Coachella Valley Independent February 2016

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | FEBRUARY 2016

VOL. 4 | NO. 2

Let's Get Tiki With It Thanks to Modernism Week and the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, February is a big month for art in the coachella valley.

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FEBRUARY 2016

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 ART direction Andrew Arthur Advertising Design Betty Jo Boegle Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Max Cannon, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Alex Harrington, ValerieJean (VJ) Hume, Alexis Hunter, Brane Jevric, Keith Knight, Robin Linn, Marylee Pangman, Erin Peters, Dan Perkins, Deidre Pike, Sean Planck, Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, Robert Victor

The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, Get Tested Coachella Valley, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed.

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COVER DESIGN BY JIMMY BOEGLE; ART BY NAT REED

The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2016 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.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.

We’ve reached that time of year when it seems like there’s a big-deal event happening almost every weekend—a time of year which feverishly continues until the Stagecoach music festival closes out “season” in late April/early May. As we always do, we’re spotlighting two of February’s bigger events in our cover package this month: Modernism Week and the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair. The package begins on Page 12, and includes two stories. First, Brian Blueskye penned a fantastic feature on modernist artist Nat Reed (whose art graces this month’s cover). Second, we use art—what else?—to preview the goings-on at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair.

However, the arts coverage doesn’t end there. The valley’s theater season is in full swing, and you can find reviews of two fine shows—Desert Rose’s Angels in America and CV Rep’s A Class Act—in our Arts section, along with a book excerpt from Independent contributor Alexis Hunter. Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For is a fantastic read; you’ll enjoy the little taste we’re offering on Page 20.

After Arts, you’ll come to our Food and Drink section, which includes all of our usual great features, including our wine column, Sniff the Cap. I am sorry to report this is the final column

by Deidre Pike, who has been writing about wine for the Independent since our launch. (That is, unless I can talk her into staying. Hey, I gotta try.)

Deidre has been a friend and colleague of mine for two decades now, and her words added so much to this newspaper; she’ll be missed.

In related news: We’re looking for a wine columnist! If you think you have the proper knowledge and writing chops, drop me a line; my email address is below.

I’d also like to thank arts writer Victor Barocas for all of his work for the Independent over the last two-plus years. He, too, is leaving the ranks of Independent contributors. (In related news, we’re looking for new visual/ fine arts contributors; again, email me if interested.)

As we say goodbye to Deidre and Victor, we’re saying hello a new contributor: Sean Planck. He is now writing a monthly column for the Independent focusing on the local happenings regarding medical marijuana; catch the debut edition of Cannabis in the CV on Page 38.

As always, your feedback and comments are appreciated.

Welcome to the February 2016 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

FEBRUARY 2016

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FEBRUARY 2016

OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

Sexism? Feminism?

Words Have Meanings.

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

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BY ANITA RUFUS

ords have meanings.

In the hyped-up atmosphere of the presidential-campaign season, words are being used as political weapons—apparently assuming the audience is ignorant.

I want to change that, particularly with regard to words like “sexist” and “feminist” and “enabler” and “abuse.”

If a wife defends a philandering husband, is she an enabler? Not necessarily. If a man is a womanizer, is he therefore an abuser? Not necessarily. Can someone be a feminist AND be sexist? Unfortunately, yes, and that can describe either men or women. These words are not interchangeable.

Sexism is an attitude based on traditional stereotypical gender roles. (All definitions used are consistent with both Dictionary.com and Webster’s Dictionary.) When someone, male or female, judges another on the basis of the role they’re supposed to play, they’re being sexist.

Donald Trump is sexist when he denigrates a female candidate’s appearance based on the stereotypical assumption that women are supposed to be, first and foremost, attractive.

Criticizing a woman for her tone of voice not being soft and sweet is sexist. A woman is sexist if she believes that the husband in a relationship should be the breadwinner, and the wife should fulfill the role of mother and homemaker.

Feminism is the advocacy of social, political, legal and economic rights for women equal to those of men. A woman who believes in equal pay for equal work (feminism) can simultaneously believe that women should stay home (sexism); they expect fair treatment out in the world, but they still hold sexist attitudes about what goes on inside a relationship.

A philanderer, or womanizer, is a man who has relationships, often of a sexual nature, where he cannot or has no intention of having a lasting relationship—a man who carries on flirtations regardless of his marital status.

They can be married or single; they flirt with every woman they meet. Some are insecure; others just like women. They’re not necessarily sexist and may be feminists.

When a woman acts in that same manner, constantly flirting whether married or not, she is called a slut or a nymphomaniac—a woman with unquenchable, even “abnormal” sexual desires. Where a man is described as a shameless flirt, a woman with identical behavior is considered abnormal; after all, “boys will be boys.” Sexism is evident in these definitions.

During the 1970s sexual revolution, I knew CVIndependent.com

a couple who believed in open marriage, in which each partner was allowed to have sexual relations with others; they drew the line if the outside relationship included dinner. For them, the sexual act was purely physical, but dinner implied a relationship, an intimacy that would threaten their marriage. One of my friends recently dated a man who was quite happy to periodically “service” the wife of one of his old friends, a man who had become ill and could no longer satisfy his wife sexually.

The woman’s husband knew of and was not threatened by his wife’s “affair.”

There are couples who stay together for financial reasons, or who stay married but live separately. Some couples no longer relate to each other with sex as an essential part of their intimacy. There are couples who, despite their partner’s flirtations or affairs, stay together “for the children,” or for financial reasons, or because they love each other in ways that those outside the relationship cannot understand.

Some spouses don’t want to know what their partner is up to, evidently believing that “ignorance is bliss”—if they knew, they’d have to do something about it, and they don’t want to change the status quo.

I respect people who have figured out their own relationships and seem satisfied with their arrangements. How they work it out is their business—and it shouldn’t be part of a political campaign.

We live in a time when 1950s rules no longer apply in the workplace. Harassing is persistently disturbing, bothering or pestering.

What at one time seemed acceptable, or was tolerated, is now sexual harassment— meaning unwelcome sexual advances, especially if compliance is a condition of continued employment or advancement.

“A ha!” you might say. “That means Bill Clinton was a harasser. After all, Monica Lewinsky was a subordinate working in the White House.” But the Clinton/

MICHAEL VADON VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Lewinsky relationship was consensual, not unwelcome, and she was an adult. Did he act inappropriately? Of course he did, and I can’t forgive him for the public humiliation of his wife. Yet his wife seemed willing to forgive him, and they worked out their marriage in their own way, so who am I to judge?

“What about all the other women with whom Clinton was involved?” It’s clear he was a philanderer, but however inappropriate, his extramarital activities were consensual with adult women. (A claim of rape has never been substantiated.)

A good case can be made that Bill Clinton is a feminist and is not sexist. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Donald Trump, who does judge women differently that he judges men, based on stereotypical assumptions.

Trump would probably not want to be labeled a feminist, but by touting equal treatment for women, he’s a shining example of how one can be both feminist and sexist at the same time.

Trump says Hillary “enabled” (condoned or facilitated) her husband’s extramarital affairs and thus cannot stand up for women. Wrong.

Accepting and even defending a spouse’s infidelity does not mean one is not still a feminist regarding public policy.

Hillary accurately described some of Donald Trump’s boorish statements as indicating a “penchant for sexism.” Trump responded with, “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband (on the campaign trail), with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women’s card on me, she’s wrong!”

In an editorial responding to Trump, The New York Times said that Trump’s aim is clearly “to dredge up an ancient scandal and tar Mrs. Clinton with it in a clearly sexist fashion.” In other words, holding a wife complicit in her husband’s behavior is based on the underlying belief that if a man strays somehow, his wife is at fault. Her role is to keep him satisfied.

According to Trump on Fox News, “She’s not a victim. She was an enabler.” Enabling would mean Hillary facilitated her husband’s behavior, rather than merely tolerating or forgiving it.

How does the general public see all of this?

A Fox News poll indicates that voters see Bill Clinton as more respectful of women than Donald Trump—50 percent for Clinton, and only 37 percent for Trump. We’re not ignorant.

Spouse attacks were tried against Sen. Dianne Feinstein and vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro based on their husbands’ business dealings, and against John McCain for his wife’s alleged drug use. All of this is nothing more than dirty politics—an attempt to put an opponent on the defensive and dominate the news cycle.

We should not reward such sleazy attacks.

Words have meanings.

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. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5

FEBRUARY 2016

OPINION

THE POTTED DESERT GARDEN

Don’t Settle for Just Cactus— Invite a Fairy Into Your Garden

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

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BY MARYLEE PANGMAN

he heat of the Coachella Valley will always hold its gardening challenges—but we’re not alone. Gardeners the world over are inspired to bend the rules and try to navigate uncharted waters, no matter where they live.

We have much more control over the environment around our desert homes when we garden in pots. We can use appropriate soils, provide targeted watering and give the plants the light—in other words, the sun—they need.

This winter is a great time to try different types of gardens, including some plants that might just make it all summer long. Remember as you read on to keep in mind the portability factor of pots. Use some of these ideas in pots that you can move to a shaded patio, under a tree or under a carport.

We can create small gardens or many things in miniature. We can create topiaries. We can even invite fairies into our gardens. For the most dedicated gardener, bonsai might be something worth playing with, although I am not sure that any bonsai enthusiast would ever use the word “play.”

I have always been drawn to small things— you know, kittens, puppies, dollhouses and model trains. There has been a growing interest and popularity in miniature or fairy gardens over the last four to five years.

I have always loved walking around a nursery and finding what may fit in the scale

of a small garden such as the one pictured below. Many herbs will work. Thyme is great ground cover. There are a few basil varieties such as “windowbox” basil that have small leaves perfect for any small themed garden.

Other good choices in greenery include Mexican heather and parlor palm (Neanthe bella)—a slow-growing upright palm. When purchased in a 3-4 inch pot, it is a very nice tropical addition to a miniature garden. You can often find other plants in small sizes that, if kept trimmed, will grow into nice shrubs or miniature trees.

Flowers including alyssum and lobelia can be added to the miniature garden during our winter months, while dianthus can be added pretty much year-round. Options for spring

and summer include sea thrift, miniature daisies and Dahlberg daisies.

If you prefer the low-water route, there are many small-leafed succulents that can be used for a miniature garden. Rosettes of hens and chicks, small-leafed “shrubs” of elephant food, very young ponytail palms and many varieties of sedums and sempervivums are available in our desert nurseries.

Another fun garden technique to try in your desert container garden is the art of topiaries. Now, you don’t have to go crazy creating full-sized elephants, but choosing a nicely formed shrub to shape into a tree form or ball shape may just feed your creative soul.

The simple repetition of potted topiaries, such as a privet, will also serve well in your midcentury modern design—perfect for Modernism Week!

If placed in a series of white columnar pots, perhaps along a walkway, they will provide a very nice accompaniment to your modern décor.

Monthly To-Do List: 1. Keep your eye on shallow-rooted, newly planted annuals, which dry out in early spring winds.

2. Deadhead faithfully, and selectively prune longer branches, especially in petunias.

3. Use your water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks with a hose applicator.

4. Plant another set of greens for ongoing salads.

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. Marylee’s book, Getting Potted in the Desert, is now available. Buy it online at potteddesert.com. Email her with comments and questions at marylee@ potteddesert.com. Follow the Potted Desert at facebook.com/potteddesert. The Potted Desert Garden now appears monthly.

CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2016

OPINION

ASK A MEXICAN!

Why Do Mexicans Have Lower Rates of Heart Disease?

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

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BY GUSTAVO ARELLANO

EAR MEXICAN: Hey, I was wondering why it is that Mexicans are said to have a low risk for heart attacks, considering they eat lots of beans, animal intestines and other strange foods like pigs’ feet and cow tongue. Could there be some mysterious magical healing power in all these strange cultural cuisines?

Max Cherry Burger DEAR GABACHO: How is eating animal intestines, pigs’ feet and cow tongue “strange”?

That’s working-class food, whether you’re Polish, Mexican, black or a good ol’ boy from a Kentucky holler—and it’s certainly better than the mainstream mierda gabachos eat.

Another fact you got wrong: Mexicans are not paragons of heart health. Maybe in el pasado, when we mostly ate cactus and human flesh, but that was a long time ago. Nowadays, no less an authority than the American Heart Association says on its website that Mexis “face even higher risks of cardiovascular diseases because of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes” due to our new-found diet in the United States and a lack of exercise. And don’t think this affliction is just a pocho thing, either; a 2010 American Heart Journal study by Benjamín Acosta-Cázares and Jorge Escobedo de la Peña titled “High Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Mexico: An Epidemic of Ischemic Heart Disease That May Be on Its Way?” showed the rate of Mexicans in Mexico dying of heart disease doubled between 1970 and 2000, as did rates of high blood pressure and diabetes. (While the rate is still far lower than what’s found in the U.S., the report also noted gabacho rates are going down, while ours rise like El Chapo’s pito while thinking of Kate del Castillo.)

Fact is, Mexicans are dying a slow, obese, short-breathed death gracias to our new, Americanized eating patterns—call it Donald Trump’s revenge.

DEAR MEXICAN: Why is it that when you invite a Mexican to a party, they feel compelled to bring along 30 of their relatives?

I mean, bringing along two or three people would be no problem, but we don’t expect the number of people in our party to double by inviting an extra person!

Not Enough Food for Everyone CVIndependent.com

DEAR GABACHO: Mexicans and parties— was there ever a coupling more spectacularly grotesque? We drink mucho; we eat mucho; we fight mucho; we love mucho; we mucho mucho.

Examining the Mexican propensity to party, Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz wrote, “The explosive, dramatic, sometimes even suicidal manner in which we strip ourselves, surrender ourselves is evidence that something inhibits and suffocates us.

Something impedes us from being. And since we cannot or dare not confront our own selves, we resort to the fiesta.”

But one thing we don’t do anymore is swarm parties with our extended family.

Time was when Mexican immigrants would rent out labor halls to throw massive weddings, quinceañeras and baptisms, and invite the entire rancho to invite everyone— more than 1,000 people attended my baby brother’s christening reception in 1992, including norteño star Juan Zaizar! But the Mexicans of my generation prefer subdued celebrations—invite-only, no kids, with lame, sobbing testimonials by the best men and bridesmaids, and no banda sinaloense to deafen guests with its brass-band roar. For instance, my cousin is holding his wedding reception next November at the Yorba Linda Community Center with an emcee and a guest limit of 250. (Considering that’s about the size of the Miranda clan, there are going to be some angry primos next fall.)

