• As you’ve already noticed if you glanced at the page to the right … it’s Best of Coachella Valley voting time! As I write this, nomination-round voting is taking place in our ninth annual readers’ poll, which is again being presented this year by KESQ News Channel 3. In the nomination round, the ballot is open; you fill in the blanks to tell us what you think is the valley’s best in each category.
Nomination-round voting will take place through Monday, Sept. 5.
2 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT SEPTEMBER 2022 CV Independent.com Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) www.cvindependent.com904-4208 Editor/Publisher Jimmy Boegle staff writer Kevin Fitzgerald Editorial intern Kevin Mann coveR and feature design Dennis Wodzisz Contributors Max Cannon, Kevin Carlow, Melissa Daniels, Charles Drabkin, Katie Finn, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Clay Jones, Matt Jones, Matt King, Keith Knight, Kay Kudukis, Cat Makino, Brett Newton, Greg Niemann, Dan Perkins, Theresa Sama, Jen Sorenson, Robert Victor The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2022 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $5 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors. The Independent is a proud member and/ or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, CalMatters, DAP Health, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, and the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.
A couple of notes as we begin our descent into fall (and, thankfully, cooler weather):
The top vote-getters from the nomination round will move on to the final round of voting, which will begin on Monday, Sept. 26; we’ll close voting on Sunday, Oct. 23. The results will be announced on Monday, Nov. 21, and in our special Best of Coachella Valley edition (our DecemberHeads-upissue).about
a couple of rules that make our readers’ poll a little different (and a lot better, in my opinion) than others. First: We ask people to vote only once per round. We aren’t so desperate for web traffic that we want people to come to our website over and over again to continuously vote for the same businesses. Instead, we want the results to be as legitimate as possible. So … feel free to vote early, but do NOT vote often—just once per round,Second:please!We ask that readers vote in at least 15 categories per round, and that they vote for at least five different nominees in the first round. Again, we want the results to be as legit as possible, and this keeps people from hopping in to vote for just one business, and/or vote for one business 15 times (often in inappropriate categories) in the first round. You’d be surprised how many burger joints get votes in the Best Sex Toy Shop category. If you have questions, feel free to send me a note or give me a call!
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Kevin’s internship is being funded by the Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation (cvjf. org). I thank the CVJF for giving Kevin and the Independent this opportunity to work together—and I am very happy to see the CVJF expanding its efforts beyond essentially giving money to Gannett (a multi-billion dollar company that keeps laying off reporters and editors, and overworking the employees who remain, while compensating its CEO to the tune of $7.74 million last year) to fund the salary of The Desert Sun’s opinion editor. Welcome to the September 2022 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. As always, thanks for reading—and please drop me a line at the email below if you have any feedback. —Jimmy jboegle@cvindependent.comBoegle
• I’d like to welcome our new editorial intern, Kevin Mann, to the pages of the Independent Kevin is not a typical intern. After a career as a bankruptcy paralegal, Kevin decided to head back to school and pursue two passions: writing and filmmaking. He joins us after writing for The Chapparal at College of the Desert, as well as The Desert Sun.
The First Round (nomination round) of voting will take place online at CVIndependent.com through Monday, Sept. 5. This round consists of fill-in-theblank voting. The voting is up to our readers, and our readers alone—there are no pre-determined “finalists” or candidates.
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Voting is now under way in the Coachella Valley Independent’s ninth annual Best of Coachella Valley readers’ poll!
• If you have questions, call 760904-4208, or email cvindependent.comjboegle@
The top three to five vote-getters in each category will move on to the Final Round of voting, which will take place at CVIndependent.com from Monday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Oct. 23.
Voting in this readers’ poll, to determine the best of the valley’s best, will take place in two rounds:
• The winners and other results will be announced at CVIndependent.com on Monday, Nov. 21; on News Channel 3 the week of Nov. 21; and in the special Best of Coachella Valley section in the Independent’s December 2022 print edition.
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•counted.Ifyoudo
Presented by
• Stuffing the ballot box is a no-no. Interested parties can engage in simple campaigning— like putting up signs, linking to the ballot or using social media to encourage fans/customers to vote—but anything beyond simple campaigning is a no-no. Any businesses, groups or individuals suspected of stuffing the ballot box may be disqualified, at the discretion of the Independent publisher.
• Only one vote per person, per round, please! We’re watching IP addresses, so be honest. Ballots without a full name AND a working email address will be thrown out and not not have an opinion in a certain category, leave it •blank!Youmust vote in at least 15 categories, and for at least FIVE different nominees.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3 CV Independent.com Arts Best Art Gallery Best Indoor Venue Best Local Arts BestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestOrganizationGroup/LocalBandLocalDJLocalMusician(Individual)LocalVisualArtistMovieTheaterMuseumOpenMicOutdoorVenueProducingTheaterCompany Life in the Valley Best Annual Charity Event Best Bank/Credit Union Best Bowling Alley Best Car Wash Best Comics/Games Shop Best Doggy Daycare Best Gym Best Hotel Pool Best Indoor Fun/Activity Best Local BestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestGroup/CharityActivist/AdvocacyLocalRadioPersonalityLocalSpecialtyRetailShopMarijuanaDispensaryPetSuppliesPlacetoGamblePlantNurseryRadioStationRetailMusicStoreSexToyShopStaycationHotelYoga Valley Professionals Best Air Conditioner Repair Best Attorney Best Auto Dealership Best Auto Repair Best Carpet/Floor Cleaning BestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestBestServiceChiropractorDentist/OrthodontistDoctorEyeDoctorFlooring/CarpetCompanyLocalHomeImprovementCompanyMortgageCompanyPersonalTrainerPestControlCompanyPlasticSurgeonPlumberPublicServantRealEstateAgentSolarCompanyVeterinarian Fashion and Style Best Antiques/Collectibles Store Best Bridal Store/Salon Best Clothing Store (Locally BestOwned)DaySpa (Non-Resort/ BestHotel)Eyeglass/Optical Retailer Best Florist Best Furniture Store Best Hair Salon Best Jeweler/Jewelry Store Best Nail Salon Best Resale/Vintage Clothing Best Spa in a Resort/Hotel Best Tattoo Parlor Outside! Best Bike Shop Best Hike Best Outdoor/Camping Gear BestBestStoreParkPlace for Bicycling Best Public Garden Best Public Golf Course Best Recreation Area Best Sporting Goods For the Kids Best Kids' Clothing Store Best Place for a Birthday Party Best Place for Family Fun Best Place to Buy Toys Best Playground Best Restaurant for Kids Food and Restaurants Best Bagels Best Bakery Best Barbecue Best Breakfast Best Brunch Best Buffet Best Burger Best Burrito Best California Cuisine Best Casual Eats Best Caterer Best Chinese Best Coffee Shop Best Custom Cakes Best Date Shake Best Delicatessen Best Desserts Best Diner Best Doughnuts/Pastries Best Food Truck Best French Best French Fries Best Frozen Yogurt Best Gluten-Free Dining Best Greek Best Ice Cream/Shakes Best Indian Best Italian Best Japanese Best Juice/Juice Bar Best Korean Best Late-Night Restaurant Best Local Coffee Roaster Best Mexican Best Organic Food Store Best Outdoor Seating Best Pizza Best Salsa Best Sandwich Best Seafood Best Smoothies Best Steaks/Steakhouse Best Sushi Best Thai Best Upscale Restaurant Best Vegetarian/Vegan Best Veggie Burger Best Vietnamese Best Wings Spirits and Nightlife Best Bar Ambiance Best Beer Selection Best Bloody Mary Best Cocktail Menu Best Craft Cocktails Best Dive Bar Best Gay/Lesbian Bar/Club Best Happy Hour Best Local Brewery Best Margarita Best Martini Best Nightclub Best Place to Play Pool/Billiards Best Sports Bar Best BestBestSelectionWhiskey/Bourbon/ScotchWineBarWine/LiquorStore Rules:
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I’m trying to get as many hill workouts in as possible to prepare for the annual Palm Springs Tram Road Challenge. Every nonpandemic October for the past 30 years, 1,200 or so runners/walkers have gathered along Tramway Road and the Palm Springs Visitor Center to conquer what is known as the “toughest 6K in the world!” Starting at the desert floor near Highway 111, at 700 feet above sea level, Tramway Road has more than 1,800 feet of elevation gain over 3.7 miles to the finish line, just below the Valley Station, at more than 2,600 feet—hence the challenge! It’s returning on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 a.m. (6:30 a.m. for walkers), and it is a great and fun challenge for the entire WITH T
Get out early and start training now for some cool upcoming events CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINIONCVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION
OPINION
CV Independent.com and hills to mix it up a bit. I like a good challenging workout, and I like to keep it interesting by mixing things up—so when I see a hill, I’m all in! When I asked Felipe what his favorite Summer seems to be dragging on and on—but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The days are getting shorter, and mornings and nights should soon be a bit cooler. I’ve been joining Felipe Rodriguez, my friend and neighbor, for an earlier morning walk once a week so that we can get a good six miles in before it starts getting hot. We get started around 5 or 5:30 a.m., and we are done by 7:30 a.m. Our path is three miles out—and three miles back! We walk a sandy trail/service road near our neighborhood. The sand becomes quite thick and deep at times during the gradual outbound uphill climb. The return has one steep streethill climb, so it makes for a good workout. We sometimes veer off the trail onto adjacent trails BY THERESA SAMA part of our early morning walks was, he responded: “The sunrise!” I wasn’t surprised. It is most rewarding to see the sky transform as the sun rises over the rolling hills. It makes getting up so early worth it.
OPINION HIKING
family. Are you up for the challenge? Join me! Register at tramroadchallenge.com. If I can do it, anyone can! I have conquered the climb quite a few times—but it’s gotten the best of me a couple of times, too. It used to be my training grounds back in the day. It was the hill I loved to hate (and I’m not a hater), but it was and still is what I call the best and coolest workout in Palm Springs. Well, it’s the coolest if you go very early in the morning—and I mean very early, because it is sun-facing, so you could find yourself in the heat if you get a late-morning start. Alternately, you can go in the evenings right after the sun drops behind Mount San Jacinto. I made the mistake of attempting the climb in the middle of the day one July. I hate to admit it, but I did—and it got the best of me. We learn from our mistakes, right? Well, I learned quickly that the best times to be on Tramway Road for a good workout are very early in the morning or in the evening after the sun drops. Also, remember to bring lots of water, and stay hydrated.
Another great October event where you can both get some great exercise and support a great cause occurs just one week after the Tram Road Challenge—DAP Health’s annual Desert AIDS Walk, on Saturday, Oct. 29, at Ruth Hardy Park in Palm Springs. This year’s theme, “Walk, Out Loud,” will focus on advocacy and uniting the entire community in the fight for LGBTQ+ health equity. Around 2,000 participants will walk a route through downtown Palm Springs to support ending the HIV and AIDS epidemics in the Coachella Valley, and to promote health equity and health justice. This event is family- and pet-friendly and will include a Health and Wellness Village at Ruth Hardy Park.
DAP Health CEO David Brinkman says it best: “Walk and raise your voice for health justice and LGBTQ+ rights. Lace up your walking shoes; join arms with your community; and be an advocate for change. Together we will end epidemics, whether HIV, COVID or monkeypox.” You can walk with a team or individually while knowing that every step and dollar raised makes an impact in the lives DAP Health clients. Who’s with me? Let’s get out there and make a difference. Learn more and register to walk at desertaidswalk.org. I hope to see you out there at these great events. The weather will be much cooler, making it a perfect time to get back out there, get some exercise and enjoy life again—but please do so safely.The sun rises beyond the trails and rolling hills of Desert Hot Springs. Theresa Sama
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5 CV Independent.com
Sources for this article include The McCallum Saga, by Katherine Ainsworth, Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1973; Palm Springs: First 100 Years, by Mayor Frank M, Bogert, Palm Springs Heritage Associates, 1987; Our Araby, by J. Smeaton Chase, Star News Publishing, Pasadena, 1920; and Palm Springs Past, by Elizabeth Richards, Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan, 1960.
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The abandoned cable cars. Courtesy of the Palm Springs Historical Society
called The Garden of Eden, promoted by B.B. Barney of Riverside. Located near the mouth of Andreas Canyon (about where the Canyon Country Club, now the Indian Canyons Golf Resort, would later be located), it was an unusual circular tract with small plots on streets named after biblical characters radiating outward from a proposed central Grand Hotel Eden. But there was a problem: The only water available to the Garden of Eden was from the Andreas Canyon, and that belonged to the Native Americans. The oncegrandiose plan was deserted, and after years of litigation, the government bought out the remaining settlers and gave the land to the Indians.Atthe end of McCallum’s big 1887 auction, one group of three investors bought unsold land by taking an option on about 2,000 acres and shares of unsold stock in the water company. The men (S.W. Ferguson of Oakland, H.C. Campbell of San Francisco, and L.B. Holt of Riverside) were part of McCallum’s Palm Valley Land and Water Company. The three had $100,000 invested and set out to develop a new town they called Palmdale, where Smoke Tree Ranch is today. They planned to sell 100 acres at a time, in 10- or 20-acre parcels, at $150 per acre. The price would escalate after each offering of 100 acres, from $150, to $175, to $200, to $225, with the fifth
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offering at $250 per acre. The syndicate went out of their way to bring prospective settlers to Palmdale. Rather than having buckboards meet the Southern Pacific train, the enterprising developers built a 12-mile-long narrow-gauge railroad from a point near the eastern end of Garnet Hill at Seven Palms, in an almost straight line south down present-day Farrell Drive, to the Smoke Tree Ranch area (today just south of Highway 111). It was built to haul equipment and supplies in addition to passengers—and, hopefully, to haul out produce grown by the settlers.Theyappointed their land-development company manager, Herbert W. Bordwell, as rail superintendent, They got a small woodburning locomotive named Cabazon; three flat cars for baggage and freight; and two cable cars from San Francisco. They were in business.Thelocomotive had a flaring smokestack and a small attached coal-and-wood tender at its rear. The cable cars were quite a sight—one flat-sided, and the other bulging outward. Their names were still displayed on them, indicating their original destinations: Market Street and Sutter Street. There was a “Y” at each end of the railroad, permitting the engine to turn around, and a roundhouse at the Palmdale end. One of the first shipments on the flat cars was reported to have been orange-tree nursery stock from Florida. Alas, the trains on this special one-of-akind railroad, so noble in planning, ran just a few trips, from July to September 1888. That summer, water in the 19-mile irrigation ditch from the Whitewater River petered out before it got to Palmdale. The few fruit trees that survived the trip from Florida soon died—a vivid signal that perhaps the end of the ambitious project was near. The developers ran out of money and couldn’t even pay the ranch laborers. The project was abandoned. The little train wouldn’t continue. The locomotive sat out in the desert until 1892, when the last engineer, A.D. Spring, loaded the engine, two flat cars and most of the rails on a Southern Pacific train; they were then taken to Bakersfield. The two cable cars sat abandoned in the desert for years. Desert author J. Smeaton Chase took a photo of them resting forlornly in the desert sun in the early part of the 20th century. They were destroyed by fire, but the wheels, axles and old frames could be seen until as late as 1916. That year, flooding buried the remnants under feet of silt andThesand.railroad ties suffered a slightly better fate. Welwood Murray, who owned the first Palm Springs hotel, gathered up many of the old ties to build his home. Another pioneer, Cornelia White, purchased the house from Murray, and it was later moved to the Village Green on South Palm Canyon Drive as part of the Palm Springs Historical Society, where it is today.Very little evidence of the abandoned train right-of-way remains. In the lot adjacent to what is now the upscale community of Smoke Tree Ranch, there is a slight rise in the ground in a few places, and a few rotten old pilings, but it is not clear if they are from the roundhouse or not.
