Coachella Valley Independent April 2016 by Coachella Valley Independent

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | APRIL 2016

VOL. 4 | NO. 4

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APRIL 2016

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

APRIL 2016

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

Editor/Publisher Jimmy Boegle Assistant Editor Brian Blueskye ART direction Andrew Arthur Advertising Design Betty Jo Boegle Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Victor Barocas, Max Cannon, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Alex Harrington, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Keith Knight, Robin Linn, Marylee Pangman, Erin Peters, Dan Perkins, Sean Planck, Guillermo Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, Christine Soto, Robert Victor

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

COVER DESIGN BY amdrew arthur

The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2016 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors.

I was not having a good day. I’d just dropped off my car at the dealership. I was looking at almost $500 in maintenance and repairs—at a time when my budget didn’t have that $500 to spare. I’d planned on waiting for my car at the dealership, but the service adviser recommended that he call the shuttle to take me home. The work could take a while, he said. I agreed; after all, I had a lot of work I needed to get done. As I sat in the customers’ lounge and waited for the shuttle to arrive, I looked out at the sunny sky and tried, unsuccessfully, to ward off the unpleasant mood that was settling in. My sad feelings were snowballing … stress, money worries, tiredness, etc. I was missing my husband, whose work has taken him to San Francisco—while I remain tied to the Coachella Valley thanks to my business. Worst of all, doubt was setting in. Am I doing the right thing? Is all of this—the long hours, the tight budget, the absence from my husband—worth it? My mental malaise was interrupted by the service adviser’s voice. “Hey, buddy. The shuttle’s here.” I grabbed my computer bag, walked outside and climbed into the van. I was the only passenger. As we pulled onto East Palm Canyon Drive, the driver commented on the amazing weather we’ve been having. “Yeah, it’s gorgeous,” I said. “Too bad I have to spend the day inside working.” “Oh, yeah?” the driver responded. “What kind of work do you do?” “I own a local newspaper, the Coachella Valley Independent.” The driver’s eyes lit up as turned his head to look at me. “Really? I love the Independent! I pick it up all the time at one of the dealers.” He went on to explain that the restaurant-news column was his favorite feature, because he gets news from it that he can find nowhere else. We spent the rest of the short drive chatting about food and restaurant gossip. As the van pulled up to my apartment complex, the driver turned and shook my hand. “It was great to meet you,” he said. “I really appreciate what you do.” The doubt that had been settling in was gone. This is why I do what I do. Thank you very much, Mr. Shuttle Driver. Thanks also to everyone else who offers kind words and constructive criticism regarding the Independent. The comments always seem to come at the perfect time. Really. Welcome to the April 2016 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. As always, thanks for reading. —Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com CVIndependent.com

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APRIL 2016

OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

Meet Jarvis Crawford, Part of the Coachella Valley’s Black History

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

BY ANITA RUFUS

hen it comes to learning about history, the best place to begin is right here at home. The cultural history of this area is reflected in the names of streets honoring celebrity residents like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore, and streets honoring Native American history, like Tahquitz and Arenas. One name not as well-known is Lawrence Crossley, the namesake of Crossley Road. He’s an African American who arrived in Palm Springs from New Orleans in the late 1920s and went on to become a successful and influential developer and businessman. Far too many local residents don’t even know there is a long-standing and thriving black community here, nor do they know about the shameful circumstances that led to that community being located where it is, at the north end of Palm Springs. The history of Palm Springs includes the disgraceful episode in the early 1960s when residents, many African American, had their homes (shacks, really) bulldozed for an urban-renewal program. In many cases, residents were not even notified before they returned from work and found everything they owned had been destroyed. Many of those displaced residents eventually relocated into a community of homes developed under the leadership of Crossley—and that is still where many black

Jarvis Crawford CVIndependent.com

residents of Palm Springs call home. Palm Springs after World War II was effectively a segregated city. Land had been previously allocated to the Agua Caliente and the railroad, in a checkerboard pattern of sections. The working-class residents lived on Section 14, many in shacks made of cardboard and tin. When the Agua Caliente, who technically owned the land, were finally legally able to offer 99-year leases on some of the land, the leaders of Palm Springs—many of whom had been appointed as conservators of the Agua Caliente, supposedly to protect the tribal members from being ripped off, but often corrupt and pocketing money that should have gone to tribe members—wanted

to get rid of the low-income residents to develop that land. The city declared leases invalid and “evicted” residents in 1962, most without any notice, “which the state of California later characterized as a ‘cityengineered holocaust,’” according to a 2012 KCET report. Jarvis Crawford, 40, is community center manager for the city of Palm Springs at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center. His family has been in the area for generations, and he is a graduate of Palm Springs High School. He and his wife are raising their two children here. Crawford remembers his own family’s connection to Crossley. “He started as chauffeur to Prescott Stevens, the family name that graces the Francis Stevens Park in Palm Springs,” says Crawford. “But Crossley went on to be an investor in the old El Mirador Hotel, designed the city’s first golf course, managed the Whitewater Mutual Water Company and pioneered irrigation techniques, and eventually owned trailer parks, a restaurant, a laundromat and other businesses. “My great-grandfather knew Crossley, and my grandmother lived in a Crossley home after blacks and others were forcibly pushed off the Section 14 land that is now the heart of downtown. Some of the uprooted residents created new black neighborhoods in Banning, others in Indio, but Crossley basically said, ‘I have some land, and you can come over here.’ He gave people another chance at living in Palm Springs.” Crawford is on the city’s Black History Committee, which, together with the Unity Center (“the Mecca of the black community,” he says), sponsors many events and activities designed to support residents from Banning to Indio—exercise classes and computer training for seniors, youth programs and sporting events, and Black History Month events. “I went to Oklahoma to attend a historical black college, Langston University, and had the chance to learn there was a huge gap in what I really knew about black history,” Crawford says. “I wanted an in-depth knowledge of the truth. I wanted to learn more about me.” Crawford worked at the Unity Center when he was on school breaks. “I studied computer

science and business management, and James Jessie (a local activist for whom the center is named) influenced me to also focus on the leisure industry and physical education. He suggested I come back after I graduated and take time to get myself together,” he says. “He helped me get a job with the Palm Springs Parks and Recreation Department.” But Crawford’s decision to stay in Palm Springs is probably directly attributable to James Jessie’s death during a camping trip to the Colorado River. “We had what we called ‘Fishing With James,’ where we took kids from the community out to the Colorado River,” recalls Crawford. “On one trip, one of the kids slipped into the water. James jumped in and saved that kid’s life. I could see the kid sitting and shivering on the shore at the other side of the water, and heard him yell, ‘He hasn’t come up yet!’ I swam across to comfort the young boy while the other kids gathered in horror at what had happened. “After the EMTs pulled James out, they were getting ready to pull out a black bag, and I asked them to just carry him out to the ambulance. I wanted to stop the kids’ fear and pain. I felt I had to take care of the situation. “On the whole ride home from Blythe back to Palm Springs, complete with a police escort, I was talking to the kids. ‘Is he dead?’ one finally asked. I couldn’t say yes. The most I could do was answer, ‘Uncle James has a new life.’ “I had intended to head to Northern California to work in the computer industry, but that trip to the river is what got me to stay and work with the city. This is my community. I was one of those kids at one time.” Jarvis Crawford not only works with the community through the center’s programs; he also gives presentations to local organizations influencing others to discover and embrace the cultural heritage of our area, and doing what he can to fill in the gaps about our own black history here at home. It’s a good place to start. Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal,” and her radio show airs Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on KNews Radio 94.3 FM. Email her at Anita@LovableLiberal.com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5

APRIL 2016

OPINION

THE POTTED DESERT GARDEN

Use Pots and Plants to Divide Your Outdoor Spaces Into Separate ‘Rooms’

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

BY MARYLEE PANGMAN

ave you ever looked at a picture of a stunning garden and wished you could have someone create it in your home … right now? Living in the desert, we do have some limitations regarding what we can achieve, but not so many that we should stop trying to create lovely gardens for ourselves. For both newcomers and experienced desert gardeners, it sometimes pays to begin with a few new pots—and a little success will give you the confidence and motivation to go for more. One way to achieve an enjoyable container-garden landscape at your home is to think in terms of small spaces. Divide your property into separate areas based on the following: • Home entries (front door, front gate, front courtyard) • Other doorways, gates and sliding doors • Back patio • Pool area • Shade structures • Shady areas (under/around trees) • Bordering walls • Key viewpoints from inside your home, where you look out • Viewpoints from your most-used sitting areas • Your favorite sitting area outside • The path you use the most in moving from one side of your home to another outside After looking at this list, I may have your mind spinning: You see so many places where you would love to do something different, and you don’t know where to begin! Well, take a moment and unwind as you finish reading this column. In fact, take the paper outside, and enjoy your coffee or tea as you proceed with these garden ideas. Patio Makeovers Go out onto your patio, and sit down in your favorite spot. Don’t have a chair? Find something you can put there on which

to rest for a while, and just look around. Give yourself some time to breathe in your surroundings. Think about how the sun moves. Think about what you see as you slowly turn your head. Think about how your patio could include various different sitting areas; imagine areas with different functions. You might want a dining area, a conversationseating area and a quiet sitting spot just for you. Some of our homes have long, running patios that span the width of the house. The patio roof serves as a shade for our windows— and that provides us with another area we can utilize for our long outdoor seasons. I have often heard homeowners express their frustration over this type of patio, referring to it as a bowling alley! Well, you can divide your patio into the areas you were just dreaming about a moment ago—using your furnishings and pots to do so! Think of drawing imaginary “walls” for each area, and consider placing a pot in each corner of those adjoining walls. Once planted, perhaps with large leafy plants, your mind will understand that this is actually a divider, and will be happy to come into the “room” for whatever purpose you have in mind.

Consider a Bench A bench is an easy accessory to add to a front entry, a back patio or any sitting area of your property. In fact, adding a bench is a simple solution for many vacant spots around your home. You may have one under a big tree, along an empty wall or at your front door. I always think a bench is a message to your guests that you want them to come to your home and rest a while. It is also a very convenient place for your delivery driver to leave your packages. However, a bench on its own is … well, just a bench. By adding a couple of striking plantings, at one or both ends (as shown below), it becomes an inviting vignette—to experience both as a seat and as living art. Soften a Patio Corner Patio floors are made up of what we refer to as “hardscape materials”: Concrete, tile and flagstone are all hard materials and typically create a floor with square corners. Well, you can always use pots to soften or break up those rigid shapes and surfaces! You can place a single yet sizeable pot at the corner or add a grouping of three pots. We use the same odd-numbered design philosophy— the rule of three—when it comes to pots as we do in our interior decorating. You can replace one of the three with an art piece or statue. (I hate calling animal statues or gnomes “art”!) You can even use a post that might be part of the corner roof structure as one of the three.

Just be sure you put the pots up on toes, stands or something else to get the drainage hole above the patio floor. If you use saucers, you’ll still need to raise the pot above the plate. You can also use small tiles or pieces of flagstone. The reason for this is to get air circulating under the pot and an additional source of oxygen into the soil. For desert areas where the water is alkaline or salty, raising the pot means it is not sitting in the water and reabsorbing the salts back up into the root zone. For more on container gardens for your home, sign up for my free e-newsletter, Potted View at www.potteddesert.com/m. Your April To-Do List 1. Watch for spring winds, and secure loose garden items. Water your pots well to add weight and protect them from toppling. 2. Monitor irrigation and watering as heat rises and winds dry out plants. 3. Plant summer flowers late in the month. 4. Continue to harvest veggies and herbs in the morning. Marylee Pangman is the founder and former owner of The Contained Gardener in Tucson, Ariz. She has become known as the desert’s potted garden expert. Marylee’s book, Getting Potted in the Desert, is now available. Buy it online at potteddesert.com. Email her with comments and questions atmarylee@potteddesert.com. Follow the Potted Desert at facebook.com/potteddesert.

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APRIL 2016

OPINION

ASK A MEXICAN!

Why Does Nobody Refer to Themselves as ‘Chicano’ Anymore? WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

BY GUSTAVO ARELLANO DEAR MEXICAN: A friend of mine says nobody calls themselves Chicanos anymore—que dice, Mexican? ¿Cierto? Is it just a term for us old-timers, like hippies or beatniks? Saludotes de Tulsa Town DEAR POCHA: I’ve always maintained that one learns they’re Chicano—usually in Chicano studies-classes, where the term is placed in its proper historical context. And the fact is that “Chicano” as an identity was endangered by the 1980s, under assault from the right by vendidos who preferred “Hispanic,” and by Mexican immigrants who taught their children they were mexicanos, not pocho-ass Chicanos. But then the 1990s happened, and the many anti-immigrant laws passed around the country galvanized a new generation of activists who looked back to the Chicano movement of the 1960s for inspiration. Then the 2000s happened, and the mega-antiimmigration laws of that decade brought more children of Mexican immigrants into the Chicano fold, with some calling themselves “Xicanos” as a chinga tu madre against the Castilian imperialism inherent in “ch.” In this decade? The super-mega-antiimmigrant rhetoric spewed by the likes of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and others is so nasty that an even newer identity is emerging: Xicanx. Chicano identity has a far brighter future than the Republican Party—and so do Chicano grammarians … DEAR MEXICAN: As one of a small number of white American soccer fans, I’d like to know: Why won’t cable providers sell channels showing south-of-the-border sports to bars? A proprietor of a soccer-oriented sports bar in my area said it was because cable providers feared that Mexicans wouldn’t subscribe, and would choose instead to crowd into bars and watch without buying drinks. Is this really the reason? If so, is it because they’re being realistic or racist? Fútbol Fan DEAR GABACHO: There’s a saying in Mexico: If it’s on television somewhere in the world, there’s a primo who knows the Filipino website CVIndependent.com

where you can stream it. DEAR MEXICAN: I am a second-generation Mexican who works as an erotic dancer in various nightclubs up and down the West Coast. In my work, I’ve noticed that black clients treat their black “sister” dancers well by tipping them larger amounts and buying them drinks and giving favors. The same goes for any of the other ethnic groups. But as a mexicana, I get the short end of the stick when it comes to ethnic favoritism. Why? My Mexican counterparts—be they immigrants looking for a night of fun, or the millionaire owner of a chain restaurant—don’t give me a cent. They treat me badly, asking for blowjobs or “escort service” (aka prostitution). Then they proceed to go to my gabacha co-workers and blow $100 on a lap dance while I am left hanging. Is it so hard to blow a few extra bucks on a fellow Mexican working hard at being sexy? It’s getting to the point that I won’t admit my heritage, because, to simply put it, I am treated poorly when they find out that I’m Chicana.¿Por que? Sexy Mexican on Five-Inch Stilettos DEAR POCHA: Easy answer: the Madonnawhore complex. They’re so disgusted by seeing a Mexican woman as a stripper that if you won’t conform to their butt-slut archetype, they simply won’t acknowledge you. My advice? Tell them you’re Persian—or, better yet, knee them in the huevos and let the club’s Samoan bodyguard show that cheap wab who’s the real chavala. Catch the Mexican every Wednesday at CVIndependent.com. Ask the Mexican at themexican@askamexican.net; be his fan on Facebook; follow him on Twitter @ gustavoarellano; or follow him on Instagram @ gustavo_arellano!

