Coachella Valley Independent November 2018

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | NOVEMBER 2018

VOL. 6 | NO. 11

Under the cloud of Trump, Kavanaugh and #metoo, the LGBTQ community and allies join together to celebrate Greater Palm Springs Pride.

page

SATURDAY, NOV. 17.

SEE THE BACK COVER FOR DETAILS.

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NOVEMBER 2018

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

NOVEMBER 2018

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the November 2018 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent—our annual Pride Issue.

But before I discuss all of the great stuff you’ll find herein … an apology: Election Day 2018 is almost here—and I am not happy with how we’ve covered things this year.

It’s not a matter of quality; I am satisfied with the coverage that we have done. The amount of election coverage we’ve published— be it in print, at CVIndependent.com or both—has been substantial. Locally, we’ve covered the Desert Hot Springs city election; the Palm Desert city election (in this issue); the District 28 Senate race between Joy Silver and Jeff Stone; the already-decided District Editor/Publisher 4 Riverside County Board of Supervisors Jimmy Boegle seat; and the already-decided Rancho Mirage city election. We’ve also done some Assistant Editor coverage on election matters involving Brian Blueskye Desert Healthcare District and the city of Indio, and before October is over, we will advertising sales have had coverage of the Cathedral City Dwight Hendricks election posted at CVIndependent.com.

Finally, we’ve published a fair amount of state election news from our partners at coveR and feature design CALmatters, both in print and online.

Beth Allen While that is a lot of election coverage … it’s not enough. As the calendar Contributors turned from 2017 to 2018, we set an Stephen Berger, Max Cannon, Kevin internal goal of covering all local city Carlow, Shann Carr, Charles Drabkin, elections taking place this year, and we failed. I am embarrassed that we didn’t Katie Finn, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, get to covering the city elections in La Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Michael Quinta, Coachella and Indian Wells. I Grimm, Dwight Hendricks, Valeriealso wish we’d have been able to do more Jean (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Keith state coverage—but we just ran out of Knight, Brett Newton, Dan Perkins, time and resources.

Guillermo Prieto, Paul Rosenberg, Laurel For that, I apologize. We need to do Rosenhall, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, better, and we are exploring ways to Robert Victor improve moving forward.

Now, on to the good stuff … namely, the stuff you’ll find in this issue.

The Coachella Valley Independent Our special Pride section includes two print edition is published every month. stories directly relating to the Greater All content is ©2018 and may not be Palm Springs Pride events taking place published or reprinted in any form in November, and two stories regarding without the written permission of the fantastic LGBT-related events happening publisher. The Independent is available later in the month. (Speaking of Palm free of charge throughout the Coachella Springs Pride: We’ll be at the festival both days—Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 Valley, limited to one copy per reader. and 4—giving out newspapers and swag, Additional copies may be purchased so please stop by and say hello.) for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Beyond the Pride stories, this issue Independent may be distributed only by includes a lot of other great stuff, from the Independent’s authorized distributors. our annual list of Censored Stories— important national and international The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter stories that were under-covered by the of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, mainstream press—to fantastic arts, CalMatters, Get Tested Coachella Valley, the Local food and music coverage.

Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of I hope you enjoy the issue. As always, the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed. thanks for reading, and don’t hesitate to contact me at the email address below with questions or input.

One more thing … Happy Pride!

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

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NOVEMBER 2018

OPINION OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS B

BY ANITA RUFUS

ack when the news was being dominated by the federal “zero-tolerance policy” which was resulting in family separations at the border, I attended a presentation by the writers’ group at Coachella Valley Repertory—always a great way to experience local talent.

The final writer performing her original work was Barbara Fast, the new pastor at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, doing a piece she called I Am Miriam. She told the story of Moses’ journey down the Nile in a reed basket, into the arms of the Egyptian princess who adopted him into the royal kingdom, from the perspective of Miriam, Moses’ sister.

In Fast’s version, Miriam followed her brother’s journey and then suggested to the princess that she could get a Hebrew woman to breast-feed the baby—enabling their real mother to suckle her own infant. When Fast said her line about amount of time preparing to do five minutes, how no child should ever be separated from but I realized then that although I had always its mother, the audience gasped—a collective been standing in the back, I wanted to be in intake of breath at the ironic current relevance front of the church. I wanted to engage the of that age-old story. I still get goosebumps hearts of the people. when I recall the moment.

“We live in this world, and it’s about how to Fast, 67, has been in the desert for only a year live with integrity and joy. We don’t know for and a half. She was born and raised in New York sure what happens afterward, so we can only City, the only child of working parents. In high imagine and wonder. What I do now is about school, Fast specialized in math and science. She how we live our lives. If we can ask the right then attended Sarah Lawrence College, majoring questions, we can get to the right answers. in philosophy, and went on to earn a law degree “Somebody once said to me, ‘If it knocks from Georgetown University. more than once, it could be God knocking.’ I’ve “My senior high school year was 1968, when never forgotten that. I applied to go part-time to so much was going on, particularly the King Yale and felt at home in divinity school, studying and Kennedy killings,” she says. “I had already the Old Testament and ethics.“ become involved in local political campaigns, Fast met her husband, Jonathan, in college, and then once I was in college, there were the but it wasn’t until they met again at an alumni Kent State killings, bus riders in the South, and event that they got together. They have now marches. Fairness and justice were always really been married 35 years. important to me.”

“I have three wonderful children: Molly, my As a lawyer, Fast went into trial practice. “It stepdaughter, and two sons, Ben and Dan. Jon was what I seemed to be good at, and I loved was a novelist, but we both made career shifts at the thinking,” she says. “I became a prosecutor about the same time. He started teaching social in New York state—not a defense lawyer, policy, and I went into divinity school.” because I was all about justice and discretion What brought them to the Coachella Valley? on behalf of the people. In the late 1970s, New “About two years ago, we decided to retire, York was coming out of bankruptcy; graffiti after kicking it around for about a year. I had was everywhere. I felt I was participating in served churches in Connecticut, Rhode Island, upholding standards.” and then back to Connecticut, and I was tired.

The work required an enormous After the Sandy Hook shootings happened commitment. Fast and her husband decided to nearby, I was in a state of trauma. move to Connecticut to start a family, and she “Jon was retiring, and our son Ben was began to teach law. in Los Angeles, so we looked around there.

How did Fast go from law to religion?

Then we came over the mountain originally “My husband is Jewish, and I’m sort of thinking it was ridiculous—it was August, and Catholic (from a mixed marriage),” she says. “We the temperature was about 114! But we fell in decided to raise our children in the Unitarian love with this area. It’s affordable, and there Universalist congregation in Westport. I was are so many creative people here.” doing lots of volunteer work on environmental Shortly after arriving in Rancho Mirage, Fast issues and was asked to give personal witness sought out the CV Rep Writers’ Group, run by at the church for Earth Day. I spent a ridiculous Andy Harmon.

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

Meet Barbara Fast, a lawyer turned pastor—with a knack for storytelling

“It’s wonderful,” she says. “I had crafted stories as part of sermons, not just about individuals, but about human beings in general and the human condition, trying to make connections with how we are living now. I had presented stories, after gathering evidence and analyzing it, as a lawyer. Then I did it in sermons. Now I wanted to expand my capabilities. Biblical text is very compact, so when I was writing about Miriam, I asked myself, ‘Why did she go into the water? How did she get there, down the Nile? What must it be like to sacrifice your child?’”

Fast says a “calling” is when your greatest love meets the world’s greatest need: “It takes different shapes at different times of your life.”

Lucky for us, Fast’s current time of life is here in the desert. She shares stories with her “audience” every Sunday.

Barbara Fast.

Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal.”

Her show That’s Life airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon on iHubradio, while The Lovable Liberal airs from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Email her at Anita@ LovableLiberal.com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

NOVEMBER 2018

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

MID-VALLEY DECISIONS P

by kevin fitzgerald

alm Desert was incorporated as a city just 45 years ago—on Nov. 26, 1973, making it the second-youngest city in the Coachella Valley.

This November, Palm Desert is poised to become the fourth valley city to approve and regulate cannabis-industry retail sales, commercial cultivation and delivery services within its city limits—presuming voters approve the resolution put on this year’s ballot by the current City Council.

Also on the November ballot: Palm Desert voters will choose among five candidates—two incumbents and three challengers—for two seats up for election on the City Council.

The Independent recently spoke with four of five candidates. (Matt Monica, who identifies himself as a retired educator on the city’s candidate-information form, did not respond to the Independent.)

Incumbent Jan Harnik is winding up a busy year of political campaigning. Earlier this year, she ran unsuccessfully for the local Riverside County Board of Supervisors seat. After losing to V. Manuel Perez, Harnik immediately dove into her re-election campaign.

“It’s been exhausting,” said Harnik, who has served on the Palm Desert council since 2010. “But if we pay attention to the lessons, we have an opportunity to learn through these processes. It was pretty valuable in a lot of ways for me.”

Why did she decide to again run for the Palm Desert City Council?

“I’ll share with you that I’m an accidental politician,” said Harnik (right). “But I’ve found a great passion in doing this work, and in making a difference in our community.

In 2013, I pushed for a strategic plan for our city that took over a year to complete. More than 100 community members volunteered to help us create this great plan, and now we have work to do.”

Sabby Jonathan, who is completing his fourth year on the council and this year is serving as mayor, spoke similarly of not wanting to leave work undone.

“I’ve been a resident in Palm Desert for almost 40 years, and I’ve been involved in our community during that time. Currently, my involvement is serving on council,” Jonathan said. “Right now, we’re dealing with creating good things rather than putting out fires. So one of the driving forces that caused me to seek re-election is that we have adopted a vision of what the city will look like in the next 20 years.

It’s our strategic plan, which is now embedded in our general plan. We are now in the early stages of implementation, and so I feel that

there is unfinished work.”

Challenger Carlos Pineda (right) described his work experience as being in the legal field and working as a medical assistant, attending to Alzheimer’s and elderly patients. “Since January 2017, I’ve been active in attending City Council meetings in each of our Coachella Valley cities to address different issues that affect my communities,” he said. “My frustration stems from the fact that, since day one, when the new (federal) administration took over, we’ve been under attack. I’m a Latino person.

I’m an immigrant, and I’m also a member of the LGBTQ community, and when we bring up issues (important to us) with the councils, they’re not listening to us.”

The other challenger is Kenneth Doran.

A resident of Palm Desert for 15 years, he is retired.

“My background is in economic development (where he worked for eight years for local government agencies), and I have a master’s degree in public administration, so this is not new to me,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a very long time, and therefore I think I can bring something.”

We asked each candidate what they felt are the priority issues facing Palm Desert.

“Economic development is one,” Pineda said. “I feel that Palm Desert has come to stagnation. They (the City Council) aren’t doing enough development. As far as the city’s support for businesses within Palm Desert, (the City Council) always focuses on the El Paseo area, but there are a lot of empty stores in the Westfield Mall, and this is affecting jobs.

I understand that right now, Sears is having talks about when, and if, they will be leaving that location within the next year. That’s a big concern, because if we start losing more of the big stores, who’s going to want to go to the mall? The foot traffic will suffer. What these businesses are doing is moving to other cities

Palm Desert voters will say yes or no to cannabis businesses, and elect two members of the City Council

where rents are more affordable, and the traffic is better so they can generate more sales.”

Pineda continued: “Another key point is affordable housing. According to the City Council, Palm Desert is the only city that has a resolution in place that says for every five acres of development, 20 percent of that space has to be allocated for affordable housing. However, it doesn’t mean that (developers) have to build it. So, they (the City Council) are bypassing their own policy. In some instances, they have accepted fees in lieu of (enforcing) the building of affordable housing. That’s a big problem for me, and it’s a big problem for the community.”

Pineda also took the current City Council to task over homelessness: “In the city of Palm Desert, they seem to not want to accept that there are homeless people. But there is a homeless population here, and I feel that Palm Desert should be a lot more active in addressing this problem in our own city. Their response to me has been, ‘Well, the best thing we continue to do is work in a coalition with (the Coachella Valley Association of Governments) and its committee (on homelessness).’ But in my opinion, each city needs to actively start doing something like they have in Palm Springs.”

Jonathan (right) certainly sees the homelessness issue from another perspective.

“I chair the Coachella Valley Association of Governments homelessness committee,” he said. “We’ve implemented a regional holistic approach, and we’ve just received the first yearly report. It’s an evaluation of our first full year, and it is incredibly encouraging. It shows an 80 percent success rate.”

What does that “success rate” mean?

“We engage the services of HARC (Health

Assessment and Research for Communities, a Palm Desert nonprofit) to conduct a thirdparty, objective, data-driven evaluation of the program. One of the measures was to track those who entered and exited the program to see how many have been taken out of homelessness and put into permanent housing, along with wrap-around services. The results stated that it was about eight out of 10. … It is very much a regional and holistic approach, and I’m encouraged by that success.”

Other issues that Jonathan said were priorities included the implementation of the aforementioned strategic plan, and handling the escalating cost of public-safety services.

“That cost is increasing annually at an unsustainable rate, and we’re dealing with it,” he said. “I think it’s important that we continue to address that issue to find a solution.”

Doran and Harnik both put economic development at the top of their lists.

“I want to focus on redeveloping the Highway 111 corridor,” said Doran (right).

“What we have right now is from back in the ’50s, and it’s obsolete. It’s not fitting the traffic that we have now, so I’d like to revitalize that. Also, in terms of economic development, for the past 21 years, we’ve been trying to get a hotel over at Desert Willow (near Cook Street and Country Club Drive). We have hotel pads over there waiting for a hotel to be built. I want to see what kind of incentives we’re offering hotel developers now, and see what can be done to bring someone in there.”

Harnik said: “We recognize that tourism is the (economic) backbone of our community, and we also recognize it is absolutely necessary that we broaden our economic base. Every continued on next page

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continued from Page 7

time we hit a downturn in the economy, we get that message, and we’re doing something about it now. We are really investing in the Cal State University, San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, and offering relevant education. This will have an impact regionally, and not just on Palm Desert.”

Harnik touted the council’s commitment to a digital iHub in Palm Desert.

“We’re collaborating with CSUSB and the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, and I’m fortunate right now to be the chair of the executive committee at CVEP. We three are collaborating on this digital iHub, and we are bringing over the cybersecurity-study program from CSUSB to be part of our headquarters. We found a building right near the CSUSB Palm Desert campus, and they are going to have some of their (administrative functions) in there as well as the cybersecurity program. There are almost 400,000 unfilled jobs in cybersecurity in this nation, and they’re high-paying, cleanenergy jobs. This is a tremendous opportunity for our community and for the region at large.

“When a job goes away due to technology, there are many more jobs created because of that technology,” Harnik said. “So this is an opportunity for somebody in their 40s or 50s to go into a new career. We’re focusing on Palm Desert and the digital iHub, because we have the bandwidth through CENIC (the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California).

It’s the only bandwidth (of this magnitude) in the valley today. With this strong bandwidth, as well as our lower cost of living when compared to San Francisco or Los Angeles, we have an excellent opportunity to attract good and different types of businesses here.”

Doran said he’d focus on “communitybuilding” and fixing what he sees as a lack of ethics in the city’s business dealings.

“Would you give a $130,000-a-year position as marketing manager to somebody who does not have a college degree and has no experience in marketing?” he said. “Several years ago, that happened (in Palm Desert). There is a city ordinance governing how persons should be selected for positions in the city administration, and it’s done that way to be respectful to the resident taxpayers. And when it’s not done the right way, to me, it’s a slap in the face to those residents. … If I see things like that happening, I won’t just vote “no,” but I’ll let the citizens know what’s happening.”

All four candidates agreed that voters should pass the cannabis business taxation and regulation resolution on this November’s ballot. “(The City Council) adopted that resolution that permits adult use of recreational cannabis pursuant to the state’s Prop 64,” Jonathan said.

“We were very careful in drafting our ordinance to make sure that we limit the number of cannabis businesses in our city, the types of those businesses, the distances between each other, the distance from schools and so forth.

The idea was to step into this new industry very carefully, and that’s what we’ve accomplished.

“We’ve approved 11 permits, and (those businesses) are all in some stage of development at this point. Six of those permits are for dispensaries. The other five are for cannabis manufacturing.”

Harnik added: “When we make a move like this in Palm Desert, we always engage the stakeholders. We had a lot of input from the cannabis industry, including growers, sellers, etc., and we’ve looked at what other cities have done. We’re being far more conservative in the cannabis business than some other cities in our valley, and we feel that going slow and measured is the better way. We’re looking to see how this market shakes out. We do not want to create a situation where all of our really valuable plumbing businesses, tile, decor and construction businesses in the north end near Interstate 10 have their landlords saying, ‘We can make more money if we have somebody growing cannabis in there.’”

Pineda gave the current City Council credit for being “progressive” regarding cannabis businesses.

“There are actually several cities in the valley that are refusing to allow this industry to come in,” he said. “But (the City Council) is estimating that if this resolution passes, it will result in up to $3 million in additional annual tax revenue for the city. That’s not a bad thing if they allocate these new funds to actual projects that are needed. For instance, one could be dealing with retirement-benefit liabilities (for city workers), where they have only $5 million in reserve, and that doesn’t seem to be enough.

Or maybe some of this money could go to the police department costs. But it seems that (the council members) are afraid of a major national economic crisis, and I feel that we have to be proactively thinking of what we can do to make sure that Palm Desert doesn’t suffer too much.”

