Coachella Valley Independent February 2015

VOL. 3 | ISSUE 2

Why is Palm Springs such an epicenter for Modernism—and why should anybody care?

Modernism Week Chairman Chris Mobley explains.

Page 14 Plus: An interview with designer Christopher Kennedy, a primer on the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, and much more!

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FEBRUARY 2015

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 Assistant Editor Brian Blueskye Editorial Layout Wayne Acree Advertising Design Betty Jo Boegle Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Victor Barocas, Max Cannon, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bob Grimm, Alex Harrington, Melissa Hart, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Keith Knight, Robin Linn, Marylee Pangman, Erin Peters, Deidre Pike, Dan Perkins, Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, Jonathan Thompson, Robert Victor

The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, artsOasis and the American Advertising Federation/Palm Springs-Desert Cities.

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COVER DESIGN BY WAYNE ACREE. PHOTO Seva House by Daniel Chavkin

The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2015 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.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 $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors.

As festival season heads into full swing, I can’t help but wonder: How involved is the average Coachella Valley local in these big events?

Take the Palm Springs International Film Festival, for example. I’ve heard grousing that the festival, which started out as a smaller event designed primarily for locals, has grown into an event that’s more for L.A. and film-industry folks, and less for Coachella Valley residents.

(When you consider how hard it is for locals to get tickets to some of the bigger film-fest events and screenings, you may realize that those grousers have a point.)

This brings us to a couple of February’s bigger events—especially Modernism Week. I have a confession to make: I have never attended a Modernism Week event.

The same goes for many of my friends.

Why haven’t I ever attended a Modernism Week event? While it’s true that many Modernism Week tours sell out weeks and months in advance, it’s also true that a lot of other events—good events, some of which are low-cost or free—don’t sell out. Therefore, I can’t blame a lack of availability.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that when it comes to the behemoth series of events that is Modernism Week (which includes many hundreds of things to do), I didn’t really know where to start. Hence this month’s cover story, “Modernism for Dummies.”

My goal in doing this piece was to answer a lot of the questions I (and, presumably, other locals) have about Modernism Week—and modernism in general, for that matter. Did I succeed?

Judge for yourself on Page 14.

In addition to the “Modernism for Dummies” piece, this month’s cover package also includes a great story on renowned local designer Christopher Kennedy, and a primer on another cool arts event happening this month: the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair.

For yet more information on Modernism Week, turn to Page 20—our new CVI Spotlight events-preview page— for a piece on the neighborhood tours offered during Modernism Week.

I promise: I will attend at least one or two Modernism Week events this year. If you’re in the same boat that I am, I hope these stories will help you decide to take part in this year’s Modernism Week, too.

Welcome to the February 2015 edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. As always, thanks for reading.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2015

OPINION

KNOW YOUR

NEIGHBORS

Yo Soy Coachella! The False Rhetoric About Islam Needs to Stop

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

By Anita Rufus he horrific massacre in Paris at Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine that generated much of its reputation via provocative cartoons, has united much of the world in standing against terrorism, saying, “Je suis Charlie!” (“I am Charlie!”)

Our outrage at terrorist tactics by radicals, of course, is justified.

However, using a broad brush to stereotype all members of a faith is unjustified and, in my view, un-American.

We pride ourselves on being a “melting pot”—more specifically, a Cobb salad, where everything retains its own status, but is thrown together to make something bigger and better. Yet immediately after the events in Paris, we heard exhortations against all followers of Islam, claiming they are inherently murderous and dangerous.

Remember, we’re talking about more than 1.5 billion people in countries all over the world, including 2.6 million in the U.S. It’s the fastestgrowing religion in America.

Characterizations of Muslim immigrants are often overblown generalizations. The rhetoric I hear from many callers on my local radio show includes assertions that Muslims only believe in Sharia law, refuse to assimilate, hate the U.S. and everything it stands for, yada, yada, yada.

There are even insinuations about Muslims having taken over the White House.

What about here in the Coachella Valley? In November, there was a report of shots fired at the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley mosque (CVmosque.com), which has been around for about 16 years in Coachella. Four people were praying inside at the time. Local police classified it as a “possible” hate crime.

Where were we as a community after that happened? Mostly unaware. Ask your friends and neighbors if they even know a mosque exists here in the desert. I’ll bet few, if any, know there is one.

While we lament that disaffected youth around the world seem susceptible to appeals by terrorist groups, we somehow see that as distinct from our own vulnerable young people being influenced to join gangs. We need to wake up. Terrorism is the extreme politicized and armed version of bullying. The guns are just a lot bigger.

According to the National Counterterrorism Center in 2011, “In cases where the religious affiliation of terrorism casualties could be determined, Muslims suffered between 82 and

97 percent of terrorism-related fatalities.” The threat of violence, including death to oneself or one’s family, does tend to keep people quiet in places where that threat comes from their own neighbors.

After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, almost 3 million people flooded into the streets of France, with many others marching around the world, to say we stand together in refusing to keep quiet out of fear. With all the claims made by the broad-brush folks, here are some myths that to be debunked: Muslims want to institute Sharia law: While some Muslim immigrants still adhere to the old ways of religious law, there are other cultural and religious traditions in which people prefer to decide their own legal matters.

In some orthodox Jewish communities and on Native American reservations, they believe the old ways are preferable to the secular law of the greater community. Throughout history, religious law has often been in conflict with secular law.

However, take heart: The laws of our nation prevail (regardless of the satire about Dearborn, Mich., adopting Sharia law, which was repeated as gospel by political conservatives like Sarah Palin), although legitimate debate does exist.

Muslim immigrants are unwilling to assimilate: Second-generation immigrant Muslims, just like second-generation immigrants from all cultural or religious backgrounds, tend to become more like the communities in which they are raised. This has been true since my grandparents came to America and lived in a “ghetto” with signs

in a foreign language and stores catering to their homeland tastes. Most of our ancestors had the same experience—with their children and succeeding generations becoming totally American.

According to Pew Research, social scientists say that “societies in which people feel constant threats to their health and well-being are more religious, while religious beliefs and practices tend to be less strong in places where ‘existential security’ is greater.” So it’s not surprising that in a generally healthy, wealthy, orderly society, there is often a gradual movement away from traditional religion. Also according to Pew, “more than six in 10 (Muslims) do not see a conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society, and … that most Muslims coming to the U.S. today want to adopt an American way of life.”

For young Muslims, as for secondgeneration Hispanics (about which I have written previously), the pattern is the same—but the more they are alienated, the more likely they are to follow the old, more conservative ways. That is the challenge for the rest of us.

Muslims don’t speak out about violence done in their name: They most certainly do.

The Islamic Circle of North America, as just one example, strongly condemns “the deadly attack in Paris committed in the name of Islam. … (It is) not only a cowardly and ghastly act; it also goes against everything taught by the person in whose name the heinous crime was done.” There are many others in Europe and America, as well as sheikhs and mosque leaders around the world, who have denounced the attacks. Check out #notinourname.

Muslim countries are not democratic and deny women any rights: Many predominantly Muslim countries have democratic elections and treat women well—including electing them to important leadership positions. Examples include secular democracies (Turkey, Indonesia, Azerbaijan), and religious democracies that recognize Islam as the state religion, but do not incorporate religion into public policy (Malaysia and Maldives). Of course, there are countries, like Saudi Arabia, which are not Muslim and are

not democratic, and deny women equal rights.

We can’t paint each other with broad strokes and lump people together based solely on their beliefs about how we all got here and why. We need to remain vigilant and unite with others around the world, regardless of whether we agree with them on other issues, to fight this virulent threat to us all.

We can start by paying attention to what is going on right here in our own community, with our own neighbors. Nobody should ever feel ashamed or threatened to admit what they believe in, and freely practice their religion.

Yo soy Coachella!

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS APPEARS EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY AT CVINDEPENDENT.COM. ANITA RUFUS IS ALSO KNOWN AS “THE LOVABLE LIBERAL,” AND HER RADIO SHOW AIRS SUNDAYS FROM 11 A.M. TO 1 P.M. ON KNEWS RADIO 94.3 FM. EMAIL HER AT ANITA@LOVABLELIBERAL.COM. CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2015

OPINION

ASK A MEXICAN!

Why Don’t Better-Off Mexicans Immigrate to the United States?

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

By Gustavo Arellano ear Mexican: I have a hard time believing that the immigrants we see at Home Depot are the best Mexico has to offer. Why can’t we entice more cream-of-the-crop of Mexicans to come up north? (Mexico has the richest man in the world, so someone has to be doing something right.) Are the laws fucked up, or are these people better off staying? It couldn’t hurt the other immigrants if we had more well-educated immigrants messing up our stereotypes.

We Can’t Do Better?

Dear Gabacho: Keep laughing at those Home Depot wabs, because they’re going to have the last risa.

All immigrant groups feature a few highly educated folks in their teeming masses, Mexicans included: Entire swaths of Texas are now the playgrounds for the middle and upper classes of northern Mexico, mostly because they’re fleeing the narco wars. And thousands of Mexicans get TN-1 visas (the NAFTA version of the smarty art H-1B visa) every year.

Besides, it’s the dirty immigrants who have always pushed this country forward, from the Pilgrims to the Irish to the Dreamers of today.

If all we allowed into this country from the beginning of the republic were well-educated immigrants, we’d be just like Japan—aging, crumbling and obsessed with tentacle porn.

Dear Mexican: When I was a kid, my grandmother always told me that Sonora was a beautiful place to live … that is, until people from southern Mexico began moving to Sonora. The guachos, she called them; she considered anyone hailing from south of

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Obregón a guacho. She had a serious dislike for anybody not from Sonora or Chihuahua. She said they had “piojos y lombrices” and spoke with funny accents (although I’ve realized people in Sonora are the ones who have accents).

Can you please help me understand the hate for guachos? I love the shit out of Jalisco, Puebla, Guerrero and even Chilangolandia.

Also, why is it that in the rest of Mexico, a guacho is a slam to a soldier, but in Sonora, it’s anyone from the South?

Sonora y Sus Ojos Negros Dear Sonora and Her Black Eyes: Regional rivalries are as much a part of the human experience as breathing, so you shouldn’t be surprised at your abuelita’s hate for the rest of us. So is thinking up of new ways to insult your rivals: While Sonora is a beautiful state, too many of its residents have a Jalisco

complex about them, in that they think their ancestors never intermixed with Indians. As a result, guacho (a term originally from Quechua, and meaning “bastard”—as in someone with no mother—in almost all of South America, which is also used to slur poor people in Cuba and soldiers in the rest of Mexico) turned into an epithet in Sonora referring to any other Mexican. The thinking was that all other Mexicans were mestizos, while sonorenses were pure-blooded Spaniards.

Come on, Sonora: If you think your grandparents weren’t getting it on with Yaquis, then you must also think flour tortillas are nothing more than water and paste. (Sorry, readers; I but don’t know too many Sonoran jokes—they’re not easy to make fun of like, say, people from Jalisco.)

Dear Mexican: Many Mexicans die in the Sonoran Desert in the Tucson border sector as they try to get to el otro lado. This is because your buddies at la migra in California have pushed them over this way.

Instead of sneaking in with small groups, why don’t Mexicans just mass at the border at a chosen spot in an urban location, and come on in! Can’t catch them all. Migra will just send them back if they get caught; then they can try again without risking no water, a three-day hike through hell, and lunch with the coyotes and vultures—with Mexicans as the main course. If they change the entry spot every crossing, and organize it right, the Reonquista could happen by next month!

I know Mexicans have a dark, black humor streak in them, but seriously: People are dying

over here. What do you think should be done?

If Mexicans were an endangered species, the U.S. would build sanctuaries for them and force them to breed!

No More Border Deaths Dear Gabacha: Border deaths will only end with open borders—and mass attacks won’t lead to that. The problem with such scrums is that it gets gabachos freaked out and wanting to build walls. Migration by drips and dribbles, on la otra hand, has led to the current mexcellente situation of Reconquista.

By the way, since when has anyone had to force a Mexican to have sex?

CATCH THE MEXICAN EVERY WEDNESDAY AT CVINDEPENDENT. COM. ASK THE MEXICAN AT THEMEXICAN@ASKAMEXICAN. NET; BE HIS FAN ON FACEBOOK; FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @GUSTAVOARELLANO; OR FOLLOW HIM ON INSTAGRAM @ GUSTAVO_ARELLANO!

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FEBRUARY 2015

OPINION

THE POTTED DESERT GARDEN

What Kinds of Pots Are Best in the Desert Sun?

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

By Marylee Pangman hat kinds of pots are best in the desert sun? This question is asked in every class I teach.

Before I answer, let’s break that question down further: What pots should you not use? And what size pots do you need?

Followers of this column know I often extol the virtues of large pots. In the sun, you don’t want a pot with less than an 18-inch interior diameter. You need a solid volume of soil, ample moisture protection and insulation of the plants’ roots.

I do not recommend metal or plastic pots. I also recommend skipping black pots (unless they’re ceramic); definitely do not leave your plants in the black nursery cans. They just retain too much heat.

Consider these types of pots: Terra cotta, clay and Mexican pots: These pots tend to be less expensive than other styles; many are fired at lower temperatures, making them less durable to high-salt water and heat. Some Italian and Chinese clay pots are “high-fired,” however, which means they will stand up to our harsh climates much better.

Since some clay pots are of the “old world” style, they fit Mediterranean-style homes.

Mexican pots are happy in a hacienda-style home.

To make them last longer, use a lawnand-leaf garbage bag with a hole in the bottom—for drainage, to protect the pot from

fast deterioration, and to help with water retention.

Glazed pots: All glazed pots are high-fired, making them well-suited to the desert climate.

They will retain moisture, stand up to the heat and sun, and outlast most of our lifetimes.

There are many beautiful shapes, colors, textures and styles. I plant 90 percent of my gardens in one type of glazed pot or another.

I’d rather spend extra money on a quality pot once rather than replace a pot and repot a plant after just a couple of years.

High-gloss pots: With a huge array of colors and shapes, high-gloss pots stand out.

Use rimmed pots for a more traditional-style home, and rimless pots for a contemporary look. Pots are finished in all colors.

Rustic glazed pots: Rustic glazed pots are much more organic in their style. They will fit into a natural desert landscape, complementing the design rather then popping out. The colors usually reflect those found naturally in the desert. These pots can always be counted on to hold up to the heat, and their weight will assure that they stay in place despite the wind.

Talavera pots: People often ask if these pots are suitable for the desert sun. The answer: As long as they have been made by reputable potters, and the colors are glazed rather than painted on, these pots will do well in our desert landscapes. They, too, are highfired, and their superb color and design will add a lot to a Hacienda-style décor. Just don’t go overboard and combine too many of them in one spot. Use them with monotone colors, and have the Talavera pot as the focal point.

What about your small pots? Choose your favorites, and plant them with shade plants, especially soft succulents. Group them in a shady area on a baker’s rack, table or other shelving unit to create a work of living art.

February Care in Your Desert Potted Garden In order to keep your winter flowers blooming into May, provide them with regular attention.

Take a morning coffee break with your garden a couple of times a week so that you can enjoy

As long as Talavera pots have been made by reputable potters, and the colors are glazed rather than painted on, they will do well in our desert landscapes.

your labors for several more months!

• Deadhead your flowers weekly. Be sure to pinch them back to the originating stem, not just the flower. This will support continual bloom.

• Cut back ornamental grasses to just above ground level.

• Fertilize your potted plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer, best applied with a hose applicator.

• Fertilize any potted citrus or other fruit trees around Valentine’s Day. • Plant color annuals such as pansies, petunias, larkspur, primrose, poppy, stock, violas, alyssum, snapdragon and marigolds.

• Watch newly planted, shallow-rooted annuals, which can quickly dry out with spring winds.

• Adjust your watering schedule according to winter rains, if there are any.

MARYLEE PANGMAN IS THE FOUNDER AND FORMER OWNER OF THE CONTAINED GARDENER IN TUCSON, ARIZ. SHE HAS BECOME KNOWN AS THE DESERT’S POTTED GARDEN EXPERT. SHE IS AVAILABLE FOR DIGITAL CONSULTATIONS, AND YOU CAN EMAIL HER WITH COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AT POTTEDDESERT@GMAIL.COM. FOLLOW THE POTTED DESERT AT FACEBOOK.COM/POTTEDDESERT. THE POTTED DESERT GARDEN APPEARS EVERY TUESDAY AT CVINDEPENDENT.COM.

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FEBRUARY 2015

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FEBRUARY 2015

NEWS

MARIJUANA ON THE MOVE

Medical MJ Is Coming Soon to Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

By Brian Blueskye oachella Valley residents who use medical marijuana must currently travel to one of a small handful of dispensaries in Palm Springs—the only valley city which has allowed dispensaries to operate.

However, two other local cities will soon let dispensaries open their doors. Last year, both the Desert Hot Springs City Council and the city’s voters OK’d dispensaries, while Cathedral City’s City Council narrowly voted in favor of allowing them.

Desert Hot Springs will initially allow up to three permits to be issued for dispensaries, with the possibility of adding more after an evaluation.

Currently, 19 applications have been submitted, but there is a list of three applications that have received the highest score.

Cathedral City will allow two permits to be issued; so far, the city has rejected four applications and approved one.

City Manager Charlie McClendon explained the criteria the applicants must meet.

“The ordinance laid out some fairly strict guidelines that they had to meet to qualify in terms of what zoning district they could be in, how close they could be to a school, how close they could be to a residential neighborhood, how close they could be to each other, how close they could be to a park, and things like that,” McClendon said. “So, it’s a two-pronged process. (Applications) go before our planning commission to judge that, and the first step is a test: Is the application complete? Does it meet those spacing guidelines? Did they submit all the material? If the planning commission determines that, yes, the application is complete, then they can have an open public hearing for a conditional use permit on that application. If they determine that the application is not complete, then it’s rejected.”