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

APRIL 2016

OPINION

INCLUSION IS IMPERATIVE

President Obama’s Creation of Three New National Monuments Is Fantastic—but There Is Now a Lot of Work to Do

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

BY MATI JATOVSKY

alifornia’s Mojave and Colorado Deserts, along with the neighboring San Bernardino Mountains, recently became home to three new national monuments—Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow—thanks to President Barack Obama’s use of the Antiquities Act. Together, these new monuments protect 1.8 million acres of desert and mountains. These new monuments will help preserve the ecological integrity of a region under tremendous pressure from two of the country’s fastest-growing urban regions, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. By connecting existing protected areas, plants and animals will have a better chance to move to cooler and wetter climates as our deserts become hotter and drier due to climate change. These new monuments will help to ensure that California’s magnificent deserts and neighboring mountains are healthy and whole for years to come. The monuments also protect a region that’s brimming with stories of the diverse people who’ve made their homes here. Castle Mountains provides an important buffer between an old gold-mining site and the Mojave National Preserve. Prospectors first flocked to the Castles in 1908. The boomtown of Hart grew from nothing to 1,500 people in just a few months. Today, the site is barely perceptible: One can find just a chimney, tin cans and memories. When Interstate 40 was completed in 1973, the busy roadside services of U.S. Highway 66 in Mojave Trails disappeared overnight. Proprietors simply walked away from their cafés, service stations and motels. Now these remnants of history are slowly turning to dust, even as this lonely stretch of the “Mother Road” attracts tourists from all over the world. Black Lava Butte and Flat Top Mesa in Sand to Snow host village sites that are thousands of years old. Numerous petroglyphs, pictographs and grinding stones found there offer a glimpse into the life of Native Americans before contact with the Spanish. However, the creation of these new national monuments is just the beginning. As communities across the desert rightfully celebrate the designation of these monuments, the exciting work of making them more than lines on a map begins. Local elected officials, business leaders, tribes, recreational interests, conservation organizations and others should join together to ensure that adjacent communities such as Barstow, Needles, Morongo Valley and Desert Hot Springs, along with tribes such as the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the Fort Mojave tribe, receive the full economic, educational and recreational benefits of the newly protected public lands. Advocates for the new monuments have long highlighted the economic benefits that

conservation would provide, and there are numerous studies to support this. However, without proper signage, well-marked trailheads, adequate parking areas, strategically located front-country campgrounds and good maps, it will be difficult to attract visitors. To realize true economic benefits, it will take infrastructure improvements, marketing and personnel. There must be a significant financial investment, through a public-private partnership. The Bureau of Land Management, in particular, is going to need an official partner to raise funds for things like the construction of visitor centers, campgrounds, wayside exhibits and signs, as well as the less-exciting, but no-less-important expenses, including operating costs and funding for education and interpretive programs. This new partner organization could work with groups that have existing relationships with the BLM and the Forest Service, like the Mojave Desert Land Trust and The Wildlands Conservancy, in three areas: education, stewardship and recreation. Local schoolchildren need educational resources, and there should be interpretive programs for visitors and locals alike. Stewardship programs can connect people to their public lands, help to build and maintain infrastructure, restore damaged ecosystems, and advance knowledge through citizen-science projects. Finally, we must ensure that the multiple recreational activities permitted in these monuments are carried out responsibly, without damage to natural habitat and in respect of the sacred sites of local tribes, through programs that teach and promote responsible use of our shared natural resources. Diversity is increasing in the desert, just as it is across the nation, but California’s deserts have always been diverse. Of course, Native Americans have been here for thousands of years. Even in small, isolated railroad and mining towns, residents came from remarkably diverse backgrounds. For example, during

The new Sand to Snow National Monument is adjacent to Desert Hot Springs. MATI JATOVSKY

Amboy’s heyday in the 1930s and ’40s, along Route 66 in Mojave Trails, a Greek and a Chinese immigrant each owned and operated a café, motel, gas station and garage. Hopi and Navajo railroad workers lived in town and maintained the line. Mexican Americans made up the majority of students in the Amboy School. (To learn more about the history of the Mojave Desert’s mining and railroad communities check out Joe de Kehoe’s book The Silence and the Sun.) Ensuring that we draw Southern California’s kaleidoscope of races and cultures to enjoy these new monuments is no simple task. It will require having a workforce that reflects diversity, and the creation of an environment for visitors where cultural differences are honored and embraced. To get there, we’ll need conservation leaders who reflect our diverse communities. Fortunately, there are numerous examples of training programs that draw participants from diverse and often underserved communities throughout the Southland. One example is the San Gabriel Mountains Forever’s Leadership Academy, a rigorous program that’s training a new generation of conservation advocates who better reflect the makeup of our nation. If we want visitors to these new monuments to be as diverse as the communities near them, we have to roll out a multicultural welcome mat. We will have to address issues of access. There must be adequate and affordable transportation and a welcoming environment, including bilingual interpreters, campgrounds that can handle multi-generational visitors, bilingual signage and information, and genderneutral restrooms to serve both families and the transgender community. Partnering with organizations like Outward Bound Adventures

and the Sierra Club’s My Generation Campaign, both of whom are already working in the Coachella Valley, could help break down barriers, economic and cultural, to greater visitation by people of color. The secretary of the interior, whose department includes the BLM and National Park Service, agrees. Secretary Sally Jewell recently signed an order in honor of the memory of Doug Walker (a long-serving member of The Wilderness Society’s governing council) that will increase access to public lands by youth and young adults who are “disadvantaged and under-resourced.” Finally, it all has to start by reaching out to diverse communities to ensure that there is maximum participation in the creation of the general management plans that will guide the three new national monuments. We also must include diverse user-groups: Equestrians, off-highway-vehicle users, hunters and conservationists all have interests that must be addressed. Sooner rather than later, listening sessions should be organized throughout the desert and mountain area—something both the BLM and U.S. Forest Service have expressed their determination to do. All of this will take years to accomplish. However, I’m hopeful that when the first anniversary of these new monuments is marked in February 2017, all stakeholders will see that significant progress has been made. I’m also sure the future of these monuments will be inclusive, reflecting the very best tendencies of Southern California and the nation. Mati Jatovsky is the California desert representative for The Wilderness Society and a former park ranger interpreter. He lives in Joshua Tree. CVIndependent.com

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APRIL 2016

NEWS

COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM DHS!

The Goal of Radio Station KDHS: Build Community and Foster Change in the Oft-Troubled City

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

BY BRIAN BLUESKYE

he city of Desert Hot Springs has a reputation problem. KDHS FM 98.9 hopes to be part of the solution. The low-frequency, all-volunteer radio station is starting to garner attention thanks to community-outreach efforts being made by Michelle Ann Rizzio, who is currently running the station. She said her father started the station as a hobby back in 2006. “I went off to college in 2009 at the University of San Francisco and immediately got involved with KUSF,” she said. “When I came back most recently, in September 2014, my dad was still operating his radio station, and still had it as a closed thing and a lot more hobby-oriented. He was getting open to ideas for having local shows and volunteers to get a little bit more of a formal radio station. I thought, ‘This is what I did in college, and I would love to get involved down here.’ He said, ‘Ok, take it over!’ “In December 2014, I started working toward revamping it and getting it branded for being an outlet for the community. Since then, I’ve been building our brand, throwing events and

CVIndependent.com

getting volunteers.” Rizzio described the current format of KDHS as “free form.” “It has in the past been a lot more alternative, reggae and metal,” she said. “In the past few months, it’s been transitioning more toward the community, and we’ve been having

music meetings every week in Desert Hot Springs. There will be a handful of volunteers each time, and we’ll vote on vinyl records as well as MP3s and local bands. It’s definitely free-form.” KDHS currently has no paid staff members. Rizzio said she is currently in the process of getting KDHS registered as a nonprofit, and she has hopes for the station to get a public space. It’s currently operated out of a studio at her family’s home in Desert Hot Springs. “We’ve opened up our studio to volunteers and are really working to build,” Rizzio said. “I really want to get a public production space in Desert Hot Springs. I’ve been talking about it for the past seven months, and we recently just had some construction done on our private studio. It’s able to get the job done at this time, and we’re able to produce high-quality productions and put them on the air, and do trainings and one-on-ones with the DJs and volunteers, but it does have limitations. There are time limitations, and (we) can only seat one person at the computer. I want to have more spaces for the DJs to work at and have a larger facility so this can all take place.” Running a local all-volunteer radio station is not without challenges, of course. “As far as interacting with the community goes, I haven’t had any issue with that,” Rizzio said. “I have a lot of people who support us and a lot of people who want to get involved. I think the biggest thing has been getting our production tight and making sure everybody knows their expectations and what a volunteer radio station entails. For a lot of our volunteers, community radio, radio, production work and all that stuff is brand-new to them. It’s also about focusing and keeping my eye on the prize, which is getting a public production space. “There are so many opportunities that come my way, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing!’ But then I have to remind myself to focus and build the word, continue to fundraise and train volunteers. It’s just me, and I’m training everybody and trying to build a team that can train other volunteers.” Another issue is the station’s signal. “We’re currently working on raising our antenna so we can be heard clearly all throughout Desert Hot Springs,” Rizzio said. “Right now you can’t hear us in certain areas

like Mission Lakes. Once we get that a little higher, we should be able to be heard toward Ramon (Road) and Vista Chino, and hopefully to Morongo. I know that some people have complained about some static on the radio station, but there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to raising the antenna, especially with the wind out here.” To get the word out, KDHS has started producing various events, including a recent benefit show for the station at Playoffs Sports Bar that featured Monreaux, The Hive Minds, The CMFs and Higher Heights—bringing some of the valley’s top local bands to DHS. In other words, being part of the solution. “With how much marginalization that goes on in Desert Hot Springs and all the communities built around the void in this city, radio can create radical social change, and help with social justice issues as well,” Rizzio said. “I grew up in Desert Hot Springs, so I’m very well aware of our reputation throughout the years and how we currently are. I think a radio station could serve the community quite well.” For more information, visit www.kdhsfm.com.

KDHS volunteers sort through materials at a meeting.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

APRIL 2016

NEWS

THE MARCH TO EQUALITY

A New Online LGBT Movement Has Coachella Valley Roots

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

BY JIMMY BOEGLE

admit that when I first heard about Stephan Anspichler’s March to Equality project, I didn’t quite get it. The March to Equality is billed as “the most expansive march in history supporting LGBT equality,” and consists of people from around the world uploading their “steps”— pictures of feet, videos of “journeys” or evidence of actual marches—via social media (using the #marchtoequality hashtag) and Marchtoequality.org. The goal: To gather 2.5 million steps—if not many, many more—by the 50th anniversary of Stonewall riots on June 28, 2019. As of this writing, Marchtoequality.org reports that 1,017,000-plus steps have been made. While the March to Equality boasts an impressive slate of “global ambassadors” such as former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean and actor Alan Cumming, there’s no fundraising aspect—and no other discernable point, other than to “support full LGBT equality.” However, when I recently chatted with Anspichler—a film and TV producer who now lives in Palm Springs part-time—he helped me finally get what the March to Equality is about. It’s all about storytelling.

Stephan Anspichler: “The Coachella Valley is one of the most interesting places to actually talk about such a project, because … the LGBT community is like nowhere else.” COURTESY OF STEPHAN ANSPICHLER

“We knew that we would celebrate Stonewall and the 50th anniversary,” Anspichler said. “We wanted to find the right way to tell the story.” Anspichler said he’s always been drawn to different forms of storytelling, so it was not a stretch when he and his colleagues decided to tell the story of the fight for equality via the Internet and social media. “For me, it was pretty much the same as doing a movie, but the medium being used is just different,” he said. “It was a really amazing experience to see that it is possible to tell such a story in a much different way.” March to Equality kicked off during the United Nations’ 70th General Assembly in September 2015. “We wanted to really build awareness for all those world leaders who were gathering at the United Nations and tell them, ‘Hey, we are here, and here is this movement,’” Anspichler said. As one example of the type of stories he wants to see from the March to Equality, Anspichler cited the fact that many people— including a large number of Americans—don’t yet have equality in the workplace. “We want to engage people to tell us and to show us (what it’s like to be) LGBT in the workplace. We want to start conversations online,” he said. “We want to really strengthen awareness—through social media and with the people who are already marching with us—that there is a force against (workplace discrimination). Anspichler made a home in the Coachella Valley last summer for personal reasons, he said, but he soon learned that the Palm Springs area was also a great place for his work on the March for Equality. “The Coachella Valley is one of the most

interesting places to actually talk about such a project, because … the LGBT community is like nowhere else,” he said. “It’s a very warm and friendly atmosphere. The acceptance level here is amazingly high compared to other places. People immediately understood.” Anspichler said that as the 50th anniversary of Stonewall draws closer, he hopes the March to Equality will also include highprofile events—a concert, for example. But in the meantime, he wants people to keep contributing steps and telling their stories. “We have a very major goal: By June 2019, we want to have circled the globe entirely in footsteps,” he said. “With all the different struggles that we have around the globe in regard to LGBT-related topics … my biggest hope and wish is that other people in other

countries learn from what has happened in the United States, and that this movement would actually be accessible in other countries.” I asked Anspichler what he’d tell locals to encourage them to participate in the March to Equality. “I would tell them to be proud of the community in the Coachella Valley, because there’s nothing like it … in regards to acceptance and how people are being treated by each other,” he said. “The Coachella Valley should be proud of that and show it to the world as an example of how the world could be a better place.” For more information or to participate, visit marchtoequality.org.

CVIndependent.com

10 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2016

NEWS

A MATTER OF MIND WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

by kevin fitzgerald

ith the trauma of the Dec. 2, 2015, mass shooting in nearby San Bernardino fresh in their minds, Simon Moore—the lead adviser of the Coachella Valley High School Health Academy and Health Occupation Students of America—and his students began planning a community-outreach program. Kimberly Bravo, a senior at the Thermal high school and the captain of the CVHS HOSA community awareness team, noted in a news release announcing the forum that mass shootings have taken countless innocent lives. “Later, we find out that the people committing these shootings suffer (or suffered) from various types of mental health issues. The question we ask ourselves is, ‘Why didn’t anyone hear these individuals’ cries for help?’” she said. At the Feb. 18 forum, Bravo, her fellow students and the members of the public who attended learned that the premise of the forum was flawed: Most people who carry out mass shootings aren’t mentally ill. “Not all of these shootings are based on mental illness,” said Desert Hot Springs Chief of Police Dale Mondary, one of the panel participants, who worked in San Bernardino before taking his newish job in the desert. “I’d say the majority probably are not. It could be political causes, or religious ideology or some sort of family-relationship issue.” The fairly well-attended forum attracted a distinguished group of prominent local and national professionals and politicians, all with their own perspectives on the theme. “Everyone who we invited showed up—and, I mean, that’s just amazing,” Moore said after the forum. “We asked Dale Mondary, the chief of police from Desert Hot Springs, because he’s a new guy to the area who came from San Bernardino. State Representative Chad Mayes, who is a Republican, just showed up

and said, ‘Let’s talk.’ And we’re not even in his district. Also we got Supervisory Special Agent Colin Schmitt from the FBI (who was lead incident commander during the command post operation investigating the San Bernardino shootings). And given the acclaim that attendee Dr. James Fox receives among law enforcement as a profiler in the U.S., it was really cool to get him.” Fox, a professor and interim director at the School of Criminology at Northeastern University who has appeared on numerous television shows, writes a regular column in USA Today and has been called on for his expert opinions by the U.S. Congress, several attorneys general, President Bill Clinton and Princess Anne of Great Britain, among others. The panel covered numerous topics over the course of the discussion, which lasted more than 90 minutes—and the hard link between mental illness and mass shootings was not the only myth debunked at the forum. “There’s one tiny flaw in all the theories as to why there’s been an increase in mass shootings in the United States, and that is

Local High Schoolers Hold a Forum on the Link Between Mental Illness and Mass Shootings— and Learn There’s a Flaw in Their Premise

the fact that there has not been an increase in mass shootings over the past several decades,” Fox said. “Now, I don’t mean to minimize the pain and suffering of all those who have been victimized in these attacks. But the facts say clearly that there has been no epidemic.” He offered an array of statistics to support this stance. That position not withstanding, student co-moderator Sergio Ortega asked, “With the growing number of mass shootings in public spaces, what do you think is the root cause of these incidents?” “In the cases of shootings in public places which are the rarest, maybe five or six a year,” Fox said, “they are the ones where mental illness is most likely to emerge. These individuals have a paranoid sense that the whole world is evil or the government is corrupt, and they really don’t care who they kill as long as they kill as many people as possible.” Schmitt mentioned that shooters often put a lot of thought into where they make their attack. “Between 2000 and 2013, there were 160 active-shooter instances, and 46 percent of them took place in areas that were open to pedestrian traffic. Obviously, it’s unlikely that we’d have an incident like this at an FBI building which is full of armed agents. If somebody is looking to kill lots of people, they are going to go somewhere where there is not a lot of law enforcement.” After the forum, we asked Moore if he was surprised by the expert opinions that seemed to undermine the basic premise behind the forum.

