Coachella Valley Independent March 2018

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | MARCH 2018

VOL. 6 | NO. 3

People with the virus today are living long, productive lives—which means health organizations like the Desert AIDS Project have a lot of work to do

By Brian Blueskye

PAGE 14

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MARCH 2018

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MARCH 2018

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

It’s once again (or still?) election season in the Coachella Valley—well, it is in at least part of the Coachella Valley.

That whacky central-valley city of 18,000 people, Rancho Mirage, likes to do things its own way—and so it holds its city election at a time (April 10) and via a method (mail) that are different from every other city in the valley. Speaking of doing things one’s own way, it’s also worth noting that Rancho Mirage is the biggest opponent of the proposed valley-wide CV Link pathway, and that the city just declined to participate in a valley-wide traffic-signal synchronization project.

Editor/Publisher It’s kind of like this: Rancho Mirage city government is the metaphoric equivalent of an old man yelling at people (in this case, the rest of the valley) to get off his damn lawn!

Jimmy Boegle I mention all of this for two reasons: One, to highlight the fantastic coverage of this Assistant Editor year’s Rancho Mirage city election by Kevin Brian Blueskye Fitzgerald, which can be found starting on Page 9; and two, to talk about endorsements.

Over the years, we’ve been occasionally Advertising sales asked why we don’t do endorsements Robyn Tanzer in political races. At first, we didn’t do endorsements because the Independent was coveR and feature design such a new publication that endorsements Mark Duebner Design would have caused more harm than good: Why would people care what an unestablished and unknown publication Contributors Elizabeth Aguilera, Stephen Berger, Max thought about a political race?

Today, more than five years into our Cannon, Kevin Carlow, Charles Drabkin, existence, the Independent is known and Katie Finn, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, fairly well-established—but we still don’t do Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Michael endorsements, because it takes a lot of time Grimm, Dwight Hendricks, Valerie-Jean and effort to do endorsements right. And we don’t do things here at the Independent (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Keith Knight, unless we can do them right.

Brett Newton, Dan Perkins, Guillermo Newspaper endorsements can make a Prieto, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, difference. In city elections, races can often Robert Victor, Baynard Woods be decided by hundreds or just dozens of votes—and there are definitely voters who use newspaper endorsements as a de facto The Coachella Valley Independent voting guide. We distribute 16,000 copies print edition is published every month. of the Independent; if we published an All content is ©2018 and may not be endorsement, and just 1 percent of those published or reprinted in any form copies somehow swayed a voter … that’s without the written permission of the 160 votes. And we’re not even counting the online edition. publisher. The Independent is available However, at this time, there aren’t enough free of charge throughout the Coachella Independent staff members or contributors Valley, limited to one copy per reader. talking to enough candidates for me to Additional copies may be purchased feel comfortable putting the weight of the for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The newspaper’s name behind a candidate.

Independent may be distributed only by That’s not to say this won’t change in the the Independent’s authorized distributors. future—and that’s not to say we aren’t tempted to issue endorsements at times … like, for example, when a certain city The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, CalMatters, Get government keeps metaphorically yelling at Tested Coachella Valley, the Local Independent Online everyone to get off their damn lawn! But for News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT now, the Independent is staying out of the Community Center of the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed. endorsements game.

Welcome to the March 2018 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent. As always, thanks for reading—and please drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com CVIndependent.com

4 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

MARCH 2018

We’ve always gone the distance in cancer care.

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CVIndependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 5

MARCH 2018

OPINION OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS W

BY ANITA RUFUS

hen you meet Marc Saxe, your first impression will be that he’s calm—and always ready with a smile. He doesn’t fit the stereotype of someone who sells timeshare properties— and perhaps that’s because his background is also not what you would expect.

Saxe is 70 (“Telling you that is like being shot in the head—it’s a big number!” he says) and a Palm Desert resident; he was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Dallas. He spent a large chunk of his life shuttling back and forth between Texas and Colorado before finally settling in Southern California.

Saxe and his older sister were born into a family of Lower East Side New York Jews. His parents had been high school sweethearts, yet subsequent marriages combined two families so that, as Saxe claims, “My aunt is also my cousin!”

Saxe’s father was in the fur business when It’s not surprising Saxe gravitated toward the family moved to Dallas, and later became a jobs in sales, given his father’s background. “My representative for several clothing lines before first job was when my dad was working at the opening his own business.

Merchandise Mart in Dallas. His friend gave “My dad got ill in 1963,” recalls Saxe, “and me some stuff they had leftover and told me to he was treated for an aortic aneurism by none go sell it. I knocked on doors, and I did sell it other than the famous Houston surgeons, Dr. all—even things like mustache wax, for heaven’s Michael DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley. That sake. I also worked selling ice cream.” was a big deal!”

Through all those years, Saxe was also Saxe recalls browsing in an old book store and interested in music. He began playing the guitar finding a Yale University album with the name at age 14. of his grandfather—one of the first Jews to get “I played around with friends and at the a law degree from that school. “I remember the occasional restaurant. Some of my friends had name had been scratched through and a Jewish moved to Austin, where the music environment star drawn next to it. You don’t forget things was really happening in Texas,” he says. like that.”

Saxe moved to Denver and got a job teaching He attended college at the University of music. He also went into a graduate program in Houston, majoring in political science with a architecture for a year. “I eventually went back minor in computer science and math. “I actually to Austin to hang with my old friends. Then I dropped out after one semester, because I (went) back to Boulder, doing landscape design wanted to see if I would get drafted, but then I and working with developers. went back,” he says. “I actually thought I might “I was constantly going back and forth become a lawyer, like Perry Mason. But then between Texas and Colorado, but I realized I the 1960s came along. My brother-in-law was was in my mid 20s and needed to get serious in Vietnam, and I felt pressured by the threat about guitar and music if I was ever going to. I of the draft. The people in student government originally came to Southern California to go to were making sense to me, so I got involved in the famed Dick Grove School of Music in L.A. the free speech environment at UH.” I had to choose between performance art and composing/arranging. I chose the latter.

“I went back to Colorado in the early 1980s and focused on the production side of music.

I’m still writing. I like to write songs that tell a story. I’m working on putting in a homerecording studio, and I wouldn’t mind being a ‘one hit wonder’ and hearing one of my songs on the radio.”

When Saxe answered an ad to sell timeshares, he got hooked, and is still in that business today.

“In the old days,” he says, “there were a lot of con artists. I used to say half were idiots, but a quarter knew what they were doing. I Marc and Cathy Saxe didn’t want to teach anymore, so I learned how

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

Meet Marc Saxe, a musician and salesman who likes being in the middle of things

to do it, and found it was fun. I was talking to real people, and it was like sitting around just talking with friends. I don’t know any other job that lets you put aside everything about your own situation and just focus on the fun and economics and emotions associated with what you can offer to others.”

Saxe met Cathy, his wife of 32 years, in 1985 at Antone’s, an iconic site near the University of Texas campus in Austin. “It was April Fool’s Day, her birthday, and I was hanging with some friends. She and some of her girlfriends came in, and I asked her to dance. She said it was her birthday, so I gave her a kiss. Then I got her phone number. We were married less than a year later. I have to say, Cathy stabilized me.”

Saxe’s philosophy of life: “A tai chi master once said to me, ‘You don’t dig a lot of holes; you want to dig one deeply.’ That never made sense

to me. I admit I’m something of a dilettante, and I wanted to dig lots of holes—not get stuck doing the same thing all the time. I guess I’m totally schizophrenic: Each thing I do fills some part of my personality. I don’t see how someone can walk through life and be blind to everything other than what they do. ”There’s a median in life. I like being in the middle of everything. If you look around, there’s always somebody better off and somebody worse off. My feeling is that you need to be happy with where you are.”

If you know Marc Saxe, you can see that he is.

Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal,” and her radio show airs Sundays at noon on KNews Radio 94.3 FM. Email her at Anita@LovableLiberal. com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

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MARCH 2018

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE G

By elizabeth aguilera, calmatters

rowing tension between California and the federal government over immigration has business owners in the crosshairs—worried about the potential effect on their enterprises, and unsure which laws they should follow.

Those in immigrant-dependent industries, such as hospitality and agriculture, say conflicting messages from the state, with its new laws to protect undocumented residents, and the federal government, which is cracking down on people here illegally, put them in an especially tough spot.

“It’s a bit scary to be caught in the middle of a stand-off between the feds and local law enforcement,” said Sharokina Shams, spokeswoman for the California Restaurant Association.

On Jan. 2, the interim director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said California should “hold on tight,” because he planned to send in a flood of agents and conduct more actions to counter the state’s new “sanctuary” law. That law, which took effect Jan. 1, limits local and state law enforcement agencies’ cooperation with federal authorities.

ICE also recently raided nearly 100 7-Eleven franchises across the country and arrested 21 people. If such raids happened in California, the store owners would be required under a separate law to request warrants and subpoenas.

That law, called the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, also went into effect Jan. 1. It requires that employers admit immigration officials to a worksite only if the agents have a warrant; keep workers’ confidential information private in the absence of a subpoena; and notify their workers before a federal audit of employee records takes place.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Jan. 18 that his office would go after employers who share information about workers in contradiction of the new law.

Employers could face prosecution, including fines of up to $10,000.

“We want to protect people’s rights to privacy and protect their ability to go about their business, going to work and feeding their kids,” said Becerra, an appointee (who replaced Kamala Harris when she was elected to the U.S. Senate) running for the office this year.

He said his announcement was prompted by rumors in Northern California that immigration agents intend to conduct workplace raids.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says employers in California are expected to comply with federal regulations, as they have in the past, when asked to open their records for review.

The Immigrant Worker Protection Act “reflects yet another effort by the State of California to interfere with federal immigration enforcement authorities,” said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for ICE, via email. “Federal law established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 requires employers

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California businesses face conflicting state, federal immigration laws

“The small business owner is the loser in this,” said Patricia Perez, co-owner of Pho Show restaurants in Culver City and Redondo Beach. ELIZABETH AGUILERA/CALMATTERS

to verify the identity and work eligibility of all individuals they hire.”

Such audits protect jobs for citizens and others who are in the country legally and help battle worker exploitation, child labor and other illegal practices, Haley said.

California business owners shouldn’t be put at odds with the federal government, said GOP Assemblyman Travis Allen, who represents Huntington Beach.

“Business owners should always feel safe to cooperate with federal authorities without fear of persecution by California’s rogue attorney general,” said Allen, who is running for governor. “Business owners should never be used as pawns in the California Democrats’ ongoing war with the White House.”

He called the new law unconstitutional and likened Becerra’s threat to the Mafia silencing witnesses. The Constitution has “laid out clearly that immigration is federal, not state jurisdiction,” Allen said. “Federal law trumps state law, and Xavier Becerra knows this.”

The California Farm Bureau Federation, which represents farmers, has been reaching out to its 27,000 members to educate them about the new employer law. But officials there say they may not be able to reach everyone and worry that some may get caught unaware.

“It was a little disconcerting that the attorney general felt compelled to make a public statement to the effect that ‘we are going to fine anybody that we think might have violated the law at the max penalty’ when people make mistakes,” said Bryan Little, director of employment policy for the federation. “It would have been more helpful for the attorney general to be more informative.”

Typically, Little said, when immigration authorities decide to do an employment inspection, an employer receives a letter stating that the agency wants to audit its records, how those records should be provided and whether agents plan to show up at the worksite. That’s different from an enforcement action, when agents show up without warning to look for

someone specific or to question all employees about their legal status—the kind of operation that does not happen very often.

Regardless, said Little, California law adds a layer of complications.

“Our business owners, operators and employers are caught in the middle” between ICE’s right to enforce federal law and the state’s limited-cooperation directive, he said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Restaurateur Patricia Perez, co-owner of Pho Show restaurants in Culver City and Redondo Beach, feels the pressure.

“Being in the hospitality industry, the whole social and political climate is worrisome,” she said. “Even before this, there is a lot to comply with. I don’t know what we would do.

“The small business owner is the loser in this,” added Perez, who is also on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the California Restaurant Association.

Keeping up with new laws and regulations is hard enough, said Perez. Anytime a government agency shows up at a business for audits or information, employers and workers are nervous or even intimidated, and the new employment law doesn’t help, she said.

California could be contradicting itself with the new employer law, according to Jonathan Turley, professor of public-interest law at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The state weighed in on a 2012 case involving an Arizona law that required police to cooperate with immigration agents, Turley noted in a review of California’s new employer law. Kamala Harris, who was then California’s attorney general, signed a brief arguing that Arizona’s law improperly interfered with federal jurisdiction.

Today, California is putting business owners in the direct path of the federal government, Turley argues, and its law could be challenged based on its own position that states should not impede federal authority.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

MARCH 2018

From Botox to Cosmetic Surgery and Everything in Between

Solar Q&A

What is the best time to go solar?

Now’s pretty close! The full 30 percent Federal Tax Credit is still in effect (it expires at the end of next year); solar panel prices are low (although the price on some will increase soon because of the solar tariff); and your system can be installed in plenty of time before the huge summer bills hit.

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8 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

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MARCH 2018

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

MARCH 2018

NEWS

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CHANGE OR THE STATUS QUO?

W

Three Rancho Mirage Council incumbents face three challengers with very different opinions about the state of the city

By kevin fitzgerald

hen voters in Rancho Mirage mail in their ballots on or before Tuesday, April 10, they won’t simply be voting for the City Council candidates they prefer; they’ll be voting on the direction in which the city goes.

If residents like the status quo, they can re-elect incumbents Dana Hobart, Charles Townsend Vinci and Iris Smotrich. If they want change, they can vote for Michael Harrington, Robert Mueller and Kate Spates.

The Independent recently spoke to five of the six candidates for the three seats up for a vote this year. Incumbent Dana Hobart declined to make himself available for an interview.

It’s worth noting that the two incumbents with whom we spoke said they wanted to be viewed as a united entry against their three challengers.

We asked each candidate what their top priorities would be if elected, and why they were the best candidate for the job.

The Incumbents Iris Smotrich, who at 74 continues to manage her family’s varied real estate investments along with her husband, Tom, spoke about the challenges she sees ahead for her city.

“Safety is always a priority,” Smotrich said.

“Our budget is always a priority to make sure that we are fiscally responsible. And then, energy is a priority. Our new energy program goes into effect on May 1. It is a way that our businesses and our residents are going to be able to save, in the beginning, 5 percent—and someday, we hope it will be a larger amount.”

Smotrich is referring to the new program through which the city will decide how and where to buy electricity—rather than simply purchasing energy from Southern California Edison.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10.1 percent of the population of Rancho Mirage lives in poverty—yet homelessness does not appear to be a pressing issue within Rancho Mirage’s city limits. Still, Smotrich noted: “Homelessness is important to everyone. (The Coachella Valley Association of Governments) and many of our cities are working hard to find dignified ways to provide housing, some education, some therapy and, really, a better way of life for those who want it. Not all, but a significant amount, of homeless people do drugs and want to live unrestricted and do what they want, when they want. But with all these professional, caring and loving civic and health leaders working together, I can’t help but be optimistic that we’re all heading in the right direction for all concerned.”

We asked Smotrich if she thought Rancho

Mirage had any problems.

“I don’t think so,” she replied. “And if we do, we solve them immediately. We have just added two full-time (police) officers, not because we needed them, but because this is Rancho Mirage, and we want to provide the best.

“I’d just like people to know that the (current) council members all get along. We’re all friends, and we love our staff. We’re not seeking any higher office. We are here to stay. I serve on 18 different committees, commissions and sub-committees, and so do the other City Council members. We don’t just show up at a council meeting and vote ‘Yes.’ We know what we’re doing, and we do it the best way we can. We are not ‘a silo in the desert,’ as one of the other candidates described us. Instead of calling it a silo, I think it’s really more like the Statue of Liberty that is standing for our community rights.”

Charles Townsend Vinci, the current mayor (a position rotated among City Council members), is 76 and a four-year City Council member who retired last year from his Rancho Mirage-based high-end furniture business. We asked him about the issues on which he would focus during a new term.

“Development is one. Business coming into Rancho Mirage is another. Those are things I’d be working on,” he said.