Doran supports the new state cannabis law.

“I can assure you that as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation,” Doran said. “Still, our law-enforcement services are having a very negative impact on the city’s financial situation.

Those costs are rising tremendously, and it’s not sustainable. So we’re going to have to address that issue, and in my humble opinion, (the current council) is trying to make marijuana taxation the solution to all their problems.”

When asked if Palm Desert’s proposed tax rate was potentially too high, Doran said it was.

“That wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” he said.

“But let the citizens vote. Honestly, what I think is ultimately going to happen is that the marijuana industry will become more wealthy and more powerful, and they’ll get lobbyists and then start whipping the system, just like everybody else has. When they do, we’ll see laws change, and taxation limits will be introduced.

But right now, it’s a new industry, and the city is looking at it as the savior for all its problems.”

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

NOVEMBER 2018

NEWS REGISTRATION CONSTERNATION T

by laurel rosenhall, calmatters

he California Department of Motor Vehicles has given the public a series of piecemeal explanations as it acknowledged making more than 100,000 errors in recent months while registering Californians to vote.

Software problems, it said in May. Human errors from toggling between computer windows, it said in September. Data-entry mistakes that were corrected but never saved, it said in October.

What DMV officials didn’t acknowledge—and still haven’t—was what may be the underlying problem: The agency rolled out a massive new voter-registration effort with a piecemeal computer system. Instead of the properly integrated computer program that was needed, the agency launched in April with disparate computer systems that didn’t automatically link together, according to advocates who have been working closely with the DMV on the new “motor voter” system. That meant DMV workers had to manually link information from various systems during transactions between April and September, when an integrated system was put in place, said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause.

All the problems reported so far happened during that period.

“What we’re finding out is that they were really patching together an old system with several new systems,” Feng said. “We still don’t know if … they had planned all along to have an interim process between April and September, or if this is something they cobbled together because something wasn’t ready.”

The DMV declined to answer CALmatters’ questions about the computer systems, instead providing a statement saying the motorvoter program “has been implemented in phases, allowing DMV to roll out additional functionality.” The latest upgrade, the statement says, was on Sept. 26.

The botched rollout of the motor-voter system—which comes as the state and the country prepare for midterm elections—points to two long-standing problems in California.

One is the state government’s pattern of failure on large information technology projects; the other is its history of flouting the federal voterregistration law.

Common Cause and other voter-rights advocacy groups sued the state in 2015, alleging

it had failed to follow federal law requiring that states register people to vote and update their voting registrations when they get or renew a driver’s license or ID card. The Legislature then passed a law creating automatic voter registration at the DMV, and the advocacy groups have been working with the government to implement it.

The idea was that rather than duplicating information by filling out a voter-registration form and a driver’s license form, Californians who are legally eligible to vote would automatically be registered when completing the DMV’s computerized application for a driver’s license or ID card.

Since the program launched in April, about 1.4 million Californians have registered to vote or updated their voter registration through the motor-voter process—and the DMV has acknowledged three batches of mistakes: • A software error affected 77,000 registrations, resulting, in some cases, in two registration forms indicating different party preferences being issued for one voter (reported in May).

• A window-toggling error affected 23,000 registrations, resulting in changes to voters’ party preference, vote-by-mail options and language choices (reported in September).

• A data-entry error resulted in 1,500 people being registered to vote even though they are not legally eligible, because they are not U.S. citizens, are younger than 18 or are on parole for a felony conviction (reported in October).

Though the problems are serious, none indicate intentional acts of fraud or hacking.

Instead, they appear to be the result of human error and glitchy technology—which officials say are being fixed with software updates and employee training. The secretary of state said erroneous registrations have been canceled, and DMV leaders say they’ve put new procedures in place to prevent mistakes in the future.

“We continue to review the efficiency and accuracy of the program and will make additional upgrades as needed,” said the statement from DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla has said

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

DMV motor-voter problems fuel GOP claims of voting fraud

the errors amount to a small fraction of the transactions processed by the DMV and maintains that the corrective steps he’s taking, including a third-party review of the motor-voter system, “are crucial to ensuring voter confidence in our democracy.” National experts have repeatedly found that voter fraud is isolated and rare. Still, with the state government run entirely by Democrats, the motor-voter problems have fueled Republican arguments that voting systems are plagued by fraud. In a new digital ad this month, Padilla’s GOP opponent, Mark Meuser, highlights cases of fraudulent voting and says he wants “to end California’s rigged elections.”

The potential for politicizing the problem is why the state government needs to come up with a big-picture fix, said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

“There is a way to salvage this, but it requires not dismissing it as ‘no big deal,’” he said. “The president of the United States is questioning the

integrity of our electoral system, and we have just legitimized that fear-mongering.”

Madrid wants to see a bipartisan commission formed to examine California’s voting system— not only the motor-voter problems, but also issues like the incident during the June primary when more than 118,000 names were erased from Los Angeles County voter rolls. An audit found that case was caused by a formatting mismatch between state and local computer systems that left blank spaces where dates of birth should have been, causing the computer to misclassify those voters as underaged.

The state’s Department of Finance will examine the motor-voter program as part of its audit of the DMV, which has been plagued by numerous problems, including massive wait times. But critics say that review is insufficient, because the Department of Finance, like the DMV, is part of the governor’s administration.

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

LOVE is in the HAIR Country Club and Cook Palm Desert 760-340-5959 jasondavidhairstudio.net CVIndependent.com

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NEWS REAL FIGHT AGAINST FAKE NEWS S

By paul rosenberg

o-called fake news is not a new thing. In Censored 2019: Fighting the Fake News Invasion, Project Censored’s vivid cover art recalls H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.

The situation today may feel as desolate as the cover art suggests.

“Censored 2019 is a book about fighting fake news,” editors Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff observed in the book’s introduction. In the end, they argued that “critical media education—rather than censorship, blacklists, privatized fact-checkers, or legislative bans—is the best weapon for fighting the ongoing fake news invasion.”

Project Censored’s annual list of 25 censored stories, which makes up the book’s lengthy first chapter, is one of the best resources one can have for such education.

Project Censored has long been engaged in much more than just uncovering and publicizing stories kept down and out of the corporate media. But through it all, the list of censored stories remains central to Project Censored’s mission, which, the editors point out, can be read in two different ways: “As a critique of the shortcomings of U.S. corporate news media for their failure to adequately cover these stories, or as a celebration of independent news media, without which we would remain either uninformed or misinformed about these crucial

stories and issues.”

Read the expanded version of this story at CVIndependent.com for all of the Top 10 stories and links to the articles cited.

1. Global Decline in the Rule of Law as Basic Human Rights Diminish According to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2017–2018, released in January 2018, a striking worldwide decline in basic human rights has driven an overall decline in the rule of law since October 2016—the month before

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Trump’s election.

Fundamental rights—one of eight categories measured—declined in 71 out of 113 nations surveyed. Overall, 34 percent of countries’ scores declined, while just 29 percent improved.

The United States ranked 19th, down one from 2016, with declines in checks on government powers and deepening discrimination.

Fundamental rights include the absence of discrimination, the right to life and security, due process, the freedom of expression and religion, the right to privacy, the freedom of association and labor rights.

“All signs point to a crisis not just for human rights, but for the human rights movement,” Yale professor of history and law Samuel Moyn told The Guardian the day the index was released. “Within many nations, these fundamental rights are falling prey to the backlash against a globalising economy in which the rich are winning. But human rights movements have not historically set out to name or shame inequality.”

This reflects the thesis of Moyn’s most recent book, Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World.

Constraints on government powers, which measures the extent to which those who govern are bound by law, saw the second-greatest declines (64 countries out of 113 dropped).

This is where the United States saw the greatest deterioration, the World Justice Project stated in a press release. “While all sub-factors in this dimension declined at least slightly from 2016, the score for lawful transition of power—based on responses to survey questions on confidence in national and local election processes and procedures—declined most markedly,” the press release stated.

The United States also scored notably poorly on several measurements of discrimination.

“The WJP’s 2017–2018 Rule of Law Index received scant attention from U.S. corporate media,” Project Censored noted. The only coverage they found was a Newsweek article drawing on The Guardian’s coverage.

2. “Open-Source” Intelligence Secrets Sold to Highest Bidders In March 2017, WikiLeaks released Vault 7, a trove of 8,761 leaked confidential CIA files about its global hacking programs, which WikiLeaks described as the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.” It drew significant media attention.

But almost no one noticed what George Eliason of OpEdNews pointed out.

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

This year’s list of Project Censored’s top censored stories

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

“Sure, the CIA has all these tools available,” Eliason pointed out. “Yes, they are used on the public. The important part is (that) it’s not the CIA that’s using them. That’s the part that needs to frighten you.”

As Eliason went on to explain, the CIA’s mission prevents it from using the tools, especially on Americans.

“All the tools are unclassified, open-source, and can be used by anyone,” Eliason explained.

“It makes them not exactly usable for secretagent work. That’s what makes it impossible for them to use Vault 7 tools directly.”

Drawing heavily on more than a decade of reporting by Tim Shorrock for Mother Jones and The Nation, Eliason’s OpEdNews series reported on the explosive growth of private contractors in the intelligence community, which allows the CIA and other agencies to gain access to intelligence gathered by methods they’re prohibited from using.

In a 2016, report for The Nation, Shorrock estimated that 80 percent of an estimated 58,000 private intelligence contractors worked for the five largest companies. He concluded that “not only has intelligence been privatized to an unimaginable degree, but an unprecedented consolidation of corporate power inside U.S. intelligence has left the country dangerously dependent on a handful of companies for its spying and surveillance needs.”

Eliason reported how private contractors pioneered open-source intelligence by circulating or selling the information they gathered before the agency employing them had reviewed and classified it; therefore, “no

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NEWS

one broke any laws.” As a result, according to Eliason’s second article, “People with no security clearances and radical political agendas have state-sized cyber tools at their disposal, (which they can use) for their own political agendas, private business, and personal vendettas.”

3. World’s Richest One Percent Continue to Become Wealthier In November 2017, Credit Suisse released its 8th Annual Global Wealth Report which The Guardian reported on under the headline, Richest 1% Own Half the World’s Wealth, Study Finds.

The wealth share of the world’s richest people increased “from 42.5 percent at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to 50.1 percent in 2017,” The Guardian reported, adding that “the biggest losers … are young people who should not expect to become as rich as their parents.” “(Despite being more educated than their parents), millennials are doing less well than their parents at the same age, especially in relation to income, home ownership and other dimensions of well-being assessed in this report,” Rohner Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner said. “We expect only a minority of high achievers and those in high-demand sectors such as technology or finance to effectively overcome the ‘millennial disadvantage.’”

“No other part of the wealth pyramid has been transformed as much since 2000 as the millionaire and ultra-high net worth individual (known as UHNWI) segments,” the report said.

“The number of millionaires has increased by 170 percent, while the number of UHNWIs (individuals with net worth of $50 million or more) has risen five-fold, making them by far the fastest-growing group of wealth holders.”

There were 2.3 million new dollar millionaires this year, taking the total to 36 million.

4. How Big Wireless Convinced Us Cell Phones and Wi-Fi Are Safe Are cell phones and other wireless devices really as safe we’ve been led to believe? Don’t bet on it, according to decades of buried research reviewed in a March 2018 investigation for The Nation by Mark Hertsgaard and Mark Dowie.

“The wireless industry not only made the same moral choices that the tobacco and fossilfuel industries did; it also borrowed from the same public-relations playbook those industries pioneered,” Hertsgaard and Dowie reported.

“Like their tobacco and fossil-fuel brethren, wireless executives have chosen not to publicize what their own scientists have said about the risks of their products. … On the contrary, the industry—in America, Europe and Asia—has spent untold millions of dollars in the past 25 years proclaiming that science is on its side, that the critics are quacks, and that consumers have nothing to fear.”

Their report comes at the same time as several new developments are bringing the issue

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS to the fore, including a Kaiser Permanente study (published December 2017 in Scientific Reports) finding much higher risks of miscarriage; a study in the October 2017 American Journal of Epidemiology, finding increased risk for glioma (a type of brain tumor); and a disclosure by the National Frequency Agency of France that nine out of 10 cell phones exceed government radiation safety limits when tested in the way they are actually used—next to the human body.

“The wireless industry has ‘war-gamed’ science by playing offense as well as defense, actively sponsoring studies that result in published findings supportive of the industry, while aiming to discredit competing research that raises questions about the safety of cellular devices and other wireless technologies,” Project Censored summarized.

“When studies have linked wireless radiation to cancer or genetic damage, industry spokespeople have pointed out that the findings are disputed by other researchers.”

5. Washington Post Bans Employees from Using Social Media to Criticize Sponsors On May 1, 2017, the Washington Post introduced a policy prohibiting its employees from criticizing its advertisers and business partners—and encouraging them to snitch on one another.

“A new social-media policy at The Washington Post prohibits conduct on social media that ‘adversely affects The Post’s customers, advertisers, subscribers, vendors, suppliers or partners,’” Andrew Beaujon reported in The Washingtonian the next month. “In such cases, Post management reserves the right to take disciplinary action ‘up to and including termination of employment.’”

Beaujon also cited “a clause that encourages employees to snitch on one another: ‘If you have any reason to believe that an employee may be in violation of The Post’s Social Media Policy … you should contact The Post’s Human Resources Department.’”

At the time, the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which represents the Post’s employees, was protesting the policy and seeking removal of the controversial parts in a new labor agreement. A follow-up report by Whitney Webb for MintPress News highlighted the broader possible censorship effects, since prohibiting social-media criticism could spill over into reporting as well.

“Among The Washington Post’s advertisers are corporate giants like GlaxoSmithKline, Bank of America and Koch Industries,” Webb wrote. “With the new policy, social-media posts criticizing GlaxoSmithKline’s habit of making false and misleading claims about its products, inflating prices and withholding crucial drug safety information from the government will no longer be made by Post employees.”

Beyond that, Webb suggested it could protect

the CIA, which has a $600 million contract with Amazon Web Services. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchased the Post four months after that contract was signed.

“While criticism of the CIA is not technically prohibited by the policy, former Post reporters have suggested that making such criticisms could endanger one’s career,” Webb noted.

6. Russiagate: A Two-Headed Monster of Propaganda and Censorship Is Russiagate a censored story? In my view, not exactly. This entry seems to reflect a wellintentioned effort to critically examine fakenews-related issues within a “censored story” framework. It’s important that these issues be raised—which is one reason why I suggested above that Project Censored add “fake news” as a new analytical category to examine annually along with its censored stories list, “junk food news” and “news abuse.”

What Project Censored calls attention to is important: “Corporate media coverage of Russiagate has created a two-headed monster of propaganda and censorship. By saturating news coverage with a sensationalized narrative, Russiagate has superseded other important, newsworthy stories.”

As a frustrated journalist with omnivorous interests, I heartily concur—but what’s involved is too complex to simply be labelled

“propaganda.” On the other hand, the censorship of alternative journalistic voices is a classic, welldefined Project Censored story, which suffers from the attempt to fit both together.

In April 2017, Aaron Maté reported for The Intercept on a quantitative study of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show from Feb. 20 to March 31, 2017 which found that “Russia-focused segments accounted for 53 percent of these broadcasts.” Maté wrote: “Maddow’s Russia coverage has dwarfed the time devoted to other top issues, including Trump’s escalating crackdown on undocumented immigrants (1.3 percent of coverage); Obamacare repeal (3.8 percent); the legal battle over Trump’s Muslim ban (5.6 percent), a surge of anti-GOP activism and town halls since Trump took office (5.8 percent), and Trump administration scandals and stumbles (11 percent).”

Well and good. But is this propaganda?

At Truthdig, Norman Solomon wrote: “As the cable news network most trusted

by Democrats as a liberal beacon, MSNBC plays a special role in fueling rage among progressive-minded viewers toward Russia’s ‘attack on our democracy’ that is somehow deemed more sinister and newsworthy than corporate dominance of American politics (including Democrats), racist voter suppression, gerrymandering and many other U.S. electoral defects all put together.”

CVIndependent.com

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Chris Perondi’s

Stunt Dog Experience

Lea DeLaria

Sun, November 4, 2pm & 7pm

Thu, November 8, 8pm

Presented through the generosity of Rebecca Benaroya

Rodney Crowell

Celtic Thunder X

Thu, November 15, 8pm

Fri, November 16, 8pm

Presented through the generosity of Bill & Rita Lynch

Presented through the generosity of Jackie Autry

City of Rancho Mirage Presents

Best of Doo Wop, Volume II Starring Danny & The Juniors, The Platters Tribute Group, Johnny Tillotson, The Safaris, The Alley Cats, Comedy Host John Wing and The American Gold Band Sun, November 18, 3pm

Jake Shimabukuro Tue, November 27, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Frank & Mary Ann Xavier

Order tickets by phone

760-340-2787

The TEN Tenors Wish You Were Here Tue & Wed, November 20 & 21, 8pm Fri, November 23, 8pm Sat, November 24, 2pm & 8pm Sun, November 25, 2pm Presented through the generosity of Nov. 20 - Ronald & Sylvia Gregoire Nov. 23 - Dan & Brooke Koehler Nov. 25 – Robert & Karen Rishwain

An Evening with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Sun, December 2, 7pm

Order online

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NOVEMBER ASTRONOMY

Take advantage of the time change to

Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight enjoy Forincredible November,views 2018 of Venus this month

I

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

n November 2018, Venus is the up-and-coming morning “star.”

