2 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 904-4208 www.cvindependent.com
Editor/Publisher Jimmy Boegle staff writer Kevin Fitzgerald coveR and feature design Dennis Wodzisz Contributors Max Cannon, Kevin Carlow, Melissa Daniels, Charles Drabkin, Katie Finn, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Clay Jones, Matt Jones, Matt King, Keith Knight, Cat Makino, Brett Newton, Greg Niemann, Dan Perkins, Theresa Sama, Jen Sorenson, Robert Victor The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2022 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $5 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors. The Independent is a proud member and/ or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, CalMatters, DAP Health, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, and the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.
CVIndependent.com
If you’ll pardon me for a moment, I have a rant I need to get off my chest. Gallup recently released the results of its annual poll regarding Americans’ confidence in the news media. The results … well, as the headline on the Gallup website says, “Media Confidence Ratings at Record Lows.” As for the specifics: Gallup has tracked Americans’ confidence in newspapers since 1973 and television news since 1993 as part of its annual polling about major U.S. institutions. The latest readings are from a June 1-20 poll that saw declines in confidence ratings for 11 of the 16 institutions measured and no improvements for any. Television news and newspapers rank nearly at the bottom of that list of institutions, with only Congress garnering less confidence from the public than TV news. While these two news institutions have never earned high confidence ratings, they have fallen in the rankings in recent years. A majority of Americans have expressed confidence in newspapers only once—in 1979, when 51% did. But there is a wide margin between that and the second-highest readings of 39% in 1973 and 1990. The trend average for newspapers is 30%, well above the latest reading of 16%, which is the first time the measure has fallen below 20%. The percentage of Americans who say they have “very little” or volunteer that they have no confidence is currently the highest on record, at 46%. As I write this, I am in Chicago, at the annual conference for the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). (Full disclosure: I serve on the AAN board of directors as the vice president.) I’ve been coming to these conferences for more than two decades, as the industry has gradually gotten smaller and smaller. While these conferences have changed over the years, one thing has remained constant: The vast majority of people who work at newspapers like the Independent aren’t doing so for the money. There’s doing so because they believe in the power of journalism, and because they love their communities. Very, very few people here could be described as affluent. And far more people at AAN publications would like to be here at this conference—but they can’t afford the trip. Meanwhile, some politicians—mostly Republicans—have been tweeting out these poll results with glee. While newspapers aren’t blameless here, these low ratings are, in large part, the fault of these same tweeting politicians: They’ve repeatedly bashed newspapers and the news media— with Donald Trump going as far as to call journalists the “enemy of the people”—in part because hard-working journalists have exposed their wrongdoing, or pointing out their shortcomings. American democracy is broken … and if people don’t trust legitimate journalists, the situation is only going to get worse. —Jimmy Boegle jboegle@cvndependent.com
AUGUST 2022
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3
CVIndependent.com
4 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
OPINION OPINION
HIKING WITH T L
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION
Don’t be a rescue statistic; take precautions, and plan your hike
BY THERESA SAMA
ast month, I discussed ways in which we can all avoid trouble while hiking during the extreme summer heat. Meanwhile, the trail rescues continue. According to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, a man was hoisted off the Boy Scout Trail in Joshua Tree National Park after suffering a heat-related emergency on July 4. The man was hiking alone and called 911 at approximately 12:30 p.m. A helicopter crew was called in, and the man was located after an extensive search. Medics gave him first aid; he was then transported to a hospital. Here in the Coachella Valley, it’s often the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Aviation about 90 minutes into their hike; darkness fell Unit, the volunteer Desert Sheriff’s Search well before they reached any of the trails that and Rescue team, or the volunteer Riverside would take them down to where they needed Mountain Rescue Unit who are called upon to to be. (This area is a spider web of trails.) help hikers in distress. According to a recent They were tired, out of water and food, and News Channel 3 report by Crystal Jimenez, chilly, since they were wearing only shorts and the Aviation Unit gets the second-most calls during the summer months (behind the spring T-shirts. Thankfully, they were otherwise fine. He texted my friend as darkness set in and months). The crew has made about 184 air explained they had lost the trail and had no rescues since March 2021. clue where they were—but mentioned they On the ground, the Riverside Mountain had passed a couple of old bulldozers sitting in Rescue Unit conducted 69 rescues last year, the desert. That clue was key: Regular hikers according to Jimenez’s story, while the Desert know about the old, abandoned bulldozers Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team conducted that sit along Dunn Road. That meant the two 22 rescues last year. should be able to take an easy hike out in the Sharon Ollenburger, of the Desert Sheriff’s daylight. Search and Rescue team, advised hikers to According to my friend, the pair spent a very “plan your hike and hike your plan,” to let people know where you are going, and to make uncomfortable night out on the desert trails, but they were able to find the path back to the sure you stay on route, according to News bulldozers and the trail down after sunrise the Channel 3. The Desert Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team next morning. They were home safe by 9 a.m. As my good friend and fellow hiker Marnie offered other tips: Consider the weather. Hike as early or as late as possible. Wear appropriate Hesson likes to say: Be prepared, and know where you’re going. Carry more water than you shoes or boots, and take lots of water, safety think you’ll need when exploring desert trails. items, a first-aid kit, a map/GPS, sunscreen, Bring a light source and some basic first-aid sunglasses and food. materials, especially if you’re hiking any type It seems like common sense … yet so many of challenging trail. Know and respect your people don’t do these basic things. environment, the terrain, the time of year and The client of a friend of mine is an the time of day when you are hiking. experienced and enthusiastic hiker from New I once had trouble not far from where York who likes to hit the trails during his visits to the desert. He and his girlfriend were in Palm my friend’s client did. A trail buddy and I were hiking the Dunn Road Trail—going the Springs in early March and asked for a good hiking suggestion. Knowing they were in decent opposite route, to connect to the Art Smith Trail and come out on Highway 74. Although shape, my friend told them about the Art Smith we got our start at 5 a.m. (unlike the two Trail in Palm Desert—explaining that if you get above), and we came across those abandoned an early start, you can go all the way to Palm bulldozers, we somehow missed the Art Smith Springs. The trail starts at Highway 74 across Trail—and ended up in a wash. We were then from the Visitor Center, and has an elevation gain of more than 1,400 feet in 8.3 miles, where diverted by a herd of bighorn sheep—and it intersects with Dunn Road—about halfway to when I say “herd,” I mean there were more than 100 sheep scattered throughout the Palm Springs. She reminded him to take a lot of wash, and there was no way were we getting water and snacks. past them. We decided to go around them and Well … they started on the trail in the climbed up a long, treacherous hill before we afternoon, carrying a little water and a couple could drop back down into the wash. Going of granola bars, thinking they would hike all down the hill, I stepped on a rock, and the the way to Palm Springs. The sun went down CVIndependent.com
See that little speck in the middle of the photo? That's Theresa, after scrambling down the canyon walls to get around some bighorn sheep.
ground fell out from under it. (There are many “black holes” like this in the desert!) I must have tumbled 75 to 100 feet, if not more. Fortunately, I was able to get up—but I had blood running down both arms and both legs. Thankfully, the pack on my back prevented me from hitting my head during the tumble. We eventually made it back down to the wash, and had to bushwhack our way out. We ran out of water nearly a mile before exiting along Highway 111 … around 2 p.m. It was HOT! We were somewhere in Rancho Mirage.
We were able to phone a friend and catch a ride back to our starting point. No one plans for a rescue when they set out on a hike—but much like life, the trails can throw a curve and veer you off track. This could end up costing you miles and hours—or worse. To repeat: Be prepared! Know where you’re going; bring more water than you think you’ll need, as well as a light source and a first-aid kit. Most importantly, always, always, always tell someone where you are going.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5
AUGUST 2022
“I’ve been a regular MAKE THE EASY CHOICE
client at great
THE #1 CHOICE COMFORT AIR
salons in New York, Miami and San Francisco.
WE'RE #1 FOR A REASON
This salon is by far
ASK US
the best on every
ABOUT OUR 0% FINANCING
level.” —Chet
Awarded Best AC Repair Company By Coachella Valley Independent 750 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 3 Palm Springs • (760) 904-0434 psfinemenssalon.com @psfinemenssalon on Instagram and Facebook
Created for men ... by men! Open Tuesday through Saturday 10-6 Book online at psfinemenssalon.com!
Up to $1000 Off + Special Financing On A New HVAC System HIGHEST QUALITY EQUIPMENT EXTENSIVE WARRANTIES
BEST PRICE GUARANTEED 24/7 LOCAL SUPPORT
SAVE UP TO
60% ON YOUR ELECTRIC BILL*
LENNOX SIGNATURE SERIES SYSTEM
*SAVINGS AND RESULTS MAY VARY
CALL TODAY FOR DETAILS!
760.320.5800 comfortac.com CVIndependent.com
6 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
NEWS
AUGUST 2022
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS
FIVE OR TWO? MAKE THE EASY CHOICE
THE #1 CHOICE COMFORT AIR
O
Voters will finally have a say in Palm Desert’s electoral-district system—but the vote is just advisory
by KEVIN FITZGERALD
n Nov. 8, Palm Desert voters will get to vote on whether the city should have five electoral districts or two—but the vote will only be advisory and nonbinding. After heated debate on June 23, the City Council approved this ballot question: “In Palm Desert now, District 1 (the area surrounding Civic Center with 20% of the population) selects one council representative every four years, and District 2 (the other 80% of the city) votes for a total of four Council representatives, picking two representatives every two years. Should District 2 be divided into four smaller districts, with all voters electing a single person from their smaller district every four years? YES or NO?” Council—contend that the at-large election Palm Desert’s decidedly unique two-district format unites the city, while a division of the system was adopted by the council to settle a population into five districts will cause intraCalifornia Voting Rights Act of 2001 lawsuit city battles over resources and competing brought by residents Karina Quintanilla and community needs. Lorraine Salas. While similar lawsuits have “You know, we’re so divided as a country,” prompted a number of cities to move from said District 2 Councilmember Sabby Jonathan at-large elections to district-based elections in during the Jan. 27 City Council meeting. recent years, most—including Palm Springs, “Really divided as a country. Why would we Indio, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral want to further divide our own small and City—have chosen to have similarly sized wonderful city? And it is a small city, barely districts each electing one representative. over 50,000. We hear from some of our Carlos Garcia moved to Palm Desert four residents that it’s not fair for District 2 to get years ago. He lives in the north end of the to vote for four council members while District city, and he has announced his intention to 1 gets to vote for just one. They perceive run for one of the two District 2 seats up that it’s better to have four elected officials for election this November. The operator of accountable to each resident rather than just his own marketing-research business, Garcia one. And I concur. So why would we want to is a co-founding member of the Drive4Five deprive 80% of our residents of that privilege? initiative, which is pushing to have Palm Our logo is ‘Unite Palm Desert.’ Let’s heed the Desert move to a five-district system. He said wisdom of our words. If we can’t go back to an the City Council’s first subcommittee effort at-large city because we were sued … then let’s to create the ballot-measure language was purposefully confusing. It said: “In Palm Desert not make matters worse by literally dividing our city in five.” now, District 1 (the area surrounding Civic Garcia disagrees heartily, pointing out that Center with 20% of the population) selects all five current council members reside south one council representative every four years, and District 2 (the other 80% of the city) votes of the wash area, with none in the rapidly developing “northern sphere,” as City Council for a total of four council representatives, members refer to the areas north of Country selecting two every two years. Should this Club Drive between Monterey Avenue and system be kept rather than dividing District 2 Washington Street. up into four smaller districts, with all voters “Their main argument is that this will only able to select one of the five Council be divisive,” Garcia said. “What’s divisive is representatives? YES or NO?” having less than half the city with all of the “It was a masterpiece of obfuscation. It HIGHEST QUALITY BEST PRICE GUARANTEED representation, and the rest of the city having made the whole effort towardEQUIPMENT five districts none. That’sSUPPORT divisive. look like it was designed to take power away EXTENSIVE WARRANTIES 24/7 LOCAL “Also, they say it will ruin the culture of from District 2 residents,” Garcia said. Palm Desert. That, to me, is dog-whistle Since the adoption of the unique twoTOfor (leaving) control in the hands of language district system, some city officials and SAVE council UP the powers that be: ‘The rich white people will members have done their best to steer all city maintain their control, and that’s the way it residents toward accepting the two-district always has been, and that’s the way it always solution—from creating and distributing should be. Damn the demographics; damn citywide informational materialsSIGNATURE in early LENNOX SERIES SYSTEM *SAVINGS AND RESULTS the new parts of the MAY city;VARY we’re going to do 2020 that implied the two-district option had everything we can to keep the power structure been finalized when it had not, to this ballotin7place as we language argument. 6 0as .long 32 0 .can.’” 5800 CALL TODAYproponents— FOR DETAILS! After the City Council approved the CVRA Two-district-system c o m f o r t a c .com settlement in December 2019, co-plaintiff including a majority of the current City
WE'RE #1 FOR A REASON
ASK US
ABOUT OUR 0% FINANCING
Awarded Best AC Repair Company By Coachella Valley Independent Up to $1000 Off + Special Financing On A New HVAC System
60% ON YOUR ELECTRIC BILL*
CVIndependent.com
The Palm Desert City Council discusses the voting-district ballot initiative at the June 23 meeting via Zoom.
Karina Quintanilla ran successfully for the newly created District 1 seat in 2020. She said her goal has always been to help bring about the creation of five electoral districts in the city. “It is a very unusual circumstance for our city to start with two districts,” Quintanilla said. “But it’s been very, very important for me to be sure that this (whole districting) process was done out in the open, so people could understand why there’s hesitation, and how districts are drawn instead of having this change be pushed upon them without any possible understanding or insight. … Sometimes it feels that we’re trying to stay stagnant by not acknowledging the changing demographics and the changing future in Palm Desert. I shouldn’t be the youngest woman ever elected (to the Palm Desert City Council). We need people of different voices to come and step forward.” Garcia talked about a long list of Palm Desert issues that none of the current council members fully understand because of where they live—for example, concerns over traffic should the Cal State University-Palm Desert campus become a reality, and the struggle with accumulations of wind-blown sand on roadways and yards in the neighborhoods closest to Interstate 10. “We get really bad sandstorms that leave dunes on the roads … and we can go for weeks without (any city service) paying any attention whatsoever,” Garcia said. “People driving over it risk losing traction with their car, so it’s a real public safety issue. This whole north part of town has this issue, and the south part of
town doesn’t see it, doesn’t experience it, so it’s meaningless to them. … Finally they have started doing something about this, but it took some prodding and bringing it to their attention, because they just didn’t see it.” While Palm Desert voters will finally get to make their collective preference known come November, City Clerk Anthony Mejia confirmed via email that the City Council still has the final say. “It is a non-binding advisory vote,” he wrote. “The City Council may use the results as another source of information in forming its decisions.” If the voters express a preference for the five-district system, and the City Council decides to keep the current two-district system anyway, Mejia said the only recourse available for city residents to pursue would be an involved legal process to have their own initiative placed on a future city ballot. “A citizen-led initiative is an exact process, and I highly recommend proponents seek legal advice,” Mejia wrote. “From a high level, a citizen-led initiative must: File a notice of intention consisting of the written text of the initiative; request a ballot title and summary; cause the notice of intention to publish, and; circulate the petition to be signed by no less than 10% of the voters of the city within 180 days from the date of receipt of the ballot title and summary. If the petition is sufficient, the City Council may choose to adopt the ordinance with no modifications, or submit the matter for a future election.”