McClendon explained that one applicant has been approved so far, a company called Green Cross Pharma. He said most of the other applicants have been rejected due to location issues.

“There’s a provision in the ordinance that a dispensary cannot be 200 feet from Highway 111/East Palm Canyon Road, and one was rejected because it was less than that distance from the road,” he said.

Some people worry that dispensaries will attract crime to the areas where they’re located, but according to studies by RAND

Corporation and California NORML, dispensaries do not raise or lower crime rates.

McClendon said these studies have been taken into consideration.

“It remains to be seen as to whether or not it makes a difference here,” he said. “You can read competing evidence on that from other jurisdictions, but we have no direct experience with that ourselves.”

As for revenue, McClendon said the tax on medical marijuana that voters in Cathedral City approved will generate some money for city coffers.

“That’s a question that went to the voters, and they authorized a tax on the proceeds of the marijuana sales of up to 15 percent. It remains to be seen how much that actually generates, because we have no history yet.

Based on the experience of Palm Springs, we believe there will be some revenue.”

Nicholas Longo, a licensed grower who used to live in Desert Hot Springs and who provides marijuana to dispensaries, was elated when the cities took steps to allow new dispensaries to open.

“I started growing about five years ago,” said Longo, who began using marijuana to help him with epilepsy. “At first, it was for the purpose of having the stuff on me at all times, but then it changed more into helping people than anything. I sell to the dispensaries—but what I do is make clones. I pretty much concentrate my focus on creating clones, so genetics is my thing. … You need to make sure you have good genetics.”

Licensed medical-marijuana grower Nicholas Longo harvests about 25 plants per week that he can turn into sellable product for dispensaries. COURTESY OF NICHOLAS LONGO

Longo grows about 25 plants per week that he can turn into sellable product for the dispensaries. “Every week, you put in about 25, and the ninth or 10th week, you’re harvesting.”

On Jan. 20, in Desert Hot Springs, Jason Elsasser opened up a center on Pierson Boulevard as part of his Medical Marijuana Resource Group, which based in Yucca Valley.

It offers consultations and recommendations for medical marijuana cards. He said that patients don’t necessarily have safe access to medical marijuana.

“In 2013, the California Supreme Court ruled that county municipalities can zone out dispensaries,” Elsasser said. “In essence, a town can say, ‘We don’t want it!’ They can impose codes and zoning restrictions that won’t allow it. … It’s kind of like the stuff they do to strip clubs, massage parlors or tattoo parlors.”

After the market collapsed and destroyed his real estate business, Elsasser went into the medical-marijuana industry.

“I’m the one who created the situation in Yucca Valley,” he said. “In Yucca Valley, they voted in 2013 to shut down the only dispensary that was operating in town. It was left to operate kind of through a loophole.

They had approved a legal dispensary back in 2008, and then some people opened a

ballet studio next to it, and all of a sudden, there was a bunch of negative press about it.

They pushed it to the far outskirts of town and implemented a moratorium on medical marijuana. The City Council (then) voted … to shut down the only dispensary. I said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and since I had a real estate background, I started the Yucca Valley Medical Marijuana Resource Group. I wanted to use it as a springboard to educate the town.

I hired an attorney to write an ordinance and to start a voter referendum.”

Elsasser said that referendum should appear before Yucca Valley voters sometime in 2015. “We will win. I’m very confident because we have the support of the community, and we will win based on that.”

Elsasser said he believes medical-marijuana dispensaries will have a positive effect on Desert Hot Springs.

“We want to help the community,” he said.

“These shops that are opening can do a lot of good for the community, and my business is just one of the businesses that are a product of these dispensaries opening. I just got my business license for my evaluation center, and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the three (coming) dispensaries. It’s good for the economy; it’s improving the area; and we’re excited about being down here in Desert Hot Springs.”

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FEBRUARY 2015

NEWS

AN EPIDEMIC OF POLICE SHOOTINGS

Westerners Are Almost Twice as Likely to Die as Other Americans From ‘Arrest-Related Deaths’

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

By Jonathan Thompson s darkness and a chill fell over northwestern New Mexico on a Friday in late November, two men flagged down a San Juan County sheriff’s deputy to report a scuffle, with at least one firearm involved.

The altercation was going down in Spencerville, an ad-hoc collection of homes, beat-up cars and dust that lies just off the highway that links the towns of Aztec and Farmington. As the deputies responded, they heard gunshots, and called for backup. Three more deputies arrived, along with a New Mexico state trooper.

As the five deputies approached the area from which the shots came, the trooper flanked off to one side, armed with an AR-15. He saw a “silhouette of a person raising a weapon,” according to a court document, and fired two shots. When a male voice screamed that the trooper had missed, the trooper ran to another location, took aim and fired two more shots. The “silhouette,” a 27-year-old Navajo man named Myles Roughsurface, fell to the ground, dead.

Roughsurface was the third person killed at the hands of law enforcement officers in San Juan County in 2014, and the 10th in New Mexico. In 2014, the cop-related death toll for 11 Western states was about 200, based on a Wikipedia survey of media reports.

On Christmas Day, Omar Rodriguez, 35, of Coachella, was killed by a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy after Rodriguez reportedly tried to fight her and take her baton.

National attention in recent months has been on the police killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner in Missouri, Ohio and New York, respectively. But when it comes to the rate of police-related killings per capita, as we reported last month in “Fatal Encounters,” the West is the worst.

The statistics on such things are notoriously incomplete, depending upon individual law enforcement agencies to report the numbers (a problem the Fatal Encounters effort is attempting to solve). And the numbers, of course, don’t reveal the circumstances of the death—whether a cop fired out of selfdefense or to save the life of an innocent, or whether he acted with excessive force. But regardless of which set of stats one uses, this is clear: Westerners are almost twice as likely as Americans as a whole to suffer from “arrest-related death,” as the Department of Justice terms it, or fatal injury due to “legal intervention,” per the nomenclature of the Centers for Disease Control.

From 2004 to 2010, Americans died from legal intervention—which includes not only CVIndependent.com

homicide, but also dying in custody from accidental causes or suicide—at a rate of .13 per 100,000 people. During that same period of time, legal intervention killed Westerners at a rate of .23 per 100,000. New Mexico cops used lethal force at a higher rate than those in any other state; Oregon and Nevada were close behind, and every other Western state had a rate higher than the U.S. average. As was the case in the U.S. as a whole, African Americans were the most likely to be killed by cops in the West over that particular period, followed closely by Native Americans, Hispanics and, finally, non-Hispanic whites; during other periods of time, Native Americans are victimized at the highest rate. Three Navajos were killed over a period of just six months in late 2008 and early 2009; one of the victims was killed by the same trooper who shot Roughsurface.

The killings often go down without getting wide media or public notice. But last spring, Albuquerque Police Department officers shot and killed a homeless man, James Boyd, who was armed with a small knife. The killing was caught on video, drawing national attention to the APD’s history of using excessive force, and inspiring protests. Just a month later, the Justice Department released its report—in the works since 2012—on the department, finding that the “APD engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.” Since 2010, according to a KRQE News analysis, APD officers have shot and killed at a rate of four per 100,000 people, which is more than 30 times the national rate.

Utah garnered unwanted national attention as well, after officers from the Saratoga Springs police department responded to a report of a man with a samurai-style sword acting

Graph by Jonathan Thompson using data from the Centers for Disease Control.

suspiciously outside a Panda Express. After 22-year-old Darrien Hunt, who was black, allegedly lunged at the officers, he was shot dead.

The heartbreaking stories do little to hint at the reasons for what appears to be a Western epidemic. Yet correlations with other stats hint at directions: Western states, for example, have a much higher suicide rate than other states, a possible indicator that untreated mental illness is more prevalent here. Victims of police shootings are often exhibiting signs of mental illness when they’re shot; one of the victims in San Juan County, after behaving erratically and while fighting with police, slashed his own throat just before an officer shot him in the head.

There’s also a loose correlation in the West between police-related shooting rates and economic health. New Mexico, for example, leads the nation in arrest-related deaths, and also has among the highest rates of poverty and income inequality. That can create an environment of desperation, leading to more crime.

Then there’s the West’s gun-loving culture and high rates of firearm ownership and firearm-related killings. Gun-rights advocates argue that the ubiquity of guns deters crime, because a criminal never knows which average Joe might whip out a pistol and blow the would-be criminal away. That same wariness must extend to police officers: If they’re in a region where guns are everywhere, then when a suspect reaches for something in his pocket, it’s reasonable to suspect that it might be a gun.

Whatever reason we might come up with for this sort of violent tragedy, it’s not likely to soothe the sorrow of the victims’ families and friends—or the trauma felt by a police officer who shoots and kills someone, particularly if by mistake.

Jonathan Thompson is a senior editor at High Country News (hcn.org), where this story originally appeared.

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FEBRUARY 2015

NEWS

THE CHAMP COMES HOME

Coachella’s Randy Caballero Gets Set to Defend His World Bantamweight Title on His Home Turf

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By Kevin Fitzgerald t’s been a long road home for Coachella boxer Randy Caballero.

The International Boxing Federation’s world bantamweight champion has been fighting in faraway places for more than a year now. The twisting road led him first to Sunrise, Fla., then to Kobe, Japan, and then finally to Monte Carlo, Monaco, where he seized the world title he’s wanted since he was 8 years old, when he first began boxing under the tutelage of Lee Espinoza, director of the Coachella Valley Boxing Club.

But Caballero is now home, and the first defense of his title will happen in the friendly confines of the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino’s Events Center, on Friday, Feb. 27.

The Independent spent time with him at the Coachella Valley Boxing Club gym, on Douma Street in Coachella. We asked him how it feels to be a world champion.

“It feels good, but it feels the same,” replied Caballero, 24. “The title hasn’t changed me. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, the belt changed you.’

I’m the same person. I’ve still got to wake up in the morning and go run, and come to the gym and train hard every single day. You’ve got to train extra-hard to make sure you keep that title and not let it go anywhere.

“But other than that, I’m the same. My family’s the same. We all hang out still and have barbecues. We’re all the same people.

We’re never going to change.”

Caballero’s nuclear family and support group includes his wife, Yaniva; their three

Randy Caballero: “A lot of people say, ‘Oh, the belt changed you.’ I’m the same person. I’ve still got to wake up in the morning and go run, and come to the gym and train hard every single day.”

KEVIN FITZGERALD

children; father, Marcos Caballero (also his trainer and manager); and mom, Stephanie.

And unquestionably, one of the strongest presences in Caballero’s life is Lee Espinoza.

Commonly referred to as the “godfather of local boxing” in the valley, Espinoza comes across as a guardian angel, of sorts, for the local kids who enter his club’s doors in search of a lifestyle that keeps them off tough neighborhood streets. For more than three decades, he’s been teaching valuable life skills and, on several occasions, grooming world champions.

“Lee has been a big part of my career and my life—my dad’s life, too,” Randy Caballero said. “My dad, when he came from Nicaragua at a very young age, he ended up walking into a boxing gym, which I believe was on Sixth Street in Coachella, in the old fire station. I got to visit it when I was little, but I never fought there, since I was too little. Lee trained my dad; he’s always been with us, and we’ve always had him in my corner. … It’s a learning sport, and Lee’s been around it for so long that he can tell us what to do or not to do.”

The traveling that Randy Caballero has done has not always included Espinoza: The coach hates to fly, so he skipped the trips to Japan and Monte Carlo.

“I got to witness that when we went to Miami; he was really bad on that plane,” Randy Caballero said. “But it’s nice to know we have him when we’re here. He’s opened the doors and his arms to us here at the Coachella Valley Boxing Club gym since we were little. It’s my second home here.”

For Espinoza, there’s no place he’d rather

Randy Caballero works out with his father, Marcos, who is also his trainer and manager. KEVIN FITZGERALD

be, either. “It’s like something you get hooked on,” Espinoza said with a big smile.

“It’s something almost like drugs. I can’t be at the house no more. I don’t know what I’m going to do there. So I come here and do this, because what we’ve done is, like, amazing. Everywhere in the world we go, they recognize us and me.

“Six kids from this little gym have fought for world titles, and four won. Pancho Segura won twice. Julio Diaz won twice. Sandra Yard got a title, and now Randy Caballero. So that’s it—I’m hooked. They ask me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ And I say when I die. I’m not leaving here.”

Meanwhile, Caballero is happy to be back home.

“It’s been over a year since I fought here,” Caballero said. “So it feels good to be back in my hometown, and I finally get to fight in front of my fans, family and friends. It will be good to walk into the arena and hear people cheering for me instead of the other guy.”

Is there added pressure to do well in front of that hometown crowd?

“Having to go to Miami, to Japan and to Monte Carlo—being in different arenas and in some one else’s hometown—kind of taught me that no matter where you’re at around the world, once you’re in that ring, it’s just you

and that guy, and nobody else,” Caballero said. “… Once that bell rings, it’s like everything just goes ‘swoosh’ and closes in. I just can hear me and the guy breathing, and then I just hear my dad, and my brothers and my wife and my mom. That’s just about it.”

What kind of fight does he expect in his first title defense, against Mexico’s Alberto Guevara?

“I’m expecting a really tough fight,” Caballero said. “This guy’s brother just won a world boxing title, so in this guy’s mind, he’s thinking, ‘OK, this is my chance to win a world title, too.’ So I know he’s going to come in and give it a hard fight. This might be his last opportunity to win a world title.

“Like I’ve said, I’ve trained hard. I train hard every single day, and whenever they put a fighter in front of me, I train 100 percent. Whether it’s someone with a bunch of losses, or someone who has the best record in the sport of boxing, you never take anyone lightly. I’m going to make sure that I dictate the fight from Round 1 on. I’m ready to put on a good show for my fans out here at Fantasy Springs, and it should be a great fight.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS ($35 TO $105), VISIT WWW.FANTASYSPRINGSRESORT.COM. CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2015

NEWS

FEBRUARY ASTRONOMY Venus, Mars and the Crescent Moon Make a Date!

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by Robert Victor wo planets and a star far outshine all competitors at dusk in February.

They are: Venus, of magnitude -4, low in the west-southwest, shifting toward the west and slowly gaining altitude as this month progresses; Jupiter, of magnitude -2.6, starting very low in the east-northeast, moving into the east and climbing about a degree higher each day (if viewed at the same stage of twilight daily); and blue-white Sirius, the “Dog Star” and the brightest of nighttime stars, twinkling at magnitude -1.4 and ascending through the southeast toward south-southeast at dusk.

Follow these three bright objects at dusk in coming months. Sirius will disappear into the west-southwest twilight glow during May, while Venus and Jupiter remain in view until at least late in July.

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February’s other naked-eye evening planet is Mars, appearing as a red “star” of magnitude +1.2 to +1.3, not far from Venus all this month. Look about 9 degrees to the upper left of the brighter planet on Feb. 1, to 3 degrees to the lower right on Feb. 28. Both planets move rapidly against background stars, and remain within 10 degrees of each other for six weeks, starting on Jan. 31.

Stars at dusk: Look for the huge Winter Hexagon of Sirius-Procyon-PolluxCapella-Aldebaran-Rigel. The noticeably red star Betelgeuse is within. Find the three-star belt of Orion, the hunter, midway between his shoulder, Betelgeuse, and his foot, bluish Rigel. The belt extended southeastward locates Sirius. Extend the belt in the opposite direction, bending north a bit, and you’ll find Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the bull. Go farther to find the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, a

Morning visibility map at mid-twilight.

ROBERT D. MILLER

Evening visibility map at mid-twilight.

ROBERT D. MILLER

wonderful sight for binoculars!

Moon at dusk in early February: On Feb. 1 at dusk, less than two days before full, the moon appears between Pollux, the brighter of the Gemini twins, and Procyon, the Lesser Dog star. (The moon will return to the same place among the stars in just a little more than 27 days, but at a lesser phase, on the final evening of this month.) On Feb. 3, the moon, just past full and rising a few minutes after sunset, appears 5-6 degrees south (to the right) of bright Jupiter. The moon rises about an hour after sunset on Feb. 4, and nearly an hour later nightly for the next several evenings. Rather than staying up late to watch moonrise, shift your viewing time to morning, and follow our satellite in the morning twilight, less than an hour before sunrise: • Feb. 3: Nearly full moon, setting in the west to west-northwest, 10 degrees to the lower right of Jupiter.

• Feb. 4: Moon just past full, low, just north of west, 7 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter.

• Feb. 5: Moon low in the west, 5-6 degrees to the lower left of Regulus.

• Feb. 9: Waning gibbous moon in the southwest, less than 4 degrees to the upper right of Spica.

• Feb. 12: Moon just past last quarter phase in the south, a little less than half full, 5 degrees to the upper right of Saturn.

• Feb. 13: Waning crescent moon in the south-southeast, about 8 degrees left of Saturn and 8-9 degrees to the upper left of Antares.

• Feb. 16: Thin crescent moon low in the southeast to east-southeast, 9 degrees to the upper right of Mercury.

• Feb. 17: Very thin crescent moon very low in the east-southeast, 6 degrees to the lower left of Mercury.

The new moon, invisible near the sun, occurs on Feb. 18 at 3:47 p.m. The moon returns to evening sky on Feb. 19. About 40 minutes after sunset, look for the young, thin crescent about 9 degrees south of due west and 6 degrees up, 13-14 degrees to the lower right of Venus.

Be sure to catch the spectacular gathering of the crescent moon and two planets at dusk on Feb. 20, all within a 2 degree field. The 2-dayold moon will be within 1.7 degrees to the upper right of Venus, with Mars in between

them, 0.7 degrees to the upper right of Venus.

Venus-Mars appear closest to each other the next evening, Feb. 21, as Venus passes 0.4 degrees south of Mars. That same evening, the crescent moon will appear 14-15 degrees above the pair; as darkness falls, binoculars will show another planet, sixth-magnitude Uranus, just 2 degrees below and slightly to the right of the moon.