Caliente Indian Reservation. Two speculators, W.E. Van Slyke and M. Byrne, purchased the adjoining areas from the railroad; they also formed the Palm City Water Company. On March 24, 1885, McCallum bought from them a one-fifth interest in those bordering sections (13, 15, 23 and 25), a total of 320 acres, as well as a one-fifth interest in the water company. On Nov. 5, 1885, McCallum bought 150 more acres from Byrne, for $1,800. Over the next few years, he continued to buy land from Van Slyke, Byrne and the railroad until he owned more than 6,000 acres. After an 1885 act offered non-railroad lands to homesteaders, more and more settlers began moving to the Coachella Valley. Judge McCallum was the first to subdivide—but there would soon be others. McCallum dreamed of developing a colony of people to relocate in the desert. He hired a surveyor, T.M. Topp, to lay out the town of Palm City. He began selling lots, and by 1886, he had deeded 11 of the one-acre lots and about 35 acres of outside tracts. His wellpublicized auction on Nov. 1, 1887, brought settlers who snapped up 137 parcels in one day! Palm City, renamed “Palm Springs,” was off and Severalrunning.othergroups tried to make a go of it in the area, including one subdivision In late 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad began stopping at the Seven Palms station (near present day Interstate 10 and North Indian Canyon Drive) before continuing east and stopping in Indio, where a few pioneers began establishing an agricultural community. In Palm Springs, the Southern Pacific train brought a few visitors, with Judge John G. McCallum becoming the first permanent non-Native American settler, arriving with his family in 1884 after taking a buckboard (a wagon pulled by a horse) from the train to the Agua Caliente hotSectionsprings.14, which contained the springs, was set aside by the government for the Agua by greg niemann In the late 1800s, the failed town of Palmdale briefly had its own train going down what today is Farrell Drive
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SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7 CV Independent.com HELP FOCUSINDEPENDENTTHEFORWARDBecomeasustainingSupporteroftheIndependent,andgetourexclusivemembers'newsletter—includingadigitalsneakpreviewofourprintedition.Gotocvindependent.comandclickthe"SupportUs!"button!TAKE INDEPENDENTTHECHALLENGE1.PerusetheIndependent.Lookatthequalityofthewriting,thelayout,thetopics,etc.2.Dothesamewithanyotherlocalpublication.3.Compare.
million in building new housing. We secured $10 million from the state of California to build a people’sleyinneedment.economichousingnavigationworld-classcenterwithandservices.No.2isregionaldevelopWeknowwegood-payingjobstheCoachellaValthatcansupportcareersandassist people in taking care of their families. We’re working to create stable jobs and careers that pay a living wage with benefits, and we need to invest in a regional economy that lifts all of us up, protects workers in local businesses, and increases access to social services.Third is protecting our environment. I’ll focus on being a leader in the Coachella Valley, and in this region, on bringing in green and cleaner energy, like wind and solar. I’m looking forward to leading the way for the state in our transition to renewable energy to protect our environment and reverse the effects of climate change. Given the dire impacts of climate change that we are currently witnessing, what state actions would you support to reduce the effect that these threats present to the well-being of our valley communities? Here in the Coachella Valley, and in this region in the desert, our communities are on the front lines of the climate-change crisis, and we’re already experiencing the impacts. There are more and more days over 120 degrees, which is bordering on uninhabitable for us here in the Coachella Valley. Record highs, wildfires, drought—there’s just more extreme weather. I’m really proud to be the candidate who is concentrating on climate resiliency and protect ing our environment. I’m the only candidate who’s been endorsed by the Sierra Club, Cal ifornia Environmental Voters, the California Environmental Justice Alliance and so many more. Addressing the climate crisis is one of my main priorities. While on the City Council for
So this, too, is a crisis which we need to act with urgency on, and that’s what we’ve been doing on the Palm Springs City Council. Now, we have more than 200 units of affordable housing com ing online soon because of our actions.
Republican Greg Wallis, a third-generation Californian and Bermuda Dunes resident, has served as the district director for outgoing Assembly member Chad Mayes since 2014. According to LinkedIn, after studying political science at the California Lutheran Universi ty, Wallis worked for a year and a half as an account executive for Mann Communications. After a stint as executive director of the Inland Empire Taxpayer’s Association, he became the campaign manager for Brian Nestande’s unsuccessful 2014 run for the Congress. In the primary, Wallis finished second with 34.5% of the vote, and as of June 30, his campaign had raised $221,253. The Independent recently reached out to both Holstege and Wallis to ask them a slate of seven identical questions. While Holstege answered the questions via telephone, Wallis—just before our scheduled phone interview—emailed to say he would be unexpectedly unavailable. After that, Wallis did not respond to a request to re-schedule, and would only answer our ques tions via email. Here are their responses, which have been edited only for clarity and editorial style. Christy Holstege If you are elected, what do you consider to be your top three legislative priorities? I think the challenges that we face as a state, and as a region, might be daunting. We’re fac ing a climate crisis, an affordability crisis and a housing crisis, and I want to work on those issues right away if elected to the state Assem bly. Those are the issues I’ve been leading on already during my five years in elected office in the Coachella Valley. First is access to affordable housing and com bating homelessness. As the mayor of the city of Palm Springs, as a councilmember, as the chair of our regional collaboration on homelessness with all nine cities in the Coachella Valley, we’ve gotten real results keeping people in permanent housing. We’ve approved hundreds of units of affordable housing. We’ve invested over $10 Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege is making her first run for state office as she seeks to represent California’s new Assembly District 47, which includes most of the Coachella Valley west of Indio and Coachella. A third-generation resident of the Coachella Valley, Holstege earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before earning a law degree from Stanford University. Hol stege, a Democrat, was elected to the Palm Springs City Council in 2017, and cites involvement with groups including Planned Parenthood, Eastern Coachella Valley for Change, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and others. In the June 7 primary election, Holstege finished first, gar by kevin Fitzgerald
Like I said, we’ve secured $10 million for housing from the state of California, and we expect to get another award of $19 million more to build housing for people experiencing home lessness. I’ve supported policies in the city of Palm Springs to make it easier to move faster to build new housing, which we very much need in the Coachella Valley. I’m really proud of my track record on this. I’ve served on the board of the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, a nonprofit affordable housing developer. I’ve served on the board of Well in the Desert, which is a home lessness services provider. And I’ve worked as an attorney with landlords and tenants on housing issues, and practiced housing law, so I’m, by far, the most experienced candidate on housing issues to be able to get real results for our region. What steps should the state of California have taken, or take now, to lessen the impact of inflation? The cost of housing, groceries, gas and basic necessities is too high and impacting people’s ability to put food on their table. No Californian should have to choose between paying for med icine, or food, and paying for rent. I’m proud to have worked as a civil rights attorney and pover ty-law attorney. I’ve represented hundreds and hundreds of people living in the Coachella Valley and this region who are living in poverty or are impacted. But we know that everyone’s being impacted by the cost of living increases due to inflation that we’re seeing. I really believe in the California dream. I’m a third-generation Californian, and my son is a fourth-generation resident of this district. That California dream, and the Coachella Valley dream, should be available to everyone. I believe that we have to invest in our local economy and nering 46.5% of the ballots cast, and as of June 30, her campaign had raised $620,522.
Independent.comNEWS
Do you have a plan to address the critical current shortage of affordable housing in the Coachella Valley, which is being exac erbated by price increases for both home and apartment purchases and rentals?
Yes. This is an area—increasing the supply of affordable and attainable housing—that I’ve been working on for nearly 10 years. As we know, nearly everyone is being impacted by the cost of living and the cost of housing. The Coachella Valley and this region used to be an affordable place to live. You could buy a home for $300,000, and you could pay for it on your salary, and that’s no longer the case. We’re seeing prices skyrocket, and too many people are paying too much of their income on rent or mortgages.
five years, I’ve continued to lead on this issue. We passed green policies, and I led the way on banning “forever” chemicals in the city of Palm Springs. We’ve preserved important open space areas for the environment like Oswit Canyon. In the state Assembly, I’ll push for policies and support legislation to invest in more green and renewable energy projects which we can be a leader on for the entire state to build a green and sustainable future. Also, we need to make sure we invest (to curb) the impacts of climate crises on our communities, especially in the Coachella Valley. In 1972, the population of Riverside Coun ty was roughly 493,000, while in 2020, it had reached 2.5 million. How would you propose the state address the need for speedier, more-efficient mass-transit solutions for eastern Riverside County? Riverside County is growing at an unprece dented rate. We’re one of the fastest-growing counties, not just in this state, but in the nation. I believe that the future of California is inland California, like Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It’s critical that we ensure access to transportation.Actually,myfirst job in the Coachella Valley was with Shelter From the Storm, a domestic-vi olence nonprofit shelter, where I worked and started a legal-aid clinic. My domestic-violence clients couldn’t take a bus to Riverside to get public benefits that they were entitled to. That’s the type of transportation need that we have in this county. So I strongly support obtaining state funding for mass transit. We’ve already been working on the Palm Springs City Coun cil to have conversations with Amtrak about expanding rail service to and from, and within, the Coachella Valley. We’ve been working on expanding passenger rail from L.A. and other areas all the way to the Coachella Valley. That’s something we’ve been working on for many years, and that I think we can achieve. Then, finally, fighting for our fair share of state resources and explaining our need for transportation (is important), because I think that, too often, counties like ours get left behind by the state. Other legislators don’t fully understand the real lack of transportation infra structure in areas like ours. So I’m really looking forward to passing bills, finding funding and fighting for our region in a way that really moves the needle on our ability to get people to our communities here in a cleaner and easier way.
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It’s Democrat Christy Holstege vs. Republican Greg Wallis in California’s new Assembly District 47 CVINDEPENDENT.COM/
NEWS CANDIDATE Q&A
I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race to receive the Moms Demand Action gun sense distinction. I believe my opponent has received an “A” (grade) from the (National Rifle Associa tion) for choosing to fill out their questionnaire. So I think this is an incredibly important ques tion to be asking of our state Legislature, and our state legislative candidates, and it highlights the distinctions between the two candidates in thisYourace.know, I’ve led the way on some of these policies locally. We’ve been able to get hundreds of guns off our streets in Palm Springs. Working with our Palm Springs Police Department, the city spearheaded a gun buyback program last year, and we got 150 guns off our streets in just that one day. We’ve been taking other actions to protect our community from gun violence.
If you are elected, what do you consider to be your top three legislative priorities?
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Do you support California’s commitment to provide support to women in our country who want to obtain an abortion, and who are now prohibited from doing so legally in the state where they reside? Yes, absolutely. I firmly believe California must be supporting reproductive health care and abortion access. Actually, I called for this action in a Desert Sun op-ed that was published months ago, after the Dobbs decision was leaked initially. In our post-Roe reality, Cali fornia needs to step up and be a sanctuary for pregnant women across the country who are seeking access to safe abortion care and access to health care. This issue is very personal to me. I’ve spent my career fighting for reproductive rights. I founded a free legal clinic for domestic-violence survivors and their children. While there, I wit nessed how access to reproductive health care is often a life-and-death matter that impacts peo ple’s survival in abusive relationships. It’s helped survivors flee from reproductive coercion and abuse. It’s a critical issue for our region. Already, we’ve seen an increase in patients travelling here to the Coachella Valley for abortion care from neighboring anti-choice states like Arizo na. I was a patient at Planned Parenthood when I was a teenager, and from that experience, I saw the incredible work that Planned Parent hood does for communities on health care, and other issues. I worked for Planned Parenthood, and I just served six years on a board of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest locally. So this is an incredibly important issue to me, and I’m incredibly proud to have been endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest, NARAL (Pro-Choice America Foundation), Vote Pro-Choice, the national Women’s Political Committee and Moms in Office, among other women’s rights organiza
Gov. Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 1327, which allows individuals to file civil suits against anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, sells or imports firearms banned in California. The Legislature had been considering Senate Bill 505 (recently held in committee), which would make a person who owns a firearm civilly liable for each incident of property dam age, bodily injury, or death resulting from the use of the firearm. Would you have voted for or against SB 1327 or SB 505? Thank you for asking this question. I’m the mom of a toddler who sends her kid to daycare and is going to see him go to school. Having a child in a world with so many guns and not enough safety regulations to prevent gun violence is concerning, especially since the federal government refuses to act (to curb) the epidemic of gun violence across this nation and in California. I think it’s critical that Califor nia takes measures to make our communities safer, and to protect everyone in California from gun violence. So, yes, I applaud those forward-looking bills. I would have supported them, and I vehemently disagree with the Supreme Court decision that SB 1327 is based on, which allows individuals to sue abortion providers. I think we need to be careful in how we think about how (such) laws can be used. But I do think California needs to be using all the tools we have to implement gun-safety measures, and this is a common-sense mea sure. Gun companies are profiting on gun violence, and they know what they’re doing. So that’s very different from the Texas (abor tion-related) law.
Given the state’s lackluster history with the high speed rail—which is billions over budget and years behind—I think we need to focus on building wider and better roads, both to relieve traffic gridlock and to provide more and better routes for public transportation buses. Do you have a plan to address the critical current shortage of affordable housing in the Coachella Valley, which is being exacer bated by price increases for both home and apartment purchases and rentals? To lower the price of housing, you need to build more affordable houses and apartments. Right now, unfair government fees and regulations make housing difficult and unaffordable to build. We need to clean up the system by reduc ing those fees and regulations to make it easy to build new, affordable housing. What steps should the state of California have taken, or take now, to lessen the impact of inflation? The best thing we could do to help people fight inflation is let them keep more of their hardearned money to start with, instead of sending it to Sacramento. I support a suspension of the (state) gas tax, and using part of the billions of dollars of the state budget surplus to give people the biggest tax cut in California history.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9 CV Independent.com our regional economic development, to build an economy that really can have good-paying jobs with living wages. And then (we need) to fight for our fair share of resources for our district, so that we can have a real recovery from the pandemic. You know, our region was hit hard by the pandemic. While some industries have bounced back, many people are not seeing their incomes (return to) the same rate it was before.
First, (would be) to reduce the cost of living for hardworking people by suspending the (state) gas tax and using part of the multi-billion-dollar surplus to pass the largest tax cut in California history. With inflation surging, people need more money in their pockets to pay the bills. Second, dramatical ly increase the num ber of shelters and long-term treatment facilities for mental health and addiction, so that we can start getting the homeless off the streets. (We need to) require all state property to be clear of homeless camps and trash. And third, immediately start building the water storage we desperately need, but which has not been built, even though voters passed the funds to do so years ago. Given the dire impacts of climate change that we are currently witnessing, what state actions would you support to reduce the effect that these threats present to the well-being of our valley communities? Go on a war footing with fire. That means clear ing underbrush, servicing our forests, and mak ing sure every home and business has a good fire break. It’s hardly a secret that California has a regular fire season, so let’s actually prepare properly for it. (There are) innumerable things we can do to reduce our percentage of what causes climate change, many of which the state is already doing. One thing, that would have a major impact, would be the construction of clean nuclear power in less-accessible regions of the state, so that we won’t be reliant on fossil fuels. In 1972, the population of Riverside Coun ty was roughly 493,000, while in 2020, it had reached 2.5 million. How would you propose the state address the need for speedier, more-efficient mass-transit solu tions for eastern Riverside County?
Greg Wallis
tions or reproductive justice organizations. My opponent has received a pro-life rating, and has stated that we should :wait and see” on abortion rights and reproductive health care access. This should not be a political issue. It should only be between a woman, her doctor and her family. I’m proud of my track record on this issue, and the work that I’ve done as a councilmember. In the Assembly, I’ll always fight to make sure that every person can have access to an abortion and access to reproduc tive health care, and ensure that California is here to take care of people who need access to basic health care.
At the state level, I think we need to strengthen our state’s economy so our residents have the resources they need to afford the increases in everyday expenses, like gas and groceries. We need to make significant investments in hous ing, health care and child care, so that basic needs are more affordable and accessible. I know as a parent myself, with a 21-month-old, the cost of child care is incredibly expensive. That’s some thing that the state can subsidize through its policies to provide more cheaply, so (those costs) are not all coming out of a family’s budget. Also, I think we should hold large corpora tions accountable for paying their fair share of taxes to fund public services, and for their role in price gouging, when that’s happen ing. We’re seeing inflation and costs go up, while so many large corporations are making record profits. Long-term, I think we need to increase the economic drivers for our region, like access to a four-year university, increased passenger rail, and diversifying our economy into other industries.