Mexican parties are turning into prim-andproper, gabacho-fied affairs—so we’re taking over American society how?

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!

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

MISTER MAYOR

After a Contentious Campaign, Scott Matas Says He Has a Plan to Improve Life in Desert Hot Springs

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

A

fter a nasty and bitter campaign to become the mayor of Desert Hot Springs between City Councilman Scott Matas and incumbent Mayor Adam Sanchez, Matas bested Sanchez by just 63 votes.

During a recent interview, Matas said that already being on the City Council helped him settle into the office fairly quickly.

“I think because I was fortunate enough to sit on the City Council for eight years, there really wasn’t a lot of transition for me coming into office,” Matas said. “I think a lot of times, new mayors have made campaign promises and figure out, ‘Oh my God. I got into office, and now I can’t do that!’ So I was very aware during my campaign that anything I said, I was going to be held accountable for.”

However, Matas said he wishes he’d gotten more help with the transition from Adam Sanchez.

“The one thing that’s sad is that my opponent never conceded to me. He never shook my hand; he never congratulated me, and he never transitioned me into his office,” Matas said. “I understand it was a bitter election toward the end, but if I want my programs to be successful that I’ve started, I would transition the next mayor. If I lose my next race, that’s what I plan to do—transition the next mayor into office to make sure he or she is aware of the programs I’ve started and want to see successful in the community.”

Matas said he intends on continuing some of the things Sanchez did during his two years as mayor.

“I’ve spent a lot of time running around meeting with different organizations and different people, trying to see where he started and where he left off, and to keep the momentum going. Little things he did during the two years he was mayor, I want to keep going,” Matas said. “The Martin Luther King Day event is important, and he helped build that event, so I want to see that annually continue. Some of the educational programs he helped build, like Smooth Transitions (a nonprofit that helps at-risk people find employment and education, which recently began serving DHS) … I want to help continue

BY BRIAN BLUESKYE those programs in the community.

“Except for those couple of things I mentioned, I don’t think he accomplished a lot in his two years. One thing he didn’t do that I wish he would have done was set goals for the city staff. On Feb. 5, we’re going to have a meeting with our staff and set some direction.”

Sanchez did help the city move from nearinsolvency and near-bankruptcy toward financial stability.

“When I first took office on Dec. 1, I asked the city manager, ‘Do we need to declare another fiscal emergency?’ He said no, and we’re going to have in our mid-year budget about a half-million extra dollars,” Matas said. “At the end of the fiscal year, we’re going to be up $5.2 million. There was no reason to declare another fiscal emergency.

We’re healthy. We’re looking out to 2020, which is a fiscal cliff for us with the tax measures ending, so we’re now starting to plan for those measures ending and see if the cultivation of marijuana is going to help our budget overall. We also have to look at the tax measures ending and how much that’s going to take away. If we don’t have those tax revenues in 2020, we could be $4 million in the hole. We have to make sure we measure all that and plan for it.”

While Sanchez did help strengthen the city’s budget, Matas said Sanchez exaggerated his accomplishments when Sanchez claimed during the campaign that the city had accumulated $2.5 million in reserves.

“Mayor Sanchez put campaign banners up that were absolutely not true. We never had $2.5 million in reserves this year,” Matas said.

“We were floating with $2.1 million that went down to $1.8 million in ‘cash flow.’ But that’s how you pay your bills: If we put $2.5 million in reserves, the city staff would come back to us two weeks later and say, ‘We have to pay some bills.’ There was no reason for him to say that. … The budget is healthier, and we have to continue to build on that.”

Potential new revenue sources in DHS include a proposed Walmart—and large-scale marijuana cultivation. Matas joked that he

DHS Mayor Scott Matas

previously thought marijuana was consumed simply by “picking a leaf off, rolling it up, and smoking it,” and said he’s since learned a lot about the marijuana business—and the healthy amount of revenue it could bring to city coffers. He said he’s also debunked the myth that marijuana dispensaries lead to more crime.

“Cultivation is going to be huge for our community. There are five cultivation operations that are in an approval stage,” Matas said. “The largest one is 1.1 million square feet of cultivation. …. There are many skilled and well-paying jobs involved, and they’re looking for space in the community to start a training program.

“We had our police chief pull numbers, and there were 30 calls for services to the two dispensaries we have open. The 30 calls for service were for things like, ‘Someone looks suspicious outside our store; can you come check it out?’ It’s not contributing to any crime to our community. On the cultivation side, one of them is planning to hire ex-military for their security.”

While dispensaries may not bring an increase in crime, Desert Hot Springs as a whole has crime issues that have painted the city in a negative light. However, things are starting to improve, Matas said.

“Our new police chief, Dale Mondary, has established himself and has good programs

going,” Matas said. “The problem with us is we have positive and negative press going every day: They catch some knuckehead doing something stupid, and a press release goes out on social media; it’s a positive and a negative perception on our city. People don’t realize we have less crime than Palm Springs; we get a bad rap for crime.”

For the most part, Matas had kind words about his colleagues on the City Council.

“Yvonne Parks came back to the council after once being mayor. She’s a great ally, and she’ll be there for two years,” Matas said.

“Anayeli Zavala is young. She’s 26 and new to politics. She’s probably a little overwhelmed.

I know she’s probably been impacted by the community, because anybody and everybody wants to have a conversation with you. She’s made votes on both sides of the issues based on what she believes is best for the city.”

While Matas—a former volunteer firefighter—is generally even-tempered and soft-spoken, he concedes that it isn’t always easy to work with a couple of his fellow council members.

“I think the most stressful thing has been to build consensus with the other council members,” he said. “I have two very strong individuals on the council. Joe McKee is very set in his ways. Russell Betts and I have always had our little differences, but we’ve been working well together.”

CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

AIDING THE ABUSED

Shelter From the Storm Wages a Lonely Battle to Protect Local Victims of Domestic Violence

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

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BY KEVIN FITZGERALD

n the United States, 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute of every day on average, according to a 2015 National Coalition Against Domestic Violence report. That equates to more than 10 million victims annually.

While there was a steady decline in the number of incidents reported in California from 2005 to 2012, the last two years for which statistics are available have seen increases, according to the California Department of Justice. In 2014, the nine cities of the Coachella Valley recorded 1,317 domestic-violence incidents; more than 20 percent involved the use of a weapon. On average, that works out to just less than four reported incidents per day in our valley—where Shelter From the Storm (SFTS) provides one of the only sources of hope to frightened and often desperate victims and their families.

“There’s a high need, and we’re still the only provider out here,” said executive director Angelina Coe during an interview in her office, located in a strip mall surrounded by a commercial area of Palm Desert. “The demand is there, but it’s a question of getting people to come in for help. It’s about the stigma of being in a shelter, which is still very negative.

The fear factor involved in leaving the cycle of domestic violence, and leaving safely, has an impact on people coming into shelter.”

Coe has worked in the nonprofit, familyservices, domestic-violence and homelessnessservices sectors for almost 20 years, and came to SFTS in October 2012.

“These are not the easiest type of shelters to run, because you have to consider safety and security,” Coe asserted. “You have women with their children who are in serious need, and their resources are limited, because most of them do not have an income and won’t be able to establish an income in a 60-day time span (which is the normal period permitted for transitional housing assistance). They don’t have any skill sets, because they were young when they got married or got into the abusive relationship. They don’t have any family support system, because there’s a lot of fear and intimidation.

“You have to deal with their medical issues that result from being physically abused, and there are mental-health issues that come from being verbally and psychologically abused for years, and the trauma that happens to the children. It’s not that victims are choosing to stay because they don’t want to leave; it’s just harder to leave because their life is at risk: ‘I’ll kill you if you ever tell the police,’ or, ‘If you CVIndependent.com

leave me, you won’t make it another night,’ or, ‘I’ll take the children away from you,’ or, ‘No one will believe you,’ or, ‘I’ll have you deported,’ which has become a big threat with many of our undocumented victims.

“There are often drugs and alcohol involved— not just on the abuser’s part, but the victims are forced into usage as a means for them to be kept under control. Also, the victims worry about the uncertainty: ‘What happens after I go to the shelter?’ ‘How am I going to live?’ ‘How am I going to provide for my family?’ ‘How am I going to provide for myself?’ ‘At least he (or the abuser) gives us a home. It’s not safe … but it’s a home.’ The victims kind of learn to live around the abuse: ‘OK, don’t do this so he won’t get angry, or if he is angry, do this so that he’ll de-escalate.’ ‘Wear certain things to avoid the injuries being more serious.’ The children become buffers sometimes.”

As if trying to protect and resuscitate the lives of victims isn’t hard enough work, SFTS is being forced to do more with less: Last year, SFTS saw a major portion of its funding abruptly cancelled.

“We lost our critical $150,000 in funding from (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) this past August, because their priorities changed, and they were no longer funding transitional housing programs.

Instead, their focus was more on permanent housing solutions for homeless people in our society,” Coe said. “That was a devastating cut for us, but we were able to reach out to the community, and we received donations of about $40,000 which helped us to get through to the end of last year.”

The shortfall did lead to a cut in services in 2016, however.

“Our transitional, longer-term housing

Shelter From the Storm Executive Director Angelina Coe. kevin fitzgerald

program, where victims and their families could be housed by SFTS for up to two years, was discontinued as of Dec. 31,” Coe said.

“Fortunately, the families we did have in that program at the time were able to move onto permanent housing, so they are stable and moving forward, and remain connected with us for community counseling and outreach services if they need.”

Thankfully, some additional funding is arriving this year.

“We got an increase in our California (Governor’s) Office of Emergency Services funding, and that’s helping to supplement a lot of the overhead expenditures at our shelter, although we have downsized some,” Coe said.

“But our main priority is to continue to provide quality care for the women and children and deal with their healing process which we’re doing through our hotline, our crisis shelter and our community counseling and community outreach. All those core services

are still going and flourishing and fully funded for the majority of the year ahead.”

What is the status on the housing front?

“We do still have our emergency shelter where victims and their families can stay for up to 60 days, and if we have a family that’s in need of longer-term housing, we can work with that family on a temporary transitional basis at that shelter as well. Then we work with other out-oftown facilities that … have longer term housing.”

The 22-person full-time SFTS staff has its hands full. So what can community members do to help?

“We very much appreciate monetary donations,” Coe said. “… And there are also donations of goods that we are always in need of and appreciate receiving.”

For more information or to donate, call 760-6740400; visit www.shelterfromthestorm.com; or send mail to 73550 Alessandro Drive, Suite 103, Palm Desert, CA 92260.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

FEBRUARY 2016

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10 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

FEBRUARY ASTRONOMY

Planets and BrightThe Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight Moon Again Moves Across For February, 2016

the Sky, Passing Planets as It Goes

This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

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The evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER

By Robert Victor

F

or much of February, early risers will continue to enjoy all five bright planets before dawn, as the waning moon sweeps past all of them through Feb. 6. In its next trip around Earth, the moon will go past four planets from Feb. 24 through Mar. 7.

February’s evening mid-twilight occurs about 40 minutes after sunset from our latitude.

Sirius is the brightest object plotted on our evening chart until very late in the month, when Jupiter appears above the horizon just north of due east.

Sirius and Capella are the southern and northern vertices and brightest members of the huge Winter Hexagon, with a seventh star, Betelgeuse, inside. Regulus and Jupiter follow the Hexagon across the sky. But you needn’t wait until the month is almost over to see Regulus and Jupiter; just look later in the evening. By Feb. 18, Regulus is at opposition and visible all night, while Jupiter rises just after the end of twilight, some 1 1/2 hours after sunset. Jupiter will be at opposition on the night of March 7-8, as Earth passes between that planet and the sun.

After Sirius, the next-brightest star is Canopus. At the end of February, both stars climb to their highest points, due south, very soon after the end of evening twilight. From Palm Springs, Canopus at its best stands just 3 degrees above the horizon. Select a site where mountains south of you don’t block your view.

As for the aforementioned Solar System Extravaganza: Within a 12-day interval, from Jan. 27 through Feb. 6, the moon passes all the naked-eye planets in the morning sky.

To provide a chance for locals to view this unusual lineup of the moon and five planets with the unaided eye, binoculars and telescope, I will hold five predawn sky watches, if the sky is clear. The sessions will be held on the following dates: Sunday, Jan. 31; Monday, Feb. 1; Wednesday, Feb. 3; Saturday, Feb. 6; and Sunday, Feb. 7. All five watches will be held in Palm Springs, from 5:15 until 6 a.m., on the pedestrian bridge crossing over Tahquitz Creek, at Camino Real between north and south Riverside drives, three blocks north of Cahuilla Elementary School.

After posing near Jupiter on Jan. 27 and 28, and just 4 degrees north of Spica on Jan. 30, the moon continues eastward, passing four more planets Feb. 1-6, while Mercury and Venus draw closer to each other.

On Feb. 1, Mars appears within 3 degrees to the lower right of the moon, now just past last-quarter phase and just less than half full.

An hour before sunrise on Feb. 1, five bright planets, Mercury-Venus-Saturn-Mars-Jupiter, in order from east-southeast to west-southwest, span 115 degrees.

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On Feb. 3, Saturn appears 4 degrees below the moon. Antares appears 9 degrees to the lower right of the moon and 8 degrees to the lower right of Saturn. On Feb. 5, Venus appears within 9 degrees to the moon’s lower left.

On Feb. 6, look for Mercury within 5 degrees to the lower left of Venus and 3 degrees to the lower right of a thin crescent moon, only 5 percent full and just more than two days before new. This morning, the five naked-eye planets span an angle of 120 degrees across our sky.

On the morning of Feb. 7, Spaceship Earth is carrying us toward the planet Mars. Our faster-moving home planet will overtake the red planet in late May. Watch about 40-45 minutes before sunrise this morning for a last, very thin old crescent moon, about 2 percent full, just risen in the east-southeast, about 17 degrees to the lower left of Venus and 13 degrees to the lower left of Mercury. New moon, invisible near the sun, occurs on Feb. 8 at 6:39 a.m. PST. Back to the evening sky: During Feb. 9-22, track the waxing moon at dusk, within an hour after sunset. The first crescent, only 3 percent full, will be seen very low, 10-15 degrees south of west in evening twilight, on Tuesday, Feb. 9, some 36 hours after the new moon. The moon reaches first quarter, half full, on Sunday evening, Feb. 14. An occultation of Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, will take place on the next night. Find that bright star a few degrees east of the moon at dusk on Monday, Feb. 15, and watch the moon narrow the gap until the star disappears behind the moon’s dark side at 1:05 a.m. on Feb. 16, not long before they set. From the Coachella Valley, the moon will be only 4 degrees above the horizon, so choose your viewing site with that in mind.