On Feb. 24, the fat crescent moon passes 8 degrees to the south of the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters star cluster. By the next evening, the moon will have passed first quarter phase and will appear just more than half full, within 2 degrees to the east of Aldebaran, eye of Taurus the bull. As we look out the rear window of Spaceship Earth on Feb. 24-28, we are speeding away from the Hyades star cluster with Aldebaran in the foreground. On the night of Feb. 28, the waxing gibbous moon will lie about midway between Pollux and Procyon.

February 2015 at dawn: For most of February, in the morning twilight, you can observe as many as three planets: Jupiter, before it drops below horizon in the westnorthwest near end of third week; Saturn, in the south all month; and Mercury, after it brightens to first magnitude early in second week. Look for these bright stars, also within the zodiacal belt, within a few degrees of the plane of Earth’s orbit: Antares, heart of Scorpius, to the lower left of Saturn; Spica, to right of Saturn; and Regulus, heart of Leo, in the west, far to lower right Spica and upper left of Jupiter.

Other bright stars at dawn are Arcturus, high above Spica in the southwest sky; and the Summer Triangle of Vega-Altair-Deneb, climbing in the eastern sky. Brightest objects at morning mid-twilight for most of February, in order of brilliance, are: Jupiter (until it drops below the west-northwest horizon), Arcturus and Vega. In the last week of February, Jupiter sets before the middle of morning twilight, but Mercury becomes a close match in brightness to these two stars.

ROBERT C. VICTOR WAS A STAFF ASTRONOMER AT ABRAMS PLANETARIUM AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. HE IS NOW RETIRED AND ENJOYS PROVIDING SKYWATCHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN IN AND AROUND PALM SPRINGS.

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NEWS

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SNAPSHOT

Images From February in the Coachella Valley and High Desert

Steve Carell poses for a “selfie” with Palm Springs resident Diana Doyle before entering the red carpet at the 26th Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Saturday, Jan. 3.

PHOTO BY RADICALIFE MEDIA

Hanni El Khatib opened his Pappy and Harriet’s show on Friday, Jan. 16, with “Melt Me,” from his new release, Moonlight. It was a great way to start the show: The song got the Pappy and Harriet’s audience dancing. The crowd remained active throughout the performance—and at one point, El Khatib joined in the wildness when he crowd-surfed while playing his fuzzy electric guitar, requiring him to squeeze between the heads of his fans and the low ceiling. PHOTO BY GUILLERMO PRIETO/IROCKPHOTOS.NET

Left: Former PGA champion Nick Faldo (center with sunglasses), now an analyst for the Golf Channel, chats with Humana Challenge golfer Jonas Blixt (right in white cap) on the driving range on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Right: Humana Challenge golfer John Rollins works on his game as the sun drops over the driving range at the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West in La Quinta on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The full tournament began on the following day. PHOTO BY KEVIN FITZGERALD

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FEBRUARY 2015

Modernism for Dummies Why Is Palm Springs an Epicenter for Modernism—and Why Should Anybody Care?

Modernism Week Chairman Chris Mobley Explains.

By Jimmy Boegle

or to buy tickets for Modernism Week events, visit www.modernismweek.com.

Here is an edited version of our chat.

rom Thursday, Feb. 12, through Sunday, Feb. 22, an estimated 45,000 people will descend on the Coachella Valley for Modernism Week, the annual celebration of the architecture and style of the 1950s and 1960s.

If you’re a fan of modernism, architecture in general, or the styles made popular when baby boomers were coming of age … great! You probably already have your tickets in hand for various Modernism Week events and tours.

But what about those of us—your humble scribe included—who don’t know much about modernism? What should we make of Modernism Week? Why should we care?

These are the very questions I asked Chris Mobley, the chairman of the Modernism Week board, during a recent interview. Beyond his Modernism Week duties, Mobley is the owner of Just Modern, the amazingly cool furniture store located at 901 N. Palm Canyon Drive, No. 101.

For more information on Modernism Week,

Edris House. DAVID A. LEE

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Let’s start with a very broad question: Why is modernism important and worthwhile?

Modernism culture is trending right now, because baby boomers are coming of age, where they can afford a second home, and they’re looking to retire in places like Palm Springs. Palm Springs is really defined by its architecture and its culture, its fashion and design, and all of that is tied into … modern architecture. Today, you’re finding more baby boomers feeling nostalgic about coming back to Palm Springs and seeing all the stuff they may remember as a child. Maybe their parents had it, or their grandparents had it. So Modernism Week kind of represents everything that’s happening here in Palm Springs.

Why is Palm Springs such a hub for modernism? How did Palm Springs become such a haven for this style?

Palm Springs probably has the largest number of midcentury homes and commercial buildings, built in the 1950s and 1960s, per capita. A lot of those have been untouched; we avoided what happened to a lot of homes (in

other places) in the 1980s—slapping stucco on and trying to make (the homes) look like Spanish modern or something. A lot of the homes are still as they were in the 1950s and 1960s. The same goes with a lot of the commercial buildings here in Palm Springs.

Let’s talk specifically about Modernism Week, and use me as an example: I love art, but I’m a little bit younger than the baby boomer demographic. I’m intrigued by architecture, but when it comes to “modernism,” I really don’t know much about it. What would you recommend for a beginner like me in terms of enjoying Modernism Week?

One thing I would recommend for anybody coming to Modernism Week is the Architectural Bus Tour. It’s a double-decker bus, where you can sit on top of the bus with a docent, and you drive around through all the neighborhoods and through the commercial district, and you learn the history of Palm Springs—where Frank Sinatra lived, where Elvis Presley had his honeymoon—and the development of certain neighborhoods by particular architects. That will give anyone an overview of Palm Springs and the modernism culture here.

I also think that going on one of our neighborhood tours … is a good way to get

Sinatra House. COURTESY OF BEAU MONDE VILLAS

inside of some of the homes, to see what they look like. People have really put a lot into making sure the homes look like they would have back in the 1950s or 1960s, with the décor and art and furniture.

One thing we’re doing differently this year is we’re having a festival called CAMP—the Community and Meeting Place. This is a 10-day event where you can come into a 25,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor space with hospitality suites, purchase tickets that are still available, enjoy a lounge where you can sit with like-minded people—and even charge your phone. We have a theater where, with a CAMP pass, you can go in and see lectures and movies throughout the week. There are happy hours every day in our courtyard from 3 to 6 p.m.

We’ll have a café and a Modern Marketplace where you can see the latest in modern design.

This is a good place to get a feel for the people who are coming in for Modernism Week, and hang out and have discussions between events.

Let’s talk about a different type of person—someone who doesn’t think he or she really cares at all about modernism. Try to convince that person that modernism and Modernism Week are important.

As an organization and an event, we celebrate far more than midcentury modern

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to what Palm Springs is all about as far as architecture, fashion and culture.

Modernism Week Chairman Chris Mobley: “Palm Springs is a hot destination right now for young people. … They’re here celebrating at the Coachella (Valley) Music and Arts Festival, or Splash House, or any of these other things—and they’re being exposed to what Palm Springs is all about as far as architecture, fashion and culture.”

architecture. We also celebrate our new architects—those who are testing limits, crossing boundaries and doing buildings and homes that are relevant to Palm Springs. … I would say to people who aren’t into architecture: Come for the parties. We have parties and happy hours almost every night, where there are themes—say, you can dress up as a 1960s TV character. That’s our openingnight event, called “Throwback Thursday.” It’s just a lot of fun.

What, in your mind, makes modernism special?

That’s an interesting question. Modernism is a style that is relevant today. There are a lot of young furniture designers and artists and architects who were influenced by the 1950s and 1960s. A lot of the items I carry in my store, Just Modern, are designed by artists who weren’t alive in the 1950s or 1960s, but are taking inspiration from the midcentury modern period or the Palm Springs lifestyle.

So modernism is relevant to, say, a young couple who is living in L.A., maybe in an urban development or a condo.

What about a young person who may not have the money to buy a lot of the furniture and other items inspired by modernism? Why should that person care? Or should they care?

Well, they should. Let me back up a little bit: Modernism Week is full of paid events, but we also have a large number of events that are free to the public. It’s great to come to experience the Palm Springs lifestyle … and learn about our history. … Around 45,000 people (will come in for Modernism Week) … but you don’t have to break the bank to be a part of it. For example, the Hot Purple Energy bike tour is free, where you get on a bike and ride around and get to see a lot of the buildings that you would see on the paid tours. … Palm Springs is a hot destination right now for young people, so there is a lot of exposure (to Palm Springs) for the younger generation. They’re here celebrating at the Coachella (Valley) Music and Arts Festival, or Splash House, or any of these other things—and they’re being exposed

Let’s talk about midcentury modern architecture specifically. What one or two buildings would you recommend that really show off what the style is all about?

The Kaufmann house in Palm Springs is one of the most celebrated buildings here. It was featured in a famous 1970s photograph by Slim Aarons called “Poolside Gossip,” which is one of the most famous photos taken in Palm Springs. You don’t really need to get inside these homes to see their architecture.

Another would be the “House of Tomorrow,” which is where Elvis and Priscilla Presley had their honeymoon. … (As for what’s included on Modernism Week tours), I would recommend the Steel House tour, featuring steel homes which were designed by Donald Wexler in the 1950s. The other (recommended tour) would be the Frank Sinatra “Twin Palms” Estate.

Getting beyond buildings: Tell me about some furniture, some items, and some trends that show off what’s really cool about modernism.

What’s trending now are clean lines in furniture design. You can see that at almost all of the stores here in Palm Springs. Walnut was a wood that was used in the midcentury modern period, and today, there’s a huge draw for that handcrafted, really solid, clean piece of furniture made from walnut. (Something else) that you might see in Palm Springs that you wouldn’t see so much in other areas: really bright colors—ceramics or art or accessories that are primarily orange, aqua or chartreuse.

One last question: Give the pitch to someone who is on the fence about Modernism Week, on why they should care, and why they should participate.

First, come out for the excitement and the energy that’s created during Modernism Week by all the people coming into town from all over the world. Second, considering the weather in February, it’s the best time to be (out and about) in Palm Springs, when it’s cold and snowy almost throughout the rest of the country. For a local person participating in Modernism Week, you can go into your neighbor’s house and see how it’s decorated!

We have (more than 20) neighborhood organizations all opening up homes. (Note: For more information on Modernism Week tours, turn to Page 20.) What’s great about the neighborhood tours is the majority of money that’s being made through Modernism Week goes back out to the neighborhoods, the neighborhood organizations and our partner organizations. As a nonprofit, Modernism Week is the event that pulls all of these organizations together to improve the neighborhoods and help with preservation efforts. We also have a scholarship program.

The money that people are paying for tickets— it all is going to a good cause.

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Yearning for a Simpler Time

Nostalgia Motivates Christopher Kennedy, the Designer of Modernism Week’s Show House

By Brian Blueskye

1 A rendering of the 2015 Christopher Kennedy Compound, by Victoria Molinelli. 2 Christopher Kennedy: “I miss the days when people would dress up to get on airplanes, and when families would sit down to eat together, and you would talk and not text on phones. As a society, we’ve become increasingly fractured.”

n Palm Springs, the name “Christopher Kennedy” is essentially synonymous with “modernism.”

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the renowned designer is heavily involved with Modernism Week. In fact, the furniture/interior designer has transformed an Indian Canyons neighborhood home, built in 1964, into Modernism Week’s Show House—aka the Christopher Kennedy Compound.

During a recent interview with the Independent, Kennedy discussed how he was drawn to the Palm Springs area.

“I originally went to school for architecture,” Kennedy said. “I have a five-year degree from Drury University in architecture. I liked the arts approach to architecture, and I guess it was meant to be.

“I came to Palm Springs about 11 years ago.

I was born in California, so these kinds of things are in my blood—the afternoons in the pool, the drapes blowing in the breeze and the sprawling ranch houses. I guess it was just fate to end up in Palm Springs.”

Kennedy said he can’t explain where his fascination with modernism came from; it came naturally, he said, although a trip he took to Europe during his college years inspired him.

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“(I was) 21 in Paris and going to Corbusier’s apartment and seeing the chaise lounge from 1929,” he recalled. “I actually got to sit in it, and I don’t think you’d get to do that these days. … So I was drawn to modernism back then, and I had sketches and forms I was drawing for school for architecture that have now become a piece of furniture in my furniture line.”

Kennedy was deep into modernism back before it became popular. He also remembers the modest beginnings of Modernism Week.

“My first encounter with Modernism Week was when I was doing a home for a major action-movie star in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. She called me and said, ‘Christopher, we’re going to go shopping at the antique show at Modernism Week, aren’t we?’ I said, ‘Of course we are! Yes! Please come out to Palm Springs’—not really knowing about it. So I first went shopping when (Modernism Week) was kind of only the antique show at the convention center.

“It’s exploded since then. Our trajectories have been about the same: My firm is about 10 years old, and Modernism Week is about 10 years old. To be able to grow together has been really wonderful. To be able to produce the show house that’s affiliated with it, it’s really a dream come true.”

Kennedy has been involved with the redesigns of two modernist homes in the area, one belonging to former Dragnet star Jack Webb, and the first home that Liberace purchased in Palm Springs. However, Kennedy is particularly fascinated by the Kaufmann House, designed in 1946 by Richard Neutra.

He’s also amazed at what the Annenbergs did at their Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage.

“When you have people who have the vision and the resources, and (are) willing to invest those resources in creating something cutting-edge and monumental that stands the test of time, it’s pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s especially amazing when you watch MTV Cribs, and you see people who have the resources but don’t have the taste, and they don’t put something together like the Kaufmanns or the Annenbergs, who would hire the best architects in the world.”

Kennedy now has his own line of furniture and home accessories that he sells out of his office and storefront at 1590 S. Palm Canyon Drive.

“It’s expanding all the time,” he said. “We launched Christopher Kennedy Collection furniture about four years ago, and there are inspirations from art-deco to midcentury. It’s about 40 pieces of case goods, and it’s carried at the trade shows across the country. It’s been really fun to do and create pieces that someone can invite into their home and love.

We launched the candle line a few years ago, and the scents are based off of all the different scents of neighborhoods in Palm Springs.”

While Kennedy is undeniably a fan of midcentury modern architecture, he’s a bit more relaxed regarding the topic than others.

He weighed in on the controversy surrounding two office buildings on Tahquitz Canyon Way that were designed by modernist architect Hugh Kaptur; the current owner wants to tear them down, but the Palm Springs Architectural Advisory Committee scuttled those plans.

“I think it’s a balancing act. I don’t think everything is worth preserving. I’ve been in (one of those) particular buildings, and I have clients who were trying to lease a space in that

building, and it had its challenges,” he said. “I think Hugh Kaptur is a wonderful architect, but I’m not sure that’s his masterpiece, and I think we do need progress.”

He also expressed mixed feelings about the demolition of portions of downtown Palm Springs’ Spa Resort Casino. He said not all of it was worth saving—but one thing in particular bothered him.

“I think for them to throw (some of the) sculptures in the trash is just poor business,” he said. “Those sculptures were worth six figures easily, and for them to just throw them into the trash with the stucco, it kind of breaks my heart.”

Kennedy said he’s not surprised that Modernism Week has become such a renowned event, thanks in part to nostalgia for the era that gave birth to modernism.

“It’s been said that I’m sentimental and nostalgic, which is fine, because I own that,” he said. “To me, nostalgia isn’t just about a certain form; it’s about California glamour and an era when things were simple—when there was a certain standard of manners and common courtesy. I miss the days when people would dress up to get on airplanes, and when families would sit down to eat together, and you would talk and not text on phones. As a society, we’ve become increasingly fractured, and we have a collective yearning for the simpler, moregracious time.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MODERNISM WEEK’S CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY COMPOUND, VISIT WWW.THECHRISTOPHERKENNEDYCOMPOUND.COM.

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Fine Art for Dummies

The Palm Springs Fine Art Fair Offers a Great Experience for Collectors, Newbies and Even Kids

By Victor Barocas

1 PSFAF Photographer of the Year William Wegman: “I truly think that my pictures of dogs allow children—and their parents—to imagine and make up stories, and are a springboard to talk.”

2 “About Four Thirty,” by William Wegman (cropped). 3 “Prince of Prints” Jordan Schnitzer: “Don’t buy (art) for an investment; buy it because you want to live with it.”

he Fourth Annual Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, one of the season’s most anticipated fine-art events, is returning to the desert.

From Thursday evening, Feb. 12, through the late afternoon on Sunday, Feb. 15, the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair will take over the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Presidents Day weekend event has rapidly grown from a small set of exhibitors into a destination event for many in the art world. It’s a great venue to see a full range of modern and contemporary visual art.

“As someone who has been to the fair in past years, I’m looking forward to this year’s fair. It is always exciting to have the opportunity to show the artists I represent,” said Peter Blake, of Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach. “Even if I didn’t have a booth, coming to this fair is a given: It is a great opportunity to see what is going on in the art world.”

More than 14,000 visitors are expected to attend to this year’s fair, where 60 galleries from all over the globe—including galleries from France, South Korea, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Argentina—will show off art.

Jean Brody, from Chicago’s Jean Albano Gallery, has attended the PSAF before. “This is the first time I am actually exhibiting. There

is tremendous quality and diversity at this fair. I look forward to introducing attendees to artists, especially from the Midwest and East, who are rarely seen out here.”

Local galleries are getting in on the act, too; at least six Coachella Valley galleries will be participating.

“With so many people visiting the fair, we believe that our being here will introduce us to locals who don’t know about us, as well as (to) visitors to the desert,” said Michael Fiacco, the director of Archangel Gallery.

Jerry Hanson, a local artist who works in weaving and mixed media, said he enjoys gatherings such as the PSFAF because art is an experience that is meant to be talked about and shared—and not just by art experts.