Gov. Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 1327, which allows individuals to file civil suits against anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, sells or imports firearms banned in California. The Legisla ture had been considering Senate Bill 505 (recently held in committee), which would make a person who owns a firearm civilly liable for each incident of property dam age, bodily injury, or death resulting from the use of the firearm. Would you have voted for or against SB 1327 or SB 505? California already has the toughest gun laws in the country. Instead of playing political games in his bid for president, maybe Gov. Newsom should spend a little more time figuring out how to deal with the fact that our K-12 schools are 44th in the nation; we are the least affordable state in the nation; and homelessness and crime are out of control. Do you support California’s commitment to provide support to women in our country who want to obtain an abortion, and who are now prohibited from doing so legally in the state where they reside? In other words, do I support people in the United States being able to travel to any state in the union to get a service of any sort? Yes. Most Californians have a pretty reasonable view on abortion, basically that it should be safe and available, but that the more-radical aspects of the process, like late-term abortions, shouldn’t be encouraged. I share that view.
“There’s a history of racism and neglect with agriculture workers and domestic workers in this country,” Gastelum said. Not only are the water systems aging and failing to properly filter out arsenic and other harmful chemicals; these well systems and septic tanks can be unreliable. Systems can shut off during power outages. Sand can infiltrate wells.
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“Justicia para Oasis!” the crowd shouted. They were there with a list of at least 20 steps that local, state and federal agencies could take to improve immediate conditions at Oasis Mobile Home Park—and to push for relocation plans. The Environmental Protection Agency has issued at least three emergency drinking water orders for the park since 2019. But the problem has persisted for years beyond 2019.
While elected officials are making progress on infrastructure equity, east valley residents who lack reliable, safe drinking water say more needs to be done nowSOLUTIONS
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back to the inequity in the development of the Coachella Valley. Many mobile home parks were started in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. While the western parts of the Coachella Valley were being turned into a playground for the Hollywood elite, the same attention was not paid to the farmworkers and domestic workers settling to theAseast.aresult, today’s communities of working families—including immigrants who are undocumented—lack basic infrastructure, despite the existence of the world-class golf courses in La Quinta or the Empire Polo Club fields that host the Coachella music festival mere miles away.
“It affects so many parts of people’s lives,” Gastelum said. Adding to the issue are concerns over what could happen as luxury development continues pushing eastward. The Thermal Club race track was built about 10 years ago, and the Riverside County Board of Supervisors signed off on plans for the Thermal Beach Club surf lagoon in late 2020. A private golf course built by millionaires is currently Meanwhile,proposed.themobile-home park owners who have been there for generations may not be able to afford the investments to link into the existing water system, Gastelum said.
Elections as a force for change Castulo Estrada, who is vice president of the
“I think we right now are in a situation like never before. This amount of money in this kind of short time, I don’t think, has ever horrible. Yet concerns about a lack of adequate water infrastructure extend far beyond Oasis.
In recognition of the public health crisis, CVWD has cobbled together more than $71 million in state and federal funds to address top-priority water projects in the eastern Coachella Valley. Never in the agency’s history has it put such a focus on this region, and advocates like Gastelum are calling for urgency in addressing the region’s concerns. But new pipes aren’t in the ground yet, and there are still miles to go before achieving equity in water access for Coachella Valley communities.
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Resident Juanita Arroyo, who has lived at Oasis for 13 years, called the conditions at the park by melissa daniels
“Dirty water and contaminated water isn’t something anyone should live with,” she said.
“The challenge that I ran into is that no one really wanted to take ownership of this issue,” he said. In 2016, Estrada began the Coachella Valley Water District’s Disadvantaged Communities Task Force, which included representatives from local community organizations as well as top CVWD decision-makers. Within two years, they had developed a master plan that assessed where small water systems were existing, where mobile home parks were located, and what potential projects could help. But some community advocates point out that this system can still make it difficult for residents to offer input. Meetings held in the middle of the day don’t serve working people, said Nataly Escobedo Garcia, a policy coordinator with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
“We had originally envisioned, when we were part of it, a way to influence how the ECV gets built out—you know, a space for residents to advocate for the priorities? It hasn’t quite turned out to be that way,” Escobedo Garcia said. But Estrada points to grant funding that CVWD has found in recent years as evidence of change compared to the last 70 years.
A history of inequitable development The reasons behind the lack of infrastructure development are myriad but can be traced About 60 residents gathered in the 107-degree heat on an August evening in Thermal, ready to stand up for their community.
“A lot of these systems that are filtering this drinking water for these residencies, as they age, they’re not able to filter out the arsenic as efficiently as before,” said Coachella Valley resident Omar Gastelum, a policy advocate for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability who grew up in the area. “So this really puts folks in a very vulnerable position.”
Omar Gastelum, a policy advocate with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, addresses a crowd of Oasis Mobile Home Park residents and supporters. MELISSA DANIELS
“Almost every single property owner that we talked to said that if there was assistance available for them to connect to CVWD drinking water, they would like it,” Gastelum said. “They don’t want their tenants to be drinking water if there’s a possibility that it could be contaminated.”
CVWD board, says bringing clean drinking water to the eastern Coachella Valley is a personal matter. He spent his formative years living in Oasis before his family moved to Coachella. He remembers having to haul water in a bucket in order to take a shower. Motivated to have a career that helped his community, he studied engineering and began working for the city of ThenCoachella.heranfor the CVWD board in 2014. The agency had finally switched to districtbased elections, which allowed Estrada to become the first Mexican American to serve on the board, which oversees a budget of more than $400 million and has about 300,000 residential customers. He quickly discovered many roadblocks that were preventing progress with drinking water— including the fact that officials didn’t even seem aware that the lack of infrastructure was impacting so many residents. There were also policy challenges: CVWD officials have said that a state law known as Proposition 218 prevents them from using funds generated by existing ratepayers to expand service to new customers.
More than 920,000 California residents lack access to a basic human right: adequate drinking water. Thousands live in the rural eastern Coachella Valley (ECV), in a cluster of predominantly Latino communities that include many agricultural workers who tend to the nearbyHere,fields.where date palm farms stretch out for acres and red-brown mountains rise on the horizon, many residences aren’t connected to the main water service in the area, managed by the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD). Instead, there are at least 100 smaller unconnected water systems, and residents rely on wells. This has resulted in a lack of safe water access and potential health problems for residents—at least eight home parks in the area have had water samples test positive for arsenic in recent years, putting residents at a higher risk for cancer and other illnesses.
Estrada called it “the single most important water project” that the district has to work on, pointing to how it can serve as a long-term solution to the infrastructure crisis. CVWD officials say no further residences could be supported without any new infrastructure in the region—meaning the Avenue 66 line opens up opportunities for more affordable housing, sorely needed in an area where many residents are paying half their monthly income on rent.
“We will do everything in our power to bring solutions in a timely manner,” he said on Facebook. “We can’t wait years; solutions have to come to this community now.”
This spring, the California State Water Resources Control Board awarded a $23.4 million grant to help fund ECV water projects, a special request that required a hearing in Sacramento for the board to vote on and authorize. Also this year, Congressman Raul Ruiz secured $3.5 million to go toward the Valley View Mobile Home Park Water Consolidation Project. This project will consolidate nine small systems that are currently using wells that serve approximately 675Oneresidents.ofthehighest-profile developments in the works is the Avenue 66 transmission main project. This 5-mile water line will connect three mobile home parks to CVWD’s domestic water system, and will provide backbone infrastructure for up to 35 future consolidations of smaller systems. The installation will also help service existing CVWD customers in Mecca, North Shore and Bombay Beach, who are currently served by an 18-inch single pipe built underground in the 1970s.
Residents who are living with the water crisis every day aren’t necessarily feeling that urgency. Maria Jose has lived at Oasis for more than 10 years. She said she wants to have more information about what is being done to help residents. Meanwhile, she worries about her 2-year-old daughter growing up with development issues due to the lack of clean water
Some of that pressure is coming straight from the community: Juntos por un Mejor Oasis, a coalition of residents from the mobile home park who have been organizing alongside advocates from the Leadership Counsel, are calling for action in both the short and long term from agencies at all levels. That includes the CVWD, Riverside County, the Imperial Irrigation District, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and the State Water Resources Control Board. Short-term requests include more bottled water provisions. In early August, residents were given one gallon per day, and the ability to shower at a local school. Residents also want to see more timely information about the water quality in the mobile-home park.
District 4 Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, whose district includes the area, also put forward an emergency measure in early August to speed up solutions to the concerns at Oasis.
One overarching demand is to put together a relocation plan that will allow the residents at Oasis to move to habitable homes, rather than being shuffled to similar conditions elsewhere. Last year, the state of California allocated $30 million toward relocation plans. Riverside County, which has jurisdiction over unincorporated parts of the eastern Coachella Valley, this summer allocated $7 million of those funds to go toward an affordable-housing complex that could become a new alternative. But advocates at the Leadership Counsel are urging the county to host monthly meetings with residents and other stakeholders in order to provide timely updates and incorporate community feedback.
“It’ssupply.something that needs to be changed now, so we can finally move out,” she said through a translator. When asked what she would tell elected offi cials about her living conditions, Maria said: “For them to put themselves in our shoes, and really look at the situation. Imagine it was them in that situation, and really make that change.”
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“It lays the backbone that’s required in order to feed all the other things that are going to branch off of it,” Estrada said. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, a Demo crat who represents the area, said the district has “taken a 180” by acquiring this funding. “These weren’t issues (CVWD) were tackling. These weren’t issues at the top of their priority list,” Garcia said. “They’ve become issues, given that the community’s organized, and that you have an interconnection of leadership working collaboratively that made these priorities.”
Unaddressed urgency Still, no amount of long-term planning will address the day-to-day needs of current residents who lack access to clean drinking water. Shovels in the ground for the Avenue 66 project are expected in spring 2023, and the project will take about two years to complete. Garcia also acknowledged that the steps to ensure safe drinking water for all residents of the eastern Coachella Valley will take more money that has been currently allocated—and more time than many residents can afford. “I think it’s very clear when you look at the math in terms of the state, the water district, the county and the federal government—there’s CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS a lot more people can be doing,” he said. “That isn’t to point at an agency or a person, but simply, we need to put the pressure where the pressure matters in order to get more done.”
Bringing home funding
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11 NEWS been consolidated to go in one direction,” Estrada said.
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“In 110-degree weather, my parents said that I had to wear long pants, long sleeves, long socks and a big bucket hat. I said, ‘OK,’” she said. “I did look different, and it got to the point where I was being bullied constantly, and being called names, because no one really knew what I had. There was a moment in time when I got back into golf and I absolutely hated it.
One year later, a fledgling golf enthusiast named Maleyna Gregorio joined the program.
Local prodigy Maleyna Gregorio overcomes a serious health condition to earn a Division 1 golf scholarship
“One of the things that we focused on during the leadership summit was building relationships and knowing how to find a relationship through empathy, trust and vulnerability. I’d only known these people who were in the boat with me for two days, but I completely felt that I was going to walk out safe, because they were going to take me out. … I felt so safe that I got back in the water three more times, because I knew that they were going to take care of me. It was a guy who I had known for two days who pulled me out of the water.”
“We went star gazing at 11 o’clock one night, and I’d never seen stars so beautiful before,” Gregorio said. “We actually saw the Big Dipper, and I saw two shooting stars. I’d never, ever seen anything like that in my entire life. Also, one day, we went on a two-hour horseback ride up through the mountains of Montana. I’d never seen nature like that before. I’d say those two (experiences) were the ones that were probably my favorites.”
“We sat down by the campfire, and we had to reflect on who we were when we first stepped onto the ranch, and who we are that day,” Gregorio said. “It got so deep and emotional, to the point where tears were being Maleyna Gregorio of First Tee-Coachella Valley plays in a nine-hole scramble golf event during the 2022 First Tee Leadership Summit.
Despite unexpected challenges over the course of her childhood, she was recently one of just 40 young members of the national First Tee organization invited to attend the Second Annual First Tee Leadership Summit, held at West Creek Ranch in Montana. The event ran for two weeks in early August, with Gregorio one of 20 attendees to take part in the first week. In an Aug. 3 media release by First Tee and partner PGA TOUR Superstore, the leadership summit was described as being “designed to strengthen leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities with the intended purpose of personal growth, education and coming together to make a difference.”
So Gregorio and her family found a way.
“At that point, my mom said that health always comes first. So, we prioritized that,” Gregorio said. “I’m also a musician, and I play five different instruments, so I re-directed my time and my passion into being a musician. Being a musician allowed me to (stay) indoors, so I got many opportunities and many music scholarships that allowed me to have different experiences. But I always longed to be on the golf course again.”
Gregorio said some of the most memorable experiences took place at times when no events were scheduled.
shed by everybody and everyone, and hugs were going around. We built a family there, and I think that’s something that’s very rare to come upon in such a short amount of time.”
In order to be where she is today, Gregorio had to overcome an unusual physical condition that struck while she was in the sixth-grade.“Alotofrashes began to show up on my body one day, and it continually got worse and spread over (parts of) my body that were exposed to the sun,” Gregorio said. “I went to a lot of doctors in the valley, and no one could diagnose me, and no one could give me the right prescription to help me. I had to go to a Loma Linda expert, and one of their top dermatologists diagnosed me as having photodermatitis. … My first question was, ‘Can I still play golf?’ And, the answer was, ‘I don’t know.’ I think when you hear an expert say that to you, about something you’re so passionate about, the only thing you can do is keep asking Fortunately,questions.”Gregorio’s family was there to help her navigate the difficult years ahead. She learned she’d always have photodermatitis—which is essentially an allergy to the sun.
SUNNY OUTLOOK had a big party.” Once Gregorio—who is heading to the University of California, Riverside, this fall on a golf scholarship—arrived at the site of the five-day summit, she was impressed by the breadth of experiences that awaited.
Gregorio explained how she qualified for the“Startingsummit.back in January, our local PGA Superstore conducted a five-week leadership session where we had to learn about ourselves, about our peers, our passions and values,” Gregorio said. “At the end, we had a project that we had to present about what we wanted to do in the future, and what we wanted to take on in the world. … It was kind of like a 3-, 5- and 7-year plan that we had to lay out for ourselves. Obviously, I want to graduate from college and go to Q-School (the qualifying school for the LPGA Tour), but I also want to further women’s rights in the game. I want to continue working toward equality for women, and I also want to start a scholarship foundation—so that was what my presentation included.” She applied for the leadership summit in March, and had to wait until June to find out if she’d made the cut. The word came via e-mail. “I just remember seeing my name on that list, and I was beyond ecstatic,” Gregorio said. “Ironically, I was actually at the First Tee (office in Palm Desert), so I called my parents, ran and told my executive director—and we In 2008, the First Tee-Coachella Valley program welcomed its first group of kids into the organization, which strives to “impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf,” according to First Tee’s mission statement.
One planned group session did surprise Gregorio with its impact.
“Actually, I’d never done any of the activities that we (were scheduled to do), aside from golfing,” Gregorio said. “We went whitewater rafting in the Yellowstone River, and I actually almost drowned. Something went wrong with my life jacket and my helmet, and I was being choked while in the water. That was a very scary experience.
“But there’s this therapy where you sit out in the sun, and re-introduce your body to the sun again. Though (your body) never goes back to the way it was before, you can get acclimated.”Gregoriosaid she had a few photodermatitis reactions while she was at the leadership summit. “My parents weren’t there, but I know how to manage it now through ointments and medication. It’s given me a new perspective on life,” she said. “… I’m beyond grateful. It’s allowed me to grow. Luckily, about two years ago, I got back on the golf course, and from that point, I said I wanted to be a (Division 1 college) golfer. I can say that I’ve achieved that.” on that skill, the journey and the game—to his kids. I was also a soccer player, but I just found that the values of golf were something that I wanted to take with me for a lifetime. So I decided that golf was going to be it.”
“I started with First Tee at 4,” said Gregorio, now 17, during a recent interview with the Independent. “They called us the ‘Little Linksters’ at that age. My parents decided it was a good idea, so I had no choice. … My father played golf, and it was a passion of his, so he wanted to pass by kevin fitzgerald
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13 CV Independent.com NEWS CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS
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Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968, and still produces issues occasionally, including the October and December 2022 editions. He enjoys being out doors sharing the wonders of the night sky.
