … is because of that. It’s music with a lot of meaning and heart.”

Woo sings in both English and Spanish and often performs Latin music at “mainstream” venues.

“Most of my experiences have been good, but not all of the time,” Woo said. “I’ve been singing in Spanish for a while. I’ve had ugly experiences that have made me really sad, like hearing comments like, ‘Are they going to sing something in English?’ I still, to this day, have this insecurity of whether it’s a good idea to sing in Spanish in certain places, and I’m always reminded by my good friends that I shouldn’t worry about that.

“People love me for what I do, and that’s what I do, and I shouldn’t ever feel that way. I’ve been pushing through the past few years and even (feel insecure) when I would perform with Machin’ and would see bands like Elektric Lucie, who are doing original Latin music. It’s nice to see people embracing their culture, even when it’s kind of intimidating in a way, because you want to be all-inclusive. I feel like it’s important to stay true to yourself and stick to it.”

While she didn’t grow up in the east valley, Woo has a strong connection to that part of the Coachella Valley and its Latino traditions.

“My family joined me, and we went to the (brand-new) Coachella Valley Food Truck Park in Coachella. I remember telling my parents, ‘I love this place,’” Woo said. “As soon as we make a left on Grapefruit Boulevard, I feel like I’m in Mexico. It’s been a long time

since I went to Guadalajara, where my dad is from, but I volunteer my time for a church that’s located in Coachella and work one or two retreats a year. I spend a lot of time in Coachella for that. I love listening to all of the music out there, and that really gets my blood pumping. I feel like I’m at home, and I love the camaraderie of the community.”

Woo said she’s excited about performing at Chella—and about what it means for the community.

“I think the excitement is really going to hit me once it’s time to rock. Right now, I’m trying not to think about it too much, because then I’ll start getting freaked out. I feel truly honored,” Woo said. “Mon Laferte is a woman I’ve been admiring. All the Latino girls are rising right now. … Opening for Mon Laferte, and Los Tucanes de Tijuana, which I grew up listening to—it’s a true honor.

“My perspective on Chella is that it’s great, and I think adding Chella is a celebration of community. I hope that Goldenvoice truly understands our community in the Coachella Valley, and I hope they know how much love resides here in the valley for one another. I feel something special in the desert that can’t be replicated. Naturally, I’m protective of my home, and I consider this whole place my home. I want this event to really be a positive thing, and I’ll do my best to make sure that is what happens. … It truly does bring us all together, and I hope we can pack that place.”

Chella, featuring Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Mon Laferte, Cola Boyy, and Giselle Woo and the Night Owls, takes place at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, in the Fullenwider Auditorium at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82503 Highway 111, in Indio. Tickets are $30. For tickets or more information, visit www.goldenvoice.com/#/ event/370991.

he beauty fat that everyone loves resides in the upper part our face. It gives our younger faces a heart shape that is a�rac�ve and appealing.

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We lose the fat in our upper face and gain fat in our jowls with aging. This makes our faces less heart-shaped and more square. Square faces are aged faces. Happily, now we have many medical solu�ons to help restore lost upper facial fat and reduce jowl fat.

Rejuvena�on Secret Step No. 1: Stopping fine lines in the upper face from ge�ng deeper requires the neurotoxin strategy. Neurotoxins, like Botox, helps preserve youthful appearances and skin texture.

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Rejuvena�on Secret Step No. 3: Injec�ng a bio-s�mulator also causes us to create more collagen and elas�n to �ghten and increase li�. Sculptra’s chemistry greatly increases collagen. Sculptra’s injec�ons take more �me for results to be visible, but the results can be longer-las�ng. And yes, we can combine fillers in different areas at the same appointment.

Rejuvena�on Secret Step No. 4: Secrets 1-3 help restore and slow the loss of our “beauty fat.” But we can now also easily reduce jowl fat to help us look even younger.

1. TruSculpt ID is an external radio frequency (RF) device that can reduce jowl fat by about 25 percent with three, pain-free 30-minute treatments. ID also �ghtens skin because of the heat delivered in the treatment.

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The full results for each of No. 4’s strategies take about 12 weeks.

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You can email your individual ques�ons to Shonda Chase FNP or Allan Y. Wu MD, Revive’s cosme�c surgeon, at info@revivecenter.com.

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COLLECTIVELY CREATIVE They may be a little bit Devo, and a little bit Gorillaz— but Superorganism is completely unique BY Superorganism.

Superorganism may very well be the most interesting band you’ll see at Coachella.

Superorganism is actually more an art collective than a band, made up of eight members from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The group’s closest comp may be Gorillaz … but even that’s not quite right.

Figure out Superorganism for yourself on Saturday, April 13 and 20.

Superorganism’s videos seem like pop-culture propaganda— spoofing modern society. During a recent phone interview from London, Harry (real name: Christopher Young) explained his view on their music videos.

“I think it’s always propaganda to a degree,” Young said. “It’s certainly not a conscious thing on our part, but I think the ego that drives you to write songs and (makes you) feel like you have something meaningful to say to the world is inherently propaganda. We don’t set out to do that, but I think you can pick up quite a few things that run through our record. I like to think that we leave it open to people to interpret what they want out of those songs. We definitely try to have consistency and cohesiveness in what we present to people.

“In terms of mainstream pop music, it depends on whether you feel the Beatles saying, ‘All you need is love,’ is propaganda, or if ‘fuck the police’ is propaganda. But if you have a strong message that you want to convey, you are going to be propagandists in your results, whatever your intentions may be.”

CVIndependent.com

The video for “The Prawn Song” references various recent memes … including, ugh, Tide Pods.

“I think it stems from the influence of Devo and these ideas reflecting society through absurdity more than making a heavy-handed comment on society. Our comments are still somewhat serious,” Young said. “I always think of ‘Prawn Song’ in particular: The message of the song once you unpack it is serious about how humans are entrapped in the environment of our world and various flaws we have. I think a sense of humor is integral in our presentation. Even in the art and pop world, I really struggle with things that take themselves serious without any irony or any capacity to appreciate absurdity. The Tide Pods are a big part of that.

What a weird meme to have taken off, and it plays into that Devo theme perfectly.”

Seven of Superorganism’s eight members live together in a house in London. I asked if that ever becomes too much.

“There comes a point where you’ve just come off tour, and you’ve been on a bus together, and you come back into this house that’s full of the same people you were just on a bus with—and you can get a little bit of cabin fever,” Young said.

“But all of us have our various ways on how to deal with that, like going off to hang out in a different city for a while to get a bit of a peace of mind, or going for walks around the local area and clearing your head. I try to hang out with my mates who are totally into video games and don’t know a lot about music when I’m back in London, because it’s nice to be in this refreshing zone. That’s the nature of being an artist: It’s a lifestyle first and a job second. We all have our ways of trying

Brian Blueskye

to clear our heads.”

In a band with eight people, how do you resolve conflicts in the creative process?