“Since I received my degrees in art education, I become excited when people, especially children, comment about my work,” he said. “It is about the viewer taking it in. As no one is an expert, the conversation is about identifying why you like or dislike it, or how it makes you feel a certain way.”

William Wegman, who is being honored as the fair’s 2015 Photographer of the Year, is also passionate about introducing people to the arts.

“For years, my models have been my weimaraners (dogs); they have tremendously expressive faces and great dispositions,” said Wegman. “Since children tend to love to draw and look at animals, my photographs are accessible. I truly think that my pictures of dogs allow children—and their parents— to imagine and make up stories, and are a

springboard to talk.”

At the fair, the Imago Gallery will be displaying a number of Wegman’s photographs.

Peter Blake Gallery will be featuring the work of Tony DeLap, a man who helped define California art in the 1960s. Now in his 80s, DeLap’s art remains strong and innovative.

“I love showing Tony’s work in Palm Springs.” Blake said. “He is a master artist whose works, even if you don’t necessarily get them at first, are inviting. You want to look at them again.”

Blake said he enjoys discussing various works of art work with attendees. “It is especially gratifying when I can help others understand artists like Peter Alexander.”

With cast resin as his medium, Alexander became known in the late 1960s. A major force in California’s “Light and Space” movement, this artist’s works evoke a personal experience through his use of transparency, illumination and color optics. Alexander’s inspirations are frequently California landscapes and the Pacific Ocean. Complementing his smaller works, Alexander has also created major installations, including one at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Alexander will be talking about his work at the Peter Blake booth at the fair.

Local painter Alex Koleszar said the ability for artists, gallery owners and attendees to chat and mingle makes events like the PSIFF truly special.

“Having opportunities to come face-to-face with art is what makes it a highly personal experience,” he said.

New to this year’s fair is the Print Pavilion, which will give attendees an opportunity to spend more time with this ever-evolving, visually appealing medium.

Jordan Schnitzer, who has amassed the largest private print collection in the United States, is called the “Prince of Prints.” He’s developed a lending program for educational institutions throughout the country, in an effort to introduce different artistic expressions to varied audiences. Schnitzer will be giving a talk on prints during the fair.

“I can’t talk about art without reinforcing the importance of it being a family thing,” he said. “By taking children to the fair, you create family time that prompts conversations.

I don’t care if a child—or for that matter, their parents—do not like a particular piece of art. They can talk about the ‘why.’ It opens conversations. I am interested in the conversations.”

Schnitzer also recommends prints as a great way for beginners to start collecting art.

“You can most always find pieces that are affordable, and most every dealer lets you pay it off on time,” Schnitzer said, “Please remember one thing: Don’t buy it for an investment; buy it because you want to live with it.”

THE PALM SPRINGS FINE ARTS FAIR TAKES PLACE FROM THURSDAY, FEB. 12, THROUGH SUNDAY, FEB. 15, AT THE PALM SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER, 277 N. AVENIDA CABALLEROS, IN PALM SPRINGS. DAY PASSES START AT $15; VIP PASSES START AT $75. FOR PASSES OR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.PALMSPRINGSFINEARTFAIR.COM. CVIndependent.com

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CVI SPOTLIGHT: FEBRUARY 2015 personal friends, who have had no interest in midcentury modern architecture whatsoever, go on a tour … and fall completely in love with it,” he said.

Davis, who moved to Palm Springs after 30 years in the travel industry, speaks with a fervent passion for architecture; in part, he credits his upbringing near the architectural haven of Chicago for sparking that interest. He said he hopes locals and visitors alike can find something within Modernism Week to enjoy. Besides the tours, he gave a special shout-out to the 30 or so Modernism Week lectures—which, unlike many tours, don’t tend to sell out.

“It’s exciting to me,” he said about Modernism Week.

Modernism Week takes place Thursday, Feb. 12, through Sunday, Feb. 22. Ticket prices for the tours, lectures and other events vary. For tickets or more information, including a complete and up-to-date schedule, visit modernismweek.com.

—Jimmy Boegle

Tickets remained for the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood tour as of our press time.

JIM SCHNEPF/VISTA LAS PALMAS NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION VIA MODERNISMWEEK.COM

Tour Your Town During Modernism Week When it comes to Modernism Week’s various tours, there’s good news, and there’s bad news.

The good news: This year’s 10th-anniversary edition of Modernism Week features more tours than ever before. Mark Davis, the treasurer of Modernism Week’s board of directors (and Modernism Week’s unofficial tour guru), said that more than 20 neighborhood tours are being offered in 2015. That’s up from nine in 2014.

The bad news: A lot of these tours are already sold out. In other words, if you’re interested in learning more about the unique and groundbreaking architecture of the Coachella Valley, you’d better head to modernismweek.com and get your tickets now.

The speedy ticket sales are a testament to the fact that midcentury modern architecture is as popular as it’s ever been (or, well, at least more popular than it’s been since the actual midcentury modern era of the 1950s and ’60s).

“During the sad years, people didn’t appreciate what (midcentury architecture) was,” said Davis, who fell in love with Palm Springs and its architecture when he started coming to the area in 1996. “Now, many of these places are being restored.”

In fact, it’s because of Modernism Week and all of these ticket sales that many structures and landscapes are being restored to their original glory: Modernism Week is a nonprofit which turns the money from these tours over to various neighborhoods.

“Last year, $240,000 went right back to neighborhood groups” from ticket sales, he said.

“This year, it should be about $500,000. That’s cold, hard cash going back to the community.”

About which tours is Davis most excited? He mentioned a tour of midcentury modern homes in Indian Wells, of all places, adding that he’s been working on it since last August.

Then, alas, he said the tour had quickly sold out.

“We realized, ‘Hey, people really want to see new things,” he said.

Next, he mentioned a tour that, as of this writing, is not completely sold out: a walking tour of the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood, known as the “Rat Pack playground.”

“It’s such a beautiful neighborhood, and it’s mostly intact,” he said.

Finally, he mentioned another new tour, of the 1947 Trousdale homes of Tahquitz River Estates. As of this writing, tickets ($65) remained for this one-time tour, starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21.

“These were the most modern, current homes you could find anywhere,” he said about these 68-year-old Trousdales. (Similar homes can be found in the Trousdale Estates portion of Beverly Hills, FYI.) Now, if you’re not already a fan of architecture or the modernism movement, you may be asking yourself something to the effect of: Why should I care about a bunch of old, albeit really nice, houses? If that’s the case, Davis said you should consider a neighborhood tour anyway.

“Not everyone cares for (modernism), but I can’t tell you how many people, including CVIndependent.com

Azizi Gibson.

Street Wear in the 760 On Friday, Feb. 13, the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs will host an event featuring fashion and music—with a local twist.

The Seven|Six Trade Show is now in its fourth year; last year’s show was held at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs. The Seven|Six is the brainchild of Coachella Valley local Omar Czar. Full disclosure: I am involved with the Seven|Six Trade Show—and I can assure you that Czar is a “jack of all trades” when it comes to throwing these types of events. He handles everything from booking the musical acts, to bringing in vendors for the show.

For the upcoming show, Omar is looking to bring in more than 50 fashion brands. The Seven|Six is open to any brand that has a seasonal line and a website. These loose rules make it easier for smaller and/or lesser-known brands to get their products exposed to a larger audience.

The first half of the show is open exclusively to scouts from larger retailers.

“We’re making brands available that (weren’t previously) available to locals,” Czar said.

He added that one of their main goals of the show is to encourage local companies to push for more exposure. While many of the participating vendors come from Los Angeles, he wants local designers to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I do it for the locals,” he said. “The local people are our main supporters.”

The Seven|Six also features musical acts at each event. This show will feature hip-hop artist Azizi Gibson, an artist on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label. Several DJs will be playing, including All Night Shoes (that’s me!) and Seven|Six collaborator Oscar Smith IV, aka Captain OSIV. With a local focus and international state of mind, the Seven|Six has something for everyone at every event. Also: Keep an eye out for a Seven|Six retail location, coming soon to the valley.

The Seven|Six Trade Show will take place from noon to midnight, Friday, Feb. 13, at the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs, located at 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive.

Admission is free. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/thesevensixx.

—Alex Harrington

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ARTS & CULTURE

A MARATHON WITH FANTASTIC FRIENDS Desert Rose’s ‘Love! Valour!

Compassion!’ Is Fascinating Theater

Latino glamour boy who stirs up everything.

He manages to achieve something rare and difficult for an actor: Most performers want to be loved and admired, and Ramon inspires neither in us. Impressive.

But Terry Huber is the standout, so smoothly playing the dual roles of John and James. Not only is the physical achievement of playing two parts impressive; it’s amazing to witness the instant psychological changes between them created with minimal costuming, achieved primarily by body

language, attitude and voice. What an accomplishment!

This play runs through Feb. 15. Don’t miss it.

LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! IS PERFORMED AT 8 P.M., FRIDAY AND SATURDAY; AND 2 P.M., SUNDAY, THROUGH SUNDAY, FEB. 15, AT THE DESERT ROSE PLAYHOUSE, LOCATED AT 69620 HIGHWAY 111, IN RANCHO MIRAGE. TICKETS ARE $28 TO $30. FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 760-202-3000, OR VISIT WWW.DESERTROSEPLAYHOUSE.ORG.

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

By Valerie-Jean Hume on’t sit in the front row! director Jim Strait warned me. So, of course, that’s exactly where I sat.

I thought he was maybe trying to protect me from too much, um, in-your-face nudity, which is a key part of Love! Valour! Compassion!, now at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Rancho Mirage. Instead, the issue is that thanks to a cast of seven actors, smart blocking and the ingenious use of the small space’s set design, every square inch of the area is used— including the floor between the audience’s shoes and the first riser. Many times, those of us in the first row needed to quickly tuck our feet under our chairs as actors moved right by us.

The play is this year’s “Gay Heritage Production”: Desert Rose annually schedules a key play from gay theatrical history, and this, written by the amazing Terrence McNally, won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1995. (It was also made into a film in 1997.) It is set in 1994, at a country house in upstate New York, over three weekends, each of which is featured in its own act: Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day. You should also know this: The play lasts more than three hours. Yes! But don’t think you’ll squirm and fuss: The show is fascinating, and you’ll be glued to your seat.

The tech side is wonderful, with lighting by the gifted Phil Murphy, stage-managing by the eagle-eyed Steve Fisher, and costumes by Tom Valach. A couple of the sound cues could be re-thought, perhaps, and the splash effects could use some tinkering, but otherwise, the work is most excellent.

With seven or eight characters, a mob scene of confusion could result if casting choices were poor. However, producer Paul Taylor cleverly chose actors who have such distinctive and strong individual personalities that once we paste the name onto the face of each role, the characters stand out as clearly and unforgettably as your own friends.

Gregory is a successful choreographer who has invited friends to his idyllic country home (including a pond or lake perfect for skinnydipping) for the long weekend. They know each other in different ways, professionally or personally. His partner is Bobby, the sweetest and most spiritual guy ever, who is also blind.

Perry and Arthur, a 14-year-married couple, are a lawyer and an accountant, respectively.

To all appearances, they are living comfortably in the straight world. Sharply contrasting this, Buzz is an over-the-top, outrageous and

flamboyant character who lives for Broadway musical comedies. John is a failed playwright, British and bitter—and he brings the snake into this Eden, a dangerously beautiful Puerto Rican dancer named Ramon. We get to sit back and watch the relationships, the feelings, the friendships of them all.

In the second act, we meet a surprise: John has an identical twin brother, James, who joins the group. He is brilliantly played by the same actor (Terry Huber), switching back and forth with sometimes lightning-fast costume changes and attitudes. James is uptight John’s polar opposite; he’s sunny and funny. He arrives because of the silent unspoken cloud hanging over everyone back in 1995—AIDS … which he has.

Gregory is played by John Ferrare, the perfect leader—he has a lovely presence with natural leadership. His frustration with his creative blockage is utterly believable—it’s eating away at him while he suppresses his fears and hopes it will magically go away. His partner, Bobby, is Jason Hull, fragile, warm, sensitive and alarmingly vulnerable—prey in every way. Mark Demry plays Arthur the accountant, and is totally convincing as a blithe but buttoned-down, successful, toeing-the-line gentleman. His partner, Perry, played by J. Stegar Thompson, is the lawyer—experiencing the feelings for both of them. He carries deep hurts and rails at the world over injustices and bad drivers. Buzz, impressively acted by Kam Sisco, gets a lot of the laughs, with his flighty effervescence and cute attempts to imitate the queens of Broadway—yet his is the greatest arc, as he changes completely in Act 3, when we see his courage beneath the fluff. Richie Sandino is Ramon, the youthful

The cast of Desert Rose’s Love! Valour! Compassion!

CVIndependent.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

A NERD OF COLOR Western Lit: A Conversation With So Cal Writer Jervey Tervalon

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

BY MELISSA HART ervey Tervalon adores Los Angeles— and he wants you to adore it, too.

The author, who also teaches literature at the University of California at Santa Barbara, challenges the notion that New York City is the cultural center of the cosmos. “Los Angeles is wonderfully diverse,” he says. “I’ve been dedicating myself to creating a model in which L.A. never has to take a back seat to New York.”

Born in New Orleans, Tervalon grew up in South Central Los Angeles and earned his MFA at UC Irvine. He taught high school in L.A. and co-founded Literature for Life—a nonprofit online literary salon and journal dedicated to bringing the work of multi-ethnic local writers and artists into area schools.

His sixth and latest novel, Monster’s Chef, tells the story of a former drug addict who lands a job as personal chef to a wealthy but suspiciously reclusive hip-hop artist.

Melissa Hart recently interviewed Tervalon.

The author Héctor Tobar once wrote that you’ve been “engaged in a 20-year battle to be taken seriously as a writer who also happens to be African American and who most often writes about black people.”

My first book, Understand This, got great reviews and was taken seriously here in California when it came out in 1994, but The New York Times barely mentioned it, and I’ve not been mentioned again in the NYT. People in the literary world can be snobby—they think of themselves as post-racial, but 90 percent of The New York Times book reviews don’t represent authors of color.

Thankfully, there are West Coast institutions that are very helpful. … Why should we wait for New York publishing to have some kind of revelation? Instead, we’ve gone out to find the best-quality literature we can to put into Literature for Life that reflects the diversity of Los Angeles.

How have you adapted—or refused to adapt—to the literary world as an African-American writer?

I try not to listen to what people say about my work. … My newest book, Monster’s Chef, is all about issues of identity—what it means to be sexually ambiguous and racially compromised or identity compromised. People are constantly CVIndependent.com

Jervey Tervalon: “I read recently that black kids see themselves in textbooks 3 percent of the time, while Latino kids see themselves 1 percent of the time. That needs to be addressed.” JERVEY TERVALON FACEBOOK PAGE

misleading the reader and each other about who they are. My own identity is pretty complex. I come from New Orleans, where I’m considered black, but my mother was Irish.

We moved to a black neighborhood in Los Angeles, and I became a big strapping kid, so no one ever challenged me. I think of myself as a “pootbutt”—it means you’re a nerd. As a kid, I read everything I could get my hands on. Now, I think of my tribe as being a tribe of nerds of color. And that tribe is getting larger and larger.

You’ve been instrumental in organizing literary events in and around Los Angeles.

Why is it so important to talk about writing and literature?

At Locke High School, where students are largely African American and Latino, I’d teach American literature and photocopy work

by Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, Pablo Neruda. One day, I brought a fictional story about a girl being raped and a guy getting shot, and this one black kid read it, and he said, “This isn’t a real story, is it?” He thought it wasn’t legitimate because it was interesting. … I read recently that black kids see themselves in textbooks 3 percent of the time, while Latino kids see themselves 1 percent of the time.

That needs to be addressed. Publishing houses are extremely white, which creates a selfperpetuating machine. Every so often, a Junot Diaz or a Sandra Cisneros breaks through, but textbooks haven’t changed substantially.

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ARTS & CULTURE

JUST BEAUTIFUL

H. Chris Brown and Regina Randolph Make CV Rep’s ‘Having Our Say’ a Touching Triumph

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

By Valerie-Jean (V.J.) Hume eautiful. They are just … beautiful.

At Coachella Valley Repertory’s first performance of Having Our Say, the gentle Delany Sisters stole our hearts. (With CV Rep’s permission, the Independent reviewed the first preview performance, rather than the opening-night show, so the review could make our February print deadline.) These two ladies charmed the packed house from their first words. Their stories and memories will make you laugh often, and you’ll find yourself misty-eyed at least once or twice.

The actresses are H. Chris Brown, playing 101-year-old Dr. Bessie Delany, and Regina Randolph, playing her 103-year-old sister, Miss Sadie Delany. Both give magnificently multilayered performances that fascinate and delight. Oh—and don’t call them “black” or even “African American.” They tell us they prefer “Negro” or “colored.” Interesting, eh?

We knew going in that words like “actionpacked” or “a dizzying ride” were not going to be part of this play’s review. However, what we weren’t expecting was to be so completely enchanted by the Delany girls. In fact, having seen what the years can do to some people, the prospect of a play featuring two centenarians could be a little scary. But from the start, we meet two ladies who are—although a wee bit slow-moving, perhaps—articulate, thoughtful, intelligent and dignified, with lovely senses of humor and slices of life worth talking about.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s plenty in Emily Mann’s script to make us squirm uncomfortably: mentions of Jim Crow laws, racial prejudice, lynchings and the fact that their father was actually born into slavery.

But director Ron Celona has shrewdly juxtaposed the stark black-and-white historical photographs, shown on a flat screen disguised as a painting, against the colorful, three-part

set of the Delanys’ wallpapered living room, dining room and warm kitchen.

