Coachella Valley Independent March 2015

VOL. 3 | ISSUE 3

HOW TO

die

IN CALIFORNIA New Developments in the Fight for a Right-to-Die Option for Terminally Ill Patients in the Golden State

By Melinda Welsh Page 12

Jennifer Glass: “I believe I should have the legal choice to end my life calmly, peacefully and with dignity."

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MARCH 2015

A Note From the Editor

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

Editor/Publisher Jimmy Boegle Assistant Editor Brian Blueskye Editorial Layout Wayne Acree Advertising Design Betty Jo Boegle Contributors

The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2015 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors.

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

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COVER DESIGN BY WAYNE ACREE. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER GLASS

Gustavo Arellano, Victor Barocas, Max Cannon, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bob Grimm, Alex Harrington, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Keith Knight, Robin Linn, Marylee Pangman, Erin Peters, Deidre Pike, Dan Perkins, Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jenny Shank, Jen Sorenson, Michelle Pulich Stewart, Robert Victor, Melinda Welsh

On Valentine’s Day, I did something that, at one time, I never thought I’d be able to do: I married my boyfriend.

When I first started dating the man who is now my husband, some 12-plus years ago, same-sex marriage was not legal anywhere in the United States. My, how times have changed: As of this writing, same-sex marriage is legal in 37 states, as well as the District of Columbia—and even the staunchest same-sex-marriage opponents concede it’s probably only a matter of time before it’s legal throughout the United States.

The rate at which same-sex marriage has become accepted and legal has been simply stunning; after all, it has been less than 11 years since it first became legal anywhere in the U.S. (in Massachusetts).

And look where we are now.

Unfortunately, legal change on other important social issues has not been so swift. This brings us to this month’s cover story, by Sacramento-based writer Melinda Welsh, on the right-to-die movement.

Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act was approved by voters in 1994 (and it went into effect after an injunction was lifted in 1997)—yet today, physician-assisted death is legal only in three states, period. This is despite the fact that 70 percent of Americans say physicians should be able to “end (a critically ill) patient’s life by some painless means” if the patient so desires, according to a 2014 Gallup Poll.

However, the legal tide may be about to change, thanks in part to Brittany Maynard. Last year, the California resident was forced to move to Oregon in order to die with dignity after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

She made her situation very public—and got a lot of attention in the process, before passing away on Nov. 1, 2014, at the age of 29.

In the wake of Maynard’s crusade, progressive lawmakers around the country are reintroducing death-withdignity legislation. Welsh’s story, on Page 12, looks at the situation in California. It’s a fantastic story; you really should check it out.

That’s just one of many fantastic pieces in this month’s issue. As always, I encourage you to let me know your thoughts; my email address is below.

Welcome to the March 2015 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. Enjoy—and be sure to check CVIndependent.com regularly for all sorts of other great stories and reviews.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

MARCH 2015

OPINION

KNOW YOUR

NEIGHBORS

It’s Time to Talk Openly About Abortion

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

By Anita Rufus hose who have been in the desert less than 15 years or so don’t remember when the anniversary of Roe v. Wade prompted anti-abortion and prochoice counter-demonstrations along a major intersection in Palm Desert every year. Or the 1992 Desert Lights for Choice candlelight vigil along Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, when pro-choice supporters lined up three deep from Tahquitz Canyon Way to Alejo Road.

Or the besieged abortion clinic in Palm Desert where local activists walked women through shouting protesters and helped keep the doors open.

Many of us have become blasé about the right to decide for oneself whether and when to birth a child. Some 42 years after the Supreme Court decision in Roe, it seems unthinkable that the constitutional right to own your own body, including whether to end an unwanted or problem pregnancy, could be revoked. Statistics indicate that about 50 percent of women will at some point in their lives experience an unwanted pregnancy, and one in three American women will have an abortion by age 45.

I was 17, single and pregnant, before Roe. I was given three choices: Go into a home for unwed mothers and get rid of the baby; go to a sanitarium and get my head shrunk; or marry the man involved, leave him immediately, and then be allowed to come home. I chose the head-shrinking and gave the baby up for adoption.

My experience was not unique. In high school, some girls “went to visit their aunt” for a while, unable to stay in school if pregnant.

Many of my girlfriends got married quickly after getting pregnant. Some had illegal abortions. Some opted for adoption and spent their lives wondering, as I did, whether the decision had really been the right one for the child.

After Roe, I once again found myself facing the choice of ending an unwanted pregnancy, based on failed contraception. That time— already divorced and raising twins on my own—I opted to terminate the pregnancy.

I have never doubted that it was the right decision for me at the time.

I was reminded of all that at the screening of a movie, Obvious Child, presented by Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, the Desert Stonewall Democrats and the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage on this year’s Roe anniversary. About 60

people saw this movie, which follows a feisty young woman struggling with an unplanned, unexpected and unwanted pregnancy.

Before the film, Elizabeth Romero, local director of community and public relations for Planned Parenthood, introduced the co-sponsors. Ruth Debra, president of Desert Stonewall, unexpectedly walked up on the stage, took the mic—and spoke publicly for the first time about her own experience with illegal abortion. It was a heartfelt and intensely personal statement.

“No one should EVER have to go through what I did,” she said.

The film is not going to win any Oscars, and some in the audience were uncomfortable with the coarse language. However, it does explore how difficult it can be to decide whether to have an abortion, and shows the kind of support any woman needs while going through the experience. I admit to tears when the young woman in the film finally tells her mother, who then shares her own story of an abortion at 17.

I finally told my mother when I realized she had begun advocating for pro-choice policies and would be able to understand. She confided to me, before her recent death, that her greatest regret was that she didn’t take a stand vis-à-vis my father so that I might not have needed to give up my first-born son. (My son and I were happily reunited about 10 years ago—but not all such stories end well.)

Life is complicated. Pro-choice advocates need to acknowledge that there are too many unwanted pregnancies, and that what is being aborted is, in fact, living human tissue. We all

Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy star in Obvious Child, a new movie that deals frankly with abortion.

need to support comprehensive sex education in the schools, and men need to educate boys about their role in all of this. Contraception and prevention are not exclusively the responsibility of women, but gestating that fetus is.

Anti-abortion advocates need to recognize that if abortion is once again made illegal, it won’t stop abortion—it will just take us back to when women resorted to any means necessary to address the problem, and all too often died as a result. How “pro-life” can you be if you’re willing to sacrifice women’s lives?

Republican leaders, after their recent takeover of Congress, have talked about the need to prove they can govern, not just oppose, and to appeal to women voters, especially in light of Gallup’s findings that in every category—single women, married women, divorced women—the political gender gap is real and persistent. Yet one of the first things the House did was try to push through the so-called Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would criminalize abortion after 20 weeks—regardless of reason (assuming a woman should have to give a reason). They also wanted to reclassify what constitutes rape as an exception, a move that went too far even for Republican female members of the House, who pointed out the vote “could threaten the party’s efforts to reach out to women and young people” who clearly do not support such restrictions.

Pregnancy is not a punishment, whether it happens to an underage young woman preyed

upon by an older man, or a prostitute, or a young wife expected to push out a baby per year, or an older woman who cannot afford another child, or a woman who got pregnant because she didn’t insist on contraception, or a woman wanting to escape an abusive relationship, or one who finds out her wanted fetus has catastrophic deficiencies—or for any other reason particular to each woman’s life.

If you don’t support abortion, don’t choose to have one. But if you are one of the many women who has made that difficult choice or supported another in that choice, heed the words of Katha Pollitt, a feminist activist and writer, who recently wrote: “Why are we so afraid to talk about it—or to acknowledge that our lives would have been so much less than we hoped for without it? Why are we pressured to feel that we should regret our choice, and that there’s something wrong with us if we don’t?”

In a new play, Out of Silence, produced by the 1 in 3 Campaign, one character says, “I, too, had an abortion that I do not regret.

Sometimes I think that I should feel remorse or shame, but I don’t. Still, I don’t talk about it with anyone.”

Own your own history. Share your stories.

You’ve done nothing to be ashamed of.

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. CVIndependent.com

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5

MARCH 2015

OPINION

ASK A MEXICAN!

Why Do Some Mexicans Get Offended When You Speak to Them in Spanish?

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

By MARYLEE PANGMAN

By Gustavo Arellano EAR MEXICAN: Can you please explain why some Chicanos and mexicanos get offended when you speak to them in Spanish? As a fellow Chicano, I find it hard to believe that raza gets offended by this genuine approach.

Have you noticed this behavior yourself— that little dirty look that comes when you say “Hola”? Is this pattern rooted in the times when speaking Spanish was shameful act in the U.S.? If the Reconquista were to ever be fulfilled, how would Spanish-speaking Chicanos and non-Spanish-speaking Chicanos get along?

Habla Henry DEAR HENRY IS SPEAKING: As if Mexicans don’t have it hard enough—narcos back home, Know Nothings in the States, and a Mexican soccer team that probably won’t win the FIFA World Cup in our lifetime—now comes this conundrum.

I get the underlying anger of Chicanos and Mexicans who don’t want to speak Spanish— they’re upset you don’t think they’re smart enough to understand English, or are so ashamed of not knowing Spanish that they take it out on you. Then there’s the flip side: Mexicans who get enojados if you address them in English—as if you’re supposed to know they don’t speak it! Can’t paisas and pochos get along? And the answer is, of course, no. That’s why the Mexican always greets everyone, regardless of linguistic ability, with a mariachi cry, the universal language of chingones, and goes from there.

DEAR MEXICAN: I have to do an interview report on Mexican culture, and I need to interview a person who is from Mexico, but I don’t know about that culture, even though I’m Mexican myself. You Mexicans call me a whitewashed Mexican, so I don’t think I will have the questions that I will need, so anyway: What good questions should I ask when I do my interview report about Mexican culture?

THE POTTED DESERT GARDEN Dramatic Seasonal Changes in Just Three Pots

DEAR WAB: Asking the Mexican about questions to ask Mexicans about Mexicans?

How meta! The only real pregunta I have for my raza for which I don’t have an answer is why more of you didn’t buy my Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, or how come someone hasn’t started a torta chain that’ll turn Chipotle into the next Chi-Chi’s.

CONFIDENTIAL TO Know Nothings who are trying to blame the recent measles outbreak on Mexicans—it ain’t happening. Vaccination studies show that Mexicans are among the most-vaccinated people in the United States, whether they’re getting shots here as chicos, or they are getting stuck by those crazy needles that our parents and cousins had to undergo back in Mexico that left a giant mark on their arms that looks like a Neolithic-era ceremonial scarring.

The least vaccinated people in los Estados Unidos, on the other hand, are gabachos: Amish, survivalists and suburban moms who lunch on kale. The myth of Mexicans bringing pandemics to kill off gabachos is a tool that the right tries to use again and again to further careers, but remember the last guy who tried it? Former CNN host Lou Dobbs? He’s competing against a UHF signal nowadays, and that destiny will happen to all conspiracyspewing gabachos like him—oh, and they’ll also get beautiful half-Mexican grandkids.

ould you believe something as simple as three pots can make a remarkable story in your desert garden—a story that you can change on a whim?

Pictured first is a blank slate—a common, boring fence in a desert backyard. It borders a grassy area adjacent to a rocky space. It’s crying for the “right something” to be added.

Enter—a collection of three pots, with two kids perpetually playing. This combination quickly became a fun garden “play area”! This winter combination includes complementary colors of yellow, blue and burgundy, simply planted with pansies and two varieties of lobelia.

Next we come to summer—desert style! The trees on the east side of the pots have leafed out and provide some intermittent shade to the pots. The vinca, salvia, chartreuse and sweet-potato vine are all sun-loving plants, but anything will do better with some respite from the intense summer sun. Notice our ballplayers tucked into the leaves of the sweet potato vine!

Back to another winter season, and the out-of-the-picture eastern tree has grown, providing even more shade for the pots. A long-living perennial (butterfly iris) and a shrub (golden euonymus) have been added as permanent stature plants in the back two pots. The front pot is filled with cold-loving cyclamen.

This last picture brings us back full-circle, to another summer. You can now see the true golden colors of the euonymus as it reflects the early morning sun. Since the pots are

continuing to be protected by the mature tree, more shade plants have been added, including begonia, bacopa and geraniums. The hottest pot is the back yellow one, where calibrachoa and dusty miller are added for some bold contrasting shades. The back two pots will also shade the front pot in the later afternoon sun. You can find ways to create shade by the calculated alignment of the pots in relation to the movement of the sun!

March Care in Your Desert Potted Garden Things are starting to heat up in our Palm Springs gardens—but it is too soon to think about planting summer flowers, with night temperatures staying in the 50s.

In order to extend the life of your winter flowers: • Deadhead your flowers. Pinch them back to the originating stem, deep within the plant.

• Fertilize your potted plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer.

• Bare spots in your pots? Plant midseason annuals such as petunias, dianthus, osteospernum, snapdragons and marigolds.

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

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

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

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MARCH 2015

NEWS

A LITTLE BIT OF HOPE Farmworkers Will Benefit From the East Valley’s New Plaza Esperanza

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

By Kevin Fitzgerald n 2000, Riverside County agreed to a settle a dispute with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development which was triggered after 24 Coachella Valley families filed complaints. According to HUD archives, the complaints stated “that Riverside County had targeted Hispanic-owned and -occupied mobile home parks for selective and discriminatory enforcement of its health and safety code and regulations.”

“The enforcement agreement is a major victory for a largely disenfranchised population, compensating victims of housing discrimination and resulting in a multi-million-dollar cooperative effort to build housing and provide needed services to farmworkers throughout the area for years to come,” said Ilene Jacobs, then the director of litigation for California Rural Legal Assistance, which represented the farmworkers in the case. (The statement came from a HUD news release.)