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7
AUGUST 2022
TAKE THE INDEPENDENT CHALLENGE 1. Peruse the Independent. Look at the quality of the writing, the layout, the topics, etc. 2. Do the same with any other local publication. 3. Compare.
HELP THE INDEPENDENT FOCUS FORWARD Become a sustaining Supporter of the Independent, and get our exclusive members' newsletter—including a digital sneak preview of our print edition. Go to cvindependent.com and click the "Support Us!" button! CVIndependent.com
8 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
NEWS
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS
CIVIC SOLUTIONS by melissa daniels
J
ust a few blocks from Palm Desert High School, a vacant stretch of land sits sandwiched between two rows of single-family ranch homes. Mountain views can be seen to the west. Nearby Cook Street serves as a main artery that makes it easy to head toward the center of town. By 2024, this will be the site of 14 Coachella Valley families’ brand-new homes, thanks to the Self-Help Housing Program, a new partnership between Coachella Valley Housing Coalition and the city of Palm Desert that aims to chip away at the affordable-housing crisis. This “urban self-help project” aims to rehouse low-income families by bringing them together so expensive.” to build a neighborhood of brand-new The self-help program has been part of homes under the watch of a construction CVHC’s mission for decades, with about 2,500 supervisor. Payments will be fixed to 30% of the household income, so the families’ finances self-help homes created throughout the region. But getting this latest round off the ground in won’t be stretched. Palm Desert didn’t come easy. Rodriguez said CVHC executive director Pedro Rodriguez that the rural self-help program, a staple of calls it a much-needed program at a time when CVHC’s affordable-housing offerings, backed housing costs are at an all-time high: The local by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is only median home price hit a record of $670,000 available in cities with fewer than 35,000 this June. people—which means most of the Coachella “Currently, the housing market is through Valley is not eligible. Those rural programs, the roof,” Rodriguez said. “Low-income and backed by the USDA, are still in operation in even low-to-moderate-income people are not the cities of Brawley and Imperial in Imperial able to qualify for a market-rate home. It’s just
I love this town. Thomas Gleeson Ins Agcy Inc Thomas Gleeson CLU ChFC, Agent Insurance Lic#: 0K08021 225 S. Civic Drive, Suite 1-1 Palm Springs, CA 92262 Se habla Español
2007004
CVIndependent.com
The Self-Help Housing Program brings housing affordability to more families
County, Rodriguez said. There are limits to the program: Applicants must include a household member who works within the city limits, and there are strict credit guidelines and household-income requirements. A family of four, for example, must have a household income of less than $63,200. The applicant also must commit to 35 hours a week of working on the homes for a period of one year. Palm Desert conveyed the parcels to CVHC in May 2020, The loans will be privately backed, rather than through the USDA. CVHC and the city will also subsidize the loans if the families cannot qualify for the full amount— about $270,000 for the three- or four-bedroom homes. “It requires a lot of support from the cities,” Rodriguez said. “Cities need to say, ‘This is a piece of land to donate,’ to try to make it work.” Thomas Soule, the city of Palm Desert’s public affairs manager, said that affordable housing plays “an essential role in Palm Desert’s ongoing work to build a strong and vibrant community by providing quality, stable places for families to live.” The hope is that families will begin to work on the plots of land by the fall, with the homes taking about a year to complete. So far, there
are 11 families who have qualified under the income and occupancy guidelines. As amazing as this program is, it will only help 14 families. The reality is that for the vast majority of renters, homeownership remains incredibly out of reach. For many working families, rent is costing as much as half of their monthly income, which means saving up to buy a home is impossible—unless there’s a sudden windfall from a benevolent relative. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition in November 2021 found that Riverside County renters would need to work 1.9 full-time jobs at the county renters’ mean wage of $14.30 to afford a rent of $1,390—which, in the Coachella Valley right now, limits your options to a studio or maybe a small one-bedroom. But if families can escape that cycle with affordable single-family homes, it means stability and generational wealth. Rodriguez said he’s seen the power that the self-help program can have when talking to families who grew up in the homes. “Some of these kids from low-income families go on to college and become professionals, and it’s life changing,” Rodriguez said. “And the fact their parents built the house—that’s an incredible accomplishment they carry with them.”
Thanks, CV Independent. I love being here to help in a community where people are making a difference every day. Thank you for all you do.
State Farm, Bloomington, IL
This land will soon be home to 14 single-family homes—built by the families who will live in them. Melissa Daniels
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9
AUGUST 2022
NEWS
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS
CV HISTORY
Helen Hunt Jackson, advocate for American Indians and author of ‘Ramona,’ proved one person can make a difference
by greg niemann Just five years after President Grant affixed his historic signature to the document granting Section 14 (Palm Springs) to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, a wrathful woman aroused America with a crusade in behalf of better treatment for all Indians. Her name was Helen Hunt Jackson. —Ed Ainsworth, Golden Checkerboard
H
elen Hunt Jackson was born in 1830 to a literary family in Amherst, Mass. Among her schoolmates was poet Emily Dickinson, and she was a friend of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Jackson herself was a poet of note and the writer of numercopy to every member of Congress, admonishous children’s stories. ing them that their hands were stained with the By the age of 35, she had lost her husband blood of their relations. She was disappointed and two sons to accident and illness. After that the book had little impact. being widowed by U.S. Army Capt. Edward B. However, her zeal landed her the appointHunt, she married wealthy banker and railroad ment as an Interior Department agent. In that executive William S. Jackson. capacity, with the respected California promotShe got involved in American Indian rights er Abbot Kinney, she would crisscross Southafter hearing Ponca Indian Chief Standing ern California, documenting the conditions of Bear in 1879 describe to a Boston audience Mission Indians—people who were converted his tribe’s forced removal from their Nebraska to Christianity and forcibly relocated. Jackson reservation. Her fire was lit—and the crusade and Kinney toured the backcountry of Riverwould consume the rest of her life. side and San Diego counties in a two-horse, Jackson became, as one writer noted at the double-seat carriage. By that time, the few time, a “holy terror.” Incensed by what she Mission Indians (former Gabrieliño, Luiseño heard, Jackson wrote letters to The New York and Diegueño/Kumeyaay) were living in slum Times, circulated petitions and raised money. shacks near white settlements. According to The Indians of the Southwest by Mrs. Jackson wrote of the contrast between E.E. Dale, “Mrs. Jackson was a highly emotional woman and, like most reformers, she was far them and the non-mission Cahuilla, who were happily living in industrious, peaceful comfrom realistic in her views. She saw only the munities, “cultivating ground, keeping stock, wrongs committed against the Indians, and carrying on their own simple manufactures of their sufferings; and wrote a vivid story about pottery, mats, baskets, etc., and making their them, and blamed the people of the country.” living—a very poor living, it is true; but they In 1881, Jackson’s scathing book, A Century are independent and self-respecting in it and of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Governask nothing of the United States Government ment’s Dealings With Some of the Indian Tribes, now, except that it will protect them in the was published; the crusading Jackson sent a ownership of their lands.” Jackson and Kinney did not visit the Palm Springs Cahuilla, but sent a former Indian agent, Capt. Stanley, to represent them. He met with Chief Cabezon and about 100 Cahuilla Indians from eight different village groups. His report indicated that one community of those Cahuilla, in a region called The Potrero, set a fine example of an industrious settlement under cultivation. He added that the Desert Cahuilla were unsullied by Christian missionaries and were still following their traditional customs and religions. In 1883, Mrs. Jackson submitted a 56-page report calling for massive government relief, including purchasing more land and establishing more schools for the Mission Indians. To her credit, a lot of her recommendations were put into a bill which passed the US. Senate— This photo of Helen Hunt Jackson was used as but died in the House. frontispiece in Little, Brown and Co.’s 1909 “PasaUndeterred, she soon realized that perhaps dena Edition” of Jackson’s 1884 novel, Ramona.
The graves of Ramona Lubo and Juan Diego in a cemetery near Anza. Greg Niemann
a novel might better explain the plight of the Indians. She wanted “to move people’s hearts” in a manner that worked for her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe with Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Jackson began writing Ramona in a New York City hotel room in December 1883. The novel, with real people as the characters, was completed in three months and published in November 1884. She later remarked that “every incident in Ramona is true.” While the incidents might have been true, there was apparently a little bit of literary license. For example, the fictional husband of Ramona was Alessandro, a Luiseño, whose father was chief of the San Luis Rey Indians. In real life, the husband of Ramona Lubo was Juan Diego, a Mountain Cahuilla who did odd jobs. According to Cahuilla Chief Francisco Patencio, “Jackson, who was Special Indian Agent, made the story up from different things that happened at different places. Juan Diego was shot by Sam Temple about a horse. He was shot in his own yard just as the book says. His wife’s name was Ramona. The spring, the falling rock corrals of the goats, the foundation of part of the house, are still to be seen there. All as Mrs. Jackson told it.” In The Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, authors Lowell Bean and Harry Lawton noted, “Alessandro, the tragic hero of Ramona, was a Cahuilla named Juan Diego, shot down by Sam Temple of San Jacinto. The real Ramona was also a Cahuilla, Ramona Lubo. She died on July 21, 1922, and is buried in the old Cahuilla cemetery in the San Jacinto Mountains.” A while back, I visited the cemetery on a small hill near the Cahuilla Creek Casino (now the Cahuilla Casino Hotel). The employees I met there did not know of the nearby cemetery or its significance. The grave of Ramona is simply marked “Ramona, Died July 21, 1922.” It is at the side of one marked “Juan Diego
‘Alessandro’ Ramona’s Martyred Spouse, Died March 24, 1883.” At the offices for Hemet’s Ramona Pageant—an outdoor stage adaptation of the novel which opened in 1923 and today is the longest-running outdoor play in the country—I saw photos of Sam Temple, a belligerent-looking man with mean eyes and a bushy handlebar mustache. Ramona Lubo’s lineage can be further traced. According to Frank Bogert in Palm Springs: First Hundred Years, Ramona’s grandson, Harry Hopkins, was married to Celia Patencio, the sister of the last Cahuilla ceremonial singer Joseph Patencio. The book Ramona was immensely popular, but Jackson would only see a portion of the success. She died of cancer on Aug. 12, 1885, less than a year after Ramona was published. The name Ramona lives on—in towns, streets, and businesses throughout Southern California, along with several movies and songs, as well as the Ramona Pageant. On Jan. 12, 1891, Congress passed the Act for the Relief of Mission Indians, which formally established reservations for Southern California Indians. The voice of one person can make a difference. Sources for this article include Golden Checkerboard, by Ed Ainsworth, Desert Southwest Publishing, 1965; Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson, Roberts Brothers, 1884; The Indians of the Southwest, by E.E. Dale, Huntington Library, 1949; The Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, by Lowell Bean and Harry Lawton, Malki Museum Press, 1965; Stories and Legends of the Palm Springs Indians, by Cahuilla Chief Francisco Patencio, Times Mirror, 1943; Palm Springs: First Hundred Years, by Frank Bogert, Palm Springs Heritage Association, 1987; The Smiley Commission Report, U.S. Congress, 1891. CVIndependent.com
10 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
WHAT’S IN A NAME … ?
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
W
hat’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. William Shakespeare’s line in Romeo and Juliet make the point that naming things is irrelevant. Many aesthetic prac�ces put clever names on their treatments or devices. Then they saturate social media with the name in order to “own” that treatment and a�ract new pa�ents for their “signature” procedure. Pa�ents end up paying much higher prices for named treatments, because they believe they’re be�er than what prac�ces like mine provide at fair prices. One of the missions of my Secret ar�cles is to equip you to see past these kinds of marke�ng techniques. We have just about every effec�ve laser device in our prac�ces. I’ll give you the Secrets to illustrate how Revive’s procedures can help you recover from excess summer sun exposure without paying for cleverly named procedures. Secret No. 1: Light sun damage—Revive’s 45-minute carbon-laser facial peel exfoliates, lightens skin and s�mulates collagen produc�on to reduce pore size and clear clogged pores. Secret No. 2: Moderate sun damage and dehydrated skin— Revive’s micro-needling with radio frequency treatment will improve dehydrated skin, improve fine lines and skin tone, and increase long term collagen. Secret No. 3: Longer term melasma and bronzed skin from sun exposure—Revive’s combina�on of topical hydroquinone and PICO laser treatments reduces stubborn melasma, lightens stained skin and s�mulates internal collagen produc�on. These simply named treatments produce real results without pa�ents traveling far, and without paying high prices for cleverly named treatments that u�lize the same, or similar, devices, that we use at Revive. August is the �me to plan on ge�ng these summer recovery treatments to have clearer, brighter and glowing skin for the upcoming event and holiday season. Our Revive Wellness Center loca�ons are in Palm Springs (760-325-4800) and Torrance (310-375-7599); www.revivecenter.com. Our Medweight, Lasers and Wellness Center office is in Irvine (949-586-9904); www. medweightandlasers.com.
You can email your individual ques�ons to Shonda Chase FNP, or Allan Y. Wu MD, Revive’s cosme�c surgeon, at shonda@revivecenter.com.
CVIndependent.com
MARKET
GET 25 TO 50 PERCENT OFF GIFT CERTIFICATES TO SOME OF THE VALLEY'S TOP RESTAURANTS!
ONLY AT CVINDEPENDENT.COM
COMPASS ROSE
FI NANCIAL PLAN N I NG A FINANCIAL PLANNING & INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRM
Your Fiduciary Advisor DESERT BUSINESS ASSOCIATION’S 2019 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Call us today to schedule a complimentary consultation and get acquainted with an independent, Fee-Only financial planning & investment management firm located here in the Coachella Valley. Allow us to show you the benefits that result from a financial plan tailored to helping you achieve your goals.