DHS Police Chief Dale Mondary: “Not all of these shootings are based on mental illness. I’d say the majority probably are not. It could be political causes, or religious ideology or some sort of familyrelationship issue.” KEVIN FITZGERALD

“No. They knew the discussion was about violence in relation to mental health,” he said. “Dr. Fox’s finding is that most of those shooters are not mentally ill. He told us that among people who commit mass shootings, less than 12 percent have had mental-health issues. And Chief Mondary has a specialty of combating crime rather than profiling. I think it was great that they both spoke from their experience with the public.” So what’s next for the students who were involved in this public-awareness exercise? “Now it’s time to get the word out,” Moore stated. “When we had a debriefing with the student organizers, I asked if most people who carry out mass shootings have mental health issues, and everyone in the room said, ‘No.’”

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11

APRIL 2016

NEWS

A REAL KICK! The Growing Sport of FootGolf Finds a Home in Palm Springs

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

BY BRANE JEVRIC

magine legendary U.S. soccer stars Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy kicking around a soccer ball here in the Coachella Valley—on a golf course. No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. Welcome to the fast-growing sport called FootGolf, a combination between soccer and golf, that’s getting lots of attention, nationally and internationally, across all generations and genders. Wambach and Foudy, both retired U.S. National Team soccer players, each with two Olympic gold medals to their credit, were slated to participate along with LPGA golf stars in an exhibition match against Japan on Tuesday, March 29, at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, as part of the ANA Inspiration women’s golf tournament (formerly known as the Dinah Shore). In fact, the headquarters of the American FootGolf League (AFGL) is here in Palm Springs. “Coachella Valley is the U.S. golf capital; hence the AFGL was established here (in) 2011,” said Roberto Balestrini, the founder of the AFGL. The AFGL is the national governing body for the sport and a member of the Federation for International FootGolf. Balestrini said anybody can play the sport regardless of age and skill. “The game is played with a regulation No. 5 soccer ball at a golf-course facility on shortened holes with 21-inch diameter cups located yards away from golf greens,” Balestrini said. The point is to reach the cups with as few kicks as possible. FootGolf can be played on nine holes for about an hour, or 18 holes for about two hours. The sport itself does not require expensive gear and equipment. “All you need is golf attire, a soccer ball and shoes with no cleats,” Balestrini said. According to Balestrini, the game is on the rise in large part because youth are discovering the sport and coming out to play it. It’s also helping the revenues of some golf courses. Locally, FootGolf can be played at Desert Willows Golf Resort in Palm Desert, at The Lights in Indio, the Golf Center of Palm Desert and the Cathedral Canyon Golf Club in Cathedral City. “The AFGL has a partnership with the National Golf Course Owners Association and works very closely with the entire golf industry since it is (the sport’s foundation),” Balestrini said. There are 125 golf courses in Coachella Valley, so there’s a lot of potential for this new sport to grow. “The beauty about FootGolf is that it can

be as fun or as competitive as you want,” Balestrini said. For more information, visit www.afgl.us.

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American FootGolf League founder Roberto Balestrini: “The beauty about FootGolf is that it can be as fun or as competitive as you want.” CVIndependent.com

12 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2016

Harvey

MILK

Diversity Breakfast

Coachella Valley

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016 | 9:30AM - 11AM | PS CONVENTION CENTER Honoring

Keynote Speaker

Senator Mark Leno

Dolores Huerta

with the Harvey B. Milk Leadership Award

Acclaimed Civil Rights Activist

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13

APRIL 2016

NEWS

APRIL ASTRONOMY

Planets and Now BrightIs Stars Evening Mid-Twilight the in Time to Break Out the For April, 2016

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

Telescope and See Some Planets Up Close

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

April's evening sky chart. ROBERT D. MILLER

By Robert Victor

upiter and Sirius—until it departs—continue to dominate the evening sky in April. This year’s best evening appearance of Mercury in mid-April precedes its transit across the sun on May 9. Meanwhile, Mars brightens on its way to next month’s closest approach since 2005. The Mars-Saturn-Antares triangle, prominent in the morning, can also be seen rising very late in evening. Don’t miss this spring’s offerings to get close-up telescopic views of some planets! First, some dates to keep in mind: April 7: The new moon occurs at 4:24 a.m., and the moon is at perigee at 11 a.m. Large tides! April 8: The young crescent moon, age 39 hours, is easy to see in twilight. Look for Mercury to the moon’s lower right. April 10: The moon occults Aldebaran in daytime; look at it with a telescope. In the evening, find this star and the Hyades cluster closely to the lower right of the moon, a spectacular sight for binoculars! April 12: Spica is at opposition, visible all night. April 13: The moon is at first quarter, halffull in the afternoon and evening sky. Today and for a day or two before and after, install a single polarizing filter in your telescope’s low-power eyepiece, and rotate the eyepiece to darken the sky and improve the contrast of the moon against the blue daytime sky. April 16-23: Before dawn, Mars and Saturn reach their minimum distance apart, 7.2 degrees. Stopping short a few degrees north-northwest of Antares, Mars begins to retrograde on April 17. The red planet will move nearly 16 degrees west by June 29. April 17: The moon is near bright Jupiter at dusk. On April 17 and 18, Mercury stands near greatest elongation, reaching its greatest altitude at dusk for 2016, but it begins to fade rapidly later this week. April 20, 21: The moon is near Spica most of night. The full moon occurs on April 21 at 10:24 p.m. April 24, 25: From four hours after sunset until dawn, view a spectacular gathering of the moon, Mars, Saturn and Antares. A graph of the rising and setting times of the planets for Palm Springs may be viewed with this piece at CVIndependent.com In mid-April at dusk, Jupiter shines bright and steady well up in southeast, while next in brilliance, the blue-white “Dog Star” Sirius twinkles in the southwest. Catch Mercury before it reaches its high point low in the

west-northwest April 17 and 18; it will still outshine golden Arcturus in the eastnortheast to east. This innermost planet of our solar system passes greatest elongation on those dates, when it appears farthest from the sun, 20 degrees this time around. Mercury will get farther from the sun on other occasions this year, but this time, the planet is almost directly above the sun, which is 9 degrees below the horizon at the time of our evening chart. This arrangement results in the best apparition of Mercury in the evening sky this year. But don’t wait! As it circles the sun and comes around to the near side of its orbit, Mercury shows less of its sunlit side. Moreover, features large and small on its rough, rocky surface cast shadows, causing the planet to fade rapidly after greatest elongation. Mercury shines at magnitude -1 on April 7-8 and magnitude 0 on April 17, before fading to +1 on April 22-23, and +2 on April 27. If proper equipment is used and precautions are taken to avoid eye damage, you will be able to observe Mercury in silhouette against the disk of the sun on Monday morning, May 9. More on this transit next month. After Mercury fades away into the bright western twilight in late April, there are still several bright stars remaining in the western sky. Each evening within an hour after sunset, keep track of the stars Rigel, Aldebaran, Sirius and Betelgeuse. By late in May, they’ll all be gone. In April and early May, you can stay up late into the evening to view the pretty triangle of Mars-Saturn-Antares. On the night of April 24, four hours after sunset, see this triangle below and to the lower right of the waning gibbous moon, while Jupiter shines high in the southwest. On April 25, at the same late

Arcturus

Mercury

22 15

Capella

Pollux 1 Spica

Aldebaran

Regulus 15 Jupiter

Betelgeuse

29 Procyon

Rigel Sirius

Canopus

mid-twilight occurs hour, you’llEvening find the moon low in the eastwhen Sun is 9° below horizon. southeast, Apr. to the lower left of the triangle. 1: 40 minutes after sunset. Jupiter, with15:its41cloud belts " " " and four bright 30: 42by "Galileo, " "and Saturn, moons discovered with its rings, are impressive showpieces for even small telescopes! But Mars is usually not all that impressive, except within a couple of months of its oppositions, when you can get glimpses of surface features. At this year’s opposition, Mars is low in the sky, so it is best viewed when it is highest, as it passes due south. In mid-April, that happens around 3:30 a.m. Next month, we’ll have more on observing Mars, its surface features, rotation and seasonal changes. As for events this month: The Whitewater Preserve will be hosting a star party on Saturday, April 2, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Reservations required; call (760) 325-7222. The Astronomical Society of the Desert

Stereographic Projection will be hosting its popular monthly star party by Robert D. Miller on Saturday, April 16,Map from 8 to 10 p.m., at the Visitor Center of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument on Highway 74, within 4 miles south of Highway 111 in Palm Desert. Check the society’s website at www.astrorx.org for listings of our next lecture meeting—Dennis Mammana on “Capturing the Cosmos” (sky photography)— at 7 p.m., Friday, April 8; and our next high altitude star parties at Sawmill Trailhead starting at dusk on April 2 and April 30. Also check the separate link to our “Impromptu Star Parties,” which could be announced on short notice at any time.

Robert C. Victor was a staff astronomer at Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. He is now retired and enjoys providing skywatching opportunities for school children in and around Palm Springs. CVIndependent.com

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CVIndependent.com

APRIL 2016

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

APRIL 2016

CVI SPOTLIGHT: APRIL 2016 Gay or Str8? Desert Rose’s Latest Features Genius Direction and a Perfect Cast Stephen McMillen, Robert Rancano, Phylicia Mason and Terry Huber in Desert Rose’s production of Cock.

o the name of the play is Cock. All right, settle down. Even though the show takes place at the Desert Rose Playhouse, the valley’s LGBT theater, the name does not mean what you’re thinking. Think cock FIGHT. Like, roosters. OK? Included in the printed program for the award-winning work by British playwright Mike Bartlett is an actual fight card, listing the adversaries in each round. The setting is the next surprise: The audience sits around a square ring, inspired by the illegal sport, and the actors represent their chicken counterparts. Frankly, it’s the best seating arrangement I have seen at the Desert Rose: Everyone is so close to the action, and the raked back rows are on risers so we all can see perfectly. It’s great! Not all plays lend themselves to this format, but we hope that clever producer Paul Taylor will use this style again when possible. Lighting director Phil Murphy has brilliantly lit this stark set. Stage manager Steve Fisher rings a bell between rounds, as in boxing. (Sorry … I have no idea whether there are bells in actual cockfights.) Theater in the round brings with it a true challenge for a director, because in this format, the actors are always facing away from some of the audience, while facing others, so they must change position frequently. But here the actors can face each other, like real people talking! This almost never happens on a proscenium stage where actors “cheat forward” to present their faces to the audience. Thank heaven for the excellent natural acoustics of the

Desert Rose, as the intimate size (usually 83 seats, but 65 in this style) helps us hear everything. Theater in the round can fail horribly in too large of a room, where the actors’ voices vanish because they seem to be always facing away from you, or in a room with a ceiling that’s too high, where the sound drifts up, up and away from your straining ears. A modified three-quarters circle format is frequently the compromise; think classic Shakespeare. Here, director Jim Strait has brilliantly choreographed the actors’ movements, with the seduction scene being the model example of this theatrical style. If you expect that this rumble just involves two guys squaring off, think again: It’s a cast of four, each with an agenda to defend. John, played by Stephen McMillen, has been in a long-term relationship with “M,” acted by Robert Rancano. They break up, and John “accidentally” falls in love with a straight girl, “W” (Phylicia Mason; we guess that the letters stand for “Man” and “Woman”). Of course, there is much angst all around when John goes back to M. Then M and W both agree to wait for John’s decision: With whom will he live? M’s father, “F” (for “Father,” right?), gets to act as referee, so we meet Terry Huber at a dinner party given to sort things out. So is John gay … or straight? Hmmm? What will he decide? By the way, we have to slap a “mature” rating on this show due to “frank” (a term I love) sexual language. We’re so PC! But truly, this show not for anyone easily offended, as the playwright clearly wants us to be shocked.

The set consists of just two lavender hassocks on which to sit. There are no props—no cutlery, china, wine glasses or even a dinner table. There are no costumes, except what the actors are wearing, and no scenery. And get this: The actors don’t even mime their eating/drinking/taking coats off. So, no distractions! The author’s words are all that matter. And the words! There are British accents all around. The writing is a cross between freeverse poetry and real life, where sentences are only partially spoken and often unfinished. Strait’s artful direction all but eliminates pauses between speeches, and the tension rises or falls with the speed, pitch and volume of the actors’ voices. It’s a masterful demo of acting technique. At the show we attended, the actors were rewarded with pin-drop attention, as the audience is so physically close to the actors that every flicker of an eyelash contains significance. Our attention is riveted. McMillen, the quintessential beautiful blond boy, dithers and stews and not only seems incapable of making decisions, but has never even figured out who or what he is. Youth! So he is frozen, overthinking everything. He makes us want to either smack him into action, or hug him in sympathy. Rancano, dark-haired and fashionably unshaven, with flawless skin, is like pepper to McMillen’s salt. More mature and powerful, but attempting to hide his sensitivity, he shows a confidence that comes with age while trying to cover his fragile feelings. His performance hits just the right note.

Mason lights up the world with her sparkling eyes and gorgeous smile. She struts a perfect figure that will make everyone in the audience silently swear to go on a diet and get back to the gym. Great legs, toned body, amazing hair, sweet face—she has it all. Her character is complex, and she knows how to show it. Now if she could only do something about those black bra straps showing at the back of that terrific coral dress … . Terry Huber, perhaps the busiest actor in the valley this season, has a face you just never get tired of watching. The shades of meaning he can express are uncountable, and as a gifted actor with a pocketful of regional accents from which to choose, his choice of this British one is pitch-perfect. His secondact role here is too small—we always want to see more of him. The concept of fowl fisticuffs is wonderful; the casting is perfect; the direction is genius; the script is astonishing; and the actors’ energies are beautifully balanced. Obviously I’m not going to give away the ultimate decision or reveal who is left standing at the final bell. You’ll have to go to the next match yourself. Cock is performed at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, April 10. The shows take place at Desert Rose Playhouse, 69620 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Tickets are $30 to $33. For tickets or more information, call 760-202-3000, or visit www. desertroseplayhouse.org. —Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume CVIndependent.com

16 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2016

ARTS & CULTURE

KIDS MEET

A MASTER

The Children’s Discovery Museum’s ‘Chagall for Children’ Exhibit Is an Interactive Can’t-Miss

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

By VICTOR BAROCAS

’ve spent more than 45 years learning about art and artists—and I remain in awe of Marc Chagall. The unlikely artist was one of nine children born into an extremely poor, highly religious Jewish family. Chagall grew up in a shtetl (a small, ghetto-like village) in Vitebsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. He married his muse Bella Rosenfeld in 1909; he moved to Paris in 1910. Chagall’s personal style and creativity flourished after moving to a Parisian art colony, where he received exposure to the early 20th century avant garde creative-art movements. This highly prolific artist’s successes extend well beyond traditional media, like painting, drawing and printmaking:

Fascinatin’ Rhythm

Saturday, April 16, 2016 | 8 p.m. Sunday, April 17, 2016 | 3 p.m. Temple Isaiah — Jewish Community Center 332 W. Alejo Road, Palm Springs Artistic Director:

CVIndependent.com

Douglas c. Wilson

AccompAnist:

Joel Baker

He also championed frequently overlooked art forms, including stained glass, fiber arts and mosaics. Throughout his life, Chagall created art that frequently contained a narrative reflecting his youth in Vitebsk. While some might think— incorrectly—that much of his art was too narrowly focused, Chagall created works that contain a universality transcending geographic borders, art movements and historical events. His work remains coveted by museums and collectors worldwide. The fantastic exhibit Chagall for Children, a traveling show that is at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage through April 27, does far more than present opportunities to view original and reproductions of works by this master. Unlike traditional museum exhibits, Chagall for Children includes 14 “play” stations. Each station is paired with a specific Chagall creation and engages visitors to use their senses in various ways. Additionally, guests can explore their own creative style: At each station, visitors are tasked to imitate, interpret, rethink, deconstruct and/ or reconstruct this icon’s creative process. In a sense, visitors are encouraged to be Marc Chagall. Billed as an exhibit for children between ages 2 and 12, this show will actually delight visitors of all ages. While I was there, I spied a 70-plusyear-old woman, walking with a cane and having trouble while trying to sit on a child’s chair. Once seated, she looked intently at “Paris Though the Window.” After listening to the station’s commentary with the earphones, she gleefully announced, “I have always tried to figure out Chagall’s approach to perspective and sense of space.” She expressed glee about bringing her grandchildren to see the show. Near the stained-glass work “America Windows,” visitors can reconfigure pieces and change the amount of light coming through their own interpretation. “Children frequently ask, ‘Did I do this right?’’’ said Lianne Gayler, the museum’s director of development and marketing. Her response? “There is no right or wrong.” On the walls surrounding the learning stations, a series of panels provide a timeline of Chagall’s life; each offers context that shaped the master’s art, including biographical events, art movements (like cubism, suprematism and fauvism) and historical events (such as the two

world wars). Irrespective of the world around him, Chagall remained true to his own personal style that was marked by complexity (witness “The Juggler”); unexpected colors (“Green Violinist”); optimism, caring and love (“Birthday”); incongruity including soaring figures (“The Flying Sleigh”); and whims (“The Rooster”). Chagall’s forays into various movements were each short-lived; he wound up reinterpreting elements of various movements into his own style. In “I and the Village” (pictured), he incorporated the basics of cubism into his own personal aesthetic, color palette and visual vocabulary. Essentially, his visits to other art movements were vacations, not relocations. Chagall’s imagination demands attention, and his narratives frequently transform people, animals and objects in unexpected ways, demonstrating his unabashed optimism and playfulness. Christian Hohmann, of Hohmann Fine Art on El Paseo in Palm Desert, is an underwriter of the exhibit. “It was, for me, a no-brainer,” he said. “Our gallery has long championed Chagall’s unique contributions to modern art.” More importantly, Hohmann is father of two young girls, “(The Children’s Discovery Museum) is a place where my children can go have fun and learn. With public schools cutting back on the arts, the importance of the Children’s Discovery Museum is heightened.” Sharon and Robert Freed also sponsored the Chagall for Children exhibit. Chagall for Children will be on display at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, 71701 Gerald Ford Drive, in Rancho Mirage, through Wednesday, April 27. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. The museum is also open every third Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is $8, with discounts; all adults must be accompanied by a child, and vice-versa. For more information, call 760-321-0602, or visit cdmod.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17

APRIL 2016

An Evening with 2Cellos

An Evening with Kenny G

Fri, April 8, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Harold Matzner

Mon, April 4, 8pm

McCallum Theatre Institute Presents

Open Call 2016 Talent Competition Thu & Fri, April 14 & 15, 7pm Sat, April 16, 2pm & 7pm Presented through the generosity of TheCommander Allen Fund, Wells Fargo, Harold Matzner, Helene Galen, Hal & Diane Gershowitz and Connie Tirschwell

All Coachella Valley High School Honor Band H. Robert Reynolds, conductor Sun, May 15, 4pm

Order tickets by phone

760-340-ARTS (2787)

East Valley Voices Out Loud Showcasing vibrant talents of the East Valley: singers, rappers, poets, storytellers, musicians and more! Sat, May 14, 8pm

2016-2017 Series Subscriptions on Sale April 5

Order online

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CVIndependent.com

APRIL 2016

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19

APRIL 2016

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ZINE THING

Western Lit: Indie Publisher Joe Biel Tell His Story of Punk Rock and Asperger’s in ‘Good Trouble’

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

By brian blueskye

n my hometown of Mentor, Ohio, it seemed like everyone around town knew Joe Biel. He was a few years older than me, and was known for selling “zines” at punk shows in Cleveland. Those zines eventually led to Biel starting Microcosm Publishing—an independent publishing and distribution company—in 1996; in 1999, Biel relocated to Portland, Ore. On the 20th anniversary of his company, Biel has released a book that’s quite personal—Good Trouble: Building a Successful Life and Business with Asperger’s. During a recent phone interview from Portland, Biel discussed his upbringing in Ohio, and his discovery of punk rock. “My family life was pretty bad as a kid. My dad was disabled, and my mom was really violent,” Biel said. “Between those things, when I found punk rock around 1992, it helped me find a moral compass and find a more productive use of my energy and my time. Then when I started zines a few years later, it was sort of my way of giving back to something that had been really meaningful to me.” That punk-rock ethos has helped Microcosm thrive as an independent publishing and distribution company, even through the current downturn that publishing companies have endured. “It’s a little bit tacky and cliché, but … (after) being born in the ’70s and growing up through the end of the red scare, most of my neighbors’ dads were laid off and hired back for a lower wage,” Biel said. “It just felt like nothing meant anything. I felt like I should do something that was meaningful. … My values were more meaningful to me than financial goals or any other type of success.” Biel’s relocation to Portland in 1999 came after what some would consider to be a tragic moment in one’s life. Biel made the best of the situation. “I lived in a house, and it burned down in a fire,” he explained. “It was a totally liberating moment where I lost my stuff, and it was just totally freeing. I knew a bunch of people who Joe Biel

wanted to move to Portland, and it seemed different. It was during a time when my friends were developing drug habits, having accidental kids or being totally screwball. Moving to Portland with a group of people didn’t seem like something I expected to last. That was all an accident.” Microcosm Publishing features a variety of titles on everything from bicycles, to veganism, to social-justice advocacy. “I think most books sell into people’s insecurities, self-hate and shame. We focus the most on trying to make people feel good about themselves and confident, and to create the change they want to see in the world,” Biel explained. “There are so many books out there that try to make you hate your body, (express) fundamental hatred, or just thrive on insecurities. It’s about being the you that you want to be.” While Microcosm Publishing has done well, a nasty dispute between Biel and his nowex-wife—which included accusations of Biel being emotionally abusive—led some to call for a boycott of Microcosm. Biel has also faced a series of health problems and as a diagnosis of Asperger’s, an autism spectrum disorder. “I had been married in 2002, and I was divorced two years later. It had been a pretty bad relationship, and I ended up in therapy,” Biel said. “… At one point, the therapist looked at me, and as I was leaving one day, I just casually mentioned that I could not see people’s emotions or facial expressions— anything to indicate there was something beyond the words they were saying. She just kind of looked at me and asked me, ‘Did you have childhood (brain) trauma?’ I was like,

‘What? What was that?’ She said I probably had Asperger’s. I learned about Asperger’s before, and I was pretty obsessed with it at the time, but I never thought it was something that affected me. I was eventually properly diagnosed.” Biel said that he was comfortable letting the public have a look inside of his private life, his failures, his successes—and some of his funny experiences. “By the time I was ready to embark on writing it, I pretty much knew who I was and how I felt about things. It was a pretty good litmus test, so I didn’t really get nervous about it,” he said. “I’ve been a public person for a long time now, so I’m used to not having much of a private life. For me, it was a little bit easier, and I learned the hard way that when I don’t talk about my life or myself, people tend to fill in the gaps in the most unflattering of ways. If I bottle that up and try to hold it

in, it doesn’t work very well. It’s better for me to inform the narrative around myself. I feel like most of the things I’ve done are sort of embarrassing, but also a little bit funny, so there’s a value to it.” Good Trouble: Building a Successful Life and Business with Asperger’s, by Joe Biel (Microcosm), 256 pages, $14.95.

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APRIL 2016

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21

APRIL 2016

the

FOOD & DRINK Play Ball! The Craft-Beer Revolution Has Reached SoCal’s Big League Ballparks WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Erin Peters

recently rented out my room through AirBNB to a Smog City Brewing Co. employee. Located in Torrance, the 5-yearold brewery has quickly developed a cult following for its quality, flavorful beers. I was giddy when he brought with him a dozen of Smog City’s delicious stouts, IPAs and sours. That same weekend, I stayed in La Quinta, at Jim Lefebvre’s house. I got to sip on some Hoptonic IPA with a baseball legend. I learned more about baseball in that one weekend than I had in my entire life. The 1965 National League Rookie of the Year while he played for the World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Lefebvre was named to the All-Star Game in 1966. He played in Japan from 1973-76, then returned to the big leagues as a coach. He managed the Seattle Mariners, the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, and managed China’s national baseball team during the Beijing Olympics. His charisma and his passion for the game are astounding. He believes in developing better players through better planning, tools, collaboration and teaching. “Kids love to have something to be challenged to,” he said. “They want to have incentives to be rewarded. … Every single player I know had to deal with some form of adversity to prove to people they can play. When somebody challenged them (that they could not do a certain thing), they did it. That’s what we have to create in our sport. That’s my

whole objective and my whole movement. Let’s get the coaches involved. Let’s get them to train certain techniques in the player-development program and then make it happen.” Nothing is more American than baseball and beer. And with the sudsy craft-beer revolution in full force, there’s no need to drink beer for the masses: You can now enjoy Clayton Kershaw’s curveball while sipping a craft beer. The clocks have sprung forward; spring training is more than halfway finished; and Major League Baseball’s regular season begins April 3. If you head down Interstate 10 to see a game, you’ll be glad to know that Dodger Stadium added craft beer to its lineup in 2013 and has continued to add Los Angeles craft offerings. Goose Island and Golden Road will likely have the largest presence at Dodger Stadium. Pro-tip: Golden Road’s Better Weather IPA and Ballast Point Brewing’s Grapefruit Sculpin are great choices for tailgating, because cans are easily portable. For smaller craft options, check out the logelevel concourse and the relatively new Think Blue Bars. The taps rotate, but past sightings included Fireman’s Brew Brunette, Eagle Rock Brewing’s Revolution XPA, Dudes’ Brewing, Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard Ale, Anchor Brewing Company Anchor Steam Beer, El Segundo Brewing’s Blue House Citra Pale Ale and Angel City’s Witbier. Confirmed craft brews for the 2016 season include Firemans

Brew Blonde and Brunette. Down in Orange County, Angel Stadium also has a nice selection, offering craft beers such as Bootlegger’s Brewery Palomino American Pale Ale, New Belgium Brewing Ranger, Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard Ale and Hangar 24 Brewery Betty. (Hangar 24 also offers its Ballpark Beer, a blend of a classic pilsner with an American wheat beer.) Of course San Diego’s PetCo Park is also in on the craft scene with San Diego locals like Ballast Point, Alesmith, Mike Hess, Karl Strauss, Coronado, Lost Abbey and Stone. Don’t miss Stone’s rooftop beer garden at the ballpark, with 12 different beers on tap. Back at Dodger Stadium, here are some awesome nearby craft-beer spots to check out: Sunset Beer Company is in Echo Park at 1498 Sunset Blvd. It’s tucked away in a nondescript mini mall, so you could easily

miss it—but with more than 800 craft bottled beers (with only a $2 bottle/corkage fee) for purchase and 12 rotating taps, it’s definitely worth a visit. Just 1.2 miles away from the stadium, also on Sunset Blvd. (2141 Sunset Blvd.), is the ever-popular craft beer bar Mohawk Bend. With 70 taps that include beers like Kern River’s Just Outstanding IPA, Bottle Logic Recursion 8.0, Mother Earth Cali Creamin’ cream ale with vanilla, and Refuge Blood Orange Wit, there’s something to please every palate. Beer. It’s always been American as baseball, and now the craft revolution has taken hold not just in our breweries, bars, grocery stores and homes, but also in the stands. America’s national pastime’s beer lineup is now a whole lot tastier. Play ball!

Enjoy our award winning beer at over 170 bars & restaurants throughout the desert or join us in our taprooms for limited releases. Open Daily—Two Locations The Brewery 77917 Wildcat Drive, Palm Desert

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Old Town Taproom 78-065 Main St #100, La Quinta 760.972.4251

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22 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2016

FOOD & DRINK the

INDY ENDORSEMENT We Head to Coachella for Tacos,

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and Cathedral City for Sesame Chicken WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle WHAT The Sesame Chicken WHERE New Fortune Asian Cuisine, 67555 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City HOW MUCH $14.95 CONTACT 760-770-2988 WHY It tastes like the Chinese food you’d get in SF or LA. We usually keep things pretty positive here on the Indy Endorsement page—but before we return you to your regularly scheduled nice-things-to-say, we feel the need to snivel just a bit. Man, does the Chinese food in this valley suck. I know there’s a void here, because every time I head for San Francisco or Los Angeles, one of my first stops for lunch or dinner is Chinatown. Don’t get me wrong; there are a few Chinese-food places here in the CV that are worthy, but there are more than a few whose continued existence makes me wonder: Who in the hell is paying money to eat this crap? Well, thank goodness for New Fortune Asian Cuisine, located in Cathedral City: For my money, it’s the best freestanding Chinese-food joint in the valley that I have found thus far. My go-to dish at New Fortune: sesame chicken. (Note to food purists: I know sesame chicken is not really a true Chinese-food dish, and is instead an Americanized Chinese-ish dish. However, that does not make it any less yummy when done right.) This sesame chicken is tender but not mushy, savory but not salty, and sweet without being cloying. In a word, it’s fantastic—on par with some of the better versions of the dish I’ve gotten in SF or LA. The sesame chicken is not the only good thing about New Fortune. The service is friendly, and all of the food I’ve tried there has been between decent and (the aforementioned) fantastic. An endorsement within an endorsement: New Fortune’s war wonton soup is so good that you’ll want to order it even when it’s 113 degrees out. When it comes to quality Chinese food, New Fortune is truly an oasis in this large desert.

WHAT The Tacos Al Pastor WHERE Jalisco Restaurant, 1605 Sixth St., Coachella HOW MUCH $1.55; three-taco combo plate $7.25 CONTACT (760) 398-7113 WHY It’s simply a perfect taco. Being a West Valley resident, I don’t get a lot of chances to dine in Coachella. However, a recent business meeting afforded me the chance to have lunch in downtown Coachella—and considering the tacos I had at Jalisco Restaurant, I am now bemoaning my lack of East Valley dining opportunities. I knew I wanted tacos, but wasn’t sure which tacos to try, so I got the three-taco combo plate—a steal at just $7.25. I had a lot of potential choices—Jalisco has about 14 tacos on offer, with options both locally common (pollo, carne asada) and not so common (beef brains!)—but I kept it simple and got one each with pollo, carne asada and al pastor. On the English portion of Jalisco’s menu, al pastor is described as “marinated pork.” Yes, that’s accurate, but al pastor (literally translated: shepherd style) is so much more than that: The pork is usually slow-cooked on a rotisserie, much like shawarma and gyros meat is cooked. (In fact, it’s believed that pork prepared al pastor got its start in Mexico thanks to influences from Lebanese immigrants there.) The pollo and carne asada tacos were both quite tasty. However, the al pastor was beyond fantastic: The meat was somehow both crispy and juicy—and, boy, was it packed with flavor. It was sooooo good that I find myself trying to think of excuses to have more business meetings in Coachella. If you’re an East Valley resident, and you’re not enjoying the tacos el pastor at Jalisco Restaurant on at least a semiregular basis, either you must be a vegetarian … or something must be wrong with you.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23

APRIL 2016

FOOD & DRINK

Kristin Olszewski

What made wine more approachable? I think it’s this whole foodie culture. It’s the next step: People got really into food, and now they’re into wine, cocktails and beer. There are so many affordably priced wines on the market right now; you don’t have to spend a lot to drink great wine.