“The homeless situation is another. I sit on the CVAG (Homelessness Committee), which Rancho Mirage and I personally support. The other main thing is keeping a balanced budget for Rancho Mirage. We have a $63 million reserve, and that reserve is not just laying in an account getting 1 percent (in interest). That $63 million is divided into separate categories, including infrastructure, earthquake problems, problems with City Hall or any of our annex buildings, and it’s also for redevelopment funds, so it’s all earmarked.”

According to the Rancho Mirage two-year budget for fiscal 2017-18 and 2018-19, the city’s reserve funds currently total roughly $68 million.

While each Rancho Mirage City Council

The current Rancho Mirage City Council.

member receives roughly $33,000 per year, plus benefits (along with an additional annual expense reimbursement of up to $2,700), Townsend noted: “When you’re in a council with these cities down here, you’re not in it for raising a family. You’re not in it to make money. I’m not in it to advance to Sacramento or Washington and use it as a stepping stone to higher office. I’ve been living here for 24 years, and I have a vested interest in Rancho Mirage. I’m not just jumping in and thinking that I can throw everything up into the wind and change things. The next four years will be very important to our development and achievement.”

When asked what else he’d like constituents to know, Townsend replied: “I think they should look at the record that has been set over the last 10 years for their council. In the four years that I’ve been on it, and going back, there’s been a list of accomplishments and achievements that have been done for the best of the city. One of the main things is the pension fund. We paid ours off, and we saved millions of dollars in interest payments. … This council—and I’m not just talking about the three of us (standing for re-election in 2018), but the five of us—have a great spread of wisdom and knowledge and background, and all five of us are dedicated to the city of Rancho Mirage.”

The Challengers Michael Harrington, 59, is back on the ballot after losing a 2016 bid for a Rancho Mirage City Council seat. A practicing lawyer who has lived in the city for 15 years, Harrington said he feels strongly that the current council is not

providing competent or transparent leadership.

“My motivation is to improve the city,” Harrington said. “I think we’re falling behind other cities in the valley. Somehow, the council just has stopped dealing with modern ideas. That doesn’t mean we have to have radical change; it just means that you have to be able to adapt to change, and they seem to have stopped being able to adapt. That will lead to deterioration, which I believe we’re already seeing. There’s an increase in property crime. We’ve seen businesses opening up, then shutting down, because other cities offer them more.”

What would Harrington’s immediate priorities be if elected? “I’d put public safety first as a broad category, which includes road and pedestrian safety, public lighting needs and overall attention to the needs of pedestrians, joggers, pet owners and bicyclists.

“Second would be revitalizing our business community. We have one grocery market, and I think it’s going to stay, but we had to struggle continued on next page

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NEWS

ABOUT CV LINK A

Rancho Mirage’s candidates all say CV Link is a decided issue— until one reads between the lines

By kevin fitzgerald

ll four of the Rancho Mirage candidates whom the Independent spoke to about CV Link—the 50-mile bike, pedestrian and low-speed electric-vehicle path that, if completed, would connect all eight of the Coachella Valley’s cities—say it’s a dead issue, because the residents of Rancho Mirage overwhelmingly voted against the proposed Rancho Mirage portion two years ago.

And then the candidates keep talking—indicating the issue may not be so dead after all.

Another indication the issue is not so dead: It’s been the most contentious topic so far in the city campaign. Candidate Michael Harrington filed a complaint against incumbent Dana Hobart after Hobart claimed in an email that the three challengers to the incumbents all want to bring the issue back up—perhaps due to the influence of former Goldenvoice chief operating officer Skip Paige, who is in a relationship with candidate Kate Spates.

Both Harrington and Spates have denied Hobart’s claims.

Here’s what four candidates told us when asked where they stand on CV Link. Hobart declined to talk to the Independent, while incumbent Charles Townsend Vinci ended our interview before we could ask him about CV Link.

Robert Mueller: “The CV Link is a big deal, and it’s been a very contentious deal.

I think the way that the City Council has handled it has caused the city to become an island. The CV Link was put on the ballot for a vote by the city’s residents, and it was overwhelmingly defeated, with 79 percent of voters coming out against it. I think the voters see it as an externally imposed and expensive disruption without any redeeming benefit. I have no intention of questioning the wisdom of Rancho Mirage voters. They’ve indicated their preference clearly, and I’m not going to try to change their minds. Some candidates may try to make it a campaign issue, but considering that the voters have already indicated their preference, I think that discussing CV Link in the context of this election is an unhelpful academic exercise.”

Michael Harrington: “The Rancho Mirage voters have voted it down, and they’ve said they don’t want it, so it would CVIndependent.com

have to go on the ballot again. I think some of the concerns are about cost and how to apportion those costs. I don’t look at the city in terms of the one issue of CV Link, but somehow, it has become more than just another issue. It’s become some sort of pivotal point where it’s almost become irrational. The incumbents portray it as a threat that will destroy our community. I think that’s irrational. It’s another project, and you look at it rationally and civilly with transparency. But again, the citizens voted it down. I’m open to looking at it again, but I’m not the agent for CV Link. It’s just another project to look at going forward.

I’ve reached out to (the Coachella Valley Association of Governments) to discuss with them what might be done with a new City Council. What about having a bike path only in Rancho Mirage? What about cooperating with the people who want to go through our city using CV Link? We need a bike path anyway. I don’t think our bike paths now are really all that good, but we can cooperate with other cities because the riders are going to want to come through here. CVAG is not sharing our trails because of this stand-off. I’d like to look at options to cooperate with the project, even though Rancho Mirage doesn’t want the whole CV Link package, with electric cars and all that.

There must be a compromise or a solution, and I’d like to work on it. But I’m not personally promoting the CV Link.”

Kate Spates: “I support the will of the people, and they’ve decided that CV Link should not run through Rancho Mirage.

I’m a firm believer in democracy. So, if a wave of people decides to bring it back up, then that’s the only way it’s going to be a part of the discussion. If you ask me, it’s history, and we need to stop talking about

it. Although I do receive a large amount of e-mails and calls, and hear voices of support for CV Link, I’m not sure who I’m not hearing from. There have been only a few people who have said, ‘If you’re for the CV Link, then I’m not for you.’ So let me assure (the voters) that there’s not one lone person who can revive the CV Link.

And even if all five City Council members decided all of a sudden that we wanted it back, it’s still in the hands of the voters.”

Iris Smotrich (incumbent): “My biggest concerns, and the biggest concerns of the people I talk to, are public safety and property protection. I have to tell you that as a mother and a grandmother and a former chairwoman of the CVAG Public Safety Committee, I’ve heard many concerns through the last four years regarding crime, and accidents, and law-enforcement monitoring, and residential privacy. You have to remember that, according to CVAG’s projections, there will be a huge traffic flow on this roadway, and most travel will be near or in the wash, where there are a lot of communities built. Many of my friends and neighbors and our constituents think there are a lot of problems just waiting to happen.

One of the biggest concerns is about homeless encampments. All you have to do is look online at (what’s happened around) similar roadways in the Bay Area, the L.A. River, the American River and the Santa Ana River, and it’s not a nice or a healthy sight to see. It’s heartbreaking, and with this roadway, there (would be) a lot of crime opportunity, drug problems, a lot of health concerns, and privacy issues, especially in the backyards and with windows exposed to the traffic flow of complete strangers going by. I can’t imagine anyone who knows all the details … wanting or agreeing to have any of this. It’s a very difficult situation, and I’m very opposed to it. But we’re going to do an environmental impact study on it for $150,000, even though our residents voted against it, because, someday, things may change. We listen to our constituents, and we listen to our visitors. We want the best for our residents, our businesses and our visitors.”

Rancho Mirage continued from Page 9 to get just the one Gelson’s market to come here. They’re doing well now, but we could have sped up the permitting process. With shopping in general, people have been going more to El Paseo, and now they’re starting to go to Palm Springs. We can do more with our shopping experience. What about a free shuttle? People like that, and it brings a good feel to the shopping experience. We could look into private-public tax-sharing agreements that have helped revive local cities like Coachella, where more businesses are opening.

“Third, we need more civility and transparency. Right now, we don’t have the civility in dealing with our neighboring cities’ officials. That probably comes from the false fear that’s been propagated (by the current City Council): ‘We don’t want to have anything to do with any of those people, or any outsiders, or other cities. They’ll ruin our city.’ And as for transparency, they should have open discussion. Usually, when the City Council votes, they’re 5-0 on every issue.

A City Council member said, ‘We do have vigorous discussions.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Well, where do you have them?’ I don’t see them on the dais at the public meetings I attend. I want it out in the open.”

A first time candidate is Robert “Bob” Mueller, who, at 70, offers considerable executive business experience, but no previous political involvement.

“I moved to Rancho Mirage four years ago,” Mueller said. “When my partner and I were building our home here, during the construction, the City Council took exception to some of the designs, and we wound up having to make some extremely expensive changes.

We asked the City Council to let us speak with a City Council member, and when we presented our concerns and asked for some consideration from them, we were told these exact words: ‘If you don’t like the way we run this city, you are free to live anywhere else in the valley that you want.’ Of course, at that point, we had already purchased the land, so it was too late to make a change—but that served to burnish my opinion that the

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MARCH 2018

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS residents of Rancho Mirage can’t feel that the council is receptive to any thoughts that don’t originate with the council itself. So it’s time for a fresh voice.”

When asked what his top priorities would be if he’s elected, Mueller said: “Combatting property crime in Rancho Mirage is certainly one. According to the data I’ve seen, Rancho Mirage has a crime rate of 3,843 per 100,000 citizens annually, which (in our valley) is second only to Palm Springs, with a propertycrime rate over 5,700. A number of lessaffluent communities have property-crime rates less than half that of Rancho Mirage, and this is not just a blip. It’s been this way for several years.”

The City Council recently approved the hiring of two additional full-time police officers to bolster the force. “When the officers were hired, there was no discussion about funding police patrols in gated communities, which a number of residents have complained about,” Mueller said. “That seems to be another issue that the current City Council has turned a deaf ear to. So it was a great missed opportunity.

They spent $664,000 to hire two additional police officers and set no goals for crime reduction at the time they were hired. I don’t understand it.”

Another issue Mueller highlighted was the need for a reserve fund of some $68 million for a city as small as Rancho Mirage.

“A ‘rainy day fund’ reserve typically would be maybe 50 percent of the annual budget of roughly $26 million,” Mueller said. “So, this is far more than just a ‘rainy day’ fund. This is a huge asset that belongs to the taxpayers.

Without spending a ton of money, some of this reserve could be used to make Rancho Mirage an international tourist destination. Most of the city’s annual revenue comes from the transient occupancy tax (aka the hotel tax), but three of the four main Rancho Mirage hotels are all 20 years old or more. Meanwhile, new high-fashion hotels are being built in other valley cities, so our city is facing an uphill battle competing with these much-newer and more-fashionable properties. The city needs to hold up its end of the bargain by improving the luster of the city as a destination to help its hotels compete.

Also, they could do things to help the businesses in the city that are not exactly thriving. In the summer, when business is tougher to come by, they could do a sales-tax holiday to give the businesses here in the city an advantage over those in other cities that don’t have the means to do something like that.”

Kate Spates, 50, runs her own businessconsulting firm, and although she claims little political experience, she currently holds positions on the boards of numerous local civic and charitable organizations.

“I think we have to assess what the people

in our community want, and what they need to help improve their lives,” Spates said. “We need to understand what the upcoming generations want in recreation and then look to provide those resources to satisfy the demands, or our community will suffer. And we need to look at our assets like our hospitals, our hotels and all of our large employers. We need to ensure that the workforce is skilled and healthy.

“It’s also extremely important for everyone to maintain property values, which bleeds into another issue: I feel like having areas of our city that are unsightly, and looking abandoned, is not healthy for the surrounding community of homeowners. So I feel that we need to work to attract new businesses and improve the existing businesses through some sort of business retention and improvement program, especially along the Highway 111 corridor north of Country Club.”

Spates has experience in publicity and marketing.

“I think Rancho Mirage has long been a secret,” Spates said. “So I want to shout from the roof tops and get better marketing (for what we have to offer). You know we have four beautiful luxury resorts (including the Ritz Carlton, the Omni Rancho Las Palmas resort, the Westin Mission Hills and the Agua Caliente Resort and Casino) that attract tourists from all over the world. I know that the city has explored, and is interested in attracting, smaller boutique hotels, which are great. Our bed tax (TOT) accounts for a large percentage of our revenues, so it’s very important that we treat those resorts as our partners.”

What message would she like to leave with voters?

“I feel like it might be a secret that 56 percent of Rancho Mirage residents are under the age of 65, because there’s no current representation of that demographic on our council,” Spates said. “So when I talk about representing an under-represented demographic in our city, I’m talking about those people under 65. It’s been on the record where some of our council members will say, ‘This is a retirement community.’ End of story.

I strongly disagree.”

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DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS By baynard woods

I

got a text from my mom flipping out about The Memo—the document assembled by Fresnoarea Congressman Devin Nunes and released, despite intelligence-agency concerns, on Feb. 2.

She’s smart but not especially political, and her text made it clear that the #releasethememo movement that began as an alt-right rallying cry had now reached the mainstream. “As a teenager you ranted about the CIA (you were right),” she wrote. “Now the FBI. Can we trust any politician or any government office?”

It was a strange moment for me, because, at the same time every mainstream news network in the country was on “Memo Watch,” I was covering a woefully uncovered trial in

Baltimore, where the FBI uncovered a vast police corruption conspiracy after they traced some opioids that killed a young woman back to a drug gang and, upon tapping phones,

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Hysteria over ‘The Memo’ and a Baltimore corruption trial highlight the muddled state of law enforcement in America

realized the gang was working with a Baltimore Police officer named Momodu Gondo. When FBI agents tapped his phone, they realized that he and other officers were regularly targeting citizens whom they thought had a lot of cash— to rob.

Over the last three weeks of a federal trial— six of the officers pleaded guilty, while two maintained innocence and stood trial—we have learned that, according to testimony, one officer executed a man point-blank in 2009 because he “didn’t feel like chasing him.”

According to Gondo’s testimony, a deputy commissioner came out to the scene to coach everyone on what to say: The victim was about to run them over, and he had to shoot. The deputy commissioner announced his retirement immediately following the testimony.

We also learned that during the uprising following Freddie Gray’s death, Wayne Jenkins—the ringleader of the elite police task force who was also indicted—came to a bail bondsman with two big trash bags of pharmaceuticals stolen from pharmacies and told him to sell them.

The bail bondsman testified that Jenkins came to him with stolen drugs almost every night. Jenkins, who did not testify, has come across as something like a demon. Even Jemell Rayam, who shot the man to keep from chasing him, thought Jenkins’ actions were excessive.

Jenkins had been involved in this kind of activity since at least 2010, when he and Det. Sean Suiter—who was apparently murdered in November, the day before he was supposed to testify to the grand jury in the case—chased a “target,” causing a fatal car crash, and then planted drugs in the car. Jenkins, as many people testified, was protected by the local power structure.

But the plodding investigations by the FBI—and prosecutions of the U.S. attorneys— brought down Jenkins’ long reign of terror.

This is similar to the story told by David Grann in last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which is about how the newly formed FBI was able to break through the white-power structure of 1920s Oklahoma law enforcement and expose local authorities’ involvement in killing hundreds of Native Americans in order to steal their payments from oil on Osage-owned lands.

Yet the national media—which covered every second of the burning CVS during the riots following Freddie Gray’s death—was largely silent about the vast police misconduct revealed in the trial, even though they dovetailed in some uncomfortable ways with the Memo Watch hysteria.

Federal prosecutor Leo Wise questions Momodu Gondo. TOM CHALKLEY/REAL NEWS NETWORK

The Memo’s author, Devin Nunes, worked on Trump’s transition team and had a weird midnight Uber ride and secret White House lawn meeting a few months back. He ultimately alleged that the Steele dossier—source of the “pee tape” rumors—was paid for by the Democratic National Committee and used to get a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant on former Trump advisor Carter Page.

The Trump team has long alleged that Page, who has done some bragging about his Russian connections, was nothing more than a “coffee boy”—and that this was an attempt by the FBI to take Trump down.

Ultimately, The Memo was a dud, but it does highlight the weird moment where the right is attacking law enforcement agencies, and the left is valorizing them. It’s not hard to find countless examples of FBI malfeasance—the agency’s COINTELPRO is one of the worst incidents of law enforcement over-stepping in American history, as J. Edgar Hoover and his team plotted illegal, Jenkins-esque ways to destroy the blackmilitant movement.