Next inward from Earth in our solar system, fast-moving Venus overtook our planet in late October while passing nearly between Earth and the sun. Day by day in November, Venus rockets higher into the southeastern morning sky. Rising in twilight an hour before sunup by Nov. 4, Venus’ rising time improves to two hours before sunup on Nov. 13, and three hours on Nov. 27.

As it becomes visible in a dark predawn sky before the onset of twilight, Venus also increases in brilliance to magnitude -4.9—as bright as it ever gets. That’s easily bright enough to spot it in the daytime. One way to do that is to find Venus before sunup, and keep track of it until after sunrise.

This is the best time to enjoy Venus through a telescope, or even binoculars. On Nov. 1, Venus shows as a very thin crescent, less than 2 Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 22, with the nearly percent illuminated, and a full arcminute (one full moon about to set in the west-northwest, 60th of a degree) across. A magnification of 19 degrees to the lower right of Aldebaran, and just 30 power then makes Venus appear a half13 degrees to the lower left of the Pleiades star degree across, about as large as the moon with cluster. On this date, Spaceship Earth is heading the unaided eye. The illuminated portion of the directly toward Regulus, 90 degrees from the crescent Venus thickens to 5 percent by Nov. 7; sun, and is passing between the Pleiades and 10 percent by Nov. 13; 15 percent by the 19th; the sun—so that cluster is at opposition, and 25 percent by the 30th. By month’s end, setting in the west-northwest as the sun rises the apparent size of Venus has shrunk to 0.7 in the east-southeast. Go out that morning, arcminute—still large enough to resolve the and visualize the motion of Earth around the crescent shape with 7-power binoculars. sun, with Venus pulling farther ahead of us.

Observe Venus early enough for the sky to The stars drift farther west each day, as shown be dark—an hour before sunrise is OK—and by their tracks on the twilight maps—a direct you’ll notice it has a stellar companion close by. result of the Earth’s revolution around the sun.

It’s first-magnitude Spica, within 5 degrees of On the mornings of Nov. 23 and 24, the Venus Nov. 4-28; within 2 degrees Nov. 10-19; moon will leapfrog past Aldebaran. The waning and as close as 1 1/4 degrees on Nov. 14. This gibbous moon will appear to the lower left type of pairing—where a planet approaches of the “Twin” stars Pollux and Castor on the a star or another planet within 5 degrees, but morning of Nov. 26, and to their upper left the doesn’t pass it—is a quasi-conjunction. next morning. The moon will appear closely to Enjoy these various aspects of Venus this the upper left of Regulus on Nov. 29. month, despite the early hour, especially after On our evening twilight chart for November, we change our clocks back to standard time on the Summer Triangle passes west of overhead; Nov. 4. You won’t regret it!

Mars remains in the south-southeast with Our morning twilight map for November Fomalhaut lower down; and Saturn gets lower shows Venus ascending over the east-southeast in the southwest. Arcturus sinks into the westhorizon to join Spica. Next in brilliance after northwest twilight glow, while replacement Venus is Sirius, the Dog Star, in the southwest.

Capella ascends in the northeast. Late in the It is the southern vertex of the huge Winter month, below the Pleiades, watch for Aldebaran Hexagon, also including (in clockwise order) rising in the east-northeast to the lower right Procyon, Pollux and Castor; Capella at the of Capella. Binoculars, very clear skies and an northern vertex; Aldebaran; and Rigel, with unobstructed view toward the west-southwest Betelgeuse inside. Regulus, heart of Leo, to southwest will be needed to spot Jupiter follows the Hexagon across the sky, and golden and Mercury, and only early in month. If all orange Arcturus follows Regulus. The waning these conditions are met, you might try for crescent moon appears near Regulus on the Mercury 5-6 degrees to the left of Jupiter on mornings of Nov. 1 and 2. On Sunday, Nov. Nov. 1 and 2. Jupiter drops out, but Mercury 4, get out early to watch for Venus rising 26 lingers for another week. Try for Mercury 9 degrees below the moon. On the 5th, the moon degrees to the left of the 2 percent crescent is 13 degrees to the upper left of Venus, and on young moon on Nov. 8, and 7-8 degrees below the 6th, the last thin old crescent moon, some the 6 percent moon on Nov. 9.

25 1/2 hours before the new moon, is 9 degrees It will be much easier to spot Saturn within to the lower left of Venus.

8 degrees to the upper left of the moon on Nov. The moon returns to the scene on 10, and within 5 degrees to the lower right of

November's evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER

Capella

Aldebaran Arcturus Deneb Vega

E

W

Altair

Jupiter 1 8

29 Mars 15 22 1 8

1

Evening mid-twilight occurs

29

1 Mercury 8 15

Antares

Fomalhaut

o the moon on Nov. 11. willhorizon. appear only when Sun is 9Mars below Nov. 1: minutes about 2 degrees to41 the upperafter leftsunset. of the 54 " first " quarter " percent moon, 15: just42past phase, 30: 42 " " " on Nov. 15. One week after it passes Mars, on Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 22, the full moon will rise just 3 minutes after sunset, although with all the mountains surrounding us, it would be impossible to verify. That evening, as the sky darkens, look for the Pleiades cluster 9 degrees to the moon’s upper left, and Aldebaran, the “follower” of the Pleiades, 11 degrees to the moon’s lower left. On the next night, Nov. 23, the moon rises about 50 minutes after sunset.

Look for Aldebaran 3-4 degrees to the upper right of the rising moon. Binoculars will help.

On Sunday, Nov. 25, the month’s northernmost moonrise occurs 2 hours and 40 minutes after sunset, well after the end of twilight, so the sky will be very dark for a short time before it brightens due to moonlight. Within an hour after the moon appears, look for Orion to the

Saturn 8 15 22

S

Stereographic Projection

right of the moon, andMap theby “Twin” Pollux Robertstars D. Miller and Castor, 12-14 degrees to the moon’s left.

The website of the Astronomical Society of the Desert at www.astrorx.org has a listing of our evening star parties at two locations.

Sawmill Trailhead, our high-altitude site (elevation 4,000 feet), will have a star party starting at dusk on Saturday, Nov. 10. Our primary star-party site is 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.

Our next monthly party there is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Wishing you clear skies!

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.

CVIndependent.com

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NOVEMBER 2018

Pride and Progress Now the state’s second-largest LGBTQ festival, Greater Palm Springs Pride makes a move this year

In 2010,

By Jimmy Boegle

Ron deHarte joined the Greater Palm Springs Pride board of directors. He’d soon become the president of the board—and under his leadership, the Pride festival has grown from a fun but quaint event at Sunrise Stadium into a huge, weekend long party downtown.

In fact, it’s now the second-largest Pride festival in the state of California. Greater Palm Springs Pride events last year attracted an estimated 140,000 people—with a direct $24 million impact on the Coachella Valley.

This year’s festival, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 and 4, will again be in downtown Palm Springs—but it’s being moved off Palm Canyon Drive, and into the redevelopment area around the Palm Springs Art Museum.

We recently spoke to deHarte about the changes to this year’s festival—and what it means to celebrate LGBTQ pride in the Trump era.

Tell me a little about the changes that are occurring to Greater Palm Springs Pride this year.

The biggest change that people are going to see is that the festival is located in a new area in downtown, between Palm Canyon (Drive) and the mountain, from Tahquitz Canyon (Way) to Andreas (Drive). There will be two stages in there. All the exhibitor booths will be in there, as will a new PSP Village VIP space, which doesn’t require a ticket; everybody’s welcome. … Sober in the Sun is hosting an area for folks in the sober community. They’ll be able to have a space to hangout, and enjoy company of friends, and watch the entertainment on the big museum stage there. We will also have the Art of Pride, which is coming back.

What was the reason for moving the festival off Palm Canyon Drive and back toward the museum?

The biggest reason is cost. To keep Palm CVIndependent.com

Canyon closed for the amount of time we did, our costs are fairly significant. Right now, our fees (from the city) are projected to be higher than what support the city of Palm Springs offers us from in-kind sponsorship, so that means Pride has to write a check to the city. … Those costs continue to rise, so one of the costsaving measures that we were exploring was being able to locate the festival in the new city park space, and really

start to see how we can use that space as the years go on. … This is just a first move to be in that area, and to keep Palm Canyon open for all the businesses and merchants, while at the same time cutting the costs for the Pride organization, which is important, because we want to stay free. We want to continue to be a free event, which just doesn’t happen in Southern California with other large festivals. We’re accessible and open to everyone.

How do you feel seeing Pride going from where it was, at Sunrise Stadium in 2013, to where it is now—the secondlargest Pride festival in California?

I think what we’re seeing is (part of) this renaissance of Palm Springs in general. Pride in Palm Springs has always been known as a friendly, laid-back pride, where people can come and just have a good time with their friends. What is most gratifying is to see that by moving downtown and being accessible to our entire community, attendance has increased significantly. … The number of women participating is not quite 50 percent, but we’re in the 40s, and we’re seeing a lot of families come and participate and spend time at the Pride festival. We’re seeing a lot of elderly couples come in, both LGBT and straight couples. … Sixty-plus percent (of attendance) last year was from out of town (visitors) at official events. Almost every state in the union was represented by folks coming into Palm Springs during Pride weekend.

How much money does Pride need to raise to put on the parade and the festival, and keep it free?

A direct, hard cost of the parade is

going to be around $70,000 or $80,000.

Participants (in the parade) do help cover that cost by paying an entry fee. Those donations will cover maybe about $15,000 of the $80,000 total cost. The parade is not a money-making event for the Pride organization; it’s all about bringing the community together in celebration and protest and raising awareness and educating.

But it certainly comes at a huge cost, so we have to raise those funds in other ways, through sponsorships and other events.

Overall … we’re around $800,000 or $900,000 for Pride week activities (in terms of costs), so all of that money has to be raised through our partnerships, corporate support and financial support through sponsorships.

Exhibitors help. We have what we call a bucket brigade; we ask folks attending to put a buck or two in the bucket to keep Pride free.

Why has Palm Springs Pride grown and thrived, whereas in a lot of other cities, prides are having tough times?

We have a reputation of being a friendly and fun festival. We’re so close to Los Angeles and San Diego and Long Beach; it’s just a quick two-hour trip for people. For a lot of people, it’s the last weekend before the holiday season begins, and it’s a great little getaway to have a good time in Palm Springs. … A lot of people have second houses here, so people have places to stay. There are a lot of free events, so it’s not going to bust people’s pocketbooks. When you travel to some of these other cities and have to pay $30 or $40 in admission just to the festival, that starts to take a bite out of your pocketbook.

What kind of meaning does Pride have now, given the political environment that we’re in—specifically, the Trump administration and a Supreme Court that may not be as friendly to gay marriage and other LGBT issues?

A pride event is a platform to help educate a community, and raise awareness on a variety of issues. Some people use that platform as a form of celebration, and liberation, and empowerment. We strongly encourage people to use the platform to share their voices and raise issues that are important to them. Pride is many things to many people, and at the end of the day, we look at it as a platform to raise awareness and be a voice for the community.

Ron deHarte.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

NOVEMBER 2018

For the women Thoughts on the Pride events for queer women (and their allies) from someone who’s been there from the Dyke March start

By Shann Carr

This Pride,

Also at the park: Lighting up the dance floor will be young DJ Ash, from Los Angeles, spinning so you can tea-dance your hearts the lesbians in Palm Springs have scheduled out. A local favorite dance teacher, Jan Alden, tons of fun! will even teach a couple of country-Western But first, a little background. line-dance lessons. This is a kid-friendly day, The first official “Dyke March” event so plan to bring the whole family, as there in the United States was part of the 1993 will be fun and games … and face painting!

LGBT March on Washington, D.C. It boasted Joanne Thompson will lead a drum circle, so around 20,000 lesbians—and the women who bring your instruments, too. marched got inspired and energized. Later Between music and raffles, you’ll hear that year, New York and San Francisco had brief yet brilliant speakers, including spoken their first Dyke Marches, and today, they’re word from Nalani Hernandez-Melo, a founder held in various places, including Palm Springs. of the Wyld Womxn Collective. Also on the the way, try not to get hung on the schedule:and a melodious tease Sweet Baby system, if you lease, thefrom company IBy know I should explore solar,upbut fact that thisprocrastinating. was started by andWhat continues J’ai as shefrom lures takes you toit,the Sunday your Lesbo you lease lowering I’ve been will tomotivate be led by women who the are proud to call Expo Launch Party. Solar (Morecompanies on that in aalso bit.) monthly payment. me to take next step? themselves “dykes.”

This event is designed Leslie Price, a lead nurse practitioner at have some panels in stock now that were The best motivation should be the for all women-loving-women, and every Parenthood, will sharepanels insights herePlanned before components and/or savings you can expect with solar. In kind of human who loves women is on women’s health, and the everthe new tariff—so that exchange for just a little bit of your time, were subject to welcome! And dogs, too! powerful orator Kate Kendell, means you have great rightCenter now. you can reduce your average electric bill I was lucky enough to who led pricing the National 25-50 percent—and just beanywhere at the ’93 from marches for Lesbian Rights for more Wow. How much time wewill talking? that money in your pocket each inkeep Washington and San than 20 are years, rally a Give Renova a call, and we’ll look at your month.

Then you can take your time Francisco. There were bit of energy as we’re about roof while you’retoonmarch. the phone and give deciding to and do with the savings! markers andwhat paints Finally, there youwords an initial If youboards to make big poster will be a few from your ownto signs. I remember Bella Barkow, a producer of evaluation. decide wandering around the Lezathlon,Assuming the largest and move forward National intentionally most look ridiculous things quickly,Mall, yourlooking at the signs other women were making, lesbian sporting event in good, a site system can be and the world! (We’re hoping to survey at your upthen and plopping running down in the grass to make my own. convince her tohome bringwill one of before the huge This brings us to today. Over the last few their lesbian “field days” here to Palm Springs collect detailed summer bills years, the lesbian community in Palm Springs next year.) information hit.

If you lease, has made great headway in organizing its own The short march to the Pride Festival about roof Park you’ll enjoy business and entertainment opportunities. area will step off from Frances Stevens dimensions, no money The now-4-year-old Dyke March, for example, around 4 p.m. andthe shade, down; has grownfree from a mini-march into two days Later that night, you cantilt dance night well as aPride few ofinstallation; events. This year, it all starts with a picnic, away at the L-Fund’s annualasWomen’s other items, and, with rally and march during Greater Palm Springs Dance in the ballroom at Hotel Zoso, at 150 like the condition of your electric panel.

Renova and SunPower, fixednoon payments Pride, on Saturday, Nov. 3, from to 4 S. Indian Canyon Drive, with DJ T-LA Storm. p.m., Stevensmeans Park. That’s between Tickets at www.l-fund.org, We can are also$20 getinonadvance the phone with you for at 20Frances years, which as electric Indian and to Palm drives at or $30 at to theget door.

Allpast are welcome! and SCE your usage; that, pricesCanyon continue go Canyon up, your savings Alejo Bringasawell! blanket, and stake your On Sunday, cansurvey, show up—first combined withwomen the site will willRoad. increase claim on the grass for a picnic with simple, come,us first watch the Pride parade allow to served—to create a precise, customized catered lunches available for $5 (cash only). from the patio of the not-quite-reopened OK—pretty good points. Anything else? proposal that will show you exact costsAlibi You canThe alsofull bring own Federal feast—and Room, at 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive. Drinks and savings.

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The headliners and big names can be found

Solar Q&A

Smiles at a recent Palm Springs Dyke March. COURTESY OF ALEXIS ORTEGA

after the parade inside at the Lesbo Expo Launch Party, from 1 to 4 p.m. This ticketed event includes awards, music, comedy, a taco bar and beer, all for $30. The superstar show features acclaimed comedian/emcee Marga Gomez from San Francisco, and a short concert with Sweet Baby J’ai and her Women in Jazz All-Stars from Los Angeles.

Kate Kendell will receive the Legacy Award; other honorees include Susan Unger, the project director at Get Tested Coachella Valley; Lucy and Gail, producers of the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival; and Michelle Castillo, co-founder of Wyld Womxn Collective. A special Palm Springs City Council resolution will be presented by Councilwoman

Lisa Middleton to Lynn Segerblom, a co-creator of the original pride flag. The whole event will serve as an introduction by the Palm Springs Dyke March Steering Committee to the planned day-long Lesbo Expo, slated for Pride in 2019.

As a young comedian, waiting on the National Mall at the first Dyke March in ’93, I was intimidated by the strong emotions voiced on many of the signs. I finally drew flowers and peace signs around the words, “Issue-Free Dyke!” Through the whole parade, lesbians yelled back at me: “No such thing!”

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

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16 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2018

Big Boo,

Bowie Lover,

Big Dyke Lea DeLaria brings her powerful blend of comedy and jazz to the McCallum Theatre

By Jimmy Boegle

Lea

DeLaria is known for different things in different circles.

Mainstream audiences know her for stealing scenes as Carrie “Big Boo” Black on Netflix’s hit series Orange Is the New Black.

LGBT audiences know her as a pioneering comedian. She started performing in San Francisco in the early 1980s, and became the first openly gay/lesbian comic on a late-night show when she appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993.

Music-loving audiences know her as a fantastic jazz musician—who paid tribute to the great David Bowie with her album House of David, released in 2015, just months before Bowie passed away.