Today—a decade and a half later—the county is still working on upholding its end of the settlement.

In December, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, by a vote of 4-0, approved an agreement with the Galilee Center—an organization that works to fill the needs of the underprivileged and disadvantaged—to construct and operate a facility in downtown Mecca that will provide permanent shower, restroom and laundry services for migrant farmworkers in the eastern Coachella Valley.

Such a facility was one of numerous mandated remedies to be undertaken by Riverside County as part of that 2000 HUD settlement.

“We call it Plaza Esperanza,” Galilee Center president and founder Gloria Gomez said recently. “It’s for the farmworkers, but anybody will able to use it, especially the people who are in the streets. … ‘Esperanza’ means ‘hope’ in English, because the people have been waiting so many years for these showers and laundry facilities.”

Riverside County District 4 Supervisor John Benoit said he has worked for years to find the right strategy to bring this facility to fruition.

“For some years, we have had a horrible facility that offered some of these comfort services, but it was quite a way outside of downtown Mecca,” Benoit said. “Then a few years ago, some people I know who have been involved in great nonprofit human health and services experiences in the valley decided to open up the Galilee Center in Mecca. … So I went to them and said, ‘This potentially could be a great cooperative effort where instead of spending the money to build a completely

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new facility and figure out how to manage it, we could work together.’

“I’m very pleased that notion has come to fruition and is nearly operational. They’re going to offer a lot of amenities that we could never have offered at just a simple shower and cleanliness facility. Certainly, it will be an asset to the community.”

Gomez elaborated on the Galilee Center’s plans.

“We’re going to have 12 showers for men and 12 showers for women,” she said. “The shower and laundry areas are being paid for by the Riverside County funds. We’re fundraising to build a large family community room where we’ll have televisions for the people and computer stations to help them search for jobs on the Internet. Also, we want to have classes to help give instruction to people who don’t know how to write their names.”

A December press release from Benoit’s office mentioned that $1.2 million in funds were designated for the comfort-station construction. Gomez said that won’t quite cover all costs.

“We’re bringing in extensions for the gas, water and sewer lines from Second Street,” Gomez said. “That’s pretty far away, so it’s expensive to bring those utilities to our site.”

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has also agreed to provide $75,000 per year in operational funding for the new facility, which is slated to open May 18. Will that prove

The Galilee Center, which will operate the new Plaza Esperanza, gave out more than 730 Thanksgiving food baskets last year. GALILEE CENTER FACEBOOK PAGE

sufficient?

“We will be open November through March and again May through July,” said Gomez. “And during those months, our daily hours will be Monday through Friday from 1 to 7 p.m., while Saturdays and Sundays will be from noon to 6 p.m.

“During the other months, we will have the community room open and available. This first year of operations, we will find out exactly what the costs will be—especially during the hottest summer months, since the facility is going to be airconditioned.”

Benoit praised all the work the Galilee Center has done and continues to do.

“I think it’s great when you see the government able to work with these walking saints like Gloria Gomez and (Galilee Center CFO and co-founder) Claudia Castorena, because they’re trying to do the right thing for their community.”

Even after the HUD settlement and other initiatives over the past 15 years, the quality of life for our valley’s migrant-worker community needs improvement.

“There is an ongoing need for food. Right now, every Thursday, we have between 300 and 500 families who come to get food staples for the week,” Gomez said. “An even bigger need is health issues. Mental health is a big issue on this side of the valley. Our people need rental assistance and utility assistance. Some of the farmworkers work hard their entire lives to put food on our tables, but now they’re retired and receive no government assistance, because they’ve been undocumented.

We encounter so many different problems and situations with this population. We can only do so much.”

If you’d like to contribute to the success of Plaza Esperanza— the Galilee Center is in special need of shampoo, soaps and towels (white towels are preferred because they’re easier to wash), as well as toothbrushes, toothpaste and small bottles of mouthwash—call the Galilee Center at 760-396-9100, or visit galileecenter.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

MARCH 2015

NEWS

MEET THE RABBI

Chabad of Palm Springs’ Yonason Denebeim Has Been Answering Questions at VillageFest for 25 Years

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

By Brian Blueskye f you’ve been to Palm Springs VillageFest, you’ve seen the “Ask the Rabbi” booth.

Rabbi Yonason Denebeim has been running that booth for about 25 years—and, not surprisingly, he has many stories to tell.

Like, for example, that time when he hosted Matisyahu during Coachella in 2006. Or when he worked with the Navajo tribe on the funeral arrangements of a local Jewish man who was an admirer of the Navajo. Or when he was a tour guide in Israel.

During a recent interview at Chabad of Palm Springs, Denebeim—you can call him Rabbi D if his last name gives you trouble—talked about his childhood growing up in Brooklyn, and how he decided to enter spiritual life in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement instead of opting for a more lucrative career.

“I had a choice of going into a professional craft like law or medicine, or I could get out in the trenches and actually help people on a one-to-one basis,” Denebeim said. “I decided against my father’s advice to choose this path as an in-the-trenches kind of helper to humanity. … I decided on helping people on a one-to-one basis.”

So being a rabbi isn’t lucrative? Denebeim laughed and replied, “No!” “It’s not even close. But money has never been my primary focal point in life, and my father used to say, ‘Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s always nice to have a few dollars.’ I’ve been maintaining the standard of few dollars, which is OK. We’ve been blessed with 14 children, and 13 of them were born here in the Coachella Valley, and they never lacked food or a pair of shoes.”

Denebeim came to Palm Springs in the summer of 1980 with his wife and first-born child, sent by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

“He was probably the greatest leader in world Jewry until his demise, and others would argue he still is the greatest leader,” Denebeim said. “The effect of what he’s accomplished in setting up Jewish centers throughout the world is unparalleled. We’re talking about 4,000 rabbis who he sent all over the world, with centers similar to mine or larger than mine based on the needs of the community.

He sent me to Palm Springs for the purpose of providing authentic Jewish education to the local Jewish community. We have education programs, religious programs, counseling programs, aid programs and chaplaincy programs. We’ve made our footprint here in Palm Springs.”

The “Ask the Rabbi” booth came to fruition 25 years ago.

“It was not my idea. My wife and I got involved in establishing educational resources for children as well as adults,” he said. “The

school needed to pay teachers, so we charged tuition, but not much. I had to fundraise for the difference. The parents wanted to do extracurricular activities to enhance the experiences the children were having and wanted to raise money. When the street fair began some 25 years ago, it started out as an arts and crafts fair where vendors made their own crafts and sold them. The parents in my school were crafting jewelry and selling it at the Palm Springs VillageFest. I came down to see how they were doing, and one of the young ladies said, ‘Oh, here’s the rabbi. This person has a question about this subject, and we needed a rabbi to answer it.’ They said, ‘We need you here every week.’”

A table was set up for Rabbi Denebeim to answer questions—and he’s been doing it ever since. He said people mostly seek advice on marriage, family, business or general questions on spiritual matters. He conceded that he doesn’t have all the answers. “(I’m asked), ’Where’s the nearest ATM machine?’ to, ‘What’s the meaning of life?’ and everything in between. If I don’t know the answer, it’s very difficult for the person listening to me. I try to make it easier and tell them, ‘I don’t know; I’ll have to think about it,’ or, ‘I’ll inquire, and could you get back to me?’ The minute you meet someone in life who tells you they have the absolute answers to everything, it’s the time when you turn around and walk away.”

He said some people are more interested in pestering him.

“They’re not interested in anything I have to say and have an agenda of their own,” Denebeim said. “They’re looking for an ear so they can unload their rhetoric and are very seldom interested in my response. Those are probably the hardest. I believe and hope I’ve been working on developing my character over

Rabbi Yonason Denebeim. BRIAN BLUESKYE

the years on becoming a more patient and understanding person for those people.”

He mentioned a young man named Robert who used to antagonize him at the VillageFest.

However, their relationship developed and grew to the point that Denebeim later mentored and counseled him before Robert eventually moved to Alaska.

“He and his friends would take pot shots at me to see if I would get upset to where I’d yell and scream at them. Only problem is, I don’t want people to get me upset,” he said. “After a while, they would ask serious questions.

They started coming to me to ask questions in dealing with real issues and in families we could call dysfunctional. This one gentleman kept coming back and coming back and grew up to be a young man who pursued more lofty purposes in life. … He comes back to Palm Springs to visit once a year, and he says, ‘I go

back to Palm Springs to have a beer with my buddies and to see the rabbi.’”

Denebeim said there’s nothing he would change regarding his 25 years at VillageFest— he would do it all over again. He’s also enjoyed watching the valley change over the years.

“Coming to Palm Springs from an urban environment in the late ’70s and early ’80s like I did, things were very quiet. I became very spoiled with the slower pace and what appeared to be an easier environment to deal with people and situations in life, only to discover … the community is very transient. …

There’s no industry here, or very little industry like tourism, which is also transient in nature.

We discover many of the people who live here generally don’t last more than five years. When you meet someone who has lasted more than five years, you think, ‘This is hearty stock here!’”

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

MARCH 2015

NEWS

DON’T SMILE! YOU’RE

NOT ON CAMERA!

Coachella Valley Law Enforcement Agencies Have Been Slow to Embrace Body-Cam Technology

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

By Brane Jevric e’re living in a video world. Cameras are everywhere: on streets, tablets, smart phones and satellites.

Cameras can also help protect the public and law enforcement alike when placed in key public areas and— increasingly—on police officers themselves.

However, you won’t find very many law-enforcement cameras in the Coachella Valley. For instance, Palm Springs Police Department officers do not wear body cams, nor do their police vehicles have dashboard cams. The same goes for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which enforces law and order in Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and elsewhere.

An early February request to talk about cameras with Alberto Franz, the Palm Springs chief of police, was answered by an assistant who stated that the chief was busy until the end of month. On the contrary, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman was happy to talk, both one-on-one and via email.

“I am a huge proponent and completely support the use of body-worn cameras on our police officers,” Zimmerman said. “We have 600 officers wearing cameras. By the year’s end, all of our officers working in a uniform patrol assignment (about 1,000) will be wearing them. Having officers wearing body-worn cameras is a win-win for both the officer and the community.”

Meanwhile, here in Riverside County, the Riverside Sheriffs’ Association, the union that represents deputies, is going to court in an attempt to stop the county from issuing body cams to on-duty deputies. Deputy Armando Munoz, the public information officer at the sheriff’s Palm Desert station, stated that “nobody … will talk about the body cameras at this point since the whole issue is still in court proceedings.”

While Chief Franz declined to talk about possible body cameras, Sgt. Harvey Reed, the Palm Springs Police Department spokesperson, did talk. He said management has started looking at different makes and models of cameras. Of particular interest is a clip-on camera that attaches to an officer’s shirt below the collar. It shows the area directly in front of the officer, as well as slightly to the left and right, and records in color with sound.

“When policies and procedures are developed, privacy expectations will be taken into

consideration,” he said.

Certainly, when it comes to cameras, privacy issues are important. In fact, former police dispatcher Laura Crawford, now enjoying retirement in Rancho Mirage, remembers when officers’ unions even didn’t want globalpositioning systems activated in police cruisers.

“It was vital to me as a dispatcher to know where an officer was if all hell broke loose,” Crawford said. “Body cameras have the same issues, as officers feel everything they do is under scrutiny.”

San Diego’s Chief Zimmerman, however, believes the positives of body cameras far outweigh negatives.

“A body-worn camera can be a very valuable training tool for the officer,” Zimmerman said.

“Currently, at my department, we are hiring many police officers, and having the ability to see the video will only enhance the training of our officers.”

Surveillance cameras and traffic cameras can also be useful in combating crimes. Yet desert cities are lagging behind when it comes to adopting this technology as well.

David Hermann, the public information officer at the city of Palm Desert, confirmed there are no monitored traffic cameras on public streets in Palm Desert.

Mark Greenwood, Palm Desert’s director of public works, said the city does have a few traffic signals equipped with cameras that allow the signal to change more quickly based on the presence of vehicles. However, these lowresolution cameras do not record, and are not monitored. Palm Desert also has five portable, motion-detecting cameras that are meant to discourage vandalism and graffiti; they take

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman: “By the year’s end, all of our officers working in a uniform patrol assignment will be wearing (body cameras). Having officers wearing body-worn cameras is a winwin for both the officer and the community.”

still photos when they detect motion. However, when I spoke to Hermann in February, he said none of the cameras were deployed.

Palm Springs police dispatchers have the ability to monitor 11 cameras, mostly in the downtown area. The video from these cameras, according to Sgt. Reed, is recorded and retained for a period of one year. Palm Springs has 80 intersections with signals.

In the near future, Palm Springs will

proceed with the construction of a new Traffic Management Center and Citywide Traffic Signal Interconnect Project. According to Marcus Fuller, an assistant city manager and city engineer, the federally funded, $2 million-plus project will include numerous new traffic cameras, although it has not yet been determined if and how data will be stored.

Stay tuned.

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MARCH ASTRONOMY Venus, Jupiter, Sirius and Canopus are This Month’s Evening Standouts

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by Robert Victor arch 2015 at dusk: Early in the month, the four brightest “stars,” in order of brilliance, are: Venus, in the west; Jupiter, in the eastern sky; Sirius, the “Dog Star,” 40 degrees up in the south as seen from the Coachella Valley; and Canopus, less than 4 degrees up when it passes due south about 21 minutes before Sirius does.

From the Coachella Valley, you must choose your site carefully to see Canopus, or mountains might block your view. From my abode in Palm Springs, I see Canopus blink out when it goes behind a mountainside several minutes before it reaches its high point.

From Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, Canopus passes due south only 4 degrees up in a dark sky at 7:32 p.m. on March 1, and then

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four minutes earlier each day, to 7:08 p.m. on March 7, and suddenly 8:04 p.m. on Sunday, March 8—an hour later than you might expect, until you recall that you’ve just reset your clock to daylight saving time. By March 11 or 12, the star reaches its high point only about an hour after sunset. Within a few more days, as the star’s “transit time” backs closer to the time of sunset, the sky will become too bright to catch Canopus at its high point.

Sounds of nature enrich the stargazing experience. In Palm Springs, we’ve been hearing frogs in nearby Tahquitz Creek on warmer nights since December.

Other features of the early evening: A telescope reveals Venus now in gibbous phase, and up to four of Jupiter’s moons discovered

by Galileo in 1610. Mars, now on the far side of its orbit, doesn’t reveal much telescopically,

Morning visibility map at mid-twilight.

ROBERT D. MILLER

Evening visibility map at mid-twilight.

ROBERT D. MILLER

but it’s visible to the naked eye and binoculars, sinking lower in twilight, 4 degrees to 17 degrees below Venus.

Orion’s three-star belt (not bright enough to be shown on our twilight chart) lies midway between red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel. The belt points the way leftward toward Sirius, and the opposite way toward Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull, and beyond to the Pleiades or “Seven Sisters” star cluster (also not plotted, but beautiful in binoculars). The huge “Winter Hexagon”— in counterclockwise order, Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Castor (not shown), Procyon and back to Sirius, with Betelgeuse inside—contains seven of the 21 stellar objects of first magnitude or brighter (16 stars and five planets) ever visible from Southern California. Their constellations include a bull backing away from a charging hunter and his two canine followers, a pair of twins and a chariot driver with mother goat and three kids on his shoulder.

Following this menagerie is bright Jupiter, itself followed by Leo, the Lion, with the star Regulus marking his heart.

By March’s end, Arcturus, the “Bear Guardian” star, pops up above the eastnortheast horizon before mid-twilight. Use this memory aid: “Follow the arc (curve of the bear’s tail or handle of the Big Dipper) to Arcturus.”

The moon can be easily spotted daily at evening mid-twilight (about 40 minutes after sunset) March 1-5 and March 21-April 4. At dusk on Monday, March 2, the fat gibbous moon is well up in the eastern sky, 5 to 6 degrees to the north (upper left) of Jupiter.

Now through July, the moon will pass Jupiter in the evening sky every 27 or 28 days. The interval is shorter than the moon’s cycle of phases, 29.5 days, so each time it overtakes Jupiter, the moon will appear progressively less full.

On March 4, the nearly full moon will rise 35 to 40 minutes before sunset, and on March 5, the moon, just past full, rises shortly after sunset. In the following days, moonrise occurs nearly an hour later each night, making it more convenient to switch your moon-watching time to predawn.

March 2015 at dawn: The brightest objects

in morning twilight, in order of brilliance, are: Arcturus, high in the west-southwest to west; and Vega, high in the northeast.

Early in the month, Mercury, low in the east-southeast, closely matches or slightly outshines Arcturus, but it sinks into bright twilight after midmonth. Saturn, steady in the south to southwest, is next in brightness in the morning sky.

In morning twilight on Thursday, March 5, the full moon is low in the west, with Regulus setting 4 to 5 degrees to its lower right. On March 8 and 9, the waning gibbous moon appears in the southwest near Spica. On Thursday, March 12, Saturn appears within 3 degrees to the lower right of the moon in the south, while the reddish twinkling star Antares appears 8 to 9 degrees to their lower left. On Friday, March 13, the moon is close to half full and essentially at last quarter phase, 90 degrees west of the sun and 14 to 16 degrees left (east) of Antares and Saturn. The last easy morning view of the waning moon will come on Wednesday, March 18.

The moon returns to the evening on Saturday, March 21, at dusk, when the 1.7-dayold waxing crescent will be very easy to spot.

Mars will be 2 degrees to its lower right.

For a few more evenings, look for beautiful earthshine, from sunlight reflected by Earth onto the moon’s dark (non-sunlit) side. Watch the crescent thicken daily as it moves farther from the sun on each successive evening.

Mark your calendars: On Friday evening, April 3, the nearly full moon will rise 4 to 5 degrees south of due east about 26 minutes before sunset. About 13 minutes before sunset, the sun and moon can be viewed simultaneously, in opposite directions, each about 2 degrees above unobstructed horizons.

About an hour after sunset, look for Spica 13 degrees below the moon—and then a total lunar eclipse will happen early Saturday morning, April 4. More on this next month and at CVIndependent.com.

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

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SNAPSHOT

Images From February in the Coachella Valley and High Desert

The view from the back patio of Modernism Week’s Christopher Kennedy Compound on Yosemite Drive in Palm Springs included a golf course, the San Jacinto Mountains and a sculpture resembling a window frame, created by Warner Bros. prop-builders while they were in between films. The house—minus all of the interior decorations—was slated to be put up for sale after Modernism Week, which brought many thousands of people to Palm Springs Feb. 12-22. PHOTO BY BRIAN BLUESKYE

Babes in Toyland disbanded in 2001, and since then, each of the three members have endured some truly hard times. Perhaps these challenges played a role in the band announcing its reunion last summer. In any case, Babes in Toyland chose Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace as the venue for the band’s first comeback show on Tuesday, Feb. 10—where Kat Bjelland (pictured), Lori Barbero and Maureen Herman proved they’re back with a vengeance. PHOTO BY GUILLERMO PRIETO/IROCKPHOTOS.NET

The Renaissance Palm Springs played host to the International Bear Convergence, an annual gathering for “bears, muscle bears, cubs, chasers, chubs and admirers,” according to the IBC website. An estimated 4,000 people attended the various parties and shows Feb. 12-16. PHOTO COURTESY IBC FACEBOOK PAGE

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How to Die With Dignity

Brittany Maynard’s High-Profile Death May Usher in a Right-to-Die Option for Terminally Ill Patients in California

By Melinda Welsh

T

HE CALL COMES ON YOUR CELL WHEN you least expect it. The doctor, a specialist from out of town, says: “The telephone isn’t the ideal way to deliver test results, but ...”

You urge him to proceed. He tells you about your brain cancer.

It has metastasized with a vengeance. His words are both shocking and anticipated.

You know you are hearing your own death sentence.

You have fought valiantly for years to be rid of this disease. You’ve endured the onslaught of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Now, you find yourself at a new stage, with six months to live. You’re aware that people who die with your disease may face distressing events before the end: seizures, loss of functions, dementia, anguish and undeniable pain.

What are the options in this hypothetical?

In California, you could choose ever-moreaggressive interventions in the unlikely hope of a cure. You could green-light a medical trial and perhaps extend your life while aiding science. You could choose palliative care and hospice, in the unassailable theory that they may provide you with a gentler exit. You could even exercise your right to refuse food and drink, a difficult path that leads to death in seven to 10 days.

Or you could move to Oregon. There, you would have an extra option: You could choose to end your own life, at the time and in the place of your choosing, with legally prescribed, fast-acting barbiturates provided by a doctor.

As of right now, this final option is illegal in California. In fact, your loved ones could face criminal prosecution if they helped you do so here.

This may be changing.

On Jan. 21, state Sen. Lois Wolk announced legislation that would bring an “end-of-life choices” law to California. The law would be fundamentally like Oregon’s 1997 Death With Dignity Act—requiring an adult patient to have residency in the state, and two doctors in agreement that he or she has less than six months to live, as well as full mental competency. Other safeguards Wolk referred to as “crucial”—for both patients and physicians—will also be folded in.

“It’s time,” she said. “No one should have to go through horrific pain and prolonged suffering when the end is clear.”

A longtime advocate for more

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compassionate end-of-life scenarios, Wolk authored a groundbreaking 2008 law that provides seriously ill patients with a new mechanism—Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment, or POLST—to ensure that their wishes are honored regarding endof-life care. But Wolk, the state senate’s new majority whip, will likely face a tough battle this time. The right-to-die subject has been exceedingly controversial when it has come up in California’s past.

So why introduce it now? Because of Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old East Bay newlywed who, after being diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) last spring, became the face of a movement when she chose to relocate with her husband to Oregon to end her life under that state’s Death With Dignity Act. “Doctors prescribed full brain radiation,” she wrote in an essay for CNN. “The hair on my scalp would have been singed off. My scalp would be left covered with first-degree burns. … My family and I reached a heartbreaking conclusion: There is no treatment that would save my life, and the recommended treatments would have destroyed the time I had left.”

Young, attractive and articulate, Maynard’s passionate defense of her right to leave life on her own terms went viral. Her YouTube video drew 13 million views. Her saga was written up in hundreds of newspapers and appeared on the cover of People magazine.

Maynard partnered with the nation’s premier “aid in dying” nonprofit, the Denver-based Compassion and Choices, and triggered an outpouring of new energy and funds to its cause.

Ultimately, the sympathy generated by Maynard’s story pushed the “death with dignity” movement forward in ways the country is just starting to see play out.

A month after Maynard’s November death, the already substantial public support for “death with dignity” took a significant bounce. A Harris Poll found that 74 percent of American adults now believe terminally ill patients in great pain should have the right to bring their lives to a close. Even “physicianassisted suicide”—a term controversial in right-to-die circles—now has a 72-percent favorable rating.

“I think (Brittany Maynard) deserves a lot of credit for being willing to be so public about her dying,” said Wolk, explaining, in part, why she and co-author state Sen. Bill Monning

chose to the introduce legislation, Senate Bill 128, now instead of later.

“People were very moved by her story,” said Wolk. “It struck a chord.”

‘THINGS CAN REALLY GO WRONG’ With her short brown hair, eloquent eyes and gracious smile, Jennifer Glass welcomed me into her San Mateo home, ushered me to a seat in front of a cozy fire by the Christmas tree, and handed over a cup of steaming coffee.

The warm environs seemed to alleviate the difficulty in speaking openly about the topic at hand: Glass’ late-stage lung cancer.

A formidable communications professional during her working career—with stints at Oracle, Intuit, Sony and Facebook—Glass married the man of her dreams, Harlan Seymour, in August 2012. They settled into family life. Four months later, while giving her a back rub, Seymour found a lump on her neck that felt “like little peas in a row.”

Glass was soon discovered to have Stage IIIB lung cancer (not smoking-related) that had metastasized to the lymph nodes in her neck.

At the time of her diagnosis, the American Cancer Society estimated the likelihood of her five-year survival rate at just 5 percent. The then-49-year-old underwent radiation and two aggressive rounds of chemotherapy, causing her to lose her thick brown hair.

Her cancer is, thankfully, now in a period of “treated containment.” She takes the oral chemotherapy drug Tarceva daily that allows “two to three good hours” per day, she says.

The efficacy of Tarceva tends to be two to four years before cancer mutates around it.

Glass, who developed a following for her YouTube video “A Photo a Day: One Year With Cancer” and for blogging about her disease on The Huffington Post, has strong beliefs about how she wants to go when her time comes.

“I believe I should have the legal choice to end my life calmly, peacefully and with dignity,” she said.

Like Maynard, the tech-savvy Glass wants to bring the right-to-die debate to a generation that’s become accustomed to making its own choices when it comes to certain issues. “It’s like what we’ve seen with gay marriage,” she said. “There’s a greater desire for personal choice ... and quality of life. And that has to include end of life.”

When first diagnosed, Glass contacted Compassion and Choices—which was largely responsible for creating and passing Oregon’s

Death With Dignity Act. She sought advice and counsel. A volunteer came to her home and explained advance-care directives, POLST forms, the role of hospice, and what was and wasn’t legal in California when it comes to the end of life.

After her marathon cancer treatment was completed, Glass contacted Compassion and Choices a second time and asked how she could help their effort to make aid in dying legal in California.

She was unapologetic when explaining why hospice and palliative care alone are not sufficient to calm her fears.

“There is some exceptionally fine hospice care,” she said, “but it’s a spectrum.

Sometimes, it’s simply not possible to eliminate or manage a dying person’s pain.”

Glass admitted to a kind of black market that exists in states where physician-assisted dying is illegal. “Since becoming part of the cancer community, I’ve known people who are doing whatever they think it’s going to take to end their lives when they want to, including hoarding pills. That can be dangerous if it’s not managed.

“It’s the fear, the fear about how this is going to end.”

In her own case, Glass is frightened by the possibility she may be forced to “drown in my own lung fluid in front of my family in my final days. … My quality of life in whatever time I have left would be vastly improved if I knew (a legally prescribed lethal drug) was an option for me under the law.

“If my life is not tolerable, if I’m racked with pain, if I can’t control my functions, if my system is failing … and I have no recourse?

That’s the worst thing I can think of—because things can go really wrong.”

‘WE’RE DETERMINED TO DO IT’ Toni Broaddus entered a café near the Capitol in Sacramento, primed for her first in a long string of meetings scheduled that day with legislators, staffers and local officials. It was Nov. 19, 2014—the date would have marked Brittany Maynard’s 30th birthday.

“Brittany’s story really galvanized the movement,” said Broaddus, an attorney and social-justice advocate who now directs Compassion and Choices campaign in California. “Her story has really moved us forward in ways we never could have predicted or expected. We have seen a huge increase in supporters, in donors, in volunteers.”

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Brittany Maynard on her wedding day in September 2012, before her January 2014 diagnosis.

PHOTO BY TARA ARROWOOD

Broaddus, previously a leader in the state’s marriage-equality movement, said Compassion and Choices has set a goal of having California join five other states in the country—Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico—that have legalized aid in dying.

The group plans to assist in the passage of California legislation or mount a grassroots effort to get the matter put before voters in 2016.

Such efforts have failed in the past.