The waxing gibbous moon will leapfrog over a line joining Pollux and Procyon a few nights later, between the evenings of Feb. 18 and 19.

Passing full, the moon will skip past Regulus,

Deneb

Regulus Pollux

Capella

29 Jupiter

E

W

Procyon Betelgeuse

Aldebaran

Rigel Sirius

Fomalhaut

Canopus

heart of Leo, the Lion, in the eastern Evening mid-twilight occurs evening Sun is 9° below horizon. sky, from Feb.when 21 to 22.

The moon rises some Feb. 1: 41 minutes after sunset.

40 minutes before sunset on the 15: 41 " " " 21st, and 29:after 39 " sunset " " the 22nd. just a quarter-hour on On the 23rd, the moon still rises in twilight some 70 minutes after sunset, a few degrees to the lower right of bright Jupiter. Over the next week, the moon rises 50-55 minutes later each night, and soon can no longer be viewed at a convenient early evening hour. So, back to predawn viewing!

Follow the moon Feb. 22-March 7 by shifting your viewing time back to morning twilight, about one hour before sunrise. On Feb. 22, catch Regulus just 3 degrees north (to the upper right) of the full moon in the western sky an hour before sunrise.

On Feb. 24, look for bright Jupiter about 5 degrees to the lower right of the waning gibbous moon. On Feb. 26, catch Spica 6 degrees to the moon’s lower left. As previously mentioned, on the morning of Feb. 27, six solar system bodies span 150 degrees across the sky. In order

S

from west to east-southeast, locate Jupiter, Stereographic Projection Map by Robertand D. Miller the moon, Mars, Saturn, Venus, possibly Mercury, just more than 6 degrees to the lower left of Venus. Binoculars can give you final views of the innermost planet before it slips into bright twilight on its way toward the far side of the sun.

Illustrations of events mentioned above appear in the Sky Calendar. For a sample issue, visit www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar.

The Astronomical Society of the Desert will host a star party on Saturday, Feb. 13, at dusk at the Visitor Center of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Dates of future star parties, with directions and maps to the sites and info on lectures and special events, are available at www.astrorx.org.

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.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

GETTING MORE WATER IN THE WEST

Key Legislation Failed in 2015; Will This Year Be Any Different?

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BY KRISTA LANGLOIS

ast summer, as California was struggling through its most severe year of the latest drought, two California members of Congress unveiled legislation meant to ease the pain.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Republican Rep. David Valadao introduced, separately and respectively, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2015 and the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015. Though both are aimed primarily at their home state, the bills’ scope is West-wide.

Both seek more federal money for new water storage and infrastructure projects. Both would expedite environmental review of those projects, and maximize water supply for farms and communities. And both “contain provisions that could alter the implementation of the Endangered Species Act and, in some cases, potentially set a precedent for how federal agencies address endangered and threatened species,” according to the Congressional Research Service. Those precedents include limiting federal agencies’ ability to manage stream flows for endangered fish.

Beyond these similarities, the bills take wildly different paths. Feinstein’s bill (preferred by environmentalists) focuses on water recycling and desalination; Valadao’s focuses on squeezing more from rivers. Still, as summer stretched into fall with little relief for sun-blasted California, there was hope the two could find common ground. More than 100 farm groups and water authorities signed a letter in October asking Congress to compromise. Environmental groups—despite their opposition to the endangered species implications—agreed something needed to be done.

Yet the year ended without any progress.

Not only were Feinstein and Valadao’s bills caught up in political bickering; Congress also failed to pass any of the six or so other drought-relief bills introduced by Western lawmakers. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, never introduced the comprehensive drought package at which she’d hinted.

On Jan. 11, the U.S. Senate reconvened.

Despite El Niño’s recent snow and rain, the drought will march on. Lawmakers in 2016 will be faced with the same challenges they failed to address in 2015: securing water for agriculture and communities. Planning for a drier, morepopulous future. Protecting water-dependent fish and wildlife. Will they do any better?

Jimmy Hague, director of the Center for Water Resources with the Theodore Roosevelt

Conservation Partnership, is skeptical. If Congress wasn’t able to reach a compromise in 2015, why would 2016 be any different?

“It is really difficult to get consensus on water legislation,” Hague says. “All the controversy between those two bills still exists, and now we’ve added a presidential election year on top of it.”

Nonetheless, Hague thinks that Western water woes will get a helping hand from the feds in 2016. That’s because there are at least 20 measures agencies can implement without congressional action. Many were detailed in a list of recommendations that the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Trout Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy submitted to the White House last summer— around the same time Feinstein and Valadao were unveiling their bills.

Compared to the controversial congressional legislation, the list didn’t exactly grab headlines. While legislation calls for desalination plants and dam-building, the conservation groups’ ideas include things like allowing the Internal Revenue Service to include “water donations” as a tax write-off, and encouraging the Bureau of Reclamation to fill and draw down reservoirs based on actual conditions rather than set-in-stone calendar dates.

Still, while Congress’ plans have stalled, these smaller administrative solutions may be gaining traction. Several were implemented in 2015, including an expansion of the Bureau of Reclamation’s “WaterSMART” program.

Among other things, WaterSMART grants have been used to reduce leakage in aging irrigation canals. That keeps more water in rivers for fish and wildlife. A project on Montana’s Sun River saved 10,000 acre-feet of water annually.

Hague believes that the Obama

administration will keep quietly plugging away at similar drought resilience projects in 2016—stuff that doesn’t get much attention, but could have big impacts. And lawmakers, for their part, say they’re committed to doing better. Nine Western senators, both Democrat and Republican, wrote a letter asking Murkowski (who chairs the committee though which all drought bills must pass) not to give up on drought negotiations. Murkowski’s spokesman, Michael Tadeo, wrote that the senator has no plans to do so: Drought is among her top priorities for the year.

Yet in a Congress where snowballs are held up to disprove global warming, there are fears that this winter’s rain and snow might derail progress on drought negotiations.

“There’s been this pattern,” Hague says.

“There’s a drought, and people freak out about it and work on solutions, and then it rains, and they forget about it. And then the cycle repeats itself.”

Krista Langlois is a correspondent at High Country News, where this story first appeared.

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12 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2016

Art + Archutecture = Awesome!

Everything old is new again during Modernism Week and at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair.

Welcome to February in the Coachella Valley.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13

FEBRUARY 2016

Retro Reinterpretations Nat Reed Takes the Colors and Styles of the ’50s and ’60s and Makes Them His Own

Y

ou may have never heard of Nat Reed—but you’ve almost certainly seen his work before.

The midcentury modern artist did the poster/cover for last year’s Palm Springs Pride, and he’s been written about in various publications.

At the Palm Springs International Airport, Reed is collaborating with Virgin America to create an interactive modernism exhibit at the airline’s gate that will be on display during Modernism Week, which this year is taking place Feb. 11-21.

During a recent interview, Reed discussed his art, which has an animated feel that includes various midcentury modernism elements: architecture, automobiles and even tiki. Our cover this month is graced by one of his pieces of art.

“It’s all referencing the period and things from that period,” Reed said. “Polynesian exotica and the whole tiki thing was popular in the ’50s and ’60s. … With the tikis, my grandfather was a Polynesian decorator and tiki carver, so I grew up with those all around.

Those are really natural things for me to use.

As I’ve used tikis in the work, (I’ve learned) they’re really good at distilling the graphic emotion in the piece. I tend to stay away from directly human figures, because for me, that blows the mystery of a piece. It’s just too direct.”

Reed said his childhood surroundings inspired him to do things his own way.

“I grew up in a family of artists, Bohemians, and everyone was always making something.

I’m not really that formally educated and drifted in and out of art classes,” Reed said.

“It was mostly just my background with my family, and everyone always making things.

In a way, formal instruction was sort of: ‘Why can’t you just figure that out yourself?’”

Looking at the paintings in Reed’s gallery, I was curious about his process. The works are definitely computerized, but there’s a certain detail that looks like it could be handsketched.

“The pieces on pegboard that I do: Those are paintings. I’m not working through the holes on the pegboard; I’m working around them,” he said. “But after I do my concept sketches, I’m composing them digitally on the computer. I definitely want them to feel like

By Brian Blueskye they could be traditionally created, and I work really hard toward that.

“I do all of my own printing and saturate the inks really heavily during the printing process. They have a really rich surface.”

Reed explained what he has planned for the Virgin America gate at the Palm Springs International Airport.

“Marc Joseph at (vintage store) Wonderama is very involved in the retro community,” Reed said. “He was doing a vignette for Virgin Airlines. He asked me if I would put up some art. He asked, ‘What about doing the whole background on a mural?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that sounds good.’ What they’re showing there is digitally mocked up where they took my Palm Springs map and put it in the background. I’m working specifically on a piece that will be the background for his furnishings and vignette.”

Reed’s work resembles the work of modernism artist Shag. Reed said people often confuse their work.

“People often come in and ask, ‘Is this Shag?’” Reed said. “People say they’ve seen that before, and I have a lot of work around town, so people may have seen my stuff before as well. But generally, that’s what people are thinking. My work isn’t characterdriven as much as his is, but it’s obviously referencing the same period in very colorful and graphic prints. But if you look at the work, it’s very different. I did the Palm Springs Pride poster, and that really got around.”

Reed said people generally respond positively to his work—and often make a pop-culture reference in comparison that itself is tied modernism.

“That’s what’s so gratifying about this: People come in and go, ‘Ohhhh, this makes me so happy, and it’s so colorful,’” he said.

“The other thing that happens so often is people say, ‘It’s like The Jetsons!’ People will barely walk in and say that. They don’t exploit that brand enough. It’s so universal when they’re associating that brand with this style.”

Of course, the star of Modernism Week is the local architecture. Not surprisingly, Nat Reed is a fan—of both existing buildings and structures that have been lost.

“Both of the banks down the street, especially the Bank of America and the Chase Bank, are just beautiful examples of elegant modern architecture.” He said. “The old

canopy at the Spa Resort Casino that they tore down, that was elegant and perfectly made. I was so sad to see that go. The liquor store at Vista Chino, too. I’m so mad because the ARRIVE hotel that they built right next to it—I don’t know what planners think, but they let them build it with that zig-zag roof line rising above the roof line of the liquor store, which ruins that beautiful roof line.”

Reed concedes that he’s surprised how big Modern Week has become.

“It seems like five years ago is when it started to explode,” he said. “Three years ago, it was even bigger, and I was so surprised.”

Reed is participating in Modernism Week in one more way: His home is part of a Modernism Week tour. If you check out his

home in the Racquet Club Estates, expect to see both him and his art there.

“I really sort of restyled the house to be more themed with Modernism Week, so I’m on the tour, and I’m going to be there,” he said. “I’ll probably do some signing and have some artwork in the house. Event-wise, that’s what I’m focusing on.

“I might do something in the gallery for the airport piece and have a reproduction here.

I’m sort of last minute on things.”

For more information on Nat Reed, visit his gallery at333 N. Palm Canyon Drive, No. 108B, in Palm Springs; call 323-304-8822; or visit www. natreed.com. For information on Modernism Week, visit www.modernismweek.com.

Just a few pieces of art at Nat Reed's Gallery.

Brian blueskye

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14 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2016

Illustrating the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair

The Ever-Growing Art Expo Returns to Town Feb. 11-14. Here Are Three Happenings You Should Not Miss.

1. Go See Photographer of the Year Ralph Gibson Ralph Gibson studied photography in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s; he also spent two years at the San Francisco Institute of Art. He worked as an assistant to photographer Dorothea Lange and later with filmmaker Robert Frank.

His photographic art is known for incorporating fragments of eroticism along with undertones of the mysterious, giving narrative meaning though context and surreal juxtaposition. He will receive his award at noon, Friday, Feb. 12; a discussion of his work will follow.

Ralph Gibson's "MJ, Sardinia," from “Infanta” series (1980). Courtesy of Etherton Gallery

2. Learn About Esteemed Jazz Photographer Herman Leonard At noon, Saturday, Feb. 13, the Etherton Gallery booth (No. 304) will be the site of a talk and book-signing featuring regarding Herman Leonard (1923-2010) by his daughter Shana Leonard, and her husband, Steven Smith. Called the “the greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre” by President Bill Clinton, Herman Leonard fell in love with photography at the age of 9 and earned a degree in photography from Ohio University before joining the Army during World War II. He worked with master portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh before moving to Greenwich Village, where he often traded stills for admission to the jazz clubs of ’50s. Following an exhibition in New Orleans in 1991, Leonard moved to the city and immersed himself in the city’s vibrant jazz scene. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 8,000 gelatin prints by Leonard. He produced three books of his jazz photos, including his final book in 2006, Jazz, Giants and Journeys: The Photography of Herman Leonard. In the foreword to the book, Quincy Jones wrote, “When people think of jazz, their mental picture is likely one of Herman’s.”

"Billie Holiday, New York City, 1949," gelatin silver print. © Herman Leonard Photography, LLC, courtesy Etherton Gallery.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

FEBRUARY 2016

MIZELL SENIOR CENTER THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL STARS AMONG US GALA

THE SUPREMES Live at the

3. Meet Artist of the Year Larry Bell Larry Bell will receive his 2016 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair Artist of the Year award at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13. Bell is most often associated with the Light and Space group of artists, mostly from the West Coast, whose pieces are mainly perceptual experiences that stem from the interaction of the viewer and the art itself. While Bell’s early works were mostly Abstract Expressionist paintings, he began moving into the realm of more three-dimensional forms by incorporating shards of mirror and glass into angular geometric compositions, and later into shadow or “ghost boxes.” His most recognizable pieces are his cube sculptures on transparent pedestals that he began constructing in the 1960s.

"AAAAA 108," 2007 mixed media on paper 47 ¼ x 32 inches. Photo courtesy Frank Lloyd Gallery FBL042.

AN EVENING STARRING SUPREME REFLECTIONS Gala Emcee and Special Performance by

JENNIFER HOLLIDAY

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2016 PA L M S P R I N G S A I R M U S E U M

HONORING

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The Palm Springs Fine Art Fair takes place Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 11 through 14, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros. It costs $20 for a day pass; a VIP pass for all days is $75. For more info, visit www.palmspringsfineartfair.com.