All of DeLaria’s talents will be on display when she performs at the McCallum Theatre at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8. In fact, DeLaria usually blends these talents when she performs—because audiences can’t handle her otherwise, she said during a recent phone interview.

“I do music and comedy together, because my comedy’s so loud, fast, vulgar, in your face, rowdy and crazy that people CVIndependent.com

can only take it for about five minutes, and they’re like, ‘Mommy, make it stop!’ she said. “So I always add a little music. That gives people a rest from my crazy, rageful, screaming comedy style.”

DeLaria will be performing some of her Bowie covers from House of David.

“He was a big supporter of this record.

He championed it on his website and his social media. He told people to contribute to my campaign so that I could get the record made,” DeLaria said. “We released the cover of that album on his website. He was involved with it, which I think was kind of lovely.

“I loved him my whole life. I grew up in the Midwest—St. Louis. So, in 1974, when David Bowie walks out onstage in a fucking skirt and starts singing this amazing rock ’n’ roll, my queer little heart in the Midwest went, ‘Oh my god.’ I mean, it was like the greatest thing I’d ever seen.

“He was probably the first real performer in the public eye who taught me that one, being weird is cool, and two, to be true to who you are as a performer. He was always ahead of the curve.”

DeLaria was born into music, in a sense.

“My father was a jazz pianist. He was always playing in the house, rehearsing in the house,” DeLaria said. “He would come home late from gigs and bring the guys home, and they would play. Me and my siblings would sit at the top of the steps and listen to them play music when it was like 2 o’clock in the morning—when we should be in bed. So I’ve always had a love of that music. He spotted it in me immediately at a very young age and taught me to sing and really instilled a passion of that music in me. In fact, it was the first thing I ever did professionally—I used to sing with him when I was a kid at the club.”

Comedy came naturally to DeLaria … as did being outspoken and political.

“I was a big voice in San Francisco in the ’80s during the AIDS crisis and was working with ACT UP,” she said.

Lea DeLaria: “I was a big voice in San Francisco in the ’80s during the AIDS crisis and was working with ACT UP. That’s my history of comedy, and that’s why I’ve always been a really radical comic—a really in-your-face dyke comic.”

Tina Turnbow

“That’s my history of comedy, and that’s why I’ve always been a really radical comic—a really in-your-face dyke comic. I’m not a comedian; I’m a dyke comic. I always call myself that.

“When I went out onstage at that time, I wasn’t even called Lea DeLaria; they called me ‘that fucking dyke.’ So when they would bring me out onstage, they would go, ‘Please welcome to the stage that fucking dyke!’ I had a shaved head and safety pins in my ears and big stomping boots. … I was a rageful, rageful lesbian. I was always in touch with my rage. I’m still in touch with my rage, and I find that’s important. It’s an important distinction—anger’s a tiny little emotion. It’s a wimpy little emotion. But rage, ooh, rage can get things done.

“That’s why I keep telling people to stay in touch with their rage this election. Rage is when people go, ‘I’m done; I’m not doing this anymore. I’m gonna do something about it.’”

While DeLaria has been singing, acting and doing comedy for decades, she gained a large mainstream audience for the first time in 2013 with the premiere of Orange Is the New Black.

After five seasons on the show, DeLaria’s Big Boo only appeared in one episode of this year’s sixth season. I had to ask: Will Big Boo be back for the seventh and final season next year?

“I can’t speak to future seasons,” she said.

“I don’t know, because I was written off the show this last season, so I have no idea.

I have nothing but love for Orange Is the New Black; it changed the face of the world, television and certainly my life.”

This is definitely not the first time DeLaria has performed in Palm Springs; in fact, she became part of local LGBT lore when she upset organizers while performing at a benefit more than a decade ago.

“Oh, where I insulted George W. Bush, and they turned off my mic and pulled me offstage?” she responded when I asked her about the now-infamous event. “Unbelievable censorship, especially since it was a gay event. … I was never a fan of George W. Bush, but I never thought of him as evil the way I think of Trump. So that’s what happened there.

What happened was people with money— conservative, gay people with money—had me pulled off the stage for spouting my political opinion.”

In other words … come to the McCallum prepared for a great show—as long as you’re not easily offended.

Lea DeLaria will perform at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, at the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, in Palm Desert. Tickets are $25 to $75. For tickets or more information, call 760340-2787, or visit www.mccallumtheatre.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17

NOVEMBER 2018

Drag Diva Bianca Del Rio, winner of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and selfdescribed ‘clown in a dress,’ makes her Palm Springs debut

By Dwight Hendricks

I

recently asked a reality-TV star about politics.

“I never thought I’d run for president … but if America wanted a bankrupt, secondrate reality star with bad makeup and hair, it could’ve been me!” Bianca Del Rio said. “I can’t watch the fuckery!”

Del Rio—best known for winning the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race—will be concluding her current Blame It on Bianca! tour on Friday, Nov. 23, in a show benefiting AAP-Food Samaritans at the Riviera Palm Springs. The show will mark the Coachella Valley debut for the New York-based “clown in a dress” (her words, not mine) and her unfiltered, occasionally controversial brand of comedy.

“I have never been to Palm Springs before,” she told me. In other words, she’s a virgin! (Well, in this one sense.)

Drag was a calling for her, said Del Rio (aka Roy Haylock).

“Without sounding insane, I have been doing drag for 23 years,” she said.

“It wasn’t a choice. I Bianca Del Rio: “I don’t know anybody who consciously says, ‘I want to be a drag queen. Well, maybe nowadays because of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race. In my day, even (members of the) gay community didn’t want to be drag queens. It was the land of misfits.”

started in New Orleans, and then (moved to) New York. Then a magical thing happened: I did RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Not only did Del Rio do the show; she won the whole thing back in 2014.

“It shifted my entire life,” she said. “It’s been a whirlwind for the past five years now. I have traveled on six continents now. I’m still trying to book Antarctica.”

She has appeared in venues small and large … and they’re getting larger.

“I did three nights in London in a theater that holds 3,300 people on this tour, but next year, I have been bumped up to a large arena,” she said. “I will be the first drag queen to play the Wembley Arena.

It will be absolutely insane!”

I asked Del Rio to elaborate on her earlier statement that drag was not a choice.

“It wasn’t a conscious choice. I don’t know anybody who consciously says, ‘I want to be a drag queen,’” she said.

“Well, maybe nowadays because of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race.

In my day,

even (members of the) gay community didn’t want to be drag queens. It was the land of misfits. I mean, we weren’t the butch guys; we weren’t the normal people. We were just a little group of outsiders. Everybody did either song or dance. It really became a showcase, so to speak. In those days, you had to either go to a bar or go underground for a drag show. It wasn’t celebrated. But when you’re an outof-work actor, or things just aren’t going well, you do a drag show.

“I’ve always worked in theater and in costumes— that was my day job. …

You never know if you’re going to be working. It all just reflected on what was happening in my life.

I might be doing Mamma Mia! for eight years; then it closes, and then it’s back to drag shows every night. Then Drag Race happened, and it really shook things up for me.”

I asked if she had any advice for a young drag-queen-lette who was just starting out.

“Don’t do it—it’s a trap!” Del Rio said. “You will spend more money than you’ll ever make!

It’s quite pricey to be a drag queen. You have to do it because you love it. You have to do it because you’re having a good time—and the minute you aren’t having a good time, then you need to stop. Truly.

“Because of shows such as Drag Race, that has really opened up everything for me. The flip side to it all is you can’t walk outside without a drag queen falling out of a tree.

Anywhere! There is so much more to drag than what people see on TV.” What can we expect to see in Bianca Del Rio’s show?

“Expect the unexpected. I hate everyone!” she said. “Seriously, it’s an honest opinion. I unleash the demons, and I talk about it. No one is safe!

“What really happens in the show depends on the audience. There’s a lot of material that I use in America that I have not used in the U.K. Other countries have their own issues, and they don’t give a shit about Trump. It depends; I cover everything from politics to Drag Race. I cover the experiences I’ve had, which comes to explain why I am the hateful mess that I am today. There’s also a portion of the show that is audience participation. … It’s always amazing the questions people will ask you, or the situations that they will put you in. …

I’ve had people ask where I put my dick. The answer is: under my wig.”

Del Rio explained that it’s really damned hard to be a drag queen on tour.

“I lost my luggage once,” she said. “It’s one of the biggest fears to any drag queen—because what is a drag queen without costumes? A man! It was a challenging moment, and I was in Wisconsin, of all places—not that they expect much glamour there anyway. So, not being known for glamour myself, I thought: What do I do? I just ran to the local Walmart, and I had to do a mini challenge! … So, of course, I told the airline not to forward my luggage to Wisconsin, because I was going to Washington, D.C., the next day. Of course, they forwarded it to Wisconsin, so I had no luggage in D.C. At least you can go shopping there!”

Bianca Del Rio will perform Blame It on Bianca! at 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 23, at the Riviera Palm Springs Grand Ballroom, 1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $45 to $199, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit AAPFood Samaritans. For tickets or more information, visit blameitonbianca.brownpapertickets.com.

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18 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2018

CVI SPOTLIGHT: NOVEMBER 2018 Mall Art: The Westfield Palm Desert’s STREET Celebrates Culture, Music and Food

L

et’s face it: When you think “shopping mall,” you don’t think “cool cultural events.” Yet for the past three years, that’s exactly what’s happened at the Westfield Palm Desert with the popular and ever-growing STREET event.

STREET takes food, art, music and fashion—and incorporates it all into one fantastic event. This year’s fourth annual STREET on Friday, Nov. 2, features a music lineup including The Flusters, Ocho Ojos, C-Money and the Players, DJ Day, the Yip Yops and the Academy of Musical Performance. On-site food vendors include Stuft Pizza, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Jo Jo’s Grill-A-Dog, Baby’s Bad Ass Burgers, Ramona’s Express and Royal Red Velvet Cupcakes. Interactive art exhibits by YMCA of the Desert and Flat Black Art Supply will highlight the event.

STREET is different this year in one big way: The Coachella Valley Art Scene is no longer involved. But during a recent phone interview with Franchesca Forrer, the marketing director for Westfield Palm Desert, she said she hopes to work with the Coachella Valley Art Scene and its CEO, Sarah Scheideman, in the future.

“I have hopes that they’ll emerge in some other entity,” Forrer said. “We’re actually going to be working with Sarah on social media and doing events. So stay tuned, because they’ll be involved again, or at least Sarah will.”

Where did the idea for STREET come from? “(Our former GM) was looking for something different to do on the property that would tie in with some of the retailers we have that are edgier and cool—that have some of that street edge, like Hot Topic and Vans as an example. She saw the third-level parking deck; this is one of the highest levels

in the desert that has panoramic views of the mountains and the city of Palm Desert. I wanted to do something that celebrated the art that’s tied into the Coachella Valley, but also offer things such as food, fashion, food trucks, music and all of the things we love about street culture in one space.”

Forrer explained what people can expect to find at STREET. “As events grow, so do the number of partners, which makes it all the better, because it’s bigger and better each year,” she said. “The event is sponsored by the city of Palm Desert, which has been extremely generous and supportive of this event, which is great to see. The event is curated by Flat Black Art Supply; they have been working with artists all year, and these artists come from all around Southern California and San Francisco. There’s a giant spray can that will be interactive, and there’s much more interactive art sponsored by Flat Black Art Supply. In addition, the YMCA of the Desert is on hand to help us with kids’ crafts, and we’re going to be doing everything from bubble art to wire sculptures, and making our own graffiti T-shirts and bandannas. People can come and work with graffiti spray cans and help artists make large-scale murals. It should be a lot of fun.”

STREET has grown significantly over the past three years, Forrer said.

“STREET has become an official art setting and is listed as a public art tour by the Convention and Visitors Bureau,” she said.

“We had around 1,500 people the first year, and last year, we had just under 5,000. It’s great to have a free event for all ages; that’s part of the appeal. I think there’s something to be said about an event where we invite the locals, but we also invite our visitors.”

The mall doesn’t seem like a place where

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Art from a previous STREET.

you’d find a lot of local music, but the Westfield Palm Desert has actually worked with many of the STREET performers before.

“Having the Academy of Musical Performance speaks to two things,” Forrer said. “One, we are a community gathering space for families as well as a place to shop and dine, and two, we love all kinds of music, including rock and how great it can be done by teenagers in a School of Rock style. A lot of the artists this year, we have had play in the mall at special events and retailer openings.

Some of the bands have made contact with some of the major brands, which is the link between art and fashion.”

STREET will mark the first time the Palm Desert band Yip Yops has played a local show in about a year; the group has been focused on shows out of town.

“Their career trajectory has just blossomed,” Forrer said. “They’re playing really solid Los Angeles spots now, and this is the first time

they’ve been back to the desert in about a year.

It’s great to see them come home.”

Forrer said she hopes STREET continues to grow.

“We want to focus on doing more sculpture, because we believe that’s an important piece we want to bring into the (shopping) center,” she said. “We know that shopping is a very different experience now.

It’s completely about experiences now, and to document that moment that you couldn’t have online, that you have with your family and friends. I think that art and music coming into the center will be part of that experience.”

STREET starts at 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, at the Westfield Palm Desert, 72840 Highway 111, in Palm Desert.

Admission is free. For more information, visit www.westfield.com/palmdesert/ entertainment/the-street.

—Brian Blueskye

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19

NOVEMBER 2018

“FUNNY, BRAVE AND POWERFUL...

Speaks to the lunacy of modern politics.”

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by JASON ODELL WILLIAMS A serious comedy. Honest to god.

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20 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

A LOT OF VARIED ART I

By stephen berger

n October each year, a trailer pulls up in front of a gallery at the north end of the design district in Palm Springs. It’s packed full of art.

Behind the wheel is gallery owner Woody Shimko. He’s just completed what he calls his 3,000mile bridge between two of the most iconic gay destinations—Provincetown, Mass., and Palm Springs, Calif.

Shimko has galleries in both towns. During Provincetown is so quiet in the winter, and the fall and winter, the art is here in Palm Palm Springs certainly slows down in the heat Springs. In the spring, it will cross back over of the summer.” that figurative bridge and spend the summer Shimko opened his first gallery in in Provincetown. Having just endured another Provincetown in the 1990s. blistering desert summer, I thought this “After opening it, I took a job in Tokyo. sounded like an ideal lifestyle. I asked Shimko Having both the job and the gallery was a little how it all came about. … OK, way too much,” he said. “I bought a house “Provincetown has been an art colony for in Palm Springs as a stop-over. After being in over 100 years,” Shimko said. “Palm Springs Japan for 15 years, I decided to open the gallery has been a creative design location for decades. in Palm Springs. The following season, I opened What I try to do is show work that will appeal the gallery in Provincetown, hence (the gallery’s to designers, other artists and anyone else slogan), ‘3,000 Miles of Art.’ interested in buying work for their homes.

“The gallery in Palm Springs is about the “The biggest difference, really, is the time of same as in Provincetown. I show local artists year. That is really why I opened both spaces. and also artists from the East Coast. In

CVIndependent.com

Woodman/Shimko Gallery is known for its ‘gay’ art—but it offers so much more

Provincetown, I show local artists and artists from the West Coast. I don’t really show ‘regional’ art—no palm trees in Palm Springs, and no fishing boats in Provincetown.”

The Woodman/Shimko Gallery here is not one of the spacious, spare, minimalist galleries for which Palm Springs is known. Instead, it is packed full of an astonishingly varied collection of paintings, sculpture, metal work, prints and ceramics. In the rear is a section of vintage glass and dinnerware, including pieces from Tiffany and Lalique. There are even some old Lionel trains and tongue-in-cheek Japanese souvenirs. My favorites are the artfully packaged “sushi sox,” a pair of socks folded and presented as sushi.

The gallery also displays some of Shimko’s own creations, accent tables constructed out of discarded tools.

“The way I choose the work is: If I want to hang it in my home, I’ll show it at the gallery,” he said. “And yes, I do have a few pieces that I have shown that are not entirely my style, but that’s where showing a range of work comes in.

“I am always open to seeing new work. If it jumps out at me, then I’ll likely show it for a time. Work that is in conflict with artists that I already represent is art that will not work for me.”

I’ve heard Woodman/Shimko Gallery referred to as a “gay” or “homoerotic” gallery before.

Shimko had his own take on these labels.

“There are some people who come in and say they love the ‘gay’ gallery, but that is not a term I use to describe the spaces,” he said. “I do show a number of male images, but I don’t focus on them. My most popular artist, Cassandra Complex, paints only men. There is nothing erotic about the images, but when people see them, they assume it’s a gay man painting the images. That’s most likely why I am termed a gay gallery. But if that’s what people think of the space, cool—I’m happy with that. The only real homoerotic art I have shown—and have had to warn families about if they came in with their kids—was the Tom of Finland collections I have shown. There’s no fig leaf on the statue of David, so I’m OK with showing male and female nudes.”

Shimko said he will be focusing on Cassandra Complex’s art during this Pride season.

“Her work is truly an icon for gay men,” Shimko said. “The second-biggest buyer for her work is lesbians. Even our straight customers are drawn to her. The Kennedy family bought three of her pieces over the years. Cassandra lives outside of Boston. She is self-taught and

“Get the Tide” by Cassandra Complex (cropped).

paints men’s faces that she makes up in her head. None of the faces are real people. After her father died 10 years ago, she went through depression, and his was the first face she painted. He was a rugged man, so she keeps that look going through for her father.”