The book Having Our Say, which the real Delany sisters wrote, was published in 1993, and this play is set in that same year. Do you expect to reach the age of 100? Well, these gals give you their recipe for longevity! Coming from a family of 10 children, the sisters think a lot about their parents and siblings. They speak, in their musical Southern accents, with inherent wisdom, discussing music, sex, values, men, education, taxes, entertainers, how they became professional career women, and survival against all odds. They talk about the special sense of humor of oppressed people.

They talk about turning 100. (“The worst day of my life!” declares one of them.) They tell the truth about what it’s like to be, in their words, Negro.

Imagine actually knowing someone, living with someone, for 100 years. The Delanys show us what it’s like—and that alone would be fascinating. But the 20th century was quite interesting, and we get to see it from their point of view. What was their part in protest movements? How did their strong faith hold up in tough times? Why was higher education so important to them? I wonder what they’d think of the 21st century so far!

These graceful performances, developed under Celona’s steady and confident hand, will stay in your heart. This kind of audience engagement is the touchstone of professionalism and experience.

CV Rep’s technical-team members all lend their considerable talents to the mix: stage manager Karen Goodwin, set designer Jimmy Cuomo, costume designer Aalsa Lee, lights

by Eddie Cancel, sound by Randy Hansen, props by Doug Morris, and superstar Lynda Shaeps creating the excellent makeup and hair.

Everything works, so you can sit back, relax and let the magic happen.

And magic does happen. In a two-person play, with sisters yet, we need to see both the many similarities and the differences between these ladies; I won’t give away what those are. A lot of thought has gone into these performances, and the payoff is the audience’s spontaneous reactions of both hearty laughter and tears of empathy. It’s one thing to make

us believe intellectually, with our heads, but entirely another to provoke our emotional responses, in our souls. When a terrific script, surefire direction and lovely performances all come together, as they do here, we fly away to another time and place … and in this case, land in the laps of the sweet Delany sisters.

When I asked actor Gavin MacLeod what he thought of the show, he smiled and said, “I want to take them home with me!”

The play runs through Feb. 8, and is dangerously close to selling out, so get your tickets ASAP. You don’t want to miss this show.

Because it’s … just beautiful.

HAVING OUR SAY IS PERFORMED AT 7:30 P.M., WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY; AND 2 P.M., SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, THROUGH SUNDAY, FEB. 8, AT COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY, AT 69930 HIGHWAY 111, NO. 116, IN RANCHO MIRAGE. THE SHOW RUNS TWO HOURS, WITH TWO INTERMISSIONS, AND TICKETS ARE $45. FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 760-296-2966, OR VISIT CVREP.ORG.

H. Chris Brown and Regina Randolph in CV Rep’s Having Our Say. CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY THEATER A Chorus Line—From Palm Canyon Theatre The legendary musical about a group of performers auditioning for a Broadway show takes place at 7 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 8. $32 to $36. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760-323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.

CV Rep Writers’ Drop-In Group Andy Harmon facilitates this group for all writers who are interested in becoming better storytellers, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14 and 28. $15 payable at the class. At the Atrium, 69930 Highway 111, No. 116, Rancho Mirage. 760-296-2966; www.cvrep.org.

Duck and Cover—From Dezart Performs This play about 1962 America—and specifically, the trials and tribulations of 12-year-old Stevie Whitebottom—makes its West Coast premiere at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2:30 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 8. $22 to $25. At the Pearl McManus Theater in the Palm Springs Womans Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, Palm Springs. 760-322-0179; dezartperforms.org.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum—From Palm Canyon Theatre The famous play about slave Pseudolus’ attempts to help his young master earn the love of a courtesan named Philia is performed at 7 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, March 8. $32 to $36. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.

CVIndependent.com

Having Our Say—From CV Rep The Delany sisters—Sadie, 103 years old, and Bessie, 101—take the audience on a journey through the last 100 years of our nation’s history, from their perspectives as African-American professionals, at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 8. $45. At the Atrium, 69930 Highway 111, No. 116, Rancho Mirage. 760-2962966; www.cvrep.org.

I Totally Know What You Did Last Donna Summer—From Palm Canyon Theatre This musical by Dane Whitlock melds slasher-movie tropes, 1990s films and Donna Summer hits at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14; and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 15. $28. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.

An Ideal Husband—From Theatre 29 Blackmail, political corruption, intrigue, romance and razor-sharp wit abound in equal measure in this piece of satire by Oscar Wilde, performed at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, through Saturday Feb. 7; there is also a matinee show at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 1. $12 regular; $10 seniors and military; $8 children and students. At 73637 Sullivan Road, Twentynine Palms. 760-3614151; theatre29.org.

Jack—From College of the Desert Dramatic Arts This humorous twist on the fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” takes place at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28; and 3 p.m., Sunday, March 1.

Prices TBA. At the Pollock Theatre at College of the Desert, 43400 Monterey Ave., Palm Desert. 760-773-2565; codperformingarts.com.

Love! Valour! Compassion!—From Desert Rose Playhouse Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play about a group of longtime gay friends is performed at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 15. $28 to $30. At 69260 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage.

760-202-3000; www.desertroseplayhouse.org.

McCallum Theatre A sing-along to the film Grease takes place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 1; $15 to $20. Midtown Men reunites four stars from the original cast of Broadway’s Jersey Boys at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4; $35 to $55. Supreme Reflections is a tribute to Diana Ross and The Supremes featuring the Desert Symphony, taking place at 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5; $45 to $95. Memphis: The Musical features the songs of underground dance clubs in 1950s Tennessee at 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 10 and 11; $45 to $95. The classic musical comedy Guys and Dolls takes the McCallum stage at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 15; $35 to $105. Hershey Felder stars in George Gershwin Alone at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 1; $25 to $75. At the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert. 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre. com.

Urinetown: The Musical—From Theatre 29 This comedic tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a Gotham-like city at a time when water is extremely scarce is performed at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, from Friday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 28; there are also matinee shows at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 8 and 22. $12 regular; $10 seniors and military; $8 children and students. At 73637 Sullivan Road, Twentynine Palms. 760-361-4151; theatre29.org.

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FEBRUARY ARTS Music and More Brian Stokes Mitchell in Stepping Out Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell returns to the McCallum stage for Stepping Out for College of the Desert, an enchanting evening of music in support of the College of the Desert Foundation. 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 18. $65 to $125. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert.

760-773-2561; mccallumtheatre.com.

Cabaret 88: Billy Stritch The award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist and jazz pianist breathes new life into the Great American Songbook, while bringing an easy sense of humor and showmanship to his performances.

6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17. $88. Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. 760-325-4490; www.psmuseum.org.

An Evening With Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole has captivated audiences throughout her performing career, from the Broadway stage to TV series and films. 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21. $60 to $75. Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. 760-325-4490; www.psmuseum.org.

Gardens on El Paseo Concert Series Sip some wine, sway to the music and drink in the scenery. A reception begins at 5:15 p.m. followed by a live musical performance from 6 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Each week features a different artist and benefits a charity. Feb. 7: Heatwave, benefiting the Eisenhower Medical Center. Feb. 14: Terry Wollman, benefiting VNA. Feb. 21: Zen Robbi, benefiting the Palm Desert High School Foundation. Feb. 28: John Stanley King Band, benefiting the YMCA of the Desert. $12; includes two glasses of wine and refreshments. The Gardens on El Paseo, 73545 El Paseo, Palm Desert.

760-862-1990; www.thegardensonelpaseo.com/events.

The Heart of a Gypsy Troubadour This intimate and personal look inside a life well

lived is written and performed by Richard Byford.

4 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3. $15. Tolerance Education Center, 35147 Landy Lane, Rancho Mirage. 760328-8252; toleranceeducationcenter.org.

Jazzoo Concert Series: Jazzy Romance for Your Valentine Join friends and members of The Living Desert community. Featuring vocalist Carol Bach-Y-Rita, this promises to be a great afternoon of jazz for lovers and friends. 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8. $45; Living Desert members $35. The Living Desert, 47900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert. 760-346-5694, ext. 2166; www.livingdesert.org.

Shows at the Indian Wells Theater Enjoy the songs of Elvis, Frank and Neil Diamond in American Trilogy, at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6; and 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8. Bethany Owen performs her one-woman show at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14.

A tribute to the Beach Boys takes place at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27. A tribute to The Beatles occurs at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28. $40; Feb. 8 matinee $30.

Indian Wells Theater, 37500 Cook St., Palm Desert.

760-341-6909; pdc.csusb.edu/eventsTheater.html.

The USO Variety Show The USO has been entertaining troops worldwide in times of peace and war for more 70 years. Now, the Bob Hope USO needs you to laugh, enjoy and have some fun remembering the good ol’ times. Join us for a live nostalgic tribute to Bob Hope and his band of Hollywood celebs; enjoy free tours of the museum pre- or post-show time. 2 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 19. $55 to $75. Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs. 760-778-6262; palmspringsvacationtravel.com.

perform at Party On from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28; $45 to $55.

University of California at Riverside—Palm Desert, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert. 760-2024007; www.bettekingproductions.com.

Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Come to “Frank’s Little Party in the Desert!” Two fabulous days of golf and three nights of parties join auctions and world-class entertainment.

Various times Thursday, Feb. 19, through Saturday, Feb. 21. Prices vary. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino’s Eagle Falls Golf Course, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio. 760-674-8447; www.franksinatragolf.org.

Gourmet Food Truck Event Try food trucks for lunch featuring burgers, barbecue, tacos, California cuisine, sushi and dessert. Outdoor seating is available, or bring a blanket. Dabble in the local farmers’ market; listen to music provided by The Coachella Valley Art Scene; enjoy a beer garden with some of the best craft beers from La Quinta Brewing Company and Coachella Valley Brewing Company.

11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the first Sunday of the month. Free. Cathedral City Civic Center Plaza, 68700 Avenue Lalo Guerrero, Cathedral City.

Thecoachellavalleyartscene.com.

International Bear Convergence 2015 The four-day event for bears and their admirers includes themed pool parties at the Renaissance Hotel, as well as parties at bars and clubs, excursions and other events. Various times Thursday, Feb. 12, through Sunday, Feb. 15. Prices vary; walk-in registration $175. Renaissance Palm Springs, 888 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs. 760-537-0891; Ibc-ps.com.

Special Events

New Balance Palm Springs Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay and 5k This Southern California favorite features courses through some of the most famous neighborhoods in Palm Springs. Everyone is allowed to finish, and there is no cut-off time. 7 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 8. Registration prices vary. Ruth Hardy Park, 700 Tamarisk Lane, Palm Springs. Kleinclarksports. com/Half-Marathon.

Canada/Snowbird Fest 2015: Party On Party On with Dennis Lambert, an award-winning singer/songwriter/producer. Other guest stars include Red Robinson, famous Canadian disc jockey and voiceover artist; Bethany Owen, celebrity impressionist; and Peter Beckett of Player. The festival and resource fair takes place 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 1; $8. The entertainers

Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival The county fair includes a nightly musical pageant, entertainment, monster truck and BMX shows, camel and ostrich races, date and produce displays, arts and crafts, carnival rides and great fair food. Concerts included with fair admission.

10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 22; carnival open until midnight

on weekends. Prices vary. Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82503 Highway 111, Indio. 800-811FAIR; www.datefest.org.

Tour De Palm Springs Bike Event The event is designed to raise money for local nonprofit organizations. Palm Springs’ famous weather, gorgeous scenery and thousands of bike-riders make the Tour de Palm Springs a fundraising event like no other. 6:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 14. Registration prices vary. Starts in downtown Palm Springs on North Palm Canyon Drive. 760-674-4700; www.tourdepalmsprings.com.

Visual Arts Art Under the Umbrellas The event presents a diverse collection of 80 talented artists exhibiting their original creations along Old Town La Quinta’s picturesque Main Street. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7 and 14.

Free. Old Town La Quinta, Main Street, La Quinta.

760-564-1244; lqaf.com.

Desert Art Festival This event features numerous artists presenting their original work in all mediums of two- and three-dimensional fine art, including paintings in acrylic, oils and watercolors, photography, etchings, sculpture in clay, glass, metal, stone and wood. Each artist will be present to meet with the public and discuss their work. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday, Feb. 13-15. Free. Frances Stevens Park, 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 818-813-4478; westcoastartists.com.

Paint Nite: Fall Bloom In about two hours, while you’re sipping on a cocktail, artists will guide you so that you come up with your own unique masterpiece at the end of the night. Everything you will need is provided: canvas, paints, brushes and even a smock. 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 2, $45. Pizzeria Villagio Italian Kitchen, 37029 Cook St., Palm Desert. 760-5674761; www.paintnite.com.

SUBMIT YOUR FREE ARTS LISTINGS AT CALENDAR. ARTSOASIS.ORG. THE LISTINGS PRESENTED ABOVE WERE ALL POSTED ON THE ARTSOASIS CALENDAR, AND FORMATTED/ EDITED BY COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT STAFF. THE INDEPENDENT RECOMMENDS CALLING TO CONFIRM ALL EVENTS INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE.

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FEBRUARY 2015

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

FEBRUARY 2015

MOVIES

THE VIDEO DEPOT

TOP 10 LIST

COMING ATTRACTIONS

for January 2015

A Look Ahead at the Next 11 Months of Movies

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MOVIES

By Bob Grimm he year is loaded with intriguing movie releases! Here, we have listed but a small sampling. Keep in mind that all dates are subject to change, and the only thing that really matters is there is a new Star Wars movie coming out in December.

Well, actually, the fact that new Twin Peaks, Wet Hot American Summer and Evil Dead stories are going into production this year matters— but those are all happening on television. TV is getting really cool!

But we’re not here to talk about TV; we’re here to talk about the next 11 months of movies. Here we go!

Jupiter Ascending (Feb. 6): The longdelayed next picture from the Wachowskis (The Matrix) looks … goofy. Mila Kunis, who is quite lovable but simply can’t act, and Channing Tatum co-star. Tatum has what looks like Vulcan ears and some really bad haircuts in this one.

Fifty Shades of Grey (Feb. 13): If you are excited about this movie, I weep for you and the souls of your present and future children.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (Feb. 20): If you are excited about this sequel, which is sans John Cusack … well, you are excused. It does look pretty funny.

Chappie (March 6): Neill Blomkamp (District 9) makes a movie about a kidnapped robot. I would much rather see that Alien 5 thing he was supposedly working on.

Insurgent (March 20): A sequel to Divergent, aka a sequel to a humongous piece of crap.

Zombeavers (March 20): This is a film about zombie beavers. I don’t think it is getting a major release, but I just had to mention it.

Furious 7 (April 3): I’m thinking some cars drive around really fast and stuff in this one.

Ex_Machina (April 10): Alex Garland, who wrote 28 Days Later, directs this film about the complications of a world part inhabited by very realistic robots.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1): Supermega summer-movie season basically kicks off with the second Avengers movie. This one has Steff from Pretty in Pink (James Spader) voicing the evil title character.

Mad Max: Fury Road (May 15): After many false starts and the jettisoning of Mel Gibson, George Miller brings his iconic

character back with Tom Hardy in the big role, and Charlize Theron sporting a shaved head.

Warren Beatty Movie That Has No Name Yet (May 21): Warren Beatty plays Howard Hughes … old Howard Hughes. Beatty directs for the first time in 17 years.

Tomorrowland (May 22): George Clooney stars for director Brad Bird in a film that may or may not have something to do with the Disney attraction. This is a passion project for Bird, who passed up directing the next Star Wars in order to make it.

Entourage (June 5): I went through an Entourage phase. It ended well before Sasha Grey joined the cast.

Jurassic World (June 12): Judging by the trailer, this looks awful. Like, really awful.

Domesticated raptors running along Chris Pratt’s motorcycle? What are they thinking?

Inside Out (June 19) and The Good Dinosaur (Nov. 25): These would be the TWO Pixar movies you are getting in 2015. Feel blessed.

Terminator: Genisys (July 1): Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been box-office poison as of late, looks to perk things up in yet another cyborg movie. It looks better than that Jurassic Park sequel.

Ant-Man (July 17): Edgar Wright was supposed to direct Paul Rudd in the latest from Marvel. He is not directing any more. I am worried.

Poltergeist (July 24): Normally, I would not be excited about yet another remake. But this stars Sam Rockwell, so I am marginally excited about yet another remake.

Pixels (July 24): Adam Sandler and other nerds are hired to fight 1980s-era video gamevillains attacking New York City. This may be one of the greatest films ever made. I’m not being sarcastic.

Fantastic Four (Aug. 7): Fox is trying again.

Miles Teller of Whiplash fame plays the rubber guy; Kate Mara plays the invisible woman; Michael B. Jordan is The Human Torch; and Jamie Bell (yes, that Jamie Bell) is The Thing.

Sounds really weird.

The Walk (Oct. 2): When Philippe Petit walked between the Twin Towers on a tightrope in the 1970s, I was a totally freaked-out little kid. Now, with Robert Zemeckis directing and Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring in a re-creation of one of history’s greatest stunts, I expect to be totally freaked out as an adult.

Yeah, there’s a new Terminator film coming up this year. But let’s face it: Nobody really cares, because there’s a new Star Wars movie coming, too.

Vacation (Oct. 9): Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo return, but this one is more about a grown-up Rusty (Ed Helms) taking his family on a trip. It all seems kind of farty.

Crimson Peak (Oct. 16): This gothic haunted-house story is another one of the projects Guillermo del Toro wanted to make instead of getting bogged down in Hobbit hell.

Based on Pacific Rim, del Toro made the right choice. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

Knock Knock (Oct. 28): Let’s see if Keanu Reeves can stay on a roll after John Wick. This one is directed by Eli Roth, who also directed Cabin Fever, Hostel and The Green Inferno, a cannibal movie that got caught up in litigation and was supposed to be released in 2014, but wasn’t. Actually, I’m far more interested in seeing The Green Inferno than Knock Knock.