“I wouldn’t say ‘conflicts.’ That’s too strong of a term,” Young said. “Our guiding ethos is really helpful in how we construct things, because it negates conflict before it’s begun. Our guiding ethos is you should invest your ego in the outcome; don’t invest your ego in the process. … That means a good idea will flow, and a bad idea will sink. We don’t get too uptight or upset over our ideas not making the cut. We don’t tend to have culture-specific disagreements for music, but if I have an idea for a guitar part in a track, and Soul (Earl Ho) presents a better one, I guess you could call that a conflict.

I’m always going to go with what the best idea is instead of making sure my part is heard.”

Nearly everything that Superorganism does is made in-house—even the production of their videos and their live shows.

“I think that it’s a combination that we set this project up as an art collective,” Young said. “On one hand, we can do everything in-house. Robert Strange (Blair Everson) does all of our visuals; he makes the videos and the visuals for the live shows. He’s downstairs in the bedroom below mine right now working on stuff. We can assemble all of this stuff at home with minimal support. Most artists have an idea for what their visuals should look like and how to put it together, but they need to hire a videographer who can do that, and if it’s someone who has a lot of experience, that’s where it’s going to cost you. … We try to keep that stuff at home and do it for the absolute minimum. That’s where our record label, Domino Records, comes in. Things happened so quick for us in the beginning. They were really confident about coming in and giving us more support from the start. Before we even played a show is when we signed our record deal. It meant that Domino was happy to make the advances and cover the setup (things) we couldn’t do, like hire a projectionist and understanding the lighting rig.”

Coachella comes in the midst of Superorganism’s tour of the U.S., and Young said he’s excited to go into states like Georgia and Colorado, rather than just the usual cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

“I think it’s a weird time for music,” he said. … “One thing that I’ve noticed that happens quite a bit in America, probably because we’re on an indie label, is we tend to get kind of grouped together with what I would describe as ‘indie-rock acts.’ Personally, I feel deprived by that. We’ve worked hard to create something very modern and electronic, and we’re not really rock. Because people really like to categorize things, a lot of the artists we’re categorized with tend to be throwback ’90s alt-rock things. Our stuff has electronic beats and a little bit of a guitar, but it’s all pretty synth-heavy.”

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Music ISSUE

your coachella primer Our music writer shares his list of the bands you must catch while at the Empire Polo Club BY

Friday, April 12 and 19 U.S. Girls This is the experimental pop project of producer and musician Meghan Remy. She has released seven albums, and after I heard her most recent album, last year’s In a Poem Unlimited, I hoped U.S. Girls would be on the Coachella lineup for 2019. Just about every music publication that reviewed the album gave it a high score. Remy’s brand of experimental pop goes into some interesting territory; it’s mesmerizing. Remy’s live performances have received strong praise, and it will be interesting to see what she does for Coachella.

Let’s Eat Grandma While funny, this is not the funniest name on the lineup. (Look closely.) If you’re a fan of Tegan and Sara, you’ll love Let’s Eat Grandma.

Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth are able to belt out some beautiful harmonies, and they get down and dirty in some pretty chaotic samples and beats. I highly recommend checking out their album I’m All Ears.

The Frights What do you get when you take a punk band that also incorporates surf rock and doo-wop into the mix? The Frights! The Frights go CVIndependent.com

Saturday, April 13 and 20 Steady Holiday Dre Babinski has had an interesting career.

She’s a model and actress who has worked primarily in commercials—yet she also has quite a knack for songwriting. You can hear bands such as Portishead and Goldfrapp in her music, along with her stated influences of Leonard Cohen and Burt Bacharach. It can make you feel joy—and make you cry. She was well-received at Coachella in 2016 and will no doubt dazzle attendees in 2019.

Idris Elba We’re used to seeing Idris Elba—aka the next James Bond?—onscreen in films such as Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and the Avengers series. I had never heard his music until recently, and I was pretty amazed by his vocal talents. His voice has a lot of soul, and after watching some footage of his DJ sets, I’m even more fascinated. It’s hard to say what he’s going to do at Coachella, but whatever he does, it should be fantastic.

Ty Segall and White Fence Ty Segall is one of the best things to happen to the current era of rock ’n’ roll in this current era. While many know who he is, more need to know who he is. He evolves with every record he puts out, every band he puts together, and every collaboration in which he finds himself.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra If you’re seeking more of Saturday headliner Tame Impala on Sunday, the closest thing you’ll find is Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The band’s psychedelic sound is a throwback to the ’70s; you’ll also get a dose of kick-ass garage rock. After packing Pappy and Harriet’s last year, this group will amaze you.

Sunday, April 14 and 21

Blood Orange I purchased the album Negro Swan on a recommendation from an employee at Amoeba Records in Hollywood and put it in my CD player for the nighttime drive back to the desert. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Blood Orange (Dev Hynes) is singing about all of the right things—self-exploration, the political struggles facing the black community, the anxiety of LGBT people, and much more. I can’t wait to experience whatever he has up his sleeve for Coachella.

Mansionair If you are a fan of ODESZA, you might remember the appearance Mansionair made on ODESZA’s 2017 album A Moment Apart.

With the release of Mansionair’s first fulllength album, Shadowboxer, earlier this year, we’re finally getting a proper glimpse of this Australian indie-electronic trio. The album took three years to make, but Shadowboxer is receiving praise from fans and critics alike, and this performance is one I’m really anticipating.

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And … uh, they haven’t.

That said, there are a lot of great acts on the bill at Coachella. Here’s a list of the performers I, personally, won’t miss.

Sycamore

After Beyonce headlined Coachella last year, it was hard to imagine how Goldenvoice could top that this year.

Kacey Musgraves Last year at Stagecoach, Kacey Musgraves played on the Mane Stage during a strong wind storm right before headliner Keith Urban. Despite the challenges—and appearing frustrated at times—Musgraves put on a memorable set for the large country audience.

I have to wonder: How will her performance play out at Coachella? Every year that a Stagecoach performer is included in a future Coachella lineup, the result always seems to be memorable—in a good way.

Mac DeMarco It’s got to be interesting when someone defines what he does as “jizz jazz.” DeMarco has a sound that is a melding of ’80s smooth rock and psychedelic pop. A lot of what he does also feels like early David Bowie. His music video for the song “Nobody” features DeMarco in lizard makeup wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar, which speaks to his sense of humor and bizarre persona. Considering he sells out venues around the world, you should circle this one on your Coachella schedule.

Highland

Ty Segall and White Fence

Alice Merton Alice Merton may just take the world by storm one day. Her sound is similar to that of Florence and the Machine, and her debut album Mint was clearly made on her own terms. Her vocals sound flawless throughout, and you can clearly feel the soul and beauty reflected in her songwriting.

White Fence, his collaboration with Tim Presley, is nothing short of earth shattering and will blow your fucking mind.

N. La Brea

from goofy and off the wall to all of a sudden sounding like Minor Threat. It’s a beautiful mixture of chaos and playfulness—and it’s a whole lot of fun. In a lineup that is less focused on rock bands, The Frights definitely stand out.