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16 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

FEBRUARY 2016

CVI SPOTLIGHT: FEBRUARY 2016 Little Playhouse, Big Play: Don’t Miss Desert Rose’s ‘Angels in America’

I

t’s a very good thing that the latest production by Desert Rose Playhouse, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, has settled in for a six-week run. That gives a large percentage of valley theater-lovers the chance to see it.

And they should.

The play, which won a Tony, a Drama Desk Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993, is an ambitious undertaking. The only way to do Kushner’s powerful script justice is with amazing acting—and director Jim Strait’s cast delivers.

The story is set in 1985. Ronald Reagan is president, and AIDS has begun ravaging the gay population. We meet two couples: Prior Walter (Nick Edwards), who is battling the disease, and his lover, Louis Ironson (Daniel Gutierrez); and Joe Porter Pitt (Alex Updike), a devout Mormon lawyer in denial about his homosexuality, and his unstable, Valiumaddicted wife, Harper (Allison Feist).

Joe has gone to work for gruff, conservative Roy Cohn (Eliott Goretsky), who is also closeted and battling AIDS, but refuses to accept the diagnosis. Cohn believes gay men are weak and powerless; he refers to his illness as cancer instead. Meanwhile, Louis cannot handle the realities of the disease, and cruelly abandons Prior when the first Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions appear.

Interfacing with both patients is AIDS hospital-ward nurse Belize (the superb Robert Ramirez). Doing double duty as the fur-coatwearing Mr. Lies, Ramirez is caring, campy, hilarious and viciously witty all at the same time.

When Joe finally comes out of the closet, his mother, Hannah (Adina Lawson), travels

from Salt Lake City to try to push him back in.

Director Jim Strait (who also designed the set, sound and projections) brings out the best in each member of his stellar cast. Each actor is a standout.

Nick Edwards rips your heart out as the dying Prior. His depiction of what AIDS does to the body is wrenching. This is an awardwinning performance. As his Jewish lover, Louis, Daniel Gutierrez ably portrays a mix of guilt and callousness. His performance occasionally seemed to lack just a bit of energy, but that may have been an artistic choice for the character.

Goretsky’s Roy Cohn (based on the real political figure) is fabulous: dark, cynical, condescending and yet charismatic as he spews profanity at clients and barks orders at underlings over the phone. Just as strong is Alex Updike as the conflicted Joe. Talk about issues: He has the ultimate glass-half-empty guy, Roy Cohn, for a boss; a pill-popping, delusional wife; and a sexual attraction to men that he refuses to acknowledge. Updike’s emotional pain is palpable.

As Joe’s beleaguered wife, Harper, Allison Feist is impressive. I’ve seen this young actress in a number of productions now, and she never disappoints. She’s got a long career ahead of her.

Loren Freeman—a standout in the recent A Queer Carol—is terrific here as well in several cameos (The Angel, Nurse, Sister Ella Chapter, A Homeless Woman in the Bronx).

He exudes presence, which is something you cannot teach.

Rounding out the cast is the amazingly versatile Adina Lawson. She also plays multiple parts, hitting each one out of the ballpark. Unrecognizable as a rabbi in the

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Allison Feist and Alex Updike in Desert Rose's Angels in America.

show’s opening, she is also notable as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, a woman executed for being a Soviet spy. I can’t help but grin each time I go to a show and see her name in the program; I know the audience is in for a treat.

This play is challenging technically, and Desert Rose rises to the occasion. There are lots of quick scene changes, and they are executed quite well. Phil Murphy should take a bow for his prism lightning design during those changes; it is beautiful and quite effective. Designer Tom Valach creates just the right dramatic tone with the angel costume, and the other costumes, hair and makeup are spot-on.

The Desert Rose Playhouse is producing Angels in America as its annual Gay Heritage Production. Desert Rose is the Coachella Valley’s only LGBT and gay-positive stage company, and most everything the playhouse does is edgy and often pushes the envelope.

So be warned: This show does contain

brief full frontal nudity and a fairly graphic depiction of gay sex. Also keep in mind the show is 3 1/2 hours long—although the time whizzes by.

This play is not for the faint of heart; it touches on love, sex, death, betrayal, greed, bigotry, addiction and the afterlife. It will shake you to your core—and might make you look at what you’re doing with the time you have left on this Earth.

It’s damn good theater. Don’t miss it.

Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches is performed at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Desert Rose Playhouse, 69620 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Evening tickets are $33; matinee tickets are $30. The running time is 3 1/2 hours, with two 10-minute intermissions. For tickets or more information, call 760-202-3000, or visit www.desertroseplayhouse.org.

—Bonnie Gilgallon

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17

FEBRUARY 2016

McCallum Celebrates Sinatra’s Centennial

Frank Sinatra, Jr. Sinatra Sings Sintra A Multimedia Centennial Celebration Fri & Sat, February 5 & 6, 8pm

Cesar Millan Live!

Sun, February 7, 2pm

Presented through the generosity of Wayne and Miriam Prim

Merle Haggard Mon, February 8, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Harold Matzner

Direct from the U.K.

Pasadena Roof Orchestra Wed, February 10, 8pm

Jersey Boys

Steve Solomon’s Cannoli, Latkes & Guilt

Tue-Fri, February 16-19, 8pm Sat, February 20, 2pm & 8pm Sun, February 21, 2pm & 7pm Presented through the generosity of: February 16-19 - Harold Matzner February 20 & 21 - Robert and Sharlene Britz

Thu, February 11, 8pm Fri, February 12, 2pm & 8pm

The Producers

An Evening With 2Cellos

Fri, February 26, 8pm Sat, February 27, 2pm & 8pm Sun, February 28, 2pm & 7pm

Order tickets by phone

760-340-ARTS (2787)

nki e Val li The sTo ry of fra s & The foU r sea son

Fri, April 8, 8pm

Order online

mccallumtheatre.com

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18 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

MICRO-CHANNELING VS. MICRO-NEEDLING

By Shonda Chase, RN Co-owner and aesthetic director of Revive Wellness Centers Palm Springs and the South Bay area of Los Angeles

Last month, we shared how Kybella injections can reduce unwanted neck fat without surgery or SmartLipo. This month, we’re going to reveal how a new microchanneling treatment can improve our skin texture and appearance—without injections.

Advanced injectors have been treating specific wrinkles with dermal fillers for years. Lately, we have also been able to improve skin texture, pore size and tone with CO2 fractional lasers and radio frequency (RF) treatments. CO2 has 3-5 days of downtime. RF takes two or three treatments, one month apart, with about one day of downtime, for full results. Both of these treatments produce collagen formation.

Before and after micro-needling treatment.

But now there is a way to get Botox and dermal fillers used evenly, in a larger area. I’ve been using a new micro-channeling device that allows me to comfortably put Botox and dermal filler evenly over an entire face in less than 15 minutes.

Practitioners have been trying to produce these results with microneedling or dermal pens for a long time. The idea behind microchanneling is to put Botox and filler on the skin’s surface; poke tiny holes into the skin; and hope the products seep into the holes made by the needles. This approach leaves most of the expensive products on the skin’s surface, with very little getting into the dermis.

This month’s secret is that a new micro-channeling device inserts all of the active products past the outer later of skin directly into the dermis. This treatment can quickly improve texture and skin tone— without any downtime. As you can see from the illustrations, this approach creates results that we just couldn’t achieve without microchanneling technology.

Next month, we’ll reveal more secrets about looking younger and feeling better about ourselves. Until then, keep the secret.

Read the entire article at www.revivecenter.com/blog.

Email your individual appearance and aging questions to Ms. Chase at Shonda@revivecenter.com.

CVIndependent.com

FEBRUARY 2016

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19

FEBRUARY 2016

ARTS & CULTURE

THEY PUT IN THE WORK

‘A Class Act,’ CV Rep’s Most-Ambitious Production to Date, Is a Near-Complete Success

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

A

By Valerie-jean (V.J.) Hume

Class Act was nominated for five Tony Awards, and it won an Obie for Best Music and Lyrics. It’s now being presented locally by the Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre— and founding artistic Ron Celona readily admits that it’s the most ambitious (and expensive) effort in CV Rep’s history.

Celona does keep raising the bar, doesn’t he? This time, he’s using an eight-member cast and a live four-piece band. Celona’s Little-Theater-That-Did is an inspiration for any start-up. This show, with music and lyrics by Edward Kleban (remember that name!) and book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price, takes us straight to Broadway musicals—an awesome topic for a regional theater. Here in Rancho Mirage, Ron Celona directs the show (of course), while Scott Storr is the musical director, and the choreography is by Mark Esposito.

Before I go on, a disclaimer: CVEP presents two nights of preview shows for audiences before the official opening. (Applause for that idea—there is nothing weirder than the first time in front of a real audience.) But for this review to make the deadline for our February print edition, the Coachella Valley Independent had to attend the very first preview of A Class Act. Obviously, a preview must be judged a little more gently than the “real” shows.

That said, the first preview’s packed house would agree: This show is ready.

The show opens with Kleban’s memorial service. (He died in 1987 at the age of 48 from smoking … a cautionary tale.) The rest of the show uses flashbacks to reveal his life, while his original music and lyrics weave through the story. You’ll enjoy such songs as his “Light on My Feet,” “Paris Through the Window,” “Follow Your Star,” “Broadway Boogie Woogie” and “The Next Best Thing to Love.” We watch him slave over his doomed show Gallery, and see his relationships ebb and flow. At the end of Act 2, we eventually return to the memorial service of this strange and talented man.

The plot, in a nutshell, focuses on Edward Kleban’s real-life creative struggle in the theater. That self-created struggle occurs simply because he is violently opposed to collaborating with anyone else, and wants desperately to be both lyricist and composer of his own Broadway musicals. The irony, of course, comes from the fact that he is best—really, ONLY—known, for his forced collaboration as lyricist, with the brilliant Marvin Hamlisch as composer, of A Chorus Line. In one flashback, we actually get to be present at the birth of such achingly magnificent songs as “At the Ballet,” “What I Did for Love” and “One.” These unforgettable pieces contrast with the rest of the music in this play, which was created solely by Kleban.

It’s not bad music, but it’s just not up to the

standard of the A Chorus Line work he did when he collaborated with someone else.

Which he only did once. Go figure.

Kleban is played by Jeffrey Landman.

He convincingly switches between Kleban’s varied neuroses, the vanity of the unsuccessful artist, and the stubborn belief in his own greatness. We see him go from attention-craving sniveling to genuine fear to lighthearted but sneaky charm. He’s complex character, well-played.

Craig Cady takes on two roles: Bobby, a fellow student, and Michael. The contrast between his two characters is fascinating, because he truly comes alive when he slaps on a moustache to play Michael Bennett of A Chorus Line, and he can use his lean dancer’s body to express every nuance of emotion.

Julie Garnye plays Sophie. As the curvaceous and luscious female lead and love interest (Yes! Kleban is straight!), Garnye has a quiet strength that serves her well, but it’s her powerful singing voice that you’ll remember.

Pretty Rachael M. Johnson is blonde Lucy, Kleban’s sweet friend and supporter.

She’s a well-trained dancer and singer in the Broadway mode, and her trim, energetic moves are a pleasure to watch.

Craig McEldowney is Charley. He’s solid, gifted and reliable, and who wouldn’t like him?

Sal Mistretta plays Lehman Engel, the older-and-wiser teacher of the BMI songwriting class where his students meet.

He brings a gravitas to the show with his thoughtful performance. Ironically, it is Kleban, not Engel, who gets to teach us

Craig McEldowney, Craig Cady, Jeffrey Landman and Sal Mistretta in CV Rep's A Class Act.

“Lehman’s Rules” of showbiz.

Striking Christina Morrell is Felicia, ambitious and determined to live her dreams.

She reminds us of when girls first began to succeed at working in all-male areas, and we like her for it.

Kristin Towers-Rowles plays Mona, a sexy redheaded singer/dancer out to conquer Kleban. She slithers and stalks seductively, but shows talent aplenty in her interpretation of this role.

I worried that stuffing this cast and all of the musicians into CV Rep’s space might prove to be what is called A Challenge.

After all, CV Rep at the Atrium is basically a storefront. However, Jimmy Cuomo’s set—using dreamy rear-wall projections to transport us to locations such as Paris and Toronto, along with sliding panels that open to expand the area—give us a sense of greater space. This stage feels like the widest one CV Rep has created. Celona’s clean and clever direction uses every inch of the area; even in scenes using the entire cast, there is no feeling of crowding. The musicians— Jeff Barish on flute, sax and clarinet, Dave Hitchings on drums, Bill Saitta both bowing and plucking on bass, and Scott Storr on

piano—find their home tucked in at stage left.

We must also mention Louise Ross as stage manager; Aalsa Lee, the costume designer; Eddie Cancel, who designed the lighting and technical effects; Randy Hansen as sound designer; Doug Morris as associate designer and prop master; and Karen Goodwin as sound tech. All did a terrific job in bringing this show to life. Because what this show tells us is this: In the theater, it’s ALL about the work.

Being preview-gentle: The only change I’d love to see in this show is for the first act to be as full of emotion as the second act. That will no doubt happen naturally during the play’s run. After all, it’s all about the work.

A Class Act is performed at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre, located in The Atrium, 69930 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Tickets are $48; opening night (Friday, Jan. 22) is $58. The running time is 2 1/2 hours, with one intermission. For tickets or more information, call 760-296-2966, or visit cvrep.org.

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FEBRUARY 2016

ARTS & CULTURE

TWO SOULS MERGED

An Excerpt From the Book ‘Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For’

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

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By Alexis hunter

wrote this book for three reasons: I wrote this book to show the dangers of using silicone injections so that no one else has to suffer injury or even death. If I can prevent one person from using these, I’ll feel that it was worth writing.

I wrote it to show how tragic Joi’s life was because of her vulnerability and fragile self-image and how it changed when she found someone who loved her for who she was, a gentle and sweet woman.

I wrote it to show the love that can exist between two human beings, regardless of sexual orientation. Joi loved men the majority of her life. She was “straight.” When we met, we connected as soulmates with a love that evolved into an all-encompassing committed relationship. This is not just a lesbian story. It is a love story.

Chapter 5 • Go-Go I had told some of the girls at the Studio Club that I’d been trying to find work. One of them worked occasionally as a go-go dancer in a nightclub, but had plans one evening and wondered if I’d like to fill in for her. When I said that I didn’t have a costume, she offered to let me wear hers, a hot little red bikini covered with sequins. We wore the same size, which was really fortunate for me. I already had the white cowboy boots so my ensemble was complete. She gave me all the information I needed and I was ready to go-go.