Spectre (Nov. 6): James Bond is back with both Daniel Craig and Skyfall director Sam Mendes returning.

The Peanuts Movie (Nov. 6): Charlie Brown gets an updated, more detailed look, and it seems like they’ve done a good of job nailing the voices. I will be there, York Peppermint Patties in hand.

The Hateful Eight (Nov. 13): Quentin Tarantino does another Western. Django Unchained was his weakest movie, but I do cherish the idea of Tarantino going wild in the West again.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 (Nov. 20): The games come to a conclusion, and Jennifer Lawrence gets freed up to do other things. Rumor has it she wants to be a Ghostbuster.

Midnight Special (Nov. 25): Jeff Nichols, the man who gave us Mud and Take Shelter, returns with Michael Shannon as a dad who

Scarlett Johansson in Lucy.

1. Lucy (Universal) 2. Gone Girl (20th Century Fox) 3. A Walk Among the Tombstones (Universal) 4. Fury (Sony) 5. The Book of Life (20th Century Fox) 6. No Good Deed (Sony) 7. The Judge (Warner Bros.)

8. The Boxtrolls (Universal) 9. Annabelle (Warner Bros.)

10. The Drop (20th Century Fox)

discovers his son has special powers.

Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens (Dec. 18): In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Star Wars on the horizon, and J.J. Abrams, the man who made Star Trek cool again, is at the helm. Harrison Ford … Han Solo. That is all that needs to really be said about this.

Mission: Impossible 5 (Dec. 25): Yes …

Cruise is still making these.

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FEBRUARY 2015

FOOD & DRINK

the SNIFF CAP

Drinking With the Top 20

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Deidre Pike bright pink sky glows over trees and rooftops west of Berkeley. In our glasses glows the 2011 Boneshaker zinfandel—a relic of Lodi’s now-closed Cycles Gladiator Wines.

I’m visiting a friend, and she’s enjoying the Boneshaker. She almost always likes zinfandel. I note the grape’s plebian heritage. The grape of the people.

My friend doesn’t drink much these days, she says—a glass or two of wine a month. And she’s selective. An earlier bottle of wine, an average pinot noir, didn’t make the cut and sits open and forlorn on the counter.

The Boneshaker is robust, ripe, spicy with a teensy bit of smoke.

I’m loving it, knowing I won’t be getting more unless parent company Hahn Family Wines resurrects the brand.

I will miss the Boneshaker zin.

Our conversation turns back to quantities of wine consumed per month. My friend’s dryish habits put her in the midrange of U.S. alcohol consumption, according to Philip J. Cook’s book Paying the Tab. Cook’s findings were featured in a Washington Post story, “Think You Drink a Lot?” Catchy title, right?

Bottom line: About 30 percent of adults in the United States don’t drink. The next 30 percent drink moderately, like my friend, a glass or two per month or week.

If you drink a glass of wine daily, you’re in the top 30 percent. Two glasses of wine, top 20 percent.

Drum roll, please: To break into the top 10 percent of U.S. adults, you need to drink slightly more than two bottles of wine a day.

I know. It’s wild, right? The top 10 percent of U.S. adults swill down 74 drinks per week— more than 10 drinks per day.

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“No way,” my friend says. “I don’t believe that 10 percent of American adults are alcoholics.”

We pull up the statistics that Cook used in his research, which came from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The numbers don’t square with my friend’s environment, featuring 30-somethings who simply don’t drink much. They are smart professionals who work hard, relax healthfully and cook organically.

“That can’t be accurate,” we conclude.

“Something’s missing.”

It’s cool to live in the United States, where we can accept or dismiss scientific evidence based on our own life experiences. (Note to my students: The last sentence exemplifies sarcasm.)

My love of red, red wine puts me in the top 30 percent. I’m comfortable with that. In fact, I’m blissed out about the numbers. At least I am not a two-bottle-a-day’er! Imagine that. I

couldn’t afford it, for one thing.

Perhaps my wine craving is linked to the complexity of its DNA. That’s the theory of Tool’s lead singer, Arizona winemaker Maynard James Keenan. He talks about why people groove on wine in the documentary Blood Into Wine, referencing the movie The Fifth Element. He compares the DNA of grapes to the genetic superiority of the movie’s fictional super-humanish character, Leeloo. “Me fifth element—supreme being. Me protect you.”

That’s a cute scene.

Grapes are genetically more complex that other fruit. Hell, wine grapes are genetically more complex than humans. Italian researchers mapped the pinot noir genome, and Vitis vinifera pinot noir has about 30,000 genes in its DNA. Humans have 20,000 to 25,000.

“Wine grapes are so much more evolved and so much more complex … with so much more history,” Keenan says, “which is probably on some level why we respond to (wine) and embrace it. It’s a supreme being.”

The jury’s out on whether wine, in moderation, is good for you. From aforementioned study: “Given grape’s content of resveratrol, quercetin and ellagic acid, grape products may contribute to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular and other diseases.”

Then again, one study of dietary resveratrol’s impact on long-term health didn’t confirm a positive link.

I believe in wine’s innate goodness. I dig choosing a bottle of wine from our modest collection, and anticipating its genetic complexities as I rotate metal down into the cork. I adore that first whiff of fermented

DEIDRE PIKE

grapes. The color of garnet or plum streaming into my glass. The viscous liquid revolving as I swirl. Inhaled esters. The first sip, savored on my tongue. Warmth in my throat. Then the finish, finale, fireworks—suture, catharsis, completion.

I love wine. And with the next sip, it begins again. he sun’s out there somewhere, drooping over a grey swath of Pacific visible between trees and fog. I’m visiting a winemaker friend and his partner. And guess what we’re talking about?

Yup, it’s Cook’s book, and the top 10 percent of U.S. adults downing 10 drinks a day. Here, these stats are met with cool acceptance, shrugs and nods. We recall relatives and friends who drink a case of beer a day.

My friend’s 2009 nebbiolo is on the table, in our glasses, in my mouth like groovy velvet.

When the Italian researchers mapped the wine grape genome, they found more than 100 genes whose sole purpose was flavor. That’s twice as many as most plants.

“In Italy, I guess a nebbiolo that’s this old would be a Barolo or a Barbaresco,” my friend notes. Indeed, nebbiolo is the noble grape that matures into these bomb-ass wines from either of these regions in Northern Italy.

Genetic complexity. Swirl liquid in glass, inhale, tip to lips.

Wine tastes. So. Ahh.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

FEBRUARY 2015

the

FOOD & DRINK A Chat With Joshua Kunkle, the President of the Coachella Valley Homebrew Club

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Erin Peters eer culture stretches back more than 4,000 years—and for much of that time, beer was primarily made by amateurs.

The more things change, the more things stay the same: Homebrewing today is on a meteoric rise in the United States.

Since 1978, the American Homebrewers Association (www. homebrewersassociation.org) has promoted the joys of homebrewing. The organization now has more than 43,000 members. An American Homebrewers Association survey done in the earlier part of 2014 estimated that there were at least 1.3 million homebrewers in the U.S. The hobby has been growing at a rate of 20 percent per year in the last five years—oh, and a lot more women are joining in, too.

I recently spoke with Joshua Kunkle, who has been brewing since October 2007 and is now the president of the Coachella Valley Homebrew Club (www. coachellavalleyhomebrewers.org). Club meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of the month, at Coachella Valley Brewing Co., starting at 7 p.m.

Unlike most homebrewers, Kunkle began by making alcoholic ciders, after returning home from France. He was living in San

Francisco at the time, and sought out local brew-supply shops that sold the appropriate equipment. It came with a free batch of grains to brew beer.

“I did the beer, and the beer turned out better than I thought it would,” he said. “And when I finally got around to making the cider, it was so much of a bitch to do that, I thought, ‘I’m going to stick with the beer. It’s a lot less work, for a lot better product.’ That spurred me into trying different things, and along the way, every time I made a mistake, it turned out to be kind of serendipity in my favor, so that helped me learn new things.”

He later moved back to Southern California—Murietta, specifically.

“I was living over at my parents’ house, which is on five acres, and that gave me impetus to expand the operation and start

Joshua Kunkle, the president of the Coachella Valley Homebrew Club, has won awards for the beer he’s produced using his homemade beer-making system.

working my way to all-grain,” he said. “Once I started doing all-grain, that’s when I started building all my equipment.”

That’s right: He’s built his own beer-making equipment. The move also showed him how place can affect the beer-making process.

“On one hand, the beer was slightly better at my parents’ house in Murietta, because they lived on a well system. But on the other hand, the weather was perfect for brewing in San Francisco. The temperatures do fluctuate there more in Southern California.”

Kunkle’s system includes a 4-foot-by4-foot-by-8 foot insulated, temperaturecontrolled box; it started out as an armamentstorage box belonging to his grandfather.

There’s a door on the side and a lid that opens at the top. He has the ability to put as much as 70 gallons in it at one time. In half of the box, he’s got a hole cut out with some PVC pipe, a window air-conditioning unit, and a thermostat. He even has a dual-stage controller, to run two different circuits—air conditioning or heating, depending on the weather.

As for the system itself, it was built with a slight pyramid shape to center the gravity in the middle, minimizing the risk of tilting.

Each side sits in a set of tracks with heavyduty wheels, which take the load when the plates holding the pots are being lifted. Using this system, Kunkle has won several medals, including Best of Show at the 2013 Props and Hops Homebrew Competition.

He’s found that temperature control is the key to preparing his award-winning beers.

“I’m dealing with a living organism; I should treat it with respect,” Kunkle said.

“I used to joke: ‘You should treat yeast like people.’ If you fluctuate the temperature, hot, cold, hot, cold, you get sick. I imagine yeast is the same way. Your beer is a result of that, for better or for worse. The idea is, you’re creating a nice environment for them.”

His two favorite homebrews have been a Trappist-style honey-orange pale ale, and a “Braggot”-style hybrid-beer—actually a form

Want to start learning more about homebrewing? Here are some online resources to consider: • Beer Conscious Training (beerconscious.com) offers beer training and learning videos for those interested in passing exams like the Cicerone Certification Program, the Beer Judge Certification Program and Beer Steward Certificate Program.

• Beer Smith (beersmith.com) is a homebrewers’ dream resource, with answers to just about any question or roadblock. It also has informative video blogs from seasoned homebrew professionals.

• Better Beer Scores (www.betterbeerscores.com) is a Colorado-based company that offers webinar programs to learn more about craft-beer styles and homebrewing. It also features programs to help people prep for beer exams.

• Craft Beer University (www.craftbeeru.com) is an online school offering Beer Judge Certification Program exam-prep courses, as well as other Internet-based educational services to improve home-brewing skills. of mead made with honey and barley malt, using nitrogen after fermentation.

Like most homebrewers, Kunkle isn’t afraid to experiment. He’s even brewed with wormwood, taking concepts from absinthe.

He has ambitious plans for the Homebrew Club.

“I told the club at the last meeting that I want to be part of the community a lot more,” he said. “I want to get our name out there; I want people to know who we are—that we’re not just a bunch of drunk guys sitting around.

“There is a science behind this. There is biology and chemistry. This is a smart people’s sport. You can learn a lot about the art of it.”

He also wants the club’s meetings to have more of a focus on teaching.

“It’s nice trying different beers, but sometimes, a lot of people come to the meetings hoping to learn something,” Kunkle said. “So I’d like to use the meetings as a means of getting people together and learning: ‘Tonight, we’re going to learn why an IPA is an IPA,’ or why sanitation is a good thing.”

Kunkle works full-time as a reference librarian, and brewing feeds his desire to constantly learn.

“I live by the ethos that if I’m not learning something, I’m dying,” he said.

TO READ AN EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS STORY, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH THREE OTHER HOMEBREWERS, AND MORE INFORMATION ON HOMEBREWING TRENDS, HEAD TO CVINDEPENDENT.COM. CVIndependent.com

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FOOD & DRINK

CHEF TO THE PRESIDENTS Meet Tom Hogan, Who Has Cooked for Five Leaders of the Free World WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Brane Jevric t 6 foot 5 inches tall, Palm Springs chef Tom Hogan stands above the crowd.

His stature doesn’t just involve his height. He stands out because he’s cooked for five presidents: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. That’s quite a resume for a chef who calls the desert home, and has done so off and on since 2005.

Chef Tom started learning the trade as a kid at his aunt’s hotel in Atlantic City, right on the Boardwalk.

“I’d go down there to vacation with my parents, but I’d rather stay in the hotel’s kitchen with chefs, fascinated with cooking,” Hogan said.

From then on, Hogan, 53, followed his gastronomical passion.

“My first job was in my birthplace, Holyoke, Mass., at The Log Cabin, one of the first farmto-table restaurants in New England during the late ’70s,” he proudly states. “After that, I moved to L.A. and got a job at the Hard Rock Hotel.”

Hogan’s career took off following his apprenticeship at the renowned Beverly Hills Hotel. He continued his culinary education under the tutelage of Elka Gilmore, a pioneer chef in fusion cuisine. Hogan later joined the Along Came Mary catering company, famous for its service to stars and Hollywood studios.

Hogan then reached for the stars himself—the movie stars, that is. His cooking for celebs such as Barbra Streisand eventually led to attention from the political world.

“Reagan was the first president I cooked for,” Hogan said. “It was a small intimate gathering for 12 people in L.A. … President Reagan entered the kitchen. He said: ‘Boys, what are we having for dinner? Mommy said we’re going out peas!’ I thought it was a little odd. Then Nancy came in and said, ‘Hi, guys, I heard we’re going to have a great meal!’ She held the president’s hand and led him out of the kitchen.”

He later cooked for Jimmy Carter at a large gathering in L.A. “Security was very tight, but Carter came into the kitchen. He gravitated toward me. He asked me my name and where I was from. We talked a little about my father, who was a postman. We had a nice conversation. He gave me a tap on the shoulder and shook my hand.”

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Chef Tom Hogan: “I found (President Obama) and President Clinton to be extremely charismatic.

The moment they’d walk into the room, they both immediately became the epicenter of attention.”

BRANE JEVRIC

For President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle, he prepared a buffet with roasted baby veggies, rosemary potatoes and shrimp cocktail.

“President Bush and Vice President Quayle were getting off the plane at the Santa Monica Airport,” Hogan said. “… We were unhappy with where the kitchen was set up. It was in an airport hangar, and although I was told I’d meet President Bush, I didn’t get a chance to do so.”

On another occasion, President Clinton, delighted by Hogan’s fried chicken, asked to meet the chef.

“It was a fundraiser at a private estate in Malibu,” Hogan said. “President Clinton asked the host of the party, ‘Who made this fried chicken?’ … I told him that I created that recipe for Streisand’s Prince of Tides premiere.

We talked for maybe five minutes, about my fried chicken, basically. I told him, ‘I’m just a Yankee.’ He started laughing.”

Then there was a fundraiser for President Obama.

“I think it was (at) a Larry Ellison estate,” Hogan said. “… President Obama came into the kitchen to thank everyone. I found him and President Clinton to be extremely charismatic.

The moment they’d walk into the room, they both immediately became the epicenter of attention.”

Today, Hogan—who spent a four-year stint at Tropicale—primarily works as a private/ executive chef. He said he may join forces with Dr. Jane Smith, the owner of a local historic ranch, for a pure organic-food venture. In other words, he’s come full circle—back to farm-totable cuisine.

For more information, visit www. mycheftom.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

FEBRUARY 2015

FOOD & DRINK

Restaurant NEWS BITES

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle OUT OF THE ASHES: BERNIE’S LOUNGE AND SUPPER CLUB BEGINS REBUILDING PROCESS At Bernie’s Lounge and Supper Club, it was supposed to be a Christmas day to celebrate. The year-old restaurant, located at 292 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, had dinner reservations for 170 people on the books.

However, on the morning of Dec. 25, while a couple of employees began preparing in the kitchen for the busy night, something went terribly wrong: An electrical fire began in the ceiling over the dining room.

Within a couple hours, the restaurant had burned to the ground. Bernie’s owners Rand Howell and Geoff McIntosh, while in shock, scrambled to find new reservations for their customers, and new jobs for their employees.

The only saving grace: The two employees made it out of the building unharmed.

“Initially, it was very devastating,” McIntosh said.

One month later, the feelings of devastation have largely faded, McIntosh said, and the owners are now working on the rebuilding process. There’s also another silver lining in the dark cloud.

“Everybody who wanted a job was able to find one within two to three weeks,” McIntosh said, praising his fellow local restaurateurs who stepped in to help his staffers.

At first, McIntosh and Howell looked into reopening Bernie’s in an existing building at another location.

However, those plans fell through.

“We just couldn’t put it together,” he said.

McIntosh and Howell are now planning on rebuilding Bernie’s in the same location, which they own, he said. There’s another, smaller building on their property that they may demolish to build a new Bernie’s that’s bigger and better than ever.

“We had outgrown our space by the second month we were open,” McIntosh laughed.

McIntosh said the current plan is to expand both the lounge and dining areas just a bit. The biggest changes, though, will involve improving the traffic flow by widening aisles and fixing the fact that in the old building, there was only one, hard-to-access door in and out of the kitchen—which led to constant traffic jams.

When can customers expect the new Bernie’s to rise from the ashes? McIntosh said that optimistic estimates say the new building’s doors could open within seven or eight months, but he thinks a year is more realistic.

“All the layers of government approval we’ll need will take two to three months, probably, by themselves,” he said.

McIntosh praised the restaurant’s insurance company, Farmers Insurance, for moving quickly thus far.

In fact, the business-interruption insurance is paying key management employees to stay on while the restaurant is rebuilt, McIntosh said.

Keep your fingers crossed for the good people at Bernie’s. Follow the rebuilding progress, and get updates on former Bernie’s employees, at www.facebook.com/Berniesfans.