Complex has an unusual painting technique: She applies paint to the canvas with a deck of playing cards.

A couple of other artists stood out to me.

Christopher Sousa’s portraits of young men evoke a surrealistic, dream-like character.

“Christopher Sousa is based in Provincetown and is one of the most sought-after artists,” Shimko said. “Before becoming a successful artist, he worked at a coffee shop in town and would draw images on coffee cups that he would give to his customers. He is represented by another gallery in Provincetown, so I can only show him in Palm Springs. Many of his models are friends of his or people he knows in town.”

Another artist, Robert Rainone, creates male nudes—not with paint, but by cutting through different colors of matte board.

“Robert Rainone is an architect in New Jersey,” Shimko said. “His precision in drawing has led him to create some truly amazing matteboard cutouts,” Shimko said. “Many of his pieces are between six to nine layers of matte board.

You can see him do a number of his pieces on YouTube.”

I asked Shimko about his favorite elements of Palm Springs.

“The views and the design element,” he replied. “The architecture is amazing. There are many people that not only buy art, but live in art.”

Woodman/Shimko Gallery is located at 1105 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. It is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily. For more information, call 760-322-1230, or visit www. woodmanshimkogallery.com.

NOVEMBER 2018

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21

KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS (KUWTK) AND THE REAL HOUSEWIVES (RH)

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

In a recent video, a journalist reported what it was like to keep up with Kim Kardashian’s wardrobe, makeup and appearance schedule for one week.

She mimicked Kim’s wardrobe (from discount stores), her hair styling and makeup, and Kim’s appearance schedules. In a word, her summary of a week of shadowing Kim was “exhaus�ng.”

Her conclusion: “No one by themselves could keep it up for long, not even Kim Kylie Jenner. Credit www.flickr.com/ photos/disneyabc Kardashian!”

My pa�ents ask me about what aesthe�c medical treatments the Kardashians are ge�ng all the �me. They also ask me about the treatments the “Real Housewives” are considering. It didn’t used to be that way. The first few seasons of KUWTK (in produc�on since 2007) was as much about their fashion choices as their family dynamics and rela�onships. In the last 11 years, KUWTK have become influencers to the world about the leading edges of medical aesthe�cs.

Ninety percent of everything medical science has for pa�ents in 2018 did not exist in the 1950s. At least 90 percent of what we have available in non-surgical aesthe�cs didn’t exist when KUWTK first aired in 11 years ago. Compared with plas�c surgery op�ons, the new medical aesthe�c op�ons we now have are light years ahead of any op�ons we had in 2007. Medical treatments have never been more affordable. And nonsurgical op�ons have never been more effec�ve, and occasionally can be a be�er op�on than surgery.

What does this all mean? First, it means it has never been easier to keep up with the Kardashians when it comes to medical aesthetics. Second, if you come to one of my prac�ces, or a similar quality prac�ce, you have an en�re team to help you get ready for your public “appearances.” Third, it means that almost everyone can afford to keep up with Kris, Kim and Kylie and the rest of them when it comes to your appearance.

Finally, take a look at your selfies, or look in your mirror, and see what you’d like improved. Then give an experienced aesthe�c medical prac�ce a call, and get your team working for you, just like the Kardashians have their team working for them.

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

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FOOD & DRINK

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DESERT CICERONE I

By brett newton

have a lot on my mind. However, I will spare you from all but the beer things on my mind. I thought the best way to handle this would be to kinda-sorta do this à la Larry King’s odd USA Today column from some years ago: I’ll just hit on random topics that don’t necessarily have any relation to each other besides the overarching theme of craft beer.

In other words, I was lazy and didn’t come up with a one-topic column idea.

Now that I have raised your expectations to such a soaring height ...

• I want to give a shout-out to Andrew Smith and his Coachella Valley Beer Scene blog and Facebook page. better and better every year, and it serves as In 2011, I created the Facebook page, and a reliable measure of what’s trending when it after mentioning Schmidy’s Tavern (R.I.P. … you are missed), the Coachella Valley Homebrew comes to IPAs. This year, sour IPAs made a big showing. Brut IPAs, mentioned in a previous Club, and Babe’s BBQ and Brewhouse, I quickly column, popped up at a few booths as well, the ran out of things to post. While there is still a most interesting of which was at Brouwerij long way to go in our beautiful valley, there is fortunately much more of a beer scene now, and West out of San Pedro. Of course, hazy IPAs and milkshake IPAs were prevalent. Eugene, Andrew gets in there and does great write-ups Ore.’s Claim 52 Brewing had my favorite with of what he finds. Check him out at cvbeerscene. its strawberry milkshake IPA. Strawberries and com and on the aforementioned Facebook page.

• Modern Times Beer is killing it. Not literally, lactose only added to the hop flavors and didn’t step all over them and become a sweet mess. mind you: They’re vegan through and through, Cellarmaker Brewing in San Francisco brought a as the bottles and cans state. phenomenal hazy IPA called Double Mt. Nelson.

If you have somehow missed the company’s This year’s Nelson Sauvin hop harvest seems to beer until now, you must have been hiding have made up for last year’s lackluster version, out. It’s happily in many places in the valley, and the beers that have been popping up using packaged and on tap. In the past year or so, them have been stellar. That includes Modern the people there have opened The Dankness Times’ own Space Ways. It’s one of the best hazy Dojo in Downtown L.A. and The Belmont IPAs I’ve had, period, and it’s still on the shelves Fermentorium in Portland. Both places have in cans here and drinking wonderfully. brewhouses and pump out wonderful beers With every passing year, Modern Times which end up at the other facilities for you continues to make me a bigger fan. to try. From what I’ve experienced so far, • Speaking of IPAs, I want to give my opinion Portland’s strength is in big, dark beers, and on some of these sub-styles. the Dojo seems adept at IPAs of all stripes.

Sour IPAs have been kettle-soured similarly Another location in Encinitas and a swim club to a Berlinerweisse or gose; the tartness and in Anaheim are in the works. liberal amounts of hops evoke the flavors of In August, I went to Modern Times’ fourth fruit juice. The examples I’ve tried so far have annual Festival of Dankness. It’s a hoppy beer been fun, but I am still a bigger fan of dryfestival, and notable brewers from all over hopped kettle sours. It’s a subtle distinction, the country are invited to pour. It has gotten

Random thoughts on a local blog, the greatness of Modern Times and various IPA sub-styles

but it can be encapsulated thusly: The sourness of sour IPAs is there to support the hop flavors, while dry-hopped kettle sours are sour ales with hop aromas and flavors to support it. It’s a distinction without a difference, but my palate can certainly tell.

Almanac Brewing and Prairie Artisan Ales make great examples of the latter style.

I have finally tried a few brut IPAs and have not been terribly impressed. I was very excited when I first began hearing about them, but the beers have not met my expectations. It seems like the process that makes these beers so dry also strips away much of the aroma and flavor of a normal IPA. But there is nothing wrong with subtlety, and I will continue to try new examples of the style with an open mind. There is currently a brut IPA on where I work—a shout out to all my co-workers at Coachella Valley Brewing Company … even you, Uncle Ben—and it is honestly the best I’ve tried.

• From time to time, I have good ideas. One of my latest was an idea for a coconut bock.

I conceived of the recipe (with some serious inspiration from Gordon Biersch’s excellent Heller Bock) with the help of our head brewer, and the team did a brilliant job executing this one. It should be on tap soon if it isn’t already.

I’m calling it Coconut Toast, because that is the experience of drinking it. Definitely tell me what you think of my baby when you try it.

• Do you know what English bitter ales are? They’re really not that bitter and lean toward the malty side, but the name has made it extremely difficult for the styles (ordinary, strong, extra strong) to catch on in America.

It is a travesty, too, because it’s such a lovely, sessionable style. The same goes for old ale style (though it’s decidedly not sessionable). It is not a great name, but a well-made example is such a thing of beauty. Alesmith, North Coast

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and Deschutes are the only craft breweries I can think of off the top of my head that regularly make old ales (and they make them well, I would add). Belgian styles seem to have largely fallen out of favor, too, and this might be the biggest tragedy. Some might think Belgian ales are all high ABV affairs, but it’s just not true.

The witbier retains popularity here, with Shock Top and Blue Moon being made by the big breweries. There are incredible versions of this in craft beer. Allagash White and Avery White Rascal are two of the finest, and they’re very true to the classic Belgian counterparts (St. Bernardus Wit being my favorite in the world).

The lower-ABV Belgian abbey single style is an absolute gem, and we don’t see much of it here from Belgium, because it doesn’t travel well.

The same goes for English bitters. It’s not that brewers won’t make these styles; they just do them in small batches knowing that they won’t sell well. I guess I’ll just need to make more money and travel to these places to get my fix.

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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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23

NOVEMBER 2018

FOOD & DRINK

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VINE SOCIAL

You don’t need to become a sommelier to learn a lot about wine

JASON DAVID HAIR STUDIO

By KatieLOVE finn YOUR

E

HAIR

while you don’t have to be in the industry to qualify for these tests, it really doesn’t make much sense for the average consumer to hold such a title.

But … chin up, my budding wine-lovers!

There are still lots of ways you can enhance your knowledge and become a credible wine consumer.

If you’ve truly found your passion and want to delve deeper into that beautiful glass of “Ahha!” the No. 1 resource I recommend is the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (wsetglobal.com), or WSET for short. This is the perfect information hub for someone who loves wine socially, but wants to take it more seriously—or perhaps even begin their own wine career. The trust has several levels that cater to individual wine prowess that get increasingly difficult as your knowledge progresses. You’ll need to commit to driving into Orange County, Los Angeles or San Diego to attend live classes and tastings, but there are online options available as well.

Speaking of online options, if you want to gain your information digitally, the Wine Spectator School (winespectator.com/ school) and the Napa Valley Wine Academy (napavalleywineacademy.com) are fantastic alternatives to live classes. They both feature a ton of content and different classes specializing in specific regions or areas of knowledge.

Locally, there are a few places where you can go to taste and learn. I recently went to the Bordeaux tasting at Total Wine and More in Palm Desert. For a meager $20, we tasted eight wines covering both the left and right bank, and even had a beautiful charcuterie spread prepared

by The Real Italian Deli. Other than the fact that the last red wine we tasted had cork taint, and they served me warm Sauternes, the wines were decent, and the information was a pretty

veryone I know in the wine industry has had their own personal “Ah-ha!” moment—when wine became more than just a classy way to get drunk, when we went from simply enjoying the way the wine tastes to becoming consumed with every aspect of it.

Where was it grown? How was it grown? How did the winemaker ferment HowStreet long was it in a Country Club and it?

Cook barrel, and what kind of barrel was it, and how big was the barrel?!

That’s the moment we realized the Palm De sert wine was alive, has a personality and wants to be understood.

For me, that moment happened when I was I was immediately struck with herbs and 760-340-5959 in college. I applied for a job at a prominent flowers and spice. There were beautiful aromas steakhouse while going to school; I knew the of cherry and figs intertwined with pepper and www.jasondavidhairstudio.net difference between white and red, but that was sweet cigar. As we sat and dined, I listened to about the extent of my knowledge. Thankfully, Chef describe the food, but all I could think this steakhouse took a chance on me and about was the wine—how, with every sip, I informed me that if I was to keep the job, I tasted something new. The wine was constantly would need to study the wine list and service evolving in my glass, and just when I thought I procedures inside and out, and pass a test. Being had it figured out, like a chameleon, it changed the obliging little student that I was, I hit the on me. I had never tasted anything like it. books. I studied the regions, the grapes, the That was the moment I knew this was going soils and the different price points. I bought to be more than just a job to get me through every different (cheap) bottle of wine from school. A lot of years, and a few post-nominals Vons that I could afford and practiced opening later, I managed to prove my very Irish family them every night with a steady hand. I was wrong: You can, in fact, get paid to drink. determined to master the fine art of pouring One of the most frequent questions I am without dripping on my makeshift tablecloth, asked by budding wine enthusiasts is how they, which at the time was nothing more than an old too, can become a sommelier. The short answer dish rag. The more I immersed myself into the is: You don’t. The common misconception is wine world, the more infatuated I became. that sommeliers are the only body of wine At the end of my training, I sat down to knowledge out there, but the Court of Master take the test I had so diligently prepared for Sommeliers is solely designed for those in the … and I passed with flying colors. The reward restaurant industry. This is a good thing: No for my hard work was a training meal with the average wine consumer should ever be subjected managers. They ordered a few beautiful steaks to the nerve-racking, hair-falling-out stress and a couple of mouth-watering side dishes so levels associated with the service practical.

I could experience the menu and describe the Much like the Court of Master Sommeliers, flavors to guests. As the chef approached the the Society of Wine Educators also has its own table to explain his creations to the neophyte I accreditation program where you can become was, he asked the bartender for a specific bottle a Certified Specialist of Wine and ultimately of wine. Within minutes, the cork was pulled, a Certified Wine Educator. These exams are and the glasses were filled with my “Ah-ha!” incredibly difficult, not to mention expensive;

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comprehensive Wine 101. They threw in a little humor here and there, and all in all, it was a pleasant way to spend the evening.

In La Quinta, yours truly hosts wineeducation afternoons once a month at Cooking With Class (cookingwithclasslq.com). We taste five to six wines, accompanied by artisanal cheeses, in a casual setting. The tastings usually last about 90 minutes and are designed to be fun and informative. I focus on food pairings, the stories behind the wines and unique varietals.

Lastly, you can always seek out private winetasting groups via Facebook, localwineevents. com, or your local wine shop. I know that Desert Wine and Spirits (desertwinesandspirits. com) in Palm Springs has great tastings once a week, and Dead or Alive Bar (deadoralivebar. com) always has unique, palate-enhancing wines open to try. Desert Wine Shop on 111 (desertwineshop.com) also hosts regular wine get-togethers that are informal and social.

The wine I tasted that fateful night was a 2001 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape.

I will never forget it, and it will always be my first love. Your “Ah-ha!” moment is waiting … go taste it.

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Garnishes can be wonderful parts of a good drink … if both the bartender and consumer know what they’re doing

BY kevin carlow

his town turns on a dime. Last month, I was writing about the slowest time of the year and sipping switchel. This month, I need an ice pack for my right elbow and a brace for my knee as I look for new gray hairs in the mirror.

In any case, we need to talk about garnishes.

I don’t know if anything confuses my guests more than garnishes: Watching what people do with the things hanging off the side of and/or stuck in their drinks is a never-ending source of curiosity to me.

Drink garnishes were a bit of an afterthought in early cocktail history. In early American cooking and drinking, the answer to most things was nutmeg. Nutmeg was such a common touch to early punches and slings that one ancient recipe book even recommended grating your muddling stick if you ran out! One had to keep up appearances, I guess. We don’t see nutmeg often as a garnish these days, but in the craft scene, we have a soft spot for it, and you can find it behind the bar in a little cup somewhere awaiting the odd Brandy Alexander or whatnot.

When it comes to drinks with nutmeg or other spices grated on top, they are there for aromatics: Their purpose is to float on top of the glass and provide a pleasant odor to the overall experience. Trust me: If I thought your drink needed a half-teaspoon of nutmeg incorporated into it, it would be in there—so please don’t stir in the grated coffee bean, nutmeg, cacao nibs or other gritty aromatics!

You don’t want that texture … trust me.

Speaking of nutmeg … forgive the aside, but there is a special cocktail that deserves a little more love: the Army and Navy. I had been doing a little research on this little oddity of old-fashioned flavors, and found myself in muddy waters. I checked in with my bar manager at Truss and Twine, fellow cocktail writer Dave Castillo, for an assist. He relates that it first appeared in David A. Embury’s Fine Art of Mixing Drinks circa 1948, but was “Embury’s reformulation of an earlier cocktail which called for a larger portion of gin and was described by him as ‘horrible.’”

I can tell you this reformulated mix of gin, lemon, angostura bitters and orgeat is anything but horrible. It just might be the perfect drink for a warm day or even a cool fall night in the desert, when there is just the slightest hint of autumn in the air.

Continues Castillo, “Embury’s recipe called for a lemon twist as a garnish, but we prefer a grate of nutmeg, as it plays off of the confectionary flavors of the bitters.” Having tried it both ways, I can certainly vouch for that. As with most drinks calling for something

sweet and sour and boozy and bitter, these are just recommended specs: 2 ounces of London dry gin 1 ounce of lemon juice 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce of orgeat (Aside within the aside: There are many mediocre orgeats on the market, and sweetness and complexity will vary greatly. I suggest that if you can’t make your own, then Liquid Alchemist is a nice homemade-like choice. Dave’s not parting with his recipe, but there are plenty of them online!)

One or two dashes of Angostura bitters Shake with ice; double strain up into a coupe! Top with a grate of good ol’ nutmeg with the microplaner positioned directly across the rim of the serving glass.

If there is a garnish more revered than nutmeg, it’s mint. Unlike exotic citrus fruits and seasonal berries, which were certainly used when available, mint grew from coast to coast for months out of the year. Mint is both a garnish and an ingredient, and in a drink like the mint julep (a topic for another time)— basically a sweetened bourbon over ice—the aromatic garnish becomes an ingredient by sheer force of intensity.

Let’s be honest, though: When you hear “mint,” you are probably thinking “mojito.”

Well, few drinks are as often botched as the mojito. In my early days behind the bar, I certainly was no exception. Using the back of a bar spoon to punish some wilted mint into submission, adding some granular sugar packets into the mixing glass, squeezing yesterday’s lime wedges while hoping for some brownish liquid to precipitate … the horror.