Attempts to legalize assisted dying in California have been beaten back many times over, thanks to fierce opposition from organizations like the Catholic Church, with its moral authority, and the California Medical Association, with its well-financed lobby. In 1992, Proposition 161 went down, getting just 46 percent of the vote.

The most recent legislative attempt before SB 128, Assembly Bill 374, by Assemblywoman Patty Berg, was taken off the table for lack of support at the end of the 2007 session.

Famously, the bill had preachers speaking out in opposition from the pulpits in California.

Then-Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez actually described getting a call from his church-going mother at that time, urging him to reconsider his support for the bill.

The powerful California Medical Association is predicted to oppose again this time, though a spokesperson said the group hadn’t yet taken a position on new legislation. The organization, which officially represents just 30 percent of the state’s physicians, has claimed before that assisting in a death is in conflict with a doctor’s ethical responsibility

to “do no harm.” Also, the doctors’ group holds that most pain at the end of life can be controlled through medication and comfort care in a hospice environment.

However, a recent poll of 17,000 American doctors by Medscape found that, for the first time, a majority of physicians support “death with dignity” for those with “incurable and terminal” disease.

Also expected to oppose Wolk’s legislation are some in the disability-rights community, who say such a law could open up the potential for abuse by insurers or family members.

In response to the groundswell of media on Maynard’s story, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund senior policy analyst Marilyn Golden wrote: “For every case such as (hers), there are hundreds—or thousands— more people who could be significantly harmed if assisted suicide is legal.”

Broaddus disagrees, based on 17 years of data from California’s neighbor to the north.

“People talk about concerns about abuse for vulnerable populations,” she said. “But the reality is, that hasn’t happened in Oregon.”

For Assemblywoman Wolk, the fate of the bill will depend, in part, on individual legislators’ own personal experiences with death and dying.

“More and more people have had a personal, intense experience with dying—either a relative or a friend … and they want it to be different; they know it should be different,” she said.

The legislator pointed out that the Oregon law “is broadly accepted and not that heavily used,” with continued on next page ➠ CVIndependent.com

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continued from Page 13

After her diagnosis, Jennifer Glass received intravenous chemotherapy for her advanced lung cancer. “If I’m racked with pain, if I can’t control my functions, if my system is failing … and I have no recourse?

That’s the worst thing I can think of.” COURTESY OF JENNIFER GLASS

about 60 percent of the people who obtain a prescription ever actually taking it.

“It’s a comfort for people to know that if it got really bad, it’s there,” she said. “… Just having it is enough.”

YOU’RE SCARED AND STRESSED’ Barbara and Doug Wilson met in 1967 while residents in the first co-ed dorms at UC Davis.

They fell in love, married, launched careers and raised two daughters.

In 2004, Doug, age 57, was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. At first—thanks to two rounds of surgery and chemotherapy—his disease went into remission. But in 2007, the cancer returned. With Barbara constantly at his side, he spent the next five-plus years in and out of infusion rooms, clinics, radiation

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centers and hospitals.

“He was amazing,” said Barbara of her husband. “He had the most positive attitude.

He did not want to die.”

In the spring of 2013, the couple chose to enter hospice care, more than anything because it would get them access to equipment—like a battery-operated oxygen tank—that would help Wilson attend his daughter’s April wedding in Santa Cruz. “Doug walked my daughter down the aisle,” said Barbara, choking back tears. On morphine, he gave his father-of-the-bride speech and, she said, “did the father-daughter dance.”

By the following Friday, he was gone.

Barbara, now 66, looks back with some unease on her husband’s death process those last five days of his life. “The image of a

wonderful, peaceful end of life with loved ones around … well, that didn’t seem to happen,” she said.

Home hospice provided qualified people checking in once a day, she said, and availability in emergencies. But basically, she felt left to her own resources, in the company of her two daughters and son-in-law.

“I think it’d be the same with any hospice,” she said. “You’re scared and stressed because this is your loved one. You don’t know what to do.”

She described her husband as on-again, offagain agitated—he was bleeding internally, with his liver shutting down. “We felt we were incapable of dealing with him properly,” she said. She described frustration at her inability to help make him comfortable. She feared his pain and what would happen if she gave him too much—or too little—morphine.

Eventually, in a hospital bed in the living room with his family surrounding him, her husband took his last breath.

Though Barbara believes her husband would not have chosen to take his own life at the end even if it had been legal, she now believes that people should have a right to that option.

“Until you walk in those shoes, you just don’t know. … When it’s my time, I do not want to suffer,” she said, “especially after watching Doug.”

‘WHY IS IT SO HARD?’ Why is it so difficult for modern society—with its medical aptitude, technological advantages and ability to fulfill desires—to succeed at delivering a “good death” when it is something most people want?

In his recent best-seller Being Mortal, Atul Gawande takes a stab at an answer by laying out the limits of medicine and the inadequacies of medical school in preparing physicians to help patients deal with the stark reality of death.

Doctors have been trained to find cures and “to win,” he writes. This simple fact—along with an American health-care system that seems to encourage excessive treatment— continues to make a peaceful death an elusive goal for many people. For example: Though most people want to pass away at home

surrounded by loved ones, 70 percent die in a hospital, nursing home or long-term-care facility.

Marge Ginsburg, executive director of the Sacramento-based Center for Healthcare Decisions, and a noted advocate for better end-of-life outcomes, has spent the last two decades pushing for more compassion for patients as they near death.

“You’d think 20 years later, we’d have gotten this solved,” she said. “But no, we haven’t.”

Ginsburg, whose nonprofit organization won’t be taking a position on the new Death With Dignity legislation, reminds that California’s end-of-life problem is much larger in scope than the debate over one potential last-resort option. The importance of advancecare directives and the ongoing push for family members, physicians and patients to have candid conversations before crisis hits can not be overstated, she said.

“The ICU is not the time to start finding out what your family members want,” she said.

Still, some see a shift occurring in the end-of-life landscape—perhaps because members of an aging baby-boomer population have begun to see their final acts in sight.

Indeed, more doctors are now being trained in palliative care, which focuses on pain relief over cures for terminally ill patients. Also, there’s an increased use of advance-care directives and POLST forms as well as an uptick in the number of individuals dying in hospice care.

Meanwhile, over to the side, is the more controversial subject of a California law that would allow people who meet its dire criteria to self-administer lethal prescription drugs.

Could a shift be occurring there, too?

Wolk believes the answer is yes.

“It’s changing,” she said. “We have to learn.

Doctors have to learn. At the end of life, there is a range of things that can happen. We haven’t wanted to think about that. We haven’t wanted to talk about that. But it’s time.”

This story originally appeared in the Sacramento News & Review.

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CVI SPOTLIGHT: MARCH 2015 The Purple Room Adds Some Edge The Purple Room Restaurant and Stage is known for its residencies featuring acts such as the Gand Band and The Judy Show—but the venue hasn’t been particularly wellknown as a place to see edgier, younger talent.

However, that is beginning to change, thanks to a new series of programming called Purple Room After Dark. The series features local and visiting acts in shows that start at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Handling the booking for Purple Room After Dark is Alex Callego, who has worked with the Ace Hotel and Swim Club, as well as Bar. He also handles the Palm Springs Comic-Con and various other local events.

“I was approached by Tony Marchese, and by Dean McFarlane, who I used to work with over at the Ace Hotel,” Callego explained. “When Dean moved over to Purple Room, I said, ‘Hey, maybe you can get me in there. I’d love to try to do some entertainment over there.’

“It took about a year. Tony contacted me and basically wanted to have a meeting. We sat down, and I gave them a proposal, and we launched our first shows at the end of February. This is the first time I’ve been able to actually be creative with what I’m doing—and there’s a lot of stuff I’m really excited to do.”

Local acts slated to play at the Purple Room in February included Waxy, CIVX, DJ Aimlo and Independent resident DJ All Night Shoes. Callego said he has big plans for March.

“I have Organic Junk Fude on Friday, March 6, with the Yip-Yops. Organic Junk Fude is a band that was around in the early 2000s and sort of had a cult following. They were this punk band that were kind of like GWAR, and also did hip-hop. It was a really strange stage show—and I was actually in the band for a bit. They were gone for a few years. They all have kids, and now they’re back and writing new music.” (See The Lucky 13 on Page 30 for more on Organic Junk Fude.)

Callego also isn’t afraid to go beyond musical acts for Purple Room After Dark.

“Another thing I have that I’m excited about is a stand-up comedy show on Friday, March 20, with Allen Strickland Williams, Eric Dadourian and Solomon Georgio. Allen Strickland Williams is part of a sketch group called Women; they’re getting a lot of attention and just got picked up by IFC.com. … All of them individually in Women are really talented and do different things. Solomon Georgio was just on Conan, and he did a lot of awesome comedy writing. Eric Dadourian was written up somewhere as part of the 100 Best Comics in Los Angeles.”

The band Roses is scheduled to appear on Saturday, March 21. It features members of the late, lamented group Abe Vigoda.

“Abe Vigoda played Coachella, but they are now defunct,” Callego explained. “Roses just did a mini-tour and played in New York. They also part of the scene that plays at The Smell in L.A. I’m also going to have Dunes on Saturday, March 28, which also features ex-members of Abe Vigoda.”

Callego said admission to most shows is free for the time being.

“We will have some shows that will have a $5 or $10 cover charge at the door, but I would say a good 90 to 95 percent of our shows will be free,” he said.

Purple Room After Dark takes place at 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday, at the Purple Room Restaurant and Stage, located at 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Admission to most shows is free. For more information and a complete schedule, call 760-322-4422, or visit afterdark. purpleroompalmsprings.com.

—Brian Blueskye

Roses

Allen Strickland Williams and Women

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ARTS & CULTURE

BEFORE AND

AFTER WAR

Jennifer Karady’s Powerful Photos of Soldiers Are a Highlight at the Palm Springs Art Museum

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By Victor Barocas he tale told by Jennifer Karady: In Country, Soldiers’ Stories From Iraq and Afghanistan, a powerful photography exhibit now on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum, has three parts; however, gallery visitors get to see only two.

We see the prologue, which lets us know what occurs prior to soldiers being deployed. We see the epilogue, in which we meet members of the military after they return to their homes.

What happens in between—the events and their experiences during their tours of duty—is left to the viewer’s imagination. This forces us to create our own narrative; it creates a palpable tension.

The exhibition appropriately takes up most of the gallery space on the museum’s lower floor. Karady begins her narrative in the long, narrow Jorgensen Gallery—a confined space that forces visitors to view each image on its own terms. The 17 smaller images, plus some Polaroid pictures, presented in the Jorgensen Gallery were taken in Joshua Tree and at the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. The military uses the Joshua Tree area because it resembles the terrain of both Afghanistan and Iraq.

A staged picture of a soldier standing against the harsh Joshua Tree terrain suggests a sense of aloneness and hope. The image of a 29 Palms Marine Corps graduating class affirms commitment.

After experiencing the works in the Jorgensen Gallery, visitors enter the open, well-lit and comparatively expansive Marks Graphics Center. It is here where Karady presents the epilogue, via 16 oversized photographs.

The abrupt change in focus is jarring: What was a factual documentary quickly becomes highly individualized, psychological portraits.

Karady’s process includes in-depth interviews with each soldier photographed.

The photographer acknowledges that each picture is staged to produce a personal, insightful and individualized image; a statement derived from each interview accompanies each picture. Every pairing conveys unique sentiments—isolation, hope, desolation, reconciliation, camaraderie and transition.

The portrait of Lance Cpl. West Chase, walking hand in hand with his fiancée, Emily Peden, captures a sense of isolation and going against the flow. After leaving the military, Chase began pursuing an advanced degree at a CVIndependent.com

Midwestern university. The couple, positioned in the center of the picture, walks toward the viewer. On either side is a line of individuals who are walking in the opposite direction.

Each of these young adults is wearing a yellow T-shirt. In the top left part of the image are four standing adults who look like they may be originally from the Middle East.

John Holman shows us his anger and his struggle to work through it; he is a Bay Area resident completing a doctorate in clinical psychology and preparing for the California State Bar. Holman consumes the front left quadrant. Two friends of Holman, facing in opposite directions, stand in the dark background, seemly oblivious to the former military man. With Holman holding a clinical psychology book and a law textbook, the artist presents a combination of anger, hope and potential healing. But … the former soldier’s right hand, which is holding the books, is in the shape of the gun. Is the photographer suggesting that his anger is always below the surface? Is she simply tempering the optimism? Or is she letting him work through his past?

The German word “weltschmetz,” meaning heightened and extreme angst, is at the core of Karady’s picture of Sgt. Jose Adames.

The image, taken in a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood, positions the former soldier in a crouching, almost-fetal position. Large, full black trash bags and a discarded mattress sitting on its side serve as a barrier between Adames and an approaching garbage truck.

Adames, in his interview, notes that loud noises, like cars backfiring and garbage trucks, bring his mind back to the Middle East.

One of the most hopeful pictures is of

Jennifer Karady, “Staff Sergeant Kyle Winjum, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, U.S. Marine Corps, Veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, With Fellow Marines; Twentynine Palms, CA,” April 2014. COPYRIGHT JENNIFER KARADY; PHOTOGRAPH COMMISSIONED FOR PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM BY THE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION COUNCIL

Capt. Elizabeth Condon, with her daughter, Kate, and mother, Elizabeth. Karady’s precise staging produces a highly lyrical and flowing composition; it has a religious quality. The captain, in a squatting position, faces her daughter, while her mother, like a guardian angel, watches over both. A green bush with orange-red flowers seems to create a halo over the captain’s head. Because of Karady’s annotation, the photographer’s inclusion of a Muslim woman—with a highly visible Caesarean scar—neither disturbs nor detracts from the mood. In fact, it adds to the optimistic tone.