Brian Blueskye

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30 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

The Blueskye REPORT April 2019

By Brian Blueskye

APRIL 2019

THE

Music ISSUE

the bummerhappiness equation

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s return to Stagecoach with more fun songs about the darker side of life BY

Ja Rule

Coachella and Stagecoach dominate the music coverage in April—but there are a whole lot of great events going on before, during and after the festivals throughout the Coachella Valley.

The McCallum Theatre will soon enter its summer hibernation, but not before a fantastic April schedule. At 8 p.m., Thursday, April 4, find out who’s the boss when Tony Danza brings in his one-man variety show.

He’ll be telling stories about his life and playing music with the Desert Symphony.

Tickets are $75 to $250. At 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 10, popular Christiancontemporary music artist Stephen Curtis Chapman comes to the McCallum. He’s won five Grammy Awards and sold more than 10 million albums. Tickets are $39 to $88. At 7 p.m., Saturday, April 27, the Coachella Valley Symphony will be holding its 26th Anniversary Gala, joined by Under the Streetlamp, a fun music group that performs rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll and doo-wop from the 1950s to 1970s. Tickets are $45 to $85. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has an April event you won’t want to miss … especially if you’ve watched Netflix or Hulu recently. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 6, Ashanti and Ja Rule will be performing. Ja Rule may currently be best-known for his recent involvement with the disastrous Fyre Festival. He’s also known for a few hits in the early 2000s. Tickets are $39 to $69. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-3425000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage has several fun events from which to choose in April. At 8 p.m., Friday, April 5, truTV star and magician Michael Carbonaro will be performing. Carbonaro is also known for his appearances on 30 Rock, Happily Divorced and Grey’s Anatomy, on top of his dazzling magic act. Tickets are $25 to $160. At 8 p.m., Friday, April 26, Comedy Central’s Daniel Tosh will continued on Page 32 CVIndependent.com

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s.

Michael Mesfoto

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s music is called “outlaw country” by some.

Whitey, however, doesn’t care for the word “outlaw” when it comes to his band—and many other bands as well.

The band will return to Stagecoach on Sunday, April 28, after playing the festival for the first time in 2016.

Whitey Morgan, whose real name is Eric Allen, is originally from Flint, Mich. During a recent phone interview, he talked about his upbringing in the town that has become part of the national conversation due to the American auto industry’s problems, as well as the town’s drinking-water catastrophe.

“It was a typical Midwestern industrial town,” Allen said. “Dad worked in the factory, and Mom didn’t work. My grandpa was retired, and I spent a lot of time with him, and that’s where I learned a lot about country music. I got in a lot of schoolyard fights and stuff like that when I was a kid. I don’t know if we were lower class or lower-middle class; in fact, I don’t even know what that means. I know that I never went hungry, but we damn well didn’t have anything that wasn’t necessary.”

Allen said he was fortunate to go to a diverse school.

“The school I went to was in a white neighborhood, but they bused in the black and Mexican kids from the other parts of the town,” he said. “We had poor white kids, poor black kids and poor Mexican kids. … It’s when you’re young, and everyone is the same to you.

It wasn’t until I went out in the world that I learned how terrible people are, what they

think about each other, and all that other shit. … It’s amazing that people who haven’t been around other races of people are the most racist of people. It’s kind of like you’re talking shit on something you know nothing about, but that seems to be the American way: People are afraid of what they don’t understand.”

I asked him about the term “outlaw country.”

“The way the whole outlaw thing was …

Willie, Waylon and the guys who were already on major labels … who weren’t getting as much traction as they would have liked had a lot of opinions on how they wanted their music to sound,” Allen said. “They eventually decided, ‘If I’m not going to do it my way, I’m not going to do it at all.’ When they said that to the record company, (the company) buckled, which created this outlaw thing. That’s the true meaning of the word. I think they just throw that word around too loosely—especially if you have long hair, a long beard and tattoos, and play a little louder than any other band. I’ve never really liked labels and don’t like labeling things. You can do things outside of the box and still be true to yourself.

“It’s kind of annoying, because people describe themselves with that label, and it’s like, ‘No, you’re definitely not that. Stop trying to call yourself that.’ It’s easy for them to just label themselves that, because maybe they’re searching for who they are.”

As a songwriter, Allen is able to take the dark sides of life—subjects such as drinking, heartbreak and regrets—and turn them into fun country songs.

“I’ve noticed in the last four or five years that I’ve learned that I kind of hear every song that way: Every song that’s about drinking or doing something else is already dark in itself,” he said.

“There’s that old line that you can be at a party, and you’re still standing in a corner alone. I hear these people saying they’re going to live with no regrets, and that is such bullshit. I don’t know anyone who isn’t going to have some regrets about things they’ve done or what they haven’t been able to do. It’s really hard to combine all that, and I just naturally do it because of the life I live. It’s great out here on the road sometimes; it’s great to be drinking and partying and hanging out with different people all the time.

At the same time all that stuff is happening, my

Brian Blueskye

body is wearing out; my mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be; and that equation ends up being what you hear on my record, I guess.”

As the popularity of Whitey Morgan and the 78’s has grown in recent years, so, too, has the size of the venues in which the band plays.

“I’m glad that we’re graduating to some of the nicer theaters and things like that, but there’s something that feels at home in a 300-seat rowdy honky tonk or a place where everyone is standing up,” Allen said. “That energy is just thick in the air. I love that, and that will always feel like home to me. But I like the nicer theaters with the better sound, and things go easier.

When you’re on the road a lot, the little things that could go wrong can start to wear on you.

There are all these triggers to set you off. To have less of those on a long tour is definitely a plus. But I’ve walked into places where I’ve placed twice, and don’t remember playing there, but I’ll walk into the green room and be like, ‘Oh, I remember this green room!’ or, ‘I remember that restaurant next door that we ate at!’ After a while, you grab on to the really shitty things or the really positive things—and the things in between can be forgotten.”

Allen said playing at festivals presents a unique set of challenges.

“Festivals are always a little different for me,” he said. “Just playing outdoors has been a challenge, because I don’t get that vibe I get in a dark bar. One thing I learned early on is: Drink lots of water. Don’t only drink whiskey, because you’re not Superman. I try to focus on playing the songs, because that’s a venue where a lot of stuff could go wrong. When you’re the sixth band of the day going in, you think they have everything figured out, and we go to start playing—there’s nothing even on, and the stage is dead. We’re half a song in, and it shuts back off. I’m looking at the sound guy and wondering what the hell is happening.

“I’ve had some nightmares happen that make me wary when I step onto a festival stage.

Unless you’re the headliner who got a two-hour soundcheck, and they have your shit saved in the board—that’s one thing. But if you have 45 minutes to play and 20 minutes to get your gear up, you play for 25 minutes before you’re finally warmed up. When we’re done, it’s like, ‘Shit, we were just getting warmed up.’”

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

APRIL 2019

THE

Music ISSUE

An americana mix Parker Millsap brings his blues, gospel and rock blend to the Stagecoach stage BY

Parker Millsap.

James Coreas

A while back, Parker Millsap tweeted: “I ain’t no son of Ronnie.”

Indeed, there’s no relation, and the names are spelled differently, anyway. Still, the men share some similarities; they were both influenced by gospel, blues and rock ’n’ roll— but Millsap’s sound is all his own.