COMPASS ROSE FINANCIAL PLANNING 760-322-5200 • www.compassrosefp.com 333 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 112-A • Palm Springs, CA 92262
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11
AUGUST 2022
NEWS
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS
AUGUST ASTRONOMY
A full moon ruins this year’s Perseid
Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight meteor shower—but For August, 2022 there are a bunch
of visible planets and bright stars
This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
T
N
By Robert Victor
here are just a half-dozen bright stars visible at dusk this month: The Summer Triangle of Vega, Altair and Deneb (in order of brightness) high in the eastern sky; Arcturus, high in the west-southwest; Spica, in the southwest, to the lower left of Arcturus; and Antares, heart of the Scorpion, in the south. Mercury hugs the western horizon all month, climbing around midmonth to a maximum altitude at mid-twilight of only 4.6 degrees from the Coachella Valley. Mercury fades slowly, from magnitude -0.5 to +0.3—definitely an unfavorable apparition, despite its greatest elongation of 27 degrees on Aug. 27. Saturn starts August very low in the east-southeast in evening mid-twilight, and shines at magnitude +0.3 all month. Saturn reaches opposition on Aug. 14, visible all night, with the north face of the rings tipped 14 shoulder, low in the east; Pollux and Castor, degrees into our view. For a good look at Saturn, twin stars of Gemini, to the left of Venus; Capeljust wait until later in the evening, or late in la, the Mother Goat Star, high above Venus and the month, when it’s higher. Jupiter and Mars the Twins; and Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, above have both risen by four hours after evening Orion and to the lower left of Mars. mid-twilight, but they’re much better placed for By the end of August’s second week, two morning observation. stars—Procyon, rising in the east, and Sirius, E Waxing moon: On Aug. 3, the 36 percent the Dog Star and brightest star, rising in line waxing crescent moon appears 3 degrees to the with Orion’s belt extended down toward the upper right of Spica at dusk. Although Mercury horizon—join the scene. These two stars comwill be visible, Regulus, at its conjunction 0.8 plete the Winter Triangle with Betelgeuse. Catch degrees to the lower left, will be very difficult to it soon, after Sirius rises and before Altair sets, see because of bright twilight. On Aug. 6, look and you’ll see the Summer and Winter Triangles for Antares just 4 degrees to the lower left of simultaneously! the 69 percent gibbous moon. On Aug. 11, look Watch the changing alignment of Venus with for Saturn within 5 degrees to the north (upper Castor and Pollux on Aug. 10, when the line left) of the full moon rising in early dusk. They’ll joining the stars 4.5 degrees apart, extended 8 remain about the same distance apart all night. degrees downward, locates Venus. Watch Mars Milky Way: By Aug. 17, the moon will be out pass within 6 degrees of the Pleiades star cluster of the way, allowing an hour or more of dark-sky Aug. 17-24. viewing after twilight ends. Excellent views of Beginning with the full moon of Aug. 11, the the summer Milky Way at its highest in a moon- moon will be added to the lineup of solar sysless sky at nightfall continue through Aug. 29. tem bodies in the morning sky. On Aug. 11, see Late in month, the moon returns to the evethe nearly full moon about to set, with Saturn ning sky as a crescent in twilight. On the 28th, 13 degrees above. On the next morning, the full look for the 3 percent crescent very low in the moon will be 5 degrees to the left of Saturn. west, with Mercury 9 degrees to its left and The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches slightly lower. On the 29th, find the 8 percent peak between nightfall on Friday, Aug. 12, and moon with Mercury 7 degrees to its lower right. dawn’s first light on Saturday, Aug. 13—but And on the 30th, find the 14 percent crescent this year’s shower will be spoiled by a full moon moon low in the west-southwest, with Spica 4 occurring on Aug. 11. Look for meteors during degrees to its lower left. the intervals of dark skies from moonset until Predawn attractions: As August begins, an dawn on the mornings of Aug. 8-10, days before impressive number of bright objects enhances the peak, and from nightfall until moonrise on the sky an hour before sunrise. First is a striking evenings of Aug. 14-16, after the peak. lineup of four planets, 145 degrees long, from On Aug. 14, the 92 percent gibbous moon brilliant Venus, very low in the east-northeast, appears 14 degrees to the lower right of Jupiter. through Mars, high in east-southeast, and The next morning, the moon will be 2 degrees to bright Jupiter, high in south, to Saturn, low in the lower left of Jupiter. This close pairing prosouthwest. And these stars: the Summer Trianvides a chance to see Jupiter in the daytime! gle of Vega, Deneb and Altair, in the northwest On Aug. 19, the moon, 47 percent full and to west; Fomalhaut, mouth of the Southern just past its last quarter phase, is about 2 Fish, to the lower left of Saturn and lower right degrees from Mars and 3 degrees from the Pleof Jupiter; Orion with blue Rigel, his foot, low iades, a beautiful field for binoculars! Another in the east-southeast, and red Betelgeuse, his gorgeous view awaits 9 to 12 degrees below the
August's evening sky chart. ROBERT D. MILLER
Deneb
1 Regulus 8
Vega
15 22 Altair
1
8
Saturn 15 22
Mercury
Arcturus
29
W
29
Spica
Antares
Evening mid-twilight occurs moon—Aldebaran and the Hyades when Sun is 9 below horizon.star cluster. On Aug. 20,1:the percent Aug. 44 38 minutes aftercrescent sunset. moon 15: 42 to" the"lower " left of Mars, appears 13 degrees 31: 41 to"the "upper " left of Aldebaand 7 or 8 degrees
ran. Mornings this weekend, Mars appears 6 or 7 degrees south of the Pleiades star cluster. Can you see the four bright planets simultaneously a little less than an hour before sunrise on Aug. 20? Venus-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn will span nearly 170 degrees, with Venus and Saturn only 5 degrees above opposite horizons. On Aug. 21, the moon’s final morning in Taurus, the 29 percent crescent lies almost between the tips of the Bull’s horns. On Aug. 23, look for the “Gemini Twins”— fainter Castor, 4.5 degrees to the upper left of Pollux, some 6 degrees to the lower left of the 13 percent crescent moon. Venus is 26 degrees to the moon’s lower left. On Aug. 24, the Twins are 7 to 11 degrees above the 8 percent crescent,
S
Stereographic Projection
beautifully illuminated by onMiller its Mapearthshine by Robert D. darker side. On Aug. 25, about an hour before sunrise, find a photogenic 3 percent lunar crescent very low in the east-northeast an hour before sunrise, with Venus 6 degrees to its lower right. I On Aug. 26, 30 minutes before sunrise, find Venus very low in the east-northeast, with a 1 percent crescent moon 8 degrees to its lower left. Binoculars recommended! The moon will be new on Aug. 27 at 1:17 a.m. Sky Calendar includes illustrations of many of the events described here. To subscribe, visit www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar. Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 at Michigan State University, and still produces issues occasionally, including the upcoming October and December 2022 editions. CVIndependent.com
12 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
In November,
voters in the newly drawn 41st Congressional District—a tossup district which now includes Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta—will choose between two very different candidates, with very different politics. Ken Calvert, the incumbent in California’s 42nd Congressional District, has been redistricted into the new 41st District. A 1975 graduate of San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, he has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. According to his House of Representatives website biography, Calvert has been involved organizations including the Corona Chamber of Commerce, the Corona Rotary and the Corona-Norco Family YMCA. Today, Calvert, 69, is sometimes referred to as the dean of the California Republican delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives. As of May 18, 2022, according to the Open Secrets website, Calvert had raised $1,858,585 for his campaign, and had spent $1,054,601. Democratic candidate Will Rollins, according to his campaign website, is “a formal federal prosecutor who focused on counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases in Southern California.” A graduate of Dartmouth University and Columbia Law School, Rollins, 37—who is openly gay—served as an assistant U.S. attorney prior to joining the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section of the National Security Division, where he prosecuted a number of individuals, including a reported QAnon follower for an attack at the Port of Los Angeles, and some of the insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2001. As of May 18, 2022, according to Open Secrets, Rollins had raised $1,020,429 for his campaign, and had spent $574,001. The Independent recently reached out to both Rollins and Calvert to ask them a slate of six identical questions. Here are their responses, which have been edited only for clarity and editorial style; in several cases, we’ve added some fact-checking to the candidates’ statements as well.
If you’re re-elected, what are your personal top three legislative priorities? What specific results are you working toward in each case? Obviously, the biggest issue I hear about from people daily, if not hourly, is inflation—the price of gasoline and the price of food. So that, we need to deal with. Of course, from my perspective, we need to deal with energy, which is really the base source of where inflation comes from. Everything comes from energy, whether you’re driving a diesel truck to deliver groceries, or delivering the mail, or doing anything you’re going to be doing. Energy prices have been a main driver of this inflation we’re having. The best way to deal with it is to boost production. I don’t understand why the president doesn’t move in that direction, because pulling oil out of the reserve is not the answer. We produce about 20 million barrels a day. That’s obviously a lot of oil, but we don’t have the refining capability because of regulatory restrictions on refineries. And, of course, investors don’t want to put money into the industry now, because they think that the president has pretty much said they want to put them out of business. So, we’ve got to change direction and get these energy companies back to investing in base energy to bring these prices down. That would help with food, because, obviously, natural gas makes fertilizer, and fertilizer prices are at an all-time high. They’ve gone up over 30%, and in some cases higher than that. (A Bloomberg article from May 26, 2022, reported, “The June spot price in Tampa, Fla., for the nitrogen fertilizer ammonia settled at $1,000 per metric ton, a drop of 30% from May’s $1,425 per metric ton. Even with the drop, however, prices for ammonia are still 87% higher CVIndependent.com
than a year ago, and supply chain issues continue to wreak havoc on global markets.”) A lot of crops are not being planted this year because of farmers’ fear of future market volatility, or the prices going up enormously. So, it’s double whammy—the price of gas and the price of food. That, I think, is the No. 1 issue. Obviously, this issue on the border is a huge issue. We had almost 250,000 people cross the border last month. That’s a record high. It seems like it goes up every month, and we can’t absorb this amount of people. We’ve got to get operational control of the border. In Riverside County alone, by the way, we lose one person a day to fentanyl poisoning. These guys are bringing it across this open border. Primarily, the base chemical for fentanyl comes from China. China could stop that tomorrow if they wanted to, but obviously, they don’t. It’s being sent to the two major cartels in Mexico. They send it across, and they’re making enormous amounts of money. Last year, 105,000 people died of opioid deaths in America. (According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, “Provisional data indicate there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2021. … The new data show overdose deaths involving opioids increased from an estimated 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021.”) That’s tragic in every way you can think of, and that has to stop. It’s because of a number of reasons, porous borders being a big part of it. I think China’s (engaged in) almost a form of esoteric warfare, dumping these chemicals that they know are going to be distributed into the United States by these cartels. It’s a major problem. Crime is probably the third issue. I think you can divide crime into a number of things. You know, the homeless problem (results) unfortunately in a lot of minor crimes, but nevertheless, it creates an atmosphere of crime. Whether it’s these smash-and-grabs, or car-related theft that we’re experiencing more and more of, or petty crimes on the street, or even worse, where they’re using weapons to steal and (commit) burglaries, I think it’s unfortunate. I think California’s Prop 47 was the wrong move, and that Californians may rethink that. We need to get control of this lawlessness that we have in our society right now. (According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “Passed by voters in November 2014, Proposition 47 brought broad and significant changes to California’s criminal justice system. Undertaken in the wake of public safety realignment in 2011, Proposition 47 reduced the penalties for certain lower-level drug and property offenses and represented a further step in prioritizing prison and jail space for higher-level offenders.”) So, I’d say those are probably the three top issues that I hear about. Of course, there are a lot of local issues like transportation. It continues to be an issue in the Inland Empire, certainly here on the west end. I know that in the desert, Interstate 10 is pretty much the one way in and out. You’ve got the 74 and some other alternatives, but if you get an accident on the I-10 in
AUGUST 2022
Banning, and you’re trying to get to L.A., you’re in for a four-hour experience. In the summer time, that can be a safety issue, too, if a car breaks down. This secondary road issue is one thing that I have a lot experience on. I delivered to west Riverside County, and I tend to help also in the desert to bring (federal) transportation dollars. Obviously, the I-10 is an interstate highway, so it gets federal dollars, and we continue to expand and do safety improvements. Hopefully, there’s a secondary road they’d like to put in to help relieve (the pressure) on the I-10 in case something happens. So, that’s a big issue. The Salton Sea is going to be a big issue. I’ve been dealing with that for years and understand it probably better than most. It’s both a short-term and long-term problem, and we’re going to have to deal with it.
If you’re re-elected, would you work to pass federal laws codifying and supporting a woman’s right to obtain an abortion; same sex marriage; and the right to access contraceptive means as an adult? I hear about (abortion) from both sides, and it’s obviously an emotional issue for both sides, which it has been for a long time. I think it’s important for everybody to understand that the (Supreme) Court’s ruling doesn’t mean that there’s suddenly a federal prohibition on abortion. Abortion policy, like many policies we deal with in this country, is done through the democratic process at the state level. Of course, in California, abortion will still be legal, and we’re probably the most liberal state in this country regarding abortion. I don’t support a national ban on abortion. Like many Americans, I’m opposed to late-term, third-trimester abortions that are done for various reasons. I think that’s wrong. But, also, I think that women should be assured that if they become pregnant due to rape or incest, or their health is in jeopardy, they should have access to abortion services. Outside of that, I think the states should establish their own laws, so they can better reflect the will of the voters. Of course, different states will have different laws about how they’re going to approach abortion. California will continue probably to have a very liberal path on abortion. That’s a difficult issue. As far as gay marriage, I think that’s been resolved. The courts resolved it, and it’s the law of the land, so I don’t support going back and revisiting that. Gay marriage is now legal, and I’m fine with that. And people should have access to contraceptives. I think people are referring to Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion, and I think he’s looking in a strict way at the Constitution, but there’s no way that we’re going to revisit people’s rights to access contraceptives. That’s not going to happen. The same thing with same sex marriage. That’s established, and that’s not going to be revisited.
What is your position on how to revamp and settle U.S. immigration policy, including how to address the Dreamers’ unique situation? First, concerning border security, I’ve been involved in the border wall, or fence, for a long time, including the triple fence over in Tijuana. We had a real problem in the Smuggler’s Gulch area. I helped obtain the money to build that triple fence, which had a tremendous effect on stopping folks from coming across that border. And we were making great progress on finishing that fence. We accomplished about 500 additional miles, and we were doing about a mile a day until President Biden came in and stopped it all. But the contracts (for the project) had already been set. And there was a significant penalty; I think it was 30% to stop the contracts, and the fencing materials had already been acquired. It’s still stacked up there along the southern border. (The Independent’s research cannot confirm a 30% penalty stemming from the existing construction contract cancellations. However, on Jan. 21, 2021, Bloomberg reported: “Contractors are entitled to settlement payments for the money they have already spent on costs like workers and materials, and for the expenses of withdrawing from the project. … One estimate from the Army Corps reviewed by The Washington Post found that the cost savings would far outweigh those expenses: Stopping work on the Army Corps wall construction contracts on day one may save the Biden administration $2.6 billion.”) Now you’ve got these gaps with people just crossing the border without any problems, and we’ve picked up at least 36 people who were on the terrorist watchlist. So, that’s what we’ve picked up, but we don’t know who’s come across that border who we didn’t pick up. That’s a problem. These guys aren’t coming over to work on farms. It’s a real security problem. I’ve already mentioned the drug issue. This fentanyl and the new synthetic drugs are killing tens of thousands of people. There are dangerous drugs coming across that border, and these two major cartels are making a tremendous amount of money. I read in a report that between human smuggling, drugs and the rest of it, those two cartels make about $60 billion a year. Obviously, that’s all in illegal activity. One of the reasons that people come here (to the United States), of course, is to work, and I wrote the original E-Verify law. E-Verify is a method when you file your I-9 forms for an employer, you write down your Social Security number, your name
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13
and the rest of it. In the past, there wasn’t a way to verify if it was a real Social Security number. So, we started it out as a basic pilot program in a number of states, and now it’s used throughout the United States. Many states mandate it. Over 50% of all employees go through the E-Verify system, which didn’t exist until I wrote the law. If we mandated that, which I think we should do, then it would remove (an incentive) for people coming here illegally to obtain work. People who are here legally to work under a visa program, I support, particularly for the farming industry. We do need to improve it—the H2A visa program—because it’s not working very well. We need to know who’s here. The problem now is that we have millions of people coming here, and we don’t know who they are, or for what purpose they’re here, and whether or not they’re denying work to people who are legally here. As far as DACA is concerned, I’ve supported (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). If there was a standalone DACA vote, it would pass easily. The problem is that the Democrats have been using DACA to load up an immigration bill with things that don’t have a lot of support. You now, I think that we could come to an agreement. We almost had an agreement about four years ago, which unfortunately didn’t pass, but I supported it. It would have resolved 80-90% of the issue. But I think there’s still an opportunity. Probably the best time to do it is in the first part of a Congress, when the emotional level is down, and we can get it done. Quite frankly, DACA is the least controversial part of immigration change. Most Republicans and most Democrats support legalization for those who came here as young people through no fault of their own, and (would) give them a pathway to citizenship.