IN BRIEF Bontá Restaurant and Bar is now open and serving modern European and Latin fare at 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City, in the spot formerly occupied by Picanha Churrascaria. More info at bontarestaurant.com. … Loco Charlie’s Mexican Grill opened in January at 1751 N. Sunrise Way, near World Gym in Palm Springs. The restaurant’s website promises “one of a kind, authentic Mexican cuisine” that is “made with the freshest ingredients possible.” Visit that website, mylococharlies.com, for more info. … King’s Highway, the diner at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club, at 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, launched all-new, expanded menus in mid-January. The restaurant is following in the footsteps of the Ace Hotel L.A., which recently revamped its restaurant with the help of the folks behind Five Leaves in Brooklyn, N.Y.—meaning Five Leaves influences can be found on the Palm Springs menus, too. Highlights include the avocado toast for breakfast, and the Five Leaves burger (including grilled pineapple, pickled beets and a sunny-side-up egg) for lunch and dinner. … Want to get out of the house to enjoy the Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22? Trio Restaurant, at 707 N. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, is hosting its annual “Hollywood’s Biggest Night” party, to benefit the AIDS Assistance Program.

Get tickets, starting at $125, at aidsassistance.org. If you’re closer to Indian Wells, consider the Red Carpet Oscar Party at Vicky’s of Santa Fe, at 45100 Club Drive. Tickets are $85, and the event benefits Variety—The Children’s Charity of the Desert. Call 760-345-9770 to reserve. … Congrats to Shanghai Reds, the popular back-area bar and restaurant at Palm Springs’ Fisherman’s Market and Grill, located at 235 S. Indian Canyon Drive, for completing an expansion of the patio. There’s now more seating and a better music stage. ... If you haven’t heard already: The Asian-cuisine scene of the Coachella Valley is now worse off due to the apparent closing of Jiao, the Foundation 10-owned restaurant that was located at 515 N. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

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the

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

These Two Tasty Sandwich Joints Should Not Be Ignored

By Jimmy Boegle WHAT The Torinise Sandwich WHERE The Real Italian Deli, 100 S. Sunrise Way, Suite B, Palm Springs; also at 44795 San Pablo Avenue, No. 1, Palm Desert HOW MUCH $7.99 CONTACT 760-325-3800 (Palm Springs); 760-836-1493 (Palm Desert); facebook.com/ therealitaliandeli WHY The yummy ingredients—especially the bread.

The Real Italian Deli opened in Palm Desert in late 2013 to nearly universal acclaim. However, your humble scribe just so happens to live in Palm Springs, meaning that my dining opportunities in Palm Desert are relatively rare. As a result, I hadn’t yet sampled the goodies there.

That’s why I was very happy to hear in December that the Real Italian Deli was opening a second location at Sunrise and Tahquitz Canyon ways, a mere five-minute drive from my home. I recently had the opportunity to check it out with some dining companions—and we soon realized that we have been missing out.

The charming little spot is deli/shop first, and restaurant second—seating is limited, whereas the selection of Italian goodies, both pre-packaged and freshly made, is certainly not. Therefore, we ordered our food to-go. My selection: a Torinese sandwich, featuring roast beef, lettuce, tomato and a gorgonzola spread, all on a yummy roll.

Man, was the Torniese a tasty sandwich.

The meat was perfect; the Gorgonzola spread offered a savory, salty bite; and the tomato and lettuce gave the sandwich a needed freshness.

But what sticks in my memory the most about that sandwich is none of those ingredients; instead, what I remember is the bread. It was soft, yet firm enough to hold up to all the ingredients—and it tasted amazing.

It gave the sandwich a lovely, yeasty sweetness, taking it from very good to fantastic.

The other stuff we tried ranged from so-so (the Lucchese sandwich, featuring chicken breast, Parmesan and a sun-dried tomato pesto) to pretty good (the cheesecake) to pretty great (the lasagna). The Real Italian Deli is certainly worth a visit—whether you live within five minutes or 25 minutes of one of the two locations.

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WHAT The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich WHERE Delicatesse, 117 La Plaza, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $7.95 CONTACT 760300-3601; www. psdelicatesse.com WHY It’s spicy, fresh and delicious.

My, how time flies.

I’ve been intrigued by Delicatesse, located in downtown Palm Springs’ La Plaza, ever since it opened. I looove good deli, yet I had never managed to stop in to try Delicatesse’s “Euro deli delights”; either I was walking by when it was closed at night, or I was zooming by on my way somewhere else during the day. I figured this neglect had been going on for several months now, maybe even a half-year or so.

Nope. According to the Delicatesse website, the place has been open since January 2014— in other words, for a whole year.

Wow. Well, I discovered what I’ve been missing when I finally resolved to have lunch there—specifically, I’ve been missing some most-excellent sandwiches.

On what is now two recent visits (yes, the food was so good, we went back just a couple of days later), we have enjoyed several sandwiches, all of which have been splendid.

However, the one that has kept our mouths watering the most is the buffalo chicken sandwich.

Buffalo chicken? At a Euro deli? Why, yes; don’t ask me to explain it. I asked the friendly gentleman behind the counter what he recommended on my initial visit, and “buffalo chicken” was the answer. Served on a choice of bread (I recommend the German rye) and with a choice of cheese, the sauced-up, sliced-thenshredded warm chicken packs a spicy, savory punch. This isn’t the buffalo wing sauce you’d find at your average wings joint; this is soooo much better.

However, the goodness goes beyond the sauce; it extends to the fresh bread and the high-quality meats (which you can peruse in the deli counter).

Apparently, I am not the only person who’s a fan; on both recent visits, I got the last buffalo chicken sandwich, because the rest of the day’s supply of tasty chicken had been gobbled up by hungry customers. So, go early, You’ll be glad you did.

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FEBRUARY 2015

•• Out of Cambodia: Dengue Fever Heads for Pappy's •• The Blueskye Report: February 2015 •• JF//Discord and the Darker Side of Dance Music •• Guy Worden and Art for the Homeless •• The Lucky 13; All Night Shoes' February FRESH Sessions www.cvindependent.com/music

TRUE ART

Meet Painter, Tattoo Artist and Guitarist Kyle Stratton and His Avant-Garde Metal Band Atala

35

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The Blueskye REPORT

February 2015

By Brian Blueskye February is the shortest month of the year— but it’s also the high season in the Coachella Valley, which means there’s a wealth of great shows you should keep in mind.

The Ace Hotel and Swim Club will be hosting a performance by L.A. Witch at 10 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6, in the Amigo Room.

The psychedelic female trio has been playing shows with the likes of the Black Angels, The Melvins and Blonde Redhead.

Admission is free. The Ace is also hosting a special Valentine’s Day weekend put on

by The Do-Over, known as the Lovers x Heartbreakers Palm Springs Weekender, on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15. There will be a special lineup of surprise musical guests hosted by Haycock, Strong and Blacc. Admission is free. Ace Hotel and Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-325-9900; www.acehotel.com/ palmsprings.

Local DJ duo The Deep Ones have started an open-mic night for DJs. What does this concept involve? Well, if you ever wanted to try your skills on a turntable and a mixer, you’ll get your chance at 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26. Get more info on The Deep Ones’ Facebook page (www.facebook. com/thedeeponesofficial). Plan B Live Entertainment and Cocktails, 32025 Monterey Ave., Thousand Palms; 760-343-2115; www. myplanbbar.com.

The McCallum Theatre has a solid schedule for February—with shows on 24 of the month’s 28 days! At 8 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor will be bringing his show featuring anecdotes from the American Midwest and

Michael Feinstein: McCallum Theatre, Feb. 7

other amusing portions of his life. Tickets are $45 to $75. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, Great American Songbook singer Michael Feinstein will perform while sharing the history of these famous tunes. Tickets are $65 to $95.

If you’re looking for something to enjoy with the whole family, the Vienna Boys Choir will be performing at 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 19.

The choir is split into four touring choirs of boys between the ages of 10 and 14; many are from Austria, but kids continued on Page 37 CVIndependent.com

FEBRUARY 2015

MUSIC

ASIAN FUSION

Dengue Fever’s Mix of Cambodian Pop and Psychedelic Rock Continues to Captivate WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye engue Fever is a mosquitoborne tropical disease.

It’s also the name of a Los Angeles-based band that plays Cambodian-psychedelic rock and will be spending its Valentine’s Day at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.

Before the Khmer Rouge devastated the country in the late 1970s, Cambodia had a thriving psychedelic-rock scene, influenced by what was playing on U.S. Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, many of Cambodia’s psychedelic-music pioneers were victims of the Killing Fields. However, in recent years, the genre has enjoyed a comeback, of sorts; a recording from the preKhmer Rouge era by Ros Sereysothea, “Jam 10 Kai Theit,” resurfaced in recent years. (She died in 1977, at the age of 29.) Sinn Sisamouth, a psychedelic-rock figure from the pre-Khmer Rouge days, died in 1976, yet his music remains popular there today.

Dengue Fever was started in 2001 by organist Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan visited Cambodia. They began to recruit members and came across Chhom Nimol, a Cambodian vocalist who was singing karaoke at a nightclub in Long Beach; she became the band’s lead singer. Dengue Fever crafted a psychedelic-rock-meets-Cambodianpop sound with song lyrics that are both in Khmer and English. The band’s songs have been featured on various TV shows, most notably HBO’s True Blood.

During a recent phone interview, Dengue Fever drummer Paul Smith talked about the band’s beginnings.

“Basically, we had all played music together, and we had the idea of trying to find a Cambodian singer,” Smith said. “We started learning some Cambodian rock … and it seemed like a crazy idea to pull it off. It was a seed of an idea that we had that came to fruition.”

The band’s name is a play on a popular reference from the ’70s, he said.

“I think some of it had to do with a little bit of naivety on our part,” Smith said. “At the time, none of us were that familiar with the disease. … We felt it sort of tied in with the ‘dance fever’ in the ’70s. I don’t know; with all

Dengue Fever. MARC WALKER

of the names we were kicking around, it was the one that had sort of a feeling when you said it, and it grasped your ear. It was the one we all kind of liked.”

The Cambodian angle is most certainly not a gimmick.

“For us, it’s something that feels different and somewhat out of this world to us, but it has an underlying element of familiarity, because (the Cambodians) were using British rock, American rock and psychedelic rock, and tying it in with their traditional Cambodian instruments, it created this stew of different cultures,” Smith said. “There was this fascinating element in it for us, and I think a lot of those early (Cambodian psychedelicrock) recordings give you a sense on the time in the ’60s where the potential for a lot of things to happen was there. Phnom Penh was an upcoming metropolis. … There was an excitement in that time period, and I think it got captured on those records.”

Peter Gabriel took notice of Dengue Fever and released the band’s 2008 album, Venus on Earth, on his Real World Records label.

“He liked one of our records, and we ended up releasing one of our records on Real World Records,” Smith said. “We recorded at his studio in Bath, Somerset, England, and we played a show with him that he introduced us for and gave a little speech. The guy is a visionary, and he’s an interesting character.

He started W.O.M.A.D., which is the World of Music, Arts and Dance (festival) … and brought world music to the masses. For a guy like that to endorse you, we were really appreciative.”

The language barrier has never been an issue for Dengue Fever.

“I think it’s what makes us unique,” Smith said. “The Khmer language is sort of an instrument in our situation. I think people who are into us or come to our shows do so because they know it’s different. It’s not something you can get everywhere; it’s a more unique experience. To me, it defines us and makes us what we are. I’ve never really looked at it as a hindrance.”

Dengue Fever has played Pappy and Harriet’s before and always enjoys playing there, Smith said.

“It’s just a great spot. Not only do we love the desert, but it’s a cool venue, and there’s something very informal about it in a good way,” he said. “The people are always receptive; the food is good; and you get to spend a night in the desert. What’s not to like about it?”

The band is celebrating the recent U.S. citizenship of Chhom Nimol.

“It’s been about two or three months,” he said. “It’s great after all that time, and after she was in jail for 22 days way back when we started the band (due to a visa violation). She finally made it on the path of citizenship, and we’re very proud of her.”

DENGUE FEVER WILL PERFORM WITH JESIKA VON RABBIT AT 8 P.M., SATURDAY, FEB. 14, AT PAPPY AND HARRIET’S PIONEERTOWN PALACE, 53688 PIONEERTOWN ROAD, IN PIONEERTOWN. TICKETS ARE $10. FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 760-365 5956, OR VISIT PAPPYANDHARRIETS.COM.

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MUSIC

MUSIC

DESERT ROCK CHRONICLES

THE DARKER SIDE OF DANCE

Atala’s Kyle Stratton Wants to Connect With Fans of Avant-Garde Metal

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

JF//Discord Brings a Love of Metal to His Electronic Music

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Robin Linn

By Brian Blueskye

yle Stratton, the brains behind the band Atala, is a man with bold, straightforward views on politics, the state of the human condition, the economic and social climate of today’s America—and his right to pursue art and music on his own terms.

His diversity stems from adversity, and he expresses himself through multiple mediums, answering only to himself. He seems to vibrate at a frequency that penetrates the middle earth—he’s a true lover of the underground as a painter, a tattoo artist, guitarist and a psychrock composer. He visits dark places and creates twisted spaces that are oddly welcoming. Once you enter his headspace, you’ll realize he is a master at fusing the dark and the light. Using spray-paint cans and canvas, double-stacks and single notes, he sends out shockwaves as he explores cosmic meltdowns that produce paradoxes. He has a beautiful way of taking simple ideas to complex places.

His American Art and Tattoo Studio in Twentynine Palms is an amazing place where Kyle and other desert artists showcase their original art; it is also where he operates his thriving tattoo business. Inside, it feels as if you’ve swallowed a little pill and fallen down the rabbit hole: The walls are alive with texture, vines, plants, speaking eyeballs, mad murals and fine works of art. Together, it all seems to tell a story, about a broken-down society turned beautiful through the eyes and imaginations of a special group of artists.

“I came to the high desert in 2003, right after the birth of my son and a divorce. I wanted to start over, slow down and escape from it all,” Stratton said. “I opened my first tattoo store, and everything just fell together for me.

“In 2007, I opened my second shop, American Art Studio. Moving to the desert was the best thing I ever did. Here, I was able to disappear from the radar, hide away from the stressed-out city lifestyle, and avoid the fuckedup system.”

And as for the future? “I will never leave,” he said.

I first saw Kyle Stratton, the guitarist, with his former band, Rise of the Willing. The band’s loud, distorted, aggressive approach to music conjured up images of a Mad Max-style existence in the high-desert landscape. In 2014,

ans of Independent resident DJ All Night Shoes’ monthly FRESH Sessions mix were treated last July to a guest mix by JF//Discord.

The “De:Volve” mix showed just what makes JF//Discord (Jeremy Ferguson) unique: It featured familiar dance music—tinged with a darker side.

Ferguson recently discussed his interest in becoming a DJ. “I just wanted to move people with good underground electronic music,” Ferguson said.

“I think I have a good ear for underground electronic music and hopefully translate the connection I have with people to where they can dance.”

Ferguson isn’t shy about his adoration for metal music. He often wears a hoodie jacket with the logo of the metal band Death. He’s also known for his saying, “Horns Up!” He first discovered metal music when he was in the fourth-grade.

“I first started off with Def Leppard and Pyromania, and I got that on cassette,” Ferguson said. “It was my first actual music purchase. When Hysteria (Def Leppard’s follow-up to Pyromania) came out, I got that one. There was a store in Palm Desert at the time … called Music Plus. My brother and I would go in there, and we’d just start looking through their audio section in this thing they had with four pairs of headphones you could use to listen to music. I remember seeing the list of bands … Autopsy, Death, Testament, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth. We started listening to all these bands, and it piqued my interest.”

Ferguson was even a member of a metal band.

“I was in a death-metal band called Discordance the whole I time I was in high school, as the lead vocalist,” he said. “Metal took a real bad turn when all the grunge stuff started popping up. Nobody wanted to be associated with metal whatsoever in any way, shape or form. I was still kind of young back then, so I was like, ‘Maybe metal is starting to die, and maybe it’s going to start fading away.’

“I got exposed to electronic music. It was super-underground at the time, and the masses didn’t really like it yet.”

Ferguson’s interest in metal led him toward

Stratton felt the calling to create music of a different frequency, and he left to start a new band, Atala.

He enlisted drummer Jeff Tedtaotao, and later added bassist and former Rise of the Willing bandmate John Chavarria. Even before Chavarria signed on, the fledgling project attracted the attention of producer (and former Kyuss bassist) Scott Reeder. After seeing just one rehearsal, Reeder invited Atala to record at his ranch and studio, The Sanctuary, in Banning. Within a month, the group had written the body of work that would become Atala’s debut record, thanks to the pressure, in front of one of their heroes, to quickly produce songs that would live forever.

“Atala isn’t looking to be the next great stadium favorite,” Stratton said. “We just want to explore new sounds and connect with real fans of avant-garde metal.”

The band has been touring with welldeveloped psych-rock and doom-metal bands like A’rk, Colombian Necktie and Castle (a super-heavy and musical duo from the San Francisco Bay Area). Atala has enlisted managerial support from Machine Head’s original drummer, Tony Costanza, who has been the backbone of thrash-metal cult favorites Crowbar, Crisis and Debris Inc. On Friday, Jan. 30, Atala will open for Karma to Burn at Loaded in Hollywood. Karma to Burn is a stoner-rock band from West Virginia that has intersected with the cream of the desert-rock scene crop again and again: The band’s four album, Appalachian Incantation, was produced by Reeder, with one song featuring Kyuss frontman John Garcia.

For more on Atala, visit www.facebook. com/pages/Atala/588684977868736 or www. atalarock.com.

READ MORE FROM ROBIN LINN, INCLUDING THE FULL KYLE STRATTON INTERVIEW, AT RMINJTREE.BLOGSPOT.COM.

JF//Discord, aka Jeremy Ferguson.

a different side of electronic music.