The rather young and dashing dynamic duo of federal prosecutors in Baltimore—Leo Wise and Derek Hines—come across as champions of Baltimore’s most vulnerable citizens. But as they pulled out a big bag of black masks and clothes that Jenkins used for burglaries, I couldn’t help but think of their colleague Jennifer Kerkhoff, who, an hour down the road in Washington D.C., is still trying to prosecute 59 people for wearing black clothes during Trump’s inauguration, following a protest where a few windows were broken.

Baynard Woods is a reporter for the Real News Network and the founder of Democracy in Crisis, a project of alternative newspapers across the country. Email: baynard@therealnews.com. Twitter: @baynardwoods.

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MARCH ASTRONOMY

The month brings two full

Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight moons—and the start For March, 2018 of spring!

A

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

N

By Robert Victor

s in January, March 2018 has two full moons. The first one almost coincides with its rising at sunset on March 1. The second full moon of the month, sometimes called a “Blue Moon,” occurs in morning twilight on the 31st, before its setting just after sunrise.

In March 2018, the predawn sky continues to host the three bright outer planets, all fitting within a span of 44 to 46 degrees. Starting with the full moon on March 1, follow the waning moon each morning through the 15th, and watch it pass above bright Jupiter on March 7, then skip from right to left of Mars March 9 and 10, and from right to left of Saturn March 10 and 11.

In the early evening, Venus can be spotted as a bright point of light very low in the western twilight glow, with its visibility improving as the time of its setting after the sun broadens from 57 minutes to 93 minutes. Mercury can be retrograde. spotted in the same binocular field as Venus for March 10: Mars is 7 degrees to the right of first three weeks, but fades rapidly after midthe fat crescent moon. Saturn is 6 degrees to the month. Catch the moon at dusk on March 18 lower left of the moon. as a thin crescent low in the west, to the lower March 11: Saturn is 6 degrees to the right of left of Venus and Mercury. Then follow moon the moon. nightly until March 31, when it’s full, rising just March 15: This is the last chance for the south of east within a half-hour after sunset. thin old crescent moon, very low in the eastOur morning chart for March depicts daily southeast in twilight. positions of all three bright outer planets and March 31: Spica is 15 degrees to the upper the half-dozen stars of first magnitude or left of the moon. brighter visible all month about 40 minutes In the evening: Have you ever seen Mercury? before sunrise. Jupiter, of magnitude -2.2 to Here’s your chance! On March 1, Mercury will -2.4 in the south-southwest to southwest, is the shine at magnitude -1.3, only 1.7 degrees to brightest “star” at dawn. The brightest actual the lower right of 10-times-brighter Venus, at stars are golden Arcturus, high in the southwest magnitude -3.9. On March 2, they’re 1.3 degrees to west, and blue-white Vega, very high in apart, and on March 3, Mercury passes within the east-northeast to northeast. Saturn, of 1.1 degrees to the right of Venus, with the pair magnitude +0.6 to +0.5 in the south-southeast, setting just within an hour after sunset. Night glows about 45 degrees east of Jupiter. Mars, by night, Mercury creeps a little farther to the brightening from magnitude +0.8 to +0.3 and upper right of Venus. starting to outshine Saturn, strangely seems to On March 15, Mercury, still bright at hover nearly stationary in the sky all month, just magnitude -0.3, reaches greatest elongation, more than 30 degrees up in the south-southeast 18 degrees from the sun, and at the end of its to south. But Mars is really shifting nearly 0.6 apparent orbit as we observe it from Earth. degrees per day east against the background Faded to magnitude +0.3, Mercury reaches a of stars, which appear to be sliding westward secondary minimum distance of 3.8 degrees to behind the planet. Watch Mars narrow its the upper right of Venus on March 18, the same distance west of Saturn from 15 degrees on evening when the 37-hour-old crescent moon March 4, to 2 degrees on March 30. passes 4 degrees to the south of brilliant Venus.

Look about an hour before sunrise: On March 20, spring begins at 9:15 a.m., as March 1: Regulus is 4 degrees to the lower the sun passes directly over the equator. That right of the full moon. evening, the two inner planets set together, March 4 and 5: Spica is 10 degrees to the with Mercury faded to magnitude +0.9, lower left, then 8 degrees to the lower right, of appearing 4.1 degrees to the right of Venus. the waning gibbous moon.

Orion’s three-star belt, not shown because its March 7: Jupiter is 4 degrees to the lower stars are of just second magnitude, is prominent right of the moon, now two-thirds full. in the south to southwest at dusk. It is flanked March 8: Antares, heart of Scorpius, is 9 by red Betelgeuse, his shoulder, and blue-white degrees below the moon.

Rigel, his foot. Extend the belt eastward to March 9: Mars is 6 degrees to the lower left of Sirius, the brightest star. Extend the belt in the last quarter (half-full) moon. Also, Jupiter, the opposite direction, and bend north a bit to two months before its opposition, is stationary Aldebaran, eye of Taurus. Some 14 degrees against background stars 8 degrees east of farther, locate a compact cluster of stars, the third-magnitude Alpha in Libra, and begins to Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. Procyon, the lesser

March's evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER Deneb

Arcturus

Capella

E

Regulus

Castor Pollux Aldebaran

Venus 29 15 Mercury

22

8

22 15 8 1

W 1

Betelgeuse Procyon Rigel Sirius

Canopus

Evening mid-twilight occurs

Dog Star, completes the Triangle with when Sun is 9o Winter below horizon.

Mar. Sirius.

1: 40 minutes after sunset.

Betelgeuse and 40 bright " " objects " The moon is15: near in evening 31: 40 " " " sky: March 1: Regulus is 13 degrees to the upper right of the full moon.

March 18: Venus and Mercury are 4.1 and 7.6 degrees, respectively, to the upper right of a young crescent moon low in the west.

March 22: Aldebaran is 2 degrees below the moon.

March 25: Pollux is 9 degrees north of the moon; Procyon is 14 degrees south of the moon.

March 27 and 28: Regulus is 6 degrees to the lower left, then 8 degrees to the upper right, of the moon.

March 31: Before the end of twilight, watch for the rising of Spica, within 8 degrees to the lower right of the moon, just past full.

On Friday, March 2, Dennis Mammana, author of six books on astronomy and the “Stargazer” nationally syndicated newspaper

S

Stereographic Projection

column, will present a Map lecture at theD.Portola

by Robert Miller Community Center, 45480 Portola Ave., in Palm Desert. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The website of the Astronomical Society of the Desert (www.astrorx.org) has a listing of our lectures, and of our evening star parties at two locations. The primary location is 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). A sky-viewing session is scheduled there on Saturday, March 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. Sawmill Trailhead, our high-altitude site (elevation 4000 feet), will have a star party starting at dusk on Saturday, March 17.

Robert C. Victor was a staff astronomer at Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. He is now retired and enjoys providing sky watching opportunities for a variety of groups in the Coachella Valley.

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AGING WITH HIV 14 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

MARCH 2018

People with the virus today are living long, productive lives—which means health organizations like the Desert AIDS Project have a lot of work to do

By Brian Blueskye

HIV is no longer a death sentence: Today, most people with

the virus—as long as they receive proper medical care—will live long and productive lives.

However, the amazing medical advances that have allowed for this have led to a new challenge: an increasingly large number of older people who are living with the virus.

The Desert AIDS Project was the first HIV/AIDS organization of its kind in the nation when it was founded by community volunteers in 1984. Today, it’s a federally qualified health center that serves anyone in need, regardless of HIV status—and a lot of DAP’s clients are older people who were diagnosed with the virus in the 1980s and 1990s.

“We’ve learned a lot since 1984,” said Jack Bunting, the public relations specialist for the Desert AIDS Project. “… We all know with the advances in pharmacology that people aren’t dying of this anymore. Now, we have an aging HIV population—people who are in their 20s all the way through their 80s. It’s no longer a death sentence. What we’re trying to do is invigorate people’s lives so they can live with it and still live long, healthy and productive lives.”

Bunting said DAP’s clients today have needs that would have been unthinkable during the AIDS crisis.

“Job training and vocational training—there’s a whole gamut of services that people need to live with this disease,” Bunting said. “We’re not doing triage for dying people anymore; these people are going to be here for a long time. They’re able to be of good use, good value and live productive lives. … There’s a hierarchy of needs. You can give them all the HIV medication you want, but if they don’t have anywhere to live, they’re depressed and isolated. If they don’t have food, and if they’re lonely, they aren’t going to take their medication.”

The fact that more than half of all Americans infected with HIV today are 50 or older led a group of local medical experts, patients and activists to recently start the HIV + Aging Research Project-Palm Springs, or HARP-PS. The nonprofit will be holding a day-long “Reunion Project 2.0” conference on Saturday, March 31. Visit www.harp-ps.org for more information.

Due to an increasing demand for services, the Desert AIDS Project recently announced a huge

An artists’ rendering of what a portion of the DAP campus will look like when the $20 million expansion is completed in 2020. expansion project. The agency, located in Palm Springs at Sunrise Way and Vista Chino, has acquired the building south of the existing campus, and is expanding beyond those existing buildings as well. Once the $20 million expansion is completed in 2020, DAP will be serving an estimated 8,000 patients in its medical clinics—up from 3,900 last year.

A lot of the new DAP space will be dedicated to services that were not needed in the days when HIV was basically a death sentence. DAP’s dental clinics will serve 1,700 patients in 2020, up from 814 in 2017. DAP-owned housing—for which there’s currently a years-long waiting list—will almost double, from 80 apartments now to 141 in 2020.

Wade Cook is a client at and volunteer with the Desert AIDS Project. Now 60, Cook was diagnosed as being positive in 1991 while living in Texas, and he said the Desert AIDS Project CVIndependent.com

Desert AIDS Project client and volunteer Wade Cook: “There are a lot of us who have lived with this for a very long time who have developed PTSD symptoms, because we’ve gone through a series of very traumatic events in the process— including the loss of lots of people early on in the epidemic.”

PHOTO: BRIAN BLUESKYE saved his life.

“I’ve received treatment in a few other areas of the country, and the Desert AIDS Project is really unique and pretty special,” Cook said. “I’m at the Desert AIDS Project every day, given I volunteer there, and I go to all the groups and receive my medical care, and my mental health (care). As far as medical care goes, I’ve never received such thorough care, and my health has improved so much that I’m considering going back to work again.”

Cook said living with HIV takes a toll on one’s body.

“It speeds up the aging process in a lot of ways,” Cook said. “You develop diabetes (a side effect of some medications), heart conditions, high cholesterol and other different things that might develop with older age—but you develop them a lot sooner with HIV. For me, I developed severe arthritis, which is why I went on disability, because I was in a wheelchair for four years. The fact that my body is working so hard to fight this infection—it can only do so much. I’ve had a lot of issues with my liver just because of the medications that I take.

“HIV and aging is a new field for a lot of people to begin to look at—and to evaluate people like me.”

Long-term survivors have to deal with more than the virus and the side effects of the medication; Cook said people with HIV are often overcome with anguish.

“There’s isolation, which is a huge issue for people who are long-time survivors,” he said.

“Depression is another issue that people struggle with. There are a lot of us who have lived with this for a very long time who have developed PTSD symptoms, because we’ve gone through a series of very traumatic events in the process—including the loss of lots of people early on in the epidemic.

As time has gone by, lots of us have gone through severe health issues.”

This is one reason behavioral health care is also a big part of DAP’s expansion: In 2020, an estimated 1,200 patients will receive such care, up from 583 last year.

Cook talked about being first diagnosed with the virus back in 1991.

“I was a school teacher in rural Texas, and I was terrified that the parents of my students would find out—that the school district would find out, and I didn’t know what the response would be,” he said. “I didn’t go to the doctor using my insurance, because I didn’t want anything to show up anywhere.”

In Las Vegas, Cook said, he received care at a medical center that stigmatized people with HIV. “You had to go through the back alley to get to the ward,” he said. “It had a very powerful effect

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

MARCH 2018

on me when I first walked into that ward, because I had to walk through basically where the janitors kept all their buckets—that was what was set aside for people with HIV. “I’ve referred to the experiences of living with HIV as living through a war.”

Despite the great care he’s received at DAP, Cook said he still deals with the mental and physical toll that HIV has taken.

“Those feelings don’t go away. I’ve lost a lot of people who I’ve known through the years, especially earlier on, when there was so little help,” he said. “One of the things the Desert AIDS Project does an incredible job with is mental health and programs for people to interact and communicate with each other. I’m at a point in my life where I’m considering going into a Ph.D. program. For years, I’d lived with this idea that (HIV) was the end of my life, and I was done.”

Another challenge aging LGBT individuals are facing, regardless of HIV status, is a lack of family members to help with care. Stonewall Gardens, an LGBT retirement community in Palm Springs, often deals with the fact that many residents have no family members.

“We deal far less with family members and more with friends and the individual themselves. Often times, most of our residents don’t have family members, or they’re estranged from them,” said Lauren Kabakoff, the marketing and sales director of Stonewall Gardens. “It’s not unusual that someone will come by themselves, or maybe their niece or nephew will come to look for them. That’s a challenge we have, because it’s so easy for kids to put Mom and Dad somewhere, and deal with selling the house and selling the car. But for us, our residents need to deal with all of this themselves. They need to change their address themselves, sell their home or deal with renting their home, and wrap up their affairs before they move in. There’s no family to say, ‘We’ll put Mom and Dad in there and deal with it later.’ It’s a bit of a different dynamic.”

Kabakoff said the Stonewall Gardens staff often winds up doing more than staff members at a traditional assisted-living facility.

“By default, we do become family for so many of our residents. We are the only people that they may have,” Kabakoff said. “We end up taking on a more personalized role.”

Kabakoff said it’s important for Stonewall Gardens staff members to understand what their clients’ special needs are—much like the staff members at DAP must do.

“They already have an inclination for what it takes to be here and work with our community,” she said “They have a connection to the community, have a passion for it, and they understand it in a way to want to help the residents on a deeper level.

“You also have to be creative in what you do, because this is uncharted territory.”

Reunion Project 2.0 - Palm Springs

HIV + Aging Research Project: Thriving With HIV Presented by Eisenhower Health in partnership with HARP-PS and TPAN/Reunion Project

SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2018 9:00AM - 5:00PM ANNENBERG HEALTH SCIENCES BUILDING AT EISENHOWER 39000 BOB HOPE DRIVE, RANCHO MIRAGE, CA 92270

schedule

of events

Keynote Speaker

8:00AM - Free Buffet Breakfast*

CLEVE JONES is an American human rights activist, author, lecturer, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Co-Founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

9:00AM - Free Public Sessions NOON - Free Buffet Lunch* 1:00PM - HIV and Aging Public Policy Presentation 2:00PM - Q&A and Public Comments 4:00PM - Cleve Jones Reunion Project 2.0 will include a community HIV conference consisting of a mix of facilitated discussions, panels, and presentations led by key researchers, advocates, and long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS.

FREE EVENT

*RSVP REQUIRED via HARP-PS.org by March 30, 2018

For more infornation, contact: Jeff Taylor, HARP-PS 760.835.1926 or jeff.taylor@harp-ps.org

ASL interpretation will be available upon request.

sponsors Supported by unrestricted educational grants from Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb and was partially funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award.

Jimmy Boegle contributed to this story.

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CVI SPOTLIGHT: MARCH 2018 The Sharks and the Jets Return—With a 40-Piece Orchestra!

P

icture it: New York City, 1957. A romantic biracial tragedy begins to unfold in the streets—with warring factions everywhere. The issues surround two star-crossed lovers—poor Tony and Maria!— but “Somewhere,” there is a time and place for them.

It turns out that time is Friday, March 9, through Sunday, March 11, and that place is the McCallum Theatre, in Palm Desert. That’s when and where the theater is celebrating the centennial of composer Leonard Bernstein’s birthday with a concert version of the classic musical West Side Story.

Chad Hilligus is producing and directing West Side Story: In Concert. Currently the senior manager of sponsorship development at the McCallum, he’s a singer and actor who was one of the Ten Tenors—with a number of musicals to his credit.

“Because of my involvement in the world tour of West Side Story, this project was born,” Hilligus said. “… We wanted this production to focus on the whole score rather than the other elements, like the choreography. The music will be the star of the show. It’s also the only way we can produce it in-house, because of the time constraints with our limited season. Even with this production, we need four nights in a week to tech and rehearse the show. If you added in the choreography, it would possibly take half of our season to produce.”