Do you support any limitations on gun purchases in general; a ban on assault or automatic weapons; and/or restrictions on a citizen’s ability to obtain particular types of ammunition or magazines? People know that I’ve been a supporter of the Second Amendment. Obviously, we have a problem in this country. Like with what happened in Highland Park (Ill.), it seems that, for some reason, there’s a consistent pattern (among) young, white and angry 18-to-25-year-olds out there. In California, we have very strict gun laws, but we don’t enforce them. The recent shooting of two (police) officers in El Monte is a perfect example of that. The district attorney in Los Angeles, George Gascon, didn’t do his job. If he’d prosecuted that offender for his prior gun crime, that shooting wouldn’t have happened. So, if we enforce the gun laws that we have on the books today, many of these (incidents) wouldn’t occur. The so-called “red flag laws,” which basically take away due process from law-abiding citizens, have to be written properly, and I don’t think this last bill was. (HR 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act, passed the House on June 8, and is currently in the hands of the Senate; Calvert voted against it.) You’ve got to have it written right so it will work. For instance, with this person in Highland Park, hell, there were all kinds of red flags for that guy. They knew he had all kinds of past issues that people were aware of, and yet, he still was able to acquire a gun, even though weapons had been taken away from him prior to that. So, you have these laws, but if they’re not enforced, they don’t work. I own guns, and I’ve been around guns my whole life. People talk about high-performance rifles. You know, a hunting gun is a high-performance rifle, whether it’s a .30-06 or whatever. We have hundreds of millions of these weapons around the country, and we’re not going to confiscate them all. When I was a kid, we never had these kind of things happen. Something happened to our culture over the last 50 years. We could probably have a debate over that. When I was a kid, I had a shotgun in the back of my Jeep with a couple of cases of shotgun shells, and we’d go up to the foothills after school, and we’d go quail hunting, and everybody knew. Now, can you imagine that today? Obviously, you’d be arrested. The culture has changed. Things have changed. We have a lot of mental illness, a lot of drug abuse, and I think a lot of people watch these violent videos or games. Unfortunately, I think all of this leads to these tragic situations. We have to deal with it. More than just controlling guns, we’ve got to get involved with these people early on, identify them as a society, and deal with it.
What is your position on protecting our region’s air and water quality, as well as U.S. federal government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030? I’ve been involved in clean-air issues for a long time. The DERA (Diesel Emissions Reduction Act) program is one of the programs that I helped put together. We take old diesel trucks off the road and replace them with new clean diesels, which have 90% less emissions, and especially particulate emissions. Back when I was chairman of the (House) Energy and the Environment Committee, I was involved in getting sulfur out of gasoline, for instance. That way, you don’t poison the catalytic converters on automobiles, and that cleaned up a lot of the problems on continued on next page CVIndependent.com
14 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
Candidate Q&A continued from Page 13 air pollution. A lot of the low-hanging fruit on air pollution has been picked. When you get into these ozone issues, and background ozone, it gets more difficult, as we’ve done a significant job. I remember when I was a kid playing football in the early ’70s, I couldn’t even see across the field; literally, the smog was that bad. Today, it’s improved significantly, even though our population has grown significantly. So, we’ve done things right. We were the first state to really regulate air, and a lot of Republicans were involved in that. Jerry Lewis, a former congressman from our region, wrote a big part of the Clean Air Act in California, which created the South Coast Air Quality (Management) District. Bob Presley (a former California State senator from 1975-1994) and a lot of these guys have historically been involved in clean-air issues, and did a tremendous job— and we continue to make improvements. But you have to make economic decisions and pragmatic decisions along with that. Like, we cleaned up these diesel engines by 90%, and we continue to do better and better with the technology, but at the same time, we want to have an economy that continues to grow, so you have to make that balance. As electric vehicles come to the forefront, that’s going to be great, but you’ve got to have baseload power to power them. This whole thing about greenhouse gas, it’s an important issue. We’ve done more to bring down carbon emissions than any country in the world. As a matter of fact, our carbon emissions have come down significantly in the last number of years—but we don’t want to destroy the economy at the outset. So you have to have reasonable targets to get to where we need to be without destroying the economy. You’ve got to have some flexibility when you’re doing that. That’s something that I’m going to continue to deal with.
What is your favorite free-time activity? Gardening, I guess, is probably my favorite thing to do. I own a little bit of land out in Corona, where I have some specimen roses, and I like dealing with those, believe it or not. I have a feeling of accomplishment after working on them, which we all need from time to time.
If you are elected, what are your personal top three legislative priorities? What specific results are you working toward in each case? Right now, the three for me are, first, to tackle inflation and the corruption that’s contributing to it. The second thing I want to do is provide immediate tax relief for working families in Riverside County, where the median household income is $70,000 a year, but our marginal tax rate in California is 41%. (This is the same marginal tax rate shown by Talent.com.) The third thing is to modernize infrastructure in Riverside County, including in the Coachella Valley. To expand on each of those, the first thing is inflation, and what I mean by corruption is contributing: We’ve got to end price gouging. Shell just posted a record $9 billion in quarterly profit a couple of months ago, and they have record profit margins (running) at about 20%. (According to macrotrends.net, Shell’s latest gross profit margin was 25.6 percent, and the net profit margin was 7.3 percent.) They’re telling shareholders on earnings calls that they aren’t going to expand production, because they’re seeing record profits. What I think we need to do is strengthen anti-trust rules to make our markets competitive, so that these corporations would actually have to compete for our business at the pump, and would be forced to restart production in the wells that they CVIndependent.com
AUGUST 2022
already have. I’m running against somebody who just voted against a bill designed to stop oil corporations from price-gouging. The reason I see corruption as being tied to this is because he gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, and Business Insider has called him one of the most corrupt members of Congress. (A Business Insider article from Sept. 9, 2009, cited the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as making this claim; the publication itself did not.) I think the same theory can be applied to big agri-business, where we’re seeing huge spikes in the cost of groceries, big pharma and even baby formula. If you look at all those industries, the power of monopolies and market concentration in each of those industries is contributing to rising costs for all of us in Riverside County. We need someone to represent us in Congress who is actually going to take these corporations on and fight for people who are living paycheck to paycheck, like so many of us in Riverside County. I think part of that also includes strengthening our campaign-finance rules, so that our representatives aren’t simply in the pockets of these massive corporations. I would support a ban on insider trading so that members like Calvert cannot trade on information that they learn about the industries or corporations during their work on Capitol Hill. I would support a lifetime ban on members of Congress going out after they leave (Congress) and lobbying, because I think this is part of a cycle that has led to working families getting screwed for the last three decades by people like Ken Calvert, who has served the interests of these massive corporations over (those of) the constituents that they’re supposed to represent. So, that’s the first legislative priority for me. The second, which is related, is immediate tax relief for the working families in Riverside County, where, again, our median income is $70,000 a year, and the marginal tax rate for people making that is 41%. We’ve got to get those rates down for working families, and we can do that by making billionaires who pay an average of 8% per year in their income (level) pay their fair share. When the top 400 families in the United States control more than 60% of all wealth, the system is broken. Some of them, like Jeff Bezos, have paid literally zero dollars in federal income taxes twice in the last decade. Meanwhile, teachers, nurses, firefighters and cops are paying 40% in California. I think this is a product of members of Congress who are in the pockets of ultrawealthy donors, and who actually refuse to deliver for their own constituents. The example I always give is the Trump tax cuts. Wyoming was the No. 1 state to benefit from the Trump tax cuts, and Californians actually got screwed, because people like Ken Calvert made it harder for us to deduct our state and local income taxes, and harder to deduct our mortgage interest, even as home prices in Riverside County are reaching all-time highs. He did that because the people who fund his campaigns are ultra-wealthy people who don’t actually live in the county. So, that’s why those folks are seeing such low tax rates, while working families are getting stuck with the burden of our entire country’s taxes, paying a 41% combined marginal rate on a $70,000. So, I really think that the Democratic Party needs to be a very big tent party right now and form a coalition of people who are getting absolutely screwed by our tax system—a system that’s set up to reward ultra-high-net-worth people at the expense of those of us who have to work for a living and live on our salaries. There have been pretty widely reported stories about people like Bezos and Musk, and the low tax rates they paid twice in the last decade. These are two of the richest human beings who ever existed in human history, and they literally each paid nothing in federal income tax twice. To me, that is so fundamentally wrong and unfair to the rest of America. They’re taking advantage of laws that we, the people, have enacted, so we, the people, need to enact different laws. That’s how I look at it. Of course, they should take advantage of the tax laws that are on the books, but we are the ones who enacted those laws. So now we’ve got to send different people to Congress who recognize that and are willing to close loopholes that allow something that absurd to occur. The third priority I mentioned is about modernizing infrastructure in Riverside County, including the Coachella Valley. For the Coachella Valley, in particular, I think that rail service is something that will bring a huge economic benefit, and will require a significant investment from the federal government. It can bring both new economic opportunity to the district as well as reduce traffic, because if you’ve ever sat in traffic on Interstate 10, the 15 or the 215, you’ve seen firsthand the dire need for increased infrastructure in both the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley. And again, I’m running against a guy who voted against infrastructure funding that ultimately is going to go to projects like the I-15 corridor. Some $12 million will go to widen Bundy Canyon Road in Menifee, and millions of dollars to other infrastructure projects across the county. We, as residents of Riverside County, regardless of party, have to be electing people who are going to put the infrastructure needs of Coachella Valley and Riverside County ahead of partisan bickering, and (the question of) whether a particular bill is going to make President Biden look good or bad. This is money that’s designed to benefit our communities, where we live and work every single day, and Calvert voted against that funding. So I want to do the opposite of that.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15
AUGUST 2022
If you’re elected, would you work to pass federal laws codifying and supporting a woman’s right to obtain an abortion; same sex marriage; and the right to access contraceptive means as an adult? Yes. I would support codifying every single one of those rights into federal law, and I’d like to make one quick point about my opponent’s views on these issues. I’m running against someone who voted to allow child predators to sue in order to prevent victims from getting an abortion. (Rollins is referring to an April 27, 2005, roll call vote to send HR 748, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, back to committee. As Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., put it, “this bill allows a father to sue the person who accompanied the young woman or, if he did not receive the required notice, to sue the doctor who provided the abortion even if he himself, the father, that is, caused the pregnancy by rape or incest.” Republican proponents of the act said the scenario laid out by Nadler “simply is not going to happen.” The roll call vote failed, with 245 representatives, including Calvert, noting no, to 183 voting yes. The House subsequently passed the act and sent it to the U.S. Senate.) I’m running against somebody who voted to prohibit same-sex marriage and (LGBTQ+) service in the military. And I’m running against somebody who just joined the lawsuit to overturn Roe, which (Supreme Court Justice) Clarence Thomas himself said in his concurring opinion now puts rights like access to contraception on the line in November. So I hope that voters hold Calvert responsible, and do not let him avoid answering questions about his votes. We cannot be represented by someone who holds these kinds of backward views on each of those issues.
What is your position on how to revamp and settle U.S. immigration policy, including how to address the Dreamers’ unique situation? I believe that our laws can ensure both that our borders are secure, and that immigrants are treated humanely. I worked in counter-terrorism, so I understand the importance of having a secure border. My opponent has been in office since I was 8 years old, for three decades, and our immigration system is still broken. Both parties have had power (in that time), so I think it’s time for new ideas and leadership and meaningful compromise. Now, what does that look like? No. 1, I think we can provide temporary status and work permits for people who want to come to the United States, help address our labor shortage and pay taxes. I’ve talked to a lot of small-business owners in our county who have said specifically that they need access to more labor, and they want people to have legal status and contribute to the economy in an above-board way so that they are safe when they come here. Also, our businesses (need to be) able to expand and grow in the way that they want to while we’re dealing with a labor shortage. No. 2, we’ve got to provide a path to citizenship for kids who are brought here by their parents, and grew up in the United States, because those kids are just as American as anybody else. In a lot of cases, they came here when they were infants, had no choice in the matter, grew up here, went to school here, and they deserve to be protected by our laws. Unlike my opponent, I don’t believe that it’s right to deport children who were brought here without any say in the matter and have spent the last 15 to 20 years in the United States. (Calvert voted against the DREAM Act in 2010, with his office putting out a press release saying Calvert was voting to put “American and legal resident students first.”) No. 3, we’ve got to invest more money in our immigration courts, and in modern technology that will actually secure the border instead of a 14th century wall that doesn’t do anything about the people who simply overstay their visas in the United States, which represents a majority of people who are here illegally. So I think by investing more money in our overworked immigration courts, we can ensure that people are treated humanely, that they have their due process protected, and they have the right to be heard when making their asylum claims. Also, we (can) ensure that people who are dangerous or pose a risk to the United States are screened. This will require additional investment from our government, but I think it’s part of the longterm compromise that a vast majority of Americans would support.
Do you support any limitations on gun purchases in general; a ban on assault or automatic weapons; and/or restrictions on a citizen’s ability to obtain particular types of ammunition or magazines? There’s no question that we need universal violent-criminal-history checks. Gun homicides have increased in Riverside County, yet my opponent is opposed to those kinds of universal background checks. I could not disagree with him more about that. I don’t believe that felons should be able to get their hands on guns to terrorize our communities. Also, I support a federal “red flag law,” because I don’t think a deranged 18-year-old who threatens to shoot up a school should be permitted to walk into a Walmart and buy an AR-15 the next day. But,
2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission/www.wedrawthelinesca.org again, my opponent just voted against the bipartisan gun safety legislation that was passed last month which incentivized “red flag laws” (to be passed by state legislatures). So that’s a radical position that is completely out of touch with most voters in Riverside County. Also, I support permits for concealed weapons, because I don’t believe that people with criminal records or violent backgrounds should be allowed to carry handguns into restaurants, movie theaters and supermarkets with no questions asked. This, too, is a policy position where my opponent is completely on the other side of it. I think voters in our county should be aware of that contrast.
What is your position on protecting our region’s air and water quality, as well as U.S. federal government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030? When it comes to water, I think we need more federal funding in the eastern Coachella Valley, similar to the $1.5 million grant to the Coachella Valley Water District that Congressman Rail Ruiz and (U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small just announced recently. Those grants will help replace water pipelines and booster stations, and make sure that water continues to be potable. Also, working with the EPA to go to parts of the valley that have issues with an ongoing effort to (obtain) safe drinking water— which is something that should never happen in the United States—Congressman Ruiz has been a great leader on this (issue). I know he brought EPA officials to the Oasis Mobile Home Park, so I’ll try to be an ally with him in that and be a representative for the entire valley. I think the two of us have the potential to bring a lot of federal resources to our communities. Climate change is an existential threat and one of the greatest challenges of our generation. I am committed to advancing an ambitious evidence- and science-based agenda to achieve netzero emissions, leveraging every tool available for a swift transition to a more sustainable and cleaner planet and economy. Riverside County has the opportunity to develop thousands of small, clean-tech businesses that will have a foothold in expanding the green energy economy and the United States’ standing in clean energy. With the right tax incentives to encourage small, clean-tech businesses to start in the Inland Empire—and the assistance of the federal government in major infrastructure projects across the County—we will be able to grow our economy, improve public transit and protect the planet all at the same time. Two looming environmental issues impacting our region involve zoning and transportation laws, and the cleanup and excavation of the Salton Sea. The region is growing rapidly, and I will fight for policies that promote smart growth and don’t leave at-risk communities behind, and ensure that we direct federal resources to the most vulnerable communities affected by climate change in our district.