Karady’s messages are clear: The human costs of serving in the Middle East are significant; these veterans are our neighbors; and each returning veteran has unique needs to ensure a smooth transition to civilian life.

It’s a powerful exhibit worth your time.

JENNIFER KARADY: IN COUNTRY, SOLDIERS’ STORIES FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN IS ON DISPLAY THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 29, AT THE PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM, 101 MUSEUM DRIVE, IN PALM SPRINGS. THE MUSEUM IS OPEN FROM 10 A.M. TO 5 P.M., TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY; AND NOON TO 8 P.M., THURSDAY. ADMISSION FEES VARY. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 760322-4800, OR VISIT WWW.PSMUSEUM.ORG.

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ARTS & CULTURE

THE POWER OF PLACE Western Lit: These Two Debut Novels Show Off a Lot of Writing Talent

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

BY JENNY SHANK AND MICHELLE PULICH STEWART

ourth of July Creek, the robust debut of Portland, Ore.-based novelist Smith Henderson, follows the life of Pete Snow, a state social worker in the fictional town of Tenmile, Mont.

At work, Snow is steady and skillful, able to calm frightened children and parse messy domestic situations. But after hours, he’s an alcoholic prone to unbridled benders, alienated from his own land-baron dad and fugitive brother.

He has lived in an isolated cabin ever since he left his cheating wife.

One day in the early 1980s, a disheveled child named Benjamin wanders into the town, west of Glacier National Park. Pete buys Benjamin new clothes and medicine for giardia and scurvy, and returns him to the remote spot the boy calls home. Benjamin’s father, Jeremiah, a wild-bearded, scripture-quoting, shotguntoting survivalist, collects his son while threatening Pete with a “fatal wrath.” But Pete refuses to give up on this odd family.

Meanwhile, after Pete’s hard-partying wife moves to Texas, their 13-year-old daughter, Rachel, runs away. Pete, who blames himself for neglecting his daughter, takes off on a cross-country mission to rescue her. As he tells his estranged wife, “I take kids away from people like us.” We learn what’s happening to Rachel through question-and-answer sessions interspersed throughout the novel, in which she details all she endures as she drifts.

Fourth of July Creek is rife with painfully honest, hard-won insights about kids out on the street or caught up in the system; the author once worked at a group home for juveniles in Missoula, and his experience

brings a unique authenticity to the story.

At times, the novel is so bleak that only the precision and beauty of Henderson’s language keep you from flinching away. Keep reading, and you’ll find yourself caring about the wounded people who stagger through this book too much to ever want to leave them.

It seems as if Henderson felt the same way—he ends the book in mid-sentence, the fate of one character not fully revealed. n her debut novel, Steal the North, Heather Brittain Bergstrom draws on her own childhood in eastern Washington and current life in Northern California to share the riveting tale of a shy Sacramento teenager inhabiting those same locales.

Steal the North begins with 16-yearold Emmy reluctantly heading north to Washington to spend the summer with an aunt, Bethany, about whose existence she has just learned. Emmy’s mother, Kate, had always insisted that she had no living relatives. Now married and expecting a baby, Bethany tracks down her estranged sister and begs her to send Emmy to Moses Lake, Wash.—because Bethany has suffered earlier miscarriages and believes that she needs Emmy’s help, along with a special faith healing ceremony, to carry this child to term.

Emmy meets Reuben, the beautiful, athletic boy next door. As their friendship grows, the socially awkward Emmy begins to feel at home for the first time in her life. Reuben, who is Native American, shares his spiritual connection to the windswept scablands and rivers. The first time she touched the Columbia River, Emmy says, “He told me to close my eyes so I could feel the river’s pulse. It was faint under all that backwater, but it was definitely there.”

As the family drama unfolds, Emmy discovers more about her mother’s secret past and begins to bond with her aunt.

Unfortunately, Bergstrom’s narrative strategy occasionally gets in the way; she lets different characters take turns telling parts of the story, and some of those characters are simply not as well-realized as her young leads.

The novel’s strong sense of place prevents Steal the North from becoming just another tangled melodrama. Emmy learns that the rugged eastern Washington landscape is central to her identity. Walking into a wheat field “in the land of my father,” she says, “the land pulled on the bones of my feet. I kept my hands in the dry, rustling wheat and just breathed.”

Bergstrom reminds us that the landscape is more than just a scenic backdrop; it is also the thing that anchors us to our lives.

These reviews originally appeared in High Country News.

FOURTH OF JULY CREEK, BY SMITH HENDERSON (ECCO), 480 PAGES, $26.99; STEAL THE NORTH, BY HEATHER BRITTAIN BERGSTROM (VIKING), 336 PAGES, $27.95.

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MARCH THEATER Buyer and Cellar—From Coyote Stageworks Emerson Collins (Sordid Lives) stars in the comedy Buyer and Cellar, which focuses on the price of fame, at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, from Friday, March 27, through Sunday, April 5. $45 to $60. At the Helene Galen Performing Arts Center, 31001 Rattler Road, Rancho Mirage. 760-318-0024; www.coyotestageworks.org.

The Divine Sister—From Desert Rose Playhouse The Charles Busch-written show, an outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns, takes place at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 29. $28 to $30.

At 69620 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage. 760-202-3000; www.desertroseplayhouse.org.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum—From Palm Canyon Theatre The famous play about slave Pseudolus’ attempts to help his young master earn the love of a courtesan named Philia is performed at 7 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, March 8. $32 to $36. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760-323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.

La Gringa—From CV Rep In this comedy by Carmen Rivera, Maria goes to visit her family in Puerto Rico—where she realizes that everyone in Puerto Rico considers her an American, a gringa. However, through the wise and colorful words and music of her uncle, Maria learns life lessons; at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, from Wednesday, March 4, through Sunday, March 22. $45; $40 previews on March 4 and 5; $55 March 6 opening night. At the Atrium, 69930 Highway 111, No. 116, Rancho Mirage. 760-296-2966; www.cvrep.org.

A Handful of Nickels and Dimes Yve Evans performs this comedy and music show that’s a tribute to vaudeville at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, March 22. No shows March 6-8. $26 with discounts. At the Indio Performing Arts Center, 45175 Fargo St., Indio. 760-775-5200; www.indioperformingartscenter.org.

Jack—From College of the Desert Dramatic Arts This humorous twist on the fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” takes place at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28; and 3 p.m., Sunday, March 1. $15; $10 students. At the Pollock Theatre at College of the Desert, 43400 Monterey Ave., Palm Desert. 760-773-2565; codperformingarts.com.

Legally Blonde—From Musical Theatre University Broadway stars join MTU students in this hit musical at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, March 12 and 13; 2 p.m., Sunday, March 15; 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22. $15 to $35. At the Helene Galen Performing Arts Center, 31001 Rattler Road, Rancho Mirage. 760-202-6482; www.hgpac.org.

McCallum Theatre Hershey Felder stars in George Gershwin Alone at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 1; $25 to $75. ABBA MANIA takes the stage at 8 p.m., Monday, March 2; $25 to $65. Broadway and Hollywood combine for a romantic and entertaining evening of song and dance with Joan Hess and Kirby Ward in Dancing and Romancing, featuring the Desert Symphony Orchestra, at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 12; $45 to $95. The musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It is performed at 8 p.m., Friday, March 13; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 14; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 15; $35 to $95. Laurence Luckinbill is Teddy Roosevelt in the one-man show Teddy Tonight! at Thursday, March 19; $15 to $65. The Ten Tenors return with a show of Broadway hits at 8 p.m., Friday, March 20; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 21; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 22; $25 to $75. Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye takes place at 8 p.m., Monday, March 30, through Saturday, April 4, with a 2 p.m. matinee on April 4; $35 to $95. At the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert. 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre.com.

On the Air 2—From Dezart Performs This annual evening of radio-show classics features an all-star cast including Gavin MacLeod, Joyce Bulifant, Millicent Martin and many others, at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 12. $35 to $75. At the Camelot Theatres, 2300 E. Baristo Road, Palm Springs. 760-322-0179; dezartperforms.org.

The Osanbi Deal—From Script2Stage2Screen This play is set near a toxic waste area in South Carolina and is a compelling story of treachery and guilt; 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7. $10. At the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert, 72425 Via Vail, Rancho Mirage. 760-345-7938; www.script2stage2screen.com The Secret Garden—From Palm Canyon Theatre The orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to England to live with the Cravens. While there, she helps bring life to a secret garden; the show is performed at 7 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 20, through Sunday, March 29. $28. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760-323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.

Two By Tony—From Desert Ensemble Theatre Company Tony Padilla’s one-acts Family Meeting and The Comeback are performed at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, from Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 22. $22 with discounts. At the Pearl McManus Theater in the Palm Springs Womans Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, Palm Springs. 760-565-2476; www.detctheatre.org.

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

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MARCH 2015

MOVIES

NOW SHOWING AT HOME Spike Lee, Patrick Stewart and Some Public Humiliation Make Their Way to Home Video

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MOVIES

By Bob Grimm best work in years—even if it is still a bit of a failure.

Stephen Tyrone Williams in Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus Available via online sources including iTunes, Amazon.com and Vimeo On Demand Spike Lee partially funded Da Sweet Blood of Jesus through Kickstarter—and the results are a mixed bag.

While his film about a wealthy researcher (Stephen Tyrone Williams) becoming addicted to blood (thanks to an ancient artifact) contains some of Lee’s most startling imagery in years, the film is a bit long in the tooth. Given the artistic freedom of a crowdfunded project, Lee doesn’t seem to check himself when it comes to pacing—resulting in a film that could benefit from 30 minutes being shaved off.

Still, Williams is good as the secluded rich man who, after an associate (Elvis Nolasco) tries to kill him, finds himself resurrected and thirsting for blood. He preys upon prostitutes, and eventually takes a wife (a strong Zaraah Abrahams) who joins him in blood lust.

This is not a traditional vampire movie, although it is quite bloody. Bruce Hornsby provides a solid score, with the help of many unsigned artists Lee selected for the project.

Shot in just 16 days, this truly is Lee’s

Match Available on demand and via online sources including iTunes and Amazon.com Tobi (Patrick Stewart), a dance professor at Julliard, agrees to do an interview with a married couple (Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard) about 1960s dance culture. After a few questions and answers, it becomes apparent that the two are up to something beyond a simple Q&A. It only takes a few minutes to figure out where the film is going; writer-director Stephen Belber’s play-turned-movie offers few surprises. The film suffers from a staginess that often plagues plays being adapted for the big screen, and at first, Stewart seems like he is acting for an audience rather than a camera.

Despite these flaws, the movie progresses into something that is mildly entertaining.

Stewart’s character calms down a bit as the film plays out, and Lillard provides some truly moving work in the film’s final act.

Gugino is decent in what is essentially a three-person film.

This isn’t a complete failure, but it doesn’t work very well as a movie. Match may have been better had they just staged a play, gotten an audience and filmed the proceedings with a few cameras.

Nao Ômori in R100.

Patrick Stewart in Match.

R100 Available on demand and online via sources including iTunes and Amazon.com Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes R100, an oddball creation from director and co-writer Hitoshi Matsumoto.

Seemingly mild-mannered Takafumi (Nao Ômori) has a humdrum life as a furniture salesman. His wife is in a coma; her dad is

living with him and his son. He needs to feel alive again—so he joins an elite S&M club that specializes in public humiliation.

Things start innocently enough, with bondage girls kicking him in the head at restaurants and throwing him down large staircases. But the club starts following him to work and, eventually, to his home, where he is tortured by the Queen of Saliva. (Yes, she spits on him while dancing to disco music.) There’s also the Queen of Gobbling, who eats Takafumi’s family members.

I’m not exactly sure what Matsumoto is trying to convey with his strange movie, which is sometimes interrupted by some sort of film crew questioning the film’s validity.

I can just tell you that it’s funny, especially when the bondage club’s CEO turns out to be a large blonde American woman who screams “Fuck!” a lot and expresses her anger by belly-flopping in the club’s pool.

I can also tell you that the movie utilizes Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in the strangest way since Kubrick used it in A Clockwork Orange. You’ll scratch your head—and you’ll laugh while scratching it.

Laggies Lionsgate, Blu-Ray released Feb. 10 Laggies is a so-so movie made watchable because of its stellar cast.

The filmmakers should feel lucky that Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz and a guy named Sam Rockwell got talked into gracing this one with their presence.

Directed by Lynn Shelton and written

by Andrea Seigel, the film tells the story of Megan (Knightley), a woman in her late 20s who is still spinning signs for her dad’s business. When her boyfriend (Mark Webber) proposes, and she sees her dad (Jeff Garlin) cheating on her mom shortly thereafter, it all proves to be a bit much for her—and she splits.

After illegally buying alcohol for young Annika (Moretz), Megan winds up at Annika’s house, where Annika’s dad, Craig (Rockwell), is sulking after his wife left him high and dry.

Predictably, Megan becomes a mother figure to Annika while falling in love with Craig.

Rockwell is the sort of dynamic actor who can elevate material like this; his scenes with Knightley have a lot of life. Moretz always does a good job of playing a dazed teenager, as she does here.

I can’t help but think that all of this talent could’ve been off somewhere else making a better movie, but as it stands, Laggies has its charms thanks to their involvement.

Special Features: You get a director’s commentary and some deleted scenes.

THE VIDEO DEPOT

TOP 10 LIST for FEBRUARY 2015

Keanu Reeves in John Wick.

1. John Wick (Lionsgate) 2. Dracula Untold (Universal) 3. Big Hero 6 (Disney) 4. Dumb and Dumber To (Universal) 5. Nightcrawler (Universal) 6. Ouija (Universal) 7. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Disney) 8. Horrible Bosses 2 (Warner Bros.)