Hilligus was not kidding when he said the music will be star of the show: A 40-piece orchestra on the stage will be conducted by Richard Kaufman.

“The cast is the premier cast for West Side Story,” Hilligus said. “Everyone from the cast has either been in the 2009 revival, the national tour, or the 50th anniversary world

Matthew Hydzik stars in West Side: In Concert at the McCallum Theatre.

tour. Tony will be sung by Matthew Hydzik, who is the best Tony I have ever seen. Ali Ewoldt is the foremost and most-soughtafter Maria: She played Maria on the world tour after doing the Broadway revival. She is currently staring on Broadway in Phantom of the Opera as Christine.

“Natalie Cortez is Anita. She well-known for all her Broadway work, too. If someone is doing a production of West Side Story, she is the one everyone wants for their Anita. She has been in three productions of West Side Story with Ali Ewoldt playing Maria. Their chemistry is great; they know how to work

with each other.

Coming off School of Rock on Broadway is John Arthur Greene, who will play Riff.

“Again, it’s a role he has played on Broadway and in the 50th anniversary world tour,” Hilligus said.

I asked Hilligus if all of this experience is important. “Yes—we only have two days to put this together, from the time the artists all arrive in Palm Desert until opening night.

It was essential that not only has everyone done the role before; it was important most of them have performed together in a production of West Side Story. The chemistry and muscle memory is already there, so a lot of that will just come together.”

In some ways, Hilligus said, this symphony version will surpass a conventional production of West Side Story.

“You’re going to see a show that highlights and showcases the musical score,” he said.

“You’re going to see a 40-piece orchestra with the best musicians from L.A., and some of the greatest orchestras in the country.

This is onstage being conducted by the Grammy Award- and Emmy Award-winning Richard Kaufman. The audience will hear the full score as well as the dialogue from the cast. The only thing missing is the choreography; that’s really what makes it a concert version.”

West Side Story: In Concert will be performed at 8 p.m., Friday, March 9; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 10; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 11, at the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, in Palm Desert. Tickets are $47 to $107. For tickets or more information, call 760-340-2787, or visit www. mccallumtheatre.com.

—Dwight Hendricks

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The Off-Broadway hit comedy conceived by award-winning producers

Susan R. Rice and Joan Stein

For anyone who is a mother, has a mother, a stepmother, a foster mother ...or anything in between.

Starring

Melanie Blue

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Directed by Michael Shaw MARCH 30-APRIL 8 • PEARL McMANUS THEATER • PALM SPRINGS TICKETS: $28-40 • (760) 322-0179 • DEZARTPERFORMS.ORG CVIndependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19

MARCH 2018

ARTS

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ARTISTS AMONG US

The PSAM Artists Council partners with UCR-Palm Desert to show off a lot of local talent By stephen berger

T

he Coachella Valley is a vibrant community for the arts—a place where aesthetics still matter. Not only is it a spectacular setting; it is rich in design, architecture and the visual arts.

The area has long been fertile ground for artists and interesting personalities.

Our valley’s cities encourage and support a creative culture (with a few notable exceptions … but that’s a topic for another article). We have renowned museums that share their collections and expertise with locals and visitors alike, while a wide range of galleries provide art-lovers with a diverse palette of genres from which to choose.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Palm Springs Art Museum has such a large and vibrant Artists Council—and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a huge exhibit of works by local, living artists: The Third Annual Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley will be on display from March 1 to April 29 at the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert Center.

I spoke with Terry Hastings, the presidentelect of the Artists Council. He explained that the Artists Council is the oldest of the nine councils of the Palm Springs Art Museum, founded back in the days when the museum was a small regional organization dedicated to Western art. The Artists Council has since grown to include 350 members.

The purpose of the Artists Council is to nurture artistic creation with exhibitions, education and networking opportunities. It was Hastings, he said, who proposed the idea of the Artistic Expressions exhibit to UCR-Palm Desert three years ago. One of the goals of this exhibit is to get art out of the museum and into the community.

This year marks the first time the exhibition is a juried show with cash prizes.

There will also be a “People’s Choice” award, to be presented on April 21.

The exhibit will showcase 70 works of photography, painting and sculpture from 49 local artists, including students from the UCR Art Department. A panel of three judges selected the works being displayed.

There will also be two demonstration and discussion days by members of the Artists Council—on Saturday, March 24 and April 21, from 10 a.m. until noon. A wide range

of subjects and techniques will be covered, including photography, watercolors, coloredpencil techniques, acrylics and oil painting.

There will also be a discussion of art and the Internet, and how artists can promote and sell their work.

“UCR Palm Desert Center has become a hub of artistic exploration and celebration, showcasing the rich diversity of talent we have in the Coachella Valley,” said Tamara Hedges, the executive director of UCR-Palm Desert Center, in a news release. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Artist Council on this exhibition. This is the third year, and I have no doubt it will be the best show yet.”

Third Annual Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley will be on display from Thursday, March 1, through Sunday, April 29, at the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert Center, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, in Palm Desert. There will be an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 1; RSVP by visiting palmdesert.ucr.edu/programs/events. html, or calling Zelda Glenn at 760-834-0592.

Jurors’ award selections will be announced at the reception. Artworks are for sale, with 30 percent of sales benefitting the Palm Springs Art Museum. For more information, visit psmuseum. org/artists-council.

SECRETS FOR CREATING A PLAN TO LOOK YOUNGER AND BETTER

By Shonda Chase, FNP Co-owner, Artistic Director and Advanced Injector at Revive Wellness Centers in Palm Springs and Torrance; and Medweight, Lasers and Wellness Center in Irvine

O

ver the last two months, I shared 14 secrets to help you assess whether your aesthe�c medical providers are not just good—but great. Now, I can share some secrets on how you can be a be�er partner with your great aesthe�c medical prac�ce.

Secret No. 1: Have they created a healthy aging plan with you? A great provider has many solu�ons they could use to help you look younger within the first couple minutes a�er mee�ng you. They also know that, un�l they understand your appearance and wellness goals—and your budget—they can’t have a complete picture to incorporate into your plan. Working together is the best way to create the strategies to improve your appearance and increase your happiness.

Secret No. 2: Have you asked your providers about everything they can do for you? You’ll be amazed at the op�ons a great provider has to help you look be�er. Great providers are always learning about new treatments to improve difficult problems that people want corrected. Being an ac�ve partner includes discovering what can be done to treat everything that really bothers you.

Secret No. 3: Being consistent with one great provider will usually yield be�er, and more affordable, results. Some of the most costly treatments to pa�ents can come from Groupon or Living Social specials. Businesses that rely on price-cu�ng strategies o�en can’t remain open. They close without warning when they realize they can’t afford to provide the treatments they’ve sold to pa�ents. We o�en share pa�ents’ sadness over unrecoverable losses from closed businesses when they come to see us.

Secret No. 4: Here’s a glimpse of some of this year’s new medical advances, available by the �me you read this: • A new frac�onal laser to treat dark under eye circles.

• A new radio-frequency device to treat acne scars, fine facial lines and stretch marks.

• A new non-estrogen approach for women’s health.

Next month, I’ll share more about how to be a great partner with your advanced aesthe�c medical provider. Un�l then, keep the secrets.

Read the en�re ar�cle at www.revivecenter.com/blog.

You can email your individual ques�ons to Shonda Chase NP or Allan Wu MD, Revive’s cosme�c surgeon, at info@revivecenter.com.

“Film Fest Frenzy” by Kathleen Irvine.

CVIndependent.com

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Leonard Bernstein at 100

West Side Story: IN CONCERT

Gobsmacked!

Fri, March 9, 8pm Sat, March 10, 2pm & 8pm Sun, March 11, 2pm & 7pm

The Amazing A Cappella Beatboxing Show Tue, March 6, 8pm

Presented through the generosity of Annette Bloch, Richard & Julia Heyman and Edeltraud & Patrick M. McCarthy

MozART Group

Bria Skonberg

Mon, March 12, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Gary & Phyllis Schahet

Sat, March 17, 8pm

Human Nature Jukebox – The Ultimate Playlist Live

The Piano Guys

Fri, March 23, 8pm

Sat, March 24, 3pm & 8pm

Presented through the generosity of Angie Gerber, Richard & Julia Heyman and Diane & Gerald Wendel

Presented through the generosity of Jerry & Sarah Mathews

Cabaret Wed & Thu, March 28 & 29, 7:30pm Fri, March 30, 8pm Sat, March 31, 2pm & 8pm Sun, April 1, 2pm & 7:30pm

“Weird Al” Yankovic The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour

Mature Audiences

Special Guest: Emo Philips

Mar 31 - Presented through the generosity of Robert & Sharlene Britz

Wed, May 9, 8pm

Order tickets by phone

760-340-ARTS (2787)

Order online

mccallumtheatre.com

73000 FRED WARING DRIVE, PALM DESERT • BOX OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9:00am-5:00pm CVIndependent.com

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THE HAPPY PLAYWRIGHT

MAKE THE EASY CHOICE

THE #1 CHOICE COMFORT AIR

Desert Ensemble Theatre Company founder Tony Padilla works to improve the valley’s theater scene

H

By valerie-jean (V.J.) hume

e left Cuba at age 11—but Tony Padilla remembers the Revolution.

“We were in Santiago, near Guantanamo,” he said. “We could see fighting in the hills where Fidel Castro was hiding. At first, we were all Fidel fans. Then he said, ‘Now we are Communists.’ Everybody said, ‘What?’”

Today, Padilla is one of the Coachella Valley’s most renowned playwrights. In March, his Desert Ensemble Theatre Company will produce his new comedy, The Thespian Radio Hour.

“I remember seeing Che Guevara in Santiago. When he spoke, he was like Hitler, so charismatic. You could see how thousands would follow.” Ironically enough, Padilla would years later audition for the role of Che Guevara in Evita on Broadway.

Padilla’s family later fled to the United States.

He watched plays for the first time on a high school field trip. The Trojan Women and The Madwoman of Chaillot convinced him his calling was up on that stage. His first onstage role was in The Crucible.

“I don’t think I had an accent, but I probably did. I had a great teacher, who taught me how to listen,” he said. Today, there isn’t the slightest hint of any prior language in his speech.

In college, Padilla majored in theater arts, and was accepted into the prestigious San Franciscobased American Conservatory Theater on scholarship. “Within three days, I borrowed some money, packed and moved, and got a job.

I knew how to sew because of my mom, so I wound up making costumes for the plays. I wore some of my own creations onstage! I was 19. My parents wanted us to be independent—not lazy, ever. It’s that immigrant work ethic.”

He later went to Chicago. “I loved it! Downto-earth, but intelligent people,” he said. There, he met his partner, Jim, and they were there for more than 20 years. When they sold their business, Dover Metals, which made trays for caterers, they moved to the desert.

“We came to visit a friend who was doing detox alone in Palm Springs!” Padilla laughed.

“I fell in love with the desert.” They bought a house, and sold large paintings and sculptures.

“It took a while to get into theater here,” he said. But in 2000, Padilla joined forces with Marilee Warner, who had founded Playwrights’ Circle. They did play readings, and created a festival featuring new playwrights, culminating in a full production of the winning play.

When Warner decamped from the desert,

Padilla formed the Desert Ensemble Theatre Company, or DETC. He is the founder and producing artistic director Padilla said DETC is different because it trains young talent for careers in theater—both Tony onstage and behind Padilla the scenes. DETC was the first local company to offer student scholarships, he said, and recipients have gone on to notable success—teaching at Harvard University, lighting Broadway shows and late-night TV shows, and working with major Hollywood production companies.

Padilla was given the Desert Theatre League’s prestigious Joan Woodbury Mitchell Award for being a theater pioneer in the Coachella Valley.

“Theater now is 4,000 percent better than when I arrived,” he said. “We had the Top Hat Theatre on Arenas Road, and the Palm Canyon Theatre. That was all there was!”

Padilla directs (usually his own plays) with a “laid-back” style, but writing remains his No. 1 passion. The playwright bug bit him when he saw Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story. He wondered if he could come up with an idea that was both compelling and relevant. The goal was achieved with Endangered Species, about the reactions of people when they find a live baby abandoned in a public park’s trashcan. It was produced here twice, then several times in Italy, where it won the “Best Play” award at a theater festival in Rome. “It is the best compliment I ever received as a playwright,” Padilla said with a smile.

Padilla would love to see our valley host a theater festival similar to the Palm Springs Film Festival—complete with classes, seminars, play readings and full productions.

Sounds like a happy man. “This is what you’re supposed to do,” Padilla said. “This is America!”

The Thespian Radio Comedy Hour, a production of Desert Ensemble Theatre Company, will be performed at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 9, through Sunday, March 18, at the Pearl McManus Theater at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $20. For tickets or more information, call 760-565-2476, or visit www.detctheatre.org.

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France Joli plans on bringing the hits, great stories and a new ‘gay anthem medley’ to her show at the Copa By charles drabkin

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isco queen France Joli is coming to the Copa on Friday, March 9—and the singer, known for her disco hits “Gonna Get Over You” and “Come to Me,” plans on debuting a brand-new gay-anthem medley that evening.

Joli said she had just finished recording the new 10-minute-long medley, which will feature current and classic dance-club hits, when we spoke over the phone. She asked me not to reveal the songs she will be covering—but I will say there wasn’t one hit she mentioned that didn’t make me want to dance. During her show, she also plans to sing her disco hits, while showing off her vocal range with some ballads—all while telling a few stories.

This won’t be Joli’s first time in Palm Springs—in fact, the Montreal native performed last year at the Desert AIDS Walk, early in the morning with the sun in her hair. She also shot the video for her 2012 hit “Hallelujah” in the High Desert.

“This place grounds me, and I hope to move here when I am ready to slow down on my performance schedule,” she said.

A precocious child, Joli said she never had any doubts about her ability to take the world by storm. At age 15, she invited producer Tony Green to produce her first album. He took her up on it, and “Come to Me” was written for her the next day. Her fearlessness is something she attributes to her mother, who encouraged her to always “get on the bus and see where it takes you.” She was just 4 years old when she told her mother she was going to be a singer—and took on Barbra Streisand as her first vocal teacher, listening to her records, learning every song and practicing nightly.

I asked Joli if she’d ever met Streisand; she said she hadn’t, although she did get to meet another of her musical heroes: Michael Jackson, on the set of the video for “Beat It.” She said he called her over, leaned in and started singing “Come to Me” in her ear; she describes it as one of the greatest moments of her life.

Commemorated in the 2003 documentary Where Ocean Meets Sky is Joli’s breakout performance at Fire Island Pines. Donna Summer had to cancel her show due to illness, and Joli was brought on as her replacement—

and so began her love affair with the gay community. In her first American performance, the 16-year-old went onstage at 2 a.m., with 5,000 gay men opening their arms and hearts to her.

Joli said she was deeply affected by the AIDS epidemic. She said, with a shaky voice, that most of the people she sang for on Fire Island were taken from her and the rest of the world. She talked wistfully about the people she lost personally—as well as the long-term survivors who are thankfully still in her life.

Although she said she didn’t want to get political, Joli said she couldn’t help but be concerned about the backward direction in which the world seems to be heading.

“My mantra is: ‘The only time it’s necessary to go backward is when you are about to jump forward,’” she said.

France Joli will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, March 9, at the Copa Palm Springs, 244 E. Amado Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $25.

For tickets or more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

France Joli

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FOOD & DRINK

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DESERT CICERONE T

Some helpful tips on how to make beer festivals—like the Rhythm, Wine and Brews Experience—more enjoyable

BY brett Newton

he Rhythm, Wine and Brews Experience is coming on Saturday, March 3. It seems to grow each year; the 2018 edition will feature the addition of the Stone Temple Pilots and a tiki bar.

I’ll take “How to Get People Very Drunk” for $200, Alex.

Now seems like a good time to share with you some tips and etiquette for beer festivals in general—especially how to get through them without making an absolute mess of yourself.