Jupiter, with its dark cloud belts and four bright moons discovered by Galileo, and Saturn, with its rings currently tipped nearly 15 degrees from edge-on, are attractive for telescopic view ing, and now conveniently visible in the eve ning! Even binoculars readily detect Jupiter as a disk, 50 arcseconds across, and reveal as many as all four Galilean moons. Mars now rises in the east-northeast late in the evening, by 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, and around 10:15 p.m. on the 30th. Watch for it ris ing far to the lower left of Jupiter, by 60 degrees on the 1st, and by 77 degrees on the 30th. Best seen in the morning, before dawn, Mars flares up from magnitude -0.1 to -0.6 this month while Earth closes in, from 89 to 73 million miles. Mars gleams against the spectac ular background of Taurus, the Bull, and passes within 5 degrees of Aldebaran, the Bull’s eye, from Sept. 2-12. The minimum distance apart (4.3 degrees) occurs on Sept. 7, slightly closer than the 4.5 degrees separating Pollux and Castor, in the neighboring zodiac constellation to the east, Gemini, the Twins. Mars remains in Taurus through late March 2023, a total of 7 1/2 months! Mars lingers here, because our planet Earth will overtake Mars in early Decem ber, causing the red planet to appear to retro grade, or go backward, in Taurus, for about 11 weeks. Mars goes past the Pleiades only once, but will pass Aldebaran, the Hyades star cluster and the horns of Taurus three times each—all tripleTheconjunctions!fiveouterplanets in September span an arc of 107 to 121 degrees, and are arranged in five consecutive zodiac constellations: Saturn in Capricornus, Neptune in Aquarius, Jupiter in Pisces, Uranus in Aries, and Mars in Taurus. On the night of Sept. 27-28—best from 11 p.m. until 2:30 a.m.—the five planets can be viewed spanning 120 degrees, or one-third of the way around the circle of the zodiac. Detailed finder charts including faint stars are needed to iden tify 5.7-magnitude Uranus and 7.8-magnitude Neptune.Inevening twilight in September, the south ern half of the belt of zodiac constellations is on display, from Virgo setting in west, through Libra, Scorpius with Antares, Ophiuchus, Sag ittarius low in the south, Capricornus with Sat urn, Aquarius with Neptune, and Pisces about to rise or rising in the east, containing Jupiter. When the moon is near first quarter phase in Ophiuchus on Sept. 3 and Oct. 2, it’s close to half full and about 90 degrees, or one-quarter of a circle, east of the sun’s location. The moon’s location one-quarter of the way around the zodiac from the sun previews where the sun will be in a quarter of a year, or three months later. Those dates are close to the winter solstice, Dec. 21, the date of the lowest midday sun of the year. So expect the evening half-moons of Sept. 3 and Oct. 2 to be low in the southern sky at dusk. Also expect the waxing crescent moons in the western sky on the evenings leading up to Sept. 3 and Oct. 2 to be tipped over, like a bowl spilling its contents.
Jupiter is as close to Earth as it’s been in decades—and our planet is closing in on Mars
morning twilight Sept. 20-24 to be oriented like an upright bowl, holding its contents. Follow the moon: Evenings an hour after sunset, find the moon near Antares Sept. 2, 3 and 30; and near Saturn on Sept. 7 and 8. The Full Harvest moon occurs on the night of Sept. 9-10, rises in twilight the next three evenings, and appears near Jupiter nearly all night long on Sept. 10-11 and Sept. 11-12. Mornings an hour before sunup, find the moon 5 to 6 degrees south of the Pleiades star cluster on Sept. 16. That morning, the waning gibbous moon forms an attractive triangle with Mars and Aldebaran, 6 to 7.5 degrees on a side. On Sept. 19 and 20, the waning crescent moon forms attractive patterns with Pollux and Castor. On Sept. 23, find a thin crescent moon 5 degrees to the lower left of Regulus. Look a half-hour closer to sunrise to catch Venus rising within 20 degrees below the moon. On Sept. 24, a half-hour before sunrise, the 2 percent old crescent moon will be low in the east, with Venus rising 8 degrees below.
" NSE W 1Mercury 15 22 29Jupiter 1 8 15 22 29 Saturn Spica
Venus rises an hour before the sun on Sept. 1, shrinking to less than a half-hour by month’s end. Venus shines at magnitude -3.9; it doesn’t seem impressive because of bright twilight. Autumn begins in Earth’s northern hemi sphere on Sept. 22 at 6:04 p.m., four days before our home planet overtakes Jupiter. Sky Calendar includes illustrations of many of the events described in this article. To subscribe or to view a sample issue, www.abramsplanetarium.org/skycalendar.visit
Stereographic Projection Map by Robert D. Miller
NEWS
In September’s morning twilight sky, the belt of the zodiac is steeply inclined to the horizon. The northern half of the belt is on display, from Pisces and Jupiter setting in the west; through Aries with Uranus; Taurus, with Mars and Aldebaran high in the southern sky; Gemini with Pollux and Castor; Cancer with the Beehive clus ter; and Leo with Venus and Regulus low in the east. Regulus in the first week of September is just emerging from the far side of the sun. Using binoculars, watch for a few days around Sept. 5, when Venus passes 0.8 degrees north of the star. When you see the moon near last quarter phase (about half full) high in the southern sky in morning twilight on Sept. 17 and 18, it will be in the northernmost part of the zodiac, in Tau rus and Gemini, among the same stars the sun appeared near three months earlier, in June, not far from the date of the summer solstice, when the midday sun was highest of the year. Expect the waning crescent moons in the eastern sky in Jupiter is closer to Earth this month than it has been in 71 years—and it won’t be this close again for 107 years! On Sept. 1, Jupiter rises in the east a bit more than an hour after sunset, some 46 degrees to the lower left of Saturn in the southeast. Jupiter rises just more than 4 minutes earlier per day, and first appears on our evening twilight chart during the second week. On Sept. 26, Earth passes between the sun and Jupiter. The giant planet, shining at magnitude -2.9, then rises at sunset and appears at opposition, 180 degrees from sun, and is up all night: low in the eastern sky at dusk, high est in the south in the middle of the night, and low in the west at dawn—setting at sunrise. On the night before, Sept. 25, Jupiter makes its closest approach to Earth since October 1951, at By Robert Victor Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15 CV Independent.com
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS SEPTEMBER ASTRONOMY
For September, 2022 This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
a distance of 367 million miles. Not until Octo ber 2129 will Jupiter come closer!
Antares VegaAltairDeneb Fomalhaut chart.eveningSeptember'ssky
ROBERT D. MILLER
Evening mid-twilight occurs when Sun is 9 below horizon. Sept.1: 41 minutes after sunset. 15: 40 " " " 30: 39 " " Arcturus
The Oswit Land Trust announced the acquisition of 30 acres that include part of the South Lykken Trail on Aug. 2. The land was being marketed for possible commercial development. Photo courtesy of the Oswit Land Trust
said that rather than calling the property the Mesquite Preserve as originally planned, it would now become the Prescott Preserve, in recognition of the Prescott Foundation’s generous donation.
Just a week later, the OLT issued yet another press release to announce yet another acquisition: 30 acres that include a portion of the South Lykken Trail. The Oswit Land Trust partnered with the Trust for Public Land and the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy to secure funding through two government programs. When that funding didn’t quite cover the purchase price, one of the OLT’s “incredibly generous donors” stepped in to fill the funding gap.
In addition to the Prescott Preserve, the South Lykken Trail property and Oswit Canyon, the OLT—with the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy and Coachella Valley Conservation Commission—purchased nearly 4,000 acres of land above the Rimrock Plaza, known as Palm Hills and the Goat Trails, in April.“You know, we have accomplished all that we’ve accomplished in a year and a half with just one full-time staff member,” Garrison told the Independent during a recent interview. “That’s remarkable and almost unheard of for an organization. We have received, or been approved (to receive), almost $20 million in grants while operating on a very small budget.”Theacquisition of the Prescott Preserve, long on the OLT wish list, is arguably the OLT’s totoolosingbackyards.are…theitannouncement.attoldproperty,”preserveitmidsttoacquisitionmost-impactfultodate,dueitslocationintheofPalmSprings.“IalwaysthoughtwouldbenicetoapieceofPrescottthesupporterstheJuly26“Iseedwindling.Youknow,landscapeisgoing.Thesepooranimalsendingupinour…They’retheirhabitat.It’sbad,andwe’vegotreallydosomethingnow.”Garrisonandherteamare working to quickly convert the Mesquite property into the Prescott Preserve. They’re partnering with UC Riverside’s Science to Policy (S2P) program, which has already been studying the types of wildlife and botanical species located on the land. This information was originally being gathered to support grant applications; now the continuing studies will be used to inform decisions on how to manage the natural accessforbethat)Preserve—(itforwhichcommunitywithwithaccomplish—notTrustwhatprogramstudentsbringingwasof(andPalmoftheTamararesources.Hedges,executivedirectortheUCRiverside’sDesertCenteranewmembertheOLTboard),instrumentalintheOLTandfromtheS2Ptogether.“InthinkingaboutOswitLandwastryingtojustwildlands,butopenspaceforaccess,istheplanthePrescottseemedtherewillopportunitieseducationandforeveryone,”
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Hedges told the Independent. “I don’t oversee (student) work, but I was the one who said, ‘Oh my gosh! Let’s get these students involved!’ And they loved the idea.”
On July 25, Oswit Land Trust (olt) president Jane Garrison emailed supporters and media members, inviting them to an announcement of the OLT’s newest acquisition.“ThisisTHE one that everyone will talk about for years to come!” Garrison wrote. “This is THE one that other communities will look (at) as an example! This is THE one that exemplifies being proactive versus reactive! This is THE one that restores your faith in humans!”Kicking off the announcement the next morning at the Demuth Park Community Room in Palm Springs, Garrison noted that the OLT had been frustrated for months in their so-far unsuccessful negotiations to acquire the Bel Air Greens Golf Course property in south Palm Springs. She then invited local philanthropist Brad Prescott to the“Ilectern.gotalittle ticked off because I couldn’t buy Bel Air Greens,” Prescott told the gathering. “I was so ticked off that I bought Mesquite Golf Course.” The crowd began cheering and clapping; the noisy celebration lasted for most of a minute before Prescott continued. “I have donated it to the Oswit Land Trust. It’s theirs now, and they’re going to make a preserve out of it. It’s (120) acres, and they’re going to make a desertGarrisonpreserve.”later
“This (South Lykken Trail property) is our fourth acquisition in the last year and a half, and we are not slowing down anytime soon: There are at least five other projects in the works!” Garrison wrote on the OLT Facebook page. “We will continue to identify and purchase important pieces of land, because when it's gone, it's gone forever.”
S2P participant and UC-Riverside Ph.D. candidate William Ota tweeted after attending the Mesquite acquisition announcement: “It was so exciting to be at @OswitLandTrust’s announcement about the purchase of the new Prescott Preserve! I can’t believe I’ve been The former Mesquite Golf and Country Club will be transformed into the Prescott Preserve over the next couple of years. Photo courtesy of the Oswit Land Trust
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17 CV Independent.com working with them for three years now and all of the work is coming together! Being a UCRS2P fellow with Oswit has been a Garrisonjoy!”said the OLT will be hiring an environmental and restoration company to work on the Prescott Preserve.“Thisis an enormous project to do (utilizing) only volunteers; it’s just too big,” Garrison said. “We’ve received two proposals already, and we’re waiting for a third. We’re going to be applying for our first grant from the Coachella Valley neatwegoingthoughpeople,sometimewillplanting.”secondisplanning.thatapprovemeeting.boarditConservancyMountains…andwillgobeforetheirattheSeptemberWehopetheyit.Iftheydo,willallowustostartThefirstyearplanning,andtheyearwillbeaboutThePrescottPreserveeventuallyneedfull-staffaswell.“We’vealreadyhiredmaintenancebecauseeventhepropertyistoberestored,wanttokeepitandsafeduringtherestoration and planning process,” Garrison said. “Our goal is to keep it open for the public to enjoy. …
… I know of some restoration projects that have been done in other parts of the country where the organizations just closed the sites to the public. We don’t want to do that.”
Palm Springs philanthropist Brad Prescott and OLT president Jane Garrison announce Prescott’s purchase of the Mesquite Golf and Country Club land. Prescott has donated the land to the OLT, which has started the process of turning the land into the Prescott Preserve. Screen shot courtesy of the Oswit Land Trust
DINNER: 6PM | SHOW: 8PM 1900 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, CA (Inside Club Trinidad Resort) Music and Memories! MARILU HENNER Fri. + SEPTSat. 2-3 Everything Old is New Again BRENNA WHITAKER SEPTFri. 9 Between the Moon & New York City CLINT HOLMES SEPTFri. 16 American Idol-finalist JEREMIAH LLOYD HARMON SEPTSat. 10 with Scot Bruce THEELVIS:EARLY YEARS SEPTSat. 17 Unbreakable CHADWICK JOHNSON SEPTFri. 23 The Greatest Ho On Earth LADY BUNNY Sat. + SEPTSun. 24-25 Everything’s Coming Up Barbara BROADWAY BARBARA SEPTFri. 30 TICKETS: PurpleRoomPalmSprings.com(760)322-4422 THE PURPLE ROOM IS BACK FOR AUTUMN ENTERTAINMENT Let the Stars Align! Open Tuesday - Thursday for Live Jazz and Nightly Happy Hour & Dinner
We’d like the public to help us by staying only on the designated walking paths, because we are doing research on the other areas to determine soil (qualities), what we can plant where, what species live where, what habitat is available, and what wildlife food is available.
“We have a wish list, but we just don’t know what is environmentally doable,” Garrison said. “For example, we would like to add more ponds. You know, water is so important for migratory birds. We use gray water on that property, and the water companies always need places to put gray water. So if we can do that, it would be amazing. … There’s been some talk about an endangered fish called the pupfish that lives in the desert. That’s something we’re going to explore as well. Can we create a pond that actually houses an endangered fish species? That would be very cool for school kids to come and learn about.”
As for potential improvements to the Prescott Preserve?
Garrison said she hopes locals will both enjoy the preserve—and open their wallets to support“Really,it.at this point, we need funds,” Garrison said. “… That’s why we put out a notice on our social media that we need the community to become monthly supporters. We need major gifts. “We’re creating such an unbelievable gift to the community. What Brad Prescott has done for our city is remarkable, and what we are going to do with this property, this generous gift, is going to be historic, and people will come from all over to see it and experience it. But we can’t do it alone.”
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The philharmonic will perform chambermusic concerts two Tuesdays per month at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. On Sept. 6, Dr. Vanessa Fountain will play the harp in a program titled “47 Strings, Endless
The CV Philharmonic Society gets going with a chamber-music series at the Palm Springs Cultural Center
Independent’s editorial intern; his internship is funded by the Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation. Possibilities.”“Byhaving a concert (nearly) every two weeks, I am able to give musicians repeated, paid work,” Sisto said. This new series is not Sisto’s only contribution to the valley. While living in New York in 2015, he founded the nonprofit Youth Training Orchestras of America (YTO). YTO aims to train young musicians in the style of smaller Broadway pit orchestras and Hollywood film-studio orchestras.
Sisto started putting together small concerts to employ these musicians—and the Coachella Valley Philharmonic Society was born.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19 ARTS & CULTURE
Members of the Coachella Valley Philharmonic Society rehearse for a show. Laine Henry CV Independent.com
The Coachella Valley Philharmonic Society’s Chamber Series takes place at 7 p.m., two Tuesdays per month, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets for the Sept. 6 show are $15; afterward, tickets will be $30. Attendees can also subscribe to the series for $30 per month through December. For more information, call 760-325-6565, or visit cv-philharmonic-society-chamber-series.psculturalcenter.org/KevinMannisthe
T
“We need to transform (Theatre 3) up to the basic operating level; then we are going to start doing things like original musicals, new plays, etc.,” he said. “With the upgraded sound and lighting, that theater will be a great space.
more and more musicians,” he said. “Some were former philharmonic players, former recording artists from L.A., Broadway tour musicians who were absolutely fabulous—but there were no jobs for them locally.”
The local YTO groups performed primarily in private residences to raise money at first. When Sisto moved to Palm Springs three years ago, he spoke with Cultural Center executive director Michael Green—but when COVID restrictions arrived, there was no way for the two organizations to work together. But once the YTO groups started performing again, Green got in contact with Sisto—and the Cultural Center became the new home of the“It’sYTO.areally great partnership,” Sisto said. “I now have a place for the youth orchestra to rehearse. We have a space for them to perform, and I was able to bring things like this chamber series to the Cultural Center.”