9. Kill the Messenger (Universal) 10. The Interview (Sony)

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the

FOOD & DRINK Introducing the Buzz Crawl, a Great Way to Cruise Palm Springs’ Craft-Beer-Loving Bars and Restaurants WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Erin Peters ore and more restaurants and bars are offering amazing craft beers in the Coachella Valley—and now there’s a new, responsible way to sample these tasty brews in Palm Springs.

Introducing the Buzz Crawl.

The concept behind the Palm Springs Buzz is simple: It’s a trolley that allows locals and visitors alike to explore Palm Springs for free. The bus is bright and retro, with vintage lettering, plush seats and wood paneling. The Buzz runs every 15 minutes from Via Escuela to Smoke Tree Lane, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., every Thursday through Sunday—again, for FREE! And, yes, there’s an app for that.

According to city officials, from Feb. 5-8, the Buzz picked up about 4,500 people. The following week—which included Valentine’s Day and Modernism Week’s kickoff weekend— that number rose to nearly 6,000.

John Raymond, the director of community and economic development for the city of Palm Springs, is keeping a finger on the pulse of the Buzz. He’s hopeful that the Buzz is reducing the number of people who are driving under the influence.

“People are fanatical about it. They think it’s great,” he said about the Buzz. “We figured tourists would catch on … but what’s been really great is the number of locals who are into it—Thursday night, especially.”

Because the Buzz is free and runs all weekend, you don’t need a defined schedule— but here are my recommendations on spots to hit for craft beer.

One of the first places is on the south end, near stop No. 18: The Legendary Purple Room at Club Trinidad has a “Rat Pack” heritage, but owners Tony Marchese and Mark Van Laanen are now offering modern fare and amazing Southern California craft beers.

Head chef Jennifer Town graduated from the New England Culinary Institute and was the executive sous chef at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club before coming over to the Purple Room.

She’s a craft-beer lover and appreciates the culinary art of pairing rich dishes with perfect craft beers.

Speaking of the Ace Hotel and Swim Club: It’s a great launching point, with amazing spaces at which to soak up the sun and/or people-watch. The closest Buzz stop is just across the street, No. 16. Check out The Amigo

The Buzz runs every Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. ERIN PETERS CVIndependent.com

The Hacienda Cantina and Beach Club offers the biggest game of beer pong you’ll probably ever see.

ERIN PETERS

Room and its artisanal cocktails, hippy party vibe and fantastic variety of craft beers. Enjoy them in the dim, cavernous space—or better yet, have one by the pool. Choose among 21 taps from Southern California breweries including Babe’s, Coachella Valley Brewing, La Quinta Brewing, Stone and Hangar 24.

At the Hacienda Cantina and Beach Club, near stop Nos. 14 and 20, soak in more rays by the pool or try your hand at bocce ball—or the largest game of beer pong ever.

While the Hacienda’s craft beer selection isn’t extensive, there are a few nice choices, and the $5 poolside menu is not to be ignored: Enjoy a Racer 5 IPA, Stone Pale Ale or Ballast Point Sculpin IPA with a braised short rib and Hacienda chorizo empanadas. Want really to get the party started? Have one of some 75 tequila flights, starting at only $3.50.

Not in the mood for Mexican-style food?

Check out the new hip sushi spot in town.

Gyoro Gyoro is in the middle of downtown, near stop No. 8. The restaurant opened last May and not only serves fantastic fish, but offers unique microbrewery beers from around the world—yes, even Japanese craft beer!—as well as a fine selection of sake.

Feeling like some fresh, delicious pizza?

Get off at stop No. 9 or 11 and stroll over to Matchbox, which not only offers artisanal brick-oven pies amid a flame-lit balcony overlooking La Plaza; the restaurant also has a nice selection of craft beer, with a dozen or so on tap and about 20 different beers in bottles.

Expect popular beers from breweries like Allagash, Green Flash, Stone, Bear Republic, Alaskan, Lost Coast and Rogue. Matchbox typically has at least one local beer on tap, too.

Right around the corner is my favorite cigar lounge, which won over my heart because of its impressive selection of wine and craft beer: Fame Lounge is a masculine and comfortable place, also near stops No. 9 and 11. Try the cigar and beer pairing for $10.

Bar is located at 340 N. Palm Canyon Drive, near stop No. 7. With its dark surroundings and extensive whiskey menu, Bar is a great stop at night. Try the picnic eggs—deviled eggs with Sriracha and wasabi—and pair them with the War Gin (gin and lemon-honey pale ale) beer cocktail. Bar offers about 20 bottled

beer choices, including Blazing World and Black House from San Diego’s Modern Times; the beers on tap rotate.

For upscale, neo-retro dining, head over to Trio, near Buzz stop No. 5 in an historic midcentury building in Palm Springs’ sophisticated Uptown Design District. Trio serves a fine selection of craft beers and delicious cocktails, and offers a three-course $19 prix-fixe menu 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Happy hour brings $3 well, $5 call, $8 premium and $5 bar bites at the bar and on the patio.

Nearby is Birba, a modern outdoor pizzeria.

Birba translates from Italian to “little rascal.”

Enjoy a carefully crafted cocktail like the “Hello Nancy” in the courtyard, surrounded by whitelight-wrapped trees. While the eight signature cocktails are delicious, Birba also offers a selection of local craft beer.

Get off at Buzz stop No. 4 to enjoy the friendly and chic Workshop Kitchen + Bar. The popular spot has a nice selection of craft beer, but also specializes in cocktails inside the restored 1926 Spanish colonial revival building.

I have been known to be a cross-drinker—and you might become one, too, among the cool concrete tables and souring wooden ceilings.

Gourmet farm-to-table restaurants like Workshop are no stranger to the craft-beer “revolution,” and Workshop offers sublime pairings with locally sourced ingredients.

The rich herbes de Provence fries are cooked in duck fat; pair them with a crisp Belgium beer. On tap, you’ll find brews from Salzburg, Colorado, San Diego and the Coachella Valley, as well as a great bottled-beer selection.

Don’t be afraid to check out the spirits menu, showcasing “underdog” whiskeys, vodkas and gins. My personal favorite handcrafted cocktail here is the “Palm Springer,” with vodka, fresh pineapple juice, house-made grenadine, angostura bitters.

The Buzz has four buses, ensuring that riders can hop on at any of the 30-plus stops every 15 minutes. Check out the new fun and responsible way to catch a buzz in Palm Springs—and Tweet to @TheBeerGoddess if you’re checking out the #PSBuzz!

For more information and a route map, visit buzzps.com.

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FOOD & DRINK

the SNIFF CAP

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Deidre Pike “If pinot noir is the next best thing to sex, you must be having really good sex.”

—PinotFile.com ave never buys pinot noir at home.

“No balls,” he says.

We know this wine can be amazing. We’ve seen Sideways. We’ve tasted good pinot noirs in Washington and Oregon. But we’ve encountered insipid pinot noir far too many times. Cuz insipid pinot noir is cheap.

“I can’t afford to like pinot noir,” says our wine-aficionado friend.

Now here we are, drinking elegant pinot noir and adoring it, eyes rolling back in our head, drool escaping from corners of mouths. We whip out our credit cards for more, more.

We’re drinking on the west end of Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. Locals call this the Deep End. It’s too close to the Pacific, really, to grow grapes. Yet the Deep Enders do.

At Handley Cellars, tasting-room employee Ali Nemo pours a side-by-side tasting of 2011

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pinots. One’s a blend of grapes from three appellations, two inland from here. The second pinot is from grapes all grown about 10 miles from the Pacific. Both wines resonate with complex flavors, feature rich color, and offer an outstanding finish that lingers on and on. But the wines differ in texture, acidity and flavor.

In the first, you can taste the sunshine.

Pinot No. 2’s flavors are brought to you by fog.

Owner and winemaker Milla Handley, greatgreat granddaughter of Henry Weinhard, crafts

Going Deep With Pinot Noir in Anderson Valley wines from her 29-acre estate vineyard and also buys grapes from Redwood and Potter valleys. The grapes grown closest to the coast develop an “oceanic acidity.” The resulting pinot noirs have more tannins than we’ve come to expect from grocery-store pinots.

That’s why this wine can be plopped in a cellar (or dark closet) and emerge 15 years later drinking so, so smooth.

To get here, drive north beyond Santa Rosa.

Head west on Highway 128 at Cloverdale, and cruise rolling green hills toward the coast. Now you’re in Boonville, population 1,035. Robert Mailer Anderson wrote a best-selling 2003 novel set in this quirky burg where oldsters speak a local dialect called “Boontling.” That’s a real thing.

Dave and I drive through Boonville to Philo (FILE-oh), population 349, where we’ve booked a room at the Anderson Valley Inn. Our first wine stop is Navarro Vineyards, named “Winery of the Year” at the 2014 California State Fair. We could stay here all day and let wine-room worker Nick Johnson pour 15 wines for us. These tastings are complimentary—but we pass on awardwinning whites and hit the reds. The 2012 Méthode à l’Ancienne ($29) blends pinots from 16 vines, all in Anderson Valley. Johnson describes low yields and tormented grapes grown near the coast, then pours for us the 2012 Deep End Blend ($49). Navarro won a gold medal, best of class, for this one.

I get it.

In two days, Dave and I drink spectacular pinots at many wineries. Along the way, we encounter a few zinfandels from inland vineyards. My favorites include Edmeades 2005 Perli Vineyard Zinfandel ($40) and its 2012 Gianoli Vineyard Zin ($35). Wine notes suggest “intense notes of blackberries and forest floor.” Who knew dirt paired so well with fruit?

These zins vary wildly from our beloved jammy zins of the Sierra Foothills, Amador and Lodi. Different spices. Blacker fruits. Oh yeah.

Anderson is famous for its whites and sparkling wines, so we sample a few of these.

But for us, the pinots are the reds of note. At Drew Family Cellars, a smallish mom-and-pop place, we taste the 2012 Fog-Eater Pinot Noir ($45)—“pomegranate, orange and licorice with floral notes”—that was on the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 wine list.

We learn that the term “fog-eater” is a Boontling pejorative for a person who lives too

Handley Cellars’ Ali Nemo pours some delicious, fog-created pinot noirs. DEIDRE PIKE

close to the coast, “on the margin.”

You know those bottles of wine that kill you with their luscious beauty? This is one of those. Fortunately, I have not yet hit the limit on my credit card.

Dave’s favorite Anderson Valley pinot noir comes from Harmonique and was crafted by Robert Klindt, a longtime local winemaker and owner of the acclaimed but now-defunct Claudia Springs Winery. Harmonique’s 2006 Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from grapes grown about eight miles from the ocean. Smooth with age, its essence lingers in my mouth for hours, days, weeks. I can still taste it. I have damp dreams about this wine.

Dave and I decide that we’re all about the fog. Blanketed by low stratus clouds, the grapes here strive for survival with testicular fortitude. We taste their anguish in the Deep End pinot noirs. Dave puts it simply: “These have the balls.”

At a newish tasting room for Lichen Estate, we sip a 2012 Pinot Noir ($65), a newly released work of art in a bottle. In the tasting room, we chat with Dan Rivin, who revels in the craftsmanship of small family-owned estates. The foggy wines of Mendocino’s coastal region are gaining popularity. And this makes Rivin oddly glum. He fears the coming influx of large corporate wineries that arrive “with suitcases of cash” and gobble up local estates.

“The secret’s out,” he laments.

There’ll be focus groups. Homogenized pinot noir that no longer pays tribute to the area’s terroir. Emasculated flavors. Pinot that tastes like root beer and cotton candy.

Could be. Or perhaps the feisty Deep Enders will prove resistant to invasion.

Rivin pours us a last splash of pinot noir, luxuriously rich, with creamy layers of fruit and spice that taste like here.

We head home in a cloud.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25

MARCH 2015

FOOD & DRINK

Restaurant NEWS BITES

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle ZIN AMERICAN BISTRO FINDS ITSELF IN THE MIDST OF A FOIE GRAS UPROAR In early January, U.S. District Judge Court Stephen V. Wilson overturned California’s ban on foie gras—a 2004 voter-approved law that went into effect in 2012.

Almost immediately, Mindy Reed, the owner of downtown Palm Springs’ Zin American Bistro and Alicante restaurants, announced she was returning fatty goose liver to Zin’s menu—and she attracted serious local media attention in the process.

Ever since, Reed and her staff members have been the targets of opposition, protests—and even threats.

“I’ve gotten hate mail,” Reed said. “I’ve been called a murderer. I’ve been sent pictures of me personally being bound and force-fed though a tube. My staff has been harassed.”

Reed said she understands why some individuals may be vegetarian or vegan; in fact, she said she herself was a vegan for decades. However, she said it’s unfair and hypocritical for people to focus on the delicacy that is foie gras.

“People need to remember there are two ways to do everything in life,” she said: the right way, and the wrong way. Reed insisted that she goes out of her way to use as many ingredients as possible that are produced in the right way—local, free-range, humanely raised, etc. That goes for foie gras, too.

“I serve foie gras that’s humanely raised,” she said. “The geese are not caged. There’s no tube. There are no machines. The goose is hand-fed. There are a few farms doing this. Geese will gorge themselves naturally. People who like foie gras appreciate the fact that I buy humanely raised foie gras.”

Reed gets visibly irritated when she discusses her detractors.

“Why aren’t they picketing McDonald’s or other restaurants in town (that don’t seek out meat from humanely raised animals)?” she asked. “I don’t think it’s fair.”

Meanwhile, foie gras remains on the menu at Zin; for example, a Belgian waffle dessert features brûléed pineapple, foie gras and sauternes. At least that’s the case for now: California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced in February she was appealing the ruling against the foie gras ban.

Zin American Bistro is located at 198 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. For more information, call 760-322-6300, or visit pszin.com.