WELL RED

A Chat With Kristin Olszewski, Wine Director at F10 Creative

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By christine soto

ristin Olszewski is one of the Coachella Valley’s newest sommelier/wine directors. At 28, she’s also one of the youngest. She joined F10 Creative (Mr. Lyons, Cheeky’s, Birba and Chi Chi at the Avalon) in December, moving to the valley from Massachusetts, where she was born and raised. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she worked in restaurants in Boston and San Francisco, including Saison and Sweet Woodruff; in fact, she helped open Sweet Woodruff and was the restaurant’s general manager. After her stint in San Francisco, she decided to make a drastic career change: She moved back to Boston to enter the post-baccalaureate premedical program at Harvard. She then applied to medical school and was accepted. At the time, she was working at Spoke, a popular wine bar in Somerville, Mass. Her love of wine took hold, and instead of medical school, she is now pursuing a career as a sommelier. Before her move to Palm Springs, she was working at Straight Wharf in Nantucket, to which she’ll return in May. Over brunch and bottle of Hild Elbling Sekt at Kristin’s apartment, we talked wine. When did you first start getting into wine? I didn’t like wine for a really long time, but I was working in restaurants in San Francisco and tasting a lot. My ex-boyfriend was really into wine and had a great palate; we would drink a lot of wine together. One of my friends was the sommelier at Sons and Daughters, and she was the one who really exposed me to wine. I hadn’t thought about wine in the way she thought about it. That was the start. I was really lucky; I worked with great people in San Francisco who knew a lot about wine and were willing to share. What was your first wine love? Cremant du Jura Rosé. I just remember being so amazed that wine could be that bright and mineral-driven. And then I was obsessed with the Jura, and I wanted to try everything I could. What brought you to Palm Springs? F10 was looking for a wine director for the season, and my boss in Nantucket mentioned me to Greg Rowan (the general manager at Mr. Lyons)—they used to work together in San Francisco. I needed something to do in the winter: either travel through Europe learning and wine-tasting, or work as a sommelier. So I met with Greg and Tara (Lazar, F10’s owner)

one Nantucket morning over black coffee and bacon, casually talking about wine and everything, and it just worked out. What surprised you most about Southern California? How much people drink French wine here. (Laughs.) What are you loving on your list at Mr. Lyons right now? I’m loving the 2013 Domaine de la Meuliere 1er Cru Chablis. I’m also really loving the 2012 Cultivar St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon. I cannot believe that I like this fruity California wine so much, but it’s so amazing; I really love it. I like fruit … who would have thought? I get so snobby sometimes that I forget how great fruit is.

It’s not just people in the industry who drink great wine.

even though they know what they like, so I try to help them suss it out. Also, price point is very important. I try to give people three options at different price points so they can choose what they want to spend. I have aggressively priced the wine on my list. I want to sell the wine. What are you drinking now? Everything from the Loire Valley (in France). Domaine Philippe Tessier Cour-Cheverny. It’s so good. Always Burgundy. (Laughs.) I wish I didn’t love Burgundy so much, but I do. And I’m getting really into Rhône right now—a lot of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. What’s exciting about wine right now? That more people are drinking good wine, and so many people our age (late 20s) are really into wine and have developed wine palates and want a great bottle of wine when they go out to eat.

Your desert island wine? The 2008 Maison Alex Gambal PulignyMontrachet. Favorite food pairing? Riesling and cheese. (Laughs.) Délice de Bourgogne and riesling. Favorite wine book? The Wine Bible, for the organization and cleanliness of the information, but most especially because Karen MacNeil describes syrah as a cowboy in a tuxedo. Favorite thing to do in the desert? Go hiking! Hiking here is the best, and you can’t really get that lost. Hiking and thrifting, too. I’m really in love with (Palm Canyon Drive vintage store) Iconic Atomic at the moment. Palm Springs native Christine Soto is a co-owner of Dead or Alive wine bar in Palm Springs. She can be reached at christine.soto@gmail.com.

What’s the best part of your job? I really love my job because I work for people who allow me so much freedom, and trust. And I get to be very playful with my wine lists. I’m really lucky that I got this opportunity. I’ve learned so much more than I even thought I would. When I was re-doing the wine list at Birba, (I was) kind of conceptualizing: What slots do I want to fill? Do I want light-bodied, mineral-driven and acidic? Light-bodied with fruit? What am I filling? I hadn’t really thought about wine in that way, so that was really great. What’s your sommelier strategy? I’m basically a hawk, circling the room for people looking at the wine list. I try to find people while they’re looking. The most important thing is listening: I listen to people, first and foremost. A lot of sommeliers get caught up in the ego. I think that’s a benefit of me not having a ton of experience: I really put the time in to listen to what people want, and I try to guide them. I know most people don’t have the vocabulary to describe what they like, CVIndependent.com

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APRIL 2016

THE SECRET FOR THE BEST HAIR RESTORATION By Shonda Chase, RN Co-owner and aesthetic director of Revive Wellness Centers Palm Springs and the South Bay area of Los Angeles

Last month, we revealed how Botox can help treat acne and explained why some might need Botox more often than others. This month, we’re going to share the secret of the best hair restoration for men and women. Thousands of years ago, Samson, of Old Testament fame, set the standard for hair reflecting strength, viability and desirability. It’s not fair, but men and women still “judge a book by its cover.” Attractive permanent hair-restoration solutions have been the “golden fleece” of advertising for decades—but have mostly failed to deliver acceptable results. Grafting hair plugs from the sides of a man’s head was the beginning of hair restoration, because the hair remaining below the area affected by male-pattern baldness is usually viable for life. However, the old method—of surgically removing a strip containing the eternal hair follicles and transplanting those into the balding areas—always left an unsightly and telltale scar on the back of the patient’s head. Now, the medical breakthrough of NeoGraft technique leaves no scar. This technology allows a cosmetic surgeon to remove random, individual hair follicles, and then place them in the areas subject to baldness, for a vibrant result. NeoGraft protects the viability of each precious follicle, so most transplanted follicles thrive. Finally, it can be used for both men and women. Few practices provide this technology, but the results are worth the extra travel. We utilize NeoGraft at our Revive Wellness Center locations, because we want everyone who gets hair restoration to have the best long-term results. The process takes only a day, without any recovery time, so it’s perfect for everyone’s schedule. But wherever you go for hair restoration, the secret is to make sure they use the NeoGraft technology to ensure you get the best results. Next month, we’re going to share new secrets about how you can now permanently and painlessly reduce stubborn fat in 30 minutes without freezing, SmartLipo or surgery. Until then, keep the secret. NeoGraft patient results: before and after.

Read the entire article at www.revivecenter.com/blog. Email your individual appearance and aging questions to Ms. Chase at Shonda@revivecenter.com.

CVIndependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25

APRIL 2016

FOOD & DRINK

Restaurant NEWS BITES WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

By Jimmy Boegle NEW TO THE CV SUPERMARKET SCENE: GELSON’S AND ALDI The grocery-store gods giveth; the grocery-store gods taketh away. In recent months, both Haggen and Fresh and Easy have faded to black in the Coachella Valley due to financial stresses. Enter Gelson’s Markets and ALDI to fill the void. Gelson’s—a Southern California fixture since 1951—opened in late January in the former Haggen/ Pavilions space at 36101 Bob Hope Drive, in Rancho Mirage. Gelson’s purchased the Rancho Mirage store and seven others from Haggen when the company made a hasty retreat from California last year. “Gelson’s has been looking for a great desert location for nearly 15 years, and we’re excited to come to Rancho Mirage,” said Rob McDougall, Gelson’s president and CEO, in a news release. “Our goal is to serve the local community by providing premium-quality merchandise and exceptional customer service, while also re-employing many of the dedicated employees of the former Haggen store.” Gelson’s has a upscale yet friendly vibe, with high-quality meats, produce and seafood, in addition to a fantastic floral department; bars for salad, antipasti and hot foods; a service deli; and a counter serving juices and cut fruits. Find more information at www.gelsons.com. And now for something completely different: ALDI, a much-larger chain that’s aggressively moving into California from Europe and the East Coast, opened stores in La Quinta (78601 Highway 111, La Quinta) and Palm Springs (5200 E. Ramon Road) on March 24. ALDI’s shtick: It features all of the usual items you’d find in a supermarket—except you’ve probably never heard of the brands that ALDI sells. For the most part, the less-expensive brands are exclusive to ALDI, and the company claims the items must all match or exceed the quality offered by national brands. Don’t like something? ALDI will both replace the product and give you your money back. One other twist at ALDI: If you want to use a shopping cart, you’ll need a quarter—but you’ll get it back when you return the cart to the central station. Get more info at www.aldi.us.

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WHERE PA L M SPRINGS E AT S , D R I N K S A N D M E E T S

707 N. Palm Canyon Dr. Palm Springs Ca. 92262 | 760.864.8746 | TRIOpalmsprings.com

THE SAGUARO’S FORMER TINTO RESTAURANT IS NOW ROCCO’S ELECTRIC As was foretold in this space a couple of months ago, the relationship between the Saguaro Palm Springs and the Garces Group has come to an end. Gone is Iron Chef José Garces’ Tinto. In its place: Rocco’s Electric. The new “Red Room and Ice Cream Emporium” looks pretty much just like Tinto did—no surprise, seeing as there was not very much time between the Tinto era and the Rocco’s Electric era. As for the menu … it’s quite different. The Basque-inspired plates of Tinto have been replaced by a focus on cocktails (at least during evening hours) and entrées like salads and tacos. And ice cream … lots of ice cream; in fact, on the weekends, the restaurant offers midday ice cream socials. Speaking of tacos, and specifically Taco Tuesday: If you’re a fan of El Jefe, never fear, because the popular spot survived the changeover. For more information, call 760-322-1900, or visit www.thesaguaro.com/palm-springs. IN BRIEF Congrats to Chef George’s, located at 40100 Washington St., in Bermuda Dunes. Not too long ago, the much-loved Hungarian joint took over an adjacent space and created Pickaso, a lounge with dancing and live music in addition to tasty food and drink; call 760-200-1768 for info. … The Habit Burger Grill, a 150-plus-location chain that claims to have the best burger in America according to Consumer Reports, is opening its second valley location on Highway 111 in Palm Desert. The initial area location opened a year and a half or so ago at 79174 Highway 111 in La Quinta; www.habitburger.com. … Babe’s Bar-B-Que and Brewhouse is teaming up with Catalan Restaurant for “Pigs, Paella and Brews” at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 5, at Catalan, located at 70026 Highway 111, in Palm Desert. $49 will get you beer-tastings and a fantastic family-style dinner. Call 760-770-9508 for reservations or more info. … Want yummy treats while in Palm Springs? Well, you now have more options than ever before. Fruit Wonders is now offering juices, fruit bowls, smoothies and vegan cakes at 264 N. Palm Canyon Drive (www.facebook.com/fruitwondersps), while Ice Cream and Shop(pe) is just one of the much-raved-about offerings at the brand-new Arrive Hotel, located at 1551 N. Palm Canyon Drive. (Reservoir, the new full-service restaurant there, is creating quite a buzz.) At Ice Cream and Shop(pe), you’ll find between 16 and 20 favors of ice cream every day until midnight; icecreamandshop.com. Finally, if you want coffee or a light lunch, check out downtown Palm Springs’ newest coffee shop, Joey Palm Springs, at 245 S. Palm Canyon Drive; www.facebook.com/joeypalmsprings. CVIndependent.com

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sun-baked sounds: Dali’s Llama Keeps on Promoting the DIY Way goth and gospel go to coachella: Algiers Is Not Afraid to Get Political A classic outlaw: Enjoying Success in His Mid-70s, Billy Joe Shaver Returns to Stagecoach our recommendations of bands to watch at Coachella our recommendations of bands to watch at Stagecoach

www.cvindependent.com/music

THE END OF ¡REUNION! After Six Years, DJ Day Ends His Iconic Weekly Party at the Ace

CVIndependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

APRIL 2016

Where MAGIC HAPPENS Call now for 20 units of Free Botox* with Juvederm or Voluma filler appointment.

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(760) 325-4800 353 S. Palm Canyon Drive | Palm Springs

THE LOUNGE AT VICKY’S OF SANTA FE LIVE MUSIC NIGHTLY Known for its exceptional food, friendly service and high-energy live music. Vicky’s of Santa Fe is one of the desert’s favorite dining & live entertainment destinations. The lounge is flanked by dual fireplaces, centered with a 9-foot concert grand piano & builtin dance floor. Home to World-Class Musicians.

Weekly Schedule | Open 7 Days a Week WEDNESDAYS 6:30-10pm LIZANN WARNER | No Cover THURSDAY AFTERNOONS 4-6pm the band, FLYER | $10 Cover THURSDAY EVENINGS 6:30-10pm CAROLYN MARTINEZ & TRIO | No Cover FRIDAYS EARLY 5:30-7:30pm ‘MEET THE CORWINS’ | No Cover FRIDAYS LATE 8pm-Mid JOHN STANLEY KING & “A BAND OF 4” | No Cover SATURDAYS 6:30-10pm THE CARMENS MUSIC DUO | No Cover SUNDAY AFTERNOONS 2-5pm JAZZTIME BAND | $13 Cover SUNDAY EVENINGS 6-9pm JOHN STANLEY KING & TRIO | No Cover 2ND MONDAYS 6-9pm HEATWAVE JAZZ & SHOW BAND | $10 Cover TUESDAYS 6:30-10pm MIKE COSTLEY & TRIO | No Cover

Vicky’s of Santa Fe | Highway 111 & Club Drive Indian Wells | 760-345-9770 | vickysofsantafe.com

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Vicky’s of Santa Fe

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

APRIL 2016

MUSIC

SO LONG, ¡REUNION!

After Six Years, DJ Day Brings to an End His Iconic Thursday Party at the Ace Hotel

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By Brian Blueskye

fter six years at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs, DJ Day has decided it’s time for his popular weekly ¡Reunion! party to come to an end. He recently announced that the sixth-anniversary edition of ¡Reunion! on Thursday, March 31, was to be his final show. “Honestly, after six years every week, which is something like 320 nights, it begins to take its toll,” DJ Day said during a recent interview in Palm Springs. “Long story short, I just got burnt out on the whole nightlife thing. It’s run its course, and I’d like to start doing something else. I want to get back into recording music, and I’m ready to move on as a person and just take a different path in my life. It’s been great, but it’s also a very trying thing. “When I first started out, I talked to someone who had a weekly in Portland, and she said, ‘It’s not easy. You’re going to have stretches of good times and stretches of bad times.’ It’s been up and down lately, but it’s on an upswing right now, so I figured it was time for me to leave on a good note.” For the past few months, DJ Day’s good friend and regular guest at ¡Reunion!, Aimlo, has not been present. “(Aimlo) is moving away and hasn’t been coming since the end of last year. For the past three months, he’s been doing his own thing and gearing up for the move,” DJ Day said. DJ Day, whose birth name is Damien Beebe, said the decision was completely his own, and that Ace Hotel management was surprised to learn about his decision, yet was supportive and understanding. He said he will continue his last-Saturday-of-the-month Highlife party at the Ace. “The Ace Hotel didn’t even see this coming. I’ve been kicking around the idea for a year, and in my gut, something told me it was time to move on and do something different,” he said. DJ Day said one of the things he enjoyed the most about ¡Reunion! was the vibe that could often be felt in the room—something I experienced myself many times. “Trying to Rolodex through six years’ worth of shit is insane. There have been some crazy times, from people dancing on tables to trying to put money in my underwear,” he said. “The best times were (when the crowd was) willing to take a chance and trust me musically, and it creates this reciprocal feeling in the room where everyone is on the same vibe together. It’s a church-like vibe, and everyone has the same spirit going through them. It’s the best feeling I can get through music and playing

other people’s music.” ¡Reunion! has featured many amazing guests. The first ¡Reunion! I attended was in 2013 during Coachella, when Flying Lotus showed up and performed a surprise set in the Amigo Room. “There have been times when I didn’t even know who was in the room just hanging out,” DJ Day said. Lykke Li was in there chillin’ one night in a booth; Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine was there one night, and just other random people. You never knew who would be at the Ace. “During the first two years, we’d have special guests once a month. Jeremy Sole (of KCRW radio) put together this flier, and I was trying to remember all of the people who came through, but it’s a pretty big list of folks. I just wanted it to be a place where people could come and hang out … and be comfortable. That’s why it’s ‘¡Reunion!’—it’s a place for people to come together. I wanted to create a good vibe, and I’m proud to say we never had any fights or dumb shit happen in six years.” Along with Aimlo, the aforementioned Jeremy Sole was a regular guest at Reunion, and other local DJs such as Pawn, Pedro Le Bass, JF//Discord and Independent resident Alex Harrington often joined the party. There has always been a spirit of collaboration and openness. “I’m very happy to be part of anyone else’s success, or give people a platform to do their art of playing their music when they never had (a platform) before,” DJ Day said. “I love being part of the community here and being part of the future of young people. For me to give a hand to anybody, it’s a great thing.” Despite DJ Day’s busy touring schedule—