“I was looking to get more music played in the valley,” Sisto said. “I wasn’t seeing too much of anything out here other than jazz.”
The ultimate goal for is for the space to become a top-quality theater akin to the La Jolla“WePlayhouse.justwant the community to know that. It’s up to them if we become the next La Jolla,” Sisto said. “The community is showing up to our chamber series. … If the community keeps showing up, giving us feedback and supporting us, we’re going to keep putting on top-quality performances.”
Once that’s done, the Youth Orchestra has an amazing place to play. It’s kind of the perfect room to do these concerts in.”
Proceeds from Coachella Valley Philharmonic Society shows will benefit the Youth Training Orchestras, as well as the Cultural Center’s efforts to renovate its Theatre 3 from being strictly a movie theater into a combination live music venue/movie theater.
he COVID-19 pandemic devastated many performing-arts organizations—but here in the Coachella Valley, something amazing was born as a result. During the height of COVID-19, a number of skilled musicians moved to the Coachella Valley. Once here, they realized there wasn’t much work. Nunzio Sisto, the music program manager for the Palm Springs Cultural Center, saw this as an opportunity.
Sisto began to search for musicians looking for work. “In my search, I started to find By KEVIN MANN
“How many kids aren’t being inspired to really get in there and study and get those classical chops?” Sisto said. “That’s the hard part. It’s because they are not hearing or seeing (that type of music).” Sisto also wants to get more students interested by providing free tickets to the shows to them and their families.
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE Nunzio Sisto.
INSTRUMENTAL ENJOYMENT
While we have some amazing established entertainers like Marilyn Maye, Sam Harris, Amanda McBroom and Christine Andreas, one of my goals is to sprinkle in some up-andcoming, outstanding talent that isn’t yet as wellToknown.”thatend, Holmes has booked Alisan Porter, the winner of season 10 of The Voice in 2016, for a show on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Voice was not Porter’s first TV talent show: She started her career as a 5-year-old Star Search winner. She went on to star as the title character in John Hughes’ Curly Sue. For her debut at the Purple Room, Porter will sing some well-known tunes from her time on The Voice, as well as pieces from her albums I Come in Pieces and Pink Cloud.
20 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT SEPTEMBER 2022 CV Independent.com 750 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 3 Palm Springs • (760) @psfinemenssalonpsfinemenssalon.com904-0434onInstagramandFacebook Created for men ... by men! Open Tuesday through Saturday 10-6 Book online at psfinemenssalon.com! “I’ve been a regular client at great salons in New York, Miami and San Francisco. This salon is by far the best on every level.” —Chet ARTS & CULTURE
The Purple Room is located at 1900 E Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. For tickets or more information, call 760-322-4422, or visit www. purpleroompalmsprings.com.KevinMannistheIndependent’s editorial intern; his internship is funded by the Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation.
The classic Palm Springs venue recently announced the first half of its 2022-2023 season, starting on Tuesday, Aug. 30, when the Purple Room will reopen following its normal twomonth break. The season is filled with established stars and performers whose careers are on the rise. The venue features free shows by established local performers on Tuesdays (Rose Mallett), Wednesdays (Charles Herrera and Darci Daniels) and Thursdays (Mallett), before turning to ticketed dinner shows on the weekends, starting with Broadway and TV veteran Marilu Henner on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 2 and 3. by kevin mann whirlwind life and career. She “satirizes the autobiographical cabaret shows of song-anddance broads like Elaine Stritch, Liza Minnelli and Barbara Cook,” according to the press release.“Ithink these people are super-talented and just need more exposure. They will do very well here,” Holmes said. Others performers on the schedule include Brenna Whitaker, Lillias White, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Clint Holmes, Chadwick Johnson, Lady Bunny, Niki Haris, Black Market Trust, Diane Schuur, Branden and James, Jonathan Karrant, Scot Bruce (as Elvis) and The Skivvies. After being closed for the entire 20202021 season, the Purple Room’s 2021-2022 comeback season was a success, albeit a challenging one. The venue had to deal with everything from patrons who became violent over vaccine mandates to an illness that made Holmes take time off from performing.
The Purple Room’s new season features old favorites and as-yet unheralded talent
IN THE SWING OF THINGS
On Friday, Sept. 30, Broadway Barbara—the fictional Barbara Dixon (Leah Sprecher)—will regale the audience with ribald tales from her whirlwind life and career.
“Pretty much every weekend can be considered a highlight, depending on your own personal taste,” said Michael Holmes, owner of the club. “One of my goals with the Purple Room is to showcase outstanding talent.
The Purple Room is ready to again rock ’n’ roll … or, in this case, jazz ’n’ swing.
It’s worth noting that Holmes’ wildly popular The Judy Show was not on the initial schedule. However, Holmes said Judy Garland and her guests (including Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis, Carol Channing, Katharine Hepburn and others—all played by Holmes) will return at some point in October. While the Purple Room—and Palm Springs as a whole—may skew toward a slightly older demographic, Holmes hopes the caliber of talent will appeal to all. ”I might have a ridiculous view of talent, but I feel that talent of all ages is open to audiences of all ages,” he said. “I would love to have younger people come and be exposed to the top-notch performers the Purple Room is known for.”
Another emerging star making her Purple Room debut is TikTok and Instagram sensation Broadway Barbara. On Friday, Sept. 30, the fictional Barbara Dixon (Leah Sprecher) will regale the audience with ribald tales from her
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muscat frizzante, and Sans Liege reserve syrah. We were treated to a fabulous lunch of Lebber’s Pizza (apparently Kid Rock’s Paso Robles go-to) with their whole-leaf Caesar salad and “cider birthday slushies” from Curt’s newest project, Tin City Cider. It was probably the most epic wine visit ever, with unmatched graciousness andThathospitality.night,we had tickets to Sensorio, a 15-acre light installation by acclaimed artist Bruce Munro. Once the sun sets, the rolling hills are transformed into a jaw-dropping sea of colors from the almost 60,000 stemmed globes lit by fiber optics that gently and slowly change color. As you walk along the path and look out at the expanse of small lights, you can imagine yourself as a rock star onstage looking at a stadium full of concertgoers with lighters lit, and phone flashlights turned on, as you belt out your No. 1 ballad. We opted for the VIP passes, which allow access to a private terrace with fire-pits, couches and tables, along with one complimentary beverage. I would say if you planned to spend the whole evening here, the VIP tickets are a great option, but if you just want to walk the exhibit and listen to the band in the common area, you can forgo the added expense. Day 2 was all about heading out into the Paso countryside. We took it a little easy and only scheduled three tastings, all on the westside of Paso Robles. Our first stop was at McPrice Myers to taste their Rhone varietal wines. It was a hot day in the middle of the summer, and even at 10 a.m. with misters and fans blowing, we were really feeling the heat sitting outside. The wines of McPrice Myers are consistently great, but it was the refreshing rose that we all bought a bottle of. We were supposed to go to Tablas Creek after lunch, but we found out that due to the extreme heat of the day, they couldn’t accommodate us. They host their tastings outside and have a limited amount of space inside the winery; instead of hosting a subpar experience, they cancelled the tastings altogether. OK … time for Plan B.
Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with two decades in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@ gmail.com.
FOOD & DRINK CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
Katie (front right) and friends celebrate her birthday in Paso Robles.
JASON DAVID HAIR STUDIO LOVE YOUR HAIR Country Club and Cook Street Palm De sert 760-340-5959 www.jasondavidhairstudio.net By Katie finn
A three-day birthday trip to Paso Robles resulted in amazing wine and memories to last a lifetime
Paso, here we come. Our first night there, we dined at a little place called In Bloom. This was a recommendation from my co-worker Dana, who had just returned from Paso and stumbled upon this restaurant by accident. She raved about the food and service, saying it was a must-visit. I had researched restaurants on Google, Tripadvisor and Yelp, and this place did not make it on my radar. Trust me when I tell you: Dana was 100 percent correct. In Bloom was amazing! The menu is focused on highlighting seasonal produce and local purveyors (the best kind), and the dishes are meant to be shared. So, naturally, we ordered one of everything. Bottles of Pierre Gimonnet Brut Rose Champagne and Domaine Pinson Chablis were flowing; for the red, we made a new discovery—the Thacher Winery cinsault. This pinot noir-like red was filled with crunchy red fruits like cranberries, pomegranate seeds and ripe raspberries. Happy birthday to me,Weindeed.spent the next day in Tin City, an ingenious, walkable compound of wineries, breweries, restaurants and shops housed in an old industrial park that has been artfully updated with an urban chic vibe. Our first stop of the day was at Union Sacre, where we had the patio to ourselves and sipped on gorgeous wines made with Alsatian grapes like sylvaner, gewurztraminer and riesling. Our host, Crosby, was delightfully laid-back and informative, telling us about the winemaker, Xavier Arnaudin, and the beautiful artwork on the labels created by Philip Muzzy. We walked over to our next tasting at Sans Liege and Groundwork Wines. A beautiful long wooden table was set up and waiting for us inside the winery. We spent the next two hours with winemaker Curt Schalchlin, sipping some of my favorite wines like the connections. The fact is, it’s work. I taste wine all day, every day. Poor me, right?! But as a job, and vacations are meant to unplug, unwind and relax—so I Almost daily, customers have been coming into the shop and telling me about their adventures We decided to try our luck at Thacher. We were all so impressed with the cinsault we had at In Bloom—and it wasn’t that far from Tablas Creek—we figured we’d roll the dice and see if we could get in without an appointment. As we drove up the winded Peachy Canyon Road, we passed a beautiful modern farmhouse style winery, and the sign out front said Sixmilebridge.Sixmilebridge?! Stop the car! About a month ago, some friends came in the shop fresh off their trip to Paso and were lauding a winery they visited called Sixmilebridge. Because my itinerary had already been full, I figured it would be on the docket for next time. We pulled up the gravel driveway, and I headed inside to plead our case and see if there was any way they could accommodate a party of six, unannounced. They require reservations for their tastings, but my sad puppy dog eyes must have been convincing, because they graciously agreed to invite us in.
VINE SOCIAL
We were seated in a gorgeous indoor/ outdoor room at a beautiful large live-edge table. Our host, Tischa, was the definition of warm hospitality. We learned about owners Jim and Barbara Moroney, and the namesake of the winery, Sixmilebridge, the little town in County Clare, Ireland. We tasted through the sensational lineup of Bordeaux-inspired wines—and I couldn’t help but wonder if we were meant to come here all along. It seemed truly fortuitous. I spent three days in Paso Robles for my birthday, surrounded by my family and dearest friends, eating delicious food, drinking incredible wine, and making memories to last a lifetime. Maybe I should do this wine country thing more often.
Affiliate Chamber
radiating outward from there. An elevated ring of TVs surround the restaurant; there’s a 360-degree skylight, a wood-fired pizza oven behind the bar, and next to that, the tanks greet you through glass, with a 5-barrel brewstand sitting behind. This is where Heethuis and assistant brewer Jacob Jimenez—an alum of Green Cheek Brewing (a huge favorite of mine)—do their thing. And now for the important part: How’s the beer?To answer this question, I was ushered into a private bar area where I met Heethuis and tribal administrator Anthony Madrigal; I was also briefly on the phone with Chairman Mike himself. They insisted I try a pizza and a flight of the four core beers currently on tap. The pizza was a great accompaniment to the flight, as I went down the line of beers: Chairman Blonde, Rez Rage Red, Tipsy Tortoise IPA, and Peabody’s Russian Imperial Stout.
CAESAR CERVISIA
expand and distribute to other tribes’ casinos around the country through a distribution channel they’ve already set up with some of their other products; 29 Brews is working on Coachella Valley distribution as well. They regularly pour their beers at charity events; the tribe emphasized to me what they regularly have done and do for local sports groups and charities, even during the lockdown. Heethuis himself is planning on doing educational beer events and beer dinners to help grow the local beer scene. I wish him all the best, and I offered to help where I could—
JASON DAVID HAIR STUDIO
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At first, Heethuis was contacted to be a consultant in the search for a brewer for 29 Brews (29brews.com), the name of the brewery itself. He certainly has the knowledge base; Heethuis’ journey into craft beer began in 1983 after a move to Claremont. He found himself ordering an Anchor Steam ale. At first, he said, he didn’t enjoy it. Then he found himself at the end of the glass—and ordering another one. That was all it took. After working as a merchandiser with an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, he eventually went on to become the head of their craft-beer division. He worked with Craft Los Angeles distribution and opened up the Coachella Valley as part of their territory. Heethuis came highly recommended as a consultant by some of Mike’s close friends, and bringing him on was an easy choice. What wasn’t easy was finding a brewer that met the standards of everyone involved. Therefore, Heethuis became that brewer. His professional resumé includes brewing at Ritual Brewing Co. under Inland Empire brewing legend Owen Williams, as well as guest-brewing stints at Tustin Brewing Co., Golden Road and Artifex Brewing Co. This allowed him to develop a process whereby he could quickly adapt to different brewing systems. It also gave him the confidence to move to the desert and give 29 Brews a shot. Taproom 29 is a spacious restaurant and bar right off the casino’s main entrance. It’s set up as a large circle, with the bar toward For months, I’d intended to visit Taproom 29, at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella. I had friends who went and reported back to me, but I decided to wait until the taproom was Then they started brewing onsite … and more time passed. However, I finally made it there, house,” apparently the only other certified cicerone in the Coachella Valley): Why in the Coachella
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23 CV Independent.com A belated look at what’s brewing at Spotlight 29’s Taproom 29 FOOD & DRINK CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK
Jacob Jimenez, assistant brewer at 29 Brews, checks on a batch-to-be. Brett Newton
restaurants—so when the pandemic took hold, Spotlight 29’s plans for a buffet were scrapped in favor of an opportunity to fill a specific void in the east valley. Within six months, plans were drawn up, and much of the construction of the tap room and restaurant were completed. However, Taproom 29 still needed a brewer.
LOVE YOUR HAIR Country Club and Cook Street Palm De sert 760-340-5959 www.jasondavidhairstudio.net By brett newton because I’ve been trying to do the same thing for more than a decade now. I’m glad there is someone else to potentially work alongside to raise the bar for Coachella Valley beer, and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future.I’malso very glad Taproom 29 didn’t end up being a buffet. Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.
The first thing I noticed about the blonde was how un-blonde-like it was; it drank more like an American lager. This is by design, as lagers take up more time in tanks, but a blonde ale can be turned over more quickly, freeing up tank space sooner. The Rez Rage Red might be my favorite of the four. It is malt-forward, but not at all cloying, with a grainy, biscuity malt body, and a little hop bitterness to balance. The IPA is a bit of a callback to the West Coast IPAs of the recent past: It’s piney, resinous and citrusy, with a nice caramel backbone and a solidly bitter finish. Another contender for my favorite of the bunch was the stout, which had flavors and aromas of roasted coffee, chocolate and raisin, and all at a far-too-easy-drinking 10.2% alcohol by volume. These four beers are on tap alongside 21 craft taps from outside breweries such as Enegren Brewing and a brewery whose beer I have been very impressed by lately, Brewery X out of Anaheim. The beers from 29 Brews also flow at the Tortoise Rock Casino in Twentynine Palms, Spotlight 29’s sister casino. They plan to
The inventor of the Black Russian is a different story. According to Liquor.com, it was invented in the late 1940s in Brussels at the Hotel Metropole by barman Gustave Tops (What a name!) for the American ambassador to Luxembourg. (What a gig!) Here’s a slight the years. There is no particular order here; I’m just shaking the file cabinets and seeing what falls out!