Before I get to specific survival tips, I want to take you on a trip back in time—20 years ago, to be exact. I was a young lad taking his first overseas extremely stereotypical German party, with kegs trip. I had been studying both the German of delicious local beer, dimpled liter mugs, and language and German beer, and wanted to people standing on benches, swaying back and immerse myself in both. forth to polka and drinking songs. I couldn’t I got a job with a family just south of Munich believe this actually existed. helping them out with household and horseWhile drinking my first liter there, I noticed stable chores. I ended up staying two months a group farther down my table eyeing me and and learned much in that time. I learned how commenting. I asked, in my best German, what to drive a crazy Citroen 2CV with a gear shift was wrong. They said I was drinking too fast. that came out of the dashboard. I learned how I let them know (as if my accent didn’t already to argue a point during an Uno card game in give me away) that I was American, and that German. Most importantly, though, I learned my pace was normal in the U.S. They then laid how to drink. When I first got there, I went on me the single best piece of alcohol advice I to a neighborhood event called a Stadlfest, have ever received: Start slow, and slowly ramp where they cleared out a barn and threw an up over the course of the night—and by the

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end, you can be gulping. (The wonderful word for this in their language is “schlucken.”) By the end of my stay, I had found those same people again—and was able to last much longer, with far lighter consequences.

I tell you all that for the obvious corollary with beer festivals: Start slow, and by the end, you can enjoy much more, all while being upright and at much less of a risk of making a fool of yourself. I’ve seen far too many people get excited at the beginning of a festival, going wild trying every strong beer they can—and ending up puking or passed out somewhere halfway through. DON’T BE THAT PERSON. Armed with this advice, you already have an advantage. But there is definitely more you can do. Some of these tips may seem obvious, but one never knows …

Eat before and during the festival. It’s a fact that alcohol absorption can be slowed with food in your gut. Something as simple as yogurt with granola, salmon, chicken or spaghetti can do that for you. This does NOT mean you can drink the same amount without getting as drunk as you would with an empty stomach.

Food just delays the buzz; your liver will have to process all that alcohol regardless. Most festivals have a food component which makes it easy to take a little break, refuel and …

Drink some water. This is the one tip that is the most obvious, but the easiest to forget while in the middle of your festival fun. Every festival I have ever attended has a drinking-water station.

Alcohol dehydrates you. I don’t care how many times you have to pee; you will be a lot better off after the dust has settled if you regularly drink water. If you can carry around a bottle, do that.

Water also has the nice bonus of serving as a palate cleanser between beers.

Dump that beer. Well, drink a little first … but if it’s no good, dump it. This is easy at outdoor festivals like the above-mentioned RWB. If you’re indoors, there will be places for you to pour out what you don’t want—often with water for you to rinse your glass. Even if

you enjoyed a certain beer, but maybe got a little too much of it, dump it. (If the brewer is staring at you, you might want to wait it out and dump it elsewhere furtively.)

Be friendly and meet people. This can be hard for some people who are more introverted (it sure is for me sometimes), but at these festivals, you can meet brewing-industry people, knowledgeable drinkers and people who are downright nice and interesting, from many walks of life. It is one thing that makes craft beer beautiful—the people you meet while drinking. Beer also helps greatly to lubricate social situations.

This also has a flip side: Don’t be a dick.

Do your best to watch your glass and prevent spillage; apologize to people you bump into (while trying your level best to avoid doing so); and freely share your experiences with the beers you’ve tried so far. By doing so, other people will talk about beers you might want to try—while giving you a break when you can eat or hydrate.

Plan ahead: Festivals will post a list of the breweries attending—and sometimes even the beers being served. Make a road map of the things you must try that might go quickly, and follow that as closely as possible. Try not to make this your bible, though: I have often planned out the first hour of a festival only to be blissfully waylaid by friends or other interesting beers. Festivals are about having fun, after all.

I don’t think I need to add that you should arrange for someone sober to drive you to and from the festival … do I? I guess I just did. See the advice above about not being a dick.

Go forth to that beer festival confidently, and make my German friends and drinking mentors proud! Prost!

Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He currently works at the Coachella Valley Brewing Co. taproom in Thousand Palms. He can be reached at desertcicerone@gmail.com.

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DINING OUT FOR LIFE

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The defendant, vermouth, stands accused of ruining martinis in this groundbreaking court case

By Kevin Carlow

ailiff: All rise, for the Honorable Lance Mojito.

Judge: The People vs. Vermouth: Ms. Vermouth, you have been accused of ruining martinis in the state of California, as well as all over the world. What say you?

Defense attorney: Your honor, the defendant pleads “not guilty.”

Gasps from the crowd.

Judge: Very well. You may begin your opening statements.

Prosecutor: Your honor, and ladies and gentlemen of the jury: The defendant looks innocent enough in her pretty green bottle. She even has a fancy European name, and a noble pedigree. Why, then, has she spent so many years destroying perfectly good martinis?! Here in the United States, we know that her place is to be merely pointed cheese into your vodka, but you have a problem at the glass, and perhaps waved over the noble with vermouth?! clear spirits within. So I ask all of you: Will Prosecutor: Objection, your honor! you allow this corrupted wine to continue to Judge: Sustained. The witness’s personal worm its way into the vodka and gin of decent tastes are not on trial here.

Americans?!

Defense attorney: OK, well, sir, are you Judge: The defense may counter, but I will aware that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary warn you: We won’t tolerate a media circus like defines a martini as “a cocktail made of gin and the one we had during The People vs. Orange dry vermouth?”

Juice.

Prosecutor: Objection! The vodka martini Defense attorney: Understood, your honor. has been long established and far outsells the Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what you see gin martini! Also, the dictionary isn’t known for before you is not a monster. In fact, I would its cocktail information. argue that she’s delicate wine, and needs to be Defense attorney: Your honor, I am merely treated delicately. Sure, you could argue she’s trying to establish the semantic confusion that been fortified with brandy, but that’s no reason leads to my client’s mistreatment. to think of her as a hardened criminal! I intend Judge: I’ll allow it, but tread carefully. to show that vermouth is merely a victim of Defense attorney: Were you aware that the mistreatment and slander. “dry martini” is a specific cocktail containing 1/2 Murmuring in the crowd. an ounce of vermouth, to 2 1/2 ounces of gin?

Judge: Order, order in the court! Would the Tito Goose: That can’t be right. That doesn’t prosecution like to call a witness to the stand? sound dry at all.

Prosecutor: I would, your honor. I call Mr. Defense attorney: Well, it’s certainly Tito Goose to the stand. dry compared to the original martini, which Bailiff: Do you swear, yadda yadda yadda? contained a full ounce of vermouth.

Tito Goose: I do.

Shouting from crowd.

Prosecutor: You claim to be the victim of Judge: Order! Order in the court! Where shoddily made martinis, costing you lost money does the defense get its proof of that? and ruined experiences, do you not?

Defense attorney holds up a copy of Imbibe! by Tito Goose: Yeah. Half of the time, when David Wondrich.

I order a martini, it comes out tasting funny.

Defense attorney: Right here, your honor, That’s when I start to suspect vermouth was and in many other tomes of bartending lore, involved, and sure enough, every time. which if the witness had bothered to peruse …

Prosecutor: Do you see the culprit in the Prosecutor: Objection! The witness is not an courtroom? industry professional and cannot be expected to Tito Goose: Yes, it’s that green bottle with read nerdy manuals on drink history! the screw top and the white label.

Judge: Sustained.

Prosecutor: Let the record show the witness Defense attorney: No further questions, pointed at the defendant. No further questions, your honor. The defense calls to the stand your honor.

Mr. Will Shaker. Mr. Shaker, what is your Judge: Does the defense wish to crossprofession? examine?

Will Shaker: I tend bar.

Defense attorney: I do, your honor. Mr. Defense attorney: How long have you Goose, how do you order your martinis? tended bar?

Tito Goose: (Brand name vodka) martini, Will Shaker: For several years now. dry, blue cheese olives, generally.

Defense attorney: So you’re a pretty good Defense attorney: So you will put moldy bartender by now, I would imagine.

Will Shaker: Yes, sir, I like to think so.

Defense attorney: Well, then, where do you store the defendant at your establishment?

Will Shaker: We keep our vermouth in the well for easy access, like most bars. Some keep it on a shelf.

Defense attorney: On a hot, dusty shelf, with the common spirits?! Or in a well?! Tell me you at least put the vermouth in the reach-in cooler at the end of service.

Will Shaker: I’m supposed to refrigerate vermouth? My bar manager never told me that.

Defense attorney: Vermouth is a wine— fortified with alcohol, yes, but still a wine. It will spoil and oxidize over time. When was the last time you tasted your vermouth for freshness?

Will Shaker: I never thought to taste it, honestly.

Defense attorney: There you have it—gross mistreatment of the defendant!

Will Shaker: Well, I didn’t know!

Defense attorney: It’s not your fault alone; my client is mistreated in nearly every bar in the country, it seems. How do you make a dry martini?

Will Shaker: Well, I pour a little vermouth in the shaker, then a lot of vodka, and then I shake and strain it. I add olives or a twist of lemon, or an onion for a Gibson.

Defense attorney: Are you aware that shaking a drink adds air, making it effervescent?

The ingredients in vermouth, which often include citrus peel, coriander, marjoram and many other herbs and spices, then taste more bitter and astringent—and just, well, off. Really one shouldn’t shake vermouth at all.

Will Shaker: But my guests like their drinks “extra cold,” and the only way to get them that way is shaking them!

Defense attorney: Yes, well, have you ever thought of asking the guest if they even want vermouth in their vodka? Asking specific questions can avoid situations like the ones that have left my client in her current predicament.

Will Shaker: They sometimes say “just a little,” so I rinse the shaker with it and dump it.

Defense attorney: Well, next time, try rinsing the serving glass, to avoid aeration.

Might I also advise recommending to guests who don’t care for vermouth to simply order “vodka, up, olives,” but only if they can do so respectfully and not like a jerk? No further questions, your honor.

Prosecutor: The prosecution calls Mr. Spike Easy to the stand. Mr. Easy, you refrigerate your vermouth, no?

Spike Easy: We refrigerate our whole selection of craft vermouths, the defendant and all of her cousins.

Prosecutor: How do you make a martini?

Spike Easy twists his mustache and grins.

Spike Easy: With two parts gin to one part vermouth, and a dash of orange bitters. Lately, I have been using equal amounts of gin and vermouth, with housemade decanter bitters.

Prosecutor: Well, how do you make a vodka martini?

Spike Easy: Vodka martinis weren’t popular until the James Bond movies and their sponsorship with Smirnoff. We would never serve vodka in our bar.

Defense attorney: Objection! This is defamation—by association with hipsters!

Judge: Sustained.

Defense attorney: Your honor, I request a recess to bring experts to the stand to give vermouth a better name.

Judge: Recess granted.

Until court reconvenes, please try a few of these recipes to find out whether your favorite martini is really your favorite martini.

“ORIGINAL RECIPE” MARTINI 2 ounces of London dry gin 1 ounce of dry (French) vermouth Dash of orange bitters Stir, serve up; lemon twist, pickled hazelnut optional DRY MARTINI 2 1/2 ounces of London dry gin 1/2 ounce of dry vermouth Stir, up, with olive or twist; add a cocktail onion for a “Gibson” 50/50 MARTINI 1 1/2 ounces each of dry vermouth and gin Dash of orange bitters (optional) (Feel free to switch dry vermouth for Lillet or Kina or Italian vermouth—or any other fortified wine) Stir, up, twist

Kevin Carlow is a bartender at Truss and Twine, and can be reached via email at krcarlow@gmail. com. The author confesses to being like Will Shaker for many years, and tries hard to not be too much like Spike Easy.

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VINE SOCIAL JASON DAVID

Have fun and describe wine however you want—as long as there’s substance there

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By KatieLOVE finn YOUR

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ophisticated and balanced with a hint of pretension.

Elegant and silky with a feminine nuance reminiscent of the Old West.

Forward and brazen with a left hook that will leave you speechless.

Country Club and Cook Street Seriously? What does this mean?

As an avid “reviewer” of wines—which, let’s be honest, means I get tosert drink for a living—I can’t Palm De help but wonder if people are perplexed by this verbiage. Don’t get me wrong—I love it, but it must confuse the hell out folks: Am I supposed to like the wine that tastes like animal dander warmed by rays 760-340-5959 of Italian sunshine?

I look at it this way: Wine is a lot like art and www.jasondavidhairstudio.net fist in a velvet glove. My favorite wine geek, music. It is plagued by critics trying to one-up writer and importer, the great Terry Theise, each other in describing tangible items in a way once described an obscure little grape called that sounds human and mysterious. scherube as being riesling’s evil, horny twin. If I’m guilty of this, too. I’ve been known to that doesn’t make you wanna rush out and get describe certain Napa cabernets as “teenagers your hands on a bottle, nothing will. at prom ready to give it up on the first date.”

Words like fleshy, sexy, demure and even It’s not exactly the most tactful way to describe slutty are a wine writer’s way of reinventing the a wine, I know, but it is a more captivating wheel and keeping it interesting. Who wants to description than simply stating the wine is bold, read the same old descriptors of New Zealand audacious and very forward. sauvignon blanc over and over? Gooseberry, For years, merlot was described as an iron cat pee, fresh grass, blah, blah, blah. The flavor

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profiles haven’t changed; the times have.

But what does it mean when a wine is sexy?

How does wine dance across your palate? What does riesling’s evil, horny twin taste like?! It could be so hard to interpret descriptions that have nothing to do with wine … and yet, somehow, I know exactly what they mean. How would you describe an apple? Would you say it was crisp and tart with a little sweetness on the finish? Or would you say it was sassy and flirty with a voluptuous side? Are they the same?

I am often told by people frustrated with nouveau wine culture that they don’t know how to “talk wine.” They can’t relate. The truth is, you should be able to describe wine however you please—as obscure and abstract as that may be.

There is no secret to knowing how to thoughtfully describe a wine. All one needs to do is pay attention and slow down while enjoying wine. That said, I’m never going to tell you not to slug your favorite vino with reckless abandon, cuz’ that’s fun! But if you want to really understand the flavors in your wine, you need to be present while drinking. At my guided tastings, I always tell people to trust their palate. If you tell me this wine tastes just like your grandma’s strawberry rhubarb pie, I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong. If you want to tell me a particular wine reminds you of a cat ’o nine tails, go ahead … but I might start to panic that I’ve been roofied.

However, if you are a fan of the more technical lingo and want to have a conversation about wine that’s fairly universal, there are really only a few terms you need in your arsenal: • Dry: This refers to the sweetness or, more importantly, the lack thereof, in the wine.

• Tannic: Tannins are astringent and slightly bitter. Think of the sensation in your mouth when you sip a tea that’s steeped too long.

An overly tannic wine will feel like you just swallowed 36-grit sandpaper.

• Fruity: Not to be confused with sweet, a wine’s fruitiness is determined by its, well, fruity aromas. Whether it’s lemons and pears

or blackberries and figs, or jammy and ripe, or fresh-picked and bright, a fruity wine will taste like fruit. See how easy this is?

• Acidity: Commonly confused with tannins, acid is that tingle on your tongue that will make your mouth water. Acid in wine is basically sommelier crack.

• Minerality: Ever heard someone say their wine smells like wet stones and chalk? Maybe they’re drinking a delicious chablis. Minerality is one of the non-fruit components to wine and is present in wines from certain places.

• Earthy: One of the other non-fruit descriptors. Earthy encompasses the aromas of mushrooms, tobacco and leather. Some wine professionals will use the term forest floor, soil or dust to describe earthy wines, but those are just fancy words for dirt.

• Herbaceous: That grassy sauvignon blanc and that cabernet franc that smell like chili peppers are considered herbaceous wines— and these are positive attributes. That vegetal wine that smells like canned green beans = bad. Got it?

I’ve made it my mission to make wine less confusing, more approachable and easier to understand. Does that mean what I say, then, has to be boring or predictable? I think we can swing both ways. (Pardon the pun.) Nothing says we can’t get frisky with our descriptors as long as we can back it up with something quantifiable. A bra stuffed with toilet paper will be discovered eventually.

While I’m on the subject, you should know that as I write, I’m sipping a delightful Barbera d’Asti that is as firm and defined as a shirtless Christian Grey, with a round and soft Kim Kardashian finish. Know what I mean?

Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with more than 15 years in the wine industry. She is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and is currently studying with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@gmail.com.

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the

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT This month, we warm up with delicious liquids in downtown Palm Springs

By Jimmy Boegle

Now Open!