PLATE | GLASS’ GOAL: TO BE A PLACE TO ‘CHILL OUT’ “Leisure” is the key word at Plate | Glass, which last fall took over the second-story spot at 301 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in downtown Palm Springs, that had been home to Crave.

Owners Raymond McCallister and Larry Abel—best known as the men behind the Raymond | Lawrence retail shops—had previously been part-owners of Crave. When they took control of the dessert-and-coffee spot last year, they decided it was time to make some changes.

“We think Plate | Glass fulfills a need by creating a place for people to chill out,” Abel told me recently.

“We have a great view. People will linger and hang out.”

Plate | Glass still offers desserts, of course—but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Also on offer: Fantastic craft cocktails, breakfast/brunch items, salads, large-sized “melt” sandwiches and appetizer style-plates. I was fortunate enough to attend a recent media lunch there, and the fare was delicious. My favorite: The Sweet Hog melt, with pan-fried ham and blueberry goat cheese. It was amazing.

When Abel said he wants people to “chill out” at Plate | Glass, he meant it: The space even includes a cell-phone charging station and a variety of board games.

Plate | Glass is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Call 760-322-2322, or visit plate-glass.com for more information.

IN BRIEF The space formerly occupied by Café Scandia, which closed recently at 356 S. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, will soon be the home of Rooster and the Pig. We’ll pass along details when we get ’em. … Keep your eye on Bart Lounge, the bar/music venue/art gallery at 67555 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City, in the second-story space that recently housed Level 2 bar. It’s slated to open sometime in March. Follow www.bartlounge.com and Bart’s Facebook page for updates. … The Food+Wine Festival Palm Desert, a Palm Springs Life joint, will take place Friday, March 27, through Sunday, March 29. Watch www.palmdesertfoodandwine.com. … BB’s at the River is taking over the former Acqua Pazza space at The River, located at 71800 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Jack Srebnik, who owns the two local Maracas restaurants, is the brains behind the place. Get info—including hiring details—at www.facebook. com/BBsRiverRanchoMirage. ... The Westin Mission Hills, at 71333 Dinah Shore Drive in Rancho Mirage, has launched a series of wine dinners at the Pinzimini Restaurant. The four-course meals with wine pairings are taking place the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. through April; the first dinner, in February, cost $85 plus tax and tip. Get more info at www.pinziminipalmsprings.com/WineDinnerSeries.

CVIndependent.com

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FOOD & DRINK the

INDY ENDORSEMENT A Seafood-and-Pasta Dish and an Amazing Cocktail Earn This Month’s Nods

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle

WHAT The Black Spaghetti and Clams WHERE Catalan Mediterranean Cuisine, 70026 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage HOW MUCH $25 CONTACT 760-770-9508; catalanrestaurant.com WHY It tastes great—and looks amazing.

New Orleans is one of the best food cities I’ve ever visited. We were last there in 2011, and it seemed like every meal we enjoyed (well, make that every meal we had when we escaped from the tourist trap that is Bourbon Street) was simply fantastic.

One of the best meals we had—OK, two of the best meals we had, because we simply had to go back a second time—was at Domenica, a restaurant owned by celebrity chef John Besh. The entrée that was so good it practically forced us to return was the squid ink tagliolini with crab and herbs. Amazing.

Well, the good news is that I’ve found a dish here in the Coachella Valley that reminds me a lot of the squid ink tagliolini: the black spaghetti and clams, at Rancho Mirage’s Catalan Mediterranean Cuisine.

This delicious and beautiful plate of food combines perfectly prepared pasta, briny clams, fruity Calabrian peppers and a healthy portion of garlic into a dish that will make you want to return to Catalan a second time to get more of it. And a third.

There are downsides to this dish: It’s messy as all hell (you have to fish the clams out of the broth), and your breath will be … um, fragrant after you eat it. However, that’s why they make soap, laundry detergent and mouthwash, right?

As an added bonus, the setting at Catalan is gorgeous as well. We recommend a seat in the courtyard, where you can enjoy Spanish acoustic guitar Thursday through Saturday nights.

You may not be in New Orleans, but thanks to Catalan, you can sure eat like you are.

CVIndependent.com

WHAT The Sour WHERE Bar, 340 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $10 CONTACT 760-537-7337; www.barwastaken. com WHY It’s one of the best cocktails in the valley.

I am convinced that Bar (if you’re unfamiliar, yes, that’s the name of the place in its entirety) remains underrated, even though the bar/ restaurant/music venue has, in fact, received a fair amount of acclaim—including nabbing top honors in the Best Cocktail category of our inaugural Best of Coachella Valley readers’ poll.

You know what? Our readers are pretty gosh-darned smart. Not only does Bar have one of the valley’s best cocktail menus; Bar has one of the valley’s best cocktails, period, at least as far as my palate is concerned.

Bar’s Sour includes just four ingredients of note: bourbon, lemon, sugar and egg whites.

However, when these four ingredients are carefully mixed by a bartender who knows what he or she is doing (and trust me: Bar’s bartenders do indeed know what they are doing), the resulting cocktail is out of this world.

It’s tart. It’s sweet. It’s foamy It’s slightly oaky. And it’s deep.

The folks at Bar will make this drink with whatever bourbon or whiskey you prefer, and sometimes, they’ll even mix things up a bit if left to their own devices. On one recent night, the bartender told me he was making the drink with Elijah Craig 12-year, whereas Bar normally uses Buffalo Trace.

You can pair the Sour with something off of Bar’s menu of tasty food—including my favorite (and a previous Indy Endorsement recipient), the Picnic Eggs: deviled eggs with wasabi and Sriracha. Or you can drink the Sour as a meal unto itself; after all, it includes egg whites, right? (OK, maybe this is not a good idea.)

Either way, you’ll enjoy it. Trust me.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

MARCH 2015

•• The Blueskye Report: March 2015 •• Ever-Changing Alchemy: Hard Work and a New Singer Lead to the Tachevah Stage •• Steve Tyrell Basks in the Spotlight After a Career Behind the Scenes •• FRESH Sessions With All Night Shoes Featuring Death House of Love •• The Lucky 13 with Organic Junk Fude and Tribesmen's Freddy Jimenez www.cvindependent.com/music

The UK's Sons of Alpha Centauri Make Amazing Music on Vinyl With Various Local Greats

FROM THE DESERT AND ACROSS THE POND

29

The Blueskye REPORT

MARCH 2015

By Brian Blueskye It’s March … so we all know what’s comin’, weather-wise. We strongly recommend getting out and enjoying some fantastic events before the broiler gets turned on.

The McCallum Theatre’s schedule is full of music events in March. While Johnny Mathis’ March 7 and 8 performances are sold out,

here are some other shows to consider: At 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, singer-songwriter Don McLean will be stopping by. McLean wrote the 1971 hit single “American Pie,” for which he’s widely known; however, he’s written many other great songs, too. After catching his performance at Stagecoach last year, I can say he’s worth seeing.

Tickets are $25 to $65. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 27, Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang will be performing. Tickets are $65 to $125. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has some great stuff going on in March. At 8 p.m.,

Saturday, March 7, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge will play. Etheridge won an Academy Award for her song “I Need to Wake Up,” for Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Tickets are $29 to $59. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 14, R&B superstar Ne-Yo will be stopping by.

Ne-Yo has won multiple Grammy Awards; this is one you don’t want to miss. Tickets are $49 to $109. I was very excited when I heard about the next event … but there’s a twist: At 8 p.m., Friday, March 27, ’60s pop group The Monkees will perform. Here’s the twist: The show is slated to include only Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. Michael Nesmith, with whom Tork and Dolenz reunited with

Lang Lang: McCallum Theatre, March 27

after the death of Davy Jones in 2012, will for some reason not be taking part in this show, barring a change in plans. Tickets are $29 to continued on Page 29 $59. Fantasy Springs Resort CVIndependent.com

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MUSIC

EVER-CHANGING ALCHEMY Hard Work and a New Singer Have Led This La Quinta Band to the Tachevah Stage

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye a Quinta’s Alchemy has been around for several years, and has featured several different sounds.

However, the band is finally coming into its own—as proven by the fact that the psychedelic-meets-indierock band will be on the roster for the Tachevah block party, after winning the first Tachevah showcase on Jan. 28 at The Date Shed.

During a recent interview in La Quinta, guitarist Danny Gonzalez, keyboardist Roger Chavez and vocalist Andrew Gonzalez talked about the history of the band.

“This is kind of a project we’ve had going on for about two or three years—maybe even four,” said Danny Gonzalez. “It was me and Eric (Lopez), the bass player, and Luis (Monroy), the drummer. We just started jamming and playing cover songs. We decided to play some shows and get this thing going.

We went through a lot of singers. … Finally, in the spring of 2014, we met up with Andrew. It was about a month after last year’s showcase for Tachevah.”

Chavez said the addition of Gonzalez, shortly after the band came up short in last year’s Tachevah competition, changed the group’s sound yet again. Gonzalez explained how he found his way to Alchemy.

“We were at a party, and we were talking about our bands, and I was talking to them about how things were really rough in my band, and we lost two of our guitarists,” he said. “They were talking to me about how they didn’t have a lead singer, and they couldn’t get started, and I … said I’d be down and would really like to try it out.”

Chavez said the group once sounded like The Strokes; Danny Gonzalez said he felt the

Alchemy CVIndependent.com

THE RELUCTANT ARTIST

After a Lengthy Career Behind the Scenes, Steve Tyrell Now Basks in the Spotlight

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

group’s sound was “more punkish and rough,” like a garage band. Today, Alchemy’s sound is a lot mellower. Danny Gonzalez said he doesn’t like to use a lot of guitar distortion, and Chavez said he uses a lot of synths and electronic drum pads.

“When we make music, we sit down and just jam out. We experiment with stuff,” Danny Gonzalez said.

The band members said they didn’t hesitate to compete again for Tachevah after missing out last year.

“We weren’t a known band last year,” Chavez said. “After last year, we played more shows in the valley; we got more familiar with people; and we made a lot of fans.”

All of this work paid off at the Tachevah preshow competition at The Date Shed, when the band went up against Elektric Lucie, Ideation, Thr3 Strykes, and The Death Merchants.

“We got people chanting our name and wanting an encore. I’m amazed the judges let us do one,” Chavez said.

Andrew Gonzalez agreed. “I said, ‘No, they’re professional about their stuff … and they’re not going to let us play an encore.’ I just remember everyone chanting for an encore, and one of the people told us to go ahead and do it.”

Danny Gonzalez said the band is using the time between now and the Tachevah concert in April wisely. They’re working on recording their first full-length album and are trying to improve their existing songs.

“Even if we don’t finish it, we’re not going to rush things,” Danny Gonzalez said about the album. “We want to see what we can do as a band, and maybe we can come up with better jams for the songs.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ALCHEMYCV.

By Brian Blueskye or years, Steve Tyrell worked behind the scenes as a producer and songwriter for artists and movie soundtracks. However, his cover of “The Way You Look Tonight” for the 1991 film Father of the Bride pushed him out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

He will be performing at the McCallum Theatre on Thursday, March 5.

“Mainly, I was a record producer,” Tyrell said during a recent phone interview. “I worked as a music supervisor and making music for movies. Those were my main two jobs.”

However, Tyrell, now 70, has always been a singer, going back to his childhood.

“I made records down in Texas with local bands,” he said. “… I’ve written songs that were successful, and some that have been recorded by some very legendary people. I enjoyed doing that much more than I did singing songs myself. I did a lot of music for movies and television shows, and sometimes, I would make a demo of something, and the director would hear my voice on the demo and say, ‘Well, why don’t you just do it?’ That happened to me several times.”

One of those times occurred while he was working on Father of the Bride, which starred Steve Martin.

“I sang the demo, and the filmmakers liked it so much and put it in the movie—and the rest is history,” he said. “It became pretty popular, and people said, ‘You should make an album.’ … I’m the reluctant artist, you might say.”

In Tyrell’s voice and music, you can hear one of his biggest inspirations—the late Ray Charles.

“I liked everything (Ray Charles) ever did.

He could sing the phone book, and it would be great,” Tyrell said.

However, one person may have inspired Tyrell even more: Burt Bacharach, the man Tyrell considers his mentor. Tyrell has helped Bacharach along the way, too: Tyrell, along with B.J. Thomas, helped work on “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” which went on to win an Oscar in 1969 for Best Original Song after it was featured in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “I moved to New York when I was 19 years

Steve Tyrell

old,” he said. “… Burt Bacharach and Hal David were just getting started, writing and producing for Dionne Warwick. … I had a lot of input as to which songs I thought would be the most successful. Burt and Hal used to listen to me, and we became very close. I didn’t realize we were making history.”

Tyrell said he doesn’t have a specific favorite moment or piece of work from his career.

“I don’t even think like that. I’ve made 11 albums, and I try to make them all as good as I possibly can with classic songs,” he said. “I’m really proud of this new album (That Lovin’ Feeling) I just released, because it takes me back. I made an album in 2008 called Back to Bacharach, where I went back with him and Hal David and did … all the songs I started my career with. A lot of those people participated on my album. It might be the album I’m most proud of, and it reunited me with my beginnings and my friends.”

STEVE TYRELL WILL PERFORM AT 8 P.M., THURSDAY, MARCH 5, AT THE MCCALLUM THEATRE, 73000 FRED WARING DRIVE, IN PALM DESERT. TICKETS ARE $45 TO $85. FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 760-340-2787, OR VISIT WWW.MCCALLUMTHEATRE.COM.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

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The Blueskye REPORT

MUSIC

continued from Page 27

DESERT ROCK CHRONICLES Meet Yawning Sons, the Beautiful Result of a Multi-Continent Collaboration

Kenny G: Morongo, March 13

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Robin Linn o tell the story of the Yawning Sons, you have to head across the pond and first tell the story of the Sons of Alpha Centauri.