It was 1969. Joi and I had spoken daily since the last day we shot Bigfoot. Our conversations were light and fun and revolved around when we would next get together. The moment I found out about my dancing gig, I called and asked her if she’d like to come and keep me company. She said that she’d love to and might bring her friend, Sid Caesar.

During our conversation, Joi told me that she and Stan were legally separated, but

Alexis Hunter with Jimmie Rodgers. KATE PORTER CVIndependent.com

remained the best of friends. He reminded her of the dearest man in her life—her grampy, Ray Shupe, who had helped raise her. When Ray died a few years before, it left a terrible void in her life. Stan had been a good friend, was there when she needed him, but was a terrible husband. She said she’d explain more later and left it at that.

This helped to fill in the blanks. I started to understand her better and could tell she was hurting deeply. I hoped I might be able to help by being a good friend to her.

I was so excited that Joi would be coming to my big debut as a go-go dancer. I arrived at the nightclub and spoke to the manager, asking him to reserve a place at the base of the stage for Joi and her guest.

I was on an elevated platform in go-go style, dancing and swaying to the music when Joi walked in the room. She was dressed like a movie star, wearing her full-length blonde mink coat that matched the color of her hair.

She was dazzling—and alone. She sat at my feet and watched my every move. I’ll never forget when “My Girl” by the Temptations started to play—our eyes met and I danced for her and only her.

After the set, I sat down at her table. She looked at me with a concerned expression and said, “You don’t belong here. C’mon.”

She didn’t have to say another word. Still in costume, I smiled and followed her back to her place.

Joi was living in a lovely high-rise on La Cienega and Fountain in West Hollywood, just down the hill from Sunset Boulevard and the Playboy Club. She lived alone on the fourth floor in a spacious and elegantly decorated one-bedroom apartment with a nice den/ TV room. A fireplace with electric logs was in

the center of the living room, controlled by a switch on the wall, and she turned it on as we entered the room. The flames lit up the room, and her apartment became cozy and warm.

She made us coffee and a salad, and, while we sat on the sofa chatting and eating, time passed so slowly it seemed we were in a time warp.

I had hoped for a moment like this … time alone with her in a setting exactly like this ... and had fantasized many times how this might play out. I knew I would not do anything to jeopardize our friendship nor make any moves that would ruin something so wonderful in my life. She didn’t know I was attracted to women, and I had not said one word about it. I had decided I would keep my thoughts and feelings to myself, because I couldn’t bear to lose this magic or to have her think less of me. And since I had no way of knowing how she’d react if she knew, I would just have to love her from afar.

Chapter 6 • Falling in Love We spent the evening talking as if we’d known each other for a hundred years. The more we spoke, the closer we sat to one another. She would reach out and touch my arm or gently brush her hand against my face. Her life had been filled with many men and brief affairs, and she expressed how sad and alone she had felt for too many years.

Joi had been involved with Sid Caesar for a while, and before him it was Frank Sinatra.

She had really liked Frank, but said he was quite troubled. The time they spent together was interrupted by his sadness at the loss of one of his friends. He would cry, and his depression destroyed any intimacy they had.

That was the end of their affair.

The relationship with Sid, who was married, was a dead-end street. She knew he was a temporary suitor and realized exactly what it was about—sex for him and a momentary end to loneliness for her.

She told me about the creeps and the scum in Hollywood—the producers and directors who demanded favors for work in a film. The casting couch was alive and well, and she was one of its beautiful victims. Talking about her experiences made her start to cry—she had

been holding in the pain for too many years. I held her close and she sobbed for hours.

Time passed and she was finally comforted.

She felt safe and, at this moment, she knew she was loved.

Finally, though no words were spoken, she took my hand and we lay down, side by side, in front of the fire. There was silence and peace between us when she slowly raised herself and, resting on her elbow, looked down at me with those beautiful green eyes. My heart started to pound and then, unexpectedly and with a passion I had never known, she kissed me!

Joi kissed me with an intensity that almost stopped my breath. She seemed as surprised as I was and told me she had never felt this way about a woman before. Her kisses were like lightning in a thunderstorm. She took me by the hand and led me to her room. Wanting nothing more than to make her happy, I took her in my arms. Thus began a night I had dreamed of from the first time I saw her.

The morning light awakened me, and at first I thought it must have all been a dream.

But there, beside me, she lay. She was sleeping like an angel with our bodies just barely touching. She began to wake and, as her eyes slowly opened, she looked deeply into mine and smiled a smile that I’ll never forget.

The day passed as we kissed and cuddled and made love and laughed. By the end of it, we were both spent … physically and emotionally. It had been heaven on Earth, and two souls had merged into one. Looking back, I realize this was when we fell totally in love.

That date, February 17, 1969, became our official anniversary.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ JoiLansing.ABodyToDieFor.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21

FEBRUARY 2016

22 23 26

SNIFF THE CAP: WINE IS FOR WINNERS THE INDY ENDORSEMENT: VEAL AND A SMOOTHIE (BUT NOT TOGETHER) RESTAURANT NEWS BITES: A NEW WINE AND BEER BAR COMES TO PS

www.cvindependent.com/FOOD-DRINK

These Apps Will Help You Find, Learn About and Appreciate Craft Brews

BEER? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

24

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FEBRUARY 2016

FOOD & DRINK

SNIFF the CAP Wine Is for Winners—Whether or Not You Play the Lottery

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Deidre Pike

T

If I were a rich man, Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.

All day long I’d biddy biddy bum.

If I were a wealthy man.

—Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof

ext from a friend on Jan. 8: “Just finished post-workout shower. Off to buy Powerball ticket. It’s $800 million.

Normally I don’t do lottos but … heck … $800 million. You in? Shall I get one for the two of us?”

Me: “You bet.”

Friend: “Our Powerball A—9, 12, 34, 41, 60 and a Power 11. I feel like such a sucker.

But we might as well enjoy the fantasy until tomorrow. How will you spend your half of

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$800 million?”

Me: “Wine.”

I like to say stuff like, “Life is too short to drink average wine.” But my finances dictate that sometimes I have to drink average wine— so delectable California reds are the first things that come to mind if, if, if I were to win a giant sum of money.

If I were a rich woman—to re-gender Tevye’s song, “ya ha deedle deedle” and all that—I could try some of those bottles I’ve read about:

French Bordeaux that sells for thousands and, oh yes, the elite Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends from the Rhone region of France. I feel like I’d prefer the latter, which are basically Old World versions of the grenache-syrah-mourvedre blends I enjoy from Paso Robles.

I don’t know. I’d like to find out.

Hypothetical money is the root of much speculation.

We didn’t win that jackpot—go figure. The odds were in 292 million, and it wasn’t us.

As you probably know, it wasn’t anybody—so the money rolled over to the next Powerball drawing.

As the jackpot rose to $1.3 billion, the news media went into promotional overdrive. I was staying with my family in southern Wisconsin, and the Madison TV station my parents watch did Powerball stories for three days straight.

Predictable bits: How much will the taxes be?

What’s your winning fantasy? Tweet it to the station.

And, oh yeah, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hints at running for a third term. You betcha.

The station shared people’s more-charitable spending plans. If they won $1.3 billion, a few viewers claimed to want to end homelessness and feed poor families.

The Wall Street Journal created an interactive graphic that visually depicted the odds of winning: one tiny pixel at the end of many, many scrolling pages of tiny, tiny specks. I watched this while sipping a nondescript Australian malbec, on sale for $8.99 per bottle at a small grocery store in Baraboo, Wis. The next day, at the same grocery store, I bought a Powerball ticket—my first, if you don’t count the one shared with above friend. I texted the numbers for this shared ticket to my friend.

The fantasy continued.

I was not the only person to equate lottery winnings to expensive wine acquisition, turns out. The editors of Wine Spectator chimed in with their fondest wine wishes, all of which seem to involve wine from France.

Me? I would build a marvelous climatecontrolled wine cellar and enhance my modest collection with some remarkable bottles. But why stop there? With this much money, why not buy a winery in the heart of beautiful Sonoma County? Or on the “deep end” of Anderson Valley, land of complex and lovely pinot noirs?

I would walk the green fields, helping to prune the vines, enjoying morning barrel-tastings and hosting blending parties with my friends.

My sprawling Xanadu would have many guest rooms, a huge kitchen, fireplaces, custom tile and an eclectic art collection featuring the works of artists from the center of my universe—you know, California and Nevada.

In fact, to heck with those schmancy French wines. Let the editors of Wine Spectator compete for Euro-wine-hipster cred. I love the wines of here. I will stock the cellar of my Mendo mansion with this state’s finest: Lodi zinfandels. Barberas from the Sierra foothills.

Paso Robles GSMs and cabernet sauvignon from the vineyards near St. Helena.

As it turns out, I already possess many of yummy bottles of the above. Go figure.

Actually … pruning grapes? Hanging out with wine geniuses? Blending parties? House guests? None of that is out of reach now, to be honest. Life is pretty good, even if the Australian malbec is meh.

By the way, it’s not true that most lottery winners go broke within a few years of winning large jackpots. Only a couple of lottery winners have gone belly-up or worse. That West Virginia man who won the $315 million Powerball jackpot in 2002 made a mess of his life and was quoted, years later, saying that he wished he’d have torn up the winning ticket.

Money can’t buy happiness. But financial security certainly contributes to life satisfaction. If you’re already fairly reasonable when it comes to financial planning, winning a lottery could improve your life in many ways.

I like to tell myself that—if I win, I would be smart about spending.

By the time Jan. 13 rolled around, the jackpot was $1.5 billion. I hypothesized that I would take the lump sum payout if I won. After taxes, that’s about $600 million-ish. Truth be told, my first monied moves would not likely involve wine, other than indulging in a celebratory bottle of one of my keeper cabernet sauvignons, like Markham Vineyards 2010 The Altruist, a remarkable birthday gift. I would invest in varied ways, spending earnings, not touching the principal. That should be plenty to pay off my doctorate-seeking daughter’s student loan.

And buy a food truck for my entrepreneurial offspring and a car that runs for my daughterin-law. Everyone would go to the dentist. I’d get my septic tank replaced and build a tree house.

The drawing happened. I didn’t even nab a $4 award on any of the five tickets I bought— which, since I added the Power Play option, added up to $15. That’s almost enough for a bottle of 2012 Cinsault from Temecula Valley’s Leoness Cellars, at wine-club prices.

If I were a rich woman, I would join many wine clubs. “Bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.”

But, really, I don’t need no stinking Powerball jackpot.

My odds are better with single-deck blackjack.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23

FEBRUARY 2016

FOOD & DRINK the

INDY ENDORSEMENT Go Old-School at Lord Fletcher's, and New-School at Fresh Juice Bar

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle WHAT The Veal Marsala WHERE Lord Fletcher’s, 70385 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage HOW MUCH $28 CONTACT 760-328-1161; www.lordfletcher.com WHY It’s a classic dish at a classic venue.

I recently celebrated a friend’s birthday at Lord Fletcher’s. Turns out Lord Fletcher’s is celebrating a birthday of its own.

Ron Fletcher opened the restaurant, offering “a touch of Olde England on Restaurant Row” in Rancho Mirage, back in 1966. That means Lord Fletcher’s—now owned and managed by Ron’s son, Michael Fletcher—this year is turning the big 5-0.

Given that most restaurants don’t even last one year, the fact that Lord Fletcher’s has been open for 50 years is an accomplishment that should be heartily applauded. Also worthy of applause: Lord Fletcher’s still offers a top-notch dining experience featuring classics including pot roast, prime rib and other hearty fare.

During that aforementioned birthday dinner, I ordered another classic: the veal marsala. It was prepared perfectly: The mushroom sauce was savory yet not too salty; the meat was tender enough to cut with a fork, yet still substantial enough to offer a pleasant mouth-feel. The accompanying vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes were also on the mark (although there could have been more potatoes, in my book). I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a hearty shout-out to the house salad with palace dressing, which was simple yet fantastic. (The house salad or the soup of the day is included with the meal.

Don’t shell out the extra $8 for the wedge; it doesn’t even include bacon, for Pete’s sake.)

It was a lovely meal with great friends in a unique yet classic setting.

(All of the English knickknacks and works of art are a hoot.) Here’s to another 50 years, Lord Fletcher’s.

WHAT The Marcie’s Matcha smoothie WHERE Fresh Juice Bar, 73030 El Paseo, No. 104, Palm Desert; also in La Quinta and Palm Springs HOW MUCH $5.95 for 16 ounces; $7.95 for 24 ounces CONTACT 760-837-9777; freshjuicebar.com WHY All the unique flavors.

As I drove away from the Fresh Juice Bar on El Paseo, I faced a dilemma.

I knew I was going to be writing an Indy Endorsement about the Marcie’s Matcha smoothie on which I was sipping; after all, it was one of the best smoothies I’d ever tasted.

However … I could not figure out how in the world I was going to describe the flavor.

Describing the color (yellowish-green) would be easy. Describing the texture (delightfully smooth) would be a piece of cake.

But the flavor? Well, here’s my best effort.

It was sweet—but in a mellow way, thanks to the banana and vanilla whey. It was slightly earthy, due to the matcha green tea (read: powdered green tea) and the almond milk. It had just a hint of spice, due to the cinnamon.

But here’s the kicker: Even though I’ve used words to minimize the power of all these flavor profiles—mellow, slightly, just a hint— the sum of all these parts is a smoothie that’s packed with flavor.

As I pondered all of this for what seemed like seconds—a minute or two, tops—my heart sank when the flow of liquid in the straw suddenly ceased: My 16-ounce smoothie was gone. I’d practically guzzled the thing.

This depressing event turned my thoughts from describing the flavor to regretting the decision not to get a 24-ounce smoothie instead.

Try this smoothie. You’ll like it. And trust me: Get the 24-ounce size.

Make Your Valentine’s Day Reservations Today!

Visit our website to see our special Valentine’s Day Prix Fixe menu 198 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262 760.322.6300 PSZin.com

Mention CV Independent and get 50% off your first glass of house wine* *Does not apply to Happy Hour pricing

140 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262 760.325.9464 AlicantePS.com CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2016

the

FOOD & DRINK These Five Apps Will Help You Find, Learn About and Appreciate Craft Brews WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

T

By Erin Peters

he craft-beer industry has long been on top of the latest trends and technology when it comes to helping people create, find and enjoy the best beer possible.