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WHAT The Tom Yum Soup WHERE Thai House, 246 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $11.95 CONTACT 760-778-1728; thaihousepalmsprings.com WHY It’s a delicious pick-me-up.

Whenever I am stuffed up due to a cold or an allergy attack, I go see Nisa—and she helps me feel better.

Such was the case one recent workday. I had a crazy sinus headache, and I had a lot of work to do, so I headed to downtown Palm Springs to get some sinus-clearing chicken tom yum soup at Thai House.

The aforementioned Nisa is Nisa Hennecke, the owner of Thai House for more than four years now, and one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. She instantly recognized me and asked if I wanted the tom yum soup pot.

Yes, I said. Yes, I really do.

Not only will this tasty hot-and-sour soup make one’s sinuses feel better; it’ll make one’s taste buds dance with joy. Lemongrass, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, lime juice, fresh chicken and other ingredients help make this tart but oh-so-savory soup unbelievably delicious. The presentation’s fun, too: It comes served in a hot pot, with a moat of yummy soup surrounding a lovely flame.

While I make a beeline for Thai House to order the tom yum anytime I am under the weather, the restaurant’s charms go well beyond soup; all of the food I’ve had at Thai House has been delicious, from the curries to the noodle dishes to the chef’s favorites and beyond. Oh, and the service is fantastic as well—especially when Nisa is there, as she almost always is.

Nisa is a poker dealer-turned-restaurant owner who comes from a restaurant background: Her family had a restaurant business in her native Thailand, and she’s assisted in the kitchen by her sister and brother-in-law. The family makes food with love—and it shows.

The next time you’re in need of some sinusclearing soup or, well, you’re simply hungry, go see Nisa. She and her fantastic food will help you feel better instantly.

WHAT The Maple and Cardamom Coffee WHERE Ernest Coffee, 1101 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $5.50 CONTACT 760-318-4154; www.ernestcoffee.com WHY Great ingredients make for a great beverage.

Ernest Coffee is part of a wave of great independent coffee shops that have opened in the West Valley in recent years (including Ristretto, Gré Coffeehouse and Art Gallery, 4 Paws, Joey, Custom, etc., etc.)—but several things set Ernest apart from the others.

First: It serves Stumptown Coffee, a renowned brand out of Portland, Ore., something the folks at Ernest are quite proud of. Second: It shares the space with Bootlegger Tiki (a space that once housed Don the Beachcomber, offering the building serious tiki cred), which means the place has a full liquor license—including some boozy coffee drinks on the Ernest side. Third: Ernest offers some of the more interesting coffee drinks in town—creativity spurred on, perhaps, by that aforementioned liquor license.

One of those creative drinks has become a favorite of mine. It’s listed on the menu board as “Maple and Cardamom,” with maple syrup, vanilla, cardamom and milk. Let’s dig into that a little deeper: The maple syrup is real maple syrup, and that vanilla syrup is made in-house.

Add those quality ingredients to milk and good coffee, and sprinkle in cardamom—and the result is one delicious drink. It’s not a drink for everyone—the drink is quite sweet, and the aftertaste on my palate is a bit weird (a problem fixed easily by drinking something else afterward, like water)—but I think it’s fantastic.

If maple and cardamom aren’t your cup of … um, coffee, there are plenty of other unique creations on offer. (On my next visit, I’ll try the coffee with rosemary-infused white chocolate!) Oh, and fun fact: Don the Beachcomber’s real name was Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt. Now you know where the shop’s name came from!

So, go. Try something different at Ernest.

You won’t regret it.

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MARCH 2018

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Restaurant NEWS BITES

By Jimmy Boegle FORMER DISH CHEF LANDS AT AZUCAR; ALEBRIJIE LANDS IN FORMER DISH SPACE As the saying goes: When one door closes, another opens—and such is definitely the case in the restaurant industry.

A door closed, literally, for Joane Garcia-Colson last fall, when she shut down Dish Creative Cuisine, her well-regarded restaurant at 1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in downtown Palm Springs; she cited conflicts with others involved with the business as the reason. I don’t use the phrase “well-regarded” lightly: Dish, which originally opened more than five years ago in Cathedral City, made many “Best Of” lists thanks to Garcia-Colson’s amazing blend of classic technique and whimsy.

Given Garcia-Colson’s talent, it was inevitable that another door would open for her—and it did at Azucar, the restaurant at the La Serena Villas, at 339 S. Belardo Road, in downtown Palm Springs.

She’s taken her former Dish sous chef with her, and we can’t wait to see what she does at Azucar; watch laserenavillas.com/azucar-restaurant-and-bar for updates.

Meanwhile, at the old Dish location, a door opened for Alebrije Bistro Mexico. The restaurant debuted on Valentine’s Day, featuring upscale Mexico City-style cuisine. That Valentine’s Day menu featured tasty treats like lamb stew, rib eye with mole de cadera, and—as an appetizer—a bone marrow thyme emulsion and shaved parmesan.

Wow. We can’t wait to check out Alebrije ourselves. Watch facebook.com/Alebrije-BistroMexico-519518131738122 for updates.

NEW: THE CRAFT RANCHO MIRAGE COMES TO THE S AT RANCHO MIRAGE The Desert Island Country Club, located at 71777 Frank Sinatra Drive, in Rancho Mirage, is now called The S at Rancho Mirage—and the restaurant inside the country club has been revamped and is now open to the public.

The restaurant is now The Craft Rancho Mirage. It’s being run by executive chef/partner Erick Hernandez, formerly of Escena and the Indian Canyons Golf Resort; and veteran food/beverage director John Trad.

“We are excited to invite folks into The S at Rancho Mirage Country Club to be able to have a ‘taste’ of the club life without the membership,” said John Trad in a press-release quote. “While there are so many fabulous restaurants in the valley, this specific area of Rancho Mirage is lacking in options, and we are thrilled to be able to open our doors to the general public to join us in an incredible setting.”

The menu features “fresh, high quality and locally sourced ingredients,” and includes entrées like shrimp scampi, sugar-and-spice salmon, and “The Gatsby”—blackened ahi tuna, zucchini pasta, heirloom tomatoes and wasabi beurre blanc. You’ll pay between $24 and $36 for your main course—or you can enjoy happy hour every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the bar.

For more information, call 760-328-2111, or visit www.thesresort.com/dining.

IN BRIEF Help a new nonprofit organization get up and running, from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, March 23, at Pirch, 71905 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Not only can you learn about Alzheimer’s Coachella Valley’s mission, programs and services; you can enjoy hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine and Pirch signature cocktails. Admission is $50; RSVP by March 9 at 760-776-3100 or via email at acv42600@gmail.com. … Every year, TRIO Restaurant throws its much-anticipated “Hollywood’s Biggest Night” party during the Academy Awards, to benefit AAP-Food Samaritans. This year’s event starts at 4 p.m., Sunday, March 4; for $125 (bar seating) to $175 (VIP/premium seating), you’ll get a prix-fixe six-course dinner, well drinks, wine, champagne and the satisfaction that comes from helping out a great cause.

Get tickets at aapfoodsamaritans.org or by calling 760-325-8481. … Coming soon to 170 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in the curve area of Palm Springs: Kreem Artisanal Ice Cream and Coffee. Keep your fingers crossed for an opening date here soon; watch www.facebook.com/ilovekreem for updates. … Newish to Indio: La Michoacana Real, serving up ice cream, raspados, juices and more at 81673 Highway 111; call 760-347-3939 to learn more. … Support the kids in Rancho Mirage High School’s CAFÉ Culinary Arts Department while trying their delicious creations from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 15. Admission is $10, and attendance is limited to 250 people—and these popular fundraisers often sell out. The school is located at 31001 Rattler Road; call the Thousand Palms Chamber of Commerce at 760-343-1988 to RSVP. Awesome! … And now for something else that’s awesome, albeit quite a bit more expensive: Citi Taste of Tennis takes place at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells from 7 to 10 p.m., Monday, March 5. For $200, you can enjoy cocktails and great cuisine while mingling with tennis greats and culinary giants, including Top Chef Richard Blais and Iron Chef Jose Garces, and local luminaries including Andrew Copley (Copley’s, AC3) and Engin Onural (The Venue, Sandfish). Get tickets at www.tasteoftennis.com/iw.

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Dali’s Llama celebrates 25 years of music—with help from a lot of other desert music legends The Squirrel Nut Zippers perform at the McCallum in advance of a brand-new album Earthless earns accolades with instrumentals—although a brand-new album includes some vocals the lucky 13: Meet two Tool fans—one a talented drummer, and the other a frontman/guitarist

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Melissa Etheridge, performing at Morongo, continues to enjoy an unparalleled career

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SILVER LLAMA! L

Dali’s Llama celebrates 25 years of music—with help from a lot of other desert music legends

By Brian Blueskye

ocal band Dali’s Llama is celebrating 25 years of existence—and the members are celebrating in a big way.

The group is playing a Silver Anniversary Show on Friday, March 9, at The Hood Bar and Pizza in Palm Desert. The Hellions, Decon, Sean Wheeler (performing as Zezo Zece Zadfraq and the Dune Buggy Attack Battalion) and Mario Lalli (of Fatso Jetson) with the Rubber Snake Charmers will all take the stage.

When frontman Zach Huskey showed up to our meeting, he explained that he came alone because his wife, Dali’s Llama bassist Erica to fit them right or something. I don’t know.”

Huskey, was out of town handling family In the years before Dali’s Llama, Huskey said, business, while drummer Craig Brown had a he played in several bands that came and went. “hot date.”

“I was playing in a band with Sean back in the The band recently parted ways with guitarist later years that was ’60s garage stuff, and I was Joseph Wangler, and brought back guitarist Joe really into that—original, but really influenced Dillon. I asked Huskey whether the band has by the old ’60s stuff,” he said. “It all fit, because ever gone through any painful transitions as the scene was just a bunch of dysfunctional, members have come and gone. pissed-off kids doing it ourselves. Mario did “Painful transitions? None!” Huskey said bands like Across the River, which led to more of with a laugh. “The core of the band is me and a metal side, especially in songs like ‘N.O.’ that Erica. We try to just get people who play well, people go all over the Internet to find. … We all and people who we’re friends with, because it’s played in different bands, and I was trying to no fun to be in a band with someone you can’t find my songwriting and get that after playing get along with, no matter how good of a player with Sean for a couple of years. Everybody was they might be. I always enjoy playing with Joe also trying to figure out their vocal range and Dillon, and he’s been in and out of the band how they should sing until it came naturally.” for at least 10 years. He’s always fun, because There have been periods when Dali’s Llama I’ve known him for 36 years. We’re friends, and has been inactive. we have all our inside jokes and can talk about “We have done little breaks,” he said. “We people who are no longer here. He’s also a have two boys. One is 20, and one is 16. I did really underrated guitar player and songwriter, three solo acoustic albums for a while. But we as well as a lead vocalist.” would take the kids when they were really little Dali’s Llama last year released a three-song EP, off to Phoenix to play. I’d also do the Phoenix which headed in a more bluesy direction—a bit folk festival every year, and songwriting things of a departure from the band’s regular desertwhere they’d have me show people how to write rock sound. songs. When Erica was ready again, and the kids “We recorded most of that at Mikael were old enough to have a baby sitter who was a Jacobson’s studio here in the desert,” Huskey family member, we’d do another project or start said. “One of the songs, ‘Bacteria,’ the acoustic the band back up.” one, I did it at Scott Reeder’s place. That one While Huskey spoke proudly about the desert was a little delicate, because it was all about music scene, he mentioned there’s one thing he microphone placement. That was done in one despises: battle-of-the-bands competitions. take. The other ones just kinda had a groove, “I fucking hate those things. I hated them and I wanted to get a little more of a Zeppelin then, and I hate them now. You want to criticize groove going.” me as a songwriter? Especially now? Fuck you!”

Huskey said Dali’s Llama has deep personal he said. “Look at the panels of those things. connections to all the bands playing at the show. No, ain’t gonna happen. Even when I was a kid, “Those are people who when I was 13 or 14 I learned you have to have that sort of ‘Fuck years old, I was in bands with,” he said. “We got you!’ attitude in order to protect yourself and Herb (Lienau) and Decon; Mario (Lalli); Sean develop on your own. I don’t want criticism.

Wheeler, who I was in a band with back in 1982; OK, maybe I’ll take it from my wife or another and we got The Hellions, because they’re the band member, but even from another band? “new” old friends, even though they’ve been I don’t want to hear it. There’s constructive around for a while. criticism, too, but I’ve never been good with “The Hellions are kind of the slowest either one. Believe in yourself. So a band had songwriters in the world,” he added with a a better performance and gets a trophy? They laugh. “Whatever their process is, it either has even had that shit back when we were kids. We

Dali’s Llama—25 years ago.

always stayed clear of those as kids. We were out in the desert playing with T.S.O.L., so fuck you.

You could be going in the right direction, and someone’s words might be, ‘You can’t sing.’ Well, maybe your voice is unique, and just because this person didn’t like it, or four people sitting at a table in agreement didn’t like it, fuck them.”

Huskey also said he wished his wife and band mate, Erica, got the credit she deserves.

“Name another woman who has been here for 25 years playing in a band,” he said. “She’s a solid bass-player. There was a time when we were recording Raw Is Real, and we found out she had breast cancer. We recorded the basic tracks of that album one day before she went in for surgery, having a full mastectomy and hysterectomy, and then she continued with radiation and chemotherapy while we recorded that fucking album. That chick is badass! The only equivalent is a guy saying, ‘We were there for a couple days, and then the next day, I went and had to have my nuts cut off.’ She’s really something.”

Dali’s Llama will perform with The Hellions, Sean Wheeler, Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, and Decon at 9 p.m., Friday, March 9, at The Hood Bar and Pizza, 74360 Highway 111, in Palm Desert. Admission is $5. For more information tickets, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Drag Bingo every Tuesday Live music every Friday and Saturday Great drinks and food everyday 74360 Highway 111, Palm Desert • (760) 636-5220 www.facebook.com/HoodBarAndPizza CVIndependent.com

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Melissa Etheridge, performing at Morongo, continues to enjoy an unparalleled career

By Brian Blueskye

elissa Etheridge’s career has been undeniably magnificent.

The Kansas native continues to reach impressive highs more than 30 years after she started playing the club circuit around Boston while attending the Berklee College of Music.

Today, she’s an iconic singer-songwriter—and an inspirational force in the LGBT community.

She’ll be playing at Morongo Casino Resort and Spa on Friday, March 2. During a recent phone interview, she discussed her Midwestern upbringing.

“I grew up with the feeling that you play fair, work hard, and you love yourself and your family,” Etheridge said. “The Midwestern values stick record that I loved, and felt like the songs were with me, and I think the best of people.” from my heart and the best I could do,” she Early in Etheridge’s career, four songs from said. “I just believed. I stepped out and was very her first two albums were included in the film happy. I’m sure there are people who didn’t buy soundtrack for the 1992 film Where the Day it because they knew I was gay, but I think most Takes You, a low-budget movie about teenage people just liked the music. I think the general runaways in Los Angeles—with an incredibly population is more capable of what we think impressive cast that included Sean Astin, Will they are capable of.”

Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle, Christian Slater and I personally believe one of Etheridge’s other actors who would later become big names. most shining moments came at the concert “Before I was signed to Island Records to celebrate the opening of the Rock and Roll to record, I had a publishing deal at A&M,” Hall of Fame, in September 1995 in Cleveland.

Etheridge explained. “(A&M publishing head) She performed covers of The Ronettes’ “Be My Lance Freed saw something in me, but A&M Baby,” Diana Ross and the Supremes’ “Love Records never signed me for whatever reason, Child” and The Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the so I was a staff writer, and there was this bad Pack.”

B-movie called Scenes From the Goldmine that “Ooh, that was fun! They approached me and this guy Marc Rocco was directing. I met him, said, ‘We want to pay tribute to the girl groups,’” and he immediately became a big fan when I Etheridge said. “I thought that the greatest were put out my first album. When I was recording The Ronettes, and ‘Be My Baby’—you don’t my second album, he was making Where the Day get much better than that. Then you have The Takes You, and he really wanted to use those Supremes, and my favorite song growing up songs from my albums, and I was like, ‘Dude, was The Shangri-Las’ ‘Leader of the Pack.’ That thank you! I appreciate that.’ The film was never was the most bad-girl kind of song. I put them really big, even though there were a lot of stars all together, and I thought, ‘Can I make this a in it, but it was an amazing little film, and I love monstrosity of a melody?’ Man, that was a lot of what he did with it. It was a pretty dark movie fun doing it, and we just rocked it, too.” for back then, but it was about longing and When Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient 20-something angst—and that’s kind of what Truth came out in 2006, Etheridge was amazed was going on at the time.” at the success of not only her song “I Need to Etheridge has never been afraid to get personal in her songwriting.