The mojito deserves an article of its own; for now, refer to the Southside article from a couple of months ago (available for free at CVIndependent.com!), and substitute a nice, light-bodied Cuban style rum for the gin.

The lesson I learned from my early days of making what I now call “mint soup” is that leafy herbs are best treated lightly and with generosity. The key to a good mojito, or eastside fizz, or Planter’s punch isn’t mint

Great garnish! COURTESY OF CARLOS MARES

incorporated into the drink; it’s the bounty of fresh, lively, green mint flooding your nose with terpenes and other aromatic molecules!

In other words: Please don’t shove the mint garnish into the glass. If the drink needed more soggy mint, we would have added it! It doesn’t do any good in there, and just makes it look like you’re drinking swamp water.

Obviously, this advice also goes for basil, rosemary, or anything else with a stem.

Now that the two main types of aromatic garnishes (hard spices and fresh herbs) are out of the way, let’s discuss the rest. As for the ubiquitous lime or lemon slice on the top of your glass, try the drink first. If it’s a bar that cares about your drink, the slice will be fresh and vibrant. If it’s not, maybe switch to a bottle of beer. Do not drop a nasty piece of citrus into your drink … citrus garnishes can cause foodborne illnesses! If the slice looks good, try

the drink before just squeezing it in. We put it there for you to adjust the tartness to your taste, so if it calls for it, by all means, use it.

As for other garnishes, like your classic “flag” of cherry and pineapple or orange, the same warnings apply. If they look like something you might eat at home on a plate, eat them. If they look suspect, take them out, and put them on a beverage napkin. The same goes for the leafy stuff if it’s overpowering or annoying—just take it out, and let us clear it away. Easy!

When it comes to garnishes, a little can go a long way, and a lot can go a long way—but at the end of the day, remember that sketchy garnishes are often the sign of a sketchy drink program. Good garnishes are a sign that the bar cares about the details.

Kevin Carlow is a bartender at Truss and Twine and can be reached at krcarlow@gmail.com.

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NOVEMBER 2018

the

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT This month’s treats: truffle fries in Palm Desert, and a big burrito in Palm Springs

By Jimmy Boegle

Solar Q&A

I hear solar companies talking about site surveys. Can’t they just look at my home with Google Earth or something similar?

They can for an initial idea—but those images can be dated. Trees may have grown and could be casting shade during some times of the year. Items such as new HVAC systems may have been added to your roof. Your electrical panel may need to be upgraded to handle the additional voltage flowing through it.

The only way to give you a customized, specific proposal with no surprises is for an experienced solar tech to visit your home and measure and check those things, as well as confirm the availability of WiFi for monitoring, and see if there are any interior anomalies that can’t be seen from Google Earth.

determine that your current electrical panel is prepared for everything. All this information, combined with your past electrical usage, should be what goes into figuring out how many panels you need, and the optimal location on your roof for them.

You don’t want surprises later, or worse yet, you don’t want to find out that your panel needs to be upgraded at the last moment.

Unfortunately, some solar companies would rather install less solar than you need to offset 100 percent, rather than take the time to upgrade your electric panel to handle the complete load.

I get it. How can I make sure the company is performing a site survey?

It’s OK if they give you a general estimate ahead of time, but you should never sign anything until a comprehensive site survey has That makes sense. Is there anything been done—the same way a doctor else they’re checking? shouldn’t diagnose you without first The really good and thorough companies will also take photos of your performing a thorough exam. A reputable local company like Renova major appliances that use electricity won’t try to cut corners to get you to so they can do an accurate load study. sign right away.

This is also part of the calculation to

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WHAT The black truffle pommes frites WHERE AC3 Restaurant + Bar, 45350 Larkspur Lane, Palm Desert HOW MUCH $9 separately; $7 at happy hour; $4 upcharge with the lobster B.L.T. (as shown) CONTACT 760-340-6069; www.ac3palmdesert.com WHY They’re crispy and delicious.

AC3 Restaurant and Bar opened with one of the best pedigrees of any new local joint in recent memory: The restaurant—inside the gorgeous Hotel Paseo—is the result of a partnership between Trio’s Tony Marchese, and Copley’s on Palm Canyon’s Juliana and Andrew Copley.

I met friend and colleague Kevin there for a recent weekday lunch to see if AC3 lived up to that distinguished pedigree. The verdict? The figurative jury is still out on AC3’s offerings as a whole, but I can enthusiastically endorse one thing we had: the black truffle fries. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say that these may be the best damn fries I’ve had in the Coachella Valley. Really.

Being in a hotel on El Paseo, the restaurant serves all three meals—and the food isn’t exactly cheap. If you want the truffle fries on their own, an order will set you back $9, although you can get them for two bucks less during happy hour. In my case, I upgraded the fries that came with my lobster B.L.T. entrée … and was socked with a hefty $4 upcharge as a result.

While the lobster B.L.T. was good but not great—it was tasty, but the poached lobster didn’t have enough flavor to stand up to the other ingredients—the truffle fries were stellar. They were perfectly prepared, with the perfect amounts of truffle flavor, grana padano cheese and other seasonings. Oh, and they were delightfully crispy—just as french fries should be. The accompanying truffle aioli was a delight.

I’ll be returning to AC3 soon for these fries at either lunch or dinner. (Alas, they’re not available on the breakfast menu.) No matter where you are in the Coachella Valley, these fries are worth the drive.

WHAT The big guac burrito WHERE Guacamoles, 555 S. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $9.25 CONTACT 760-325-9766; www.guacsps.com WHY It’s one of the tastiest burritos around.

Guacamoles does not get the respect it deserves.

The Mexican restaurant is an undeniable success—it’s been open now for 28 years, since the Sesma family launched it during the first half of George H.W. Bush’s presidency.

Yet when I hear people talking about their Palm Springs-area Mexican-food favorites, Guacmoles rarely comes up.

Perhaps this is due to the space Guacamoles occupies: It’s small and tucked away in the middle of the shopping mall at the southwest corner of Sunrise Way and Ramon Road.

Perhaps it’s due to the restaurant’s no-frills vibe: You order at the counter, and the food is delivered on disposable plates with plastic utensils. I admit that until fairly recently, I rarely dined at Guacamole’s; over a five-year period, I ate there once, maybe twice—and that was it.

However, that all changed one night not long ago. I was stuck at home alone, with work deadlines looming; I was hungry and had no time to cook. So I got on one of the delivery apps and perused my options, one of which was Guacamoles. A burrito sounded good, so I decided to order a chicken big guac (aka a burrito with the works).

The food was delivered quickly. And even though the burrito weighed in at around a pound, it was devoured quickly: It was delicious, and gluttony won out.

Since that fateful night, Guacamole’s has become one of my regular takeout or delivery options. (Although whenever I get the big guac now, I cut it in half and put half away for later, to avoid further gluttony.) The food is fresh— with no MSG or lard—well-prepared and tasty.

Cheers to the Sesma family for their success.

Here’s to another 28 years—and Guacamoles hopefully getting the respect it deserves.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

NOVEMBER 2018

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Restaurant NEWS BITES

By Jimmy Boegle AT ARRIVE: CARTEL COFFEE IS COMING, AND WEXLER’S DELI IS OPEN Cartel Coffee Lab—an Arizona-born coffee shop that prides itself on the quality of its coffee beans sourced worldwide—will open its first location outside of the Grand Canyon State on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Arrive Palm Springs, located at 1551 N. Palm Canyon Drive.

To celebrate the opening, customers will receive a free drip coffee from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 9.

Cartel Coffee will take the place of Customs Coffee. “Employees of Customs will undergo a week-long boot camp at Cartel’s home base in Arizona before returning as Cartel baristas,” according to a news release.

What makes Cartel so special? Let’s go back to that news release: “Cartel focuses on working with passionate farmers that produce the best-tasting single-origin beans instead of offering a blinding selection of sugar-laced syrups. This is evidenced in their emphasis on light-roasting which allows for the natural qualities of the coffee to speak on their own. … ‘Instead of covering up defects and inconsistencies in poor quality coffee with darker roasting, we simply don’t buy those coffees,’ said buyer and brand director Paul Haworth.”

In related news: The Wexler’s Deli at Arrive, which replaced Reservoir restaurant, opened as planned in October. So far, we’ve been hearing good things.

For more information, visit arrivehotels.com/palmsprings.

GOOD GRAPES WINE WEEKEND COMES TO THE ACE If you’re a fan of yummy wine, make sure you’re free to head to the Ace Hotel and Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2.

That’s the time and place for “Good Grapes,” a two-pronged event featuring both the first Palm Springs Wine Festival, and the latest popular Wine Not? event.

Wine Not? will take place poolside from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Hosted by Evan Enderle and Bon Appetit wine editor Marissa A. Ross, “The event will feature a selection of handpicked bottles from some of their favorite natural wine producers served from the Little Bus at the Swim Club Pool, paired with poolside tunes from the talented dublab crew,” according to a news release. The event is free for anyone of imbibing age.

Then comes the Palm Springs Wine Festival, taking place in the Commune on Sunday from noon to 5. It’s the brainchild of Christine Soto, a friend and former Independent contributor who’s the owner of Dead or Alive wine bar. California wine will be the star of the show—specifically, wines by forwardthinking Californians.

“We’re highlighting movers and shakers of the ‘California style’ who are preserving varietals from farflung locations like the Sierra Foothills and Mendocino, and taking a lighter touch in the cellar,” said Soto in that news release.

Those participating winemakers include Broc Cellars, Scholium Project, Scribe Winery, Methode Sauvage, Red Car Wine, Halcyon Wines, Ruth Lewandowski and Whitcraft Winery.

Tickets cost $65 to $85—the earlier you get ’em, the cheaper they are—and include unlimited wine tastings, bites of food and entertainment.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 760-325-9900, or visit www.acehotel.com/ goodgrapes.

ONE DAY, TWO BEER FESTIVALS Saturday, Nov. 17, will be a completely bonkers day for beer-lovers in the Coachella Valley.

First: The seventh annual Props and Hops craft beer fest will run from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Palm Springs Air Museum, at 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, in Palm Springs. About two-dozen craft-beer vendors will be on hand, as will food vendors (including In-n-Out Burger!) and fantastic entertainment. Admission starts at $40 in advance and includes eight tastings and souvenir glassware. For $75, you can get in an hour early, enjoy rare keg tastings and get a dozen tastings. Rides in vintage planes are also available for a fee. Cool!

For tickets or more information, call 760-778-6262, or visit pspropshops.com Then the party moves down valley for an entirely different beer festival: Brew in LQ takes place at the La Quinta Civic Center Campus, at 78495 Calle Tampico, from 5 to 9 p.m. You’ll find food, games, entertainment and, of course, beer from at least a dozen vendors; admission starts at $30 in advance, and includes a souvenir tasting cup, three wine-tastings and 10 beer-tastings. Be smart and bring a designated driver, and he or she gets in for just $10 (with two free nonalcoholic beverages). For tickets or more information, call 760-777-7000, or visit www.playinlaquinta.com/brew.

IN BRIEF It’s been a tough couple of weeks at the Westfield Palm Desert, located at 72840 Highway 111: Bobby Mao’s Chinese Kitchen and Bar and O’s American Kitchen have closed. … Coming soon to 67778 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City: Yianni’s Taverna and Wine Bar. … A new LGBT dining group is holding its first event in November. The aptly named LGBT Dine Out Group of Coachella Valley will meet at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 12, at Lulu California Bistro, 200 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs.

Seating is limited to 30; be sure to RSVP at lgbtdineoutgroup.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

NOVEMBER 2018

31 32 35 36

Foreigner heads to Agua Caliente to celebrate 40 years—with help from the original lineup Sticky Doll hopes to create a HIGH DESERT PUNK/METAL scene with Sticky Fest Higher Heights brings its reggae sounds to Coachella’s Synergy Fest The LUCKY 13: Meet a member of Daytime Moon and a renowned local DJ with a new hit record

www.cvindependent.com/music

THE PRIDE OF HAWAII

Jake Shimabukuro, champion of the ukulele, brings his music to the McCallum

33 CVIndependent.com

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

NOVEMBER 2018

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THE FLAME STILL BURNS

By Brian Blueskye

W

hen I called Thom Gimbel of Foreigner to discuss the band’s upcoming show at Agua Caliente Casino, he was upfront about his drinking problem. In fact, he confessed that he had already started that morning.

“For a while, I was up to about two or three smoothies a day,” Gimbel said. “I was going to a bar every night … the salad bar. I was a mess. But now I’ve switched to Martinelli’s sparkling cider, so I’m doing OK.” Kidding aside, Foreigner is one of the He went on to study music at the Berklee greatest rock bands of all time. The group has College of Music. sold 80 million records, and although only one “Intellectually, it was a dream come true,” original member remains with the band— Gimbel said. “I was so thirsty for knowledge guitarist Mick Jones—Foreigner remains in and wanted to understand how all the chords high demand. and scales worked together. They answered all The show at Agua Caliente on Saturday, my questions. Then they said, ‘Now go back Nov. 10, will be special for several reasons. to being a thinking and feeling musician, and First, the current lineup will be joined by some forget all that technical stuff. Play from the of the surviving original members. Second, heart, and make melody the supreme goal.’ the Rancho Mirage High School choir will join Melody is the absolute in music. You listen to Foreigner for the classic hit “I Want to Know any hit song, and it’s about the words and the What Love Is,” and the band will donate $500 melody. I learned that and even more. to the choir for their appearance. The choir “I got to work with some of the most brilliant will also help sell CDs to raise money for The minds there, and I had a roommate who was a Grammy Foundation, which advocates for world-class jazz guitarist. It was a great place keeping music education in public schools. for the mind to thrive. Professionally, I owe During our recent phone interview, Gimbel, who officially joined the band in 1995, discussed playing with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, a performance Foreigner recorded and released as a live album.

“It was magnificent and nothing short of spectacular because of the size of the choir and the orchestra,” Gimbel said. “The choir alone was 60 to 80 people, and we had this massive orchestra, and we got to work with a conductor. It was a new thing for us. Plus the conductor is a rocker at heart; if you see the DVD, you can tell. He looks like a leftover of the Beatles and was trapped in a conductor’s body. We had such a good time with that. It’s not really a classical rendition; it’s still rock, but we have this icing on the top with strings and horns and vocals.”

Gimbel—who plays the guitar, saxophone and flute with Foreigner—showed an interest in music growing up.

“My parents loved music, and my brothers and sisters did, too,” he said. “My mom is very musical. … As soon as I could get my hands on drums, I was playing a drum set. When I was in fifth-grade, my dad was trying to get me work. He would say, ‘Hey, there’s a band at this bar. Why don’t you come and sit in?’ By the time I got to music college, I had already been in my high school band.”

Foreigner. KARSTEN STAIGER

Foreigner heads to Agua Caliente to celebrate 40 years—with help from the original lineup

everything I have to Berklee.”

Gimbel bemoaned the weakening state of music education.

“The only thing that seems to remain strong as far as school bands is I always see the colleges having a strong marching or concert band,” he said. “It might be taken away at the elementary or high school level, but for some reason, college bands are really strong. …

That’s what gives me hope for the future.”

Gimbel joined Foreigner in 1995—coming directly from being a touring musician with Aerosmith during that band’s wildly successful comeback, from 1989 to 1995.

“I saw a lot of similarities. Here was Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on one side, and then you had Lou Gramm and Mick Jones on the other side,” he said. “There was always this dynamic duo at the helm during those days.

It was great, and it’s like having a couple of parents—like a mom and dad figure. I thought the Aerosmith guys would have been a bit more standoffish when it came to saxophone solos, but it was the opposite. They’d be like, ‘Why don’t you do a big, giant saxophone solo with the drums?’ When I came to Foreigner,

instead of them telling me to keep it down, they were like, ‘No! That’s first gear; then you need to go into second gear and then third gear. Tear the roof off the house with that saxophone.’ They both encouraged their players to take it to the next level, and that’s the sign of great bandleaders.”

Gimbel said the members of Foreigner are happy to still be in high demand.

“It’s kind of humbling to see that people still enjoy this, and we feel honored to be rocking out in this great situation where people want to see Foreigner,” he said. “That’s the ultimate reward for whatever we put into it. It feels like a wonderful treat to hear people tell us, ‘Thanks for keeping this going, and we hope you keep rocking.’ We’ll keep going for as long as people want us to.”

Foreigner will perform at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, at The Show at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, in Rancho Mirage. Tickets are $75 to $150, with VIP packages available. For tickets or more information, call 888-999-1995, or visit www. hotwatercasino.com.

CVIndependent.com

32 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

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MUSIC

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MORE HIGH DESERT PUNK?

By Brian Blueskye

S

ticky Doll recently moved to the high desert from Los Angeles—and the band’s first couple of local shows have proven the group is definitely an oddity … in a good way.

There’s a shock-rock element to Sticky Doll’s brand of punk, and frontwoman Cynna Luchia is a show all by herself. Bassist El Sancho plays through both a guitar amp and a bass amp.

On Saturday, Nov. 10, Sticky Doll will be putting on Sticky Fest at the Palms Restaurant in Wonder Valley, and has invited local bands guns. The climate and the small-town vibe are such as Instigator, Karr, Throw the Goat, the same. I feel like a kid living here, and I love Sleazy Cortez, Drop Mob, Ormus and others to it. Cynthia (Cynna Luchia) grew up in East Los take part.