In other words … when it comes to craft beer, yes, there’s an app for that. In fact, here are five applications I recommend for beerlovers both geeky and curious.

Untappd: Drink socially. That’s the mantra of Untappd. Imagine a beer app that’s a combination of Facebook, FourSquare and Yelp.

With Untappd, you check in by both location and beer type. If the beer you’re drinking isn’t listed, you can add it yourself. In Yelp fashion, there’s a great five-bottle-cap rating system.

Taking a page from Facebook, Untappd allows users to “friend” other beer-drinkers and say “cheers” regarding friends’ beer check-ins. The app also recommends other beers based on the style you’re enjoying. Drink new beers and unlock some awesome achievement badges!

Yes, with this app, you’re rewarded for your beery curiosity and willingness to expand your palate. On the brewery side, Untappd allows beer-makers to engage with fans and grow an audience.

Untappd started five years ago and now boasts 3 million users worldwide—and the makers recently announced a strategic merger of Untappd and Next Glass, another alcoholbased tech startup. This means more updates, awesome features and even more badges. This is a world-class social community for beerdrinkers.

When you join, make sure to connect with me at untappd.com/user/epeters. We can enjoy a beer together online!

BreweryMap: What do you get when you combine geeky algorithmic mapping with craft breweries? This awesome app! You can search by location or plan a trip. In fact, Wired.com recently called BreweryMap a “great beer trip planner.” Enter your starting address and your destination, and find all of the craft breweries along your route!

TapHunter: While TapHunter shares some similarities with BreweryMap, this app specifically focuses on local watering holes CVIndependent.com

and—you guessed it—their taps. TapHunter sends alerts when your favorite beer goes on tap. Founded in San Diego in 2009, TapHunter allows users to search for beers by location, brewery or name. With this app, you can learn about the latest trends, check the current lineup of brews at a specific bar, and help update tap lists—earning points and winning prizes along the way. As with Untappd, TapHunter allows users to share findings through social media.

You can also use the app to discover great local bars, restaurants, tasting rooms and now bottle shops. This is a must-use app for bar owners: This app can keep menus up-to-date and let fans know about any changes! iBrewMaster 2: Considering getting into brewing? Well, this is widely regarded as the

premier brewing application. iBrewMaster 2 allows you to manage the entire brewing process, as well as add, edit and manage your own recipes. The app comes complete with preloaded recipes—and you can even purchase up to 280 more. When you start the brewing process, the app will tell you the estimated original and final gravities, alcohol content, IBUs, color and calories. The app is unique in that it makes a distinction between recipes and batches: A brewer can brew recipes more than once, but batches are often not the same.

Here, for example, you can enter a base recipe for an imperial stout and then keep a list of the batches you’ve brewed with that recipe.

One of the goals of good beer-making is to be able to brew a delicious batch of beer, the same way, every time. This feature helps with that.

As they cleverly say, technology never tasted so good.

BJCP: Even if you’re not studying to become a certified craft-beer judge, the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) is a great tool to learn more about beer styles, as written by the brewers’ association. Beer is not only fun and delicious; it’s serious business. Take note: The 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines mark a major revision from the 2008 edition. The industry is moving fast, and brewers are pushing limits and creating new styles and hybrids. This app is updated with a plethora of information regarding craft-beer-market trends, modern brewing ingredients and sensory characteristics.

Learn more about the numerous beer styles, and get better at recognizing the appearance, aroma, flavor and mouth-feel of a beer.

Trust me: These apps will better your beerdrinking experience. Find out what’s new in the craft beer world, and join the craft beer revolution—one app and one beer at a time.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25

FEBRUARY 2016

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FEBRUARY 2016

FOOD & DRINK

Restaurant NEWS BITES

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DEAD OR ALIVE BRINGS FINE WINE, FINE BEER AND FINE DESIGN TO ‘THE CURVE’ AREA Christine Soto and Anthony Cioffi attended to Palm Springs High School together. After graduation, they went their separate ways, but in 2012, at their 10-year reunion, they reconnected—and started dating.

Today, they’re not only life partners; they’re business partners as well.

Cioffi works as a designer, and several years ago, he worked with Donovan Funkey to create the look of Bar, in downtown Palm Springs.

“That sort of sparked the idea for doing this,” Cioffi said.

The “this” of which Cioffi speaks is Dead or Alive, a charming-as-hell craft-beer and specialtywine bar that opened in December at 150 E. Palm Canyon Drive, right next to El Mirasol in the midst of “the curve”—where South Palm Canyon Drive becomes East Palm Canyon Drive.

During a recent media tasting, Cioffi and Soto explained how they took more than a year to develop the idea and design for Dead or Alive. Design plays a big part in the bar’s vibe: A large, round, orange fixture at the end of the bar and a matching orb out front slowly change color and fade as the hours pass each evening and night, simulating a sunset. It’s impressive.

“Christine and I are very passionate about beer and wine, and wanted to create a place where people could come, get together, and discover new, great things,” Cioffi said. “The focus is on the product.”

As for that product: Dead or Live features an ever-changing assortment of craft beers—such as Left Hand Brewing’s Milk Stout ($9 for 13 ounces) and Coachella Valley Brewing’s sessionable Goze ($6.50 for 13 ounces)—and specially selected wines, such as Broc Cellars’ Love Red ($12 per glass) and Domaine Brazilier’s Methode Trad Brut ($9).

There’s nothing quite like this special little beer-and-wine bar anywhere else in the Coachella Valley. Check it out from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day, including holidays.

Visit deadoralivebar.com for more information.

NEW: CREAMISTRY OPENS IN PALM DESERT “We specialize in fresh, made-to-order ice cream using liquid nitrogen. Our rapid freezing process provides the smoothest and creamiest frozen delights.”

So say the folks at Creamistry, a growing Southern California chain currently boasting a dozen or so locations—and one of the newest locations is right here in the Coachella Valley, at 73131 Country Club Drive, No. C1, in Palm Desert. It’s in the same area as Sherman’s and Bristol Farms.

Creamistry’s various locations have been receiving praise on the various online review sites, and some of the pictures being posted on the Palm Desert Creamistry Facebook bring to mind the word yummy. Check out that Facebook page at www.facebook.com/creamistrypalmdesert.

IN BRIEF The affiliation between Iron Chef Jose Garces and The Saguaro, located at 1800 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, is coming to an end: As of the end of February, his menus will no longer be served at the hotel. Who knows what will come next at Tinto and El Jefe? Stay tuned. … Wanna gorge yourself while watching the Super Bowl? Consider heading to Tacos and Tequila at the Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, in Cabazon. For $35 per person (plus tax and service charges), from 3 p.m. until the beginning of the fourth quarter on Sunday, Feb. 7, enjoy crispy chicken tacos, pulled-pork sliders, nachos, chops and salsa, and hot dogs with several topping choices. Also included: two beers or well drinks! Visit www.morongocasinoresort.com for more details. … KESQ News Channel 3’s Bianca Rae, the Best Local TV News Personality according to Independent readers, will be the host of the L’Affaire Chocolat: High Tea at the Classic Club, 75200 Classic Club Blvd., in Palm Desert, from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 21. Proceeds go toward the Dames D’Escoffier Scholarships for local women in the culinary and hospitality industries. Sparkling wine, tea sandwiches, mini quiches and more are on the menu—and to top it off, there’s a 25-foot chocolate dessert buffet featuring goodies from some of the town’s finest restaurants and bakeries.

The cost is $75; call 760-895-9899 for reservations. … Melvyn’s Restaurant, located at the Ingleside Inn, 200 W. Ramon Road, in Palm Springs, is hosting a “Dinner With Patty Farmer” at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11. The news release says: “Patty will convey the fabulous history of the Playboy clubs and their entertainers from the opening of the first Playboy club to insights into the cadre of famous musicians and comedians that performed at these legendary venues.” Interesting, eh? Get the talk and a three-course dinner for $65; call 760-325-2323 to reserve. … Newish to Palm Springs: Frankinbun, located at 540 S. Indian Canyon Drive. It’s a “gourmet sausage grill” that we happened to see as we zoomed by one day. We’ll be investigating this further, because … well, gourmet sausages. Mmmm. More info at www.frankinbun.com.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

FEBRUARY 2016

30 30 31 32 37

Jonny two bags gets A gig in pioneertown the blueskye report: Engelbert, the chairman's son, and much more! enjoy the fresh scent of alfa cologne Desert Rock Chronicles: nick oliveri returns to the dwarves the lucky 13: frank Skalsky and rogue ogre

www.cvindependent.com/music

Alex Harrington Has Big Plans for 2016

HEY MISTER DJ

33

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FEBRUARY 2016

MUSIC

The Blueskye REPORT

JONNY GOES SOLO (SORTA)

FEBRUARY 2016 The Social Distortion Guitarist Is Performing at Pappy and Harriet’s

By Brian Blueskye

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye

O

range County’s Social Distortion is one of the world’s biggest punk bands. The group has played the big stage at various festivals—including Coachella—and has enjoyed sold-out tours over the years.

Jonny Two Bags (Jonny Wickersham) helped the band pick up the pieces after the death of original guitarist Dennis Danell in 2000. He’ll be performing as the opening act for Brian Fallon and the Crowes at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace on Friday, Feb. 12.

During a recent phone interview, Wickersham said replacing Danell in Social Distortion was not easy.

“It was really uncomfortable,” Wickersham said. “On the other hand, I was really happy for the opportunity to play with Social Distortion. My main concern was I didn’t want to make it about me. … I remember Social Distortion when I was a kid, and Mike Ness and Dennis Danell were equally the face of the band back then.

They were both always together. They started it together, and I felt like I’m filling in for Dennis, even though he’ll never be here again.

I’ve always tried to maintain that perspective on it—I’m subbing for Dennis.

“Dennis kept things together when Mike was just out of control and when Mike was in no shape to run a band.”

Wickersham also played in the Cadillac Tramps, another Orange County band that found a degree of success after Pearl Jam invited the group to tour. However, the Cadillac Tramps never caught on in the mainstream.

“Like Mike, during those days, I was a mess,” Wickersham said of his pre-Cadillac Tramps days. “There was no way I could even be in a band or hold on to a guitar. … I’d sell stuff all the time, borrow a guitar and sell that, and that kind of bullshit. I was in this band in Costa Mesa, and I never even played a live show with them and didn’t make it to anything.

“The Tramps were my first band, and by then, I had gotten cleaned up. That whole band came out of a bunch of guys trying to get their shit together, and we were together for about eight or nine years. We started off playing around, and we started playing clubs, and it sort of built a local following, and we got on an indie label. We basically lived in a van for five years and toured and toured and toured.

Besides Pearl Jam, the Beat Farmers from San Diego were the only ones who did us a solid.”

Wickersham said he doesn’t understand why the Cadillac Tramps were not more successful.

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“We’d see all these other bands get hooked up on tours, especially getting into the ’90s, when Fat Wreck Chords or Epitaph Records would have this business model in place, and it was, ‘We’re going to put out these bands, and they’re all going to sound the same as the owner of the label’s band, and we’re all going to tour together,’” he said. “It was just like a machine, and these bands would get huge really fast, and it never happened for us.

Besides Western Canada and the West Coast, we never got a following anywhere else. But it was a great time, and I got my shit together. I had a feeling that I had a new lease on life.”

Wickersham also spent a stint as a member of the U.S. Bombs—during which frontman Duane Peters tested Wickersham’s sobriety.

Wickersham said he remains concerned about Peters, who has long battled drugs, including heroin.

“It’s really unfortunate. That is one fucking exceptional human being, man. He is a survivor and a genius, and he’s much more intelligent than he lets people believe, which is his hustle,” he said about Peters. “I remember one time we were in the van, and he was on a fucking bender, and it was hard to tour with him. He used to get all pissed off at us, and we’d try to ditch him and avoid him. But we had to travel together, and he said one time, ‘You motherfuckers! I’ve lived more life by my fucking pinky nail than any of you have.’ I fucking fully bought into it for a second. I was like, ‘He’s right! I punked out and got clean and got out of that game. But he’s lived by adventure and pirate.’ Then the next thought was, ‘All the people that you hurt living that way, and the people’s lives you barreled through … fuck that; I’d rather be doing what

The Jacksons Jonny Two Bags. NEIL KANAL

I’m doing now. I’m accountable; I don’t hurt people; and I live an honest life.’

“I love Duane, and I hope the best for him.

I’ve tried to get a hold of him for the past year, and he doesn’t even hit me back, which is not like him.”

Wickersham’s first full-length solo album, Salvation Town, was released in 2014.

“I didn’t steal the title, but I borrowed it from Joyride, which is Steve Soto of the Adolescents’ band,” Wickersham explained. (“Salvation Town” was the name of a Joyride song.) “They did a couple of records on the same label as the Tramps. Joyride was awesome, and it was Steve’s vision of really good, solid songs. At the time I was recording these songs, I didn’t want to do a solo thing and wanted a band together where I could be the songwriter and call the shots for once according to my vision—but all the band names are gone. It’s like anything cool has been used, and you can find out immediately these days with Google. I also have a revolving cast of people I play with, and I put the record out as a solo act.”

Around the time of the interview, Wickersham took part in a benefit show in Orange County for Cadillac Tramps frontman Gabby Gaborno, who is currently suffering from liver cancer.

“It was awesome. Gabby couldn’t make it, and he wasn’t feeling good at all. He was there in spirit, and it was cool,” Wickersham said.

Jonny Two Bags will perform with Brian Fallon and the Crowes at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $20. For tickets or more information, call 760365-5956, or visit www.pappyandharriets.com.

Before I dive in to all of the great February goings-on around the Coachella Valley, I want to pay tribute to two big names in music we just lost.

Rest in peace, Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie.

The Ace Hotel and Swim Club will be holding a Modernism Week-themed event at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13: There will be a screening of Visual Acoustics in the Commune. The film is a celebration of modernist architecture and a joyful portrait of renowned architecture photographer Julius Shulman. Admission is free. Ace Hotel and Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-325-9900; www.acehotel. com/palmsprings.

The McCallum Theatre is fully booked with great stuff in February. At 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6, Frank Sinatra Jr. will be performing. The son of the Chairman of the Board is a great singer and will be singing in celebration of his father’s 100th birthday. Tickets are $61 to $111. Continuing with the Sinatra centennial celebration: At 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, crooner Steve Lawrence will take the stage. Lawrence was a close friend of Sinatra—in fact, when Sinatra retired, Sinatra gave Lawrence a book of his arrangements.