“I never felt (afraid),” she said. “In the beginning, I wondered, ‘My goodness! Am I revealing too much about myself?’ But that was back before anyone knew anything about me.

The one thing I realized is the more personal I got, the more universal I became. People related to it, and it was an interesting phenomenon.”

In January 1993, during Bill Clinton’s inauguration, Etheridge performed at the Triangle Ball—and came out as a lesbian.

Etheridge’s career was taking off: That same year, she released her fourth album, and her most successful to date, Yes I Am. “I always think the best of the world, and I think the world has the capacity to really do anything. I just came out with honesty, made a Melissa Etheridge CVIndependent.com

Wake Up,” but of the documentary itself.

“It was a pivotal point in documentary filmmaking in the sense that documentaries really had a way to get information to people in a straightforward way without going through the censors and corporate advertisers,” she said.

“You just make your documentary. Seeing the boom that happened after that was amazing.

I remember when Al (Gore) first called me and asked me if I would write a song for his slideshow, and I thought how sweet that was.

Then he said, ‘They’re making a documentary of my slide show.’ I thought it was great, and I thought it would be shown in some high schools. To see the effect and the great work it did, and the changing of the world—that summer was astounding for me. I learned a lot just by creating work you love and bringing it to the people.”

Touring with an environmentalist mindset is difficult for many artists, given that tours are notoriously not environmentally friendly, thanks to emissions of tour buses, the usage of disposable plastics during mealtimes, and so on.

“It is a very difficult process, and we do the best we can,” Etheridge said. “For many years, we toured on biodiesels, and then they just sort of faded out. I’m seeing where we are going, and I think fossil fuels will be a thing of the past soon. But in the meantime, we do the best we can. We don’t have Styrofoam, and plastics are discouraged.”

Etheridge said she still feels good about her music career, despite all the changes in the music industry.

“My love has always been performing live, so I don’t complain about that at all,” she said. “I have thousands and thousands of people who still want to come see me, and I’m so grateful for that. I’m also still creating music, and I’m making a new album right now. I see the changes, yet I don’t see it as a bad thing. I think people still consume large amounts of music, and it still defines where they’re at personally.

When they travel or clean the house, they listen to music. The way the general public gets its music has changed, and I think you just do what you love and don’t worry about how people are getting it—because if it’s good, it gets out there.”

Melissa Etheridge will perform at 9 p.m., Friday, March 2, at Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, in Cabazon. Tickets are $65, and were close to selling out as of press time. For tickets or more information, call 800-252-4499, or visit www.morongocasinoresort.com.

The Blueskye REPORT MARCH 2018

By Brian Blueskye

Judy Collins

The biggest music month of the year—April, of course—is approaching. That’s the month when Coachella, Stagecoach and the return of hot weather (as if it ever left) occur. But we’re not there yet—and March is no slouch, with a whole lot of great music events taking place.

The McCallum Theatre has a packed month in March. At 8 p.m., Thursday, March 1, folk singer-songwriter Judy Collins will be performing. In the turbulent ’60s, Collins was one of the era’s great folk singers, helping to inspire political change. She’s among the last of the great folk icons remaining from that era—a great reason to go see her. Tickets are $27 to $77. If you were hoping to catch one of the two Beach Boys shows on Sunday, March 4, we have bad news ... the shows are sold out.

Tickets were $77. Get thee to secondary ticketsales outlets if you really want to go. At 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 13, jazz vocalist Steve Tyrell will take the stage. He’s an icon of vocal jazz; his voice has won him a Grammy Award, and he’s put out nine albums. He’s been performing at the McCallum for 15 years; go check him out.

Tickets are $47 to $87. Check the McCallum website for other great events. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has a full slate of great events; here are just a few to consider.

At 8 p.m., Friday, March 2, you can enjoy a double bill of Starship and Eddie Money. You might remember Starship as a continuation of the ’60s psychedelic-rock band Jefferson Airplane; it surfaced in the ’80s with a new wave sound—as in “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” You probably remember Eddie Money as a late ’70s and early ’80s pop-radio staple, known for songs such as “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Two Tickets to Paradise.” Tickets are $39 to $59.

At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 24, female-blues powerhouse Bonnie Raitt will be performing.

I saw Raitt when she performed the last time at Fantasy Springs—and I truly enjoyed the continued on Page 34

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SWING IS THE THING S

By Brian Blueskye

wing music will forever be associated with 1990s culture, thanks to the genre’s revival that made stars out of many swing groups during the decade.

You’ll remember how Brian Setzer formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra—with an electric guitar kick to the ass. The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies brought a radio-friendly pop groove to the band’s swing sound, while Lou Bega performed swing-style songs over hip-hop beats.

And then there were the Squirrel Nut Zippers—which were a different thing altogether. The band brought out some of the dark elements of swing music, and added in older sounds such as calypso, gypsy jazz, Delta blues—and even some of the retro groups, but it just sort of happened that old New Orleans sound. we kicked the door in and were able to instill a Following some turbulent starts and stops lot of different artists.” since the band’s 1990s heyday, the band is back Mathus said the band made sure it kept things and touring again. The group has survived traditional and old-school while recording. lawsuits, the divorce of frontman Jimbo Mathus “We recorded in original ways and were able and former Squirrel Nut Zippers vocalist to see it through to the recording,” he said.

Katharine Whalen, and scorn from former “Maybe the other groups would have sounded members because they were not invited to more authentic if they would have done it on perform with the band’s current incarnation. our microphones and the way we recorded The band will be stopping by the McCallum it—just live in a room with big, old RCA Theatre on Friday, March 2. microphones. We recorded it like the old days While the Squirrel Nut Zippers are often and still continue to do so.” lumped into the “Swing Revival” of the ’90s, the The Squirrel Nut Zippers’ biggest hit came in band is the real deal when it comes to swing.

1996 with “Hell.”

During a recent phone interview, Jimbo Mathus “That song came from a fascination with dark explained how it all came together and led to humor, but the delivery of it came from early him start the band in 1993. calypso singers in Trinidad from the 1930s, “I was researching the history of American like the Growler, Wilmoth Houdini, the Mighty music and was really jazzed at what was at the Sparrow and those kinds of cats. That was a heart of it all,” Mathus said. “That was just huge new music form at the time, and it was from going back to learning all the old forms incredible. We were really interested in that, of music on my own as a self-taught artist. I and they talked about a lot of dark subjects in left Mississippi and went to Chapel Hill, N.C.; those songs, too, like murders, bodies being they had a lot more libraries and record shops found, police incidents. … It was a very cool in Chapel Hill. I was able to get down to some phenomenon. (“Hell”) was based on that, Dante, things I was really interested in. … I started and all the dark poets—plus The Lawrence Welk gathering people around me who wanted to try Show, because you need to have some twisted something. We were in total isolation and were American humor in there. The video was starving artists, and most of us didn’t even have supposed to look like The Lawrence Welk Show. televisions. We had no idea what was going on.

It’s just a twisted joke, but it’s based on the A bunch of the other swing artists were doing song from the ’30s by Lord Executor called ‘My their own thing, too, and there are still a lot of Troubles With Dorothy.’”

The Squirrel Nut Zippers perform at the McCallum in advance of a brand-new album

Of course, retro music genres keep getting rediscovered, and Mathus said it’s a promising time for the Squirrel Nut Zippers. I saw the band not long ago in Los Angeles, and the group sounds as good as it did in the ’90s.

“It’s coming back around,” Mathus said. “I don’t see how our style will ever be unpopular, because it’s fun; it’s well-done; it’s creative; it’s sardonic; and it has an edge. It’s very entertaining, and it’s something almost every age can come dig on. I don’t care if you’re 80 or 8—it’s going to be cool, and I’m very excited about it.”

The current lineup includes some well-known ringers, such as Dr. Sick (fiddle, banjo, and other various instruments), vocalist Cella Blue and other roots-music veterans.

“I just started reaching out to people who I knew were devoted, talented and skilled in so many ways,” Mathus said. “I just told them, ‘If we do this, let’s do it again and not re-enact what we did before. Let’s not make it a reunion; let’s make it like a revival of the sound, and the template of the music is so cool.’ I knew people

from New Orleans and everywhere just because I’ve been so active in music. It wasn’t hard.”

The Squirrel Nut Zippers will release a new album, the band’s first in 18 years, on March 23, Beasts of Burgundy.

“It was about going back to the good old formula, man, with a lot more skill, a bigger band—and it’s just ballin’,” Mathus said. “We’re still working in the good-old creepy America. I didn’t want to break the mold; I thought it was a cool mold, and we should just keep on doing it.

“Performing live with this band, it’s so joyous.

That’s the point of the music—to escape and be joyous. It’s not fake, and it’s a great feeling to be up there doing what we’re doing, especially after as many years as I’ve been doing this—and I’ve had some hard miles.”

The Squirrel Nut Zippers will perform with Davina and the Vagabonds at 8 p.m., Friday, March 2, at the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, in Palm Desert. Tickets are $27 to $77. For tickets or more information, call 760-340-2787, or visit www.mccallumtheatre.com.

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The Blueskye REPORT

SMALL BAND, BIG SOUND Earthless earns accolades with its instrumentals— although a brand-new album includes some vocals

I

By Brian Blueskye

t’s unbelievable that Earthless puts out such a big sound with just three musicians.

Think of Earthless’ sound this way: Imagine an instrumental version of Led Zeppelin, occasionally with a darker, psychedelic-rock sound. If you want to hear for yourself, check out “Uluru Rock” and “Lost in the Cold Sun.” The group’s new record, Black Heaven, is coming out March 16; it was recorded at the Rancho de la Luna recording studio in Joshua Tree, with studio owner and Eagles of Death Metal guitarist Dave Catching as the producer. To celebrate, the San Diego-based group will perform at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace on Thursday, March 8.

Earthless is made up of Isaiah Mitchell (guitar), Mike Eginton (bass) and Mario Rubalcaba, who is also the drummer for the punk band Off! During a recent phone interview, Mitchell said he often hears people criticize Earthless for not having a vocalist.

“It’s not for everybody; I know that much,” Mitchell said about the band’s music. “But I don’t pay attention to (the criticism) and don’t really music. This just came more naturally with notice it. I know a lot of people are like, ‘I can’t the time we had,” he said. “We do have other stand instrumental music. You guys just jam on instrumental songs that are longer, but we feel forever.’ The people who like instrumental music like we just haven’t ironed them out yet. They’ll are pretty into it.” be ready for the next record, though.

Earthless writes songs in a variety of ways, “It’s fun to do something different. We’ve Mitchell said. done some stuff with vocals before, but not on “There are all sorts of different ways to do an album—only splits or compilations. With it,” he said. “Mike and Mario had a couple of the time we had, it just felt natural, and it’s a songs that were already pretty well worked on fun experience. We have to block out time for and finalized as far as the instrumental bits. … getting together. I live in San Francisco, and I went in and altered them a bit to make them everyone else is back down in San Diego. We the songs that they are now. There’s no one way have to plan it out in advance.” of doing it, especially on this new record. Before, Beyond the vocals, Mitchell said there aren’t on previous records, Mike would have a riff; I’d too many differences between Black Heaven and come up with a riff; and we’d go back and forth, Earthless’ previous recordings. and it would be one song. Some songs come out “I think if you listen to our other of a jam. There’s usually a moment of creativity instrumental songs, the title track ‘Black we all really dig on—and there’s a motif for a Heaven, or the track ‘Demon Lady,’ those songs song. I haven’t thought of a way that we don’t are definitely in line,” he said. “It still sounds like use to write.” us, instrumentally or with vocals, from our past Things change—and on Black Heaven, there recordings. There’s a song called ‘Sudden End’ are some vocal tracks. that’s slower with vocals; that’s probably the “I think it might have had a lot to do with song that’s so unlike us on that record, because time constraints, with getting together and it’s darker and moodier.” working on multiple large pieces of instrumental Some instrumental bands find success in scoring films.

“I would love to do that,” Mitchell said. “I think there was something offered to us not too far back for scoring for a film. We’ve done stuff with Vans and surf-movie footage, but it wasn’t the big screen; you’re watching the video and composing on the spot.”

Earthless

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Earthless will perform with Kikagaku Moyo and JJUUJJUU at 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 8, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53668 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $20 to $25. For tickets or more information, call 760365-5956, or visit www.pappyandharriets.com.

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show. She has a set of great songs and a fantastic backing band. Tickets are $49 to $89.

At 8 p.m., Friday, March 30, Trump supporter and comedian/singer Rodney Carrington will be performing. Remember that time in the ’90s when you opened your AOL account, and one of your friends had sent you that long, 30-minute download (via dial up) of that stupid song “Dear Penis?” Well, Carrington wrote that. You’re welcome. Tickets are $39 to $59. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www. fantasyspringsresort.com.

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has several fine events coming in March, and there’s at least one you won’t want to miss: At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 24, Mexican romantic-music group Los Temerarios will be performing.

Founding brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Angel have been going since 1978, recording 20 albums and winning multiple awards. Tickets are $45 to $85. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-9991995; www.hotwatercasino.com.

Spotlight 29 is going to be a fun place to be in March. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 3, jazz guitarist George Benson will be performing.

Jazz guitar is a tough subgenre to appreciate, but Benson is talented enough to win almost anybody over. Tickets are $55 to $75. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 24, comedian Carrot Top will bring the funny. If you like rather stupid prop comedy, Carrot Top is your man. He and his suitcase full of props were popular in the ’90s.

He’s well aware of the scorn he’s gotten from people who don’t like him—but he’s made fun of his critics in an amusing way that sells tickets.

Also … his muscular physique and red hair, in combination, are quite scary. Tickets are $25 to $45. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 31, R&B/funk superstars Kool and the Gang will return to the valley. I love Kool and the Gang; they made so many great songs from the ’70s and ’80s that were the soundtrack of my childhood. Fun fact: Eagles of Death Metal sometimes use “Ladies Night” as an entrance theme. Tickets are $45 to $65. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort Spa has a special St. Patrick’s Day-themed event planned. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 16, Irish punk band Flogging Molly will be performing. There was a time when it seemed like Irish punk was trending, with Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly packing venues across the country.

Flogging Molly has more of a traditional Celtic sound; while the band calls Los Angeles home, frontman Dave King is originally from Ireland.

Tickets are $49 to $105. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-2524499; www.morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace has some big sold-out shows, and is starting to make announcements about the outdoor season—but let’s not get ahead of ourselves:

March has some great events with space still available. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 10, the best Johnny Cash tribute you’ll ever see, Cash’d Out, will be performing. This band is legendary—and goes well beyond a standard tribute act. In fact, Johnny Cash’s drummer, W.S. Holland, has sat in with this band before.

Cindy Cash, Johnny Cash’s daughter, gave the band a glass locket that belonged to the Man in Black himself that supposedly holds some of his hair. This is Columbia Records-era Johnny Cash in a way you’ve never heard before. Tickets are $15. At 10 p.m., Friday, March 16, FYF presents OH SEES and Pretty Eyes. OH SEES is a great psychedelic rock band; this show is definitely going to be noteworthy. Tickets are $26. At 9 p.m., Friday, March 23, singer-songwriter Pearl Charles will be performing. I’ll let this description from her press kit explain it all: “Pearl Charles lives in the moment, seeking excitement whether it leads her down a dark, dusty road or into the arms of a trouble-making lover.” Sounds great to me! Tickets are $15.

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

The Purple Room Palm Springs has a couple of events you’ll love if you enjoy dinner and a show. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 16, enjoy a tribute to Palm Springs with Palm Springs Jump! The show is a high-energy tribute to stars such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and many others. Tickets are $25 to $30. At 8 p.m., Friday, March 23, if you’re an Elvis fan, you’ll love Scot Bruce’s Elvis: The Early Years. Elvis’ early years are the years that I prefer, when Elvis rocked and captured the imagination of the youth of America. Tickets are $25 to $30. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-322-4422; www.purpleroompalmsprings.com.