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Thoughts on four classic drinks heretofore unexamined in this spaceCOCKTAILS
variation I like to make. 2 ounces of vodka 1 ounce of NOLA coffee liqueur (not sponsored)1teaspoon of demerara syrup (raw sugar and water, 2:1) Stir over ice and serve over a big cube if you have one, for the iceberg look. If you like the heavy cream, and I don’t blame you: Add one ounce, and shake it dry first; add ice, then shake and dump into your favoriteDespitevessel.this drink having nothing to do with Russia, I have a great suggestion for marketing it to your guests: Add a splash of cola, and it becomes a Colorado Bulldog! A domestic vodka works just fine for this one, by the Fourway.more drinks down, and many more to go, of course. I’ll likely hang up my Hawthorne strainers long before I run out of drinks to write about—although I think it’s past time for me to create some sort of database! Kevin Carlow can be reached at inahotdryplace@gmail.com. the French 75. Both cocktails should probably be that way, but that horse left the barn a long time ago. 1 1/2 ounces of Bacardi Gold (not sponsored)1/2ounce of lime juice 1/2 ounce of honey syrup (2:1 honey to water) Shake and strain into a Collins glass; top with brut sparkling wine; garnish with a lime wheel. Save some of that bubbly for the next one, the Champagne Cocktail. This one is old—Jerry “The Professor” Thomas, 1800s old. It’s also super-easy, and probably the only reason to keep sugar cubes around the house. Yeah, it’s kind of a crime to adulterate a nice Champagne, but if you make this one with a cheap sparkling, it will be terrible, and don’t come whining to me about it. This one requires instructions more than a recipe. Douse a sugar cube in Angostura bitters; place into a Champagne flute or coupe. Gently pour Champagne down the side of the glass; garnish with a lemon peel; express oil on the stem and into the glass. The White Russian isn’t the most popular order right now, for an obvious reason. I’ve always hated making this drink. If you make a cocktail using dairy, especially heavy cream (the only real way to make the cocktail), you will contaminate your entire well (what we drink jockeys call a workstation) unless you wash your tools like your life depended on it. I also groan about making this drink because of the bearded Big Lebowski bros who order it. I like the movie just fine, but the superfans can be obnoxious as all get-out. I can’t, however, deny that the drink is absolutely delicious and decadent when made properly! It’s a proper mid-century cocktail to boot, for those of you into that sort of thing; it was invented in the early ’60s by someone who never got any credit.
FOOD & DRINK CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK ON
The Trade Winds is a modern Tiki cocktail that has its roots in the 1970s. If you’re drinking one these days, it’s probably some bar manager’s version of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s version. (I tend to tweak his recipes myself.) It’s one of those Tiki drinks that can be made with either gin or rum; you can probably guess which version I prefer if you’re a regular reader of this column. (If you’re not a regular reader, it’s gin.) For you rum-lovers, here is the easiest way to make the cocktail. Equal parts is usually a good sign for a drink!
1 ounce of light rum 1 ounce of dark rum 1 ounce of apricot liqueur 1 ounce of creme de coconut 1 ounce of lemon juice Shake all of the ingredients with crushed ice; dump and serve in a tall glass; top with an umbrella pick (the kind you get at Chineserestaurant bars and Tiki lounges) blown backward—that is, pull the umbrella part until it’s hyperextended. For the light rum, use nothing too funky, please—maybe a Venezuelan or Puerto Rican white. For the dark rum, I would use a black strap rum (like Myers’s or Goslings). If you prefer gin, simply replace the rums with 2 ounces of gin—easy as pie. The quality of the apricot liqueur matters here; don’t be cheap. Here’s another cocktail where the line between gin and rum drinks starts to blur. The drink is called an Air Mail, and it dates back to the days when mail planes were just becoming a thing—queue Martin Short in Three Amigos. According to the always-illuminating Difford’s Guide, it was first referenced in a promotional pamphlet from Bacardi. Later on, it showed up in bar manuals, including ones by David Embury and Esquire. I learned this recipe a long time ago, yet a while after I encountered its more famous twin, the French 75. The few bartenders who know how to make this one generally put it on the rocks and make it a highball, unlike Working with a greenhorn bartender can be good for a veteran bartender; it gets the juices flowing again. I mentioned to her that I felt like I was running out of cocktails, both famous and obscure, to cover in this column, and she began rattling off suggestions. I responded I’ve covered it; I covered it twice; I’m pretty sure I’ve covered it; I don’t want to cover it, etc. This conversation got me thinking that, in fact, there must be a ton of worthy drinks out there I haven’t yet written about. Here are a few that I have missed, for whatever reason, over
A Black Russian.
BY kevin carlow
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25 CV Independent.com I thislovetown. I love being here to help in a community where people are making a difference every day. Thank you for all you do. 2007004 State Farm, Bloomington, IL Thomas Gleeson Ins Agcy Inc Thomas Gleeson CLU ChFC, Agent Insurance Lic#: 0K08021 225 S. Civic Drive, Suite 1-1 Palm Springs, CA 92262 Se habla Español Thanks, CV Independent. Patio and indoor dining 1775Tuesday-SUNday4takeoutto9p.m.E.PalmCanyonDrive(760)778-6595www.533vietfusion.com
& DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT
the 350 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs Open at 5
I must confess to mixed feelings about I Heart Mac and Cheese—largely because every bowl and serving utensil is made of plastic, and goes right in the trash when each diner is finished. Nowhere in the restaurant or on I Heart Mac and Cheese’s website is this addressed, at least that I could find. (The company that makes the bowls has a vague reference to the packaging being “sustainable” on its website.) If all this plastic is being legitimately recycled, I Heart Mac and Cheese should tout that—and if it’s not … well, yikes. I’ll return for the Buffalo blue mac and cheese—but I’d feel a lot better about doing so if the company addressed its packaging. p.m. at 10:30 a.m.
FOOD
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WHERE I Heart Mac and Cheese, 190 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $10.95 CONTACT iheartmacandcheese.com760-531-7900; WHY It actually tastes like Buffalo wings. The anticipated arrival of I Heart Mac and Cheese in Palm Springs created an understandable buzz. I mean … a whole Amazing!macdedicatedrestauranttoandcheese? In actuality, I Heart Mac and ForandthanoffersCheesefarmoremacaronicheese.thosetrying to avoid carbs, all of the “bowls” are available with broccoli, cauliflower or quinoa, in addition to macaroni. The menu also includes a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches (with tomato soup!), “tacoronis” and various other items? So … does I Heart Mac and Cheese live up to the buzz? The Buffalo blue mac and cheese certainly does. Of all the items we sampled on our recent visit, it was the one we kept taking bites of, even after we were full. Chicken, blue cheese and, of course, Buffalo sauce were mixed with the pasta along with bits of celery and carrots. Seeing as all these ingredients, save macaroni, are what one would find on a typical plate of Buffalo wings, it’s no surprise the dish had a Buffalo-wing vibe—but, man, was it Otherwise,good.
This month’s menu: Singapore-style vermicelli, and mac and cheese with a Buffalo-wing vibe
WHAT The Singapore-style vermicelli
WHERE Wang’s Chinese Cuisine, 35300 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City HOW MUCH $11.95 CONTACT 760-770-3725; www. wangschineseca.com WHY It’s a delicious dish at a great price. During the height of the pandemic, a group of friends would regularly get together at my friend Bryan’s house to hang out in his large backyard. In socially distanced fashion, on his patio surrounded by misters, we’d safely chat, commiserate, have a cocktail or two—and devour a whole bunch of food we’d ordered from Wang’s Chinese Cuisine in Cathedral City (not to be confused with the Wang’s in Palm chickenshrimp,vermicelliSingapore-styleconstant:therevisitvariedfoodWhileSprings).theweorderedfromtovisit,wasonethewithpork,andvegetables in a curry sauce. The noodles were popular for varied reasons. For one thing, the amount of food packed into that to-go container is substantial, meaning a whole bunch of us could enjoy some. For another thing, the dish is fabulous.I’veprobably ordered this dish now a couple dozen times, and the folks at Wang’s consistently do it right: The meat is delicious and not overcooked; the vegetables still have some crispness; and the curry sauce generally offers a lot of flavor without overwhelming. Now that the pandemic restrictions have subsided (even if the virus has not), Wang’s remains in my regular dining rotation. The vast majority of the items we’ve ordered from Wang’s are quite good—my husband would like to offer an endorsement within an endorsement to the Szechuan-style beef—and the prices are more than fair, even in these inflationary times. One day (I hope?), the COVID-19 pandemic will be just a memory, and among all of the sad and awful thoughts, I’ll smile when I remember those gatherings with friends in Bryan’s backyard—especially while chowing down on the Singapore-style vermicelli from Wang’s in Cathedral City.
Tuesday-Saturday Desert Divas Drag Brunch Saturday
WHAT The Buffalo blue mac and cheese
By Jimmy Boegle
SOL Y SOMBRA, LUCHOWS AND WORKSHOP L.A. OPEN THEIR DOORS
ACQUA CALIFORNIA BISTRO AGAIN SAYS GOODBYE TO THE RIVER Sad news out of Rancho Mirage: Acqua California Bistro, at The River, 71800 Highway 111, has closed its doors, a year after its reopening following the pandemic-related closures. This brings Acqua’s second stint to The River to a close. The first stint ended in December 2014, when the 10-year lease expired. Acqua then returned to the space in July 2017, after The River’s management persuaded Acqua owner Jerry Keller to return.
Idy has opened in Idyllwild, at 54245 N. Circle Drive. This mini-chain—with two locations in South Dakota and two in California—air roasts its coffee, a process that helps minimize bitterness and lessen stomach irritation. Pure Bean reportedly uses ethically sourced coffee and gives 10% of profits to causes to help alleviate global poverty. Details at www. purebean.com. L’Atelier Café, at 129 La Plaza in Palm Springs, has changed hands. New co-owner Jose Heredia worked at L’Atelier under the first and second owners. Chef-owner Frank Rozet trained as a pastry chef in Lyon, France, and then worked in New York for 30 years before relocating to the Coachella Valley four years ago. The new owners say they have no plans to make any significant changes, you can expect the same great French bistro fare. Call 760-778-7895.
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK Restaurant NEWS BITES MARKET GET 25 TO 50 PERCENT OFF GIFT CERTIFICATES TO SOME OF THE VALLEY'S TOP RESTAURANTS! ONLY AT CVINDEPENDENT.COM Call 760-779-5000 Open Thursday through Tuesday 71680 Highway 111 #F, Rancho Mirage (Next to Hilton Garden Inn) Got a hot food news tip? Let us foodnews@cvindependent.comknow!
In much happier news: Sol y Sombra has opened at The Paloma resort, 67670 Carey Road, in Palm Springs. The bites I’ve had have been phenomenally good. The tapas and the paellas are delicious, and the space is a treat for the eyes. Make sure to check out the rolling bar cart; the Smoke Without Mirrors, a riff on an old fashioned, is a real treat. Sol y Sombra offers a variety of small dining spaces—including outdoors, a chef’s table, and a “speakeasy”—to allow diners to customize their experiences. Learn more at thepalomaresort.com/dining. Luchows Palm Springs’ second act is developing nicely, as Dan Gore has gradually expanded the menu and welcomed customers for in-house dining. Dan Gore tells me he plans a split menu, with one side focusing on Americanized Chinese food classics, and the other featuring more-traditional, authentic Chinese fare. Details at luchowspalmsprings.com. If you are traveling to Los Angeles but still want to experience a bit of the Coachella Valley, Workshop Kitchen + Bar has opened its much-anticipated location at 127 S. La Brea Ave. Nominated for a James Beard design award a few years ago, this perennial hit should do well in La La Land. Learn more at workshopkitchenbar.com.
IN PureBRIEFBean
… The owner of Backstreet Bistro in Palm Desert is opening a sister restaurant: Waldo’s Ristorante and Bar, 74970 Country Club Drive, in Palm Desert, is slated to welcome customers on Sept. 15. Owner Waldo Cesoni promises an authentic Italian culinary experience. The menu looks phenomenal; fingers crossed that everything goes as planned. More waldosristorante.com. By charles drabkin
…The Penney has opened at the Desert Island Country Club, at 71777 Frank Sinatra Drive, in Rancho Mirage. Chef Jon Butler is highlighting locally sourced ingredients at the restaurant, which is open to the public. Butler has an impressive résumé, with stints at Noma (Copenhagen), Tra Vigne (St. Helena), Church and State (Los Angeles) and, most recently, local landmark Mr. Lyons. Friends who attended a preopening dinner did nothing but rave! Details at di71.com/dining. … Palm Desert has a new Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar, at 73155 Highway 111: La Katrina Urbana Cantina. (Say that fast three times!) The menu offers a mix of traditional Mexican fare and Mexican takes on hipster favorites, like fried Brussels sprouts with chorizo and cotija. There is no website or social media presence at this writing, so you can either call 760-610-5444, or just trust me. … New to the Shops at Palm Desert mall food court (72840 Highway 111): Crepe(ing) Ramen, with a selection of ramen, sweet and savory crepes, milk teas and other specialty drinks. The chefs are making broths from scratch; details at www.crepeingramen.com.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27 CV Independent.com
JJUUJJUU MODE Desert Daze founder Phil Pirrone is making time for his psychedelicrockband 33 31373835
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Rabbi David Lazar leads the Jews Do the Blues event to raise money for Or Hamidbar Tom Brislin, the newest member of Kansas, talks about writing songs with legends Crystal Hernandez of Desert Crystal is back with a new single and music video the lucky 13: two young musicians who both have songs with 1 million-plus streams on Soundcloud
The biggest accompanying message, adding that the event was the start of something called Coachella Underground—which he described as a movement, not a brand. Chavez said he and his team gave out 300 wristbands to the free, private event, but he estimated that the attendance went well beyond 300. Alongside live performances, the event featured a 360 video booth, a graffiti wall from Flat Black Art Supply, and multiple cameras documenting the entire event. That footage is now being combined with behind-the-scenes videos and interviews into a documentary about Desert Underground, slated to air Sept. 9 on Chavez’s YouTube channel. Chavez recently spoke with me over the phone about his journey into content creation.“Istarted my podcast in 2019, because one of my friends who performs, Billie Dale, he was like, ‘Hey, I want to do an interview for my album that’s coming out,’” Chavez said. “I’ve been a YouTuber since 2015, and in 2018, I did a video for his album, where we just had a 30-minute interview. In 2019, he wanted to do another interview. I’ve always been a fan of podcasts, so we did the interview as the launch of my podcast.” When he wasn’t interviewing local artists, Chavez made videos about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Some of those videos have been quite popular—including a couple that now have more than 1 million YouTube views.
thing for me was media, so I had to make sure I invited a lot of photographer friends, videographers and then my personal crew. … We had three cameras recording the whole time, and I invited another videographer from the valley to do a highlight of the entire event. I also had a couple of drone pilots. We’re going to be dropping so much content—because that’s the only way you makeChaveznoise.”and his team want the performing artists to use the videos made at the event to expand their reach.
Not only is the documentary about the event headed for YouTube; Chavez plans to upload every performance to his channel as well.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29 CV Independent.com MUSIC
“I want to tell an overall story of the whole movement with artists that were involved,” saidKeepChavez.your eyes open for more events, too. “Everyone’s got their own path or vision, but I’m going to try to use my platform for not only these artists, but other artists as well,” Chavez said. “There were a lot of artists I couldn’t have in this show, because we didn’t have that much time, but in future shows, I’ll throw in some different artists, different styles—and not just hip hop. We’re thinking of doing one for all Mexican groups, and then we also plan on doing more where it’s more rock bands. … You need to win within your community first, and then you branch out. Once we start making more noise with all the content and all the events, it’s going to make sense that in the place that hosts Coachella, there’s a music movement taking place.”
“Message me if you want to come, but only if you are down to go hard,” he said in the
Angel Chavez’s goal: Offer a platform to local artists, starting with a YouTube documentary airing Sept. 9
“Also at Coachella, I saw Natanael Cano; he’s a regional Mexican artist who started the genre of corridos tumbados, which is kind of like Spanish trap music with guitars. The audience members who listen to that kind of music, they’re a young crowd; they like to smoke weed; they like to party. I’m like, ‘Wait, this is the same crowd that likes rap music.’ A lot of the people who like him, they actually like rap as well, so I wanted to have some of that in this show.” Chavez said he was able to pull off the event because numerous valley creatives offered their talents.
For more information, visit www.youtube.com/ user/wormeaful.