including various international trips—he always came back home to play at ¡Reunion! “I was on tour in Europe, and I remember coming back one night (and) getting off the plane at LAX,” DJ Day said. “I went home and showered, and went right to ¡Reunion!, because DJ Nu-Mark was playing that night. I wanted to go and just make sure everything was cool. My wife was like, ‘What the fuck you doing?’ And I was like, ‘Hey, I gotta be there.’ “What has taken its toll, in an emotional sense, is going overseas and playing for like 4,000 people in Tokyo, and coming back home to no love. It’d be like, ‘Where the fuck is everyone?’ I felt like people were starting to take this shit for granted, and it was like old reliable: ‘Oh, I’ll go next week,’ and next week becomes next month and on and on. Then you’re relying on the hotel guests, and that can fluctuate.” DJ Day said ¡Reunion! has been a true learning experience, because he never knew what kind of crowd and vibe each Thursday night will bring. “I have to be on my toes for whoever is there,” he said. “Some nights, it’s been straight party shit; other nights, I’m playing Portishead at fucking midnight. It just depends.” DJ Day has talked about how much effort he put into his record Land of 1000 Chances, which was released in 2013. He said he’s a much different artist now than he was back then. “Whatever music I choose to make now is coming from a totally different perspective, life-wise and internally, than where I was at that time,” he said. “That was a culmination

of events that were going on behind the scenes both within myself and other areas of my life. That record addressed some of them, and I put my heart and soul into that record. I’ll still do that with the next one, but it’ll be from a different place. … I think I’ll be more of an optimist, and my taste has evolved and changed.” What does DJ Day see himself doing on Thursday nights after the final ¡Reunion! show? “Watching Better Call Saul on the DVR,” he joked. “No, actually, I don’t know. It’s going to be weird, and it’s going to be an adjustment. I’d like to spend more time with my family. That’s what I really want.” DJ Day said he’s not sure what the future will hold for Thursday nights at the Ace. “I’ve been there since Day 1—I used to do sets by the pool, so I’ve actually been there seven years,” he said. “I offered to find a replacement for me, whether it was Aimlo or Pawn, to continue that night, given they know it, but (the Ace) might go in a different direction and do something completely different.” DJ Day said he feels very thankful as six years of ¡Reunion! come to a close. “I couldn’t have done this without my man Aimlo, who’s been there from Day 1, and my Ace Hotel family who have been nothing short of awesome,” he said. “I also want to give a tremendous thanks to all of the artists who’ve played ¡Reunion! and everyone who’s come out and supported us throughout the years. Much love to you all.”

DJ Day with the Gaslamp Killer

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MUSIC

SUN-BAKED

SOUNDS

With a New Album and a Role in a New Desert-Rock Doc, Dali’s Llama Keeps on Promoting the DIY Way

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By Brian Blueskye

ali’s Llama formed in 1993—and went on to become one of the desert’s most legendary bands, defining the DIY business model along the way. After 23 years and inclusion in the new desert-rock documentary Lo Sound Desert, Dali’s Llama is not slowing down. In fact, the band just released a new album, Dying in the Sun. During a recent interview in Palm Springs, Zach Huskey (lead vocals, guitar) and his wife, Erica Huskey (bass), talked about the new album’s title. “We’re feeling a little older,” Zach Huskey explained. “I spend a lot of time out in the canyons and in Thousand Palms doing some Jeeping. That’s where I also do a lot of writing. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go, I guess. (There is) sort of a connection with the desert in our music and feeling comfortable there, versus being surrounded by people, work, kids and all that stuff. I thought that would be a great title. It’s desert rock, and we’re definitely in the middle of it.” Dali’s Llama and its contemporaries created a music scene where there wasn’t one before—at least not like the one we have now, with localsfriendly venues like The Hood Bar and Pizza, The Date Shed, Pappy and Harriet’s and so on. “People seem to have forgotten that,” Zach Huskey said. “There are still bands that are still doing the DIY thing. We started putting albums out in the early ’90s on our own label. The trouble is, you have to work hard to do it, and it can be a full-time thing. We’re a married couple and have devoted a lot of time to this, and I can understand why a lot of people don’t want to do it. It started out that way—the DIY thing—and that was the dream.” Erica Huskey said DIY has its advantages.

“By doing it yourself, you have complete creative control,” she said. “The music is exactly the way you want it; the artwork is exactly the way you want it, so there’s definitely a tradeoff.” The much-anticipated Lo Sound Desert will premiere as part of the American Documentary Film Festival, with showings at 1 p.m., Friday, April 1, at the Cal State University San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus, and noon, Sunday, April 3, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs. Erica Huskey said she admired Lo Sound Desert director Joerg Steineck. “He’s spent the past 10 years doing it all himself, and all of his money and time,” she said. “It reflects the feel of the movie, because

he understood what it was like for the bands. These bands were releasing stuff back in the ’80s, and you had to do it yourself.” One of the most talked-about aspects of the early desert-rock scene was the infamous “generator party.” However, Zach Huskey does not remember these parties all that fondly. “The first generator party I remember ever playing was in 1984. I forget what band I was in at the time, but it was at a friend’s house in Bermuda Dunes, and everyone came out to the middle of the desert, and it was with T.S.O.L.,” he said. “After two songs, the wind really kicked up, and my amplifier blew up. “Generator parties sucked. Yeah, sometimes they were cool, but a lot of times, they just sucked: knife fights, getting your car out of there. … It was cool if you were young and you wanted to drink beer. But it just fucking sucked—the wind was blowing; you couldn’t hear shit; and people were just going ape-shit. I played one once up at the Nude Bowl, and during the first fucking song, someone reached over and grabbed all the strings on my guitar and pulled them right off. I played the whole show drunk out of my mind and rolling in glass. It was like Lords of Dogtown meets Black Sabbath out in the middle of the desert.” For the recording of Dying in the Sun, Dali’s Llama returned to the Sanctuary in Banning, owned by former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder. “We’ve done five albums at the Sanctuary. We actually finished the album in the days,” he said. “When we first started recording albums, it would take a week. If you’re on the same page

with the producer, have your shit down, and you map out everything, you can nail a good album pretty quick. Look at Nirvana’s Bleach album, recorded in a night. To me, that’s the best fucking Nirvana album.” A lot of desert-rock musicians are gearheads when it comes to guitars, amplifiers and effect pedals. When I asked if they were gearheads, Zach and Erica Huskey just laughed. “I’ve had the same the head in my amp since 1990,” Zach Huskey said. “I think I’ve changed the tubes maybe twice. I play a $99 Epiphone SG guitar. In the studio, we’ll use effects, but onstage, it’s mostly volume. We joke with certain people, like Josh Heinz of Blasting Echo, because he has a million effects pedals. It seems like everyone has that these days, but Josh has 10 guitars and changes guitars every song. I’ve told him, ‘One guitar, dude! Just get a tuner!’ I grew up when I was smashing guitars and shit. I was from that Pete Townshend vibe where if the guitar is giving you shit, destroy it. The people will love it.” Zach Huskey said the lineup of the band is stronger than it has been in the past, with Joe Wangler on guitar, Craig Brown on drums and Joe Dillon on keyboards. “I think this lineup is actually musically more talented,” he said. “I can do more things writingwise, as opposed to writing to the musicians. … (With) this band, everyone is really good at what they do, so I’d say it’s musically the best lineup.” For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ dalisllama. Dali's Llama. SASHA MIDDLETON

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MUSIC

The Blueskye REPORT

GOTH AND GOSPEL GO TO COACHELLA

april 2016 By Brian Blueskye

Algiers Is Not Afraid to Get Political; In Fact, the Atlanta Band Embraces Activism

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By Brian Blueskye

fter a 2015 that included a debut album, a tour with Interpol and praise by indie-music critics, 2016 is taking Atlanta-based Algiers to Coachella. The band will take the stage Saturday, April 16 and 23. Algiers originally formed in Atlanta in 2007, but officially became a band in London. A local label in Atlanta released the band’s single “Blood” in 2012. This, in part, eventually led the band to sign with Matador Records, which released the band’s eponymous debut album in 2015. Algiers is influenced by political happenings, Southern gothic literature, gospel and post-punk music. Somehow, according to guitarist Ryan Mahan, putting all of these things together came naturally to the members of Algiers. “I think it’s a number of things; obviously, we share similar influences,” Mahan said during a recent interview. “We come from punk-rock backgrounds. (Lead vocalist) Frank (Fisher) grew up in a church, and at the same time, we were listening to punk rock and getting into hip-hop.” Gospel music in particular influenced Algiers. “I think that’s where we found the music, especially around more fiery and political stuff, and more of Nina Simone’s things where she’s talking about racism,” Mahan said. “(Simone’s) ‘Mississippi Goddam’ is always a touch-point when we’re thinking about utilizing gospel music, which tends to be something that looks to the afterlife or something other than this world, and is not typically used for antiestablishment purposes. That’s something that struck a chord with us. The thing about gospel music and protest soul is that it confronts the idea of utopia. While that may be employed religiously, it still confronts the idea with a very dreadful scenario … and the light and the darkness of it both.” The band name Algiers is powerful alone. It makes people think of politics, especially when you understand the history of the capital of Algeria. “There were a few different impulses there,” Mahan explained. “We were very much following the idea of the colonial struggle and how it related to black people in America, and the connections made by the Black Panthers and the United States, the struggles of the Black Power movement in the United Kingdom, and colonialism overseas. It’s connecting those dots … and the idea that there is something better despite this oppression that people are facing. “The name refers to the film The Battle of

Algiers, which is one of the best political films ever made. Ennio Morricone, who is one of our favorite composers, did the score for the film. So it combines sound and image in a complex way, and Algiers refers to the messiness of political struggle and the ideas of putting the sound to that struggle.” For Mahan, the opportunity to record an album with Matador Records was something he never anticipated. “We thought, ‘Wow, this is a great opportunity!’” he said. “Leading up to that point, I had been living in the United Kingdom for 10 years, and then in New York for five or six years, so we really hadn’t been together and didn’t see an opportunity to play a show together or record an album. When it came time to choose someone to record with, we just happened to find a person named Tom Morris who fit perfectly for us. He told us some of his influences and some of the albums he had worked on—some quite out-there stuff, but also some pop stuff. He really just got it and was able to go with the flow and incorporate it all and push us to make exactly what we Algiers

wanted to make.” Mahan said the response the band has received while playing live has been quite welcoming. “We’ve been really lucky and played upwards of 75 to 80 shows last year, and that was our first year. We’ve only been a live band for a year and a half, so we were writing songs living apart from each other and being embedded in different music scenes,” he said. “We hadn’t had the opportunity to play together. The experience has really been fantastic. We toured the United States twice, and the record had just released, but the turnout was good. There were some shows where we were performing to half-empty rooms, but that’s all good and part of the process. But for the most part, it’s been fantastic, and we’re writing for the second record. Europe was fantastic, and places like Germany really jumped on the political message and the critique of American politics. That really resonated in Europe, more than in the United States, with everything that’s happened with Black Lives Matter and in Ferguson, Mo.” When I mentioned the term “Super Bowl of music festivals” to describe Coachella to Mahan, he laughed. “We’ll bring some of the visual references of Black Lives Matter to the Super Bowl of music festivals as well,” he said. “But of course we’re really blown away to be playing a festival like this. When we started writing music together, we had no idea we’d be recording an album or be able to even construct a record that we wanted to make. The fact we’re now going … to be playing Coachella is pretty astounding for us.”

Los Lobos

Coachella and Stagecoach arrive this month, which means the season is at its busiest—and will soon be coming to an end. Enjoy the craziness, folks. It means all sorts of great things are taking place. April is the McCallum Theatre’s last full month of regular activity before the summer lull. At 8 p.m., Monday, April 4, get ready for the original sexy-sax man, Kenny G. That’s right: Everyone’s favorite soft-rock jazz saxophonist will be stopping by again to ROCK THE COACHELLA VALLEY! All kidding aside, Kenny G is actually pretty damn good, and his soft-rock jazz sound was a sign of the times a couple of decades ago. While he might not bop or swing, he does what he does very well. Tickets are $37 to $80. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 9, singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka will be performing to celebrate the Desert Symphony’s 27th anniversary. Sedaka is an awesome showman and still has a great voice at the age of 77. Tickets are $77 to $202. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com. Fantasy Springs has some fantastic events in April. At 8 p.m., Friday, April 1, enjoy a fantastic night of Latin rock with Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos. Los Lobos is legendary in the Latin rock scene and was a big hit in the Los Angeles music scene in the early ’80s. Los Lonely Boys came out of Texas in the late ’90s and found an audience when “Heaven” became a No. 1 hit on the radio in 2004. Tickets are $39 to $79. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 2, Il Volo will be performing. This Italian trio sings what it calls “popera” and has become a hit with both classical-music lovers and those who fall into the “opera music for people who hate opera music” crowd. Tickets

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Shinedown

are $59 to $109. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 9, Gladys Knight will be performing (sans the Pips). Knight started her R&B singing career at the age of 16 when she signed to Motown, and she’s been a big name ever since. She’s also ventured into gospel and religious music affiliated with the Mormon faith, into which she was baptized in 1997. Tickets are $39 to $79. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www. fantasyspringsresort.com. Spotlight 29 will be heating up with a couple of interesting shows. At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 16, it’s going to be a special night for ladies thanks to Hunks. The Las Vegas-style production is similar to that of Thunder From Down Under and the Chippendales; these guys will have the ladies sweating and screaming.

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Tickets are $20. If dancing near-naked men aren’t your thing, relax: At 8 p.m., Saturday, April 23, R&B superstar Keith Sweat will be performing. With hits that include “Something Just Ain’t Right,” I Want Her” and “Make You Sweat,” this will be a popular show. Tickets are $25 to $45. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www. spotlight29.com. Morongo Casino Resort and Spa has some fun events on the slate. First, at 9 p.m., Friday, April 1, get ready to groove at the love shack, because The B-52s are returning to the area. One of the biggest names of the ’80s came out of the punk-rock scene in New York. The B-52s have recorded some truly timeless music that continues to gain them younger audiences and—makes the old audiences love them even more. Tickets are $65 to $75. At 11 p.m., Friday, April 8, the Village People will be performing. That’s right: It’s the Village People, known for hits such as “Macho Man” and “YMCA.” Tickets are $10. At 9 p.m., Friday, April 15, Shinedown will take the stage. The Jacksonville, Fla., band has sold 6 million albums since starting in 2001 and is currently touring to promote album No. 5, Threat to Survival. The members of Shinedown have stated that they are simply a

rock ’n’ roll band and don’t want to be labeled as “post-grunge” or “alternative.” Tickets are $40 to $50. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace is again enjoying a kickass Coachella season. The bad news: Some of the Coachella-related shows are sold out. The good news: There are still plenty of shows with tickets available. At 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 9, desert-rock godfather Brant Bjork will be putting on Desert Generator, a day of heavy psychedelic rock ’n’ roll. Also on the bill: Red Fang, Acid King, Golden Void and Ecstatic Vision. This is definitely going to be a great show—and a throwback to the days of generator parties, albeit in a legit setting. Tickets are $48. At 9 p.m., Saturday, April 23, country-bluegrass singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale will take the stage. Jim has written songs that have been recorded by artists such as the Dixie Chicks, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton and many others. It’ll be a nice event to get you in the mood for Stagecoach! Tickets are $15. You’ll be happy to know that Har Mar Superstar will be performing at 9 p.m., Saturday, April 30. OK, here’s the deal: You might not have heard of him … or perhaps you’ve heard of him for

Har Mar Superstar

the wrong reasons. He’s basically a guy who looks like Ron Jeremy and performs R&B-style music in a Speedo. His shows are typically funny and impressive—but he dances, too, so prepare yourself for that. Tickets are $15. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-365-5956; www.pappyandharriets.com. The Palm Desert Amphitheater is hosting an intriguing event: At 7 p.m., Saturday, April 9, a rock opera titled Untamed will be performed. Untamed is written by Palm Desert resident Kara Aubrey and is about a millennial man in search of significance in these troubled times. Good news: Admission is free! Palm Desert Amphitheater at Civic Center Park, 43900 San Pablo Ave., Palm Desert; www. tobeuntamed.com.