He’ll be coming to Stagecoach on Sunday, April 28.

When Parker Millsap first started, his sound had more acoustic and gospel elements, but over time, he has added more of a rock sound—and his latest album, Other Arrangements, is almost entirely rock ’n’ roll. During a recent phone interview, Millsap discussed the evolution.

“A lot of that is based on the live show,” Millsap said. “I

started out doing listening-room and house concerts, and I did an acoustic thing for quite a while. Gradually, as I made money and could afford to have more of a band, I really wanted the shows to move a little bit more. I got tired of singing all ballads. I wrote songs that would be really fun to play live with my band.”

Millsap was raised in a religious household in Oklahoma, and he was exposed to a lot of gospel music.

“I have a bunch of history with that music, given I grew up in church,” Millsap said. “A lot of my musical upbringing was getting to see live music on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night every week for 16 years straight. It’s tied up with my personal experience, with music and spirituality.

“Church music isn’t made for the same reasons that

Brian Blueskye

commercial music is made. In the church I grew up in, none of the musicians were paid; you play for a higher power. …

Music is a spiritual thing, not a religious thing, at least to me.

The melodies, the rhythms and the humanity of gospel music transcend the lyrics for me most of the time. The feeling of the music is almost so true that you could be singing anything, and I’d almost believe it.”

However, gospel music wasn’t the only thing Millsap listened to as a kid.

“I grew up listening to a lot of blues, rock ’n’ roll, and a lot of Texas singer-songwriters,” he said. “(There was) not a ton of radio; radio wasn’t really a thing. My dad had a ton of CDs and tapes, so I got to listen to all kinds of stuff that not a lot of my friends were listening to.”

These days, he said, he rarely feels uncomfortable at a gig.

“I’ve done so many different kinds of shows, playing from county fairs to three people telling us to turn it down,” Millsap said. “I’ve played weird Hooters-type bars with 10 giant TVs playing a UFC fight while we’re playing the show—and it’s pretty hard to offend me. If people just want to sit down and listen, that’s great. If people want to dance through the whole set, even through the ballads, that’s amazing.

“The big challenge of the road is sitting in the van. Playing music, loading in, loading out, soundcheck—that doesn’t bother me. It’s just sitting in the van that’s the hardest part of touring.”

So how does Millsap spend his time in the van?

“There’s a lot of Instagram scrolling,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of audiobooks lately and podcasts, but a lot of it is just silence. All of us are pretty independent dudes, and because we are so close to each other, all day, every day, when we’re on tour in a van together, in a little green room together, then a little stage together, and then a hotel room together, we try to respect each other’s space.”

Millsap said he tours so much because it’s the best way to gain an audience.

“Touring is the only sure-fire thing I’ve found,” he said.

“I own the label, and I pay for publicists. The best return on investment is playing a show for people, and them telling their friends. The next time I come to town, those people bring three friends, and then those three people bring their friends.”

Millsap said he’s excited to come to Stagecoach, because it’ll allow him to see other musicians take the stage.

“I’m always excited to go to California with my friends to play music and check out other bands,” he said. “Festivals are cool, because a lot of touring musicians get to play music, but don’t necessarily get to go see shows unless we’re opening for someone or unless someone is opening for us. I love going to festivals because I can catch up on a bunch of stuff that I haven’t seen.”

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32 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2019

The Blueskye REPORT continued from Page 30

Solar Q&A

I heard an ad for a solar company on the radio, and I had them get me a proposal. What should I do next?

If they’re not local, you should get another bid.

Here’s why: Every year, as the weather warms up, solar (and air-conditioning) companies come in from out of town to try to make some sales. Then, when summer is over, they go away—and you’re left with a system with no support.

Hmmm—good point. What else?

If you live in an area with an HOA, chances are these companies are not familiar with your board’s guidelines, as they are all different; these companies probably don’t know their meeting schedule, either. That means your project can be delayed when the design has to be changed, or because they miss the monthly meeting, or you’re left doing your own neighborhood notifications, if that’s required.

I don’t want that hassle!

What else should I know?

The weather isn’t the same here as in

other areas of California, and it takes special equipment and installation methods for the harsh desert weather—you need a system that will last, not one that will have issues down the road. And if there are issues, and they’re far away, how quickly could they get here to fix them?

I hadn’t thought of that. Anything else?

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take the stage. You remember him … he’s guy who has all the videos from YouTube showing people doing stupid and ridiculous stuff— supplemented by his colorful and hilarious commentary. Tickets are $80 to $100. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com.

Spotlight 29 Casino has a couple of intriguing shows. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 13, Paquita La Del Barrio will be performing.

Known as “Franny from the Neighborhood,” this beloved performer is well-known in the United States and Mexico for her songs that promote strength and solidarity while challenging sexist machismo. Tickets are $35 to $45. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 27, the “comedian of a thousand faces,” Jo Jo Jorge Falcon, will bring the funny. Falcon is known for his twisted sense of humor—and for sometimes wearing a condom-tip cap. Tickets are $36 to $81. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www. spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort and Spa has a full slate of impressive April offerings.

At 9 p.m., Friday, April 5, ’60s pop icons Chubby Checker and Frankie Avalon will be performing on a double bill. Frankie Avalon is best-known for his movie performances with Annette Funicello in what become known as the “beach party” genre. He’s also a singer-songwriter and has recorded seven albums. Chubby Checker is known for his hit “The Twist” (which was actually a Hank Ballard and the Midnighters cover) and the accompanying dance. Tickets are $45 to $65.

At 9 p.m., Friday, April 12, comedian Cedric the Entertainer will be performing. He’s bestknown for his role as Eddie in Barbershop, as well as his other acting roles, but he’s also been a popular standup comedian through the years. Tickets are $59 to $79. At 9 p.m., Friday, April 26, country artist Rodney Atkins

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will take the stage. He’s had six No. 1 hits on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart since his career began in 2003. Tickets are $45 to $55. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace has a lot going on in April—and is always a popular place to be during Coachella and Stagecoach, as you never know who will show up. Here are a couple of events with tickets still available. At 9 p.m., Friday, April 19, Pale Waves will be performing. It’s a four-piece indie-pop band from the United Kingdom—and this group is fantastic. When I listened to their debut album My Mind Makes Noises, it reminded me of the best alternative pop, such as the Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Pale Waves has been selling out venues in the U.K., Europe and North America. Tickets are $16 to $20. At 8 p.m., Sunday, April 28, the legendary rockabilly/rock ’n’ roll band Reverend Horton Heat will be performing, along with the Legendary Shack Shakers.

No hyperbole: These are two of the best rock bands in America, and both have recorded great music that any rockabilly, blues or rock fan can appreciate. Tickets are $25. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-365-5956; www.pappyandharriets.com.

The action remains hot at the Purple Room. At 6 p.m., Friday, April 12, the “King of the Song Cue Ball” Jerome Elliott will be performing. A hilarious award-winning actor, singer and director, and a friend of the Independent, he’s performed at just about all of the top cabaret venues across the country.