“I was drawn more to the underground, darker styles,” he said. “The darker production style (features) a lot of minor chords. House is a lot more soulful; deep house is a little bit more deep; and trance … is atmospheric and euphoric. I like the darker, more subtle, disturbing undertones with bass music. Right now, I really like the underground techno coming from Greece.”

Ferguson said the local music scene is not always so embracing.

“It sucks getting no love from anybody in your hometown,” he said. “… It’s not just DJs, but it’s universal to all artists here. We have no venues to play at, and the venue owners don’t really understand electronic music, or care about it. It’s tough to get something built and keep it going on a regular basis.”

Still, Ferguson said he enjoys what he does.

“The upside for me is focusing on that musical side of me and getting it out,” he said. “Hopefully, somebody that you play for in the crowd will connect with it. That’s the cool thing—when you expose somebody to a different style of music, and they say, ‘Oh yeah!

I’ve never heard that before. Who is it?’ That’s what’s cool for me.”

Ferguson explained what he wants to happen in the Coachella Valley DJ scene.

“I’d like to see all of us come together as a community and not be so fragmented,” he said.

“We should support each other whether or not we like the musical style—and I’m saying that for me, too, because I have my own certain style. We all need to be more open-minded and come together to make an impact for the local community here.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON JF//FERGUSON, VISIT WWW. FACEBOOK.COM/JFDISCORD1.

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SPINNING FOR CHARITY WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye uy Worden, aka Trevor Worden, is developing a reputation as a DJ who is certainly willing to support a good cause.

In late 2013, Worden put together a successful benefit show called “Art for the Homeless” for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission. At 9 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, he’ll be doing another show for the mission at The Hood Bar and Pizza.

Worden has been a DJ for 16 years, after originally starting in the San Diego area. He’s made a name for himself in the Coachella Valley thanks to appearances at various local festivals, as well as his art-themed shows at which he collaborates with other DJs. However, giving back to the community is also important to him. He explained his admiration for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.

“Last year, when I started the Art for the Homeless show, I called over there, and I got transferred to Scott Wolf; Scott is their community relations manager. I toured the facility, and what they do is amazing,” Worden said. “It’s not what I thought of at all. It’s super-clean; they have residences for families and individuals; and they have programs that help people get back on their feet. Once somebody graduates from their program, they get leads on jobs. They can work for the shelter if they apply and qualify. They also get the gift certificates for the clothing boutique they run, and vouchers for furniture.”

For last year’s show, Worden stressed the need for clothing and food donations.

“I managed to get enough clothing and food to fill my SUV completely. I couldn’t even have a passenger, because my passenger seat was filled,” he said.

This year, he’s asking people to donate hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, shaving razors and so on. He will also be selling raffle tickets.

CVIndependent.com

“Food and clothing is still accepted, but they’re in real need of the hygiene products,” Worden explained. “What I’m going to do is also sell raffle tickets, and I’m going to use the donation money to purchase those products.

Right now, I have about eight to 10 artists who are going to contribute pieces of art as raffle prizes. Tommy Bahama is going to throw in a gift certificate; The Hood is going to throw in a gift certificate; Venus Art Supply is going to throw in a gift certificate; and Bloodline Tattoo is going to throw in a gift certificate, which will all be raffle prizes.”

DJs who will be appearing include The Deep Ones, Synthetix, J-Sizzle and artists from the Desert DJ Entertainment Group.

Scott Wolf, of the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, praised Worden for his efforts.

“He’s a great guy, and we’re so grateful for everything he’s done for us and grateful for all his support,” he said. “He’s a true friend of the mission.”

Wolf said the mission serves more than 200,000 meals and provides about 72,000 nights of safe shelter per year.

Guy Worden Organizes Another Show to Help Out the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission

“We have our emergency overnight shelter,” he said. “We have two different casemanagement residency in-house programs; one is faith-based, and one is secular. Within those programs, we have 150 beds. In addition to the 150 beds, we also have an additional 75 beds as emergency shelter for those who are not staying with us full-time. … If you take into account that there are 150 people who eat three meals a day here, plus an additional 75 who sleep here each night who get breakfast and dinner, plus all the folks who don’t shelter with us who just eat and leave, we’re talking about 650 plates a day, easy. If you take 650 and multiply that times 365, you have more than 237,000 meals.”

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission is supported by private donations, both monetary and items such as clothing, food and other products. The facility has an executive chef and several volunteers who help with various tasks.

“About 95 percent of the food that the executive chef procures is donated to us,” Wolf said. “For the last fiscal year, we had over 1,600 volunteers log about 70,000 volunteer hours.

We are more than 90 percent privately funded, and ... that means people such as you and I find it in their hearts to support our cause and write a check.”

Social-service providers can’t keep up with the demand for services in the Coachella Valley, Wolf said.

“We see an ever-growing need every day to serve the homeless community in the valley.

We see so many people who need help. We continually see fresh faces every day,” he said.

“The problem of homelessness is not just something that’s going to go away. We need

Guy Worden, on the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission: “I toured the facility, and what they do is amazing. It’s not what I thought of at all. It’s super-clean; they have residences for families and individuals; and they have programs that help people get back on their feet.”

the materials and the funding to do this, and we can’t do it without the support of the community.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GUY WORDEN, VISIT WWW. FACEBOOK.COM/GUYWORDENMUSIC. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE COACHELLA VALLEY RESCUE MISSION, VISIT WWW.CVRM.ORG.

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The Blueskye REPORT continued from Page 34

from other countries are included, too. Tickets are $25 to $65. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has great shows scheduled throughout the month. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, it will be hip to be square with Huey Lewis and the News.

True story: I asked for a Metallica album for Christmas one year during my childhood—and my mother bought me Huey’s Sports album instead. Needless to say, I was not happy.

Huey has been going since the late 1970s and has had quite a career. One of his more memorable moments was a cameo in Back to the Future, to which he contributed “The Power of Love.” Tickets are $40 to $80. If you had a great time at Air Supply’s Valentine’s Day performance at The Show last year, you’ll be happy to know they’ll be back to soft-rock your face off again, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14. Tickets are $40 to $60. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, Mexican musician and composer Espinoza Paz will be appearing.

Paz went back and forth between Mexico and the United States in the late ’90s when he was an aspiring songwriter and musician.

He eventually found his calling and released his first album, El Canta Autor Del Pueblo, in 2008. Tickets are $65 to $85. The Show at Agua

Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino’s February lineup is packed with great shows. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, you can relive the short reggaeton era (remember that?) with Yandel.

He is half of the duo Wisin and Yandel, and he released his second solo album, De Lider a Leyenda, in 2013; a brand new album, Legacy, is slated to drop just before this show. Tickets are $39 to $69. Natalie Cole will be performing on Valentine’s Day, 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14. The daughter of Nat King Cole was a big success in the ’70s before falling into drug addiction. She made a remarkable comeback in the late ’80s and has been going strong ever since. Tickets are $39 to $79. The great Burt Bacharach will be returning at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 22. Bacharach has had 48 Top 10 hits over a 50-year period, and his songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. Tickets are $29 to $69. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-3425000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Spotlight 29 Casino has a star-studded lineup this month. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, former Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney will be appearing. Mulaney was responsible for writing the “Weekend Update” portion of the show and created the character of Stefon! Tickets are $30 to $50. If you want

a little edge on your Valentine’s Day, former Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers will perform at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14. He also performed with the members of Queen for five years. Tickets are $45 to $75. Martina McBride will be bringing her “Everlasting Tour” to Spotlight 29 at 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26. The country vocalist has had a long and successful career, and her latest album, Everlasting, features duets with Kelly Clarkson and Gavin DeGraw. Tickets are $79 to $139. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace will be busy during the month of February.

At 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, Pappy’s will be hosting the first performance in 18-plus years of Babes in Toyland. The Riot Grrrl trio has had a rough go of it since disbanding. Frontwoman Kat Bjelland suffered a schizophrenic episode and had to be hospitalized in 2007; bassist Maureen Herman has written about a sexual assault that resulted in a pregnancy; and drummer Lori Barbero suffered from Lyme disease.

Babes in Toyland is an intense band that will take you back to the days of grunge and alternative rock. Tickets are $20. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21 singer-songwriter Brett Dennen will be appearing. The Northern California folk singer has a unique voice, and his deep lyrics have landed him on the bill at the Newport Folk Festival, at Coachella and on various TV soundtracks. Tickets are $25.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-365-5956; www.pappyandharriets.com.

The Copa has had a steady season, and that trend continues in February. Leslie Jordan will be appearing at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14. Leslie may be short, but he’s a larger-than-life performer, guaranteed to be funny. Tickets are $25 to $45. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21, actress and cabaret singer Emily Bergl will perform. You may remember Bergl from her appearances on Gilmore Girls, CSI: Miami and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, among other shows.

Tickets are $20 to $40. Copa, 244 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 760-322-3554; www. coparoomtickets.com.

The Hood Bar and Pizza is hosting a couple of notable events. At 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 15, metal goddess and poet Otep will appear.

Not only is Otep a poet and metal singer; she’s also a painter and writer. She’s been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry series. She also spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Advance tickets are $10, available at The Hood, and they’ll be $15 at the door. Word to the wise: Buy your tickets in advance. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, there will be a special birthday party for local hip-hop artist MC Manny G featuring EeVaan’ Tre and the Show, Thr3 Strikes and others. Admission is free. The Hood Bar and Pizza, 74360 Highway 111, Palm Desert; 760-636-5220; www.facebook.com/thehoodbar.

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38 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2015

MUSIC

FRESH SESSIONS WITH ALL NIGHT SHOES: February 2014

the

LUCKY 13

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye Nathan Kazmer

NAME Nathan Kazmer GROUP Eevaan Tre’ and The Show MORE INFO Fun fact: When Kazmer lived in Provo, Utah, he played in a four-piece trumpet group popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s (before his time with the group) called The Brunson Brothers. Track down Eevaan Tre’ and The Show on Facebook.

What was the first concert you attended?

The first big artist I saw in concert, according to my mom, is Kenny Loggins, but the first concert I remember—and I know it sounds weird—was NSYNC. What was the first album you owned?

A Quad City DJs album on cassette. Well, I didn’t own it; my mom got it for me.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Radiohead, Erykah Badu, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Brotha Lynch Hung, Tears for Fears, Francis and the Lights, Little River Band, Hall and Oates, Groundation, the guy that sings that song “Can We Still Be Friends?,” Moody Blues, EarDrummers, Billy Joel, 10cc, Redbone, Tye Tribbett, John P. Kee and the New Life Community Choir and Toto.

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

I get and understand most music, at least the genres I’ve been exposed to. I even dig klezmer music. The one I like least is house music, and also The Black Keys.

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

Hall and Oates.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Sometimes I’ll listen to the same song over and over again for two or three days in a row.

CVIndependent.com

What’s your favorite music venue?

The El Rey Theatre in downtown L.A.

We Quiz an Up-and-Coming Drummer and the Frontman of a Great Riverside Band Blown Speaker Gospel

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

“Why you treat me so bad? 40 makes it happen,” from “I Got 5 on It,” Luniz with E-40.

What band or artist changed your life?

How? Radiohead changed my life. I started listening to them when In Rainbows came out. I was going through a rough transition in my life: a break up, and I’d just moved back in with my mom. It was chaos. Listening to Radiohead took me out of my head and into their music, which is controlled chaos.

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

I would ask Thom Yorke from Radiohead, “What does the album Hail to the Thief really mean to you?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Then while people are leaving, I want Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” just to trip people out.

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

Radiohead, Hail to the Thief.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Francis and the Lights, “A Modern Promise,” live.

NAME Armando Peredia GROUP Blown Speaker Gospel MORE INFO Shortly after Blown Speaker Gospel formed in 2011, the band faced a nightmare: A band member passed away suddenly. However, the band decided to continue on—inspired to create a unique sound. More info at blownspeakergospel.com or www.facebook.com/BlownSpeakerGospel.

What was the first concert you attended?

Incubus at the UC Riverside Barn. It was when they were all dread-heads. They had just released S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and were doing this heavy funk thing.

What was the first album you owned?

Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of

Time and Space). I’ve always liked the sound of ’90s hip-hop, especially the drum samples. I saw the “Cool Like Dat” video, and I just had to hear where they were coming from.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, Funkadelic, Queens of the Stone Age and Timber Timbre.

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

EDM or Drake. I just can’t make any sense of it.

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

Jimi Hendrix.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Lenny Kravitz’s “It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over.”

What’s your favorite music venue?

I like more intimate venues, but if I had to choose one, I’d say Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.

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

“Meat. Predators eat. Meat. Predators eat meat. Ceremony or a speech. In a church or on a beach. Predators eat,” from “Where No Eagles Fly,” Julian Casablancas + The Voidz. There are a lot of really interesting lyrical choices all over that record (Tyranny).

What band or artist changed your life?

How? Radiohead. They opened my perspective on how music can feel when it hits you. I remember seeing the video for “Just” off The Bends, and it set me off on a trail to find more of their music.

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

I’d ask John Paul Jones, “Will you teach me your ways?” He’s like a musician Swiss Army

This month, I’m launching a new mix series, called “New Palm Springs.”

Each mix will include tracks that I feel reflect our valley. I have always been inspired by my environment. I like cooler, chilled-out tracks for (our rare) rainy days.

I like upbeat ones for sunny days.

Living in the Coachella Valley inspires me on different levels. While we are definitely a Southern California community, we also reflect diversity. Here, you can find people from all over the world, and everyone has a story. This can especially be illustrated by the artists who are attracted to this area.

I hope that, with this mix series, I can share my view of the valley and how it inspires me to create. Enjoy at CVIndependent.com!

• Michael McLardy, “You Feel” (DJ Le Roi Remix) • Johnny Bravo and Polina Griffith, “Holding Us” (Chris Rockz Dub) • Boris Dlugosch featuring Roisin Murphy, “Never Enough” (Jesse Rose Remix) • Lovebirds, “This Feeling” (Original Mix) • Years and Years, “Desire” (Rainer + Grimm Remix) • Adam K and Soha, “Lost In Orbit” • Bloc Party, “Truth” (Digitalism Remix) • Lapsley, “Falling Short” (JackLNDN Remix) • Aaliyah, “Rock the Boat” (Invoker Remix) • Carl Cox, “Keepee Uppee” • Branded James, “Balboa” • All Night Shoes, “Breakaway” • Templeton, “Better Represent” • Tennishero featuring Chelonis R. Jones, “Alone” knife, and he can do anything, or play anything on any instrument. Most people don’t know he’s a great lyricist.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Sleep Walk,” Santo and Johnny.

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

OK Computer, Radiohead.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Desert Sessions’ “Powdered Wig Machine.” PJ Harvey’s voice is amazing.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

FEBRUARY 2015

COMICS & JONESIN’CROSSWORD

Across 1 Mix those ingredients 5 Carried 10 Totally dominates 14 Holder of scoops 15 County of New Mexico or Colorado 16 Go on a rampage 17 Turing played by Benedict 18 “The Last Supper” city 19 ___ Romeo (nice car) 20 Proof you paid 22 Frying pan 24 Palindromic girl’s name 25 King, in Quebec 26 Extremity 27 Lost actor Daniel ___ Kim 28 PBS painter known for “happy little trees”* 30 Crack-loving ex-Toronto mayor * 32 Insect that sounds like a relative 33 Leaves for the afternoon?

34 Student loans, for instance 37 Start 41 Minivan passengers 45 Social networking site in 2014 news 46 Exploding stars 47 Gaelic music star 48 On the edge of 50 Greek consonants 51 Melrose Place actor Rob 52 Low limb 53 Part of a yr.

55 Its symbol is its first letter with two lines through it 57 Magazine inserts 58 Prime minister from 2007-2010* 62 Chatty show, with “The” 64 Most of the Earth’s surface 65 Affixes 68 Plot of land, often 69 Rows on a chessboard 70 Michael of Superbad 71 Word often misused in place of “fewer” 72 Rough weather 73 Sign, or an alternate title for this puzzle?

Down 1 Beetle-shaped amulet 2 Ohio city 3 Riding with the meter running 4 Descartes or Magritte 5 He played George Utley on Newhart* 6 Inflammation of the ear 7 ___ Aviv 8 Blackboard need 9 The Andy Griffith Show co-star* 10 Like some vaccines 11 “Sure thing!”

12 What a hero has 13 Put into words 21 Make a shirt look nicer 23 “___ delighted!”

29 Tell the teacher about 31 Forgeries

34 Find a way to cope 35 Magazine with a French name 36 Post-industrial workers?

38 Like shrugs and nods, as signals go 39 Law and Order spinoff, for short 40 Early oven manufacturer?

42 Working together 43 Applied henna 44 Answer with an attitude 49 “Paradise City” band, briefly 51 Music for Airports composer Brian 54 Dumpster emanations 56 Bond foe ___ Stavro Blofeld 59 Has to pay back 60 The Real Housewives of Atlanta star ___ Leakes 61 1993 Texas standoff city 62 Kilmer who chunked out in the late 2000s 63 Word in cheesy beer names 66 Beats by ___ (brand of audio equipment) 67 ___ Bernardino ©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Find the answers in the “about” section of CVIndependent.com!

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40 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2015

Deals available in the Independent Market as of February 1: Get a $20 gift certificate to Village Pub for $10—a savings of 50 percent!

Get a $25 gift certificate to Shabu Shabu Zen for $12.50—a savings of 50 percent!

Get a $25 gift certificate to La Quinta Brewing Co. Microbrewery and Taproom for $12.50—a savings of 50 percent!

Get a $40 gift certificate to Rio Azul Mexican Bar and Grill for $20, or a $20 gift certificate for $10—a savings of 50 percent!

Shop at CVIndependent.com.

Look for more deals to be added during the month!

Want your business in the Independent Market? Call 760-904-4208, or email jimmy@cvindependent.com.

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