Tickets are $67. At 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24, get ready for a night of awesome country music: Wynonna Judd will be performing.

After starting out as part of a smash-hit duo with her mother, Wynonna has been quite successful on her own. Tickets are $47 to $77. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com. continued on Page 35

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FEBRUARY 2016

MUSIC

EAU DE

TALENT

Alfa Cologne’s Love of Music Videos Led Him to a Joke Persona—and Then to Legitimate Music

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

A

By Brian Blueskye

lfa Cologne is an under-the-radar gem in the Coachella Valley music scene—perhaps because all that Alfa Cologne does was, at first, not meant to be taken that seriously, nor did he intend to become a musician.

It just sort of happened.

During a recent interview, when I asked about the moniker “Alfa Cologne,” he joked with me and said: “If you want to interview him, I can arrange it. He’s a good guy.” He also talked about his love for music videos and mentioned skipping school to watch Daft Punk videos when they were due to premiere; eventually, he began making music videos of his own. Originally from Algeria, Alfa Cologne spent some of his childhood in Paris before moving to the Coachella Valley.

The music of Alfa Cologne is quirky—but in a fun, good way.

“I just disconnect myself from the musician part of it and go to a filmmaker part,” Alfa Cologne said after I asked him about his musical ideas. “Initially, I just wanted to be a filmmaker. I disconnect myself from making music and make the video for whatever song.

The idea was to advertise my music-video skills.”

Part of the joke behind Alfa Cologne’s story is that he’s doing what he does to promote a fictional cologne line.

“That’s Alfa Cologne,” he said. “I’ve been playing music and attempting to write songs since high school in 2004 or 2005. I didn’t start writing songs until 2007 or 2008, when I started the whole persona. The original idea came from a character. When I started writing songs, I thought, ‘I could use that character, just singing songs and trying to sell cologne on top of it.’ I based it on one of my favorite

perfume creators and stylists. He was born in the same town … as Yves Saint Laurent, in Oran, Algeria. I feel like Alfa Cologne has taken that spirit of that perfume-creator.”

Filmmaking has long been a love of his.

“As a child, I always loved commercials and music videos. I used to spend hours watching VHS tapes of music videos,” he said. “I would always just sit down and watch commercials. When my mother would take me to the market in Paris, my mom told me I was embarrassing her, because we were walking through the aisles, and I was singing the jingles of each product we would pass by. I also loved cameras. I would say being an artist to me is like being gay: It’s something that was in me that wanted to come out, and it did. I enjoy it, and I embrace it, where I used to feel bad about it.

“I took a class at College of the Desert where I watched Federico Fellini films, who I always loved when I was a kid. … Fellini was

like someone who was just talking to me and telling me to make films.”

What music videos and artists caught his attention?

“Michael Jackson was one of them. I really liked Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ which was also written by Prince originally.

I also liked Queen’s ‘A Kind of Magic.’ When you watch that video when you’re a kid, you’re just blown away. I also liked bunch of videos

by Michel Gondry, who did videos for the White Stripes, Björk, Daft Punk and Beck.

Those videos sort of shaped my personality.”

He spent part of his childhood in the midst of a civil war in Algeria. However, Alfa Cologne said he didn’t feel like it left much of a mark on him.

“There were all these things that came with it, and I just got used to it,” he said of the civil war. “I think as a child, you don’t really pay attention to those things. But with the civil war, I wasn’t allowed to talk about my family.

My family leaned more toward French culture, and Algeria used to be a French colony before they kicked the French out, and it became its own place, and they had a big hatred of the French. It was interesting, but nothing really bad. There were a couple instances where a bomb would explode, but it was fine, and it never really affected me.”

Alfa Cologne recently began recording his fifth music album.

“I started writing it based on my perspective of living through various different times, and for this one, it was me writing

Alfa Cologne

songs through people who were interacting with me,” he said. “I rarely write songs about what I’m feeling; I guess I just compare what people are throwing at me. For my album Ghost, it was about haters. … I was writing songs through them. I think that while that was happening, that was the energy around me, and for an artist to capture that, it’s raw.

I think we have things around us, and if we capture that energy, it makes an album sound good.”

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ alfacologne.

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MUSIC

DESERT ROCK

CHRONICLES

Nick Oliveri Plays Again With the Dwarves

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

H

By Robin Linn

ere in the desert, we take our punk rock and stoner rock pretty seriously. We take pride in the cutting-edge musicians who carved a place out for themselves in the international music marketplace—and put our area on the international music map.

Bands like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Unida and others boldly explored new territory with their musical instruments and gave birth to their own brand of original rock. Back in the ’80s and early ’90s, these then-underground bands were drawing influences from punk, grunge and metal—yet in each instance, they created a sound that was all their own.

Palm Desert’s Nick Oliveri—multiinstrumentalist, singer and songwriter—made a name for himself playing bass-guitar in Kyuss (which just so happened to be Oliveri’s very first band). The group caught the ears of A&R people quickly, and it wasn’t long before the members were cutting a record and heading off to Europe on tour.

Oliveri departed from the fledgling band after the first studio record to explore his punk roots—and became the on-again, off-again bass player for the Dwarves, one of the most notorious hard-core punk bands on the West Coast. However, in 1998, he reunited with Kyuss band mate Josh Homme to help form what would become the next international supergroup born in our desert: Queens of the Stone Age. He toured and recorded with the group until 2004, when his lifestyle got away from him, and Homme asked him to leave.

(The two have written, recorded and toured together since the split.)

The Dwarves

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Despite the firing from QOTSA, Nick continued to create music in a multitude of situations that helped shape him into the player and songwriter he is today. That growth can be experienced on both his latest solo records and at his live performances. He has recorded multiple full-length albums and several splits with his band Mondo Generator, and has continued to garner fans across the globe. Besides being one of the most soughtafter hard-rock bassists in stoner rock, he is revered by European fans as a rock icon. Oliveri possesses a world-class vocal style that borders on a scream—though it comes quite naturally.

His vocal style sets him apart and adds heat to his fiery compositions. His charismatic stage presence and full-throttle performances are backed by a prolific catalog in numerous projects.

Oliveri has recently been working with Santa Cruz punk band Bl’ast, which recently recorded an EP featuring Dave Grohl (Nirvana/ Foo Fighters) and Black Flag guitarist Chuck Dukowski. He just finished up a record with Russian punk rock band Svetlanas. He has appeared on more than 60 records with artists including as Slash, Brant Bjork, Winnebago, Masters of Reality, Mark Lanegan, Moistboyz and the Uncontrollable (an acoustic duo with Dwarves bandmate Blag Dahlia). In 2014, he recorded with Teenage Time Killers, a side project featuring Dave Grohl and Pat Smear.

After returning from a European tour with the Uncontrollable, Oliveri is preparing to perform a handful of California shows with the Dwarves—including two nights at The Hood Bar and Pizza in Palm Desert, on March 26 and 27. Watch this space for more on these exciting shows next month.

Read more from Robin Linn at www. desertrockchronicles.com.

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FEBRUARY 2016

MUSIC

THE UPS AND DOWNS

OF BEING A DJ

Alex Harrington Has Big Plans for 2016

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye

L

ocal DJ Alex Harrington had a big year in 2015.

He played at the Dome at the Coachella campground. He returned to ever-growing summer pool-dance party Splash House. He played some out-of-town shows—including an appearance with Vanilla Ace. The longtime Independent contributor is starting off 2016 with a bang, too: He’s releasing a new EP, Tru Groove; is starting a record label; and is beginning a residency at the soon-to-open WTF and Buzz Bar, in the old Dink’s location in Palm Springs.

During a recent interview, Harrington talked about his new EP. “The new EP is three tracks, and the inspiration behind it is UK garage music,” Harrington said. “A lot of the old-school UK garage music, I got into it, but I wanted to give it a current touch. Everybody knows I like disco music, so what I did was make an album where the beat is garage music; the bass and the piano is disco music; and it’s all arranged like house music.”

Harrington explained the appeal of UK garage music.

“Since the ’90s, probably before that, it’s been popular in the UK,” he said. “We’d probably call it ‘main room’ or ‘progressive.’

A lot of popular artists would get on these garage tracks. Really, they are normal beats and normal music, and they speed it up. A normal house song is 120 beats per minute. A garage track is 133—so what you have is this beat that’s very frantic, but you have people singing R&B, rap and pop vocals. There are a lot of garage hits that we’ve probably heard— we heard a lot of it in the early 2000s, but … by the time we find a label for it, it’s over. But it’s very popular in the UK.” Harrington has made what’s been referred to as “nu-disco” and “tropical house” music in the past. However, Harrington’s interests have evolved.

“It’s actually more personal now. I’m very selfish when it comes to my music and inspired by my environment. That’s why the valley is so important to me: I get inspiration from my surroundings and culture around me,” he said. “I don’t sit there and say, ‘I want to make a house track,’ or, ‘I want to make a rap track.’ It’s more of what I’m into and what I’m feeling. That’s why it’s changed so much— I’ve gotten into different things. This record signifies a change because it has all those elements together. I’m not trying to speak outside of myself here, but it has my signature sound, which I’ve never had before.”

Harrington began his DJ career performing under the name All Night Shoes. However, he went back to his real name last year.

“I feel it was a really good choice,” he said.

“Having a moniker is cool for certain people, especially when you have an inspiration of something image-related. For me, the inspiration has always been more internal. It’s my job to create something, and I felt with All Night Shoes, I catered more to the name.

Now I get to do what I want, and I think that’s what helped me own it.”

The upcoming residency at the new WTF

and Buzz Bar is exciting for Harrington, he said. The venue was slated to open around the first of the year, but has faced delays due to power issues.

“I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with venues, because a good venue needs to be in place in order to be successful, and the venues in the desert have a hard time in trying to get people in the venues,” he said. “A lot of venues don’t care about their talent. I think for me, this new place called WTF represents a change, because the owners are very interested in the guests and doing something different.

It’s not just opening the doors, selling liquor and selling food. … It’s like Los Angeles and London meet Palm Springs.”

One of the venues with which Harrington has had an association is the now-closed Hacienda Cantina and Beach Club. The venue has been shrouded in controversy since before it opened, and rumors have been going around the music community regarding unpaid bills and unmet commitments.

“They haven’t paid a lot of us out, and I’m

not going to get into specifics, but it was a sudden and out-of-nowhere thing, and even to this day, we don’t have a true explanation,” Harrington said about the closure. “It got confusing, and it’s sad. The space is most likely going to go to waste.”

What’s next for Harrington?

“I just started a label called Daiquiri Hawk.

We’re primarily a YouTube channel that uploads songs and shares music,” he said. “We also do releases, and this EP will be the first thing. I poured a lot of effort into the EP, and I worked with Reid Horton, who is a friend of mine out of Orange County. I’m really recognizing that the scene out here for DJs is here today, gone tomorrow, so I need to have a backup plan. I just see myself continuing the trend of this EP and getting a greater reach as far as an audience goes. The people in the valley deserve something different, and I hope I can bring that to them through my music.”

For more information, visit www.alexharrington.co.

Alex Harrington

CVIndependent.com

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FEBRUARY 2016

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However, the work done by the award-winning Coachella Valley Independent has been—and always will be—available to all, free of charge.

We will never put up a paywall. We will never charge for a subscription.

However, we are now offering readers an opportunity to support us voluntarily in doing what we do, via the Supporters of the Independent Program.

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saturday, April 16 | 8 p.m. sunday, April 17 | 3 p.m.

Jewish Community Center — 332 W. Alejo Road, Palm Springs Artistic Director:

Douglas c. Wilson ensemBle AccompAnist:

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Kurt Jordan

Joel Baker

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 35

FEBRUARY 2016

The Blueskye REPORT continued from Page 30

Engelbert Humperdinck

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa obviously made a wise choice when it booked with Johnny Mathis, considering his Feb. 13 show is sold out—but cheer up, because at 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, you can rock out to Air Supply, or whatever it is crazy fans of Air Supply do. The Australian duo of Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock has been softrocking since the ’70s and recently had a hit with “Desert Sea Sky,” which was remixed and played in dance clubs. Tickets are $40 to $60. The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www.hotwatercasino.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has a fine slate of February events. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, the original Jersey Boy himself, Frankie Valli, will be performing. He was a member of the Four Seasons, and he had a spectacular solo career, so you won’t want to miss this one. Tickets are $29 to $59.

At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 27, there will be a double bill with The Commodores and The Jacksons. Both groups have continued on without their famed frontmen, and to an extent, it’s worked for them both. The Jacksons’ reunion since Michael Jackson died in 2009 has come with mixed live reviews, though. Lionel Richie is currently not joining The Commodores, and it doesn’t look like he will anytime soon. Nonetheless, if you’re a real fan, you will enjoy both.

Tickets are $39 to $89. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Spotlight 29 has a couple of great events worth mentioning. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 6, easy-listening superstar Engelbert Humperdinck will be coming back. The ballad singer has spawned numerous legends, including one that claims he’s bagged an impressive number of women—a number that puts Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Gene Simmons of KISS to shame. Whether or not that’s true, there’s one thing he gave to us millennials … Fly with me, lesbian seagull! Tickets are $45 to $65. Are you a fan of the ’70s? Did you live through the ’70s but don’t remember it?

Either way, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20, the

’70s Time Machine Tour will take you back.

Featuring performances by Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, and Denny Laine of Wings, the show will happily invoke the decade of leisure suits, pet rocks, shag carpet, van living and waterbeds. Yay! Tickets are $35.

Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29. com.

As for Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace: I’m sure we’ll be hearing some very big announcements soon regarding outdoor shows for the spring and summer, especially with Coachella right around the corner. But in the meantime, the February schedule is wonderful. At 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 5, Joshua Tree locals Gene Evaro and the Family will be appearing. Gene is one of the most talented musicians in the Coachella Valley; Alf Alpha has told me stories about Gene’s production skills in the studio as well. Tickets are $10. At 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, it will be time for local rock fans to rejoice and celebrate Eddie Spaghetti’s victory over throat cancer, because The Supersuckers are back! Funny story: I saw The Supersuckers in 1995 in Cleveland; the band was opening for White Zombie and the Ramones. Let’s just say The Supersuckers didn’t get a welcome reception that night— and I was one of the hecklers. But over time, The Supersuckers grew on me; they’re an excellent rock ’n’ roll band. Also worth mentioning: My friend Charlie Overbey will be opening. His new record The California Kid is awesome. Tickets are $20. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-3655956; www.pappyandharriets.com.