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MUSIC

DESERT ROCK

CHRONICLES

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A Trailblazing Russian Punk Band Gets a Little Help From a DesertRock Icon

A CLASSIC

OUTLAW WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Robin Linn

t a time in world history when relations between the governments of Russia and the United States are strained, a strong alliance has developed between American gutter punks The Dwarves and Russian hardcore punksters the Svetlanas. Blag Dahlia, the veteran punk-pop troubadour who has guided the Dwarves through three decades and a dozen albums (and whom we talked to last month for this space), may have met his match in Russian songstress Olga Svetlanas, who prefers flipping the bird to waving the peace sign, and spews profanities with one eye cocked like it’s nobody’s business. At its best, punk rock challenges social norms, pisses on convention, steps on value systems and rebels against authority. Religious groups and government agencies that set standards and practices drop their jaws and point their fingers in contempt of the vile, low-brow art form. But when you think about a world in which millions of people are being bombed by planes sent by one government or another for reasons none of us understand, why shouldn’t music flip society a bird? Punk rock in its truest form shines a flood light on what is: promiscuity, violence, social unrest, inequality, addiction, fascism, corruption and crime. Punk rock doesn’t need to lie, because it doesn’t give a shit what you think. Something honest and refreshing lies with in that ideology. Punk rock just is—and these two groups of punk-rock extremists don’t shy away from these topics; they revel in them. Svetlanas is a Russian hard-core punk rock band fronted by the tightly wound, foulmouthed songstress Olga Svetlanas. The group

Svetlanas. DEAN KARR

recently joined forces with desert-rock icon and former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri of the Dwarves before winding up a U.S. tour in Texas. The band is a well-oiled music machine, cranking out tight and riveting compositions that rile up audiences around the world. Punk-rock ideology is alive and well within the framework of the group’s music. Olga’s lyrical themes are chock-full of violence and vulgarity, and she brings them to life with confrontational live performances filled with plenty of punk-rock aggression. Perhaps even more shocking because of her gender are videos like “I Must Break You,” depicting a man bound and gagged while suffering a Russian Mafia debriefing. Olga has earned the respect of peers in a predominately male music genre. Perhaps the most outspoken and controversial female purveyor of punk, she is backed by a powerhouse of a band that lays out retrohardcore. One notable difference between a Svetlanas record and a hard-core punk album from the ’80s is the refined guitar tones— something producer Blag Dahlia gets right in the studio every time. It’s abrasive music with refined guitar tones allowing for nuances and tightly packaged finished pieces. The band has attracted the support of some of punk rock’s most notorious characters, including Blag Dahlia and Nick Oliveri. The band has released two full lengths on Altercation Records, with several singles and splits all available on the website. A Svetlanas/ Dwarves split is wrapped in a cover with a fully nude woman bound and gagged. Blag Dahlia produced the Svetlanas latest full length, Naked Horse Rider, which features a vocal collaboration by Olga and Blag titled “Revenge.” They released the song as a single on colored vinyl—a sexy slab of white of melted wax, dripping in red, honoring Record Store Day. While in SoCal, the Svetlanas went into the studio with Dahlia to record a forthcoming album and enlisted the help of Oliveri. Check out the website (www.svetlanas.su) and the music of this outspoken, kick-ass hard core punk band. Read more from Robin Linn, including an expanded version of this story, at www. desertrockchronicles.com.

By brian blueskye

illy Joe Shaver was one of the artists who defined the outlaw-country music genre in the late ’60s and early ’70s. However, there’s much more to him than that. Shaver, 76, who in 2014 released a critically and commercially successful album called Long in the Tooth, will be appearing at Stagecoach on Friday, April 29. During a recent phone interview, I asked Shaver if there was something—beyond the legends and the music—that people don’t know about him. The answer was surprising. “I’m a born-again Christian,” Shaver said. “I try to be like Jesus every day, but people don’t realize that my being born again is a lot different. I got born again in my own fill, and everyone has their own personal savior; mine is Jesus Christ. I feel like you get to be born again your own way. I get to be myself, and I’m still myself, but all those past sins and all that stuff is wiped clean. I got to start over again since I was born again—and I actually wondered if I could get born again again. You can do the same things you did before, but you have to be held accountable for it.” The term “Outlaw” has often been used to describe Shaver’s brand of country. There’s also a bit of reality in that term: In April 2007, he was charged with aggravated assault in Lorena, Texas, after he shot a man in the face. Shaver said he was acting in self-defense. “That doesn’t bother me, and it was part of my life,” Shaver explained. “I can’t deny that or anything, really. … I never actually tried to hurt anyone. But if someone tries to hurt me, I’m going to hurt them back. I’m still that way. If someone shoots at me, I’ll shoot back at them. If they hit me, I’ll hit them back, but I’ll let them throw the first punch.” Before Shaver found fame in country music, he worked at a sawmill and accidentally cut off two of his fingers. He said the accident helped him realize his calling in life. “It was really hard for me,” he said. “I had learned how to strum and chord, and I had written a few songs. When that happened, I was 21, and I just shot a quick prayer to God and said, ‘If you help me get out of this mess, I’ll do what I’m supposed to do.’ I always knew

Enjoying One of His Life’s Most Successful Periods in His Mid-70s, Billy Joe Shaver Returns to Stagecoach

this is what I was supposed to be doing.” While he has performed there, Billy Joe Shaver is not a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Considering his history and his contributions to country music, he feels he should be. “I think I should be in there,” he said. “One day, I know I will be in there. I think they’ll wait until the day I die, because they say I’m unmanageable. I’m really not; I just speak up. That’s all.” If there’s one thing for which the current generation knows Billy Joe Shaver, it’s for singing the opening themes of the Adult Swim animated series Squidbillies. He praised creators Jim Fortier, Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for their creativity. “Those guys are geniuses,” he said. “I had no idea earlier that (the show) was going to be so mean. I probably would have done it anyway, though. … They kind of fooled me a bit, because I went to this church in Austin, and they had me sing the theme song. “Those guys are real geniuses. But I don’t mean any of those things in the song, and I wouldn’t really do that. I got to laugh at it a lot, though, in the end.” Shaver is no stranger to Stagecoach; he’s played at the festival before. Still, when I asked him about the festival, he said he was not too familiar with it—but he mentioned his love for everything about California. “I don’t know too much about it,” he said about Stagecoach. “My boys do, but I just jump in the truck and go. That’s about it for me. That’ll be a lot of fun, though.”

Billy Joe Shaver

CVIndependent.com

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MUSIC

YOUR COACHELLA PRIMER

While This Year’s Lineup Is Somewhat Weak, You Can Still Find Plenty of Great Music

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By brian blueskye

Major Lazer

he Coachella 2016 lineup will most likely be remembered as one of the weakest in years. While last year’s lineup at least offered variety, this year’s slate somehow seems … limited. Still, with a little searching, you can find some great acts, both unheralded and well-known.

Friday, April 15 and 22 Volbeat This Danish metal band is of the more surprising additions to the Coachella lineup, although metal isn’t entirely shunned by Coachella, considering Mastodon played in 2009, and Motorhead played in 2014. Volbeat combines rockabilly, rock ’n’ roll and metal to create an interesting sound. I’ll be the first to admit that Michael Poulsen’s voice is hard to take in, but former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano helps make it all work. Volbeat might be the thing you’ll need to shake off the EDM/electropop vibes on Friday and prepare yourselves for Guns N’ Roses on Saturday.

Junk, which is sure to be a smash-success. Fun fact: The new album is inspired by ’70s and ’80s shows such as Punky Brewster and Who’s The Boss?

Mavis Staples At the age of 76, Mavis Staples has been enjoying a career rebirth thanks to collaborations with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and a new album, Livin’ on a High Note, produced by M. Ward. Staples was part of the Staple Singers with her father, her brother and her two sisters. At The Band’s last live concert in 1978, she sang “The Weight.” While she’s been singing gospel for most of her life, and you’ll definitely hear some in her set, never fear: She’s got a powerful voice and will be a delight of your first afternoon at Coachella.

BADBADNOTGOOD The name is quite funny, but this Canadian group has left a serious mark on the modern music world. While the group has recorded jazz instrumentals, it is also connected to the hip-hop world, and recently recorded an album with Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul. BADBADNOTGOOD is no stranger to Coachella; the band played the fest in 2012 and surprised the audience when it backed Frank Ocean. The jazzy instrumentals are fantastic, as is the collaborative spirit. Who knows what tricks the band members will have up their sleeves for Coachella 2016?

G-Eazy G-Eazy is a rising star in the hip-hop world. The Oakland native has toured with 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. He also was part of the Vans Warped Tour in 2012. His most recent album, When It’s Dark Out, features collaborations with Big Sean, E-40, Chris Brown, Kehlani, Grace and others. Check out his recent track “Me, Myself and I.” M83 M83 has been around since 2001, but it took a decade for the band to reach is critical and commercial peak to date, thanks to the concept album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. This French electronic band records music that’s catchy, ambient and haunting. The group will soon be releasing the follow-up to Hurry Up, titled CVIndependent.com

Saturday, April 16 and 23

The Damned If you call yourself a punk-rocker, and you aren’t familiar with The Damned, it’s time for school on Saturday. The Damned is one of the early British punk bands that formed in 1976 and defined the genre along with The Sex Pistols and The Clash. With goth, psychedelia and punkrock attitude, The Damned was in a league of their own. Guitarist Captain Sensible struck out on his own in 1978 while The Damned were on hiatus and recorded a recover of “Jet Boy, Jet Girl.” He then went on to have hits with songs such as “Happy Talk” and a hilarious song titled “Wot,” as in, “You say Captain; I say ‘Wot.’” Be sure to make time for The Damned at Coachella; who knows when you’ll be able to see the group again?

Deerhunter Hailing from Atlanta, Deerhunter is part of the awesome psychedelic rock scene you’ve been hearing thanks to a new group of bands. Frontman Bradford Cox identifies as gay; the title of the group’s debut album, Turn It Up Faggot, referenced what audiences used to scream when the band was first starting out. Few bands have been able to combine shoegaze and the indie-psych garage band sound together so well. Ice Cube While many people know Ice Cube for his horrible comedies, his hip-hop career is the stuff of legends. He penned most of NWA’s early material and then went on to a very successful solo career (even if a lot of his early material was in response to NWA’s diss tracks against him for leaving the group). Ice Cube was a straight-up gangsta rapper who had a voice and attitude that sounded like he was kicking in your door to come and get you if you were on his shit list; much of that attitude is still present when he performs live. While Ice Cube said he’d “try” to make a partial NWA reunion happen at Coachella on the heels of the biopic Straight Outta Compton, don’t expect Dr. Dre to show up; if anyone does appear with him, expect Yella, MC Ren, or possibly both.

Sunday, April 17 and 24 Pete Yorn When you listen to Pete Yorn, not only do you hear some indie-rock; you also hear folk music and a bit of that Bakersfield country music sound from the ’70s. One of the best songs I’ve heard Yorn do is his cover of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” Considering this guy has shared the stage with everyone from the Foo Fighters, to the Dixie Chicks, to Coldplay, take some time to check him out.

The Vandals Along with Pennywise, the Descendents, Black Flag and Social Distortion, The Vandals is one of the bands people think of when it comes to Southern California punk. The band also has a humorous side, including hilarious takes on cowpunk, and a well-known Christmas album and song titled Oi to the World. Bassist Joe Escalante is known for being a lawyer, a radio host and a conservative. Regardless of politics, nobody can deny that the Vandals kick ass. Death Grips The group Death Grips has a wild reputation. The experimental hip-hop trio from Sacramento has shunned the traditional ways of doing business and instead opted for shock value and performance art. The group used a picture of a member’s penis as the cover art for the album No Love Deep Webb. This was initially rejected (before later being used with a black slipcase over it); one of the alternative covers featured the legs of a man wearing khakis, white socks and black shoes. Written on the socks: “SUCK MY DICK.” One of Death Grips’ shows in 2013 ended quickly when the intro played, and a career suicide letter appeared onscreen— the group’s way of saying the show wasn’t happening. It seems Death Grips was never meant to be taken seriously, which is probably why it’s such a great group. Warning: Don’t get too close to the stage. Major Lazer I don’t think there’s a soul on this planet today who does not know who Diplo is. He’s been interviewed by Charlie Rose, produced a Madonna album, made a cartoon TV show … and made many infamous tweets. When Diplo gets together with Jillionaire and Walshy Fire for Major Lazer, it’s quite a spectacle. At Coachella in 2013, when they performed in the Mojave Tent, it was crammed beyond belief—and the energy drove the over-capacity crowd nuts to the point where I feared for my life. Major Lazer will likely be performing at the same time as headliner Calvin Harris on the final night, but the group will bring the party. And remember: No Coachella story should end with the phrase, “and then I watched Calvin Harris.”

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MUSIC

BRUTAL

PUNK

Sinner Sinners Join a Desert-Rock-Heavy Lineup at Pappy and Harriet’s

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

BY Brian Blueskye

inner Sinners is one of those bands you really should be listening to—even though you’ve probably never heard of them. Thanks to tours with Eagles of Death Metal and the reunited Refused, however, the group is starting to get some much-deserved attention. Sinner Sinners will be playing on Saturday, April 16, with the Mojave Lords (featuring Eagles of Death Metal guitarist Dave Catching), Boots Electric (featuring Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes), Fatso Jetson, Chris Goss and others at Pappy and Harriet’s. It’s very likely this show, co-presented by Rancho de la Luna, will sell out. Originally from France and the Netherlands, Sinner Sinners now call Los Angeles home. The brutal punk-rock sound has earned the band accolades, and both the video for the song “Modern Man” and the album Cardinal Sins have received write-ups in publications like Rolling Stone and Maximum Metal. During a recent phone interview shortly after returning home to Los Angeles from a European tour with Eagles of Death Metal, Sinner Sinners frontman Steve Thill said the fact that the band is not currently signed to a major label has not been a problem. “When we released the first demo, almost right away, we got a deal with Universal Publishing in France,” Thill said. “They signed us, and they were looking for a label for us, and they couldn’t find one. So Universal couldn’t find us a label, and we figured that finding one ourselves would be even harder. … We just figured we’d put (our album) out ourselves, and it’s been doing good. I think the one thing a label can really do for you is help financially to record and (with) PR stuff, but we pay for

Sinner Sinners

recording, and we have a PR agent to help promote the album when it came out. We don’t get all of the cool magazines, because it’s a selfrelease.” Thill’s wife, Sam, has incorporated the keyboard into their brutal sound, which reminds of another well-known punk band. “When we started the band, we were really into The Damned, and I think that’s where it comes from,” he said. “We’re more into their goth era, or more like the Machine Gun Etiquette album. It’s one of my favorites, and when we first started, we were playing some of their covers. It was going to be like Sisters of Mercy kind of stuff, with a drum machine, but during the first rehearsal, we (realized we) wanted a drummer.” How did the Thills choose Los Angeles as their new home? “We came over for vacation first, and came back to record a few times,” Steve Thill said. “We began staying longer each time, and we figured we should be here, because there’s more happening here musically. We eventually moved here. We come from a really small town in France. It’s cold all the time, and it’s raining all the time. Los Angeles was pretty appealing to us. “We were in our hometown in France last week while we were on tour, and it was so fucking cold.” Both Steve and Sam were shocked when they heard about the Nov. 13 terrorist attack in Paris—and horrified that it happened during a show by some of their friends. “Nothing like that ever really happens there, and you don’t ever hear about gunshots or anything, because it just doesn’t happen,” Steve Thill said. “When we heard about it—that it was an Eagles of Death Metal show, that our friends were there, and we had just played with the Eagles a month before—it was completely insane. It’s one of those things you think only happens to other people.” Sinner Sinners will perform with the Mojave Lords, Fatso Jetson, Chris Goss, Alain Johannes, Boots Electric and Strawberry Smog at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $25. For tickets or more information, call 760-365-5956, or visit www.pappyandharriets.com. CVIndependent.com

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STAGECOACH SPOTLIGHT

This Year’s Improved Lineup Includes a Lot of Musicians You Shouldn’t Miss

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By brian blueskye

Pokey LaFarge

his year’s Stagecoach lineup—one of the better slates in recent years, despite the high number of repeat performers—includes a nice variety: big Nashville stars, country legends, and new players in the game. Americana, outlaw country and a bunch of other genres are being mashed together for an unforgettable weekend. Here are the acts I’ll be sure to catch at Stagecoach.