Angeles and lived in Los Angeles all her life.”

During a recent interview in Yucca Valley, However, when it came to the music scene …

El Sancho (Greg Gendron) discussed what Sticky Doll was not thrilled. brought Sticky Doll to the high desert.

“We were excited, and we thought we were “We found out how cheap it was to buy a coming into something really exciting—and house, and we thought, ‘Why not move out we were really let down immediately,” he said. to the desert?’” Gendron said. “It happened “We went to some open-mics, and we were within a few months, and we fucking love it. surprised at how it was just a hippie vibe, and I grew up in Eastern Washington in a town everyone was a Bob Dylan singer-songwriter called Yakima. There’s a sign on the freeway wannabe. (There’s a) certain artist around that says, ‘Welcome to Yakima, the Palm town who thinks she’s an alien; it was just Springs of Washington.’ It’s real similar to here. weird and a real letdown. We thought we were … It’s good ol’ boys with pickup trucks and coming to Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles

of Death Metal. … Everyone said the same thing to us: ‘You have to create a scene up here.

There are people here who love metal and love punk, but a scene has to be made for it.’ That’s why we put together Sticky Fest.”

As for El Sancho and Cynna Luchia … what’s their story?

“We put out our first album on Christmas Day in 2015,” El Sancho said. “We’re due for a new one, and we do have a new one coming out. People always ask if Cynthia and I are married or if we’re a couple, and my blanket response is, ‘I fuck her ... .’ But yeah, we are a couple. We had the same kind of taste in music, and we’re both sober. We were going to this musicians’ AA meeting, and it was a place where you could play and not do traditional ‘shares’; The ‘shares’ were you went up and performed.

“We’ve been together for about five years now. I play guitar, and I play bass, and I went on this mad hunt for a pedal effect that could do what we have now, and I finally found it. I bought it and I thought, ‘This is fucking killer!’

I could send it into a bass amp and have a bass sound, and through the guitar amp have killer power chords. Once I got that in the mail, I thought, ‘Let’s do it!’

“If you would have asked me five years ago if I’d be in a band with a girl, I’d say, ‘Hell no!’

Especially with a girl I’m dating? I would think you’d be out of your fucking mind! The fact that I’m doing what I’m doing now is funny to people who knew me back then, but I love what we’re doing now.”

Gutter Candy drummer Dani Diggler was recruited into the band before Sticky Doll started playing local shows.

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Sticky Doll hopes to create a new punk/metal scene with Sticky Fest

Sticky Doll.

“We’ve gone through some real shitheads, but Dani fits us real good,” El Sancho said.

“We kind of dialed his playing in a bit. We’re almost industrial to where it’s just kick drum, snare and high hat. He’s coming from Gutter Candy playing ’80s, ’90s and Guns N’ Roses; he’s a typical drummer. He didn’t come in and say, ‘We have to play my style!’ He was like, ‘Whatever you guys need.’ But Dani is cool, plus we actually pay him.”

El Sancho hopes this is just the first of many Sticky Fests.

“It came into fruition back in June,” he explained. “I had never heard of any of these bands. I’d heard of Throw the Goat, because they played shows down our way. But I was pleasantly surprised when I learned there was a scene down the hill. This is a first-year thing; it’s out of my pocket, and I’m not going to book a big-name band, because there’s not a budget. So I started looking for local talent.

“When I first talked to the Palms, it was going to be a two-day festival. I had put out an open call on Facebook for punk and metal bands for a festival. I got inundated with responses; I had 40 to 50 responses. A few weeks into it, I was having an in-depth conversation with the Palms, and given their concerns, I wasn’t thrilled, but we agreed to do it for one day.”

Sticky Fest takes place starting at noon, Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Palms Restaurant, 83131 Amboy Road, in Twentynine Palms. Admission is $12$15; members of the military and attendees 16 and younger (with a parent) are admitted for free. For tickets or more information, visit www. facebook.com/events/588237201548978.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 33

NOVEMBER 2018

MUSIC THE PRIDE OF HAWAII I

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

Jake Shimabukuro, champion of the ukulele, brings his music to the McCallum

By Brian Blueskye

n 2006, a YouTube upload of Jake Shimabukuro playing a ukulele rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” became one of the early viral videos.

After that, the Hawaiian-born Japanese American became an ambassador, of sorts, for the ukulele, and his career has taken him to some incredible heights, including performances with Jimmy Buffett, Jack Johnson, Bette Midler, Ziggy Marley, Bela Fleck and many others.

He’ll be performing at the McCallum Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 27.

Shimabukuro said during a recent phone interview that ukulele renditions of rock songs never feel strange to him, even when he ventures The lead singer of Pearl Jam doing a ukulele into works such as New Order’s “Bizarre Love album—that blew my mind! Paul McCartney Triangle” and Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9.” started playing it during live shows as a tribute “I’m a big fan of so many different bands to George Harrison. Bands like Train in their and different music, so when I have the song ‘Hey, Soul Sister,’ that whole track’s opportunity to cover one of their songs, it’s driving force is the ukulele. … Seeing these like the equivalent of wearing your favorite iconic musicians and artists picking up the athlete’s jersey,” Shimabukuro said. “I just ukulele—it’s cool, and it becomes something love that music can make such an impact on that becomes acceptable. someone’s life.”

“I’m stoked, man. A lot of it started with After growing up in Hawaii, Shimabukuro George Harrison, who was a big ambassador said he feels a connection to traditional for the instrument, because he lived in Hawaii, ukulele music. and he fell in love with the instrument and “When I first started, that was all that started using it in his recordings and his I really played. To this day, I still do the concerts. He was known for always bringing traditional music, because that’s a big part of ukuleles with him to get-togethers.” my culture and a big part of the instrument,” Even as Shimabukuro’s popularity has he said. “In all of my concerts, I make sure that grown, he said he still loves Hawaii and can’t I have at least one or two traditional songs in imagine living anywhere else. the show so I can really bring it back to the “When I was younger, I thought it would be roots of the instrument.” cool in New York City, Japan, or even in Los When I brought up his cover of “Somewhere Angeles or Nashville, where you have so much Over the Rainbow,” Shimabukuro gave a nod access to music and the arts. The older I got, I to the late Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole as having performed one of the best covers of that song.

“I really think that version is very special— the re-harmonization of the song and the stripping down of the elements of the Judy Garland version from the Wizard of Oz that we’re all familiar with,” he said about Kamakawiwo’ole’s version. “I think what he did with the song is absolutely brilliant. He re-harmonized the tune in a simplistic way that I never thought I would ever hear in that song. His choice of how he phrases and arranged the melody—he does alter it, but not too much where it feels like a different song—is stunning and one of the most moving arrangements of that song that I’m aware of.”

The ukulele is being played more and more in contemporary pop/rock music—and Shimabukuro loves it.

“For me, I think in the last 15 to 20 years, there have been so many wonderful artists that are very respected and have picked up the instrument. I feel like I’m in good company,” he said. “Eddie Vedder did a ukulele record.

Jake Shimabukuro.

realized that in Hawaii, I was so fortunate to be born and raised here,” he said. “Especially as an Asian American living in the United States, I think Hawaii is the only place where you can grow up and be part of the majority as an Asian American. Anywhere else, I would have had a different experience as an Asian American. We have such an amazing culture and rich heritage. There’s so much history here in the islands. The music was very influential.

The culture and the lifestyle really shaped who I am and how I approach music and the arts.

“As far as moving now, it’d be hard, because I’m married, and I have two kids. I really want my kids to have a similar experience growing up, taking them to the beach, and taking them fishing.”

For his show at the McCallum, Shimabukuro is going to strip things down a bit.

“The last couple of years, I’ve been touring with a band. For this tour, it’s going to be a trio,” he said. “I have a bass player from Nashville named Nolan Verner, and I have a guitar player named Dave Preston who is a great guitarist.

It’ll just be the three of us—electric guitar, electric bass and electric ukulele.”

Jake Shimbukuro will perform at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 27, at the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, in Palm Desert. Tickets are $28 to $78. For tickets or more information, call 760340-2787, or visit www.mccallumtheatre.com.

The Blueskye REPORT NOVEMBER 2018

By Brian Blueskye

Travis Tritt November is here, which means the weather has been cooling off, and the holiday season is about to arrive. It also means the Coachella Valley and high desert are full of great events.

Speaking of great events: The McCallum Theatre has a busy November, including shows by Lea DeLaria and Jake Shimabukuro, which you can read about elsewhere in this issue. Here are a few others you should consider: At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, country-music star Travis Tritt will offer an intimate acoustic-style performance, during which he’ll share stories about his life and career. These types of shows are always interesting, and the McCallum is the perfect venue for this type of concert. Tickets are $38 to $88. At 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 15, singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell will take the stage. He’s written hit songs for many country musicians, including Keith Urban, and he’s won two Grammy Awards. Tickets are $25 to $65. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 16, Irish singing group Celtic Thunder will perform.

The group has been wildly popular ever since its first television special on PBS in 2008.

Celtic Thunder is a huge draw in America and uses dramatics, comedy, lighting and choreography to dazzle audiences. Tickets are $60 to $90. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is offering an awesome list of November shows. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, Rascal Flatts will be performing. Rascal Flatts was one of the biggest country groups of the ’00s and continues to be a powerhouse in country music. The group has sold more than 20 million records and has 17 No. 1 singles.

Tickets are $69 to $159. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall will be stopping by as part of her Turn Up the Quiet world tour. I had a chance to check out Krall during a stop at Fantasy Springs a couple of years ago—and she was magnificent. If you love jazz, Diana Krall is a must-see. Tickets continued on next page CVIndependent.com

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are $59 to $99. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, pop legend Paula Abdul will be performing.

Paula Abdul was a huge name in ’90s R&B and could dance like no other. She’s sold more than 60 million records, has been a dance choreographer, and has been a judge on American Idol. Tickets are $39 to $69.

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

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has some big names stopping by in November. First up, at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, is Eagles lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist Don Henley.

Henley found success as a solo artist after the Eagles first breakup in 1980, releasing his first solo album in 1982—but it was his second, Building the Perfect Beast, in 1984, that landed him his big hit “The Boys of Summer,” which

has become a radio staple. Tickets are $175 to $250. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, pop singer Johnny Mathis will be performing.

Mathis does what has been described as “standards” and “romantic ballads,” but his vocal range and catalog include R&B, country, blues, soul and many other genres. Tickets are $90 to $120. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-9991995; www.hotwatercasino.com.

Spotlight 29 has a couple of fine events scheduled in November. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, it’ll be a night of music from Sinaloa, Mexico, when Voz De Mando and Kanales will be performing. You might remember Voz De Mando from the 2011 film A Better Life. The band has become a hit with both American and Latin audiences. Kanales’ life story— coming to the United States for a better life

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at the age of 15, and finding success through singing—is remarkable, but the music the man makes is definitely worth the hype: His songs are deep and tell the stories of lessons he’s learned and struggles through which he’s lived. Advance tickets are $40. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, country music star Easton Corbin will be performing. Corbin has charted with “A Little More Country Than That,” “Roll With It” and “I Can’t Love You Back.” He’s performed at Stagecoach and toured with Brad Paisley. Tickets are $40 to $60. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort Spa has a few noteworthy November events. At 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, comedian, talk-show host and political commentator Dennis Miller will be performing. While his political opinions have taken a turn toward the unpopular, he was the best Weekend Update personality Saturday Night Live ever had. Tickets are $69 to $89. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, reality-television star Teresa Giudice will be appearing. I spent way too much time trying to figure out how this show was going to work, and what the former Real Housewives of New Jersey and Celebrity Apprentice star will be doing. My best guess: Discussing her time spent in a federal prison for fraud? And her husband’s deportation back to his native Italy? Tickets are $35 to $65. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www.morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s is rolling into November with a fantastic schedule. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, Starcrawler will be performing. Starcrawler is an independent band that’s about to go to some pretty awesome places. This Echo Park group certainly knows how to rock, and the band’s songs are a kick in the ass. The group has appeared on Apple Beats 1 radio, and Elton John played ’em on his Rocket Hour radio show. The band has an album being produced

by Ryan Adams coming out soon, too. Also appearing: The Entire Universe, which is fronted by Jeffertitti, formerly the frontman of Jeffertitti’s Nile, and a former bassist in Father John Misty’s band. Jeffertitti is pretty far out, but in an awesome way. Tickets are $15. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, country musician Jesse Dayton will take the stage.

He’s performed on albums with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, The Supersuckers, and Kris Kristofferson. He also worked with Rob Zombie on some of his films. Also on the bill: Charlie Overbey, who has been touring after releasing his new album Broken Arrow earlier this year. Tickets are $20. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 24, the Meat Puppets will be returning to Pappy and Harriet’s. If you’ve never seen the Meat Puppets before, I highly recommend ’em. The band appeared with Nirvana on the

The Divine Miss Bette Unplugged special and has been listed as an influence for many punk-rock and desert-rock bands. Tickets are $25. 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 great dinner-show events to consider. At 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, former Broadway actress and singer Nancy Dussault will be performing. She appeared on Broadway in musicals such as The Sound of Music, Bajour and Do Re Mi. She’s still performing at the age of 82. Tickets are $45 to $50. At 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3 singer/ songwriter Chadwick Johnson will take the stage. He’ll be performing the music of Las Vegas, which is certainly jazzy, upbeat and good to listen to during martini time.

Tickets are $25 to $35. At 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17, actress and singer Linda Lavin will be performing. You might remember her from the show Alice.

She’s a noteworthy singer as well, and will be performing with a backing band. Tickets are $50 to $60. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-3224422; www.purpleroompalmsprings.com.

The Date Shed has one event scheduled for November: At 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 29, SoCal reggae band and Date Shed regulars Fortunate Youth will be performing. The Hermosa Beach band also includes ska and punk in its sound. The group’s shows are always well-attended, and they are always asked back. Tickets are $20 in advance. The Date Shed, 50725 Monroe St., Indio; 760-7756699; www.facebook.com/dateshed.

The Copa Palm Springs has one ticketed event in November, too: At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, The Divine Miss Bette starring Catherine Alcorn will grace the Copa stage.

It’s billed as a cabaret show with the songs of Bette Midler—and it’s received a lot of critical acclaim. Tickets are $25 to $45. Copa Palm Springs, 244 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 760866-0021; www.copapalmsprings.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 35

NOVEMBER 2018

MUSIC

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

MUSIC, SPIRITUALITY AND ENERGY

By Brian Blueskye

D

id you know the Coachella Valley has a growing reggae scene?

Higher Heights is one of the bands that’s come out of that scene, playing shows consistently while in the process of recording a full-length album. A single, “Indian on the Mountain,” was produced by Ronnie King in 2015 and is available on streaming services.

Higher Heights will be playing at the seventh annual Synergy Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 10.

During a recent phone interview, frontman and it was original stuff I’d never heard. I was Mike Fernandez discussed his passion for working again, but in a much more relaxed reggae music. atmosphere, and I was more rested. I stopped “When I first heard Bob Marley back in 1981, cutting my hair, given (that at the previous job), it was the message. I could understand it, but I had to be clean-shaven, and my hair had to be I couldn’t figure out why he was singing about short all the time. As my hair started growing it,” Fernandez said. “If I wanted to dance to out and the songs started coming back to me, it, how would I do it, or how would anyone go I harnessed those songs and memorized what about doing it? It was the newness of it, and I was hearing. I memorized the hooks, the I had never heard anything like it. It was the messages, and then I built on them and started Rastaman Vibration album, and it was the days writing songs, one after another. All this was of 8-track, and a friend of mine let me borrow new to me. It just comes to me through spiritual it on 8-track. I fell asleep listening to it; 8-tracks force—and I harness it. didn’t end and would start over again, and by “I harness it, write it down, and get it a the time I woke up the next morning, I was kind hook. One time, I had a hook, and I woke of indoctrinated. It peaked my imagination. up to memorize it. I was singing it over and “I started buying Bob Marley’s music. When I over and over for about 30 minutes. I should was at school growing up, they were calling me have recorded it, and I didn’t. I thought after Bob Marley, and I started going by Reggae Mike. 30 minutes of repeating it over and over, I’d It was the music and the power of the lyrics.” remember. The following morning, I didn’t For a while, Fernandez did not think all that remember. I tried to tap into that and meditated much about music. on it—it was somewhere in my brain, and I’d “What happened with me was that I was repeat the words, and it didn’t sound right working a job that was 10-15 hours per day, anymore. But about two months later, after even on Sundays. I was really stressed out and never letting go, it came right back—and worked there for 10 years straight,” he said. this time, I recorded it. That’s our song called “When I finally quit working at that job, this ‘Searching.’ I had that experience of losing a music started coming back into my mind— melody on a couple of other occasions, but not anything more than a couple of months.”

While reggae music was born out of the Rastafari spirituality, Fernandez said he does not follow it.

“My music is actually unlike reggae: It’s totally original, because in reggae music, you have the ‘roots message,’” Fernandez said. “The Jamaican artists take offense to it. … Unless you follow their dietary rules, you have no right to be singing reggae music and calling yourself ‘roots.’ My music is not that. … My music is not political and has no political overtones. … Every song has a life and breath of its own.”

When you see Higher Heights perform, you can feel Fernandez’s energy. He explained where that comes from.

“It’s an experience. I’m not moved by music; I’m moved by the story behind the music,” he said. “First comes the lyrics. If the lyrics are telling me something, and I’m connecting to Higher Heights.