What is your favorite free-time activity? I think hiking around the valley is one of my favorites, (but) how much hiking am I able to do these days? The best part is that there are so many different hikes you can do. I really like the Cactus to Clouds trail near Palm Springs. It’s got a lot of elevation gain, so it’s good.
CVIndependent.com
16 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
E V I T C E ROSP
WE TAKE THE STRESS OUT
T
E FILM R
OF SELLING YOUR HOME
SEE THEM ON THE
BIG SCREEN Call Kevin Stern 760-250-1977
August
Owner/Broker • Town Real Estate CalDRE #01376548
TownCA.com
Wes Anderson Rushmore The Royal Tenenbaums Moonrise Kingdom The Grand Budapest Hotel
8.6 8.13 8.20 8.27
2300 E. BARISTO ROAD
PSCULTURALCENTER.ORG
SHOWTIME 8PM BAR OPENS 6:30PM
FULL BAR + REAL BUTTER
get tickets now
THANK YOU SPONSORS:
PaulBar CVIndependent.com
Opens August 12!
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17
AUGUST 2022
ARTS & CULTURE
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE
INTERPRETING THE GREATS
Tysen Knight melds iconic art with his own style for his ‘MasterPiece MashUp’ works
By matt king
I
t can be intimidating for an artist to modify or interpret famous works of art—but that didn’t stop Palm Springs’ Tysen Knight from doing so to pass the time during the stay-athome phase of the pandemic. The fruits of Knight’s labor can be seen in MasterPiece MashUp, his exhibit now on display at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. The show opened on July 1 with a showing of Knight’s 2018 documentary, The Art of Hustle: Street Art Documentary, and it will close on Friday, Aug. 5, with a free showing of his follow-up film, The Art of Hustle: Homeless Street Artist. During a recent phone interview with Knight, he explained how MasterPiece MashUp came said. “They said the work was powerful, to be. and I actually made a few sales of my other “The MasterPiece MashUp collection pieces. … It was a lot of good vibes and spawned from the idea of being at home, positive energy and a lot of love and a lot for the sake of the pandemic, back in 2020, of appreciation, which made me really so when everybody was not knowing what humbled and blessed that my artwork was they were going to do,” Knight said. “I was able to reach people. I was surprised and at home, and I was inspired by all of these shocked how many people came out for it.” particular artists like Picasso, Basquiat, Keith I was curious what Knight found intriguing Haring, Roy Lichtenstein—and I wanted to about the works he decided to mash up. pay homage to them. I started to look at all “I grew up in New Jersey, so a lot of those of their paintings; the ones that inspired me East Coast artists had a really big influence the most, (I) mashed those together into one on me, like Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy painting, but in my style. Warhol,” Knight said. “It’s hard to explain, “I got an email from the Palm Springs Culbecause as an artist, there are some art pieces tural Center inquiring about me doing a show there. I showed my (first) The Art of Hustle doc- that just speak to you. “There’s something about a piece that umentary there back in 2018, and they reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to do a show really just grabs me. Keith Haring’s work just grabs me; it’s very simple, but then it has a and a screening of your film again.’” lot of message in it, and I see he put a lot of The opening reception for MasterPiece love into what he did. Basquiat as well—I MashUp was overwhelmingly positive. see all these beautiful things and thoughts “People really, really enjoyed it,” Knight that are going on through his mind, and he’s just trying to get them out on canvas. Of course, Warhol was a force way ahead of his time, with things like screen printing and filters. Obviously, Picasso’s work is amazing, especially some of his more cartoon-character kind of disfigured-women paintings, but he was a really fine artist who could do amazing detailed work. “With all of that and my own little twist to it, I think I was able to create some incredible pieces. Even in some of my own original works, I still draw from some of those colors. I try to be as creative as possible and try to think what they were thinking when they were creating, (during) that whole ’70s-‘80s movement.” The most important part of the MasterPiece MashUp works are Knight’s personal twists: He didn’t want to just copy and modify these great art pieces. “Even though their style is there, my style—the bold black lines, and how I like to separate everything—I think is what “M.L.P.” by Tysen Knight.
Tysen Knight (second from left) celebrates with friends and fans at the opening night of the MasterPiece MashUp exhibition.
brought everything together to make (the works) something unique,” he said. “Even if you compare those original art pieces to the MasterPiece MashUp I’ve done, you can see the total difference, but you can see the inspiration in that. I was able to capture the unique styles of each artist; I have Basquiat at the top, Warhol’s flowers in the middle, and then Keith Haring’s barking dog and the dancing men at the bottom.” Knight agrees that the idea of even touching something like the “Mona Lisa” or anything from Basquiat can be intimidating. “It has to be done right,” Knight said. “Especially if I’m going to pay homage to these artists, I definitely want to put something out there that is genuine and not just trying to just copy their work. There was a little bit of hesitation, but I had the inspiration to go forward. … I was confident enough that I knew I was able to represent it in a proper way, but also add my style to it. If you put a MasterPiece MashUp against one of my other paintings, and you didn’t know who the artist was, you would know that one artist did both of those paintings, just based off of my dark lines and bold colors.” Both the MasterPiece MashUp works and Knight’s documentaries show how far the
artist has come in his career. “I think what people took away from watching The Art of Hustle: Street Art Documentary in the present … is just my progress as an artist,” Knight said. “I was able to progress in the art world, and grow as an artist, and grow into the artist I’m still going to become, because you never stop growing. A lot of the people who attended the filming in the art exhibition didn’t see that film when I released it in 2018. It’s called The Art of Hustle, and to see me hustling and trying to get my artwork out there and trying to find my own niche … now people get to see my progress in the present, and then go back and see what I did in the past, and put them both together. … It was a really cool experience even for myself to sit there and watch a film on me, and just see how far I’ve come—most importantly as a human being, but as an artist as well.” MasterPiece MashUp will be on display through Friday, Aug. 5, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center at 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. The exhibit will close at 7 p.m. that day with a showing of The Art of Hustle: Homeless Street Artist; tickets are free. For more information, visit psculturalcenter.org. CVIndependent.com
18 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
FOOD & DRINK
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
VINE SOCIAL JASON DAVID
For two days in August, the Coachella Valley will host wine educators from around the world
HAIR STUDIO
T
By KatieLOVE finn YOUR
HAIR
he year 2010 was pivotal for me. My mother had passed away; I was getting a divorce; I lost my home; and my identity had been stolen. In hindsight, I find that last part ironic. At that point in my life, someone wanted my identity? You can have it. Country Club and Cook Street The one thing I had was my career. I was flourishing here in the desert as a sommelier, working Palm De sert for a wonderful wine-distribution company, and hosting wine dinners, seminars and private tastings on the side. I knew this was what I was meant to do, and the blessing of being busy kept 760-340-5959 me from completely falling apart. My work was learning—not just about wine, but about the one thing no one could take from me. myself. Despite the sweltering conditions, it www.jasondavidhairstudio.net I’d heard that there was another wine was quite possibly the best week of my life. organization that wasn’t hospitality-industryOver the course of three days, I met some focused like the Court of Master Sommeliers, of the most influential, successful icons of the but instead specialized in creating wine wine world, like Doug Frost (my mentor and educators. They offered courses to obtain the personal hero), Paul Wagner, Michael Weis, Miss Certified Specialist of Wine designation, and Jane Nickles, Laura Catena, Jay Youmans and after a quick Google search, I signed up. Terry Theise. I know these names mean nothing In 2010, the Society of Wine Educators’ to the average Joe, but to me, this was like being annual conference was held in Washington, a Trekkie and meeting Leonard Nimoy and D.C.; it was at that conference I’d take my William Shatner. This was a BIG deal. certification exam. I had never been to the Once I got my exam over with (I was feeling nation’s capital, and as a political science major pretty good about it, and when it was over, in college, the location took the nerd factor to I wanted to run into the lobby and scream a whole new level. YEESSS!), it was time to relax and drink some Hotel room—booked. Lectures—selected. of the best wine in the world—only to be made Study materials—ordered. better by listening to the foremost authorities I spent a hot and miserably humid July on the subjects at hand. week in D.C. eating, drinking, exploring and Every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., I was a
We’re Doing Business with PRIDE in the Coachella Valley. Our 250 members support equality – and they support you! See what our members have to offer at desertbusiness.org CVIndependent.com
Affiliate Chamber
student again—one of my favorite things to be—immersed in my all-time-favorite subject. I learned new teaching techniques, heard funny anecdotal stories, and was joyously proven wrong on food and wine-pairing methods. I was forced to rethink my stand on wines from Lodi and was reassured in my opinion on that price does not reflect quality. When the school day was done, the culinary extravaganza began. Armed with a laundry list of restaurants and wine bars, I set out to eat my way through D.C. My “no wine list left unturned” mission had begun, and after days and nights of extensive “research,” I felt like an authority on the D.C. restaurant scene—15 restaurants in six days. The weekend was spent exploring what I think might be the greatest city in America. The Arlington National Cemetery made me cry. The Lincoln Memorial restored my hope. The Hope Diamond made me realize I live in a ridiculously affluent area. (I’ve seen so many huge diamonds that the most famous diamond in the world left me unimpressed.) I wandered around the Smithsonian and saw Abe Lincoln’s top hat, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Julia Child’s kitchen, and the original StarSpangled Banner. I returned home a few pounds heavier and a whole lot smarter—with CSW added to the end of my name. Looking back, it feels like a dream—a wonderful, exhausting, drunken, food-induced coma.
This year, for the first time, the annual Society of Wine Educators conference will be held in the Coachella Valley. On Aug 10 and 11, participants from all over country will descend on our valley during the miserable dog days of our desert summer—and I’ll be right there with them. We will spend two days listening and learning, studying and tasting, all in the hopes of becoming better wine teachers and mentors. Some attendees will kick off the conference with an exam they’ve spent months and years preparing for. Some will want to run into the lobby with a huge smile on their face knowing they aced it; some won’t. There will be people who will make a week of it and explore our beautiful home— discover the canyons in Palm Springs, see beautiful works of public art and the murals in Coachella, or take in the sweeping vistas after riding up the tram. No matter what the agenda is for my fellow wine nerds, I hope they will have an experience like mine all those years ago. I hope they return home a few pounds heavier, a whole lot smarter, with CSW added to the end of their name—and just as enamored with our iconic desert as I was with our nation’s capital. Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with two decades in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@ gmail.com.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19
AUGUST 2022
FOOD & DRINK
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
CAESAR CERVISIA JASON DAVID
Some beers are extra-refreshing during these summer months—but be sure to check packaging dates
HAIR STUDIO
W
By brett newton
LOVE YOUR HAIR
ith summer upon us, it’s time once again to talk about the kinds of beers that can refresh and get your mind off of the heat. While June was somewhat merciful, July has been rather toasty—and all of us locals know what’s coming in August. I’d like to help in my very limited capacity as a Certified Cicerone, so let’s jump straight in. I sometimes fear that most older Americans hear the word “beer” and think of pale, yellow, fizzy stuff. The American lager and the AmericanCountry light lagerClub were and once Cook the de Street facto beers of Palm De sert choice—more because of marketing and tribalism than anything else. But we, thankfully, live in a different time, with breweries that care about beer as a beverage and an experience rather than 760-340-5959 just an engineering problem. dunkel can be found in the desert. The last five years or so has seen a rise in Kölsch is another style that lends itself well breweries making rice lagers and Mexican pale www.jasondavidhairstudio.net to summer drinking—an ale that drinks like lagers. As a result, people can enjoy lighter a lager—and a good example is a pleasure to beers that have more flavor than the ones the behold. My go-to version is available at Trader big boys make—and people can avoid giving Joe’s, made by Gordon Biersch and simply called money to huge conglomerations that would “Summer Brew”—with an amazing price tag of rather see the beer aisle revert back to the $5.99 for a six-pack, last I checked. It offers deli1970s. Beachwood and Bottle Logic both offer cious floral hops, grain and straw from the malt, rice lagers (Hayabusa and Hanamachi, respecand a light fruity character from the yeast. If tively), while Belching Beaver, AleSmith and you want to go to the original source, Reissdorf San Fernando Brewing all have Mexican lagers kölsch is also locally available, canned to help on offer. All of these beers can be found locally, with the problem of freshness in shipping. so consider those instead if you were thinking Another couple of German styles also have of reaching for a Budweiser or Pacifico. you covered, although they’re really not that As for other styles I tend to reach for when popular in Germany itself: Berliner weisse the heat comes calling: Let’s begin with the and gose. Both are light, tart wheat ales (the style so many brewers love and respect, the American versions can vary from tart to pilsner. The reason for the love is the extreme enamel-melting acidic) that often have fruit drinkability of the style. What better to reach added. The only real difference between the for after a long day in the brewhouse than two is that goses have the addition of salt something light, crisp and refreshing? One and coriander, though the American version other reason for the respect: These beers are often omits the latter. Bruery Terreux (The made via a very simple base recipe—namely, Brewery’s sister sour brewery) makes many pilsner malt (the most lightly kilned of malts), versions of these; I’ve recently seen on shelves Noble hops, lager yeast and water. It’s “naked” their cucumber, passionfruit and boysenberry beer, so to speak, so it reflects well on the varieties, as well as their Goses are Red, brewer if one can make a great beer out of which has the addition of syrah grapes. All are this—there is nowhere for flaws to hide. worth trying if sour is your thing—and sour American brewers have taken to the style in is definitely my thing. Honorable mentions a few ways. There are hoppy pilsners that are go to Anderson Valley’s blood orange and often referred to as India pale lagers. Modern watermelon (which they call Briney Melon) Times has one on the shelves currently called goses, and Victory’s Sour Monkey. Star Jungle that utilizes Nelson and Mosaic I’m also duty-bound to mention Belgian hops well (though the Nelson hops don’t shine sour ales like the classic Flemish red, Duchesse through as much as they did in the original de Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe; and release a couple of years back). There are also a light, fruited ales from Lindeman’s, like their plethora of great American versions of German Framboise (raspberry) and Pêche (peach). Both and Czech pilsners—like North Coast’s of those go incredibly well with many desserts. Scrimshaw, and Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils— There is certainly more to be said, but I have to be found nearby. to end this so my editor doesn’t send me an Other German styles are amazing this time email in a disappointed tone. Part of the fun of of year. I love finding good versions from beer is discovering things for yourself, and to American breweries of Munich-born helles this end, curiosity can get you everywhere. Yes, beers. The Bruery has their Ruekeller series that branching out to try new styles or versions of houses faithful and delicious versions of styles styles can lead to disappointment, but so many like the helles. (Their Pilsener is also extremely more times, I have been rewarded. Many of the good if you can find it.) Cans of their helles and beers listed above also have the extra benefit of
going really well with just about anything you’d care to throw on a grill, too. Just remember that we are in the desert, which means some beers get stored in warm temperatures for too long, so old beer lies in wait to trap us and take our money at some liquor stores. With lagers, it’s not as noticeable, but
it pays to check a beer’s packaging date to stay optimally refreshed the whole summer long. Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.