The Hood Bar and Pizza has one event we know about worth mentioning. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend—at a prom out of a John Waters film, that is—with Shannon and the Clams.

Desert Hot Springs’ finest, Slipping Into Darkness, is also on the bill. Shurpadelic, dude! Admission is $10 at the door. The Hood Bar and Pizza, 74360 Highway 111, Palm Desert; 760-636-5220; www.facebook.com/ thehoodbar.

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FEBRUARY 2016

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 37

FEBRUARY 2016

MUSIC

Frank Skalsky

the

LUCKY 13

This Month’s Interviewees: An Upand-Coming Band and a Loyal Music Fan

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye Rogue Ogre

NAME Xan Abyss, Don Browne and Pat Toft GROUP Rogue Ogre MORE INFO Rogue Ogre formed in 2015 and has played a handful of shows at the Palm Canyon Roadhouse. In 2016, Rogue Ogre plans on having more of a presence in the Coachella Valley; www.facebook.com/rogueogre.

What was the first concert you attended?

Xan: Coachella 2005. On Saturday, Nine Inch Nails headlined.

Don: Better Than Ezra, circa 2000, age 9.

Pat: Ozzfest 2005, with Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.

What was the first album you owned?

Xan: Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory was the first one I bought. Chumbawamba’s Tubthumper was the first CD I got into from my parents’ collection.

Don: The Beatles’ With the Beatles.

Pat: System of a Down’s Toxicity was the first one that was actually mine.

What bands are you listening to now?

Xan: Tiamat and Motorhead mostly, but lately, David Bowie. It’s a mourning thing.

Don: Vintage Caravan, Graveyard, Mars Red Sky and Led Zeppelin.

Pat: Haim, The Cars, Van Halen and a lot of EDM. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

Xan: Really twee, cutesy, indie-pop stuff. Also, any of the pop-country stuff I’ve heard in the past decade or so.

Don: Drake, trap music, and Kanye West.

Pat: Kanye West.

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

Xan: Rush or Motorhead or Type O Negative.

But I’d give just about anything to hear Dio sing “The Sign of the Southern Cross” with Black Sabbath in person.

Don: Tool or Frank Zappa.

Pat: Pantera and White Zombie.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Xan: I love Lordi more than anyone should.

Don: ’90s House Music.

Pat: Die Antwoord, I guess.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Xan: The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles is the first one I referred to as my “favorite venue.”

Don: The Electric Factory in Philadelphia.

Pat: House of Blues in Hollywood was my favorite.

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

Xan: “I can feel my heart is beating, still. I can see you with my eyes, I still see. But I can’t run the way my children can. Can’t accept a helping hand, leave me. You are the strong one, trust in me, you must lead instead of me now. There’s no time; don’t hesitate or you will also find your fate,” “The Last Amazing Grays,” Sonata Arctica.

Don: “Why must you be such an angry young man when your future looks quite bright to me? How can there be such a sinister plan that could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man?” “Fooling Yourself,” Styx.

Pat: “I see the vultures, they watch me bleed.

They lick their lips as all the shame spills out of me,” “Chelsea Smile,” Bring Me the Horizon.

What band or artist changed your life?

Xan: Nightwish probably revolutionized how I heard music the most.

Don: Definitely Cream. It was the band that got me into the whole ’60s/’70s psychedelic era of music.

Pat: Pantera and Queen.

You have one question to ask one musician. Who are you asking?

Xan: I’d like to ask Bowie if there’s anything else he wanted to do before he died, since he seemed to do it all before anyone else did.

Don: Jimmy Page: “When is Led Zeppelin reuniting again?”

Pat: Probably ask Axl Rose why he has to be such an asshole all the time.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Xan: Wintersun’s “Sleeping Stars” or Nightwish’s “Dead to the World.”

Don: “Mama, I’m Coming Home” by Ozzy Osbourne.

Pat: “See You on the Other Side” by Ozzy Osbourne.

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

Xan: Wintersun’s self-titled.

Don: Flick of the Switch, AC/DC. Pat: It’s a hard tie between Vulgar Display of Power by Pantera and The Wall by Pink Floyd.

What should everyone listen to right now?

Xan: Gonna go with “Carrion Flowers” by Chelsea Wolfe.

Don: “Brother Wind” by Golden Earring.

Pat: “Blackstar” by David Bowie.

NAME Frank Skalsky MORE INFO If you’re a fan of local music, chances are you’ve met Frank Skalsky. He’s a regular at shows by Remnants of Man, Bridger, Sean and Zander, and Sweat Act. What was the first concert you attended?

The Cult with Dangerous Toys and Bonham on the Sonic Temple Tour, New Years Eve 1989, Long Beach Sports Arena.

What was the first album you owned?

Devo’s Freedom of Choice. I was in second- or third-grade at the time.

What bands are you listening to now?

Today, I started by listening to The Wildhearts, Ritual, Vital Remains, Nunslaughter and Gorgoroth. Tonight, I watched the doc on the US ’83 concert, so I was digging on Triumph, Judas Priest, Stray Cats, Scorpions, Stevie Nicks, Men At Work, Missing Persons, Quarterflash, Berlin, and even Divinyls and English Beat.

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

Genres: Reggae, rap and dance/techno. U2 and Radiohead are the most overrated bands.

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

Current: AC/DC, Aerosmith, P!nk. Defunct: Dismember, David Bowie, Queen, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, and Abba.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I will sheepishly admit to liking “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC and “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake.

What’s your favorite music venue?

The Hood in Palm Desert, Schmidy’s Tavern in Palm Desert, M15 Concert Bar and Grill in Corona, Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood, and The Mayan in Los Angeles.

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

“You can eat the corn out of my shit!” from Butt Trumpet’s masterpiece “I’ve Been So Mad Lately,” from Primitive Enema. R.I.P. Bianca “Butthole” Halstead.

What band or artist changed your life?

Alice Cooper is my all-time favorite artist, and has been in my life since seeing a preview for The Strange Case of Alice Cooper on The Movie Channel when I was 4 or 5 years old.

You have one question to ask one musician. Who are you asking?

I'd ask Alice Cooper what some of his favorite horror movies are, so I can check them out.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Probably “I Love the Dead” by Alice Cooper, but I don’t want a funeral.

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

I’ll go with Alice Cooper’s Love It to Death or Girlschool’s Demolition.

What should everyone listen to right now?

Bands people should check out: Girlschool, Galaxy Crusher, Mink Daggers, The Cornfed Project, Danko Jones, Skeletal Remains, Iron Reagan, Municipal Waste, Night Demon, All Hail The Yeti, JennaSyde and the Watchers, Anger as Art, Supersuckers, and The Wildhearts.

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CANNABIS IN THE CV REEFER MADNESS REDUX WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

T

A New Law Is Causing Some Cities to Panic and Enact Bans on Medical-Marijuana

BY SEAN PLANCK

he legalization of cannabis for medicinal and now recreational use is crashing across the country like a bong-water tsunami. That means herb is in the news lately—a lot.

Here in California, some of that news is not good.

Assembly Bill 243—part of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October—is causing many cities to clamp down on cannabis businesses. While the bill contains a lot of good, it has a problem: The MMRSA requires local governments to develop regulations for the cultivation and delivery of medical cannabis by March 1. Otherwise, the authority is relinquished to the state. Not wanting to give up that authority, dozens of cities around the state have been enacting all-out bans, denying their patients convenient access to prescribed been working toward their own marijuana medications. regulations diligently for years, others believed This is unfortunate, especially since the the hype and have reacted with fear and provision was never meant to be included in rejection. the final legislation.

Palm Springs, being one of the more “It was never our intention to place such progressive areas of the valley, has historically a short timeline on local lawmakers,” said been at the forefront of the cannabis Democratic Assemblyman Jim Wood, one of movement. The city recently approved a sixth the bill’s proponents, in a news release. “The dispensary permit, and council members have current deadline gives jurisdictions just 65 said they’d be open to increasing this number more days to consult stakeholders, learn about in the future as public need and opinion the industry, and write good policy; that is not dictate. Recent City Council meetings have nearly enough time.” also included the discussion of permitting Wood is now one of the sponsors of for commercial grows, edible production and Assembly Bill 21, which was in committee extract production. The council members made as of this writing, but could be law by the it clear they want to be prepared to reap the time you read this. AB 21 strikes the March 1 financial rewards of legalization of recreational deadline, allowing local jurisdictions to regulate use statewide—which most people believe and enact their own laws at their own pace. is inevitable, perhaps as soon as this year’s “We have widespread support for this fix, election. including bipartisan support from both houses, Cathedral City is following the example stakeholders and the governor’s office. I am set by Palm Springs, and has issued several hoping that AB 21 will be on the governor’s permits in recent months. Indicative of the desk before the end of the month, and local hurdles involved with this emerging industry, lawmakers will give this complicated issue the the first dispensary in Cathedral City opened time it deserves,” said Wood in January. its doors in October, more than a year after the Despite the impending fix, the League council approved the permit allowing them to of California Cities is recommending mass operate in the city. hysteria. Because, you know, caution.

If Palm Springs is the tortoise in this race— “In an abundance of caution, we have been carefully planning next steps and moving along advising our member cities to enact cultivation at an organic pace—cash-strapped Desert Hot ordinances—in this case, a ban—to make Springs is surely the hare: DHS wants to be a sure they preserve their regulatory authority mecca of marijuana production and cultivation. whether the cleanup bill goes through or It is the first city in the state to approve not,” said Tim Cromartie, the legislative massive industrial-grow operations, including a representative for the League of California recently approved 380,000-square-foot facility Cities, to the Los Angeles Times. “A ban is the that will generate an estimated $3.8 million in quickest and cleanest way.” annual tax revenues for the city. Grows of this Great. magnitude are expected to be a rarity in the So how has that affected the Coachella wake of AB 243’s canopy limit of 10,000 square Valley? While some of our valley cities have feet for most facilities.

CVIndependent.com

While Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs are working in anticipation of recreational legalization and the revenue streams that will represent, Rancho Mirage has dug its heels in like a child being dragged to the dentist. However, the city’s resistance to the green rush predates the panic caused

by AB 243. The city even has a program to reimburse cannabis patients $25 per month for transportation to buy their cannabis elsewhere.

It bears noting that no one has taken the city up on the offer since the program’s inception. It’s doubtful any cannabis businesses of any kind will be operating in Rancho Mirage anytime soon, regardless of any state legislation.

In January, Palm Desert looked like it would pass an all-out ban on cannabis cultivation and distribution. Then, after hearing from several residents at the Jan. 14 meeting, the council changed the language to allow delivery services to operate in the city. This is great news for Palm Desert cannabis patients who are unable to travel easily.

Indian Wells doubled down on its rejection of cannabis in January, adding delivery and cultivation to its existing ban on dispensaries in the city.

La Quinta has a similar ban in place, but formed an ad hoc committee in December to examine allowing delivery services to operate in the city.

Indio has had a ban on dispensaries in place since 2007, and recently expanded that ban to cultivation. Because, you know, Indio has

a reputation to uphold. The City Council is, however, considering regulations for delivery services to operate there.

Coachella recently broke from its long-time ban on all marijuana businesses by approving cultivation in areas of the city that are zoned for auto-wrecking. The approval is seen as a fairly cynical way for the city to reap the tax benefits of the cash crop, and nothing more, because the ban on delivery and storefront dispensaries remains.

AB 243 was meant to stabilize the cannabis industry in California, yet it ended up severely handicapping the cannabis movement with its errant March 1 deadline. Hopefully cities will be as willing to enact meaningful, well-planned regulation once the threat of that deadline has been removed by AB 21.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

FEBRUARY 2016

COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

Across 1 Muppet with an orange nose 5 Certain physical measurement, for short 8 “___ first you don’t succeed ...”

12 Short, shrill sound 13 ___ fro 15 “___ arigato, Mr. Roboto” 16 Poultry herb 17 Nomadic mob 18 Class with graphs, for short 19 2015 superhero film reboot with a 9 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes 22 Iggy Azalea/Britney Spears collaboration, listed on Entertainment Weekly’s Worst Singles of 2015 23 Mission: Impossible character Hunt 25 “Full,” at a theater 26 Hatha and bikram, for two 29 Weather map lines 31 Get hold of again 32 Feline tooth 33 President who’s thanked a lot?

37 College in New Rochelle, New York 38 “Oh, yeah!”

39 Santa-tracking defense gp.

40 Paper wounds 41 Canadian vocal tics that aren’t as commonplace as Americans think 42 Doesn’t say outright 44 Little ___ (“Languages for Kids” learning series) 45 Short-lived Rainn Wilson cop show, listed on Yahoo’s Worst TV Shows of 2015 47 Change places with one’s wrestling teammate 50 ___ of Sauron 51 Seafood selections 55 Power shake need 57 Rooster’s morning perch 59 Choir 60 Mix it up (var.)

61 2015 Adam Sandler movie that got an epic 10-minute review/ rant from “MovieBob Reviews” on YouTube 62 Much-maligned 2015

reality show which put contestant couples in the titular enclosure (later to be interviewed by therapists) Down 1 Some CDs 2 Nissan hybrid 3 Cones of non-silence?

4 Cattle site 5 Gives a leg up to 6 Sacrificial figure 7 Part of Roy G. Biv 8 Visionary 9 Market research panel 10 Love, in Xochimilco 11 Massive quantity 13 “Yeah, about ___ ...”

14 Prefix meaning “onetenth” 20 It’s designed to stay up all night 21 Punky Brewster star Soleil Moon ___ 23 Trinket in The Hunger Games 24 Totally destroy 27 “___ a stinker?”

(Bugs Bunny catchphrase) 28 Back twinge 30 Hedgehog of Sega fame

31 M*A*S*H character 34 Nutsoid 35 Like craft shows 36 High degree 42 “Messiah” composer 43 In the future 45 Go nuts with a whole season, e.g.

46 “Fantastic” character in a Roald Dahl novel 47 1/16 of a cup, briefly 48 Et ___ (and others) 49 Baby boomer followers 52 Get from ___ (make progress) 53 Doofus 54 Glasses, in comic book ads 56 Hosp. locations 58 Cries of surprise ©2016 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords. com) Find the answers in the “About” section at CVIndependent.com!

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FEBRUARY 2016

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