Friday, April 29 Dale Watson Hank Williams III has given Watson a nod, as have many other alternative-country bands and outlaw-country purists. Watson is a true outsider and has written songs about his distaste for the modern Nashville country machine that sells millions of records—even though no one is singing real country songs anymore. Well, Watson’s music is the real deal, and while he’s not a big name, he’s loved by alt-country fans and underground/indie music critics. That’s worth something. Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris is often mentioned along with Gram Parsons and Willie Nelson—both because she’s on the same footing as a countrymusic legend, and because she’s worked with them both extensively. During her early career, she was actually Parsons’ creative partner. She’s won 12 Grammy awards, is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, is an inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and is one of the most influential women in rock ’n’ roll. Need any other reasons to catch her set at Stagecoach? Robert Earl Keen He may not be the biggest name, but this guy has written songs that have been covered by the Dixie Chicks, Lyle Lovett, The Highwaymen and many others in country music. Not only is he a fantastic songwriter; he’s one of the Americana music scene’s crown jewels. Dig out some of this guy’s music if you need any more convincing. I am truly excited about the opportunity to see him live. Eric Church I was sort of skeptical of the Friday headliner, given he is a big modern Nashville success story. However, he’s one of the few who has earned that success by doing things his own CVIndependent.com

way—a way that, at times, sort of scares people. His band members look like they’d fit right in with some of the nastiest metal bands; his fans wear T-shirts with skeletons flipping the bird that say “Eric Fucking Church” on the back; and his material touts marijuanasmoking, Jack Daniels and Bruce Springsteen. He’s the one headliner I will definitely watch.

Saturday, April 30 Jamestown Revival Hailing from Magnolia, Texas, this duo sports a name that references one of the first European settlements in what became the United States. These guys are country-music storytellers in the spirit of Willie Nelson, Louis L’Amour, John Prine and others. They have a brand of folk music that meets Americana, and then meets country. As a result, this standout group is starting to build a faithful audience. In the short time they’ve been on the scene, the duo has played at Coachella, Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits. They’re on the path to becoming one of the biggest new things in country music à la Sturgill Simpson and Shovels and Rope, so be sure to check them out. Langhorne Slim and the Law It’s hard to believe this guy has been around since 1999 and has toured with the Avett Brothers, Violent Femmes, Old 97’s and many other big name acts—yet he remains an independent artist. He’s probably one of the best modern-day songwriters, yet not that many people know about him. This is someone you’ll definitely want to put on your list; whether you’re going for the Big Nashville bands or the Americana and alternative-

country acts, you’ll agree that he belongs at Stagecoach. Also: Do the music world a solid by buying some of his merchandise and telling your friends about him. Pokey LaFarge Pokey LaFarge is to country music as Nick Waterhouse is to rock ’n’ roll: They’re young men who have an appreciation for the oldschool style. Pokey hails from St. Louis, performs country-swing music, and expresses distaste for most modern music. He grew up on his grandfather’s music, dresses the part of an old Americana performer, and has a sound that is a throwback to another time—and he pulls it all off brilliantly. He released a record on Third Man Records and was produced by Jack White himself; that alone should give him some credibility. John Fogerty Creedence Clearwater Revisited, which just played a show here, is successful and fun to watch. But let’s face facts: John Fogerty was the driving force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival. Fogerty has found success beyond the nasty end to Creedence Clearwater Revival, and he continues to play Creedence songs in his set. Considering there was a lot of Southern influence in the legendary band’s brand of rock ’n’ roll, Fogerty fits in at Stagecoach. In fact, he played a fantastic set at Stagecoach in 2008.

Sunday, May 1 EmiSunshine I interviewed EmiSunshine, now 11, for her show at Pappy and Harriet’s last summer, and I was instantly charmed by her Southern accent, her love for old country music, and her fondness for the ukulele. Considering she’s

already played the Ryman Auditorium (the former Grand Ole Opry House), has been on national television and has toured the United States extensively, she’s going to be a hit at Stagecoach. The Marshall Tucker Band When it comes to Southern rock, the Marshall Tucker Band is a name that always comes to mind. “Can’t You See” and “Heard It in a Love Song” are Southern-rock staples and continue to be played on radio stations across the country. While the band has endured a lot of lineup changes, frontman Doug Gray is keeping the group going strong. Word is the band is still great live. The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers seem sort of out of place at Stagecoach—but that’s not a bad thing. Numerous acts have been considered out of place at Stagecoach in the past, including Don McLean and The Eagles. This is one of best rock bands of all time, and there’s no doubt the group will turn in a great performance at Stagecoach. Little Big Town I reviewed Little Big Town’s show at Fantasy Springs last fall, and while I’m not usually a fan of the Nashville sound, Little Big Town put on a marvelous performance that was energetic and nearly flawless. This is a great live band, and songs such as “Little White Church” and “Girl Crush” will likely get an enthusiastic crowd response. They are the one “Mane Stage” act I highly recommend; you won’t be disappointed. The Marshall Tucker Band

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the

LUCKY 13

Learn About Strangers You Know, Playing Coachella; and The Deslondes, Playing Stagecoach WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

By Brian Blueskye NAME Grady Lee and Adam Haagen GROUP Strangers You Know MORE INFO It’s hard to find a music genre to which the members of Strangers You Know are actually strangers. From electronic to folk, Grady Lee and Adam Haagen seemingly make anything they play work just fine, with all of it coming together to create a unique indie sound. Strangers You Know will be appearing at Coachella on Saturday, April 16, and Saturday, April 23. For more information, visit www.strangersyouknow.com.

would you most like to see perform live? Adam: Led Zeppelin. Grady: The Beatles.

What was the first concert you attended? Adam: Pearl Jam. Grady: Green Day.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? Adam: “And in the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take,” Beatles, “The End.” Grady: “And I can’t keep a girl, no. ’Cause as soon as the sun comes up, I cut ’em all loose and work’s my excuse. But the truth is I can’t open up,” Mike Pozner, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.”

What was the first album you owned? Adam: Wildflowers, Tom Petty. Grady: Elephant, The White Stripes. What bands are you listening to right now? Adam: Sia, Civil Wars, Lily Allen. Grady: Anderson .Paak, Grey, Scout. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Adam: I enjoy the production aspects of some modern R&B-influenced hip-hop, but the whole trend of nonsensical rap like Fetty Wap just doesn’t register with me. Grady: I fuck with Fetty, but some of that inaudible shit that people bump really doesn’t hit me. What musical act, current or defunct, Strangers You Know

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? Adam: Taylor Swift (not that guilty). Grady: Desiigner. What’s your favorite music venue? Adam: The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Grady: The SOhO in Santa Barbara.

What band or artist changed your life? How? Adam: Beck, (because of) the weird experimentation and genre-bending. He plays every instrument, which I strive to do. Grady: Kendrick Lamar. No one speaks the truth like him. You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? Adam: Rick Rubin: “Teach me everything?” Grady: John Mayer: “Wanna jam?”

NAME Riley Downing GROUP The Deslondes MORE INFO The Deslondes have a fun, rustic, old-time country sound to their music. Hailing from New Orleans, they’re sure to be a delight at Stagecoach on Sunday, May 1, and are one of the bands you will want to include in your schedule. They’ll also be performing at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace on Friday, April 29. For more information on The Deslondes, visit www.thedeslondes.com. Guitarist and vocalist Riley Downing was kind enough to answer the Lucky 13 What was the first concert you attended? Byron Jones Opry, with my grandparents north of Kansas City, Mo. What was the first album you owned? On vinyl: Johnny Rivers at the Whisky à Go-Go. What bands are you listening to right now? A lot of old 45s, mostly. But I listen to music on the Interweb as well, mostly buddies’ bands or bands from word of mouth, such as C.W Stoneking, Twain, the Banditos, Cactus Blossoms, Pat Reedy and the Longtime Goners, as well as Luke Bell, who is at this festival. What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Pop country, and most pop music, actually. What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? This guy from the Kansas City area named Gary Kirkland made a record I found a long time ago called Gary Kirkland With Remnants of Buzzard Creek and Other Yahoos. I would have loved to see that band play live.

The Deslondes. sarrah danziger

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head? “I was born a rambler and I’ll die a rambler way, it’s always been you see. Ooh I was born a dreamer and I’ll die a dreamer somewhere I ain’t supposed to be,” Kiki Cavazos. What band or artist changed your life? How? Probably the most (were the) members of Broken Wing Routine, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Sundown Songs. I met most of them a long time ago in Oklahoma at (the) Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, and they not only influenced me to write and sing, but to travel with those songs as well. You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking? Merle Haggard: “What month did you say you wanted to tour?” What song would you like played at your funeral? Duane Eddy’s “Stalkin’.” Ha ha! I don’t know; play something good!

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure? Old pop country.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Reverend Gary Davis’ New Blues and Gospel.

What’s your favorite music venue? I really enjoy the sound at The Basement in Nashville and Off Broadway in St. Louis.

What song should everyone listen to right now? Jimmy Jay, “Run Wild (While You’re Young).”

What song would you like played at your funeral? Adam: “One of These Days,” Neil Young. Grady: “Move Bitch,” Ludacris. Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Adam: Beck, Sea Change. Grady: Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head. What song should everyone listen to right now? Adam: “Whiskey and You,” Chris Stapleton. Grady: “Warm on a Cold Night,” HONNE. CVIndependent.com

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CANNABIS IN THE CV

(NOT) BREAKING THE LAW

What Would Legal Recreational Marijuana Use in California Look Like?

WWW.CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

BY SEAN PLANCK

arlier this month, the 2016 Marijuana Business Factbook estimated the retail cannabis market would more than triple by 2010—becoming a $44 billion industry. That will amount to a huge economic boost to the states that are legalizing weed. But which states will collect on the green rush first? And how will this all go down here in California? Here’s a look at what legalization may look like here in the Golden State, along with a breakdown of the states that are pretty much slam-dunks to legalize this year. California was first to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in 1996, when voters said yes to Proposition 215. Now, 20 years later, voters may very well legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults. There are more than kind of permit until 2020. a dozen initiatives vying for the attention • There is a special licensing class for of California voters, but the one expected “microbusinesses,” meant for small artisanal to get the job done is the Adult Use of operations that want to stay vertical with Marijuana Act. Backed by venture capitalist cultivation, extracts, distribution and retail. and former Facebook executive Sean Parker, • Cannabis products will carry a 15 percent the act boasts the support of Lt. Gov. Gavin excise tax. The cultivation tax is $9.25 per Newsom, the California Medical Association, ounce of flower, and $2.75 per ounce on Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the leaves, plus any state and local sales taxes. National Organization for the Reform of Subject to ballot approval, counties have the Marijuana Laws (NORML), the California option to impose an additional tax. Cannabis Industry Association, the Coalition Other highlights include consumer for Cannabis Policy Reform and Students for protections including lab testing and organicSensible Drug Policy. certification standards; parental-rights Highlights of the AUMA: protections for medical marijuana patients; • Adults 21 and older can possess an ounce and the expungement of marijuana crimes if of flower and 4 grams of concentrates. the crimes would now be considered legal or • Localities may ban your personal outdoor misdemeanors. grow, but not your indoor grow. However, Nevada and Vermont are also expected to your landlord can still prohibit indoor grows. legalize marijuana for recreational use this Personal grows are limited to six plants per year, while legalization initiatives in Arizona, residence (not per adult). Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, • Lighting up in public would still be illegal, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Missouri well, just about everywhere. Except … and Ohio face tougher odds. • Localities can allow on-site cannabis Regardless of the outcomes in these use in designated public places (marijuana tougher battlegrounds, legalization is lounges!), possibly including private limos and gaining momentum. The appearance of these buses. initiatives on this many state ballots is a • The law preserves the right of employers clear sign that national opinion and public to drug-test their employees if they desire. policy are embracing legalization and the • The bill gets interesting when it comes opportunities it presents. to licensing: Cannabis-business licensing in California would begin Jan. 1, 2018. The Other Cannabis News bill puts safeguards in place to protect small • Pennsylvania is on track to become the 24th businesses and artisanal growers: Cultivation state to legalize cannabis for medicinal use, licenses are tiered by square feet of canopy, with the state House voting 149-43 in favor. and large-scale grows of more than 22,000 As of this writing, the bill was moving to the square feet are banned for five years in an state’s Senate—which passed a similar bill in effort to keep major corporate interests at 2015 by a comfortable margin. bay. Also, anybody who was not a California • Unionization is spreading through the resident as of 2015 would be ineligible for any cannabis world, offering protections for CVIndependent.com

workers in this emerging and sometimes unpredictable industry. South Coast Safe Access in Santa Ana recently became the first dispensary in Orange County to unionize, as workers entered into an agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 324. The UFCW seems to be looking to bolster its ranks by representing cannabis workers is all states where the plant is legal. • Three-time Duke all-American and former Chicago Bulls guard Jay Williams is

calling for the NBA and other sports leagues to loosen up where cannabis is concerned, claiming that 75-80 percent of NBA players use cannabis. Williams told FoxBusiness. com: “I’m not condoning for anyone under 18 to use cannabis or marijuana, but from a medical perspective, it’s about time some of these brands like the NBA and MLB become a little bit more progressive and start thinking forward instead of being held captive in the past.”

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APRIL 2016

COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

Across 1 CBS drama spun off from JAG 5 Retired auto racer Teo ___ 9 “That was close!” 13 1966 Grammy winner Eydie 14 “___ stands ...” 15 First state to vote 16 Trap during a winter storm 17 Mah-jongg piece 18 Sketch look 19 Scrunch a sea mammal into a tiny space? 22 A googol divided by a googol 23 “It’s nothing __ consequence” 24 The Hunchback of ___ Dame 28 Stefan who won six Grand Slam singles titles 30 Catching up to, with “on” 32 Put into piles 33 Specter 35 What old mattresses do

36 Big sea waves for a Detroit union? 40 Ocean off Ga. and Fla. 42 Make like a 33-Across 43 For you and me 46 Whom to “take one for” 48 1990s Flockhart TV role 50 Apply, as pressure 51 Campbell’s spaghetti sauce brand 54 Kissing in front of everyone, e.g. 55 Memorize everything involving sugar suffixes? 58 Falling Up poet Silverstein 61 Earth sci. 62 Actor Tom of The Dukes of Hazzard 63 Lose it, in a way? 64 Bowling spot 65 Numbers ending in 8, e.g. 66 Pro votes 67 Suffix after hip or hoop 68 Yellow Muppet

Down 1 “Out of the question” 2 Dessert with a hardened layer 3 Phony, for short 4 Mister, in Rio 5 Ayatollah’s decree 6 Man from Manchuria 7 Farm animal with a beard 8 Anatomical duct 9 Name yelled in Cast Away 10 Earth mover 11 She for a shepherd 12 Hell, it’s said 13 Some action figures 20 CD followers? 21 Conglomerate 25 Gift bag padding 26 “Messenger” substance 27 Deviled item 29 Frat vowel 31 Entreat 33 Internet celebrity whose real name is Tardar Sauce 34 Farm female 37 Piques, as an appetite 38 “The sheep says ...”

response, on a See ’n’ Say 39 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator McElhenney 40 Had some grub 41 “Much appreciated,” in a text message 44 Shining 45 Biases 47 Creatures who cause trouble on walls? 48 Ball club VIP 49 String in the attic? 52 Former ABC executive ___ Arledge 53 Swiss mathematician Leonhard 56 Long swimmers 57 Travel randomly 58 Retreating 59 Paint swatch option 60 “Golden” time ©2016 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com! CVIndependent.com

40 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

APRIL 2016

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