Patio and indoor dining takeout 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-SUNday 1775 E. Palm Canyon Drive (760) 778-6595 www.533vietfusion.com CVIndependent.com
20 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
FOOD & DRINK
ON COCKTAILS T
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
Unsolicited opinions on the names of drinks both old and new
BY kevin carlow
he summer heat is frying my brain. Opening a bar located inside of a refitted Airstream trailer in July is not something I recommend. Once again, I find myself doing the most odious part of my job: naming cocktails. Just as with a rock band, the name of a cocktail can help make it—or break it. This might be my cynical Gen X mentality, but I’m starting to think that every cocktail has already been invented, and younger bartenders are making the rent by simply renaming classic tipples more cleverly than the drink jock down the street. I get it. Because I’ve been thinking about names exception—it’s one of my favorite names too much, I’ve decided to give my unsolicited and drinks! You can feel free to add the opinions on some names of classic (and Manhattan, the Algonquin, the Daiquiri, the modern classic) cocktails, to see if some Army-Navy and other place-name drinks to of them need a marketing update. I think the list. I’ll start in the past and move toward the The Martini: This drink’s name and modern era … very loosely. origin is shrouded in mystery. Sorry, San Grog: Named after a maligned admiral of Franciscans; I’m not buying that “Martinez” the British Navy’s preferred manner of dress, story. It’s as good a story as any, and you this drink is a mix of rum and water (and sure like your martinis, so have at it. More sugar and lime, if available). The name won’t likely, to me, is that a lot of bartenders were win any awards, but it sounds like a caveman probably making something similar at the from a cartoon, so it’s fine by me. time. The name is timeless, chic, sexy and The Julep (or Mint Julep): This is pure cool enough that people order them just to perfection—mystery in a glass. Julep comes sound sophisticated while pounding cold from a Persian word for medicine, much Tito’s four ounces at a time. like how we get syrup (and shrub) from The Margarita: As with the martini, the “sharab.” In the mid-1800s, the earliest days naming and the origin of this classic are lost of cocktail, they were considered medicine. to competing tales and no hard evidence. It’s It was a way to get that life-restoring spirit the ultimate party drink; nothing says, “Stop into the infirm, the young and the elderly. Is what you’re doing and come hang out!” like a “julep,” mint or otherwise, truly medicine? the margarita. For my money, the name is I suppose it’s not by today’s standards, but a translation of “Daisy” into Spanish, as the I’m also not getting a tooth extracted predrink is a Mexican take on a Daisy. Sorry, novocaine, right? The only questions that Margaret. matter are: 1) bourbon or brandy, and 2) The Last Word: How do you top this one? mint-muddled or as garnish only? It’s the “last word” in cocktails. Named after The Toddy (and the Hot Toddy): a popular monologuist, it’s an unforgettable I’m a sucker for these old names. It’s like drink with an unforgettable name. It’s sports—give me those old team names (even certainly the best cocktail to come out of the Yankees and Lakers, if you must) over Detroit. Raptors and Rays. Yeah, the drink is just The Vesper: I hate this drink. Just have whiskey, water, sweetener and a citrus peel; a damned martini. (There, I know you were it’s nothing remarkable … until you see a waiting for my signature snark.) I must steaming one coming toward you in a friendly concede that the name is great, and it’s hand on a raw winter’s evening. It’s a keeper. probably the real reason you’re ordering it. The Old Fashioned: This cocktail is so old The Cuba Libre, the Cape Codder, that one wonders what could have been older the Madras, the Presbyterian, etc.: Is it than it. Despite what you say, Wisconsin, this pretentious to order a drink by these names is a simple mix of whiskey, bitters and sugar. instead of the ingredients? I suppose it is, but It sounds easy to make, but you probably I think it’s romantic, in a sense. When I first have been disappointed as often as I have. moved to Palm Springs, I bristled at a vodkaThe name is fine; since it’s a cocktail lacking soda-cran being called a Rose Kennedy; I am any “sizzle,” it gets a pass. from Kennedy country, after all, and I’d never The Clover Club: Here we start with the heard of that. Once I realized it was part of drinks named after the places where they gay bar culture, I had a change of heart, and I were supposedly invented. These names are now almost bristle when someone doesn’t call always classy, and the cocktails are generally it that. When in Rome, as they say. Anyway, good, too. This raspberry gin sour is no keep the youngster bartenders on their toes, CVIndependent.com
A mint julep from Bar Chingona. Kevin Carlow
and order a Press (basically a highball with a little ginger ale or lemon-lime soda added) or a Madras (vodka and juices) on your next dive-bar outing. I’m putting almost all of the dive-bar classics on the “good” list—Fuzzy Navel, Seabreeze, Bay Breeze, etc. Sex on the Beach: You’re on my “naughty” list. Speaking of that list … here are my mosthated drink names. The Porn Star Martini: Porn is fine, no shame. But this ain’t a martini. Also it’s a clunky name, straight out of the late ’90s, where it belongs. It’s actually a decent drink when made well. The name, however, is a hot mess.
The Oaxacan Old Fashioned: I’m guilty. I admit it: I have lazily put “Oaxacan” in front of an innocent mezcal cocktail instead of giving it a proper name. I repented long ago, and I call all of you sinners into the light! For that matter, stop adding mezcal to a classic cocktail and renaming it in Spanish, please. At least use Zapotec or something, and be original! Jeesh, I feel like I’m just getting to the good part, and I’ve hit my word-count limit. Perhaps we need a part deux … so feel free to email me with your most loved and hated cocktail names!
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21
AUGUST 2022
2022 EVENTS
DATE
EVENT
Aug 8
L-Fund Financial Seminar: Getting to Know the Basics
Aug 12–14
Splash House August - Weekend 1
Aug 17
Movies in the Park: Some Like it Hot
Aug 13
City of Indio: Second Saturdays – ’50s Rock N Roll
Aug 18-21
Big Bear Romp
Aug 20
Boy George & The Cultural Club
Aug 19–21
Splash House August - Weekend 2
Aug 25
Summer Film Series:La Camarista (The Chambermaid)
Sept 2–5
CalComMen present Brotherhood & Bliss Weekend
Sept 9
Out on the Mountain
Sept 15–25
Cinema Diverse
Sept 16–18
Gay Days Anaheim
Sept 17
Positively Aging Conference
Sept 21
Business Expo & Taste of Palm Springs
Sept 21–25
Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend
Sept 28
L-Fund Financial Seminar: Balancing Life Today
Sept 29
Summer Film Series: 499
Oct 1
Pride Under the Pines
Oct 13–16
Modernism Week Fall Preview
Oct 15
Casual Concours
Oct 21–23
Palm Springs Desert Bowling Invitational Classic
Oct 25
L-Fund Financial Seminar: Plan for the Future
Oct 27–30
Leather Pride
Oct 30
Palm Springs Halloween on Arenas
Nov 4–6
Palm Springs Pride & Pride Parade
Nov 9
One Night Only - New York New York
Nov 11–13
Palm Springs Women's Jazz Festival
Nov 12
Desert Hot Springs Pride
Nov 18–20
McCormick's Collector Car Auction
Jan 5
Palm Springs Intl Film Festival Awards Gala
Jan 6–16
Palm Springs Intl Film Festival
Feb 16–26
Modernism Week
Feb 23–27
International Bear Convergence / IBC
May 12–14
White Party Global Palm Springs
#ILoveGayPalmSprings CVIndependent.com
22 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
the
FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT We savor a taste of France in Palm Springs, and a bit of Mexico in DHS By Jimmy Boegle
according to Yelp, Tripadvisor & OpenTable WE ARE ONE OF THE VERY BEST with 9,000 Sq feet keeping you safe is easy OPEN DAILY FROM 11AM - 3PM & 5PM - 9PM 849 N PALM CANYON DRIVE . PALM SPRINGS EIGHT4NINE.COM 760.325.8490 CVIndependent.com
WHAT The Vive La France crepe WHERE Crepes de Paris, 245 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $12.95 CONTACT 760-464-0991; www.crepesdeparis. com (site outdated) WHY It’s tasty and different. If you drive a little more than a mile down Palm Canyon Drive from Crepes de Paris, you’ll find (if you’re really looking for it) Gabino’s Creperie. Gabino’s, which will be soon opening a second location in Indio, has been earning accolade after accolade for its huge, unique crepes. Meanwhile, Crepes de Paris has been flying under the radar—but its crepes, while being decidedly more conventional, deserve accolades, too. Crepes de Paris is part of a smallish Southern California chain (although you would not know that from the semifunctional Crepes de Paris website; the Palm Springs location is not listed, even though it’s been open for 2 1/2 years) offering omelets, hot and cold sandwiches, salads, French onion soup and all sorts of crepes—sweet, savory, breakfast-focused and rolled to-go crepes. We visited Crepes de Paris for a recent weekend lunch; we had the restaurant to ourselves, other than one other party that arrived later. We ordered several things— including the French onion soup, which was worthy of an endorsement itself—and we agreed that the best thing we had was the savory Viva La France crepe. A crepe with shrimp, red pepper, Parmesan and a wine cream sauce, it was utterly delicious. We wished there had been more fillings/toppings—one corner of the crepe was just, well, crepe—but at $12.95, it was still a good value. We really enjoyed our visit to Crepes de Paris; from the service to the food to the vibe, everything was lovely. We’ll be back—and we hope we’re not the only customers there next time.
WHAT The Vulcan taco WHERE Delicias Mexican Cuisine, 66121 Pierson Blvd., Desert Hot Springs HOW MUCH $6.50 each CONTACT 760-894-3400; www.facebook.com/ DeliciasMexicanCuisine WHY It, too, is tasty and different. Whenever something takes me to a part of the valley I don’t visit often, I take the opportunity to check out a new-to-me restaurant, time permitting. On a recent Thursday, I gave a friend who lives in Desert Hot Springs a ride home from the airport around lunch time. Mexican sounded good—so we decided to give Delicias Mexican Cuisine a try. While perusing the menu, we were struck by the fact that there were a lot of unusual-for-here dishes on offer—things like huarache (“masa dough with smashed pinto beans placed in the center before it is given an oblong shape, fried and topped,” per Wikipedia), tecolatas (chilaquiles sandwiches) and something called a “Vulcan taco.” Vulcan, in this case, is a cute Americanization of volcánes, or volcano, but it wasn’t the name that caught my attention; it was the description: “carne asada or pastor taco with crispy melted cheese, spicy pickled red onion, micro cilantro and avocado sauce.” Sold! One of each, please. The tacos that showed up were packed with meat—so much that I didn’t even try to pick them up, and instead used a fork and knife. While the meat was fantastic, and both the avocado sauce and pickled onions were tasty, the tacos were made oh-so-wonderful by that layer of cheese—crispy on the outside, but still a little gooey on the inside. My mouth is watering as I write this. These tacos weren’t the only great thing about our lunch. From the friendly, helpful service to the comfy vibe to the rest of the food (an endorsement within an endorsement shout-out to the enchiladas Suizas with shrimp), everything about our lunch was a delight. It looks like we need to find more excuses to get to DHS.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23
AUGUST 2022
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
Restaurant NEWS BITES By charles drabkin LOCAL RESTAURANTS GET GRANTS TO UPGRADE KITCHENS, KEEP EMPLOYEES Eight local restaurants have been awarded grants as part of the California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. Local recipients for 2022 were Bubba’s Bones and Brews, Casa Luna Mexican and Seafood Restaurant, Cork and Fork, Los Pablos Birreria y Taqueria, Musashi Japanese Restaurant, Nature’s Natural Health Food and Café, Norma’s Kitchen of Rancho Mirage, and Sandbar Restaurant. This year, the fund was focused on supporting two things that keep a restaurant running— kitchens and crews. Grant funds, coming from donations from SoCalGas, PG&E and SDG&E, can be used to invest in equipment upgrades or retention bonuses. Recipients will also receive year-long business support services funded by Wells Fargo, including resources to enhance and streamline their business, monthly Zoom trainings with fellow grant recipients, and a complimentary membership to the California Restaurant Association. To learn more, visit www.restaurantscare.org/resilience.
MARKET
GET 25 TO 50 PERCENT OFF GIFT CERTIFICATES TO SOME OF THE VALLEY'S TOP RESTAURANTS!
ONLY AT CVINDEPENDENT.COM
TASTE OF SUMMER RANCHO MIRAGE RUNS THROUGH AUG. 12 Taste of Summer Rancho Mirage is back! The food fest runs through Friday, Aug. 12. Here’s how it works: Local nonprofits and the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce sell the wristbands as a fundraiser; and residents/visitors enjoy delicious food and drink at a discount; restaurants stay busy. It is a win-win-win! Buy a $10 wristband to grab great deals, enjoy much-loved favorites and try some new spots this summer. Specials vary by location; you will find some great bites with 20 restaurants and eateries to visit. For more information or to purchase your wristband, visit tasteofsummerranchomirage.com. IN BRIEF June and July were busy months for restaurant openings in the Coachella Valley. Luchows (luchowspalmsprings.com, for takeout), Thai Hot (thaihotrestaurant.com), Monster Shakes Cathedral City (monstershakesps.com), Freddie’s Kitchen (freddieskitchenatthecole.com), Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream (handelsicecream.com) and Ruberry Salsa (ruberrysalsa.com) all opened, just to name a few. Not surprisingly, things have slowed down a bit as the summer rages on. However, take heart: “Winter is coming” (in a few months), as the kids say; of course, here in the valley, that means temps in the 70s and 80s. Season will be in full swing before we know it, so expect more hot restaurant gossip coming soon. … We recently mentioned in this space that the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa (74855 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert) was sourcing ingredients from their new JW Garden. In June, they announced that chef Eric Theiss has taken over all culinary operations at the restaurants, bars and banquet facilities onsite. His emphasis on using locally and organically sourced produce, and using minority-owned, women-owned and small-business vendors, can make a local impact. He has also brought on chef Sefika Kaya as the resort’s pastry chef. Her experience includes stints with Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton and Omni Rancho Las Palmas. Visit www.marriott. com/en-us/hotels/ctdca-jw-marriott-desert-springs-resort-and-spa to learn more. … After a long hiatus, what’s billed as Palm Springs’ longest-running drag brunch has returned to Rio Azul Mexican Bar and Grill, 350 S. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. The Desert Divas Drag Brunch with Vanity Halston (www.facebook.com/desertdivasdragbrunch), now on Saturdays, brings in a rotating cast for an interactive lip sync and comedy show. All ages are welcome, although the gurls can get bawdy. A full bar and bottomless mimosas ensure a great time; learn more at rioazulpalmsprings.com. … Speaking of brunch, AsiaSF Palm Springs has introduced a Sunday brunch with the fabulous Ladies of AsiaSF. High-energy performances and gorgeous food are always the name of the game at this beautiful and very airconditioned venue. Make reservations and learn more at palmsprings.asiasf.com.
Call 760-779-5000 Open Thursday through Tuesday 71680 Highway 111 #F, Rancho Mirage (Next to Hilton Garden Inn)
Got a hot food news tip? Let us know! foodnews@cvindependent.com CVIndependent.com
24 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
WANT TO JUMP START YOUR WORKOUTS? TruSculpt ID permanently reduces stubborn fat by 25% with one, pain-free treatment.