Tickets are $25 to $30. At 6 p.m., Friday, April 26, jazz singer, songwriter and actress Ann Hampton Callaway will come to the Purple Room. She’ll be singing jazz songs that were made famous in films. Tickets are $55 to $65.

At 6 p.m., Saturday, April 27, actress and singer Renee Olstead will be performing. You might remember her from Still Standing and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Well, she’s also a hell of a singer, and performed at the Live 8 concert in 2005. Tickets are $35 to $40. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-3224422; www.purpleroompalmsprings.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 33

APRIL 2019

THE

Music ISSUE

your STaGECOACH Must-sees Make sure you don’t miss these country (and country-ish?) performers at the festival BY JImmie Allen

Stagecoach has changed in the past couple of years.

The lineup is shorter—but Goldenvoice is still including smaller Americana bands and classic country acts while Nashville’s big stars take to the Mane Stage. Here’s a list of acts I certainly won’t miss at Stagecoach.

Friday, April 26 Cordovas When I listen to Cordovas, I picture them playing in one of those smoky country-Western bars shown in films during the ’70s and ’80s.

The band performs country music with a bit of the Grateful Dead and the Band thrown in.

Cordovas will help you start off Stagecoach right—along with a cold beer and a comfy seat on a blanket or in a lawn chair.

Cody Johnson There’s something enjoyable about many country singers from Texas—and Cody Johnson definitely has that certain something. On just about every album of his, you can hear the rodeo, and you can hear the honky tonks. Many of his songs have some grit, while his ballads can bring a tear to your eye.

Bret Michaels Poison was one of the hardest-partying bands in the ’80s glam-metal scene—and the band is still going fairly strong. While Poison is known for anthems about partying and bagging chicks, there were moments later in Bret Michaels’ career when he showed a softer side—almost in the form of country or honky-tonk ballads; heck, he’s even started to adopt a more country-style appearance in recent years. It’s no wonder, then, that he’s also put out country songs as a solo artist and appeared on recordings with country stars such as Kenny Chesney. Bret Michaels took a long time coming to Stagecoach—but he should fit right in.

Saturday, April 27 Charley Crockett Charley Crockett has said that he prefers timeless songs as far as songwriting goes. When you listen to him, you’ll hear some of that vintage Hank Williams sound, some old rock ’n’ roll, and even some ’70s-style country. He will be performing criminally early—at 12:30 p.m.—on the Palomino Stage, so be sure to arrive in time to catch his set.

Lynyrd Skynyrd This will probably be the last time you’ll see the famed Southern-rock outfit play at Stagecoach, because the band is on its final farewell tour— and unlike most of the bands that do these types of tours, it seems as if Lynyrd Skynyrd is really ending for good. Only one original member remains: guitarist Gary Rossington. He’s kept the band going with Ronnie Van Zant’s younger brother, Johnny Van Zant, but it feels like this is the right time for Lynyrd Skynyrd to bow out.

If the band indeed calls it quits, this will be your last chance to sing along to “Freebird.”

Cam Cam’s country-music roots come from right here in California: She was born in Huntington Beach and spent time in San Francisco and Oceanside.

Her career has been consistently on the rise since she started in 2010; she’s also written music with Sam Smith for his album The Thrill of It All. I highly recommend checking out her 2015 album Untamed for an idea of what to expect.

Sunday, April 28 Jimmie Allen Jimmie Allen’s music career was bumpy before he really got started. He was struggling so much that he was living in his car; he auditioned for America’s Got Talent and didn’t make it past the preliminary auditions; he auditioned for American Idol and didn’t make it to the livevoting rounds. But the man’s work and talent has finally paid off. He released his debut album, Mercury Lane, in late 2018, and his career has nowhere to go but up.

Tom Jones This is a bit of an odd fit for Stagecoach, but

considering The Zombies, Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, and Eric Burdon of the Animals have all played at Stagecoach … why not? Jones should have no problem winning over the crowd at Stagecoach—plus it’ll be interesting watching people in Stetsons and denim swaying to “It’s Not Unusual.”

Brian Blueskye

Diplo Yep, that’s right … I’m saving the most interesting Stagecoach act for last. The man behind Major Lazer is stepping out to perform at Stagecoach. Having seen Major Lazer at Coachella, I must say: It’ll be interesting to see what Diplo does for country fans.

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APRIL 2019

Music ISSUE

ALL ABoUT MAKING MUSIC Longtime local hip-hop artist Willdabeast is finally ready to release recordings of his music BY Willdabeast.

BRIAN BLUESKYE

Willdabeast is one of the best-known hip-hop artists in the Coachella Valley—even though he has not released any music or done any interviews.

However, thanks to a nudge from friend and collaborator Provoked, Willdabeast (William Randal) is now working to put himself out there more—including an upcoming music release, and a chat with me.

Willdabeast’s home in Sky Valley is off a dirt road, with a large dog standing guard over the property. After greeting me, he explained that he liked the location because it was quiet and beautiful. He said his love for hip hop began to develop when he was in the eighth-grade.

“I asked my mom to get me turntables for Christmas,” Willdabeast said. “… On Christmas morning, there was this big ol’ box, and I was like, ‘I got turntables!’ When I opened it up, it was a huge keyboard. I was like, ‘What?’ She opened it up with me, and there were these two buttons on it that made the turntable sounds. I

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was like, ‘Ugh! This isn’t it!’ But the cool thing about that keyboard is it had a multi-track recorder. I was in band in school and playing the trumpet, and I was able to record music.

“Going into high school, I started freestyling, and my friends noticed I had a knack for making beats. That was it—and I never stopped.”

I noticed a few musical instruments hanging on the wall of his living room; I’ve been told Willdabeast is a fantastic instrumentalist.

“My first instrument was the trumpet when I was in sixth-grade, and I played that for about two years,” he said. “Then I got into percussion, and by the end of high school, I was making beats and playing guitar. Out of high school, I was already doing gigs. I can read and write music, and I can transpose music, because trumpet is B-flat, and all the other instruments were in C.” He told me about This Is the Life, a 2008 documentary about the underground hip-hop movement in Los Angeles that came out of the Good Life Cafe.

“I was trippin’ out when I saw it on Netflix, because the people in it are so underground,” he said. “These guys deserve praise in every sense of the word for hip-hop. When shit started going super-industry, they represented in the underground with conscious thought.”

When I talked to fellow local hip-hop artist Provoked a couple of months ago, Provoked told me about the battle-rap scene from about 20 years ago that also included J. Patron and Willdabeast. Willdabeast laughed when I brought it up.

“When we were young, it was super aggressive. If we heard you were rapping, we’d show up at your school and shit, being like, ‘Oh, so you’re rapping, huh?’ with one of those old school Pioneer boomboxes,” Willdabeast said.

“We’d put the beats on and start going at it. If you didn’t respond back, you fucking lost. That’s how simple it was back then—but that was the battle scene. There was no rehearsing. You didn’t have time to write, and you had to do it freestyle where we’d talk about your girlfriend or some shit to hurt your feelings.