Higher Heights brings its reggae sounds to Coachella’s Synergy Fest

the lyrics—if I can reflect on the lyrics and connect them to an experience of my life—then I can connect to the song. The music comes secondary. I get a wave of energy coming our direction when I sing certain parts of a song that people connect with. I can feel that energy like a tidal wave coming from the crowd toward the band. I can feel that coming through my chest and out my back.”

Higher Heights has played at the Synergy Festival before, and Fernandez said it’s always a great time.

“It’s outdoors, and I like that it’s in November when the weather is nice,” he said. “The turnout is always pretty good. I like serving the musical community with the music we’re playing. It’s a joy to be doing it. It’s a community thing, and it’s people from all walks of life.”

The Synergy Music and Arts Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, at Dateland Park, 51805 Shady Lane, in Coachella.

Admission is free. For more information, visit www. culturasmusicartscoachella.com.

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MUSIC

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/MUSIC

the

LUCKY 13

Meet a member of Daytime Moon and a renowned local DJ with a new hit record

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

Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy. It’s the only album I own two of, so it must be my favorite.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Alien Boy” by Oliver Tree.

Alex Harrington.

Joel-Philip Dingle

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

I don’t get why so many artists have to pop pills and drink cough syrup and all that nonsense. Life is beautiful, and mental health is not talked about enough. There are a ton of amazing artists out there who feel incomplete or unhappy the way their chemistry is, and they should be able to talk about it.

NAME Brent Simpson GROUP Daytime Moon MORE INFO If you’ve never listened to Daytime Moon before, you really should fix that. This majestic three-piece band— which includes Brent Simpson, formerly of Spankshaft—incorporates several different genres into the music. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/daytimemoonband.

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

Jimi Hendrix! Or, maybe Elvis. This is a really hard question, because I feel like maybe Elvis wouldn’t live up to the expectations.

Jimi would probably blow anyone away, but everyone probably chooses one or the other, so maybe Jimi.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Have you heard of The Moog Cookbook? Also, jazz ensembles are sometimes cool. I was a band geek back in the day, ya know, so I kinda have a different take on this.

NAME Alex Harrington MORE INFO DJ Alex Harrington dropped his new album, Stargazer, in early October—and within two weeks, the album had already generated 250,000 streams and a whole lot of buzz. The album is a fantastic production from start to finish with a lot of nu-disco awesomeness. For more information, visit www.alexharrington.co.

What was the first concert you attended?

Hoobastank at the Fillmore in San Francisco with my mom!

What was the first album you owned?

Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

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

“This a rollie not a stopwatch, shit don’t ever stop,” Drake, “Nonstop.”

What bands are you listening to right now?

As far as bands go: Holy Ghost!, Friendly Fires, and Kasabian. On the producer/DJ side: Bondax, and The Knocks.

What was the first album you owned?

The first CD I ever bought with my own money was one of the Now That’s What I Call Music!

CDs, but I can’t remember which volume it actually was. The first album of a band that I actually liked and knew what I was getting into was Blink-182’s Enema of the State. Then it was pure mayhem, and I quickly maxed out my parent’s subscription to one of those “pick some CDs and get them in the mail”-type deals.

What band or artist changed your life?

The Beatles. They taught me that love is all you need.

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

Hate to be cliché, but I don’t get Taylor Swift.

What bands are you listening to right now?

I am enjoying some Family Thief, Slothrust, Mystic Valley Band, Amine, Animals as Leaders, Mourners, and Jouska. I am also listening to the new Daytime Moon masters from Get Right Recording Studios.

CVIndependent.com

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Throwback songs from the mid-’90s to early 2000s, especially on the rap/hip hop side of things: Mase, Puffy, Biggie, Brandy ... I love it all!

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

“Ooh baby, I feel right, the music sounds better with you,” Stardust, “Music Sounds Better With You.”

What’s your favorite music venue?

The Palms in Wonder Valley.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

I would love it if there was a karaoke-type thing and a sweet jam session or a drum circle, but if it had to be one song, it would probably be Blink-182’s “Adam’s Song,” but played on a dozen ukuleles and one bass guitar. Or an a capella version of that “Time Traveler” song by The Flusters.

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

Tough one! I’d have to say Chic. Nile Rodgers is an amazing human being, and their music is made to be heard live!

What’s your favorite music venue?

Bang Bang in San Diego.

What was the first concert you attended?

Canned Heat at Pappy and Harriet’s. I think I was about 10. I went up to country, and got my mojo workin’ for whisky and wimmen and boogie music. I’m serious. I realize those are all titles of songs by them, but I was 10 years old, and it blew my mind.

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

I would ask Mozart: “DO YOU WANT TO JAM?”

Good on her and her team for building an empire, but I don’t get the fascination people have with her or her sub-par tunes.

What band or artist changed your life?

Jamiroquai. I found them in 1994, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I idolized (still do) the lead singer, Jay Kay. They make real music that’s accepted by the mainstream. Keeping it funky!

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

I’d ask Jimmy Page what inspired him to write the lead riff for “Kashmir.” Such an epic tune!

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Maybe Tomorrow” by Stereophonics. A beautiful song, one of their most lovely, in my opinion. Love the message!

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

Holy Ghost!’s self-titled debut album.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Hoodrich Disco” by Rome Fortune.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 37

NOVEMBER 2018

CANNABIS IN THE CV

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

CANINES AND CANNABIS? A

BY CHARLES DRABKIN

new law directing the California Veterinary Medical Board to create guidelines for veterinarians to discuss pets’ use of cannabis was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September, and will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Assembly Bill 2215 is surprisingly controversial—for several different reasons. On one hand, it’s a leap forward—as of now, the veterinary board can revoke the license of a veterinarian if he or she even discusses cannabis use for pets. On the other hand, the law still prohibits vets from prescribing cannabis products for their patients.

Again, the longstanding prohibition mentality is standing in the way of real progress. Lawmakers, veterinarians, the veterinary board and pet owners are justifiably concerned, because almost no research has been done regarding the safe and effective uses and dosages of cannabis for pets.

Given humans’ longstanding use of cannabis, it is not surprising that we have also been using it to treat our animals for millennia. Just one example: There is evidence the ancient Greeks used cannabis to treat horse wounds.

When I brought up cannabis use for my dog with our vet, I received a nervous non-answer.

This makes sense, given the laws on the books through the end of the year. Unfortunately, this has led pet-owners to seek information on their own—from the internet, pet stores, budtenders, friends and acquaintances … none of which are the best places to seek medical advice, for you or your pet.

Fortunately, some peer-reviewed scientific studies regarding pets and cannabis are beginning to be released. In July 2018, the

first clinical double-blind study treating arthritic dogs with cannabidiol was published in Frontier in Veterinary Science. A team led by Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, of Cornell University, studied how hemp-based CBD products helped dogs with pain and arthritis.

It is important to keep in mind that the research was funded by ElleVet, a maker of hemp oil designed for pets, and ElleVet products were used in the study. Still, the results of the small study of 16 animals were extremely promising: After treatment, more than 80 percent of the dogs saw a significant decrease in pain, and improvement in their ability to move. This is good news for all of us with aging dogs.

Another study, this one at Colorado State University, is looking into treating dogs with epilepsy—and the preliminary results have been called “promising”: A small study of 16 dogs revealed that 89 percent had a reduced frequency of seizures after receiving CBD. Dosing is a big issue with pets; after all, my 3-pound teacup Chihuahua can’t receive the same dose as my 150-pound neapolitan

When it comes to treating pets with marijuana, knowledge is hard to find

mastiff. Dr. Wakshlag found that with CBD, 2 milligrams per pounds of body weight is generally effective and not cost-prohibitive.

The study also found that CBD dissolved in fats had a greater efficacy than other delivery methods.

Take note: THC is believed to be toxic to dogs, so if you choose to experiment with cannabis products on your own pet (something that’s NOT advised), make sure you are using only the purest hempbased, THC-free products. Signs of THC poisoning include glassy eyes, stumbling and a lack of coordination, vomiting and urinary incontinence. If you think your pet may have ingested THC, get it to the veterinarian ASAP, and be honest with the medical staff. In most cases, even severe THC poisoning can be treated, assuming it is caught quickly.

That said, Dr. Gary Richter, a San Francisco Bay Area veterinarian who spoke at the Palm

Springs Cannabis Summit last April, feels that THC may have a greater story to tell. He likes to point out that many drugs, if used improperly, can cause severe harm to both humans and animals. Due to the wide range of uses THC has in human pharmacology, Dr. Richter believes that proper studies may reveal that very small doses of THC can treat pet ailments.

While a few studies are being done on dogs, an even smaller number is being done on cats.

I found one being done on anxiety, and one on pain, but I found no studies on cats with any published results yet. I found no research on smaller animals (like parrots or rodents) or larger animals (like horses)—although hemp seeds are safe for parrots, and in fact, parrot breeders often use hemp seed to stimulate breeding behaviors.

In other words … we have a long way to go.

Stay tuned.

CVIndependent.com

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OPINION SAVAGE LOVE

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

INEVITABLE EMBARRASSMENT

BY DAN SAVAGE

I

was involved with a straight man who enjoys cross-dressing and taking explicit photos. The problem is that the props he uses belong to his three children, all under age 12.

For example, he dressed up as a slutty schoolgirl and wore his daughter’s backpack. He dressed up as a slutty cowgirl and posed with his son’s stuffed horse. He even had the horse eating his “carrot.” I told him he should not use his children’s things as props. He believes that his children will never see the photos, so no harm will come of it. I’m horrified at the thought of these kids (perhaps as adults) stumbling over these pictures. He posts them on Instagram and Facebook, so they aren’t private, and he can’t control where they go. It’s one of the reasons I ended the relationship.

Is there anything I can say to him?

Canceled Definitely Promising Relationship Over Photo Sessions You told him what he’s doing is wrong; you explained the enormous risk he’s running; and you dumped him, CDPROPS. You could take one last run at it and try to explain that his children finding these photos isn’t one of those “low-risk, high-consequence events,” i.e., something that’s unlikely to happen but would be utterly disastrous if it did. (Think of the super-volcano that is Yellowstone National Park erupting, or a deranged, racist billionaire somehow managing to win a U.S. presidential election.) Nope, if he’s posting these photos online, at least one of his children will stumble over them—or one of

their friends will. (“Hey, isn’t this your dad?

And your backpack?”)

Your ex needs to knock this shit off, and will most likely need the help of a mentalhealth pro in order to do so.

My parents were married for almost 40 years—and on paper, things seemed fine. They rarely fought and were an example of a strong, monogamous marriage until the day my mother died.

Recently, I found writings by my dad revealing he had several casual encounters with men over the course of their marriage. Do I tell him I know? We are close, but sex isn’t something we usually discuss.

What should I do with this information, if anything?

A Deeply Upsetting Lie That Scalds

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What can I tell my ex to get him to stop using his kids’ belongings in his kink photos?

When you say their relationship seemed fine “on paper,” ADULTS, what you mean is their relationship was decent and loving. Well, now you know it wasn’t perfect—but no relationship is. Your mother is dead (I’m sorry for your loss), and either she made peace with this fact about her husband long ago, or she never knew about it. Either way, no good will come from confronting your father about the handful of dicks he sucked decades ago.

have, because I’m scared that I don’t love her in the way she deserves (in the way people say you will “just know” about), or because we have normal relationship problems and both have our own mental-health issues. 2. I’m also scared that if I don’t break up with her, I am keeping her in a relationship that is not good because of my fear of never finding someone as good as her, and we would both actually be happier with someone else.

I’m a 47-year-old virgin straight man. What advice can you give me on losing my virginity?

Scared Of Being Alone

Wanting And Hoping There are lots of 40-year-old-and-up women out there who are virgins—they write in, too—so putting “middle-aged virgin seeks same” in your personal ad wouldn’t be a bad idea. Find someone in your same situation, WAH, and treat her with kindness, gentleness and patience—the same as you would like to be treated.

I’m married and poly, with one partner in addition to my husband. My partner has a friend-with-benefits arrangement with a woman he’s been with since before we met. The FWB is not poly, but she’s always known my partner is.

She has always insisted they’re not a couple, but he knows she would be hurt if she found out he was with someone else, so he has avoided telling her he’s now also with me.

I don’t like being someone’s secret. My husband knows I’m with someone else and is fine with it. If my partner’s FWB felt the same, I wouldn’t see a problem. But this feels oddly like I’m helping my partner cheat on his FWB, even though they’re “not a couple” (her words). So it’s not cheating … is it?

Pretty Obviously Lost, Yeah It’s not cheating—it’s plausible deniability.

Your partner’s FWB would rather not know he’s seeing anyone else, so she doesn’t ask him about his other partners, and he doesn’t tell. Accommodating his FWB’s desire not to know about other partners—doing the DADT open thing—does mean keeping you a secret, POLY, at least from her. If you’re not comfortable with that, you’ll have to end things with your partner.

I’m scared of two things. 1. I’m scared that if I break up with my girlfriend of four years, I will be throwing away the best thing I will ever

1. Nobody “just knows,” SOBA, and everyone has doubts—that’s why commitments are made (consciously entered into) and not some sort of romantic or sexual autopilot that kicks in when we meet the “perfect” person.

We commit, and recommit, and forgive, and muddle through—but when we’re asked about our relationships, we tend to lean on clichés like, “It was love at first sight,” “I just knew,” “The One”—clichés that often fill others with doubt about the quality of their own relationships.

2. Get on iTunes, and download the original Broadway cast recordings of Company, Follies and A Little Night Music. Pay particular attention to “Sorry-Grateful,” “The Road You Didn’t Take” and “Send in the Clowns.”

If I write you a letter asking for advice and don’t want it published, even anonymously, will you answer?

Keeping It Confidential, ’Kay? While I can’t respond to every letter I receive, KICK, I do sometimes respond privately. Just one request: If you send a letter that you don’t want published, please mention that at the start. I will frequently read an extremely long letter—so long that I start making notes or contacting experts before I finish reading it—only to discover “please don’t publish this” at the bottom. If a letter isn’t for publication, please mention that at the beginning. I promise that doing so increases your chances of getting a private response.

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

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

NOVEMBER 2018

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

for baking and pastries, maybe 46 Rotation-producing Across force 1 Swingin’ Fitzgerald 47 Like some missiles 5 Senate spots 51 Number after acht 10 “It’s my turn!”

52 Canadian major 14 Olympic skater/ league team, on commentator scoreboards Johnny 55 Dictation expert 15 Halcyon singer 56 “You Will Be My ___ Goulding True Love” (song 16 Exploration org. from Cold Mountain) 17 Cartoon detective 57 In the neighborhood played by Matthew of Broderick and French 59 Hong Kong director Stewart Andrew (whose 20 “Negatory” Infernal Affairs was 21 Actress Emma remade as The 22 Ear irritation?

Departed) 23 “This is reallllly 60 Pink Floyd classic wonderful ...” from The Wall 25 Homer’s neighbor 64 Diva’s delivery 26 Actresses West and 65 Chili powder Whitman ingredient 28 Comprehended 66 Fantasia, in 2004 30 Beans that often get 67 Breed of tailless cat refried 68 GE competitor 32 Flip option 69 Father, in France 36 Golfer Ernie 39 “Aw gee, that’s Down peachy keen!”

1 Dallas dynasty 40 Dairy dweller 2 “The Raven” heroine 41 Prepared nuts used 3 Follow a podcast “Suit Yourself”—all four are represented

4 “Crumpled Papers” artist Jean 5 Branch 6 “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” singer John 7 Exclusively 8 Worn out 9 Circle div.

10 State with a town called Speedway 11 Like some poetry on the fridge 12 Operate 13 “Heartbreaker” singer Benatar 18 Lauder of cosmetics 19 Let in 24 Burnt stuff 27 Song that’s tough to do in a group 29 Mother of Perseus 30 Plug point 31 180 degrees from NNE 33 Director Guillermo ___ Toro 34 Elliott of 2018’s A Star Is Born 35 Prefix for scope 36 “Spring ahead” time in D.C. 37 Alex, in Madagascar 38 “I Put a Spell on

You” singer ___ Jay Hawkins 42 Credit report company with a notable 2017 breach 43 “No idea” 44 Failing the whiteglove test 45 Dog trainer’s command 48 Dupe 49 Beguile 50 Bar order 52 Paper Moon Oscar winner O’Neal 53 Time’s 2008 and 2012 Person of the Year 54 Batmobile passenger 58 Arm bone 60 GoPro, e.g.

61 Rita of 2018’s The Girls Tour 62 “His Master’s Voice” company 63 ___/Tuck (medical drama) ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com!

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40 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2018

Participants:

Absolution Babe’s Brewery Ballast Point Belching Beaver Boochcraft Kombucha brewcaipa brewing co.

Bootlegger’s Brewery Charlie’s Beer Company coachella valley homebrew club Coachella Valley Brewing Drake’s Brewing Fig Mountain Brew Firestone Walker Hangar 24 King Harbor La Quinta Brewing Co. The lost abbey mojave desert brewers guild Refuge brewery slo brew Stone Church brewing Thorn brewing and more!

Food by:

music by:

The John Stanley king band DJ Alex Harrington

sponsors:

Saturday, Nov. 17 • 1 to 5 p.m.

Advance tickets $40 • At the door $50 VIP $75 (entry at noon) Visit PSPropsHops.com for tickets and info Includes glassware (while supplies last) and eight 4-ounce tastings

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