Angel Chavez said he and his team gave out 300 wristbands to the Desert Underground event, but he estimated that the attendance went well beyond 300. Photo courtesy of AR Studios
By matt king
CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC
“I have a friend who does incredible production. … His name is DJ De La Raza, aka Jose Martinez, and he actually just did a setup at the fairgrounds during the fair for their concerts,” Chavez said. “I was showing him the vision that I had, and then he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m down to help.’ He bought some new equipment, and he wanted to do this crazy setup, because he wanted to try it out. I reached out to Monica Stella Creates; she does custom backdrops, photo ops, balloons and stuff for parties. We collaborated for one event that she had in Palm Springs. I helped her do a video, and then she’s like, ‘I’ll help you do something for your events.’ She came and made a Coachella sign and a bunch of backdrops. This other lady reached out and said, ‘I want to get myself and my name out there; is there an event coming up where I can display my 360 photo booth?’ We said yes, so she ended up coming through. …
Coachella 2022 was also where Chavez found one of his biggest sparks of inspiration for the Desert Underground show. “At Coachella, I was watching this rap group Brockhampton, and to be honest, I On July 28, Angel Chavez—local YouTuber, podcast host and CEO of production company Estoy Filming—posted a flier on his Instagram page with the title “Desert Underground,” advertising a local show happening on July 30. The image included the names of local rappers, Mexican artists and DJs, but no venue.
“I’m a big fan of Coachella,” Chavez said. “I grew a lot of my following making videos about the festival, how-to videos on how to save money at Coachella, when to buy tickets, and kind of just tips in general. During Coachella 2022, I was actually featured on the livestream. The director of the Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert documentary, he came to my house, and we did a two-hour interview. They gave me a little 30-second spot on the livestream in between artist sets, which was crazy.”
A WAY TO MAKE NOISE
wasn’t even a fan of them. I didn’t even know them that much; I just wanted to see them, because it was their last performance,” Chavez said. “I saw a bunch of rappers onstage. One of them would be rapping, and the other guys were hyping up the crowd, and I was like, ‘Oh shit: This is a collective.’ Here in the valley, everyone was trying to do it on their own as individuals, and I had the idea of: What if there’s a desert collective hip-hop show where all the artists are onstage, and we just make it look fun? When you’re an upcoming artist, being by yourself is hard, but when it’s a group, you all support each other and help each other up—and it’s a better vibe.
“Some of these guys have great music; they’re great talents, but a lot of the clubs here don’t give them a chance to shine,” Chavez said. “It’s rare when they have hiphop shows, and when they do, they’re always empty, because three of the artists who performed here are 19 years old, and all their followers are like 18 or 19 years old, so they can’t go see them at (21-and-older venues). One of them has a song that has a million streams organically on SoundCloud, another one has like 200,000, but they can’t perform their songs, because they’re not of age. That’s why we don’t have a music scene in the valley. There are a few artists who are making noise, but there’s no music scene, and the only way to create it like they did in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and L.A. is to make videos and put the content out there, so that’s what we’re going to be doing over the next month. … I’m not even trying to build it for me; I’m helping the whole movement.
“All of these artists say the same thing: ‘Oh, we wish there were more places to perform, and more support,’ but at the same time, how can people support something when they don’t even know what it is? … We live in the era of content, and none of them are making content, so I wanted to make an event where everyone could get a lot of content so that other people start noticing.”
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“The idea is to have a theme every year, and this year, the theme is Jews who have composed famous blues tunes, or bluesy tunes, or have performed those tunes, so we For some, music is scripture. For others, scripture is music. Rabbi David Lazar is one of those others. For the past few years, Lazar—who can often be found jamming on his saxophone—been producing an event that benefits Or Hamidbar, a nonprofit group that celebrates Jewish spirituality. That event, called Jews Do the Blues, will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Cascade Lounge inside the Agua Caliente
become more familiar with the desert’s music community.“WhenIgot out here, I found out there was a Jewish woman who was producing an event on the rooftop of the parking garage at the mall in Palm Desert,” Lazar said. “I went to support it, because she was a young Jewish woman. … I wanted to sit down and have a salad at a table where there was room, so I said, ‘May I join you folks?’ And one guy said, ‘You can if you tell us your story.’ Of course, I’m a rabbi, and that’s what I do, so I sat down, and I started to tell them I was a farmer in the Gaza Strip, then I got married and lived in Israel for most of my life. I was born in the United States, and then I was a Chief Rabbi in Sweden. They said, ‘That’s amazing! What a story!’ And I said, ‘It gets even better.’ I told them I play in a band called Les Rockin’ Rabbis. … They invited me to this event called Jam on the Rocks at their friend’s house up on the mountain, and that’s how I met Deanna and the whole group, and many musicians out here in the Coachella Valley.”
By matt king
People have really loved the events; they’ve built a whole following here in the desert with people, most of them not Jewish, who have become close friends.”
MUSIC AND MINISTRY
Lazar is more than just your average rabbi with a love for music. Every few years, he performs in Paris with the band Les Rockin’ Rabbis, a group of—you guessed it—musical rabbis. Lazar explained how he first combined religion and music on a whim.
Meeting Deanna Bogart allowed Lazar to Palm Springs. Deanna Bogart and her band will be performing alongside Lazar. During a recent phone interview, Lazar described Or Hamidbar (orhamidbar.org) as “a new kind of a synagogue with no building, and no membership, per se. It’s just for folks to come together to study, to pray, and to do social-justice work together—with a Jewish flavor to it.” Lazar said that he doesn’t consider himself a great musician—but he knows how to play the“Iblues.gettogether with a very excellent musician who is a Jewish woman named Deanna Bogart, and Deanna has her local musicians Bob Gross on bass, Bob Hamilton on guitar and banjo, and Jeff Olson on drums and percussion. I’m joined by our daughter Gabi Lazar, who has got an enormous voice.
Understanding different ways of ministering allowed Lazar to see the full potential of the Jews Do the Blues event.
Rabbi David Lazar and Deanna Bogart.
Performers at a previous Jews Do the Blues event.
“The first year I was here, the congregation I was with wanted to do a rabbinic installation, an event where a new clergy person comes into the position,” he said. “Usually, those events have long speeches, and there’s a dinner with people sitting around tables. I thought to myself, ‘Let’s do something fun!’ Because I so love to play, and I don’t get a chance to play with other folks often, I said, ‘Let’s do a concert instead.’
Rabbi Sam Feldman, an old friend and colleague of mine, is coming in from Santa Monica, and this year, Rabbi Andrew Bentley, one of my colleagues here in the desert, will be joining us for a few numbers.
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Rabbi David Lazar leads the Jews Do the Blues event to raise money for Or Hamidbar
will be coming up with a song list of all sorts, from pure blues … to rock ’n’ roll to maybe a little bit of jazz. We’re doing it this year at the Cascade Lounge under the auspices of Adam Levy’s Desert Blues Revival; he’s been very, very generous in allowing us to make this into our annual fundraiser.”
“There are different ways to be a rabbi,” said Lazar. “In the church world, you have this concept called pub ministry. I have a friend in Austin, Texas, an Episcopal priest, who had this pub ministry that met in these beer-garden kind of places. They did some study together, some conversation together, and even some music together. To me, that’s what this event is about, and my friendship with Deanna is a very spiritual friendship. Her spiritual practice is music; mine is prayer and study of Jewish texts, and going out and fixing the world. When we come together, it’s just this joyful conversation.
“The passion is to play the music together with these folks to make it mean something beyond just the blues tune or the jazz or the rock—whatever it is—for it to mean something in a very Jewish way.”
Jews Do the Blues will take place at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Cascade Lounge inside the Agua Caliente Palm Springs, 401 E. Amado Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $25 to $450. For tickets or more information, visit www.eventspalmsprings.com/blues.
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Desert Daze founder Phil Pirrone is making time for his psychedelic rock band lot of leftover time for JJUUJJUU.
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Majesty’s Andrew Clinco.
“Unfortunately, (the band) does take a backseat to life in general—but more specifically, doing Desert Daze is definitely fulltime, full-on,” Pirrone said. “I’ve been touring a long time, since, like, 2001, so I’m not in the stage of my being in a band where I’m like, ‘I need to be on the road for months.’ I’m kind of on the opposite end of that spectrum.”
JJUUJJUU MODE
The collaboration with the local legend came from a place of inspiration—as well as the fact that Pirrone and his wife, Julie Edwards (Deap Vally, Heads Are Heavy), are friends with Catching.“Allthe records that have been made there are records that have really resonated with me, and really have influenced me,” said Pirrone. “We became friends with Dave over the years. I think that just happens: If you meet Dave, you kind of become friends with Dave. It’s hard to not become friends with that man. He’s like the personification of friendly. He came to the festival for years and really enjoyed it, and we kept running into him on tour. My wife plays in a band, and we’d be on the road and would run into them, so it was always on my mind, because I kept getting reminded of the studio just by running into him. It was just one of those things that felt like it needed to happen, and I’m really glad it did.”
“I was playing in a band at the time in L.A., and a friend of ours (Clinco) was jamming with (my) band, filling in on drums,” shared Pirrone.
Desert Daze will take place Friday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 2, at Lake Perris State Recreation Area, 17801 Lake Perris Drive, in Lake Perris. JJUUJJUU will perform on Saturday, Oct. 1. Tickets start at $139. For more information, visit desertdaze.org.
By matt king JJUUJJUU.
“Before practice, I just showed him some stuff I’d been working on. He dug it; we kind of played around with it; and we had a good chemistry. We started playing around some more, and then we decided to record. He was in other projects, and so was I, so there wasn’t a lot of pressure put on it. It kind of started from this place of a very low-pressure situation, which is something that, I think, is constant in the ethos of the band.”
The pandemic downtime allowed Pirrone to revisit JJUUJJUU and work on what will be the follow-up to 2018’s Zionic Mud. The band recorded the new LP with Dave Catching (Mojave Lords, earthlings?, Eagles of Death Metal) at Rancho De La Luna studio—an expe rience that Pirrone described as “incredible.” “(Catching) is the best—the best host, the best cook, the best vibes master—and I don’t throw that word around,” he said. “I think … people take it too lightly, but it’s true in this case. Working with Dave Catching was a dream come true. I’ve wanted to record there for the entire time I’ve known about it.”
There’s yet more new music to come from JJUUJJUU.“We’regoing to release another record in ’23, maybe two records, because we made two records during the downtime there, from 2020 to pretty recent here,” said Pirrone. “We’ve got a solid collection of tunes that we want to start rolling out, and hopefully release something for Desert Daze. We play Desert Daze, obviously; we’ve got a few more shows that are going to pop up before the end of the year, and then hopefully in 2023, we’ll do a bit of the opposite of what I said earlier and be on the road for a lot of next year. After, like, a year of that, maybe I’ll go back to the other mode.” But even when he’s focusing on JJUUJJUU, Pirrone is still working on Desert Daze. “We’re so connected these days; I can just pop on the internet with my phone’s hotspot in most places and on most highways in America,” Pirrone said. “I just sit in that passenger seat up front, and I just, like, zone in, and I get so much done. Something about moving forward—that forward motion, where the world’s sort of moving out the windows, keeps your head really clear, a lot more clear than just sitting in your office at your desk. I prefer to stand at home, but if I’m in the van, sitting in the passenger seat, I feel like I can get a lot done.”
Because of Desert Daze, Pirrone hasn’t had a
During a recent phone interview, Pirrone explained how the project started as a mellow collaboration between himself and Drab You’ve almost certainly heard of Desert Daze, a music and arts festival that has grown from a series of shows at a Desert Hot Springs bar/restaurant into a stacked, three-day fest at Lake Perris. Tame Impala, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Iggy Pop are set to headline this year’s edition of the festival, taking place Friday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 2. But how much do you know about the founder and promoter of the festival, Phil Pirrone?
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JJUUJJUU.JJUUJJUU uses rock instruments to stay rooted in a groove—but effects pedals; layered guitars and synth sounds; and Pirrone’s eerie and delayed vocal processor give the band a jammy, trippy feel. Both debut LP FRST and sophomore release Zionic Mud provide sonically unique journeys through phasers, melting guitar tones, and space-warp mixing. Check out tracks like “Fast,” “Bleck” and “A Forming.”
For starters, he’s played at every iteration of Desert Daze with his psychedelic rock band
34 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT SEPTEMBER 2022 CV Independent.com TAKE 2.INDEPENDENTTHECHALLENGE1.PerusetheIndependent.Lookatthequalityofthewriting,thelayout,thetopics,etc.Dothesamewithanyotherlocalpublication.3.Compare. Summer Specials at Roly China Fusion Locals Night: Locals get a $20 gift card for spending $50 Drive-up Dim Sum & Drinks: Just $15 pp for 6-piece dim sum and 16-oz cocktail to go Yappy Hour: Dogs welcome on our Buddy Bar for all-night happy hour 1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive 760-548-0041 • www.rolychinafusion.com Opens September 30!
“I think they wanted to see what I came up with, and then talk more about it. They were just saying, at first, ‘Show us what you have,’” Brislin said. “They didn’t want to get too specific in terms of exactly what they wanted to hear from me until they got a vibe of what I was showing them. I started getting the green light, and then they gave me a couple of guidelines as to what they feel makes a Kansas song. … A lot of Kansas music is about the big picture. ‘Dust in the Wind’ or ‘Carry on Wayward Son’—these are sort of broad landscapes lyrically, and musically speaking, this band isn’t worried about trying to please the radio anymore, so we can do whatever we want. We can go full-on prog-rock-odyssey if we feel like it, but Kansas also has hooks, so I like that combination of musical adventure and memorable songs.”
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By matt king
September 2022 By matt king It’s September, meaning temps will finally start getting cooler—and the entertainment is getting hotter. Here’s some what local venues have to offer during the month. Fantasy Springs has a stacked lineup. At 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16, the multinational vocal group Il Divo will perform. This tour is a tribute to Carlos Marin, a member who passed away late last year. Tickets range from $59 to $129. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, Chicago is coming to Indio … literally! Tickets start at $59 to see the classic-rock band. Country music singer/songwriter Chris Young moseys into town at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 23. Tickets start at $29. And on Saturday, Sept. 24, Grammy Award-winning pop-rock outfit Train will bring a series of hits to Fantasy Springs. Tickets start at $59. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www. fantasyspringsresort.com. Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage features some events worth checking out. At 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, the accomplished rock duo of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo will share The Show stage. Tickets are $55 to $85. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10, from Guns N’ Roses, it’s drummer Steven Adler! Tickets are $20 to $50 to hear Adler perform songs from Appetite for Destruction. It’s a doubledose of comedy at 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, as comedians Ken Jeong and Joel McHale will keep you laughing all night. Tickets are $55 to $150. At 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30, dance the evening away with Spanish-music legends Los Ángeles Azules. Tickets are $65 to $110. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com. At Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, the residencies continue to attract crowds! Desert Blues Revival Wednesdays offer the
“I think that I was working on growing as a player at the same time I was working on growing as a songwriter, so when these playing opportunities came, I just went full on into those—but I was still writing for my own group,” Brislin said. “I had a group called Spiraling for many years, and then eventually did some solo work, and I would always make sure that I kept the burners on for that, even if it wasn’t what I was doing in the forefront. I just would try to embrace what the challenge was for each group, and try to improve as a musician, and grow and get more experience. When it comes to Kansas, both are worlds colliding, and I think what I’m really supposed to be doing is both.”
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“I had been touring with classic-rock bands for over 20 years, and they tended to lean toward the progressive side of things—from the bombast of playing with Meat Loaf to touring with Yes on their symphonic tour,” Brislin said during a recent phone interview. “Through that, I had worked with several progressive-rock bands over the years, including a band called The Sea Within, who happened to be labelmates with Kansas. We performed in Germany at a big prog-rock festival, and the head of our label saw The Sea Within play, and when Kansas had a need for a keyboard player, he thought to recommend me. One day, I got a phone call from Phil Ehart asking me to join Kansas, which I did not expect in a million years—and it’s been pretty great so Brislinfar.”cut his teeth by being a backing musician for various long-time bands, but he was invited to do far more for Kansas when he joined the group in 2018.
“Having my first world tour experience with Meat Loaf definitely cured me of any starstruck attitudes, because there was no time, and there was no room for that,” Brislin said. “You had to show up and be professional. I was 24 years old, and I had been playing locally with my band, but to get in the room and work with such a demanding superstar, it was like, ‘All right, get down to business.’ I’m glad that happened first, because the Yes experience happened after that, and that was a band whose posters I had on the wall when I was a kid; I knew all the interviews, and I knew the albums front to back. Who knows what would have happened if that was the first tour experience?”
Kansas will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, in Indio. Tickets are $39 to $69. For tickets or more information, call 760-3425000, or visit www.fantasyspringsresort.com. most of the other groups that I’ve worked with, so to actually be a creative part of the group and be a part of the band’s story, that was new. I’ve been writing songs as long as I’ve been playing music, so it was especially important to me to have that enticement, so to speak, and that’s been one of my favorite parts of being a part of the group.”