“I grew out of that shit real fast, though. I always wanted to make music, because I was a musician. The battle-rap scene was cool, but I didn’t want to waste my time on some negative shit. I had people showing up at my school to

Brian Blueskye

call me out, ‘WHO IS WILLDABEAST?’ I ran with a crew called Organics Crew that Mikey Reyes was also part of. This other crew made a diss track about us, and we reached out to them asking why they made it, and they were like, ‘Oh, it’s you guys?’ Our friends made a diss track on us without even knowing who we were!”

I asked J. Patron about the rap battles, and he confirmed the madness of those days.

“Provoked and I would battle, then we became good friends and battled the varsity football team at lunch in front of the whole school through a PA system; it was epic,” J. Patron said. “After that, kids from other schools would come over and get served. I remember Will started around that time, and he was—and still is—a fucking beast! He’s just so nice with the words.”

Willdabeast reiterated that those days are long gone, and that he now has different goals in mind for his music.

“I’m just all about making music. I want to do something that’s all about a message and not falling on deaf ears,” he said. “I’m not about telling women to shake their ass or do this type of drug, I want to make some conscious shit that will move you.”

While Willdabeast has released no music as of yet, he said that will change in the near future; one recording he plans on releasing is a collaboration he recently did with Provoked.

He said he has recorded music going back to 2005, and explained why he has heretofore not released any of it yet.

“It’s all been practice to me,” he said.

“Everything I make is practice. … It could just be bullshit or however I’m thinking about it. The way my brain works, when I’m doing this stuff, I’m focused on it, and I’m not thinking about anything else. It’s therapeutic. It always pushes me to keep learning.

“I’m developing a sound, and I think I kind of have it now.”

Willdabeast said he’s encouraged with the current hip-hop climate locally.

“I have to be excited with the direction of where everything is going right now,” he said. “There have been a lot of people coming together to collaborate and work together, and that’s exactly what we needed. That’s what the fuck needed to happen—and how we’ll grow this scene.”

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 35

APRIL 2019

Subatomic Alex Harrington Has Played AT a Few Pool Parties; Here Are His Picks—and Some Thoughts Post-Sunset

By Alex harrington

Guillermo Prieto/Irockphotos.net

They say April showers bring May flowers— but here in the desert, April’s warmer weather brings pool-party season!

We’re in the land of heat and pools, and it can be hard to decide where to take a dip—in part, because poolside affairs in the Coachella Valley usually bring more than just swimming. Depending on where you go, you can enjoy great food, drinks, entertainment and more. Therefore, this month, I’ve decided to share with you my two favorite places to hang out and relax in the valley.

(Full disclosure: I have performed, and continue to perform, at these venues.)

So … where do you start? Locals can find plenty of options for poolside fun, but one of your best options is always going to be Arrive in Palm Springs. This resort sits on the edge of downtown Palm Springs and offers a heavy nod to the midcentury-modern style that shaped Palm Springs. Arrive hosts an array of food choices, too; grab a bite at Wexler’s Deli for lunch (they have a poolside menu, too) or take a short walk to Draughtsman for some serious libations.

You can also find a coffee shop and an ice cream shop on site. Saturday and Sunday at Arrive bring entertainment in the form of DJs. There’s always plenty of room to sunbathe or sit and soak up the sun. Like games with your pool parties? Enjoy some poolside pingpong and cornhole in between float sessions. The sound varies, depending on what day you go, from Top 40 to house. You can find me there every other Sunday, bringing my original blend of house and disco.

The Saguaro in recent years has become known as one of the biggest pool-party spots in the valley. Not only is The Saguaro one of

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the regular hosts of the twice-per-summer Splash House festivals; it also books a range of DJ acts throughout the summer. Here, you can enjoy a colorful, vibrant, very Palm Springs experience. Grab a cabana; order some tacos; and enjoy carefully curated sets. Hammocks behind the pool and endless loungers make it so you can relax in multiple ways. I’ve been fortunate to work with The Saguaro and their music programmer, Dominic Saldana, aka SABIO, for the past few years. It’s worth noting that the Saguaro is the host of some of the best Coachella pool parties. One of my favorite things to do for “No-Chella” is hit the Palm Springs pool circuit. You can find worldclass entertainment without breaking the bank while skipping the crowds. Given the size of the pool area at The Saguaro, you rarely feel squeezed in.

So … what do we do at night? Good question. I was out in downtown Palm Springs on a recent Monday, looking for drinks and good music, and we found ourselves hopping through several locations.

Many closed at 10 p.m. and/or had no entertainment … and things felt a little dead. Now, to be fair, this was on a Monday night, but it was during the middle of season. We did manage to find some fun, enjoying drinks at Bootlegger Tiki and Lulu California Bistro, before finishing the night at the Village Pub, where there was a DJ and karaoke, for those brave enough to try.

So … there it is! I’m always searching for new spots, old spots and the best spots to enjoy our valley—even if they’re off the beaten path. I’m excited to kick off another poolside season, and I look forward to seeing you all out there!

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MUSIC

APRIL 2019

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the

LUCKY 13

Meet a frontman/guitarist/host/philanthropist and one of the valley’s most in-demand drummers story and photos By Brian Blueskye was bummed I couldn’t see him at Desert Trip.

NAME Josh Heinz GROUPS Blasting Echo, 5th Town MORE INFO Josh Heinz is originally from Tennessee, but he’s now a pillar of the Coachella Valley local music scene. He is the frontman for Blasting Echo, the guitarist for 5th Town, the founder of the Concert for Autism, and the host of Open-Mic Night at The Hood Bar and Pizza every Wednesday. Visit www.facebook.com/ blastingecho and www.facebook.com/5thtown for more information.

What was the first concert you attended?

Probably Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith. But my first real “rock” concert was Heart on their Bad Animals tour at the MidSouth Coliseum in Memphis, Tenn. I was 12.

What was the first album you owned?

My first albums were bought on tapes. Maybe it was Heart’s Bad Animals; maybe it was Guns and Roses’ Appetite for Destruction; or maybe it was Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. What bands are you listening to right now?

Besides practice recordings of new Blasting Echo songs and mixes from the upcoming 5th Town record, nothing specific. I’m kind of all over the place, certainly (including listening to) live Pearl Jam shows. I listen to a lot of local bands from our music community and bands from my time in Memphis—specifically The Subteens.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

EDM. I get why people are into it, but that’s not my thing.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Neil Young. I’ve been a fan for a long time. I CVIndependent.com

NAME Benny Cancino Jr. GROUP Various MORE INFO The Cancino family is known for astounding drummers in several Coachella Valley bands. Benny Cancino Jr. has caught my attention on more than a few occasions due to his incredible technique. He currently plays with the Cult tribute band Aphrodisiac Jacket, as well as the Kyle Turney Band, Kelly Derrickson, and the Whizards.

What was the first concert you attended?

It has to be (my father’s band) Mr. Moto! I’ve been surrounded by a magical, integral and musical family background since birth. My father and many of my uncles have had bands since the ’70s.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I listen to a lot of movie and television scores.

They just take me places in my head, and I love it.

What was the first album you owned?

Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood and Metallica’s And Justice for All. My cousin, Claudia Reyes, gave me those cassette tapes; my world just exploded.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Probably The New Daisy Theatre in Memphis.

I only played it a few times, but I saw a ton of shows there. It’s a small theater on Beale Street that holds about 1,000 people—nice and intimate for a theater.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Vinyl on deck is Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Lady Gaga’s Joanne, Bill Withers’ Still Bill, and always some Creedence Clearwater Revival in the house.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

Since Blasting Echo is working on new material to record soon, most of the lyrics stuck in my head are my own—because I’m trying to remember them.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

I really respect and enjoy all genres and trends.

I’ll tell you this, though: I don’t get the Grateful Dead, R.E.M.—oh, and Smashing Pumpkins. It doesn’t mean I don’t respect these; I just can’t get in there.

What band or artist changed your life?

Certainly Pearl Jam. The lyrics and the music spoke to me in a very heavy way when they came out. It gave me an honest voice that I identified with, and that inspired me to follow suit by writing and creating my own music to deal with things going on in my life.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Awwww shit—Queen (with bassist John Deacon), Mr. Moto (my dad’s Spanish rock band), Black Sabbath, The Beatles, Elvis and definitely Frank Zappa.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

I can only think to ask Stone Gossard from Pearl Jam: “Why has your dirty tone become less aggressive/crunchy over the years?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

When I was younger, I probably would have said something somber. But now I think I would like something more celebratory of my life, my wife and my kids.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Pearl Jam, Vs. What song should everyone listen to right now?

Blasting Echo, “The Light” or “It’s Not My Time.”

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I love ABBA, hip hop, Elton John, and … OK, the Bee Gees! There, I said it!

What’s your favorite music venue?

I’ve been blessed and lucky enough to play so

many different shapes and sizes of venues. It never fails, though; my favorites are always small, tight clubs and hometown venues.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

“The sparkle in your eyes, keeps me alive, and the sparkle in your eyes, keeps me alive, keeps me alive. The world, and the world turns around, the world and the world yeah, the world drags me down,” The Cult, “She Sells Sanctuary.”

What band or artist changed your life?

Ozzy Osbourne. It just seems to me he’s made the most of his surroundings. A lot of his songs are about real people, real life and personal shit.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

I’d ask Cheech and Chong, “Hey man, how’s my driving?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Free as a Bird,” The Beatles; “La Bamba,” mariachi style; and “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll,” Ozzy Osbourne.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Imagine,” John Lennon; “All You Need is Love,” The Beatles; and “A Little Less Conversation,” Elvis.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 37

APRIL 2019

CANNABIS IN THE CV

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Marijuana businesses need to make sure their advertising is reaching the right people

BY ROBIN GOINS

C

annabis, while legal, is heavily regulated in the state of California—as is cannabis advertising.

According to the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control code, any advertising done for cannabis must be to an audience that is at least 71.6 percent 21 or older—and this presents several problems.

First, many advertisers don’t know that this rule exists. Second, advertisers often have no way to confirm the ages of the people who see their ads.

“If a cannabis company advertises in a publication or online and cannot verify that (the audiences) meet the age-safety quota set forth by the BCC, the advertiser is at risk of losing their state license,” said Joan Irvine, co-founder and CEO of ResponsiTech, which helps businesses with youth safety and risk mitigation in cannabis advertising.

Because the industry is in flux and is so new, it’s understandable that these regulations are unfamiliar to many—but it’s important that people understand the seriousness of the matter, since the buck literally stops at the feet of the advertiser, and not the ad agency or publication.

So … how can cannabis companies make sure their advertisements are complying with the law? Irvine recommends taking a close look at applications such as Buoyancy Digital, which allows advertisers to use parental controls and other features that ensure they meet the BCC regulations. For example, Buoyancy Digital requires those coming to a website to verify their birth date.

“There is one easy way of checking, but it is a catch-22, because many people are not aware that there is an age gate they must use that uses data so that parents implementing parental-control settings can ensure their children will be blocked from age-inappropriate sites,” Irvine said. “This requires cooperation between the industry and parents, to ensure everyone is protected.”

She recommends cannabis advertisers

do their homework and find a qualified ad agency and/or advertise with publications or sources that practice responsible cannabis-ad practices. She also says advertisers should check publications and other media sources to make sure they meet the audience criteria, and verify as much as possible that the audience is 21 and older.

Annette Said, owner of A|S marketing in La Quinta, works with several cannabis clients, and notes that cannabis advertisers face challenges beyond state regulations.

Most social media, for example, prohibit the advertising of cannabis, meaning cannabis retailers must come up with work-arounds—by doing branding and promoting third-party brands or a lifestyle.

“Facebook does not allow promotion of cannabis in their search algorithms, but they are slowly opening up as the industry self corrects and rids itself of illegal cannabis business and advertising,” noted Said.

It is important for cannabis advertisers in the Coachella Valley and throughout the state to be aware of all of these rules and regulations—and to never assume anything. Retailers must fully understand where they are advertising, and who their audiences are, to ensure they don’t risk losing their state license.

Find Us/Follow Us! @GayDesertGuide www.GayDesertGuide.LGBT

Robin Goins is a business consultant for DR.G Consulting and works extensively in the cannabis industry in the Coachella Valley. For more information, visit www.drrobingoins.com.

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APRIL 2019

OPINION SAVAGE LOVE

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AN UNIMAGINABLE SECRET M

BY DAN SAVAGE

y grandfather was a pillar of the community and beloved by his family. He was also sexually abusive. He died when I was a child. I remember only one incident happening to me—during a cuddle session, he encouraged me to put my mouth on his penis, and then told me to let it be our little secret.

I heard rumors as an adult that he molested other kids in the neighborhood. He also had a sexual relationship with my mother. She says nothing happened as a child. But as an adult, he started telling her he loved her in a romantic way. He told her he wanted to take nude Polaroids of her, and she let him. And she loved him—she and her sisters all pretty much idolized him. My one aunt knew (she said nothing happened to her), and I asked her how she reconciled that. She said she compartmentalized it—she thought he was a wonderful father and didn’t really think about the other stuff.

I did lots of therapy in the late 1980s and early ’90s. I read books; I journaled; I talked to my mom and tried to understand what she experienced. And I moved on as much as anyone could.

So now it’s 2019, and I’m almost 50. My mom just moved into a nursing home, and while cleaning out her drawers, I found the Polaroids my grandfather took of her. I know it was him, because he is in some of them, taken into a mirror as she goes down on him. They were taken over a period of years. She had led me to believe he never really did anything sexual with her besides taking photos.

But he did. And here’s the thing, Dan: In the photos, she looks happy. I know she was probably acting, because that’s what he wanted from her. But it just makes me question my assumptions. Was it terrible

abuse or forbidden love? Both? What am I looking at? What would I prefer—that she enjoyed it or that she didn’t? She kept the photos. Were they fond memories? I know she loved him. She kind of fell apart when he died. Was he a fucking manipulator who had a gift for making his victims feel loved and special as he exploited them for his own selfish needs?