Judge for yourself. ID results a�er one treatment. Revive has ID discounts! Show this ad and get $100 off per area Expires 8/31/2022 650 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way: (760) 325-4800 Torrance Ofice: (310) 375-7599 Irvine Office: (949) 586-9904 www.revivecenter.com CVIndependent.com
350 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs Open at 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday Desert Divas Drag Brunch Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25
AUGUST 2022
MUSIC
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC
MORE THAN SNOWBIRDS
Canada’s The Dreamboats find a new home for their rock ’n’ roll revival sound in the Coachella Valley
By matt king
T
he Dreamboats may be from Canada—but they’ve been adopted as locals by many Coachella Valley music fans. The four-piece rock ’n’ roll revival band has become a Modernism Week staple, and has performed at all over desert, bringing a nonstop rockin’ show with ’50s/’60s vibe. They’re set to perform at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, in downtown Indio as part of the Second Saturdays Center Stage series. Cathedral City stage when it was still fairly During a recent chat with guitarist and lead new, and then the following day, they locked us vocalist Chris Hummel, aka Ritchie Hummins, down into a seven-month residency contract he explained how The Dreamboats first made every last Saturday of the month moving their way to the Coachella Valley. forward. … We just hope to kind of piggyback “It started back in 2017, when we got these really cool moments from one to the hired, sight unseen, to be the opening other. It’s just all love.” band for the Modernism Week party,” said So much has happened for The Dreamboats Hummel. “We came here through our sponsor in the Coachella Valley that they’ve decided to Mike, who works for (Canadian home/interior become desert residents, at least temporarily. design company) Willis, one of the major “We have our work visas until February sponsors of Modernism Week. He saw us 2023, so we’re staying in the area here, and playing at a bar or a venue down in Toronto, we’re going back and forth to Canada just to and he’s like, ‘I’ve got to get you guys to Palm finish up some obligations, and to do a little Springs.’ … The next thing you know, he’s bit of touring, because a lot of our connections calling us up. We went to the gig, knocked it and whatnot have been in Toronto,” Hummel out of the park, and developed such a great said. “Since 2009, we’ve been playing a lot reputation. … The following year, we were the in Canada, so we’re not trying to completely first band ever to get invited back two years turn our back on a lot of the cool gigs and in a row to perform the opening party. They opportunities that we have back home. We do weren’t going to give us three years, even a lot of juggling and driving and flying, and it’s though they considered it, so they built us a been cool. It’s quite the experience.” stage which became The Dreamboats stage, Navigating back and forth between two and we became a staple band in Modernism countries can be taxing, especially as costs Week from 2017 onward.” continue to rise. Modernism Week celebrates all things “Logistically, it can be a nightmare, but at midcentury modern. Considering the band’s the same time, we want to just make sure we’re sound and style—down to the matching playing as much as possible,” Hummel said. suits—The Dreamboats are a perfect fit. Beyond The Dreamboats’ popular live show, “When we play, it’s four matching dudes, their singles and EPs are equally impressive kind of like the Rat Pack,” Hummel said. “It just and nostalgic. Sounds span from doo-wop on goes well with the whole theme of Palm Springs. “Water Under the Bridge” to twangy country … The image and the idea of The Dreamboats rock on “Fool for You,” while the band’s latest itself goes hand in hand with the valley.” single, “Hello Josephine,” is a blistering-fast Modernism Week started a domino effect 12-bar blues jam. for the band that has yet to stop. “Thankfully, we have someone in-house “So many cool things have happened since here who does recording, and we’re working playing here, and things have happened really on our next EP,” Hummel said. “Recording quick,” Hummel said. “You don’t know who can be tricky, because there are a lot of things you’re going to meet. We played the open that we’re doing, and we’re always just trying mic at Pappy and Harriet’s, and the sheriff to make sure that the stage show is where it of Yucaipa saw us perform there, and all of a should be when we’re performing. That takes sudden, we were the first band to open up the a lot of time and rehearsal. … We look at the Performing Arts Center in Yucaipa, and open calendar and kind of prioritize what’s coming up for Foghat. We’re not the perfect band for up and schedule a little bit of how we plan on every occasion, but we’re definitely the perfect releasing content, and how to go about doing band for the occasion. There was a ’50s/’60s that. Inspiration can spark up; ideas happen, or night that Agua Caliente Casino tried to do. if certain things need a certain type of video, They hired us in February, and we drove down that dictates which direction we go with.” in January. We performed at the Agua Caliente Like all people who play music for a living,
The Dreamboats. BAILEY MCLEAN PHOTOGRAPHY
The Dreamboats need to consider their finances, too. “Coming here now, we’re doing our best to make sure that we’re taking good gigs, creating opportunities, and really making sure that our financial buffer is in order,” Hummel said. “Right now, we’re putting a lot more time into doing private events, and the odd public event, and promoting it that way. We’re just looking to try to work as much as possible right now.
We do have stuff in the pipeline that we’ve been recording and producing; it’s just right now, we’re trying to do our best to just kind of play as many summer parties and events as possible.” The Dreamboats will perform at Second Saturdays Center Stage, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13 at 82868 Miles Ave, Indio. The event is free. For more information, visit eventspalmsprings.com. CVIndependent.com
26 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
MUSIC
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC
PIANO DAZZLE
The newly named Palm Springs International Piano Competition expands its programming with a Christopher Richardson performance at CVRep
By matt king
F
or many years, the Waring International Piano Competition has brought competitors from all around the world to showcase their concert piano skills in the Coachella Valley every two years. The competition looks a little different now in 2022—yet the mission remains the same. Now named the Palm Springs International Piano Competition (PSIPC), the event’s most recent iteration wrapped in late April. With the name change comes a new desire to expand— and that includes a special performance by Springs that would have more of a draw. It three-time competition winner Christopher was purely a branding reason that the board Richardson. He’ll be performing Music decided unanimously to change the name to Potpourri, an evening of classical piano, the PSIPC.” jazz and more, at the CVRep Playhouse on The competition itself is rather rigorous. Thursday, Aug. 4. “There’s five days of strictly performing and During a recent phone interview with PSIPC competing, no charge,” he said. “Even though board president Joe Giarrusso, he talked about the competitors are playing the same piece, the the history of the competition. people who come in to watch enjoy classical “It started almost 20 years ago, and music, and they’re watching these wonderful Virginia Waring, Fred Waring’s wife, was one children and wonderful adults play. The final of the consummate piano performers in the night of the solos, there’s a $35 (admission) world,” said Giarrusso, who a classical music charge for the actual competition, and that composer and pianist himself. “They lived in night, the judges vote on first prize, second the desert, and met with Peggy Cravens, who’s prize and third prize. Also, during those five the (chairman of the board) now of the Palm days, one pianist is playing the part that the Springs International Piano Competition. whole orchestra would play, and it’s a concerto, They decided to, every other year, have a piano so they’ve got the competitor playing the piano competition in the valley. One year is for the part, one pianist playing the orchestra part, youngsters, very young, up to 17, and then 18 and then they compete and have the three to 30 is the next (competition in two years). finalists. The final night is the concerto with This competition has been going on since then, a full orchestra and the three competitors and brings a lot of people from all around the playing a concerto.” world into the valley.” Giarrusso credited much of the The McCallum Theatre hosted the final competition’s success to executive director Ann competition using the Waring name in April. Greer. Giarrusso explained why they decided to “She just keeps on top of how to get kids change the name. interested, and puts the name out two years “We want to get more youth involved,” ahead of the competition itself,” said GiarrusGiarrusso said. “We decided, because of the so. “We go into the publications so kids who name that Palm Springs has, that we would are trying to do competitions will know, ‘Oh, change it. Because Fred Waring’s gone, it there’s Palm Springs; oh, there’s Cleveland.’ would probably be the branding of Palm Doing that keeps our name in front of the
CVIndependent.com
Christopher Richardson.
competitors. Even this year, the competition was phenomenal, where the winner won not just the solo, but he also won the concerto at the McCallum Theatre concerto finals.” Giarrusso promised that Christopher Richardson would “dazzle” the audience on Aug. 4. He’s a three-time Waring winner: He was the second-place Concerto winner in the 2022 senior division; he won the Waring Bayless Performance Prize in 2015; and he was the second-place Concerto winner in the 2011 junior division. This concert will offer a taste of the events to come under the PSIPC umbrella, Giarrusso said. “I was president of CVRep for seven years, so I met with the new executive director, and I said, ‘We’d like to be a part of your Theatre Thursday series,’ so we’re doing a joint thing,” said Giarrusso. “We’re also going to do more education, and Ann is going to lead the education division. We’re hoping to close something in November that is going to be the big announcement of PSIPC with more than
just classical piano. We’re going to hopefully have a jazz singer and pianist, as well as somebody who does Broadway. “In December, I’m doing a concert of my music with piano, cello, French horn and violin. … Our big thing, which made the Waring very popular, is this thing called ‘Three Pianos Six Hands.’ We’ve done that for a number of years, filling the McCallum Theatre, and it’s just so much fun, because you’ve got these three performers playing three pianos. It’s a really exciting event that’s going to be in March. What we’re trying to do is broaden the scope of music—but still the emphasis is the competition, because that’s what we do every two years.” Palm Springs International Piano Competition Presents Christopher Richardson at 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 4, at the CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. Tickets are $35. For tickets or more information, call 760296-2966, or visit CVRep.org.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27
AUGUST 2022
MUSIC
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC
DEDICATION + DIVERSITY By matt king
P
laying music as a hobby can be a lot of fun—but making a career out of it requires a ton of hard work. Miguel Arballo and Sean McCune know all about this. Both have been involved in a number of local music projects, and both are part of Krystofer Do’s backing band. (They recently appeared on the YouTube battle-of-the-band series No Cover.) Arballo and McCune recently decided to interesting how our relationship through start their own project, a collaborative multiKrys blossomed into our own little musical genre band called Analog Lab. Debut single connection. I was just really surprised to “Swallow the Sun” has a ’90s alternative-rock hear the type of music that he had, and I was and grunge feel, with some sparkly indie impressed when I heard it was music that effects. On Friday, Aug. 5, the band will release I would actually listen to myself. Now that its debut EP, also titled Swallow the Sun. we’re working on music together, I feel like “The project started way back; I had been it’s creating some pretty good stuff for the using it as a moniker to write music and stuff both of us.” with different artists,” Arballo said during a Arballo said it’s rare to meet musicians who recent Zoom chat. “I met Sean playing with share a similar passion. Krystofer Do; he actually got called in to play “I really connected with his personality,” drums with us back in 2019, and we kind of Arballo said. “Aside from being a badass had a musical connection. We showed each drummer, he’s very receptive to ideas, and other a little bit of music that we were each we’re really great with bouncing that off each writing and decided that we would love to be other instead of just having that coming from creating music with each other.” one side.” Added McCune: “It was interesting when Added McCune: “As well as playing drums, I I first met Miguel, because when you meet play guitar and a little bit of piano, so I’ll have somebody, you never really know how ideas on my own that I’ll bring to Miguel, and it’s going to turn out. I think it was really then we’ll work on it. Recently, we’ve been
Analog Lab.
Miguel Arballo and Sean McCune’s Analog Lab prepares to release its debut EP writing music together just sitting in his little studio in his house, just messing around, listening for stuff. Maybe we’ll hear something; maybe he’ll have an idea. I think that our workflow is pretty smooth, and we both have pretty similar ideas, so it’s easy to hear where we’re going with something.” While Arballo and McCune play rock music in Krystofer Do’s band, their individual projects stretch into hip hop and pop-metal— and their musical tastes stretch even further. “We each listen to different music throughout the day,” said Arballo. “Sean is also a local rapper as well. I’m not a rapper, but I love rapping, and sometimes he has some wicked flows, and there are some times when I can pick up a melody and implement it. Sometimes he’ll bring me an idea, and I’ll sit on it for a day or two, and I’ll be listening to, like, bossa nova or heavy metal or something and be like, ‘Whoa; that fits.’” Analog Lab is already making music-release plans beyond Swallow the Sun. “We do somewhat give ourselves timelines for writing certain EPs or music,” Arballo said. “I’ve been telling Sean that I’d like to just write EPs due to the style of the way things are being released. I think people want more music a lot faster, and since we don’t have a lot of music out, I’d rather devote three months maybe to four or five songs, get that out, and play them live while we continue writing more. … It’s more of just structure, and making sure that we devote ourselves for that amount of time, for that amount of songs. I’m sure once we continue to play more, it’s going to be a little bit more organic. Having those timelines really puts you in that timeframe of, ‘Yeah, I need to get this done; I need to focus on this.’” McCune said he was dedicated to putting in the work needed to make music into a career. “One of my biggest dreams, in general, is to just be able to work on music, and do it as a job,” McCune said. “We discussed three months for four or five songs so that we can consistently be working on music. Once a week, we’ll meet up, and we’ll spend a bunch of time working on music. I think a big part of what drives us and the music creation was that we have our passions, and we see what direction we’re going. We want this sooner than later, so we’re trying to put in a bunch of hard work right now to get a good amount of songs out.” For more information, visit www.reverbnation. com/analoglabband.