“What made the Kansas situation unique was that they really wanted me to be a member of the band in every capacity, including songwriting,” said Brislin. “That was something that hadn’t been available to me in There’s no denying the legacy of rock band Kansas. Since the mid-’70s, the progressive-rock outfit has produced iconic songs like “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” while touring relentlessly—including a show at Fantasy Springs on Friday, Sept. 9. Kansas’ story is unique—but what’s even more unique is the story of the band’s newest member, Tom Brislin.
The Venue REPORT Il Divo
Tom Brislin, the newest member of Kansas, talks about writing songs with legends
Brislin’s classic-rock resume includes work with many bands and artists that would make many music fans freak out, yet Brislin learned to suppress the urge to “fanboy” pretty quickly.
Brislin said he and his fellow band members took a measured approach to the process.
I asked Brislin if he felt like his solo and songwriting work suffered when he was primarily playing someone else’s parts.
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 35 CV Independent.com Kansas. Emily Butler Photography
ADDING TO A LEGACY
Brislin is credited with writing or co-writing a majority of songs on Kansas’ newest album, 2020’s The Absence of Presence “I was learning this massive show of Kansas music, including all of the Point of Know Return album and a lot of deep cuts,” Brislin said. “When I knew that I had the open invitation to start submitting original music, that Kansas music was swimming around in my brain, so it naturally started to occur that stuff I was creating had a Kansas vibe to it.”
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Spotlight 29 hosts two big shows in September. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 3, funny man Felipe Esparza returns to Coachella for a laugh-filled set. Tickets are $40 to $95. Mexican singer, songwriter and dancer Gloria Trevi, aka “The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop,” will grace the Spotlight stage at 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 22. Tickets are $55 to $205. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com. Morongo has some intriguing music offerings this month. At 9 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16, regional Mexican singer Roberto Tapia is set to perform. Tickets start at $39. Latin group Los Nuevos Rebeldes will take the Morongo stage at 9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets start at $39. At 6 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18, multi-genre Filipino artist Lani Misalucha will perform. Tickets start at $59. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com. Pappy and Harriet’s, per usual, has a full September lineup. At 10:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 3, country artist Jesse Daniel will perform a late-night set indoors. Tickets are $15. The ’90s country/rock band Cracker will keep the Campout tradition alive by performing two shows: at 9:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10. Tickets are $35. At 8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 14, legendary pioneer of the punk scene Patti Flames of Durga Smith and her trio will perform. Tickets are $70. Hard-rockers Flames of Durga are having a vinyl release party at the Pioneertown palace at 9:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Tickets are $15. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-228-2222; www. pappyandharriets.com. The Alibi in Palm Springs features something for everyone! At 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, Brainstory, a group who plays everything from psych rock to jazz, will be performing with local band The Teddys Tickets are $15. Ever wanted to dance the night away to your favorite hits of the 2010s? Look no further than Best Night Ever, a dance party happening at 9 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Early-bird tickets are $15. At 8 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19, witness a mix of soul, gospel, country and rock with The War and Treaty, alongside singer/songwriter opener Teddy Grossman. Tickets are $26. The Alibi Palm Springs, 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-656-1525; thealibipalmsprings.com. The Purple Room’s events return in September! At 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, and Saturday, Sept. 3, catch actress/Broadway star Marilu Henner. Tickets are $55 to $65. Attend a very special evening with Grammy Award-nominee Clint Holmes as he performs the songs of Peter Allen at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Tickets are $35 to $45. At 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, and 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 25, witness special drag performances by “The Greatest Ho on Earth,” Lady Bunny. Tickets are $35 to $45. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; www.purpleroompalmsprings.com.760-322-4422;
Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 888-999-1995; www.sparesortcasino.com.
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The Venue REPORT modern blues-rock of the Bill Grisolia Band (Sept. 7), the groovy Jerrell Ballard Blues Band (Sept. 14), and the glam-punk mix of SugarMill Slim (Sept. 28). Shows are every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $10, available at eventspalmsprings.com/blues. Jazzville Thursdays offer the vintage charm of Stardust Revue (Sept. 1), the jazzy Judy Wexler Quintet (Sept. 8), an evening of gypsy-jazz from Hot Club of Los Angeles (Sept. 15), the swing and big-band sound of the Amanda Castro Band (Sept. 22), and the sounds of Bob DeSena Latin Jazz (Sept. 29). Shows take place at 7 p.m., and tickets start at $10, available at jazzvillepalmsprings. com. At Caliente Comedy, check out Chip Nicholson (Sept. 2), Tommy Savitt (Sept. 9), Keith Ross Nelson (Sept. 16), Chris Strait (Sept. 23) and Jimmy Della Valle (Sept. 30). Shows are every Friday at 8 p.m., and tickets start at $19.99, available at eventspalmsprings.com/caliente-comedy.www.
For more information, visit the Desert Crystal pages on Facebook and YouTube. By matt king
“We started in 2015. I was playing a solo gig, and that’s when I met with my first drummer, and then I contacted a friend who also played in a punk band back in the day. From there, we played shows here and there as Fight Like a Girl. Over the years, there have been changes in the lineup. All the songs are composed by me, but none of the shows have been done without the help of my friends.”
“Right now, I’m just focusing on releasing the album, (with) a few more singles along with music videos,” said Hernandez. “I have these ideas that I just want to make into a reality, and I just want to have fun with it. If anybody wants to play a show, I will try my best to make it happen. Right now, our drummer is Dave Febra, who is in Elektric Lucie; he has been helping us out. I want to keep him on, because he’s a badass drummer, but then again, I don’t want him to overdo it. I want him to enjoy life, too.”
Crystal Hernandez performs on the set of Desert Crystal’s “Wasted Day” music video.
Hernandez made a music-video teaser—and was surprised by the response. “I wasn’t even expecting anyone to share my music-video teaser,” she said. “It may not be much to other bands or artists, but I was surprised that friends and family were actually sharing this shit.”
Hernandez explained what led to her hiatus Crystal Hernandez knows as well as anyone that personal struggles can make it impossible to pursue one’s passion. The punk-rock frontwoman of Desert Crystal (formerly Nein Lives and Fight Like a Girl) wrote a lot of music and played a lot of backyard shows with her band until stopping rather suddenly in 2017. Music recorded years ago went unreleased—until Hernandez announced the
Hernandez is happy about her new outlook on music, and is excited to pick up where she left off. “I have all these songs, and I’ve always played guitar and sang, and I thought maybe I should do something about it,” she said. “I thought maybe somebody out there would enjoy my music.”
After a mental-health break, Crystal Hernandez of Desert Crystal is back with a new single and music video
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“Desert Crystal is formerly known as Nein Lives, which is formerly known as Fight Like a Girl,” Hernandez said. “I liked the name Nein Lives, but my former drummer came up with that band name. I hit him up and said, ‘Hey, I’m planning to finally release the music,’ and I asked if I could keep that name, but I never heard from him. Also, there are other bands out there with that same name, so I just decided to change the name again.
in
MIND OVER MUSIC
“Making the music video was fun; it felt like a fun school project,” said Hernandez. “I hit up Zac Kupcha from Circulation Media, and we talked about the ideas for the video. He was super-easy to work with, and it was just awesome. … The song is really old, so I don’t remember what it’s about. I wrote it at a time when I was hungover, and I was just thinking about things the night before. I was young and dumb and Hernandezhungover.”isalsoa part of punk-band Labia Minora, and has spent time in other projects. I asked how her songwriting differs between endeavors.“I’mnot sure if my experience in other bands helped with my songwriting skills,” Hernandez said. “Some people are natural poets, and they can shit out any song, and it would sound really great. I don’t consider myself one of those people. I could only recall once coming up with a new song where both the music and lyrics came out naturally from the top of my head.”
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“We2017.recorded an album, and we were looking for artwork and looking into how to release music,” she said. “But at the same time, life happens. I was going through a dark time, and I had no motivation to go forward with my music. I felt like, at the time, I didn’t deserve to be in a band. My mental health had to come first, and after a year or two, I knew I had to get at it again. I got tired of having all these ideas for my songs and not doing anything about it, so here I am.”
The “Wasted Day” music video feels like a big party. Hernandez and her friends play through the song while other people dance in-frame. The video also includes shots of Hernandez walking through the streets of Coachella with her guitar. band’s new name and a new single, “Wasted Day.” The accompanying music video will premiere on YouTube on Friday, Sept. 2. During a recent interview, Hernandez explained the band’s various names.
Hernandez is working on re-establishing her live band lineup, but she wants to retain an emphasis on releasing music.
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What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? Smash Mouth. Fush Yu Mang is art. What’s your favorite music venue? 4th Street Vine in Long Beach. What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? “Are you illiterate? You can’t read between the lines?” 50 Cent “Many Men.” What band or artist changed your life? Cleaners From Venus, because Martin Newell is truly DIY OR DIE. You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? I’d ask Bob Dylan, in regards to “Jokerman”: “What compelled you to make a reggae song?” What song would you like played at your funeral? “Beautiful Strangers” by Kevin Morby. Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Brasilian Skies by Masayoshi Takanaka. What song should everyone listen to right now? “LGC 5” by Los Gatitos Chidos.
NAME Angel Ortiz, aka Angeltiz MORE INFO The Coachella Valley is packed tight with talented musicians who have found success online. Angel Ortiz, whose rapper name is Angeltiz, currently has a song on SoundCloud, “Calling My Phone,” with more than 1 million streams; some of his other songs have been streamed tens or even hundreds of thousands of times. He features a lot of Coachella Valley locations and iconography in his many music videos—and he’s accomplished all of this at the young age of 19. For more, visit instagram.com/angeltiz or soundcloud.com/angeltiz.
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NAME Javie Bahama MORE INFO Palm Springs-based indie pop rocker Javie Bahama has been consistently releasing singles, EPs and albums from the time he became a recording artist. His Soundcloud is filled with gems like the dance-y “note to self” (which has more than 1 million streams), the country tale “Sometimes a cowboy needs to ride” and the slow groove of “El Musico.” For more, check out soundcloud.com/javiebahama.
What was the first album you owned? Encore by Eminem. I used to listen to a lot of genres, and still do, but Eminem is what really had me gravitating toward rap and all subgenres of it. What bands are you listening to right now? Collectives such as the Jackson 5, Cigarettes After Sex, A$AP Mob, Neptunes, N.E.R.D, Run-DMC, and a bit of Slipknot. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
There’s definitely music out there that maybe I won’t religiously listen to, but I wouldn’t say I don’t get or understand it. What I do definitely understand is that music as a whole will be nothing without diversity or versatility. I open myself and my mind to all sorts of sounds, because aside from music’s variety of catalogs, every single song is inspired by the mass collective of sounds throughout every genre. It all comes from somewhere else. It works full circle, pretty much. What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? I would love to have lived in a time when seeing the great Michael Jackson perform live was still possible. I believe with the easy access to technology in today’s day in age, there will never be as big of an anticipation to see somebody in the flesh like it used to be before. With the change of the music industry and what is considered a “star” nowadays, we won’t get another anticipated act from a super-talented artist with a career that lasts that long. What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? I enjoy using instrumentals of my favorite songs and singing the songs, bar for bar, acting as if I had come up with such a hit. Sometimes it’s cool to manifest that feeling in your own way, I guess. What’s your favorite music venue? Sahara Tent at Coachella fest. What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? “Thoughts you had penciled ’em in, probably should’ve wrote ’em in pen, and maybe they’ll come to life,” “Come to Life” by Kanye West. What band or artist changed your life? XXXTentacion. When I first decided to pursue music in 2017, that’s an artist I would listen to heavily, and I noticed he sampled a lot of music that had little to nothing to do with rap or hip hop. The sound was more alternative than what I was used to, and I grew attached to it. I was also heavily influenced by the positive and wise influence he set out for his supporters and the willingness to change into a better being.
What was the first concert you attended? Some Aerosmith cover band when I was a little kid. What was the first album you owned? Back in the High Life by Steve Winwood. What bands are you listening to right now? Masayoshi Takanaka, The Brewsters, Bobby Shmurda and Black Marble. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? The big push to play festivals. They’re stinky, crowded and too expensive. What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? Charlie Megira. by matt king
MUSIC
Get to know two young musicians who both have songs with 1 million-plus streams on Soundcloud the
What was the first concert you attended? Coachella fest 2022. I’ve gone to a few shows before, but wouldn’t consider them concerts.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? I would ask Kanye West: “When you had made it out, when you overcame all those sleepless nights, when all the pain finally paid off, how did it feel? How did it feel when it was all said and done?” What song would you like played at your funeral? “All My Friends” by Dermot Kennedy, but only the Lost in the Soft Light Sessions version. Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? 17 by XXXTentacion. What song should everyone listen to right now? I would definitely want to say one of my songs, but I would have to humbly confess that none of the music I have out now is anything compared to what I could be creating, and currently am creating. Everything throughout the years has been trial and error, but I’m putting all my major musical influences at work in my mind for the future of my career in music, which should be right around the corner. I also need to remind myself that I’m only 19, so there’s plenty of time to be able to showcase that. So in the meantime, just listen to any Kanye; Tyler, the Creator; Capital STEEZ; Kendrick; or Frank Ocean song, because that’s the level of greatness I aspire to reach and will eventually reach.
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BahamaJavie Angel Ortiz
SEPTEMBER 2022 COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39 CV Independent.com “Trade Offs”—well, it’s close enough. By Matt Jones Across 1. Pack down firmly 5. Garbage bag size 9. ___ above (slightly 13.better)Hammer on the 14.screenHeeda hypnotist 15. Downton Abbey 16.countessScratches left on the chalkboard by a temporary teacher? 19. Director Guillermo ___ Toro 20. ___-Hulk: Attorney at Law (new Disney+ 21.series)Theme 22.attractionsparkRidingtransit without having to buy a ticket? 27. Yell at some sporting 28.eventsAssistance for a treasure hunter 29. Japanese eel and rice 31.dishForensic scientist Barry (aka The Flash) 34. Tommy Pickles’ younger brother on Rugrats 35. Quick bite 38. Java that works even better in all caps? 42. Actress Collette of The Staircase 43. South Africa-born Strictly Come Dancing celeb Mabuse 44. “Swell!” 45. Spanish newspaper whose name means “The Country” 47. ___ Lingus (carrier based in Dublin) 48. Option for a non-grad 50. Difference between Nasdaq and Euronext? 55. “Blue screen of death” 57.causeMerchandise tracking 58.IDBe obligated 59. “Don’t haggle too much at the flea market” and others? 64. D.C. management? 65. Natural gas add-in (for safety reasons) 66. Reasonableness 67. Lead-in 68.“margarine”toRome’sfifth emperor 69. Window frame Down 1. “___ words have never been spoken” 2. Easy pace 3. Appropriation starter 4. Some high-end brain imaging 5. Pacific Northwestern pole 6. ___ Dhabi (capital of the UAE) 7. “___ me tell you ...” 8. Soapmaker’s need 9. Berry that’s somehow still trendy 10. Separate with rope 11. Steve of Family Matters 12. Cafe cup 13. ___movie (2008 web animation series named for the left-hand home keys) 17. Denny’s rival 18. ’60s TV equine 23. Chef Lagasse 24. Brackish swimmer also called a grindle or a swamp trout 25. The U of SVU 26. 1 on the Mohs scale 30. Blazing 31. Toward the rear of a 32.shipLanguage spoken in Vientiane 33. Hard-hit baseball 36. Card game with diamonds, squiggles, and ovals 37. “Hold it right there!” 39. Scam or sham 40. Ending for meteor or 41.phosphorAllowance of a sarcastic questioner (or a great Wordle score) 46. Fringe benefit 47. Cross in goth culture 48. Day one, informally 49. My Psychedelic Love Story director Morris 51. The Jetsons pet 52. Hospital garb 53. Up to one’s neck (in) 54. Prawn of later Muppets 60.56.featuresBi-cubedProdigalone, so it’s 61.saidLyric poem 62. “What can I do ya 63.___?”Black or Red, for instance © 2022 Matt Jones Find the answers in the “about” section CVIndependent.com!of OPINIONCOMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD
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