The Sons of Alpha Centauri feature Marlon King on guitar, Nick Hannon on bass, Stevie B on drums and Blake on textures. They came up in Swale/Kent UK during the late 1990s and began exploring space and time with instrumental music that was expansive and conceptual. By 2004, the quartet had written 25 compositions.

Several years later, the band began reaching out beyond the boundaries of their own project by producing splits on vinyl—records featuring two bands, one on each side. They began collaborating with instrumental stoner-rock bands from America, including West Virginia’s Karma to Burn—and the desert’s very own Yawning Man. Now we can finally get to the story of Yawning Sons. It’s a joint project of SOAC and desert-rock guitarist Gary Arce of Yawning Man. In 2008, Arce flew to London to record at what is arguably the most famous recording studio in the world—Abbey Road. There, they laid the seven-track foundation for what would later become the full length record Ceremony to the Sunset, before sending the tracks to America, where vocals and additional sounds were added by Abby Travis (The Go-Gos), Mario Lalli, Scott Reeder and Wendy Fowler.

By the time the record was complete, it had been in the hands of Harper Hug at Thunder Underground, Mathias Schneeberger at Donner and Blitzen Studio, and Reeder at The Sanctuary The collaborations didn’t stop there.

“In 2010 SOAC, started a major project to release six vinyls over five years,” Hannon explained. “This was the next project following the two collaboration albums with Karma to Burn and Yawning Man that we took on. The vinyl series was a major commitment and was principally driven by myself as opposed to the rest of the band; I’m grateful to them for letting me pursue it. “… The vinyls consisted of two splits, a 7-inch with Yawning Sons and WaterWays, a 12-inch with WaterWays and SOAC, and re-release Ceremony to the Sunset. In Late April 2015, we will conclude the trilogy of the

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Agua Caliente, March 28

The Yawning Sons are the result of a collaboration between the UK’s Sons of Alpha Centauri and desert legend Gary Arce, of Yawning Man.

7” with Karma to Burn.”

About WaterWays: It’s a conceptual project deeply rooted in the desert sand. It features dark, thunderous soundscapes and vibey lap steel by Gary Arce; Mario Lalli’s thick, liquid guitar lines laced with nuances of surf, punk and jazz; drummer Tony Tornay’s deep, penetrating rhythms; and Abby Travis’ bittersweet melodies. Travis writes haunting lyrics that draw from her perception of the nü-west, with its drug labs, endless dreamy horizons, suburban legends and endearing characters.

WaterWays is a perfect project for vinyl.

Hannon explained why he continues to love the format.

“The decline in physical music is not bad thing, but there should be a physical format that survives, particularly as compressed digital music is not, to me, a sonic evolutionary step forward.”

Learn more at www.sonsofalphacentauri.co.uk.

READ MORE FROM ROBIN LINN, INCLUDING AN EXPANDED VERSION OF THIS STORY, AT RMINJTREE.BLOGSPOT.COM.

Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has a couple can’t-miss shows scheduled, too. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 7, comedian Kathy Griffin will be returning to The Show for what should be a very funny performance.

After a successful run with her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Griffin is still going strong. Tickets are $65 to $85. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 28, the ’90s-swingrevival band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will take the stage. If you don’t remember, swing music enjoyed a very brief comeback in the decade thanks to acts such as the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has continued on successfully since then.

Tickets are $40 to $70. The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com.

46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-7755566; www.spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort Spa has one event in March that leads to this question: Are you ready to rock? OK, just joking: At 9 p.m., Friday, March 13, Kenny G will be stopping by. That’s right: The smooth-jazz sax man will be performing here! Despite harsh criticism from some of bop-jazz’ notable musicians, Kenny G has captivated audiences while selling millions of records around the world. Haters gonna hate! Tickets are $60 to $70. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace will host some amazing musicians in March.

At 8:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14, Dave Catching and Rancho de la Luna will be taking over Pappy’s with performances by Earthlings?, Dinola and Rancho de la Lunatics.

Tickets are $10. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 27, there will be a much-anticipated performance

Gang of Four: Pappy and Harriet’s, March 27

Big and Rich: Spotlight 29, March 7

Spotlight 29 had a strong February—and that strength continues into March. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 7, you’ll be happy to find a night of “country music without prejudice” with Big and Rich and special guest Cowboy Troy. During the ‘MERICA! years of the previous decade, Kenny Alphin and John Rich rode the charts, and also had several successful collaborations with Cowboy Troy, an African-American artist who does rap country music. Tickets are $80 to $100. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 28, plus-size comedian Ralphie May will be performing. May was the runner up on the first season of Last Comic Standing. He was also a contestant on Celebrity Fit Club.

Tickets are $25 to $35. Spotlight 29 Casino,

by Gang of Four. The English post-punk outfit just released a new album. Tickets are $25.

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

Copa has several interesting events booked for March. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7, Copa will be hosting performances by actress Molly Ringwald.

Actually, she’s more than just an actress: Ringwald is also a decent vocal jazz singer!

Her 2013 album Except Sometimes included a jazz-style cover of the Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from her ’80s film The Breakfast Club. Tickets are $45 to $75. Copa, 244 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 760-3223554; www.coparoomps.com.

Be sure to watch the websites and socialmedia presences of venues not listed here for newly announced events. Have a great March, everyone!

CVIndependent.com

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MUSIC

FRESH SESSIONS WITH ALL NIGHT SHOES: MARCH 2014

the

LUCKY 13

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye NAME Tendo and Pigeon Toad GROUP Organic Junk Fude MORE INFO Organic Junk Fude is an amusing electronic/rap group with plenty of funny lyrics. The group existed during the mid-2000s and is now back onstage. See them with the Yip-Yops at the Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, at 11 p.m., Friday, March 6.

What was the first concert you attended?

Tendo: Michael Jackson.

Pigeon Toad: Kyuss.

What was the first album you owned?

Tendo: Buckner and Garcia, Pac-Man Fever.

Pigeon Toad: Michael Jackson, Thriller.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Tendo: UK Vision, Oi!, The Band, Case, Sparks, Classix, Nouveaux.

Pigeon Toad: Polysics, Cibo Matto, One Eye Open, Boredoms, Nuclear Rabbit, DEVO, Mr. Bungle.

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

Tendo: Country and dubstep.

Pigeon Toad: Pitbull.

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

Tendo: Oingo Boingo and Anasazi.

Pigeon Toad: De La Soul.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Tendo: The Flirts.

Pigeon Toad: Halcali.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Tendo: Showcase Theatre in Corona, Calif.

Pigeon Toad: House of Blues Hollywood.

Organic Junk Fude

We Talk to a Tribesmen Member and Sample Some Organic Junk Fude

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

Tendo: “Oooh-oooh, here she comes,” “Easy Livin’,” Fastway.

Pigeon Toad: “Buckle up duckies ‘cause we got a rocket van,” from Breadwinners.

What band or artist changed your life?

How? Tendo: Crass. (The band) told me it was OK to disagree with popular beliefs and live my life the way I want.

Pigeon Toad: P.E.A.C.E. I learned a lot of life lessons from him, like matching clothes and being a gentleman.

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

Tendo: Mama Cass: “How was that sandwich?”

Pigeon Toad: Q-Tip: “Can I Kick It?” What song would you like played at your funeral?

Tendo: “Bloodless Pharaohs,” by Bloodless Pharaohs.

Pigeon Toad: “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” by Miami Sound Machine. My tombstone will say, “The rhythm finally got me.”

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

Tendo: Duty Now for the Future, by DEVO. Pigeon Toad: Vicuna, by Nuclear Rabbit.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Tendo: “Simon Templar” by Splodgenessabounds.

Pigeon Toad: “Life Goes On” by Pigeon John and Abstract Rude.

NAME Freddy Jimenez GROUP Tribesmen MORE INFO By day, Freddy Jimenez is a talented screenprinter; by night, he’s the drummer for Tribesmen, the Coachellabased all-instrumental band. More info attribesmenmusic.bandcamp.com and www. facebook.com/tribesmencv.

What was the first concert you attended?

Coachella 2003, for the White Stripes and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

CVIndependent.com

Freddy Jimenez

I’m actually listening to the new Title Fight album, Hyperview. Amazing stuff! The new Turnstile album is pretty tight, too; Blonde Redhead here and there; and a whole bunch of other stuff that jumps around The Doors Pandora station when I’m screenprinting.

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

If I don’t really dig a scene, I just brush it off and try not to really think about it.

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

I’ve seen Radiohead and Sigur Rós both, and, dang, I’ve never experienced anything like that at any show.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

One Direction. Ha ha! Just kidding.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Any backyard in Coachella.

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

For me, it’s more of a melody that gets stuck in my head.

What band or artist changed your life?

How? Metallica and Blink-182. I guess my taste just branched out after obsessing over those bands when I was 10.

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

I wouldn’t want to ask a question, but observe how Thom Yorke works during the writing process of a piece.

What was the first album you owned?

Hmm, I think it was a Tupac cassette my uncle bought for me on my birthday many years ago.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Well, that’s simple: It would have to be that one song by Rick Astley, “Never Going to Give You Up.” Ha ha!

What bands are you listening to right now?

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

FRESH Sessions this month features a fantastic guest artist: Orange County-based tastemaker Death House of Love, aka Reid Horton.

Reid is not only a DJ; he also plays in a band called VIBES. I had a chance to ask him a few questions about his own tastes in music, and what kind of sounds come to mind when he thinks of the Coachella Valley.

Learn more at www.facebook.com/ deathhouseoflove and soundcloud.com/ deathhouseoflove. Enjoy his FRESH Sessions mix and read an expanded version of the interview at CVIndependent.com!

How would you describe your sound?

My “sound” is somewhere between disco, Chicago house and indie rock. I grew up listening to fusion jazz greats like Chick Corea, John McLoughlin and Jaco Pastorius. My sound has evolved from more of a rock/jazz/blues background, and I played in punk-rock bands growing up.

When you think of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, what kind of sound/genre of music would you select for a weekend drive?

I envision the long, burning orange sunsets and the way the temperature changes at that time of the day to create an energy shift that is hard to feel anywhere else in the world. As far as a soundtrack, I think the new Cherokee EP (Teenage Fantasy) would be perfect, or something along the lines of Classixx album, Hanging Gardens.

• Casino Gold, “1981” • MNEK, “The Rhythm” (Tontario remix) • Matvey Emerson featuring Gosha, “All I Want Is You” • Years and Years, “Desire” (Rainer and Grimm Remix) • Jerry Folk featuring BB Diamond, “So Long” • Wax Motif, “Number 1 Gurrrl” • Tom Bull, “Not Like Me” • Mocki, “Weekend” • Wild Cub, “Thunder Clatter” (Bit Funk Remix) • Durante, “Full Moon” • Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea, “Problem” (TKDJs Remix) • Mariah Carey, “Emotions” (Christofi remix) • Bakermat, “Teach Me” (MK Remix)

That answer changes every other week, but as I took a break from this, I snapped a glance at my records and saw the Stan Getz and João Gilberto album, Getz/Gilberto. That record is super-sick!

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Pretty much anything on that Getz/Glberto album.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

MARCH 2015

COMICS & JONESIN’CROSSWORD

A 1 5 1 1 1

Across 1 Cavatappi and capellini 7 Poe title word 10 Rejections 13 Detach, in a way 14 Free Willy creature 15 Decide (for) 16 The color of believing you can fly?

18 Dead heat 19 Airline since 1948 20 Drags 21 Stood 23 Flag thrower 24 Extreme 25 Not often 27 Garfield’s call when Jon has fallen?

30 Come from behind 33 “Get away, stranger!” (from a cat) 34 Transformers director Michael 35 “Y” wearers 36 Hit 38 Harrowing 39 Meadow sound 40 Epps of Resurrection 41 Feeling of insecurity 42 Creature surrounded by bamboo and other trees?

46 Bathroom buildup 47 1963 Paul Newman movie 48 “___ with Lovin’” (McDonald’s promo of February 2015)

51 Free-for-all 52 Utah city 54 Formally give up 55 Mean Amin 56 Food advertised with the line: “Keep on Truckin’... and Snackin’”?

59 Took a chair 60 Story 61 It’s west of the Urals 62 Muddy home 63 Word before Spice or Navy 64 Turns back to 00000 Down 1 Less contaminated 2 Foot holder 3 Wheat amount 4 Driving money 5 “You’ve Got Mail” company 6 1970s space station 7 Media packet 8 “Riunite on ___, Riunite so nice” 9 Comb challenges 10 Comfortably sized 11 Conflicts in China 12 Instructions part 14 Nonprofit’s URL suffix 17 Knowledgeable sort 22 Like unmatched socks 24 Make onion rings 26 Apart from that 27 Ice Bucket Challenge cause, for short 28 Bird sound

1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

29 Turgenev’s turndown 30 2000s sitcom set in Texas 31 Worried by 32 It’s no asset 36 Peter Pan role 37 Tears for Fears hit redone for Donnie Darko 38 Evidence with a twist?

40 Demand that someone will 41 Hit the plus button 43 “Bravissimo!”

44 Throat clearing sound 45 Three or five, but not threeve 48 Gunpowder alternative 49 Expert 50 Positive feedback 51 Word before any U.S. state 53 Wish you could take back 54 Lightning McQueen’s movie 57 Ironman Ripken 58 Maestro’s signal

3 3

3 3 3 4 4

4 4 4 5 5 5 5

©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Find the answers in the “about” section of CVIndependent.com!

CVIndependent.com

32 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

MARCH 2015

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

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

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

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

Shop at CVIndependent.com.

Look for more deals to be added during the month!

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

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