The Venue REPORT August 2022 By matt king
Jim Jefferies
It’s already August! Time flies in these times of COVID. Here’s what the Coachella Valley has to offer for events this month. Stay safe and hydrated! While Fantasy Springs’ only Special Events Center show in August is sold out, the resort is offering a unique opportunity to see one of the best ska bands—for free! At 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 6, the “Rock Yard on Steroids” presents Fishbone. Don’t miss a chance to see this iconic band in an intimate setting … again, for free! You must be 18 or older to attend. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com. Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage has a wildly diverse entertainment lineup. Want comedy? At 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 5, standup sensation Jim Gaffigan will bring the laughs to town. Tickets are $85 to $150. Want beefcake? Returning to The Show once again is Australia’s Thunder From Down Under, an interactive Chippendale-style experience, at 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 19. Tickets are $15 to $55. Want ’80s icons? At 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20, take a trip back four decades with the iconic Boy George and Culture Club. Tickets are $75 to $120. Want pop-metal? Fresh off of their stadium tour with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Joan Jett, Poison comes to Rancho Mirage at 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26. Tickets are $75 to $125. Looking to laugh some more? Check out Jim Jefferies at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27. Tickets are $45 to $165. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www.hotwatercasino.com. At Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, the residencies roll on! Desert Blues Revival Wednesdays bring the country/Western Southwest Biscuit Company (Aug. 3), the local bluesrock of Scott Reynolds and the Orange County Heavy Loaded Blues Company continued on next page CVIndependent.com
28 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
The Venue REPORT continued from page 27
Summer Specials at Roly China Fusion Locals Night: Locals get a $20 gift card for spending $50 Drive-up Dim Sum & Drinks: Just $15 pp for 6-piece dim sum and 16-oz cocktail to go Yappy Hour: Dogs welcome on our Buddy Bar for all-night happy hour
1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive 760-548-0041 • www.rolychinafusion.com From Safety Net programs to Life Enrichment
(Aug. 10), the East L.A. power trio The Disciplez (Aug. 17), the uniquely L.A. Delgado Brothers (Aug. 24), and the five-piece guitar heavy Laurie Morvan Band (Aug. 31) Shows are every Wednesday at 7 p.m., Tickets start at $10, available at eventspalmsprings.com/ blues. Jazzville Thursdays offer the Brazilian jazz of Catina DeLuna y Otmaro Ruiz (Aug. 4), the return of retro favorites Phat Cat Swinger (Aug. 11), swing from L.A. by The Pepper Moons (Aug. 18) and vintage tiki/ Hawaiian jazz by Hilo Hi-Flyers (Aug. 25). Shows take place at 7 p.m., and tickets start at $10, available at jazzvillepalmsprings. com. The Caliente Comedy lineup for August is Dustin Ybarra (Aug. 5), Amy Miller (Aug. 12), Richard Weiss (Aug. 19) and Peter Berman (Aug. 26). Shows are every Friday at 8 p.m., and tickets start at $19.99, available at www.eventspalmsprings.com/caliente-comedy. Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 888-999-1995; www.sparesortcasino.com. Spotlight 29 brings a country concert to Coachella this August. At 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 6, singer/songwriter CAM comes to town. Tickets are $15 to $45. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com. Morongo has a few notable events on the September schedule. At 9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 5, Mexican Norteño legends Los Invasores de Nuevo León are headed for Cabazon. Tickets start at $39. Comedian/country singer extraordinaire Rodney Carrington is gearing up for a night of multi-modal entertainment at 9 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 6. Tickets start at
$39. At 9 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 7, pop singer Ashanti will grace the Morongo stage. Tickets start at $39. Ten-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist George Benson has an evening of jazz hits in store at 9 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25. Tickets start at $59 to see the 79-year-old legend. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com. While a trip up the mountain will bring cooler temps, Pappy and Harriet’s is bringing the heat this month! At 9 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 6., catch 90-year-old folk singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. He worked with Guthrie and inspired Dylan; Elliott’s talent and legacy makes this an unmissable show! Tickets are $40.49. Rock ’n’ roll from Roseville, Calif? Yep, the Vista Kicks are headed for Pioneertown. Catch their set at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20. Tickets are $20. At 9 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 31, catch the electrifying performance of Tuareg rock shredder Mdou Moctar. Tickets are $35. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-228-2222; www.pappyandharriets.com. The Alibi in Palm Springs features a great August lineup. Vampire Weekend founder Rostam Batmanglij brings his jazzy/psych solo project to the valley at 8 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 7. Tickets are $22. At 8 p.m., Monday, Aug. 15, experience the brass sensation and rising stars The Soul Rebels. Tickets are $23.50. Dance-y EDM duo Syence make their way to Palm Springs at 9 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 18. Tickets are $10. The Alibi Palm Springs, 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-656-1525; thealibipalmsprings.com.
we are here for you visit us online at
www.thecentercv.org 1301 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262 & 1515 Sixth Street, Coachella, CA 92236
CVIndependent.com
The Soul Rebels
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29
AUGUST 2022
MUSIC
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC
A CALMER APPROACH T
By matt king
he desert can have an alluring effect on people. Just ask Ryan Traster: After a decade of nomadic living and performing, Traster was drawn to Joshua Tree, which became his home— and what resulted was the singer/songwriter’s most unique and textured album to date. Low Mirada, out Sept. 30, is loaded front to back with layered guitars, expansive vocals, sharp pianos and much more. From the indie-rock and Southern charm of “The Night’s Got You” (which will be released Friday, Aug. 5), to the in the high desert shares a common trait: cowboy tale of “The Seventh Daughter,” to expansiveness. There must be something in the psychedelic jams of “Fangs,” Low Mirada is the high desert air. undeniably diverse. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily a regional “It’s a headphone record,” Traster said sound; I didn’t move down here and start during a recent phone interview. making desert rock, but I was really inspired,” He explained his move to the high desert. Traster said. “I moved to New York for a bit in “I was living in New York, in Brooklyn, my mid-20s, and lived there for four years. I for maybe four-ish years, and just kind of on was just so inspired walking around every day, a whim decided I was going to give up my seeing stuff and nightlife, and I got really into apartment and visit some friends in L.A.,” film and stuff. Out here, I still walk—I’m a big Traster said. “It was an absurd last-minute walking person—but the first six months I was thing. … I laid out a blanket on the street with here, I was super-bored and felt like there was all of my DVDs and CDs and a few pieces of nowhere to walk to.” vinyl and did a little corner sale, and I managed As Traster got used to Joshua Tree, he to get $300 cash, so I bought a plane ticket and started taking the same two-mile hike every went to L.A. and stayed on my friend’s couch for day—which he called his “hamster wheel.” a little bit. I was out there for nine months total “At first, I was like, ‘Man, I’m kind of getting just checking it out, and I thought it was cool. tired of the hamster wheel,’ but then I started “While I was out there, I rolled down to taking time and looking at all the different Joshua Tree with some friends of mine a couple plants and trying to find little animals around of times, and actually stayed up at the Rimrock the neighborhood that I knew—and just kind Ranch one time. I was really stoked on the place; of slowing that down a lot. I think that really it just kind of had this cool vibe. I always had it did affect the sound on this new record. I in the back of my mind where if I ever ran into reworked some stuff that I had sitting around an opportunity where I could afford to buy a for a number of years. Usually, I sit down, and house, I should totally buy a house there—and I write a song in five minutes, and then it’s flash forward to 2018, I had this really great job done; I really like cranking them out superin Portland, and I convinced my boss to let me quick like that. But now I’ve just been letting work remote. I bought a house in Joshua Tree them percolate a lot more. I’ll come up with and headed on down.” a riff, and then bum around for a couple of Joshua Tree became Traster’s first real weeks thinking about the riff or thinking about “home” as an adult. a lyric or something. … I think especially for “I spent my late teens, 20s and even early this new (record), it’s helped me think a lot 30s being pretty nomadic,” he said. “I lived in more about arrangements, guitar, layering keys Brooklyn; I lived in Portland; I lived in L.A. I and different things like that. Although the would always just go around and make friends sound is more urgent, it felt a lot more patient in places and hang out and play gigs and just to me in the construction of it. It definitely is kind of wander around. I think the part that as expansive as the space that I’m living in.” I was most scared of, moving down to Joshua The more meditative approach to Tree, was that our kid was only like a year old songwriting goes along with a more patient at that time. Portland was getting less cozy, lifestyle. which kind of impacted the decision to move, “When I put out a lot of my previous but it was still just like, ‘Oh, we’re moving to material, I didn’t have a child; I didn’t have this totally wild place with really crazy weather.’ a full time job. It was more of this kind of Once you’re here for a while, you realize it vagabond thing, so it was a lot easier for me has pretty much any amenity that you would to just find the time to kick out these snippets need—but I was scared. I didn’t even know if every now and again and turn them into songs there was a hospital in Joshua Tree.” real quick,” he said. “Now, geographically, and Much of the music by artists who live life-necessity wise, I’m a lot more patient with
Joshua Tree’s Ryan Traster gets set to release a new single Aug. 5—and a new, expansive album in September
it now. I do like this way of working; I don’t know if it’s how I’ll work forever, but I do enjoy it. I don’t make a living exclusively off of music anymore, however modest that living was. That’s what I did for a decade, so it felt a lot more urgent to kick out material and stuff— but now I dig the patience, and it feels a lot more zen.” I was curious how this new zen approach to songwriting translated to studio time. “The band that I recorded with live—which wasn’t the case on my last two records—is my longtime band that I’ve been playing with for over a decade,” Traster said. “We have such a slick, intuitive vibe going. I booked three days in the studio, but I’d been sending demos back and forth, and we talked about it a lot, so we didn’t even need that much time. We got the basic tracks done in one day, and then it was just fun stuff the next few days— overdub and stuff like that.” Traster said he’s also taking a calmer approach to live performances. “Realistically, the days of just hopping in a van by myself—which I used to do a ton of—and just driving to every city that I could find in between point A and point B, and playing a coffee shop, playing a bar, just doesn’t seem sustainable anymore,” Traster said. “With gas prices and my employment outside of music and stuff, I don’t even know if I’d want to do that. I’m 38 now, and you get really sore. What I’ve been doing is more of kind of a select, spotty thing where I’ll book a gig in Minneapolis, or Brooklyn, or Nashville, with a few things clumped together in places that I like to play, where I have people to play with. What I’ve tried to do is maybe bring one member from the band that’s available at the time, and play a couple of shows with a local drummer and a bass player. It’s a lot easier
Ryan Traster.
than trying to live in a van with five people.” While Traster’s life may be calmer now, he’s still putting out a lot of new material. “Since my last record, I put out five lo-fi singles for fun over the pandemic,” he said. “I did a side project with some friends of mine from Brooklyn. … I did a few songs with my friend from Minneapolis, and I already have another EP that I recorded that I’ll probably put out in the winter. I guess things haven’t really slowed down that much. I just started working with a new label out of L.A., which I’m pretty excited about, and I hope to do some more records for them and just kind of see what happens. I think I’ll probably be recording music in one form or another until I, like, corpse it.” For more information, visit www. songsofryantraster.com.
(833) HUMBOLDT Grower Direct WWW.833HUMBOLDT.COM CCL18-0003200 CVIndependent.com
30 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
MUSIC
the
LUCKY 13
Get to better know a powerful solo performer, and the most famous musician you’ve never heard of by matt king
Kelsey Manning
What was the first album you owned? Destiny’s Child. What bands are you listening to right now? Just going off what I’ve saved in the past week in my library, The Slits, Shovels and Rope, PawPaw Rod, The Wood Brothers, Gone Gone Beyond, Remi Wolf, Andra Day, and Sean Hayes. I’m all over the place.
NAME Kelsey Manning MORE INFO Kelsey Manning is a frequent solo performer here in the Coachella Valley. Her singer/songwriter skills shine in a live setting; she performs a powerful show with just her voice and an acoustic guitar. See for yourself at the Desert Beer Company on Saturday, Aug. 20. Learn more at www. instagram.com/hedonistic_centerfold. What was the first concert you attended? Ani Difranco, Santa Fe, N.M., 2004.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Dubstep. It scares me. What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? Nina Simone. What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? The soundtrack from The Prince of Egypt. It’s just too good. What’s your favorite music venue? Honestly, it’s Pappy and Harriet’s.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? “If they ever come to ask about me / tell ’em that you knew me and you kinda liked me,” Shovels and Rope, “Boxcar.” What band or artist changed your life? Probably a singer-songwriter by the name of Jaymay. She’s just … *chef ’s kiss.* The lyricism, the melodies—all of it is so relatable. Also, if you ever meet a person who is aware of Jaymay, however rare, you know that they’re probably awesome, and you’re in good company. Never met a shitty Jaymay fan. Then, of course, Ani Difranco. She changed my life; I didn’t know a solo female singer-songwriter was an important part of the conversation. I think I felt my goal was non-existent before I was introduced to her music. I don’t think I had a goal before I was introduced to her music. You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? I would ask Joni Mitchell: Exactly how much is a case of someone? Is it just 24 beers? Could it be a pint of whiskey? Is there an N/A option? What song would you like played at your funeral? “Gracias a la Vida” by Mercedes Sosa. Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Brothers by The Black Keys. What song should everyone listen to right now? If you’re driving, “Powerful Stuff” by Sean Hayes. If you’re not driving, “Call Me a Freak” by Tolliver. NAME Andy Cahan GROUP Turtles MORE INFO Andy Cahan has an impressive musical resume. His keyboard skills have landed him spots opening for The Beatles, jamming with Jimi Hendrix, co-writing with Harry Nilsson—and much more. Learn more about his long, strange trip in his book, The Most Famous Musician You’ve Never Heard Of. What was the first concert you attended? 1965, Jimi Hendrix. What was the first album you owned? Peter, Paul and Mary. What bands are you listening to right now? Paul McCartney. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Prince.
CVIndependent.com
Andy Cahan (right) with Ringo Starr.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? The Beatles. What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? Getting stoned to Bob Dylan singing, “Everybody must get stoned!” What’s your favorite music venue? Madison Square Garden. What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? “Can’t live if living is without you,” “Without You.” What band or artist changed your life? The Beatles: the way they looked, the way they sounded, the way they acted— everything about them. You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? I would ask Paul McCartney what his favorite song is. What song would you like played at your funeral? “You’re Breaking My Heart” by Harry Nilsson. Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Ram by Paul and Linda McCartney. What song should everyone listen to right now? “Oh Woman, Oh Why” by Paul and Linda McCartney.
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31
AUGUST 2022
OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD
“Stately”—hey, what’s your name? By Matt Jones
40. Bedsheets, tablecloths, etc. 44. The Only Way Is ___ (U.K. reality soap since Across 2010) 1. Grand slam run count 45. The day before 5. Prince Buster’s genre 46. Finishes, as cupcakes 8. Candle-heavy 47. Word before rain or occasions, for short? jazz 13. Quindlen with the 50. Done over, like school 2022 best-seller Write pictures for Your Life 52. Tuna steak choice 14. Corn opener? 55. Part of CUNY or NYU 15. Some cameras or 57. Diners, Drive-___ and copiers Dives 17. Show biz parent, 58. Slide whistle-playing maybe Simpsons character 19. Generational 62. Pro runner? separator 65. Farthest orbital point 20. Brick quantity 66. Supernatural witch of 21. Aspiration for neither Slavic folklore the over- or under68. Daughter of Pablo achiever Picasso 23. Roth offering 69. Thumb drive port 25. Salon worker 70. Capital near 26. 180 degrees from NNE Lillehammer 27. Yerevan’s country 71. Positive quality 31. Actor Morales 72. Rd. intersectors whose Wikipedia 73. Bovary and Tussaud, bio mentions his for example (abbr.) name frequency in crosswords Down 33. Getting your kicks? 1. Adjective for many 34. ___-Magnon world-record attempts 36. Toy truck maker 2. Not faked out by
3. Like some decisions 4. Disreputable newspaper (not like the one you’re reading!) 5. Sport in which athletes crouch 6. “Turn it up and rip the ___ off!” 7. Directed a wad of paper into a wastebasket 8. Truist Park team 9. Social media and computing elite 10. Lenovo alternative 11. Hatha and bikram, for two 12. Catches, as fly balls 16. Erupt 18. The Bad Guys screenwriter Cohen (not one of the filmmaking brothers!) 22. “That it be, lad” 24. Suez Canal’s outlet 27. U.S. Open stadium 28. Platonic P’s 29. “___ bin ein Berliner” (JFK quote) 30. Person who may not feel romantic attraction, for short 32. ___ Sea (arm of the Mediterranean) 35. Cheer for Atlético
Madrid 37. Twinge that may need massaging 38. Worn-out jeans spot 39. PTA pt. 41. Burp follower 42. Cable recorder, perhaps 43. Majors who was The Six Million Dollar Man 48. Ready to breed 49. “Holy Diver” rocker Ronnie James 51. Tequila who originally gained fame on MySpace 52. “And hurry!” 53. Medical privacy law, initially 54. Huge celebs 56. Big ride to a Dead concert, maybe 59. Alter ___ 60. Ship feature 61. Declines slowly 63. It’s not a good look 64. Country next to Thailand 67. ___ Kippur © 2022 Matt Jones Find the answers in the “about” section of CVIndependent.com!
CVIndependent.com
32 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 2022
22DOHC8325_CVI_Age_IN_Ad_VerC_Due7_18_9.89x9.66.indd
CVIndependent.com