The Date Shed seems to be doing one show, more or less, per month, and in the month of March, it happens at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 17, when So-Cal reggae band Fortunate Youth will be performing. Fortunate Youth is a regular at The Date Shed, and the shows are always popular. Tickets are $20 in advance. The Date Shed, 50725 Monroe St., Indio; 760-775-6699; www.facebook.com/dateshed.

The Copa Room Palm Springs has a couple of fun March events. At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 3, a tribute to Bette Midler titled The Divine Miss Bette , featuring Catherine Alcorn, will most likely be well-attended. The previews of this show look spectacular—it’s a must-see for any Bette Midler fan. Tickets are $25 to $45.

At 8 p.m., Saturday, March 24, actress and singer Mary Bridget Davies will take the stage.

She’s performed in many blues-tribute bands, and supposedly did a fantastic job playing Janis Joplin in the Broadway show A Night With Janis Joplin. Tickets are $25 to $35. Copa Palm Springs, 244 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 760866-0021; www.coparoomtickets.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 35

MARCH 2018

MUSIC

favorite rudiment to play?”

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

the

LUCKY 13

Meet two Tool fans—one a talented drummer, and the other a frontman/guitarist

By Brian Blueskye

Damian Garcia

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Molotov, “Puto.”

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

Tool, Ænima.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Animals as Leaders, “Arithmophobia.”

NAME Samuel Meza GROUP Kill the Radio MORE INFO I stumbled across Kill the Radio during a show at the late, lamented Schmidy’s Tavern—and I was blown away by the band’s sound. It sounds similar to the punk/hardcore that came out of New York City in the ’90s.

This East Valley band is always a treat to see live. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/killtheradio760. The band’s frontman and guitarist is Samuel Meza.

NAME Damian Garcia GROUP Sleazy Cortez MORE INFO Sleazy Cortez has started to capture the attention of the local music scene.

The band recently released an LP, Trailer Trash Blues, and now plays regularly at venues such as The Hood Bar and Pizza. Sitting behind the drums is Damian Garcia, one of the best local drummers I’ve seen thanks to his incredible style and technique. For more information, visit sleazycortez.bandcamp.com.

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

Nirvana, when they did MTV Unplugged.

What was the first concert you attended?

Knotfest. I got to see Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Motorhead and so many other sick artists.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I want to say Warpaint.

What was the first album you owned?

Linkin Park’s Meteora. It’s still one of the best albums I’ve ever heard.

What’s your favorite music venue?

Red Rocks Amphitheatre (near Morrison, Colo.).

What was the first concert you attended?

Tool in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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

“The Sky Is Fallin’,” Queens of the Stone Age.

What bands are you listening to right now?

Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, Kings of Leon, and Deftones.

What was the first album you owned?

Tool, Ænima.

What bands are you listening to right now?

I’m really digging Animals as Leaders.

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

Country music. I just can’t seem to like it.

What band or artist changed your life? How? System of a Down. It was the first band that got me into rock.

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

Danny Carey from Tool: “What is your

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

I absolutely don’t understand this trap beat music. It’s noise and mumbles with a hype man screaming, “Hey!” the whole time.

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

If I could see anyone live, it would have to be Tool all over again! Tool is hands-down the best live show I have ever seen.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

My favorite guilty pleasure has to be singing along to Frank Ocean’s music, from the Channel Orange album to his newest single “Chanel.” Amazing!

What’s your favorite music venue?

The Observatory in Santa Ana. I got to see Deftones along with Glassjaw there, and they were phenomenal!

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

My favorite song lyrics are actually from Frank Ocean’s “Pink Matter.” The opening

Samuel Meza

verse hits home when he asks, “What is a woman made for? Is she just the container for the child?” That, to me, opens the mind and pushes you to understand outside the Machista concept.

What band or artist changed your life? How? Linkin Park and Blessthefall. I was a depressed and super-emotional kid back in high school. I had the hardest time growing up. I was poor and living under the bridges in Indio while being homeless the first half of my life, and hearing others had a similar struggle really helped me get ahead in life.

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

I would have to ask Hayley Williams from Paramore if she would marry me, ha ha ha ha.

(Seriously, though.)

What song would you like played at your funeral?

My funeral song would be a song I wrote recently. It’s called “If Time Heals Wounds, Do Scars Tell Stories?”

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

I would say Emarosa’s Relativity. I can listen to it from beginning to end all the time.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.” It’s super deep. If you leave the racial context on which the song is based and apply it to everyday life, you’d see a divided world where we only segregate ourselves due to the ideals and views of others.

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MARCH 2018

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T

The goals of the first Palm Springs Cannabis Film Festival and Summit: to educate, entertain and enlighten

BY CHARLES DRABKIN

he Palm Springs Cultural Center accomplishes a lot in the Coachella Valley. In addition to doing the programming at the Camelot Theatres and running the area’s Certified Farmers’ Markets, the center produces several film festivals.

And now, the Palm Springs Cultural Center is getting involved with weed—by producing the first Palm Springs Cannabis Film Festival and Summit, taking place largely at the Camelot Theatres April 17-22.

Giacomina Marie and Paul Palodichuk are the festival directors, as well as the directors of the Palm Springs Farmers’ Market, which they founded 10 years ago. (Full disclosure: I work with the Palm Springs Cultural Center as the volunteer coordinator.)

When asked why they decided to start the festival and summit, they talked about their connection to farmers, coming from Northern California and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They’re used to working directly not only with produce farmers, but also with local cannabis growers. With the Coachella Valley becoming a mecca for cannabis production and tourism, they felt the area was ripe for a public discussion about what we want the legal cannabis industry to look like.

They also want to educate consumers about responsible consumption, both medicinally and recreationally—and clear up some of the confusion regarding the country’s split personality regarding legality.

The film festival and summit are designed to help ease apprehension regarding marijuana use. Taking a lesson from the gay-rights movement, many in the cannabis industry are working hard to get people to “come out” and tell their stories.

Programming and films are still being finalized for the conference. “Talking to Your Teens” will be led by Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, director emerita of the San Francisco office of Drug Policy Alliance and author of the booklet Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens and Drugs. She will help parents and grandparents have informed discussions with young people about how to make good decisions in the recreational market. Although it is illegal for teens to use or possess marijuana … if teens today are anything like I was when I was in high school, they’re experimenting with marijuana.

Most of the films being chosen for the festival are documentaries exploring marijuana culture, both nationally and internationally.

While Marie and Palodichuk have more familiarity with small-scale operations due

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to their farmers’ market background, they said they’re taking great pains to invite representatives from large companies as well as boutique producers. Marie made a comparison to a person’s decision on where to shop for groceries: Some people are going to shop at farmers’ markets; others will only shop at large-scale grocery stores—but all of us are trying to make informed choices.

Looking at the schedule so far, there really is something for everyone, from first-time users to experienced cannabis entrepreneurs.

If you are someone who hasn’t smoked a joint since the ’70s, or perhaps spent your entire life following the “Just Say No” message, there are talks specifically designed to help you overcome your understandable worries.

Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of cannabis users, and Dr. Jonathan Bechard, from Eisenhower Medical Center, will lead a talk on the safe and effective uses of cannabis for pain and stress relief—and he’s coming to the discussion with a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the belief that cannabis is an all-encompassing cure-all. On the other end of the life cycle, the summit will look at

how children with autism, epilepsy and lifethreatening diseases might be helped. There is even a veterinarian coming in to talk about the benefits of cannabis use for your pet. As the owner of a hyperactive Pomeranian, I will be checking this out.

For those who are part of the lucrative cannabis industry—or who want to be—there are two tracks that might be right for you.

A “Green Rush Series” will investigate the opportunities in marijuana retail, tourism, culinary businesses “and beyond”; and a “Business Case Industry Series” will explore the quickly changing federal, state, county and city legalities, as well as insurance and banking considerations when opening a cannabis related business.

Interested in learning to grow your own?

Brooke Sinclair, founder of Sierra Bloom Collective, will lead a workshop on getting the most out of the six plants an individual can grow for themselves. Concerned about social justice? Check out keynote speaker Dr. Lori Ajax, chief of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control.

But what if you just want to come and have fun? Sexologist Nick Karras, creator of the “The Passionate High” project, will present on how pot’s psychotropic and physical effects can help people to experience greater creativity and passion in their intimate relationships.

For more information or festival passes, visit pscff.jackalyst.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 37

MARCH 2018

Brian Blueskye and present

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MARCH 2018

OPINION SAVAGE LOVE

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WHERE THE GRASS IS GREENER

BY DAN SAVAGE

I

’m a 24-year-old nonbinary person living. I have two wonderful girlfriends. One, I have been with for four years. (We live together.) The other, I have been with for a year and a half. They’re both brilliant, interesting and kind. Both relationships have their issues, but they are minor. They know each other but aren’t close. Neither is interested in people besides me right now, although my longer-term girlfriend identifies as poly. They have both said that they see a future with me, but something doesn’t feel right.

I’ve been having fantasies about leaving them both. It’s not about wanting to find someone I like better— if I met someone I really liked, I could pursue it. I just feel like neither relationship can progress while both exist. My other friends are getting married. I don’t think I want to stay in this setup indefinitely. Even if my girlfriends liked each other, which they don’t, I don’t want sister wives or two families. But I also can’t imagine choosing between them.

I feel like a scumbag for even thinking about it. I’ve talked to them, and they are both having reservations about the current situation. Neither of them wants some kind of three-person family structure, either. The only thing I can think to do (besides running away) is wait and see if one of these relationships fizzles out on its own.

Are my fantasies of escape normal? Is wanting to be with “the one” just straight nonsense?

Engaged Now But Yearning

“The one” is nonsense, ENBY, but it’s not straight nonsense—lots of queer people believe that “the one,” their perfect match, is out there somewhere. But despite the fact that there are no perfect matches, people are constantly ending loving relationships that could go the distance to run off in search of “the one” that doesn’t exist. As I’ve pointed out again and again, there are lots of .64s out there, and if you’re lucky, you might find a .73 lurking in the pile. When you find a serviceable .64 or (God willing) a spectacular .73, it’s your job to round that motherfucker up to “the one.” (And don’t forget that they’re doing the same for you—

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I am fantasizing about leaving both of my partners; is this ‘normal’?

everyone is rounding up.)

Zooming in on your question, ENBY: You say what you have now—two girlfriends who can’t stand each other—is working. Are you sure about that? While fantasies of escape are normal—we all spend time thinking about the road we didn’t take, the door we didn’t try, the ass we didn’t eat—it’s odd to hear someone with two girlfriends wish for one or both to disappear.

Perhaps it’s not who you’re doing that’s the problem, ENBY, but what you’re doing. The kind of polyamory you’re practicing—concurrent and equal romantic partnerships—may not be right for you. I’m not trying to YDIW you here (“You’re doing it wrong!), but if you’re envious of your friends who are settling down with just one partner, perhaps you’d be more comfortable in an open-not-poly relationship (sex with others OK; romance with others not OK) or a hierarchical poly relationship (your primary partner comes first; your secondary partner[s] come, well, second).

Finally, ENBY, it could be the stress of having two partners who don’t like each other that has you fantasizing about escape and/or one of your partners evaporating. Each of your girlfriends might make sense independently of each other, but if having to share you doesn’t work for them … it’s never going to work for you.

I’m 27 years old, and I’ve been married to my partner for two years. I’m facing a conundrum: A relative sexually abused me when I was younger.

It happened a handful of times, and I’ve never told anyone other than my partner. I’m now struggling to decide not whether I should tell my parents (I should), but when. The abuse fucked me up, but I have been working through it with a therapist.

The problem is my siblings and cousins have started having their own children, and seeing this relative—a member of my extended family—with their kids is dredging up a lot of uncomfortable memories. I see this relative frequently, as we all live in the area and get together as a family at least once a month. I don’t have children of my own yet, but my partner and I have already decided that this relative will never touch or hold the ones we do have.

So do I tell my parents now? My extended family is tightly knit, and I fear the issues that sharing this secret will inevitably create.

My Family Kinda Sucks Your kids may not yet exist, MFKS, but your young nieces, nephews and cousins do—and your abuser has access to them. So the drama you fear creating isn’t unnecessary—it’s incredibly necessary. And since you were

planning to tell your parents eventually, the drama is inevitable.

But let’s say you wait to tell your parents until you have children of your own—how will you feel if you learn, after the curtain goes up on this drama, that this relative had sexually abused another child in your family (or multiple children in your family, or children outside your family) in the weeks, months or years between your decision to tell your parents and the moment you told them?

My partner does phone sex work. A lot of the calls are from “straight” guys who ask to be “forced” to suck cock. (We assume the forced part is because they think there’s something wrong with being gay.) We’re wondering if there is a sex-positive word we should be using to describe these guys. If not, your readers should coin one, so all us straight dudes who love dick can take pride in our desires.

Fill in the blank: “_______: a 100 percent straight guy who also loves sucking dick (and perhaps taking it in the ass).”

Cocksuckers Need Noun The kink you describe already has a name— forced bi—and a forced bi scene usually goes something like this: A guy who would never, ever suck a cock because he’s totally straight gets down on his knees and sucks cocks on the orders of his female dominant. Since this totally straight guy sucks cock only to please a woman, there’s nothing gay and/or bi about all the cocks he puts in his mouth.

It’s one very particular way in which male bisexuality is expressed—think of it as male bisexual desire after hetero fragility, gay panic, denial, religion, gender norms and football get through kicking the shit out of it. Paradoxically, CNN, by the time a guy asks a woman to force him to suck a cock, he’s allowing himself to suck a cock and therefore no longer in denial.

But what to call these guys?

Well, CNN, some people into BDSM call themselves “BDSMers.” But “forcedbi’ers” doesn’t trip quite so easily off the tongue— so maybe we go with “cocksuckers”? It’s an emasculating slur, one that straight-identified men throw around to get, um, a rise out of each other. But while “You’re a cocksucker” may be fighting words for a straight guy, they’re highly arousing ones for a straight-identified guy into forced bi.

Read Savage Love every Wednesday at CVIndependent.com; mail@savagelove.net; @ fakedansavage on Twitter; ITMFA.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

MARCH 2018

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

“Running Free”—it’s freestyle, sobeit.

Across 1 Big meals 8 Abrasive stones 15 Restricted, one way 16 Amount of a minor shock 17 Frazzle 18 Thorny problem 19 Glance of contempt 20 Oprah’s longtime partner Graham 21 They hold onto everything 23 Barnyard noise 24 Give permission 28 Reason for news to interrupt regular programming 36 Roam (about) 37 Le Misanthrope playwright 38 Assessment that may determine how well you work with others 40 In a way 41 “411”

43 Fuel-efficient vehicle 50 Tiny organism 54 Lovingly, in music 55 Freeloaders 56 Fallen for 57 First name on Mount Rushmore 58 “Gimme,” in more words 59 Tooth component 60 Egg containers

9 Fathom, e.g.

10 “___ Kalikimaka” (Bing Crosby holiday song) 11 Exclamation akin to “Eureka!”

12 Council 13 Jazz trumpeter Ziggy 14 Played terribly 22 Sound of lament 25 Relating to coins or currency Down 26 Mail delivery site?

1 Early Baseball Hall-of- 27 ___ May Clampett Famer Edd (Beverly Hillbillies 2 Film composer daughter) Morricone 28 Oil additive letters 3 “Bear” that’s not a 29 Early start? bear 30 Food involved in 4 Like ___ in the “typewriter eating,” headlights according to 5 Fathered tvtropes.org 6 Fiddler on the Roof 31 Caption seen early protagonist in an alphabet book, 7 Completely avoid, maybe with “of” 32 NASDAQ newcomers 8 Detergent containers 33 “It comes ___ that I shouldn’t have surprise ...” to tell you never to 34 E-file agency eat 35 Badminton divider

39 Some capts.-to-be 41 “Grrr!”

42 Mythological weeper 44 Kitchen appliance brand 45 TV weatherman Al 46 Armour’s Spam rival 47 Apartment that’s owned 48 Lord of the Rings actor Sean 49 The Tonight Show house band, with “The” 51 “Fancy meeting you here!”

52 Rowan Atkinson’s “Mr.” character 53 J.D. Salinger title character ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords. com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com!

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MARCH 2018

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