I don’t know if I’m going to bring this up with my mom. She’s old and sick, and I dragged her through these types of conversations in my 20s. So I’m writing you. This is so far out of most people’s experience, and I want someone who has heard more sexual secrets than probably anyone else in the world to tell me what he thinks.

Whirlwind Of Emotions I think you should sit down and watch all four hours of Leaving Neverland, the new HBO

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My grandfather sexually abused me, as well as my mom—and I just found some pictures of him and my mom. What should I do?

documentary by British filmmaker Dan Reed.

It focuses on the experiences of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two now-adult men who were sexually abused by pop star Michael Jackson when they were boys. Allegedly. It’s an important film to watch, WOE, but it’s not an easy one to watch, as it includes graphic descriptions of the sexual abuse both men claim to have suffered as boys.

The second-most-disturbing part of the film after the graphic descriptions of child rape—or the third-most-disturbing part after the credulity/culpability of Robson’s and Safechuck’s parents—may be what the men have to say about Jackson: Both describe their abuser in romantic terms. They both say they loved Jackson. And they both remain deeply conflicted about their feelings for Jackson then and their feelings for him now. It was their affection for Jackson—their desire to protect him and to safeguard what Jackson convinced them was a secret and a bond they shared—that led both men to lie to law-enforcement officials.

You should also listen to Reed’s interview on The Gist, Mike Pesca’s terrific daily podcast.

Reading your letter the morning after I watched Leaving Neverland reminded me of something Reed said to Pesca: “What the film is about is the reckoning. It’s two families coming to terms with what happened to their sons. And a big part of understanding that, you know, (is)—so why the silence? Why did the sons keep silent for so long? Why did they keep the secret? And the key really is to be able to explain why Wade gave false witness and perjured himself on the witness stand. And the reason for that, of course, has to do with how survivors of sexual abuse experience that. And how they keep a secret, and how they sometimes form deep attachments with the abuser, and how that attachment persists into adult life.”

Your mother, like Robson and Safechuck, lied to protect her abuser, a man who abused her and abused you and probably many others.

She may have held on to those photos for the same reason Robson and Safechuck say they defended Jackson: She loved her father, and she was so damaged by what he did to her—she had been so expertly groomed by her abuser—that she felt “loved” and “special” in the same way that Jackson’s alleged abuse once made Robson and Safechuck feel loved and special. So as horrifying as it is to contemplate, WOE, your mother may have held on to those photos because they do represent what are, for her, “fond memories.” And while it would be a comfort to think she held on to those photos as proof for family members who doubted her

story if she ever decided to tell the truth, her past defenses of her father work against that explanation.

Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual abuse plants a ticking time bomb inside a person—shit, sorry, no passive language.

Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual predators like your grandfather and like Jackson—fucking manipulators with a gift for making their victims feel loved and special— plant ticking time bombs in their victims. Even if a victim doesn’t initially experience their abuse as a violation and as violence, WOE, a reckoning almost inevitably comes. One day, the full horror of what was done to them snaps into focus. These reckonings can shatter lives, relationships and souls.

It doesn’t sound like your mother ever had her reckoning—that day never came for her—and so she never came to grips with what was done to her and, tragically, what was done to you. And your aunt wasn’t the only member of your family who “didn’t really think about the other stuff.” Just as denial and compartmentalization enabled Jackson and facilitated his crimes (and allowed the world to enjoy Jackson’s music despite what was staring us all in the face), denial and compartmentalization allowed your “pillar of the community” grandfather to rape his daughter, his granddaughter and scores of other children. Like Robson and Safechuck, WOE, you have a right to be angry with the adults in your family who failed to protect you. That some of them were also his victims provides context, but it does not exonerate them.

I’m glad your grandfather died when you were young. It’s tempting to wish he’d never been born, WOE, but then you would never have been born, and I’m glad you’re here.

I’m particularly glad you’re there, right now, embedded in your damaged and damaging family. By telling the truth, you’re shattering the silence that allowed an abuser to groom and prey on children across multiple generations of your family. Your grandfather can’t victimize anyone else, WOE, but by speaking up, you’ve made it harder for other predators to get away with what your grandfather did.

P.S. There’s a moment in the credits for Leaving Neverland that I think you might want to replicate. It involves some things one of Jackson’s alleged victims saved, and a fire pit.

You’ll know what I mean when you see it.

Read Savage Love every Wednesday at CVIndependent.com; mail@savagelove.net; @ fakedansavage on Twitter; ITMFA.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

APRIL 2019

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

34 Composer/lyricist of Godspell with six Tony nominations and no wins (not counting an Across honorary Tony) 1 “Who’s there?” reply 40 Lacking enthusiasm 6 Sitcom set in suburban 41 Lift with force Houston 42 Brandenburg 10 Org. overseeing Concertos monogram summer and winter 45 Freestyle, perhaps competitions 46 Ballers network 13 NASCAR participant 48 All Songs Considered 14 ___ Through the Gift network Shop 49 Compensate 15 “It’s ___ sham!”

51 Mediterranean or 16 Maker of the 2600 Baltic, e.g.

17 Late arrival 52 Othello foe 19 1984 actor with 7 53 “Back at One” R&B Oscar nominations singer with 16 Grammy and no wins nominations and no 21 President between wins Roosevelt and Wilson 57 Involving both sides of 23 “Carte” or “mode” the body preceder 58 Camelot collaborator 24 Watchmen actor Jackie 61 Idyllic setting ___ Haley 62 Ride share amount, 25 Go to hell ___ maybe handbasket 63 Distraught 26 Jost co-host 64 Cranberry color 27 Practice figures, for 65 Go along with short?

66 Allots, with “out” 29 Committed response 30 Chocolate source Down 32 Most negligible 1 George Gershwin’s “It’s an Honor to Be Nominated”—yet they never won.

brother 2 Inked art, for short 3 1983 Pacino pic 4 Raise reason 5 Tim and ___ Awesome Show, Great Job! 6 Consignment shop transaction 7 Especially 8 Part of the Woodstock logo 9 Run up ___ (drink at the bar) 10 “Allow me ...”

11 Soccer stadium chant 12 “Bette Davis Eyes” singer Kim 15 Slumdog Millionaire locale 18 Milton Bradley game featuring facial features 20 “Yeah right!”

21 Muscular contractions 22 Art sch. class 26 Intelligible 27 12th of 12 28 Crowd noise 31 On point 32 Timothy Leary’s hallucinogen 33 ___ kwon do 35 Org. that’s supposed to be green

36 Little drink 37 Did some diagnostic work, maybe 38 Modern Family rating 39 One of many in a googol 42 Talk incessantly 43 Giant step 44 Prepared, as water for pasta 46 “The End of the Innocence” singer Don 47 The Crow actress ___ Ling 50 Bread from a tandoor 51 Take to the rink 52 “Fingers crossed” 54 Desus and ___ (2019 late-night Showtime TV show) 55 Seafood dip ingredient 56 Dour 59 Tiny 60 Romulans, e.g. ©2019 Jonesin’ Crosswords (jonesincrosswords@ gmail.com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com!

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40 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

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